ESU Faculty, Staff and Students in the News

Dr. Jay Hunt, assistant professor of biology, was recently awarded $5,831 in funding by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Faculty Professional Development Council (FPDC) for a research study titled "Investigating the Biology of Gelatinous Zooplankton Using a Newly Developed Submersible System." Hunt's research, to be concluded by October 31, 2009, will use a newly developed remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) to collect information about deep-sea animals including jellyfishes, squids, fishes, and soft-bodied animals. The system uses the latest technologies including HDTV cameras with underwater microscopes and sensors to collect information on the behavior of animals and the ecology of the open sea.

"We know relatively little about how soft-bodied animals contribute to the ecology of world oceans. I have been using deep-sea submarines and ROVs for 20 years to observe the behavior of animals rarely encountered alive. This project will contribute to our overall understanding of open ocean and deep-sea ecosystems, which comprise the largest biome on our planet," said Hunt.
Dr. Kimberly S. Adams, assistant professor of political science, attended the 66th annual Midwest Political Science National Conference, held in Chicago last month, where she presented a research paper titled "Rounding the Tables of Legislative Decision Making: Women in Sub-Saharan African Parliaments" and led a panel discussion titled "Women National Leaders" which focused on female leadership and politics. Adams' research examined the effects of political, socioeconomic, and cultural influences upon the percentage of women in Sub-Saharan African parliaments through the use of a new cultural measure of diversity in politically relevant ethnic groups in that region.

Mr. Todd Behr, Dr. Shiv Bunjun, Dr. Gus Christofides, and Dr. Pats Neelakantan, all members of the economics department faculty, attended the 24th annual Washington Economic Policy Conference, held in March in Washington D.C. The conference, which featured presentations by economic experts from the fields of academia, government, business, and public policy, was organized jointly by the National Association for Business & Economics (NABE) and the Association of University Business & Economic Research (AUBER). Topics addressed included pressing economic issues currently facing the nation such as the housing crisis, credit squeeze, a possible recession and the upcoming presidential election. Attendance at this prestigious national conference was made possible thanks to financial support from ESU's Office of Academic Affairs, College of Business, Management and Economics, and the College of Health Sciences.

In April, Bunjun, Neelakantan, and economics professor Richard Booser attended the 19th annual Undergraduate Research Conference at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa. Under the guidance of Booser, two ESU economics students conducted research and presented their findings at the conference, and a third served as a discussant on a paper. Mark Schaffer, a senior from Limeport, Pa., presented research titled "Spillover Effect from Credit Default," Mark Meacham, a senior from Lowville, N.Y., presented his work on "Endogenous Money and Economic Activity: Does Endogenous Money Play a Key Role in Determining Economic Activity?" Chris Tierney, a senior from Bethlehem, Pa., served as a panel discussant for a paper titled "The Influence of Economic and Social Conditions on the Structure of Popular Music, 1977-2006."

Dr. Robert Cohen, professor of physics, partnered with ESU students to deliver two different presentations at professional conferences in March. Cohen and Rachelle Domke, a senior earth and space science major from Riverton, Wyo., presented a talk titled "The Impact of Moisture on the Structure of an Intense Oceanic Cyclone" at the 33rd Northeast Storm Conference held in Springfield, Mass. The talk examined how moisture slowed the evolution of airstream boundaries within a computer-simulated oceanic storm and how the delay in evolution impacted temperature distribution and the associated frontal features.

Cohen also teamed with ESU students Lauren Bernhardt, a biology/secondary education major from Philadelphia, Pa., Stefana Pascale, a chemistry/secondary education major from Stroudsburg, Pa., Anna Leigh Rowlands, an earth and space science/secondary education major from Jim Thorpe, Pa., Daniel Wallace, an earth and space science/secondary education major from Quakertown, Pa., and Ms. Leah Rinker, an earth and space science teacher at Pocono Mountain West Junior High School, to present "Pre-service and In-service Teachers Working Together as Teacher Researchers" at the 56th National Conference on Science Education held in Boston, Mass., by the National Science Teachers Association. The talk was part of Teacher Research Day and reviewed an activity in which ESU students carried out several small research studies in collaboration with area science teachers. The studies examined how student learning was impacted by the selection and organization of lesson activities.

Darren Hargrove, resident director of Hawthorn Residence Hall, along with colleagues from the University of Maryland, New York University, and Syracuse University, made a presentation titled "Black Male Undergraduate Achievement: Best Practices and Collaborative Initiatives," at the 2008 City University of New York (CUNY) Student Affairs Conference. The conference, "We Got Class: Collaborations for Leadership, Achievement and Student Success," was held last month at York College in Jamaica Queens, New York. The group's presentation was one of a select few chosen by conference organizers to be videotaped for future training and promotional purposes.