volume 3 issue 1 fall 2013 inside: research rapport 8 documenting 13 destruction message mapping 18 lasting legacy 20 going global wright state’s surging international programs Publisher and President of Wright State University David R. Hopkins Vice President for Communications and Marketing George Heddleston Editor and Executive Director of Creative Services, Denise Robinow Communications and Marketing Graphic Design Stephen Rumbaugh Contributing Writers Seth Bauguess, Andrew Call, Dawne Dewey, Jim Hannah, Bob Mihalek, Kim Patton Editorial Assistance Bob Mihalek, Ron Wukeson Photography Editor William Jones Photography Roberta Bowers, William Jones, Chris Snyder Digital Imaging Manipulation Chris Snyder Wright State University Magazine is published twice a year by the Office of Communications and Marketing. Distribution is to Wright State alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the university. Submit information, comments, and letters to: Wright State University Magazine Wright State University 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy. Dayton, OH 45435-0001 Email: [email protected] Wright State University Magazine www.wright.edu/magazine FALL 2013 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 1 2 From the President’s Desk 18 Tech Tactic: Researchers Aid Flood Victims 3 Globetrotters Researchers use social media to track flooding Wright State’s growing international in India education program is leading students around the world 20 Forever in Our Hearts Scholarship honors the memory, bravery, and 8 Wright State Grads tenacity of a Wright State student Drive Air Force Research Grads are part of a pipeline flowing from 22 University News Wright State to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base 24 Alumni News 13 Filmmaker Steps in to the Spotlight 28 AlumNotes Brent Huffman uses film to raise awareness for archaeological site 31 Athletics facing destruction 16 Flying Machines Archives showcases vibrant French aviation postcards Pictured: Dunbar Library at dusk FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK Welcome to this issue of the Wright State University Magazine. Hope you and your family enjoyed a wonderful summer. I know I’m ready for the cooler, crisper days of autumn and welcoming our students back to campus. We begin the new academic year with one of my all-time favorite events—Move-In Day! I always look forward to the flurry of activity as incoming students move into the residence halls for the first time. For me, the best part is getting to meet our newest students and their parents and welcoming them to the Wright State family. As I get to know our first-year students at various events during Welcome Week, I always try to share a few words of wisdom on how to fully embrace the college experience. Along with the requisite advice to study hard and make new friends, I encourage them to begin thinking about studying abroad. In this issue, we’ll take a look at the some of the enriching experiences our students are having as they journey around the globe. You’ll also meet some of the international students who are earning their degrees at Wright State. Did you know that during the last year, 1,039 students from 60 different countries studied at Wright State? We are especially proud of the growth in our international student enrollment and hope to continue this upward trajectory. At this year’s Move-In Day, I am especially looking forward to welcoming 15 students from the first graduating class at the Dayton Regional STEM School. These extraordinarily bright and talented young people are now our newest Wright State Raiders. I had the distinct honor of speaking at their commencement ceremony in June, and let me tell you they are impressive. It wouldn’t surprise me if they one day become the next Ricky Peters, Morley Stone, or Michael Deis—three Wright State alumni who are spearheading many of the research initiatives at Wright- Patterson Air Force Base. Make sure to read about this trio of superstars and their cutting-edge work at the Air Force Research Laboratory. Until our next issue . Warmest regards from campus, David R. Hopkins President Wright State University 2 WORLD The summer 2013 Tropical Field Ecology class in front of a mammoth ceiba tree in the Peruvian jungle. Pictured, L–R: (back row) Associate Biological Sciences Professor Tom Rooney, students Jeff Howell, Zachary Eakes, and Rhett Rautsaw; (front row) students Elizabeth Engle, Erica Hile, Ashley Althouse, Emily King, Senior Biological Sciences Lecturer Marcia Wendeln, and student Catherine D’Amico. globetrotters wright state’s growing international education program is leading students around the world By Seth Bauguess 3 WORLD On the same day Fabrice Shema, a “The past seven years we’ve really but must first complete the English senior finance major from Paris, France, worked on recruitment and focused on the program to do that.” finished his last bit of coursework in Rike resources that we had, like embassies and Shema and Chen both parlayed a solid Hall, senior Jordon Coffman from Mercer sponsored students,” said Streeter-Ferrari. LEAP foundation into demonstrable County helped build and program a robot “One of our greatest selling points is our success in the classroom. Both graduated in Jena, Germany. Separated by an ocean, English-intensive program, LEAP.” with grade point averages well above 3.0. but linked by Raider pride, they are part of Born 15 years ago, the Learning English Shema served on the business school’s a growing demographic at Wright State— for Academic and Professional Purposes dean’s advisory board and plans to begin students seeking to travel the world to (LEAP) program was designed to help his MBA studies this year. find international opportunities for their students learn the English they would According to a recent report conducted college education. need to succeed in a Wright State by Wright State, international students “The size of the campus, the suburban classroom. The program began building who pass the English proficiency test location, the superior support network— momentum several years ago, and today before coming to campus produce an these are reasons why international its reputation has pushed well beyond its average GPA a half point lower than students can thrive at Wright State,” said Dayton campus borders. students who complete LEAP or take some Shema, who followed the advice of a cousin “LEAP participation has really taken off LEAP classes. Graduates of the program and chose Wright State when he came to the over the past three years with a projected average a 3.46 GPA. United States for college. increase of another 171 percent next year,” “They are just better prepared, and Shema and Coffman are not alone. said Jeannette Horwitz, LEAP director. the word is getting out internationally,” Over the last five years, Wright State has About 20 percent of Wright State said Horwitz. “Because of LEAP, they have seen a 63 percent increase in international international students spend multiple not only learned English, but have already student enrollment, which now represents semesters in LEAP classrooms before ever gained experience navigating the academic nearly 6 percent of the general student starting their formal academic careers. system, participating in university classes population. It’s a shift that’s changing the “I came to Wright State to learn and developing professional and academic face of campus. English,” said Jen-Chi Chen, an alumna connections in their fields.” At the same time, study-abroad from Taiwan who recently turned her newly opportunities among domestic students minted nursing degree into a position at Jungle life are on the rise. Students have less interest Grandview Medical Center in Dayton. “I Imagine standing alone in the pitch- in trips that focus only on cultural never imagined I’d finish a degree.” black Amazon jungle, unable to see your experiences. They are also seeking college Chen, an engineer by trade, spent more hand inches in front of your face, acutely credit and professional gain from their than a year in LEAP classes, discovered aware of a symphony of nocturnal forest international travels. nursing, and battled learning both English sounds. “This has become a big priority for our and dense medical terminology. It was a life-changing experience for students and our campus—to have more of “The nursing textbooks and lectures are graduate student Emily King and seven an international experience,” said Michelle not like an English novel where if you don’t other biological sciences students last Streeter-Ferrari, director for the University know the word you can read on and figure summer when they traversed remote parts Center for International Education it out later,” said Chen. “You can’t skip of the Peruvian jungle during a field study (UCIE). “Whether it be a chance to come medical words. If you skip, you might kill trip for their Tropical Field Ecology class. to the U.S. for a first-class education the patient.” “That is a darkness that cannot be and the opportunity to learn English, or Chen might never have come to Wright described,” said King. “You could hear going abroad to round out their college State if not for a university policy change every single noise, every leaf fall, every experience, more and more students want that allows conditional enrollment for insect, frog, monkey, bird, everything. It these opportunities.” students who have not yet passed or taken was alive with activity, even in the dark.” an English proficiency exam. The purpose of the nighttime excursion A chance to learn English “We can teach the English here instead is part of what Tom Rooney calls two-eyed Last fall, 1,039 students from 60 of requiring them to pass the test before vision. “By the time we leave, I want the different countries chose Wright State they are admitted,” said Streeter-Ferrari. students to try to see the jungle as both a as degree-seeking or exchange students.