IMPORTANT NOTE: These are the archived stories for Belmont News & Achievements prior to June 26, 2023. To see current stories, click here.

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Fuson Receives Deanna Nipp-Kientz Memorial Librarian Award

Hope Buckner
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Fuson Receives Deanna Nipp-Kientz Memorial Librarian Award

Courtney Fuson, award recipientCourtney Fuson, librarian of electronic and educational resources at Bunch Library, recently received the Deanna Nipp-Kientz Memorial Award. This award is given to a librarian who has gone above and beyond in service for the Tennessee Library Consortium or Tenn-Share.

Tenn-Share President Laura Allison commented on Fuson’s commitment saying, “Courtney is currently one of the co-webmistresses for Tenn-Share. She has been involved with Tenn-Share since 2010, when she was the Learn & Discover chair, coordinating Tenn-Share’s online statewide training program for library staff.  She began serving as a co-webmistress in 2011.  She has served on several DataFest and Fall Conference committees as well. She has helped design and maintain Tenn-Share’s websites and social media presence, provided technical support and worked to help maintain Tenn-Share’s membership database. When asked to help with a task, Courtney is always willing and her knowledge and work ethic are exemplary. She truly epitomizes Deanna Nipp Kientz’s attitudes of service, hard work, and dedication to Tenn-Share.”

Tenn-Share was established in 1992 as a means of helping libraries deliver efficient, effective library services through resource sharing.

Faculty, Staff & Students Travel to National Audio Engineering Society Convention

Hope Buckner
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Faculty, Staff & Students Travel to National Audio Engineering Society Convention

The National Audio Engineering Society Convention took place in Los Angeles the last week of September and a number of Belmont students and faculty attended.  Six audio engineering and technology majors, Dr. Doyuen Ko and a few friends of Belmont visiting from Japan joined Belmont’s Recording and Film Studios Manager Dave Warburton for a tour of the Universal Sound Department.

They were given a tour of all the Post Production Sound facilities located on the Universal Backlot and went through Audio Operations, Feature Film and Television Sound Mixing, Sound Editorial and ADR. They met and spoke with a variety of sound mixers, editors, engineers and operations team members working in the Universal Sound Department including a Q&A session and demonstration with Re-Recording Mixer Jon Taylor on the Hitchcock Mixing Stage. Taylor met the tour for nearly an hour going over the challenges and benefits of mixing in the Atmos format and fielding questions from the students.  He also demoed a portion of their Oscar nominated mix for “Unbroken” breaking down sound elements before playing the opening scene.

*Image above: LtoR: Jon Taylor (Universal), Dr. Doyuen Ko, Dave Warburton, Kerrick Crace, Max McConville, Dylan Jaynes, Paul Mayo, Brendon Harris, Masahiro Ikeda (Yamaha), Kazuhiro Kawahara (Kyushu University) and Hiraku Okumura (Yamaha)*

Dr. Christa Spears Brown Presents Vaughn Science Lecture

Hope Buckner
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Dr. Christa Spears Brown Presents Vaughn Science Lecture

The annual Vaughn Science Lecture, in conjunction with Belmont’s College of Sciences and Mathematics, was held on Thursday, September 29 in the Janet Ayers Conference Center. Dr. Christa Spears Brown, professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky, served as the event’s presenter.

Dr. Brown spoke on “The Wide Lens of Discrimination: How a range of negative interactions similarly shape developmental health.”  Her research, broadly speaking, examines how children and adolescents’ academic, psychological and social lives are shaped by their social groups. For more information on Dr. Brown’s research, click here.

Biology Student, Professor Filmed by Japan’s Largest Television Broadcaster

Staff Writer
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Biology Student, Professor Filmed by Japan’s Largest Television Broadcaster

Biology professor Dr. Robert Grammer and student Brian Song were recently filmed by The Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) for their research on nematodes’ response to cancer cells. Grammer and Song have been experimenting with the nematode C. elegans as a part of Song’s undergraduate research project for Belmont’s Department of Biology. NHK, Japan’s largest television broadcaster, will show its footage of the two as part of its upcoming program on cancer treatment set to broadcast on October 17.

Several representatives from NHK arrived on Belmont’s campus from New York City on September 27 to film Grammer and Song. The film crew interviewed Grammer in his office on the third floor of the Janet Ayers Academic Center and then shot footage of him and Song recreating their experiment in the lab. A separate interview was conducted with Song.

Research on C. elegans in Belmont’s undergraduate biology program has been conducted previously by 2016 spring graduate Parker Tumlin, who is now attending medical school. Tumlin’s research involved conducting a dose-dependent experiment to test the response of wild-type C. elegans to medium used to sustain HeLa cells, a cervical cancer cell line. Song has been working under Grammer’s supervision to continue Tumlin’s experiments by testing whether there is an attraction between C. elegans and lung cancer cells.

Morris Higham Management’s Clint Higham Speaks to Students

Hope Buckner
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Morris Higham Management’s Clint Higham Speaks to Students

On Friday, September 30, Belmont hosted a Morris Family Mentor/Lecture Series in the Johnson Theater featuring Clint Higham from Morris Higham Management. Higham shared his philosophy on artist management, his experiences as manager for country music star Kenny Chesney and the importance of being a self-starter in the music business. Higham is a 1995 music business alumnus who has recently supported a scholarship fund as part of Belmont’s We Believe campaign.

Higham shared that his philosophy for being an artist manager is to be behind the curtain, protecting the brand and franchise of the artist. He stated that if he believes in the act enough, he will help the artist realize their dreams.  In the “art business,” Higham said, doing it for the money isn’t enough.

He also shared his experiences managing Chesney saying that “Kenny was the least likely star of his time,” but today he is one of the only ones still standing. He shared that while Chesney didn’t have a door open for him, he honed his craft while the spotlight wasn’t on. The work Chesney did, Higham said, built and sustained his career bit by bit. Higham then shared with students how to become a go-getter in the business. He advised listened to be loyal, have a good work ethic and be self-starters. He shared that the worst traits to could possess in the business is entitlement and laziness; because the music business is emotion-created, it must be approached with passion, hard work and a go-getter attitude.

Higham concluded his time on campus saying “it’s a great time to be at Belmont” and that getting a degree is a definite seal of approval when applying for jobs. He advised students to continue working towards getting their degree, be authentic and know their brand. He was introduced by Harry Chapman, Belmont’s director of special projects and major gifts.

 

Alumnus Carter Creates Anti-Ransomware Software

Hope Buckner
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Alumnus Carter Creates Anti-Ransomware Software

copy-of-img_3051Henry (Hank) Carter graduated from Belmont in 2010 with a degree in computer science before moving on to attend Georgia Tech where he finished his masters in 2012 and his Ph.D in computer science in 2015. Carter began a faculty position at Villanova University this fall.

Recently, Carter joined researchers from the University of Florida to develop CryptoDrop, an early-warning monitoring system designed to catch and stop ransomware before it encrypts the majority of a user’s files. Ransomware, a type of malicious software, renders files useless for a user until payment is made to the ransomware authors in exchange for a decryption key which reserves the encryption and recovers the original files. This technological epidemic has caused millions of dollars of loss annually and has been used to attack public services including police station records and hospital databases. CryptoDrop was created to combat the use of this software.

Rather than examining programs for malicious characteristics like typical antivirus software, CryptoDrop monitors the user’s important documents and files and notifies the user if a program attempts to make sweeping changes.

Since the mass encryption operations used by ransomware are not common in everyday computing, CyrptoDrop is able to accurately identify and stop ransomware programs that exhibit this unusual behavior. Carter’s team’s experimental evaluation showed that CryptoDrop was able to identify and stop 100 percent of the nearly 500 different ransomware variants tested.

Carter has been involved with the project since its inception a year and a half ago. During his PhD work, he and his lab partner Nolen Scaife created the idea for an early-detection system for stopping ransomware. As a senior graduate student, Carter said he had the opportunity to help Nolen “develop and formalize the idea into a scientifically rigorous system that ended up being extremely accurate and quick to detect ransomware.”

Since Carter and his team’s work was published this summer at the IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems, they have received coverage from many major news outlets including Forbes, BBC and Huffington Post, among others.

Recently, Carter finished a postdoctoral research appointment at the University of Florida before beginning his career as a professor of computer science at Villanova University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was at Belmont that Carter said his dreams of teaching were fueled. “The attention and commitment to teaching I witnessed in my professors at Belmont was a huge inspiration,” Carter said. “I am excited to be following their example and bringing their passion for learning to my new position at Villanova. My motivating hope is that I’ll be able to inspire my own students the way I was inspired at Belmont.”

*Featured image (above) taken by Caroline Foley, Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Office of External Communications*

Belmont Celebrates Parent and Family Weekend, Sees Record Attendance

Hope Buckner
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Belmont Celebrates Parent and Family Weekend, Sees Record Attendance

Belmont’s Family and Parent Program hosted its annual Parent  and Family Weekend on campus September 30 – October 2 and welcomed more than 1500 guests to campus, nearly doubling last year’s event attendance. Led by Program Director Debbie Sprang and Ryan Holt, director of new student orientation programs, the weekend included a number of events that provide opportunities for parents and families to get involved in meaningful ways across campus.

The weekend began with a Concert Band Performance in the Massey Performing Arts Center and featured a number of additional events including movie screenings, theatre performances, sporting events, a fun run, opportunities to meet regional neighbors, worship services, meet and greets with key faculty members, Nashville excursions and a tailgate picnic, among others. All events were centered around three main objectives—providing parents and families with the opportunity to experience Belmont, get connected and explore Nashville.

Sprang  and Holt focused the efforts of their team this year on allowing attendees to experience life at Belmont the way their students do each day. “Our goal for Parent and Family Weekend was to provide a glimpse of what students experience on a daily basis for parents,” Sprang said. “Watching your son or daughter adjust to college life from afar can be difficult for some parents. Throughout Parent and Family Weekend, we saw a sense of joy and comfort in parents as they witnessed their young adult children settle in, make friends and get involved. This creates a true sense of happiness in both parents and students—they’re able to reconnect and celebrate the opportunity to be together for the weekend in the midst of the Belmont community.”

With record attendance behind them, Sprang and her team have more events planned for parents and families this semester. Those interested are encouraged to attend an Alumni & Parent Night at the Curb on November 19 to cheer on the Belmont Bruins Men’s Basketball team in their season home-opener against Western Kentucky University (Belmont will treat each family to a pre-game dinner). For those who aren’t local, the University is hosting an opportunity for Belmont families and alumni to gather in Tampa on November 21 when the Bruins take on the University of Florida at Amalie Arena.

College of Pharmacy Raises $2,450 for Nashville AIDS Walk

April Hefner
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College of Pharmacy Raises $2,450 for Nashville AIDS Walk

Belmont University College of Pharmacy raised thousands of dollars for Nashville AIDS Walk for the fifth consecutive year, sponsored by Nashville Cares on October 1. The team raised $2,450 for the local non-profit organization, which currently partners with the College of Pharmacy to certify students in HIV prevention testing and counseling. The 40-person team included deans, faculty and pharmacy students who joined hundreds of community participants to benefit thousands of individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Middle Tennessee. Team captain Dr. Edgar S. Diaz-Cruz pointed out that, “Belmont students and faculty continue to unite with the community to reach out and support a cause that touches our society. It is great to see how we continue to change the future of HIV/AIDS and break down the stigma one ‘WALK’ at a time.” He added, “I’m so proud of our newly certified students for volunteering their time to conduct HIV tests and educate the community about HIV prevention at the event.”

Classical Pianist Joyce Yang Gives Students Feedback During Master Class

Staff Writer
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Yang shares tips with junior piano performance major Anna Unterreiner
Yang shares tips with junior piano performance major Anna Unterreiner

Internationally renowned classical concert pianist Joyce Yang recently visited Belmont to perform in the annual Woods Piano Concert Series on September 28 in McAfee Concert Hall. The day after, Yang came back to campus to lead a master class of piano students, offering the chance to individually play a piece of music and receive her comments and suggestions for improvement. The master class was also held in McAfee Concert Hall.

Yang is well-known locally and throughout the world for her achievements as a classical concert pianist. She received the silver medal award in the Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2005 and plays roughly 100 concerts each year all over the world. Yang has played several piano concertos with the Nashville Symphony and will be returning to Nashville to play with them again in 2017.

The Woods Piano Concert Series began in 2010 and has allowed Belmont to host a significant classical concert pianist each year since. The pianist comes to campus to perform a solo concert and also teaches a master class with piano students in the School of Music. The series aims to honor the legacy of Merrydale Woods, who was a piano teacher, long-time Nashville resident and the benefactor behind Belmont’s becoming an “All-Steinway School” in 2008.

Band Featuring Two Alumni Plays First Grand Ole Opry Show

Staff Writer
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Contemporary Christian band “Selah,” consisting of Belmont alumni Todd Smith and Allan Hall along with their third member Amy Perry, graced the Grand Ole Opry stage for the first time in their 20-year career on September 23. The line-up included other well-known artists such as Cassadee Pope, Chris Lane, Ricky Skaggs, Striking Matches, Lindsay Ell, The Whites, Connie Smith, Mike Snider and John Conlee. Skaggs introduced Selah to the audience before the band performed songs “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” and “Amazing Grace.”

Over the course of their musical journey, Selah has been awarded eight Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, including five “Inspirational Album of the Year” trophies. The title track of their 2014 album “You Amaze Me” also became the first song to debut at #1 on the Christian Soft AC chart that began archiving in 2006. The trio has sold over 4 million album and single units total. They will be on tour in the U.S. between October 7 and November 19.

Smith said, “Belmont gave me 4 years to understand the music industry while I was pursuing my degree. It was a place where you were encouraged to dream big dreams, a place where you were surrounded by like-minded students who understood your passion and goals. Those years helped prepare me for what I am doing 20 years later.”

To view coverage of Selah’s Grand Ole Opry appearance by MusicRow Magazine, click here.

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