Fall 2018, Vol. 5, No. 1
Table of Contents
University Editor Drew Ruble
4 Got Milk?
26 Eclipsing Expectations
8 Back in the Saddle
30 Running on Brainpower
The School of Agriculture also boasts items ranging from drones to “Fitbits for cows” to keep the University’s historical dairy farm “moo-ving”
Contributing Editors Darby D. Campbell, Carol Stuart Contributing Writers Skip Anderson, Jackson Cole, John Glennon, Allison Gorman, Katie Porterfield, Vicky Travis, Patsy Weiler, Randy Weiler
For the first time in five years, Blue Raider riders qualify for nationals as a team in the Western category
Director of Creative and Visual Services Kara Hooper Lead Designer Brian Evans
19 Basic Highlights
Additional Designers Darrell Callis Burks, Micah Loyed, Brittany Stokes University Photographers Kimi Conro, Andy Heidt, J. Intintoli, Eric Sutton University President Dr. Sidney A. McPhee
A look at recent awards, events, and accomplishments in CBAS
22 True Technology
News from MTSU’s fastgrowing, nationally-recognized Mechatronics Engineering degree program
University Provost Dr. Mark Byrnes Dean of of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences Dr. Bud Fischer
Vice President, Marketing and Communications Andrew Oppmann
The faculty of MTSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, led by Ron Henderson, works to ensure bright futures for its graduates
Nearly a decade after graduating from MTSU, Taylor Arnold Barnes is considered one of the nation’s most accomplished young minds in computational chemistry
40 Expanses and Exoplanets
National Science Foundation research experience provides opportunity to observe the night sky and beauty of Wyoming
42 Clearing the Air
One MTSU professor’s work wields analytical chemistry to curb pollution and its ill effects
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Special thanks to Jared Bryson, Marlene Lawson, Nancy Miller, and the MTSU News and Media Relations Team, Honors College Dean John Vile
The Changing Faces of STEM A look at seven female faculty members in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences working to make the world a better place
Cover by Brian Evans 2,000 copies printed at Lithographics, Nashville, Tennessee Designed by MTSU Creative and Visual Services
Keying Ding
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2 | Innovations
31
Field of Dreams Blending mathematics, statistics, and algorithms to manage risks and solve problems, Actuarial Science graduates are in demand—even in the world of baseball analytics