From the Dean's Desk -- September 26, 2013

Museum of the Earth Sciences Welcomes 20,000th visitor

On Thursday, September 12, 2013, during the first “Science Day” outreach program for the 2013-2014 academic year, visitor number 20,000 entered the Museum of the Earth Sciences in Curie Hall. This milestone was made possible through the work of many RU faculty and staff members, students, and community volunteers who have helped move the museum to this point, but none more so than Dr. Steve Lenhart whose herculean efforts over the past 8 years have proven to be quite successful.

The Museum began as an idea to enhance the classroom activities for Radford University students and to help serve the science needs of the larger community. Today, the Radford University Museum of the Earth Sciences serves as an educational resource for earth science-related themes to the university, to the local K-12 communities, and to the public at large by encompassing the earth science-related fields of geology, meteorology, oceanography, planetary astronomy and physical anthropology.

Visitors to the museum are given the chance to grow their appreciation for our planet through many displays ranging from “stones to bones.” “The Radford University Museum of the Earth Sciences is a teaching museum” says Dr. Lenhart. “It recognizes that a critical component of learning about the physical earth is to have the visual and tactile access to actual specimens that only a museum allows. The Museum is not a static, dust-gathering collection of rocks and other geological specimens,” states Dr. Lenhart. “Rather, it is envisioned as a dynamic functioning center of quality exhibits with outreach and in-reach programs at all levels of learning and as a fascinating place in which to spend one’s time.” 20,000 visitors and counting would agree.

Most of the exhibits in the museum are self-guided, while a few displays are enhanced by the student and community docents who help create a context for the experience. “Considering the museum doesn’t have enough volunteer staff to keep the museum open year-round, 40 hours per week along with weekends, we have nonetheless been quite proud of its ever-growing popularity” states Dr. Lenhart. “Hopefully, additional volunteers in the future will allow for more open hours and result in even more visitors. Of course, the new museum facility in the new Center for the Sciences Building will allow for a more appropriately designed educational space providing more space for displays."

The Museum of the Earth Sciences will have a new, more prominent home as one of the anchors of the Main Street Level of the Center for the Sciences when that facility opens in 2015. With greater visibility, the Museum will likely experience a significant increase in the number of visitors as residents of the University Community and the region become more aware of this outstanding resource.  

Upcoming Museum of the Earth Sciences Lectures:

October 1, 2013:

Turning Dessert into Garden by Tunneling through the Andes - Geological Challenges of the Olmos Project, Peru

Speaker: Dr. Brendan Fisher, FSR Engineering

7pm, Hurlburt Student Center Auditorium

Picture credit: http://nearshoreamericas.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/peru_map_011.jpg

New Science In Action Undergraduate Research Video Highlights an International Experience

Laken Cooper, a senior majoring in biology, had the opportunity to travel to Kenya during summer 2013 to research house sparrows as an invasive species. Working alongside Radford University Assistant Professor of Biology, Dr. Sarah O’Brien, Laken had a graduate-level experience as an undergraduate. “She was our ‘right-hand woman’ throughout the process,” states Dr. O’Brien. “Laken had the opportunity for exposure to the global impact of science, but also some of the regulatory hurdles of working with international permits and governmental processes.”

In the video, Laken discusses the core of the research theory, studying the way that the sparrows adapt to survive in many different environments, but also the experience of international travel. Laken was supported in her effort by a grant from the Scholar Citizen Initiative. The SCI, which serves as a quality enhancement program across the curriculum for the entire University, is designed to help students find new ways to learn about communities around the world and to reflect on their experiences as a part of their education.

To learn more:
Laken’s Video: http://www.radford.edu/content/radfordcore/home/news/releases/2013/september/Science-In-Action.html

About the Scholar-Citizen Initiative: http://www.radford.edu/content/scholar-citizen/home.html

Mathematics and Dance Student Completes Internship at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Jessica Wheeler loves figures, both in an equation and on the dance floor. As a double major in Applied Mathematics and Dance at Radford University, she has forged an unusual path and has had a number of unique experiences reflecting her many passions in life. During the summer 2013 break from classes, Jessica was able to feed another passion in Computer Science, during an internship at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee through a program sponsored by the Department of Energy.

Jessica learned of the program through a family friend and applied online through the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships program (SULI). While she was well-qualified for the program due to her academic experience, it was her support from a faculty member that sealed the deal. “The letter from my JAVA professor, Don Braffitt, was key to my getting selected for the internship” states Jessica. “His support was invaluable in the process.”

Once accepted into the program, Jessica thought she would be working with image interpretation, but soon found that she was being shown another opportunity. “My program was changed to computational science and engineering where I worked with Big Data projects aimed at lowering the cost of healthcare for all US citizens” recalls Jessica. “It was a much bigger experience than I had expected and really taught me what high-level research looks like.”

Jessica’s mentor in the program, Rangan Sukumar, who is a research scientist at the ORNL, selected her because she had such divergent interests and he felt she would bring a unique background to the project. When speaking about her mentor, Jessica said “He really helped me see the big picture of what we were doing and helped me prepare for the work we did.”
Growth for those engaged in the program was a significant goal for the ORNL. Being a multiprogram science and technology facility, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory works in many different areas and engages a large number of student interns from around the nation.
Throughout the course of the program, interns had opportunities for seminars and classes, “brown bag” lunch discussions and were expected to produce a deliverable at the end of their experience. “I helped prepare a poster, a paper and two abstracts and participated in a joint poster presentation with another member of my cohort, Frank Aline, a student from New York” said Jessica.

Following this experience, Jessica has returned to RU for her senior year and a busy schedule that not only includes her classes, but also involvement in CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ), Honors Academy, Harmony in Motion, and National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Following graduation, Jessica plans to further her mathematics education with a goal of landing a teaching position in a community college where she will have more time to pursue dance.

Learn more:
About Jessica: http://www.radford.edu/content/radfordcore/home/admissions/my-choice/jessica-wheeler.html
About SULI: http://science.energy.gov/wdts/suli/
About the Oak Ridge National Laboratory: http://www.ornl.gov/