Academies to Meet at University of Richmond the 89Th Annual Meeting of the Academy Will Be Held at the Uni- Versity of Richmond, May 25-27, 2011
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
2011VASCIS_issue-k.pdf 1 3/21/11 10:43 AM Volume XX, Issue 2 April, 2011 Academies to Meet at University of Richmond The 89th Annual Meeting of the Academy will be held at the Uni- versity of Richmond, May 25-27, 2011. The 70th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Junior Academy of Science will be held May 24-26, 2011. We are one of the few academies in the nation to meet con- currently with our Junior Academy. Our purpose is to provide unique opportunities for mentoring young scientists and recruiting them to Virginia colleges and universities. Information on judging, lodging, tours, speakers, registra- tion, etc. is at www.vacadsci.org ...click MEETINGS” then Reg- istration and Information” to get to the official meeting site. Your support is needed on Wednesday, May 25! Lend a hand in judging student paper presentations or scholarship awards in excess of $120,000 and “Dinner With The Scientists.” Contact VJAS Director Susan Booth today! … [email protected] Dr. Edward Ayers, UR Presi- dent, welcomes VAS & VJAS 2011 George W. Jeffers Memorial Annual Meeting Plenary Speakers Lecturer Cynthia Keppel (page 1), James Rus- Dr. Cynthia Keppel Hampton University, Jefferson Accelerator sell (page 3) & Lisa Gentile (page 3). Dr. Cynthia Keppel leads the technical and research pro- grams of the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute (HUPTI) as the scientific and technical director, bringing a wealth of knowledge from both nuclear and medical phys- Academy Awards $2500 for ics to the team. Keppel joined Hampton University over 10 years ago. She currently holds Undergraduate Research a joint position as Hampton Uni- In support the Academy’s efforts to encourage versity Endowed Professor and young scientists at the earliest stages of their careers, the also as Staff Scientist at the annual Undergraduate Research Conference was held at nearby Thomas Jefferson Na- the Science Museum of Virginia on Saturday, October tional Accelerator Facility, one of 16, 2010. At this meeting, five $500 research grants were the nation’s premier nuclear awarded to undergraduate students to support their re- physics institutions. Keppel has search during the 2010-11 academic year. Each of the authored seven patents relating to undergraduates presented posters on their proposed re- cancer diagnosis and treatment search to a team of judges. In addition, the recipients of and has published over 130 peer- the research awards will present the results of their work reviewed publications on topics at the VAS Annual Meeting in May. Research grants ranging from nuclear phenome- were awarded to 6 winners from three Virginia Institu- nology to medical instrumentation. She has received nu- tions of higher education. merous awards and grants, and currently oversees nearly Each year the conference is held for students at Vir- $1 million annually in external research support. Keppel ginia’s four-year colleges and community colleges. Our received her Ph.D. and MS from American University and purpose is to encourage undergraduates early in their ca- a B.A. from St. John's College. Dr. Keppel was named reers to focus on research as an essential component of 2011 Virginia Outstanding Scientist by the Common- both their current educational experience and their career wealth of Virginia and the Science Museum of Virginia; objectives when they enter the work force. she is also recipient of the State Council of Higher Educa- tion for Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award. (Continued, See “VAS Winners,” page 2) 2011VASCIS_issue-k.pdf 1 3/21/11 10:46 AM Virginia Scientists 2 VAS Winners - Fall 2010 Andre Han, Undergraduate Research Virginia Tech Faculty Advisor: Pablo Sobrano Conference (Continued from page 1) Project title: Biomedical Characteri- Grants of $500 were awarded as follows: zation of Flavin Adenine Dinucleo- tide Dependent Monooxygenase from Aspergillus fumigates Brandon Newmyer Radford University Erin A. Haynes and Faculty Advosor: Mark Cline Project title: Determining the Bowyn A. Wang Hypothalamic Mechanisms of University of Mary Washington Neuropeptide AF-Induced Anorexia Faculty Advisor: Theresa Grana in a Mammalian Model Project title: Nematodes in Virginia: Comparative Development and Collette Dougherty Model Organism Characteristics Radford University Faculty Advisor: Mark Cline Anum Shaikh Project title: Central Mechanisms of University of Mary Washington Gastrin-Releasing Peptide-Induced Faculty Advisor: Deborah O’Dell Anorexia in Chicks Project title: Effects of Combined Vitamin C & E Treatment on Plaque Nominations and Elections Committee Report 2011-12 PRESIDENT – Dr. Michael He received his Ph.D. from the Uni- H. Renfroe, currently President-Elect, is versity of Connecticut. Since 1971 he Professor of Biology at James Madison has taught undergraduate courses in University. general biology, invertebrate zoology, Dr. Renfroe conducts research on and human anatomy and physiology at tissue culture propagation of rare and NVCC and courses in parasitology at endangered plant species and on anti- George Washington University. Dr. oxidant content in foods and beverages Eckerlin was the recipient of the 2009 of plant origin. Dr. Renfroe has been SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award. active in the Virginia Academy of Science since arriving in His research interests are in the distribution, biogeography, the state and has also served as Academy Vice President, and taxonomy of parasites, particularly fleas. He is a Re- Secretary, and Treasurer; Mike is a member of the Flora search Associate of the Carnegie Museum of Natural Committee and the Advisory Board for the Flora of Vir- History and the Virginia Museum of Natural History. ginia; he has also served as Chair and Vice Chair of the Dr. Eckerlin has been a member of the Virginia Acad- Botany Section. emy of Science for more than 30 years and has served as Academy Vice President, Treasurer and Membership Com- The Nominations and Election Committee mittee Chair. He has been Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary places in nomination the following slate of of the Biology Section. officers for 2011–2012: VICE PRESIDENT – Dr. Deborah A. O'Dell received her Ph.D. in Cellular and Developmental Biology from SUNY PRESIDENT ELECT – Dr. Ralph P. Eckerlin is Profes- Stony Brook, sor of Biology at Northern Virginia Community College. Continued, See “Officers,” page 3 2011VASCIS_issue-k.pdf 1 3/21/11 10:50 AM Virginia Scientists 3 2011 Sidney S. Negus Memorial Officers Nominations (Continued from page 2) Lecturer and completed a post-doc in neuro- physiology at Cambridge Univer- Dr. James M. Russell, III sity, UK. She is currently Associ- Hampton University, NASA-LRC ate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Univer- Dr . Russell served as head of the Chemistry and Dy- sity of Mary Washington. Her re- namics Branch and the Theoretical Studies Branch in the search examines the cellular basis NASA Langley Atmospheric Sci- of behavior, as well as growth and ences Division and currently he is function in the nervous system. an Endowed Professor of Atmos- She is currently Chair for the Biology with Microbiology pheric and Planetary Sciences and Section of the Academy having served previously as Vice Co-Director of the Center for At- Chair and Secretary. mospheric Sciences at Hampton University in Virginia. He re- SECRETARY – Dr. David Martin Crosby received his ceived the BSEE degree from Ph.D. in Fisheries Biology from Auburn University in Virginia Tech, the MSEE degree 1987. Since 1993, Dr. Crosby has been the Fish Health from the U. of Virginia and the Specialist with the Virginia Cooperative Extension at PhD in aeronomy from the Uni- Virginia State University. He also worked for the Missis- versity of Michigan. Among his sippi Cooperative Extension ser- numerous awards, are the NASA vice, MSU in Stoneville, Missis- Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement, the sippi as an Area Fisheries Spe- NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership and the Vir- cialist. Since 1998, Dr. Crosby ginia 2008 Outstanding Scientist Award. He is author or has served as Secretary, Editor co-author of more than 400 papers in the scientific litera- and Chair for the VAS Agricul- ture. His paper describing scientific results from the HA- ture, Forestry and Aquaculture LOE experiment was the most cited paper in geosciences section. Dr. Crosby is currently during the period 1991 – 2001. serving as Treasurer and Coun- cilor for the section. For many VJAS General Session Lecture years, Dr. Crosby has participated in the judging of stu- Dr. Lisa N. Gentile dent papers in the JVAS. Dr. Crosby is a member of the American Fisheries Society (Fish Health Section & Fish University of Richmond Culture Section), American Society of Parasitologists, Lisa attended Colgate University as an undergraduate American Microscopical Society, and Helminthological where she majored in chemistry and was a collegiate swimmer. Society of Washington. She completed her Ph.D. in bio- chemistry at Brown University TREASURER – Richard S. and did postdoctoral work in Groover serves as Assistant Dean of biophysics, supported as a Jane Mathematics and Science at J. Coffin Childs Postdoctoral Fel- Sargeant Reynolds Community Col- low, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. lege where he is also an Associate Lisa is in her 13th year as a Professor of Biology. His research faculty member at University of focuses on dragonfly dispersal, colo- Richmond. Her scholarship fo- nization, and re-colonization of lentic cuses on the structure, dynamics, and regulation of pro- habitats. Richard has served as Chair teins involved in disease. She has published 30 peer- of the Academy’s Membership Committee and mentors reviewed articles, many with undergraduate co-authors. undergraduate research students; among his accomplish- In addition to mentoring undergraduates, Lisa and her group work on independent research projects with local ments are listings in Who's Who Among American Teach- high school teachers and students. In the past 5 years, she ers, Virginia Academy of Science Small Project Grant, has served on multiple federal agency funding panels.