The 17^th Annual Celebration of Research and Creative Endeavors was held on April 10th on the Appalachian campus. Over 115 students and 75 faculty mentors from 26 departments were recognized for their research. Students were given opportunities to present oral and poster presentations describing their work. 

Features speaker Hayes School of Music Dean Bill Peltro said, “We have moved beyond the question of asking why we do research. It is now a part of our fabric at Appalachian.”

Seven students were honored for excellence in their poster presentations. Three awards were given to undergraduate students, three were given to graduate students, and one student was recognized with the Sigma Xi award for interdisciplinary research.

The undergraduate recipients were:

-Geology major Oliver Burns of Birmingham, Ala. – “Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction of an Early Miocene Primate Site; Loperot, Kenya.” Mentor: Dr. Cynthia Liutkus-Pierce

-Psychology major Danielle Giangrasso of Long Island, N.Y. – “Environmental Enrichment Mitigates Seizure Severity in Adolescent Rats.” Mentor: Dr. Mark Zrull

-Chemistry major Kimberly Noel of Asheville – “Water Quality Monitoring of Streams Impacted by Coal Waste Acid Mine Drainage in Southwestern Virginia.” Mentor: Dr. Carol Babyak 

The graduate recipients were:

-Bryce Oakley, appropriate technology – “Occupancy-driven Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Control Within University Academic Buildings and the Associated Energy Impacts: A Case Study of Two Implemented Techniques at Appalachian State University.” Mentor: Dr. Marie Hoepfl

-Charles Tate, biology – “Differential Binding of Land Applied Waste Water to the Three Estrogen Receptors: ERA, ERBA, and ERBB of the Atlantic Croaker.” Mentor: Dr. Shea Tuberty

-Zachary Williams, biology – “Indentification and Embryonic Expression of a Highly Conserved Meis-linked Gene.” Mentor Dr. Ted Zerucha

Geology major Jared Voris of Brevard was awarded the Sigma Xi award for his study “Lateral Osteoderm Analysis of Desmatosuchus Spurensis,” an analysis of two fossilized scales from the crocodile-like aetosaurs found in an Arizona quarry. His mentor was Dr. Andy Heckert. 

The Office of Student Research sponsored the event. More information is available here. 

The 4^th Annual Collaborative Conference on Rural Mental Health (CCRMH) will take place on April 17-18 in the Linville Falls room of the Plemmons Student Union at Appalachian State University. The event is sponsored by the Department of Psychology.

The conference is an annual event dedicated to promoting research, practice, and training issues unique to mental health services in rural areas. The event seeks to provide a collegial atmosphere to encourage the exchange of ideas between presenters and attendees.  

There will be a continuing education workshop titled “Responding to Common Ethical Issues in Rural Areas” by Dr. James Werth Jr. on April 17th. The workshop will address major issues in rural practice such as competence, confidentiality, and multiple relationships. It will suggest potential solutions that can be implemented proactively or at recognition of a problem. Attendees will be eligible for contact hours and continuing education credit from multiple institutions. The workshop begins at 1 p.m. Registration and a $60 registration fee are required. Registration information is available here.

The second day of the conference includes poster sessions, student presentations, roundtable discussions, and talks from Appalachian State University Department of Psychology professors and professors from regional universities. The events start at 9 a.m. The second day is free and open to the public, but registration by April 14^th is requested. The registration form is available here.

For more information, a brochure is available here or contact JP Jameson at jamesonjp [at] appstate [dot] edu. 

Physics professor and astronomer Joseph Pollock was part of a team of astronomers that discovered the first documented asteroid with a ring system. The research was published in the March 26 issue of Nature.

The asteroid, “Chariklo,” has two rings and orbits the Sun between Saturn and Uranus. The team was initially monitoring the asteroid as it passed in front of a star. The disappearance of the star as the asteroid passed in front of it indicated the presence of the asteroid. However, Pollock and the team noticed dips in the star’s brightness before and after the asteroid passed. The dips in brightness indicated the ring system.

The observations were made using the Prompt Observatory on Cerro Tololo in Chile. The observatory is part of a large network of robotic telescopes located in Australia, Europe, and the US. Two telescopes at Appalachian’s Dark Sky Observatory are part of the network. The network, labeled “SKYNET,” was established in 2006 at UNC Chapel Hill.

Comparing the observations with those of others citing similar anomalies, Pollock and the team confirmed the existence of the rings. Prior to this discovery rings were found exclusively around four of the largest planets in the Solar System.

The origin of the rings has yet to be determined. However, in a news release by the European Southern Observatory, an intergovernmental astronomy organization in Europe, it is speculated the “rings may prove to be a phenomenon that might in turn later lead to the formation of a small moon.”

More information about the Department of Physics is available here. More information about Appalachian’s Dark Sky Observatory is available here. 

Chemistry major Corbin Ester was selected to participate in the National Institute of Health (NIH) Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. Ester will work directly with Dr. Mariam Poirier, a pioneer in cancer research in the areas of biochemical dosmistry and molecular epidemiology.

Ester said, “I am immensely honored and eager to begin working with Dr. Miriam Poirier.”

Ester will work side-by-side with Dr. Poirier and other scientists conducting cutting edge biomedical research. The internship covers eight weeks and will begin in late May. The program is extremely competitive, with only 1000 interns selected out of the 6300 applicants in 2013. Scientists working with the NIH review and hand select their own interns.

The National Cancer Institute is the Federal Government’s principal agency for cancer research and training. It coordinates the National Cancer Program, which conducts and supports research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer, rehabilitation from cancer, and the continuing care of cancer patients and the families of cancer patients

Dr. Poirier is the head of the Carcinogen-DNA Interactions Section in the Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute. She is the recipient of the NIH Merit Award and the Women in Toxicology Service Recognition Award.

Ester said, “I look forward to the boundless opportunities to both connect professionally and hone my research skills at the definitive center of cancer research- the National Cancer Institute.”

More information about the NIH Summer Internship Program is available here.