Slippery Rock University

Olivia Kaminski admits she didn't know what imidacloprid was before agreeing to conduct research at Slippery Rock University studying its effects on human cells. But it's possible that she, and anyone who eats non-organic produce from the grocery store, has eaten foods containing imidacloprid, the most widely used insecticide in the world.

In addition to his job as a chef at a local restaurant, Elijah Saesan is cooking up some geometric manifolds as a student researcher at Slippery Rock University this summer. A junior mathematics major from Rice's Landing, south of Pittsburgh, Saesan is working closely with Kirk McDermott, assistant professor of mathematics and statistics, on a faculty-student research project funded by SRU's Summer Collaborative Research Experience grant program, which helps introduce undergraduate students to the world of academic research. Instead of working with ingredients in a kitchen, Saesan is plotting graphs on paper and analyzing parameters with the help of computational software. This helps him find new examples of three-dimensional manifolds creating hyperbolic geometry. In mathematics, manifolds are topological spaces, and they are more difficult to visualize than, say, a dinner recipe.

Tyler Anderson is certainly "dialed" in to his summer internship this summer at the School of American Ballet in New York City. Anderson, a Slippery Rock University senior dual dance and modern languages and cultures major from Allison Park, is among a select few college students working this summer through DIAL, the Diversity in Arts Leadership internship program, administered by the Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit organization that advances the arts and arts education.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States and the anniversary of the news reaching Texas on June 19, 1865. But refuge and freedom from bondage was realized for many former slaves who reached Pennsylvania decades prior on stops along what is known as the Underground Railroad. A Slippery Rock University student heard about such settlements in his community and decided to investigate further for a research paper that became more than just a class assignment. Stone Helsel, a junior secondary education: social studies major from Mercer, conducted research about two settlements in Mercer County in a way that was similar to a historian or doctoral student's scholarly pursuit: delving into local archives, visiting physical sites and even checking his work with experts as sort of a peer-review process.

Slippery Rock University has announced its dean's list for the spring 2022 semester. The dean's list consists of SRU undergraduate students who earned an adjusted semester grade-point average of 3.5 or higher, based on a schedule of at least 12 newly attempted and earned credits.

Those who use medicine to treat high blood pressure must be aware of the harmful side effects. Researchers at Slippery Rock University, however, are using one type of blood pressure medication for its beneficial side effects. They aren't ingesting the drug but rather creating compounds with it that could treat completely different ailments such as bacterial infections. A faculty-student research team in SRU's Chemistry Department recently identified an opportunity to find different types of antimicrobial agents after they decided to expand upon other scientists' research about the drug hydralazine.

There are many ways to ease the ongoing stress to the world's supply chain, and one way is by developing better manufacturing techniques, especially ones that can be used by small businesses. A faculty-student research team at Slippery Rock University is working on a project using a conveyor belt 3D printer in a process known as additive manufacturing. Using computer-aided-design software and a 3D printer, the additive manufacturing process deposits layers of materials in precise geometric shapes to create an object, rather than traditional means of subtractive manufacturing, such as metal cutting, wood carving or plastic shaping.

Pre-kindergarten programs such as preschool, day care and Head Start are critical to a child's development. Michelle Amodei, a Slippery Rock University associate professor of elementary education and early childhood, has been studying this aspect of early childhood development for years. And when administrators at Grove City Area School District approached Amodei with concerns of lack of participation in pre-K programs by their students, she offered to take up a research project with the help of one of her students who graduated from Grove City Area.

Awareness of culture and context are important in any classroom, but they particularly need to be assessed by music educators who might consider incorporating anything from Beethoven to Beyonce in their programming. Faculty-student research projects at Slippery Rock University are examining the social and emotional aspects of music education, as well as the differences between types of school districts for which programming is implemented.

Thirteen senior cadets from the U.S. Army ROTC program at Slippery Rock University received their branch assignments and they will soon be commissioned as officers with the rank of second lieutenant, including 11 who will participate in SRU's commissioning ceremony, May 6, in the Smith Student Center Ballroom.

More than 1,600 eligible graduates are expected to receive their degrees as Slippery Rock University hosts its spring 2022 commencement ceremonies, May 6-7, at Morrow Field House. The graduate studies ceremony is 6 p.m., May 6, followed by three undergraduate ceremonies May 7, with the College of Business at 9 a.m., the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Education at 1 p.m., and the College of Health, Engineering and Science at 5 p.m.

Cadets from Slippery Rock University's Army ROTC program were recognized for their outstanding achievements and leadership at the Frontier Battalion's 2022 Spring Awards Ceremony, April 28, at the Slippery Rock Township Building. The Frontier Battalion consists of cadets from SRU and Clarion University.

Students in an electrical engineering class at Slippery Rock University are becoming less robotic in their learning by building robots from scratch. A semester-long project that combines several skills could have involved memorizing inputs and outputs of circuitry and computer code to program robots, but humans learning differently. A better approach is through competition and hands-on experiences.

Brooklyn Graham, a Slippery Rock University junior political science major from Kittanning, will be joining the SRU council of trustees as its next student trustee. Graham was selected to fill the one seat on the 12-member COT designated for a full-time SRU undergraduate student. The student trustee has the same voting privileges as other trustees. After a campuswide application and interview process, SRU President William Behre approved the Student Trustee Selection Committee's recommendation and forwarded it to the Office of the Chancellor of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education, with Graham's appointment approved by the state's board of governors at its April 14 meeting. Graham was officially sworn in during a ceremony, April 27, at Old Main.

Coming to a speedway soon: Rock Racing. No, this is not some competitive sport for cavemen, but rather a new club at Slippery Rock University that is preparing for a green flag to drop on an upcoming intercollegiate auto racing circuit. This venture will take at least a year, but the Rock Racing Club at SRU has taken an important step by acquiring a car that was purchased by SRU's School of Engineering.

Slippery Rock University's Office of Student Engagement and Leadership presented its 2021-22 Rising Star and Distinguished Leader awards, April 20, at the Smith Student Center. The Rising Star and Distinguished Leader awards are presented to students who positively influence change, effectively communicate, inspire others, delegate and empower their organizational members. Rising Star awards are given to underclass students, and Distinguished Leader awards are given to upperclass students. These awards are presented to students who successfully balance academic life and make the most of out of organizational leadership opportunities.

Many Slippery Rock University students have interesting life experiences encountering both adversity and advocacy. One such example of is Madalyn Mote, a junior early childhood education major from Gibsonia. In 2016, Mote's younger brother, Nicholas, was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a disease in which the body fails to produce blood cells, and he was in need of bone marrow. Mote then sprang into action.

The Slippery Rock Student Government Association recently elected its executive officers for the 2022-23 academic year at Slippery Rock University. Hannah D'Edigio, a junior dual music education and political science major from Industry, was elected SGA president. Student voting was conducted April 4-6 on CORE, SRU's online platform for student clubs and organizations, and nearly 800 votes were cast, the most since 2017.

There are many national debates that make their way onto college campuses, from the made-for-television events featuring U.S. presidential candidates to made-from-social-media memes that spark conversations in classrooms and dining halls. Meanwhile, a national debate quite literally occurred at Slippery Rock University last week as the Debate Society at SRU hosted the 2022 National Educational Debate Association National Championship, April 8-9.

Slippery Rock University hosted its annual Celebration of Achievement awards ceremony April 5, at the Smith Student Center, recognizing faculty and students for their outstanding contributions in the areas of academics, research, scholarship, creative activities and more. The highlight of the annual event is the announcement of SRU's finalist for the Syed R. Ali-Zaidi Award for Academic Excellence, which is given to a graduating senior in Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education who exemplifies academic excellence and involvement. SRU's 2022 finalist is Emma Yoder, a senior mathematics major from Marietta, Georgia.

Bachelor of Fine Arts dance majors at Slippery Rock University will close the book on their research by finishing the epilogue, that is, presenting at "The Epilogue: a BFA Senior Dance Concert," 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., April 23, at the Stoner West Dance Studio Theater. The concert, hosted by the SRU Dance Department, will feature choreography and performances by nine senior BFA dance students as well as work set by Atlanta-based choreographer Lashonda Johnson. Tickets are $10 for general admission, and they can be purchased online at sru.universitytickets.com.

On a typical Thursday morning, Asher Myers would be sitting in his Principles of Industrial Hygiene class at Slippery Rock University. But on March 24, Myers and 20 other junior cadets from SRU's Army ROTC unit found themselves in a very different type of classroom: strapped inside a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, 2,500 feet above campus. . Four Black Hawks departed SRU's campus from the intramural practice fields along Harmony Road, carrying cadets to their Combined Field Training Exercise, or CFTX, at Camp Garfield Joint Military Training Center in Ravenna, Ohio, where they met up with other ROTC units from the region. But the Frontier Battalion, which consists of cadets from SRU and Clarion University, was the only unit to make an entrance on Black Hawks.

Pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer are well known for making vaccines that protect people from COVID-19, but those same companies need to be protected from all sorts of risks as well. That protection is now becoming well known to Slippery Rock University students who are benefitting from two internship agreements between Pfizer and SRU's Homeland and Corporate Security Studies Department.

Just like on the reality television show "Dancing with the Stars," where celebrities learn to dance and compete with one another while partnered with a professional dancer, there's a similar event at Slippery Rock University. The dancers are students, and the "celebrities" are, well, at least well-known professors to those taking their classes who could achieve greater fame if they win the SRU competition, 7 p.m., March 23, at the Dance Studio Theater in Stoner West. "Dancing with the SRU Stars" is an annual fundraising event hosted by the National Honors Society for Dance Arts' SRU chapter. The event is open to the public and tickets can be purchased online, $10 for general admission and $5 for students. Proceeds benefit the NHSDA Rising Sophomore Scholarship and the student who is part of the first-place couple will be awarded a $500 scholarship funded by the Eliott and Deb Baker Scholarship at SRU.

Studying the plank is a much better fate than walking the plank, as exercise science students at Slippery Rock University can attest. The plank hold is a popular strength exercise comparable to the pushup or situp for its simplicity and use of a person's body weight. Planks are done in a pushup position but instead of moving up and down, a person holds their body for a duration of time while keeping their forearms on the ground. It's something that a faculty-student research team at SRU is studying by comparing the plank to other types of exercises that engage the core muscles.

As the world follows Russia's invasion of Ukraine, students in an introductory political science class at Slippery Rock University are role-playing what they would do as world leaders. Nicholas Spina, assistant professor of political science, is using an online simulator called Statecraft in his 100-level International Relations class to help students better understand the interdependencies of nations, especially in a time of military conflict.

Slippery Rock University's council of trustees conducted its quarterly business meeting, March 4, at the Smith Student Center. Executive actions taken at the meeting included a resolution to honor Samantha Hawk, an SRU senior political science major from South Park, with a commendation of service. Hawk has served as a student trustee since June 2020 and her term will end when she graduates this spring. In addition to serving as a trustee, Hawk has been involved in several leadership positions at SRU. She is the current president of the SRU Honors College and a former national communication coordinator for the Association of Residence Hall Students and former parliamentarian and vice president of operations for the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. Hawk plans to pursue a career in state-level politics after she graduates.

Food is much more than sustenance that keeps people alive. It sustains cultural traditions, strengthens social and emotional ties, and feeds conversation. Or, as a faculty and student group at Slippery Rock University has observed, food is how people relate to one another and nourish their souls.

The Slippery Rock University Music Department will welcome musicians from local middle and high schools for its annual collaboration with the SRU Flute Studio Ensemble, as they host the 2022 SRU Honors Flute Ensemble Concert, 7 p.m., Feb. 27 in the Miller Theater at the Performing Arts Center. The concerts culminate three days of workshops and rehearsals where at least a dozen middle and high school flutists will learn from SRU students, as well as guest performers and clinicians.

When Megan Kaufman was in high school, she took specially designed classes for students with higher intellectual ability compared to their peers. These students and classes are labeled "gifted" and the designation is important for helping students reach their full potential. But now, as a Slippery Rock University education major, Kaufman is questioning what that even means as she is conducting research that could help schools optimize their gifted programs.