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MTSU Scholars Day showcases researchers, performers

April 5, 2013 By

While MTSU recording industry major Kristen Brassel was belting out bluesy and folksy ballads Friday afternoon in a tent inside Murphy Center, more than 300 of her undergraduate and graduate student peers were showcasing their research.

Cody Hazelwood, right, explains his Scholars Week display, a low-cost, autonomous search-and-rescue robot, to Dr. Mike Allen, left, vice provost for research and dean of the College of Graduate Studies, and Todd Gary, a consultant and grant writer in the MTSU Office of Research. (MTSU photos by J. Intintoli)

Cody Hazelwood, right, explains his Scholars Day display, a low-cost, autonomous search-and-rescue robot, to Dr. Mike Allen, left, vice provost for research and dean of the College of Graduate Studies, and Todd Gary, a consultant and grant writer in the MTSU Office of Research. (MTSU photos by J. Intintoli)

It was all a part of the universitywide Scholars Day, which concluded the five-day MTSU Scholars Week 2013.

Across the way on the Murphy Center track, Cody Hazelwood had the assistance of a robot to explain his research: “Designing, Building and Testing a Low-Cost Autonomous Search and Rescue Robot Featuring Smartphone Surveillance and Control.”

Closer to the performance tent, Michael Floyd, a second-year master’s degree candidate in biology who plans to graduate in May, provided one of the most unique research projects.

Floyd is in an early Phase 1 exploration of Chinese herbal extracts that inhibit the growth of trapyson, which causes African sleeping sickness.

He said an estimated 30,000 to 500,000 people die annually from the disease, which is transmitted by the tsetse fly. Eight to 10 people die after they receive the arsenic-based treatment currently used to battle the ailment.

“It’s a great project,” Floyd said. “The results have turned out fantastic so far.”

Brassel, a commercial songwriter and senior from Grenada, Miss., sang and played four songs on her acoustic Martin guitar to a small but appreciative audience. She said she is used to playing to small crowds.

Senior recording industry major Kristen Brassel performs one of her four songs during MTSU's Scholars Day April 5 in Murphy Center.

Senior recording industry major Kristen Brassel performs one of her four songs during MTSU’s Scholars Day April 5 in Murphy Center.

“I love a small audience. I play for waiters and people packing up every night,” Brassel, a senior from Grenada, Miss., said, adding that she has performed at Nashville’s Bluebird Café and Murfreesboro’s 3 Brothers.

“Being in recording industry, I forget what’s on campus. I haven’t gotten to see everything (at Scholars Day), but this is amazing to see.”

Todd Gary, recently hired as a part-time consultant and grant writer for the MTSU Office of Research, summed up the day perfectly.

“This is a fantastic time for students to share and showcase all of the work that they have put into it, all of the genius and scholarship,” he said. “This is the equivalent of a concert to a musician or a book signing to an author. This the culmination of all of their hard work and a very significant day.”

In addition to the musical and poetic performers, undergraduate and graduate students presented multimedia projects, faculty showcased their research posters and information booths for centers, institutes and programs on campus were available.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)

A large crowd attends the April 5 universitywide Scholars Day on the track level of Murphy Center.

A large crowd attends the April 5 universitywide Scholars Day on the track level of Murphy Center.

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Students to display ‘Geography of Hate’ research in Nashville

April 4, 2013 By

MTSU students will display their documentation of the “Geography of Hate” at two Nashville locations next week.

Jordan Brasher’s map shows the various routes that Native Americans were forced to take following passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The top trail, in purple, is the one labeled the “Trail of Tears.” Click on the map above to see a larger version.

Ian Murray and Jordan Brasher will deliver their presentations at the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration at 3 p.m. Monday, April 8, in the State Senate Chambers at Legislative Plaza.

Murray and Charles Hunt Jr. will participate in videoconferences from 9 to 10 a.m. and from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, April 10, at Vanderbilt University Virtual Campus, which is located at 2007 Terrace Place in Nashville.

Dr. Patricia Boda’s cartography class used geographic information systems and manual mapmaking for the “Geography of Hate” projects.

For the class, each student was required to use maps to display locations where genocide either has taken place or is taking place.

“I try to do things that will give them personal, actual real-world experience and do them some good career-wise,” said Boda, an assistant professor of geosciences.

Some individual presentations focused on Sudan, Rwanda, the Hopi Nation and hate groups in three Southern U.S. states.

Brasher, a junior geoscience major from Milan, Tenn., chronicled the forced exodus of Native Americans from their homelands in the 1830s, a tragedy known as the “Trail of Tears.”

“I wanted to talk about the individual Cherokee removal routes and how they correlated to the death rates throughout the trip,” said Brasher, who is president of MTSU’s Geography Club. “My grandmother’s grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee.”

Murray, a native of Spring Hill, Tenn., who graduated last fall, singled out one Holocaust survivor and traced his path through Europe during World War II.

Ian Murray’s map shows the various European locales that mark Knoxvillian Holocaust survivor Arthur Pais’ tragic trek during the years of the Third Reich. Click on the map to see a larger version.

Hunt, a geography major from Lebanon, Tenn., juxtaposes the exodus of Jews from Europe during and after World War II with the current conflict on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

“A lot of research is being done using satellite imagery and mapping to try to identify human rights violations before they occur,” said Danielle Kahane-Kaminsky, executive director of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission.

“The research from international lawyers and people who specialize in genocide … tells us the best way we can handle this politically is through prevention,” she said.

Kahane-Kaminsky said she hopes MTSU can make a connection with the Yale University Genocide Studies Program, which she said is at the forefront of using this type of technology.

For more information, contact Boda at 615-898-2726 or pat.boda@mtsu.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)

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MTSU students take research to ‘Posters at the Capitol’

February 14, 2013 By
Senior math education major Paige Stubbs, left, tells state Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, and MTSU senior Jordan Dodson about her research on African-American students' participation in science, technology, engineering and match education during the seventh annual "Posters at the Capitol" event in Nashville. (MTSU photos by J. Intintoli)

MTSU senior math education major Paige Stubbs, left, tells state Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, and MTSU senior Jordan Dodson about her research on African-American students’ participation in science, technology, engineering and match education during the seventh annual “Posters at the Capitol” event in Nashville Feb. 13. (MTSU photos by J. Intintoli)

MTSU senior Paige Stubbs plans to be an educator after graduating and already has a heart for the young people she eventually will be teaching.

Advice Stubbs received Wednesday from state Rep. Lois DeBerry, D-Memphis, during the seventh annual Posters at the Capitol event in Nashville further fueled her career plans and desires.

Stubbs was one of 64 scheduled undergraduate student researchers from nine Tennessee universities attending Posters at the Capitol. Eight students represented MTSU.

The planned visit allowed them the chance to meet, ask questions and discuss their research with their state lawmakers.

“She (DeBerry) said we have to motivate our students,” said Stubbs, who like DeBerry is from Memphis. “My goal is to motivate students to like math and science.”

Stubbs, a math major mentored by MTSU’s Dr. Michaele Chappell in mathematical sciences, exhibited a poster on “African-American Students’ Participation in STEM Majors: Factoring Out Failure, Striving for Success.”

STEM includes science, technology, engineering and math.

Part of Stubbs’ research interest came from her participation in the McNair Scholars and Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participants programs at MTSU.

Posters at the Capitol 2013 coveraIn addition to MTSU, other Tennessee Board of Regents and University of Tennessee system schools sending scholars included Austin Peay, East Tennessee State and Tennessee State universities; Tennessee Technological University; the University of Memphis; and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Knoxville and Martin.

State Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, spent about 30 minutes with four local students, including MTSU senior Joshua Horvath of Rockvale, Tenn.

“It gives me encouragement to see students thinking outside the classroom and outside the box,” Ketron said of the next generation of researchers.

MTSU senior Jordon Dodson of Murfreesboro said it was a “privilege to represent your university. It’s a chance to meet other students who are at the top of their classes. One day, I’ll see them in the workplace. They’ll go on to be researchers. We all have the same interests and all want to go on and be scientists.”

The other MTSU student participants were seniors Joseph Keasler of Murfreesboro; Adam Banach of Mt. Juliet, Tenn.; Matthew S. “Matt” Harris of Quincy, Ill.; Jacob Basham of Portland, Tenn.; and Kevin McDaniel of Murfreesboro.

MTSU senior Josh Horvath, left, an economics and math major, talks with state Rep. Rick Womack, R-Rockvale, Feb. 13 about his research on the impact of tort reform on medical decisions at the Feb. 13 "Posters at the Capitol" event.

MTSU senior Josh Horvath, left, an economics and math major, talks with state Rep. Rick Womack, R-Rockvale, about his research on the impact of tort reform on medical decisions at the Feb. 13 “Posters at the Capitol” event.

Dr. Andrienne Friedli, chemistry professor and director of the Undergraduate Research Center, said it is “an honor to be selected” to participate in Posters at the Capitol but also a challenge.

“They usually present at trade conferences,” Friedli said. “Here, they were talking to lay people. They were bringing their research to a level others understand.

“They have an audience of politicians who care about the impact on the taxpayer. All of the students get to see how the legislature works, what the politicians do on a daily basis and see democracy in action.”

Dr. Tom Cheatham, director of the Tennessee STEM Education Center at MTSU, said an unexpected turn of events occurred when state Rep. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville, “invited the whole group into the House chambers and practiced being a representative.

“She (Gilmore) proposed a bill and they all got to vote. It was not something planned, but it was a great idea on her part.”

John Hood, former state representative and current MTSU director of community engagement, commended the students in their research efforts.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)

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MTSU students map hatred to display to lawmakers

December 18, 2012 By

Maps created by MTSU students to show the breadth and depth of genocide in the world will be shown to members of the Tennessee General Assembly next year.

Dr. Patricia Boda

Dr. Patricia Boda’s cartography class used geographic information systems and manual mapmaking for the “Geography of Hate” projects that will be displayed at Legislative Plaza on April 1, 2013, the date the state commemorates Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The event, called “Yom HaShoah” in Hebrew, is “a testament to the commitment of all Tennesseans to ‘never forget’ those who perished in the Holocaust,” according to www.tennesseeholocaustcommission.org.

For the class, each student was required to use maps to display locations where genocide either has taken place or is taking place.

“I try to do things that will give them personal, actual real-world experience and do them some good career-wise,” said Boda, an assistant professor of geosciences.

Some individual presentations focused on Sudan, Rwanda, the Hopi Nation and hate groups in three Southern states.

Jordan Brasher’s map shows the various routes that Native Americans were forced to take following passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The top trail, in purple, is the one labeled the “Trail of Tears.” Click on the map above to see a larger version.

Jordan Brasher, a junior geoscience major from Milan, Tenn., chronicled the forced exodus of Native Americans from their homelands in the 1830s, a tragedy known as the “Trail of Tears.”

“I wanted to talk about the individual Cherokee removal routes and how they correlated to the death rates throughout the trip,” said Brasher, who is president of MTSU’s Geography Club. “My grandmother’s grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee.”

Ian Murray, a native of Spring Hill, Tenn., who graduated at the end of the fall 2012 semester, singled out one Holocaust survivor and traced his path through Europe during World War II.

Arthur Pais, who lives in Knoxville, Tenn., survived the Dachau concentration camp. Murray’s map highlighted Pais’ movement, forced and voluntary, from his Lithuanian homeland to Munich.

Ian Murray’s map shows the various European locales that mark Knoxvillian Holocaust survivor Arthur Pais’ tragic trek during the years of the Third Reich. Click on the map to see a larger version.

Danielle Kahane-Kaminsky, executive director of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, said she will show the students’ projects April 1 at the State Annual Day of Remembrance to commemorate the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, as well as the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution.

“A lot of research is being done using satellite imagery and mapping to try to identify human rights violations before they occur,” said Kahane-Kaminsky. “The research from international lawyers and people who specialize in genocide … tells us the best way we can handle this politically is through prevention.”

Kahane-Kaminsky said she hopes MTSU can make a connection with the Yale University Genocide Studies Program, which she said is at the forefront of using this type of technology.

For more information, contact Boda at pboda@mtsu.edu or Kahane-Kaminsky at 615-343-2563 or danielle.kahane-kaminsky@vanderbilt.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (Gina.Logue@mtsu.edu)

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FirstSTEP Summer Bridge raises math bar for 38 freshmen

August 3, 2012 By

MTSU freshman Emily Slayton solved 311 precalculus problems in nine days’ time during the MTSU FirstSTEP Summer Bridge program.

“That’s absolutely amazing,” Dr. Tom Cheatham, former College of Basic and Applied Sciences dean, said during a recent luncheon recognizing Slayton and 37 other STEM majors from all across Tennessee for completing the 10-day journey to bolster their mathematics knowledge.

Emily Slayton, left, and Kenneth Cobble, right, received awards from FirstSTEP Summer Bridge director Elaine Bouldin Tenpenny for the work they accomplished in the 2012 program. FirstSTEP Summer Bridge is for selected freshmen STEM majors wanting to improve their math knowledge. (MTSU photo by News and Media Relations)

Slayton, a pre-med major from Camden, Tenn., and a 2012 Camden High School graduate, admitted that completing so many problems — an average of 34.5 a day — wasn’t easy.

“It was pretty tough and a lot of hard work,” Slayton said. “They were prerequisites we need for precalculus. It was time-consuming, but I had a good calculus teacher my senior year.”

FirstSTEP is a five-year, $2 million grant funded by the National Science Foundation. The enrichment program provides financial and academic support for students majoring in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering technology, geosciences, mathematics and physics and astronomy. It also helps students improve their college-life skills and learn about research and careers in science, technology, engineering and math — the STEM fields.

“FirstSTEP addresses their gaps in math,” said Cheatham, who led the grant-proposal development and will remain lead administrator in his new role as director of the Tennessee Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Center.

Incoming freshmen STEM majors are invited to join FirstSTEP if they have an ACT math subscore of 19 to 23, Cheatham said.

“These students are not required to take prescribed math courses, but they have some gaps in their mathematics development that need to be addressed to succeed as a STEM major,” he said.

Added co-lead administrator Dr. Ginger Holmes Rowell: “We developed an individualized study plan based on their areas of where they are deficient.”

Dr. Tom Cheatham

During FirstSTEP Summer Bridge, students hear lectures from co-lead administrator Dr. Chris Stephens and others, and participate in hands-on activities led by assistant professor of university studies Dr. Joan Raines. They also do homework problems and other activities; some stay in campus residence halls.

Along with Slayton, Kenneth Cobble also received an award, the book Precalculus: A Unit Circle Approach, from Dr. Elaine Bouldin Tenpenny, an associate professor of mathematical sciences at MTSU and FirstSTEP Summer Bridge co-administrator.

“It’s a wonderful program,” said Cobble, a physics major and a 2011 Smyrna High School graduate. “It helped with my math scores and refreshing my high-school knowledge and retention.”

“It gives us a feel for knowledge,” Slayton added. “You get to meet a lot of new people before you start college, and the student workers and teachers are all smart.”

Cobble chose to join the Marine Corps reserves in his first year after graduation. Slayton said she wants to be a physician.

Attending FirstSTEP with her friend Sarah Ragsdale of Camden and 36 other students allowed Slayton to “get a feel for campus and a feel for freedom. It teaches you to get to know people more and connect with people. I knew one person (Ragsdale), and now I’ve met a lot more people.”

MTSU faculty and staff and nine MTSU students — from sophomores to graduate students — assisted the fall 2012 freshmen, Rowell said.

Results of the work with this group are not yet complete, but Cheatham and Rowell said they anticipate success.

“The data gathered has been encouraging so far, in that we’re making a difference,” Cheatham said.

“They all improved on their post-test,” Rowell added. “They came a very long way in two weeks. They now have a new study plan that tells them what to do for the next two weeks before school starts.”

FirstSTEP Summer Bridge staff also included co-administrator and math chair Dr. Don Nelson, and coordinators Brad Rudnik and Teresa Walls.

Grad students Jennifer Yantz, Brittany Smith, Amenah Kassaee and Clint Holman guided the freshmen through homework problems. Nine student workers also assisted.

A $1.7 million National Science Foundation grant originally funded the program, then called STEPMT, in 2004.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)

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Ex-Marine takes aim as MTSU researcher of Pacific coral reef

August 2, 2012 By

Life has taken a 180-degree turn for MTSU senior Mike O’Connell since he graduated from Wilson Central High School in 2003 and joined the U.S. Marine Corps. In fact, life has taken numerous turns and detours.

MTSU senior Mike O’€™Connell of Murfreesboro, a former U.S. Marine Corps infantryman, stands with his research poster on a species of coral reef off the coast of American Samoa. (Photo by MTSU News and Media Relations)

O’Connell, who expects to graduate with honors in spring 2013, was one of 23 presenters during the 13th annual McNair Program Research Symposium Aug. 1-2.

The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program helps first-generation and under-represented undergraduates, including African-American, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaskan native students, prepare for and succeed in graduate school.

The McNair program is named for the late NASA astronaut Ronald E. McNair, who died in the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster.

Student research and presentations on a range of disciplines — including mathematics, social work, anthropology, English, dance performance, psychology and philosophy — was on display at the annual symposium.

O’Connell, a Murfreesboro resident, said he is in a collaborative effort with two others “trying to determine species boundaries in a predominant reef-building coral from the Pacific Ocean.”

O’Connell said two populations of the coral that display different growth forms both have been described as Porites lichen in American Samoa.

“Our goal is to determine if this is an accurate description or if the two morphologies are separate species,” O’Connell said of his research.

It is being conducted with Dr. Sarah Bergemann of the MTSU Biology Department and Dr. Doug Fenner of the American Samoa government’s Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources.

After high school, O’Connell enlisted in the Marine Corps and served as an infantryman for six years. He said his time in service included combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

O’Connell, who received three Certificates of Commendation, was medically discharged from the Marine Corps because of injuries sustained in Afghanistan. He began college at MTSU in fall 2009 and began working in Bergemann’s lab in May 2011.

“Since then, I have worked on various projects for Dr. Bergemann aimed at characterizing the genetic diversity of various fungi from around the world,” he said.

Graduate school looms on the horizon for O’Connell.

“I hope to expand upon this project in graduate school by characterizing genetic diversity of Porites lichen throughout the Pacific and look for patterns of connectivity among populations,” he said.

McNair Director Dr. Diane Miller said she continues to be amazed at the McNair students’ research work and the role faculty mentors play in the process.

“Each McNair Scholar and mentor makes a personal commitment of time and effort to create a program environment of academic excellence and achievement,” Miller said.

“The mentor relationship that each scholar experiences helps promote in our McNair scholars a dedication to the process and promise of higher education — their own, as students, and the education of others, as future professors and researchers.”

Additional McNair presenters and their research topics include Jacob Basham (mathematics/chemistry), Joy Oduor (biology and anthropology), Michael Harris (biochemistry), Mike O’Connell (biology), Paige Stubbs (mathematics), Anne Uselton (anthropology), Kellum Everett (anthropology), Shelby Rehberger (anthropology), John Meese (Spanish and economics), Melody Vaughan (studio art), Andrea Green (English), Chris Peterson (philosophy), Jamie Sutton (philosophy and religion), Elijah Dillehay (dance performance), Danielle Whitlow (athletic training), Gabrielle Brown (psychology), Zaver Moore (psychology), Philena Haynes (psychology), Janae Matikke (social work), Elischa Dennison (social work), Jake Verhoeff (social work), Laurence Tumpag (social work) and Tamara Jones (English).

For more information on the 13th annual McNair Research Symposium, call 615-904-8462.

– Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)

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Gender issues offer food for thought in MTSU lecture series

February 8, 2012 By

“Men and Masculinities” will be the opening presentation in the spring 2012 MTSU Women’s and Gender Studies Research Lecture Series at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, in Room 100 of the University’s James Union Building.

The topic will encompass research by JaDee Carathers, Nick Johnson, Grady Lowery and Lisa Walker, who all are students of Dr. Jackie Eller, chair of the MTSU Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

Professor Erin Rehberg, adjunct professor of dance, will talk about “Mother Tongues: The Kinetics of Genetics” on Thursday, March 29.

On Thursday, April 19, Dr. Elyce Helford, professor of English, will speak about “Gender, Anime and the Making of Fan Writers.”

Both the March and April presentations also will take place at 3 p.m. in JUB 100. All lectures in the series are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Dr. Pat Bradley at 615-904-8128 or pat.bradley@mtsu.edu.

– Gina K. Logue (Gina.Logue@mtsu.edu)

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Deadline extended for forensic-science symposium entries

January 27, 2012 By

Young forensic scientists can still apply for the first MTSU Forensic Science Symposium! Organizers have extended the application deadline to Wednesday, Feb. 15, and students will be notified of their acceptance by Feb. 29.

Youngsters in grades seven through 12 will be able to present their original projects in forensic science at the inaugural event, scheduled for Saturday, May 12, in the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors College Building on campus.

The science fair, which is open to students in Tennessee and beyond, will showcase original research performed in various fields of forensic science. It is organized in the form of a professional scientific meeting to introduce students to that experience.

The symposium sponsor is MTSU’s Forensic Institute for Research and Education, which provides educational and training opportunities for law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, attorneys, social workers and other groups in forensic science and homeland security.

Students will present their symposium projects in both written and poster formats, and the judging will take place during the poster session of the symposium. Judges will include community leaders and professionals in science and forensic science.

First-, second- and third-place finishers will receive cash awards. The first-place winner’s sponsoring teacher also will receive a special prize and recognition during the awards ceremony. Abstracts of all accepted projects will be printed in the official Forensic Science Symposium Proceedings Journal.

Applications can be downloaded at www.mtsu.edu/fire/Forensic_Science_Symposium.shtml. For more information, contact the FIRE offices at 615-494-7713 or email symposium coordinator Tiffany Saul at fire@mtsu.edu.

– Gina K. Logue (Gina.Logue@mtsu.edu)

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