Insights, Fall, 2005

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY

- COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

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When students and faculty learn together, ... discovery follows.

Muggles, Mallards and M-Theory: An Aggie takes on Oxford Rhodes Scholar Lara Anderson discusses life in England

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FALL 2005

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DEAN'S OFFICE Greetings from the College of Science. Fall h<1,s arrived here in Cache Valley and we have already had two storms bringing snow to the peaks behind campus. Along with the seasonal changes, the USU campus continues to be a landscape in transition: the new Merrill-Cazier Library has opened, the old Merrill Library will soon be demolished, a parking structure and new student housing are under Dean Don Fiesinger construction immediately west of Widtsoe Hall, and a beautiful new recital hall will open early in 2006 on the east side of campus. With all of these physical changes, Utah State University continues to provide an environment where excellence in teaching and quality research are fully compatible.

In the College of Science, our students and faculty continue to be engaged in learning and research. In the last three years, we have had three of our six departments (Geology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, and Physics) recognized with University awards for teaching excellence. Outside of the classroom, our faculty involve undergraduates as well as graduate students in challenging research projects, guiding them on a path for future success. In particular, ten of our Science majors have had a busy summer as Willard L. Eccles Undergraduate Research Fellows. Selected via a competitive process lase spring, these students initiated research projects with faculty mentors in May. Their projects will culminate in a co-authored research paper or a presentation this spring either on campus or at a discipline-based professional forum.

outstanding high school students to consider studying science at Utah State University, and participating in various alumni events in support of scholarships and endowments. There are many dimensions to life here on campus and consequently many areas where you might be able to help us. I hope chat you enjoy this issue of Insightsand please do not hesitate to contact me if you have suggestions for future articles, such as a favorite faculty member or program that you would like to see highlighted, or a profile on alumni accomplishments. Insightswill be successful only if it provides information of interest and appeal to you, the reader. Please lee us know. Sincerely,

Inside

Insights

From the Dean's Office .......................................... ............. 2 Mugg/es, Mallards and M-Theory ..................... .......... ...... 3 New Appointments

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Welcome New Faculty ............................................. ........... 6 Aggie Guardsman Receives Hero's Welcome Home ..... 10 Drilling into Earthquakes ......................................... ......... 11 Emeritus Professor Eastman Hatch ...................... ........... 12 Emeritus Professor John Wood ............................... ........ 13 Alum Letter from Wayne Rowley .................... ............ ..... 14

Within this issue of Insights,we present some of our current research efforts, profiles of our various spring award recipients, and interviews with retired faculty members John Wood and Eastman Hatch from the Department of Physics. You will find out how a class project in a course for science education majors triggered a response from the U .S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); ponder with geologist Jim Evans how population growth is impacting the American West; learn from USU biologists observing evolution in action; and read how Lara Anderson, our valedictorian in 2003 and now a Rhodes Scholar, has adjusted to life at Oxford studying theoretical physics.

As you read of our accomplishments, please keep in mind that much of our success is due to the support received from you, our alumni and other friends of the College of Science. Remember that there are many ways to gee involved and support us, such as providing contacts for undergraduate internships and/or employment opporrunities, encouraging

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Jim Evans Tapped for Last Lecture ............................... ... 15 Roll of Donors .............................................. .................... 18 Chemistry/Biochemistry

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Physics Excellence in Teaching .......... .............................. 20 Heritage Society .............................................. .................. 21 Giving Back .................................................. ..................... 21 Student Phan-a-than ............ .......................... .................. 21 Something Strange is Happening .................... ............... 22 A Taste for Poison ............. ................................ ................. 24 NCUR 2005 Student Research Showcase .............. ......... 25 College Honors Outstanding Scholars ................. ........... 26 Wardle Receives Alumni Achievement Award ................ 29 Jim MacMahon: Faculty Awards & Recognition ........... 29 Transitions ..................................... .................................... 30 Keeping in Touch ............................. .................................. 31 Alumnet ............................................................................. 32

Muggles, Mallards and M-Theory : An Aggie Rhodes Scholar Takes on Oxford

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uring formal hall at Magdalen College, you must wear your academic gown co di nner unless you're a crusader. In that case, you may remain armor-dad. If you reside in All Souls College, grab your stick and torch on All Hallows Eve co haunt the ghost of a Mallard duck, whose body was discovered on the college grounds in 1438. If you're graduating with a history degree, have an ice pack ready. You'll be whacked over the head with a bible before your departure . These are just some of the eccentric rules and traditions Rhodes Scholar Lara Anderson has encountered since entering England's Oxford Universiry a year ago. "It's just like the Hogwarrs Academy in the Harry Potter series," says Anderson, who earned bachelor's degrees in math and physics in 2003, along with a master's in physics the following year, from Utah Scare University. Oxford, located about 50 miles southwest of London, is composed of more than 24 colleges. Students are assigned co "houses," much like those described in the Harry Potter books, where students live, dine, socialize and study, Anderson says. In fact, Hogwarrs Academy was partially inspired by Oxford and the Harry Potter movies were filmed at the university.

The university was established in the 11th century, which probably makes Oxford the original college town. Anderson attends Magdalen (pronounced "maudlin") Co llege, whose alums include Cardinal Wolsey, C.S. Lewis, Oscar Wilde and Dudley Moore. "The college even has a park with its own herd of very in-bred deer that look just like Bambi and love horse chestnuts - or 'conkers' as the Brits call chem," says the Logan native, who recently returned for a br ief hometown visit. Anderson is a doctoral candidate in the college's subdiscipline of theoretical physics - a division of the college that 's larger than USU 's entire physics department. "My current research involves M-theory on G2 orbifolds and multi-dimensional M-theory," says Anderson .

Huh? "The 'm' in M-theory stands for magic, mother , master, matrix, manifo ld - whatever you want it to be," she patiently explains. "M-theory is currently the leading candidate for a unified theory of the universe's fundamental forces." It's part of the ongoing search for a "theory of everything" or "TOE," Anderson says. "Sering theory starred about 20 years ago and is a collection of theories. M-rheory is a bigger attempt at unified theory that combines different string theories. " In addition co her work at Oxford , Anderson continues her research on supergravity with USU professor JimWh eeler, one of her former teachers. Their collaborative venture will soon be ready for publication. "My undergraduate and master's work at Utah State prepared me well for Oxford," she says. Despite a melting pot of classmates from countries around the world, Anderson says she and her colleagues at Oxford share a similar skill set and academic knowledge. She says she enjoys the diversity of nationalities ar Oxford, but still finds herself in the minority as a woman. "Out of 200 math and physics doctoral candidates, I'm one of less than probably ten women ," she says. Anderson has followed the controversy regarding Harvard President Lawrence Summer's remarks earlier this year suggesting "innate differences" berween men and women may account for the lack of females teaching math and science in universities. "I was thoroughly angered by his statement," she says. "Ir's a fair question co ask, bur he had nothing co support his claim."

Rhodes Scholar and Aggie Alum Lara Anderson says she never has to chec/c the weather forecast in Oxford - It's always raining! Cover and article photos courtesy Lara Anderson.

MUGGLES, MALLARDS AND M-THEORY. .. Cont inu es on pag e 28

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NEW

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COLLEGE NEW

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hemise Lisa Berreau keeps a softball mice handy in the back seat of her car, and some days it gees a lot of use. She recently played in a faculty-versus-student game among the chemises-and the outcome? "I won't tell you the score," she says. "le wasn't pretty."

he College of Science welcomes Christopher T. Tallackson as director of development. Chris assumed his new pose August 15.

Fortunately, Lisa hits home runs when she's pitching grant proposals to the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, and the Frasch Foundation. Her research expertise and grant writing skillsalong with a steady supply of Diet Coke and a strong dose of enthusiasm-help her keep her labs running. She and her graduate and undergraduate students are working coward a greater understanding of how metals function in biological systems. Lisa has been named associate dean for research and faculty development in the College of Science. 'Tm very pleased co have Lisa on board here in the Dean's Office," scares Dean Don Fiesinger. "She brings solid experience in grantsmanship and she is an outstanding research mentor and teacher. I couldn't think of a better person co help guide our young, talented faculty." Lisa's success can be attributed co her thoughtful and energetic approach. "I go through stages of grant writing," she says. "Reading, analyzing, contemplating where co go with research. Then I go talk it over with my students and rethink things. It's always in the back of my mind. " Proposal writing, she says, can bring a remarkable clarity co one's work. "It focuses the mind ." Although Lisa often travels co Sale Lake City for fun and good food, cheers for che Minnesota Twins and Vikings, and plays softball and other sports, she also finds rime co pore over books with keep-you-up-at-night titles like "Ge tting Funded." A native of Minnesota, Lisa has found "some of the finest undergrads you'll ever see" at Utah Scace."Some are scary-smart," she says. "They have a lot of drive co succeed, coupled with strong intelligence." She likes che fact that the Chemistry Department at USU is a "mid-sized program, " which allows her the time co supplement her research with other endeavors, including reaching Honors courses and advising university librarians on the selection of science journals and books. Each day brings a steady stream of students knocking on her door, and many students name her as their strongest inRuence and mentor at USU. The College administration is pleased co welcome Lisa on board.

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Chris arrives in Cache Valley from Walla Walla, Washinton, where he was a Development Officer with Whitman College, developing relationships with alumni through major giving and annual fund campaigns. Chris holds a BA in Economics '82 from Whitman. He has been a regular visitor co Central Idaho since 1970, where his family vacationed and his parents have lived since 1985. "My family feels very much at home in Utah's mountainous landscape." Chris was raised in Bellevue, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. "I enjoy hearing people's stories and helping them apply their financial support in a way that is meaningful co them and also strengthens the university," says Chris. "For so many alumni and faculty, their USU experience provided the inspiration and foundation for a meaningful life long journey. The dedication faculty members demonstrate in guiding their students on a challenging and successful academic journey is remarkable. Students at USU have access co an incredibly personal learning experience." Prior co entering higher education development, Chris pursued a 15-year career in industrial power supply sales and support in the telecommunications industry. Beyond campus, Chris looks forward co enjoying Cache Valley's Ry fishing and skiing with his wife, Barbara, a Sun Valley, Idaho, native, and their two young children. "My son is adjusting quickly-he loves doing the 'Scotsman Cheer' at Aggie events, and both kids love our Saturday night scops for Aggie ice cream."

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ith John Raitt's departure , Professor Jan Sojka cakes the helm as head of the physics department. Sojka, who was named Utah's Carnegie Professor for 2002, lists the Dallas Cowboys, country music, family, and outer space,

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among his passions. That list also includes teaching students "of all ages."

realize its relevance at the time," John says, but the race to see which group got there first was on .

"Physics can be a cough subject co teach when you are teaching a room full of students whose first love isn't the subject, " says Jan. "I have co do something co keep the students awake. My Scottish accent and a sense of humor helps. But I find what works best is getting the entire class out of their seats to participate in group demonstrations ."

As a faculty member at University College London , John received

Jan uses the "wave," known co sports fans the world over to liven the action when there is a lull in a game, to demonstrate simple laws of physics. He believes that interaction with one's audience and enthusiasm for the subject go a long way coward bridging the gap among the interested, the disinterested and the unenlightened. "My first upper division physics course was caught by Qan)," says former Aggie Jason Sanders. "His love for the subject was so strong it was almost tiring. Once in a lecture he humorously and accurately described the principles of flux by relating it co bunnies hopping in and out of a garden. His energy at the blackboard was exciting; he loved the subject and it was contagious." Jan has served as longtime faculty advisor for the NASA Get Away Special (GAS) project at Utah State. The GAS team includesinterdisciplinary undergraduate students developing experiments that have flown on the NASA Space Shuttle. Utah State has put more experiments into space than any ocl1eruniversity in the world. â&#x2013;

JOHN TAKES

RAITT A BOW

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hen John Raitt first heard about the Utah Agricultural College, he was dubious. He looked it up in an encyclopedia, and sensed it was in the middle of nowherecompared to the somewhere he lived-London . Born in England , John 's childhood was disrupted by World War II. He was a coddler when the troops retreated from Dunkirk through England, and his father, an engineer in a munitions plant , was given two days co relocate his family to safety, away from German bombers . John's father fed his son's interest in the physical sciences with books, and John ended up at Kings College London studying physics. His classes were held in "quite an old building , with oldstyle classrooms and labs." In chose days, at chat college, "students mixed more with faculty. We had afternoon tea." The hoc topic was the novel new concept of DNA, discovered by biophysicists on the King's College and Cambridge campuses. "We probab ly didn't

a fellowship from the European Space Research Organization (now the European Space Agency) co study at the University of California, San Diego, with Peter Banks. They were looking at experiments for NASA'.sspace shuttle when Peter asked, "Are you interested in joining our group?" and "By the way, I'm moving co the Utah Agricultural School co head up their Physics Department." John's initial reservations soon turned to enthusiasm. He, was impressed with the Utah school's facilities, and ascertained the school's promising capacity co develop space exploration research. The Space Dynamics Laboratory was still in its infancy, but the four colleagues Peter brought with him infused energy into space research. John worked with Peter and ochers to develop a vehicle charging experiment chat flew on the third shuttle flight-among the first science experiments flown on the shuttle . They fired a beam of electrons into space and monitored how the action affected the electrical charging of the shuttle. After another series of charging experiments on the Spacelab-2 shuttle flight, the charge handling instrumentation was incorporated into an experiment to fly a tethered satellite. The tethered satellite system was attached to the shuttle by an insulated , electrical conducting wire, which had to be a sophisticated cable-strong enough co handle mechanical loads and resist the space environment . Although a deployment prob lem limited the first attempt , and the second attempt was plagued by a broken wire, the results gave people confidence chat a tethered system was viable. "We demonstrated chat you could generate electricity from a deployed conducting tether, which could be used as a source of energy for the space station ." John also studied the electrical charging and discharging of space vehicles with sounding rockets.

In 1988, John was tapped co be department head, and though he carried on research already in the works, administration duties eventually grounded new space projects. "It's a good department, " John says. "There's not a lot of controversy. I have no regrets." "It's been a pleasure co work with John ," says Dean Don Fiesinger. "He's been a strong advocate for his faculty and staff." John is moving to Arizona , where he's bought a home. "Ir's hard to make the decision. I still enjoy being here." His many friends make it difficult to leave, he says. "The problem is, I'm not a sporting person . Tucson is full of golf courses, but I don 't chink I'll do chat." What he would like co do is travel, with an important caveat: "That's not to meetings!" As Trekkies might say to a departing friend: Live long and prosper. â&#x2013;

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Paul Cliften Assistant Professor

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Jeremiah James Assistant Professor Computer Science

Paul Cliften Having recently returned to the Intermountain West and eager to enjoy the outdoors, Paul Clifteo considered taking up golf "But I changed my mind," he says. "Ir might cut into my fly-fishing time." Raised in Idaho 's Upper Snake River Valley, Paul began his academic career at Ricks ColJege, now known as BYU-Idaho, in Rexburg. He says he loved his freshman microbiology class so, early on, there was little question in his mind of which major to pursue. After two years at Ricks, he transferred to Utah State, immersed himself in molecular biology, and subsequently earned both bachelor 's and master's degrees. Paul worked in the lab under the tutelage of Professor Jon Takemoto, with whom he researched the yeast gene SYR2 that causes resistance to the bacterial phytotoxin, syringomycin. "You learn a lot from the lab that you don't learn from the classroom," says Paul of his undergraduate and graduate research experiences at Utah State. Paul headed to the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver where he earned his doctorate in biochemistry and genetics. From there, he accepted an NIH postdoctoral fellowship at the Genome Sequencing Center at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis . Paul continues his research in yeast genomics and is currently focused on comparative techniques used to identify conserved sequences that regulate genes. This process involves comparing DNA sequences from related species to determine which sequences or motifs are similar in the different species. It has been used for a number of years to identify and characterize gene sequences, but now that sequence data is more readily available from related organisms, the process is being used to discover more subtle functional sequences in the genome.

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J. Dean Mathias

Assistant Professor Computer Science

Lecturer Computer Science

Paul says a challenge facing genomic biologists is the explosion of data resulting from rapidly developing technology. "We have all this data and we need to sort through it." He acknowledges that many biologists depend on statisticians and computer scientists to bring their computational and data manipulation expertise to untangle the data jungle. "But you still have to know what questions to ask on the biological end." Ultimately, says Paul, the ability to manage data will make biology more accessible to everyone. "Even high school students can now hop on the Web and find an amazing range of data to interpret, " he says. "T here have been some impressive high school projects in the past few years."

Jeremiah "Jerry " James Bakersfield, Cal ifornia, native Jeremiah "Jerry"James has always liked math. Throughout grade schoo l and junior high it was his favorite subject and he thought it would be the field he'd eventually pursue in college. Then came the day in high school when his best friend received a Commodore 64 for his birthday. "I was never the same," says Jerry, who has been hooked on computers ever since. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science from Brigham Young University and headed back to his home state to comp lete his doctorate, also in computer science, at the University of California , Santa Barbara. He subsequently joined the computer science faculty at the University of Kansas. A self-described "code monkey," Jerry says he likes to delve into source code to tinker with the very support structure of the software. His current interests include operating systems programming - especially in Linux - and applying formal methods to system programming. "Here 's where I return to my love of math, " he says. "We can do systems programming in a mathematical way to improve the quality and integrity of software."

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James Pitts

John R. Stevens

Changhui Yan

Assistant Professor

Assistant Professor

Biology

Mathematics and Statistics

Assistant Professor Computer Science

This fall, Jerr y teaches a programming languages course co inrroduce students co a wide range oflang uages. "Most computer science students are specialises in only one or rwo programming languages," he says. "T his course broadens their horizons. " In the spring he'll teach a gradu ate-level concurrent programming course, which emphasizes development of mulcithreaded systems. "Co ncurrent programming brings students up co speed with the rising generation of programmers," says Jerry. "Such programming enab les software to perform more than one cask at a time. Bue it also requires precision co prevent data corruption and ensure satisfactory performance ." In the research sector, Jerry plans co write a cool co perform source code analysis co uncover common mistakes made by programmers when writing mulcithreaded software. "le could be called, 'When Bad Thi ngs Happen co Good Programmers ' or 'Co mmon Programming Pitfalls,"' he says. He's also joined the Space Software Lab, headed by colleague Scott Cannon. The lab develops software infrasrructures for space-related projects. A current lab project is focused on crafting standard software architecture co be used for construction of Depamnent of Defense satellites. "T he idea is co be able co slap together a new satellite from pares and sofrware on hand in a matter of days or weeks instead of at the current pace, which cakes years," says Jerry. A third project involves formal analysis of distributed computing systems. "My efforts have focused on distributed shared memory , which is a way of making a bunch of distributed machines think they are sharing a chunk of memory that they all can read from and write co," he says. "T hey aren't really, of course, but it looks chat way co applications that run on the system." One of Jerry's spare time interests is serving on the XEmacs Review Board for an open source software program he alternately describes as "a text editor gone berserk" or "a kitchen sink editor."

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When he's not in front a computer screen, Jerry enjoys reading "anything but westerns and romance novels." Bue the bulk of his time beyond campus is spent with his wife and four children . Jerry describes the recent challenge of assembling a backyard swing sec that proved difficult even for a computer whiz . "le would help if the packing list matched the actual carton contents and the predrilled holes actually matched up ," he says.

Minghui Jiang In MinghuiJiang 's homerown ofWul1an, China, you'll need co allow at lease a half hour co cross the mighry Yangtze River Bridge on foot. If you're in a hurry, you can catch a bus on either end of the bridge co whisk you across. So you'll forgive Minghui if he smiles at the mention of the Logan River, which, even at flood stage, "is more like a creek." Bue Minghui has grown fond of the mountainous beauty and relaxed pace of the Rocky Mountain West. He completed his doctorate at Bozeman's Montana Scace this past spring and moved co Utah State co join the Computer Science Department as an assistant professor this past summer. His research endeavors in computational geometry are a seep in propelling development of carcographical app lications co accurately capture the geographical nuances of Wuhan, Logan, and points beyond. Minghui's love of complicated algorithms began in his pre-college days when he and classmates enthusiastically prepared for math and science competitions with the goal of advancing co city, regional and national levels. "le was fun solving mathematical problems ," he says. Minghui completed undergraduate studies in physics at Beijing University and wrote his bachelor's thesis on computational physics. He came co the United Scates in 1997 co pursue graduate studies at Purdue, where he earned master's degrees in both physics and computer science. While at Purdue he participated in a research project, still in progress, to simulate piano sounds using computer programs based on Newton's laws. The challenge,

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he says, is getting just the right interaction between hammer and string. "In our initial simulation, the piano's notes sounded more like the pluck of a guitar string. " And how does a computer program emulate the emotions of a human musician? "Actually, you can vary a number of parameters - volume_,_tjming, tempo - to translate feelings," says Minghui. Next spring, Minghui will teach courses in algorithms and bioinformatics, while continuing research in the topic of his doctoral thesis - map labeling with circles - among other areas. Outside the classroom, he looks forward to hiking and camping with his wife, Whayling Ng. The couple met while Minghui was living in Chicago and working for a software development firm following graduation from Purdue. "My wife, who is from Malaysia, actually speaks more dialects of Chinese than I do," he says. J. Dean Mathias Mathias is no stranger to USU's Computer Science department, having earned two degrees from the department and having taught as a temporary instructor for the past two and a half years. His position became permanent last July, and Dean looks forward to continue teaching ofC++, operating systems, Java, computer graphics and more.

J.Dean

"Teaching isn't a zero-sum game," says Dean, who has worked as a private consultant for the past ten years. "I lose nothing when I share information with students ." Dean earned a bachelor 's degree in computer science in 1992 and returned to complete a master's degree in 2004. In the late 1980s and early 90s, he worked as a student programmer for the university's Utah Water Research Lab, where he initiated his career in developing environmental applications. As a consultant, he expanded his work to include development of complex databases to store, manage, and report federally-mandated data collections . Today, his consulting clients include a variety of environmental engineering firms and other companies, including Idaho Power. His initial foray into teaching resulted from a spur of the moment request from an electrical engineering professor who asked Dean to teach a course. "I really enjoyed the interaction with students and it challenged me personally," he says. "And I like the university environment ." Dean concedes that his undergraduate studies were difficultan experience, he believes, makes him a better teacher. "By the time I entered the graduate program, I had the advantage of seasoned study habits, real-world experience and personal maturity," he says. "But my undergrad struggles enab le me to readily identify with the typical student ." Dean says he understands the confusion some students encounter with course material because he's experienced it himselÂŁ

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"I recognize their confusion and know the pathway to help them grasp the concepts. " He reminds students that struggling to master complex information doesn't mean they're not intellectually up to the task. Sometimes sheer repetition is required , he says. "Perseverance and experience are hugely important," says Dean. "I encourage students to keep trying." Perhaps that's why Dean is an avid cyclist and Tour de France fan. "I ride about two to three hours a day about four to five days a week," says the LOTOJA (Logan, Utah to Jackson, Wyoming) race veteran. Dean says cycling provides an outlet completely different from both the job and hobby of computing . "Cycling refreshes my mind and there is no feeling as sweet as the pain of an exhausting bike ride," he says. "I love both cycling and computing. I tell my cycling friends, "the bike comes first," and my geek friends, "the computer comes first." For the true answer, Dean says, you'll have to ask him yourself James Pitts Growing up in Dayton , Tennessee, James Pitts used to hang with his buddies on the grounds of the Rhea County Courthouse and its basement museum. "It was our after school gathering place," says James of the site of the infamous 1925 Scopes "Monkey " Trial.

Back then, James had no burning desire to study evolutionary entomology, but the irony of his childhood hangout and current profession isn't lost on him. "I just liked bugs," he shrugs. Interestingly, biology wasn't the focus of James' initial higher ed and professional careers. After high school, he served a twoyear stint as a nuclear electrician aboard a Navy sub during Desert Storm. Undergraduate studies followed at the University ofTennessee, where he majored in physics and chemistry and minored in math. He was subsequently employed as an analytical chemist in industry. Yet James' fascination with insects was rekindled and he pursued graduate studies at the University of Georgia, where he earned his doctorate degree. James and wife Theresa Pitts-Singer arrived in Logan in the summer of 2002, when Theresa, an adjunct assistant professor in Biology and also an entomologist, accepted a research post with the Bee Biology and Systematics Laboratory. After moving to Utah, James taught at Weber State before accepting a position at USU as a research professor and coordinator of the Introductory Biology Lab. The Provost's Office approached him abour teaching Honors classes, which led to the offer of assistant professor. Today, James' primary research interests are the evolution, ecology and history of Hymenoptera - that is, wasps, ants and bees. He 's among a handful of entomologists worldwide specializing in the study of spider wasps and velvet ants.

James' "love of bugs" is still evident as he displays his multicontinent collection of wasp specimens and enthusiastically describes a weekend lecture he's prepared for a local biology club. He delights in grasping wasps out of the air during community demonstrations , which always elicits gasps of fright. "I know which wasps sting and which don 't," he says.

John R. Stevens John Stevens and his wife, Heather Waddoups Stevens, both graduates of Utah State, were thrilled when John received an offer to teach at his alma mater.

Leaving Purdue University, where John earned a master 's in mathematical statistics and a doctorate in statistics, and returning to his hometown to join the faculty at USU is oddly reminiscent of his grandfather's experience . Utah native Kenneth R. Stevens returned to teach and research soil microbiology at Utah State Agricultural College, as the university was then known, after earning a doctorate at Rutgers in 1932. While John never met his grandfather, who passed away before his grandson's birth, he says he feels honored to be able to "somewhat follow in my grandfather's footsteps." After graduating from Sky View High School and entering Utah State, John was an aspiring high school math teacher. "Then I caught the research bug," he says, as he describes his undergraduate research project. "I have fond memories of that first project." Under the direction of professors Ian Anderson and Mark Fels, John and his undergraduate research partner, Adam Bowers, worked on a classification system of Lie algebras of vector fields. Both students continued their research in graduate school. Adam is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Connecticut. John says he's excited about creating undergraduate research opportunities in his new position because he knows their value. "Conducting research at the undergraduate level teaches you how to deal with dead ends and how to use and create various software applications to achieve your objectives," he says. "It adds a whole other dimension to classwork and gives you a real advantage as you pursue graduate studies." His current bioinformatics-related research focuses on using microarray technology and meta-analysis to determine levels of gene expression. "Microarray technology has been a real boon to the statistics community because of the interesting issues it presents," says John. "Using meta-analysis, you can combine results from multiple labs and account for chance variability and other differences to gain a better understanding of each gene's role." John taught his first course at USU this past summer and says Utah State's smaller classes are a welcome change from lecturing 300 to 400 students at a time as he did at Purdue. "I really enjoy working with students and I'm pleasantly surprised at how engaged they are," he said. He asked his summer class, comprised of students majoring in psychology; political science; elementary education;

communicative disorders; family, consumer and human development; and more, to write a short essay describing how they would use statistics in their future careers. "T hey really rose to the challenge," John says. "I was amazed at the interesting examples they came up with." Time spent riding the bus to and from school at Purdue afforded John the opportunity to rediscover reading for pleasure. "I had forgotten how many great subjects are out there." Now that he's living in Cache Valley,he's glad to be back in the mountains and pursuing outdoor activities sans Midwestern humidity. "We took our two young daughters on their first camping trip, " John says. "And I'm taking advantage of great mountain biking opportunities. But more than anything, I'm looking forward to a long and productive career here at Utah Seate."

Changhui Yan For many Americans, the sport of badminton conjures images of genteel, early 20th century ladies and gentlemen gingerly tapping birdies on a rolling green lawn, while pausing for sips of mint juleps. Changhui Yan knows better. For him , badminton is a fastpaced, Olympic-level sport, not for the faint of heart, that 's best played on a hardwood court. While searching for badminton partners, as well as players up for a volleyball match, his other sport of d1oice, Changhui is settling into USU 's Computer Science Department. He recently earned a doctorate from Iowa State University, where he majored in bioinformatics and computational biology as well as computer science. Changhui's interest in bioinformatics piqued about five years ago, while pursuing graduate studies in biology at China's Beijing University. ''Although bioinformatics was at its early stage, it had shown tremendous power in tackling biological problems in genomic and proteomic areas," he says. Changhui began to research doctoral programs in the fledgling discipline and discovered Iowa State. " Iowa State University was among the rare, pioneer universities that offered a PhD degree in bioinformatics at that time . Today I am happy to see that many more universities have joined in," he says. Iowa State's interdepartmental program draws candidates from a variety of backgrounds , says Changhui. While there, he joined other biologists learning the ropes of computer science, while working alongside computer scientists tackling courses in biology. He hopes to find the same interdisciplinary collaboration at Utah State. "My current research focus is in protein function and structure prediction," Changhui says. "My past research involves identifying the DNA-binding sites on proteins. " His wife, Lan Hu, is also a computer scientist and is continuing graduate studies she started at Iowa State here at Utal1 State. NEW FACULTY ENRICH COLLEGE ... Continues on page 10

INSIGHTSCOLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

9

AGGIE

GUARDSMAN

Neighbors and friends of Erick Lund lined the streets of his hometown and waved American Bagsas the Providence, Utah native returned home following military service in Iraq. Erick attended Utah Scaceas a pre-dentistry major during the 2003-04 academic year and returned to school this fall to resume his studies.

RECEIVES

HERO'S

WELCOME

HOME

Amid studies, Erick and Mandy look forward co the coming ski season at Beaver Mountain. "I figure I can still manage snowboarding - even with a partially amputated foot." Erick is the son of Hank and Wyoma Lund of Providence, Utah. Hank works in the USU Controller's Office. Erick's siblings Andrew Lund and Lynsi Lund Theurer also attend Utah Scace. â&#x2013;

Aggie Erick Lund poses with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld . The photo was taken last December

at the town hall meeting at a transit camp in Kuwait, where a soldier asked Rumsfeld , " Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills . .. to up-armor our vehicles?" (Photo by John Carlson)

Erick, who served with the Logan-based Utah National Guard's Bravo Battery, l- l 48th Field Artillery Battalion in Kirkuk, was severely injured when two roadside bombs exploded near his unit's Humvee during a patrol on July 16. The blast killed one of his comrades, while wounding Erick and another soldier. Erick suffered shrapnel wounds to the back of his head, upper back, left leg and foot. Erick vividly remembers the bombing. "We were traveling about 65 mph when we hie the bombs, " he says. "My buddy, who was driving, was knocked unconscious and we coasted about 200 meters before the vehicle came to a stop." Though he remained conscious, Erick said he couldn't move his arms or legs and his ears were ringing. "It was like being inside a popping balloon. I heard people yelling at us to get our because our vehicle was on fire."

NEW FACULTY ENRICH COLLEGE ... Continu ed from page 9

Changhui met her during his studies in Beijing, Lan's hometown. Lan is a "city girl," Changhui explains, while he hails from the country. He grew up in rural Licang, a city in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region near the Vietnamese border. His parents make pottery.

Changhui says Litang's population is about the same as Logan's - 50,000 people - but the city covers a much smaller geographical area. "It's much more crowded than Logan and the climate is very hot and humid ." Two very different climates, perhaps, but both places where one can pursue hardwood court sports year round. Badminton, anyone? â&#x2013;

'

Fellow soldiers pulled him to safery and loaded him on a medevac helicopter. Emergency surgery at a field hospital saved his leg, Erick says, bur he still required partial amputation of his foot. He was Bown first to Germany, then to Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where he spent a month undergoing further treatment and therapy. HERE COMES THE SUN

Erick's wife, Aman da "Mandy'' Brady Lund , a pre-nursing major at USU, joined her husband in San Antonio . "She's a trooper," says Erick. The couple had been married only four months when Erick left for Iraq.

can wreak havoc with co m says Physics Department H suspect solar wind caused t he 1981

Erick started fall semester classes just days after his return and, though he feels somewhat overwhelmed with his class load, says, 'T U never be able to look at school with a negative attitude."

of the Galaxy IV satellite that knocked out pagers, radio and TV broadcasts, ATMs and pay-at-the-gaspump service for m illions of customers . Inclem ent

"You never appreciate life as much until something devastating happens, " he says. "Even walking across the quad feels good."

10

COLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

INSIGHTS

space weather can also d isrup t flight and maritime naviga t ion systems .

DRILLING

INTO

Utah State University geologists are involved in a breakthrough drilling project that lays the groundwork for the first subt erranean earthquake observaroty established directly within a seismically active fault. Geology professor Jim

Evans, grad student Sarah Draper, undergrad Kelly Mitchell and Aggie alum John Solum, now with the U.S. Geological Survey, are among researchers who worked on-site this past summer with the San Andreas Fault Observatory USU geologist Jim Evans, left, and Steve at Depth (SAFOD) project. Hickman of the USGS wash the fast cuttings Launched in 2003, SAFOD sample from the borehole (Photo courtesy EarthScope.J is one of three major components of EarchScope, a National Science Foundationfunded initiative being carried out in collaboration with the USGS to investigate powerful geological forces that shape the North American continent. Drilling personnel completed the project 's 13,082 feet-long curved borehole, which penetrates an active area of the San Andreas Fault and reaches a vertical depth of about 2 miles, August 9. Located on a private ranch near Parkfield, California, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the borehole is lined with steel and concrete in preparation for installation of a variety of instruments and sensors to provide round-the-dock measurement of temperature, Ruid pressure, strain accumulation and other processes. "We've drilled into active faults," saysJim."For one of the first times we can look at rocks in a zone where we know earthquakes occur." Drilling into the precise location was easier said than done. Rather than an obvious gash in the ground apparent with up and down thrust faults, much of the 800-mile long strike-slip San Andreas is barely visible to the lay observer. It consists of two roughly parallel, underground plates tl1at slide past each ocher like cross-country skis. While drilling into the carefully selected site, researchers discovered different rock types than their models suggested.

At the California drill site, USU undergrad Keffy Mitche/1 performs heavy mineral

separation on cuttings samples. (Photo courtesy EarthScope) .

"We rook samples at every 100 feet of drilling depth to anticipate when we'd cross the fault and hie the active zone," says Kelly, the lone undergraduate in the multi-university IO-member student contingent of the research team.

EARTHQUAKES

Kelly and Sarah spent days in 100-plus degree heat scooping expelled drilling mud into buckets, washing and separating rock cuttings, and carefully analyzing the cuttings ' composition. Kelly said ic cook longer than expected to hie the cellcaleheavy silicates indicative of the target zone. She recounted a false alarm in lace July when she and fellow students were roused in the wee hours of the morning from their drilling rig-side double-wide trailer to witness breaking developments. "We all rushed co the drilling platform, " she says. 'T he drilling break- meaning the rate that you're penetrating the rock - sudden ly increased and we thought we'd crossed the fault." The ream's efforts were rewarded August 2, when the drill sped up again, hie bursts of radon, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon gases and breached the active zone. USU grad student Sarah Draper (right) and Rafael Almeida ofTexas A&M scoop expeffed driffing mud to co/feet mineral samples. (Photo courtesy EarthScope ./

William Ellsworth, chief of the Earthquake Hazards Team at the USGS in Menlo Park, California, and a principle investigator on the project, cold national media the successful borehole marks a major milestone in understanding how quakes scare, how they grow into deadly cremblers and whether scientists can learn to accurately predict chem. Until now, said Jim, geologists have been limited to study of exhumed faults - chat is, faults that were once at depth and have subsequently risen to the surface due to mountain building processes. "In those cases, we are never sure that the faults we look at were truly earthquake-producing," he says. "Now we're able to observe the actual earthquake machine in real-rime." Jim, Kelly, and Sarah say they are graceful for the unprecedented opportunity to participate in a project that provides a literal window into previously unseen geophysical phenomena. "This is a very cool project," says Jim. For more information about SAFOD and Earthscope, visit earthscope.org.â&#x2013;

The 2,000 HP diesel -elect ric rig used to dri/1 the more than two mile-deep borehole into the San Andreas Fault. In the foreground is the dri/1 bit used to penetrate the active fault zone. (Photo courtesy EarthScope) .

INSIGHTSCOLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

11

EASTMAN A LIFE

HATCH: OF LUCKY

E

astman Hatch has the manner of a gentleman. When he reminisces about his life, he attributes every good rum of events to a "lucky break" or "good fortune. " Colleagues or family members might call his good luck by ocher names: vision , discipline , and simple gratitude.

His first "lucky break" was being able to attend Stanford University , where he earned a bachelor 's in physics. Hi s second? Meeting his wife, artist Anne Clawson. "We grew up in che same Sale Lake neighborhood ," he says, "But we hadn 't met. " Friends arranged a blind date, which became a lifelong partnership. Eastman obtained his doctorate from Caltech in Pasadena , California; publi shed his work in the PhysicalReview; and was offered a position at che prestigious Brookhaven N ational Laboratory on Long Island , contributing to the growing body of research about low-energy nuclear physics. le wasn't long before the U .S. Navy came knocking, asking Eastman if he would go to Germany to participate in che interrogation of captured German scientists. "Ac che close of World War II, the Russians pied with che American s not to go into Berlin until chey had secured the place, " Eastman says. "The Russians were our allies, and Stalin was persuasive, so the U.S. stalled the troops until the Russians took over. The first thing they did was go to the universities and research institutes and round up all the atomic scientists. " The German scientists were ordered to work at Russian atomic labs for a period of ten years, but when cheir contracts expired, "99.9 percent " wanted to return to Germany. Eastman 's job was to debrief "people of interest " who had slipped back into West German y, to assess che strengch of Russian nuclear capabilities. He spent five monchs in 1958 concentrating on an important chemise who had abandoned all his possessions to slip, unnoticed, into West Berlin . After Eastman had spent two years in Frankfurt-Main gachering intelligence, the program had accomplished most of its goals and Eastman was ready to move on. And then , according to Eastman, a "fortunate thing " happened. A friend of a friend invited Eastman to collaborate on nuclear physics research at che University of Heidelberg, in Germany. Eastman published his work in Germany 's most prestigious physics journal, Zeitschriftfor Physik.

f2

C O LLE G E O F SCIE NC E INSIGHTS

BREAKS

"Our children were coming up to school age about then, " he says, and he and Anne decided to return to the Scates. Eastman was invited to become an associate professor at Iowa State University in Ames , Iowa, skipping assistant professorship and landing immediate tenure, which caused consternation wich some colleagues. His lase stop was Utah Scace, where Department Head Farrell Edwardshired him in 1969. When Farrell stepped down, Eastman took his place as department head , and chrew his energy into beefing up the graduate program. "I made an effort to recruit grad students, and had three students who obtained doctorates , including our first woman physics grad student ," Eastman says. "Glen Taggartwas the university president at che time, and he and Provost Gaurth Hansen brought this university into maturity. Those were fruitful years." The College of Science also prospered, beneficing from a summer lecture program wich distinguished scientists chat Eastman initiated , along with Science Dean RalphJohnson. Eastman went on to become dean of the School of Graduate Studies , where he established a Student Graduate Council, which gave students a voice in che formulation of graduate school policie s. "It was quite popular, " he says. Four years lacer, he and Anne returned to Germany for a sabbatical at the University of Freiburg. His second sabbatical , seven years lacer, cook them to London and the University of Cologne , on che Rhine River in Germany. Along che way, Eastman taught almost every physics class offered at USU. Eastman hasn't slowed down in retirement. He 's served as president of the Rotary Club, and has volunteered on community and university boards , including the Science and Humanities Council; che College of Humanities , Arts and Social Sciences; Sunshine Terrace; and the Stokes Nature Center. One of the founders (and first chairperson) of the Chamber Music Society of Logan, he has served on the board since the group 's inception 25 years ago. He also serves on che board of Musica Reservata. He and watercolor artist Anne contribute co che arts and to community causes. They also gather regularly, with their three children and six grandchildren , at a family cabin on the upper Weber River. Eastman's overall reflection is chis: "We've been very lucky." Those who have had the opportunity to know him-his students, colleagues, and friends-would say the same. â&#x2013;

JOHN A LIFE

WOOD: IN THE

J

ohn Wood still walks co the office twice a week; it's hard co break the habit of a lifetime. After all, his affiliation with USU 's Physics Department goes back co 1937, when the young student embarked on a lifelong passion . He was introduced co physics at age eight when he read one of the first college physics texts ever written. The book, written by a Nobel Prize winner, "had a lot of pictures and words I could understand. And a lot I couldn 't," he laughs. "That 's when I knew what I wanted co do." John worked his way through the Utah Agricultural College in the machine shop-he could make 50 cents an hour making equipment for physics experiments, as opposed co 25 cents an hour grading papers. After graduation , he cook the bus across the country co Penn Scace, just as World War II was heating up. When the U .S. entered the war, John served on the front linesof research-helping develop high-octane gasoline for the military. He also trained aviation students. "I had a platoon of 20 students on their way co Air School," he says. "They used co salute me!" After a brief seine at the Bausch and Lomb Optical Company, John returned to academics, and co the West, co the University of Wyoming in Laramie. He and his new wife, Margaret, packed their 1939 Ford so full of possessions they had co jack up the rear axle. Utah State offered an invitation in 1956, and John cook it, with reservations. "We had gone through three presidents in four years."

MOUNTAINS According to the university archivist, the early 1950s were a period of conflict and tumult at the Agricultural College. Twelve hundred students camped out at the scare capitol co protest the firing of President Louis Madsen, and speculation was rampant about possible decisions, made in the governor 's office, which might impact the school in a far-reaching way. According co John, two of the three PhDs on the Physics staff resigned before he arrived on campus. Darryl Chase was appointed president the following year and , John says, an era widely acknowledged as one of the most progressive, growth-oriented periods at USU began. The school also found a friend in the new governor, George Dewey Clyde, a former USU engineering dean. In 1957 The New YorkTimes reported the successful launch of the Russian satellite, Sputnik. This raised a furious investigation by Congress as co how we had been outdone, says John, and led co the creation of programs chat raised the scientific competence of young students. John joined the educational effort, and began teaching a grade school science program and evening courses for high school physics teachers on his own time. "They had me going rill lace at night," he remembers. John gave his campus lectures in the cheater in Old Main , as the Widcsoe lecture hall wouldn 't accommodate the pose-war boom of students entering college on the G.I. bill. "I had co haul an antiquated projector there two times every week. The ocher three days I gave a recitation class in World War II bunker huts. "

Boti joined and

r;

USU as an electronic

tectinician

duall~ mor;P.hed Ir.om instr:umentation

troubleshooter

o comP.uter technician

as ttie

An immediate order of business for John, an experimental physicist rather than a theorise, was to find the funds for needed equipment. Unfortunately , money was in short supply. "I was cold by the controller chat physicists don 't need equipment ; they can use pencils and paper, " he says. John was eventually able co rebuild the machine shop, with the substantial, personal gift of a milling machine and lathe, made by well-known physicist Jesse DuMond, of Caltech , who had been a visiting professor for two summers. One of the high points of John 's career was a sabbatical spent in Sweden, working with Kai Siegbahn (who later won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics). John helped develop an X-ray spectrometer chat measured energy levels of electrons. After his return from Sweden, John immersed himself in research with the Nuclear Reactor Testing Laboratory in Idaho , where he measured JOHN WOOD ... Continues on page 28

INSIGHTSCOLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

13

" . tten in res onse th The following letter was wri in the S ~in 2~0 ~ arttcle, ~aturalist Sows Seeds of ed was a Knowledge,,, which appear 5 tss~e of Insights.The article careet f and life the of t oun acc aw,told al Sh person bs Professor Richard of Sc~en !memum e m. lleg Co chu red Fin da reti Lin and er m alu by USU ce st me

tsu

TY IOWA STATE UNIVERSI

College of Agriculture Department of Entomology 3222 Science II

OF SC I ENCE

AmPS,

AND

TECHNOLOGY

Iowa 50011-3222

5t5 294-7400 FAX 51 5 294-5957

May 12, 2005 Don Fiesinger , Dean College of Science Utah State University Logan, UT 84332-0305

Dean Fiesinger:

Richard ul article about Professor "Insights " for the delightf of ors es as edit seri the ny and bota you Thank Shaw's three quarter une to be a student in Dr. Dr . Shaw ' s in t stan assi Shaw . I had the good fort hing teac I was also an undergraduate field a undergraduate in 1959. clarity leading students on my course . I remember with ono Tax t experiences of d oun prof spring 1960 Plan and ng ardi t was one of the most rew trips in Logan Canyon . Tha ty professor. that I had to be a universi w kne I , that my life. After ate and n biology , and undergradu years of teaching freshma truly outstanding two of I recently retired after 37 one was w Sha State University . Dr. classes from during almost graduate courses at Iowa une of knowing and taking fort d goo the the had I that professors tin Haws , also at USU , was y. The late Professor Aus Dr. on d ecte refl I as s nine years of university stud orie brought back a flood of mem " ghts Insi " r In afte le e styl artic The hing other . eled my teac I had in his courses . I mod hard Shaw, Shaw and the experiences emulate Austin Haws, Ric to tried I . USU at ms sroo clas field in and had I ry s rato nce labo erie exp ents as many iding undergraduate stud and Eldon Gardner by prov experiences as possible. rs in of truly outstanding professo was blessed with a plethora us Dat r, dne Gar on Eld In the 1950s and 60s , USU s, Haw addition to Drs . Shaw and y hope that USU the biological sciences. In a world-class faculty. I trul USU e gav rs othe and , one of the best be to es tinu Hammond , Sid Boyle con of these men . If it does , it ber cali the rs esso prof still has universities in the world . years in Logan as among the best alumni and count our time My wife and I are both USU of our lives . Sincerely ,

or Emeritus Wayne A. Rowley , Profess ary and Department of Veterin logy omo Ent of ent artm Dep e icin ve Med Microbiology and Preventi ity vers Uni e Stat a Iow Ames , IA 50011

14

COLLEGE

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INSIGHTS

JIM

EVANS

TAPPED

What would you say if you were utteri ng your last words? That's what Utah Stare stude nts want to know when they ask their favorite professor to give the "Last Lecture" each April. T he task, according to nomi nee Jim Evans, was a bit daunting, so he just launched into some of his favorite themes with a talk titled

"Utah2050: Of Oil Milk and Waterin a Land of Plenty (ofPeople)." When the geology professor taught his first Planet Earth honors course, it drew all of three students. The honors section now has 60 students, more tha n 300 take the Planet Earth class each semester, and now, of course, natur al resources and sustainability are hot topics. Population growth along the Wasatch Front will make tl1em even hotter, Jim says. Five and a half million people will be crowded into northern and southwestern Utah by 2050, almost double the current popu lation. But the news isn't all bad, he said. "The challenge will provide numerous opportunities for creative solutions." And in case we're tempted to comp lain roo loudly, Jim reminded the audience that there are rwo billion people on our planet who

"FAVORITEPROFESSOR" A HIT IN LOCALCOMMUNITY JimEvans has mentored

hundreds of Utah State University students, but he has also worked quietly in the local community, helping individuals from less privileged backgrounds achieve humbler goals: learning to sound our words and understand their meaning, and gaining enough literacy skills to hang onto blue collar jobs.

Jim grew up working a succession of rural logging, mining, and sawmill jobs, giving him empathy for adults who work the local assembly lines for six dollars an hour. The passion and dedication that made Jim a favorite professor on campus are the same skills that made him a favorite tutor at Bridgerland Literacy, a local volunteer program. Once a week, for many years, Jim put aside his college texts and research papers, and waded into fifrh-grade reading levels-stories about cowboys, mining towns, and Indians. He mentored one young man all the way into trade school, and helped unleash creativity in another man, who bought his first computer and began composing stories about local cowboy legends. (Did you hear the one about the "Old Cowboy" who roped a bobcat and was buried with a shot of whiskey in his coffin?) Jim's patience and enthusiasm opened up a new world for his students: one of words, newfound understanding, and self-respect.

FOR LAST

LECTURE

live in conditions so abject they would do anycl1ing to have our pro blems. "The Wasatch Front, like most places in the U.S., grows by sprawl," Jim said, "And that sprawl is projected to extend along a 170-mile-long corridor from Richmond in the north to Santaquin in the south, with the back valleys connected to the metrop lex." That means that people who move to outlying areas to escape the crowds won't escape them for long. The squeeze, he said, leads to poor planning. "We grow by pushing the limits of nature ." People with homes in floodplains are waking up to water in the basement or homes washed into rivers, and those on unstab le mo untain slopes find mudslides at their doorstep. "More people means we'll need more power, more oil, more water, and more land," Jim said. That will mean retrofitting existing power plants, expanding generation capacity, and looking at nonrenewab le resources. T hese issues are difficult to negotiate because there are always peop le involved, and environmental costs. "T he discussion about rwo new coal plants in south central U tah is in the newspaper almost every day now," Jim said.

And the seemingly obvious solutions are not withou t complications. "Win d farms are not as environmentally-frie ndly as you might think; they have a serious impact on bird migratio n." T hese challenges will necessitate a long, hard look at energy conservation. As for oil, "T he rest of the world is getti ng very thirsty for hydrocarbons." Jim believes that the global competition for oil will change the internat ional geopolitical landscape. "We are setting ourselves up for competition for those resources in ways we don' t realize," he said. Regionally, the competition will cente r around water. "Who's growing? T he dry states." A doub ling of the populatio n in Utah-the second driest state-will necessitate new dam projects, JIM EVANS TAPPED FOR LAST LECTURE ... Continues on page 25

INSIGHTSCOLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

15

2005 AWARD'S

PROGRAM

(Left to Right) College of Science Scholarship Recipients: Lindy A. Dimond, Daniel Christopher Housley, John Timothy Fisher, Jr., Kathryn Lynn DuHadway, Justin N. Thorpe, Timothy R. Jessop, and Carol Ann Christensen (not present). (Left to Right) Scholarship Recipients: Newell Tyler Elison, Seely-Hinckley Scholarship; Kody R. Crowell, Seely-Hinckley Scholarship; Dixon Grant, Sorenson Scholarship; Brian T.Lee, Seely-Hinckley Scholarship; Ryan D. Warner, Seely-Hinckley Scholarship; Dal/in S. Pabst, Cooley Scholarship, Keith 8. Rimington, Questar Scholarship, and Sara A. Jensen, Burton Scholarship (not present).

2005 SPRING

GRADUATION

(Left to Right) Willard L. Eccles Undergraduate Research Fellows: Rebecca Bennion Mitchell, Isaac Thomas Westfield, Rochelle Gainer Echols, Kelly Jean Mitchell, Michael G. Yurth, Sandra Cove Viera, Joseph Andrew Spencer, Kathryn Lynn DuHadway, Jonathan D. Abbott, and Tyce Jeffrey Kearl (not present) .

Not Just Your Average College Student Perhaps no one was more deserving of a university diploma

last spring than statistics student Matthew Maw . True, he learned how to figure out a calculation in his head faster than most students can punch numbers into their calculators, but

he had some obstacles. He couldn't use a calculator, turn on a

computer, or open a book without assistance. Mostly paralyzed from the neck down , Matt came to campus every day, every year, in a wheelchair . "When trials come, you can work through them t he says, "whether you have a disability or not." His statistics professors accommodated him as much as possible , but in the end it was a fierce determination

that propelled him up the commencement aisle. Matt has regained limited use of his arms, and is looking for a job . He

(Left to Right) Alan Hidy (Geology & Physics); Matt Pluta (Geology); Hiroyuki Nakayama (Geology); Kevin Randall (Geology); and Joe Otterstrom (Business).

hopes to return for a master 's degree .

Trustee Professor

Jim MacMahon, Graduate Student Hooding Teacher of the Year Alvan Hengge; Valedictorian Rex Watkins; and Associate Dean Lisa Berreau, Escort.

(Left to Right) Ryan Wilcox, (Pre-Med) Cord for AED; and Jace Beattie (Pre-Med)

Awards Program , Scholar's Day, and Welcome Week Photos taken by Associate Dean Richard Mueller Graduation Photos taken by Dean Don Fiesinger and University Photographer Donna Barry Family Day Photos taken by Associate Dean Lisa Berreau

.,

(/

16

/ r--.::,

COLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

INSIGHTS

SCHOLAR'S

DAY 2005

College of Science Ambassadors and Science Senator talk with students at 2005 Scholar's Day

Dean Don Fiesinger visits with students at 2005 Scholar 's Day

......................................................... AGGIE FAMILY

DAY 2005

.................................................................................................... WELCOME

INSIGHTS COLLEGE

WEEK

OF SCIENCE

17

VEAR

2005

RO

LL

OF

DONORS

Wegratrfollyaclmowkdgrthr 661 donor:swho contributrdin excrssof $744,000UJ thr Colkgrof Scimcr in thrfocal yrar 2005 (J July 2004 UJ 30 junr 2005). Alumni,frimds,foundotions,corporations, faculty.and staff haw all donatrdgmrrously.Evrrydrpartmmt, srwralsprcialprogramsand projrcts,and numrrousscholar.ships bmefitrd.fromyour contributions.Thankyoufor mhancingthr Colkgr'scommitmmt UJ excr/Jmcrin scimcrrducationand re"srarr:h. 11,ursupportis criticalrachyrar. 11,umaycontactDrlll!lopmmtDi"cUJrChrisTa/Jackson at (435) 197-3510or ebris,ud/ae/aon@ruu.d,, for additionalinformationon opportunitirsUJsupportthr Colkgeof Scimcr. CORPORATE Alliant Techsystems· Alliant Techsystems Community Investment Foundation• American Oil & Gas , Inc. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation • Anesthesia Associates Medical Group . Inc ATK Aerospa ce Company . Inc. Autism Autoimmunity Project , Inc. Autism Research Institute B B W I Care Committee Bayer CropScience Boeing Company• Bohler Engineering , Inc.

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IBM International Foundation Intel Foundation Lockheed Martin" Microsoft Corporation• Mountain Orthopaedics NatWest Newmont Mining Corporation • Northrop Grumman Foundation Pfizer Foundation* Pharmacia Foundation Questar Corporation• Raytheon Company

Rutter Foundation , Inc. SAIC Shell Oil Company Foundation , Inc Texaco , Inc." The B.H.A.R.E. Foundation• The Coca-Cola Company • The J. P. Morgan Chase Foundation • Universityof Idaho• Utah State Horticullure Assoc Vitalsmarts, LC' Willard L. Eccles Foundation· Wyeth International , Inc•

INDIV I DUAL DON ORS Anonymous Donors Carolyn Kay Abbott . PhD" Robert Dell Adamson• Steve & Vicki Allan· Lori M. Allen• Ross R., Jr. & Tana Allen• Chris E. Allgower• Minnie M. Allison· Howard Lynn Allred Ted R. Allred Brad Althouse Charles A. Andersen Ferron L. Andersen Richard L. Andersen• Collin & April Anderson Deryk L. Anderson Mary Lu Anderson Steven & Nicole Anderson• Karlyn Gansel Ang D. M. & Donna J. Archiba ld John & Kaylynn Armitstead Karl & Joyce Armstrong• Arthur & Mabel Badger Robert C. Bahler Terrell & Laurie Baldwin" Ryan & Diane Ball Donna M. Baranowski• Bevan & Gay Bastian • Philip D. Baugh" Mike & Julia Bava• Arthur J. Bell PatriciaAnn Bennion Glenn B. Bergeson• Lisa M. Berreau·

Lori Lin 8errett1' Katie A. Berry• Stephen Bialkowski & Agnes Chartier• Donald & Margaret Bickmore• Ray W. & Mary Jo Bills" Karen 0 . Bindrup• Thomas J. Binnall Mark U. Birch" Ron M. Bitner• Ronald Blaisdell Alexander I. Boldyrev• Joseph & Carrie Borondy " John & Marilyn Brady James & Cheryl Brannan Paul Brenchley • Nancy Briggs William A . Brindley• Terry L. & Verna Broadbent• Edmund D. Brodie, Jr." Duane & Marla Brown• George Merrill Brown Robert S. Brown• William Lee Brown•

1

COLLEGE

H

Charles J. & Linda Broz• Charles P. Bruce Larry Miner Bruner Perry S. Bruno• John & Linda Budge Alice Elaine Buehner Brent S. Butler• Richard J. Butler• Lawrence & Geneva Buys Lloyd G . Bytheway Troy J. Caldwell Nathan H. Call' Don W. Callaway Michael Darin Cameron Val D. Campbell" Robert & Pauline Capener• Rex & Janette Case• Richard S. Chambers• Mark & Debra Chapman Jeffrey & Kathryn Chevalier• Wendell & Nola Child Gordon J. Christensen Paul & Peggy Christensen Estate of Dr. Ralph P. Christenson Grant & Geniel Christian• Brian Christiansen• Deborah Ciul' Scott & Martha Clark' Theron W. Class• Roberta E. Clement• John F. Clouthier , Jr. Stephen W. Clyde' C. Bruce & Julie Collet Neil F. Collins• George & Sandra Comish" Marvin William Conley• Donald & Nancy Cooley• Sam Coor Thomas D. & Joanne Coppin' Chris & Bobbie Coray• Daniel C. & Sherri Coster• Scott & Diane Cowley Wallace & Loree Crandall Matthew & Rachel Crane• McKell Crawford ' Carl & Susan Crockett Muyi Cui Steven B. Curtis' Richard & Adele Cutler• Wendy Czarnecki' Jim W. Dahl' David T. Daines M. D. Harry & Charla Danforth Dale Russel Daniels Dean F. Davidson D. Jerome & Melanie Davies Brent & Ellen Davis

OF SCIENCE

INSIGHTS

David & Bernice Davis Roy Kim Davis' Steven R. Davis• Marlowe Dayley • Michael Dean June L. Deer Harold E. & Carolyn J. DeLaMare• John Robert Dennison· Edward J. Deputy Laurie D. DeRosa Verl K. & Joan Diamond Glenn E. & Valerie C. Dickey Mary Ann Dietz nmothy A. Dietz Dwight Robinson Dixon , PhD John Domina• Gene M. Done Jason R. & Dawn M. Douglas• William B. Douglass , Jr. Mark & Diana DuBois' Durrell Duce• Ralph & Lorraine Duce• Thayne R. Dutson , PhD Linda M. Ebie Douglas Eborn Thomas Keith Eccles Dr. Richard & Joan Egan• Dean Egbert LeGrande C. & Marilyn Ellis Peter M. Ellis Ralph & Wendy Ellis Gerald D. Elseth . PhD' Cynth ia C. Emminger Brandt L. Esplin Edward & Debi Evans• James Evans & Susanne Janecke' Joseph & Tanya Evans Keith C. Evans Aaron G . Faatz• Fulton J. Fahrner Patrick T. Falconer Roger & Caro l Fallon Alan J. Feltz Charles & Anna Field ' Donald W. & Janet Fiesinger• Linda Hansen Finchum• Wendy H. Finlayson Larry & Belinda Fischer Lee Fisher James R. Fisher• nm & Renee Fitzpatrick Frederick G. Flaccavento John A. Flores , II Steven R. & Patricia A. Folkner Lana Fonnesbeck• Walter Fox• Brett & Sarah Francis

McKay Francom Steven M. Franson Holly Ruth Franz Kent J. Funk Kevin & Maree Funk Donald & Kathryn Gardner • Joseph H. Gardner• Richard & Naomi B. Gardner Ronald J. Gardner• Stephen B. Gasser Lawrence, Jr. & Jennifer Gates• Joseph Norman Gee• Richard Martin Geiger Jeffrey Don Geisler Lynn H. Gerber• Richard Peter Gerber Harry L. Gibbons• Scott & Toni Gibbons• Ronald & Jill Gihring• Russell 0 . & Ramona D. Glauser James & Tonya Goddard Louis & Elizabeth Goff Brent R. Gooch Dennis Harvey Gordon George & Jean Gowans• Walter & Jolene Graham Kathryn Wing Grandison Allen W. & Colleen Graves • Sarah A. Gray Estate of Marguerite Greaves* Kenneth M. Green George R. Griffin' Richard & Mildred Griffin Robert Gubernick' Subash Gutala Bretton & Kimberleigh Hadfield' Ross S. Hadfield' James W. Haefner & Alice Lihdahl Richard B. Hafen• Rodney & Angela Hale' Kurt & Victoria Hales Mark Carter Hall' Layne Hamilton Brian F. Hammond' Lonn P. Hamp• Darrell Hancock Lisa Hancock Afton M. Hansen Anna Lou Hansen• Lars P. Hansen & Grace Tsiang• Vincent Lee Hansen Wilford J. Hanson• Larry Dean Haramoto· Jeffery A. & LuAnn Hardy James Lee Hargrove• Stephen M. Hamley Ann Harris

Dr. Chauncy S. Harns• Jennifer Harns• Michael Jess & Brenda Harris Owen N. Harris Evan M. Harrison• Roger & Carole Harrison• Maureen T. Harte Travis B. Hartwell Sohail Hasnie William & Vicki Hastings Glenn Hazekamp• E. Robert & Christi Heal• Melvin G . & Margo G. Heaps Hoyt J. Heaton• Scott Hebertson• John 0 . Heggeness Corinne Heggie• Christopher B. Heki• Sidney Dee Hendricks Alvan C. & Maribeth Evensen-Hengge• Michael M. Heninger Bonnie Hepburn Menard & Judith Heydanek Larry Eugene Hibbert· David & Cecile Higgins• Robert D. Hildebrand Teana P. Hillyard• Richard H. & Anne Hoff" Robert & Sally Hoffmann· LaDonna K. Holland Alan D. Holt• Buddy & Lara Holt Ted M. Holtz• Dale M. Holyoak Jack W. Homeyer• Scott Ivan Hope Craig S. & Mary Home Winifred B. Horspoo1• Daris W. Howard Cody Lamont Howell' Laura Grant Howells • Anthony Howes Albert Huen John & Layne Huff Sidney D. Hughes• Don F. & Annette Hull• John E. Hull Robert C. Hun· Thomas & Shauna Humpherys Michael H. Hunsaker· Willard Kent Hunsaker Richard Bruce Hunter• Mateusz L. Hupert• Clyde F. & Margene Hurst Roger F. Hurst Garth A. James• William Calvin James • Larry & Lynn Jech• Clay Joh n Jensen• Donald Reed Jensen• Peter & Lori Jeppson Douglas A. & Shawna Johnson• Keith C. & Shannon Johnson Ryan & Shara Johnson Sherman & Janis Johnson• Todd & Marcia Johnson• Richard K. & Lisa Jolley• Wendell L. & Sharlene M. Jolley• Allen Jones Gary Lee Jones Lewis K. Jones William & Lila Jones• Jamie B. & Arlynda Jorgensen Kevin M. Keeley W. Ivan Keller Michael 0 . KIiipack• Harley & Carol King David L. Klopotek PhD Max & Beth Potter Knees Jeffrey B. Knight Melvin Keith Knight• William & Julia Ann Knight Joe & Nan Koebbe• James F. & Shirley Kohler• Peter T. & Mary V. Kolesar" Timothy Francis Kowalik• Thomas E. & Barbara Lachmar Steve D. & Jan Lackey

Michael Lamb· Terry C. Lamoreaux James & Yvonne Langford Eugene & Noreen Larkin• Michael Thomas Larkin Andre Albert Laroche Frederick R. Larsen• Michelle A . Larsen• Paul Alan Larson• Zoltan Laszlo• Donald Carl Laub James G. Laws Kenneth Byron Layton• Richard C. LeBlanc Shei-Sun Lee Douglas & Alice Lemon• Jonathan L. Len• Robert James Leonard Dave E. Leppert Edward W. Leung• Michael Larry Levine David & Sheila Lewis• Howard S. Lewis , Jr.• Joseph K. K. u· Carl Lindahl Jr: Neil A . Littlefield Lance & Wendy Littlejo hn• Dr. David B. Loope WilliamC . Low Scott N. Lutz• Tao Ma James A. & Patty MacMahon• Darrell Royal Maddock• Todd D. Maddox• Chao Chen & Shao Shen Mai Jackline Matosian· Glenn H. Maurer• Jerrold N. Mayer• David McComb• John W. McConnell• Jason & Lillyan Mccormick• Susan McDonald Ted D. McDougall Martin Dee McGregor Russel & Julie McKenna John G. & Martha A. McKinnon Randy & Ginger McMullin Dr. Dean S. & Mrs . Mary A. McNeil• Dr. A. Wayne & Sharon W. Meil(je• Steven Robert Mendive Donald R. Menick• Christon & Kathleen Merkley• Monte Merrill•

Frank J. Messina• Eric R. Michaelis Theodore E. Mifflin Fauntella Miller Gene W. & Ruth E. Miller• Keith & Janice Miller Larry L., Jr. & Sandra Miller Mark & Karen Miller Ralph & Janet Miller Robert & Larue Miller· Larry K. MIiiward• Michael C. Minnotte• Michael E. Minock• Troy & Kathryn Mitchell• James E. Mohr• Byung Soo Moon

Thomas W. Moon• Robert J. Mortensen Robert G . Mortime r John & Ann Mull Albert Juan Munk Takanobu Murayama• Robert Dean Murdock• R. Pepper & Rachelle Murray• Kathryn Mutz J. Kent Nelson Keith & Joni Nelson James A. Newey John B. Nicholls Michael L. & Linda Nicholls• Chad M. Nichols• Ryan Nielson Melissa Niermann Kelly R. Norman• Matthew & Holly Novak•

Ruth L. & Phillip Novak• Frank a. Nuttall' Dennis & Barbara Obray Jennifer C. Ogle· Melanie Oldroyd• Sean & Lorinda O'Leary Forrest & Charlene Oliverson Barney & Christine Olsen• Eugene K. Olsen• Richard & Lavina Olsen• Stephen & Debra Olsen• David J. Osborn' Daniel P. & Lisa Ostermiller Alan Ottley Fred Mathias Owen Matt & Kerry Jill Pachell Ned A. & Marva P. Packer• Ivan G. Palmblad Donovan E. & Donna R. Park' Barry R. Parker Vernon & Monica Parker' Jon G. Parry• Chuck Passavant Ray Patrick Hugh W. & Peggy A. Patton' Lee H. Pearson* Roger R. Peck Kelly D. Persky Stephen F. Personius & Carmen Chavez• Gary V. Petersen• Kyle & Karen Petersen' Dr. S. Keith Petersen' Charles G. Peterson• Daryl E. & Mildred F. Peterson• Gerald & Kathleen Peterson Murray B. Peterson' Donald Phillips & Cory Arentz• Patrick Phippen James P. Pitts Robert E. Plumb Michael V. Plummer• Gregory & Stephanie Podgorski• Caleb & Shelly Pollock" Stanley & Sherry Pollock• Norene Pond Hank & Rexanne Pond Gordon E. & Lorraine Porter• Robert Seymour Poulson Relf L. Price , Ill Norman R. & Sonja Prudence Lain-Jue Pu' Jerrad M. Pullum , Sr.' Harlan G. & Marilyn Pulsipher• Marie H. Putnam• Richard J. Pycior Brad & Tanya Quayle Babak Rahimzadegan W. John Raitt'

Karalee Ransom* Craig & Ann Rasmussen Donald L. Rasmussen Shon D. & Sherilyn Rasmussen• Antonio & Shelby Redondo• Kenneth R. Rees, Jr. Vincent L. & Audrea K. Rees' David Reif" David J. Remondini• Stuart Reynolds & Barbara Farris Dr. Karen C. Rice Vernon & Loretta Rice Lynn Richards Mont & Melinda Ringer• Arthur L. & Pearl Rivers Eric & Kynda Roberts Myrna N. Robertson' Thomas J. Rocchio• Alan H. Roe Jason & Molly Rose Jeff Rosenberg Malcolm Ross• Eric & Brenda Rowley• Edmond W. Ruben William J. Rutter Bruce & Nancy Sailor• David R. Sandberg' Tovi Santiago Mary E. Schaaf Suzanne B. & William Schaefer

William Schaffer Dr. Kelly & Emily Schofield Lauralee Scholes Dr. Ronald Schow Warren J. Schulingkamp , II

Mary LouiseSeamons Russell & Gail Seamons • Shannon Shaffer• Richard J. & Marion A. Shaw• Scott N. Shepherd Zhong-guo Shi Matthew & Kristi Shulsen Richard D. Sidwell John & Helen Simmons· Matthew W. Sines• Robert E. & Janet Skabelund" Cordell & Nancy Smart Allen H. Smith Carrie L. Smith" Delmont King Smith• J . Hamilton Smith• Jedd & Melissa Smith Kenneth C. Smith Thane W. Smith• Jan Josef Sojka' John L. & Lyndyl Sorensen• Lane H. Sparks Julie Spear• Earl P. Spencer• Jeffrey E. Spinzig Martin & Lynda Steed' Kenneth R. Stevens• Boyd Stewart Dean L. Stimpson• Kevin T. Stock Tommy J. Stokes' Paul E., Jr. & Kathy A. Stover• Jin su· Thomas & Janice Suchoski Paul L. Summers Jon & Lynnette Takemoto• Tim & Johnna Tanner" Allen Gary Taylor, PhD• Elwynn & Carolyn Taylor Joe Reese Taylor Todd & Lanie Taylor Eric S. & Kim M. Teot' R. J. Tesi" Theodore 0 . Thatcher Jeff Theurer• Ray & Margaret Thompson Paul D. Thompson Russell C. Thompson' James M. Thorne Brian F. & Jean S. Thomley Glen Jay Thorn ley' Caulene Tibbetts Corry L. Timpson Jack E. Tobler Randy Toni Thomas W. Toole David A. Tripp Shayne Tueller Robert L. Vadas· John Valberg• Colby J. VanDenburg Harris 0 . & Eleanor Vanorden Estate of Arthur Vanvliet" Clair R. Vernon Brad & Rachel Wade' Gary & Kimberly Walker Steven & Lisa Walker Dr. & Mrs. Arthur & Elna Wallace Dr. Gordo n D. Waller• Chiouyun Lo Wang Zhen-Yu & Yan Wang Darrell & Afton Ward• Robert B. & Christine Wardle' Elvin & Elois Wayment Michael & Tami Weaver· Victoria L. Weaver" Robert & Lexie Webster Wendell L. Weeks Sally S. Welling' David H. Wheelwright' Mark & MarKel Whe ldon' Danny & Joanne White• Craig W. Whiting

*Consecutive Year Donor

INSIGHTS COLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

19

David & Susan Whitney• Richard & Mary Wiest Amaran Wijayaratnam Roy & Iva Wilcoxson A. Thomas & Sue Williams' Christina Williams'

Edmund & Arlene Williams' Brent & Stefani Wilson Vanez Budge Wilson' George & Nancy Winder• Bert W. Winterton' Arthur & Mary Wittwer"

Grant & Susan Wood Vada Lee Monson Woodward Gena M. Wright' Jun Wu Sing-Chou & Ellen C. Wu' Jan E. Wynn , PhD'

Shang Fa Yang' Nabil Youssef & Kandy Baumgardner' Kamyar A. Zahedi' Dr. Kun Yan Zhu' Kenneth Zobell' Karl David Zufelt

Individualswhohaw mademorrthanonegiftarr /um/on«. Ewry111tnnpt is madeto citedonors11Ccurately. If an erroror omissionhasoccurrrd, pleasenotifyJulieShumway(435) 797-2488or nnail herat j.O..Jna,,-,fhnl.eJ,,,. Thislistincludesonlydonationsmadebeforr 30 June2005 (mJ offiscalyear).Pleasekt us/mowif youprrforyournameto appearin anotherWll)L

DEPARTMENTS

LAUDED

FOR EXCELLENCE

IN TEACHING

USU President Stan Albrecht presented the 2005 Department Teaching Excellence Awards to the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and the Department of Physics, recognizing their go-the-extra-mile attitude toward mentoring and teaching students. President Albrecht offered congratulations and said, "Thanks for the wonderful work you do for the students ." The honor comes with an additional $15,000 to each department's operating budget. The awards selection committee included faculty, students, administrators, and a member of the Board of Trustees.

The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department's culture of teaching centers on the idea that to truly learn science, one must do science. Department faculty and leaders believe that undergraduate and graduate students mature into true scientists through the creative inquiry processes embodied in research. The research experience is the cornerstone of the department's instructional philosophy.

The Department of Physics was recognized for its excellence in maintaining high-quality degree programs at all levels. Instruction in physics is guided by the principle that "Research is reaching," and collaborative discovery is an especially effective form of teaching. Department faculty personally mentor their students, resulting in an unparalleled record of student success. In the past five years physics students have landed prestigious fellowships from the Rhodes, Marshall, Go ldwater, and National Science Foundations.

20

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OF SCIENCE

INSIGHTS

STRENGTHENING

THE

COLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

GIVING

Heritage

Society

The HeritageSociety was established to recognize individual s

whohavemade bequests or ocher planned gifts to Utah State University.Suchgenerosityand commitment honors the richheritageof Utah Stateand helps create a brighter futur e. in philanthropyare increasingly vital to the Partnerships futureof Utah Stateas it fulfills its vision of becoming one of thenation'sleadingresearch and teaching universities. We invite you to join the Heritage Society.

If you would like more information about including Utah Stateand the College of Science in your will, or if you would liketo make a planned gift, please contact DevelopmentDirector ChrisTallackson at (435) 797-3510 or Chris.Tallackson@usu.edu

BACK

"When studentsand faculty learn together,discoveryfollows." As a new arrival in the College of Science, it is quickly apparent how well chis statement guides the cultur e of teachin g and learn ing here. USU stud ents enjoy a rare opp ortuni ty to work closely with faculty who not only teach, but often mentor stud ents toward academic success. Partn erships at many levels, includin g support from alumni , friends, and parents, are an essential part of ensuring the future of this educational experience. T hank you for your support , which truly makes the difference for talented stud ents in need of scholarship assistance, providing access to challenging research, and respondin g to the need to focus on new bodi es of knowledge. I hope the stories in this issue of Insightsreinforce your decision to invest in our stud ents and faculty who are so dedicated to learning and discovery.

Tom K.* and Esther Archuleta Howard L. Blood*

Dr Melvin C. Cannon

Ralph P.Christenson* Dr. John W. and Norda F.Emmett Keith W. and Beverly Fullmer Dr. Marguerite Greaves*

Ifyou have questions about waysto support the h fund, Collegeof Science,perhaps through a scholarship, researc orp lan fo r USU in your estate,pleasecontact me in the Dean'sOffice at (435) 797-35 10. I would enjoydiscussing your ideasand waysyou can make a differencefor the Collegeof Scienceat Utah State University. Thank you againfor your support!

C.T. and Jo Ann K. Griffiths Rooney Dean and LuAnn Harris Wallace P. and Pauline Murdoch "Robert 0., Jr. and Luella Oaks" Dr Grant M Reeder* Justus F Seely* ArthurVanVliet* Dr. Jay R. and Lorraine M. West

*Deceased

STUDENT NOVEMBER

PHON-A-THON 21 - DECEMBER

3

Please pick up your phone when you see USU AGGIE FUND on your caller ID and enjoy the opportunity to visit with a fellow Aggie. USU students will be calling to request your support in providing crucial resources for financial aid, special projects, and enriched classrooms and labs. Please support College of Science students and help USU continue to keep academics first.

Ifyou have any questionsor concernsabout our annual campaign,Pleasecontact DevelopmentDirectorChris Tallacksonat (435) 797-35 10 Or email him at chris.tallackson@usu.edu.

INSIGHTSCOLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

21

11

SOMETHING USU

SCIENTIST

STRANGE TACKLES

IS HAPPENING GLOBAL

11

EPIDEMIC

W

hen USU neuroimmunologist Vijendra Singh began to suggest, 15 years ago, that a weakened immune system might play a role in Alzheimer's disease and other brain disorders , he was ignored or dismissed. Sometimes ridiculed. Nor anymore. His pioneering research has helped health practitioners around the world make a 180-degree shift, and the stakes have never been higher. The World Health Organization recently announced that neurological disorders-including Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, autism, depression, obsessivecompulsive disorder, Tourette's syndrome, and schizophreniaare the most serious health problems faced by the global community. The financial burden, nor to mention the personal toll on families and individuals, is staggering. The cost of treating brain disorders surpasses that of cancer and heart disease.

In recent years Vijendra has concentrated his research on brain disorders and mencal illness, especially autism. The numbers show why he is alarmed: Until recently, only four or five individuals in 10,000 were affiicted with autism. Now, one child in 166 is affected, and the numbers are rising exponentially. It's rhe fastest growing developmental disability in children, Vijendra says. In Utah alone, autism rates have jumped 750 percent during the past ten years. "You see this everywhere you go," he says, "in the U.S., Canada, Mexico , Europe, India , China, and Australia. Something very strange is happening. " Vijendra first took notice fifteen years ago. "Many families told me that their child was normal until 14 to 20 months of age. Then their child regressed in development, losing language skills and behaviors . If you hear so many stories over and over, you begin to pay attention." Heartbroken parents would watch as their children returned to wearing diapers, sucking on pacifiers, or speaki ng only a handful of words. Some infants began to rock back and forth. And because autism is a broad disorder with many manifestation s, some children developed the ability to inscancly memorize enough information to fill a computer hard drive. Many suffered from aggression, tantrums, and seizures, and were unable to express emotion-even to make eye contact. The disorder takes it toll financially; parents can rack up tens of thou sands of dollars in medical expenses, an d hard-pressed public schoo ls pick up a tab of nearly $20,000 annually to educate each autistic child. "U nderstanding what triggers nervous system diseases became the goal of my scientific career," Vijendra says. In his doctoral thesis, he speculated that brain diseases and mental illness might be caused by exposure to environmental factors, such as viruses. He also had a hunch that the nervous system and immune system are interconnected. Although it was a scientific leap at the rime, his hunch paid off, with most of his hypotheses now verified by research. Although ten percent of autistic ch ildren get the gene

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INSIGHTS

USU researcher Vijendra Singh (left) works in the lab with pre -med student Wyatt Rivas.

from their parents , his work shows that others pick up their disorder from environmental factors. "Asour understanding increases we begin to understand more abo ut the nervous system, and the immune system has taken on a central role," Vijendra says. "Ir took step-by-step research to arrive at these conclusions . Ir didn't happen overnight ." In epidemio logical studies, the neuroimmunologist noticed a starcling association between measles vaccinations and autism . Many children went in for a measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) shoe, and shortly thereafter began exhibiting autistic behavior. Vijendra's initial speculation was that minute amounts of mercury in vaccines were causing the problem , but although mercury is a clear threat to human health , his research didn't indicate char mercury is related to autoimmunity in aut ism. "There may be other mechanisms where mercury may be involved. Ar this point, no one knows. " Vijendra went back to the lab, analyzing other immune parameters. His surprising finding? "The measles antibodies to the MMR vaccine seems to be link ed to autoimmunity in autism," he says. "The level of measles antibody is elevated in many auti stic children, which could be a sign of a present infection , a past infection, or an immune reaction to the measles vaccine ." His research was the first to pinpoint the linkage. Now researchers across the globe are finding evidence of inflammation and immune activation in autistic children, corroborating Vijendra's findings. "Our federal agencies and pharmaceutical companies are in a difficult spot," says Vijendra . 'T m nor an anti-vaccine person. To me, vaccines are the best preventative medicine for combating infectious diseases due to viruses and bacteria. But I do believe that vaccines can lead to adverse reactions-like autism-in a small but significant part of tl1e population. "

................................................................................................ Vijendra was invited co present his findings before the U.S. Congress, the Institute of Medicine, and the Centers for Disease Contro l and Prevention (CDC) , where he recommended a change in vaccination policy. "Right now," Vijendra says, "when a child comes into a clinic, the doctor can give five-or ten-shoes, all at the same time, co one child. Six months lacer, the child may return for another vaccination. I made the recommendation chat we test for immunity before giving vaccinations. " The problem, of course, is che cost. Testing could add almost $100 co the bill. "Parents like the idea, but the CDC feels it is cost prohibitive," he says. "However, if we tested, we could identify immune problems and also find allergies, which are now found in every second child." Vijendra's work in the Center for Integrated BioSystems isn't confined to the lab anymore. Over the years, he's received tho usands of phone calls and emails from around the world, from distraught families looking for answers. Even as he continues his research co link autoimmunity co brain disorders and mental illnesses, he is-like the parents he works with-looking for answers. "Many patients affiicced with neurolog ical disorders show positive outcomes co treatment with immune modulation therapy," Vijendra says. Parents often try conventional medicine, including prescription drugs and steroids, while ochers are finding relief through alternative medicine, including nutritional supp lements chat are free from the side effects of pharmaceuticals. "lmmunog lobulin and glutathione therapy produce significant improvement in language, communication, social interaction, and attention span," he says. "I want co develop a program where I can document the results of neutraceucical therapy."

SCIENCE IN SOCIETY CLASSES CHALLENGE STUDENTS Students in Associate Professor Pete Kolesar's Science and Society class say they're ready co tackle the "real world." Required for all secondary science education majors, the class challenges students to take social action on a scientific topic. This past year, students examined skyrocketing rates of autism, a condition many blame on the FDA-approved vaccine additive , thimerosol. After thorough research and incense classroom discussions, the students elected co send letters co the FDA and Utah senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett voicing their conclusions. So impressed with the students' letter, the FDA representative William Egan held a conference call with the entire class. "Ic's not every day chat I get this type ofletter ," said Egan. "I feel like I am a better informed individual, " said student Brittany Webbof her experience in the class. Webb, who is now a senior with a double major in chemistry and physics, said the class greatly enriched her undergraduate career.

Vijendra chinks large. His next goal is co secure a private donation, which would allow him to develop a worldwide plan for brain disorders in children. "When you help a child today," he says, "you write the history of tomorrow. " â&#x2013;

So far, the evidence for the effectiveness of nutritional supplements is anecdotal. There's the nurse from Connecticut, for instance, whose severely impaired autistic son was given supp lements. He's now a straight-A student at an Ivy League school. "Hundreds of children are now able co say 'Mommy,' or 'Daddy,"' Vijendra says. "This is a great thing, when a son hugs a father for the first time." The College of Science researcher believes there's no one right answer for all children. "It requires a tailor-made therapy," he says. "The bad news is: It's an autoimmune problem. The good news is: We can help these children with immune therapy." "There's a lot of research scilJ co be done-years and years of research. What's good is chat ocher researchers are now looking into the autoimmune mechanism; they're finding confirmation. These are novel and exciting times for families with autism, and researchers are embracing new ideas. So we'll make more progress."

FREELOADIN' KINFOLK

Some species of wasps move into nests of similar species and feed on the accompanying

food supply

intended for the host's offspring,

says Assis t ant

Professor James Pitts. Exhibiting

what 's know n

as cleptoparasitic

behavior, the wasps are call ed

"cuckoo wasps;' referring to the Cuckoo bird that lays its eggs in the nests of other bir ds .

INSIGHTSCOLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

23

A BIOLOGY

TASTE TEAM

FOR

DISCOVERS

J

apanese chefs who dissect pufferfish for sushi walk a fine line between life and death. Flesh from the slimy, scale-less fish makes lip; tingle and gives diners an intoxicating buzz. But if diners ingest flesh from the fish's liver, they'll die within hours, asphyxiated by a neurotoxin 500 times deadlier than cyanide. For garter snakes along the Pacific Northwest coast, dining is more a matter of survival than gourmet adventures . What 's on the menu is Taricha,a newt that contains cecrodotoxin (TTX), the deadly toxin found in pufferfish. Just as discriminating sushi diners find cert ified chefs, the garter snakes have found their own way to survive, and the evolutionary mechanism has made headlines in both Scienceand Nature. Mosr snakes that swallow a Tarichanewt crawl to a permanent stop-their heart, gut and lungs paralyzed. Not Thamnophis sirtaLis.Garter snakes found in certain geographic pockets have evolved resistance to the neurotoxin through small genetic changes chat alter the ability ofTTX to bind to the pores of sodium channels, which are responsible for electrical signal transmission in che nerves chat initiate muscle contraction. "We cloned and sequenced a sodium channel from the snake's skeletal muscles to analyze changes in the gene that encoded the protein," said principal author and biology doctoral student Shana Geffeney. "C hanges appear to have arisen independently in different populations. " "Sodium channels are so critical to the functioning of organisms that there is not a great deal of variation in the protein among different animal species, but here we see differences evolving among populations within the same species," says Shana. "It's not often that big evolutionary questions get answered at this level of detail," says co-author and biophysicist Peter Ruben. "We have the whole story here-behavior, evolution, molecular biology, electro-physiology. It's unusual chat all these facets of a story can be connected at once." According to Peter, the findings have both evolutionary and medical implications . "At the end of the day, there's not all chat much difference between sodium channels in snakes and sodium channels in you and me, " says Peter. "We can relate this to all animal life. It's a wonderfu l example of natural selection and adaptation, and those mechanisms that form the basis of evolution. Ir's kind of a snapshot of the process by which species evolve. When species accumulate enough small differences at the molecular level, that's evolution." The research, which grew out of biology professor Butch Brodie 's studies of interactions between the two species, incorporates biophysics , neurobiology, cardiac physiology, and herpetology. Shana says, "T his is an examp le of integrated biology-what can

24

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INSIGHTS

POISON: EVOLUTION

IN PROGRESS

be accomp lished when people from really different fields talk to each other." Shana, Peter, and Butch co-authored the paper witl1 Esther Fujimoto, a former Utah Seate laboratory technician now with the Neurobiology and Anatomy Department at the University of Utah, and Edmund Brodie, III, with the Biology Department at Indiana University. The research was feature d on the National Science Foundation's web homepage, in the June issue of Natural History, in newspapers from the DeseretMorning News to The New York Times, on KSL and ABC television, and in Canada on CBC's radio show, "Q uirks and Quarks." â&#x2013;

YOU SAY YOU WANT AN EVOLUTION (OR LONG LIVE THE LONGHORNS) Utah Scacegrad smdent Kevin Young and biology professor Butch Brodie discovered they could measure the natural selection of the flat-tailed horned lizard by comparing the horn length of dead and live lizards. These natives of the Southwest often fall prey to a bird called the loggerhead shrike . Surviving lizards have longer horns, which apparently enable them to better defend themselves. In mrn, they produce long-horned offspring.

SCIENCE (AND

RESEARCH SHOWCASE STUDENTS AT NCUR 2005 BLUE TONGUES!)

hen Ryan Jackson (BS 2005 Biology) is asked to stick out his tongue, it's because people are interested in his research on Blue Tongue Virus, a project he shared with 2,000 participants at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in Lexington, Virginia, last April. Fortunately, Ryan explains, Blue Tongue Virus is found only in sheep and cattle at the moment. Ryan is a member of Joseph Li's lab, where researchers are testing the effectiveness of antiviral agents against the virus.

W

array of disciplines. Participant s come from more than 300 colleges and universities , representing almost every state in the nation.

Danica Daly Francom, from Centerville, Utah, had her transfer papers filled our until the Vice Provost Joyce Kinkead linked her with a biology lab and a faculty mentor - Carol von Dohlen. "I never looked back," Danica says. "Utah State has been a great place for me because I got connected as a freshman." Tyce Kearl of Spanish Fork found that research helped his application to medical school; Tyce, who received an URCO grant and a USU Undergraduate Research Grant, works on cardiac research with mentor Peter Ruben. Glen de Guzman , biology major from Idaho, presented Candida albicans research undertaken while on a summer fellowship at Tufts University in Boston. He received an American Heart Association Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and will be conducting his research in Daryll DeWald 's lab.

(Left to Right) Danica Francom , Vice Provost Joyce Kinkead, Honors Director David Laney, Tyce Kearl, Diana Lewis (NFS), Ryan Jackson, and Glen de Guzman.

How did Ryan become a member of Professor Li's team? "I was set to graduate, but I took chis great class in immunology, and it really sparked my interest," Ryan says. "I discovered I have a passion for research in immunology, and Or. Li has a great way with students . When I started my project I really wanted him to just direct me, but instead, he provided the support that lee me find my own way."

Participating students are exposed to research related to their field of study, Joyce says. "And of course, faculty from ocher institutions are trolling for the best prospective graduate students, so it's a wonderful opportunity for Utah State students to be in the spotlight. One ofNCUR's goals is to foster a multidisciplinary and multicultural com muni ty of researchers, scholars, and artists linked by a common enthusiasm for learning." Since its inception in 1987, NCUR has become a major annual event, drawing more than 2,000 undergraduates, faculty, and administrators. See www. ncur.org for more information. â&#x2013;

Ryan was one of five USU students sharing their research expertise . NCUR encourages awareness of undergraduate research in a broad

JIM EVANS TAPPED FOR LAST LECTURE ... Continued from page 15

conversion of agricultural lands to urban use and, perhaps most importantly , a serious discussion about conservation. "We live in a desert, " Jim said. "Deserts have droughts , and Earth systems are variable." Last fall, he pointed out, the boat ramp at Hice Marina on Lake Powell was surround ed by dried, cracked mud. And the "milk" Jim mentioned? Milk is an allegory for land, he said. "If we like open space we need to do something about it. But we need to cake into consideration the people who inhabit that land ," using creative zoning and smart growth tools. As we seek to balance our growing regional and global population with the reality of diminishing resources, we need to act with care. "Every decision we make has an environmental impact ," Jim said. "T here's no free lunch. As we grow those costs increase, and they may have consequences we don 't yet und erstand ."

Some of those consequences, in fact, have become all-too-apparent to residents of Cache Valley. The area has traditionally been one of the most beautiful valleys in the West, but its tranquil setting is seriously threatened by heavy winter inversions. "We live in a closed valley. We have a lot of cows, and we drive cars. We can approach this challenge with a 'management by sand' methodthat is, with our heads in the sand-or follow the proactive lead of many local citizens and leaders who are demonstrating intelligent, thoughtful leadership ," Jim said. "In a state chat votes red, we need to remember that 'conservation ' has the same root as 'conservative."' "There are lots of opportunities for citizens. We'll need collegeeducated people; that 's where you come in," he told students . "We'll need to be creative across many disciplines. " Utah State-with her intellectual capacity, her students, and her faculty-has the intellectual firepower to contribute and to educate . â&#x2013;

INSIGHTSCOLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

25

COLLEGE OUTSTANDING Valedictorian Rex Watkins was attracted to chemistry because he likes t6 see how the micro-scale affects the macro-scale. "Smaller processes govern everything around us daily-in larger processes." He 's been looking at synthetic molecules that mimic the structure of enzymes necessary for humans. The hope is that eventually chemists (maybe even Utah State chemists!) will be able to design molecules that perform the same function as enzymes, or molecules that would inhibit enzymes.

Rex is headed off to the University of Wisconsin at Madison for a PhD, and he credits his acceptance there to Associate Professor Lisa Berreau. "One of the most fortunate opportunities I've had here was to be able to work with her," Rex says of the professor he co-authored several papers with. "She's energetic, helpful-a hands-on professor." As for being a valedictorian, the good natured and articulate chemise said, "I think my job is to hold rhe flag. I think I can handle ic!" Scholar of the Year Ashley Ellsworth was "dead set on nor pursuing chemistry, " lacking a sense of direction and listing her major as "undeclared. " So when she fell in love with chemistry it took her by sur prise. The variety in chemistry-from biology to physical chemistry to math-hooked her. She worked in Professor Scott Ensign's research lab, looking at how bacteria might help clean up environmental toxins , while picking up straight Ifs in every single university course.

As if that weren't enough to keep her busy, she volunteered with Special Olympics and caught local children to read. She also spent a summer in Ecuador , where she caught indigenous children ar a rural preschool, and bathed, fed, clothed, and played with physically and mentally challenged orphans. The experience changed her life. Ir also set her sights on medical school. Upon graduation , the idealistic, Spanish-speaking student hopes to spend a few weeks or more practicing international medicine each year.

HONORS SCHOLARS MS Graduate Student Researcher of the Vear Alexander Steely has a great gig. "How often do you gee paid to camp out

in the desert?" Every year he leaves Cache Valley as the snow scares to fly and heads for California's Salton Desert, where he analyzes ancient rock formations to better understanding how plate boundaries have evolved over time and how the Pacific tectonic plate is moving in relation to the rest of the continent. "Major faults can totally reorganize the landscape very quickly," he says. "Lakes can become mountains in less than 500,000 years." Using computer technology, Alex, who works with Associate Professor Susanne Janecke, fills in missing pieces of previously undiscovered faults and rock formations on U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps. "Geology is something everyone should know," says Alex, "Especially if you live in Cache Valley, which continues to form by faulting today. To me, geology is the most basic of all sciences because it brings every science to bear on the question of how our world works." PhD Graduate Student Researcher of the Year Anastassia Alexandrova was accepted into her PhD program through the

back door. Rather than looking for a school, "I looked for the person I wanted to work with ." The Russian cl1emistrystudent wrote to Professor Alex Boldyrev at Utah State and asked, "Would you like a new graduate student?" He wrote back, asking, "What are your grades?" She replied, "4.0," and he answered, "Okay, come." Anastassia balances twin passions in her research into boron clusters: chemistry and physics. "We don't use any assumptions or data, but only basic physical constants. We use physics to look at chemical bonding, to develop building blocks for nanotechnology ." She says that awards are good , "bur the most important result is what you gee in the lab. That's the biggest joy." After graduation , Anastassia headed to Yale for pose doc studies .

last summer in northwestern China, near Mongolia, analyzing Permian-era rocks in petroleum reservoirs. "The area, close to the Gobi Desert, is extremely remote and desolate, with little vegetation, " he says. His fieldwork allowed for no days off, and workdays-with a Chinese crew and a cranslator-consisred of ten or 11-hour shifts. In spire of the crushing schedule and the hear, Dustin loved being immersed in a different culture , with a different set oflogistical problems. After the dust settled (literally), Du stin co-authored a paper on his findings with Assistant Professor Brad Ritts.

Graduate Student Teacher of the Vear Janeen Ardito thinks college teaching is a snap. That's probably because she started her reaching career in inner-city schools in Utah, where class distractions weren't coeds reading The Statesman, bur drugs, gangs, and trouble at home. One of her supervisors said, "We handpick every student just for you. They 're the ones no one else wants. " Now teaching at USU, the biggest problem Janeen encounters is math phobia. "You can develop a phobia of any subject, but math phobia is-dare I say it?-trendy . It's okay to say 'I don't do math ,' but it's not okay to say you can't spell." So she bends over backwards to make sure her students get it. "I try to review often and build students up. Every question is an important question ."

Originally from Vernal, Utah , Dustin grew up working on drilling rigs. He studied engineering for two years, took a year off to rethink his direction, and applied for admission to Utah State. "U SU's geology department is small and personable ," he says. Dustin plans to study for a master's with Professor JimEvans and eventually land a job in the oil industry.

Planning for a PhD in statistics, Janeen was waylaid by macular degeneration, which blurs the long formulas across her computer screen. Undeterred, she's heading for a teaching career in math at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, with her two biggest cheerleaders in tow. "My daughters screamed the loudest when I got the Robins Award for teaching ," she laughed.

Undergraduate Researcher of the Vear Dustin Keele spent

ri

/;,

',a,...

COLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

INSIGHTS

.... ............................................................................................ Faculty Teacher of the Year Alvan Hengge also honed his

ceaching skills che hard way: ceaching inner-cicy ceens from Cincinnaci housing projeccs. Skills ranged from third grade reading levels co college levels, and home supporc was often lacking. "I couldn 'c stand in from of the room and jusc leccure. The classroom would descend inco chaos. I had to learn to teach using dialogue. " Afrer seven years, Alvan headed back co the classroom himself, geccing a doccorace.

As for his teaching ac Ucah State, "Everything since has been easy by comparison. Although organic chemistry has a repucacion as being a killer course , and an undeserved reputation as a memorization course, it doesn'c have co be. I try co teach fundamental concepcs, so scudencs can reason their way through co answers." Alvan feels humbled co receive a ceaching award, and credics his former scudents, whose course evaluacion suggestions he judiciously incorporaces. "They 're the ones who know how you can reach them, " he says. Undergraduate

"In my eyes, the success of any research group is 50 percent the professor and 50 percent the studencs, " Alex says. "I share this award-it wouldn 't be possible without my brilliant scudencs." His research team attempts co solve theoretical chemical problems with the help of computers. "We try to understand how acorns interact with each other when they form molecules." His team's research in chemical bonding theory has been featured in major chemistry journals, including journal of PhysicalChemistry,Inorganic Chemistry,journal of the American ChemicalSociety,and Structural Chemistry,among others, as well as numerous newspapers. â&#x2013;

Research Mentor of the Year David Peak was

enlighcened as a junior in college, when he had the opporcunicy co do research. "It was such a different experience from going co the classroom and doing homework ," he says. Although physics was noc a field thac readily accommodaced undergraduace studenc research-"The craditional attitude was that undergraduates needed co know more math"-David has since been a strong advocate for undergraduate research. David's advocacy has not only benefited the Physics Departmenc at USU-research opportunicies have lured copnotch scudents, doubling the number has had a national impact. For many of undergraduates-but co the Nacional Conference on leadership years David provided are not just glorified projects "The Undergraduate Research. Many are as good thing. real the science fair projects; chey're from all studencs engages conference as PhD projeccs." The and scudencs gets "It institutions. of disciplines and all cypes ways." collegial in other faculcy talking co each The only downside? "It's heartbreaking co see scudencs leave," says David. But his strong mencoring ensures there will be new faces, and new experiences, next year.

(Left to Right) Janeen Greer Ardito , Graduate Student Teacher of the Year; Alison G. Scoville , Zobell Graduate Scholarship ; Anastassia N. Alexandrova , Graduate Student Researcher of the Year (PhD); Robert D. Child, Piette Graduate Scholarship (not pictured) ; Alex N. Steely, Graduate Student Researcher of the Year (MS) (not present) .

(Left to Right ) College of Science Faculty Awards : Alexander I. Boldyrev, Researcher of the Year; David Peak, Undergraduate Research Mentor of

the Year; and Alvan C. Hengge, Teacher of the Year.

Faculty Researcher of the Vear Alex Boldyrev was walking

through the drab gray of Moscow when he noticed the cicy's first brightly decorated building. When the Siberian nacive found out it was Moscow's first private restaurant , "I decided Communism was dying. " He wrote co the German professor who had offered him a research fellowship-he hadn 't been allowed co leave the Iron Curtain when it was initially offered-and the invitation was again extended. Communism collapsed while he was in Germany, and research money dried up coo, so Alex immigrated to the Universicy of Utah on a visicing professorship . When USU offered him a permanent position in 1999, he sectled in Logan.

(Left to Right) Christopher L. Berentzenr Deans Scholar; Rex W Watkins, Spring 2005 Valedictorian ; Ashley Ellsworth , Scholar of the Year; Cody Snow Olsen, Dean's Scholar ; David R. Hatch, Dean 's Scholar (not pi ctured ).

INSIGHTS COLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

27

JOHN WOOD ... Contin ued fr om pa ge 13

MUGGLES, MALLARDS AND M-THEORY. .. Conti nued from page 3

X-ray wavelengths, and with NASA's Jee Propulsion Laboratory, where he developed spectrometers co measure X-rays. "Thar was the time when people were going to the moon," John says. "We gathered in the lunchroom and watched the astrona uts on TV "

Anderson believes encouraging young girls to pursue math and physics would alleviate the imbalance. During the past year, she's ventured off campus to share her love of science with primary and secondary students. "We talk about black holes, quantum physics and ocher interesting stuff. "

When he wasn't exploring the mysteries of physics, John explored the local canyons. He revised and rewrote the popular Cache Trailshiking guide for many years. "In chose days I had to get all my information from forestry maps," he says. Now the guide is updated using GIS positioning too ls. "I left Cache Valley in 1941 to cross the eastern mountains and see what was beyond," says John . Fifteen years later, the mountains drew him back, to a struggling academic program. "The physics program is vigorous now, and the Bear River Range and Logan Canyon-the scenes I missed the most-are still the most picturesque sights of all. " â&#x2013;

She's also been tapped to teach undergrad uates. Rather than large lecture classes, students at Oxford receive the bulk of their instruction thro ugh small group meetings of roughly four students and a professor called tutorials. "Ir's an interesting arrangement and affords valuable, in-depth discussions, " she says. Despite a demanding schedu le at Oxford , Anderson has taken advantage of numerous travel opportunities . "This past March , I traveled to a physics conference in Trieste, Italy - a large gathering of fellow nerds ," she says. ''I've also visited Scotland, Germany and France." This fall, Anderson heads to South Africa as a Uniced States delegate to a United Nations-funded conference aimed at strengthening international ties among physics educators and developing research collaborations between developed and develop ing countries. "Ir's a very interesting time to be an American abroad - both culturally and politically," says Anderson .

(Left to Right) 2004 -05 Science Ambass adors : Ashley Liddell , Math & Stat; Ryan Wilox , Biology ; Ashley Turner, Physics; Ryan Warner, Math & Stat; Ross Young, Computer Science; John Fisher, Jr., Chem & Biochem ; Jace Beattie, Biology ; Dustin Keele, Geology . Not Present -Mike Southam , Biology ; Glen de Guzman , Biology ; and Matt Wheatley , Chem & Biochem .

She notes char Americans are somewhat isolated geographically, whereas Europeans, in smaller countries "have to care what's happening with their neighbors." She says the experience of living abroad is causing her to "think more from a global perspective. " Anderson adds chat, living in England, she feels a deeper sense of history. "I think chat influences Europeans' world outlook as well. They have a much broader collective memory and sense of time. " She looks forward to her remaining two to three years at Oxford and is already planning her next adventure. "I hope to pursue postdoctoral research in high energy particle physics," she says.

TINY FIX FOR WEIGHTY PROBLEM Associate Professor Tim Gilbertson and colleagues are developing

nanoparticles

designed to trick our bodies into eating less fa t. The plan is for the microscopic

medical dev ices

Among her favored destinations are a number of universities in the U.S., including Princeton, Harvard, Universiry of Chicago and Caltech, Oxford or Cambridge in England, or CERN in Geneva , Switzerland.

to deliver highly ta rgeted drug treatm ents directly to fat receptors throughout curb cravings , The technology

the body to

won 't cure obes ity

but could be a future tool in battl ing a global epidemic .

28

I

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INSIGHTS

"Ir's incredib ly competitive, " says Anderson of postdoctoral opportunities in her chosen field. Her former Aggie professors are confident she's in the running . â&#x2013;

ALUMNI

AWARDS

Wardle Receives Alumni Achievement Award The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Alumni Achievement Award was presented co Robert D . Wardle at the department 's spring awards gathering held Ap ril 21, 2005 . This award is given co a USU alumnus who has made significant contributions in Chemistry and Biochemistry. Robert was born in 1958 in Ames, Iowa. He attended USU during which time he engaged in undergrad uate research with Richard Olsen, exploring naturally occurring compounds that showed potential anti-cancer activity. After receiving his BS in

FACULTY

AWARDS

Biology D iane Alston received the 2005 E.G. Peterson Extension Award, 10 March 2005 , at the Extension Annual Awards Conference. This award was established to honor an Extension professional who has given outstanding service to the State of Utah . Diane was cited for her professional expertise, innovat ive approach, effectiveness, her caring attitude, and her support of the goals and mission of USU Extension. Jay Karren received an award for his dedicated service on the committee for the past three years at the Western Region Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Committee meeting, Fort Collins, Colorado, 8-10 February 2005.

MacMahon Receives National Award, Named Director of USU's Ecology Center Biology Trustee Professor James A. "Jim" MacMahon received the Ecological Society of America's Distinguished Service Citation at the society's 2005 annual meeting in Montreal. The award acknowledged his "long â&#x20AC;˘ and distinguished service to the ESA, to the larger scientific community, and to the larger purpose of ecology in the public welfare." Jim, who has served in a number of academic and administrative posts at Utah State, was named director of the university's Ecology Center July 1. Administered by the university's colleges of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Science, the center supports and coordinates ecological research and graduate education in

&

RECOGNITION

chemistry in 1981 , as Valedictorian in the College of Science, he moved on co Caltech, where he earned a PhD in organic chemistry in 1986 developing a method co synthesize an antibiotic. He joined Thiokol as Senior Chemist in 1986, moving on co several capacities, including Associate Scientist , Supervisor, Senior Staff Scientist, Manager, and finally to Director of Research and Development Laboratories in 2001 where he directs a group of275 scientists, engineers, and technicians. He has served as a principal investigator on 22 contracted programs with an aggregate value of more than $30 million, and holds 37 patents. He was a member of the National Research Council Advisory Board and the National Academy of Engineering Board, and received an ACS Industrial Innovation Award in 2004. Robert and his wife Christine have four children; his favorite activities are soccer and skiing. â&#x2013;

&

RECOGNITION

ecology, while providing a central resource for decision makers considering actions that affect the environment. In addition co his new role, Jim continues to .reach biology courses and supervise graduate students. Rounding out his endeavors is his involvement as chair of the science committee of the NSFfunded team working to form the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and as organizer of the Intermountain Regional Observatory Network (IRON), one of the proposed NEON monitoring systems.

Chemistry & Biochemistry Steven D . Aust was named the 2004 recipient of the Kenneth A. Spencer Award by the American Chemical Society, 24 February 2005, in Kansas City, Missouri. The award is given to individuals who have made commendable contributions to agriculture and food chemistry. Stephen E. Bialkowski received a Fulbright Scholar grant to research and lecture at Nova Gorica Polytechnic in Slovenia, beginning in January 2006. He and colleague Mladen Franko, a professor at the institute, are designing a more rapid and cost-effective means of organophosphate pesticide detection in humans using phorothermal and surface acoustic wave spectrometry. Stephen Bialkowski on a bike tour in southern France last year. He took

4th place in his Category V group in the 2005 LOTOJA bike race.

INSIGHTS COLLEGE

OF SCIENCE

29

Vernon D. Parker was named rhe 2005 recipient ofUSU's D . Wynne Thorne Research Award. This award, named after the university's first vice president of research, is the most prestigious research commendation annually given to an outstanding university researcher. Computer

Science

Robotic Guide for the Blin d Goes Global If you read our spring issue of Insights, you were introduced to robotics inventor VladimirKulyukin. His robotic guide for the visually impaired a "robot guide dog" as it's termed by the media , has been featured in USA Today, PC Magazine, South China Morning Post, Electronic Engineering Times, and in other newspapers, broadcasts and pub lications in the U.S., Asia, Italy, Germany, Poland, Greece, and Scotland. Web sires, including eWeek.com, ttnews com, CI0111s1ght.com,and ex·tremetech.comhave also picked up the story, as has the BBC News. The robotic guide is meant to comp lement, rather than replace, guide dogs, says Vladimir . The guide serves the visually impaired in crowded, unfami liar environments such as airports and shopping centers, where the skiUs of personal guide dogs are limited. ■

TRANSITIONS

25YEARSOFSERVICE Biology-Anne J. Anderson Mathematics & Statistics-Ian

M. Anderson

30YEARSOFSERVICE Biology-Jon Y.Takemoto Geology-PeterT. Kolesar 4&YEARS OFSERVICE Physics-W. Farrell Edwards RETIRINGFACULTY& STAFF

Office of the Dean-Karen 0. Bindrup Biology-Jay B. Karren Chemistry & Biochemistry-Glen J. Thornley Computer Science-Kendra S. Dinerstein, NelsonT. Dinerstein, MaryV. Kolesar Physics & CASS-W. John Raitt TENURE& PROMOTION Biology-Michelle B. Baker Geology-Joel L. Pederson Mathematics & Statistics-Christopher Corcoran, Jurgen Symanzik Physics-Eric D. Held, Michael J. Taylor PROMOTION Biology-Diane G. Alston, Eric Rowley (to Principal Lecturer), John M. Stark, David Wallace (to Sr. Lecturer), Paul G. Wolf Chemistry & Biochemistry-Alexander I. Boldyrev INMEMORIAM Biology-Fred Post, John Skujins

USU

College

of Science

0305 Old Main Hill • Logan, Utah 84322-0305 Phone: 435.797.2478 scido@cc. usu. edu www.urn.edu!scie11cel

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY 435.797 .2485 www. biology. usu. edu DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY 435.797.1619 www. chem. usu. edu DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE 435 .797.2451 www . cs. usu. edu FIGHTING STUBBORN BUGS

DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY 435 .797.1273 www. um. edulgeoldept DEPARTMENTOF MATHEMATICSAND STATISTICS 435 .797 .2809 www. math. usu. edu DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS 435 .797.2857 www.physics.usu.edu

Bacterial

year. New drugs are urgently

COLLEGE f-l

OF SCIENCE

INSIGHTS

needed to combat

antib ioti c- res istan t bacteria, yet they too wil l lik el y lose effectiveness

as bacteria evolve. Professo r

Richard Holz and others are targeting

new ba cte rial -

specific pathways , less capable of develop i ng resistance,

3

in f ections kill m illions of people each

to combat deadly infections.

l<EEPING

IN TOUCH

1950s Thomas D. Cottle (BS 1951, Physiology), Portland, Oregon. Thomas completed an Air Force Commission in the early '50s, and

obtained a DDS in 1958 from Marquette University. He is a member of the Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Honorary Dental Society, and is active in state and city government. Thomas and his wife have eight children , 37 grandchildren, and four greatgrandchildren. He has published a number ofLDS books, and has served five missions for his church. G. Preston Taylor (BS 1952, Entomology Forestry), Thousand Oaks , California. Preston has worked as a Field Community Administrator with the Hunt-Wesson Foodservice, a division of ConAgra Food Service Company for 31 years.

1960s Steven R. Davis (BS 1966, Geology), Sussex, New Jersey. Steven was named president of American International Ventures, Inc.

September 21, 2005. He is a precious metals geologist with more then 35 years of experience in the minerals industry.

1970s John Perez (PhD 1972, Public Health and Bacteriology), Kingsland, Texas. John was named one of the 50 most important

Hispanics in technology and business by HispanicEngineer& Information Technologymagazine, and was previously named one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in America by Hispanic Businessmagazine. He has been with Texas A&M for 30 years and currently supervises research at the university's Natural Toxins Research Center, which focuses on medically important toxins in snake venom. Through funded research, he has established facilities for investigations on bioinstrumentation, monoclonal antibodies, and live animal srudies. John was named the Texas Academy of Science's Distinguished Scientist in 2004.

1980s Al Jones (BS 1989/MS 1995, Geology), Logan, Ucah. Al was recently featured in The Heraldjournal newspaper as the proud owner

of a low-speed electric car. He is a staff scientist with GEO-HAZ Consulting.

1990s Katie Bench (BS 1998, Statistics), Canton, Michigan. Kacie earned an MBA in 2005 from Brigham Young University. She is

employed with Ford Motor Company.

2000s Keri Murch (MS 2003 , Geology), Petaluma, California. Keri is a Senior Staff Geologist at Environmental Resolutions, Inc. Kelvin Wurston (BA 2004, Statistics), Lake Forest, Illinois. Kelvin is an actuary with Trustmark Insurance Company.

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ALUMNET Dear Collegeof ScienceAlumni arulPrimas,

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Insight,is th, alumni ntwskttn oftht UtahState Uniwnity Co/kg, ofScimce. Our missionis to inform alumni andfriends of curr,nt evmts,projects , and n,ws within th, coll,g,. Th, ntwsktur alsoprovidn a forum for alumni tofollow tht carrm and proftssio,,,,JJn,,l,,pmmt of colkagues. This issueoflnsights wasproducedundrr th, dirrctionofColm, Yates.editor;Nadm, Steinhoffand Mary-Ann Muffoletto,writers;with specialthan/tsto Dean Don Fiesing,r,AssociateDean RichardMueller,AssociateDean Lisa B,rrrau. Vic, Provost for Undergraduate Studiesand Res,arrhJoye,Kinlt,adand PublicRelationsSpecialistMarrn Cartwright.Photosby Donna Barry.D,an Don Fiesing,r,AssociateDean RichardMu,lkr, AssociateDean Lisa Berrrau,and Nadm, Steinhoff.DesignbyM,gan Hemmert.Printedat USU PublicationDerignand Production.© 2005

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