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A Weekly E-Newsletter for SSU Faculty and Staff

SSU mathematics professors Brigitte Lahme (right), Izabela Kanaana (center) and Jerry Morris have organized the department's first annual Northern California Undergraduate Mathematics Conference set for Saturday, April 16.

Undergraduate mathematics students and speakers from Northern California universities and colleges in Sacramento, Berkeley, San Jose, Chico and Humboldt plan to attend. The conference gives students an opportunity to practice talking about their work in mathematics in front of a friendly, peer audience. While sharing the results of work with peers is an essential part of an academic career, most national and local mathematics conferences usually only include poster sessions for undergraduates but no oral presentations.

"We are very excited about this opportunity to actively involve students in the mathematics community," says Lahme. "This kind of experience often leads to a corresponding growth in mathematical maturity." Kanaana notes that the conference is also a great way to find out what areas of mathematics other students are involved in and "it exposes undergraduates to a variety of non-standard mathematical ideas."

A grant from the National Science Foundation, administered through the Mathematical Association of America, supports the conference, which is the only one being held in California. Registration is free. Morning refreshments and lunch will be provided for all conference participants.

For further information contact Lahme at 4-2238 or e-mail nocalumc@sonoma.edu. The conference Web site is located at www.sonoma.edu/math/nocalumc.

Student Speaker Applications Due Tuesday
 
Applications to be student speaker at Commencement are due to Anne Handley,
Commencement Coordinator, on Tuesday, March 22 by 5 p.m. Completed applications must be accompanied by a draft speech for consideration.
 
Application forms are available in the Associated Students office and in Stevenson 1066 as well as on the Commencement 2005 Web site.
 

Winners of the RSCAP 2005 Mini-Grant Awards Announced

The Faculty Subcommittee on Sponsored Programs is happy to announce the recipients of the 2005 Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Program Mini-Grant Awards. They are:

• Ali Kooshesh - Computer Science - "Connecting Disjointed Wireless Sensor Networks"
• Jennifer Whiles Lillig - Chemistry - "Characterization of Key Amino Acids in the Membrane Activity of the anti-Listerial Bacteriocins Piscicocin V1a & V1b"
• Hongtao Shi - Physics & Astronomy - "Exchange Coupled Bilayer Thin Films"
• Carolyn Epple - Anthropology - "Survey on Housing Needs for Persons with HIV/AIDS"
• Gerryann Olson - Psychology - "From Bambini to Barbie: A Historical Study of Dolls"
• Robert Train - Modern Languages & Literatures - "Learning to be Bilingual: The Use of Student Ethnographic Journals in the Spanish Class"
• Carmen Works – Chemistry - "Identification of Chromium (III) Binding Peptides"
• Theresa Alfaro-Velcamp - History - "Bending Border and Bodies"
• Karina Nielsen - Biology - "Postelsia Spore Production & Viability"
• Ellen Carlton - Kinesiology - "Media Representation of Female and Male Coaches"
• Janet Hess - Hutchins School of Liberal Studies - "Postcolonialism and East African Culture"
• Sunil Tiwari - Mathematics - "The Rate of Weathering of Ancient Stone Buildings, and Associated Younger Buildings along the East Coast of India"

Faculty Internships Available in Washington D.C.

The Faculty Fellows Internship Program, offered by the Washington Internship Institute in cooperation with the Association of American Colleges and Universities, provides semester-long professional internship experiences in Washington, D.C. SSU faculty at the rank of Assistant or above are eligible to apply. The program is addressed specifically to mid-career faculty at accredited institutions of higher education.

The Fellows program enables faculty to broaden their professional, disciplinary, and personal horizons, reinvigorating their own work as scholars, teachers, and educational leaders.

For four days each week, Faculty Fellows work in a challenging professional environment, such as a government agency, nonprofit organization, national association, museum, foundation, or other site. One day each week, Fellows participate in a seminar designed for participants to assess their field-based learning and connect it to issues on their campuses and in their disciplines.

For further information, visit http://www.ielnet.org/faculty-about.shtml.

Low-Cost Health Examinations for
Local Residents, March 23-May 18

Low cost physical examinations and health appraisals for well adults and children will be available for Sonoma County residents through the SSU Nursing Department's Family Nurse Practitioner Program from March 23 through May 18.

The exams are supervised by nursing faculty and performed by family nurse practitioner students who are registered nurses enrolled in the Master's nursing program. The cost of a physical examination is $30, Pap test $35, cholesterol check $25, hearing tests are free and a DMV physical examination is $60. Copies of records are given to clients upon request as well as mailed to private physicians or agencies.

Appointments may be made by calling SSU's Nursing Department at 4-2466, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.