Division of Sciences 2004-05

BIOLOGY

Charles Chester

Member:

• Council on Undergraduate Research 

Supervised one junior working on an undergraduate research project on the effects of predators on schooling behavior

Works in progress:

• "Potential Role of the Sponge Community in Controlling Phytoplankton Blooms in Florida Bay" by B.J. Peterson, J. Fourqurean, and C.M. Chester.  In review to Marine Ecology Progress Series (refereed journal)

Donald Culberson

Sabbatical activities (Spring 2005):

• Continued to collaborate with Dr. Warren Zimmer at Texas A&M University (previously at the University of South Alabama) and Dr. Alan Tucker at the University of South Alabama's Department of Pathology on our long-term research project on gene control in prostate cancer;  we are currently in the process pf compiling our data for a manuscript

• Initiated an effort to re-establish a previous level of expertise in the Odonate (dragonflies and damselflies) area of entomology; this should (1) provide an additional area of research that is adaptable to student participation without requiring extensive external collaboration and (2) lead to a proposal for a new course in entomology that will strengthen the department's relatively weak field studies offerings

• Began collecting background material on finding medical records that would document the presence of sickle cell anemia on antebellum plantations

• Audited Dr. Greg Morgan's Philosophy of Science course 

Works in progress:

• Continued collaboration with Dr. Warren Zimmer at Texas A&M University (previously at the University of South Alabama) and Dr. Alan Tucker at the University of South Alabama's Department of Pathology on γactin gene control in prostate cancer

David Dean

Awarded:

• Teagle Summer Curriculum Development Grant:  used funds to develop the portion of CHM 461 Biochemistry I relating to cellular metabolism 

Publications:

• Three case studies submitted to the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science at the University of Buffalo for inclusion in their web-based collection were accepted for publication, prepared for the website, and are currently available for use by physiology instructors throughout the world (case studies were initially reviewed internally and later reviewed using a double-blind peer-review process)

Attended:

• 18th Annual Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS) Conference, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• Presented three case studies at the poster session

• Made printed copies of case studies available for those attending the conference to use in their courses(s); 20 faculty members at 19 colleges and universities indicated they were going to use the case studies in their course instruction

Member:

• Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS) 

• Chair, Curriculum and Instruction Committee: oversaw extensive revision of the document which addresses the content of human anatomy and physiology courses taught in the United States and Canada

Met with 15 to 25 first-year medical students from the University of South Alabama two afternoons a week during the first half of the spring semester to review histology laboratory material

Works in progress:

• Three new case studies to be presented at the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri;  will also submit these case studies to the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science for publication

Paul Kohnen

Awarded:

• Mitchell Faculty Scholarship Grant for "Investigating Research Opportunities Involving Rafflesia"

Attended:

• Alabama Health Professions Advisors Meeting, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama

• Heartland-Delta IV Conference, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

• SHC Heartland-Delta lunch and dinner meetings

Member:

• American Phytopathological Society

• American Association for the Advancement of Science

• Council on Undergraduate Research

Established plant tissue culture operations to support future undergraduate research 

Works in progress:

• Continued contact with outside scientists for possible future collaboration

• Continued work toward research objectives

CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, AND DUAL DEGREE ENGINEERING

Shawn Allin

Publications:

• Review of Polymer Science & Technology, 2^nd Edition, Fried, J.R. Prentice-Hall Profession Technical Reference, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2003 in Journal of Chemical Education. 2004, 81(6), 809. (peer reviewed)

• Review of Chemical Explanation: Characteristics, Development, Autonomy, Earley, J.E, Sr. (Editor) New York Academy of Sciences, New York, 2003 in Hyle: International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry. 2004, 10(2), 181-183. (peer reviewed)

• "Quantum Mechanical Approaches for Predicting Copolymer Systems." S.B. Allin. Polymer Preprints.  2005, 46(1), 763. (peer reviewed)

• Review of Chemistry in the Philosophical Melting Pot, Sobczynska, D.; Zeidler, P; Zielonacka-Lis, E. (Editors) Peter Lang Europaischer Verlag der Wissenschaften, Frankfurt am Main, 2004 in Hyle: International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry. In Press. (peer reviewed)

Lectures/presentations/talks given:

• SHC COOL (Celebration of Our Learning) Day poster presentation:  "Thermal Effects on Nonlinear Optical Organic Molecules: A Computational Study,"  C. Carey and S.B. Allin

• SHC COOL (Celebration of Our Learning) Day poster presentation:  "Refractive Index and Density Studies of Sodium Chloride/Iodixanol Solutions,"  W.B. Pitts and S.B. Allin

Awarded:

• Tenure and rank of associate professor

• SHC Teagle Summer Research Grant: "Temperature Effects on First-Order Molecular Hyperpolarizabilities: A Molecular Dynamics/Semiempirical Quantum Mechanical Study"

Attended:

• American Chemical Society national meeting, San Diego, California

• Presentation:  "Copolymer Reactivity Ratios via QPSR Methods"  (peer reviewed)

• Workshop in Chemical Sciences: "Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: Fundamentals and Applications," University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia

• "Teaching Science and Mathematics in the 21st Century: Challenges and Solutions," Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama

• Mobile Local Section of the American Chemical Society meeting, October 2004:  "The Oxygen Atmosphere of Jupiter's Icy Moons from Interplanetary Radiation" by Dr. Greg Grieves, Georgia Institute of Technology (hosted meeting)

• Mobile Local Section of the American Chemical Society meeting, November 2004:  "The Chemistry of Cement" by Gary Corcoran, Holcim (US), Inc. (hosted meeting)

• Mobile Local Section of the American Chemical Society meeting, January 2005:  "Uranium Chemistry: From Ore to Core" by Ken L. Ensley  (hosted meeting)

• Mobile Local Section of the American Chemical Society meeting, February 2005:  "Herbal Products: They're Natural But Are They Safe?" by Dr. David Weimer,  University of Iowa  (hosted meeting)

• Mobile Local Section of the American Chemical Society meeting, April 2005:  "The Use and Misuse of Scientific Evidence (or Sherlock Holmes Makes Mistakes)" by Dr. Richard W. Henderson, Southeastern Research Laboratories  (hosted meeting)

• Heartland-Delta IV meeting, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

• Arun Gandi lectures: "Conversations on Race and Nonviolence" and "Lessons Learned from My Grandfather"

• SHC Religion, Ethics and Healthcare lecture series:  "Sex and Ethics" and "How HIV/AIDS Has Changed Bioethics" by the Rev. James Keenan, S.J., of Boston College

• Christus Theological Institute lectures

• SHC Teaching for Solidarity faculty summer seminar

• SHC Campus Ministry Lenten Table Talk: "An Introduction to Ignatian Spirituality" by Reverend Bobby Rimes, S.J.

• SHC Faculty Friday lectures

Grant proposals written:

• National Science Foundation CCLI Instrumentation Grant: "Multi-Nuclear Fourier-Transform Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum"; S.B. Allin, L. Bordas, E. Rambo; $105,260. Pending

Member:

• American Chemical Society

• Mobile Local Section of the American Chemical Society: 

• Executive Committee member:  serve as secretary and as councilor

• American Physical Society

• Council on Undergraduate Research

• American Association for the Advancement of Science

• Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society

• National Science Teachers Association

• Project Kaleidoscope, Faculty for the 21st Century

• South Mobile Industrial Association Community Advisory Panel

• Holcim (US) Inc. Community Advisory Committee

Met with:

• Dr. Pedro Lory at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, about possible collaborations

• Ms. Patty Bass at Atofina Chemicals, Inc., in Beaumont, Texas, regarding possible collaborations as well as job prospects for SHC students

• Mr. David Johnson at Port-Neches Grove High School in Port Neches, Texas, regarding the use of Odyssey in his teaching 

Reviewed nine chapters of a forthcoming textbook from Houghton-Mifflin

Served on a discussion panel for W. H. Freeman/Worth Publishers

Served as Chair of the Program Review Committee of the Chemistry Program at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, Georgia

Remained current in field by reading primary chemical literature: Chemical Reviews, Journal of Chemical Education, Hyle: International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry, Science, Physics in Perspective, CUR Quarterly, American Scientist, Chemical Heritage, Discover, Physics Today, and Journal of College Science Teaching

Works in progress:

• "Blood Lipid Concentrations and Lipoprotein Profiles in Captive and Wild Black Bears (Ursus americanus)," N. Frank, S.B. Elliott, E.C. Ramsay, and S.B. Allin.  American Journal of Veterinary Research.  Submitted; currently under review

•  Working on manuscripts or generating data in several areas:

• Investigations into thermal effects on molecular hyperpolarizabilities

• Determination of molecular hyperpolarizabilities via solvatochromism

• Computational methods for determining copolymer reactivity ratios

• Intramolecular cyclization of aryl silanes

• Collaborative research with SHC junior Chris Carey on the temperature dependence of first-order molecular hyperpolarizabilities

• Collaborative research with SHC senior Brad Pitts and Dr. Nicholas Frank at the University of Tennessee School of Veterinary Medicine; we will continue to perform refractive index and density measurements in support of this project

Lesli Bordas

Lectures/presentations given:

• SHC COOL (Celebration of Our Learning) Day poster presentation: "Identification of Surface Membrane Proteins on Erythrocytes and Sickle Cells Using HPLC Mass Spectrometry,"  D. Diep, L. Pannell, and L. Bordas

• SHC COOL (Celebration of Our Learning) Day poster presentation: "Synthesis of Pectrobactin,"  S. Marnell and L. Bordas

• SHC COOL (Celebration of Our Learning) Day poster presentation: "Peptide Synthesis Employing Cyclic Ethers to Prevent Intramolecular Interactions,"  D. Mendoza and L. Bordas

• SHC COOL (Celebration of Our Learning) Day poster presentation: "Innovations in Mass Spectrometry,"  J. Beckman and L. Bordas

• SHC Faculty Friday: "Automated Peptide Synthesis: Applications and Methodologies"

Awarded:

• SHC Teagle Summer Curriculum Development Grant: "Forensics in the Classroom"

Attended:

• American Chemical Society national meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Forensic Science Workshop (sponsored by the National Science Foundation's Center for Workshops in Chemical Sciences), Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts

• Workshop on protein synthesis and mass spectrometry

• Mobile Local Section of the American Chemical Society meeting, October 2004:  "The Oxygen Atmosphere of Jupiter's Icy Moons from Interplanetary Radiation" by Dr. Greg Grieves, Georgia Institute of Technology (hosted meeting)

• Mobile Local Section of the American Chemical Society meeting, November 2004:  "The Chemistry of Cement" by Gary Corcoran, Holcim (US), Inc. (hosted meeting)

• Mobile Local Section of the American Chemical Society meeting, January 2005:  "Uranium Chemistry: From Ore to Core" by Ken L. Ensley  (hosted meeting) 

• Mobile Local Section of the American Chemical Society meeting, February 2005:  "Herbal Products: They're Natural But Are They Safe?" by Dr. David Weimer,  University of Iowa  (hosted meeting)  

• Mobile Local Section of the American Chemical Society meeting, April 2005:  "The Use and Misuse of Scientific Evidence (or Sherlock Holmes Makes Mistakes)" by Dr. Richard W. Henderson, Southeastern Research Laboratories  (hosted meeting)

• Dr. David Dean's biochemistry class lectures on metabolism

• Arun Gandi lectures: "Conversations on Race and Nonviolence" and "Lessons Learned from My Grandfather"

• SHC Campus Ministry Lenten Table Talk: "An Introduction to Ignatian Spirituality" by Reverend Bobby Rimes, S.J.

• SHC Faculty Fridays

Supervised and/or collaborated on undergraduate research projects:

• Sarah Marnell - worked on marine biology project

• Joshua Beckman - worked on mass spectrometry project: he helped in the construction of the quadrupole and in supplying water lines to the magnet

• David Mendoza - involved in the construct of synthetic peptides and in the usage and design of new protocols for future use

Grant proposals written:

• National Science Foundation CCLI Instrumentation Grant: "Multi-Nuclear Fourier-Transform Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum"; S.B. Allin, L. Bordas, E. Rambo; $105,260. Pending

Member:

• American Chemical Society: 

• Student Affiliate Coordinator

• Women and Minorities Committee

• Mobile/Gulfport Local Section of the American Chemical Society: 

• Executive Committee member: serve as chair and as National Chemistry Week coordinator

• Council on Undergraduate Research

• Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society

• National Science Teachers Association

• Association for Women in Science

Read Garrett and Grisham's Biochemistry, 3rd edition

Works in progress:

• Review of chapter 6, "Intermolecular Forces" in Chemistry for Nurses for Wiley and Sons -- book in progress

• Petroleum Research Fund grant project:  have hired two undergraduate students to do research with me in summer 2005

John Kane [Division Chair]

Member:

• American Association of Physics Teachers

Subscribe to two professional journals of the American Association of Physics Teachers

MATHEMATICS

Charles Cheney

Lectures/presentations given:

• Dr. Alex Landi's Master of Liberal Arts Modernity class:  on the conflict between science and religion as illustrated in the story of Galileo

Attended:

• Joint national meeting of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America, Atlanta, Georgia

• Heartland-Delta Conference, John Carroll University, Cleveland, Ohio

Participated in the Advanced Placement Calculus exam reading at Colorado State University;  served as table leader for the  seventh time

Daniel Cyphert

Awarded:

• Sabbatical for Spring 2006

Attended:

• Various University of South Alabama mathematics colloquiums

Reviewer for Mathematical Association of America publications:  Mathematics Magazine and The College Mathematics Journal

Substantial reading of journals of the Mathematical Association of America

Works in progress:

• Investigation of parameterization of curves using area

• Investigation of complex variable techniques for minimal-time trajectories in vector interactive fields

• Investigation of relationship between Mercator projection scaling and stringed instrument fret spacing

Jeanette Monroe

Awarded:

• SHC Campus Ministry Lenten Table Talks

• SHC Faculty Fridays

Member:

• Mathematical Association of America

Continued taking courses in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, toward earning a PhD in Science and Mathematics Education; have completed 25 hours to date

Did a small research project on mathematics and memory with my MTH 010 Basic Algebra and MTH 111 Precalculus classes

Did a textbook assessment of the Precalculus book