It looks like the top of a grain silo andweighs as much as a pickup. It rotates 360degrees and opens to the heavens. And itoffers identity.

It’s a 15-foot-high, corrugated aluminumdome lifted by crane to the top of a newobservatory, three stories up. It’s part of the$3.4 million, 17,000-square-foot expansionof Herty Hall, the science facility at GeorgiaCollege.

“There’s no mistaking now where the sci-ence building is located,” said Dr. KenMcGill, chair of the chemistry, physics andastronomy department. “This building andobservatory should help get people excit-ed about science.”

The Herty Hall addition houses science lab-oratories, classrooms and offices for biolo-gy and environmental science, as well aschemistry, physics and astronomy.

“We want to give our students the besteducation and experiences in science thatwe can,” said Ken Procter, dean of theCollege of Arts and Sciences.

Biology tops the College of Arts andSciences as the most popular major withabout 540 students, and chemistry hasgrown to 160 majors at Georgia College.

“Biology is a large contributor to the basicscience requirement in our core curriculumthat serves all our students,” Procter said,with chemistry and environmental sciencealso contributing classes for non-sciencemajors.

The opportunities the addition and renova-tion offer to potential students will helpwith recruiting efforts, McGill said.

“It’s an impressive sight and exemplifiesthe university’s commitment to educatingstudents in the sciences,” he said.

For more information and towatch the dome positioned ontoHerty Hall’s new observatory, visitinfox.gcsu.edu and search“observatory dome.”

NucleusThe

Advancing the interest, engagement and understanding of science by people of all backgrounds Available online at gcsu.edu/science2011

Observatory dome tops Herty Hall

Growing Physics

Stas PreczewskiInterim President

Sandra JordanProvost

Ken ProcterDean, College of Arts and Sciences

Jane HinsonDean, College of Education

SCIENCE EDUCATION CENTER

Rosalie RichardsDirector

Patti VealAdministrative Assistant

Kelsey DonaldsonMass Communication Practicum

Heather HolladayStudent Assistant

EDITORS

Linda ChandlerCandace MorrowRosalie Richards

CONTRIBUTORS

Judy BaileyAgnès KimJulia Metzker

ContentsThe Nucleus is a Science To Serve newsletterpublished annually by theScience Education Center andUniversity Communications atGeorgia College. The newsletteris available online atgcsu.edu/science.

A lot of activity happens in the basement of HertyHall. Students work on physics problems or withsupplementary instructors. Others discuss the lat-est physics news or conduct research in labs.

By clearing out a laboratory prep room and provid-ing seating areas and blackboards in the hallway,the physics wing has become quite a lively place tointeract.

“Promoting retention can be as simple as provid-ing a place for students to gather and studytogether,” said Dr. Agnès Kim, assistant professor of physics and coordinator of thePhysics Education Team. “We are also developing students who have a strong interestin teaching physics.”

As a program requirement for graduation, all students must take the GeorgiaAssessments for the Certification of Educators physics exam, qualifying them to teachphysics. “We already have one of our graduates teaching high school physics inGwinnett County and at least two more students who want to become teachers whenthey graduate,” said Kim.

During 2009, the physics program at Georgia College was approved by the UniversitySystem of Georgia’s Board of Regents and accepted its first students that fall. The pro-gram started with 13 students and now has grown to 43 students, five of whom arewomen. Three students have already graduated from the program.

Herty Hall Renovation ..............................1

Growing Physics ........................................2

Faculty Focus.............................................3

Science in our Schools .............................6

STEM @ Georgia College........................8

Signature Programs ..................................9

Museum Moments..................................10

Going Green............................................11

Calendar of Events .................................12

About Us ..................................................12

Do you have a science story or newsevent you’d like to share? Send yournews, photos and contact information toscience@gcsu.edu.

Find us on the Web!

Editor’s Note: What is STEM anyway?Before the turn of the century, the National Science Foundation usedthe acronym SMET to represent science, mathematics and the appliedfields of engineering and technology.

About 10 years ago, Dr. Judith Ramaley, assistant director of educationand human resources director (2001-2004) adopted the term STEM“because science and math support the other two disciplines andbecause STEM sounds nicer than SMET.”

Whether SMET or STEM, new disciplines have developed along theboundaries of these areas of study with far-reaching impact and inno-

vations that we now enjoy, including information technology.

At Georgia College, faculty, staff and students are enthusiastically engaged in new andredesigned courses, undergraduate research and diverse activities in STEM.

In this year’s issue of The Nucleus, we offer a few vignettes of STEM activities happen-ing at Georgia College and in our region.

Happy reading!

Dr. Rosalie RichardsEditor

Location: 305 Herty HallPhone: 478-445-7531science@gcsu.edu

When Georgia College biology professor Dr. Kalina Manoylov talks about algae, the tinyorganisms become a big deal.

She collects them locally, nationally and internationally. She analyzes, categorizes andstores them at the Georgia College Natural History Museum for future student research.

“Algae are definitely hot right now,” said Manoylov. “Well-known international corpora-tions such as Exxon Mobil are interested in algae-based biofuels while suppliers likeMartek Biosciences grow algae for nutritional supplements.”

In particular, Manoylov studies how algae impact aquatic communities and shares herknowledge with students to teach global significance of algae.

People seldom realize the everyday uses for some algae species: ingredients in toothpasteand fertilizers; contributors to vegetable fats and oils; alternatives to dye and coloring; andstabilizers in milk products.

“Algae are so diverse,” Manoylov said. “We analyze their amazingly different shapes andforms and extract ideas for architectural designs.”

Recently, Manoylov attended a National Institutes of Health algae and cancer workshop where she discussed her findings showingalgae can help reduce drug resistance in cancer cells.

“The research concerning cancer should be very attractive to the predominately pre-med biology majors in our department and willhelp students to start thinking about algae from a human health perspective,” Manoylov said.

Manoylov took undergraduate and graduate students to Glacier National Park in Montana to observe algae from high alti-tude habitats. Students presented their findings at the North American Diatom Symposium in the Rocky Mountains.

For more information about this story, visit connectionspring2012.gcsu.edu.

The Nucleus 2011-2012 • page 3

Professor, students explore the world of algae

Georgia College launchesaccelerated science degree Georgia College launched an accel-erated bachelor’s degree programduring fall 2011 to enable physicsand chemistry majors to graduatewithin three years.

By joining a residential learningcommunity on campus and attend-ing year-round classes, studentssave at least $15,000 in tuition andhousing costs.

“This program should have a strongappeal for students who plan toobtain a bachelor’s degree in chem-istry or physics before enteringgraduate school in engineering,medicine, pharmacology or relatedfields,” said Dr. Ken McGill, chair ofthe Department of Chemistry,Physics and Astronomy.

As part of the initiative, students livetogether in university housing onWest Campus.

For more information about physics orchemistry at Georgia College, visithttp://chemphys.gcsu.edu.

Georgia College’sNatural History Museumhas been dedicated toDr. William Wall, pro-fessor of biological andenvironmental sciences.

Wall is founder andchief curator of the Georgia CollegeNatural History Museum (NHM), aresource viewed as the flagship of theextraordinary STEM resources at the uni-versity.

Wall joined the university in 1981 andserved as department chair from 1994 to2011.

Wall distinguished himself in paleontol-ogy, a major strength in the department.He developed a museum and built a col-lection with other faculty that providesresearch and public understanding of sci-ence.

Today, the natural history museum isarguably one of the largest collections inthe Southeast. Georgia College is theonly Council of Public Liberal ArtsColleges school with a natural historymuseum and planetarium.

Biology, environmental science chair named

Dr. Indiren Pillay hasbeen appointed chairof Georgia College’sDepartment of Biologyand EnvironmentalSciences. He assumedhis new duties July 1,2011.

Pillay earned a doctorate degree inmicrobiology at the University ofTennessee; a master’s degree in plantphysiology at Alabama A&M University;and bachelor’s degrees in microbiologyand plant science from RhodesUniversity in South Africa.

He previously served as chair and atenured associate professor at CulverStockton College in Canton, Mo; coor-dinator of the BiotechnologyTechnician Program and tenured asso-ciate professor at Southwest TennesseeCommunity College in Memphis,Tenn.; and microbiology lecturer atUniversity of Durban-Westville inDurban, South Africa.

Natural History Museum dedication

Faculty Focus

Turning personal success into a generous spirit“When you invest in students,” said Dr. Ken Saladin, professor of bio-logical and environmental science, “especially our top-notch students,you’re helping someone who will give back in a similar fashion in theirown careers. So, I think the investment becomes magnified in that way.”

And invest he has. Saladin, the author of award-winning and best-sellingtextbooks on human anatomy and physiology, has pledged more than$1.5 million to Georgia College, much of it for scholarships or programsto enhance the student learning experience. His combined contributionsare the largest from any single individual to the university.

“Georgia College has been the centerpiece of my adult life, and I’ve got-ten so much from this place that I find more satisfaction in giving back toit than in owning a boat or vacation home or anything like that,” he said.

His most recent donation, a $1 million pledge to endow a chair for men-toring pre-medical students, was prompted in part by a similar donationlast year from alumna Martha Daniel Newell, ’42.

For the entire story, visit connectionspring2011.gcsu.edu.

The Nucleus 2011-2012 • page 4

Professor provides far-sighted giftA father’s love for astronomy prompted Dr. Doug Pohl, professor of chemistry, todonate nearly $125,000 to enable Georgia College to purchase a world-class telescopefor its new observatory atop the expanded Herty Hall.

The 24-inch research class telescope — “as big as most on the East Coast” — will pro-vide a resource for faculty, students and the public to observe and study the stars.

“The telescope will give the Department of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy an evenmore positive outreach into the community,” Pohl said. “I hope it will interest moreyoung people in the love of science as a career.”

The Herty Hall observatory dome will have the ability to rotate 360 degrees. With theuse of filters to block local lights, the telescope will provide an excellent view to theplanets, comets and the stars.

Stargazing galaxies awayDr. Agnès Kim’s astronomical research has led to a rather cosmic discovery. Its name: KeplerDBV. And Kim is the only expert on the globe to gather and analyze the conditions insidethis star.

Like most white dwarfs, Kepler DBV is a faint, blue star the size of Earth in volume and sodense it is like compressing a trans-Atlantic cruise liner into the volume of a sugar cube. Butwhat makes this particular white dwarf unique is that it is hot. Its surface temperature is29,000 kelvin — five times the temperature of the sun.

“It’s hard to imagine how the dense interior of these stars might look, which is why whitedwarfs are so fascinating,” said Kim. “Kepler DBV has a helium atmosphere, and it also pul-sates, which is rare. It’s astoundingly lucky that we found one.”

Kim’s findings will publish in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Kim also anticipates the dis-covery will help rejuvenate the field of white dwarf asteroseismology.

“White dwarf research helps determine the age of our galaxy and distance of faraway galax-ies,” she said. “The task is too great and important for a single person. Hopefully, this dis-covery will draw young scientists into the field."

For the entire story, visit infox.gcsu.edu and search “stargazing.”

Faculty Focus

The Nucleus 2011-2012 • page 5

Campus offers sanctuary for birdsBrown thrashers, robins and bluebirds sing and dance aroundthe fountain courtyard, through the pagoda and across the frontcampus of Georgia College.

“Our campus is one of the best areas around for birds,” said Dr.Bob Chandler, professor of biological and environmental sci-ence. “They are attracted especially to our flowering plants andreally old trees where they can roost and perch.”

Chandler takes his field ornithology students out for walksacross campus to hear and see the birds.

“Some students are amazed at the variety of birds that make ourcampus their home,” he said. “Our campus birds give our stu-dents and faculty a greater appreciation for nature and birdhabitat.”

For the entire story, visit infox.gcsu.edu and search “birds.”

Professor strengthens undergraduatephysics research

Experimentalist Dr. Hauke Busch is givingphysics majors an opportunity to delve intograduate-level research with GeorgiaCollege’s new undergraduate physics pro-gram.

“We currently have two missions,” saidBusch, assistant professor and physics lab

coordinator in the Department of Chemistry, Physics andAstronomy. “We’re building up our labs so each includeshigh-tech equipment for regular classes and providing under-graduate research to all physics majors so they’re preparedfor graduate school and the industry.”

One of Busch’s first projects is the installation of a 1,300-pound, stainless-steel optical table for engineering and opticsexperiments.

“This project is going to be tons of fun because students willbe able to play with atoms and light,” Busch said.

Environmentalists solve flooding dilemmaLed by Georgia College geologyprofessor Dr. Samuel Mutiti, stu-dents spent a semester investi-gating flooding at the OconeeRiver Greenway and learning howwetlands work.

“We discovered that water runofffrom higher ground was settlingin this lower area, or basin, nearthe sidewalks,” senior ChristineMelvin said. “We wanted to findout a couple of things — how

much water it takes to flood the sidewalks and what we could doto prevent this flooding from happening.”

Students learned about the construction of wetlands and usedresearch methods to see if this particular basin was doing an effi-cient job of filtering contaminates before they ended up in theOconee River and Fishing Creek.

“While this project fits right into our classroom discussions, itgives students the opportunity to help improve communityattractions and overall our environment,” said Mutiti.

Georgia Power Endowed Professorship for Environmental ScienceDr. Melanie DeVore uses her field experience and environmental research to baptize studentsinto the world of science.

“What I do at Georgia College is take the hands of our future scientists, guide them throughthe learning phase and expose them to hands-on field research,” said DeVore, a scientist, plantbiologist and teacher. “And when they are ready, I pass them off to the next level — into thefraternity of science.”

She uses her knowledge and hands-on experience to teach students how people and culturesimpact the environment and how the environment affects people.

DeVore holds the Georgia Power Endowed Professorship for Environmental Science. Fundingfrom the endowment enables Georgia College to attract an eminent scholar and teacher to theuniversity.

To learn more about DeVore’s research, visit infox.gcsu.edu and search “Melanie DeVore.”

Faculty Focus

The Nucleus 2011-2012 • page 6

Congratulations to DaphneTodd, Wilkinson County“Teacher of the Year.”

Todd is a middle grades scienceteacher and has participated inscience professional develop-ment workshops and courses at

Georgia College, including the SMART Institute andFrom Fossils to Space. Todd is a graduate ofSpelman College.

Congratulations to Monica Poole,Hancock County “Teacher of theYear.” Poole teaches science toninth- to 12th-graders at HancockCentral High School.

Poole is a proud biology/criminaljustice graduate of GeorgiaCollege and also holds a master’sdegree in public administrationfrom the university.

SMART Institute

Angela Lawson, seventh-grade life science teacher and media spe-cialist at Hancock Central Middle School, examines a cichlid fishskeleton at Georgia Tech’s Nanotechnology Research Center duringa SMART Summer Institute field trip. The theme for the seventhannual summer workshop hosted at Georgia College was “Form,Function and Scale.” The Science and Mathematics Alliance forRegional Teachers Partnership is a collaborative among seven areaschool districts, the Oconee RESA and Georgia College. As part ofthe project, Georgia College mathematics and science faculty pro-vide teachers with intensive training for two weeks during the sum-mer and throughout the academic year.

Science campers return as counselors

After 10 years of providing fun science during the sum-mer, Georgia College’s Science Camp continues to makean impact on students. Past campers Kerry McGill, jun-ior physics student at North Georgia College; ValeriaBarkovskii (right), sophomore at Georgia StateUniversity; and Cady Carter (left), junior at GeorgiaCollege, returned to camp as counselors.

To learn the benefits of science camp at GeorgiaCollege, visit gcsu.edu/science.

Teachers of the Year

Wind Turbine ContestDoris Santarone, Georgia College mathematics professor,discusses wind generator model designs with physics stu-dents Emily Hill and Stephen Higgins during judging at themiddle grades 2011 Wind Generator Models Competition.

A team of students from Johnson County Middle School wonthe competition coordinated by Dr. Victoria Deneroff, edu-cation professor at Georgia College.

The competition was sup-ported by a Robert Noyceplanning grant from theNational Science Foundationas part of an area profession-al development program inengineering.

Science in our Schools

Watch the contest-ants in action atyoutube.com/georgiacollege bysearching “MiddleGrades Wind-PowerCompetition.”

The Nucleus 2011-2012 • page 7

Science and Engineering FairNearly 200 young scientists grades K-12 showcased research duringGeorgia College’s 34th AnnualRegional Science & Engineering Fairat Centennial Center.

Sponsored by the university’s ScienceEducation Center, the fair attracted161 creative science, mathematics,social science and engineering proj-ects from middle Georgia’s brightestelementary, middle and high school students.

First and second place winners at the junior/senior level competed at theGeorgia Science & Engineering Fair in Athens. Geovic Jadol, high schoolstudent at Georgia Military College Prep and “Best of Show” winner, won anall-expenses paid trip to present his project in Los Angeles at the IntelInternational Science & Engineering Fair during summer 2011.

For photos and the list of winners, visit gcsu.edu/science.

STEM Field Day Northeast High School students andteachers participated in a daylong fieldtrip to Georgia College as part of anActive Learning in STEM project coordi-nated by Dr. Sandra Webb, assistant pro-fessor of reading at John H. LounsburyGeorgia College’s College of Education.

Bibb County students collected algaeand water samples. Students also ana-lyzed the samples with research studentsin algae expert Dr. Kalina Manoylov’slab.

Students also visited the Natural HistoryMuseum, took a university tour, and par-ticipated in an engaging discussion with apanel of science and mathematics under-graduates from Georgia College.

The STEM Mini-Grants Program at Georgia College supported the daylongSTEM Institute.

Midway Elementary makes the shadeKudos to Ruby Holsenbeck-Cox, Jenny McMahan and Carol Goins atMidway Elementary School in Baldwin County for earning a $5,000 grant fromthe Georgia Forestry Commission. As part of this grant, Midway studentsplanted trees to increase shade at the school’s playground and learned aboutthe vital roles of trees in their area. If your school playground needs moretrees, the Georgia Forestry Commission can help. Through the Making theShade program, schools can earn up to $5,000 to plant trees and createshade. A dollar for dollar match is required.

For more information visit www.gfc.state.ga.us.

Young scientists present in New OrleansGeovic Jadol (left) and JahWannGalimore (right), 12th-graders atGeorgia Military College, presented theirchemical sciences research at theSouthwest/Southeastern RegionalMeeting of the American ChemicalSociety in New Orleans.

Among the 1,200 participants, Jadol andGalimore were the only two high schoolstudent presenters.

Both students have conducted researchfor at least three years during the YoungScientists Academy, a seven-week sum-mer program for high school studentsheld in the Department of Chemistry,Physics and Astronomy at GeorgiaCollege and the Science EducationCenter.

Travel was funded by the Bulldog Club atGeorgia Military College.

Science in our Schools

The Nucleus 2011-2012 • page 8

STEM Mini-Grant AwardsCongratulations to all 2010-11 STEM Mini-Grant recipients. This year, Georgia Collegeawarded approximately $90,000 to universityfaculty to implement innovations that enhance

teaching and learning in STEM. Projects ranged from stud-ies on the impact of interactive technologies on learning inphysics classes; support for tutors in STEM courses; andmathematics nights for parents at local schools. The Mini-Grant Program is a project of the Georgia College STEMInitiative, supported by the USG Presidential STEMInitiative.

For more about the program and projects, visitgcsu.edu/stem.

2010-11 STEM Mini-Grant recipients: Angel Abney, DanBauer, Linda Bradley, Hauke Busch, Laurie Huffman, Amy Kelly,Kalina Manoylov, Julia Metzker, Lyndall Muschell, Gita Phelps,Lori Robinson, Stacy Schwartz, Linda Watson-Kaufman,Virginia Wilcox, Sandra Webb and JF Yao.

GC faculty discuss teaching, learning stylesThe College of Arts and Sciences and theSTEM Initiative at Georgia College host-ed a daylong workshop for STEM facultyon “How Students Learn, How TeachersTeach, and What Usually Goes Wrong.”

The workshop explored different learningand teaching approaches and the conse-quences of mismatches between learningand teaching styles.

About 35 faculty members from biology,chemistry, environmental science, mathe-matics and physics attended the event.

The workshop was presented by award-winning educator Richard M. Felder,Hoechest Professor Emeritus of ChemicalEngineering at North Carolina StateUniversity, and Rebecca Brent, president ofEducation Designs Inc., a consulting firm inCary, N.C.

This summer high school students uncovered the truths behindvarious myths and products during Georgia College’s PRELIMSAcademy.

Led by teachers at Georgia College’s John H. Lounsbury Collegeof Education, the theme for this year’s two-week residential expe-rience was “MYTHBUSTERS.”

“Like Discovery Channel’s Emmy-nominated series MYTH-BUSTERS, students focused on using the scientific method todetermine whether a claim was true or false,” said Dr. KarynneKleine, the academy’s director and professor of middle gradeseducation.

The PRELIMS Academy, standing for Preparing Robust Educatorsthrough Learning Integrative Math and Science, gives high schoolstudents from the middle Georgia area the opportunity to exploremath, science and teaching as a career option.

During the camp, students investigated how light and lenses worktogether to permit perfect vision; visited and received a behind-the-scenes tour of an operating forensic lab in Atlanta; and testedsunblock lotion on the university campus to determine if certainbrands provided UV protection.

True or False?

Dr. Chuck Fahrer, associate professor of geography,teaches wayfinding to the PRELIMS class.

STEM Initiative @ Georgia College

Brent

Felder

Activate learning in STEM! Dr. Sandra Webb, assistant professor in education, super-vised a STEM Mini-Grant project comprised of an interdis-ciplinary community of learners: nine Northeast HighSchool teachers from mathematics, science, social studies,technology and language arts together with STEM andeducation faculty members from Georgia College.

The learning community explored teaching strategies forintegrating technology, literacy and active-learning tech-niques into the classroom.

As part of Webb’s project, the Bibb County teachers alsoparticipated in a workshop on active learning sponsored bythe STEM Initiative at Georgia College.

In addition, 30 high school students were selected as STEMScholars by their teachers to participate in a STEM Instituteat Georgia College.

The Nucleus 2011-2012 • page 9

Georgia College faculty present at national conferenceCaralyn Zehnder, Ellen France, Julia Metzker, andRosalie Richards were invited to conduct a nationalworkshop on successful strategies for sustaining sci-ence programs during the Network for AcademicRenewal Conference on Engaged STEM Learning inMiami. The team of STEM faculty from GeorgiaCollege presented four sessions on how to designcross-disciplinary courses that are of interest to stu-dents and provided strategies for overcoming com-mon startup obstacles for such programs. The con-ference was an inaugural collaborative eventbetween two national organizations, ProjectKaleidoscope and the American Association ofColleges & Universities.

Drs. Caralyn Zehnder, Julia Metzker, Ellen France andRosalie Richards.

Celebrating Undergraduate ResearchUndergraduate research is amajor focal point at GeorgiaCollege. And the proof is in theannual celebration of studentscholarship. For the past 14years, the Student ResearchConference has exhibitedresearch ranging from Socratesto water quality. Presentationshave quadrupled since 2006with undergraduate researchpresentations at 55 percent ofthe 200 presentations this year.

“The student research commit-tee was impressed with the quantity and quality of presentations and inspired bythe dedication of faculty mentors,” said Dr. Stephanie McClure, associate profes-sor of sociology and conference coordinator.

Much of this research is also showcased at regional and national conferences,including the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) UndergraduateResearch Conference.

Students’ work is published during the spring in The Corinthian, a scholarly jour-nal of student research at Georgia College.

For more information, visit gcsu.edu/engagement.

Bethany Harrison and Megan Savransky presentedat this year’s undergraduate research conference.

Interdisciplinary team connects learning, civic engagement

Members of the Innovative Course-building Group (IC-bG) atGeorgia College traveled to Butler University in Indianapolis toparticipate in the annual SENCER Summer Institute. Science

Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) isa community of faculty, students and academic leaders to improve under-graduate STEM education by connecting learning to critical civic ques-tions. The Georgia College team included Valerie Aranda (art), WillHobbs (outdoor education), Laurie Huffman (mathematics), JoannePrevits (middle grades education) and Gregg Kaufman (government).

“The conference is a great place to learn about effective teaching atother schools,” said Dr. Julia Metzker, co-developer of IC-bG.

The diverse team will use their experience at SENCER to continuedesigning and teaching innovative courses with strong civic engagement

components. IC-bG is a grass-roots network for learning.

The group is open to anyteaching faculty or staff in anydiscipline who has interest inusing civic issues as a catalystfor course development orredesign to enhance studentlearning.

For more information, visiticbg.wordpress.com.Will Hobbs, Gregg Kaufman, Laurie Huffman,

Valerie Aranda.

To continue advancing undergraduateresearch at Georgia College, a team of STEMfaculty and staff (Ryan Brown, Hauke Busch,Robin Lewis, Kalina Manoylov, RosalieRichards) were invited to participate in theInstitutionalizing Undergraduate ResearchConference at UNC-Asheville in June as partof a COPLAC initiative.

Signature Programs

The Nucleus 2011-2012 • page 10

Natural History Museum tops list in local contest

Planetarium ShowsWatch science movies that are out ofthis world at Georgia College’s plane-tarium. Each show is between 35 and45 minutes and shown on demandduring the Natural History Museum’sopen hours. Featured shows:

Oceans in SpaceHubble VisionMarsQuestTwo Small Pieces of GlassThe Little Star That CouldOrigins of Life

For more information, visitgcsu.edu/planetarium.

Three Georgia College programs havebeen selected as “The Best ofMilledgeville” in a recent poll conduct-ed by The Union-Recorder. Readers’votes launched the university’s NaturalHistory Museum, Blackbridge Hall ArtGallery and GC Community DanceProgram to the top of the pack duringthe 6th Annual Reader’s ChoiceAwards.

The Natural History Museum recently consulted with museumcollections care and management company Museologica toassess its effectiveness for the campus and local community.Collections consultant John Simmons reported that GeorgiaCollege’s “staff have done an excellent job of presenting facultyresearch in interesting ways.” Museologica also specializes in policy devel-opment, professional training, grant writing and natural history collections.During Simmons’ evaluation, the museum’s displays and specimens

intrigued him the most.

“Research has shown that studying museum objects sharpens observational skills and canstimulate children who have difficulties accessing information from other sources,” Simmonssaid.

The 2,500-square-foot public gallery includes 120,000 specimens used primarily for research, a24-foot dome planetarium and 17 engaging exhibits related to the evolution of life on Earth.

“A university museum should be the heart of the university,” said Simmons. “Natural historymuseums use the past to understand the future.”

Museum Report Card

Museum Moments

The Georgia College Natural History Museum features twonew exhibits. Grab your flashlight and discover cave forma-tions including stalactites and stalagmites in this NorthGeorgia cave. Spot animal dwellers like bats, salamandersand cave fish too.

The second exhibit features a chamois, a relative of thegoat family from the European mountains. Originally dis-played in the Smithsonian, the chamois is a unique speci-men to learn about at the museum.

The museum is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.on the first Saturday of each month.

For more information, call 478-445-2395.

What’s new at the museum?

Did you know?This year museumvisitation increased45 percent.45

The Nucleus 2011-2012 • page 11

Working 60 feet in the air, Ray Hoskingattaches walls to a greenhouse on top ofthe new Herty Hall addition.

“This greenhouse is in a good spot,”said Hosking of Michigan. “It’s a longway up and a little harder to build agreenhouse on a roof, but we’ll finish thejob on time.”

The 21-foot-by-55-foot greenhouse isequipped with an automatic shade sys-tem, intake shutters, exhaust fans andHAC to control the interior temperature.

The university’s original greenhouse onthe north side of Herty Hall will remainopen, said university project managerDonnie Beasley.

“The greenhouse is the proper toppingfor the Herty Hall expansion,” Beasleysaid. “It’s exciting to watch it grow everyday.”

Rock pillars stream water into a pool surrounded by lush tropicalplants. The new fountain is the centerpiece of the GeorgiaCollege greenhouse.

“The fountain offers us the first opportunity to grow and displaytropical plants,” said greenhouse supervisor Marina Barkovskii.“This added feature will bring more people into the greenhouseto learn about not only the tropical plants but also the succulentsand other plants here.”

The fountain has five columns with the tallestone standing 6 feet tall. The columns aremade of basalt, a hard, dense volcanic rockwith a glassy appearance. Three sprinkleheads surrounding the pool provide a mistfor the tropical plants, which includeorchids, horsetail plants and banana andumbrella trees.

The Georgia College greenhouse, built in 1987,features a diverse collection of more than 300 exotic plantspecies from around the world. It serves as a teaching andresearch laboratory for Georgia College students and faculty.The greenhouse also serves as a learning tool for the communi-

ty. Elementary schools frequently take field trips to the green-house to learn about plants.

For more information about volunteering or to set up a green-house tour, contact Marina Barkovskii at 478-251-4009.

Environmental artist visits Georgia CollegeInternational environmental artist Basia Irland shared her experiences of making art through water during a week-long visit to Georgia College. Irland discussed communal efforts to protect waterways, focusing on the city ofMilledgeville’s Oconee River Greenway during her presentation, “Ice Books.” “For this Georgia river project, I cre-ated a sculptural repository backpack that is an algae collection kit in the shape of a diatom,” said Irland, profes-sor emerita in the Department of Art and Art History at University of New Mexico. “These packs hold research,hydrology reports, photographs, objects made by the community and watershed maps.” Irland often works withscholars from diverse disciplines to build rainwater-harvesting systems; connect communities; and film and pro-duce water documentaries. She is commissioned regularly to work on river restoration projects. “It is my hope thatstudents, faculty, staff and the local community realized how important it is to take care of our local water sources,”

Irland said. “Whether spring, river, lake or snowmelt, we rely upon water for survival, recreation and enjoyment.” The Department ofBiological and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Art co-hosted the visit.

Fountain enhances greenhouse

Going Green

Herty Hallgreenhouse grows up on the roof

About UsDr. Rosalie Richards is director of the ScienceEducation Center and Kaolin-Endowed Chairin Science. She is a professor of chemistry atthe Department of Chemistry, Physics andAstronomy. Dr. Richards enjoys reading,gardening and outdoor activities. She livesin Milledgeville, Ga., with her husband,James, and their children, Brontë andByron.

Linda Chandler is a scientific illustra-tor and anatomy instructor at GeorgiaCollege. She also is an active volun-teer in the Baldwin County publicschools. She enjoys sculpting, gar-dening, kayaking and hanging outwith her husband, Bob, and theirthree boys, Dane, Brett andMickey.

Patti Veal joined the center in2008 as the first full-time admin-istrative assistant. Ms. Veal livesin Sandersville, Ga., with herhusband, Tom, and their son,Daulton. She enjoys spendingtime with her family andfriends, traveling, gardeningand attending her son’s sport-ing events.

Kelsey Donaldson is a senior mass com-munication major from Roswell, Ga. Upongraduation, she plans to seek work for anonprofit. In her spare time, she enjoyscooking Mexican food, traveling and win-dow shopping.

Heather Holladay is a federal work-studystudent at the Science Education Center.She is a junior community health majorfrom Powder Springs, Ga. In her spare time,Heather enjoys running, mountain bikingand going to concerts.

Science Education CenterGeorgia College, CBX 082Milledgeville, GA 31061Phone 478-445-7531Fax 478-445-1092science@gcsu.edu

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Milledgeville, GA

Calendar of Events 2011-12October 3-7 Shades of Green Week

12 National Fossil Day 15 Night at the Museum! 16-22 National Chemistry Week

November 12 SMART Institute Follow-Up Session

December 1 Registration begins - Regional Science

& Engineering Fair 2012

January 18-20 Georgia Association of Museums and

Galleries Annual Convention28 SMART Institute Follow-Up Session

February 3-4 Georgia College Regional Science & Engineering Fair

March 14 STEM Symposium 29-31 Georgia Science & Engineering Fair - Athens, GA

April 13-14 COPLAC Regional Undergraduate Research Conference

14 SMART Institute Follow-Up Session

May 13-18 International Science & Engineering Fair – Pittsburgh, PA

June 1-30 Summer Research Internships Program for

High School Students 11-15 Science Camp: grades 6-9 25-29 Science Camp Jr.: entering 3-5 grades

July 2-19 Summer Research Internships Program for

High School Students 9-13 Science Camp Jr.: entering 3-5 grades (repeat camp)

9-19 SMART Institute

Support Science Education! Help Georgia College sustain its science programs. Make a donation atgcsu.edu/foundation or a check may be written to Georgia College Foundation and mailed to:

Office of University Advancement Campus Box 96Milledgeville, GA 31061Please write “Science Education Programs” on the memoline. Your donation is 100 percent tax deductible and fullysupports Georgia College’s science education programs.Thank you.

Experience the wonderfulworld of science atGeorgia College by visit-ing gcsu.edu/science.