Voices of Excellence from Arts and Sciences Voices of Excellence from Arts and Sciences

David Brakke, professor and Joe R. Engle Chair in the History of Christianity in the department of history, studies and teaches the history and literature of ancient Christianity from its origins, through the fifth century, with special interest in asceticism monasticism, Gnosticism, biblical interpretation, and Egyptian Christianity. He discusses why the Gnostics and their views were considered so dangerous and what the Gospel of Judas reveals about these beliefs. Hear the whole discussion with David Staley on this week's Voices of Excellence

Doug Alsdorf, professor in the school of earth sciences, researches satellite hydrology, large tropical wetlands, and geophysics. He describes himself as driven by curiosity, to ask "Why is that there?" or "What is that over there?" Join him as he discusses the value of scientific curiosity and more with David Staley on this week's Voices of Excellence

Jesse Fox, associate professor in the school of communication, researches the effects and implications of new media technologies, including virtual worlds, video games, social network sites, and mobile applications. Virtual reality has gone through booms and busts in the 15 years she's been studying it, so she talks about what it can and cannot do (ex., VR isn't an empathy machine) with David Staley on this week's Voices of Excellence

Michael White, professor of linguistics, researches how to enable computers to usefully converse with people in natural language. He's seen the ability of predictive text become so good that it's created concerns about the ethical uses of it. He discusses this and more with David Staley on this week's Voices of Excellence

Ruchika Prakash, professor of psychology and Director of the Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging, researches neuroplasticity in the context of healthy aging, and neurological disorders, specifically, multiple sclerosis. Her lab's findings include ways that meditation can improve your behavioral and neural functioning. For more of her discussion with David Staley, listen to this week's Voices of Excellence

Isis Barra Costa is an assistant professor in Contemporary Brazilian Cultural and Literary Studies in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese with research interests in Brazilian literature and culture, cyber literature and art activism in the Americas performance studies, and Latin American cinema, among others. Her research started with the question of how religious men and women from different parts of the African continent would explain what happened historically in the new world and how it changed expressions like sacred oratory. On this week's Voices of Excellence, she discusses with host David Staley how to gain recognition for the best parts of the culture that are not recognized by historiography or in literature.