Owen Byer Archives - �� News

The story of an ‘exquisite’ new discrete math textbook by ��’s Owen Byer and Deirdre L. Smeltzer

Christopher Clymer Kurtz — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 16:13:38 +0000

Sometimes the thrill of mathematics doesn’t come from the question, but from a beautiful solution.

Consider the approach �� math professor Owen Byer took when deciding which problems to include in the new textbook he co-authored with math-professor-turned-vice president and academic dean Deirdre Longacher Smeltzer, and Regent University professor Kenneth Wantz:

“In my own view,” he said, “either it should be a really interesting question, or – lacking that – the solution should be beautiful. Even average problems are worth including if the solution teaches you something.”

This November marked the publication of the long-anticipated – and, already, long-used – textbook Journey into Discrete Mathematics (Mathematical Association of America Press, 2018).

“This is definitely the best math textbook that I’ve ever used,” said sophomore Andrew Nord after a recent session of his discrete math class, which is the latest to use the – until now, pre-published – book. “It explains the concepts very fully and in a way that can be understood fairly easily.”

From the start

Byer, Smeltzer and Byer’s University of Delaware PhD advisor Felix Lazebnik began talking about writing Journey at about the same time the trio’s earlier textbook Methods for Euclidean Geometry (MAA, 2010) was published. All three had doctoral training in discrete math and had taught it many times, and “it seemed like a good second joint project,” Smeltzer said.

Professor Owen Byer and his colleagues began using the textbook long before it was published.

A year into the writing of Journey, however, Lazebnik needed to bow out – but generously granted permission for materials that he had developed to remain in the textbook. Byer and Smeltzer then invited Wantz, a former grad school colleague of Byer’s, to join them, and the new trio continued even as a new wrinkle developed: Smeltzer’s transition to being undergraduate dean left her little time to focus on the textbook. While each author ultimately made similar contributions, she said, Byer provided leadership and did “more of everything, especially generating problems and solutions.”

Once drafted, Journey entered what Byer modestly dubbed “a long process” of revising and polishing. For Smeltzer, that process posed the biggest challenge of writing Journey, second only to her limited time: “It’s hard to see something with fresh eyes when you’ve been working on it for a long time.”

There was a beautiful way to help with that problem, however.

A beautiful solution: students

As early as half a decade ago, Byer and his colleagues at �� began using Journey in the classroom, first in pdf form and later – including this fall, even as the book was heading to press – in three-ring binders in Professor Daniel Showalter’s discrete math class.

Doing that had distinct benefits: Students could learn from a textbook grounded in experienced educational practice. Plus, students’ fresh eyes would help tease out what needed better explanation – and they’d find mistakes, discoveries that were often rewarded with bonus points.

Another of Showalter’s students, sophomore Silas Clymer, remembers – with a note of satisfied glee in his voice – finding a misleading hint in a homework problem. But more importantly, “It’s definitely cool having the writer of the book downstairs in an office,” he said. “You can go to talk to him if you need to.”

Showalter often teaches using a flipped classroom model, a model that depends on having a clearly written textbook: students learn concepts on their own from the textbook, and show up to class for answers to their questions and content-related activities. Even prepublicaton, he said, the evolved Journey proved an effective flipped-classroom text.

“It’s very clear,” Showalter said. “It’s rigorous and precise, and has plenty of examples.”

His students agree.

“I’ve never really learned from a textbook before,” said first-year student Jeremiah Yoder after a recent class period during which Showalter guided students in applying newly learned concepts to solve a variety of famous problems. “The textbook was always supplementary. But with this textbook, I feel like I’m on course without assistance, so I’m learning well.”

“We really don’t need a teacher,” his classmate Isaac Andreas joked. “That’s why we can just play math games in class every day. I mean, we spend a little bit of time on the content during class, but then we go off and [solve fun problems]. It’s still math.”

‘Exquisite and engaging’

Byer expects Journey to be adopted more widely than the “niche” Methods, as discrete math is taken not only by math majors but also students in computer science, and since MAA Press is now an imprint of the American Mathematical Society.

The publisher describes the text’s exposition as “,” with “detailed descriptions of the thought processes that one might follow to attack the problems of mathematics. The problems are appealing and vary widely in depth and difficulty.”

That’s no surprise, of course, taking into account the authors’ cumulative expertise from decades of teaching – and loving the beauty of – math.

�� teams place 18th and 48th regionally in international programming contest – and that’s really, really good

Christopher Clymer Kurtz — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 19:17:12 +0000

An �� team in the Mid-Atlantic region competition of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) placed 18th out of 184, besting the top teams from the likes of the University of Richmond, UNC-Charlotte, George Washington University, Dickinson College, Virginia Commonwealth University, Villanova University, Georgetown University, and Wake Forest University.

Cameron Byer (left), Daniel Harder and Ben Stutzman placed 18th out of 184, besting the top teams from the likes of the University of Richmond, UNC-Charlotte and George Washington University.

A second of the three �� teams placed 48th in the Nov. 10 computer science competition, high enough to outscore the top teams from local (and friendly) rivals Bridgewater College (49th) and James Madison University (52nd).

First place in the five-hour contest went to Duke University, followed by Drexel University and Swarthmore College. Last place – 89th – was shared by the 96 of the 184 competing teams who solved none of the eight problems.

“This is the premier computer science contest for undergraduates, a highly competitive international contest,” said Professor Daniel Showalter. “The competitor list includes most of the elite schools in the country, and many of these schools have large teams that train year-round for the competition with coaches who devote most of their energy to the training, whereas �� had just a two-credit problem-solving course this semester for the first time.”

Austin Engle (left), Brandon Chupp and Andrew Reimer-Berg placed 48th, ahead of Bridgewater College and James Madison University.

This was only the third time that a team – and the first time that multiple teams – from �� entered the competition. The problem-solving course, which allows students to approach the topic from a math perspective, taught by Professor Owen Byer, or a computer science perspective, taught by Showalter, requires participation in a major competition and, as Showalter said, the ICPC – a “mental marathon” – was “the obvious choice.”

��’s top-scoring team included sophomore Cameron Byer and juniors Ben Stutzman and Daniel Harder, a power trio that won the international Kryptos cryptanalysis competition last spring. The second-place team for �� included seniors Austin Engle, Brandon Chupp and Andrew Reimer-Berg, and a third team included juniors Dan Hackman, Darren Good and Jamie Stoltzfus.

Dan Hackman (left), Darren Good and Jamie Stoltzfus made up a third team from �� in the Nov. 10 competition. Over half of the competing teams shared 89th place.

The �� teams competed at the 500-computer Math Emporium at Virginia Tech, one of the Mid-Atlantic competition’s eight sites. (��’s top team outscored every team at three of the eight sites: Christopher Newport, Shippensburg, and Wilkes.)

Each team clustered around a single computer to solve as many of the eight problems as possible using not only familiarity with popular algorithms but also insight and creativity.

“The problems are chosen to be very challenging and push students to the edges of their problem-solving capacities,” Showalter said. For example, one problem dealt with two bicycle courier services that wanted to increase their collective customer base. The students had to write a program that would take the customer locations and determine how to split them among two companies to minimize the guaranteed delivery time.

The indicators of each team’s progress, however, were delightfully low-tech, he said: “Each problem had a color associated with it, and whenever a team solved a problem, a balloon of that color was tied to their computer station for all the other competitors to see.”

�� wins international cryptanalysis competition

Christopher Clymer Kurtz — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 19:47:18 +0000

“Furrowed eyebrows” may not technically be a mood, but it’s how �� sophomore engineering major Ben Stutzman described the atmosphere when his team was competing in the in early April.

“We knew some things we could try right away, but there was a lot of pondering,” he said.

The thinking paid off, as the team of three – Stutzman and math and computer science majors first-year Cameron Byer and sophomore Daniel Harder – took first place over 60 other teams from three countries on three puzzles.

Only four teams solved all three puzzles within the five-day contest window, with ��’s winning trio submitting correct answers first and in less than 20 hours – and that’s without pulling an all-nighter. After a 7 p.m. start on Thursday, April 5, they submitted their answer to the first puzzle, and then saved the following two puzzles for the next day.

The annual Kryptos contest, hosted since 2011 by the mathematics department at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, was sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Section of the Mathematical Association of America.

Teams could use books, the internet and computer programs – but no living person other than a teammate – to solve the challenges. Along with their correct answers, they were required to describe how they reached a solution and list any sources used.

Discrete math proved most useful, Byer said, but the open-ended nature of the coded messages required lots of “trying this, trying that” until hitting on breakthroughs.

In one problem, they were provided with a series of personal ad clippings, only one of which contained a coherent phrase: “Knowledge is Power.” That, they discovered, was a quote by Francis Bacon, and a clue that finding the solution would involve using Bacon’s cipher. The rest of the ad contents, they noticed, were all five letters long and completely nonsensical – binary encryption, they realized.

In another, an invitation to a Stephen Hawking memorial celebration invited attendees to “bring something to grille,” a subtle suggestion that a “turning grille” would prove useful.

And the remaining puzzle required contestants to decipher incoherent text to find a keyword “chicken” for decoding a message. Harder wrote a computer program to sort through thousands of possible keyword solutions to the Vigenere cipher.

The contest showed the importance of using creativity to solve problems, Stutzman said – and, added Byer, teamwork and camaraderie.

After repeated attempts at breaking the codes would end in “gibberish,” said Byer, finding a sensical answer was exciting – for example when their teammate Harder figured out the “Knowledge is Power” message: “‘Denver!’ I got ‘Denver!’ ‘Ruby Hill!’ ‘Seven p.m.!’”

It’s not the first time an �� team has taken first place. In 2014, �� teams took both first and third place. That year Byer was on the third-place finishing team – as a freshman at Eastern Mennonite High School.

Ligand synthesis and bio-remediation projects earn top awards at fall student research symposium

Randi B. Hagi — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 19:07:03 +0000

Twelve students representing eight research projects across various scientific disciplines had to condense and disseminate their results of weeks or semesters of work at ��’s Dec. 7 STEM Student Research Symposium.

“It forces you to rethink your project,” says biology professor and judge . Efficiently clarifying specialized research is a valuable process, explained Pastalkova, who came to �� after seven years leading an independent lab at Janelia Research Campus.

Professor Eva Pastalkova asks a question during the symposium, as Professor Owen Byer listens behind her. (Photo by Andrew Strack)

This clarity is invaluable when researchers have less than ten minutes to introduce audiences to, for example, the upregulation of the nuclear factor of activated T-cells 5, arylation of phenanthroline, or changes in the gene expression of intestinal alkaline phosphatase.

For the scientifically uninitiated, humorous anecdotes and the intrusion of mechanical failures gave context to the technical terminology.

“Here is a mugshot of the main villain of this story: the melon fly,” said Diego Barahona, a senior major.

“We don’t think the cobalt played along at all,” joked another senior biochemistry major, Eli Wenger, about his inorganic nanochemistry work.

Wenger, who placed third in the event, shared the results of a summer research placement at Penn State University in the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program.

First and second place awards were also made to : senior Janaya Sachs for her chemistry project and junior Amanda Williams, a biology and environmental sustainability major, for her bio-remediation project in Delaware.

(Read more about all research projects and presenters below.)

The presenters were evaluated based on two criteria: clear statement of the problem, including what they’re investigating and why; and clear presentation of their process, findings and its relevance.

Research challenges

Sammy Kauffman talks about her research with Braden Herman involving genetic changes in rats because of diet.

Staying focused in the face of failure was a challenge for many student researchers. Marcy Smucker dealt with a broken PCR machine rendering half of her data unreadable. She and Taylor Esau had to rework their analysis methods, said Smucker.

Others found that their months of effort created more questions than they answered. As part of a larger research team, Braden Herman and Sammy Kauffman tracked . (Smucker will join them next semester, under Professor Julia Halterman, as they investigate other gene expressions in a wider variety of bodily tissues, with the hopes of identifying markers for the risk of heart attacks and strokes.)

One project may have immediate and lucrative application: David Nester and Kyle Johnson worked on image-tracking software they hope to market to physics laboratories by the end of next semester.

“Setting up objectives and goals and then making the short-term decisions to reach them is not something that you normally experience in a regular class,” says Nester. “This project has given me that experience.”

STEM Research Symposium Awards

First place: Janaya Sachs, senior chemistry major: Exploration into Ligand Synthesis using Photochemistry and the Effectiveness of Copper Photocatalysts. Sachs worked on this project through the REU program in Budapest, Hungary. Her green chemistry work attempted to create more affordable materials for photocatalytic processes.
Second place: Amanda Williams, junior biology and environmental sustainability major: Effects of Bio-Remediation on Zooplankton in South Bethany (DE) Canals. Also part of the REU program, Williams worked with the Delaware Center for Inland Bays to test water quality and biodiversity before and after bio-remediation attempts in polluted canals.
Third place: Eli Wenger, senior biochemistry major: Investigating Cation Exchange with Copper Nitride and Copper Palladium Nitride to Access Other Colloidal Nitrides. Wenger joined the Schaak laboratory at Pennsylvania State University under the REU program, using synthetic inorganic nanochemistry in an attempt to create metal catalysts for water-splitting reactions more readily available than those used today.
Honorable mention: Kat Lehman, Hannah Walker, junior biochemistry majors: Analysis of Volatile Profiles for Coffee Damaged by the Coffee Berry Borer (Hypothenemus hampei). Lehman and Walker traveled to the Kona region of Hawai’i to study the chemical profiles of coffee pest-damaged coffee compared to those of intact beans.
David Nester and Kyle Johnson present during the symposium.
Braden Herman, Sammy Kauffman, junior biology and pre-med majors: Expression of NFAT-5 in Rat Tissues Under Varying Salt and Fructose Diets. Herman, Kauffman and their team analyzed a specific gene expression in the kidneys, liver, pancreas, and stomach of rats as it reacted to diets associated with hypertension and metabolic disorder in humans.
Kyle Johnson, senior computer science major, David Nester, senior computer science and mathematics major: Object Tracking in Video for Physics Labs. Johnson and Nester developed software to analyze slow-motion videos of projectiles, collisions and trajectories to assist physics research.
Taylor Esau, Marcy Smucker, junior biochemistry majors: The Effects of Antibiotics/Corn Oil on Mice ALPI Gene Expression. Esau and Smucker tested mouse droppings and tissues to track Alkaline phosphatase expression in the intestinal tract in response to high fat diets and antibiotic intake. The expression indicates the body’s attempt to regulate the production of endotoxins that can cause problems such as Type 2 Diabetes in humans.
Diego Barahona, senior biochemistry major: Syntheses and Behavioral Evaluation of Analogs of Raspberry Ketone as Attractants for the Melon Fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae. Barahona traveled to Hawai’i to work on superior pheromone traps for a melon-destroying pest by chemically altering the structure of a known attractant to make it more appealing to the fly.

�� set to prepare engineers ‘with a heart’

Andrew Jenner — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 14:04:51 +0000

Overseeing construction of a footbridge connecting a rural Latin American village to the wider world, deepening our collective human understanding of bubble science, or helping design a new and improved airplane wing are admirable creative and scientific feats that might appear on an engineer’s CV.

And soon, for the first time ever, CVs like these might include graduation from a at �� (��).

For more than 20 years, �� has offered a pre-engineering program, allowing students to begin coursework toward an engineering degree but requiring them to transfer to another school after several semesters. In the fall of 2016, however, a full engineering undergraduate major will be offered.

Prospective students have, for many years, expressed interest in a full engineering program. , a professor in the mathematical sciences department before becoming undergraduate dean in 2013, said offering a full major had also long been discussed at the university but hadn’t seemed feasible.

That began to change after professors and – both with PhDs in mechanical engineering – joined the mathematical sciences department in 2013. and renovations to the Suter Science Center also allow for enough laboratory and classroom space to host a full-fledged engineering program.

Professor Daniel King works with a student in the engineering lab.

“That created the opportunity for us to think, ‘maybe we could really do this,’” said Smeltzer.

Serious planning, including visits to other small universities with engineering programs and the creation of an advisory committee, began about a year ago.

Seven students already enrolled

The new program will offer a general engineering degree with options to focus on mechanical or computer engineering. As the major grows, Smeltzer said, future emphases might include environmental and biomedical engineering, building on ��’s existing undergraduate and graduate programs in and . The university will likely hire new faculty members in computer science and computer engineering in the near future to support the new program, Smeltzer added.

While undergraduate degrees in engineering can lead to a wide range of careers, all of them involve problem-solving, design and math. These will be important areas of focus in the new curriculum, said King, whose teaching load will include courses in design, analog circuits, fluid mechanics and mathematical modeling.

Though the program has only recently received final approval, seven incoming first-year students have declared as engineering majors, and several others are interested.

One of those new engineering majors is , from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who plans on a career in architecture. Stutzman had been considering several other schools when he heard that �� was about to launch its new engineering program, and after some thought, decided to enroll.

“I’m not sure yet what kinds of buildings I want to design, but whatever I do, I would definitely want to focus on green, environmentally-friendly designs,” said Stutzman, who hopes that an engineering background will eventually inform the technical aspects of his architecture.

Students work on a project in an engineering class.

“I’m [also] looking forward to having more one-to-one attention from the professors, since the class size will be small and the faculty all seem dedicated and invested in the program,” he added.

Small class sizes a benefit

Advisory committee member Eric Moyer, class of ’03, said small class sizes and close interaction with professors will be important benefits of ��’s small engineering program, which won’t have access to the same resources and facilities as large schools. Moyer spent three semesters in ��’s pre-engineering program before transferring to Drexel University in Philadelphia, where he and his hundreds of classmates sometimes had to put their student ID numbers rather than their names on all their assignments.

“I decided to go to �� because I really wasn’t into the mega-school atmosphere,” said Moyer, now a project engineer working on a new composite airplane wing for Boeing in Everett, Washington. “Here we bring in lots of folks from the big state schools. The facilities are great selling points, but I think the thing that’s going to benefit anyone going to �� over the other schools are smaller class sizes … and being involved in a community that’s there for your success.”

��’s broader focus on cross-cultural learning and pursuit of the common good will also help distinguish the new program, which has been designed to accommodate a semester-long cross-cultural program that many students participate in.

A rendering of new space devoted to engineering in Suter West.

“Engineering schools can spit out good technicians, but what we really also need is technicians who have some heart, and that can apply [their skills] to things that are good for society,” said advisory committee member Johann Zimmermann, a based in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

“The ‘common good’ framework we apply to all our academic programs will also be an important part of our approach to engineering,” said Smeltzer. “Training engineers who help meet the world’s needs will fit ��’s mission of preparing students to serve and lead in a global context.”

In addition to Zimmermann and Moyer, the advisory committee that helped �� plan the new program over the past year included:

(chair) – professor of mathematics
Sara Atwood – assistant professor of engineering and physics at Elizabethtown College
Ashley Driver – director of operations, Howell Metal, New Market, Virginia
John Swartzendruber ’79 – Former computer engineer, Eli Lilly, Indianapolis, Indiana
John-David Yoder – chair and professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio Northern University

The engineering program will begin using classroom and laboratory space in the recently renovated east half of the Suter Science Center. Upcoming renovations to the west half of the building will provide more space for the new program, including a laboratory with specialized equipment like 3-D printers. Future plans also call for the construction of a new machine shop on campus.

Black Student Union fundraiser game pits the (victorious) Streetball Kingz against the hometown Wreckin’ Royals

Alicia Ygarza — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 14:18:33 +0000

The Wreckin’ Royals were expected to lose, and lose big they did, during an Oct. 30 fundraising basketball game against the Richmond-based Streetball Kingz at ��’s Yoder Arena. The final score was 109-78.

A crowd of about 200 enjoyed the game, cheering on both the Kingz and their opponents, a team made up of faculty, staff, alumni and students.

The event was billed as the �� Charity Classic by the (BSU), which hosted the game and an after-party later that night. More than 150 tickets were sold, with the funds going towards an alternative spring break trip planned jointly by BSU, the �� Gospel Choir, and .

“I really love how the game brought a lot of energy to ��,” said sophomore Anna Messer. “It was a great time for students to get together with professors and with each other. It was a good community event for people to just let loose and have fun.”

Crowd-pleasing hoops

The Streetball Kingz is a group managed by Dewey Jackson, based in Delaware. The team plays across the U.S. for community and nonprofit events. Their flashy style of play incorporates crowd-pleasing dunks, top-notch ball handling, and supreme shooting.

The fundraiser was quickly put together and gained momentum after the Streetball Kingz, just weeks before, contacted , director of , about coming to �� since they had already played at James Madison University and Bridgewater College. Lepley passed along the idea to BSU student advisor .

“We wanted to do something that would be fun and late night so that students would have an option of doing something that’s substance free,” said Thomas. “We thought it would bring a lot of energy to the campus and it was something new. I think we did well taking a risk and trying something different.”

“It always feels good to see hard work pay off,” said BSU event coordinator Richard Robinson, “especially for an event like this that has never happened on ��’s campus.”

The fundraiser will help defray costs of an alternative spring break civil rights experiential learning trip to Alabama and Georgia.

“Instead of going to the beach, we’ll be going to Selma, Tuskegee and Atlanta doing a civil rights tour,” said Thomas. “It’s the 51st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, so we’ll walk across the Pettus Bridge, stop by national civil rights museums along the way, and go to some of the churches that they marched from. We’ll visit Martin Luther King Jr. father’s church, go to MLK’s church in Montgomery, and also where Rosa Parks got on the bus from her job and decided not to sit in the back of the bus.”

Team brings families and communities together

Streetball Kingz player Randy Gill, aka White Chocolate, splashed three three-pointers within the first five minutes of the game and they did not stop coming. A crowd pleaser, Gill interacted with the fans the entire time.

Following a collegiate career at Bowie State University, Gill started playing streetball and minor league basketball. He was eventually asked to play overseas, and since his return, has been playing for the Streetball Kingz.

Gill explained that the mission of his team is to support youth, and to bring families and communities together.

“It doesn’t matter if there are 20,000 people or even 100 people. We’re here to spread the love, bring the community together, and have a good time,” he said. “Whenever there’s a cause or a mission and we can help bring the people together that’s what it’s all about. We want young people to believe in themselves and let them know that they can do anything they want to if they practice their craft, whatever it may be. My mission is believe to achieve.”

More BSU events

This month, BSU will be hosting a Nov. 18 chapel with the theme of #BlackLivesMatter. On Dec. 11, BSU will be joining the Campus Activities Council to host the .

“We’re expecting about 150 people for the ball,” said Thomas. “We’ve contacted a band called Ebony Blue, and that will be another large event before we leave for winter break. When we come back we’ll have a week-long celebration for MLK in January, then in February we’ll have Kwanzaa for Black History Month, and finally the trip will be in March. We’re trying to expose the campus to different things. ”

A version of this article was first printed in Nov. 5, 2015, issue of The Weather Vane.

Annual Spring STEM Celebration features pizza, posters and trivia with profs in the renovated Suter Science Center

Lauren Jefferson — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 19:44:38 +0000

In conducting research, Sam Stoner says he’s learned diligence, time management, and patience – all qualities that the and says will pay off as he works toward his goal of becoming a business owner.

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 �� 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

Sam Stoner (middle) poses with the prize-winning poster alongside research partner Sarah Carpenter, while Ryan Keiner enjoys the show. (Photo by Jack Rutt)

��’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 �� 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 �� 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

Jordan Leaman (right) demonstrates a keyless entry project to Jesse Parker. The system utilizes WiFi to unlock a deadbolt door. (Photo by Jack Rutt)

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 �� Students – Sammy Kauffman, Josh Miller, and Roy Ruan

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

Newest Yoder Scholars bring artistic, athletic and academic talent to ��

Steve Shenk — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 17:28:03 +0000

Over the past three years, the graduation rate for �� honors students was 100 percent, with a third completing double or triple majors. These students, representing diverse cultural, racial and religious backgrounds, participate in special academic and co-curricular opportunities to learn from and be mentored by faculty.

Each year, a new group of highly motivated and gifted scholars is invited to join the �� . From this group, two prospective students are selected to receive the annual full-tuition .

Nicole Litwiller of Sarasota, Florida, and Maria Yoder of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, will begin their education in the fall of 2015 as contributors to ��’s legacy of academic excellence.

During Honors Weekend in February, Litwiller and Yoder came to campus with 42 other candidates for the final interview process. The group averaged 1,269 on the SAT critical reading and math sections, 29 on the ACT and a high-school grade point average (GPA) of 4.11.

Full Tuition Yoder Scholarships

The Yoder Scholarships, established in 1993, are named for Paul and Carol Yoder of Harrisonburg, Virginia, both 1963 graduates of ��. The rigorous selection process for the two scholarships includes a comprehensive academic and service resume, letters of recommendation, creative essays and interviews with Honors Program professors. Candidates who do not win the full-tuition scholarships receive academic scholarships covering approximately half of tuition, as well as membership in the Honors Program.

“We are looking for creative students with wide-ranging interests and strong leadership abilities,” said , a mathematics professor and faculty member in the Honors Program.

Benefits Include 1:1 Mentoring and Critical Thinking Boosts

Over the past three years, the graduation rate for �� honors students was 100 percent, with a third completing double or triple majors. These students, representing diverse cultural, racial and religious backgrounds, participate in special academic and co-curricular opportunities to learn from and be mentored by faculty.

A majority of honors graduates responding to a 2009 alumni survey “strongly agreed” that the program increased their overall learning and deepened critical thinking skills. Forty-two percent of the survey respondents indicated an educational track beyond their undergraduate degree.

Maria Yoder: The Animal Lover

Maria Yoder loves cats and dogs, and as she took biology classes in the past year, she thought about becoming a veterinarian someday. Lately she’s been volunteering at an animal hospital. At ��, she plans to enroll in the pre-professional health sciences program.

At Hempfield High School, Yoder is involved in sports, music, tutoring and academic clubs. She was captain of her school’s volleyball team, which won consecutive state championships in 2013 and 2014. She is also captain of the track and field team. A cellist in the school orchestra, she was selected this spring for the state orchestra.

At ��, Yoder will run , her favorite sport, and join the team. She will play cello in the orchestra.

“I like to keep a busy schedule,” she says, “but I have to be organized and make sure to leave some time for relaxing so I don’t feel overwhelmed.”

Her parents, Randy and Marianne Kurtz Yoder, graduated from �� in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Her mother earned a in 2013. Although �� was high on Yoder’s list, she also considered Haverford College near Philadelphia and the University of Mary Washington in Virginia.

Nicole Litwiller: Looking Forward to Cross-Cultural

Nicole Litwiller says that “�� has been on my radar since I was young.” Her parents are both graduates – Larry ’80 and Nelda Rempel Litwiller ‘85. “I am excited to expand my faith and be challenged by professors,” she says. “Also, I love how �� puts a huge focus on becoming more knowledgeable about other cultures worldwide.”

During the middle of her sophomore year, Litwiller went through an emotional experience when her family moved from Kansas to Florida the day after Christmas. She did not know anyone at Sarasota Christian School, but she looks back on that transition as full of “many new and fun things.”

Today she is president of her senior class, and she is trying to make the year an unforgettable one for her classmates. During her sophomore and junior years, she was on her school’s team that advanced to world competition both times.

A member of her high school soccer team and one of its three captains, Litwiller will probably play for �� this fall.

Her major, at this point, is undecided. “I hope that through my classes, the cross-cultural trip and other experiences at �� that my path will become clearer,” she says. “I am looking forward to many opportunities to experience the world.”

Computer science students take first and third in national contest against 47 other teams

Kara Lofton — Tue, 13 May 2014 20:11:47 +0000

Teams comprised of �� computer science and math students beat 47 teams across the nation in a contest that required code-breaking under time pressure.

The �� teams took first and third place at this year’s Kryptos competition sponsored by Central Washington University. The first-place team was made up of freshman Aron Harder and seniors Stephen Quenzer and Josiah Driver. The third-place team included senior Mark Harder (Aron’s older brother) and Eastern Mennonite High School freshman Cameron Byer, the son of �� professor .

Kryptos is a code-breaking competition of secret writing, known as cryptanalysis. The 2014 competition included three encoded messages that teams worked on over a long weekend. Once an encoded message was cracked and the plaintext English was revealed, contestants quickly wrote a one-page description on their methods before moving to the next code. The teams were judged not only on breaking the codes, but on how quickly they did the work.

While all three of the men on the winning team are computer science majors, none of them had any cryptanalysis experience prior to the competition. In fact, both �� teams only entered the competition the day before it was scheduled to start and for the most part prepared by briefly Googling cryptanalysis strategies and the previous years’ problems, said Driver.

Quenzer, Driver and Aron Harder are all in Owen Byer’s statistics class. Their final statistics project involved collecting data and developing a presentation based on their findings. Unfortunately, as is the case sometimes with statistics, their data ended up being inadequate for clear findings, Quenzer said. They went to professor Byer for help and he offered them this alternative: If they would participate in the Kryptos competition, he would accept this in lieu of their final statistics presentation.

Mark Harder, who is a math and major, happened to be writing a paper on the history of cryptanalysis for one of his classes when he heard about the competition. He had developed a friendship with Cameron (the high school student), and the two decided to enter the competition just for fun.

“It doesn’t help to have a lot of previous knowledge,” Harder said, because “each problem is quite a bit different.” What is important is “being able to be flexible and think outside the box.”

Quenzer viewed his team’s crash-preparation for the contest and resulting win as no big deal, noting that typically “all three of us put a lot more effort into our studies than is necessary – we go above and beyond.”

The �� first-place team was the only team to solve all three problems. The �� third-place team solved two problems, but was just beaten time-wise by the second-place team.

Similar to ��, Central Washington University had two teams in the top three winning categories. Other teams that placed represented: Pacific University, Sarah Lawrence College, Western Washington University, Eastern Oregon University, University of Arizona, and University of Central Missouri.

Teaching statistics in the age of Microsoft

Tue, 18 Mar 2014 18:52:18 +0000

Here’s the thing about statistics in this day and age: anyone can enter data into Microsoft Excel and, with a few clicks of the mouse, execute any number of statistical procedures and end up with any number of statistical outputs. Even a kindergartener could do it, right?

Indeed, as long as that kindergartner was skilled at detecting and correcting errors in the original data set, knew which specific statistical procedure was most relevant to a particular experimental objective, and could deliver a meaningful interpretation of the resulting output. That means people like Milton Loyer ’67 are still awfully handy to have around at places like the Penn State Fruit Research and Extension Center in Biglerville, Pennsylvania, where he evaluates research on fertilizers, pesticides and crop management strategies.

Loyer spends much of his time combing through enormous sets of data, sometimes up to 10,000 lines at a time, in which there are bound to be keystroke errors (researchers, especially grad students, aren’t always as meticulous in this regard as a statistician would like). Sometimes the errors are obvious, like when a misplaced decimal point throws a figure off by one or more orders of magnitude. Other times, the errors are much more sneaky and subtle, revealed only in patterns that rouse Loyer’s suspicions and send him on the hunt for an explanation.

One example was a set of growth measurements from the orchard, in which the shoots appeared to be longer and shorter on alternating trees in a constant pattern – first longer, then shorter, longer, shorter. Loyer wandered out to the field to ask the workers how they’d collected the data. The orchard is big, they told him, and the job is boring. To keep things interesting, two of them had alternated roles at every tree. One would measure the shoots, and one would write down the numbers. They had used different measuring sticks, and on closer inspection, Loyer found that one of the sticks had an extra 2 millimeters on the end below the true zero mark. The mystery was solved and the data were adjusted accordingly. Excel can’t do that kind of thing.

After graduating with a degree from ��, Loyer went on to earn his PhD at Montana State University. He later taught at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania (�� math professor Owen Byer was a student of Loyer’s there in the mid-’80s). In addition to his work as a statistician, he runs the archives of the United Methodist Church’s Susquehanna Conference at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where he is also an adjunct math professor. He also finds time to manage his own affordable housing ministry in Williamsport, do some occasional statistical consulting, and, recently, “after much thought, several false starts, and helpful insight from colleagues” explain a mind-bending, paradoxical result that turned up in the statistical analysis of an apple defect study.1

The real breakthrough came after a summary of this paradox – which he’s trying to popularize as “Loyer’s paradox” – was booted from Wikipedia on grounds of being impossible. The insight that led to Loyer’s explanation of the paradox was sparked during subsequent discussion of the matter with Wikipedia’s statistics editor (although the solution has been published, the entry has yet to be reinstated on Wikipedia). That’s something Excel won’t do either. — Andrew Jenner ’04

1. Loyer, Milton W. and Gene D. Sprechini. “Can the Probability of an Event Be Larger or Smaller Than Each of Its Component Conditional Probabilities?” Chance: A Magazine for People Interested in the Analysis of Data 24.1 (2011): 44-53. Print.