CAMPUS
news & notes New Initiatives
Potsdam Garners $1.6M Grant to Enhance Undergrad Research SUNY Potsdam recently was awarded a $1.6 million grant in the extremely competitive Title III Strengthening Institutions Development Grant Program from the United States Department of Education to enhance its undergraduate research initiatives. The funds will be utilized over the course of five years with the goal of increasing the number of seniors who participate in research with a faculty member from 24 percent to as much as 50 percent in some areas. SUNY Potsdam Assistant Professor of Geology Dr. Michael C. Rygel (right) and junior Kyle Ashley examine a fossilized root at the world-famous fossil cliffs found in Joggins, Nova Scotia. Research
CBC Documents Research by Potsdam Prof and Students The research that SUNY Potsdam Assistant Professor of Geology Dr. Michael C. Rygel and three students conducted over the summer was featured as part of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s series “Land and Sea.” The documentary examines the significance of the world-famous fossil cliffs at Joggins, Nova Scotia, being declared a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site. Along with Dr. Rygel, juniors Kyle Ashley of Madrid, NY; Erin Sheldon of Mount Vision, NY; and Emily Stephan of Seneca Falls, NY, spent four weeks at the Joggins site measuring and describing the rocks exposed along the coast. After returning to campus, the students
compiled their field notes and measurements to make a detailed graphical portrayal of the rocks that other geologists can use to locate themselves within the succession. “This measured section will serve as a framework that allows us to interpret the depositional environments recorded in the strata,” said Dr. Rygel. “Our measured section represents a framework to which all future discoveries can be referenced. Our work represents the first detailed examination of these rocks.” Dr. Rygel and three more students will return to the Joggins cliffs this summer to continue the research.
New Initiatives
Alcoa and Corning Donate Scanning Electron Microscopes Alcoa and Corning International Company have each donated a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to SUNY Potsdam for use in the College’s science departments. The combined worth of the equipment is more than $125,000. Peggy Barlow, instrument technician at SUNY Potsdam, said the donated SEMs offer capabilities that the College’s
current one does not. The units expand the facilities used in the teaching and research of undergraduate majors in anthropology, archaeology, biology, chemistry, geology and physics in up-to-date methods of material analysis. The instruments allow users to determine the shape of microscopic objects and make an elemental analysis of their chemical composition.
“The SEM has become a central apparatus for researchers in all of our physical and natural sciences, but its expense makes it almost impossible for us to purchase one. Our students and faculty will make excellent use of this instrument for years to come,” said Dr. Galen Pletcher, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at SUNY Potsdam.
“The Title III funding is a significant testament to the current research being conducted on the campus by faculty and students and offers ample evidence of the College’s commitment to promote collaborative learning opportunities that both challenge and engage,” said Dr. Gerald Ratliff, associate vice president of academic affairs and grant project coordinator. Support will include the establishment of an Office of Undergraduate Research at SUNY Potsdam, directed by Dr. Bethany Usher, associate professor. “When we talk about research, we are broadly describing the one-on-one activities in which our faculty are involved,” said Dr. Usher. “Most people picture bench-hard sciences, but at SUNY Potsdam, this includes concerts, field archaeology, dance performances, art exhibits, classroom activities, historical archival work and a myriad of other fascinating opportunities, as well as the classical bench research.”
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