Notables

Students and faculty of Truman’s NSF-supported “Research-focused Learning Communities in Mathematical Biology” program held their end-of-summer program of research presentations at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, a state-of-the-art and internationally renowned non-profit research institute in the St. Louis area, July 24. The audience was comprised of all program participants, as well as family members, program alumni and representatives from regional stakeholders and friends of Truman that included Washington University, Saint Louis University, Pfizer, Monsanto, Divergence and the Innovation Factory.

Faculty and students from Truman’s Mathematical Biology Program
represented the University at the 2008 meeting of the Society for Mathematical Biology, the world’s largest professional organization dedicated to research at the intersection of the life and mathematical sciences, in Toronto from July 29 to Aug 2. Bo Forrester, a sophomore computer science major from Lee’s Summit, Mo.;  Dianne Kopp, a junior biology major from Murrayville, Ill.; Karen O’Connell, a junior biology major from St. Peters, Mo.; Yu-yu Ren, a junior biology major from Ballwin, Mo.; Molly Smith, a junior computer science major from Newton, Iowa; Spencer Tipping, a junior computer science major from New Boston, Mo.; Allie Wehrman, a sophomore mathematics major from St. Louis; and Brett Wiley, a senior biology major from Afton, Mo.; presented posters on their NSF-supported research projects. Jason Miller, associate professor of mathematics, presented a poster on Truman’s interdisciplinary “mathbio” program. Anton E. Weisstein, assistant professor of biology, and Pamela J. Ryan, associate professor of mathematics also attended.

Dereck Daschke, chair and associate professor of philosophy and religion
, and Mark Appold, associate professor of philosophy and religion, participated in the Summer Workshop on Teaching About Terrorism at the University of Oklahoma June 23-30. Daschke was also interviewed by Radio New Zealand’s “Nine to Noon” program July 10, regarding the influence of Biblical prophecy on President Bush’s conception of the War on Terror. The interview can be found at http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20080710

David Giovagnoli, a freshman history major,
and Regina Loehr, a sophomore classics major, both from Kansas City, Mo., represented Missouri at the National Junior Classical League convention at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, from July 28 to Aug. 2. As members of the Missouri Senior Classical League, they assisted with this high school and middle school event, which involves academic, creative arts and visual arts contests designed to promote student enthusiasm in the classics.

Warren Gooch, professor of music
, has had two original musical compositions selected for performance at the 2008 Iowa Composers Forum Fall Conference. “Three Fauxmanian Dances,” for violin and cello, and “Light of Shadow,” for timpani, will be performed at the festival, hosted by Luther College, Oct. 11-12. Performers will be musicans from Luther College and the Cedar Rapids Symphony.

Truman Pershing Scholar Regina Loehr
received the Susan S. Shearer Scholarship while attending the National Junior Classical League convention at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, from July 28 to Aug. 2. Loehr was awarded the scholarship from the Senior Classical League for recognition for her talent and enthusiasm for the Classics, on attending her 5th national convention.

Betty L. McLane-Iles, professor of French,
has had her review of Roseline Tremblay’s book “l’Ecrivain imaginaire, essai sur le roman quebecois 1960-1995,” published in the journal “Studies in 20th and 21st Century Literature,” Vol. 32, No. 1, Winter 2008, a joint literary journal published by Kansas State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Jason Miller, associate professor of mathematics and Timothy D. Walston, assistant professor of biology
, represented Truman at the second Howard Hughes Medical Institute Workshop on Quantitative Biology Education from July 21-24. The workshop promoted the adoption of integrative and interdisciplinary approaches to the teaching of undergraduate mathematics and biology. Participants included HHMI-funded institutions from across the country.
As a national leader in the quantitative biology community, Truman was invited to participate in the workshop and various aspects of its Mathematical Biology program were recognized in several of the plenary talks and break-out sessions. Miller and Walston presented a poster on the University’s program at the workshop’s poster session.
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