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January/February 2008 Edition
(Archived editions are here.)

• From the Dean
  
  
• Computer Science Takes All
  
  
• Student Perpectives on Mentoring
  
  
• Faculty Perpectives on Mentoring
  
  
• News from the Natural Sciences
  
  
• Independent Study: AHS
  
  
• Upcoming Events
  
  
  

From the Dean

Mentoring Marks Minds!

Are you considering your faculty as mentors who help chart personal, spiritual and professional growth? Wheaton faculty are wonderful sources of experience and they give mentoring a high priority. They enjoy their roles as teachers, scholarly guardians of their respective disciplines, and members of the body of Christ. They are talented faculty whose God given experiences include professional training in the finest universities and long term refinement of their spiritual character by Jesus Christ. Seeking advice and wisdom from your faculty often leads to engaging broad and deep discussions about academic topics and life experiences that can help cast your own growth. Long term friendships frequently result from mentoring relationships between students and faculty. Imagine receiving counsel from faculty that helps chart your professional, personal and spiritual life!

Be bold, take that strategic initiative, map out and navigate some options for being mentored by your faculty. Strong mentoring relationships and counsel from faculty can diffuse some of the anxiety you may feel as you plan for the future. Cut through some of the anxiety associated with personal and career choices by talking with your faculty about how they made their career choices. Clarify some of your dreams for your career destinations and character growth. Ask the faculty how you might spend some of your summers, what types of books you should read, and how you can establish and achieve your vision for growth. Here’s a tip for you. Faculty really enjoy lunches with students. At the very least, you could have lunch and an unforgettable conversation with an amazing faculty member. On the other hand, you may enjoy mentorship by a faculty mentor whose life is an inspiration and informs your career and spiritual growth. Consider launching a voyage of mentoring with a faculty member whose sail is facing into the winds of a successful career in science and whose pilot is the Lord Jesus Christ!

Dorothy F. Chappell, Ph.D.
Dean of Natural and Social Sciences

Computer Science Takes All

ACCA Programming Contest
The annual Association of Colleges of the Chicago Area (ACCA) held their Computer Science Programming Competition at North Central College on February 23rd. Sixteen teams from eight colleges and universities competed in two divisions. The teams had four hours to solve eight problems.

The Wheaton Thunder Novice Team of Tim Radavich, Brian Croom and Neile Havens came in first place in the novice division, solving all 8 problems with no wrong submissions, finishing 31 minutes before the competition ended.

		The first place novice team: Dr. John Hayward with Tim Radavich, Neile Havens and Brian Croom

The Wheaton Orange Advanced Team, Yelemis Soung, Sarah Cobb, Joe Michalka and Andrew Ewert finished first in the advanced division, solving seven of the eight problems.

		Wheaton’s two advanced teams from the ACCA programming competition, finishing first and second: David Niehls, David Hollman, Chet Mancini, Sarah Cobb, Andrew Ewert, Joe Michalka, and Dr. John Hayward

The Wheaton Blue Advanced team of Chet Mancini, David Hollman and David Niehls solved 5 problems in the advanced division. Of the ten teams in the advanced division, Wheaton’s teams were the only ones who solved more than 2 problems. Photos of participating teams as well as standings at the end of the competition are available at http://cs.wheaton.edu/ACCA Congratulations to these students for a job well done and representing Wheaton. Thanks be to God for giving them the abilities with which they have been blessed.

Dr. John Hayward
Associate Professor of Computer Science

Students Perspectives About Mentoring

Are you navigating through your science major with intentionality that addresses the competences of the content and context of the sciences? Does your route of exploration in science involve faculty members who are contributing to your Christian walk on this career path? Are you capturing the joy of studying science? Are the faculty captivated by science and enjoying their mentoring relationships with you in advising, conversations, classes, internships, laboratories, conducting research, TAing and informal settings? The students below comment on some of their mentoring experiences.

How have your science faculty served as mentors to you?  Have any of them given you advice or modeled something that you value as a scientist and/or Christian? 

The Burdens have invested an incredible amount of time and energy in their research students, going far beyond what is necessary to accomplish their research goals. Their advice in preparing for graduate school gave me realistic expectations and insight into what to look for in graduate school. They were also excellent role models of living out your faith in a lab (and scientific) setting. (I worked very closely with Drs. Daniel and Lisa Burden doing molecular biology research starting in January 2007 all the way through December 2007 when I graduated.)
Ashley Paulson, Chemistry Alumna

I admire Dr. Moshier's approach to origins—humility. We weren't there, but we come to God's revealed word and His natural order seeking to learn.
Brandon Lewis, Senior, Geology Major

Have the faculty who teach laboratories or conduct research mentored you in the use of technology that will be useful to you in your formation as a scientist?

Dr. Burden always took care to explain the theory behind any instrument, so that even as I move on to more advanced laboratories with more updated equipment, I can easily adapt to different logistical procedures. He was also eager to explain methods I encountered in scientific literature, methods which often weren't available at Wheaton. His explanations helped make paper-based research more understandable and educational for me.
Ashley Paulson

I hope to someday follow in the footsteps of Dr. Clark, making homemade geophysical devices for groundwater and mineral prospecting in the development context.
Brandon Lewis

 

What is the most important information you have learned from your science faculty as mentors in classes or labs or other settings?

I've learned the importance of the pursuit of excellence in every single step of a very long process, and the reward it holds when you reach a goal. I've learned the importance of team work, humility and being teachable, as well as how interpersonal relationships can affect the success achieved in a laboratory setting. Most of all, my research experience gave me an enormous sense of independence in the lab and encouraged me to think through problems on my own to find solutions when advisors weren't present to help. It is already serving me well in my job as an R&D chemist in North Carolina.
Ashley Paulson

Dr. Greenberg has taught me that geology is a ministry tool—drilling for water or working with artisan miners is fulfilling the Great Commission.
Brandon Lewis

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Faculty Faculty Perspectives About Mentoring

Rich relationships with faculty tap the wealth of information they can offer. Faculty enjoy the discovery processes of science and eagerly share their enthusiasm, techniques and technologies with you. They also enjoy research and you could join them to conduct collaborative research in analytical, computational, inorganic, organic, or physical chemistry, to name a few fields. You may prefer to undertake research studying the environment or “critters” from bacteria, to mammals or invertebrates. Mentoring experiences with your faculty in applied health science, biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental studies, genetics, geology, human anatomy, mathematics, movement science, nutrition, physics, physiology, plasma physics, or renewable resources could open vast worlds of discovery for you. Perhaps you prefer a mentoring relationship where you read and discuss the big issues where natural science and Christian faith intersect including topics like bioethics, chaos and free will, chemistry and society, evolution, natural disasters, origins, string theory, and wellness, to mention a few topics. Faculty enjoy those discussions too! The faculty below comment on faculty student mentoring relationships.

What have you most enjoyed about mentoring students during your time of teaching at Wheaton College?

Deepening real friendships here on campus and at the Wheaton College Science Station (WCSS) while doing a small part in helping students grow as mature Christian scholars.
Dr. Jeff Greenberg,
Professor of Geology

I enjoy seeing a student progress in his or her work on a difficult problem and getting to better know the student in the process.
Dr. Mary Vanderschoot,
Associate Professor of Mathematics

Why should science students be involved in mentoring relationships?

Good mentoring experiences are like apprenticeships. Students are offered higher-quality interactions to "live out" learning with people who have been there spiritually, intellectually and professionally.
Dr. Jeff Greenberg

Faculty mentoring is a great opportunity for students to work with a faculty member on a project and see how mathematics is really done. Because it's outside the classroom, there's more time to work intensely on one project as well as develop deeper relationships along the way.
Dr. Mary Vanderschoot

Mentoring enables learning processes that are experiential and practical rather than merely theoretical. This is true in all disciplines, but is particularly important in the sciences where learning in the laboratory is best accomplished in a master-apprentice type relationship.
Dr. Larry Funck,
Professor of Chemistry

What topics other than science do you address with students in your mentoring?

Everything can become transparent between mentor and young colleagues. This includes the struggles/pain of life as well as faith and academic accomplishments-- consider: life, death, family, missions, sports, environment,
music, ice cream!
Dr. Jeff Greenberg

Topics range from career and summer plans, graduate school, to personal and spiritual issues.
Dr. Mary Vanderschoot

Some of my most meaningful ‘mentoring’ experiences have occurred when I taught the capstone course on a tutorial basis for individuals or pairs of students who were unable to take the course when regularly scheduled. Discussion for an extended period one-on-one on science-faith issues allowed for a depth of conversation that cannot readily be achieved when carried out in a larger group. Significant personal questions on integration of faith and science were raised and could be probed at length and led to meaningful interchange that benefitted me as much as it did the student.
Dr. Larry Funck

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Nuggets of News from Departments

		An image produced by the Applied Heath Science Department’s new motion analysis system. Other departments are also invited to use this system.

Applied Health Science: Motion Analysis System!
The Applied Health Science Department has purchased a state-of-the-art Vicon motion analysis system. The 6 camera Vicon motion analysis system allows students and faculty to quantify their studies of human motion. The system analyzes a series of high-speed camera images that capture the motion of various reflective markers placed on a subject. The system collects data and calculates force and movement statistics. The AHS lab, directed by Dr. Kevin Carlson, Assistant Professor of Applied Health Science, will use the system primarily for gait analysis and will partner with other departments on campus such as the Conservatory as they analyze the movement of their musicians, conductors and vocal performers. Other departments are invited to use this extraordinary new system.

Biology
Bioinformatics is being taught during spring semester 2008 by Dr. Pattle Pun, Professor of Biology. This course offers an introduction to comparative analyses of organisms at the genetic level using molecular and computer techniques. Students study genetic sequencing, analysis and comparison of genome sequences in lecture and laboratories. Genetic markers for disease, biosystematics and biodiversity are discussed in this course.

Computer Science
This semester, with the supervision of Dr. Cary Gray, Associate Professor of Computer Science, four students are studying how to create and manage a computing cluster. Part of their project involves assembling a hardware cluster and installing software for use by Dr. Becky Eggimann, Assistant Professor of Chemistry. Her requirements for high powered computing resources in her computational chemistry research have given an unusual opportunity for advanced computer science students to participate in building the needed cluster resource. They are modeling a wonderful interdisciplinary approach to collaboration!

Engineering: Robotics
Mechanical engineering student, Andrew Nienaber, recently completed his first semester at the University of Minnesota while enrolled in the Wheaton College Liberal Arts 3-2 engineering program. He spent three years at Wheaton College and plans to spend the two years at engineering school. While there, he roomed with another Wheaton College engineering student Luke Kjolhaug. Andrew is back at Wheaton for a semester so that he can participate on the Wheaton College track team before returning to Minnesota next year. During Andrew’s first semester at Minnesota, he took a mechanical engineering course with 210 other students where respective students had to construct a robot. Andrew was one of four students chosen by Fox News to demonstrate his robot. His robot is a toilet paper dispenser, which tears paper perfectly at the perforation providing four squares without fail every time. To see Andrew demonstrate his robot visit the Fox News broadcast.

Engineering: New Scholarship
Wheaton College has new merit based engineering scholarships, which have been endowed thanks to the generosity of the Homer and Blanche Benton family. The Homer and Blanche Benton Engineering Scholarships were provided in appreciation for Rudy Benton’s (their son) educational experience at Wheaton. Rudy was in the Wheaton College ROTC while studying in the Wheaton Liberal Arts 3/2 engineering program with the Illinois Institute of Technology. Three concurrent year scholarships will be provided for a student in engineering. Each recipient must pursue the five-year cooperative integrated liberal arts/engineering program with IIT. Preference is given to students in the ROTC program, but this is not required. The first recipient is fourth year civil engineering student, Jeremy Williams, (not in ROTC). In addition to strong academic standing and ROTC participation, other considerations in selecting recipients include participation in Wheaton College extracurricular activities, Christian testimony, and Christian character. Congratulations to Jeremy!

Environmental Studies
Eighteen environmental studies students were on hand Thursday, February 7, to receive their personal bound copy of the 2008 Environmental Studies Job and Internship Directory. Enjoying one another’s fellowship and a pizza dinner courtesy of the Wheaton Environmental Studies Program, Dr. Fred Van Dyke, Environmental Studies Program Director, gave special recognition to this year’s Special Projects Assistant, Ian Yue (standing, center, in blue shirt), who completed the 245 page directory on schedule, while adding many new listings and improvements. An electronic copy of the directory was sent to each Environmental Studies student on the following day, Friday, February 8. The Environmental Studies Program thanks and congratulates Ian for a job well done, and sends best wishes and encouragements to all of these well-qualified job seekers. Watch the Environmental Studies website for upcoming stories of what Wheaton Environmental Studies students will be doing this summer!

Mathematics
Dr. Robert Brabenec, Professor of Mathematics, is coordinating a student research seminar investigating multiple aspects surrounding the foundations and history of mathematics. This group meets for dinner at Dr. Brabenec’s home once a week when the students present their progress on problems associated with their individual research topics of interest.

During summer 2008, five or six students expect to be studying in Tokyo with Dr. Paul Isihara, Professor of Mathematics. One group of students will be studying the work of a Japanese mathematician from the Samurai period whose work paralleled much of the early development of the calculus in Europe. Dr. Isihara and our students will continue a relationship that Dr. Isihara has with two Japanese mathematicians to translate and eventually publish the work of Takebe Katahiro. Another pair of our students in Tokyo will work with Dr. Isihara on a substantial publication related to options pricing using stochastic process models. Finally two students in the Tokyo contingent expect to be working on deep relationships between music theory and mathematics. Stay tuned to learn more about their work!

Dr. Isihara, along with his students who will be in Japan this summer, will participate in an effort to plant a new evangelical Filipino church fellowship in Tokyo. In recent years, Dr. Isihara has had a significant relationship with a number of small Christian fellowships in Japan. One of these Japanese evangelical churches along with a missionary family from the Philippines intends to plant this new church in Tokyo. The combined opportunity for mathematical research and for simultaneous ministry promises to be an outstanding experience for students from our Wheaton College math and computer science group.

Independent Study: Applied Health Science


Risk Factors for Sprained Ankles
Senior AHS students Allison Ippel and Dave Lee are being mentored by Dr. Kevin Carlson, Assistant Professor of Applied Health Science, in the data collection phase of their independent study research project. The project is designed to identify and characterize intrinsic risk factors that may lead to a sprain of the lateral ankle ligaments. Risk factors being examined are limb dominance, ankle joint range of motion, ankle joint laxity, balance, plantarflexion & dorsiflexion torque production of the lower leg musculature, body mass index and body composition. At present, they have enrolled approximately 75 subjects in the study. Data collection concludes in February. They plan to submit the completed manuscript by the end of April for publication.

The Short Term Effects of Exercise and Omega-3 Fatty Acids on the Plasma Lipid Profile in Men and Women
Seven research projects were accomplished this fall in the Physiology of Exercise class (AHS 352). One of them will be followed up with an independent study before it is submitted for publication. The project was titled, The Short Term Effects of Exercise and Omega-3 Fatty Acids on the Plasma Lipid Profile in Men and Women co-authored by Rachael Thomas, Maria Smith, and Hannah Johnson, Dr. Peter Walters, and Dr. Rick Baybutt.

Dyslipidemia plays a major role in the series of events leading up to the development of atherosclerosis, which is the underlying factor in 80% of cardiovascular disease. Both exercise and diet can positively influence the plasma lipid profile, i.e., HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad) cholesterol) and plasma triglycerides (TG). Fourteen Wheaton students (7 male and 7 female) took 3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per day for 3 weeks. They exercised for 60 minutes at moderate intensity (~60% maximal oxygen consumption) prior and following the 3 weeks of omega-3 ingestion. Exercise plus omega-3 resulted in a 5mg/dL increase in HDL in the males with no change in the already high HDL in the females. Omega-3 fatty acid ingestion is well known to cause a 30-40% decline in TG. In this study on healthy college aged students there was no change in their already low TG levels. There were no changes in LDL in either group. The unique conclusion is that exercise and omega-3 combined resulted in a significant increase in HDL in males but did not change in the already high levels found in females. The well established finding that Omega-3 fatty acids causes a decline in TG does not hold true for fit, healthy, young college aged students. The ratio of total cholesterol to HDL (TC/HDL), which correlates with coronary artery disease, was significantly lower in the males but did not effect the already low ratio in the females. These results are the foundation for a publication and Dr. Baybutt will follow up with this in the fall 2008 semester with another independent study.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Pulmonary Fibrosis in Rats
For their independent study (AHS 495) this spring, Stephen Addington, Sarah Alajajian, Jonathan Aram, Janna Call, Joshua Lawrenz, and Bardford Smith are participating in a research project entitled “Defining the mechanism for protection by omega-3 fatty acids in a bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis model in rats.” Previously, we have found that omega-3 fatty acids, both the short chain plant source (flaxseed oil) and the long chain animal source (fish oil) inhibit liver and lung fibrosis. Additionally, the bleomycin-induced cardiac right ventricular hypertrophy was inversely related to the amount of flaxseed oil in their diet. In the proposed study we are examining a time course for the development of fibrosis at a fixed concentration of flaxseed oil to determine the pathological sequella of the disease. Each student will measure different signaling factors or proteins that are associated with the development of the disease. The students meet weekly for a short bible devotion followed by a journal article critique. Each student takes turns leading the article critique. They work with Dr. Baybutt, Professor of Applied Health Science in planning the details for the study, executing the study, collecting tissues at its termination, and carrying out the laboratory biochemical and molecular analysis. He will be presenting some of the previous fibrosis research at the annual national Experimental Biology Meeting in San Diego, CA in April, 2008.
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Upcoming Events in the Natural Sciences

Join your peers learning from these specialists who are speaking on science and issues related to science during spring semester.

Thursday Feb. 28
“Preserving Blanding's Turtles - efforts to save a threatened species in DuPage County” Dan Thompson Animal Ecologist / Forest Preserve District in DuPage County 4:15 p.m. Arm 322, sponsored by Dept of Biology

Thursday March 6
“Mutagenesis through Gene Silencing - Genetic Studies of the Fern Ceratopteris richardii” Dr. Rodney Scott, 4:15 PM Arm 322, sponsored by Dept of Biology

Saturday, March 21
Abstracts due for ACCA Student Symposium (www.cs.lewisu.edu/accastudent)

March 26 & 27
Science Symposium "String Theory and the Multiverse: Philosophical and Theological Implications"sponsored by Dept of Physics
String theory has been proposed as a means of unifying all fundamental forces in the universe. This theory of everything implies that physical reality is far vaster and possesses greater grandeur than ever imagined, possibly including extra, hidden dimensions. Similarly, the possibility of the multiverse, or collection of universes, has profound implications for philosophy and theology. Specialists in physics and philosophy will address these issues for a general audience at the 2008 Wheaton Science Symposium.

Wednesday, March 26
“String Theory and the Cosmos” Dr. Gerald Cleaver, Associate Professor of Physics, Baylor University Wheaton College Chapel 10:35 AM

“The String Landscape, the Multiverse, the Anthropic Principle, and Anselm’s Ontological Argument” Dr. Gerald Cleaver 7:10 PM Armerding Lecture Hall

“Does God so Love the Multiverse?” Dr. Don Page 8:15 PM Armerding Lecture Hall

Thursday, March 27
Informal discussions for interested students with Gerald Cleaver, Robin Collins and Don Page 4 PM Armerding 18

“A New Question for Science and Theology” Dr. Robert Mann, Professor of Physics and Applied Mathematics and Chair, Department of Physics and Astronomy at University of Waterloo 7 PM Armerding Lecture Hall

“The Multiverse, Theism and Christian Faith” Dr. Robin Collins, Professor of Philosophy, Messiah College 8 PM

Round Table Discussion with Panel 9 PM Armerding Lecture Hall

 

Thursday, March 27
“Integrating Spirituality into Patient Care” Dr. Harold Koenig, Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Associate Professor of Medicine of Duke University 7:00 PM Phelps sponsored by Dept of Applied Health Science

Monday, March 31
“Out Into the World” Dr. Phyllis Nsiah-Kumi (Biology ‘94) Wheaton College Chapel 10:35 AM Edman Chapel

Tuesday, April 1
Careers in Academic Medicine Dr. Phyllis Nsiah-Kumi 3 PM Armerding 126 sponsored by Health Professions

Thursday April 10
“Genomic research; Gene Regulation of bacterial sporulation; and Ethics of biotechnology” Dr. Pattle Pun 4:15 p.m. Arm 322 sponsored by Dept of Biology

Saturday, April 12
ACCA Student Symposium 8 AM Lewis University, contact Dr. Ray Lewis for rides to participate!

Thursday April 17
“Anti-neuronal Antibodies in Multiple Sclerosis” Dr. Roger Kennett 4:15 PM Armerding 322 sponsored by Dept of Biology

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