Students Present at American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention

Amanda Levy, Brittanie Baker, Taylor Chesnet and Kylie Connell, students from the Bloomsburg University Doctorate in Audiology program, recently presented papers at the 2018 American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. These students have presented a total three papers with their advisor, Dr. Mohsin Ahmed Shaikh, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Three out of the four students were selected to receive Audiology/Hearing Science Research Travel Awards (ARTA) for their presentations.

BAHS Club Holds Food Drive and Ornament Contest

Dr. Hess, BAHS chair, Olivia Horman, BAHS Club treasurer and Tyler Carroll, BAHS club president

The Biological and Allied Health Science club recently held a food drive for the Columbia County Volunteers in Medicine Clinic. The clinic, located in Mifflinville, and founded by BU Biology alumnus Bette Grey, provides free health care for those without health insurance. The clinic also maintains a small food pantry for those patients needing this additional support. Club members, faculty, and staff from the College of Science and Technology collected non-perishable food and personal care items for the clinic. Through many generous donations, four boxes of food and personal care items were delivered to the clinic on Tuesday December 4th. This food drive was held in connection with an ornament contest where students and their faculty mentors were encouraged to make an ornament from laboratory supplies. The entry fee to enter the ornament contest was two non-perishable food items. Seven laboratory groups participated in the contest. The first place ornament was created by Andrew Cross from Dr. Surmacz's Lab and the second place ornament was created by Lauren Bunnell from Dr. Beishline's lab.  Dr. Angela Hess and Dr. Jennifer Venditti serve as co-advisors for the club.

1st place created by Andrew Cross (Surmacz)

2nd place - Lauren Bunnell (Beishline)

EGGS senior interns with engineering firm

John Rebovich, a senior geography and planning major, interned this past summer with Reilly Associates where he applied his knowledge of GIS technologies.
Rebovich attributes much of his readiness for this internship to the EGGS department and staff.



“The professors in the EGGS department were fantastic in giving me a solid base set of skills through my classes to use in the real world,” Rebovich said. “Their individual attention to students really helped give me the confidence I needed to apply the knowledge I obtained.”

According to Rebovich, his classes were the foundation of the knowledge necessary to begin the internship allowing him to bridge the gap with problem solving skills he has obtained through the program.



Rebovich added his work as a volunteer firefighter and EMT helped him make his decision to be a geography and planning major.



“GIS, planning, and risks and hazards are all relevant and used by firefighters and EMTs,” Rebovich said. “whether it’s developing preplans or having a better understanding of the risks during a rescue. Take advantage of every opportunity presented. This is such an invaluable opportunity that can truly land you a job before you even graduate. Do your best, use your skills that you acquired, and don’t be afraid to struggle and learn.”



  — Dallas Kriebel, mass communications major
HuskySummer ProfessionalU EGGS ScienceTechnology geography firefighter internship
~from http://bloomsburgu.tumblr.com 

Computer science major builds prototype for new course

Picking college courses most often depends upon what’s being offered, but one computer science student recently had the opportunity to help his own cause and create one.

Brett Treas, a freshman computer science and digital forensics dual major, spent the summer researching and constructing a project involving distributed computing — a field of computer science that involves the connection of computers into networks.

“The project consisted of networking four Raspberry Pi computers into a ‘Beowulf Cluster,’” Treas said. “This cluster provides a cheap solution for someone to explore the benefits of distributed computing and parallel processing.”

According to Treas, the idea was presented to computer science students via email by professor Robert Montante, who was looking to create a prototype to be potentially used for a new class in the major.

  — Jenna Fuller, mass communications 
HuskyUnleashed ComputerScience ScienceTechnology RaspberryPi
~from http://bloomsburgu.tumblr.com 

Exercise Science Alumnus Gives Seminar

Husky alum, Rudy Inaba, pictured third from left, returned to campus as a guest lecturer for current Exercise Science majors, courtesy of faculty member, Dr. Joe Andreacci. Inaba is currently the Director of Nutrition & Exercise at Cenegenics.

Mr. Inaba graduated from Bloomsburg University in 2006 with his BS in Exercise Science. He then attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to earn his MS in Exercise Physiology. After approximately six months of working as a personal trainer, he was hired as an Exercise Phyiologists at the Cenegenics Medical Institute. This company is focused on Age Management Medicine with “100% personalized physician-developed age defiance”.  He is currently to Director of Exercise and Nutrition for the rapidly growing company. When he was first hired, Cenegenics had 6 sites in the United States. Now there are 22 centers across the globe, including recently onboarded London and Athens (Greece, not Pennsylvania).

In addition, Cenegenics now has a non-profit arm, the Age Management Medicine Education Foundation. Rudy coordinates all exercise and nutrition assessments and monitoring.  He also interacts with the executive team regarding development and marketing of neutraceuticals and future directions of the company in general.

During his seminar, Mr. Inaba shared his experiences and life lessons with the many undergraduate and graduate Exercise Science students in attendance. He also discussed future internship and career opportunities for BU students with Cenegenics. This discussion was best illustrated by Mr. Inaba’s recent experiences with BU Exercise Science MS graduate Austin Zechman. Austin interned with Mr. Inaba at the Las Vegas flagship in 2017 and then, this past summer, accepted a position with Cenegenics at their center in Dallas, TX. On Friday, November 9th, Mr. Inaba came back to campus for a resistance training workout with some students and also attended Dr. Kyle Beyer’s Introduction to Exercise Science class to share his experiences with freshman Exercise Science students.

Nursing students volunteer in the community

Bloomsburg University’s nursing program recently sent a few students to volunteer at this year’s Apple Harvest Festival at the Espy Fire hall. They provided free blood pressure screenings to people in Bloomsburg and the surrounding community.

One of the nursing students, Travis Dayhoff, explained that “high blood pressure is known as a ‘silent killer,’ meaning it can often go unnoticed until the damage on the body is already done.”

Dayhoff and another student, Kimberly Norwood, volunteered to give back to the community, but also to gain more real-world experience. They both agreed that it was very helpful to work with patients who were not their fellow classmates.

Norwood said volunteering “allowed me to see that there is a large aging adult population in Columbia County…it’s a good clinical experience for us, having just learned the skill of assessing blood pressures.” She also noted that volunteering in this capacity gave her a confidence boost
because of the personal guidance that her professor could give while Norwood was with patients.

Overall, Dayhoff and Norwood were thankful for the opportunity to give back to the Bloomsburg community, and for the learning experience it provided them.

“It allows us to go out and be nurses in the community, advocating for health promotion in everyone, not just those who are admitted to the hospital,” said Norwood.

  — Dallas Kriebel, mass communications major
SenseOfCommunity ScienceTechnology nursing
~ from http://bloomsburgu.tumblr.com

Recent Publications and Grants

Recent Publications
Erik Larsen, assistant professor in Chemistry, recently published a paper, “Microbial esterases and ester prodrugs: An unlikely marriage for combating antibiotic resistance” in Drug Development Research. This work was a collaboration with a chemist at Butler University.


John Pohill, professor of mathematical and digital sciences, recently published a paper, “Relative and almost linking systems”, in Journal of Algebraic Combinatorics. This work was a collaboration with mathematicians from University of Richmond and Sam Huston State University.


Robert Aronstam, Dean of the College of Science and Technology, recently published a paper, “Intracellular Delivery of Nanoparticles Mediated by LactoferricinCell-Penetrating Peptides in an Endocytic Pathway“ in Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. This work was a collaboration with scientists from National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan and Missouri University of Science and Technology.


Shaheen Awan, professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, recently published a paper, “A Two-Stage Cepstral Analysis Procedure for the Classification of Rough Voices” in Journal of Voice. This work was a collaboration with a statistician at Penn State University.


Ben Franek, Assistant Professor in EGGS, recently published a paper, “Glyptemys insculpta (Wood Turtle). Rail trail nesting challenges” in Herpetological Review with recent BU graduate Morgan Ruziecki.


Barry Minemyer, assistant professor of MADS, recently published a paper, "Real hyperbolic hyperplane complements in the complex hyperbolic plane" in the journal Advances in Mathematics (AIM).


Matthew Polinksi, assistant professor of Chemistry, recently published a paper, “Synthesis, Characterization, and Structural Comparisons of the First Neodymium(III) Sulfite-Acetate Crystal Structure” in Zeitschrift für anorganische und allgemeine Chemie (Journal of Inorganic and General Chemistry). This work was in collaboration with scientists from Creighton University.


The following Research and Scholarship Grants were awarded to COST faculty from the Bloomsburg University Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for January 1, 2019 through February 28, 2020.


Clay Corbin, BAHS: “Mosquito Surveillance and Documentation of Bycatch in Ruffed Grouse Habitats”, $3500


George Davis, BAHS: “Analysis of the AvsYS1 Gene Functionality Using Yeast, Arabidopsis, and Tomato”, $3300


William Schwindinger, BAHS: “Targeted Disruption of a G-protein Gamma-Subunit Gene in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells”, $3500


Angela Hess, BAHS: “Associating melanoma tumor cell plasticity with resistance to clinically relevant MAPK inhibitors”, $3500


Daniel McCurry, Chemistry and Biochemistry: “Template-Free Nanofabrication Of High Surface Area Electrodes”, $3500


Erik Larsen, Chemistry and Biochemistry: “Synthesis and Design of Novel Enzyme Probes for Mycobacterial Hydrolases”, $3500


Joseph Andreacci, Kyle Beyer, and Luke Haile, Exercise Science: “Influence of Testing Sequence on the Ability to Achieve Anaerobic Power and Aerobic Power in Adults” $3,041


Scott Inch, MADS and Scott Duncan, Criminal Justice: “Protecting Peaceful Protests: Exploring a Digital Early Warning Violence Prevention Strategy”, $3,357

BU Undergraduates Coach for Girls on the Run

“We inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.”  

This is the mission of the national Girls on the Run (GOTR) program.  Four BU undergraduates taking Psychology of Sport this semester, have volunteered their time and made a 10 week commitment to help young girls better themselves physically and psychologically by learning life skills through sport.  Janel Bruno (COST Undeclared) and Alyssa Smith (Health Sciences) coached third through fifth grade girls at Memorial Elementary School and Alexa Diaz (Exercise Science) and Katie Rafter (Exercise Science) coached at W. W. Evans Elementary School.

Alyssa Smith talks with a student

Janel Bruno and student take a cool down lap

Through meeting to practice two times a week, the girls learn the value of teamwork, healthy relationships and how they can have a positive impact on the world.  This physical activity teaches an appreciation for fitness and healthy habits early in life and hopefully will continue as they grow.  The season culminated with the celebratory, non-competitive Girls on the Run Greater Susquehanna Valley 5K which was held at The Miller Center for Recreation and Wellness in Lewisburg on Sunday, December 2, 2018.

The transformation and inspiration of GOTR is shared by athletes and coaches alike.

Katie Rafter and Alexa Diaz at the 5K celebration

“My overall experience as a first time coach for Girls on the Run was nothing but remarkable. Taking valuable lessons and turning them into intriguing activities allowed the girls to practice these important life lessons while having fun. The head coaches were great to work with; they provided the new coaches with plenty of knowledge while also creating a fun environment for the girls. The girls are so welcoming and wonderful to be around; I definitely learned a lesson or two from them! I couldn't have been more grateful for this opportunity and would without a doubt sign up to be a coach for a second time!” (Alexa Diaz, Exercise Science Major)

“This was my first season coaching GOTR and my overall experience was very beneficial. I loved working with the girls and my fellow coaches: Alexa, Stephanie, and Libby. The girls were always so excited to be there and welcomed me into WW Evans Elementary School. My experience was positive and the girls always brightened up my day. I enjoyed watching the girls grow each week and loved learning new things about them. I am so fortunate for this experience and being able to be a role model to these young girls. I am looking forward to participating in GOTR in the future!” (Katie Rafter, Exercise Science Major)