For Naw Ka Paw Paw, double major in biology and psychology, earning a position in SUNY’s 2022 Premedical Opportunity Program will continue building toward a dream that could lead to establishing clinics in her homeland of Myanmar. The initiative provides hands-on experiences and preparation to address persistent racial and income disparities in medical education by attempting to level the playing field for talented and capable Educational Opportunity Program students who pursue a career in medicine. Read full story.
Human development faculty member Rebecca Burch co-authored a widely published study in Evolutionary Psychology on effective methods of flirtation. Burch was part of a team that used a combined sample of nearly 1,000 respondents in the United States and Norway that found humor is one of the key elements of success for initiating heterosexual relationships. Co-authors included researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Bucknell University. "It is not only effective to be funny, but for women, it is very important that you show your potential partner that you think they are funny," Burch explained. Appearing in 60 global news stories, the research rated among the top 5 percent of outputs scored by Altmetric.
Several staff members presented at this year’s SUNY Conference on Instruction and Technology, hosted by SUNY Oswego May 31 to June 3. John Kane, director of the college’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, presented “Podcasting 101” as a preconference workshop and “Promoting Student Engagement through Student Created Podcasts” during the conference. Kate Percival, web and digital content creator in the Office of Communications and Marketing, shared “Getting Started with Digital Accessibility: What, Why and How” as a preconference workshop as well as “1% Shifts to Improved Digital Accessibility” during the conference. Office of Communications and Marketing staff members Alex Dukat (they/them), communications manager, and Tim Nekritz, director of news and media, co-presented “Make a Road, Not a Moat: Engaging Students in Accessible Social Media Efforts.” Rebecca Mushtare, associate dean of Graduate Studies, presented both “Students and the Culture Shift towards Digital Accessibility” and “Responding to the Moment: A Case Study.” Jill Pippin, dean of Extended Learning, presented “FACT2 Task Group Report: Online Student Holistic Engagement and Support Models.”
Four staff members also presented at this year’s SUNYCUAD (SUNY Council for University Advancement) Conference, June 15 to 17 in Ithaca. Dukat and Nekritz teamed up to share “The ABCs of Social Media Accessibility and Inclusion.” Percival teamed with Daniel Laird, media and design specialist in Campus Technology Services, to present “1% Changes to Improved Digital Accessibility.”
Physics professor Shashi Kanbur and Oswego students Selim Kalici, Michele Manno and Hugh Riley Randall traveled overseas for research and presentations. Students are currently conducting eight weeks of research at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany, where their collaborators included Oswego alumnus Earl Bellinger, who is now a postdoctorate research fellow there. Kanbur presented "Stellar Pulsation Calculations with MESA-RPS" on June 1 as part of the institute’s Stellar Seminar Series. Kanbur has since traveled to India for presentations and research with Cotton College University in Guwahati and the Indian Institute for Astrophysics in Bengaluru. Watch future editions of Oswego Today for more information on this research collaboration.
Additionally, Kanbur presented on physics and astronomy, and working in those fields, to students with the New York State School for the Deaf in Rome, N,Y., on May 24.
Biological sciences faculty member Peter D. Newell published "A Functional Analysis of The Purine Salvage Pathway in Acetobacter fabarum" in the Journal of Bacteriology. The paper involved research into the Acetobacter species, a major component of the gut microbiome of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and its interrelation with host bacteria.
Damian Schofield, director of the college’s human-computer interaction graduate program, collaborated with Christopher Wypyski and local artist and Oswego alumnus Ron Throop in a project published under the title of “No Longer Stuck(ist) in Two Dimensions: Evaluating Augmented Reality Art Experiences” in the Journal of Arts and Humanities. The project involved bringing some of Throop’s art to life using augmented reality – and studying how that might affect viewer engagement and interest compared to viewing traditional static artwork.
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