March 2010 Archives

Writing and defending her Schreyer Honors thesis was not the end of celebrating her research accomplishments.  Fall 2009 graduate Dana Gibson (pictured below) presented her research, "'Am I Your Slave?': William Parker and The Freedman's Story," at the Mid-Atlantic American Studies Association Conference in March 2010.  The surprise for her at the conference was the announcement that she was selected as the winner of MASSA's Undergraduate Roundtable Best Undergraduate Essay award.

Congratulations, Dana, for this significant achievement!  Please click here to read the news announcement about her award.

Former Cooper Honors Scholar Donald Hennig co-presented with Dr. Laura Guertin at Penn State University's Teaching & Learning with Technology Symposium on March 27, 2010.  The 50-minute presentation, titled "Using Google Earth to Facilitate Student Learning in Multiple Disciplines," featured Google Earth projects completed in Spring 2009.  Don showcased and discussed examples of his projects from GEOSC 021H (Honors Earth & Life course), the Genographic Project and Great Feuds in Science.  Conference abstract can be viewed on the TLT Symposium website.

Alumni from the Cooper and Schreyer Honors Programs at Brandywine and University Park gathered with current students and former honors administrators at The Towne House Restaurant in Media, PA. The group gathered for fine food and a great discussion on the spring semester Literary Launch, "Bring Out Your Dead."

Above: Dr. Karen Hill (former Honors Coordinator) and Dr. George Franz (former Director of Academic Affairs).  Below: Honors alumni pose for a group photo.  Front row, left to right: Toni Hoffman, Michele McClellan. Back row, left to right: Dan McGarity, Leah Semmelhaack, Paul Hurych, Devin Zuczek.

Sophomore Sara Neville isn't waiting until her senior year to dive into undergraduate research.  In Summer 2009, Sara was selected to participate in the National Science Foundation's GeoTeach Program through a workshop on Transforming Earth System Science Education.  Through her research with the program, she presented her research at two national conferences.

Presented at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Conference, December 2009, San Francisco, CA

Neville, S., & L. Guertin. 2009. Using a Google Earth QUEST to improve Earth science, reading, and geographic literacy. EOS Trans. AGU, Fall Meet. Suppl. Abstract ED53A-0533. (LINK to abstract)

Presented at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Annual Conference, March 2010, Philadelphia, PA

Neville, S., & L. Guertin. Going on a Google Earth QUEST. National Earth Science Teacher Association Share-A-Thon. March 19, 2010.

They say things come in threes.... and here are three recent publications from our honors scholars.  These manuscripts are peer-reviewed and in journals read by a wide audience.  The research in these papers was begun during honors options, honors courses, or honors independent study projects.

DiLauro, A., Meyers, T., Guertin, L.A. 2010. The value of extending the honors contract beyond one semester: a case study with Smithsonian Dinosaurs. Honors in Practice, 6: 109-115.  Undergraduate student lead authors.

Neville, S.E., Guertin, L.A. 2009. Integrating Google Earth with the QUEST for Earth Science Literacy. The Earth Scientist, 25(4): 31-34. Undergraduate student lead author.

Woodruff, J.B., Acuna, E.B., Silano, R.L., Guertin, L.A. 2009. Enhanced podcast of Pennsylvania tree biodiversity in Ridley Creek State Park. Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science, 83(2/3): 90-93.  Undergraduate student lead authors.

Congratulations to some very amazing scholars that have graduated from Penn State Brandywine in 2009.  Lindley Jones (Summer 2009) graduated as the first Schreyer Scholar from the Penn State Brandywine four-year Schreyer honors program (left photo).  Dana Gibson, Emily Robb, and Adrienne Showalter (in right photo, left to right) graduated in Fall 2009.

Lindley Jones, Schreyer Scholar, honors in Science, Technology & Society. Thesis title: INTERNATIONAL CHARM: A JEWELRY COLLECTION OF SPANISH AND MOROCCAN INFLUENCE

Dana Gibson, Schreyer Scholar, honors in English and American Studies. Thesis title: "AM I YOUR SLAVE?" WILLIAM PARKER AND "THE FREEDMAN'S STORY"

Emily Robb, Cooper Scholar, honors in civic and community enagement. Thesis title: BUILDING A HUGGY PILLOW VOLUNTEER NETWORK FOR HOSPITAL CARDIAC UNITS

Adrienne Showalter, Schreyer Scholar, honors in English. Thesis title: SENSATIONAL LIVES: BYRON AND ROBINSON'S LIVES MIRRORED IN LITERATURE

It was a wet, soggy trip to DC, but the students in AM ST 100H, ENGL 030, and HONOR 301H made the trip to our nation's capital to visit various places.  The focus of the HONOR 301H course was to document each of the entries in the Solar Decathlon 2009 competition. 

View the student projects in our Honors YouTube channel, or explore the mini-video documentaries in Google Earth!

With the attention given to swine flu and other epidemics and pandemics, we started wondering - what happened in human history?  Is it really all that bad?  For Spring 2010, our honors community will be reading "Bring Out Your Dead: The Great Plague of Yellow Fever in Philadelphia in 1793" by J.H. Powell.  We are thrilled to have many of our honors alumni reading the book with us for dinner discussions and blog postings!  This fascinating topic gives us a local connection and foundation for our fieldtrips to the Mutter Museum and the disease tour of Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Book Synopsis

Today, as fatal outbreaks of infectious diseases continue to confound the medical community worldwide, this account of one city's struggle in the face of overwhelming odds has particular resonance.

In this psychological portrait of a city in terror, J.H. Powell presents a penetrating study of human nature revealing itself.  Bring Out Your Dead is a fascinating account, from the original sources, of an infamous tragedy that left its mark on all it touched.  Readers of this compelling narrative will encounter an unusually graphic depiction of the daily life and society of an early American city.  In their introduction, Kenneth R. Foster, Mary F. Jenkins, and Anna Coxe Toogood illuminate how much has changed in the city of Philadelphia - but how little has changed in the potential spread of any disease.