Pipe Dream Friday, March 28, 2014 | Binghamton University | www.bupipedream.com | Vol. LXXXV, Issue 18
Research
Days 2014
Binghamton
Research Day
Students and faculty display the results of their work Joseph Hawthorne Pipe Dream News
While Research Days only lasts for three days, students and faculty at Binghamton University dedicate years to their work. Every year, BU professors, graduate students and undergraduates work together and separately to engage in high-level research projects with the goal of publishing their work. Donald Nieman, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs, said BU’s reputation as a highlevel research institution in American and women’s history was what initially attracted him to apply for a job at the University. “The research that faculty do gives Binghamton a national and international reputation,” he said. “When there
was a job advertisement for dean of Harpur College, I knew about it, I was interested.” For tenured faculty, professors on the tenure track and graduate students, research is mandatory, and researchers may spend multiple years and thousands of hours on a single research project across a variety of subjects. Diane Sommerville, an associate history professor, said she balances teaching courses, directing the graduate history program and working on her own research on suicides in pre-Civil War and Civil War South. “I have been working on it since 2005, and I’ll have worked on it for a decade before it goes to the publisher,” she said. Dan Parisian, a fourth-year graduate student studying economics, said that his work researching the connection between education and crime rates took 60 to 70 hours a week.
The research that faculty do gives Binghamton a national and international reputation
“I research and I TA,” he said. “I am hopefully going to be a college professor, and this is showing the work I can do.” Nieman estimated that thousands of students work on independent research projects every year, many of them as undergraduate students. “I would say that it’s common across the University, but it’s most common in the sciences and engineering,” he said. “If you’re operating a lab there’s a lot of different tasks that need to be done on a major research project in a lab, so it’s really feasible to bring good undergraduate students into that process.” Jeffery Mativetsky, a physics professor researching organic molecules in electronics, said that both graduate and undergraduate students were a major part of his research. “There have been a number of students who have come to me from the
classes that I teach,” he said. “Students do the bulk of the hands-on work, I work to help them with big picture and to provide guidance.” Ashley Serbonich, assistant to the director of the office of scholarships, fellowships and awards, said that the Undergraduate Research Center distributes nearly $24,000 each year in research stipends and more than double that for grants for the summer. In an effort to encourage research, Serbonich said administrators are looking to create an online program to match interested students with professors in the next couple academic years. “It’s like a job posting idea, the faculty would post information about the research opportunities they have in labs or classes,” she said. “We would make that easily available to students and say what the criteria were for applying.”
Bill McCarthy, associate director of the Career Development Center, said that research was also a marketable experience that companies and employers look for. “Research is vital because it creates the next big thing or big idea,” he said. “Companies definitely need researchers. 3M, for example, didn’t have Post-it sticky notes until it gave researchers free time to experiment.” Chris Tufo, a sophomore majoring in psychology, said his research gave him the opportunity to combine psychology and linguistics. “I do my research because there’s no major that combines the topics I want to study,” he said. “I can use things that I learn in the classroom to actually find new information and discover on my own.”
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Kendall Loh/Photo Editor
Colden Lyons, top, a senior majoring in biology, inoculates cultures in a lab in ITC.
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Pravakar Rajbhandari, a second-year graduate student studying electrical engineering, weighs a sample in the thin film solar cell lab.
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—Donald Nieman Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Melinda Momplaisir studies Civil Rights, researches law a Brendan Zarkower Contributing Writer Two of the biggest social movements in American history were the Civil Rights Movement and the feminist movement. Melinda Momplaisir is combing through history to study the interconnectedness and importance of these causes from a legal perspective. The central focus of Momplaisir’s research is that the law is a reflection of society. Momplaisir seeks to show through Supreme Court cases that law does not reflect a universal moral code, but demonstrates the particular sentiment of a country at a given time. “My research shows that the law itself is based off of society and how
we, as a group, perceive certain things,” said Momplaisir, a junior double-majoring in history and comparative literature. Citing cases from the early 1900s, Momplaisir said women were only afforded rights at home where motherhood was their primary focus. As society changed, laws changed and women were allowed to serve on juries and work the same amount of hours as men. Another point Momplaisir emphasized in her research was what she referred to as “classification.” She pointed out that groups need to be acknowledged by the law before they can be protected by it. “It wasn’t until women were specifically classified as a group that can be discriminated against, and
African-Americans were classified as a race that can be discriminated against, that they really benefited under the law,” Momplaisir said. Momplaisir also argued against referring only to the founders’ intentions in writing the Constitution in the 1700s, saying that it is acceptable to change interpretations over time. “When the founders said all men were equal, that wasn’t true. They had slaves, women were second-class citizens and it was a very different world,” she said. According to Momplaisir, attempting to stick to a strictly originalist view of the Constitution distorts the relationship between law and society. “As a society, we define what is
right and what is OK. We shouldn’t let people try to stick so close to the wordings of laws,” she said. “It is our duty as a society to decide what is the best interpretation at the time for a law.” The reversibility of discrimination cases is another aspect of Momplaisir’s research. “The way that a lot of feminist movements went about getting rights for women was by getting rights for men,” she said. “Men would be the plaintiffs and prove they were discriminated against as men. That would be the way they get it to be based off sex.” Momplaisir conducted her research in conjunction with Donald Nieman, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
Nieman spoke highly of Momplaisir’s research. He served as her mentor for her sophomore year research project at Binghamton University and has continued to act as her mentor into her junior year. “Melinda has a highly inquisitive mind, a passion for social justice and a strong desire to understand why things are as they are,” he said. “Her current research project explores the ways in which women’s rights advocates of the 1960s and 1970s built upon the successes of AfricanAmerican civil rights attorneys to use law as a tool to advance the rights of women. Her research will help us understand the possibilities — and limits — of law as a tool of social change and equity.”
Melinda M a reflectio
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Research in general is something that I love; that's why I do it
— Ray Futia BU Junior
Franz Lino/Staff Photographer
n Woo Lee, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, conducts research involving the use of gold nanorods (GNRs) — 70 nanometers in size on the scale of nanotechnology — to sterilize catheters, which are thin tubes that are surgically serted into the body, used in various medical practices.
Lee explores future roles of nanotechnology in medicine
Davina Bhandari
ssistant News Editor
Conducting research in what he calls a relatively w field, Jin Woo Lee will be displaying his ongoing ploration of micro and nanotechnology at this ar’s Research Days. The research that Lee has been doing in the last ar involves the use of gold nanorods (GNRs) — 70 nometers in size on the scale of nanotechnology to sterilize catheters, which are thin tubes that e surgically inserted into the body used in various edical practices. According to Lee, a senior majoring in mechanical gineering, often times a catheter, once inserted in e body, will become infected over time and need to surgically removed. It is Lee’s belief that with the plementation of such technology, those patients th infected catheters will undergo fewer surgeries d see shorter recovery time. “Instead of removing it we’re trying to see if it’s able to disinfect it when it’s still inside the body,” e said. “It will be safer. The gold is not toxic to the tient … we’re using laser and we’re only trying to get the bacteria. Research has shown that this is able.” According to Lee, when one shines a laser at gold noparticles, they absorb the energy and turn it into at. Lee and his adviser, Peter Huang, a mechanical gineering professor at Binghamton University, are ing to see if they can sterilize medical equipment th that heat.
According to Huang, the two are focusing on having a greater understanding of the light absorption and heating of GNRs when they are illuminated by visible and infrared light. “In particular, we are interested in evaluating their effectiveness when they are applied to organic solar panels (light absorption) and medical catheters disinfection (heating),” Huang wrote in an email. The pair are currently working on computational models, or simulations, in order to see how the technology works without doing experimental work. “We conduct a computational study that focuses on the angle and polarization of light illumination, and the density and alignment of GNRs in a monolayer coating,” Huang wrote. Huang said he believes this is the first time anyone has examined these aspects. While Lee admits that working in nanotechnology research has been challenging because of the newness of the field, he hopes that presenting his research will bring attention to the field. “I want to bring awareness that there is so much more research to do by utilizing this micro and nanotechnology, especially in the areas of biology and health care,” Lee said. With graduation approaching, Lee has to consult with his advisers in what will come of his research. Until then, Lee and Huang are looking to send their computational results in for publication or for a conference. “I am planning to seek federal grant support in developing the GNR coating into an actual functional product,” Huang wrote.
as a reflection of society
Franz Lino/Staff Photographer
Ray Futia, a junior majoring in biology whose work is featured at Research Days, is studying how mitochondrial variation affects cell fitness in a natural population.
Ray Futia studies cell variation in yeasts Nicolas Vega Assistant News Editor
For one Binghamton University student, a trip to the Nature Preserve doesn’t mean watching the sunset on the bridge — it means collecting yeast. Ray Futia, a junior majoring in biology whose work is being featured at Research Days, is studying how mitochondrial variation affects cell fitness in a natural population. “A major component of the cell is the mitochondria,” Futia explained. “It’s responsible for energy regulation in the cell. So therefore, it is responsible for overall cell well-being.” According to Futia, he is using yeast as a model organism because it is very easy to work with. However, he explained that his research is unique in that he is not using lab strains of yeast. “What I’m doing that’s different from what a lot of other people do is that I’m using yeast from the wild, from oak trees in the Nature Preserve,” he said. Futia took the samples and isolated the mitochondria from the yeast, looking at the DNA to find variations. He then looked to see what effects the variations had on qualities like how fast the yeast grows. He said that his ultimate goal is to be able to share his findings with the scientific community. “I hope to get a conclusive idea with certain statistical tests that says, ‘Yeah, there is variation and it is associated to this in the cells,’” he said. “And when I get to that point, I’m going to try and publish.” Futia explained that he first became involved in research when he was a sophomore at Bethlehem Central High School. “I was in this science research course in 10th grade, and that just kind of involved research methods and had some hands-on stuff. Then the summer after my sophomore year, I worked in a stem cell lab, just shadowing people. It gave me a lot of insight, and I got to see a lot of stuff,” he said. Futia said that he was drawn to Binghamton
University due to its affordability as a SUNY school and because of its reputation as being a big research hub. However, he did not get involved in research at BU until he took the class Genes and Heredity with Heather Fiumera, an assistant professor of biology. Fiumera said that she first became aware of him after noticing the types of questions he was asking in class. “You could see him making connections between what he was learning in genetics and other classes,” she said. “The questions that he asked in class clearly were more than what was going to be on the test. The questions were research-oriented. They were asking how he could apply what he was learning to certain situations.” However, she wasn’t spurred into action until she tuned in to one of Futia’s broadcasts on WHRW 90.5 FM, BU’s student-run radio station. “He was highlighting a piece of genetics that had been in the popular press, sharing the information that he had read in an article,” she said. “And that was the turning point for me where I just said, ‘All right, this guy needs to work in a lab.’” Fiumera said that Futia is a remarkably quick learner. “I worked with Ray, initially, very closely,” she said. “But very quickly he proved that he could be completely independent.” Fiumera said that she sees Futia as more of a colleague in the lab than as an undergraduate researcher, and that she believes he will be a strong contributor to science. “I feel very fortunate to be able to work with Ray at this early stage of his scientific career,” she said. “I think this is a name that you will see in the future as an independent researcher.” According to Futia, he would like to pursue research as a career, preferably in an academic setting. “Research in general is something that I love; that’s why I do it,” he said. “I love exploring and learning and learning new stuff.”
When the founders said that all men were equal, that wasn't true Franz Lino/Staff Photographer
Momplaisir, a junior double-majoring in history and comparative literature, does research focusing on law and how it is on of society.
— Melinda Momplaisir BU Junior
Keynote 2014
Moreno discusses military application of new tech
Geoffrey Wilson Assistant News Editor
Kendall Loh/Photo Editor
Jonathan Moreno, a professor of medical ethics and health policy, history and sociology of science and philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, and the keynote speaker for Binghamton University’s Research Days, speaks to students Wednesday evening in the Mandela Room. Moreno’s speech, titled “Mind Wars: Brain Science and the Military in the 21st Century,” after his book of the same name, charted the history of military interest in neuroscience and the brain itself.
Cognitive Neuroscience Funding from U.S. Defense Establishments (2011)
Army: $55 million
Air Force: $24 million
Navy: $34 million
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency): $240 million
As a part of the theme of ethics for Research Days, Jonathan Moreno explored the military application of neuroscience and modern technology while examining their morality and legality. Moreno, a professor of medical ethics and health policy, history and sociology of science and philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and senior fellow at the Center of American Progress in Washington, D.C., was the keynote speaker for Binghamton University’s third annual Research Days. He spoke Wednesday evening to a packed Mandela Room. Moreno’s speech, titled “Mind Wars: Brain Science and the Military in the 21st Century,” after his book of the same name, charted the history of military interest in neuroscience and the brain itself. “This is the era in which big governments are spending lots of money trying to understand how the brain works,” Moreno said. According to Moreno, the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) spent a combined $353 million on cognitive neuroscience funding in 2011. While this is not a large part of their respective budgets, Moreno said it demonstrates an interest in potential future applications. A large part of his speech focused on the use of drugs in combat settings. Moreno said that during the 1950s, Americans were concerned that American prisoners of war were being subjected to drugs, such as LSD, which manipulated them into false confessions of treason. “A journalist actually coined the term ‘brainwashing…’” Moreno said. “No one was exactly sure what that word meant, but it sounded really good.” According to one declassified document from 1953, the U.S. government spent $39,500 on LSD, LSD antagonists and related substances for testing, providing substances to soldiers and gauging the effects. From the 1960s to 1980s, interest moved toward psychoactive weapons within the Soviet Union, which led U.S. investigations into the matter. In a National Research Council Report from 1988, titled “Enhancing Human Performance: Issues, Theories and Techniques,” researchers were looking into the possibility of an “anti-missile time warp” meant to deflect nuclear warheads, sending them back in time. “OK, time-out. I read a lot of science fiction, and I know that if you go back in time and step on a butterfly and you come back, then everything will be different,” Moreno said. “Now obviously these people weren’t reading those stories, otherwise they wouldn’t have wasted their time with this.” While past ventures into the military applications of experimental drugs and mind warfare come off as laughable, Moreno said modern technologies are much more realistic. Moreno cited drugs such as oxytocin, a natural hormone that causes users to become more trusting, and beta blockers, which block hormones that associate emotions with memories. Both drugs have potential military applications, in terms of interrogations and post-traumatic stress disorder prevention respectively. While Moreno said the use of oxytocin would be illegal under the
Now what if you could take the human out of the loop in an offensive system?
— Jonathan Moreno U Penn Professor
Chemical Weapons Convention, he admitted it was more effective than torture. “It would be a hell of a lot more efficient to give somebody a drug — a naturally occurring drug — just to stimulate them than waterboarding someone 160 times the way it was done in Guantanamo,” Moreno said. “Very inefficient.” Moreno discussed testing on rats, where scientists were able to control the rodent’s movement using an implant in the brain. While the current testing is limited, Moreno questioned how far the research could go, to the point of remote-controlled soldiers. Moreno closed with a video of the Samsung SGR-A1, a military sentry robot being used in the Korean demilitarized zone capable of tracking human targets. The sentry requires a human to determine whether or not to fire, but Moreno said it was a small step to fully automatize the robot. “Now what if you could take the human being out of the loop in an offensive system?” Moreno asked. Moreno’s speech was followed by a question-andanswer segment from the audience. Donald Loewen, vice provost for undergraduate education, said he wanted students to understand the real-world implications of their research during Moreno’s talk. “[Bioethics is] a topic that is going to grow in importance and in complexity, and it’s going to really confront the current generation of students in major ways,” Loewen wrote in an email. “The more that we develop critical thinking skills and develop the habit of addressing difficult issues from a variety of perspectives, the more we’ll be able to deal with them productively.” Provost Donald Nieman introduced Moreno, saying that his work demonstrates the importance of taking an interdisciplinary approach to certain subjects. “It was a fascinating talk addressing scientific and ethical issues in a historical context,” Nieman said. Melissa Larson, a senior majoring in biology, said she agreed with Moreno’s ethical concerns. “Modern advances in computers, pharmaceuticals and weaponry all pose as a potential threat in a mass conflict situation,” Larson said.