EGGS Students Present Research in Maine

Seven EGGS students recently presented their research at the Northeast Section of the Geological Society of America in Portland, Maine.  The students were accompanied by their faculty research mentors Jen Whisner and Cindy Venn.  In additiona, Dr. Whisner gave a talk, "Columbia County Water Education Day: Earth Science Education and Outreach, 500 Students at a Time" at the conference.

Below are the posters presented, with student authors starred, of work done as part of the students Aqueous Geochemistry class, taught by Dr. Venn.  .

 *Dalbo, Brian; *Helfrich, Autumn L. Venn, Cynthia and Hallen, Christopher P. 2019. Revisiting Geochemistry of Water in Pine Forest Treatment System in St. Clair (Schuylkill County), PA.

 *Gray, Connor; *Boulger, Erin; Venn, Cynthia and Hallen, Christopher P. 2019. Revisiting Water Quality within the Briar Creek Watershed (Columbia County, PA).

*Helfrich, Autumn L.; *Dalbo, Brian; Venn, Cynthia and Hallen, Christopher P. 2019. Assessment of Sediments within the Pine Forest Mine Anoxic Limestone Drain Treatment System in St. Clair (Schuylkill County), PA.

 *Boulger, Erin; *Gray, Connor; Venn, Cynthia and Hallen, Christopher P. 2019. Geochemical Analysis of Briar Creek Lake in Columbia County, Pennsylvania.

*Barrett, Lauren; *Grimm, Lucas; Venn, Cynthia and Hallen, Christopher P. 2019. Initial Geochemical Assessment of Shanerburg Run, Worlds End State Park, Sullivan County, PA.

*Grimm, Lucas; *Barrett, Lauren; Venn, Cynthia and Hallen, Christopher P. 2019. Water Quality Analysis of Double Run Drainage, including Mineral Spring, at Worlds End State Park (Sullivan County,), PA.
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In addition, Melissa Joseph and Sabrina Savidge presented their work with Dr. Whisner, which was supported by a COST PEG (Professional Experience Grant). 

*Joseph, Melissa,; Savidge, Sabrina; Whisner Jennifer; Ricker, M.C.. 2019. Impacts of Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia Japonica) Kocher Park, Columbia County, PA.

Biology and EGGS students visit Washington, DC

Eleven undergraduate and graduate students and three faculty members from the Biology and EGGS department traveled to Washington D.C. on March 25,, 2019. Students met with Dr. Christopher Mah, a Research Associate in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Dr. Mah studies the evolution, ecology, and biology of echinoderms and is the world’s leading expert on sea star identification and classification. Dr. Mah gave the students a personalized tour of the national archives of invertebrates within the National Museum of Natural History. Students were able to learn about the process of identification and classification new invertebrate species. Dr. Mah’s blog on echinoderms was of particular interest to the students and can be found here: http://echinoblog.blogspot.com/.

Following their tour of the Natural History Museum, this group visited The Washington Center to learn more about internship opportunities in the Washington D.C. area. The Washington Center (TWC) partners with hundreds of universities, government agencies, public and private organizations to provide immersive internships for undergraduate students across any discipline. TWC program runs each semester and during the summer session. Students who are accepted to TWC program are matched to internship opportunities within their discipline and TWC staff help to prepare these students for internship interviews. During their internship, students live at TWC’s residential facility with other interns, attend seminars and classes in the evenings, and leadership trainings each week, all while earning 12 college credits.

During this trip to TWC, BU students met with one of TWC’s internship coordinators, Ciara Barrick, and learned about the application process as well as life at TWC. Students attended a professional development seminar lead by Rebecca Borovsky to develop their two-minute introductory pitch. The students were then given a tour of TWC residential facility and were able to interact with a number of the TWC staff.

Any students who are interested in learning more about TWC can talk to Lauren Polinski lpolinski@bloomu.edu or Dr. Hare-Harris ahare@bloomu.edu. For more information about TWC, please go to this link: https://www.twc.edu/. The visit was organized by Dr. Thomas Klinger, BAHS professor, Dr. Hare-Harris, BAHS assistant professor and Stephen J. Jones Faculty Fellow, and Lauren Polinsky, Alumni & Professional Development.

BloomCON 2019

Over 500 people participated in BloomCON this past weekend at Bloomsburg University.  BloomCON is Bloomsburg University’s annual digital forensics, cybersecurity, and hacking conference. The conference hosts a variety of speakers and features unique workshops and cybersecurity challenges. This year there were speakers and workshops at all levels, including lock picking, hardware hacking, drone hacking, numerous competitions and villages, plus Dual Core performing at the networking party.   The competitions included the second annual Drone Wars in partnership with the US Army, wireless hacking, open source intelligence, capture the flag, forensics, and more.

The keynote speaker was Mike Daugherty, who gave a talk entitled "Cybercriminals, Politicians and Bureaucrats: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?"  Mike Daugherty is the CEO of LabMD, a cancer testing laboratory and Founder of The Cyber Education Foundation.

BloomCON was also held in conjunction with Hak4Kidz, co-sponsored by the Bloomsburg Children's Museum , which involved around 250 kids this year.


Drone Wars Results High School Division
First Place: à WIFI Pirates from West Side Career and Technology Center
Team Members: Adam Frederick , Matt Jones, Gage Wilison
Advisor Dr. Gary Miller

Drone Wars High School Division Winners

Second Place: à Game of Drones from West Side Career and Technology Center
Team Members : RJ Salvo, Derek Keeler, Rich Zimmerman
Advisor Dr. Gary Miller Open Division

Open Division
First Place: à ROCK from Slippery Rock University
Team Members: Dante Cicco, Dante Zitello, Jacob McMahon
Advisor: Dr. Nitin Sukhija

Drone Wars Open Division Winners (3 in the center)

Second Place: à CHADHACK from Slippery Rock University
Team Members: Chad Dewing, Adam Davenport, Kunj Champaneri
Advisor: Dr. Nitin Sukhija

Third Place: à Bubble’s Bros from Bloomsburg University
Team Members: Adrian Perez, Nicholas Senske, Austin Pasquel, Bryan Iadisernia
Advisor: Dr. Diane Barrett

Congratulations to Dr. Phil Polstra and the Digital Forensics Club for providing an outstanding conference this past weekend.

The Science and Geology of Radon in PA

 

Bob Lewis from the Bureau of Radiation protection, a division of  the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and Robert C. Smith from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA DCNR - Retired) gave a presentation, “The Science and Geology of Radon in PA,” on Wednesday, March 27, 2019 on the Bloomsburg University campus.


Mr Lewis began the presentation by stating the radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is naturally occuring, but also radioactive and carcinogenic.  An estimated 40 percent of Pennsylvania homes have radon levels above Environmental Protection Agency's action guideline of 4 picocuries per liter.  He then went on to speak about how radon levels can be tested and if the levels are too high, how a radon mitigation system is used to address the problem.

Dr. Smith,professional geologist, presented the geology of radon in PA.  He spoke of uranium, thorium, and radium levels (which all decay to produce radon) in soil and talked about the geological landforms, soil composition, and rock formations that have attributed to the high levels of radon in PA.  He specifically focused on an area of southeast Lehigh County with an extremely high radon concentration. 

More information on radon levels in Pennsylvania, how you can get your home tested, and the radon hotline number can be found on the PA EPA website. (www.dep.pa.gov)

Society of Toxicolgy Undergraduate Faculty Grant

Dr. Michael Borland, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, received a Society of Toxicology (SOT) Undergraduate Faculty Grant to support the training of undergraduate students through toxicology-based research experiences.  Dr. Borland used this grant to support the research being conducted by BU undergraduate biochemistry major, Taylor Runkle.  Ms. Runkle is investigating an isosteric selenium-substituted PPARβ/δ ligand as a novel human malignant melanoma therapeutic and plans to present this research at the 2019 Intercollegiate Student Chemists Convention at Gettysburg College and the 2020 Society of Toxicology meeting in Anaheim, CA.  Dr. Borland was asked to blog about his experiences in undergraduate toxicology research.  The blog, entitled, "Recruiting the Future: The SOT Undergraduate Faculty Grant Program" can be read by clicking the title.

PA Fish and Boat Commission Visit

EGGS  301 Water Resources Management class: Lea Zarr (EGGS junior), Meghan Corridoni (EGGS junior), Commissioner Eric Hussar, Dr. Hare-Harris, and Kyle Andreacchio (EGGS senior)

Eric Hussar, President of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and Commissioner of the Fifth District, came to Bloomsburg University today to speak to students about the commission, what services it offers, and opportunities for employment. During his visit, he spoke to three classes: EGGS 301 Water Resource Management taught by Dr. Trish Beyer, EGGS 315 Geography of Recreation, Tourism, and Sport taught by Dr. John Bodenman, BIO 410 Integrated Invertebrate Zoology taught by Dr. Thom Klinger. He is also attending an informal lunch with any students interested in learning more about the commission.

Commissioner Hussar highlighted a few of the services and projects of the PA Fish and Boat Commission, including stream restoration, endangered animal relocation and license sales. He also encouraged students to investigate internship opportunities with the PA Fish and Boat Commission.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is the state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Unlike many states, Pennsylvania separates their game commission from their fish commission, which regulates fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Created in 1866, today it manages boat launches, waterways and other properties used for recreational fishing and boating. “The mission of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is: to protect, conserve, and enhance the Commonwealth's aquatic resources and provide fishing and boating opportunities.” The visit was organized by Dr. Hare-Harris, BAHS assistant professor and Stephen J. Jones Faculty Fellow. 
www.fishandboat.com

Biology students tour Adventure Aquarium

Pictured left to right, back row: Justin Blake, Rodney King, Dr. Klinger, Caitlyn Collins, Emily Ashberry, Hannah Anderson and Ben Paul.  Front row: Keara Drummer, Kayla Davis and Dr. Hare-Harris

On February 23, 2019, undergraduate and graduate students from Dr. Klinger’s Bio 410/510 Integrative Invertebrate Zoology class visited Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. There they were given a tour of the husbandry and research facilities and learned about different aspects of a career in animal sciences. The group was hosted by BU Marine Biology alumnus Jack Carr, who is the Director of Education and Engagement at the Center for Aquatic Sciences at Adventure Aquarium. The Center for Aquatic Sciences was founded in 1989 and has since been advancing the understanding of and concern for aquatic animals and their habitats. The Center’s mission is: “education and youth development through promoting the understanding, appreciation and protection of aquatic life and habitats.” Mr Carr has been very involved with the aquarium, giving input on building layout as well as working to collect many of the animals on display. The day was a wonderful opportunity for the students to learn about different careers as well as see the success of someone who started their journey at Bloomsburg University.

For a little history, check out two articles authored by Jack Carr while he was at Bloomsburg.

Hranitz, J. M., T. S. Klinger, F. C. Hill, J. Carr, and T. Mencken. 1994. Abundance, size, sex ratios of adults, and size of toadlets for Bufo woodhousei fowleri Hinkley (Anura: Bufonidae) on Assateague Island and the adjacent Del-mar-va peninsula. Brimleyana 19, 65-75.

Thomas, K., J. Berry, J. Carr, C. Freeland, M. Siesko, and T. S. Klinger. 1995. Feeding of Echinometra lucunter (Linneaus) (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) on plant and animal foods: perception and activity. Proceedings of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists 4, 44.