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Spider Sense

Three former MTSU student biology researchers, Gale Beaubien, Connor Olson, and Andrew Todd, and their mentor, former Biology Professor Ryan Otter, were part of a recently published collaboration receiving international notoriety. The paper in the Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry scientific journal suggests national-scale programs to monitor chemical contaminants in aquatic ecosystems using spiders.

mtsunews.com/alumni-mentor-gainacclaim-from-spider-research

A Quantum Leap

Add DaVonte Lewis (Physics, ’22) to the growing list of MTSU graduates pursuing graduate degrees at prestigious Johns Hopkins University, the first research university in the U.S. and one of the most respected in the world. Lewis, 26, who will focus on condensed matter physics research and novel quantum materials, also mulled graduate school offers from the University of Michigan, Penn State University, and several other major schools.

mtsunews.com/shining-physics-scholarawaits-johns-hopkins

Not Horsing Around

For the first time in school history, the MTSU equestrian team took home the Western National Championship trophy at the 2023 Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association National Championship. Five Blue Raider riders qualified as a Western team and four riders qualified individually. In a down-to-thewire finish, MTSU won by a single point after MTSU’s Jordan Martin placed second in Team Open Horsemanship, the last team class.

mtsunews.com/equestrian-team-nationaltitle-2023

True Blue Salute

Retired Lt. Col. Joel Miller, former chair of MTSU’s Military Science Department, addressed 13 ROTC cadets being commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army, Reserves, and National Guard in 2022. Referencing his own commissioning ceremony from the U.S. Military Academy nearly 30 years ago, Miller spoke about “leading by example and the goal as leaders, not only for the military, but for the nation in general.”

mtsunews.com/military-sciencecommissions-13-as-2nd-lieutenantsspring-2022

Girls Just Wanna Do STEM

Chemistry Professor Judith Iriarte-Gross, who is also director of MTSU’s Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) Center, was the 2022 recipient of the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network Excellence in Advocacy Award. Nationally known for encouraging girls and women in the sciences, Iriarte-Gross started what is now called the Tennessee Girls in STEM Conference, which held its 26th annual event last fall.

mtsunews.com/iriarte-gross-earnsstatewide-award-for-stem-advocacy

Top-Flight

Following news that MTSU’s Actuarial Science program received the 2020 CAS University Award, recognizing the innovative and exemplary ways it is preparing students for a career in the property and casualty insurance industry, the program also received a research grant of $15,000 for a project titled “NLP and other AI Techniques for Applications in Actuarial Science.” MTSU has the only actuarial program in Tennessee for both undergraduate and graduate students.

mtsunews.com/actuarial-science-receivesinternational-accolade-2020