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torstoorderreedsfromlargemusiccompanies.Mostdirectorsarenotawareofthemanybeer,smallerreedcompanies,andenduppurchasingreedsthataremediocreatbest.Cont.onpage6
Sophomoremusicmajors,ChrisanDavisandTylerMayberry,areinvolvedinabassoonreedstudywithmentor,Dr.MaralynSommer.Asbassoonmajors,thesestudentsrelyongoodqualityreedsinordertoproducethebesttone,intonaonandflexibilityinperformance.Itisrarethatacommercialreedisplayabledirectlyfromthesupplier;mostneedingsomeminoradjust
mentswhetherthatbeinthewiresthatshapethereedorinthecaneitself.Someadjustmentsarefairlysimpleandcanbedonebythestudentorbanddirectorwhileotheradjustmentsrequiremoreadvancedreedmakingskills.Youngstudents,juniorhighandhighschool,aredependentoncommercialreedsastheynormallydonothavetheexperienceorexpersetomaketheirown.Thesestudentsrelyontheirlocalmusicstorestoprovidereedsorontheirbanddirec
Speakers Needed The annual Arkansas Undergraduate research Conference at HSU eve-ry spring is intended to showcase the variety of research and scholarly and creative activity stu-dents and their faculty mentors are engaged in across the state. Each year, a keynote speaker is chosen to give a talk during the AURC Ban-quet. The talk is aimed at Undergraduate research-ers from all disciplines. To make these talks relevant to students in all areas it is important to have speakers from many different back-grounds give the talk over the years. I need your help to make these talks accessible to stu-dents from all disciplines by recommending speak-ers from your area of expertise or interest. If you know someone that might be willing to give the keynote speech at future conferences, please send me their contact details. Have a great winter break! T. David Bate-man, Ph.D. Director, Under-graduate Re-search [email protected]
Inside this issue:
Biology Research 2
Family Science Night
4
Seminar Series 6
Rowland Research 7
Reed Research 8
NASA Grant 9
Science Picnic 10
Students Under the Direction of Dr. Maralyn Sommer Conduct Reed Research to Benefit Arkansas Band Students.
T . D A V I D B A T E M A N
December 2015
Volume 3, Issue 1
Undergraduate Research Newsletter
Family Science Night, Fall 2015
Biology students and Dr. Engman on Pages 2 and 3.
Biology students Emily Wright and Samantha Pennington, under the direction of Dr. James Engman, are making a checklist of the in-sects of the Simonson Biological Field Station. They are using a variety of collecting techniques in various habitats across the station property. This is the first survey of the insect fauna of the field station. Check out some more of the research being conducted by
Above:BiologystudentresearchersEmilyWrightandSamanthaPennington.
Le:TheSimonsonBiologicalFieldStaon
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UndergraduateresearchconductedbyDr.EngmansformerresearchstudentsMark Castleber-ry, Shannon Fiser, Jonathan Shields, Lauren Story and Charlotte Wetzlar appears in a book chapter regarding chemical signaling in elephants. The students used DNA sequencing to identify species of bacteria present in elephant urine during musth, a peri-odic condition of high testosterone and aggressive behavior in male ele-phants. They took techniques that they were using to analyze bacteria from cave formations in Blanchard Caverns, and analyzed samples sub-
mitted by Dr. Tom Goodwin, Profes-sor of Biology at Hendrix University.
Mark is currently in a Ph.D. program in molecular genetics at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Shan-non is enrolled in the Doctor of Phar-macy Program at UAMS. Jonathan is in the M.D. program at University of Texas Medical Branch. Lauren is en-rolled in the M.D. program at UAMS. Charlotte is applying to pro-grams in veterinary medicine.
The following reference is for the book chapter containing the research.
Goodwin, T. E., Harelimana, I. H., MacDonald, L. J., Mark, D. B., Umu-hire Juru, A., Yin, Q., Engman, J. A., Kopper, R. A., Lichti, C. F., Mackin-tosh, S. F., Shoemaker, J. D., Suther-land, M. V., Tackett, A. J., Schulte, B. A. 2015. The Role of Bacteria in Chemical Signals of Elephant Musth: Proximate Causes and Biochemical Pathways. Chapter 6 in Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 13, 2015 B. A. Schulte, M. H. Ferkin and T. E. Goodwin, Eds., Springer Press, NY.
Biology Students Conduct Elephant Research.
Page 2
Fromle:MarkCastleberry,CharloeWetzlar,ShannonFiser,LaurenStory,JonathanShields..
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At the recent INBRE confer-ence in Fayetteville, Dr. Engmans research students (Taylor Lee, Itzela Cruz, Caitlin Gosch and Leah Efird) presented a poster titled External and Internal Bacte-rial Flora Survey of the cave crick-et Ceuthophilus gracilipes from Blanchard Springs Caverns, Arkan-sas. This is an ongoing project that started with analysis of bacte-ria from cave formations, and has
expanded to look at other unique cave components, including cave crickets and carcasses of bats. Leah is graduating in May, and has applied to dental schools. Itzela graduates in May, and has applied to Ph.D. programs in biolo-gy. Taylor (junior) and Caitlin (sophomore) will remain on the project.
Biology Students Present Cave Cricket Research at Annual Arkansas INBRE Conference in Fayetteville.
Page 3 Volume 3, Issue 1
CaveCricketphotocourtesyofDr.RennTumlisonintheBiologyDepartment.
Fromle:BiologyResearchersItzelaCruz,LeahEfird,TaylorLeeandCaitlinGosch.
Dr.JamesEngman.PicturetakenfromFacultyProfileswww.hsu.edu/directory/people/professors/jamesengman.html
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Page 4
Family Science Night 2015
PhysicsStudents.Thisannualeventfeaturesinteracvedemonstraons,snacks,andaplanetariumshowforkidsandadultsfromthelocalcommunity.Theeventisalwaysabighit,andwearealllookingforwardtotheFall2016event.
InOctober,membersofthefacultyfrombiology,chemistry,andphysicsparcipatedinFamilyScienceNightalongwiththeBiologyClub,ChemistryClub,andtheSocietyof
Dr.BradRowlanddemonstratestheFlamingDollarBill
Dr.DavidBatemanpreparesliquidnitrogenicecream.
Theelectricpicklelightisalwaysabighit.
Dr.RowlandandDr.DunlapdemonstratetheGummyBearFlameThrower.
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More From Family Science Night
Page 5 Volume 3, Issue 1
Dr.VinceDunlapandDr.Batemanprepareliquidnitrogenicecreamwithhelpfromamemberofthecommunity.
SeniorBiochemistryResearcherWadeGarremakesbouncyballsfromglueandBorax.
StudentsMalloryBellandWadeGarrehelplocalchildrenpreparebouncyballs.
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DuyHa,seniorbiologymajorandmemberoftheDunlapresearchgroup,recentlypresentedhisresearchattheINBREconferenceinFayeevilleonNovember5th.TheoralpresentaonwastledDesignofTautomericallyAmbiguousCytosineBasedNucleosidesasPotenalAnHIVAgents.DuysabstractwaschosenasoneofonlysixtogiveanoralpresentaoninChemistry/Biochemistry.DuyplanstoaendmedicalschoolstarngintheFall2016.
Undergraduate Research Presented at Biomedical Research Conference in Fayetteville.
Page 6
Right:Dr.BradRowlandPresentsDr.TomKreschollekiwithanHSUChemistryClubTshirtaerhistalk.Le:Dr.RamuRamachandran
Chemistry Club Hosts Inaugural Chemistry Department Lecture Series.
semester,we had three speakers.First, Dr. Thomas E. Kreschollek,Process Chemist at ShellOil Company (and an alumnus of Henderson States Chemistry Program),spokeoncareersforchemistswithin industry. Dr. Ramu Ramachandran,ExecuveAssociateDean forResearchatLouisianaTechUniversity,spokeonhisresearchconcerning lithium ion baeries. Finally,
This semesterhasmarked the inaugural session of the Chemistry SeminarSeries,hostedby theHendersonStateUniversityChemClub.ThefocusoftheSeminar Series is to bring in speakersfrom all areasof science, including industry, government, and academia, toshare theirresearchandcareer insightwith our students. Chemistry facultymembers atHenderson State alsousethe Seminar Series to present theirown research in an eort to recruitstudentsandpublicizetheirwork.This
Dr. Brad Rowland of Henderson Statespokeonhisresearchconcerningnodeevoluon in sech wavepackets. Wehave several outstanding speakerslinedup for theSpring2016semester,including: Dr.DavidBatemanofHenderson State, Vince Signorelli of Tanners (aspornggoodscompanywhichuses chemistry tomake beer sportsequipment), Dr. Darin Jones of UALR,andmanymore. Theschedule forthespringSeminarSerieswillbeposted inJanuary.
DuyHaatINBRE
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Page 7 Volume 3, Issue 1
Undergraduate Research News From Dr. Bradley Rowland
computaonal method tostudytheevoluonofpollutantconcentraon at various sampling points on the river. Todate,Paulhasconstructeda1dimensional paral dierenalequaon model of the localOuachita River which incorporatesbothdiusionandadveconofpollutants,whichcanbeevolved in me to provide asnapshot of pollutant concentraons at any point on theriver.Thismodelisveryversale,aswecanalsoincorporateeects such as oxygenaonlevels, chemical sources andsinks, and polluon reacvity(kinecs). The computaonalmodelwillbeparameterizedsoas to give answers consistentwithactualfielddata.Theulmate goal of this project is toeventually make this codeavailable to high school students across Arkansas whothen canmake theirownfieldmeasurements on local riversand use the computaonalmodel for verificaon purposes. This research can also beadapted to study and modelatmospheric pollutants, andbothRowlandandBatemanarehighly interested in workingwith students who may havean interest in this area. Paulwill likely present a poster onthis jointworkat theAURC inSpring2016.
Finally,WadeGarre, a seniorbiochemistry major, will bejoining the Rowland Group inthe Spring 2016 semester.
The Fall 2015 semester has beenverybusyfortheRowlandResearchGroup at HSU. Several studentshave joined Rowlands group thissemester and we have diversifiedourresearchfoci. ColtonLechak,ajuniorbiochemistrymajor,hasbeenworkingtoexaminenodeformaonin sech wavepackets undergoingevoluonwithoutapotenalenergysurface.Thisisunheardofinthequantum dynamical literature, asthe wellstudied Gaussian wavepacketdoesnot formnodesatanymeduringitsevoluon.Currently,Colton is ulizing the technique ofnumerical analyc connuaon(NAC) to examine the complexextendedwavepacket. It is hopedthat NAC will provide insight intothe development, evoluon, andresoluonofthesenodes.Coltonismaking excellent progress and hewill be presenng posters on thisworkat the251stAmericanChemicalSocietyNaonalMeeng, tobeheld in San Diego, CA, and at theArkansas Undergraduate ResearchConference, to be held inArkadelphia,AR,inSpring2016.
PaulBayliss,a juniorchemistrymajor, also joined the group. Paul isworking on a collaborave projectinenvironmentalchemistrywithDr.David Bateman and the RowlandGroup. Dr. Batemans group is interested in studying pollutant concentraonandflowintheOuachitaRiver. As such, they have beenworkingtocollectwatersamplesonthe River for analysis here atHenderson. Pauls component of theresearch in the Rowland Groupcomprises the construcon of a
Wadewill take on a dierent projectwhich entails the accurate quantumevoluon of aWignerMoyal distribuon in phase space. Computaonalphasespacedynamicsisaveryexcingfield in the area of chemical physics,finding use in areas as diverse aschemical reacon dynamics, quantumopcs, and in themodeling of transient states of nanoelectronic devices.Movingtophasespacewillallowustoconduct these quantum analyses including thermal eects ulizing theCaldieraLegge Model. Currentmethods of propagang the WignerMoyal distribuon are insucient asthey do not reproduce a crical featurenegave basins, which is whythe WignerMoyal distribuon isknown as a pseudoprobability distribuon. It is hypothesized that accuraterenderingofthenegavebasinsiscricalinordertofullycapturethefull,accurate quantum behavior of thesesystems. Wade will likely present aposter on this work at the AURC inSpring2016.
Dr.BradleyA.RowlandpresentsresearchatLouisianaTech.University.
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Page 8
ThroughthesupportoftheHSUUndergraduateResearchprogram,Dr.Sommerpurchased70reedsfromsixdierentreedmakers.ChrisanandTylerareanalyzingthesereedsforqualityintuning,tone,easeofperformanceintonguing,slurring,range,andallaspectsofgoodbassoonperformance.Theyarekeepingajournaloneachreedasitgoesthroughthevariousstagesofbreakinginmostgoodreedsimprovingaertheyhavebeenplayedforacoupleofhours.Byplayingmulplereedsfromeachcompanythesestudentswillbeabletoidenfythosereedmakers
thatmakeconsistentlyuseablereeds.Atthecompleonofthestudytheywillbeabletorecommend,basedonhoursofanalysis,reedmakersthatcanprovidegoodqualityreedstoyoungstudents.
ThesecondpartofthisresearchisthedevelopmentofreedmakingskillsbyTylerandChrisan.Makingbassoonreedsisanartinitselfandsomethingthatrequireshoursofpraccebeforeonecanconsistentlymakegoodqualityreeds.BothTylerandChrisanwillbedevelopingtheseskillsthroughoutthespringsemester.Theywillbere
searchingthemanycaneshapesandprofilesavailableanddeterminingwhichstylereedisbestsuitedtotheirpersonalperformanceneeds.Aerhavinganalyzedthecommercialreeds,theywillbebeerabletocreatetheirownreedstyle.
ThefallsemesterhasbeenalearningexperienceforDr.Sommeraswellasthestudents.Tryingtodevelopamethodofanalysisthatcanbeusedonallcommercialreedsandtryingtofindterminologythatallthreeresearchersagreeonfordocumenngthereedresponsehasbeenchallenging.Whilethestudyissllataveryyoungstage,itisprovingtobeaworthwhileandeducaonalexperienceforall.
Reed Research continued from page 1
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Page 9 Volume 3, Issue 1
NASA Funds Polymer Research
ChemistryDepartmentSafetyMeengFall2015.
orlivingquarters.EmilyhasbeenconducngresearchwithDr.CampbellsinceAugust,andhaspreparedseveralionicliquidshavingsidegroupsthatmayreasonablybeexpectedtoformpolyestertypepolymers.Sheplanstospendthespringfocusingonpolymerizaon.Thegrantprovidesa$1000spendforEmilyandtravelmoneyforDr.CampbelltoarrangeforasitevisitwithEmilytoanaonalNASAlaboratory.Inthepast,Dr.Campbellhasinvitedotherinterestedchemistrymajorstoaccompanyhimonthetrip,asout
EmilyReynebeau,abiologymajorfromSpringdale,andDr.MartyCampbellreceivedaArkansasSpaceGrantConsorum(ASGC)granttoconnueresearchonionicliquidbasedpolymermaterials.TheASGCreceivesfundingfromNASAtofundresearchacviesthatinsomewayfurtherNASAsoverallmission.Ionicliquidsarecompoundscomposedofposivelychargedorganicmoleculespairedwithnegavelychargedorganicorinorganicionsthattogetherformasalt.Ioniccompoundstypicallyhaveverylilevaporpressure(smell)andarethereforeofinterestinenclosedenvironmentssuchasspacetravelcapsules
reachispartofthegrantrequirements.WealsohopetopresentresultsattheSpring2016naonalmeengoftheAmericanChemicalSocietyandelsewhere.
The HSU Chemistry Department held is regular safety meeting in August to begin the Fall semester. The meeting is designed to reinforce the departments commitment to maintaining a culture of safety among faculty , students, workers and researchers. This falls meeting was focused on the importance of proper labeling of chemicals and chemical waste, as well as the proper disposal of chemical waste. The HSU Chemistry Club hosted the meeting and pro-vided pizza and soft drinks. The meeting is mandatory for all student workers, undergraduate researchers and Chemistry Club members, as well as the Chemistry Department Faculty.
Chemistry Department Holds Safety Meeting for Student Workers and Researchers.
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Any suggestions for undergraduate re-search, this newsletter, etc. are welcome. Please send me an email with suggestions,\questions, and I will be happy to get back to you. I hope I have not left anyone out of this newsletter, and I am sure there are mis-takes. Rest assured, I hope to improve Reddie Research with every is-sue.
Annual Chemistry and Biology Clubs and Society of Physics Students Fall Picnic. Held at the Lower Dam Recreation Area on the Caddo River.
HSU Research Suggestions
T. David Bateman
Phone: 870-230-5306 E-mail: [email protected]
Director of Undergraduate Research HSU Box 7651 Reynolds 307
