CELEBRATION OF FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP, PROMOTION & TENURE
Celebration of Faculty Scholarship, Promotion and Tenure
“This University-wide event, hosted by the Provost and Dean’s Council, offers faculty a platform to share and be recognized for their recent scholarly and creative work. Faculty were invited to present their achievements through various mediums, including posters, videos, audio, art, or published articles and books. Faculty excellence in teaching, mentoring and advising is evident through student engagement, degree completion and postgraduation accomplishments, but faculty scholarship and professional contributions are not always obvious to the campus community. This event intentionally showcases such achievement.
The gathering seeks to foster informative exchanges and learning opportunities where faculty are encouraged to present their research, innovation and creative work, sparking conversations that may inspire future collaborations or discovery.”
Cheers
to the Faculty at Millersville University!
COLLEGE OF ARTS, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
PRESENTER
Dr. Amy Cherry
Dorothy Frey
Dr. Jessica Hughes
Dr. Katarzyna Jakubiak
Heidi Leitzke
TITLE OF PRESENTATION
Growing Musical Communities: The International Women’s Brass Conference travels to Japan for its 2024 conference
River Towns PA Plein Air 2024 Exhibition and Competition
Building a Campus Culture of Inclusion
Introducing James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time” in Poland
Azule Artist Residency
LOMBARDO COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
PRESENTER
Dr. Leo Hong
Dr. Ankur Nandedkar
TITLE OF PRESENTATION
Improving the Waste Supply Chain, A Case of Korea 20122021: Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Artificial Neural Network, and Grey-Incidence Approach
Linking Transformational Leadership Theory to the Practice of Academic Advising –A Conceptual Paper
PRESENTER
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN SERVICES
Dr. Janet Bertoni
Dr. Jennifer Burke
Dr. Heather Girvin
Dr. Jessica Grady
Dr. Kimberly Heilshorn
Dr. Rachel MacIntyre
Dr. Sarah Jackson
Dr. Colleen O’Connell
TITLE OF PRESENTATION
Autism on the Seas: Internship at Sea
Christiana Resistance: Igniting Historical Empathy Through Problem-Based Learning in Upper Elementary Education
Lone Oak Learning Center: Equine-Assisted Learning Strategies for Diverse Students
Shy, Happy, Calm, and Controlled: Temperament Correlates of Socioemotional Adjustment in Toddlerhood
Don’t Forget the M!: Equity in STEM Through Culturally Responsive Engagements for Young Learners and Their Families
Social Help or Harm? An Egocentric Network Analysis of Peer Influence on Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating
Critical Peritextual Analysis: Critical Possibilities of Peritext in Books for Young Readers
A Systematic Review of LGBTQ+ Identities and Topics in Sport Leadership
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
PRESENTER
TITLE OF PRESENTATION
Dr. Daniel Albert Crystal Structures of Novel Transition Metal Catalysts
Dr. Kristen Baker Synthesis of Benzisothiazoles
Dr. Eleanor Casas
Dr. Judith Cebra-Thomas
Dr. Aaron Haines
Dr. Cynthia Taylor
Developments in Quantifying Uncertainty from Bayesian Convolutional Neural Networks as Applied to Synthetic Passive Microwave Retrievals
The Impact of Folic Acid and Capsaicin on Ethanol-Induced Teratogenesis in Chicken Embryos
Transformative Education Experiences for our Undergraduates – The Chincoteague Bay Field Station
The Mystery Underground: Agnes Meyer Driscoll
Dr. Jingnan Xie Pumping Lemmas Can Be “Harmful”
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PRESENTER
Michele Santamaria
TITLE OF PRESENTATION
Information Literacy and Social Media: Empowered Student Engagement With the ACRL Framework
College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
DR.
AMY CHERRY
TPTF
Instructor, Music
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Creative Activity
TITLE: Growing Musical Communities: The International Women’s Brass Conference travels to Japan for its 2024 conference
ABSTRACT: The International Women’s Brass Conference‘s mission is to educate, develop, support and promote women brass musicians while inspiring continued excellence and opportunities in the broader musical world. Membership is open to all who would like to support this effort. The IWBC 2024 Japan conference was an important undertaking and a huge step for the organization in expanding its community and shining a light on women brass musicians around the world. The conference was held in Mito City, Japan, at the newly built Mito City Civic Center, and drew in almost 450 participants from 17 different countries. The conference involved concerts, recitals, lectures, presentations, panel discussions, and competitions.
INFORMATION: myiwbc.org/
DOROTHY FREY
Assistant Professor, Art and Design
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Community Engaged Scholarship, Creative Activity
TITLE: River Towns PA Plein Air 2024 Exhibition and Competition
ABSTRACT: Rivertownes PA USA is a 501(c)(3) organization hosting arts events to share with the communities surrounding the Lower Susquehanna Valley River towns. Their mission is to share art “through community participation, education, demonstration, and exhibition.” My professional artwork was accepted for the juried competition and exhibition “River Towns Plein Air 2024.” Artists painted along the Susquehanna River at 28 painting locations from Falmouth to Long Level in Lancaster and York Counties over a weeklong time frame. The works were presented for judging by artist and professor Aaron Thompson, who awarded my painting “BRHC 1st View” second place. All artworks were on exhibition from April 18-21, 2024. This event supported my creative scholarship as a landscape painter and introduced me to a new community of professional regional artists with similar creative interests. I received a Special Academic and Administration Activities grant for this project.
INFORMATION: mariettaartalive.com/2024-award-winners
DR. JESSICA HUGHES
Assistant Professor, Communication and Theatre
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Discovery, Research, and Innovation, Applied Research, Pedagogical Research and Innovation, Community-Engaged Scholarship
TITLE: Building a Campus Culture of Inclusion
ABSTRACT: Integrated Studies, MU’s inclusive postsecondary program, responds to the need for educational and employment opportunities for transition-age students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and is one of a limited number of such programs in Pennsylvania and the U.S. The purpose of Integrated Studies is to “provide access and support in an inclusive postsecondary education program for students with intellectual disability at Millersville University” (Integrated Studies, 2021). While emotional and material outcomes for students enrolled in the program are significant, this study focuses on the impact of Integrated Studies on Millersville University as an organization. “The potential of inclusive postsecondary programs to positively impact the entire college experience is slowly being unveiled” (Jones et al., 2016). In addition to positive impacts on faculty perspectives on teaching and learning (e.g. O’Connor, et al., 2012; Jones, et al. 2016; Hall, et al., 2021), inclusion of students with IDD also has the power to “foster cultural change within colleges and universities” (Lawrie, et al., 2017, p. 9).
This poster will examine the connections between Integrated Studies and the culture of inclusion at Millersville University. It is not uncommon for inclusive postsecondary programs – including Integrated Studies – to expressly cite a mission of furthering a culture of inclusion on campus. For instance, one goal for Duquesne University’s inclusive postsecondary program is to “encourage faculty, staff, and student peer mentors to consider ways to make activities and programs more inclusive for all members of the campus community” (Blaskowitz, Licata, & Pustorino-Clevenger, 2018). Similarly, Integrated Studies “strive[s] to create inclusive communities where students feel connected, challenged, and supported while participating in a high-quality inclusive postsecondary college experience” (“Integrated Studies,” 2021). Program leaders maintain that “inclusive postsecondary education furthers the diversity mission of the university” (Elks, Bechtel, Licata, & Neuville, 2019, p. 10). At MU, Integrated Studies contributes to our shared, core value of “Inclusion,” defined as “creating a campus community where differences are welcomed and respectfully heard and where every individual feels a sense of belonging” (“EPPIIC Values,” 2021).
As a key site of inclusive practices in teaching, advising, and campus life, Integrated Studies (INST) has a strong potential to deepen MU’s culture of inclusion. Indeed, INST demands radical inclusion – that is, an organizational framework committed to involving and removing barriers to access for all community members (Moinina Sengeh, 2023). This poster session will highlight inclusive teaching and advising practices employed by faculty and staff who work with INST students. It will also offer suggestions for ways of deepening MU’s culture of inclusion further by using Integrated Studies as a model for radical inclusion.
CITATION: Hughes, J. M. F. & Baldys, E. (2024). Building a campus culture of inclusion [unpublished manuscript]. Millersville University.
DR. KATARZYNA JAKUBIAK
Associate Professor, English and World Languages
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Community-Engaged Scholarship
TITLE: Introducing James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time” in Poland
ABSTRACT: Within the past year, I used my professional expertise in African American literature to introduce James Baldwin’s seminal nonfiction book “The Fire Next Time” to readers in Poland. At the invitation of Baldwin’s Polish publisher, Karakter, I coedited the new Polish translation of the book and wrote a 16-page “Afterword.” In my role as the coeditor, I helped the translator and the publisher recognize multiple culturallyand biographically-specific contexts of Baldwin’s writing, which then determined their translation choices. As the author of the “Afterword,” I introduced Polish readers to the cultural and political contexts of “The Fire Next Time,” discussed the place of this work within the larger body of Baldwin’s oeuvre and within his artistic philosophy, and, finally, I presented an overview of the continued impact of this work on American culture and politics. Following the publication of the book, I participated in a 90minute interview about Baldwin hosted by Off Radio Kraków. In August, to celebrate James Baldwin’s 100th birthday, I prepared a video about the importance of Baldwin, which was posted on the Karakter Publisher’s Instagram account. With these activities, I embraced my role as a public international scholar and contributed to the growth of knowledge about African American literature and culture in Poland.
CITATION: Jakubiak, Katarzyna. “Afterword,” “The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin. Trans. into Polish by Mikolaj Denderski. Karakter Publishers, 2024
Jakubiak, Katarzyna. “Obcy to fantazmat” interview with Mateusz Demski. Off Radio Kraków, 20 March 2024.
HEIDI LEITZKE Associate Professor, Art and Design
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Creative Activity
TITLE: Azule Artist Residency
ABSTRACT: Heidi Leitzke’s process begins outside, observing and absorbing nature. As a visual artist hailing from Lancaster, PA, she crafts a diverse array of artworks spanning paintings, embroideries, drawings, and her distinctive thread paintings. Both an educator and a gallery director, Heidi received her MFA at Western Carolina University. Her recent residency at Azule saw her reconnecting with the rich and storied mountains of Western North Carolina, drawing inspiration from its verdant Appalachian landscapes. In our conversation, Heidi discusses how she seeks the “spirit of aliveness in nature” to create her art. She elaborates on her creative process, reflecting on how her residency at Azule provided fresh sources of inspiration. Additionally, she offers insights into the works she produced during her time at the residency.
CITATION: “Heidi Leitzke Interview – Artist Resident at Azule, May 2024.” YouTube, uploaded by Azule – A Place for the Arts, May 29, 2024, https://youtu.be/ U729OKiOr4k?si=RPcUu6GkSjxjbYHA
Lombardo College of Business
DR. LEO HONG Assistant Professor, Management
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Applied Research
TITLE: Improving the Waste Supply Chain: A Case of Korea 2012-2021: Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Artificial Neural Network, and Grey-Incidence Approach
ABSTRACT: This study investigates the efficiency and effectiveness of waste management systems in South Korean cities, focusing on resource allocation, inefficiencies, and the impacts of commercial and domestic waste management practices. Employing a combination of Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), and Grey Incidence Theory (GIT), the study assesses city-level efficiency within Korea’s waste supply chain management spanning from 2012–2021. The study identifies effective budgeting, skilled manpower, and advanced facility operations as critical sources to waste management efficiency. Budget allocation disparities, facility operation costs, and outdated infrastructure contribute to inefficiencies, particularly in major urban centers like Seoul and Busan. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted waste management operations, highlighting the need for resilient strategies. Grey Incidence analysis underscores commercial incineration and landfill performance as pivotal, with domestic landfilling being the least effective due to environmental and public health concerns. This research provides a comprehensive evaluation of waste management efficiency, integrating SFA, ANN, and GIT to offer nuanced insights. The findings underscore the importance of equitable resource distribution, infrastructure modernization, and advanced technologies in enhancing waste management practices. Policymakers are provided with actionable recommendations to address inefficiencies and promote sustainable, equitable waste management solutions.
CITATION: Hong, L. and Hales, D. N. (2024). “How blockchain manages supply chain risks: evidence from Indian manufacturing companies,” The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 35, No. 5, pp. 1604–1627. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-052023-0178
DR. ANKUR NANDEDKAR Associate Professor, Management and Marketing
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Discovery, Research, and Innovation
TITLE: Linking Transformational Leadership Theory to the Practice of Academic Advising- A Conceptual Paper
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this article is to link transformational leadership theory to the practice of academic advising. More specifically, we take a deep dive into the four I’s of transformational leadership (Idealized Influence, Inspirational Motivation,
Intellectual Stimulation and Individualized Consideration) and connect them with the traits of academic advising. We emphasize the need to understand students and encourage them through the four I`s as it is shown to positively predict academic success. In doing so, we highlight the similarities between TL theory and the practice of academic advising and argue that academic advisors can develop as transformational leaders and boost students’ collegiate, career, and life goals. We argue that by training advisors to model the behaviors of transformational leaders, the process of advising can be improved tremendously. Our work extends the understanding of the role of TL on academic advising and student success. We provide a rationale for the positive relationship between TL theory and academic advising practices and how by integrating TL theory into advising, advisors can become transformational leaders.
CITATION: Mbindyo, M., O’Connor, R. J., & Nandedkar, A. (2021). Linking Transformational Leadership Theory to the Practice of Academic Advising-A Conceptual Paper. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 21(12).
College of Education & Human Services
DR. JANET BERTONI
Department Chair, Professor, Special Education
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Creative Activity
TITLE: Autism on the Seas: Internship at Sea
ABSTRACT: In July of 2024, four Millersville University preservice teachers joined me on a five-night cruise supporting nine families traveling with exceptional children. These students learned what it is like to face everyday travel challenges. They interacted with families during meals, pool time, and on private excursions as part of their service-learning experience.
Bertoni, J., Hansen, K., Hess, H., Nossbaum., M., Michaels, J. (2024). Autism on the Seas: An Internship at Sea.
DR. JENNIFER BURKE
Associate Professor, Early, Middle, and Exceptional Education
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Community-Engaged Scholarship
Christiana Resistance: Igniting Historical Empathy Through Problem-Based Learning in Upper Elementary Education
ABSTRACT: Explore an engaging Problem-Based Learning unit for upper elementary students, delving into the historical context and significance of the Christiana Resistance, when people in Lancaster, PA actively resisted the Fugitive Slave Act. Uncover innovative teaching strategies to cultivate critical thinking and historical empathy in young learners’ experience.
CITATION: Burke, J. Collins, A. Eckman, J. 2024. Christiana Resistance: Igniting Historical Empathy Through Problem-Based Learning in Upper Elementary Education [Poster]. National Council for Social Studies Conference, 22–24 November. Boston, MA
DR. HEATHER GIRVIN
Associate Professor, Social Work
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Applied Research, Pedagogical Research and Innovation, Community-Engaged Scholarship
TITLE: Lone Oak Learning Center: Equine-Assisted Learning Strategies for Diverse Students
ABSTRACT: Lone Oak Animal-Assisted Therapeutic & Educational Services (Lone Oak) is a 501(c)3, founded by Millersville University faculty, and staffed entirely by volunteers. We partner humans and rescued horses to enhance the wellness of both. The Lone Oak Learning Center is our hub for educational services, through which we contract with local schools and offer educational and professional training for students of all ages. Graduate and undergraduate students from Millersville University and other institutions of higher education have completed practicums and internships with us. Lone Oak’s interdisciplinary, expressive arts framework allows us to offer practicum and internship experiences across disciplines, including social work, psychology, animal biology, education, and business and marketing. Students learn to use innovative, creative strategies that align with their disciplines and incorporate the arts.
CITATION: Girvin, H., & Wilson, A. (2024). Equine-Assisted Learning Across Diverse Students: Intern Spotlight. In Progress.
DR. JESSICA GRADY
Associate Professor, Psychology
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Discovery, Research, and Innovation
TITLE: Shy, Happy, Calm, and Controlled: Temperament Correlates of Socioemotional Adjustment in Toddlerhood
ABSTRACT: Shyness is characterized by fear around new people. Shy children want to engage with others but are also wary or fearful of doing so. Limited social engagement and regulation of fear, in turn, forecast poor socioemotional adjustment. We considered temperament traits that may alter the link between shyness and adjustment, either by making social engagement appealing (positive affect, activity
level) or by supporting self-regulation (inhibitory control, basal respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]). Toddlers (N = 55; 22–24 months old) selected based on parent report as shy were observed in laboratory tasks to measure temperament. Parents reported toddler adjustment on a survey. Findings suggest that positive affect and inhibitory control reduce risk for internalizing problems in shy toddlers, whereas high activity and basal RSA may exacerbate risk. Relations between temperament traits and adjustment were specific to internalizing behaviors and did not generalize to socioemotional competence.
CITATION: Grady, J. S., Camargo, J., Barajas, S., & Patel, K. (2023). Shy, Happy, Calm, and Controlled: Temperament Correlates of Socioemotional Adjustment in Toddlerhood. Emotion, 23(8), 2344–2355. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001239
Grady, J. S., Camargo, J., Barajas, S., & Patel, K. (2021, March). Shy, Happy, Calm, and Controlled: Temperament Correlates of Fewer Internalizing Behaviors in Shy Toddlers. Poster session presented at the virtual biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development.
DR. KIMBERLY HEILSHORN
Associate Professor, Early, Middle, and Exceptional Education
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Community-Engaged Scholarship
TITLE: Don’t Forget the M!: Equity in STEM Through Culturally Responsive Engagements for Young Learners and Their Families
ABSTRACT: This project aims to highlight STEM experiences that will provide young learners with opportunities to explore and connect with all components of STEM. MU faculty members bring expertise in curriculum design, pedagogy, and subject matter knowledge, providing guidance on integrating mathematical concepts, along with science, technology, and engineering concepts, effectively within activities. Experienced teachers offer invaluable insights into the diverse needs and interests of their students, ensuring that the curriculum resonates with culturally diverse learners. Preservice teachers, eager to learn and contribute, infuse fresh perspectives and innovative ideas, enriching the curriculum with creative approaches to make math and all STEM areas more accessible and engaging. This interdisciplinary team has cocreated holistic STEM engagements that prioritize math while celebrating diversity and fostering inclusive learning environments for all young learners.
CITATION: Brusic, S., Cloutier, K., Evarts, T., Mikula, S., Powers, E. (2024, October 24–25). Don’t Forget the M in STEM! [Conference presentation] Technology & Engineering Education Association of Pennsylvania, Millersville, PA, United States.
DR. RACHEL MACINTYRE
Assistant Professor, Psychology
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Discovery, Research, and Innovation, Applied Research
TITLE: Social Help or Harm? An Egocentric Network Analysis of Peer Influence on Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating
ABSTRACT: Body dissatisfaction is pervasive and closely linked with eating disorder development. The transmission of appearance standards via peers is considered a leading contributor to its high prevalence. The purpose of this study was to use egocentric network analysis to evaluate the association between body dissatisfaction and appearance-focused behaviors (i.e., disordered eating, negative body talk, appearance social media use) of people’s social network members and their own body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Sixty-nine college students (96% ciswomen, 43% Black) interested in participating in a body-image intervention completed an online survey that included an adapted Brief Important People Interview that asks participants to list their ten closest friends and then answer questions for each friend was used to evaluate participants’ perceptions of their social networks. Multiple regressions revealed that participants who identified a greater proportion of their social networks who engaged in negative body talk (but not disordered eating or appearance social media use) reported greater body dissatisfaction (p = .015). Conversely, participants with a greater proportion of their social network who engaged in disordered eating and appearance social media use (but not negative body talk) reported greater disordered eating themselves (ps < .05). These findings support previous research on the potential harmful influence of peers on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating and suggest that peers may influence the two via different pathways.
CITATION: MacIntyre, R. I., Howard, L. M., & Heron, K. E. (2024, March). Social Help or Harm? An Egocentric Network Analysis of Peer Influence on Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating. Poster presented to the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.
DR. SARAH JACKSON
Assistant Professor, Early, Middle, and Elementary Education
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Discovery, Research, and Innovation
TITLE: Critical Peritextual Analysis: Critical Possibilities of Peritext in Books for Young Readers
ABSTRACT: “Peritext” refers to the components that make up the margins of a book, such as the front and back covers, the copyright page, the author’s note, etc. In this essay, we call for readers to critically engage with the peritext. We present a framework grounded in critical literacy that we refer to as “Critical Peritextual Analysis” (CPA) which teaches readers to rely on peritext to dialogue about power, perspective, culture, and
justice. We examine children’s books across multiple formats to demonstrate how this approach allows for more critical readings of any children’s books.
CITATION: Degener, R., Sivashankar, N., and Jackson, S. E., “Value in the Margins: Critical Peritextual Analysis and Children’s Literature.” kidlit@Hollins Symposium. Paper presentation and workshop. Virtual and Roanoke, VA, June 27–30, 2024.
DR. COLLEEN O’CONNELL
Assistant Professor, Wellness and
Sport Sciences
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Discovery, Research, and Innovation
TITLE: A Systematic Review of LGBTQ+ Identities and Topics in Sport Leadership
ABSTRACT: As individuals with occupational status and power, sport leaders (e.g., coaches and athletic administrators) are responsible for enforcing cultures of inclusion within institutions of athletics. Yet, sport leaders who possess LGBTQ+ sexual identities are frequently marginalized and stigmatized by entities within and outside of athletics (e.g., athletes, parents of athletes, colleagues). Therefore, LGBTQ+ sport leaders are often faced with a challenging set of circumstances: negotiate the authenticity of their sexual orientation in the context of sport or leave the profession entirely. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of research related to LGBTQ+ sport leader experiences. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), research across six countries (China/Taiwan/Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom, United States) between 1997 and 2021 was analyzed. Themes across included studies (N = 34) describe intrapersonal experiences of LGBTQ+ sport leaders, interpersonal studies examining stakeholder attitudes (i.e., parents and athletes) toward LGBTQ+ sport leaders, and sport manager attitudes toward LGBTQ+ topics. Findings convey that sport leaders continue to face marginalization due to the presence of heterosexism and heteronormativity in athletics. Future research should continue to explore LGBTQ+ sport leader experiences, behaviors, attitudes, and identities to determine their impact on fostering inclusion and belonging within athletic spaces.
CITATION: O’Connell, C. S., & Bottino, A. (2024). A Systematic Review of LGBTQ+ Identities and Topics in Sport Leadership. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 6, 1414404. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2024.1414404
College of Science & Technology
DR. DANIEL ALBERT
Department Chair/Associate Professor, Chemistry
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Discovery, Research, and Innovation
TITLE: Crystal Structures of Novel Transition Metal Catalysts
ABSTRACT: Novel rhodium and iridium transition metal catalysts have been synthesized, characterized, and screened for their ability to promote green chemistry reactions. The crystal structures of these compounds provide insight into stabilizing intermolecular interactions, changes to the structure of ligands, and steric interactions. Crystal structures that have been published in the past year will be presented.
CITATION: Lerch, T. G., Gau, M., Albert, D. R., & Rajaseelan, E. “[(1,2,5,6-η)-Cycloocta1,5-diene](1-ethyl-4-isobutyl-1,2,4-triazol-5-ylidene)(triphenylphosphane)rhodium(I) tetrafluoridoborate”. IUCrData, 2024, 9, x240745. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1107/ S2414314624007454
DR. KRISTEN BAKER
Assistant Professor, Chemistry
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Discovery, Research, and Innovation
TITLE: Synthesis of Benzisothiazoles
ABSTRACT: Benzisothiazoles are a privileged class of heteroaromatic compounds that have been shown to have a wide variety of insecticidal, antifungal, and antipsychotic activities. Despite their clear medicinal and agrochemical value, methods to synthesize benzisothiazoles still remain limited, with the most common methods utilizing substrates that require a multistep synthesis. A more efficient method for synthesizing these compounds would potentially allow for further investigations into their biological activity. We have thus developed a method to synthesize benzisothiazoles from readily available starting materials. The current optimization and functional group tolerance of this reaction will be presented.
CITATION: Amber Nickey, Stefano Astudillo, and Kristen Baker. Synthesis of Benzisothiazoles. Millersville Chemistry Department Seminar Series, Fall 2024.
DR. ELEANOR CASAS
Assistant Professor, Meteorology
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Discovery, Research, and Innovation
TITLE: Developments in Quantifying Uncertainty from Bayesian Convolutional Neural Networks as Applied to Synthetic Passive Microwave Retrievals
ABSTRACT: Satellite passive microwave (PMW) radiances provide a wealth of convective and microphysical information in data-sparse regions like over the open ocean when available, but there is insufficient temporal and spatial PMW data coverage of individual convective phenomena resulting from the limitations of lowEarth orbits. In contrast, geostationary satellites can provide great spatial and temporal data coverage of individual convective phenomena within their domain, but their data in the visible and infrared spectrum provides less information about the convective structure below cloud tops. Therefore, this study seeks to investigate the possibility of blending the benefits of both types of satellites by utilizing Bayesian Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to produce synthetic “geostationary” PMW radiances from geostationary infrared brightness temperatures. Since the benefit of Bayesian CNN artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) models over other AI/ML architectures is the ability to quantify uncertainty, specific emphasis is placed on exploring how the choice of Bayesian CNN architecture impacts the skill and utility of the model. Results are presented in two parts, where Part 1 investigates how the choice of “Flipout,” “Reparameterization,” or “Monte Carlo Dropout” Bayesian architecture impacts model skill, and Part 2 extends the results of Part 1 toward the development of a new Bayesian architecture that decomposes predicted uncertainty into its “aleatoric” and “epistemic” components. Part 2 will then also explore the practical utility of this uncertainty decomposition, which has implications for active machine learning, training dataset optimization, data assimilation, and real-time convection identification as explored through Hurricane Teddy (2020).
CITATION: Ortiz, P., E.G. Casas, M. Orescanin, S. Powell (2024): Informing Synthetic Passive Microwave Predictions Through Bayesian Deep Learning with Uncertainty Decomposition. Environmental Data Science (EDS). https://10.1017/eds.2024.17
DR. JUDITH CEBRA-THOMAS Associate Professor,
Biology
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Discovery, Research, and Innovation
TITLE: The Impact of Folic Acid and Capsaicin on EthanolInduced Teratogenesis in Chicken Embryos
ABSTRACT: Ethanol is a well-known teratogen which causes fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS usually manifests as craniofacial dysmorphology, with reductions in the frontonasal and maxillary prominences. These malformations have been attributed to excessive cell death in the regions. The craniofacial mesenchyme is derived from
migrating Sox9+ neural crest cells. In recent studies, folic acid and capsaicin have been shown to ameliorate the visible effects of ethanol teratogenicity in zebrafish embryos and cultured mouse embryos, respectively. We investigated the potential for concurrent exposure of folic acid or capsaicin to reduce the effects of ethanol exposure in chicken embryos. This research will help elucidate the mechanisms behind a common environmental cause of congenital abnormalities in humans and investigate a potential way to mitigate its effects.
INFORMATION: 64th annual meeting of the Society for Birth Defects Research & Prevention, held in Pittsburg, PA on June 22–26.
DR. AARON HAINES
Professor, Biology
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Pedagogical Research and Innovation
TITLE: Transformative Education Experiences for Our Undergraduates – The Chincoteague Bay Field Station
ABSTRACT: The Chincoteague Bay Field Station (CBFS), located on the coast of Virginia, serves as a multi-institutional campus where academic institutions collaborate to offer transformative educational experiences for undergraduate students. Millersville University (MU) is one of the founding senior members of the CBFS. The CBFS has been serving MU for the last 57 years with dedication to its EPPIIC values, through a dynamic blend of active learning, service learning, workforce development, and field skills training. The Field Station also provides immersive research opportunities in a variety of natural environments. Students engage directly with their field of study, applying laboratory and field skills in real-world settings while working alongside professionals. These experiences are designed to foster exploration, critical thinking, and practical expertise, equipping students for future academic and career success in environmental and field sciences.
CITATION: Haines A. and Kumar A. 2024. Transformative Education Experiences for Our Undergraduates – The Chincoteague Bay Field Station.
DR. CYNTHIA TAYLOR
Professor, Mathematics
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Creative Activity
TITLE: The Mystery Underground: Agnes Meyer Driscoll
ABSTRACT: “The Mystery Underground: Agnes Meyer Driscoll” is the first book in a set of three books for the 6-8-grade band centered around the series Powerful Mathematicians Who Changed the World. Pottersville, the small town where this fictional story is set, is dealing with an environmental crisis as well as gentrification. Hundreds of fish are dying in the local river at the bottom of the hill in town. Five friends investigate the issue, find clues that are coded, break the codes, and eventually figure out that the problem is stemming
from contamination from a solar panel company in the town. Cryptography, the mathematics that Agnes Meyer Driscoll was recognized for, is present in the story. The reader is given the opportunity to code and decode messages that are related to the story as well as additional mathematical problem-solving opportunities.
CITATION: Jackson, C., Taylor, C. E., Jurgenson, K., & Stagg, J. (2023). The Mystery Underground: Agnes Meyer Driscoll. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
DR. JINGNAN XIE
Assistant Professor, Computer Science
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Discovery, Research, and Innovation
TITLE: Pumping Lemmas Can Be “Harmful”
ABSTRACT: A pumping lemma for a class of languages C is often used to show particular languages are not in C. In contrast, we show that a pumping lemma for a class of languages C can be used to study the computational complexity of the predicate “C” via highly efficient many-one reductions. In this paper, we use extended regular expressions (EXREGs, introduced in Câmpeanu et al. [Int. J. Foundations Comput. Sci. 14(6), 1007–1018, 2003]) as an example to illustrate the proof technique and establish the complexity of the predicate “is an EXREG language” for several classes of languages. Due to the efficiency of the reductions, both productiveness (a stronger form of nonrecursive enumerability) and complexity results can be obtained simultaneously. For example, we show that the predicate “is an EXREG language” is productive (hence, not recursively enumerable) for context-free grammars, and is Co-NEXPTIME-hard for context-free grammars generating bounded languages. The proof technique is easy to use and requires only a few conditions. This suggests that for any class of languages C having a pumping lemma, the language class comparison problems (e.g., does a given context-free grammar generate a language in C?) are almost guaranteed to be hard. So, pumping lemmas sometimes could be “harmful” when studying computational complexity results.
CITATION: Xie, J., Hunt III, H. B., & Stearns, R. E. Pumping Lemmas Can Be “Harmful.” Theory Computing Systems (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00224-024-10169-9
University College
MICHELE SANTAMARIA
Assistant Professor/Learning Design Librarian, Library
SCHOLARLY/CREATIVE WORK: Applied Research/ Pedagogical Research and Innovation
TITLE: Information Literacy and Social Media: Empowered Student Engagement With the ACRL Framework
ABSTRACT: Information Literacy and Social Media: Empowered Student Engagement With the ACRL Framework provides librarians and nonlibrarian practitioners with theories and sample assignments to teach and learn with social media. Authors Santamaria and Pfannenstiel frame this engagement as “with” and “through” social media platforms because the methods in this book involve actively engaging students, while keeping in mind that there is a role here for critique of these platforms. By teaching students through active engagement with social media, it is our contention that students can then more fully embrace their roles as content creators, with roles as varied as citizen scientists or citizen journalists. This is the step that our book argues students must take to be truly information literate in the creative and ethical ways that make information literacy an essential college competency. Aside from surveying the literature for prior work in using social media to teach research skills, the book provides educators with several frameworks. These include a framework for self-reflection when it comes to educator views on different social media platforms; a framework for mapping social media platforms to different key information literacy concepts; and finally a framework for creating lesson plans that factor in flexibility and assessment. Our book then offers a research pedagogy that combines the ethical and creative emphasis of metaliteracy, a digital and collaborative version of information literacy, with social media engagement. The book’s lens is that of ethical creation, not initially as an intricate act infused with intention but as an acknowledgement that even a like or an emoji moves the social media conversation forward and contributes something more than fodder for algorithms. By meeting students where they are at, in terms of social media platforms and their current levels of engagement, we acknowledge the value of students’ existing habits of mind and dispositions to build upon these more effectively. More crucial than the specifics of platforms and details of lesson plan templates, what is critical is that educators engage with the knowledge practices and dispositions of our students. We must engage students in the spaces where they are already at, for that is their point of need, and this is also, given what we know about algorithms and misinformation, where our civic needs are greatest.
CITATION: Santamaria, M., and Nicole Pfannenstiel. Information Literacy and Social Media: Empowered Student Engagement With the ACRL Framework. Neal Schuman: 2024.
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