Eight presentations were made by 14 biology, , and students that showcased the breadth and depth of research opportunities available at EMU.

The symposium provided an opportunity for students to share their research with an audience of general science majors, said department chair and professor of chemistry . One of the skills of a scientist, she says, is 鈥渢o be able to present technical terminology and processes in accessible language. It鈥檚 great if a scientist can study climate change, for example, but if we can鈥檛 explain the results of a climate change study to someone who doesn鈥檛 have the background, that doesn鈥檛 help us share and discuss our findings.”

The evaluation 鈥� led by , professor of chemistry at James Madison University 鈥� included three criteria: collection of data, thoroughness of research design and analysis, and clarity and accessibility of the oral presentation.

Second place was awarded to junior Hannah Daley for her presentation about her National Science Foundation-sponsored research, in partnership with two professors at James Madison University, on the effects of caffeine on athletes.

Sophomore Kat Lehman and junior Diego Barahona were awarded third place for their research on utilizing radio-tracking to locate coconut rhinoceros beetles鈥� breeding sites, which was conducted under the direction of chemistry professor in Guam. Siderhurst has worked for several years on research projects involving the development of attractants for invasive and agriculturally important pests.

Students find their niche in grant-funded studies

Research projects often pair students with professors engaged in long-term studies. The competition winners, Ferguson and Fernandez, were research assistants to Professor , who earned a $100,000 Jeffress Trust grant to study a multi-year investigation into the causes of hypertension. In Ferguson and Fernandez鈥檚 project, rats were fed a high fructose, high salt, low salt, and no salt diet and measured the activation of genes involved in disease.

The STEM symposium is also offers students like Hannah Daley and Janaya Sachs, who both earned grants to engage research opportunities off campus, to share what they鈥檝e learned. Sachs explored a new ligand for synthesizing copper, a summer project she engaged in through the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates. She worked at .

The bioorganic copper project is just one of several research opportunities she鈥檚 been involved in. Her freshman year, she joined , led by , director of the MA in biomedicine program, and supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She and Hannah Daley are both currently involved in evaluating the effects of hydrofracking on stream and well water, a project under the direction of and Kishbaugh.

Among the research shared, a unique transdisciplinary project was conducted by biology major Samuel Miller and computer science major Alex Bender, advised by Siderhurst and computer science professor . Miller conducted a chemistry project that involved identification and quantification of volatiles released by the noni fruit during ripening that provided a complex data set that was difficult to analyze. Bender and Miller have both used a mathematical technique called Principal Component Analysis to analyze the results in a simpler manner.聽 Bender is documenting their methodology for PCA usage, simultaneously evaluating software programs Cluster 3.0 and SPSS for their ability to simplify the data set.

Flavenoids, genetics, mold…

Professor , who teaches courses in genetics, cell biology, microbiology and immunology, advised several research projects. Biology major Chris Miller researched the effect of anthocyanins, richly concentrated plant colorants that may have protective effects, on mouse fetal development when the mice are exposed to a significant amount of alcohol.

Derek Harnish and Eli Wenger presented their research on the neuronal basis of aging in flies. Harnish, a biology major, and Wenger, a biology and biochemistry double major, worked with Copeland on his ongoing project to identify specific types of that have the potential to extend lifespan in flies when the mitochrondrial electron transport chain is disrupted.

Biology majors Viktor Kaltenstein and Seth Suttles teamed up to study mold growth in a vacated section of the Suter Science Center campus using the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI).

And in participating in the Spring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Celebration poster session in the , Stoner practiced a few more practical skills he will need: graphic design and public speaking.

Stoner and partner Sarah Carpenter were winners of the upperclass division for their research titled 鈥淏ergton Stream Restoration: Stream Health Assessment Using Macroinvertebrate Sampling.鈥�

The poster session, which is preceded by an informal multidisciplinary science quiz-off and pizza feast, offers students 鈥渁 chance to share their research with fellow students, faculty, and the larger EMU community in a fun, social setting,鈥� says physics professor , who judged the contest with biology professor .

Poster sessions are commonly held at scientific conferences, in which 鈥渟cientists and students present and explain their own findings to those who are interested but are not necessarily experts in that field,鈥� said King, who is also an assistant professor in the program.

Posters were judged on quality of experimental design, quality of research analysis, and quality of presentation, said Herin, also with the biomedicine program. 鈥淭he presentation included the appearance, accuracy and clarity of the poster, as well as the presenters鈥� knowledge and explanation of the project.鈥�

Coursework and independent study represented

EMU鈥檚 poster session featured more than 90 participants showcasing research from a variety of courses such as electronics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, statistics for natural sciences, and environmental toxicology. Students in Herin鈥檚 advanced human anatomy class (BIO 437) also contributed 3-D visualizations of body systems.

Carpenter and Stoner were among several students presenting water quality research in the nearby Bergton area as part of . Biology professors and are supervising teams of environmental sustainability students working on water quality monitoring and stream restoration in two tributaries of the Shenandoah River and the Chesapeake Bay, with other facets of the project involving and graduate students.

Students in professor 鈥檚 general chemistry class focused on phytoremediation of a variety of plants, including carrots, forsythia, corn, cattails, and radishes.

Professor 鈥檚 statistics class explored the widest range of topics, including electronic devices owned by students; the fuel economy of cars driven by EMU faculty and staff versus those driven by James Madison University faculty and staff; cereal shelf placement based on sugar and price at Food Lion and Kroger; sustainability effectiveness in EMU residence halls; and a statistical analysis of the 鈥淪ettlers of Catan鈥� game.

Two unique projects with professor Steve Cessna explored the rhetoric of science and instructional techniques in the science classroom. In their plant ecophysiology course, Hannah Chappell-Dick, Eli Wenger, and Emma Beachy analyzed plant physiology research literature for changes in the 鈥渁ssignment of agency.鈥� For his biochemistry research course project, Kyle Storc investigated student comprehension and retention of biochemistry topics through the use of two-dimensional tools.

Several posters were the result of independent research that students conducted with faculty members. Camille Williams worked with biology professor to analyze the effects of fermented milk supplementation on gut microbacteria in mice.

Rachel King, who will be a research assistant on this summer, worked under chemistry professor on 鈥淎 Mixed Methods Approach to Green Chemistry Knowledge Gains in the Organic Laboratory.鈥� Kishbaugh also worked with Ben Stern, who studied the effects of barium toxicity on zebrafish.

Underclass winner links research to upcoming internship

Amanda Williams and Nader Alqahtani paired up to win the underclass division with their project that compared phytoremediation between native and invasive species.

For Williams, a first-year biology and secondary education major, the research project reminded her of how much she cares about the environment.

鈥淚 live in the wetlands in Delaware, surrounded by the plants we were experimenting on, cattail and phragmites,鈥� she said, adding that she鈥檒l continue her research in a summer internship with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to understand the possible negative effects of invasive species, but also to know that sometimes they are just as important as native species.鈥�

Alqahtani, a sophomore biology major who is interested in medical research, said the hands-on learning experience 鈥渨as a more fun and exciting way to learn than reading and studying.鈥�

And the presentation? That was 鈥渢he exciting part,鈥� he said, even though English is his second language. 鈥淲e were聽confident that we knew everything about our project and we trusted each other’s ability to make a perfect presentation 鈥� when we started presenting and I saw how well we were doing, I got comfortable and started to enjoy telling our audience about our research.鈥�

Poster Session Winners: Upperclass Division

1st: Bergton Stream Restoration: Stream Health Assessment Using Macroinvertebrate Sampling – Sarah Carpenter and Sam Stoner

2nd: Keyless Entry – Stephan Goertzen and Jordan Leaman

3rd: Bergton Stream Restoration: Ecological Monitoring Using Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) – Jonathan Drescher-Lehman and Ryan Keiner

Honorable Mention: An ecophysiological study determining how three different invasive evergreen vines handle the varying winter temperatures by measuring their photosynthesis, transpiration, and Fv/Fm levels – Jonathan Drescher-Lehman, Chris Miller, and Abby Pennington

Honorable Mention: The Effects of Barium Toxicity on Zebrafish (Danio rerio) – Ben Stern

Poster Session Winners: Underclass Division

1st: 聽Comparing Phytoremediation between Native and Invasive Species – Nader Alqahtani and Amanda Williams

2nd:聽聽Phytoremediation in Forsythia – Tyler Denlinger and Jeremiah Robinson

3rd: Electronic Devices Owned by EMU Students – Sammy Kauffman, Josh Miller, and Roy Ruan

Honorable Mention: Phytoremediation in Various Plants – Aaron Dunmore and Kat Lehman

The 16-member group, led by assistant professor of music , specializes in madrigals, jazz, and modern and contemporary concert literature, both secular and sacred.

EMU鈥檚 newest ensemble is comprised of the 鈥渂est of the best,鈥� said Keebaugh. 鈥淚 needed singers who could learn music quickly, were strong musicians, and able to balance this time commitment among their many other involvements.鈥�

The son of an organist and a Brethren minister, Keebaugh is an experienced choir director and a widely traveled and oft-performed composer. He earned his DMA at The Catholic University of America, and was previously choral director at Mary Baldwin College and director of choral activities at Clarke County High School.

Keebaugh praised this particular group for their dedication. 鈥淭hese are incredibly hard-working and passionate musicians, who are also very strong representatives of 草莓社区 and .鈥�

Paying tribute to musical roots, Keebaugh noted that Emulate includes nine graduates and former participants of two strong high school music programs.

Sophomore Jon Bishop joins Abby Bush and Jaclyn Kratz in representing . A tenor majoring in vocal performance and composition with a social environmental sustainability minor, Bishop calls this new group 鈥渇ocused鈥� and 鈥渨ell-rounded.鈥�

Junior Jeffrey Smoker, a business major who sings bass, is an experienced choral performer, having toured while at (EMHS) and. Fellow EMHS graduates in the group include Hannah Shultz, Caitlin Holsapple, Michaela Mast, Eli Wenger and Perry Blosser.

鈥淓mulate is a group of talented singers who have been able to come together very quickly and sing challenging music,鈥� Smoker said. 鈥淚 was very impressed that by the end of our first rehearsal, we had sight-read four or five pieces, and they sounded pretty good. I am really excited to see and hear what we can do over the next few months.”

Local ties make this tour especially appealing, said senior Erin Hershey, who is among six Pennsylvania natives in the group. She and junior Luisa Miller are members of Slate Hill Mennonite Church, which hosts Emulate on March 5.

Rounding out the group are Heather Evans, of Alexandria, Virginia; Mischa De Jesus, of Kalona, Iowa; Jake Rhine, of Indianapolis, Indiana; Guilio Garner, of Harrisonburg, Virginia; and Nathaneal Ressler, of Mount Vernon, Illinois.

The Pennsylvania tour is a prelude to a longer two-week tour this summer through the midwest, with final performances at the June 30-July 5 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Schedule:

March 5 鈥� 7 p.m., Slate Hill Mennonite Church, Camp Hill, PA

March 6 鈥� 6:30 p.m., James Street Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA

March 7 鈥� 7 p.m., Martinsburg Memorial Church of the Brethren, Martinsburg, PA

March 8 鈥� 9:30 a.m. worship service, University Mennonite Church, State College, PA