And in participating in the Spring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Celebration poster session in the , Stoner practiced a few more practical skills he will need: graphic design and public speaking.

Stoner and partner Sarah Carpenter were winners of the upperclass division for their research titled “Bergton Stream Restoration: Stream Health Assessment Using Macroinvertebrate Sampling.”

The poster session, which is preceded by an informal multidisciplinary science quiz-off and pizza feast, offers students “a chance to share their research with fellow students, faculty, and the larger 91¶ĚĘÓƵ community in a fun, social setting,” says physics professor , who judged the contest with biology professor .

Poster sessions are commonly held at scientific conferences, in which “scientists and students present and explain their own findings to those who are interested but are not necessarily experts in that field,” said King, who is also an assistant professor in the program.

Posters were judged on quality of experimental design, quality of research analysis, and quality of presentation, said Herin, also with the biomedicine program. “The presentation included the appearance, accuracy and clarity of the poster, as well as the presenters’ knowledge and explanation of the project.”

Coursework and independent study represented

91¶ĚĘÓƵ’s poster session featured more than 90 participants showcasing research from a variety of courses such as electronics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, statistics for natural sciences, and environmental toxicology. Students in Herin’s advanced human anatomy class (BIO 437) also contributed 3-D visualizations of body systems.

Carpenter and Stoner were among several students presenting water quality research in the nearby Bergton area as part of . Biology professors and are supervising teams of environmental sustainability students working on water quality monitoring and stream restoration in two tributaries of the Shenandoah River and the Chesapeake Bay, with other facets of the project involving and graduate students.

Students in professor ’s general chemistry class focused on phytoremediation of a variety of plants, including carrots, forsythia, corn, cattails, and radishes.

Professor ’s statistics class explored the widest range of topics, including electronic devices owned by students; the fuel economy of cars driven by 91¶ĚĘÓƵ faculty and staff versus those driven by James Madison University faculty and staff; cereal shelf placement based on sugar and price at Food Lion and Kroger; sustainability effectiveness in 91¶ĚĘÓƵ residence halls; and a statistical analysis of the “Settlers of Catan” game.

Two unique projects with professor Steve Cessna explored the rhetoric of science and instructional techniques in the science classroom. In their plant ecophysiology course, Hannah Chappell-Dick, Eli Wenger, and Emma Beachy analyzed plant physiology research literature for changes in the “assignment of agency.” For his biochemistry research course project, Kyle Storc investigated student comprehension and retention of biochemistry topics through the use of two-dimensional tools.

Several posters were the result of independent research that students conducted with faculty members. Camille Williams worked with biology professor to analyze the effects of fermented milk supplementation on gut microbacteria in mice.

Rachel King, who will be a research assistant on this summer, worked under chemistry professor on “A Mixed Methods Approach to Green Chemistry Knowledge Gains in the Organic Laboratory.” Kishbaugh also worked with Ben Stern, who studied the effects of barium toxicity on zebrafish.

Underclass winner links research to upcoming internship

Amanda Williams and Nader Alqahtani paired up to win the underclass division with their project that compared phytoremediation between native and invasive species.

For Williams, a first-year biology and secondary education major, the research project reminded her of how much she cares about the environment.

“I live in the wetlands in Delaware, surrounded by the plants we were experimenting on, cattail and phragmites,” she said, adding that she’ll continue her research in a summer internship with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. “I think it’s important to understand the possible negative effects of invasive species, but also to know that sometimes they are just as important as native species.”

Alqahtani, a sophomore biology major who is interested in medical research, said the hands-on learning experience “was a more fun and exciting way to learn than reading and studying.”

And the presentation? That was “the exciting part,” he said, even though English is his second language. “We were confident that we knew everything about our project and we trusted each other’s ability to make a perfect presentation … when we started presenting and I saw how well we were doing, I got comfortable and started to enjoy telling our audience about our research.”

Poster Session Winners: Upperclass Division

1st: Bergton Stream Restoration: Stream Health Assessment Using Macroinvertebrate Sampling – Sarah Carpenter and Sam Stoner

2nd: Keyless Entry – Stephan Goertzen and Jordan Leaman

3rd: Bergton Stream Restoration: Ecological Monitoring Using Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) – Jonathan Drescher-Lehman and Ryan Keiner

Honorable Mention: An ecophysiological study determining how three different invasive evergreen vines handle the varying winter temperatures by measuring their photosynthesis, transpiration, and Fv/Fm levels – Jonathan Drescher-Lehman, Chris Miller, and Abby Pennington

Honorable Mention: The Effects of Barium Toxicity on Zebrafish (Danio rerio) – Ben Stern

Poster Session Winners: Underclass Division

1st:  Comparing Phytoremediation between Native and Invasive Species – Nader Alqahtani and Amanda Williams

2nd:  Phytoremediation in Forsythia – Tyler Denlinger and Jeremiah Robinson

3rd: Electronic Devices Owned by 91¶ĚĘÓƵ Students – Sammy Kauffman, Josh Miller, and Roy Ruan

Honorable Mention: Phytoremediation in Various Plants – Aaron Dunmore and Kat Lehman

Going from a three week cross-cultural in Kenya to a ten-day educators’ camp funded by NASA, Pennington emerged hungry to bring experiential education to those who need it most. The camp was part of NASA’s “,” a two-year program meant to teach the pedagogy of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts to a group of carefully selected future teachers. After her return from Africa, Pennington drove to Norfolk, Virginia, for the intensive classes held at .

Pennington had always thought that “you can’t learn science in the classroom. . . you learn science by experiencing it.” But after building solar-powered toy cars, hovercrafts, and discussing the Greek mythology behind astrology, she became aware of her full potential as an educator. The camp also included tours of NASA laboratories.

“I took a selfie with a rocket!” said Pennington. The 32 inSTEP participants also volunteered at a nearby YMCA, conducting short activities with Norfolk-area children about engineering concepts. Pennington’s group used straws and popsicle sticks as building resources in the face of a “big bad wolf” hair dryer.

“That got them thinking about different materials,” said Pennington. The activity centered around the context of local students who live in a coastal region rife with natural disasters.

Forty hours of volunteer work at an after-school program comprise the next phase of inSTEP, which Pennington will fulfill at the . She will teach lessons with a LEGO robotics kit and do one-on-one tutoring. In the summer of 2015, Pennington and the other inSTEP participants, viewed as the top preservice teachers in the state, will convene again at Norfolk to develop their professional portfolios.

Pennington garnered this honor after just one year of taking education classes as an 91¶ĚĘÓƵ undergraduate. Previously, she was a student at Blue Ridge Community College, and transferred to 91¶ĚĘÓƵ in 2013 as a and major. “I knew my calling was to help people,” she said of her journey settling into a field. When the rigorous academic requirements of applying to medical schools became too stressful, Pennington happened to be on the when she saw a yellow banner proclaiming, “We need teachers!”

Pennington said she loves the philosophy of education. Who sets academic and curriculum standards? Why do many American students dread school? How can hands-on learning be better incorporated into teaching? These are the questions that Pennington hopes to answer in her career path.

She hopes to join the Peace Corps or a similar organization, using her educational skills in underserved areas abroad. She was impressed by the thankfulness of rural Kenyan students she visited on her , who despite having few resources, held an excitement for school she has not observed in the States.

How, then, Pennington wondered, can she apply the experiential learning from inSTEP in an environment without disposable funding?

She feels troubled by the inequality that gifted each inSTEP participant with a $400 LEGO set, while students she visited in rural Kenya “were lucky if they had one textbook for the classroom. . . . Why is it that more privileged people should have a better education?”

Whether opportunity takes her back to Africa or elsewhere, Pennington is eager to be “somewhere where students need me.” She will feel rewarded not by a hefty salary and good benefits package, but work where she can best serve children: “They need me more than I need the money.”