Impact Magazine 2022

Learning & Innovation

Grants, gifts, and matching University investments in STATE-OF-THE-ART SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT enhance LEARNING & INNOVATION, providing students with dynamic study and research opportunities and ensuring outstanding preparation for career and graduate school pursuits.

$625,000 in Advanced Equipment Supports Learning in the Sciences

Over the past several years, more than $625,000 in grants, gifts, and matching University investments have enhanced hands-on science education at Muskingum with state-of-the-art equipment in biology, chemistry, computer science, physics and engineering, and health sciences.

Students from majors across the campus have access to the equipment, which serves the full range of learners, from first years enrolled in introductory courses, to seniors conducting sophisticated scientific research projects, to graduate students in the Master of Occupational Therapy program.

Biology and Health Sciences

Anatomage Table

The Anatomage Table is a powerful threedimensional visualization tool for anatomy and physiology. Offering multiple human and animal cadavers and customizable programming, students benefit from flexible content. Medical image files can be imported and uploaded into the table, allowing students to analyze real-world diagnoses.

Assistant Professor of Nursing Kathleen Jefferis leads an Anatomage Table lesson.

The acquisition of the Anatomage Table was made possible through a generous gift by Muskingum Trustee Craig W. Anderson ’73, M.D. and his wife Deborah Hart Anderson ’74.

“We love to support projects that directly impact students. Anatomage is an amazing teaching and learning tool that brings multiple and unique benefits to their educational experience.”

Muskingum Trustee Craig W. Anderson ’73, M.D. and Deborah Hart Anderson ’74

Nursing became the first program to incorporate the Anatomage virtual cadaver into the curriculum, shortly after it was acquired in the Fall 2021 semester. Faculty in biology, animal science, exercise science, health and fitness, and the Master of Occupational Therapy program are also integrating the table into their coursework.

“Anatomage brings the science to life, providing hands-on, active learning and aiding the development of our students’ critical thinking.”

- Associate Professor of Nursing Terra Armstead

Housed in Boyd Science Center, the Anatomage Table can be controlled and accessed remotely from other locations. For example, exercise science students working in the Diagnostic Hub of the Bullock Health and Wellness Center (BHWC) will be able to use the table to support physical performance analyses, fitness assessments, and customized exercise plans.

Nursing Simulation Lab

Nursing students’ high-fidelity simulation activities in the lab prepare them for clinical experiences.

The Ohio Board of Nursing (OBN) awarded two grants totaling nearly $400,000 to Muskingum’s program, in support of a state-of-the-art laboratory environment.

The 2019 grant was used to expand the nursing simulation lab from five to nine beds, allowing more students to be served in the program. The most recent grant, received in Fall 2021, is being used to create a second eight-bed simulation lab, which will open in Fall 2022.

The hands-on learning offered in the simulation lab builds students’ clinical judgment, assessment, and problem-solving skills, providing outstanding preparation as they enter clinical settings and nursing practice.

Immunofluorescence Microscope

Biology students examine cells using an immunofluorescence microscope.

A recently acquired immunofluorescence microscope is expanding the possibilities for student research projects and providing valuable experience in a widely used technique for studying mammalian cells.

As students explore cancer cell biology in upperlevel coursework and faculty-student research projects, real time immunofluorescence allows them to examine changes in the mitochondrial organization of cells carrying a common cancer mutation and compare them to normal cells without the mutation. This research aims to identify additional targets for which cancer treatment could be developed.

DNA Analyzer

Through a Genomics Education Matching Funds Grant, Muskingum obtained a Li-Cor DNA Analyzer.

This equipment allows students to determine the order of the bases in DNA and identify the type of gene in a sample. As part of the ongoing field research at The Wilds, for example, they identified the presence of hellbenders in stream water.

The DNA sequencer is used in coursework as well as in faculty-student research projects.

Chemistry

Chemical Separation, Identification, and Analysis Equipment

A wide variety of equipment allows the Chemistry Department to provide novice students in introductory courses with early hands-on opportunities to use scientific instrumentation, as well as support upper-level students in research projects.

These devices include a gas-chromatograph mass spectrometer, Vernier mini gas chromatographs, a thermal conductivity detector gas chromatograph, Vernier spectrometers, Vernier emission spectrometers, an atomic absorption spectrometer, an ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer, and a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer.

In each of the past four years, the Chemistry Department has received external grants to purchase new equipment, including funding from the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh and the National Science Teaching Association Vernier Technology Award.

The atomic absorption spectrometer supports senior capstone research projects.

Computer Science

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Devices

Oculus Rift virtual reality devices support computer science students in the 3D gaming course and in independent projects, by generating realistic visual and auditory images to place the user in a virtual environment.

A HoloLens device is used in a special topics course on augmented reality to provide an experience where real-world objects are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information across multiple senses.

Both types of devices offer an excellent introduction to virtual and augmented reality for prospective and current students who are new to the experiences.

Engineering

Engineering Software

Muskingum provides engineering majors access to industry-standard software in key areas.

Three notable examples are:

• SOLIDWORKS – a solid modeling computer-aided design and computer-aided engineering program used by mechanical, electrical, and electronics engineers to form a connected design.

• MATLAB – a programming and numeric computing platform used to analyze data, develop algorithms, and create models. MATLAB allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user interfaces, and interfacing with programs written in other languages.

• OrCAD® PSpice® – a program combining native analog, mixed-signal, and analysis engines to simulate, verify, analyze, and refine electronic circuits, components, and parameters.

SCAN QR CODE to view a video of Muskingum science students in action.