Featured Researchers


Students gain valuable skills and experience through research
08/05/2008
MEDIA CONTACT: Lisa Lacher; 515-271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

Twelve students have been researching subjects ranging from molecular dynamics to high-energy galactic behaviors to the effects of cocaine withdrawal on memory as part of Drake's summer undergraduate research program. The students recently presented their final projects during the conclusion of the 2008 Drake Undergraduate Science Collaborative Institute (DUSCI) Summer Undergraduate Research Program. The students are challenged to learn at a level of a graduate student in the sense that they are expected to obtain publishable results and present their work using a national conference format," explained professor Maria Bohorquez, DUSCI director. "Their research projects challenge them, and their reward is not a grade; it is the discovery of new knowledge." Learn more about the summer research program online.

Drake, East High students collaborate in chemistry research project
07/22/2008
MEDIA CONTACT: Lisa Lacher; 515-271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

Two Drake University students and two Des Moines East High School students are collaborating on chemistry research on Drake's campus this summer. They are working eight hours a day for a period of eight to ten weeks in a chemistry lab in Cline Hall. Drake students Ryan Johnson and Samuel Nkrumah-Agyeefi were selected to participate in the research project by Mark Vitha, Drake associate professor of chemistry. Nkrumah-Agyeefi, a junior biochemistry and molecular biology major from Ghana, knows the experiences at Drake have been enriching. "Here, I am exposed to enhanced research and get to spend one-on-one time with professors, which is very important," he said. The students from East High School -- Carolina Chavez and Zoila Sarmiento -- were selected by their chemistry teacher to work on the project. They are being supported by a $5,000 grant called Project SEED from the American Chemical Society. "I have always really liked science," said Sarmiento, a senior, "but this gives me a chance to see if it's something I want to continue." Chavez is a junior at East. Read more about this article online.

Two Drake Students Win Best Undergraduate Paper
05/18/2007
MEDIA CONTACT: Lisa Lacher; 515-271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

Drake University students Skyler Nesheim of Altoona and Luong "Louis" Hoang won an award for best undergraduate paper at the 40th annual Midwest Instruction and Computing Symposium, hosted by the University of North Dakota. Their paper, "Creating an Object-Oriented Network Simulator," was honored for its innovation in creating a new software program to facilitate testing of ad hoc wireless network protocols. "Our basic goal was to design and implement a wireless network simulator that would be easy to maintain and extend," said Nesheim, who recently completed his senior year at Drake and is a graduate of Southeast Polk High School. "We wanted to make it easy for student researchers to create and test their own wireless network routing protocols." Nesheim and Hoang, a junior, collaborated together as research assistants for Associate Professor of Computer Science Michael Rieck. The project won the Maytag Innovation award last year and is funded through a grant from the Maytag Corporation. Nesheim and Hoang developed the project by examining studies and dissertations from graduate students and gave a 30-minute presentation on their paper at the symposium. "The research we did to accomplish this project and the paper involved a serious study of object-oriented programming practices and design as well as an in-depth study of the routing protocols," said Nesheim, who majored in computer science. "The Symposium conference was a big event," said Hoang, an international student from Hanoi, Vietnam, who’s majoring in quantitative economics, mathematics and computer science. "It attracts many talented and professional persons in the field and it created a remarkable learning experience for sharing knowledge as well as the environment to network with top leaders in the industry and other peers. Winning the best paper award marked our success for the efforts we've put in and of course motivated us to maintain and improve our project in the future." The symposium, which was held April 20-21, included a panel discussion from program directors, engineers and programmers from Microsoft Corp. and IBM, centering on the theme "Our Midwest Computing Heritage." The regional conference was established in 1967 to promote creative thinking about computer-related issues in institutions of higher education.

Drake Students Win First Place Sigma Xi Research Awards
12/12/2006
MEDIA CONTACT: Lisa Lacher; 515-271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

Three Drake students received first place awards for outstanding scientific research presentations at the 2006 Sigma Xi Student Research Conference in Detroit, held November 3-4. Evan Ball, a junior from Lenexa, Kan., and Michelle Gombas, a senior from Fort Wayne, Ind., received a cash award of $175 for a physiology and immunology research project, titled "Exposure to Genistein During Gestation and/or Lactation Induces Atypical Reproductive and Immune Development in Sprague-Dawley Rats." Mary Caniglia, a senior from Council Bluffs, Iowa, also received a cash award of $175 for her ecology and evolutionary biology research presentation, titled "Effects of Genistein Exposure during Critical Time Periods on Maternal Behavior in Sprague Dawley Rats." The students competed against both undergraduate and graduate students from 100 institutions at the conference. "It was pretty competitive, and they performed really well," said Amy Wisniewski, assistant professor of biology. "Drake offers good opportunities for outstanding students, and our students compete and do very well when compared to other undergraduate and graduate students nationally." Recognized at an awards ceremony, the students were presented a certificate and invitation to join Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Membership in the international honor society of science and engineering is by invitation only, based on research achievements or potential. Founded in 1886, the non-profit society has about 65,000 members and more than 500 chapters in North America and overseas. Sigma Xi members attending the society's annual meeting in Detroit served as judges for poster and oral presentations. Student researchers also attended career advancement workshops and participated in mentoring and networking activities, panel discussions and lectures by leading scientists and recipients of annual Sigma Xi awards.

Stacy Knight's research project is partially funded by Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society
11/01/06
MEDIA CONTACT: Lisa Lacher; 515-271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu
Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society has partially funded Stacy Knight's research project titled "Survey of Fish Feminization in Two Iowa Streams: Estrogen effects on sex ratios and vitellogenin levels of White Bass (Morone chrysops)" with a research grant in the amount of $708. The project is expected to identify if there are feminized fish in Iowa by testing vitellogenin levels in their plasma. Vitellogenin is an egg protein precursor found in female fish. Studies came out the early part of last year showing the discovery of male fish producing vitellogenin and female germ cells in areas of the US and Europe. These are signs of the fish becoming under masculinized and hermaphroditic. The proposed cause of the bizarre feminization are the endocrine disrupting chemicals and hormones in the water. Items such as pesticides, fertilizers, plasticizers, municipal waste water and animal manure all contain hormones or endocrine disruptors and contribute to the watershed's estrogen concentration. This area of research, while quite new, is getting a lot of attention and growing rapidly; this is due, in part, to agencies such as the EPA questioning the problems in our water and seeking answers to the impact it may have on humans. This will be one of the first studies done on large fish in Iowa.Stacy is a senior majoring in Biology and Environmental Science. Advisors on the project include Amy Wisniewski, Keith Summerville, and Claire Hruby. Other contributors to the project are Des Moines Water Works, Iowa DNR, and faculty at ISU. The data is planned to be presented during the spring semester at Biology Seminar, DUCURS, and the Beta Beta Beta conference held at Central College in April. An abstract will likely be submitted to the BIOS publication.

Student from Drake finds rare turtle population
08/28/06
MEDIA CONTACT: Lisa Lacher; 515-271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

Hank Vogel, a student in the Drake University Undergraduate Science Institute's summer research program, discovered a new population of rare Blanding's turtles during a recent survey of reptiles and amphibians at Chicaqua Bottoms Greenbelt in northeast Polk County."I reached into the trap for the turtle and right away I saw it was a Blanding's. It had a bright yellow neck with a lot of yellow spots on its head," Vogel said. "It was a real surprise; I would never have guessed it would have been there."Blanding's are classified as threatened in the state of Iowa, meaning they are at risk of becoming extinct. It is illegal to collect or kill them. "There was just the one, but because it was a yearling and Blanding's turtles are pretty sedentary you can bet that there's an older male and female and perhaps other nestlings nearby," said Keith Summerville, assistant professor of environmental science at Drake, soon after the find.He was right - the next week, Vogel found another young Blanding's.The turtles are "usually found in shallow ponds or wetlands with lots of emergent plants such as reeds, duckweed and sandy soils," according to Summerville."Finding a population of Blanding's at Chichaqua Bottoms tells us that the large restored landscape is really working to provide habitat for declining species," Summerville said.The Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt spans more than 10 miles of land in northeast Polk County and includes more than 500 acres of restored wetland area along the Skunk River. While Blanding's are certainly rare, estimating their total population is difficult, said Daryl Howell, zoologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.Prior scientific surveys in Iowa had turned up the turtles, but never evidence of their reproduction. That's disconcerting, especially with a threatened species like Blanding's."This is a very significant find, because the yearling is proof of reproduction," Howell said.Iowa has lost approximately 98 percent of its wetlands in the past 200 years, according to a study by the Center for Agricultural Development at Iowa State University. In 2000, the center estimated that Iowa had about 35,000 acres of wetlands - as compared to an estimated 2.3 million acres in 1750. Vogel measured the age and size each turtle (yearlings, the first 6 inches and the second 4.5 inches) and quickly released it. He said he'd been keeping his eye out for Blanding's, as well as two endangered species of snake - the Smooth Green and Grahams Crayfish - all summer. Retired Drake biology professor James Christiansen once tracked the three endangered species. Vogel says he probably won't see the snakes, but he's confident that the team will find more Blanding's."We're going to set up more traps over at a pond close by, and I'd say the chances are pretty good that we catch an adult pair. At least I hope so," Vogel said.Now in its final stages, the DUSCI summer research program enabled 30 Drake students and a high school student from Ames to conduct research projects alongside Drake faculty.Vogel said he's enjoyed his work with the program. "It's been a real relaxing summer - sometimes it's really hot, and you're in these waders that aren't very cool, and there's lots of bugs, but we've done a lot of good work and had a lot of fun."

Last Modified: 11/15/2008 05:01:54 by content editor