Fall 2022 College of Science and Mathematics Newsletter

CO L L E G E O F

Science and Mathematics FA L L N E W S L E T T E R

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MESSAGE FROM THE

College Dean As we start another fall semester, there are many things to celebrate at Tarleton State University. We start the new academic year with a new

academic structure involving several significant changes. The College of Science and Technology has officially split to form the College of Science and Mathematics and the Mayfield College of Engineering. This has been in the works for many years and demonstrates the growth and success of the engineering programs due to the dedication and hard work of the entire COST team, especially the faculty and staff in the new Mayfield College of Engineering. Tarleton has also welcomed a new Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs – Dr. Diane Stearns.

As the Chief Academic Officer, her experience and leadership will be critical in helping us meet the ambitious goals outlined in the Tarleton Forward strategic plan.

The College of Science and Mathematics (COSM) has two new degree programs starting this fall – B.S. Biotechnology and B.S. Statistics. These are two of six new degrees launched at Tarleton this academic year. COSM continues to grow in enrollment as well as faculty. We added a number of new faculty across the college to help us continue to provide high quality education experiences to our majors as majors across the campus. In collaboration with the Mayfield College of Engineering, we held our 2nd STEM Basecamp for incoming freshman students in STEM. This year’s program had 46 student participants who engaged in the 5-day experience to provide them a smooth transition to Tarleton and enhanced knowledge for academic success. There were more than 20 faculty and staff from the two colleges involved in the program to help make it a huge success.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Message from the Dean COSM Leadership Team Summer Research Showcase TimberLake Field Station New STEM Scholars Program TSA Annual Meeting Math Professor Elected MAA Chair Math Day Celebration COSM Piper Professor Award Giving Back Giving Back

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In May, COSM hosted a second grant writing workshop (a writing retreat) where nine teams of faculty worked on grant proposals.

COSM faculty have submitted 20 grant proposals so far this year requesting more than $2.3 million in funding, with a few additional proposals expected as we close out the fiscal year. Overall, 16 COSM faculty have been involved in the submission of grants proposals this year as either the primary investigator (PI) or coprimary investigators (coPI). It’s great to see our team work to help Tarleton expand its research efforts!!

The College of Science and Mathematics has launched a new website - https://web.tarleton.edu/cosm. Tarleton is in the final stages of transition to a new website management system that allows us greater flexibility on the website design and content, but also provides the site visitors a better experience. We’re excited about the new page and the enhanced ability it will provide us as a modern communication tool for a variety of important audiences.

Sincerely,

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COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

Leadership Team

Dr. Michael Huggins

Dr. Eileen Faulkenberry

Dean

Associate Dean

Dr. Philip Sudman

Dr. Kristin Herrmann

Associate Dean & Timberlake Director

Dept Head Biological Sciences

Dr. Ryan Morgan

Dr. Kathy Horak Smith

Dept Head Chemistry, Geoscience, & Physics

Dept Head Mathematics

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FIRST ANNUAL

Summer Research Showcase The first annual College of Science and Mathematics Summer Research Showcase was held on August 11, 2022 to highlight the hard work of

our faculty and students on research conducted primarily during the summer term. It provided an opportunity for College and University colleagues to celebrate our research efforts as well as providing students an opportunity to build and hone their communication skills.

COSM student’s present posters to faculty, fellow students, and alumni who attended the event.

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The 46 incoming Tarleton students participating in the 2022 STEM Basecamp program also joined the festivities to learn about research opportunities available to them during their studies at Tarleton.

The Summer Research Showcase included two sessions – a 1-hour oral presentation session with six oral presentations and a poster session with 29 presenters.

In addition, there was a welcome back reception held after the showcase to kick-off the start of the 2022-2023 academic year. The festivities were held in the 1st floor of the Science Building.

Congratulations to all of the presenters for a job well done!!

The presentation winners are: Oral Presentation Winners: Graduate: Adriana Perrucci Title: Parasites of freshwater mussels of Texas; Faculty mentor: Dr. Kristin Herrmann Undergraduate: Alyssa Kohler Title: Efficacy of a PlantDerived Polymeric Drug Delivery System Used to Deliver Antibiotics to Produce Cytotoxic Effects on Bacteria; Faculty Adviser: Dr. Rajani Srinivasan Poster Presentation Winners: Graduate: Kelly Carroll Title: Comparing the microbiomes of a native and invasive Texas grass to determine potential biocontrol methods Faculty mentor: Drs. Janice Speshock and Jeff Brady Undergraduate: Derek Martin Title: Planet Hunting in Open Cluster; Faculty mentor: Dr. Shaukat Goderya.

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TIMBER NEWS

Timberlake Biological Field Station Timberlake Biological Field Station was established to advance environmental research, engage students in scientific discovery, and promote stewardship of the natural world.

Mesonet network associated with Texas Tech’s National Wind Institute. More spaces and more tools means more opportunity for research, education and outreach!

Our aim is to become a model field station focused on education, outreach, and research associated with the ecological integrity of the Colorado River and the diverse flora and fauna of the Cross Timbers and Edwards Plateau ecoregions of Texas.

Because of the generosity of the Johansons, this vision is becoming a reality as the entire 790 acre Timberlake Ranch in southern Mills County has been transferred to Tarelton.

In other news, we had such a great time at the Farley Education Building dedication/fish fry in 2021 that we decided to make it an annual event! So, on May 21st, 2022 approximately 90 faculty, staff, alumni, community members and “friends of Tarleton” came together around the field station pavilion and enjoyed good food (thank you Pepperbelly’s for a fantastic catering job!), great conversation, and endured a short program

by Dr. Sudman highlighting the development of a master plan related to the further development of the field station.

The buildout of the field station continues to be a work in progress - the addition of a bathhouse and the Farley Education Building along with the acquisition of the Green Cabin and the Mobile Discovery Lab have expanded our capacity for hosting students and researchers. We have also added internet service and are now connected to the Tarleton network. As we move forward in 2022, new expansion is on the horizon – two 12-person bunkhouses have been ordered with delivery scheduled in early fall, and by the end of the summer we will have a functioning weather station connected to the West Texas

In spite of the unusually hot and dry late May weather, the event was an overwhelming success with lots of positive feedback. Dr. Lamar and Marilynn Johanson held court throughout much of the day. Tours were offered to those interested in a hot and dusty ride in one of our UTVs. Wayne Davenport brought along and distributed some much sought-after COST swag. Two flat tires aside (sorry to those adversely affected by 12 miles of gravel roads), we thank everyone who was able to attend for helping us spread the word as we continue to build Timberlake into a vibrant learning and research center.

“We are profoundly grateful for the generosity of our donors and their commitment to provide an educational experience second to none.”

President James Hurley

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Creation of STEM Scholars Program Some 40 Tarleton State University students enrolled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs are part of a unique program funded by the President’s Fund for Excellence. The STEM Scholars Program

was created in 2021 to improve diversity, equity and inclusion of underrepresented, first-generation and economically disadvantaged students in Tarleton’s STEM fields.

He was one of several invited speakers to present about the benefits of participating in student organizations for the first STEM Scholars meeting.

“I knew a lot of the professors, and they explained the idea of giving resources to students in STEM programs,” he said. “I really loved the idea of getting more real-world experience and knowing what my career is going to look like after I get my degree.”

Member students from within the College of Science and Technology meet monthly in workshops with faculty mentors, alumni and peer-mentors who provide resources and direct professional development activities.

Aurod was a biomedical major before switching to math. He plans to get his PhD in biomedical informatics and wants to work for Pfizer or the Centers for Disease Control as a lab instructor using mathematical modeling to mitigate the spread of arthropod-borne viruses.

Biology Associate Professor Dr. Dustin Edwards is a faculty mentor in the program that focuses on practical career development exercises.

He credits the STEM Scholars program with boosting his knowledge about getting into graduate school as well as how to properly present himself.

“We meet in the evenings in one big group,” he said. “We have all the faculty advisors there, someone from each department, and we have an activity we do together.”

Membership in STEM Scholars is open to students in any science, technology, engineering or math major. For more information regarding this program, please contact Drs. Eileen Faulkenberry, Lynal Albert, Dustin Edwards, Chris Mitchell, Zahra Pournorouz, or Rajani Srinivasan.

At a recent meeting, students prepared a curriculum vitae.

“We gave a presentation on what they are, how they’re used, and we gave students a template to work with,” Dr. Edwards said. “The students all worked together, compared their work, tweaked them for their own style and then submitted them to the mentors.”

If you are interested in supporting the STEM Scholars Program, contact Wayne Davenport at 254-968-1744 or wdavenport@tarleton.edu.

The mentors provided instant feedback and responded to questions.

At other gatherings mentors Drs. Lynal Albert and Rajani Srinivasan shared experiences and advice applying for post-graduate degree programs and interviewing. Another time, faculty mentor Dr. Zahra Pournorouz led members in submitting a scholarship application.

“We have a lot of first generationn students from families who have not had siblings in college before”, said Pournorouz. “In a lot of cases they might not know what these things are. Our goal is to make sure they have this valuable information.”

One student in the program, senior math major Aurod Ounsinegad from Austin’s Vandegrift High School, visited Tarleton’s Stephenville campus several times for high school FFA career development events.

“I enjoyed being on campus, the environment here and how affordable it is,” he said. “I absolutely loved it.”

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Science Faculty and Students Shine at TAS Annual Meeting A pair of Tarleton State University math professors and half a dozen of their students achieved recognition and rewards at the Texas Academy of Science 2022 Annual Meeting last month at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Dr. Chris Mitchell chaired the Mathematics and Computer Science Section of the conference, and Dr. Bryant Wyatt was selected to chair the Physics and Engineering Section for the 2022-2024 biennium.

Both also served as judges for the Physics and Engineering Section, and Dr. Wyatt was a featured faculty oral presenter with “Silicon Building Silicon: Dynamic Modeling of Dust Crystal Formations in a Complex Plasma using NVIDIA GPUs.” Senior math major Cody Drolet took the Amir Moaz Award for Mathematics and Computer Science Oral Section for his presentation, “Improving Recombination MCMC for Texas Political Redistricting.” His faculty advisor is Dr, Scott Cook.

Dashon Mitchell and Aurod Ounsinegad captured first and third place, respectively, in the Biomedical Oral Section. Mitchell, a senior mathematics and

electrical engineering major, earned top honors for “A Mathematical Model for Onchocerciasis and Resistance in Treatment.” Ounsinegad, a senior mathematics major, presented “Dynamics of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Infection Rates: A Mathematical Approach.”

Dr. Mitchell is the faculty advisor for both.

A Tarleton student also earned top honors in poster awards. Gavin McIntosh, a junior mathematics major, took first place with his poster presentation, “Supraventricular Tachycardia Study Using a Dynamic Computer-Generated Atrium.” Dr. Wyatt is his faculty advisor.

Senior math major Vianey Rangel, advised by Dr. Cook, finished second in the category with “Making Unbiased Maps to Pass the Eyeball Test via MCMC Redistricting.”

Senior electrical engineering major Avery Campbell, advised by Dr. Wyatt, brought the oral presentation “Supraventricular Tachycardia Study Using a Dynamic Computer-Generated Atrium,” and graduate math student Brandon Amerine, advised by Dr. Jesse Crawford, presented “Understanding Social Determinants of Health using Machine Learning Algorithm.”

MATHEMATICS PROFESSOR ELECTED MAA CHAIR MATHEMATICS PROFESSOR DR. EILEEN FAULKENBERRY, ASSOCIATE DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS HAS BEEN ELECTED CHAIR OF THE TEXAS SECTION OF THE MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (MAA). The MAA, established in 1915, seeks to advance the understanding of mathematics and its impact on our world. The Texas Section began in 1920.

Dr. Faulkenberry has been an MAA member since 1997, joining the Texas Section in 2003. She served as Arrangements Chair in 2017-19 when Tarleton hosted the annual Section Meeting.

In 2019 she received the Ron Barnes Distinguished Service to Students Award, which recognizes faculty for exemplary service and support of undergraduate students in the Texas Section.

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She also serves on the board of the Conference for the Advancement of Mathematics Teaching (CAMT), an annual meet co-sponsored by the Texas Section of the MAA, designed to improve the knowledge and skills of K-16 mathematics teachers and supervisors statewide.

She has been a professor of mathematics education at Tarleton since 2013.

Left to right: Gavin McIntosh, Aurod Ounsinegad, Dashon Mitchell, Vianey Rangel, Cody Drolet Newsletter Fall 2022 |

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2022 Math Day Celebration At the end of each academic year, the Department of Mathematics celebrates mathematics and faculty and student research at Math Day. For the event, students present their research in

a lightning round format with three-minutes oral presentations. In addition, there is a poster session that launches the day prior to the oral talks. On May 4, 2022, the annual event had 10 poster presentations and 14 undergraduate and graduate students presented 13 research projects during the oral presentation session.

Students must submit a research abstract for review prior to the Math Day presentations. A panel of VIP judges evaluated the oral presentations to aid in the selection of the presentation winners. The panel consisted of a variety of Tarleton administrators, alumni, and friends.

A total of 48 content judges graded the students’ research abstracts. This judging panel was predominantly Tarleton Alumni, and faculty connected with Tarleton, Baylor, and SMU. Scores from their abstracts, poster presentations, people’s choice, and Lightning Talks were used to determine the winners. This year’s winners were: •

First Place - Avery Campbell and Gavin McIntosh for N-Body Modeling of Supraventricular Tachycardias; ✦

•

Second-place - Vianey Rangel and Cody Drolet for Making Unbiased Voting Districts to Pass the “Eyeball Test” Via MCMC Redistricting; ✦

•

Research Mentor: Dr. Bryant Wyatt

Research Mentor: Dr. Scott Cook

Third-place - Trace Patterson for Hiding in Plain Sight – Finding USDA’s Multiply Marginal Producers; ✦

Research Mentor: Dr. Scott Cook

Each student won a monetary award that is made possible from the Bill & Winnie Wyatt Foundation.

Math Day also celebrated other contributions of math students and faculty by presented the following awards: Student Awards Kaylee Terrell - Fall 2021 Outstanding Undergraduate Student Julia Biberdorf - Spring 2022 Outstanding Undergraduate Student Elpida Cervantes - Rose Ann Jackson First-Year Teacher Award Jordan McCain - Pam Littleton Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year Faculty Award Ms. Janice Groseclose - 2022 Timothy L. Flinn Faculty Excellence Award (This award is voted on by faculty to recognize a faculty member for their excellence in the classroom).

It was an exciting day and a great way to end the 2021-2022 school year!

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COSM Faculty Awarded Piper Professor Tarleton State University’s Dr. Daniel Marble has been recognized as a Piper Professor, arguably the most prestigious award for teaching excellence in the state. The award, begun by the Minnie Stevens Piper

Foundation in 1958, annually honors 10 outstanding full-time teachers. It recognizes educators for academic, scientific and scholarly achievement and for dedication to the teaching profession.

Dr. Marble joined the Tarleton faculty in 1998 and has given more than 150 presentations and produced 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals, including Nuclear Instruments and Methods and Physical Review, relating to ion-atom collisions, ion beam characterization of materials, accelerator technology, and science education using accelerators.

“Teaching is about sharing,” he said in the award nomination packet. “If you are passionate about your profession then you want to share that passion with others.

Dr. Daniel Marble, Regents Professor

“Teaching is about sharing, If you are passionate about your profession then you want to share that passion with others.”

“I tell my students that they need to pursue a career that they are passionate about and pursue excellence in that career.

While doing physics is fun, I discovered that my real passion was in the teaching of physics. I was fortunate to have been taught by a nationally recognized physics teacher in college.

He spent time with me and cared about my success in and out of the classroom. It was obvious that he enjoyed what he did for a living and was making a difference in the lives of his students. I decided that I wanted to follow his path and switched from going to medical school to pursuing a PhD and a teaching career.”

Prior to Tarleton, Dr. Marble was a physics Assistant Professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point and a visiting scientist at Materials and Physical Science Directorates of the Army Research Lab.

He earned a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from the University of Houston and both his master’s and PhD degrees in physics and accelerator-based atomic physics from the Dr. Daniel Marble University of North Texas.

He is the Texas Section Representative for the American Association of Physics Teachers. He earned the Tarleton Community of Scholars Award and the Mary Todd Monroe Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers in 2019.

He also has been honored with the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal by the U.S. Army, Tarleton College of Science and Technology Faculty Award for Student Success, Tarleton’s inaugural Faculty Excellence in Scholarship Award, and the Jack and Louise Arthur Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. He was named a Texas A&M University System Regents Professor for the 2020-21 academic year.

A founding member of The Texas A&M University System, Tarleton transforms generations by inspiring discovery, leadership and inclusion through teaching and research. Degree programs for more than 14,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, at RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online emphasize real-world learning that addresses regional needs while sustaining the values of excellence, integrity and respect.

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Scholarship Awards The College of Science and Mathematics Dean’s Office has recently completed scholarship awards for the 2022-2023 academic year with awards to 111 students pursuing a degree in the College. The students received 120 scholarship awards totaling $337,650 in value. Many of these scholarships are supported by

the generous donations of alumni and friends of COSM. The departments in COSM make additional scholarship awards to support students in specific degree programs. All of them make a tremendous impact on the lives of our students and their ability to pursue an advanced degree.

The scholarships include: •

Sue Carlson Memorial Endowed Scholarship

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COSM Dean’s Academic Scholarship

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Dick Smith Scholarship

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Edwin & Wilba Dorsey Scholarship

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Robert C & Patricia A Fain Math & Chemistry Teaching Scholarship

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Farley Family Scholarship

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Tarleton Flame Scholarship

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James Mack Foust Endowed Scholarship

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Joe &Teresa Long Scholarship

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Jimmy J. McCoy Scholarship

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Swan & Gaynelle Richardson Endowed Scholarship

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Spirit of Tarleton Scholarship

•

David & Debbie Stanphill Scholarship

If you would like to support the College of Science and Mathematics or your favorite academic department; gifts can be made online at: GiveToTheCollegeOfScienceAndMathematics.

A gift that impacts the entire College can be made by joining the College of Science and Mathematics’ Dean’s Circle, join today at: COSM Dean’s Circle.

If you have any questions or would like more information about giving to the College of Science and Mathematics or establishing an endowment, please contact the College’s Director of Development, Wayne Davenport at wdavenport@tarleton.edu or call 254-968-1744.

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Giving Back From January 2022 to August 2022, the College of Science and Mathematics benefited from the generous support of many alumni and friends of the College. Gifts like this allow for the support of activities

such as student research, conference travel, equipment purchases, student scholarships, and much more. On behalf of the faculty, staff, and students in the College of Science and Mathematics, we would like to recognize these supporters and thank them for helping us improve the quality of the education and provide enhanced academic experiences for the students in our programs!

THANK YOU! Mr. and Mrs. Phillip G. Adams Mr. and Mrs. William L. Beaty Birdsong Peanuts Corporation Boucher, Morgan & Young, a PC Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Boyd Mrs. April Brickey Mrs. Trina Brosseau Mr. and Mrs. Greg D. Bruner Drs. Ron and Jill Burk Drs. Stan and Linda Carpenter Ms. Antrelle D. Clark Drs. Gerald and Debora Clark Mrs. Marion C. Cole Mr. and Mrs. John B. Collier, IV Ms. Tamara J. Condon Dr. and Mrs. Scott Cook Dr. Joe E. Cude Mrs. Amy Curtis Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Davenport Dr. Sotirios Diamantas Mr. and Mrs. Jerry D. Doyle Dr. Sherill Easterling Ms. Elias Drs. Kenneth R. and Laura L. Estes Mr. and Mrs. Chad A. Evans ExxonMobil Corporation Drs. Thomas and Ellen Faulkenberry Mr. and Mrs. Stephen W. Fitzpatrick Dr. and Mrs. Eddie Garner Dr. Javier Garza Dr. Shaukat N. Goderya

Mrs. Jennifer L. Goedken Mrs. Megan Goodwin Ms. Jane Grimm Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Guerra Mrs. Linda Gunn Ms. Paula J. Harris Mrs. Sheila A. Hawkins Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Honea Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Iley The Honorable Donald R. Jones and Mrs. Jones Mr. and Mrs. Gary S. Key Dr. and Mrs. James C. Kirby Mrs. Koltonuk Dr. Harriet Lamm Dr. and Mrs. William G. Larmer Mrs. Dorothy Lickteig Mr. Stephen Lickteig Dr. Mark Littleton Drs. Mark and Pam Littleton Ms. Alice Liu Mrs. Tammy Lotas Mrs. Jami K. Lovelady Dr. Daniel and Mrs. Kathy Marble Dr. and Mrs. A. Dwain Mayfield Mr. Thomas Mayo Mr. Marshall J. McFarland and Dr. Anne M. McFarland Mrs. McNulty Mrs. Mary B. Moranansky The Honorable James and Mrs. Patrice

Morgan Lt. Col. Jim and Dr. Theresa Mulloy Dr. and Mrs. Allan D. Nelson Ms. Sharon I. Offer Dr. Donna D. Ohnmeiss Petroleum Experts, Inc Dr. and Mrs. Ted M. Pettijohn Ms. Tavanna D. Prince Mrs. Kimberly Reed Mr. Dale A. Roemer Mr. and Mrs. Justin K. Russell Dr. and Mrs. Max Sanderford Mr. Quinton E. Sanders Ms. Schielack Mr. Colton T. Sheffield Mr. Shelton Mr. Russell and Dr. Katherine Smith Dr. and Mrs. L. Dwayne Snider Mrs. Ginger D. Standridge Ms. Linda Stewart Mr. and Mrs. Trent B. Swearengin Mr. and Mrs. Ronald C. Tate Ms. Alisa Terrell Starbird Up Your Assets Investment Club Dr. and Mrs. Rueben H. Walter Mr. Brian and Dr. Renee Warner Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Weyers Dr. Bryant Wyatt and Mrs. Madhur Wyatt XSEDE Mr. and Mrs. James E. Young

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1333 W. Washington Stephenville, TX 76402 254.968.9781 tarleton.edu/cosm