News
November
COSAM hosts Minority High School Visitation Day
11/12/2013
The COSAM annual Minority High School Visitation Day was held Oct. 18, in the Auburn Student Center ballroom. Publicized as a capstone event for college-bound junior and senior high school students, the 2013 event attracted many enthusiastic students, parents and guardians, and high school counselors. The event received an “outstanding rating” from students, parents and participating Auburn University staff. High schools represented included Auburn, Opelika, Loachapoka, Daphne, LAMP, Oak Mountain, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate and Robert E. Lee, and counselors representing several Georgia schools. Nearly 100 individuals registered on site. Registrants included local presenters, and guests and visitors from 20 high schools in Alabama and Georgia. Of those surveyed, 83 perecent said they are applying to Auburn University. Assistant vice president for Student Affairs, Kimberly Frazier, extended greetings, and COSAM associate dean of academic affairs, Vincenzo Cammarata, extended a welcome on behalf of the college. Campus-based representatives included administrators, faculty advisors and student representatives. Students and staff were also available to answer questions and interact with potential students. Overall, the execution of this year’s event was highly successful. Eighty-three percent of students surveyed indicated they had already applied or are currently applying to Auburn University. The event received a rating of 3.9 on a 4.0 scale, which reflects the outstanding rating on the part of the attendees. Four categories received the highest ratings: positive experience; information was helpful; admissions information; and scholarship information.
Click here to read more...
Take a tour on the Audubon Trail in the Arboretum
11/11/2013
The Donald E. Davis Arboretum took part in a collaborative publication with the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, a book titled, "Audubon in the Arboretum: A Field Guide." The book showcases works by Audubon along with a detailed description of the plants featured in each print. Readers will gain insight into the natural world Audubon encountered, and the publication coincides with the openings of the exhibition "Audubon in the Arboretum" at the museum and the Audubon Trail in the Davis Arboretum. Readers can tour the museum's exhibition of Audubon plates and take a walking tour of the Audubon trail at the Davis Arboretum, which features the plants in each plate. The book was published by the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, with research support from the Auburn University Libraries, the Donald E. Davis Arboretum and COSAM.
Click here to read more...
War Eagle BEST Robotics winners announced, five teams advance to South’s BEST
11/11/2013
Answering the nation’s need for more and better-prepared workers in scientific, industrial and technological fields, BEST Robotics (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) is a middle school and high school robotics program, now in its 21st year nationally and 13th year in Alabama, that is available to all schools at no cost. BEST is the third-largest educational robotics program in the nation and is the only one that is free to schools. The not-for-profit, all-volunteer program challenges students to design, build and market a robot to use in a six-week-long series of competitions, culminating in a regional championship.
Click here to read more...
Three from COSAM named top 20 finalists for Miss Auburn
11/11/2013
Three COSAM students were among the top 20 finalists for Miss Auburn: Alexis Jackson, microbial, cellular, and molecular biology; Tori Jones, biomedical sciences; and Ana Burcham, cellular and molecular biology. Jackson also serves as a COSAM Leader, an exemplary group of students who serve the college as official ambassadors.
Click here to read more...
SCB Indigo Snake Reintroduction Project Work-Weekend
11/11/2013
On November 9-10 four SCB members and faculty advisor Dr. Bob Boyd traveled to Conecuh National Forest to assist with the Eastern Indigo Snake Reintroduction Project. This collaborative project (involving AU and a number of partners) seeks to re-establish this snake into Alabama after a 50-year absence. AU DBS faculty member Dr. Craig Guyer and his students are researching the success of this program, and SCB has been involved with the project for several years. This weekend trip, led by Jim Godwin of the Alabaman Natural Heritage Program at Auburn, helped to set up an experiment designed to determine how the released snakes have affected their food supply on the National Forest. We placed 18 box traps (5 by 5 feet in size) that will be used to estimate numbers of prey items in 3 large areas of the forest. It was an excellent chance to help with an innovative project that gives students hands-on experience with conservation in action!
Click here to read more...
Research Electronics Support Facility joins Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
11/11/2013
The Research Electronics Support Facility (RESF) will report to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry effective January 1, 2014. Larry “Autry” May will be the Director of RESF, which will retain its mission of service to the Auburn University campus.
Click here to read more...
Physics Professor Receives Grant from U.S. Department of Defense
11/06/2013
Physics professor Michael Bozack received a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense for research addressing the reliability of Sn-Ag-Cu lead-free solder alloys under harsh environmental conditions. The work follows a successful world-wide effort to develop alternative, environmentally friendly materials for electronics packaging. Currently, SAC alloys have replaced conventional lead-bearing solder alloys in most consumer electronics. The grant from the U.S. Department of Defense will provide Bozack and a team of Auburn University scientists with more than $2 million to run a comprehensive program of tests to fully explore solutions to the SAC solder joint reliability problem.
Click here to read more...
Physics Faculty and Staff Submit New Patent Application
11/06/2013
Prof. John R. Williams (Physics Emeritus Professor), Tamara F. Isaacs-Smith (Physics Department Staff), Ayayi Claude Ahyi (Physics Research Assistant Professor), Prof. Leonard C. Feldman (Professor, Vice-President, and Director Institute for Advanced Materials, Devices and Nanotechnology, Rutgers University), and Prof. Jogesh K. Sharma (School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom) have filed a US non-provisional patent titled, "Semiconductor Devices Including Polar Insulation Layer Capped by Non-Polar Insulation Layer."
Click here to read more...
AU Physics Sr Rhodes Scholarship Finalist
11/06/2013
Auburn University senior Patrick Donnan has been selected as one of the Rhodes Scholarship finalists and will interview at the end of November. See the link for more information.
Click here to read more...
AU Physics Major Finalist for UK Scholarship
11/06/2013
Auburn University senior Patrick Donnan has been named a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship for an opportunity to study in the United Kingdom next year. He will interview at the British Consulate in Atlanta Nov. 12 to possibly be chosen as one of only 40 U.S. students named as Marshall Scholars and to attend their choice of any United Kingdom university. Donnan, a native of Auburn, Ala., is a student in the Honors College double-majoring in physics and music, concentrating on the bassoon, and minoring in mathematics. For more information, read the release.
Click here to read more...
Ortiz and Auburn Graduate Students Attend Annual Meeting NOBCChE
11/01/2013
Dr. Vincent Ortiz, Ruth W. Molette Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Sciences and Mathematics, and five Auburn University graduate students attended the 40th Annual National Meeting of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) in Indianapolis on October 1-6, 2013. The students, Symon Gathiaka, PaviElle Lockhart, Olive Njuma and Selamawit Ghebreamlak from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Zenda Davis from the Department of Chemical Engineering, participated in technical symposia, professional workshops and recruited prospective graduate and undergraduate students.
Click here to read more...
Students study wildlife in Swaziland
10/11/2013
“Warning!” reads the course description, “Mega-mammals, crocodiles, snakes, thorns, baboons, etc. may be abundant at many of the sites. Please be very careful!” The course, Field Biology and Ecology, provides one of the latest study abroad opportunities offered at Auburn University. Last summer during the inaugural course, 10 Auburn students ventured to Swaziland and South Africa for a once-in-a-lifetime, hands-on, research experience, guided by Biological Sciences professors Troy Best and Michael Wooten.
Click here to read more...