Volume 2, Issue 4
Page 1 Dean\u27s MessagePage 2 & 3  Awards & RecognitionPage 4 Student Spotlight: Allsion BjornstadPage 5 Research Spotlight: Dr. Vondruska & StudentsPage 6 Department Head InterviewsPage 7 Media Coverage of CNSPage 8 Open PRAIRIE DataPage 9 Student Club Spotlight: BMGSAPage 10 Then \u26 Now: Urban Geographyhttps://openprairie.sdstate.edu/consci_pubs/1014/thumbnail.jp

Natural Sciences, College Of

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Volume 2, Issue 4
Page 1 Dean\u27s MessagePage 2 & 3  Awards & RecognitionPage 4 Student Spotlight: Allsion BjornstadPage 5 Research Spotlight: Dr. Vondruska & StudentsPage 6 Department Head InterviewsPage 7 Media Coverage of CNSPage 8 Open PRAIRIE DataPage 9 Student Club Spotlight: BMGSAPage 10 Then & Now: Urban Geographyhttps://openprairie.sdstate.edu/consci_pubs/1014/thumbnail.jp

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NEWSLETTERC O L L E G E  O F  N A T U R A L  S C I E N C E S  / /  V O L U M E  2  / /  I S S U E  4Dean's MessageDR. CHARLENE WOLF-HALLClasses for the 2020-2021 AcademicYear have concluded and only finalexams are left.  So much success tohighlight from a very challenging year.  This extra-long issue wraps up whatfelt like an extra-long semester.  Next week is finals week.  As you arestudying or grading reflect on howmuch you have achieved this spring,this year, and during your entire time atSDSU.  You have overcome uniqueobstacles that only you and your peersand no one before has had toovercome.  You are an achiever with aunique experience to build upon. Commencement is the weekend ofMay 8-9. The ceremony for the Collegeof Natural Sciences is at 10:00 a.m. onMay 8. More information aboutcommencement appears here. I am soglad we get to have an in personcelebration, even if it is still not whatwe might consider normal. You haveachieved so much and I am excited tocelebrate with you. After yougraduate, please keep in contact withus and share your experiences. Summer will bring a grand showcaseof biological activity across the land.We can emerge from our pandemicisolation and enjoy the sunshinetogether. So much to celebrate. A verybright future is ahead. Biology 119: Freshmen Seminar in the time of COVID-19Celebrating WorkAnniversaries---April 2021Sally Krueger - 49 yearsCarol Doyle - 16 yearsAmanda Appel - 11 yearsKimberly Johnson Maier - 5Awards & RecognitionURSCAD Awards(Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Day)Joseph F. Nelson Undergraduate Research Mentorships: Javi Adividya, Microbiology; Camryn Blackwell,Human Biology; Emma Martin, Community / Regional Planning; Jadyn Perry, Biology; Eliza Peters,Human BiologySchultz-Werth Awards: Katelyn Bettin, Biology; Abdullah Al Maruf, Physics & Math; Timothy Paris,Chemistry & Biochemistry & Psychology; Bailey Pickering, Human BiologyHonors Convocation Award Recipients from the College of Natural SciencesFACULTYCommunity Builder Award: Dr. Nicole Grove, Chemistry & BiochemistrySTUDENTSExcellence in Leadership Award: Thane Henschel, Human BiologyHonors Community Builder Award: Keri Pappas, Human BiologyHonors Land Grant Mission Award: Kaylan Untiedt, BiologyCOMPLETED HONORS INDEPENDENT STUDIESMoriah Flanagan, Microbiology & BiotechnologyThane Henschel, Human BiologyKatherine Lucas, Biology & Chemistry EducationAbdullah Maruf, Physics & MathematicsTimothy Paris, Chemistry, Biochemistry, & PsychologyCheyenne Trautman, ChemistryKaylan Untiedt, BiologyDepartment of Chemistry & Biochemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships Tanaka Fellowship Recipient:  Meg SheehanEast Fellowships: Jacqueline Laddusaw, Mick Schwinghamer, Megan Schulte, Quenton SteffenEach fellowship comes with a $5,000 stipend, supply funds, & travel funds to present research results at anational ACS or ASBMB meeting.  Thank you to our generous donors who support undergrad research!Nicole Grove, Chemistry & Biochemistry, was nominated for "Teacher of the Year" ... by the College of Ag,Food & Environmental Sciences Students' Association!  Their advisor wrote, "While you aren’t eligible towin this particular college award, I still wanted to let you know that the students recognized your hardwork and shared their appreciation to you through this process." Awards & RecognitionURSCAD Awards, continued Biology & Microbiology Award-Winning PostersExperimental / Capstone CategoryAbigail Hobbs - Undergraduate Anatomy Student Perceptions of FourOnline Anatomy VendorsTheordore (TJ) Jacoby, Shayanti Minj - Microbial diversity Before andAfter PasteurizationHailey Axemaker - Functional Characterization of Sucrose TransportersInvolved in Tripartite Interactions of Medicago truncatula with Rhizobiaand Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Review CategoryEllen White, Tanner Smith, Shelby Olson, & Kayla Washington -Overcoming Social and Biological Hurdles to Administer the COVID-19Vaccination to the Pine Ridge Native American Reservation Collin Olevson - Electrical Stimulation Treats Disorders of Excitable andNon-Excitable Tissues: A Literature Review Thomas Ebrahem, Jaclyn Meier, Caitlin Bright, & Rondae Nave -Safety and Efficacy of Three Variant Vaccines Within Different Age Groups Chemistry & Biochemistry Award-Winning PostersAbigail Morgan - Anti-proliferative Activity of Estrone-Triazole HybridAnalogs for Treatment of Colorectal Cancer Avori Bastemeyer - An Analysis of Human Genes Involved in ViralPathogenesis Diedre Cross - Molecular Modeling for Designing Estrone AnalogsTargeting Breast Cancer Caitlynn McGregor - COVID-19 Among Abdominal Solid-OrganTransplant Patients: Preliminary Experience from South Dakota's SoleMulti-Organ Transplant Center Physics Award-Winning PostersAbdullah Al Maruf - Electronic, structural, and magnetic properties ofTiCoSn Heusler alloy Nicholas Carlson - Effect of Fe doping on the hysteresis properties ofMn47Co3Ni40In10alloy Zachary Lehmann - Suppression of first-order transition and largemagnetocaloric effect in Mn50-xNi40In10+x URSCAD JudgesThank you to all our facultyvolunteers for your efforts toreview and award the top postersin our departments.  Your time hasallowed us to recognize ourstudents as they show evidence oftheir achievement in our college.Biology & MicrobiologyAnne-Marie HoskinsonBishnu KarkiJessica MedigerMadhav NepalScott PedersenChemistry & BiochemistryJihong Cole-DaiMelody JewellJulie LeiboldSara MadsenMatt Miller Jay ShoreGeography & Geospatial SciencesDanielle Haskett-JenningsPhysicsParashu KharelFaculty SenateCongratulations to Dr. RuanbaoZhou,  who was elected to serve onFaculty Senate!  With his addition, the threesenators representing NaturalSciences for AY21-22 are Dr.Madhav Nepal (President-Elect),Dr. Judy Vondruska,  and Dr.Ruanbao Zhou.Student Spotlight: Allison BjornstadDEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY & MICROBIOLOGYAll About AllisonUndergraduate degrees:  South Dakota State UniversityClass of 2020 - Microbiology B.S.,Human Biology B.S., ChemistryminorGraduate Degree:  South Dakota State UniversityClass of 2021 - Human Biology M.S.Hometown:  Puyallup, WashingtonFavorite Professor:"My favorite professor is Dr.Pedersen. I worked with Doc whileon dissection team and again thissemester while taking advancedanatomy. He has always beenhelpful and supportive. I havegotten some great advice from Docover the years. He was almostmore excited than me when I toldhim I got the position in Peru!"      Now her time at SDSU is coming to a close and she has an exciting next step lined up.Bjornstad will spend this summer in Peru conducting research, which has been a dreamsince she was a child. "I will be participating in the Wildlife Health research program as aresearch assistant. If there is data that is not being currently worked with but is beingcollected, I can have the chance to analyze and work with that at the end of the summeras well. The main daily tasks will be to collect samples from the wildlife as well asobservational data. We will then take the samples and test them using DNA tests forviruses and bacteria."      She will get to interact with many different animal groups, including bats, birds, smallmammals, and carnivores.  Alongside that work, she will also help track mercury levels totrace the impacts of local gold mining along the Rio Madre de Dios.  Each researcher isresponsible for paying their own room and board, plus training.  Bjornstad is currentlyfundraising $5,000 for these costs, and you can help out here.     What is she looking forward to most about this summer? "Just being in the jungle. Ithas been my dream ever since I was four years old to work with animals in the Amazon. Iused to have my walls covered in pictures of wildlife and I would spend my time in thelibrary at elementary school reading about the jungle. I am still shocked that my dream iscoming true! I can't wait to hear how loud the jungle is, to feel the humidity, and to besurrounded by an environment that is almost constantly evolving and changing."     "The best advice I can give is to try everything that sounds even slightly interesting toyou," she said, regarding words of wisdom for underclassmen. "Go join all the clubs youthink could be fun, take courses outside of your four-year plan to branch out and try newsubjects that might be interesting, and above all else find the time to study abroad. Thereis always a way to fit in time for study abroad and there are a lot of fundraisers orscholarships to help pay for it. I cannot stress enough how much I loved my time travelingand learning in a different country and I know that it made me a stronger, kinder, and amore confident person."     When Allison Bjornstad first came to SDSU in 2016, she came all the way fromWashington state. "When I was applying for college, I knew I wanted to go out of state formy schooling to experience a new area and culture," Bjornstad said.  She found SDSU ona reciprocity list, but it was a visit to Brookings that finalized her decision.  "I really likedthe layout of the biology program here. SDSU offered a lot of different classes thatcovered a lot of areas I was interested in within the field. This was important to mebecause while I knew I loved science, I wasn't sure which avenue I wanted to pursue yet.After visiting SDSU I fell in love with the people and the campus."     "This is a hard one as I've taken a lot of reallygood classes here at SDSU," she said when askedabout her favorite class. "I would say my favoritewas molecular and microbial genetics. It wasn'tnecessarily my favorite subject, but the way Dr.Brözel taught the course really brought theinformation to life. It was an incrediblyinformative course, and I had a lot of fun taking it.My favorite course subject was definitelyvertebrate zoology which I took at MasseyUniversity while studying abroad in New Zealand."What are pulsars?A pulsar is a rapidly rotatingcompact star (usually a neutronstar) emitting radiation at regularintervals. Due to their strongmagnetic fields, pulsars funnel jetsof particles along their magneticpoles producing large amounts ofenergy. These beams of particlesand light can sweep in thedirection of the Earth, appearingto alternate between high and lowenergy, much like a beam of lightfrom a lighthouse. - J. Vondruska"The most important thing Ilearned from this experience wasthat jumping in and learning a newset of skills that will allow me tocontribute to research in a fieldI'm interested in isn't as dauntingas I thought before," Marks said."Realizing that provides me withmuch more motivation to getinvolved with other research in notjust astronomy, but any other fieldas well. I  hope that more studentswill get involved with this projectin the future, as it provides a greatstarting point for getting involvedin astronomy research!"Research Spotlight: Dr. Vondruska & StudentsASTRONOMY STUDENTS SEARCH FOR PULSARS       Dr. Judy Vondruska, Department of Physics, and three of her astronomystudents took part in a 7-week virtual training program through the GreenbankRadio Observatory this semester to become certified to analyze data searchingfor pulsars.  Each week consisted of a one-hour class and about one hour ofhomework. The training culminated in the completion of 5-levels of certificationbefore access was granted to the telescope data.              Once students complete an analysis of 50 data sets, they are eligible to applyto take part in additional undergraduate projects, get a paid registration to theAmerican Astronomical Society summer meeting, and can apply for an in-personcapstone experience at the Greenbank Observatory. Jax Wysong (Freshman,Physics/Math major), Jaden Marks (Senior, Biology major), and William Renson(Freshman, Physics major) took part in the program.             "Skills that I learned from this experience include working with a group, toeven presentation skills. Each week we would have group meetings to askquestions or discuss our progress with other members of the Collaboratory. I amglad to be able to have strengthened this social skill," Wysong said. "Once thetraining was over, our group gave a presentation to the physics departmentabout our experience. This was great as well because I do not get to practice thiss to others.""I would definitely recommend this project to other students," JaxWysong said. "Aside from my interest in the subject, as a studentinterested in a career of research, I think it is very important topartake in any sort of research as often as possible. You neverknow what experience or personal gain could come out of it andhaving it on resumes or applications makes a difference."skill often, but I understandhow important it is to beable to confidently presentresearch or projects toothers."An x-ray image of the pulsar at the centerof the Crab NebulaDepartment Head InterviewsOPEN SEMINARS ON MAY 4, 6, & 7Please join us next week as three candidates interview for the open DepartmentHead of Biology & Microbiology position!  All are welcome and encouraged totune into the Zoom seminars listed below and submit feedback comments.Dr. Joseph ShostellTuesday, May 4thPublic seminar: 10:30amLink to join seminar on ZoomLink to view recording afterwardLink to submit feedback commentsDr. Jerod SkybergThursday, May 6thPublic seminar: 10:30amLink to join seminar on ZoomLink to view recording afterwardLink to submit feedback commentsDr. Radhey KaushikFriday, May 7thPublic seminar: 10:30amLink to join seminar on ZoomLink to view recording afterwardLink to submit feedback commentsOther OngoingSearches in CNSOne tenure-track facultyposition in the Geography &Geospatial SciencesDepartment: interviews haveconcluded and a hire will beannounced soonOne tenure-track position inthe Biology & MicrobiologyDepartment: interviews willbegin soonMedia Coverage of the College Honors Convocation AwardRecipientsSDSU recognizes studentsworks at URSCADView all past newsletters hereMore media coverage on thenext pageMedia Coverage of CNSSDSU chemistry research featured on journal cover: "Having your research on the cover of a prestigious journal is amilestone in a faculty member’s career—it’s something SouthDakota State University assistant professor Rachel Willand-Charnley and undergraduate researcher Tim Paris already haveunder their belts."New ice core data tracks climate-changing eruptions: "This is the most accurate chronology of volcanic eruptions producedthus far, according to Cole-Dai, who has done ice core research formore than 20 years. 'This is the highest-quality volcanic recordbecause of the high-resolution chemical measurements andexceptionally accurate time scale—this has never been done before.'"ADDRESSING SOUTH DAKOTA'S RURAL DOCTOR SHORTAGESDSU biology professor receives Fulbright to Norway: "Professor Charles Fenster of South Dakota State University’s Department of Biologyand Microbiology has received an award from the Fulbright scholar program to doresearch in Trondheim, Norway. Fenster, who is director of the Oak Lake FieldStation, will begin his seven-month stint at the Norwegian University of Science andTechnology in February 2022."Grandma influenced plans to enter ruralfamily medicine: Our very own Keri Pappas,Human Biology B.S., will speak atCommencement on May 8th! "Eleven years ago,when her grandmother was forced to move fromher hometown of Lemmon because ofinadequate medical care, Pappas made thecommitment to go into rural family medicine."Mitchell's Smith sets eye on medical school,rural health: "'My main goal is to end up in a ruralarea,' Smith, a soon-to-be South Dakota StateUniversity graduate now bound for the SanfordSchool of medicine at the University of SouthDakota in Vermillion, told the Mitchell Republic ina recent interview."RESEARCH UPDATESGrants Awarded in CNS MARCH 2020Robert McTaggart, PI  •  Physics  •  Society of Physics Students  •  Ultrathin PTAA Layer and Phenylhydrazinium Iodide for DefectPassivation and Enhanced Charge Carrier Mobility in PerovskiteSolar CellOpen PRAIRIE Data What is "Open PRAIRIE"?The Open  Public ResearchAccess InstitutionalRepository & InformationExchange trackspublications from withinNatural Sciencesthroughout the year,showing where and whenarticles were opened allaround the world. 2,657 downloads at  304 institutions in 105 countries8 new works posted, for a total of  904Deep Eutectic Solvents Synthesis, Characterization andApplications in Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass wasthe most frequently downloaded piece at 151 downloads.This thesis is by past PhD student Ganesh Degam, who wasan advisee of Dr. Doug Raynie.   Data across the whole College of Natural Sciences:MARCH 2020Student Club Spotlight: BMGSABIOLOGY & MICROBIOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENTS' ASSOCIATIONDuring the spring semester, the Biology-Microbiology Graduate StudentAssociation (BMGSA) hosted a seminar series through Zoom. Students were giventhe opportunity to present their research to peers and three faculty judges, Drs.Butzin, Brözel, and Pedersen. Presentations were evaluated based onengagement, clarity, content, tone, and time management. Each award recipientearned a $300 stipend to cover conference registration fees. From fifteen participants, four recipients were chosen, including Katelyn Hurley,Namrata Maharjan, Trevor Van Den Top, and Tahmina Hossain. Club InfoPresident: Bikram KumarDasVP: Katelyn HurleySecretary: BhawandeepKaurTreasurer: AhanaMajumderHistorian & SafetyOfficer: Tahmina HossainSocial Chair: AasthaAcharyaFaculty Advisor: VolkerBrözelWhat:  BMGSAClub LeadershipHow to Join:  students canjoin the club by paying anannual fee of $5BMGSA extends deepgratitude toward theparticipants, viewers,and judges. Check outthe “Bio Micro GraduateStudent Association”Facebook page forfuture events!From fifteen participants, four recipients were chosen, including KatelynHurley, Namrata Maharjan, Trevor Van Den Top, and Tahmina Hossain. Despite the inability to meet in person, BMGSA officers were thrilled with thelevel of participation and engagement in the Zoom seminar series. On average,25 students attended the presentations. One faculty judge commented, "WithCovid, we have been living in restrictive times; and so, a vibrant success storysuch as this competition is all the more welcome and needed!"BMGSA Conference Award Seminar ParticipantsBack: Bhawandeep Kaur, Ruqayyah Amaratunga, Katelyn Hurley, Trevor VanDen Top, Dr. Volker Brozel (BMGSA advisor), Armaan Kaur SandhuFront: Namrata Maharjan, Aastha Acharya, Salina Tripathi, Tanim Islam,Tahmina Hossain, Prajakta JadhavNot pictured: Camille Massmann, Jaya Yakha, Ahana Majumder, Surbhi GuptaThen & Now: Urban GeographyLast semester, Kimberly JohnsonMaier's Urban Geographystudents spent time inDowntown Brookings, recreatingold photos. This allowed them tosee how Brookings' culturallandscape changed over time.The course, GEOG 461, covers thegeography of cities, includingtypes, functions, and distributionof cities all across the world.There is also a special emphasison the planning of cities in theU.S.Current students, if you areinterested in taking this class,there's still room this fall!

College of Natural Sciences Newsletter, April 2021

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College of Natural Sciences Newsletter, April 2021

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