UI library professor to study, teach in Poland

University of Idaho library professor Maria Anna Jankowska, an expert on Internet resources and globalization of information, has received a prestigious Fulbright Award for the academic year to teach and study in her native Poland.

She will return to her homeland to comparatively study information literacy, library services, and the impact of information technologies on academia while teaching and consulting with faculty at the Technical University and the Agriculture University, both in Poznan, Poland.

Jankowska began at the UI library in 1989 and holds a doctorate in economics from Poznan University of Economics and a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of California in Berkeley. In 2002 she gained recognition from her peers as one of the 50 Movers and Shakers of library workers who are shaping the future of libraries in the United States.

Jankowska also is the general editor of The Electronic Green Journal, which publishes peer-reviewed articles, news, book reviews and other information regarding international environmental topics.

•Post Falls native Steve Zemke, a University of Idaho graduate student, recently wrote his first research paper to earn the Best Paper distinction and a $3,000 prize at the American Society of Engineering Education Conference in June.

Zemke’s paper, “Tailoring Cooperative Learning Events for Engineering Classes,” was chosen from among 1,500 entries.In his writings he displayed a systems approach in testing 15 learning events to discover their factors of effectiveness and surfaced at least two cooperative learning tactics for engineering education.Zemke has worked for more than 20 years as a mechanical engineer for Bell Telephone Laboratories, General Instruments, Agilent Technologies and Hewlett-Packard. He left the technology industry to earn a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering at UI and hopes to teach mechanical engineering, with the goal of advancing the art of teaching.

•Local University of Idaho freshman have received National Merit Scholarships based on their status as 2004 National Merit Finalists .

The awards are college or corporate sponsored and range between $1,000 to $2,000 based on a student’s demonstrated, unmet need and are renewable for four years.

Four of the merit finalists are sponsored by the University of Idaho. They are listed by hometown:

Coeur d’Alene: James Gleixner, molecular biology and biochemistry.

Moscow: Danielle Pals, international studies, foreign languages-Spanish option; Katherine Scott, foreign languages-Spanish option and elementary education.

Troy: Franklin Queener, instrumental music performance.

Metlife Foundation sponsored the scholarship for Hannah Qualls, Moscow, chemistry and molecular biology/biochemistry.

•Air Force Airman Krista Requena is the daughter of Jennifer Jackson of Liberty Lake and Cliff McVicar of Coeur d’Alene. She is a 2004 graduate of Lake City High School.