UND Discovery Magazine

UNIVERSIT Y OF NORTH DAKOTA

DISCOVERY Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity

– UAS + BIG DATA = JOBS – Collecting Dreams

SPRING 2017

UND Research historical photo: Argentine aerospace engineer and UND Space Studies faculty member Pablo de León conducts research in 2011 at Argentina’s Marambio Station in Antarctica with his NDX-1 planetary exploration suit—built by UND students (the blue protective outer layer was sewn by former Theatre Arts costumer Lynn Liepold). Inside the suit is Margarita “Mars” Marinova, from NASA’s Ames Research Center.

“It was the first time ever that a space suit was tested in Antarctica,” said de León, who now is working with students on a fully integrated planetary exploration system—including next generation suits—with a NASA three year $750,000 grant to expand UND’s Inflatable Lunar Mars Habitat. photo courtesy of Pablo de León

In the biosciences, two clinician-researchers and an epidemiologist work on problems that affect North Dakota: Jau Shin Lou, MD, PhD, MBA, researches a dynamic therapy for Parkinson’s; Donald Jurivich, DO, looks at Alzheimer’s, among other neurodegenerative conditions that affect primarily our seniors; and Gary Schwartz, PhD, PhD (that’s right—two doctorate degrees), probes new ways to evaluate cancer occurrence.

Eric Burin, Department of History, and his colleague Bill Caraher, knocked out an excellent book in five weeks following the most recent election that details the mechanics of the Electoral College. The online book “Picking the President” is free, at Grand Forks City official Pete Haga, left, talks with UND’s Grant McGimpsey, Vice President for Research & Econo-mic Development, at a UAS air show.

https://thedigitalpres.org.

“As a scientist myself, I find these and many other UND research stories endlessly fascinating, but I’m particularly interested in

Publisher’s Note This edition of UND Discovery examines how scientists like David Delene, Atmospheric Sciences, extract actionable information from the ever-deepening Big Data mine.

how this all impacts our students,” says McGimpsey.

For example, Nicole Stone, raised on a dairy farm in rural Minnesota, learned to value hard work and personal discipline, applying those skills to a degree in atmospheric sciences.

Nicole—network engineer for the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN)—says her favorite part of college was the hands-on research projects—some aboard a research

Our social scientists break new paths, too. Social Work faculty

jet. She’s responsible for maintaining and repairing NDAWN’s 84

members Carenlee Barkdull and Melanie Sage, along with the

remote weather stations, vital to the state’s farm community.

North Dakota Supreme Court, discover ways to improve services

Every story we tell is about UND’s commitment to real-world

to Native American children. They also help tribal leaders under-

challenges that affect North Dakotans—health issues such as

stand how research works and how to develop research-based

Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and cancer; cleaner burning fuels; bet-

resources to positively impact their lives.

ter ways to build engines; and improving delivery of services.

In Engineering, Surojit Gupta aims to eliminate the need for oil

We help create vital employment opportunities in North

in engines—the US Army funds that research, anticipating big

Dakota—in medicine and allied health professions; in law

cost savings.

and engineering, to name a handful. We embrace our mission

We also look at the College of Engineering and Mines’ Collabo-

because we value what research is all about. But we also really

rative Energy Complex, where Daniel Laudal and his team work

enjoy—and get lots of satisfaction from—research, scholarship

promisingly on carbon emissions control.

and creative activities!

02

SPRING 2017

UND Discovery TABLE OF CONTENTS

UNIVERSIT Y OF NORTH DAKOTA

DISCOVERY Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity

4

Opportunity Engine

5

Big Data Hub

7

UAS + Big Data

11

Collecting Dreams

12

Carbon Collaboration

14

Slippery When Dry

16

Gender Genetics

President Mark Kennedy

Midwest Partnerships

President Mark Kennedy

Social Work Faculty Members Carenlee Barkdull and Melanie Sage

EERC Public-Private Partnership

Surojit Gupta and student team

Biologist Turk Rhen

17

Carbon Cleanup

18

Indian Gaming

20

Good Atmosphere

22

Real Therapy

25

Kids First

26

They’re Everywhere

29

Red Sand Project

UND Engineer and Colleagues

Law School Dean Kathryn Rand and Associate VP for Academic Affairs Steve Light

Atmospheric Scientist David Delene

UND Biomedical Researchers

UND Health Researcher Larry Burd

Communications Faculty Members Joonghwa Lee and Soojung Kim

Historian Nikki Berg Burin

Publisher Grant McGimpsey Vice President for Research & Economic Development University of North Dakota

Co-editors

30 31

Stop The Abuse Rural Health Researcher Jacque Gray

Deb Pedraza Juan Pedraza STEMflash Media LLC

Designers

Going Viral UND Bioscientist Barry Milavetz

Lindsey Brammell UND, Assistant Professor of Graphic and Web Design The Lab Design Studio Alyssa Tweed UND Department of Art & Design, GDNAM program

32

Oh, Deer!

33

Herd Mentality?

33

Make It National

34

Get Going!

UND Kinesiologist Grant Tomkinson

Photography

35

Electoral Divide

Rob Carolin Jackie Lorentz Juan Pedraza Shawna Schill Wanda Weber

36

Tree Fuel

37

UND Biologist Jason Boulanger

Grad Student Jacqueline Amor

Chemical Engineering Professor Wayne Seames

UND History Faculty Eric Burin and Bill Caraher

Student Chemist Anastasia Artemyeva and Professor Alena Kubátová

Up and at ‘em!

UND Alum Nicole Stone

Heather Schuler UND Department of Art & Design, GDNAM program

Writers David Dodds Kaylee Cusack Matt Eidson Denis MacLeod Amanda Menzies Deb Pedraza Juan Pedraza Derek Walters

Cover Art Olivia Bain

UND Discovery is published by the Office of the Vice President for Research & Economic Development. Please send inquiries and comments to the Office of the Vice President for Research & Economic Development, University of North Dakota, 264 Centennial Dr., Stop 8367, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8367. UND is an equal opportunity/ affirmative action institution.

UND Discovery OPPORTUNIT Y ENGINE

04

photo credit Shawna Schill

He noted his first job at 14 was plucking strawberries for 25 cents a quart—“…our team is willing to work hard, and we want to extend a hand to the Legislature and to the state to say we look forward to working together to build an even greater UND and an even greater North Dakota.”

Kennedy said UND is the chief opportunity engine for North Dakota—as the state’s flagship university, UND delivers opportunities by growing the talent needed to fuel the economy, he said.

UND President Mark Kennedy UND can help diversify our economy.

UND—collaborating with private and public sectors on research and job growth—also is a key driver in diversifying the state’s economy to depend less on oil and grain prices. The University

PRESIDENT MARK KENNEDY: UND SPURS JOB GROW TH

focuses on a number of what Kennedy refers to as “Grand Chal-

Opportunity Engine

lenges,” such as energy security and sustainability; healthcare delivery in rural areas; management and security of information technology in the era of Big Data; and continued innovation in unmanned systems.

“Having research-informed teaching is what makes going to a research institution unique,” Kennedy said. “We take this role of having the kind of research that will drive economic diversity very seriously so the state isn’t so dependent on oil and grain prices.”

By David Dodds, UND Today editor

UND’s research enterprise is a bargain, Kennedy said—in 2016,

UND President Mark Kennedy recently made a pre-

every $1 in research funding that UND got from the state brought

sentation to members of the Senate Appropriations

in $6 from other external sources, creating $146 million in eco-

Committee, referring to pictures in the committee

nomic impact.

room: an onion harvest; and strawberry pickers. His

“We would suggest that there is no other institution in the state

testimony addressed Senate Bill 2003 funding the

that matches that,” Kennedy said. “ This is an important area to

University System in the next biennium.

continue to nurture.”

“As we think about the budget numbers before us and the cuts

Kennedy also applauded the legislature for supporting match-

(UND) has already taken — about $30 million last cycle — it could,

ing programs over the last two biennia that raised money for

like when cutting onions, bring tears to your eyes,” Kennedy

much-needed student scholarships and faculty support—UND

said. “But rather than cry before you today, I would rather cel-

has used the state’s Challenge Fund to raise about $33 million in

ebrate the things that you and your predecessors have done for

private donations, matched with $16.5 million in state support.

us — founding and investing in UND.”

UND Discovery BIG DATA HUB

MIDWEST PARTNERSHIP HOSTS BIG DATA AGRICULTURE SPOKE

Big Data Hub

05

“ This is unequivocal testimony from the federal government that UND can lead Big Data efforts,” said Grant McGimpsey , UND Vice President for Research & Economic Development and co-PI on the NSF Midwest Big Data Hub award.

The grant’s co-PIs are as follows, in alphabetical order: Jennifer Clarke, director, Computational Quantitative Life Sciences Initiative, and associate professor, Food Science and Technology Department and Statistics, University of Nebraska Lincoln Joe Colletti, senior associate dean, College of Agriculture and

By Juan Pedraza

The University of North Dakota (UND), in partnership with Iowa State University, Kansas State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is collaborating in a multi-institution Digital Agriculture Spoke grant of approximately $1 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The purpose: foster collaborative relationships among Midwestern agricultural and Big Data constituencies.

Life Sciences, Iowa State University Natural Resource and Ecology Management; Colletti also is lead for the Digital Agriculture Spoke project.

Travis Desell, assistant professor, Computer Science, UND John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences.

Gregory E. Monaco, director for research and cyberinfrastructure initiatives, Great Plains Network, and research associate professor, Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University.

As noted in the Midwest Big Data Hub’s own home page, the

According to the NSF grant announcement, the award totals

Midwest is vital to global agricultural production. The Midwest’s

$10 million to 10 “Big Data Spokes” to initiate research on specific

agriculture sector is a key player in the regional and the national

topics identified by the Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs.

economy.

Project topics range from precision agriculture to personalized

Farmers, landowners, governments and other entities in the

education. The data spokes reflect the unique priorities and ca-

region now can access data from a spectrum of agricultural ac-

pabilities of the four NSF-funded Big Data Hubs, which represent

tivities—these data are gathered from sensors in farm and

consortia from the Midwest, Northeast, South and West of the

related equipment, aerial imagery, survey data, management

country. The 12-state Midwest Big Data Hub, based at the Univer-

and policy models and other sources.

sity of Illinois, is one of these four. “ The Big Data Spokes advance the goals and regional priorities of

The Midwest Big Data Hub Digital Agriculture Spoke will help collaborators across institutions to build partnerships to address

each Big Data Hub, fusing the strengths of a range of institutions

emerging issues, such as precision agriculture, ecosystem man-

and investigators and applying them to problems that affect

agement and services, socio-economic impacts, and specific

the communities and populations within their regions,” said Jim

data-related issues. The NSF Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs

Kurose, assistant director of NSF’s Computer and Information

aim to encourage multi-sector collaborations among academia,

Science and Engineering Directorate, in the NSF release.

industry and government.

UND President Mark Kennedy addresses UAS Summit 2016. photo credit Jackie Lorentz

UND Discovery UAS + BIG DATA

07

UND PRESIDENT MARK KENNEDY SUPPORTS DIVERSIFICATION

UAS + Big Data

By Brian Johnson

here because we are the No. 1 aviation university in the country.

UND President Mark Kennedy says when it comes to

That’s where it all began.”

diversifying the state’s economy away from wide

Kennedy said more — not less — investment in this surging area

swings in oil and farm product prices, the future lies

of technology makes sense for North Dakota, especially in a

elsewhere with industries in which UND already has a strong foothold.

“UND had a bit of a hand in helping to spark the last oil boom, and we’re as likely to be the ones to help spark the next as any

down economy.

Tom Ford, head of the local Base Realignment Impact Committee, says that UND’s aviation legacy already has had a major economic impact on the region and state.

because of our research on extracting that energy at a lower

When the Grand Forks Air Force Base lost its KC-135 tanker mis-

cost with less environmental impact,” Kennedy told a gathering

sion in 2005, there was fear that Grand Forks eventually would

of UND alumni and friends in Bismarck recently.

lose the entire base, which in its prime had a $600 million annual

“But if you’re really going to think broadly about what a univer-

impact on the economy, Ford said.

sity does for a state, particularly a state that has become overly

Within one year of the lost tanker mission, a new focus arose at

dependent on oil and soil, we need universities like the Universi-

the base: drones. About the same time, UND was named as a U.S.

ty of North Dakota to diversify the economy,” Kennedy said.

Department of Defense Center of Excellence for UAV Education,

“Our goal is to be the chief opportunity engine for the state of North Dakota. We are the ones that can nurture economic diversity,” he said.

UAS and Big Data to help strengthen ND economy Kennedy pointed squarely to opportunities that exist in North Dakota because of the pioneering efforts in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) at UND. “Why is the UAS industry here in North Dakota?” Kennedy quizzed the gathering. “Sometimes people forget that … it’s

now called the Center for UAS Research, Education and Training.

“UAS technology was starting to take off, and the Air Force was the main user of that emerging technology,” Ford said. “North Dakota was looked at as a possible test site (for that technology), and part of that was because we had a renowned aviation school at UND.” Big business When Matt Dunlevy was looking to start a new business a few years back, the UND alum saw a major opportunity in the UAS industry because of the support he found around UND and in

UND Discovery UAS + BIG DATA

08

The project was a good fit for Elbit Systems, which had been looking at the commercial possibilities for its Hermes 450 UAS platform. That opportunity evolved out of Research ND, a state program connecting businesses with university researchers.

UND and UND-affiliated UAS entities also are collaborating with industry giants such as Northrop Grumman and General Atomics in the new Grand Sky UAS Business and Aviation Park. Located adjacent to the Grand Forks Air Force Base, the park is a first of its kind in the United States.

“UND will be an asset to them,” said Nick Flom, director of the Northern Plains UAS Test Site at UND. “Everybody feeds off of each other. It’s like a cluster.”

North Dakota. Today he’s president and CEO of Grand Forks-

So much data

based SkySkopes, a UAS service company that specializes in

President Kennedy said the UAS industry is built around collect-

aerial inspections. SkySkopes now employs 25 people full-time

ing data. And with each terabyte collected, there is a need to

and part-time, all except one are UND alums or current students.

store, secure and process it into actionable information that

“One of the reasons we’re able to thrive is being able to rely on the education our UAS pilots are getting from UND,” Dunlevy said.

And as Dunlevy proves, diversifying an economy with unmanned technology doesn’t mean oil and soil aren’t still part of the equation. Business has been so good for his UND spinoff that

clients can use. However, many UAS companies doing business in North Dakota send that data to places like Boston, Austin, Texas, and Palo Alto, Calif., for analyzing.

That’s a trend that needs to be reversed, Kennedy said.

“We want them to be keeping it right here in North Dakota,”

he recently opened an office in Minot, N.D., near the oil-rich

Kennedy said.

Bakken Formation of western North Dakota.

According to UND computer scientist Travis Desell, that’s where

“UAS can be used in the oil industry for asset inspections — pipelines, rigs, pump jacks, all that,” Dunlevy said. “Using UAS instead

the gold is — and where the jobs are. “ There is real potential to build a thriving industry around getting

of traditional inspection methods saves the oil industry on the

information out of that data,” Desell said. “Do we want to hold

mandated inspection costs that they have to pay, no matter what.”

the data here and then ship it off to California so other compa-

Dunlevy’s company also is involved in precision agriculture,

nies can make all the money figuring out what’s in it? Why don’t

which is another breakthrough market for UAS growth in

we do it here?”

North Dakota.

With so much raw data being collected in the state through UAS,

SkySkopes also is busy working with the utility industry, inspect-

he said there would be a massive demand for data scientists in

ing power lines in collaboration with Israel-based Elbit Systems

North Dakota.

and Excel Energy.

UND Discovery UAS + BIG DATA

09

photo credit Juan Pedraza

With so much raw data being collected in the state through UAS, there will be a massive demand for data scientists in North Dakota.

“It’s the driving force behind all of this advancement nowadays,” Desell said. “Of all the industries that can help drive our economy, I think this is potentially one of the biggest.”

That was underscored bigtime at a recent Drone Biz lunch-hour presentation in Grand Forks, hosted by the Grand Forks Region Economic Development agency: officials from RDO Equipment Co., who were the keynote presenters, noted that their company’s UAS operations nationwide now account for about 100 employees—and that enterprise grows daily.

10

UND Discovery ARTICLE NAME

Department of Social Work faculty members Carenlee Barkdull, left, and Melanie Sage photo credit Juan Pedraza

UND Discovery COLLECTING DREAMS

CARENLEE BARKDULL AND MEL ANIE SAGE

Collecting Dreams

11

“Good communication is needed regarding policies and practices between the child welfare agencies, courts, tribal social services agencies, and tribal courts,” said Sage, a native of Fontana, Calif. (near Los Angeles). “All stakeholders need to work together so everyone knows who is responsible—who does what, under what mandated timelines, how cases get moved, and what information can be shared.”

Researchers in the UND Department of Social Work

It also involved getting the North Dakota Supreme Court to sign off on accessing these records, approaching and getting tribal

By Juan Pedraza and Deb Pedraza

“Collecting Dreams” is a key part of their strategy under a new five year federal Department of Health &

resolutions passed to support this effort, and obtaining letters of support from individuals, including U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp.

After countless surveys and conversations with their stakeholders, the researchers collected the dreams: solutions envisaged

Human Services grant—$2.4 million over five years—to

by the tribes, including better communication and training and

focus on research related to the Indian Child Welfare

more relationship-building—these all made their way into the

Act (ICWA).

plan for the federal grant proposal.

Building on three years of collaboration with the North Dakota

Sage says she chose to work at UND because she wanted to be

Supreme Court—gathering information, building relationships

on the ground doing practical work that changed communities

with stakeholders, and involving many road trips and countless

rather than in a research lab, writing papers and conducting

hours gathering and interpreting data—Barkdull and Sage aim to

secondary data analyses.

help improve services to Native children under the act.

Barkdull, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, did applied research

Why is this research vital?

with indigenous communities in Colorado and Utah as a doctoral

The researchers note that Native American children are overrep-

student. An opportunity to continue to partner with American

resented in foster care despite ICWA protections, and that rate

Indian communities was a major inducement to take a position

continues to rise, while the rate of all other children of color has

at UND 12 years ago.

decreased.

To plan for this grant, Barkdull and Sage “collected the dreams” of the communities served under the ICWA—getting to understand their needs and preferences. Among other findings: North Dakota leads the nation in defining ICWA model practices. It’s also the first state to assess every ICWA-related case in the state.

The grant will help Barkdull and Sage, along with their collaborators including students, partner with tribes to learn about what happens after tribes are notified about a case in state court.

Native American children are overrepresented in foster care

UND Discovery CARBON COLL ABORATION

12

EERC PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FOCUSES ON CO 2 STOR AGE

Carbon Collaboration

Project participant and cosponsor Hitachi High Technologies America, Inc., will work with the EERC to improve the data processing and image analysis within the FESEM software.

“One of the key challenges in estimating CO 2 storage capacity in organic-rich shale is that the analytical equipment and methods used to evaluate conventional reservoirs are limited when applied to shales that require analysis at such a small scale.

Hitachi’s technology and image analysis expertise will greatly improve our ability to efficiently identify and quantify key fea-

By Derek Walters EERC Senior Marketing Communications Specialist

tures of interest within the shales and other tight rocks.”

“Working with the EERC offers an exciting opportunity to utilize

The UND Energy & Environmental Research Center

and develop Hitachi electron imaging technologies for the

(EERC), a global leader in solving energy and environ-

advanced characterization of unconventional reservoirs,” said

mental challenges, is working with the Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and Hitachi High Technologies America, Inc., to improve assessment methods for estimating the storage capacity of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in tight

Chad Ostrander, VP/GM of Hitachi High-Technologies Canada, Inc. “ The potential technology improvements offer both environmental and economic benefits on a global scale, and Hitachi is pleased to be part of this initiative.”

The effects of CO 2 exposure on shale samples will also be analyzed by scientists at NETL’s CT Scanning Lab in Morgantown,

shale formations, such as the Bakken. The project is

W.V. NETL staff will also be involved to ensure that the project

funded by NETL with cost share provided by Hitachi.

supports the goals of the Carbon Storage Program, which aims

“Although significant progress has been made globally to inves-

to improve the ability to predict CO 2 storage capacity in geologic

tigate the suitability of subsurface geologic sinks for CO 2 stor-

formations to within ±30%.

age, there is a lack of detailed geologic and petrophysical data

About the UND EERC

needed to develop better techniques for assessing CO 2 storage

The UND Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) is a

resources within unconventional formations,” said Bethany Kurz,

world leader in developing cleaner, more efficient energy and

EERC Principal Hydrogeologist, Laboratory Analysis Group Lead.

environmental technologies to protect and clean our air, water,

EERC researchers will develop advanced analytical techniques

and soil. The EERC, a high-tech, nonprofit division of the Univer-

to better quantify the distribution of clay minerals, organics,

sity of North Dakota, operates like a business and pursues an

pore networks, and fractures in representative shale and tight

entrepreneurial, market-driven approach in order to successful-

rock samples. The analytical methods will be developed us-

ly demonstrate and commercialize innovative technologies.

ing imagery collected from a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), which provides the high-resolution images necessary for detection and characterization of the formation.

photo credit EERC

EERC researchers will develop advanced analytical techniques to better quantify the distribution of clay minerals, organics, pore networks, and fractures in representative shale and tight rock samples.

UND Discovery SLIPPERY WHEN DRY

14

UNIVERSIT Y & PUBLIC AFFAIRS STUDENT WRITERS

Slippery When Dry

In addition to meeting Uncle Sam’s needs, these materials also might be used for numerous civilian applications.

Gupta was invited by UND last year to be part of the Featured Scholar series, which recognizes faculty researchers whose recent work has had an important impact on their professional field and has brought positive exposure to the University.

Gupta has served as adjunct professor at the Henan Polytechnic University in China. He has published more than 40 papers, has six patents (granted and pending-in the United States and inter-

By Matt Eidson and Amanda Menzies

Suroijt Gupta is re-envisioning the modern engine.

Gupta is a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering & Mines. He recently started a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the U.S. Army Research Lab worth about $360,000 over three years. Under the agreement, Gupta and his team of gradu-

nationally), and has given 15 invited keynote talks and more than 50 contributed presentations in several international, national and local conferences.

Gupta has been an active member of the American Ceramics Society and has chaired many sessions in recent conferences on materials science and engineering. He has also actively organized or co-organized several conferences.

ate students will help the Army create self-lubricating materials

Gupta’s academic journey before arriving at UND included a stint

and high-temperature propulsion systems.

as a researcher at Rutgers University. He also provided tech-

Part 1 of the project is to design solid lubricant materials. The materials will withstand higher temperatures than current designs, eliminating the need for liquid lubricants.

Part 2 involves designing high-temperature materials for high-powered turbines. Turbines are manufactured with nickel-based alloys, which have lower functional temperatures.

Though it’s too early to say how long the novel materials would last, Gupta says, the revolutionary materials he and his team are working on will last a lot longer than machinery that uses petroleum-based lubricants. Added bonus: oil-free engines will be environmentally friendlier.

“As you can imagine, if you eliminate oil from machinery you can reduce the costs substantially,” says Gupta, who received the 2016 Global Young Investigator Award at an international conference in Florida.

nical support to a start-up company. Prior to that, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Pennsylvania State University, where he developed mathematical models to understand the manufacturing process of honeycomb ceramics.

Gupta finished his doctoral studies at Drexel University.

“One of my favorite parts of teaching is the hands-on approach, such as experimenting in the lab,” Gupta said. “I also really enjoy getting to know and interacting with students. I want to help them succeed in whatever they do.”

“Research is a lot of hard work, and if your work gets recognized it is very fulfilling,” said Gupta.

Engineering faculty memberSurojit Gupta photo credit Jackie Lorentz

“As you can imagine, if you eliminate oil from machinery you can reduce the costs substantially,� says Gupta, who was named 2016 Global Young Investigator Award recipient at an international conference in Florida.

UND Discovery GENDER GENETICS

16

photo credit Jackie Lorentz

Biology faculty member Turk Rhen in his lab

BIOLOGIST TURK RHEN: SEX DETERMINATION RUNS HOT, COLD

Gender Genetics

First reported 50 years ago, temperature-linked sex determination has been proven for some creatures—fish and crocodiles, for example.

“But nobody has found the genes that sense temperature and convert it into a signal for the embryonic gonads to develop into testes or ovaries,” said Rhen. That’s what he’s looking for.

His interest in sex determination started when he was an undergraduate at UND. Now he mentors students and encourages careers in science.

By Juan Pedraza

“My past NSF and National Institutes of Health grants have

UND biologist Turk Rhen investigates the mystery of

provided extended research experiences for a large number of

sex differentiation.

undergraduates at UND,” Rhen said. “ These experiences were

Rhen received $820,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research titled “Epigenomic Analysis of Temperaturedependent Sex Determination.” The purpose: how undifferentiated gonads—sex glands—develop into male testes or female ovaries.

critical for many of my students to go on to become physicians and PhDs.”

UND Discovery CARBON CLEANUP

17

photo credit Juan Pedraza

Dan Laudal UND College of Engineering & Mines.

UND ENGINEER AND COLLEAGUES ADVANCE CARBON-CAPTURE

Carbon Cleanup

The technology they’re working on separates CO 2 from the gas stream emitted from a coal-fired plant. They then produce a stream of pure CO 2 that can be permanently stored underground or used for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

“We’re researching more efficient ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in coal-fired electric power generation,” said Laudal, whose dad Dennis retired two years ago from the UND Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) after a 37-year career.

Daniel worked there for four years after finishing his chemical

by Juan Pedraza

Dan Laudal and Kirtipal Barse recently received a grant from Envergex LLC — a green energy compa-

engineering degree at UND in 2006.

“A big problem with current systems is that in coal combustion there are inorganic substances in the coal: sulfur, potassium, sodium, etc., that, when burned, produce minute particles

ny — to study more efficient ways to capture carbon

(1 millionth of a meter),” said Laudal. “When these particles trav-

dioxide (CO 2 ). It’s one of several grants that Laudal

el into post-combustion CO 2 capture systems used to ‘scrub’ the

and his teammates are working on. Their aim: cleaner

flue gases, they cause many problems.”

energy, cleaner air.

UND Discovery INDIAN GAMING

18

T WO UND LE ADERS FOCUS ON TR ANSL ATIONAL RESEARCH

Indian Gaming

Their latest emphasis is on building bridges: between industry and government, with other universities, and within the field of gambling studies.

“Our research is translational,” says Light. “It’s had a practical application in the field, informing legal strategies, public policy, regulations, and court decisions,” adds Rand. “Now we’re focusing on outreach to industry and other gaming centers.”

Their latest efforts include a new edition of their widely known book: “Indian Gaming Law and Policy,” which is used as a foun-

By Juan Pedraza

In a team effort spanning more than two decades of research—including authoring three of the field’s leading texts—Kathryn Rand and Steve Light have sealed a reputation as top international experts in

dational text in courses across the nation, including their own team-taught effort at UND, alongside their legal casebook and now-classic first text, for which they were featured on C-SPAN’s “Book TV.” They recently were named founding members of the Academic Council at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ International

Indian gaming and related law and policy.

Gaming Regulation Center, which seeks to promote best practic-

Rand, dean of the UND School of Law, and Light, professor of po-

es worldwide.

litical science and UND’s associate vice president for academic

affairs, manage multifaceted careers in research, teaching, and academic administration.

It’s a big challenge, but one they embrace.

“We enjoy maintaining an active research agenda and staying engaged in the classroom—it keeps us in tune with faculty experiences and student interests,” says Light.

Rand and Light’s research partnership addresses issues in an $80 billion industry, including $29 billion in Indian gaming revenue generated by some 240 tribes in 28 states.

In fact, the research partners note, their work in this area is less about tribal gaming alone than the gaming industry in general,

“We’re seeing gaming in virtually every jurisdiction imaginable. The industry aims for regulation that ensures integrity of the games across the globe.”

UND School of Law Dean Kathryn Rand “A key question we aim to answer in our research is where new

which spans myriad sectors: contracting, construction, finance,

developments fit, especially for millennials and Generation

hospitality, retail, technology, tourism, and more, and involves

Z,” Light says. Among them: eSports and massive multi-player

multiple policy dimensions, from crime control and public

online role-playing games, virtual and augmented reality, daily

health to regulation and taxation.

fantasy sports, and the rise of the integrated resort, in which non-gaming experiences are more important than gaming itself.

UND Discovery INDIAN GAMING

19

photo credit Rob Carolin

Rand was recently tapped for a leadership role within the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section focused on gaming law, including coordinating a blue-ribbon panel on the next major expansion of the industry to Massachusetts. And at this year’s Global Gaming Expo, Light was invited to address the role of political appointees in determining the business and regulatory environment following the 2016 election.

Rand and Light published the first of their collaborative interdisciplinary research projects in 1996. Since then they’ve been cited not only by other scholars but also by federal and state courts, in briefs filed by lawyers, and in testimony to public regulatory agencies and the U.S. Senate.

“We got in on the ground floor of an entirely new academic field, and it’s been exciting to see ‘gaming studies’ translated to ‘the real world.’”

UND Associate VP for Academic Affairs Steven Light

UND Discovery GOOD ATMOSPHERE

20

photo credit Juan Pedraza

UND Aerospace research faculty member David Delene in his lab

DAVID DELENE’S COMPUTING PROWESS PROBES THE CLOUDS

Good Atmosphere

Delene is a research associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences—part of the UND John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences (UND Aerospace)—and he asks a lot of research questions about atmospheric aerosols, cloud physics, and weather modification, among many other related interests.

He’s also working with unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, another key component of the UND Aerospace lineup of majors and research areas. His interest in UAS: programming sensors or writing software that can help these devices do significant atmo-

By Juan Pedraza

spheric research. He’s currently working on a prototype to be carried aloft by a UAS that will look in greater details at the types

Ask about weather, UND atmospheric scientist David

of particles around which raindrops form. Many such particles

Delene talks deep.

also are part of air pollution, so studying them more closely is

Delene, a mathematics whiz who knows—and uses—at least

vital work.

seven computer languages, also is a master of the hardware he often builds for his cloud and weather-related research.

UND Discovery GOOD ATMOSPHERE

21

Another project is looking at weather modification techniques

Another big part of Big Data is how to extract from the useful

and how to combine them with measurements taken by instru-

data information that’s actionable.

ments aboard a UAS. “My interest is in how to combine UAS with making accurate at-

“In other words, we’re looking to make sense of what we have in the data, to answer the question, ‘what do the data mean,’ and

mospheric measurements,” said Delene. Whatever their purpose,

what do we do with the data once we know that,” Delene says.

he says, they’ll generate a lot of data.

It’s a globally pressing question that Delene is working to ad-

Delene, trained as a physicist in his undergrad degree, received

dress. He’s one of the organizers for an international workshop

his Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Wyo-

in Germany this coming summer on software to analyze data

ming and worked for a spell in climate modeling at the National

gathered from UAS and other aircraft.

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory in Colorado.

After coming to UND, he spent much of his time developing software for the instruments aboard UND’s research jet (recently sold to a Fargo-based weather modification company).

“ The world’s top cloud physicists will be there,” Delene said.

And how do he and his colleagues do all this?

“Programming is the tool,” said Delene, who often writes pages of computer code to perform specified tasks in his research. “You can’t do it any other way; it takes several months to create a

Field research has taken Delene—including missions in the jet—

program but only a couple of hours to analyze data that enabled

across the globe.

plotting of points.”

“We’ve developed instruments for UAS, tying together UND’s interests in engineering, atmospheric sciences, aerospace,” said Delene. The instrument—still in the prototype stage—was built to measure particles that cloud droplets form on.

Delene recommends that students—from early on in their education—learn to program.

“Computer code is all around us,” he says. “It’s pushing all the information together and making sense of it.”

“It needs more work,” he said. “Basically we’re interested in UAS as sensor platforms that will be able to take much more accurate measurements in the atmosphere—and that means collecting a lot of data.”

Big Data connection Delene’s research now generates tons of information.

“One probe on one short pass can gather 85,000 data points,” said Delene, who’s spent a lot of time in the research jet flying in and around storms in locations such as Alaska.

“Over a whole flight, we may see a couple of million data points,” Delene said. “ The question we ask, of course, is how much of the data actually are useful—there’s a lot of redundant information in such a collection and it’s our job to tease out what’s important and useful from all the repetitions.”

“My interest is in how to combine UAS with making accurate atmospheric measurements.”

UND Atmospheric Scientist David Delene

UND Discovery REAL THERAPY

22

UND BIOMEDICAL RESEARCHERS TR ACK DOWN SOLUTIONS

Real Therapy

Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases; in issues affecting Baby Boomers; and of cancers that commonly strike North Dakotans.

UND SMHS has been awarded $30 million over the last 10 years to advance investigations into diseases of the brain. Several other federal grants fund research in cancer, diabetes, eating disorders, alcoholism and many other diseases of both national interest and of special concern in North Dakota.

Several dozen researchers at SMHS work across this spectrum,

By Deb Pedraza and Juan Pedraza

It’s the top biomedical research establishment in North Dakota—leading the region in efforts to directly address the state’s major health issues.

tackling solutions, not just the causes, of such diseases. Scientists call it “translational research” and it means more therapies sooner reaching the bedside.

We focus in this article on the work of three people (in alphabetical order) at SMHS:

The University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health

Donald Jurivich, DO (doctor of osteopathy), an expert on health

Sciences (SMHS) is home to research into, among other areas,

challenges among older people.

School of Medicine & Health Sciences faculty members, left to right, Gary Schwartz, Donald Jurivich, and Jau-Shin Lou

photo credit Wanda Weber

UND Discovery REAL THERAPY

23

Jau-Shin Lou, MD, PhD, MBA, Chair of neurology at both UND

Because stress proteins resemble antibodies, vaccination

SMHS and at Sanford Health in Fargo and an expert in neurode-

against amyloid is considered another possible therapy for

generative diseases.

Alzheimer’s. Recent research that targets people genetically

Gary Schwartz, PhD, PhD, (yes, he has two doctoral degrees) an

destined to get Alzheimer’s indicates this treatment may prevent

epidemiologist and expert in the causes, triggers, history and

the onset of familial/genetically inherited Alzheimer’s before

distribution of various cancers.

symptoms appear. Once diagnosed, Alzheimer’s patients have

Who is Donald Jurivich

an eight to 12 year life expectancy.

Donald Jurivich, DO, is the founding Eva L. Gilbertson, MD, Dis-

Dementia in general is a collection of different etiologies. Alz-

tinguished Chair of Geriatrics at SMHS. He is a nationally known

heimer’s has a specific pathology, identified by plaques and

clinician. A Harvard University graduate, Jurivich focuses on

tangles found in brain biopsies. The parts of the brain destroyed

chronic ailments of the aged, including Alzheimer’s disease.

by disease varies with each patient. Short-term memory loss

All of his research is collaborative—he works with faculty and institutional leaders in the Department of Geriatrics, which develops and provides oversight of education, research, clinical care, training, and service programs. Jurivich works with clinical

and spatial awareness issues are some of the challenges that patients and their families must deal with—when to pull a driver’s license, take control of banking, make alternative living arrangements, and related life-altering decisions.

partners to educate and train current and future health profes-

The good news, says Jurivich, is that simple things like adequate

sionals to serve an aging population.

exercise and proper nutrition such as the Mediterranean

Jurivich believes he and his research associates have found a clue to the mystery of Alzheimer’s. This is important to North

diet may promote these longevity factors and strengthen our resiliency.

Dakota, which has an above-average life expectancy resulting in

Who is Jau-Shin Lou, MD, PhD, MBA

a greater proportion of senior citizens and elders, according to

A prominent neurologist, he’s founding chair of the Dr. Roger

Joshua Wynne, MD, MBA, MPH, UND vice president for health af-

Gilbertson Endowed Chair of Neurology at the SMHS and chair of

fairs and dean of the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

neurology at Sanford Health, Fargo. He’s a clinician with a grow-

Jurivich’s most recent discovery appears to be a stress protein that is important in the regulation of amyloid—a starch-like protein naturally found in the body that sometimes gets processed the wrong way and accumulates. This aggregated form is thought to be toxic.

Jurivich studies the “master switch” of these stress proteins called HSF1 and notes that this is also thought to be a longevity factor that declines with age and even more so with Alzheimer’s.

ing practice at his Fargo-based neurology practice and an active researcher, delving into new and advanced therapies to treat Parkinson’s. He was voted one of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Doctors 2011–12. In addition to his clinical practice and research, Lou teaches medical students and post-MD residents.

In its declaration of Parkinson’s Awareness Day last spring, the N.D. Governor’s office noted that Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the United States, affecting as many as 1.5 million people annually and rising. Par-

Thus, he says, this new observation may be the first opportunity

kinson’s, the 14th leading cause of death, costs the country $14

to explore a test for an individual’s risk for developing Alzhei-

billion or more.

mer’s, as well as determining effectiveness of treatments by monitoring HSF1 levels in white blood cells.

UND Discovery REAL THERAPY

24

North Dakota is third in the nation for per capita incidence of

he said. “Most of these masses are not cancer, but the ones that

Parkinson’s—making Jau-Shin Lou’s research program into the

are should be treated by a surgical specialist, since women with

disease and effective treatments for it all the more compelling.

cancer who are treated by a surgical specialist have improved

“We’re studying the use of transcranial direct current stimula-

survival rates.”

tion in patients with mild cognitive impairment to see if such

Schwartz is especially interested in cancers of unknown cause

treatment will improve cognitive function,” said Lou. He notes

that differentially affect North Dakotans.

that this technology’s promise is that it can be used by patients

For example, for reasons that are not understood, rates of

themselves at home and it’s minimally invasive.

chronic lymphocytic leukemia—the most common leukemia in

“It only takes a very small current to stimulate the brain, and the

the Western world—in North Dakota are among the highest in

patient barely feels it,” Lou said. “Another important factor is

the nation.

that it’s not expensive—and it can easily be used at home.”

“For Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, this research is leading us to a non-invasive, non-pharmacological way to manage and improve the function of our patients,” Lou said.

“Not all treatments need medicine. Basically this technology is about improving a patient’s quality of life.”

“It’s not a magic bullet, but it’s promising,” Lou said.

Who is Gary Schwartz, PhD, PhD Gary Schwartz, PhD, PhD, is professor and chair of the SMHS Department of Population Health. Schwartz does epidemiologic and translational studies of screening and therapeutic trials about Vitamin D and calcium in prostate and other cancers.

Schwartz, an epidemiologist who holds two PhD degrees, studies how the biology and natural history of cancers can be used to design better screening tests that can help in personalized medicine.

“Men with higher calcium levels in their blood are three times more likely to die of prostate cancer and women with higher calcium levels have a higher risk of diagnosis of and dying from ovarian cancer,” said Schwartz at a presentation for health care practitioners at Altru Health System in Grand Forks.

“During their lifetime, about one woman in 10 seeks surgical evaluation for a mass in her abdomen which may be ovarian cancer,”

For reasons that are not understood, rates of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in North Dakota are among the highest in the nation.

One possible reason for the high rates here is that levels of residential radon—a natural gas produced by uranium in rocks and soils and a known cause of lung cancer—are high in North Dakota.

Working to educate individuals about the potential health risks of radon and how to reduce them is one of Schwartz’s goals for the Department of Population Health.

This is just one example in which population health research at UND School of Medicine not only serves North Dakotans, Schwartz notes, but can improve health for individuals globally.

UND Discovery KIDS FIRST

UND HE ALTH RESE ARCHER’S WORK HELPS CHILDREN

Kids First

25

Among Burd’s accomplishments resulting from his research: the development of the North Dakota Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Center. This led to a one-question standardized screening program given to all prenatal patients: When was your last drink? Almost 100 percent of North Dakota women get this screening.

PASS Network—Prenatal Alcohol Stillbirth and SIDS Burd’s current research project involves Prenatal Alcohol Stillbirth and SIDS (PASS), which received a grant award in 2015 of $192,456.

By Deb Pedraza

Two worrisome and tough-to-fight medical challenges hit children hard: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

The PASS Network was established in 2003 as a partnership between the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The National Insti-

(SIDS) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

tute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders joined the

Larry Burd—in a 36 year career as an epidemiologist and profes-

partnership in 2009.

sor of pediatrics, UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences, and

The Network conducts community-linked studies to investigate

director of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Center—studies both.

the role of prenatal exposure to alcohol in Sudden Infant Death

What is SIDS?

Syndrome (SIDS) and adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the unexplained death

stillbirth and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs), and how

of an infant younger than one year. Scientists still haven’t figured

SIDS and these other outcomes may be interrelated.

out what causes SIDS. What’s known, Burd says, is that prenatal

Burd is from Vona, Colo., and received his PhD in epidemiology

exposure to alcohol may be far-reaching, affecting not only

from the University of Manitoba.

baby, but baby’s future offspring.

The good news: certain interventions—such as having babies sleep on their backs—can reduce the risk of SIDS. SIDS rates in the U.S. in 1990: 130.3 deaths per 100,000 live births; they were down to about 39 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2014, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As Burd says, “a little intervention goes a long way.”

As goes the mother, so goes the baby Burd also studies Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), a group of lifelong conditions with no known cure that can occur when a pregnant woman consumes alcohol. The condi-

School of Medicine & Health Sciences faculty member Larry Burd

tions—physical, behavioral and learning problems, from mild to severe—can affect each baby differently. photo credit Wanda Weber

UND Discovery THEY’RE EVERYWHERE

26

JOONGHWA LEE AND SOOJUNG KIM

They’re Everywhere

To get a handle on this, take a closer look at your Facebook account or your favorite magazine. Many items you see are actually advertisements—such as that full-page write-up about some new pharmaceutical or therapy. Check out the sponsored links and suggested posts on your social media accounts. These are all placed ads to inform you about a product or service, in the hope that you will identify with that product (or service),

It’s advertising that says ‘gotcha’ when you don’t expect it

remember it, and eventually buy it.

Advertisements used to be obvious

By Juan Pedraza

Advertising—do you recognize it? Avoid it? More importantly, can you identify it 100 per cent of the time?

Once, there were only a few TV and radio stations to choose from so competition for time (and viewer attention) was less.

Those ads were obvious. Now, with hundreds of viewer and listener choices, as well as the electronic devices we all use—

Joonghwa Lee and Soojung Kim are here to help.

including the remote control—Kim says advertisers are finding it

Both natives of Seoul, Korea, Lee and Kim bring an international

harder and harder to gather viewers’ attention. The challenge is

experience to their research.

not only how to make a lasting impression on the viewer about

Lee’s interest is in interactive and non-traditional media (i.e., online video advertising and mobile media) as well as consumer behaviors in strategic communication.

Kim focuses on understanding international and intercultural strategic communication and the psychology underlying the effects of advertising (such as advertising avoidance).

Their research agenda focuses on advertising, public relations, and health communication; they are faculty members in the Department of Communication.

Together they have researched a new style of product pro-

a product, but where to place that information so it is seen and remembered rather than avoided.

Today’s consumer is unlike earlier consumers; we are better informed because we have so much information at our fingertips, the research team points out.

“We have learned how to ignore standard advertising, so ad placement is the key. If it doesn’t look like an advertisement, maybe it won’t be avoided,” Kim says.

Lee and Kim joined the UND Department of Communication Program faculty in fall 2015.

motion called “native advertising.” This research was recently

Joonghwa Lee is an Assistant Professor. He earned his PhD in

published in American Behavioral Scientist, a leading journal in

Journalism (Emphasis: strategic communication) from the

the field of the social and behavioral sciences.

University of Missouri and an MA in Advertising from Michigan

Native advertising is a form of paid media where an item appears

State University.

to belong in the context of what is being observed, but in actu-

Soojung Kim is an Assistant Professor. Kim received both an MA

ality has been placed to promote that product. Lee says, “Native

and PhD in Mass Communication from the University of Minneso-

advertising is any kind of branded content that is similar to the

ta and a BA in Mass Communication and Psychology from Korea

media platform on which it is appearing.”

University.

UND Discovery THEY’RE EVERYWHERE

photo credit Juan Pedraza

Communications faculty members Joonghwa Lee, left, and Soojung Kim

Together they have researched a new style of product promotion called “native advertising.” This research was recently published in American Behavioral Scientist.

27

The Red Sand Project: a national effort to raise awareness about human trafficking.

UND Discovery RED SAND PROJECT

HISTORIAN NIKKI BERG BURIN: RESEARCH TO SOCIAL ACTION

Red Sand Project

29

who fall through the metaphoric cracks,” Grochman said in a release about the project. “Small actions like placing sand in sidewalk cracks can help raise awareness of issues facing those who are overlooked.”

Since the creation of Red Sand Project, more than 150,000 Red Sand toolkits have been requested by people in all 50 of the United States—including the kits sent to UND History faculty member Nikki Berg Burin, whose research focuses on sex trafficking in North Dakota—and in more than 70 countries.

By Juan Pedraza

Nikki Berg Burin, assistant professor, UND Deptartment of History and Women & Gender Studies Pro-

Berg Burin, assistant professor of history and women and gender studies at the University of North Dakota, is a member of the Advisory Committee for North Dakota’s anti-human trafficking coalition FUSE (Force to End Human Sexual Exploitation). Freid,

gram, College of Arts & Sciences; and Laurie Freid, a

a co-organizer of the Red Sand Project event in Grand Forks, is a

recent graduate of UND who is pursuing a Master’s

recent graduate of UND.

Degree in Social Work at UND, organized the Red

In addition to her scholarly and pedagogical pursuits, Dr. Berg

Sand Project event. The goal of the project—and

Burin is actively engaged in efforts to advance the status of wom-

Berg Burin’s research—is to raise awareness about

en and girls in North Dakota.

human trafficking.

She also is working on a book about the history and present-day

The event took place last spring on a sidewalk in downtown

crisis of sex trafficking and coerced prostitution in North Dakota.

Grand Forks as a public stand against modern-day slavery.

The Red Sand Project is a national effort to raise awareness about human trafficking.

This is a participatory artwork launched by the Red Sand Project’s Molly Gochman to shed light on this hidden crime.

Created by Gochman in 2014, the Project was born of her dedication to help reduce demand for modern-day slaves and to alleviate the vulnerabilities that make populations susceptible to being trafficked. The Red Sand Project’s sidewalk interventions invite people to find and fill a sidewalk crack with red sand and

History faculty member Nikki Berg Burin

document their sidewalk transformations on social media using the #RedSandProject hashtag. “ These interventions are reminders that we can’t merely walk over the most marginalized people in our communities — those

photo credit Juan Pedraza

UND Discovery STOP THE ABUSE!

30

RUR AL HE ALTH RESEARCHER TACKLES NATIVE ELDER ABUSE

Stop The Abuse!

Let’s relieve elder abuse in American Indian communities

Department of Population Health at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences; directs the Native Health Research Team; and mentors many Native American students.

“Our research shows that there are no boots-on-the-ground efforts in terms of elder abuse,” said Gray, who trained as a counseling psychologist.

Under a $700,000 Department of Health and Human Services grant, Gray and her team are developing a survey for tribes to use and training in how to use it, plus training in research meth-

By Deb Pedraza

Jacque Gray is a respected and powerful advocate on Native American aging and elder abuse.

Gray is research associate professor and associate director of Indigenous Programs at the Center for Rural Health and the

Jacque Gray, faculty member, Center for Rural Health, UND School of Health and Medical Sciences.

photo credit Shawna Schill

ods. Also, Sanford Health awarded Gray $100,000 for “Wac’in Yeya: The Hope Project.”

Gray—of Choctaw and Cherokee descent—says such work could reach hundreds of the 567 federally recognized and other tribes.

UND Discovery GOING VIRAL

UND BIOSCIENTIST BARRY MIL AVETZ PROBES SV40 MYSTERIES

Going Viral

31

Barry Milavetz studies the monkey infecting simian virus 40 (SV40). It causes cancer in other animals and is related to several human viruses. Milavetz—UND Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development and professor in the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences—recently received a $139,000 National Institutes of Health grant to continue his work.

He’s researching what happens in an infection’s early stages, when it’s most easily treatable. Milavetz and Meera Ajeet Kumar expect to identify the epigenetic changes during the formation

By Denis F. MacLeod, Assistant Director, Alumni and Community Relations, UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences

Viruses—microscopic packages of genetic material— cause colds and lots worse, including some cancers.

Unlike bacteria, they’re not alive but infect hosts like you and me with a deadly mandate: reproduce.

Assoc. VP for Research and School of Medicine & Health Sciences faculty member Barry Milavetz

photo credit Jackie Lorentz

of SV40 virus particles and determine the factors responsible for the changes.

“Our research will advance our knowledge of how viruses infect cells and cause cancer and also yield insight about the epigenetic regulation of our own genes,” Milavetz said.

UND Discovery OH, DEER!

32

UND BIOLO GIST TR ACKS PESKY ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS

Oh, Deer!

In a recent study published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin, Boulanger noted that decades of research point to increasing deer effects on local biodiversity, agricultural damage, and deer–vehicle collisions. He studied the problem while he was a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell, implementing a suburban white-tailed deer research and management program in 2007.

“We attempted to reduce deer numbers by surgically sterilizing female deer,” Boulanger said. But as quoted on the Wildlife Society web page, Boulanger, the study’s lead author, said it

By Juan Pedraza

Jason Boulanger knows that in popular culture, deer are viewed as Bambi-like by most of us. But as a re-

wasn’t a success.

“Surgical sterilization appeared to be ineffective for reducing the abundance of a geographically open population of white-tailed deer in the absence of lethal management,” he wrote in the

searcher, he knows better.

study’s abstract. “We do not recommend surgical sterilization

Deer have moved bigtime into urban America, making them-

as a stand-alone method for communities wishing to pursue

selves quite at home—and for sure, a nuisance. And anyone

mitigation of deer impacts with nonlethal approaches.”

who’s driven the night route across places like rural northern

Boulanger continues to look for solutions to the “deer problem.”

Minnesota know that there’s a lot more to deer than a few ruined

He’s also committed to providing his students with hands-on

garden plants.

research opportunities—the kind of learning, he says, that brings

Deer-vehicle collisions, for example, can be damaging at best

textbook and lectures home with much greater impact.

and lethal at worst, Boulanger notes.

Boulanger, a certified wildlife biologist who got his PhD at Cornell University, teaches and researches in the Department of Biology, part of the UND College of Arts & Sciences. He’s also co-advisor of the UND Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society.

He doesn’t just study deer; he was recently awarded $83,000 for a study titled “An evaluation of Elk Movements on the Northern Great Plains.” He’s also done activities including a survey of N.D. deer hunters; a study of the effects of seasonal weather on white-tailed deer health in North Dakota; and a study of the home range and habitat selection of suburban striped skunks.

But his focus right now is on deer.

Biology faculty member Jason Boulanger in his lab

photo credit Juan Pedraza

UND Discovery HERD MENTALITY? | MAKE IT NATIONAL

33

photo credit Jackie Lorentz

By Kaylee Cusack

Growing up in Florida, Jacqueline Amor learned to count Everglades alligators.

“My mom is from Bemidji so every summer we visited Minnesota,” where she also appreciated the wildlife, Amor said.

Now the UND Geography graduate student counts big game in North Dakota.

Amor collaborates with the University of North Dakota, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGF) and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to understand the state’s elk population.

GR AD STUDENT JACQUELINE AMOR MONITORS ND ELK

Amor’s undergrad degree is in wildlife and fisheries biology. She

Herd Mentality?

was thrilled when her graduate faculty member Jason Boulanger in Biology pitched her the elk project.

“She really enjoys the remote sensing side of things, but also has the interest in wildlife, so it’s a good fit for her,” Boulanger said. “It’s a good fit for us, too, in the state. So it all kind of came together.”

SEAMES NAMED TO NATIONAL ACADEMY OF INVENTORS

Make It National

commercially relevant research to the marketplace,” said Mike Moore, UND Associate VP for intellectual property commercialization and economic development, who nominated Seames for the honor.

NAI said Seames was chosen for creating outstanding inventions

By David Dodds

that have the potential to impact quality of life and economic

Wayne Seames, UND Chester

development. Seames is named on several patents including

Fritz Distinguished Professor

renewable fuels.

of Chemical Engineering, is

Election to NAI Fellow status is the highest professional distinc-

now a Fellow of the National

tion accorded solely to academic inventors. NAI Fellows have

Academy of Inventors, North Dakota’s first NAI fellow. photo credit Jackie Lorentz

“Dr. Seames understands the importance of being able to move

generated more than 8,500 licensed technologies and companies and created more than 1.1 million jobs, with over $100 billion in revenue generated based on their discoveries.

UND Discovery GET GOING!

34

UND KINESIOLO GIST: OUR KIDS DON’ T MOVE ENOUGH

Get Going! photo credit Juan Pedraza

By Juan Pedraza

Happy, healthy, active kids: that’s society’s wish for the next generation. The reality, according to new research by an international team of researchers including a UND fitness expert, isn’t quite so upbeat.

“What we see across the world is that too many children aren’t active enough,” says Grant Tomkinson. He’s a faculty member in UND Kinesiology & Public Health Education program, part of the College of Education & Human Development.

Grant Tomkinson Kinesiology faculty member

The study’s lead author is Justin Lang, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute. It was recently published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Tomkinson started this work when he was a graduate student at

Among other international activities, Tomkinson chairs the Active Healthy Kids Australia and the Asia-Pacific lead for the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance.

the University of South Australia with a widely regarded study about fitness levels in Australian kids—a report that triggered United Nations-endorsed action to get kids moving more.

“I have been keen on exercise ever since I exercised for general fitness and played sport as a kid,” said Tomkinson, who has two young children. “In the late 1990s when I learned that I was going to be a dad for the first time, I was eager to pursue research that combined my passion for fitness and sport with my goal of improving the long-term health of not only my children but all children.”

“If you are generally unfit as a young person, then you are more likely to develop conditions like heart disease later in life,” Tomkinson said.

“What we see across the world: too many children aren’t active enough.”

UND Discovery ELECTORAL DIVIDE

35

photo credit Jackie Lorentz

UND HISTORY FACULT Y EXPL AINS ELECTOR AL COLLEGE

Electoral Divide

By Kaylee Cusack

Donald Trump is the nation’s 45th President, following

UND History faculty member Eric Burin

an election where he lost the popular vote but won the electoral count. Thus, the old question from the voting public resurfaced: Why do we use the Electoral College?

UND History Professor Eric Burin fast-tracked a new book with answers: Picking the President—Understanding the Electoral College. The publication is a collaborative digital effort that includes expert insights from UND faculty and scholars from across the country.

Picking the President takes an interdisciplinary approach to discussing one of the country’s most hotly debated systems.

“One of the things I noticed after the election was that the interpretations and analyses of the Electoral College tended to be warped by partisanship,” Burin said. “Republicans, since they perceived that the Electoral College advantaged their party, tended to favor it. Democrats, still smarting from losing the election, denounced it. Having a multidisciplinary approach helps us look at the Electoral College through something other than pure partisanship.”

Burin pitched the idea of the book to his UND History colleague, William “Bill” Caraher, director and publisher of The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota.

“We wanted to not only illuminate the Electoral College, but do so while people were still talking about it,” Burin said. “Normally a book takes sometimes years to produce. This went from conception to completion in five weeks.”

“It’s easier than ever to become familiar with the tools you need to produce high-quality publications and to disseminate them,” Caraher said. “We can basically develop a book from start to finish for almost no money and without much in the way of infrastructure.”

Caraher expects that over the next two months the book will have a national reach. Some contributors are already using it in their classrooms well outside the borders of North Dakota.

“Just as the University serves the needs of the state by promoting energy development and UAS and rural health, we can also serve the state’s needs by promoting thoughtful, wide-ranging and rewarding public discourse on one of the most momentous issues of the day: the Electoral College,” Burin said.

Download Picking the President: Understanding the Electoral College for free at: https://thedigitalpress.org/.

A paperback version of the book will be available soon on Amazon.com.

UND Discovery TREE FUEL

36

photo credit Jackie Lorentz

Anastasia Artemyeva, left, and her advisor Alena Kubátová, Chemistry Department faculty member, in Kubátová’s lab

STUDENT CHEMIST, MENTOR SEE LIGNIN’S FUEL POTENTIAL

Tree Fuel

“UND Chemistry Professor Evegenii Kozliak invited me for a research program at UND where I met UND Chemistry faculty member Alena Kubatova,” Anastasia said. “She’s my advisor and Dr. Kozliak is my co-advisor.”

Anastasia is analyzing lignin—the word derives from the Latin for “wood”—the second most abundant biopolymer after cellulose.

Lignin and other biopolymers are used for fuels, plastics and many other things.

“You can even make vanillin—a food flavoring—from lignin,”

By Juan Pedraza

A dedicated middle school biology teacher inspired Anastasia Artemyeva’s interest in science.

Anastasia, a PhD candidate in the UND Department of Chemistry, went to Moscow State University (MSU) for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry.

she said.

“We’re running out of fossil fuels, so we need more green energy, such as lignin,” she noted. Among other honors, Anastasia was selected for the 2015 Young Investigator Award.

UND Discovery UP AND AT ‘EM!

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photo credit Juan Pedraza

Nicole Stone

DEGREE + EXPERIENCE = NICOLE STONE’S “CAREER GOLD”

Up and at ‘em!

Working with Atmospheric Science faculty David Delene on research projects, including aloft in a research jet, Stone got hooked on the science and technology.

“I did lots of instrumentation work both in the jet and on other projects, such as Glacial Ridge in northwestern Minnesota,” Stone said during an interview in her NDAWN lab. “ Those experiences helped me get this great job! I like being outside, I like being active, and it beats sitting at a desk.”

Stone is a field technician for NDAWN’s 84 sites and three

By Deb Pedraza

Nicole Stone grew up on a family dairy farm near Verndale, Minn.

Stone still is up at dawn. The 2013 UND Atmospheric Sciences alum now is the network engineer for NDAWN—the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network.

research stations.

“I work on hardware and do maintenance, and I also work with crews installing new or replacement equipment for NDAWN’s 84 sites,” she says. “If there’s a problem, I go out and fix it.”

“Of course, the education helped, but for me the hands-on experiences more than anything prepared me for this job,” Stone said.

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PAID Vice President for Research & Economic Development Twamley Hall, Room 103 264 Centennial Drive Stop 8367 Grand Forks, ND 58202-8367 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

photo credit Juan Pedraza

Whitney Berry, a faculty member in Music in the UND College of Arts & Sciences, has done extensive research into innovative and more engaging instructional methods. This semester, for the first time, she takes her introductory music class into UND’s SCALE-UP classroom, a showcase for the best in teaching environments for today’s students. “ The beauty of the SCALE-UP room is that the space itself allows so much more active and collaborative learning than what is possible in a traditional lecture hall,” says UND Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Thomas DiLorenzo.

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