Department of Theatre Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre Brad Willcuts and East Lansing High School (ELHS) Visual Arts Instructor Jacqueline Carroll have brought their students together in a unique collaboration to bring words and movement to life.

“So infrequently do high school writing assignments leave the hands of student or teacher. Often, students end up wondering: ‘Why did I even do this? Why does this matter?” Carroll said. “This collaboration gave students an opportunity to see how others (cool college students, that is) interpreted their work, allowing them to step back and realize that their words have energy and importance.”

East Lansing High School students wrote stories based on the theme of their time in “quarantine” and their classmates then recorded vocal performances of the stories. Michigan State University students enrolled in the Choreography and Composition class (DAN 354) worked as choreographers and performers to interpret the spoken words through dance. The collaboration culminated in a virtual “show and tell” day with everyone.

The project provided some much-needed artistic expression and human connection during the isolation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It felt like a real-life artistic collaboration again when we were able to work with another school,” Willcuts said. “Jacqui did an awesome job of setting up the get-to-know you section of the day between college students and high school students. We had a blast getting to share all of our videos with one another. I know my students really enjoyed this project.”

One piece in particular, entitled “The Day It All Began,” was written by Emmerson Davis to capture the moment that ELHS students learned that Michigan State University was shifting its classes from in-person to online. Dance student and junior Psychology major, Olivia Walters, filmed her interpretation of the work in the now empty halls of East Lansing High School. After viewing the final video, the feedback from students revealed the piece as successfully capturing that day, with one student saying, “This expressed exactly how I felt when I heard the news.”

Written by: Michigan State University
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Mercer University’s School of Engineering earlier today continued a run of unprecedented success with the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. For the third consecutive year, three students were announced as recipients of the nation’s most prestigious scholarship for undergraduates in science, mathematics and engineering.

Mercer leads all U.S. institutions with a total of nine engineering majors selected as Goldwater Scholars since 2019.

Juniors Sara Binet, Ebonye Smith and Sarah Spalding are among 410 college sophomores and juniors from across the U.S. – including 14 from Georgia institutions – to be awarded the scholarship for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Binet, Smith and Spalding bring the University’s total number of winners to 15 over the past nine years, making Mercer one of the state’s leading producers of Goldwater Scholars.

A total of 1,256 natural science, engineering and mathematics students were nominated by 438 academic institutions to compete for the 2021 Goldwater Scholarship. Of those Scholars who reported, 198 are men, 207 are women and virtually all intend to obtain a Ph.D. as their highest degree objective. Fifty-one Scholars are mathematics and computer science majors, 291 are majoring in the natural sciences, and 68 are majoring in engineering.

The one- and two-year scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

“The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier program for recognizing America’s best young scientists and engineers. Applicants undergo a rigorous application process during which they must highlight their knowledge of their own research area and demonstrate their commitment to pursuing a career in research,” said Dr. Adam Kiefer, Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry and Goldwater Scholarship faculty representative at Mercer. “This award is not only a testament to these students’ hard work, intelligence and determination, but also recognizes their potential as future researchers.”

Binet, from Birmingham, Alabama, is majoring in environmental engineering. She plans to obtain a Ph.D. in environmental engineering and develop sustainable technologies to improve access to potable groundwater in developing nations while teaching at a research-intensive university.

“It is such an honor to be named a Goldwater Scholar, and I am so thankful,” said Binet. “I would not have received this award without the work of Dr. Michael MacCarthy and Ms. Monica Resto-Fernandez, who both helped me grow in my research since my first year at Mercer. I am proud to be a part of such a long history of excellence, and I look forward to seeing where this opportunity takes me in my research.”

Binet conducts research in the lab of Dr. MacCarthy, associate professor and director of the Engineering for Development (E4D) program, to conduct groundwater quality analysis of mountain springs in the Dominican Republic, assessing possible sources of contamination and health risks for the community, as part of the University’s Mercer On Mission program and Cecil Day Family Center for International Groundwater Innovation.

“Sara is very deserving of this honor, having excelled in environmental engineering research and service, as well as being an outstanding student in the classroom,” said Dr. MacCarthy. “She has contributed significantly toward both groundwater research and education at Mercer over the past two years. Since participating in the Mercer On Mission program in the Dominican Republic following her freshman year, Sara has helped advance research focused on improving access to safe water in underserved communities. Her contributions have been impressive and continue to grow in her role as a research assistant with Mercer’s newly founded Cecil Day Family Center for International Groundwater Innovation.”

Smith, from Augusta, is majoring in electrical engineering. She plans to obtain a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering and conduct research in aeronautics, controls and robotics at a national laboratory.

“I am extremely thankful and proud of myself for receiving this prestigious award,” said Smith. “I have always wanted to serve as an inspiration for Black women and young Black girls, and I am grateful that they can see people who look like them achieving great things and be inspired. I also want to give a special thanks to Dr. Makhin Thitsa for working as my mentor and continuing to push me to strive for excellence.”

Smith conducts research in the lab of Dr. Thitsa, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, to develop robust data-driven system identification for traffic flow networks.

“It has been a pleasure to mentor Ebonye in my research lab, where she investigates data-driven control algorithms for transportation networks and unmanned vehicles,” said Dr. Thitsa. “Her work demonstrates proficiency in advanced numerical analysis, programming skills and out-of-the box thinking at an extraordinary level for an undergraduate student. I am absolutely confident in Ebonye’s ability to successfully conduct challenging research projects and her potential as a future research scholar.”

Spalding, from Macon, is majoring in biomedical engineering. She plans to obtain a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and work at a research university developing novel drug-delivery technologies for pulmonary diseases.

“I am so incredibly honored to be receiving this award. It is truly a dream come true,” said Spalding. “I could not have achieved this without the help of my mentors, including Dr. Sinjae Hyun, Dr. Joanna Thomas and Dr. Lee Troupe. I am so blessed to have such an amazing support system.”

Spalding conducts research in the lab of Dr. Hyun, professor of biomedical engineering and director of M.S.E. and associated M.S. programs, to develop a holistic understanding of how changes to e-cigarette flavor and flow rate affect the aerosol characteristics, how the lung deposition of the e-cigarette aerosol particles vary amongst individuals, and how the lung deposition of e-cigarette aerosol particles compares to the lung deposition of conventional cigarette smoke.

“Sarah’s dedication and sense of social responsibility are core to the service-learning projects she has chosen to participate in,” said Dr. Hyun. “The Mercer On Mission Korea program and Touch3D Yearbook projects for the Georgia Academy for the Blind are only a couple examples of her potential to become a future engineering leader. She has conducted research in my Inhalation Experiments Laboratory since her freshman year, and during this pandemic, she has dedicated her time to studying the efficacy of face masks and leading a group of undergraduate students in the lab. Her contributions to inhalation aerosol research have been honored by several researchers and engineers at professional conferences.”

Goldwater Scholars have impressive academic and research credentials that have garnered the attention of prestigious postgraduate fellowship programs. Goldwater Scholars have been awarded 94 Rhodes Scholarships, 150 Marshall Scholarships, 170 Churchill Scholarships, 109 Hertz Fellowships and numerous other distinguished awards like the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.

The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established by Public Law 99-661 on Nov. 14, 1986. The scholarship program honoring Sen. Barry Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue research careers in the fields of the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. The Goldwater Scholarship is the preeminent undergraduate award of its type in these fields.

Written by: Kyle Sears, Mercer University
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The short story is that UCO’s Provost John Barthell, Ph.D., has had the honor of having a species of bee named in his honor, the orchid bee Eufriesea barthelli. And while the obvious connection is Barthell’s extensive work in bee research worldwide, the story of how a new bee species like E. barthelli comes to be is more like a scientific mystery novel.

For E. barthelli — a beautiful species with a coloring of brilliant blues, greens and purples — its path to being named began in the summer of 2010. That’s when the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Pollinating Insects Research Unit was assisting Carlsbad Caverns National Park, in southeastern New Mexico, with an inventory of its bees. Field technician J. D. Herndon was walking through Ponderosa pines in a higher elevation of the park when he saw a brilliantly colored bee land on a nearby thistle. Thinking it unusual, he captured it. Herndon then contacted Terry L. Griswold, Ph.D., a world-renowned research entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture who was working on the Carlsbad project. Griswold, whose offices are on the campus of Utah State University, also is a curator of the U.S. National Pollinating Insects Collection, a worldwide assembly of more than a million specimens.

“He told me he thought it was an orchid bee,” Griswold remembered in a recent telephone interview, describing when the specimen arrived in his office. “When they got it out, I knew. It was exciting to see, knowing that genus was not known to be in the U.S.”

Not long afterward, Griswold sent a technician from his lab down to assist with collecting. That’s when a second orchid bee was discovered in the Guadalupe Mountains of west Texas, just across the New Mexico border.

Griswold became interested in field biology as a teenager, spending time with his father, who at the time was working to become an accredited high school biology teacher. In 1979, as a graduate student at Utah State, Griswold knew it was his career path. He doesn’t count the number of bee species he has discovered, instead the number of genera — kind of like not counting the number of tables set, but rather the number of banquets planned.

Nonetheless, Griswold was excited about these two orchid bees. He began trying to determine who they were, what was their name.

Coloring was noted — not just overall, but on various parts, including the tiny hairs on bees that can be colored differently than the attached body part. Measurements were taken of their overall size, as well as the size and shape of their various body parts — including their tongues, which proved helpful in solving Griswold’s big question.

At this point, some may wonder how long a bee’s tongue could possibly be.

“They’re really long in this group,” Griswold said. “They can be as long as their bodies. When flying, the tongue lies under the body of the bee with a flap that covers it. When they come to a flower, it’s essentially a straw.”

One puzzling feature was the condition of the two bees’ wings, which were like new. That led initially to the conclusion that they were from close by, maybe part of a larger population in the area. Worn wings would have indicated the likelihood they were caught in a storm and blown to the area. Species distribution maps using mathematical models, however, later showed that the area where they were found was not conducive in habitat, and it was more likely the bees were transported to the area. This is something that can happen inadvertently when goods, especially things like logs and produce, are shipped from one area to another.

Griswold’s detailed bee analysis was run through a series of “keys,” binary questions with answers that can lead the researcher down a path to see if there is a match to a known species.

Bingo. Griswold concluded they were orchid bees of the genus Eufriesea of the group coerulescens, and most likely E. coerulescens, a rare species from Mexico.

However, when he started comparing the anatomy of the two bees to other specimens of E. coerulescens, “they didn’t really look like what we had here. I decided we needed to make sure.”

So, about three years ago, he contacted a colleague at the University of Kansas, Victor Gonzalez, Ph.D., also a research entomologist, who has worked on projects with Griswold and Barthell.

Gonzalez teaches and works with the university’s Snow Entomological Collection, which includes about a half-million bee specimens. Gonzalez, originally from Colombia, spends his breaks and summers doing bee research.

To solve the mystery of the two U.S. bees, Gonzalez and Griswold began gathering specimens of E. coerulescens from their professional collections as well as from others around the world. The goal was to find something that matched their two mystery bees. Studies were made of bees collected as early as the 1800s, some badly damaged or having been poorly repaired, as the case of one bee that had the legs of another type of bee glued to its body.

In the end, the men found more than they expected.

“When you start down a path, you don’t know where it is going to take you,” Griswold said, the voice of years of experience.

The researchers did find that the two bees were in fact the orchid bee E. coerulescens. This was confirmed by their anatomical studies and by examining the first specimen of E. coerulescens, which was collected in the 1800s in Mexico and located in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.

However, in searching through all the different specimens, Gonzalez also found three bees filed with E. coerulescens that did not actually match the bees in that species.

Much more research confirmed that in addition to identifying the two mystery bees, he also had discovered three new species of bees.

The discoveries are amazing. Then they’re not.

There are about 20,000 species of bees in the world, Gonzalez said. In the U.S., there are about 3,500 species. Some estimate, however, that there may be 500 more species that have not been named.

“It’s hard to know how much we don’t know,” Griswold said. “There’s easily a hundred undescribed specimens in our collection here. No one has the time to do it. There are just so few of us who do this kind of work.” (Gonzalez estimates that in North America, there are no more than 10 people “actively working on discovering and documenting bee diversity as we do.”)

Funding for such bee research just isn’t there, Griswold said, acknowledging “medical research is probably more important.”

“But we do serve a critical function. You need to know a name for what you’re working with so it has meaning,” Griswold said.

Barthell and Gonzalez said as much in their own interviews.

“We may be losing some bee species that we don’t even know about,” Barthell said.

Gonzalez said, “Every time you name something, people now know it and promote the study of it.”

Gonzalez was the one who named the three new species. Their names became official with the publishing of a 47-page article in April in the Journal of Hymenoptera. (Hymenoptera is a large order of insects — more than 150,000 living and about 2,000 extinct — covering sawflies, wasps, ants and bees.)

So, after seven years of research, the paper confirmed the identification of the two mystery bees, plus the identification of the three new species. Both Gonzalez and Griswold were listed as authors, along with University of Kansas graduate student Marianna Simões.

While scientific rules require species be named in Latin, Gonzalez found ways to honor three people who have meaning to him. The one new species, E. oliveri, is named for his son, Oliver, now age two-and-a-half. The other two were named for colleagues he admires and wanted to honor — E. engeli named for professor Michael Engel, Ph.D., of the University of Kansas, and E. barthelli, named for Barthell. (Note: the word barthelli rhymes with the word why.)

While researching the two mystery bees, Gonzalez found an E. barthelli in a collection at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, founded in 1551. The specimen E. barthelli was collected in 1995, although Gonzalez identified another E. barthelli specimen housed in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France, that was collected in 1900.

Gonzalez explained his reasoning in naming the species for Barthell: “In my opinion, the role he has played in securing grants for research involving undergraduate students has been key. He cares about student development and well-being.”

And he cares about bees, knowing that 98 percent of everything humans eat comes from other parts of the world where bees are needed to pollinate and diversify weed species.

Barthell’s grants from the National Science Foundation, for research in Greece and Turkey, are now in their twelfth year with two more years to go. “I set it up with the idea that the problem (of bee survival rates) is not local, but global,” Barthell said. “And that it’s critical for students to understand the importance of the origin of a species, and how it is that they spread and what that does.”

In the future, Barthell said, he hopes to spend time in the tropical forests of Central Mexico learning more about a new species that has caught his attention, called E. barthelli.

Written by: Gypsy Hogan, University of Central Oklahoma
 

Sunghee Lee, Ph.D., Iona College Board of Trustees endowed chemistry professor, established the scientific research group Project Symphony to enhance the fundamental understanding of cell membranes and help engineer new bio-inspired devices. For nearly two decades, various Iona STEM majors have worked side-by-side with Lee to perform groundbreaking research, setting students well on their way to both successful careers and more advanced degrees. In recognition of her many contributions to undergraduate research, the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) has named Dr. Lee as a 2022 CUR Fellows award recipient.

“I created Project Symphony to conduct research at the interface of chemistry, biology, physics and medicine with a highly dynamic group of interdisciplinary team members,” said Lee. “The name Project Symphony came from the idea that all of our group members work together in harmony to achieve shared goals. We recruit members who have a passion for innovation, excellence, the relentless pursuit of success and the ability to collaborate and work as a team.”

Presented every other year, the CUR Fellows award is a signal of honor, recognizing a sustained record of research excellence, characterized by activities ranging from extensive mentoring of undergraduate researchers, achievements of significant research outcomes and leading efforts to institutionalize undergraduate research both on campus and across the nation. As a CUR Fellow, Dr. Lee will have the opportunity to oversee a Brian Andreen-CUR Student Research Fellowship at Iona College. This $5,000 award constitutes a gift to Iona College to support the undergraduate research program. CUR anticipates making the formal gift to the campus in Spring 2022.

“Receiving this recognition from CUR is in every way a testament to the power of undergraduate research, and especially, to my students, without whom I would not be here today,” said Dr. Lee. “Their dedication to science truly propels me, and we act to motivate each other to extend the boundaries of what is known in Chemistry.” Lee’s laboratory uses the techniques of surface chemistry and biophysics, and currently features the following active research programs:

• Building artificial mimics of cell membranes: The group builds artificial mimics of cell membranes, both to improve the fundamental understanding of cell membranes, and to engineer new devices inspired by nature. For example, by contacting water droplets immersed in a solution of lipids in oil, the group has developed droplet interface bilayers as a platform with unique advantages to help achieve their goals.
• Studying drug-membrane interactions: The group uses Confocal Raman Spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Electrophysiology, and Tensiometry to learn about the detailed molecular structure of lipid membranes and its structural changes upon its interaction with other molecules such as drugs, cholesterol, proteins, and nanomaterials. Several of these studies take place in collaboration with other laboratories in Japan and Italy.
• Crystal engineering: The group creates self-assembled structures of molecules at a soft water-oil interface to design the structure of technologically important functional materials and crystals for their use in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries.

Project Symphony was also featured in the scientific journal, “The Biophysicist,” highlighting their work in the peer-reviewed article titled, “Project Symphony: A Biophysics Research Experience at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution.” The article presents practices demonstrating that early exposure to the interdisciplinary field of biophysics can be effectively introduced at a primarily undergraduate institution through a well-structured research plan involving undergraduates with different STEM majors.

Shortly after this achievement, a blog post from the “Biophysical Society” was published, highlighting Project Symphony and sharing its success in creating an impactful four-year undergraduate research program.

“It is my honor to congratulate Dr. Lee on this prestigious award and recognize the many accomplishments of Project Symphony,” said Iona College President Seamus Carey, Ph.D. “Dr. Lee consistently goes above and beyond in her dedication to both Iona and our students. It shows not only in the results that emanate from her lab, but also in the passion that her students bring to their work and their lives beyond the classroom. I know the best is still to come as we continue to elevate the Iona experience.”

Written by: Diana Costello, Iona College
 

Cassandra Hartsgrove, ’22, is on a quest to unravel the mysteries of the brain and share her discoveries with the world.

As a Bridgewater State University undergraduate researcher, Cassandra is studying brain tissue from male and female rats to learn how schizophrenia manifests itself in humans.

“There’s some research that shows females may be underdiagnosed with schizophrenia,” said Cassandra, a psychology major from East Bridgewater. “If we learn more about sex differences and how disorders develop, we can have better treatments and better diagnostic tools.”

Cassandra is sharing this work at competitive national and regional conferences run by the Sigma Xi scientific research honor society, the Council on Undergraduate Research, and the Northeast Regional Honors Council.

Her eagerness to engage with the scientific community on and off campus is admirable, said her mentor, Dr. Stephanie Penley.

“She’s incredibly independent and incredibly driven,” said Penley, an assistant professor of psychology. “She has a strong idea of what she wants to do and the skills to get there. It’s something you don’t often see at an undergraduate level.”

Cassandra credits working in Penley’s research lab with solidifying her goals to earn a PhD in developmental or cognitive psychology and become a college professor.

“Before I joined this research lab, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I was nervous about graduating,” she said. “Now I’m so excited to graduate because I know what I’m going to do.”

Penley also got her start researching rats as an undergraduate. Their brains are structurally similar to human brains, allowing researchers to gain valuable insights into how the human brain develops. 

“Animal models are a fantastic resource we can study in ways that are impossible to do with humans,” she said.

Cassandra is using archival tissue samples collected from rats that were part of non-BSU research. Some of the rodents’ brains developed similar to how schizophrenia appears in humans. 

She praises Penley and fellow student researchers Savannah Velez and Emily Lincoln for their support.

“This has been the most welcoming, coolest experience in my entire college career,” she said.
 

Written by: Brian Benson, Bridgewater State University
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