Understanding the Middle East

Michaelle Browers has spent half her academic career in the Middle East. An associate professor in the political science department, she’s conducted research in Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Jordan and Morocco. She's fluent in Arabic, yet one of the first things she does when she prepares for a trip is to hire a language tutor. The language is complex, but so is her area of expertise. And language is the vehicle that led to two decades of study in the politics and culture of the Middle East.

Rewarding research: Student’s chemistry work helps advance solar-cell technology

Melissa Donaldson (’10) and chemistry professor Ronald Noftle worked together for three years on polymer research related to energy storage. The quest to develop technologies to replace coal and oil as energy sources is underway in many venues, including a laboratory at Wake Forest. Chemistry professor Ronald Noftle and his student lab assistants have been experimenting with new thiophene molecules and polymers, hoping to develop a thin, flexible, inexpensive and efficient method for storing energy.

Invention could revolutionize solar cells

A spinoff company of Wake Forest’s Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials is trying to commercialize a new optical fiber-based solar cell that could “revolutionize the power grid,” said David Carroll, the director of the nanotech center.

Categories: Research & Discovery


Professor Pat Roberts retires after teaching students the importance of words

Pat Roberts is riding away from a long career at the School of Law. Despite numerous run-ins with cars over the years, Pat Roberts still has a passion for running and cycling. Now that she’s retired from the School of Law, she may be trading her road bike for a mountain bike and heading to the wilds of Southern Utah to explore the sandstone and red-rock desert where her daughter gives guided mountain bike tours.

Professor Larry West shared his passion for German with students for four decades

A dare 50 years ago sent Larry West on the path to a lifetime of teaching German at Wake Forest. Boys being boys, they’ll dare each other on a whim to do wild and crazy stuff. Which explains why Larry West has enjoyed a long and venerable career as a college German professor. That career, spent almost entirely at Wake Forest, drew to a close this spring with his retirement from the Department of German and Russian. Behind him, the 68-year-old West leaves a redoubtable legacy as a teacher, scholar and study-abroad administrator, along with a cadre of devoted colleagues and former students who have been inspired by his dedication and regaled by his wit.

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