Faculty Research in the College of Science Click on the faculty name to view their home page for additional information. Biology Dr. Preston Aldrich 1) Working to resolve molecular genetic variation in the invasive tree Ailanthus altissima using nuetral molecular genetic markers (microsatellites) and for multigene family markers likely to be adaptively significant (DNA fingerprinting). 2) Studying the effects of tropical forest fragmentation on genetic variation that is subject to natural selection. Dr. Laura Gruss Biomechanics and evolution of human gait. Biomechanical effects of different methods of infant carrying in woman. Comparisons of walking kinematics in negative-heel athletic shoes vs. traditional athletic shoes. Dr. Cheryl Heinz Studying chemical ecology and behavior relating to the interactions between swallowtail butterflies and their host plants. Dr. Lawrence Kamin Jurica Tallgrass Prairie Project. Please click here to view photos of the Prairie Project Dr. Al Martin Research in integration of science and liberal arts. Dr. Novack-Gottshall's photo coming soon Dr. Phil Novack-Gottshall Dr. Robin Rylaarsdam 1) Resistance to antifungal drugs: Fungal infections range from annoying ringworm infections to life-threatening systemic infections in immunocompromised individuals. My lab studies the mechanisms by which fungi gain resistance to our current slate of antifungal drugs. 2)McCune-Albright Syndrome: McCune-Albright Syndrome (MAS) is a complicated genetic disease caused by an activating mutation in the human GNAS1 gene. This gene encodes a protein that is essential for a host of communication events between cells. My lab is undertaking structure-function studies of this protein in hopes of helping to design more effective drugs for these patients. Dr. Lee Ann Smith Studying the effects of ethanol, caffeine and nicotine on fruit flies Dr. Monica Tischler Studying the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in bacteria associated with Canada geese. Dr. Allison Wilson Cellular mechanisms for how exposure to environmental anti-estrogens cause bone loss. Chemistry Dr. Ed Ferroni Synthesis of dihydroxacetone phosphate analogs and the study of the binding of these compounds to rabbit muscle aldolase. Dr. Tim Marin Measuring and modeling the physical and chemical effects of radiation on the cooling water of commercial nuclear reactors. Dr. Cheryl Mascarenhas Making molecules through organic transformations that incorporate the use of environmentally-benign organic catalysts. Dr. Niina Ronkainen Bioanalytical Chemistry and Biosensors 1) The development of electrochemical biosensors for clinical, industrial and environmental applications. Studying the immobilization strategies for the biorecognition components such as enzymes in biosensors. 2) Chemical education related to electrochemistry, fluorescence spectroscopy, and forensic science. Dr. Stone's photo coming soon Dr. Kari Stone Dr. Van Horne's photo coming soon Dr. Brooke Van Horne Will be arriving in Spring 2010 Dr. E. Michael Winkler Electrophoretic separation and identification of milk proteins. Chromatographic analysis of inorganic ions in commercial teas. Clinical Exercise Physiology Dr. Craig Broeder Preventive nutrition and exercise in obesity and healthy aging. Computer Science Dr. Chen's photo coming soon Dr. Ruth Chen Ms. Clark's photo coming soon Ms. Eileen Clark Dr. Ralph Meeker High-performance computation using computer clusters, operating system and computer network education, computer laboratory operation and management for computer science education. Dr. Dan Nohl Mathematics Dr. Tim Comar Low dimensional topology: geometric knot theory and hyperbolic manifolds and Kleinian groups; mathematical biology; pedagogical issues in mathematical biology, mathematics for elementary school teachers, the use of technology in mathematics instruction. Dr. Manu Kaur Local properties of Ternary rings of operators and operator spaces, mathematics pedagogy and cryptography. Dr. Jeremy Nadolski The role of latent variables on model selection accuracy. Dr. Sano's photo coming soon Dr. Akira Sano Dr. Thomas Wangler 1) Mathematical Modeling of the Dynamics of Solid State Laser Systems 2) Using Technology to Increase Pedadgogical Effectiveness Physics Dr. Pete Nelson As part of an NSF grant I'm developing new biophysics teaching materials. Topics include: oxygen, water, glucose, ion and drug transport; ion channel gating (neuroscience); motor proteins; DNA and RNA dynamics etc... I'm looking for research students to determine the current state of knowledge and to find the numerical data required for biophysical models. Right now I have a student investigating water transport through aquaporins. In the process, we're learning some basic physiology, including osmosis and homeostasis of erythrocytes (red blood cells) etc... from a biophysics perspective! Dr. Philip Schreiner In the field of high energy particle physics, studying (1) neutrino masses and oscillations; and (2) cosmic ray produced muons in the earth's atmosphere. Dr. Andrew Wig Working on novel physical, chemical and biological detection using optical and micromechanical sensors. updated 9/24/09