Curriculum Vitae: Donald Metlay

Scholarship:

Education:

Department of Linguistics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1985-present, Ph.D. in progress, Dissertation title (tentative): Serial Verbs in ASL, Supervisor: Professor Jerrold Sadock

Department of Linguistics, Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C., 1983-1985, M.A., Linguistics

Professional Summer School for Deaf Theatre Personnel, National Theatre of the Deaf, Waterford, CT, 1982, certificate

College of Science at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Rochester, NY, 1973-1978, B.S., Biology

National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Rochester, NY, 1972-1973

Academic Awards:
Century Scholarship, University of Chicago, 1985-1988
Rotary Scholarship, Gallaudet University, 1984-1985

Research Interests:
General: interaction between morphology and syntax
Syntax: contex-free phrase structure grammar, constituent structure
Morphology: classifiers, incorporation

Languages:
Native language: ASL
Reading and writing: English
Reading only: French and German
Basic conversational knowledge: Japanese Sign Language

Work Experience:

Researcher, Sign Language Research Center (SLRC), University of Rochester, 1994 - Present. Assist Dr. Ted Supalla in various research projects including: compilation of verb agreement systems in foreign sign languages, field work data collection from native signers, linguistic analyses of "home-grown" sign languages, development of simple stimuli (both pictures and video) to elicit signs and grammar from native signers in other countries, filming of informants during elicitation tasks, coding and computerizing verb token data, digitizing, editing and transferring videotape segments to computer, design and development of interactive programs. Also as part of a large team, Creation of a multimedia database of historic ASL based on numerous books and films. Participating and presenting in ASL lab seminars.

Laboratory Technician, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (BCS), University of Rochester, 1988 - Present. Assist Professors Elissa Newport and Ted Supalla in research of age effects on language learning. Locate and run adult subjects. Score response performance and enter data into computer. Assist in development of Test Battery for American Sign Language Morphology and Syntax. Train graduate students and lab staff in data coding. Analyze morphological and syntactic structures of ASL. Assist graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and staff by creating and editing video stimuli for experiments on language acquisition, creolization, grammaticalization and plasticity in language. Attend fMRI and ASL lab seminars.

Research Assistant, Language Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Illinios, Champaign-Urbana, Summer 1985, Assisted in developing and running a grammatical test on Time Signs of ASL.

Intern, Language Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Illinios, Champaign-Urbana, Spring 1985, Supervisor: Professor Ted Supalla. Assisted in designing and developing a grammatical test of ASL.

Research Assistant, Department of Linguistics, Gallaudet University, Fall 1984. Transcribed grammatical features of ASL from videotape with the Liddell and Johnson notation. Assisted Professor Robert Johnson in developing a transcription system for morphological structures for ASL.

Senior Research Technologist, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Chicago, 1979 - 1983. Analyzed lipids for the Specialized Center of Research in Atherosclerosis. Developed and modified ion-exchange chromatography technique. Developed methodology for studying metabolism of sialic acid. Developed various analytic techniques for Pathology Department. Trained graduate students and laboratory technicians.

Undergraduate Research Participant, Radiological and Environmental Research Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Agronne, IL, Fall 1978. Supervisor: Dr. Robert Larson. Assisted in developing a method for determining amount of plutonium in human bones.

Technician, Clinical Chemistry Section, Health, Safety and Human Factor Laboratory, Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, NY, 1976 (CO-OP). Worked with and modified Uricase method for determining amount of uric acid in serum.

Teaching Experience:

Workshop Leader/Instructor, 'Integrating the Use of Classifiers and Descriptors with the Effort and Competence Models of Interpreting' NTID, March - May 2004. The seminar covered how to develop the ability to integrate classifiers and descriptors into interpreting.

Consultant for Instructor, 'Techniques for Enhanced Processing while Interpreting' NTID, November 2002. Participated an interpreting role-plays then provided feedback to the interpreters about their work.

Co-Instructor, 'Reaching for the Stars: Voicing Presentations' NTID, February - March 2001. taught students to voice Deaf presenters in political, scientific or academic enviroments.

Consultant for Instructor, 'ASL Linguistics & Interpreting: Can the Twain Meet?' NTID, November 1999 - February 2000. answered questions from interpreters relating to ASL linguistics.

Consultant for Workshop Presenter, 'DOING A PARTY!: Interpreting Social Events - the Forgotten Setting' NTID, June 1999. advised participants on how to interpret in social settings, such as weddings, funerals and other events.

Instructor, ASL Program, Department of Linguistics, University of Rochester, 1993 - 1994. Taught undergraduate introductory semester courses in ASL (ASL 101 and ASL 102).

Guest Speaker, Department of Linguistics, University of Rochester, 1993 - 1994. presented the study of ASL morphology and syntax in LING 150 Introduction to Signed Languages, and presented the analysis of narrative structures in ASL 205 Art of Translation.

Instructor, Residential Life, University of Rochester, 1990 - 1994. Organized and taught a survival course in ASL for one semester every year.

Instructor, Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, 1988. Organized and taught a survival course in ASL for one semester.

Instructor, Sign Language Program, Chicago Hearing Society (CHS), Chicago, IL, 1986 - 1988. Taught various levels, from beginning to advanced, of ASL at CHS. Organized and presented a workshop on ASL structure for interpreters. Taught ASL to staff personnel in agencies that provide services to deaf people.

Teaching Assistant, Department of Psychology, University of Illinios at Champaign-Urbana, Spring 1985. Supervisor: Professor Ted Supalla. Assisted in preparing materials, teaching ASL and organizing lab sections for SPSHS 260/PSYCH 260/LING 260 American Sign Language.

Graduate Tutorial Assistant, Tutorial Center, Gallaudet University, 1983 - 1984. Tutored undergraduate students in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics.

Sign Language Instructor, College of Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, 1977 - 1978. Taught basic sign language to faculty and staff.

Math Tutor, Math Learning Center, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology, 1974 - 1975. Taught Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Statistics to undergraduate students.

Presentations:

'Missing "Subject" in ASL'. ASL Lab Seminars, BCS and SLRC, University of Rochester. April 1997.

'SUBJECT seems to be missing in ASL' (Poster Session). Fifth International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research, McGill University and Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. September 1996.

'Phonological Environment of Noun-Verb Pairs in ASL Syntax'. ASL Lab Seminars, BCS and SLRC, University of Rochester. November 1993.

'Series of TAKE-HOLD-PUT in ASL Syntax'. ASL Lab Seminars, BCS and SLRC, University of Rochester. September 1992.

'Morpho-syntactic structure of aspect and number inflections in ASL' (with Ted Supalla). Fourth International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research, San Diego, CA. August 1992.

'VERB-NOUN-VERB order in ASL Snytax'. ASL Lab Seminars, BCS and SLRC, University of Rochester. November 1990.

'OPEN/CLOSE in ASL'. workshop at Lilac Chapter of SIGN (now ASLTA), Rochester, NY. March 1990.

'BOOK and BOOK-OPEN in ASL sentences'. AutoLexical Syntax Seminar, University of Chicago. June 1988.

'American Sign Language has Subject-Predicate Structure or Topic Structure or Both?' Syntax Seminar, University of Chicago. June 1987.

'Body Talk' (workshop). Silent Weekend '87, Illinois Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Chicago, IL. April 1987.

'WHO ME?: Pronouns and Locations'. Fall Workshop, Illinois Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Chicago, IL. November 1986.

'Script Translation/Analysis'. Workshop #2, Chicagoland Advocates for Signed Theatre, Chicago, IL. November 1985.

'Deaf Theatre, A Unique Deaf Culture'. State Day 1983, Illinois Parents of Hearing Impaired, Hinsdale, IL. June 1983.

'Body Movement and Facial Expression - How They Relate to American Sign Language' (workshop). Silent Weekend '83, Illinois Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Chicago, IL. January 1983.

Conferences Attended:

fMRI Seminars, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester. 2001 - present.

ASL Lab Seminars, Sign Language Research Center and Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester. 1988 - present.

Fourth Annual HighEdWeb Conference, Rochester Institute of Technology and University of Rochester June 2003.

Sixth International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research, Gallaudet University. November 1998.

Fifth International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research, McGill University and Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. September 1996.

Second National ASL Literature Conference. National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Rochester and Rochester School for the Deaf, Rochester, NY. ?? 1996.

Sixth Annual Student Conference in Linguistics, University of Rochester. May 1994.

Fourth International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research, San Diego State University, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and University of California, San Diego, CA. August 1992.

Third International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research, Boston University and Northeastern University, Boston, MA. June 1990.

Second International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research, Galluadet University, Washington, D.C. May 1988.

24th Annual Regional Meeting of Chicago Linguistic Society, University of Chicago. April 1988.

23rd Annual Regional Meeting of Chicago Linguistic Society, University of Chicago. April 1987.

First International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research, National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY. June 1986.

Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America, Baltimore, MD. Decemeber 1984.

Community Service:

Web Consultant, various web sites since 2001.

Actor, Sign Me Alice, LIGHTS ON! Deaf Theatre (community theatre), Rochester, NY 1995.

Volunteer Proofreader and Librarian, Chicago Linguistic Society, 1987 and 1988.

Sign Language Coach, interpreted performances, various theatres, Chicago, IL, 1981-1983, 1986 and 1988.

Steering Committee, Chicagoland Advocates for Signed Theatre, League of Chicago Theatres, Chicago, IL, 1982-1983.

Sign Language Coach, New York Shakespeare Festival Production's 'A Chorus Line', Shubert Theatre, Chicago, IL, May 1983.

Sign Language Coach/Consultant, various interpreted children performances (using shadow-signed), Theatre School, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, 1982-1983.

Master of Ceremonies, 1983 Miss Deaf Illinois Pageant, 32nd Biennial Convention, Illinois Association of the Deaf, Moline, IL, June 1983.

Curriculum Vitae

Donald S. Metlay