Eagle Connection - April 15-21, 2009

NCUR logo

NCUR 2009 is April 16-18 at UW-L

Students from throughout North America will be on campus this week. Preconference registration stands at 2,629 with presentations from 298 universities and colleges from 34 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and three Canadian Provinces for the 23rd National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR®) 2009 Thursday through Saturday, April 16-18.

NCUR® was established in 1987 to promote undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity in all fields of study by sponsoring an annual conference for students.

The idea for a national conference open to all undergraduates was conceived and first implemented at the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 1987. The first conference drew more than 400 participants from schools across the country. Since, the conference regularly hosts more than 2,000 students and their faculty mentors to present research through posters, oral presentations, visual arts and performances.

This year's event boasts 2,128 student presentations, including 64 performance/visual arts presentations, 1,192 oral presentations and 872 poster/exhibit presentations.

This year's speakers include Jack Horner, Ameya Preserve Curator of Paleontology and Montana State University Regents’ Professor of Paleontology; Bill Miller, a Mohican Indian and Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter; Anne Bancroft, adventurer and Polar explorer; and Mark Lee, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut.

For more information about the NCUR® 2009 conference and to download a pdf of the conference program book , visit www.uwlax.edu/ncur2009. To learn more about the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, visit www.NCUR.org.

PT Club hosts massage day Friday

UW-L's Physical Therapy Club is sponsoring its semi-annual massage day from 3-8 p.m. Friday, April 17, in 3010 Health Science Center. Massages are $5 for 15 minutes or $8 for 30 minutes. No appointments are necessary. Massages are given on a first-come, first-served basis.

Author Susan Jewell to sign books at bookstore April 17

Susan Jewell, wildlife biologist and environmental writer, will be at the University Bookstore from 2:30-4 p.m. Friday, April 17, to read from her latest book, "GATORS, GORDHEADS, AND PUFFLINGS: A Biologist Slogs, Climbs And Wings Her Way To Save Wildlife," with a book-signing to follow. Jewell’s book portrays the humor, drama and risk that biologists face to save wild creatures. As a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Jewell will is speaking earlier that day at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) representing the Partnership for Public Service in regard to employment with the federal government. For more on NCUR, visit www.uwlax.edu/ncur2009/.

Music celebration on campus April 17

Ignite your heart with "Music on Fire," an inspirational music celebration being held on campus Friday, April 17. The celebration runs from 6:30-8 p.m. in The Cellar, Cartwright Center. This event is co-sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and Campus Crusade for Christ. Students from both organizations will present a program of music and life testimonies intending to offer insight and encouragement to those who attend the free event. For more information or if you need special accommodations, contact Ben Arant at arant.benj@students.uwlax.edu.

Chicken-Q, silent auction slated for April 18

UW-L's Concert Choir is hosting a Chicken-Q and silent auction from 3:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 18, in the Luther Room at English Lutheran Church, 1509 King St., La Crosse. Silent auction items include a variety of items such as gift certificates from local businesses. Proceeds from the auction will be used for UW-L choral music scholarships. Chicken-Q meals are $7.50 each, $14 for two meals and $21 for three meals. For more information, call 785.8414 or 608.487.1304.

Kooiman to speak on local architectural history

Barbara Kooiman, president of the Preservation Alliance of La Crosse, will speak Saturday, April 18, at Nell's City Grill about local architectural history. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., followed by a 10 a.m. brunch. A $12 fee includes a fresh fruit plate, rolls, crepes, coffee or tea, tax and a tip. Nell's City Grill, is located at 1111 S. Third St.

Make Love Not Drug War logo

Make Love Not Drug War Week is April 20-24

Students for a Sensible Drug Policy have put together a week of informational meetings on marijuana: Make Love Not Drug War Week. Events include:

  • Monday, April 20, 7 p.m., 260 Graff Main Hall — "The Union: The Business Behind Getting High (film)"
  • Tuesday, April 21, 7 p.m., 260 Graff Main Hall — "Just Say KNOW — Drugs / Panel Discussion: Marijuana Legalization"
  • Wednesday, April 22, noon-1 p.m., Port 'O Call, Cartwright Center-Gunning Addition — "Just Say KNOW — Cannabis"
  • Thursday, April 23, 6-7 p.m., Ward Room, Cartwright Center — "Fun With Hemp"
  • Friday, April 24, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Wittich Field — "Make Love Not Drug War Sit-In"

Download a poster of events at www.uwlax.edu/universityrelations/images/2009/spring/april/mindweekflyer.pdf.

For more information, visit SSDP on UWLMyOrgs at http://uwlmyorgs.collegiatelink.net/Community?action=getOrgHome&orgID=13249 or contact uwlssdp@gmail.com.

Earth Week events at UW-L begin April 20

UW-L students will be getting their hands dirty for a good cause Monday, April 20, at the annual Dumpster Dive. A dumpster full of trash will be brought to the Hoeschler Clock Tower. From 10 a.m.-3 p.m. students will sort the garbage to see how much should have been recycled or reused.

The Dumpster Dive starts off Earth Week at UW-L. Other events include:

  • Our Land and Water: Conservation for a Sustainable Future
    Wednesday, April 22
    7 p.m.
    102 Wing Technology Center
    Features three area land and water conservation experts — Gretchen Benjamin, Tim Jacobson and David Vetrano — who will each give an individual presentation then participate in a panel discussion with questions and answers.
  • Change a Light, Change the World
    Thursday, April 23
    10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
    Hoeschler Clock Tower
    Rain site: Port O’ Call, Cartwright Center-Gunning Addition.
    Students, faculty and staff can exchange incandescent light bulbs for energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. Participants are eligible for prizes from Organic Valley.
  • Panel Discussion: Environmental Sustainability in UW-L’s Curriculum
    Friday, April 24
    Noon-1 p.m.
    102 Wing Technology Center
    Preregistration required: An ala carte lunch will be served; seating is limited. Register by e-mail to catl@uwlax.edu. Registration deadline is Monday, April 20.
    In a recent survey of UW-L faculty and instructional academic staff, 36 percent reported that they included environmental sustainability issues in their courses. And 40 percent of those surveyed said they would like to increase the coverage of environmental issues in their courses. To address this concern, this one-hour panel discussion of methods for incorporating environmental sustainability in the curriculum has been planned. Panelists from economics, history and biology will discuss the exercises they use in their classes. The presentations will lead to a discussion on how similar ideas can be adapted for use in other courses.
    Carol Miller, sociology/archaeology, will facilitate the discussion. Panelists include:
    • Donna Anderson, economics, "Tracking Food Miles Using Google Earth"
    • James Longhurst, history, "Teaching Sustainability through Historical Failure and Collapse"
    • Meredith Thomsen, biology, “Comparing the Environmental Impacts of Corn Grain Ethanol and Soybean Biodiesel”
  • Film Screening: "Black Gold, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee"
    Friday, April 24
    7 p.m.
    Graff Main Hall Auditorium
    The film, "Black Gold," traces the path of the coffee consumed each day to the farmers who grow the coffee beans. It exposes the unjust conditions under which coffee is produced and introduces the viewer to the fair trade movement aiming to improve these conditions. It also shows how ordinary citizens can make a difference.
Robin Hemley
Robin Hemley

Guggenheim Fellow book reading, signing on campus April 21

Guggenheim Fellow Robin Hemley, director of the non-fiction writing program at the University of Iowa, will read from his newest book, "Do-Over!: in which a forty-eight year-old father of three returns to kindergarten, summer camp, the prom and other embarrassments," at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 21, in the Cleary Alumni & Friends Center.

The event, sponsored by a College of Liberal Studies endowment grant, is hosted by the English department.

Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes multiple awards in each of two separate competitions: one open to citizens or permanent residents of Canada or the U.S. the other to citizens and permanent residents of Latin America or the Caribbean.

For more information on the event, visit www.uwlax.edu/universityrelations/images/2009/spring/Hemley.pdf.

Rape is topic of lunchbox/soapbox discussion

Rape affects millions of women, children and men worldwide. A documentary video exploring the meaning and consequences of rape will be shown at UW-L's lunchbox/soapbox at noon Wednesday, April 22, in 337 Cartwright Center. The video, "Rape is ...," and discussion will explore how people think of sexual violence and its pervasiveness. Ingrid Peterson, Violence Prevention Office, will facilitate discussion. The event is sponsored by the women’s, gender and sexuality studies department.

Fulbright Chapter meeting set for April 25

Faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend the next Seven Rivers Region Fulbright Chapter meeting from 9:30 a.m.-noon, Saturday, April 25, in 326 Cartwright Center.

Associate Professor of Education at Luther College James Langholz is the guest speaker. Langholz recently completed a Fulbright at the University of Male in the Republic of the Maldives, where he worked to develop the teacher education program.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and people of other countries.

Peerspectives spring 2009 newsletter now online

The spring 2009 issue of "Peerspectives" is now online at www.uwlax.edu/advising/peerspectivesspring09.pdf.

New journal to print papers, reviews on philosophy

A new journal, Philosophical Papers and Reviews (PPR), publishes high-quality solicited and unsolicited articles on philosophy. All articles published in PPR will be peer-reviewed. The following are considered for publication:

  • Original articles in basic and applied research.
  • Critical reviews, surveys, opinions, commentaries and essays.
One key request of researchers across the world is unrestricted access to research publications. PPR is fully committed Open Access Initiative by providing free access to all articles (both abstract and full PDF text) as soon as they are published. PPR seeks qualified reviewers as members of the review board team. It will also send publications alerts, if requested, with links to various abstracts and full PDF text of articles.

Authors will be informed within four weeks of submission if their manuscript(s) will be published. For more information, visit www.academicjournals.org/PPR. To be alerted with a table of contents for the publication or to submit a manuscript(s), visit PPR@acadjourn.org.

Matt Vogel at desk. Lester Grinspoon on screen.

Skype links Harvard professor emeritus to UW-L classroom

Students in Matt Vogel's HED 469/569 Drugs, Society and Human Behavior course interacted with a Harvard Medical School professor emeritus Dr. Lester Grinspoon, thanks to Skype video conferencing.

Grinspoon spent years researching marijuana and is the author or coauthor of over 160 journal articles or chapters and 12 books on marijuana and its medical use. To view the class video conference, visit www.uwlax.edu/edtech/grinspoon.

For information on video conferencing, contact Terry Wirkus, Educational Technologies, at 785.8049.

Academic Advising

 

 

 

 

By Academic Specialist Charlene Holler, Counseling and Testing Center

Word has it!

Last week’s answers are: hair/hare, sore/soar, bore/boar and you/ewe.

This week's challenge: palindromes. A palindrome is a word that reads the same in either direction. The proper names Bob and Otto are palindromes. See if you can define the word or phrase given knowing the answer is a one word palindrome.

midday ...

a young dog ...

flat ...

a canoe-like vessel ...

Kudos

 

 

 

Jim Ironside
Jim Ironside

NMT student receives first place award for research

UW-L Nuclear Medicine Technology (NMT) student intern Jim Ironside was awarded first place for his research presentation "A Phantom Study to Evaluate Variations in the Quantitative Parameters Derived from a New 3D PET-CT Reconstruction Algorithm."

Ironside presented his work, which suggests that some cancer scans currently performed can be misinterpreted, at the annual spring meeting of the Central Chapter of the Society of Nuclear Medicine held April 3-5 in Chicago. He helped test a new computer algorithm that clarifies the tumor images and suggests a new way to distinguish between malignant and benign tumors.

Ironside competed against 19 other top NMT students from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan in front of over 200 nuclear medicine technologists, physicians and physicists.

Ironside plans to continue the research and give another presentation at the annual North American meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine in Toronto in June.

“Choosing La Crosse to pursue my undergrad in nuclear medicine as opposed to any other university has proven to prepare me more than any other program I have seen," Ironside says. "At Northwestern Memorial Hospital we have 12 interns, three of whom are from La Crosse. It is evident through our grades and our general knowledge in the clinical environment that the La Crosse interns have been better prepared than any other university.”

Ironside is currently finishing his NMT internship at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago where he performed the research. He will be graduating with a bachelor of science degree in NMT in August after completing his internship.

Find out more about UW-L's NMT program at www.uwlax.edu/nmt/.

Eleven students receive cash award for top presentations

These students received a cash award for top presentations at this year’s 12th Annual Celebration of Student Research and Creativity. Their mentors, department, title and type of presentation are listed as well.

List of students, mentors and projects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ning site
UW-L's Ning social network site provides a safe easy way to connect with others affiliated with UW-L. Find it at www.uwlax.edu/100years

UW-L social network established for Centennial Celebration

As part of UW-L’s Centennial Celebration, Ning, a private social network, has been created to communicate and share stories, photos and videos.

“Since UW-L is one of most socially connected campuses in the UW System," says Jim Jorstad, director of Educational Technologies, "we thought the private social network might be a good pilot to test this premise and to help promote the Centennial through a creative technology solution.”

Larry Sleznikow, the developer of the project, says the Ning social network allows the site’s creator and designees to approve or disallow material and comments that have been submitted.

" This greatly reduces the chance of inappropriate content being viewed on the site," he explains. "The UW-L Centennial Ning was created to give students, faculty, alumni and community members the opportunity to connect and share their stories, comments, images and videos related to their UW-La Crosse experience.”

UW-L’s social network, while similar to Facebook or MySpace, provides additional security to its members and provides a more customized look to coincide with the campus Centennial.

Bob Hoar, mathematics, sees the social network beyond uses for the Centennial. “The Centennial Ning site is a great way to allow current, past, and, we hope, future members of the UW-L's global community to get together to share stories and experiences that are from the classroom, the campus and the town of La Crosse," Hoar says. "I am particularly interested in the technology behind the site. In my research, I work with faculty and students at a variety of campuses within the UW System, and I have been looking for a way to keep in contact with the growing (and quickly changing) group of individuals. A 'social networking site' similar to the Centennial Ning Site might just be the solution that I have been seeking. I appreciate the opportunity to get to know more about the Ning site through this project.”

On April 1, UW-L’s Ning site has 40 members from La Crosse and as far away as Dubna, Russia; and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. See Ning on UW-L's Centennial Web site at www.uwlax.edu/100years.

 

In the news

 

 

 

 

Local

"UW-L gearing up to host national research conference," Racquet, April 8. In a few weeks the city of La Crosse will become an academic mecca as more than 2,500 student scholars and faculty journey to UW-L for the 23rd National Conference on Undergraduate Research April 16-18. The annual NCUR conference showcases the research done by undergraduate students in all fields of study from biology to sociology. Students will give oral presentations, participate in poster sessions, present original artwork and give a performance in dance, music and theater ... Full story: http://media.www.theracquet.net/media/storage/paper978/news/2009/04/08/News/UwL-Gearing.Up.To.Host.National.Research.Conference-3699299.shtml.

"Medical fees at UW-L," Racquet, April 8. With our economy's current financial crisis and UW-L's budget crunch, many students want to know where their tuition is going and if they are being treated fairly. The university requires each student to pay a segregated fee towards the Student Health Center each semester. According to the Cashier's Office website, a segregated fee describes charges in addition to "instructional fees that are assessed to all students for services, programs, and facilities that support the primary mission of the university." However, these fees sometimes function more like a tax as the Apportionment Committee rather than the students have control over how they are distributed ... Full story: http://media.www.theracquet.net/media/storage/paper978/news/2009/04/08/Health/Medical.Fees.At.UwL-3697672.shtml.

"UW-L class tackles global impact of diseases," La Crosse Tribune, April 11. The class inspired Lipanot to sell the T-shirts on his own time. He wants to raise money to combat malaria in developing countries that don't have the resources — like a simple mosquito net — to prevent it. He says one shirt purchase equals one net ... Full story: www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2009/04/11/news/z04disease11.txt.

 

Murphy Library

 


 

STEMSS teacher resource day is April 20

Murphy Library is hosting the third annual Teacher Resource Day for Science, Technology, Engineering and Social Studies (STEMSS). Sessions run from 8:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. and again from 12:30–3:30 p.m. Monday, April 20, in the Alice Hagar Curriculum Center in Murphy Library.

Sessions focus on STEMSS resources for PK- 8 grade classroom use. Classroom teachers, LMC staff, reading specialists, special education teachers, administrators and any others interested in teaching STEMSS topics at the PK-8 level are encouraged to participate.

Registration, lunch and campus parking are free. Parking spaces are limited. To register, contact Tim Gerber, biology, at 785.8509 or gerber.tim@uwlax.edu.

Note: The library thanks Gerber for the efforts he has put into building the library’s collections of award-winning STEMSS books and for the national attention these efforts have received. The project Web site has grown into a major clearinghouse for STEMSS resources and has been featured in national publications.

Classified

 

 

 

For sale

2008 Bronc Rally Scooter, 49CC, yellow, 475 miles. $1,000. Call Wayne at 608.385.5968.

Mongoose 21-speed bike DXR AL, aluminum element racing model, $50 OBO. Call 608.781.6962 or e-mail strange.mich@uwlax.edu.

Wanted

Female participants in class to manage urinary incontinence. Open-house style class from 6-8 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, through April 30, in 4022 La Crosse Health Science Center. Participants time commitment 30 minutes per class. Class offered by two, female physical therapy students, in conjunction with a health and wellness course in the doctorate of physical therapy curriculum. For more information, contact Abbie Lewis at lewis.abbi@students.uwlax.edu.

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