The lecture by Ann Hornschemeier, an astrophysicist for NASA and Drake University graduate, has been rescheduled for Friday, March 2, in room 206 of Cline Hall. She will present "From Drake University to X-Rays in Space," which was originally planned to take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 1.
She will chronicle her career path from a high school student in rural Ohio to a summer participant in the Space Grant Consortium to her current position as deputy project scientist at NASA for the Constellation-X, a space mission due to launch in 2018.
Hornschemeier graduated from Drake in 1997 with a B.S. in physics and mathematics. She received an M.S. in 1999 and a Ph.D. in 2002, both in astronomy and astrophysics from Pennsylvania State University. She joined NASA in 2004. Her specialization is the study of X-ray emission from star formations. In addition, she is an active proponent of astronomical outreach via small NASA grants for Girl Scout activities. She also founded a new science program for girls in the Baltimore area.
"Ann is an excellent role model for science students, in particular women," said Maria Bohorquez, director of the Drake Undergraduate Science Collaborative Institute. "We hope her talk and informal discussions with students will inspire and encourage students to pursue challenging career paths."

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.

Evan Ball (BSPS), Mary Kay Caniglia (BIO), and Michelle Gombas (BIO/BCMB) presented posters showcasing their research at the Sigma Xi Student Research Conference that was held in Detroit, MI on November 4, 2006.  The title of Mary Kay and Michelle's poster was "Effects of Genistein Exposure during Critical Time Periods on Maternal Behavior in Sprague-Dawley Rats". The title of Evan's poster was "Exposure to Genistein During Gestation And/Or Lactation Induces Atypical Reproductive and Immune Development in Sprague-Dawley Rats".  Both posters received a Superior award for being one of the top posters in their respective categories. The students' faculty mentor is Assistant Professor of Biology Amy Wisniewski.

Student from Drake finds rare turtle population
08/28/06

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."