Dr. Charlotte Simmons Receives National Science Foundation Grant
Dr. Charlotte Simmons, Chair of the UCO Department of Mathematics & Statistics, has received a 5-year $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) program. The Center for Undergraduate Research and Education Student Scholars in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (CURE S-STEM) program will serve as an extension of the STEP@UCO project, also funded by the NSF, that provides support for UCO freshmen majoring in STEM disciplines. CURE S-STEM will support these STEP@UCO participants with scholarships allowing them to continue their undergraduate research projects with faculty mentors. Dr. John Barthell and Dr. Wei Chen serve as Co-Principal Investigators (PI) on the project. Drs. Chen and Barthell are also PI and Co-PI, respectively, of the STEP@UCO grant.
College of Mathematics and Science Faculty Honored
During UCO Fall 2009 Convocation
UCO held its annual Convocation and the following CMS faculty received
awards:
Faculty Merit Awards
Scholarly/Creative Award - Dr. Troy Baird, Professor of
Biology
Service Award - Dr. David Bass, Professor of Biology
Vanderford Teaching Award - Dr. Charles Cooper, Professor of Mathematics &
Statistics
Neely Excellence in Teaching Award - Dr. Wei Chen, Professor of Engineering
& Physics/CMS Assistant Dean
Modeling the Way - Dr. John Barthell, Professor of Biology/CMS Dean
Dr. John Barthell receives grant from National Science
Foundation to continue Research in Turkey
Dr. John Barthell, Professor of Biology and Dean of the UCO College of Mathematics and Science, has received a 4-year continuation grant of $301,586 from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program for his proposal "REU Site: Ecology and Behavior of Honey Bees and Solitary Bees." The summer program engages undergraduate students in research that involves collaborations with scientists from Turkey and its western bordering nations. Dr. Barthell was first awarded the REU grant in 2006. Collaborators on the current project include: Dr. Charles Abramson, Oklahoma State University; Dr. Harrington Wells, Tulsa University; Dr. John Hranitz, Bloomsburg State University (Pennsylvania); Dr. Theodora Petanidou, University of the Aegean (Greece); Dr. Ibrahim Cakmak, Uladag University (Turkey); and Dr. Peter Nentchev, Trackia University (Bulgaria).
Dr. Michelle Haynie receives National Science Foundation
Major Research Instrumentation Grant
Dr.
Michelle Haynie, Assistant Professor of Biology, has received a grant in
the amount of $130,006 from the National Science Foundation Major Research
Instrumentation (MRI) program to purchase a DNA sequencer for research in
molecular biology. Acquisition of this sequencer will provide advanced
research opportunities and stimulate new ideas for collaboration among
faculty and students. Dr. Greg Wilson serves as Co-Principal Investigator
on the grant.
UCO Nursing Department receives Scholarships for
Disadvantaged Students Grant
Dr. Linda Rider, Chair of the UCO Department of Nursing, has received a $19,271 continuation grant from the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program of the Health Resources and Services Administration. The grant provides scholarship funds to full-time students who have been admitted to the nursing program. Students qualify based on financial need and academic achievement. This is the seventh year that the Nursing Department has received this grant.
Dr. Wei Chen named U.S. Professor of the Year by CASE and Carnegie Foundation
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Dr. Wei Chen, biomedical engineering professor and assistant dean of the UCO College of Mathematics and Science has been named 2008 U.S. Professor of the Year for Master's Universities and Colleges by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. These awards recognize professors for their influence on teaching and their commitment to undergraduate students. Strongly influenced by the teachings of Confucius, Chen engages students in inquiry-based learning through experiments and simulations in his classes. In 2000, he led an effort to establish a biomedical engineering undergraduate degree program at UCO, the first and only such program in the state. Chen's interdisciplinary approach to learning extends to his research on cancer treatment where students working in his lab use laser immunotherapy, a novel treatment method that incorporates fields including laser physics, engineering designs, biology, and chemistry.
UCO Receives $2 Million Grant from the National Science
Foundation
The UCO College of Mathematics and Science has been awarded a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to fund the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Double Bridge Program. The bridge concept has two components - a Summer Bridge for incoming freshmen who plan to major in a STEM field and a Fall Bridge for community college transfer students majoring in STEM. Eight additional Oklahoma higher education institutions are participating in the grant with UCO: Langston University, Northeastern University, East Central University, Rose State College, Redlands Community College, Comanche Nation College, and Oklahoma City Community College. Dr. Wei Chen is the Principal Investigator (PI) for the grant with Dr. Gregory Wilson and Dr. John Barthell serving as Co-PIs.
INBRE Grants go to College Faculty
Several College of Mathematics and Science Faculty have received grants
from the Oklahoma Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE).
Faculty and their projects are:
Department of Computer Science
Dr. Gang Qian, "Incorporating
Substitution Matrices into the NSP-tree for Efficient and Sensitive
Pair-wise Alignments in Large
Biological Sequence Databases"
Department of Engineering & Physics
Dr. Wei Chen, "MRI-Guided
Photoimmunotherapy"
Dr. Jaehoon Seong, "MRI Flow Study in
the Silicone Replicas of Human Cartoid Bifurcation with Age"
Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Dr. Daniel Endres, "Advanced
Stochastic Models for DNA Mircrosatellite Somatic Instability"
In addition, three faculty received awards funded by the Oklahoma State
Regents for Higher Education:
Department of Engineering & Physics
Dr. Yuhao Jiang, "Quantitative Image
Analysis for in vivo Trans-rectal Ultrasound-coupled Optical
Tomography of the Prostate"
Dr. Morshed Khandaker, "Nanoscale
Fracture Toughness measurement of Bone and
Nanocomposite Interfaces"
Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Dr. Jeremy Thibodeaux, "Seeking
Optimal Treatment Strategies for Malaria Infection"
Dr. William Caire Receives Field Station Grant from the
National Science Foundation
The
UCO Department of Biology has
received grant funds totaling $239,538 from the National Science Foundation
Field Station and Marine Laboratories
(FSML) to build a multi-purpose education building at
the University's Selman Living Laboratory (SLL).
The SLL is
a Biological Field Station located near Freedom in
northwestern Oklahoma. Since 1988, UCO has developed the SLL into a
significant research and education facility.
Currently modular buildings and a mobile home serve as cooking and boarding
facilities for researchers and student groups.
With the grant funds, a permanent structure will be built that will
function as a classroom and laboratory as well as a kitchen/dining
facility. The SLL is the only field station in North America with a
combination of mixed-grass prairies, gypsum outcrops, extensive gypsum
caves, microbiotic crusts, and associated springs, wetlands, and wildlife.
Dr. Caire, who also serves as the SLL's director, has been studying bats in
the area's caves for over 30 years.
Students Honored at Annual Awards Ceremony
Students in the College of Mathematics and Science were honored at the
annual Awards Ceremony. Outstanding graduating seniors in each
department are: Biology - Dominika Kovacikava; Chemistry - Adam Imel;
Computer Science - Jonathan Clement; Engineering & Physics - Timothy Handy,
Ben Brett, & Justin Wilson; Funeral Service - Lucas Faires;
Mathematics & Statistics - Clint Appleseth; Nursing - Renee DeGroot &
Hillary White. Click here
for a complete list of award recipients.
Dr. Alaeddin Abu-Abed Receives Research Grant
Dr. Alaeddin Abu-Abed, assistant professor of engineering
physics, has received a Research Initiation Grant from the Oklahoma NASA
Space Grant Consortium/NASA EPSCoR. His proposal "Capacitative Radiation
Detector Utilizing Liquid Crystal," received high marks in the area of
relevance to NASA and cross-linking to Oklahoma's research capabilities and
industry. The grant provides funds for Dr. Abu-Abed to travel to the
Marshall Space Center in Birmingham, AL where he will work with the NASA
Constellation Program.
UCO Natural History Museum Receives National Science Foundation Grant
