On March 28 Mathematics and Computer Science Professor Dr. Daniel Biles took five Pathways Scholars to Huntsville, Alabama for a Marshall Space Flight Center tour and a private visit with famed NASA scientist Alex McCool, Jr.
McCool was involved in the US space program from its very earliest days, beginning in 1954. In the photo, L to R, are Dr. Biles, Kailee Gerzema, Grant VanderKallen, Kara Garrett, Daniel Beagan and Tanner Marion.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. Duane Hatch was recently selected to participate in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Visiting Faculty Program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory for summer 2015, a highly competitive program that allows faculty to collaborate with some of the most talented scientists in the world.
Selected faculty and participating students spend 10 weeks at a DOE national laboratory engaged in a research project under the guidance of a laboratory scientist. Faculty members build collaborative relationships with research scientists and become familiar with DOE sponsored research programs, scientific user facilities and potential funding opportunities. Students participate in enrichment activities, including career and professional development workshops, laboratory tours, scientific lectures and seminars. Dr. Hatch will be working under Dr. Pete Silks.
Ryan Agh, a chemistry major and mathematics minor and Ambrose Rice, a biology major and chemistry minor, will work under Dr. Hatch on his research and will receive a $5,000 stipend for the 10-week experience. The proposal’s estimate total value is $25,000.
This program is renewable for up to 3 years and opens the door for further student involvement with the Laboratory. For more information, click here.
Two Belmont students and biology majors, Dora Geving and Zara Latif, attended the annual National Convention of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society from March 19-12 in Chicago, Illinois and were awarded The Bonnie Revelle Prize in Molecular/Cellular Biology for their efforts titled “Nematodes Roaming the Field of Parkinson’s Disease.” Their presentation was based on research results generated with the Department of biology’s Dr. Nicholas Ragsdale.
Among the Convention’s 260 presenting students, 29 received prizes for scholarly, creative or artistic presentations in their fields. Geving and Latif earned top honors in the Molecular/Cellular section of student presentations.
A national college honor society, Alpha Chi admits students from all academic disciplines, but membership is limited to the top 10 percent of an institution’s juniors, seniors and graduate students. Invitation to membership comes only through an institutional chapter.
James Morris, a sophomore majoring in audio engineering technology, celebrated the release of the third book, “Surface,” in the “Three Kingdoms Trilogy” with a reading and book signing April 8 at Parnassus Books in Green Hills. Morris authored the series while attending Belmont and pursuing musical aspirations.
Click here to read an article about his success and here to visit Morris’s website.
On Saturday, March 21 and Saturday, March 28, Biology Professor and Entomologist Dr. Steve Murphree hosted “Friendly Bugs and Big, Bad Pests” at Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art’s Cheekwood in Bloom.
Cheekwood is a privately funded 55-acre estate on the western edge of Nashville.
Belmont Associate Professor of Physical Therapy Gail Bursch recently received the 2015 Carol Likens Award (CLA) presented by the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association (TPTA) at their annual meeting. The award is given annually to a TPTA member who has provided exceptional service to the profession of physical therapy.
Bursch served as Chair of the Nashville District of TPTA for 11 years, was vice president of the Tennessee Chapter for 5 years and most recently chaired the TPTA nominating committee for 4 years. The Likens award is named for its first recipient who served the chapter as president from 1985 to 1995 and whose vision, leadership and commitment to the profession brought the TPTA through one of its greatest periods of growth and service to members.
The TPTA meeting also provided Belmont’s School of Physical Therapy with the opportunity to present student research projects. One group, mentored by Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. Cathy Hinton, presented a poster entitled “A Comparison of the Effects of Superficial Heat and Thermal Ultrasound on Hamstring Extensibility.” The group consisted of students Danielle Wisse, Jennifer Braswell, Morgan McBride, Chelsea Taylor and Katie Wood.
Another group, mentored by Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. Renee Brown and Adjunct Professor Penny Powers, presented on “Effects of Educational Intervention on use of Tilt-in-Space, Functional Mobility, and Pain in Full-time Wheelchair Users.” Student researchers included Ashley Barrett, Leigha Cuellar, Meagan Heney and Martha Schumpert.
A third student research group, also mentored by Dr. Brown, received a TPTA grant for their study, “Exploring the Effects of Kinesiotaping on the Gait and Level of Pain in Individuals with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease.” This team included Kelly Weaver, Casie House and Lisa Farrar.
Professor of Biblical Studies Dr. Mark McEntire recently published an entry entitled “Theology of Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles” in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Bible and Theology.
The Encyclopedia includes nearly 170 entries by more than 150 individual contributors, including Dr. McEntire, and overviews key traditional and modern biblical and theological topics.
The semester may be winding down, but campus life continues to grow as Belmont recently added eight newly-recognized student organizations.
“Student organizations, whether new or already existing, are vital to the campus community as they reflect the culture and environment of the ever-fluctuating life that is on a college campus and with college students,” said Assistant Director of Student Engagement and Leadership (SELD) Sara Stacy. “We don’t look for anything specific as we don’t have a set criteria; however they must have at least eight members beyond the four required positions of leadership, must not be similar to an already existing organization and be congruent with Belmont’s mission, vision and values.”
Students interested in starting a new organization must attend one of the Intent to Organize information sessions at the beginning or end of each semester where the formal application process is detailed. Applications are then reviewed by SELD staff and a sub-committee called the Student Life Council. Recommendations are then made to the Director of SELD for approval.
Affiliated organizations are created by a department or a group of students to assist a department or program in achieving their institutional objectives. The five new affiliated organizations are:
BAMTAS President Alex Plasket explained the importance of getting to know one’s future professional colleagues. “I wanted to help start this group modeled after the American Music Therapy Association so that all of the music therapy majors could build a professional and social community together,” he said. “This gives us a chance to get to know everyone, as we will be colleagues in the professional field of music therapy.”
Registered organizations are initiated by a community of students who share a common interest. Registered organizations are student-created and student-led and are not legally tied to the university. The three new registered organizations are:
The founders and members of these clubs are passionate students who have big hopes for their organizations, whether it be growing professionally, physically or socially.
“We plan to attend as many competitions as we can find that are conveniently scheduled and located. Part of what makes longboarding so fun is skating with people that are better than you and pushing yourself to get better. This makes competitions crucial to the growth of longboarding,” said club founder Nick Jones. “Our biggest goal for this club is to connect longboarders of all skill levels, while developing meaningful relationships and providing longboarding opportunities to Belmont students. We plan to go out and longboard whenever we get the opportunity, whether it be a couple of us just cruising around town, or a whole group of us attending races and other competitions. Whatever it may be, I can’t wait to see what potential this group holds.”
Similarly, hiking club founder and student Kara Reed said, “Ben Oliver and I decided to create the hiking club because we love getting outside and hiking. Unfortunately, our closest friends don’t have the same enthusiasm for hiking as we do. That said, we decided that creating the hiking club would be an awesome opportunity to share our passion with other people who love doing the same thing. I would say our biggest goal right now is getting the correct certifications, equipment and an excited group of hikers to go on a multi-day backpacking trip.”
More information about each organization’s mission and membership process can be found through BruinLink.
Kelly Tillotson, a Belmont songwriting alumni and Washington, D.C. native, was recently featured in the Washinton D.C. publication, “The Washingtonian,” in an article entitled “Take Me Home, River Road.” The article is a dialog piece between Tillotson and another musician, Maggie Rose, about their journey from their hometown of Potomac to their careers as country singers.
After gradutating from Belmont in 2012, Tilltotson went on to form the trio MamaDear with her husband, Parker Bradway, and her friend Daniel Wilson. Last year, ”Rolling Stone” named the group Best Up-and-Comer at the Country Music Assotiation’s CMA Fest.
In the interview, Tillotson discusses her realization that Belmont was the place she had to be. “In high school, I was always banging at the piano, singing my songs, but I didn’t know you could be a singer. When I visited Belmont, it was for neuroscience. But after I heard about their music program, Belmont was the only school I… even applied to” (correction from Tillotson).
Tillotson talks about the importance of a hometown support system and how one’s home is a big part of his or her success. She is quoted in the article saying, “You need that support. After I graduated from Belmont, I put out my EP, I finally had a solo album, and at the same time, MamaDear was happening. I had a little identity crisis.” But thanks to her roots in Potomac, she understands why music is so important.
To learn more about Tillotson and her band, MamaDear, click here.
Assistant Professor of Audio Engineering Technology Dr. Eric Tarr co-authored an article recently accepted for publication in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. The article is titled “Measuring the Effects of Spectral Smearing and Enhancement on Speech Recognition in Noise for Adults and Children.”
Tarr’s research investigated and sought to explain speech perception deficits by listeners with hearing loss. As part of the research, Tarr developed a novel digital signal processing algorithm to simulate hearing loss for listeners with normal hearing.
