OHIO UNIVERSITY
RESEARCH / SCHOL ARSHIP / CREATIVE ACTIVITY
>> INSIDE GROWING PLANTS IN SPACE
IMPROVING KNEE INJURY OUTCOMES
FINDING FOSSILS IN TANZANIA
>
2019–2020
OHIO UNIVERSITY VO L U ME 23 / 201 9 –20 20
R E S E ARC H / S C H O L ARSHIP / CREATIVE ACTIV ITY
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Improving Therapy for Knee Injuries
Unearthing Ancient Life OHIO scientists Nancy J. Stevens and Patrick O’Connor search for fossils on the African continent and elsewhere to understand the anatomy and evolution of animals and ecosystems.
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Amish Communities Curate Photo Collection
How Do Plants Grow in Space?
Engineers Develop New Technology to Advance Autonomous Vehicles
24 Virtual Reality Program Brings Appalachian Health Challenges to Life
26 The Art & Magic of Theater Lighting Design
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FEATURED
DEPARTMENTS UP FRONT Letter from the Vice President and the President
01
OF NOTE
2 Literary Scholar Unearths
Harlem Renaissance Novel
3 Field School Digs
in for New Season
4 Giving Voice to Ohio’s Opioid Epidemic
5 Investigating the Prevalence of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
6 Engineer Garners National
Recognition for Inventions
6 How Do Nanoparticles Behave? 8 How Do Tornadoes Form? 9 Taking a New Look at a Key Figure in Cold War Military History
10 Helping Entrepreneurs Make
Social Impacts in Appalachia
PHOTOS: (CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP) BEN SIEGEL; BEN SIEGEL; CHRISTIANA BOTIC; ASHLEY STOTTLEMYER, RUSS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY; MATTHEW LOVE
CLOSE UP News highlights
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UP FRONT
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From the Vice President for Research and Creative Activity and President
Perspectives: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity at Ohio University is published annually by the Office of Research Communications, which reports to the Vice President for Research and Creative Activity. The magazine serves its readers by providing information about the research, scholarly, and creative activities of Ohio University faculty, staff, and students, and about the contributions of university research in general through the publication of accurate and balanced journalistic content that informs, stimulates intellectual discussion, and promotes scholarly inquiry. Text, photographs, and artwork may not be reprinted without written permission from the editor. Comments and queries regarding editorial content should be addressed to: Andrea Gibson, editor Perspectives magazine 120 Research and Technology Center Athens, Ohio 45701 Email: gibsona@ohio.edu Phone: (740) 597-2166
Fostering Innovation and Engagement
O
hio University has been recognized as one of America’s most innovative universities by EAB Global, an international educational consulting firm, and as one of the nation’s top universities for student engagement by the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings. OHIO has earned its reputation through a variety of initiatives—created by students, faculty, and staff—that seek to bolster experiential student learning and research opportunities as well as community engagement and regional economic development. Examples include: > The Innovation Center, founded in 1983, was the first university-based business incubator in the state of Ohio. It has supported 300 businesses that have generated 3,000 jobs in Athens County since its inception.
Joseph Shields VICE PRESIDENT
Research + Creative Activity
> The new OHIO Honors Program allows students to pursue their personal
and academic interests in real-world situations, including through research and community engagement. More than 370 students enrolled in the first full cohort in fall 2019.
M. Duane Nellis PRESIDENT
> The CoLab, housed within Alden Library since September 2018, offers space
for innovation and collaboration among students from across the university. > The GRID Lab works with faculty and staff across campus to enhance the
EDITOR Andrea Gibson SENIOR DESIGNER Christina Ullman, Ullman Design
For more information about the research program at Ohio University, please contact: Office of the Vice President for Research and Creative Activity Web: www.ohio.edu/research Email: research@ohio.edu Phone: (740) 593-0370
use of virtual reality, teaching students to use the latest technology to develop a variety of real-world training videos and video games. > The OHIO Museum Complex expands on the Kennedy Museum of Art to
connect science and the environment to daily life. The museum concept includes galleries, outdoor experiential learning, and expanded space to house special collections. As we reimagine the academic enterprise, our focus on innovation and engagement will remain at the forefront. We will continue to support initiatives that provide outstanding experiential learning opportunities for our students while we stay actively engaged with our partners in Ohio and around the world.
ISSN 1520-4375 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
ON THE COVER
Ohio University undergraduate student Suzy Aftabizadeh, left, and Professor Patrick O’Connor examine a block of sandstone that contains small dinosaur skeletons from southern Africa. The skeletons must be carefully removed from the encasing rock prior to anatomical study.
EN H A N CIN G V I RTUAL R E ALI TY Students gain experience with virtual and augmented reality technologies at the Ohio University GRID Lab.
PHOTO: BEN SIEGEL
PHOTO: BEN SIEGEL
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Literary Scholar Unearths Harlem Renaissance Novel cholar Gary Holcomb was conducting research on writer Claude McKay—a key literary figure in the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement in the 1920s—when he came across a reference to an unpublished novel. He contacted the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which housed the manuscript in its archives. Holcomb was amazed by what he read: the story of an African man, Lafala, who stows away on a ship to America. When he incurs serious injuries on the voyage that lead to his permanent disability, he successfully sues the shipping company.
BY THE BOOK As a result of research by Professor Gary Holcomb, Claude McKay’s Romance in Marseille was published by Penguin Classics in February 2020. PHOTO: BEN SIEGEL
He returns home to Marseille, France, where he resumes an affair with a prostitute. The novel is populated with a diverse set of characters—gay dock workers, prostitutes, Communists—that would have lived on the outskirts of society at the time, but McKay didn’t present them as subcultural or in a sentimental light. “I’d never seen it before in any piece of literature,” said Holcomb, who has extensively studied Harlem Renaissance writers. When he asked the Schomburg Center about the likelihood of publication, it wasn’t optimistic, he recalled. But that didn’t stop Holcomb, a professor of African American Studies, from studying the unpublished novel further and striving to get it to a wider audience. In February 2020, in conjunction with Black History Month, Penguin Classics published McKay’s Romance in Marseille with an extensive introduction, annotations, and note on the text developed through research by Holcomb and fellow scholar William J. Maxwell of Washington University at St. Louis. Why was Romance in Marseille not published previously? Through research into McKay’s correspondence with agents and fellow authors, Holcomb points to a few factors. Some of the scenes could have raised concerns with publishers about running afoul of obscenity laws. The Great Depression also had made publishers in the 1930s less likely to gamble on unconventional novels that wouldn’t be commercially profitable. Holcomb credits the publication of the novel to publishers’ renewed interest in discovering lost works of American authors. And for today’s readers, he noted, Romance in Marseille is topical for its frank discussion of immigration and focus on diverse characters. — ANDREA GIBSO N
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Field School Digs in for New Season or more than 30 years, Ohio University’s Archaeological Field School has trained hundreds of anthropology students how to excavate and preserve artifacts from southeastern Ohio sites. It’s a perfect training ground for the next generation of cultural resource managers, charged with protecting the history left behind by early Americans thousands of years ago. These professionals are employed by government and private entities to evaluate sites prior to excavation or construction work. “Through our field schools, we train students in all techniques—site discovery, survey methods, excavation, and mapping,” said Joseph Gingerich, an assistant professor of anthropology who serves as
director of the field school. “We also like to try to expose students to as many time periods as possible. Students can have an opportunity to record a historic homestead, but also work on prehistoric sites that range from 1,000 years old to 6,000 to 7,000 years old.” The OHIO Archaeological Field School offers a summer field work experience every other summer, as well as opportunities to conduct research on the artifacts in a laboratory facility on the Athens campus during the semesters in between. In addition, the anthropology students work with community members across southeastern Ohio to help identify and describe newly discovered cultural items of significance to the region. — ANDREA GIBSO N
UNEARTHING ARTIFACTS The Ohio University Archaeological Field School excavated sites in the Wayne National Forest during summer 2019. Joseph Gingerich and 13 undergraduate students invited community members to an open house to learn how the digs are conducted and about the artifacts that have been found. PHOTO: BEN SIEGEL >>>> > > > >> > > > > > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> OH I O U NI VER S I T Y / .0 3
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Giving Voice to Ohio’s Opioid Epidemic “Nobody’s escaping it now. It’s in every family, every community, every church.” Author Annie Highwater is talking about Ohio’s opioid abuse epidemic, as seen from her home in Grove City, a Columbus suburb. A writer on addiction recovery, she’s one of more than 50 people from 20 counties across the state who have contributed to a new book on the state’s opioid crisis, edited by faculty members Daniel Skinner and Berkeley Franz of the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Not Far from Me: Stories of Opioids and Ohio (The Ohio State University Press) collects personal accounts from a variety of Ohioans, including recovering drug abusers, affected family members, members of the clergy, health professionals, government officials, and more. Most of the contributions are written stories, but others are poetry or photographs. Taken together, they offer a portrait of life on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic in a state that’s among the hardest hit in America. “It was really important for us to think about getting different perspectives in the conversation,” Franz explained. “We’ve heard a lot about the opioid epidemic in Ohio but also nationally. People have come up with a lot of ideas about why this problem exists and what it’s going to take to solve it. We wanted to hear from the
CLOSE TO HOME Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine faculty members Daniel Skinner (top photo) and Berkeley Franz (bottom photo) held a series of community conversation forums in conjunction with the publication of a new collection of accounts about the opioid epidemic in Ohio. PHOTOS: HERITAGE COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
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people who know this intimately instead of speaking for them, which I think has been done a lot. We believe that their perspectives matter.” All after-tax sales proceeds from the book will be donated to three Ohio organizations that deal with opioid addiction: Stark County Mental Health & Addiction Recovery, Circle Health Services, and Health Recovery Services. Skinner and Franz also received support from the Ohio Humanities Council to hold a series of community conversation forums in 10 Ohio counties during 2019. The series has an accompanying website that includes resources for those who wish to organize public conversation events in their own home communities. — HER ITAGE C O LLEGE O F OSTEOPATHIC MEDIC INE
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INVESTIGATING THE PREVALENCE OF NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE
LAB WORK Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine researchers Sonia Michael Najjar, left, and Vishwajeet Puri, right, received nearly $3 million from the National Institutes of Health to advance understanding of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
esearchers at the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine received nearly $3 million from the National Institutes of Health to investigate why Hispanics are more prone to develop nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, including its more progressive form, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, is the most common liver pathology in the United States. It occurs at higher rates in Hispanics than in non-Hispanic whites, making this ailment one of the nation’s most serious health disparities. Previous research comparing a small sample of healthy livers from Hispanic and non-Hispanic liver donors led scientists to believe that a significant amount of the increased susceptibility of Hispanics to the disease is due to genetic variations. The new project, led by Sonia Michael Najjar, will seek to identify in more detail the underlying molecular pathways in human cells, with the hope of eventually generating novel therapies to prevent onset of the disease. Najjar and co-principal investigator Vishwajeet Puri will work with Ohio University researchers Vishva Sharma, Harrison Muturi, and Janet Simon, as well as colleagues at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science and the University of Florida. Hispanics also are more prone than others to build up abdominal fat, and the researchers would like to find out if there is a causal connection between this factor and higher rates of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
PHOTO: HERITAGE COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
— H ERITAGE C O LLEGE O F O STEO PATHIC MEDIC INE OH I O U NI VER S I T Y / .0 5
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ENGINEER GARNERS NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR INVENTIONS The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has named Khairul Alam, an Ohio University professor of mechanical engineering in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, to the inaugural class of NAI Senior Members. NAI Senior Members are active faculty, scientists, and administrators from NAI member institutions with success in patents, licensing, and commercialization. They have produced technologies that have brought, or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society. Senior Members also foster a spirit of innovation within their communities through enhancing an inventive atmosphere at their institutions, while educating and mentoring the next generation of inventors. Alam, an Ohio University faculty member since 1983, has seven U.S. patents and 28 foreign patents, as well as additional patents pending. His work includes the design of new electrostatic precipitators, devices
that can remove pollutant particles from the exhaust of power plants. Alam has worked with national and international companies to license and commercialize his inventions. The professor has been awarded research grants from government, industry, and foundation sources totaling more than $7 million at Ohio University. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and has served as a reviewer for entities such as the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Department of Energy. Alam also is the author of 118 publications and two book chapters. In addition, he has mentored 38 master’s and doctoral students and served in a leadership role as director of the Center for Advanced Materials Processing for 16 years. The 66 members of the inaugural class of NAI Senior Members represent 37 research universities and government and nonprofit research institutes.
How Do Nanoparticles Behave?
— FR OM STAFF REPO RTS
NEW FUNDING INVENTION RECOGNITION At the 2019 Ohio University Inventors Dinner, Executive Vice President and Provost Chaden Djalali, left, presented Professor Khairul Alam with plaques honoring new U.S. patents for his inventions. PHOTO: HANNAH RUHOFF . 06 / P E R S PE CTI VE S
Researcher Lei Wu recently received support from the National Science Foundation and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities to advance her nanotechnology studies. PHOTO: RUSS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
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ei Wu, an assistant professor of civil engineering in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, has been awarded a National Science Foundation collaborative research grant to predict nanoparticle behavior in natural and manufactured environments. The research could lead to better design and optimization of engineering processes such as filterbased water treatment, groundwater remediation, and drug delivery. Nanoparticles, which are prevalent in nature, are being produced in a variety of shapes and sizes and ever-increasing quantities for diverse applications such as drug delivery, stain-resistant fabrics, medical imaging, cosmetics, and corrosion resistance. Because nanoparticles often aggregate in water and transport together instead of individually, little is known about how the structure of the aggregates or shape
of the individual nanoparticles influences their transport in a given environment. Wu’s objective is to better understand how the shape and size of individual nanoparticles affects transportation in various environments. The award also will benefit K-12 education through collaborative outreach activities at the OHIO Coding Camp, a free summer program hosted by the Scripps College of Communication that introduces middle-school girls to STEM fields. Wu is working with researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on the project. In 2019, she also received the nationally competitive Oak Ridge Associated Universities Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award to advance her research. — RUSS C O LLEGE O F ENGINEERING AND TEC HNO LO GY
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How Do Tornadoes Form? ornadoes form fast—in just one to two minutes—and meteorologists don’t always know which storms will produce them. Forecasters use radar systems in fixed locations that scan the environment at a slower rate than tornadoes develop. Jana Houser, an associate professor of geography, and colleagues at the University of Oklahoma now are finding more detailed data on how tornadoes form through the use of mobile radar technology. By mounting a rapid scan radar to a truck, researchers can collect data every two seconds—getting full reports every 30 seconds, compared to every two to four minutes in a traditional system, she explained. Analyzing data from the rapid scan system, Houser and her colleagues recently provided new observational evidence for one of the two main theories of tornado formation:
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TAKING A NEW LOOK AT A KEY FIGURE IN COLD WAR MILITARY HISTORY Tornadoes can develop from the bottom up. The traditional explanation is that tornadoes form from the clouds down. The scientists observed that the storm first must have a strong rotation near the ground surface, and then rapidly extend upward, to create a tornado. The findings made national news headlines in 2019. While the mobile radar technology currently is being used only for research, not weather forecasting, Houser hopes it will open the door to new developments that eventually will aid meteorologists. The scientist also organizes educational field trips for Ohio University students each spring to teach these future meteorologists about the challenges of tracking and predicting storms in the field. — A NDR E A G I B S O N
STORM CHASERS Jana Houser (top photo, second from left, front row) takes Ohio University students out into the field each spring to learn how storms are tracked and forecasted. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JANA HOUSER
Historian Ingo Trauschweizer has long studied how the United States evolved its military strategy as it navigated the Cold War during the 20th century. One of the key figures throughout those decades was U.S. General Maxwell Taylor, who first came to prominence as an airborne division commander on D-Day during World War II and was one of the architects of U.S. strategy in the Vietnam War. Taylor has a complicated legacy, noted Trauschweizer, a professor of history and director of the Ohio University Contemporary History Institute. The general, for example, openly clashed with President Dwight Eisenhower over how to approach nuclear weapons strategy. Because of his actions taken as military adviser to President John F. Kennedy and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the 1960s, many historians perceive that Taylor created an enduring disconnect between the military and White House policymakers. But Trauschweizer felt that investigating Taylor’s career, focusing on the origins and development of his military philosophy, could serve as a lens for understanding the current United States approach to national security. The historian visited 14 archives and libraries around the country to conduct research for the new book Maxwell Taylor’s Cold War: From Berlin To Vietnam (University of Kentucky Press, 2019). Trauschweizer discovered that as early as the 1940s, Taylor had developed the view that military force, diplomacy, economics, and cultural policies needed to be closely linked. The U.S. suffers from a lack of “connective tissue” between military strategy and policy, but that issue pre-dates Taylor’s time in office, the historian noted. “It wasn’t there in the 1950s and 1960s and it isn’t particularly sturdy now,” Trauschweizer said.
STUDYING MILITARY HISTORY Historian Ingo Trauschweizer is the author of Maxwell Taylor’s Cold War: From Berlin to Vietnam. PHOTO: BEN SIEGEL
While Taylor had good ideas about military strategy, he was sometimes unable to put them into practice, Trauschweizer said. Though familiar with counterinsurgency, for example, Taylor ultimately relied too much on conventional firepower tactics to try to end the Vietnam War. The study of Taylor’s career reveals how much the United States continues to use the same national security structures and approaches in place since the Cold War, Trauschweizer said. That’s relevant to current affairs, he noted, as the United States is facing— and must respond to—a wide range of national security threats. — ANDREA GIBSO N
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HELPING ENTREPRENEURS MAKE SOCIAL IMPACTS IN APPALACHIA Entrepreneurs addressing the region’s long-standing social challenges now have customized tools and assistance to create businesses, new jobs, and social impact—as well as achieve financial success—with the Social Enterprise Ecosystem (SEE) Appalachia. Since its May 2017 launch, SEE has assisted 150 clients that address the most important social challenges facing Appalachia. Program participants have already created 85 jobs and achieved more than $18 million in revenue, grants, and investment as a result of services. Led by Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, SEE is a partnership with Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, Parkersburg Area Community Foundation, Rural Action, and experienced local expert consultants. The program covers 13 counties in Ohio and West Virginia. “SEE is focused on the overlooked social sector—which is the third largest contributor to the American economy and provides greater than 10 percent of the U.S. jobs. SEE is changing how rural areas approach economic development by helping communities grow local economies from the ground up,” said director Faith Knutsen. SEE focuses on social enterprises, which combine social mission with market-driven revenue. It provides its enterprise and funder clients with no-fee professional advisory services, impact measurement, and access to loans and impact investment. The program has been supported by two grants totaling $1.05 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission’s POWER initiative. “This is one of many projects which continue support for the work already underway to create new opportunities for those living in communities hardest hit by changes in the coal industry,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Tim Thomas. “Investments like these are a commitment to long-term diversification and economic growth in Appalachian Ohio and West Virginia.” — VOINOV I C H S C H O O L O F LEAD ERS HIP AND P UBL IC AFFAIR S . 1 0 / P E R S PE CT I VE S
BUILDING BRIDGES TO CAREERS Building Bridges to Careers, supported by multiple regional partners including the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, connects high school students and potential local employers in the Washington County area through internships, mentorships, and classroom projects. PHOTOS: CHRISTIANA BOTIC
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EXAMPLES OF SEE IMPACT
PHOTO: COURTESY OF VOINOVICH SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Aided by a public/ private partnership arranged through SEE, New Resource Solutions secured a $1.6 million investment and created three jobs for their successful pilot placing solar panels on the roof of a local high school, enabling the district to reduce its annual utility bill by $20,000. (Above photo.)
SEE helped five women develop a business plan and attract more than $265,000 in donations and State of Ohio grant assistance to launch the Women’s Recovery House for individuals overcoming addiction.
Supporting the Epicenter in Marietta, SEE has aided in financial and strategic planning and in planning expansion into adjoining counties, as part of a larger Building Bridges to Careers program.
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Improving
THERAPY FOR KNEE INJURIES
UNDERSTANDING RECOVERY Faculty members Dustin Grooms and Janet Simon (bottom photo) use technology such as virtual reality goggles to understand how the brain helps the body recover from knee injuries. Undergraduate researcher Tim Wohl, left, and Research Assistant Adam Haggerty, right, (top photo) test the equipment in the Neuromuscular Biomechanics & Health Assessment Lab in Grover Center. PHOTOS: BEN SIEGEL
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t’s not uncommon for athletes to tear their anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL), a knee injury that requires a stint in physical therapy. Dustin Grooms, an associate professor of athletic training, is concerned about the high number of athletes who return to the court or field and injure their ACLs again. To improve recovery outcomes for patients, Grooms and colleagues are looking to neuroscience. Advances in imaging techniques have shown that the brain changes after the body experiences physical injuries, he explained. The brain uses a sense called proprioception to understand where the body is in space. Conventional therapy focuses on having injured patients use their visual system—such as by looking at the knee during exercises— to recover. This strategy creates a disconnect, however, when the patient is back in an athletic setting and cannot constantly use visual cues to coordinate neurological and skeletal systems, Grooms explained. “We used to think of the skeletal system as being nearly independent of the nervous system, and not inducing a lot of these neuroplastic changes,” Grooms said. “The original thought was if we restore stability to the musculoskeletal system with surgery or improve strength around the joints, it would be enough. But what we found is that this is not the case.”
“The original thought was if we restore stability to the musculoskeletal system with surgery or improve strength around the joints, it would be enough. But what we found is that this is not the case.” DUSTIN GROOMS
Grooms and Ohio University colleague Janet Simon, an assistant professor of athletic training, have been studying different therapy techniques, such as stroboscopic glasses or virtual reality goggles, that provide patients with a much richer environment of visual and sensory feedback as they perform physical exercises in the clinic. These strategies are designed to train the brain to continue to use proprioception to coordinate physical movement after injury. This potentially will rewire the brain for more efficient motor control to improve rehabilitation outcomes and avoid reinjury, Grooms said. Although ACL tears are a common problem for athletes, military professionals also can be susceptible to these injuries. The U.S. Department of Defense recently awarded a $750,000 grant to Grooms, Simon, and colleagues to study how their understanding of neuroscience can improve recovery outcomes for military personnel. — BY AND R EA G I B S O N
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unearthing
ancient life
OHIO scientists Nancy J. Stevens and Patrick O’Connor search for fossils on the African continent and elsewhere to understand the anatomy and evolution of animals and ecosystems . 1 4 / P E R S PE CT I VE S
“We are studying the characteristics of species that are resilient in the face of profound environmental change.” NANCY J. STEVENS
BIG DIG Nancy J. Stevens and Patrick O’Connor (above) have developed a picture of the ecosystem and evolution of life in the Rukwa Rift Basin in southwestern Tanzania through annual excavations of fossils such as teeth, jawbones, vertebrae, and limb elements. PHOTOS: BEN SIEGEL
ong-necked titanosaurs. Bobcat-sized carnivores. Monkeys and apes. Venomous snakes. These are just a few of the ancient species of animals that Ohio University scientists have unearthed and named from the East African Rift in Tanzania over the last two decades. Nancy J. Stevens and Patrick O’Connor, professors in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, have led expeditions to the Rukwa Rift Basin each summer to find new fossils that can shed light on the ecosystem and evolution of animals in Africa millions of years ago. To paint a more complete picture of how this environment changed over time, the Ohio University researchers collaborate with geologists and other paleontologists from across the globe. Dozens of graduate and undergraduate students have been involved in making and analyzing the scientific discoveries from the Rukwa Rift Basin— both in the field and in the lab. In summer 2019, Rosa Negash, an undergraduate student majoring in nutrition, participated on the Tanzania dig. She worked alongside Eric Gorscak, a former doctoral student in biological sciences who is now a faculty member at the Midwest University-Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. Gorscak and O’Connor have made international news headlines for their discoveries of new titanosaurs from Tanzania. “Unraveling patterns of adaptation and extinction are particularly important for providing insight into the mass extinction that our planet is currently experiencing today,” Stevens said. “We are studying the characteristics of species that are resilient in the face of profound environmental change.” — BY ANDREA GIBSO N OH IO U NI VER S I T Y / .15
TANZANIA Stevens and O’Connor have focused their research on the African continent, as it’s one of the most critically under-sampled regions of the planet for documenting Cretaceous (144 million to 65 million years ago) and Cenozoic (65 million years ago to present) animal ecosystems. Expeditions have yielded thousands of specimens from over a dozen localities, including many species new to science. PHOTO: BEN SIEGEL
STUDENT EXPERIENCE (Right image) Ohio University students have participated on the Tanzania digs to gain experience with field excavation and preservation of discoveries such as early mammals, dinosaurs, and other reptiles. During summer 2019, undergraduate Rosa Negash joined the team, which also included alumnus Eric Gorscak. PHOTOS: BEN SIEGEL
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BACK IN THE LAB O’Connor (middle photo), Brendon Schaumleffel, an undergraduate student in anthropology (at left, left photo), and Sam Gutherz, a doctoral student in biological sciences (at right, left photo) analyze discoveries from Tanzania and elsewhere. Dozens of Ohio University students working on the Rukwa Rift Basin project have gained hands-on experience through field or lab work, including specimen preparation, microscopy, and surface scanning and computer modeling. PHOTOS: BEN SIEGEL
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AMISH
Curate Photo COMMUNITIES Collection
THROUGH THEIR LENS The Amish and Mennonite communities selected 50 images taken by photographer Talitha Tarro for publication in the new book Life Through Their Lens: A Photo Collection by Amish and Mennonite Communities, Volume 1. PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE CENTER FOR APPALACHIA RESEARCH IN CANCER EDUCATION
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elissa Thomas was working on a National Cancer Institute-funded Appalachian cancer project 20 years ago for OhioHealth when she discovered that there was little information about the disease among Ohio’s relatively large Amish communities. After discussing the issue with Amish community members, Thomas conducted an epidemiological study that found that the death rate from breast cancer was significantly higher than the national and state average. Working with the communities, Thomas helped initiate several changes to help tackle the problem, such as opening more clinics near Amish settlements to improve access to health care and developing the first culturally competent breast cancer education program for Amish and Mennonite women. She also started a communityled patient navigation program by training Amish and Mennonite community health workers who help patients better understand the health care system. In addition, Thomas began a cultural competency program and national conference, led by community members, for health care providers to help battle some of their misconceptions that could serve as barriers to treatment. Some years into her work with the Amish communities, Thomas noticed a problem with how popular culture portrays them—such as reality TV shows that offer extreme or fictitious examples of their lifestyles. Tourism surged; the Amish were often photographed and filmed without their consent. The situation gave Thomas an idea. “What if we took something that has been used as a weapon against the community—the camera—and use it as a tool to give them a voice?” asked Thomas, now an assistant professor in Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Thomas found a talented photographer who transferred the rights of the photos so that the community could own them through Thomas’ nonprofit organization, the Center for Appalachia Research in Cancer Education (CARE). This allowed unprecedented access into the daily lives and homes of dozens of Amish and Mennonite communities
ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY IN RESEARCH FIND OUT MORE
PANEL DISCUSSION Melissa Thomas, an assistant professor in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, leads a panel discussion in November about her collaborative work with the Ohio Amish and Mennonite communities. PHOTO: HERITAGE COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
throughout Ohio, Thomas noted. Thousands of images were taken over the course of one year. The communities selected 50 images for book publication and wrote accompanying stories. “We were often surprised at how open they were to share,” including images of family life, Thomas recalled. The project resulted in Life Through Their Lens: A Photo Collection by Amish and Mennonite Communities, Volume 1. All proceeds from the book, supported by a Kickstarter campaign, will support Amish and Mennonite community health care initiatives. Thomas, photographer Talitha Tarro, and editor Margie Hiermer, as well as Amish Bishops Jake Beachy, David Kline, and Andy Troyer, gave a public talk about the project at Ohio University in November. Thomas now is surveying medical students about their knowledge of Amish communities and using the book as a teaching tool for intercultural communication. — BY ANDREA GIBSO N
Ohio University has launched a Community-engaged Research Initiative designed to provide new resources for university faculty, staff, and students and community members interested in collaborating on research and creative projects. Community-engaged research is a process in which research is conducted in equal partnership with the community to ensure mutually beneficial outcomes. A university advisory board, in collaboration with community partners, hosted a series of workshops last year to discuss the opportunities, potential obstacles, and resources needed to support community-engaged research. As a direct result of these discussions, the university now offers web resources, training, funding, and special events and workshops to stimulate community-engaged research.
www.ohio.edu/community-engaged-research OH IO U NI VER S I T Y / .19
Grow How do plants
in space?
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SEED STUDY Undergraduate student researcher Ava Heller works in the Sarah Wyatt lab, studying the impact of gravity on plant growth. PHOTO: BEN SIEGEL
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arah Wyatt knows that we take gravity for granted. Life on Earth evolved alongside this powerful natural force. Wyatt, a professor of plant molecular biology, thinks a lot about how gravity impacts plant development and growth. The question may seem simple. Gravity pulls plant roots into the earth while the stems, leaves, and flowers reach up to the sun. But what about when things don’t grow as planned— when crops unexpectedly bend, making them hard to harvest? And what happens when plants don’t have gravity to guide them at all—such as in space? Wyatt has found several genes and proteins involved in how plants respond to gravity. The discoveries have helped researchers understand the fundamental science behind the process, and also what causes it to go haywire. Various federal agencies have supported Wyatt’s research over time. The National Science Foundation funded studies on the basic mechanisms behind a plant’s response to gravity. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been interested in the issue for crop development. NASA has more extraterrestrial concerns. “We need to understand how plants work if you’re going to colonize another planet,” Wyatt said. Wyatt has sent several batches of seeds to the International Space Station to study the impact of gravity—or the lack thereof—on plant growth beyond Earth’s atmosphere. In August 2019, NASA announced that Wyatt was one of 15 U.S. scientists selected to conduct space biology research on the station as part of its Artemis lunar exploration program focused on the moon and Mars. Back here in Ohio, Wyatt and her team of undergraduate and graduate students use the university’s Genomics Facility to analyze what’s happening to the plants on a molecular level. Her lab includes a -80 Celsius freezer full of plants that have traveled to space, where they were exposed to various gravitational forces and conditions. The researchers extract RNA from these plants to determine what genes were affected by the experiments. There are also two stainless steel chambers in a corner of the lab with small green shoots poking up from soil inside. The labels on the side? SPACE TOMATO 1, SPACE TOMATO 2. It’s an early-stage experiment, but a sign of how the basic research findings from the Wyatt lab could lead to crop development strategies for the cosmos.
“We need to understand how plants work if you’re going to colonize another planet.” SARAH WYATT
SCIENCE JOURNEY Professor Sarah Wyatt (top photo) has sent several batches of seeds to the International Space Station. In August 2019, NASA announced that Wyatt will conduct space biology research on the station as part of its Artemis lunar exploration program. PHOTOS: BEN SIEGEL
— BY AND R EA G I B S O N
OH IO U NI VER S I T Y / . 21
ENGINEERS DEVELOP NEW TECHNOLOGY TO ADVANCE
Autonomous Vehicles
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he car travels gracefully in circles, navigating orange traffic cones, and precisely parallel parking. But there is no driver behind the wheel of this toy-size vehicle, and no one is remotely controlling it. The little car’s smooth moves demonstrate how a new technology developed by Ohio University Russ College of Engineering and Technology Professor Jim Zhu and his graduate students is working—and that the inventors are on the right path to full-scale car system development.
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TEST RUN Russ College of Engineering and Technology researchers have studied their autonomous vehicle guidance and trajectory tracking system in toy-size trucks, but now are scaling up to full-size cars. PHOTO: ASHLEY STOTTLEMYER, RUSS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHOLOGY
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The autonomous vehicle guidance and trajectory tracking system developed by Zhu is patent pending. With funding from the state of Ohio’s Technology Validation and Start-Up Fund Program and matching support from Ohio University, an independent automotive engineering service firm is conducting further testing to help move the technology into the marketplace. Since the project’s inception in 2015, Zhu and his coinventors, grad students Amy Chen and Letian Lin, have continued to refine the system, scaling it up to progressively larger vehicles. With the new student organization Professional Autonomous Vehicle Engineers (PAVE), the engineering team has entered various international autonomous robot and intelligent ground vehicle competitions, scoring high and gaining notice for their unique vehicles and technology. The Ohio University system acts as a bridge between the vehicle’s artificial intelligence and its mechanical systems—the steering, throttle, and brakes. Zhu and his graduate students are developing and integrating multiple components of the system, including sensors that detect motion and obstacles in the environment, as well as the control system that moves the car and determines its trajectory. The technology has numerous advantages for practical use in the auto industry, Zhu said. It provides precise and agile maneuvering of the vehicle, yet it’s inexpensive, can be integrated with existing vehicle systems, and doesn’t require a lot of computing power. “The benefit to the industry is that the system is readily applicable—and it’s a high-performance, low-cost solution,” Zhu said. As shown in the Ohio University experiments, the system also can be scaled up fast. “You want this to be used on all cars without a lot of re-investment,” Zhu added. Zhu is an expert on control systems and vehicle guidance, starting with his early work with NASA on the secondgeneration space shuttle (known as the re-usable launch vehicle) and continuing with his research at the university’s Avionics Engineering Center, where he invented control
Zhu’s dream design—which he received a U.S. patent for in 2015—is a vehicle that can transform from a car to an airplane to a boat.
TEAMWORK Professor Jim Zhu and a team of graduate students have developed several test vehicles that have competed in various international autonomous robot and intelligent ground vehicle competitions. PHOTO:ASHLEY STOTTLEMYER, RUSS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
systems that helped airplanes better navigate turns. In more recent years, Zhu has been investigating the control systems required to operate drones. His dream design—which he received a U.S. patent for in 2015—is a vehicle that can transform from a car to an airplane to a boat. His current research isn’t unrelated to this goal, as the new technology is designed to work across multiple vehicle types. Now that the autonomous vehicle guidance and trajectory tracking system has been validated in smaller cars, Zhu and his graduate students are testing the system in a full-size vehicle. Working with an industry partner in Detroit, the team is investigating how the technology works at 15 miles per hour in a parking lot, with the goal of moving to 45 miles per hour on a restricted test ground, and eventually to highway speeds with additional funding. Zhu also is in the process of procuring a small electric car so that the team can continue regular product testing in Athens—and up their game for the international student competitions. “There are not many universities, even in the United States, that have an autonomous vehicle,” Zhu noted. — BY ANDREA GIBSO N
OH I O U NI VER S I T Y / .23
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Learning
New series brings Appalachian health challenges to life
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estiny is a female in her early 20s. She’s from Appalachia; she’s pregnant, not married, and her parents aren’t really in the picture. She’s also addicted to opioids. Lula Mae Tate is a woman from Appalachia, in her 70s, who has type 2 diabetes. She tries to keep her disease under control on a limited income, but life keeps interfering. As matriarch of her extended family, Lula Mae cares for her grandchildren and son, a disabled veteran. Faced with a choice between what’s best for her family or her health, she’ll choose her family. Destiny and Lula Mae Tate are not real individuals, but characters in a new Ohio University virtual reality program. Faculty with the College of Health Sciences and Professions and the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine created them to demonstrate the challenges faced by people in Appalachia. Destiny and Lula Mae Tate appear in a series of videos, mostly presented in virtual reality (VR) simulations created by the GRID Lab in the Scripps College of Communication, with assistance from master’s students in the College of Fine Arts and the Scripps College MFA in Communication Media Arts. A person putting on the virtual reality goggles will step into episodes in which the characters interact with their health care providers, including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, as well as social workers and families.
THE INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT TEAM INCLUDES: > John McCarthy and Deborah Henderson College of Health Sciences and Professions > Elizabeth Beverly Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine > John Bowditch, Eric Williams, Carrie Love, Josh Crook, and Matthew Love GRID Lab/Scripps College of Communication The VR project is designed to educate health care professionals about aspects of Appalachian culture and help them recognize implicit biases that may complicate provision of care to patients in the region. Cultural factors that can inform decisions include a strong sense of community and “taking care of one’s own,” pride in self-sufficiency, and a wariness of those who come to the region from elsewhere. “We tried to think about what kind of issues people are confronting and what do we want them to know from a cultural competency perspective,” said John McCarthy, co-primary investigator on the project. “We want our providers to really think about what they’re bringing to interactions with people who live in this region.” The videos will be available to health care providers for training purposes. The VR series—developed for the Ohio Department of Medicaid—will have an accompanying website with additional educational resources. — UNIVERSITY C O MMUNICATIO NS AND MARK ETING
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THE VR SERIES IS PART OF A LARGER PROJECT FUNDED BY A GRANT FROM OHIO’S MEDICAID TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND POLICY PROGRAM (MEDTAPP), AS WELL AS MATCHING FUNDS FROM OHIO UNIVERSITY.
VR SIMULATIONS One of the VR project's simulations includes Destiny, a 20-year-old pregnant woman from Appalachia. IMAGES: MATTHEW LOVE
OH I O U NI VER S I T Y / .2 5
ART MAGIC The
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of theater lighting design
LIGHT WORK Professional and student lighting designers are instrumental in building the world of theatrical productions, such as the Tantrum Theater’s production of Rhinoceros in the Forum Theater during fall 2019. PHOTO: HANNAH RUHOFF
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he old adage about lighting design is that it’s successful when nobody notices,” said Michael Lincoln. But lighting plays a key role in building the visual world of a theatrical production—uniting scenery and costumes and creating an emotional story arc for the characters on stage, noted Lincoln, a professor and the director of the School of Theater who also serves as artistic director of Tantrum Theater, Ohio University’s professional theater in residence. Lincoln has more than 35 years of experience working as a professional lighting designer in theater, opera, and dance—from regional productions to Broadway and international venues. In addition to his own professional accomplishments—which include lighting two very different versions of the legendary Tennessee Williams play Streetcar Named Desire—Lincoln provides creative opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to learn the art of lighting design. Students gain experience in the Athens campus theaters and while working as assistants on Lincoln’s professional projects with regional theaters, such as the Indiana Repertory Theatre, Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas, and Cleveland Play House, to name a few. These experiences give
“It can be very intimidating to be in the ‘hot seat,’ so our job is to give them experiences to build their confidence.” MICHAEL LINCOLN
TRIAL RUN (Top image) Artistic Director of Tantrum Theater and Professor of Lighting Design Michael Lincoln watches MFA students (l to r) Caitlin Brown, Jennings Johnson, and Piper Kirchhofer as they work the lighting during rehearsal for Rhinoceros. (Bottom image) Actor Michael Diaz performs a scene at rehearsal. PHOTOS: HANNAH RUHOFF
students a better sense of the pace and demands of work in a professional setting. “They see how I’m solving problems, how I’m dealing with the director—the whole process,” he said, adding that lighting designers have to work very quickly and have a lot of confidence to be creative on the fly in front of a team of theater professionals. For young designers, “it can be very intimidating to be in the ‘hot seat,’ so our job is to give them experiences that build their confidence,” Lincoln added. Some of the students go on to work in the theater world in New York City, Chicago, or the burgeoning Washington, D.C. market. Others use these skills in related fields, such as architectural or museum display design or theme park entertainment operations. Lincoln has ensured that students have access to the most cutting-edge lighting technology by securing a grant from the Ohio University 1804 Fund to purchase new LED equipment. Lighting design in the last 30 years relied on mechanical scrolls to change the colors used in a production. Modern LED systems offer seven light sources that can be mixed from a computer console to create thousands of colors that can be used far more dynamically, Lincoln explained. “You have ultimate control of the color onstage—and it can have an instant impact,” he said. During a production of Next to Normal at Ohio University’s Tantrum Theater, Lincoln and his team were able to provide custom lighting for 37 wall panels and the floor to create a sophisticated artistic palette for the show. The work involved in planning, installing, and integrating the lighting scheme for theater performances is “ridiculously labor intensive,” Lincoln noted, but added that there’s an enormous satisfaction in pulling it off. He relishes the moment when all elements come together and “we realize we actually have something here and it’s really exciting— that’s why we keep doing it.” — BY ANDREA GIBSON
OH I O U NI VER S I T Y / .2 7
CLOSE UP
Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity / News highlights
Speedy Scholars Every February, the Ohio University Graduate College hosts the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition to give master’s and doctoral students a chance to refine their research communications skills. Students are given only three minutes to succinctly explain their thesis or dissertation research, scholarship, or creative work for a lay audience. The event has attracted students from physics to engineering, journalism to fine arts.
EXPLAINING RESEARCH Michelle Michael, a journalism graduate student in the Scripps College of Communication, won first prize and the people’s choice award (master’s student) in the 2019 competition for her presentation on “Framing Terrorism and its Effect on Islamophobic Attitude: An Experiment.” PHOTO: HANNAH RUHOFF
RESEARCH RECOGNITION In November, Ohio University recognized seven faculty members as the 2019 Presidential Research Scholars. The awards program recognizes mid-career faculty members who have garnered national and international prominence in research, scholarship, and creative activity. Each award recipient receives $3,000 to be used at the scholar’s discretion as an honorarium or to support research or creative works.
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HONORED FACULTY University leadership honored 11 faculty members for excellence in research and teaching during a special awards ceremony for the Presidential Research Scholars, Presidential Teacher Award, and Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching on Nov. 21, 2019. PHOTO: BEN SIEGEL
2019 PRS RECIPIENTS Christopher Fisher
professor of music in the College of Fine Arts
Katarzyna Marciniak
professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, affiliated with the College of Fine Arts
Michael Geringer
O’Bleness Professor of International Strategy in the College of Business
Kimberly Rios
associate professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences
Jeff Vancouver
William C. Byham Chair in Industrial/Organizational Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences
Carl Brune
professor of physics and astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences
Peter Harrington
professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences
STUDENT SHOWCASE
In April 2020, Ohio University’s annual Student Expo moved from the Convocation Center to social media as the #OUVirtualExpo. Students shared their results of their research, scholarship and creative projects through hundreds of posts to Twitter and Instagram, generating dialogue and appreciation for their work. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Annual Research Expo
FIND OUT MORE www.ohio.edu/studentexpo
(Below) At the 2019 event, Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis presents awards to biological sciences graduate student Marissa Dyck of the College of Arts and Sciences, who was recognized for her research on the bobcat population of Ohio. PHOTO: HANNAH RUHOFF
OH IO U NI VER S I T Y / .2 9
Non-Profit Organization US Postage
PAID
Vice President for Research and Creative Activity
Athens, OH Permit No. 100
Perspectives magazine Research and Technology Center 120 1 Ohio University Athens OH 45701-2979
THEATER / THE A RT A ND M A GI C O F LI GH T ING D ES I GN
Professional and student lighting designers are instrumental in building the world of theatrical productions, such as the Tantrum Theater’s production of Rhinoceros in the Forum Theater during fall 2019. PHOTO: HANNAH RUHOFF
>> SECOND LOOK (See story on page 26)