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Eighth Annual Dean's Student Colloquium

April 28, 2009

Each academic department in the College was invited to participate in an annual event designed to cultivate and recognize significant student endeavors outside the classroom. The idea is to select an undergraduate student from every major program in the college who is engaged in a project or activity that is unique and particularly interesting. The students were provided with an opportunity to describe the activity to each other. The informal discussion among the participants creates the potential for cross-fertilization of ideas, fosters interdisciplinary understanding and respect, and reinforces individual morale.

The student participants for 2009 are listed below by major program. Click on a name to go to a description of that project included in the proceedings of the event.

Brian Leiter (Art and Design)

Running Towards Success

Throughout my college career my most difficult struggle has been
balancing my academic work with my athletic endeavors. Both demand a significant time commitment, and require hard work in order to attain success and achieve the goals I have set. As part of a member of the cross country and track & field team and a BFA major in Graphic Design with a Art History minor, I found out quickly that time is of the essence. Many sacrifices had to be made in order to keep up with my classes while at the same time competing at the national level in track & field. Countless weekends were spent traveling around the east coast to compete at track meets in places such as New York and Boston. This past winter I had the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Indoor National Track & Field Championships in Indiana, running against the top milers in Division III. I finished 4th with a time of 4:10 and earned All-American honors. This spring I hope to compete in the both the 800-meter and 1500-meter runs at the Outdoor Nationals Championships and be in contention to win my first national title. Although much of my focus and energy this past year has been channeled towards my running, I was involved in a full time internship this fall working in the Publications Department here at Frostburg State. I gained a tremendous amount of work experience within the graphic design field while working a great deal with other professional designers and clients. I wrapped up my fall semester passing the Art Department's Facility Review and will be working to present my senior show this spring. Much of my success would not have been possible without the help of my coaches who have encouraged and fostered me to reach my full potential. All the professors throughout the art department have been extremely supportive and were willing to work with me in order to make up assignments and class project while away at competitions. I would also like to thank the designers within the publications department here at Frostburg State, the time they invested and the flexibility they provided within my internship is greatly appreciated. As I look to graduate this spring I plan to continue training and compete competitively post-collegiately with long term goals of qualifying for the Olympic trials in 2012, while working in a professional graphic design environment.

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David Valenta (Biology)

The Transformation of Micro-Tom Tomatoes with Hessian Fly Responsive Genes

Insect pests are some of the most devastating pathogens in current
agricultural production. With increasing world populations, humans will need to increase world food production. One way to accomplish this would be to limit the amount of yield and crop loss from insect pests by creating
transgenic plants expressing genes which inhibit insect digestive proteases or somehow limit the absorption of nutrients by insect digestive systems. Two genes, originally cloned from wheat, with potential for the latter strategy are Hessian fly responsive gene-2 (Hfr-2) and Hessian fly responsive gene-3 (Hfr-3) (Puthoff et al., 2006; Giovanini et al., 2007).

Combinations of Hfr-2 and Hfr-3 coding sequences controlled by either a general promoter or a phloem-specific promoter are being cloned into Ti plasmid. Agrobacterium tumefaciens will then be transformed with the
recombinant plasmid. Standard transformation protocols will be used to
introduce the Hfr-2 and Hfr-3 genes into the genome of Micro-Tom tomato cells. Transgenic callus will be selected for by growing these cells in culture media containing kanamycin. Transformed microcalli will then be
transferred to a medium that induces plant shoot and root growth.

The goals of this study are to grow tomato plants that express Hfr gene products and study the genes' effectiveness in discouraging insect feeding/predation. Transgenic and normal tomato plants will be placed into an
environment with whiteflies, tobacco hornworms and fall army worms.
Larval counts and caterpillar weights will be taken at regular intervals to determine if the Hfr-3 and Hfr-2 gene products affect insect feeding.

Giovanini, M., Saltzmann, K., Puthoff, D.P., Gonzalo, M., Ohm, H., Williams, C.E. (2007). A novel wheat gene encoding a putative chitin-binding lectin is associated with resistance against Hessian fly. Molecular Plant Pathology 8(1): 69-82.

Puthoff, D.P., Nemacheck, J.A. Sardesai, S., Subramanyam, S., and
Williams, C.E. (2005). Hfr-2, a wheat cytolytic toxin-like gene, is up-
regulated by virulent Hessian fly larval feeding. Molecular Plant
Pathology 6(4): 411-423.

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Mitra Karimian and Katie Schmelter (Ethnobotany)

Ethnobotanical Research at Evergreen Heritage Center, Economic Botany Spring 2009

Mitra Karimian, Katie Schmelter, Rebecca Shipe, Carson Sommerlatt, Thomas Berry, and Steven Darrow are all Ethnobotany majors and students in the spring Economic Botany course. The students designed a proposal, received funding, and are completing ethnobotanical research at Evergreen Heritage Center in Mount Savage. Mitra and Katie will represent the group in which students will be presenting posters that were accepted by a scientific review committee for the international Society for Economic Botany Annual Conference this summer.

The Effects of Soil Tilling in Production of Herbal Species in the Understory of Forest in Western Maryland

Undergraduate Ethnobotany Majors from Frostburg State University have designed one-acre non-timber forest products experiments involving invasive species control and growth of medicinal herbs and edible mushrooms. The demonstration area is at the Evergreen Heritage Center; an environmental education center in the mountains of Western Maryland. The project will model restoration of an area of land transitioning from being overgrown by invasive exotic species to being used to cultivate valuable native medicinal herbs. Planting techniques will be evaluated to determine if tilling of the soil is beneficial or detrimental to production of medicinal herbs. The objectives of this project are to determine whether the tilling of soil in herb beds is more beneficial to native medicinal plant growth as opposed to direct planting without tilling the soil. Plantings will occur in 1.2 meter herb production beds in the understory of a mixed stand of black cherry, sugar maple, and red maple in western Maryland. American ginseng, (Panax quinquefolius L.), black cohosh (Actaea racemosa (Nutt) L.), unicorn root (Aletris farinose L.), and bloodroot (Hydrastis canadensis L.) will be planted in the early spring. Herb production beds will be tilled or left un-tilled based on a randomized block design. Survival and growth of medicinal herbs and competing weeds will be measured bi-monthly beginning April of 2009. Results from this study will be beneficial to herb cultivation by helping to determine if tilling is a beneficial in the production of selected medicinal species.

Shiitake mushrooms, Lentinula edodes, native to Asia, have beneficial medicinal properties and are promoted for a variety of ethnobotanical uses including increased immune system functioning. Shiitake cultivation in the Appalachian Mountains is a profitable non-timber forest product yielding up to $12 a pound at farmers markets. Cultivation of shiitake mushrooms is normally associated with small stems of high-value wildlife and timber species including white and northern red oak (Querus alba L. and Q. rubra L. respectively). However crop-tree release and timber-stand improvement activities rarely result in the removal of oak regeneration. Alternative tree species for production would increase the incentive for landowners to maintain important mast producing species and remove species of little wildlife or timber value. Though shiitake yields have been well-documented on oak species, little is known about the potential for cultivation on other species. The objectives are to inoculate tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle), slippery elm (Ulmus rubra Muhl), red maple (Acer rubrum L.), and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) logs with shiitake mushroom plugs to determine mushroom yield differences across host species. As part of a crop-tree release cutting on a forest in western Maryland several tree species will be harvested to increase production of mast-producing and valuable timber species. Production will begin on the logs as early as the fall of 2009. Logs from each species will be checked monthly for mushroom yields during fruiting to determine fresh weight from each species. These projects will demonstrate sustainable non-timber forest products for private landowners in an economically-depressed region and will be used in K-12 educational learning modules.

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Brett Gearing (History)

Superman vs. Momotaro: Popular Graphic Media in World War II

The mass media of the rival powers in World War II reflected and influenced each nation's commonly held beliefs about themselves and their own cultures, those of the enemies, the nature of the war they were fighting and what measures were required to achieve victory. In this way, a war of popular media was fought between cultural icons, just as it was fought between soldiers on the battlefield. The United States and Japan both chose characters to embody the virtues they felt best represented their cultures, and pitted them against enemies that represented the opposing nations as weak, villainous, and often demonic.

Japan often represented itself in animation and print with the folk hero Momotaro and his animal companions. Momotaro was a well known storybook character, a young man who of surprising skill and strength who overcame powerful demonic ogres. He was a natural choice to represent the qualities of youth, vigor and righteousness that the Japanese associated with their nation. While Japan molded traditional heroes to fit its needs, the much younger United States looked to icons of popular culture to represent itself. Altruistic, idealistic, and immensely powerful, Superman was precisely how Americans wished to view their country. The invincible defender of "truth, justice, and the American way" was portrayed in both animated shorts and comic books fighting treacherous, sometimes inhuman Japanese villains. He encouraged those still in the United States to support the war effort, and illustrated the promise that the Japanese threat would be overcome.

In both Japan and the United States, examining how these characters were utilized gives insight into the beliefs and convictions of the warring cultures they represented. Comic books and animation both reflected the values of the time and were used to create an image of an enemy that must be overcome, at all costs. Both sides represented themselves with symbols of their own mythology, heroes that were larger than life and symbolized the virtue and strength of their people.

Initially conceived as a small class project, this paper has been expanded as it became evident that the source material had not been neglected by historians addressing these themes. The paper has been presented at "Convergences: Comics, Culture, and Globalization" at the University of Florida, the Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference in Delaware, and is being further developed with the intention of future publication.

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Aisha Cornett and Rachel Knieriem (Mass Communication)

Co-Producers Down to Earth and LEAD-TV

Mass Communication majors Rachel Knieriem and Aisha Cornett have played a vital role in the Department of Mass Communication with the efforts and skills gained in a variety of television projects for the department. Ms. Knieriem chose to do her internship with FSU-TV3 this spring and Ms. Cornett is completing a second directed study with the department. Both are working together to
co-produce two studio shows - Down to Earth and LEAD-TV.

Down to Earth is a 30-minute talk show hosted by University president Dr. Jonathan Gibralter that features topics related to global environmental sustainability and the Green Initiative at FSU. Ms. Knieriem is responsible for content development and direction of the show assisted by faculty advisor Professor Micheal McAlexander.

LEAD-TV is a 30-minute talk show hosted by Dr. Elesha Ruminski, Coordinator of the Leadership Studies minor program, and features topics related to the Leadership Studies minor, updates on leadership opportunities, and civic engagement on and off campus. Ms. Cornett and Dr. Elesha Ruminski work collectively to develop content and determine the direction of the series.

Each producer's goal is to create three episodes for each show this semester to air on FSU-TV3.

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Robert Taylor (Mechanical Engineering)

Magnetic Braking System

The senior mechanical engineering students at Frostburg State University are completing a dual project centered on the construction of an off-road go kart to be entered in future competitions. Our team's portion of this project is centered on the construction of a braking system to suitably stop the go kart under extreme race conditions. The original mechanical braking systems could not stand up to standard braking conditions, so a new system had to be designed. We chose a magnetic braking system rear mounted on the back axle to provide the braking force. This system would utilize the original mounting system to cut down on overall project costs. The inspiration for the overall concept came from the design used to stop high-speed trains and new rollercoasters. These systems on trains use magnetic fields to gradually slow down trains from triple digit speeds. Rollercoasters have a quicker stopping system due to the time and distance in which they have to stop. The thought process behind using a custom magnetic breaking systems was centered mainly on the overall cost system for an automotive brake system. Frictional brake systems use brake pads composed of a wearable material to slow down the brake rotor, composed of a solid metal.

While this design has been successful for the history of the automobile, one of its flaws is that the system needs routine maintenance to ensure that the brake system is able to stop the car safely and promptly. This creates a lifetime cost factor for the brake system: rotors must be replaced or turned, brake pads must be replaced, and calipers will need to be recalibrated or replaced. The benefits of a magnetic braking system are the use of non-frictional forces to stop the rotor and the lower overall costs for the lifetime of the system. Instead of applying a clamping force to press a brake pad against the brake rotor like a traditional caliper, our brake system is designed to slot a set of pads over a rotor in order to use the magnetic forces to stop the rotor when at speed. The motion is similar to a pogo stick. When force is applied to the stick (i.e. landing after a jump), the spring compress and then rebounds. Our system works in a similar fashion, except the force acting on the springs is from a hydraulic cylinder. Once pressure from the cylinder is released (i.e. your foot is lifted from the brake pedal), the 4 springs will expand until they are stopped by the upper bracket of the system. This keeps the springs under constant tension to ensure minimal vibration or bouncing when not in use. There is also a lower bracket to stop the cylinder from over compressing the springs under hard braking situations.

After a prototype is created and tested, the overall goal would be to slow down a moving go kart in a safe and efficient manner without causing stress or strain damage to either the bearings in the axle setup or to the axle itself. Any shearing forces created by the magnets should be negated by the shearing forces created by the rotational of the rotor and the fact that there will be no contact between the rotor and the brake pads containing the magnets. This distance allows us to control the amount of force exerted by each magnet's field and gives us basic assumptions to use for computations concerning the stopping distance and the time it will take to stop the go kart.

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Gregory Martin-Rolsky (Mechanical Engineering)

Design and Construction of a Solid Rear Axle Suspension System for a Go-Cart

Our project is an ongoing venture started seven years ago by Frostburg's Physics and Engineering Club. The current design is a rigid body cart with a full roll cage. The problem with the original design is the cart had no suspension. During testing the cart bounced uncontrollably and rattled the frame. To enhance the performance of the cart, a rear suspension system will be installed to provide comfort for the driver, but also reduce vibrations and stress on the cart frame and components.

Adding suspension will also expand the use of the cart. Previously, the cart could only be driven on smooth surfaces. Once a suspension system is installed the cart could be used in off-road conditions. By the end of the spring semester we plan to have installed a fully functional solid rear suspension. The suspension system to be used is a mechanical spring with adjustable compression, and a 450lb load capacity. The system will consist of brackets and hinges designed in CAD software. These brackets and hinges will allow the rear end of the cart to respond to bumps, potholes, or any obstructions the cart will ride over. The purpose of this project is to utilize the knowledge and skills acquired through our college education in Mechanical Engineering by designing an efficient engineering system.

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James Ritchey (Music)

Song for Frostburg State

"Song for Frostburg State" is a musical composition for concert band. It is in a form of several songs derived from one central theme or primary melody, and each song uses motives from that primary tune. Each individual song has some sort of connection to Frostburg State University and attempts to portray the emotions felt during the duration of a student's life in the college. The piece does not actually begin with the primary melody but with three secondary sections that represents three major aspects of the Frostburg area. The first of these sections is a wind instrument solo with a bass drone on an open fifth. This is supposed to portray open space and open air as the solo plays very freely to enhance the space. The next section is faster and more torrential. This is to represent the very complex weather that Frostburg encounters; like the fierce winds, the harsh winters, and the humid summer days. The last section symbolizes the churches and it does this through bells. Not only through the tubular bells but at this point the brass instruments are playing bell tones to enhance the effect. After this, the piece moves to the primary melody.

The main theme is a very simple four phrase melody that almost sounds like a class song or an alma mater. The intention was for this song to represent the university and all of its parts. After the primary melody is introduced, the piece continues with three songs that represent the emotions felt by individuals at the university. The first song is a fast paced and lively tune that represents the exhilarating, joyous, and generally happy feelings felt at Frostburg State University. This could represent a success in class or life, a victory in sports, or a beautiful day. The second song, which is very much the opposite of the first, is a very somber and lament like. This could be an unexpected grade, a rainy day, or a broken relationship. The next song is the longest and most complex of the piece and it really is supposed to evoke the feeling of plain chaos, anger, frustration, and other emotions of that nature. These emotions could symbolize the idea that studying is complicated, or that people and situations are difficult and unexpected. The length of the song represents the feeling of a never ending, troublesome life in the world of exam taking and paper writing, all for a piece of paper with a name on it. The piece eventually moves to a fugue, perhaps the most complex section of the work, pushing the anticipation to the breaking point until slowly and softly backing away and forming into a grander, much simpler passage. The last part of "Song for Frostburg State" reintroduces the bells and finally finishes with the primary theme one last time, ultimately ending with a grand finale. This depicts the ending of one life and the start of a greater one.

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Christopher Travers (Psychology)

Redesigning General Psychology

During the last 3 years, Frostburg State University's Psychology Department has undertaken a course redesign of its general psychology course. The rationale for undertaking the redesign was two-fold. First, there was a major problem with course drift and had developed concerns with the lack of consistency on what was being covered in each section of this course. Second, as the demand for general psychology increased so did the need to shift more resources in that direction. The pilot semester commenced Spring, 2008 where there were two sections of traditional sections and two sections of redesign. Student performance on a comprehensive multiple-choice exam and an essay question about prejudice was used for comparison. Full implementation occurred the following Fall semester and several changes were made, including the use of computer labs and supplemental instruction. My involvement in the research began by comparing student learning outcomes from the full implementation to the pilot semester. Forty-three questions out of the original 50 questions from the comprehensive final during the pilot semester were used in one of three unit exams. The remaining seven questions were from chapters no longer required. Additional new questions were added to each unit exam; however, the following analyses include just the 43 common questions. Analyses compared the redesign sections from the full implementation semester (Full Redesign) with redesign sections and traditional sections from the pilot semester (Pilot Redesign and Traditional respectively). Results indicated students from Full Redesign (Mean = 77%) performed significantly better than students from Pilot Redesign (Mean = 70%), who performed significantly better than students from Tradition sections (Mean = 65%). The effect size was a strong .825. The same pattern of results (Full Redesign > Pilot Redesign > Traditional Sections) was obtained comparing factual versus conceptual questions. The same prejudice essay from the pilot was used for the full implementation with one modification: Students were presented the essay during the second week of class and during the last exam for pre- and post-test comparisons. Results indicated that students performed better on the post-essay than the pre-essay. Thus, the changes made from the pilot redesign to the full implementation were helpful to students.

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Keenan Scott (Theatre)

Thoughts of a Colored Man on a Day When the Sun Set Too Early

After seeing Ntozake Shange's play, "For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf," Keenan Scott was inspired to write a play about the lives of young African American men. "The voice of the youth is often overlooked," Scott believes, and it needs to be heard. "Thoughts of a Colored Man on a Day When the Sun Set Too Early" steps into the minds of young men who explore the complex realities of love, abuse, rape and growing up without a father. "Thoughts of a Colored Man" is a monologue-based play that goes beyond race and gender by incorporating music, film and dance.

The cast included Kendall Bradford, J.D. Groomes, Japp Haynes, Tony Jarrett, Herb Little, Quino Moreno, Josh Scurry and Jay Stokes. As part of the presentation during Black History Month, artwork by David Baker, Adrian Boyer, Trayshina Rogers and Francesca Pehr was displayed in the PAC lobby.

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Staton Klein (Wildlife and Fisheries)

Movements of Three Species of Sculpin (Cottus) in Western Maryland

Movement is an important biological process in nearly all populations of organisms. Movement allows individual organisms to occupy suitable habitats for growth and survival. Most species have different ecological requirements during different stages of their life cycles and move to find food, avoid predators, seek refuges from environmental disturbances and harsh conditions, and to reproduce. Movements also facilitate the colonization of unoccupied habitats, the transport of nutrients, and the exchange of genetic material among different populations. Among fishes, several species are known to exhibit long distance movements. American eels, for example, spawn in the Sargasso Sea, but larvae are dispersed by ocean currents and juveniles enter freshwater streams that may often be thousands of kilometers from the breeding area. Conversely, many species of fishes are thought to have restricted movements of less than a few meters during their life cycles. Movement has not been studied in most species of fishes despite its ecological and evolutionary significance. Human alteration of ecosystems may influence movements in many ways. Barriers to dispersal (e.g., dams, channelized streams) often affect movement among suitable habitats, and climate change may prevent organisms from moving among areas because of thermal alteration to streams. Land-use alterations influence hydrology, channel structure and sediment inputs, all of which have been demonstrated to affect movements. My study examines the movements of three species of fishes in the genus Cottus (commonly known as sculpins). Sculpins are keystone species in small, coldwater streams throughout the Appalachians. I used visible implant tags to mark 473 sculpins in three, 50-meter stream segments in Garrett County, Maryland. Each tag had a unique alphanumeric code that allowed me to identify individual fish. All sculpins in each stream segment were marked in March 2008 and sites were sampled again in June and October 2008. On subsequent visits to each site I also marked all unmarked fish that were captured within the study segments. Sites will also be sampled again in 2009 in spring, summer, and fall. To date I recaptured 79 individuals, with 7 sculpins being recaptured twice (i.e., marked in March and recaptured in both June and October. The longest individual movement was 50 meters but most movements were less than 5 meters. Movements were biased in an upstream direction. Data are currently being analyzed to determine if sculpins in particular size/age classes are more likely to move. During the fall sampling period in 2009 I will sample stream segments 200 meters above and below each of the study segments in order to detect possible long-distance movements.

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