Contents Virtual Chem-Lab
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Digital Collection
2
Happenings on Campus
3
Empire of the Sultans
4
Cougars vs. Hawaii
4
BYU Accounting
5
Faculty and Staff
5
Furniture Courses
6
Brigham Young University - October 2012
Professor’s Virtual Chem Lab Makes A Bang Kristin Prina BYU chemistry professor Brian Woodfield has combined chemistry and computers so students can mix potent chemical cocktails on their computers without worrying about burning down the laboratory. Currently, students in more than 20 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada use his software, Virtual ChemLab, as part of their course work. “Because of cost and time restraints, most students are forced to spend lab time simply following detailed instructions to obtain the desired results,” said Woodfield. “They don’t often have the time to experiment freely.” Virtual ChemLab includes all the amenities of a real laboratory setting, from Bunsen burners and C-clamps to limitless supplies of calcium, magnesium and expensive or hazardous substances to which students usually have infrequent access. With the click of a mouse students can set up, conduct experiments and view results. BYU professor Brian Woodfield designed his software program, Virtual ChemLab, so students can experiment freely with chemistry without worrying about blowing up real laboratories.
More than 2,500 pictures, 300 video clips and numerous animations help illustrate the outcome of each chemical combination or experiment even if it proves disastrous. Melissa Moore, a BYU graduate student in instructional psychology and technology, helped design the program and oversaw undergraduate BYU chemistry students as they tested Continued on page 3
Cougar Corner
“Trails of Hope” Digital Collection Available Joseph Hadfield History teachers and students can now access an on-line library to take a more personal look at the lives of their ancestors and other trailblazers who trekked westward during the Gold Rush and Mormon migration. The “Trails of Hope” digital collection, developed at BYU, contains 59 diaries penned on the Mormon, California, Oregon and Montana trails between 1846 and 1869. Interactive maps, photos and essays supplement the diaries, most of which were previously unpublished. “I can see teachers downloading sections and pieces to be viewed in the classroom,” said Susan Fales, curator of digital historical collections at the Harold B. Lee I can see Library. “We hope teachers schoolchildren can downloading read and see the handwriting sections and actual as well as the pieces to be transcripts.” viewed in the The youngest of diarists classroom... the is Emmeline B. Wells, who at 18 years of age was part of the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois. After settling in Utah, Wells became known for her work as an advocate of women’s suffrage and as the fifth general president of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But she first experienced the hardships of trail life. “It looked like pictures I have seen of the ancients pitching their tents and journeying from place
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to place with their cattle and their and began to ‘mine’ it for everything goods,” wrote Wells when she joined I could use.” The Web site -- located at http://overlandtrails.byu.edu -- also the pioneer camp. As time passed, punctuation features biographies of each of the diarists and search vanished from options to locate her diary but We want to reach out to journal entries about vivid description people who would never specific places and remained. “Just walk through our doors... across the creek events. Construction of someone had set the prairie on fire how we were to cross the collection began in 1998 when the this was a question it ran like lightning Lee Library won a $65,000 grant from through the grass making a crackling the Library of Congress/Ameritech among the bushes resembling the Digital Library Competition. Library staff then combined materials from noise of burning crackers....” “The fact that both the original their Special Collections department manuscript and a typed manuscript are with resources from other institutions. provided makes the collection a very The finished product consists of reliable source,” said Professor Richard 9,350 scanned images of the writings Rieck of Western Illinois University, along with the searchable, textwho used the Web site to research based transcripts of each diary. The geography and death on the overland information is also hosted on the trails. “One day when using Google to Library of Congress Web site. look for any trail diaries I could find, Producing digital versions of the up popped one from the collection diaries not only protects the original and that day I dropped everything else diaries from overuse but also makes the writing and history accessible to a broader audience, Fales said. “One of the key components is that we developed this for everybody,” she said. “We want to reach out to people who would never walk through our doors.” In addition to “Trails of Hope,” the Lee Library hosts 12 other digital collections, such as the BYU Museum of Art Collection and the journal Marriage and Families (see www.lib. byu.edu/hbll/). ■
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Wells writes detailed entries about daily chores, children, difficult traveling conditions, and her relationships with other women on the journey to Iowa.
October 2012
HAPPENINGS ON CAMPUS DEVOTIONAL Elder Charles Didier of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will speak at a devotional Tuesday, October 2, at 11:05 am in the Marriott Center. The devotional will be broadcast live on KBYU-TV (Channel 11), the BYU-Television and BYU-Radio satellite networks and at broadcasting.byu.edu. It will be rebroadcast Sunday (October 7) at 6 am on KBYU-TV, on BYU-Television at 8 am and 4 pm, and on KBYU-FM at 8 pm. Born in Belgium, Elder Didier is currently a member of the presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy. SPERRY SYMPOSIUM The BYU Sperry Symposium on the Scriptures Friday and Saturday, October 27-28, will feature Elder L. Aldin Porter of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Andrew Skinner, dean of Religious Education. The symposium will begin at 6:30 pm in the JSB auditorium. Lectures will continue until 9:30 pm in the auditorium and the nearby Martin Building. Lectures will resume Saturday morning at 9 am in the JSB auditorium and will continue through 11 am. No admission fee or registration are required. BREAST CANCER SCREENINGS Human Resource Services is sponsoring the 10th annual Early Breast Cancer Detection Campaign. BYU has arranged with DMBA and Utah Valley Regional Medical Center to provide high-quality care in a comfortable and professional atmosphere. Female personnel and spouses of male personnel with DMBA health care plans are invited to make appointments during the BYU screening period November 3-19. Appointments for the mammograms may be made online at http://www.byu.edu/hr/wellness. For additional information, call Danielle Palmer at ext. 2-5723. LINGUISTICS MEETING The annual Deseret Language and Linguistics Society Symposium will be Thursday and Friday, December 6-7, from 9 am to 4 pm in 3241 WSC. The symposium will include 40 presentations on current research in language and linguistics. For more information, contact David Bowie at ext. 2-9168. Additional information about these and other campus events is available at: www.byu.edu/news/ynews
Continued from page 1 the simulations. “It was neat to see wthem experiment on different things that I never had exposure to and equipment I wasn’t allowed access to when I was an undergraduate student,” said Moore. The simulations, which Woodfield says have increased student performance in BYU organic chemistry labs by 30 percent, have also b een implem en t ed in high s cho ols . Steven Haderlie, a chemistry teacher of 25 years, introduced the program at Springville High School and has been impressed with the results. “It can help illustrate concepts that are difficult for students to visualize on the board or on an overhead -- it really helps with understanding,” said Haderlie. He said the simulations accelerate the learning process, causing students to take ownership of their own learning and take more initiative. “Their attitudes change, and in a difficult course like chemistry, confidence plays an important role,” said Haderlie. “Students work harder and feel more confident about trying new things when we provide an environment where making discoveries is possible. They may not all become chemistry majors, but we have succeeded in moving them to a higher level of learning.” BYU’s Woodfield came up with the concept for Virtual ChemLab as a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. He used a $50,000 grant from BYU and a $280,000 grant from the Department of Education to fund the project. Four out of an eventual six simulations are complete and work has begun on the fifth. The finished collection will include simulations for inorganic qualitative analysis, fundamental experiments and quantum chemistry, gas properties, titrations, calorimetr y and organic chemistr y. ■
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Cougar Corner
Exquisite Ottomon rug on display at the MOA.
Cougar Spikers, Hawaii Collide at Marriott Center Jeff Reynoldwwws
“Empire of the Sultans” Will close January 20 Group and family pricing for the exhibit is also available. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the Marriott Ticket Office at 1-800-422BYU1 or ext. 2-BYU1. This exhibition embraces every aspect The works are drawn from the Nasser D. Khalili of Ottoman art and a dynasty that Collection of Islamic spanned more than six centuries... Art, one of the largest collections of its kind. most extraordinary world powers in “Empire of the Sultans” marks the first the history of Europe and the Middle time this collection has been seen in East, will end its run January 20 at the the United States. Among the treasures are calligraphic Museum of Art. This exhibition embraces every Continued on Page 6 aspect of Ottoman art and a dynasty that spanned more than six centuries with more than 200 objects ranging from Holy Qur’ans, arms and armor to rich textiles, treasury objects, gilt manuscripts, ceramics, scientific instruments and more. The exhibition is organized and circulated by Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia. Admission for Museum Members is free. Regular tickets cost $8 for BYU faculty, staff or students with ID. Ticket price also includes an audio guide. “Empire of the Sultans: Ottoman Art from the Khalili Collection,” a spectacular exhibition highlighting the rich artistic heritage of one of the
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BYU’s winning streak continues with their win against Hawaii.
The Marriott Center attendance at Friday night’s men’s volleyball game against Hawaii marked the second largest crowd in BYU volleyball history. The 11,513 fans also marked the largest crowd to watch a men’s volleyball match in the country this season. “The crowd was great,” BYU head coach Tom Peterson said. “They were absolutely fabulous. The Marriott Center is different than playing in the Smith Fieldhouse. It brings a different emotion, a different atmosphere. We went from the Fieldhouse to an arena that is like the arena Hawaii plays in. We’re not used to such a huge, cavernous place. But the fans were absolutely fabulous.”
October 2012
BYU AccountingTeams Dominate Tax Competition A team of four accounting graduate students from the Marriott School won first place in the national Deloitte & Touche Tax Challenge competition. The school’s undergraduate team placed second in a separate division. “We’re extremely proud of our students’ performance,” says Ned C. Hill, dean of the Marriott School. “BYU is the only university to ever have both teams place in the top three in the same year. We have achieved this for five consecutive years and six times since the competition began 11 years ago.” Deloitte & Touche officials selected six graduate and six undergraduate teams as finalists to compete in two divisions from 60 teams representing 40 colleges and universities in regional competition. Finalists were presented with a complex case study that required them to analyze data, identify issues and consider tax solutions for a fictitious
client. Students were given only five hours to solve the client’s problem and write a solution. “This competition requires students to think creatively,” says Ron Worsham, associate professor of accounting and graduate team advisor. “Some parts of the problem have basically one right answer, but other parts are openended. Being able to apply creative solutions distinguishes the winners.” Graduate team members Alicia Carlson, Aurora, Colorado; Laura Hancock, Bothell, Washington; Mats Dobberfuhl, Barron, Wisconsin; and Jennifer Borneman, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will each receive a $1,000 scholarship, and the Marriott School’s School of Accounting and Information Systems will receive a $10,000 grant. Undergraduate team members Terry Jackson, Henderson, Nevada; Marianne Hafen, Las Vegas, Nevada; Matt Walton, Campbell, California; and Linda Andrews, Taylorsville, Utah, will
each receive $500 scholarships and a $5,000 grant for the school. Campus Community is published monthly during the academic year by University Communications. Editor: Cecelia Fielding, C-347 ASB, BYU, Provo, UT 84602; 801-422-4377. Photo Editor: Mark A. Philbrick. News items are welcome. Send copy to the above address; fax to 801-4226005; or email to CommunityNews@ byu.edu.■
Faculty/Staff Notes CHUCK STIGGINS of the Department of Physical Education in the College of Health and Human Performance has been appointed to the Huntsman World Senior Games Board of Trustees. Stiggins will be responsible for overseeing the health screening of the Senior Games’ participants. He and several other faculty members will also be conducting a study regarding balance, coordination and equilibrium. He is considered to be a leading authority in the fields of athletic
strength and conditioning, health, fitness and wellness. LEE T. PERRY, MARK H. HANSEN, C. SHANE REESE and GILBERT W. FELLINGHAM received the best paper prize from The Strategic Management Society at the organization’s 22nd annual international conference in Paris, France. Their paper, “A Bayesian Application of the Resource-Based View: Narrowing the Gap between Theory and Practice,” proposes an
A new day begins on campus for BYU faculty and staff.
advanced statistical model that can be used to predict the consequences of an organization’s decisions on its financial performance. JOHN LAMB A special session was held to honor retired BYU professor Reed M. Izatt, who started the program.
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Cougar Corner
BYU Resurrects Furniture Design Courses Craig Kartchner Recent BYU graduate Ben Rabner doesn’t design professor Kip Christensen. plan to pursue the English degree he earned Recent restructuring within the BYU in April in a traditional fashion. His passion, School of Technology has included he has discovered, is much more hands-on. the resurrection of two furniture Rabner is an aspiring furniture designer with design classes -- Industrial Design 33R national awards and international contracts to (Introduction to Furniture Design) and justify his career switch. 435R (Advanced Furniture Design). Despite the fact that BYU didn’t have a Although these classes have been on furniture design program until this semester, the books for years, they’ve not actually Ben slated every woodworking class the been taught for at least a decade. university offered and worked closely with The industrial design classes will replace faculty members like Kip Christensen to the previous woodworking classes taught satisfy his desire to learn the art and business through Technology Teacher Education, of furniture design. and will increase emphasis on “Initially, it was a matter of All their work creative design and traditional utility -- I needed a chair so I production techniques. built one,” says Rabner. “Then is of their own “Both of these young men initiative... I started noticing furniture form are really talented and and design in magazines and have a passion for the art,” decided functionality wasn’t enough.” says Christensen. “All their work is of Ben’s extra-mile approach not only satiated their own initiative. None of it fills a his thirst for design know-how but also earned requirement for graduation.” him second place in creative chair design last The Rabners’ studio looks more like a year at the Student Design Show in Anaheim. museum than a workshop. But a visitor Aside from being a giant pat on the back, the is likely to see as much stone, resins and award has boosted his already budding career glass as cherry wood and walnut. and convinced him that starting his own “I mix a lot of media to get the design business would be more fulfilling than contemporary, high-end studio effect,” pursuing graduate studies. says Ben. “I don’t see myself as just a Ben’s brother, Peter, proved sawdust runs cabinetmaker.” in the Rabner blood when he won first prize Having already contracted to customin the occasional category (tables and accent build several pieces for houses in the pieces) at the International Woodworking Parade of Homes, and with a mass-market Fair in Atlanta August 22. With a formidably international deal on the horizon, the demanding application process, few future looks promising for Ethan Allen’s candidates are even asked to attend the newest competitor. fair, which makes the award all the sweeter “There’s a huge need in the 18- to for Peter. 30-year-old market because it’s hard for “I’m convinced many students come and go them to find unique, clean designs that from BYU and have no idea we have a very are also affordable,” says Ben. “I want to nicely equipped studio where they could learn fill that void.” ■ to design and build furniture,” says industrial
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Continued from page 4 medallions in gilded wood that decorated mosques, brilliantly decorated armor and jewelencrusted weapons used in battle by Suleyman the Magnificent, exquisite Persian carpets and painstakingly illustrated albums and books. The spectacular exhibition reveals the originality and resilience of Ottoman artistic expression in religious, military, administrative and daily life and the central role of imperial patronage. The exhibition is arranged in four sections which are titled “In the Service of God,” “Sultans, Soldiers, and Clerks,” “Arts and Crafts” and “Books, Paintings and Scripts.” ■
Campus Community is published monthly during the academic year by University Communications. Editor: Cecelia Fielding, C-347 ASB, BYU, Provo, UT 84602; 801-422-4377. Photo Editor: Mark A. Philbrick. News items are welcome. Send copy to the above address; fax to 801-422-6005; or email to CommunityNews@byu.edu.