Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology
Georgia Southern alumna Semratedu named to COST Advisory Board
Amy C. Semratedu has been named to the Advisory Board of the Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology (COST) at Georgia Southern University.
An alumna of the University, Semratedu is a technical specialist for the BASF Functional Polymers Carpet Business in North America. She works at the BASF facility in Dalton, Ga.
Semratedu will serve on the COST Advisory Board’s education committee and strategic planning committee. The present focus of the education committee is to recommend modifications to the degree programs to improve understanding of the challenges and solutions of sustainable development.
Meanwhile, the strategic planning committee is focused on developing and helping to implement a fund-raising initiative to secure the infrastructure necessary to teach and conduct research on sustainable development, including the funding of a “green” building and endowments for sustainability research.
“It’s a great honor for me to serve my alma mater,” Semratedu said. “My first major committee assignment, which involves the college’s aspiration to build a new LEED-certified building on campus, is especially exciting for me, considering the broad range of BASF products that help to make construction and buildings more sustainable.”
LEED stands
for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a building rating
system that promotes design and construction practices that increase profitability
while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving
occupant health and well-being. Full
Story
Dr. Michelle Zjhra named Fulbright Scholar
Michelle
Zjhra will conduct workshops in Vietnam
Georgia Southern University Department of Biology associate professor Michelle
Zjhra has been named a Fulbright Scholar by the U.S. Department of State and
the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Winners of the award are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. Through the grant, Zjhra will lead workshops on curriculum and faculty development, emphasizing plant sustainability issues at the Vietnam National University in Saigon during the 2007-2008 academic year.
In addition, she will build scientific collaborations with Vietnamese faculty and students, train and mentor new botanical experts, and provide technical expertise in herbarium curation and restoration of historical collections.
Zjhra is
one of approximately 800 faculty and professionals from the U.S. who will
travel abroad through the Fulbright Scholar Program during the current academic
year. Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late senator
J. William Fulbright from Arkansas, the program seeks to build mutual understanding
between the people of America and the rest of the world.
Full
Story
Construction Management students awarded scholarships
Two Georgia Southern University students have been awarded $2,000 scholarships from the Georgia Utility Contractors Association (GUCA).
Construction Management majors Jesse Bentley and Jeremy Daniel received the scholarships at a recent GUCA meeting in Atlanta. A total of five scholarships were awarded at the meeting.
“We
are proud of Jesse and Jeremy. They represent the future of construction management
and development,” said Brian Moore, the chair of the Department of Construction
Management and Civil Engineering Technology at Georgia Southern.
Full
Story
Georgia
Southern University professor receives
National Science Foundation grant
Georgia Southern University faculty member Sarah Higdon has been awarded a $179,376 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The five-year collaborative grant is designed to help develop research opportunities for undergraduate students who will have an opportunity to work with scientists from around the world on a major astronomy project.
The grant provides students and faculty at Georgia Southern University and 13 other institutions access to the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey, an ongoing project that is expected to detect 20,000 galaxies out to a distance of 750 million light years.
“This grant makes it possible for undergraduates to contribute to the scientific output of the ALFALFA extragalactic survey and follow-up studies,” said Higdon, a professor of astronomy in the Department of Physics. “At the same time, the students will learn valuable lessons about the way that science collaboration functions through their interactions with their faculty mentors, their peers and the leaders of the project.”
Led by Cornell University astronomers Riccardo Giovanelli and Martha Haynes, the ALFALFA survey is based at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Using the world’s largest radio telescope, the survey is mapping a large part of the sky by using radio wavelengths that are appropriate for the detection of neutral hydrogen gas in other galaxies. Full Story
Dr. Bruce Schulte helps to develop elephant field test kit
Georgia Southern University biologist Bruce Schulte and Smithsonian National Zoo scientist Elizabeth Freeman are testing a field kit used to monitor the hormone levels of female African elephants in the wild.
Elephants are highly social and intelligent animals that use chemical signals to mediate social and reproductive behavior.
According to Schulte, the kits are yielding important information that will help conservationists more effectively manage both wild and captive elephant populations around the world.
“These hormone kits have transformed how we study elephants under field conditions,” said Schulte, an associate professor in the University’s Department of Biology. “They will also provide proof of whether wild elephants display similar endocrine patterns to zoo animals.
“By generating physiological data for elephant managers and conservationists, these kits will support elephant conservation programs, with emphasis on intensive management and protection as well as scientific research that supports these actions.”
A member of Georgia Southern’s faculty since 1999, Schulte has spent much of his professional career studying elephants, which are the largest living mammals on earth.
“Humans feel a strong connection to elephants because of their intelligence, strong family bonds and a lifespan that resembles our own,” said Schulte, who travels to Africa several times each year to conduct his research.
Schulte
has been studying elephants in captivity since his post-doctoral work with
the late Bets Rasmussen in 1993. In 2002, Schulte was part of a multi-institutional
research team that received $842,000 in grant funding from the National Science
Foundation to study the ways in which chemical signals influence elephant
behavior. That ongoing project concentrates on how these signals may be used
to discourage wild elephants from infringing upon villages and crops, thus
reducing the number of potentially deadly and destructive confrontations between
elephants and man. Full
Story
ROTC program honored by Sixth Brigade
The ROTC
program based at Georgia Southern University has been recognized for producing
its required number of line officers and nurses.
Eagle Battalion produced 14 officers and two nurses during fiscal year 2007.
It was the only battalion in the entire Sixth Brigade to make its mission
in both of those categories.
“This is a
great achievement for our battalion,” said Lt. Brandon Lake, the scholarship
enrollment officer for Eagle Battalion. “It speaks well of our leadership
and our cadets.”
In addition
to Georgia Southern University, Eagle Battalion includes ROTC cadets from
Armstrong Atlantic State University, Saint Leo University, Savannah College
of Art and Design, and Savannah State University. Full
Story
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Cawthorn represents University at Institute For Science and Civic Engagement
An assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Georgia Southern University participated in a residential summer institute sponsored by the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement.
Michelle Cawthorn and representatives from 92 other institutions spent four days at the University of Southern Maine in Portland as part of a national initiative called Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER).
Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, SENCER is a national dissemination project designed to promote reform through faculty development, a focus on local systematic change, and improved assessment strategies.
The project has three pressing goals:
To improve
science education, especially for students who may never major in a scientific
field
To connect science education reform to more robust and relevant general education
programs
To stimulate informed civic engagement with scientific questions on the part
of today’s students
Summer institute participants envisioned and developed courses that teach rigorous science content through problems that require scientific knowledge and expertise. Full Story
2007
Award for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Dr. Laura D. Frost, associate professor of chemistry, Georgia Southern University. Frost is a leader in her department in incorporating process-oriented, guided-inquiry learning into introductory chemistry courses. Frost’s students are not given scientific facts to memorize, but are instead asked to construct facts from a situation, thereby leading to a better understanding of their application. Work is done in groups and each member has a defined role that rotates every class period, helping students to develop a range of key process skills as they learn how to work in teams to solve problems. Frost’s scholarship focuses on increasing student interest in chemistry, enhancing student learning in chemistry, and enhancing students’ perception of learning chemistry. Dissemination of her research and findings has gained her a national reputation in the field of chemistry education. Full Story
Six receive Faculty Awards
for Excellence
Six members of Georgia Southern University’s faculty were recognized at the Fall 2007 Convocation Ceremony with awards for excellence in instruction, research and service.
The Faculty Award for Excellence in Contributions to Instruction recognizes contributions to the teaching-learning process at the institutional level. It was presented to Patricia Humphrey, an associate professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences; and Jeffrey Orvis, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry.
The Faculty Award for Excellence in Research/Creative Scholarly Activity recognizes individuals who excel in their research efforts in addition to fulfilling full-time teaching responsibilities. It was presented to Sophie George, an associate professor in the Department of Biology; and Xiao-Jun Wang, a professor in the Department of Physics. Full Story
Mechanical engineering student Corley serving internship at Kennedy Space Center
So, what did you do this summer?
Unlike many young people, when Katrina Corley is asked this question, she won’t have to respond with the typical litany of leisurely activities.
Instead of simply relaxing and recharging her batteries, the Georgia Southern University student has been serving an internship with NASA.
A native of Thomaston who graduated from Pike County High School, Corley is working with the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) program at the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
“I am developing a Web application for UAS flight projects that are flown at the Kennedy Space Center, Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,” said Corley, who is a mechanical engineering major at Georgia Southern.
“At the end of my internship, I will have an in-depth knowledge of advanced range development projects done in coordination with the Air Force Space Command and enabling technologies for the management and use of U.S. space launch bases and ranges.”
Corley
is enrolled in the Regents Engineering Transfer Program (RETP) at Georgia
Southern. Established by the University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents
in 1986, the RETP allows prospective engineering students to conduct their
first two years of study at a participating USG institution, and then complete
the program with two years at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Full
Story
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Laboratory Director Alexander receives Preservation Achievement Award
Georgia Southern University scientist Clark Alexander has been honored by the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Alexander received the Preservation Achievement Award, which is presented annually to individuals and organizations that have made a significant contribution to historic preservation.
Alexander is the director of Georgia Southern’s Applied Coastal Research Laboratory on Skidaway Island and an adjunct professor in the University’s Department of Geology and Geography.
He received the Preservation Achievement Award for his work in helping to document archaeological sites in coastal Georgia that are in danger of being destroyed by naturally occurring erosion.
Applied Coastal Research Laboratory director helping to preserve key archaeological sites
The coast is one of Georgia’s most precious natural treasures, but the pounding waves, rising tides and meandering rivers that make such important contributions to the region’s beauty and ecological diversity are also exacting a heavy toll on an irreplaceable part of the state’s history.
Slowly and surely, the forces of erosion are destroying numerous archaeological sites that range from earthen forts used during the Civil War to villages that were once inhabited by Native Americans and pre-historic humans.
Georgia Southern University scientist Clark Alexander is working with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on a project that is helping archaeologists document the sites before they succumb to the ravages of time.
Specifically, Alexander has been compiling data that identifies the sites that are in the most eminent danger.
“Archaeological sites are non-renewable resources,” said Alexander, the director of Georgia Southern’s Applied Coastal Research Laboratory (ACRL) and an adjunct faculty member in the University’s Department of Geology and Geography. “Once a site has been lost, it cannot be replaced, and the information it contained is lost forever. Full Story
Biology professor Gleason will board research vessel for expedition to Gray’s Reef
It’s a few days before he boards his favorite ship for another summer cruise, and Daniel Gleason is making sure he has everything he needs to make the most of what he hopes will be nine glorious days on the Atlantic Ocean.
Sunscreen? Check.
Camera? Check.
Tools needed to capture and identify benthic invertebrates? Check.
Obviously, Gleason is not your typical tourist, but then again, the Nancy Foster is not your typical cruise ship.
An associate professor in the Department of Biology at Georgia Southern University, Gleason has a special interest in marine life. For the past six years, he’s been conducting research at Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary off the Georgia coast.
Meanwhile, the Nancy Foster is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fleet. The 187-foot long ship and its 21-member crew are charged with facilitating research on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U.S. and in the Caribbean.
The Nancy Foster is preparing to transport Gleason and 13 other scientists to Gray’s Reef and several adjacent reefs for a research expedition. The ship and its human cargo will depart from
River Street
in Savannah on the morning of Tuesday, June 12, and return on Thursday, June
21. Full
Story
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Georgia
Southern assistant professor Jonathan Geisler has received a $135,000 grant
from the
National Science Foundation to study the evolution of Delphinida, a group
of
marine mammals that includes dolphins such as these.
May 10 - Paleontologist Jonathan Geisler teaches a course on dinosaurs, so it should come as no surprise that he has a special interest in evolutionary biology.
He has channeled his curiosity into a project that will try to answer some lingering questions about the evolution of Delphinida, a group of marine mammals that includes dolphins, porpoises, beluga whales and narwhals.
Using a $135,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Geisler will travel to museums on four continents during the next three years to analyze the skeletons of fossil and living dolphins and porpoises.
An assistant professor in the University’s Department of Geology and Geography and the curator of paleontology at the Georgia Southern Museum, Geisler is collaborating with John Gatesy, a molecular biologist in the Department of Biology at the University of California Riverside. Gatesey is gathering DNA data for the study, which aims to resolve evolutionary relationships among living and extinct species.
“Evolution is the thread that really ties all disciplines of biology together,” said Geisler. “So, in many ways, to gain a basic understanding of a group, one needs to understand how they are related to each other through evolution.”
Steven
Damelin Awarded A Grant from the Analysis
Division of Mathematical Sciences
Steven Damelin from the Department of Mathematical Sciences, was recently awarded a highly competitive grant from the Analysis Division of Mathematical Sciences at the National Science Foundation entitled "Approximation, Equilibrium Measures and Discrepancy over Domains, Finite Fields and Smooth Manifolds" for $194,636.00. The reviewers wrote: "The subject is in a mainstream of current research activity in numerical and theoretical analysis. The PI, Prof. Damelin, is a very high level expert in the field where he has obtained already first rate results." "The approach followed by the PI based on solutions of extremal problems - minimization of energy functionals are now realized as having a permanent place in the theory of multivariate numerical integration." Further details of this award are listed on Damelin's homepage: http://math.georgiasouthern.edu/~damelin.
Steven Damelin Awarded Airforce Fellowship
Steven
Damelin from the Department of Mathematical Sciences was recently awarded
a highly competitive Airforce Fellowship to perform interdisciplinary research
at Wright Airforce base in Ohio during the summer of 2007. The Fellowship
was awarded to Damelin partly due to research that he is conducting with several
groups in the US and Israel on image recognition. This work began, while Damelin
was at the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications, The University
of Minnesota, http://www.ima.umn.edu
during the 2005-2006 for a nationwide New Directions Professorship Award.
Further details of this award are listed on Damelin's homepage: http://math.georgiasouthern.edu/~damelin.
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| Allen E. Paulson
College of Science and Technology P. O. Box 8044 Statesboro, GA 30460-8044 Telephone: (912)478-5111 Fax: (912)478-0836 Email: aepcost@georgiasouthern.edu |
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