2014-15 Scholars Council Election Results

Congratulations to the winners of the Scholars Council Elections

Class of 2015

                   Aditi Patel

Class of 2016

Benjamin Bogard

Bradley Waller

Class of 2017

Leah Onsgard

Sara Mohr

Ella Newell

Scholars Presenting at the Philosophical & Literary Society Friday

We are most pleased to announce a student “double header” at this week’s meeting of the Philosophical & Literary Society. Please come out and support our student presenters.


Allison Milner

Self-Deception aboard the Pequod: Put that in your pipe and smoke it!


Nicole Jamieson

Can religiosity indicate how trusting an individual is?

The Philosophical & Literary Society meets Fridays at 4:00 in the McCoy conference rooms of the Saemann Student Union when Wartburg is in session. Students are encouraged to attend. Beverages and snacks available.



We invite presentations of an academic nature from faculty, staff, students, and members of the community.

History Lecture March 30

Anneliese Heider Tisdale will discuss her life as a young girl in Nazi Germany during a talk at Wartburg Sunday, March 30. Tisdale, a retired Cedar Rapids teacher — will give the James W. Lynes Jr. Memorial Lecture in History, hosted by the Phi Alpha Theta history honor society, at 1 p.m. in Whitehouse Business Center 214. Her memoir,Christmas Trees Lit the Sky, recounts her fears as a compulsory member of Hitler’s Youth Girls League as a preteen and life in Munich during the war. The title recalls red and green flares used to illuminate the sky for Allied bombers, reminiscent of Christmas tree lights.

MCSP Seminar - Brownian Motion and HMD-Functions

The final MCSP Seminar of the term will take place on Tuesday, March 25 at 11:30 in SC 134.  The featured speaker will be Kevin Gerstle, a graduate student in mathematics at the University of Iowa.  He will deliver a presentation entitled, "Brownian Motion and HMD-Functions."
(See below for an abstract.)  As always, refreshments (cookies and beverages) will be provided.  We hope to see you and your students there!

-Ben


March 25 Speaker: Kevin Gerstle, University of Iowa graduate student

Title: "Brownian Motion and HMD-Functions"

Abstract:
Models of random motion can be used in all scientific disciplines to study phenomena ranging from the rise and fall of stock prices to the motion of pollen particles through water. In particular, models of Brownian motion can be used to describe the behavior of random, continuous motion through any number of dimensions.

By letting these randomly moving particles, ie: Brownian particles, travel through a two-dimensional domain, we can learn valuable information about the shape and structure of the domain by determining how far from their starting points Brownian particles will first hit the domain's boundary. In doing so, we will construct the "harmonic measure distribution functions" (HMD-functions) for these domains and discuss just what information these functions encode. For example: are the domains bounded? Do they have any corners or cusps? Do they have any holes in them? Are their boundaries connected?

We will examine the HMD-functions of several different types of domains using both geometrical and computational methods and then look in particular at a class of circle domains for which the HMD-functions are of particular interest. In doing so, we will use concepts from analysis, geometry, probability, and computational theory in order to define these functions and to explain their significance.

Scholars Culture Point Opportunity

I have heard from many of you that, although you have earned a lot of Scholars Culture Points, you haven't gotten around to reporting them.  Now that it is break, this is the time to sit down with a nice cup of something warming and report those events.  But that is not the point of this post.

Culture Point without Reporting Opportunity
The Controversial Coffee Conversations are fun, but it can be a bit intimidating to talk around all those people, some of whom you see every day in the hall.  Here is a proposal:

Find a TED Talk video on a topic you care about.  Organize a viewing and discussion with at least 3 other people (at least one other Scholar).  When that Scholar reports the discussion for one Culture Point and reports you as the organizer, you will AUTOMATICALLY earn two Culture Points (because you organized it).  Of course, you do have to get one of the attendees to report their participation.

Scholars Culture Points

Culture Point Congratulations

Congratulations to Kayla Heslin, Madison Mix and Sarah Mullinax who reported the most culture points since January 1. This is especially impressive when you consider I haven't been reminding the students to do their reporting.

Friday meeting of the Philosophical & Literary Society this week

6-Dec

Matthew Voigts

The Virtual World of Atheist Summer Camp

The Philosophical & Literary Society meets Fridays at 4:00 in the McCoy conference rooms of the Saemann Student Center when Wartburg is in session.  Students are encouraged to attend.  Beverages and snacks available.

We invite presentations of an academic nature from faculty, staff, students, and members of the community.  Please contact one of the individuals below for further information.

Philosophical & Literary Society Steering Committee:

Walter C. "Chip" Bouzard

Amy Nolan

Lynn Olson

Fred Waldstein

Roy Ventullo, Technical Consultant

2013 Scholars Christmas Book Club

The book has been chosen.  Please go to the Google form to sign up.

It is The Book Thief.  Now, this book is being turned into a movie, but as you know just because a book and a movie have the same name, that doesn't mean they are very similar.

The extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller that will be in movie theaters on November 15, 2013, Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul.
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

However, Dr. Birgen has decided that some of you have already read The Book Thief, so there is another option which she is considering using next year in IS 101.

Stately oaks, ivy-covered walls, the opposite sex — these are the things that likely come to mind for most Americans when they think about the "nature" of college. But the real nature of college is hidden in plain sight: it’s flowing out of the keg, it’s woven into the mascots on our T-shirts. Engaging in a deep and richly entertaining study of "campus ecology," The Nature of College explores one day in the life of the average student, questioning what "natural" is and what "common sense" is really good for and weighing the collective impacts of the everyday. In the end, this fascinating, highly original book rediscovers and repurposes the great and timeless opportunity presented by college: to study the American way of life, and to develop a more sustainable, better way to live.

Celebration of Learning

Scholars Celebration of Learning - Dessert Buffet

When: December 13, 2013
           7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Where: Heritage Ballroom
Who: All First Year Scholars expected as part of SCH 101
          All other Scholars and Scholars faculty are invited.

Save the Date: December 5

Things are still in the planning stages, but a group of Wartburg Scholars students who went on the May Term to Costa Rica last year is planning a presentation on their learning and experiences.  If you are already enrolled in this course, or still on the fence, come learn what goes on from some students who will really let you know.

Friday meeting of the Philosophical & Literary Society this week

15-Nov

Amy Nolan

An Excerpt from My Memoir, The Whirlpool

The Philosophical & Literary Society meets Fridays at 4:00 in the McCoy conference rooms of the Saemann Student Union when Wartburg is in session.  Students are encouraged to attend.  Beverages and snacks available.

We invite presentations of an academic nature from faculty, staff, students, and members of the community.  Please contact one of the individuals below for further information.

Philosophical & Literary Society Steering Committee:

Walter C. "Chip" Bouzard

Amy Nolan

Lynn Olson

Fred Waldstein

Roy Ventullo, Technical Consultant

 

Christmas Break Book Club

Last Christmas, we experimented with a Christmas Break Book Club for Scholars.  We all got copies of The Last Lecture, read the book over break, and then got together a couple of times in the Winter Term.  Things that worked well were the book and the initial discussions, but as the term progressed, we found it harder and harder to meet.  So ...

Christmas Break Book Club V 2.0

A Scholars Alumnus sent me the buzzfeed post, 26 books That Will Change The Way You See The World.  Since I am impressed with the ones I have read and the previous book was on the list, we will choose one of these books to read.  Somehow.  Then, students will sign up for the book club and the program will purchase copies of the book for you.  We will read the book over break and have either a Facebook group or a group blog to discuss the book as we read (this is going to depend on if everyone is on Facebook).  We will meet once during the first two weeks of Winter Term and then pass on our books to someone else who we think should read it with the instructions to do likewise.  Alumni are welcome to join us, but they will need to get their own copy of the book and we can't pay to bring you to campus in January.

So, how do you get involved?  Please help us choose a book.  Go to this link or, if it works for you, fill out the form below (they are the same).

Scholars Culture Point Heroes

Congratulations to the following Scholars who have reported the most Scholars Culture Points since the beginning of October:

Ella Newell

Mackenzie Walsh

Megan Ellis

Partners in the Parks

Now that Dr. Birgen is back from the National Conference, the next few blog posts will be items of interest to students.  The first is:

Partners in the Park

This is a collaboration between the National Park Service and the National Collegiate Honors Council, of which Wartburg is a member.  Students travel to a National Park for a week and study the location using the techniques of City as Text.  The costs are quite reasonable and the education is priceless.  This year there is a new opportunity to participate the day after Christmas in Florida in the Everglades.

Proposed Projects for 2014
1. Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO (Aug 2-9)
2. Buffalo National River, AR (May 12-18)
3. Everglades Nat. Park, FL (Dec 26-Jan 1 2013)
4. Glacier National Park, MT (Aug 11-16)
5. GC-Parashant Nat, Mon, AZ (May 26-31)
6. Olympic National Park, WA (Aug 5-11) 
7. Sequoia National Park, CA (Aug 5-10)
8. Shenandoah Nat. Park, VA (May 18-23) 

Mid-Trip Report

We have lost no one and have had no emergency room trips!

MCSP Department Seminar

The next MCSP Department Seminar will be held on Tuesday, October 22 at
11:30 in SC 134.  It will feature presentations from two Wartburg students who each did research in biostatistics last summer.  Hailee Reist (3Y in Mathematics) participated in the Iowa Summer Institute in Biostatistics at the University of Iowa and will speak about her research on glaucoma and macular degeneration.  Matthew Partridge (4Y in Mathematics) participated in the Summer Institute in Biostatistics at the University of Minnesota and will present about his research on the effects of caffeine on mental ability.  (See below for more information about their presentations.)  As always, refreshments (cookies and beverages) will be provided.  We hope to see you there!

And please mark your calendars for the following Tuesday (Oct 29) as well.  The MCSP Seminar that day will feature a panel discussion on graduate school in STEM fields.  This will be recommended for any student considering graduate school in any STEM field (engineering, math, physics, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, computer science, etc).
  The panel will feature representatives of the University of Iowa and Iowa State University from a variety of disciplines.  At this point I expect to have reps from the areas of mechanical engineering, physics, and biosciences.  Stay tuned for more details.  Please spread the word to your students and let me know if you have any questions.



October 22 Speakers:

Hailee Reist (3Y in Mathematics): "A Genome-wide Association Study of Glaucoma and Age-related Macular Degeneration"

Abstract: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are popular in locating genetic factors underlying complex human traits. This study involves 400 glaucoma patients and 400 age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients. The goal of this study is to conduct a GWAS analysis in order to identify genetic factors affecting these two traits. Each patient is genotyped with Affymetrix GeneChip Mapping 500K Array Set or GeneCHip Mapping 500K Assay. The distributions of genotypes between glaucoma patients and AMD patients are compared using the Pearson’s Chi-Squared Test.  Forty-four significant SNP sites were found at a significance level of 10^-8.  The most prominent signals are located on chromosome 1,
3 and 10.


Matthew Partridge (4Y in Mathematics): "The Summer Institute in Biostatistics Experience at the University of Minnesota"

Abstract: This summer I took part in the Summer Institute in Biostatistics at the University of Minnesota. I learned the skills needed for biostatistics and put these skills to use in a simulated study examining the effects of caffeine on difficult mental arithmetic ability. This seminar will describe this study as well as the design of a potential polypill trial made by our institute as a whole. My experience and thoughts of the SIBS program will also be discussed.

Phil and Lit Society - October 18, 2013 - Buddhism and the Rise and Fall of Japanese Empire (1868-1945)

Dr. Kunihiko Terasawa, Assistant Professor, Wartburg College is speaking at 4 PM as part of the Philosophy and Literary Society meeting on October 18 in McCoy East.  He will be speaking on Buddhism and the Rise and Fall of Japanese Empire (1868-1945)

There will be no meeting next week because of Fall Break.

NCUR 2014: Call for Student Abstracts!

Abstract Submission Portal —Now Open!

Submission Period: September 30-December 6, 2013

The Council on Undergraduate Research and University of Kentucky, the NCUR 2014 host, invite undergraduate students to submit abstracts for posters, oral presentations, and creative and performing arts presentations.  NCUR is a multidisciplinary conference for bright, motivated, and talented students, who come from all types of institutions including research universities, community colleges, comprehensive universities, and private liberal arts colleges.  This conference is an opportunity for students to present research to peers, receive feedback from faculty from other institutions, network with graduate school representatives, and hear from inspiring plenary speakers.

For more information, visit: http://www.cur.org/ncur_2014

Questions?

ncur2014@uky.edu

859-257-0049

The NCUR office is staffed Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm (Eastern Time).

              

Water to Thrive presentation

Ed Scharlau '61, founding board member of Water to Thrive, will present alongside Sibusiso Kunene ’14 and Aman Gebremariam ’13 Thursday, Oct. 10, 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m., in McCoy West in Saemann Student Center. Guests are welcome to visit with the presenters during a reception 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The group will speak about their experience bringing clean water to an Ethiopian village with the help of a Davis grant. All are welcome.