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3/19/2003
Contact: K.E. Schwab --
724-738-2199; e-mail: karl.schwab@sru.edu
World Authority on Space-based Mapping
to Keynote:
FACULTY-STUDENT RESEARCH IN SPOTLIGHT AT
SRU’S THIRD ANNUAL ‘SYMPOSIUM FOR RESEARCH,
SCHOLARSHIP’
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The academic research
work of more than 40 Slippery Rock University students and faculty
ranging from cell structure to dealing with school bullies will be
spotlighted when the university opens its third-annual, two-day
“Symposium for Research and
Scholarship.”
The
March 27-28 event features a keynote address by world-renowned
authority on space-based mapping and Johns Hopkins University
physicist Dr. R. Keith Raney at 12:30 p.m. March 28 in the
University Union. His theme will be “From Space into the
Abyss” outlining the scientific rationale for mapping from
space. The work is important, Raney says, because the ocean's
bottom topography steers major undersea currents, knowledge of
which is essential for long-term climate
modeling.
The
student/faculty research sessions, set for SRU’s School of
Physical Therapy Building, are free and open to the
public.
Dr.
Patrick A. Burkhart, assistant professor of geography, geology and
the environment, says the annual symposium is held to encourage
intellectual exchanges between faculty, students and the public.
The presentations enhance education for all students by allowing
them to be involved, not only in subjects related to their own
major, but in other academic areas across the campus, he explains.
SRU’s expanding emphasis on research allows students to get
involved early in their academic career, and demonstrates the
university’s commitment to inquiry-based education, he
adds.
The
symposium spotlights campus research projects from a wide range of
academic areas, including education, technology, a variety of
science-based areas and health, among others. Various presentations
will examine research work on cell changes, computer systems,
kidney tissue, and ideas and methods that can be used in a
problem-based composition classroom. Other sessions will report on
research involving costal migratory behavior of dolphins, the
mental health of college students, and risky health behaviors seen
among college students, as well as the geology and geography of
Newfoundland. A session detailing research on childrens’ and
teachers’ views on bullying, and a session on violence and
technology, involving video games and simulated training are
planned.
Guest
speaker Raney says, “The most successful global technique for
mapping the ocean's floor is radar altimetry from space.”
Raney holds a bachelor of science in physics from Harvard
University, a master of science in electrical engineering from
Purdue University and a doctorate in computer information and
control from the University of Michigan. He is a major contributor
to NASA’s Magellan Venus-mapping radar and the European Space
Agency’s synthetic aperture radar, as well as the Shuttle
Imaging Radar system.
A
complete list of the research topics and the times for
presentations is available on the Web at www.SRU.edu/pages/5172.asp. A “Journal
of Scholarship Endeavor,” offering abstracts of the research
projects is also available by calling 724-738-2502.
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