ARCS-PITTSBURGH NEWSLETTER www.arcsfoundation.org/pittsburgh Summer 2014 ARCS Members See Restored Stream and Wetlands Advancing Science in America ® A lively group of ARCS members and guests assembled in Frick Park accidents, like the one that took the The ARCS Foundation advances science and to learn about one of the largest, most lives of a mother and two daughters on technology in the United successful urban stream and wetland Washington Boulevard in Highland Park, States by providing financial restorations in the United States. During is currently underway. awards to academically an hour-long walking tour along Nine Mile Executive Director of The Nine outstanding U.S. citizens Run, on a brilliantly clear April afternoon, Mile Run Watershed Association, a 501(c) studying to complete our guide demonstrated why storm water degrees in science, control projects are necessary and how of the association’s current goals and engineering and medical much worse our storm water systems achievements. research. The Pittsburgh Chapter has the additional used to be. focus of increasing the For example, before the Army number of doctoral scholars Corps of Engineers project ended in pursuing advanced scientific study and research in the along the entire Nine Mile Run stream. western Pennsylvania region. swim in these waters. The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works The Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Chapter stewarded the restoration. The Pittsburgh Chapter, An ALCOSAN project to prevent ARCS members assemble in Frick Park. chartered in 2003 is one of the newest of the 17 chapters. In a very short February Program: Media and Health time, the Chapter has already made a sizable This past February 12, fourteen ARCS Director, Central Development, Medical and financial commitment to its members and six guests gathered at the Health Sciences Foundation, University of first two partner universities, University Club in Oakland to hear Pitt’s Dr. Pittsburgh and UPMC, and to Dr. Primack Carnegie Mellon University Brian Primack discuss the impact of media himself, who boasts both an MD and a PhD and the University of Pittsburgh. A third on human health. and is an extraordinarily good speaker. partnership with Penn State University is now underway After enjoying refreshments, listeners with funding that began in soaked up fascinating information about the fall of 2010. how media affects our daily lives. Still- developing young people are especially Additional information on the impacted. Dr. PrimacK peppered his talk ARCS Foundation: www.arcs- with slides to illustrate his points. foundation.org/national or www. arcsfoundation.org/pittsburgh Many thanks to ARCS Program Committee Please address questions to: ARCS Foundation, Inc. Chair, Lourdes Castellanos, to Marisa Pittsburgh Chapter Bell-Metereau, Corporate & Foundation Dr. Primack illustrates how media affects us P.O. Box 9117 Relations Manager, UPMC Medical and Pittsburgh, PA 15224 (Photo by Maren Cooke) or email Health Sciences Foundation, with the [email protected] support of Kellie S. Anderson, Executive Letter from the President Every time I attend an ARCS Finally, on a beautiful day in program, I am pleased and April, we walked along Nine Mile amazed by the excellent Run to see a major urban water questions that our members ask. restoration project. Again and again, I hear from our presenters: “What a wonderful So thanks to all of you who came group! It’s such fun to speak to to our programs and asked such such an engaged group.” great questions. I hope you enjoyed the programs as much This year was no exception. We as I did. beginning last fall with a trip We also owe a big thanK you to Range Resources to tour a this summer to our third year producing well and an active students for the excellent rig in the Marcellus Shale presentations they gave at the formation. This trip was repeated Scholar Showcase. It is time in the spring, because so many now to bid them a fond farewell members wanted to attend it. as they join the ranKs of ARCS Alums. We very much hope that In November, our very own they will stay in touch with us, ARCS scholar, Peter Chapman because we know that they have at CMU, gave a talK on computer important work ahead of them. security. He answered many It’s these students who will invent questions, helping us to learn future medical devices which will how to keep our systems secure. new ways of growing food and On a cold evening in February, so help prevent hunger; who will in competition with a major develop new sources of energy to basketball game at the Petersen help the world in so many ways; Events Center, Dr. Brian Primack or who will teach future students entertained us with a wonderful to become the scientists of talk about the media and its effect tomorrow. on health. —Missy Unkovic talK at the Mt. Lebanon Library on the science of Marcellus drilling as well as information on carbon sequestering given by two scientists at the National Energy Technology Lab. We are so fortunate to have this lab located just outside of Pittsburgh. Farewell To Our Third Year Scholars We wish them continued success as they complete their studies, and we look forward to staying in touch with them. CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH Scholar Alumni: Scholar Alumni David Bamman Denver Faulk Pittsburgh Chapter Award Stockman-Paul Award Computer Science/Language Bioengineering-Swanson School of Technologies Institute Engineering Research: Language technologies Research: Tissue Engineering for classical Latin and GreeK for digital libraries. Adam Large Pittsburgh Chapter Award Shawn Burton Center for Neuroscience, University The Fleischner Award of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Department of Biological Sciences Research: Computational and Research: Neuroscience cognitive neuroscience Samantha Finkelstein Robert Matthew Miller The Fleischner Award The Burke-Harter Award Human Computer Interaction Bioengineering – Swanson School Institute, School of Computer of Engineering Science Research: Bone biomechanics Research: Virtual reality and psychology Austin Nuschke Pittsburgh Chapter Award Rachel Jackson Interdisciplinary Biomedical The Berdik-Elliott Award Graduate Program, University of Mechanical Engineering-Swanson Pittsburgh School of Medicine School of Engineering Research: Stem cell therapies for Research: Controls with wound healing applications to biomedical engineering and robotics PENN STATE UNIVERSITY Scholar Alumnus Amy Dale Pittsburgh Chapter Award Christopher Thawley Engineering and Public Policy, Pittsburgh Chapter Award College of Engineering Ecology intercollege Graduate Research: Water quality and public Degree Program, Huck Institutes of health and risK-based regulatory the Life Sciences policy Research: Biological Invasions Charting the War: Fire Ants versus Fence Lizards “My research focuses on invasive spe- the lodging would have been out of reach “A lot has to happen for the invader in a cies,” said Christopher [Chris] Thawley, without the ARCS help.” different climate,” Chris notes. “It has a 3rd year ARCS scholar at Penn State. new ecology, new predators, new dis- “And what happens to native species as eases. A lot happens for the native spe- a result of the invaders?” cies, too. We have more questions than answers with the lizards. It’s a wonderful Researchers like Chris can’t design ex- chance to study evolutionary adaptation periments to import an unknown foreign as it continues.” species into the U.S. to see what hap- pens; instead, they study what is already Chris hails from outside Philadelphia, happening because new species have where his parents still live; he is closer to arrived, perhaps by boat or plane, from home now than he was in Davidson, North another country. To that end, Chris is Carolina, where he did his undergradu- ate work, or at the University of Alabama a stinging ant that works with its colony when he earned his Master’s Degree. He to sting, paralyze and kill its prey.These has one younger brother, who “took the ants had already arrived in Mobile, Ala- straight path,” Chris says. “He became bama in the 1930s from warm, wet areas Chris Thawley do a teacher in New York in a pubic high in South America, which researchers know school. I took the long and winding path.” from research before the invasion. Chris wondered how existing species adapted and his team, under their advisor Dr. Tracy Langkilde, learned that fence lizards work at Penn State and potentially done one particular species native to Alabama, change their behavior in order to adapt to post doctoral work, Chris hopes to join the fence lizard or Sceloporus undulatus, the faculty of a small liberal arts school. Chris and his team could watch evolution when threatened by a predator. Fire ants, There, he can combine teaching with his occur. which spray a pheromone that summons own research. lizard. But now, the lizard twitches and “I love to discover new things,” he said. up to a centimeter long. They have well- runs away. They’ve adapted to have lon- “And students need to know facts. But the organized jobs: some stay in the nest and fun part is asking questions – using your guard larvae, others help build or guard than they did before. the mound. Just three or four ants can those facts. Science can be engaging and paralyze a young fence lizard. As few as “That’s the big story for my advisor,” said fun if everyone learns it like that.” 12 attacking ants can kill an eight-inch Chris, “learning how the lizards evolved. long adult fence lizard. The fence liz- We’ve since been able to demonstrate dif- ards even have scales, ordinarily a good ferent aspects of red ant behavior.” Penn State about 50 hours a week, ex- As the rate of invasive species in our periments with cooking, and plays ultimate pry under the scales and send venomous country continues to grow, Chris’s re- Frisbee when the weather cooperates.