Photo provided by Sarah Cannavino – Viverevita photography
Students participate in chemistry and physics research throughout the summer as part of research fellowship program
What’s the concentration of vitamins in orange juice? How can waste destruction processes be improved? What are the benefits (or lack of) in buying organic produce? Those are just a few of the research questions being tackled by sixteen students participating in Belmont’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships, or SURFs, program.
Based on the vision of Chemistry and Physics Department Chair Dr. Robert Magruder and supported by six faculty members, SURFs offers a unique opportunity for students studying chemistry and physics to try their hand at a long-term research project. For some, the summer will be spent working on senior projects, a requirement for graduation. Other participants are continuing work thought up by their research advisor and project mentor.
Dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics Dr. Thom Spence said SURFs came out of the desire to strengthen the undergraduate research culture at Belmont and allow students the opportunity to engage in research early in their collegiate careers. Designed to augment the established Summer Scholars Program which supports the research of 23 rising seniors in the Biology Department, the SURFs program affords students the opportunity to engage in research early in their collegiate careers. Emphasizing the difference between learning science and engaging with it, Spence said both aspects of a scientific education are vital to a student’s success.
A group of faculty members and a student from Belmont’s College of Pharmacy recently traveled to Honduras as part of the Baptist Medical Dental Mission. Drs. Adam Pace, Leela Kodali, and Emily Russell, a fourth-year student, joined a team of 20 medical professionals for the medical missions trip.
Designed for her to compare and contrast the provision of pharmacy services during a mission trip in Honduras to that of a patient population in Nashville, Russell said this experience was incredibly eye-opening.
For senior music business major Samuel Dallas, this summer has been one giant learning experience after another, producing “Wicked” results that continue to fuel Dallas’s long term goals.
Jack C. Massey College of Business Dean Dr. Pat Raines recently competed in the Tennessee Senior Olympics, a wide-ranging competition for athletes ages 50 years and over, and took home a number of prizes.
Associate Professor of Social Work Dr. Sabrina Sullenberger has been working with four former colleagues from Indiana University on a five year, ongoing 
Area middle and high school science and chemistry teachers learned “it’s easy being green” throughout Belmont’s Department of Chemistry and Physics’s “It’s Easy Being Green: Budget-Friendly, Safety-Conscious Chemistry Labs for the Science Classroom of Today” workshops, held three times this summer. Using neutralization reactions, 41 attendees performed green labs, highlighting preparation, safety and chemical disposal, to take back to their classrooms across the state.
Belmont alumna, workshop participant and high school chemistry teacher Katie Parks said her time at the workshop was a fantastic opportunity for professional development that can be taken back to her classroom. “Chemistry is best taught via hands-on experiences,” Parks said. “As a teacher, any time I can expand my lab offerings I jump at the opportunity. I love to learn new ways to incorporate hands-on learning into my classroom, and learning from other educators is invaluable.”