Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Bennick Earns Prize at 2019 Geological Society of America Meeting




Martina Bennick, 2019 EGGS alumni and current biology graduate student, was selected as one of two student poster presentation winners in the Geobiology and Geomicrobiology Division at the Geological Society of America 2019 annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.

Her poster, entitled “Determining The Origin Of Intracameral Deposits In The Orthocerid Genus Arionoceras” presented research she conducted with Dr. Cindy Venn and Dr. Adrian Van Rythoven of the EGGS department, which was an outgrowth of a senior research project supervised by Dr. Alan Gishlick, also of the EGGS department. 

Martina’s project focused on determining to what extent intracameral deposits were formed through biomineralization versus post-mortem diagenetic alteration.  She first sliced the specimens longitudinally and treated one half with dilute acid to differentiate the internal layering, clearly visible under a high powered dissecting microscope. She then made a thin section of one of the specimens to examine with a cathodoluminoscope to establish chemical differences between the layers. Another etched specimen was examined using a portable scanning electron microscope.  Two distinct internal layers were observed: an outer complex layer that she inferred to be from biodeposition during life, and an internal layer of sparry calcite consistent with what would be expected from chamber filling after burial.


 “As an international scientific society, GSA serves members in academia, government, and industry around the world. Since 1888, GSA’s meetings, publications, and programs have enhanced the professional growth of geoscientists and fostered geoscience stewardship and service. GSA encourages cooperative research and public dialogue on geoscience issues and supports all levels of earth-science education.”  The 2020 GSA Annual meeting will be held in Montreal, Canada.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Students Present at 6th Annual PASSHE STEM Conference


The 6th Annual PASSHE STEM Conference was held in early November at Kutztown University.  This conference is an opportunity to showcase the research done by students across the State System in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  This year, ten Bloomsburg University students and six faculty members attended.  The conference included both oral presentations and poster sessions.   Bloomsburg presenters were as follows:

Oral presentation - "Hybrid Stars" by Katelynne Pursel; mentor: Dr. Peter Stine

Oral presentation - "Using Photogrammetry to Produce Morphometric Datasets for
Comparative Paleobiology" by Keara Drummer; mentor: Dr. Alan Gishlick

Oral presentation - "Gold Nanofabrication via Template-Free Electrodeposition" by Stepan Budkin; mentor: Dr. Daniel McCurry

Poster presentation - "Comparison of Sublethal Effects of Neonicotinoid and Pyrethroid
Pesticides on Motor Responses in Honeybees" by Rachel Nenstiel and Taylor Bozza; mentors: Dr. Cynthia Surmacz and Dr. John Hranitz

Poster presentation -  "Fishing for alpha-L-fucosidase: Evaluating Enzyme Activity in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)" by MacKenzie McDowell; mentor: Dr. Jennifer Venditti

Poster presentation -  "Examining the Effects of BORIS on Telomere Regulation and Stability" by Ian Whiteside; mentor: Dr. Kate Beishline

Poster presentation - "Analysis of Within-Task Variability on Standardized Reading Assessments in Autism Spectrum Disorder" by Kyle Flannery and Geena Basile; mentor: Dr. Abby Hare-Harris

Poster presentation  - "Low Frequency Variability in a 𝛿 Scuti Star observed with the Kepler Space Telescope" by Juliette Gudknecht; mentor: Dr. Peter Stine

Keara Drummer and Dr. Gishlick

Kyle Flannery and Ian Whiteside

Kyle Flannery, Gina Basille, and Dr. Hare-Harris

Mackenzie McDowell and Dr. Venditti

Juliette Gudknecht and Katelynne Pursel

Taylor Bozza and Rachel Nenstiel



Friday, November 15, 2019

22nd Annual High School Math Contest



Dr. Calhoun deals a "Game of 24"

The 22nd Annual High School Math Contest was held on Nov 12, 2019 with 168 students from 18 schools attending.  The annual competition is sponsored by the Mathematics and Digital Sciences Department (MADS) and the COST Dean's office and organized by Dr. Lisa Lister, associate professor of MADS.  This popular competition consists of three different categories or games.

The "Quiz Bowl" is a timed head to head match up between 2 teams.  The teams with the highest scores advance to the next round.  The "Brainteasers" game involves brainteasers in a test-like format and the scores of individual players are combined for an overall team score.  The "Game of 24" involves a dealer who deals out four cards from a standard deck. The teams must try to get the number 24 through addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of the numbers on the cards.

The following are the winning teams for all three categories.  
 
Quiz Bowl: 
First - Parkland Team 1
Second - Emmaus Team 1
Third - Carlisle Team 1
Fourth - Central Mountain Team 3


Brain Teasers: 
First - Emmaus Team 1
Second - Parkland Team 1
Third - Pottsville Team 1
Fourth - Parkland Team 2


Game of 24 Points:
First - Emmaus Team 1
Second - Central Team 1
Third - Berwick Team 1
Fourth - Millville Team 1


Pottsville Team 1

Berwick Team 1

Carlisle Team 1

Central Mountain Team 3

Millville Team 1

Emmaus Team 1

Central Team 1