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Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) / Archives for grants

Assistant Professor Argelia González Hurtado Awarded 2021 SSHRC Insight Development Grant

Argelia González Hurtado, assistant professor of Spanish, has been awarded an Insight Development Grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). González Hurtado received, along with María Soledad Paz­-Mackay from St. Francis Xavier University, the IDG grant in the amount of $59, 249 CAD for a two-year period to conduct research about cinematic landscape in Argentinian and Mexican cinema. This collaborative research project between González Hurtado and Paz­-Mackay will explore the complex meaning of rural landscape in recent narrative films from Argentina and Mexico that portray new identities shaped by socio-political changes at the turn of the 21st century.

SSHRC is the most important Canadian federal research funding agency in the promotion and support of research and training in the humanities and social sciences. Through its Insight Development Grants program, SSHRC supports research in its initial stages, enabling the development of new research questions as well as experimentation with new and innovative methods or ideas.

St. Mary’s College Chemistry and Biochemistry Professors Among Authors of ACS Symposium Series Book

To address the national need of professional skills training for chemists and biochemists, seven faculty members of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry authored seven chapters for a recently released American Chemical Society (ACS) Symposium Series book, “Integrating Professional Skills into Undergraduate Chemistry Curricula.”

Contributors from St. Mary’s College of Maryland included Assistant Professor Geoffrey Bowers, Adjunct Professor Ruth Bowers, Assistant Professor Daniel Chase, Professor Andrew Koch, Professor Pamela Mertz, Associate Professor Kelly Neiles, and Assistant Professor Shanen Sherrer.

The department’s complete professional skills curriculum—which spans the first year, first semester course all the way through upper level courses—is described in five chapters of the book, for which Neiles and Mertz—along with Justin Fair of Indiana University of Pennsylvania—served as editors. Authors from nine institutions besides St. Mary’s College contributed chapters.

The book defines professional skills as “non-technical skills needed to be an effective chemist/biochemist including, but not limited to, career skills (job searching, resume writing, networking, and having a professional mindset), scientific thinking (critical thinking, problem solving, and big picture thinking), scientific identity development, learning skills (self-regulated learning, initiative, study strategies, etc.), communication skills, and interpersonal skills such as teamwork, collaboration, and leadership development.”

The professional skills curriculum written by the St. Mary’s College co-authors was developed by all chemistry and biochemistry department members as part of the Council of Undergraduate Research (CUR) Transformations Project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF-DUE 1625354). Programs involved in the CUR Transformations Project are revising four-year undergraduate curricula in biology, chemistry, physics, and psychology to integrate high-quality undergraduate research experiences.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland is one of only 12 institutions selected by CUR for its Transformations Project, a four-year project now in its final year. A team of several faculty and staff members at St. Mary’s College is participating. Mertz and Neiles lead the chemistry and biochemistry team, while Aileen Bailey, professor of psychology,  leads the psychology team.

Neiles and Mertz said that while the CUR project is focused mainly on undergraduate research, the College’s move toward its Learning through Experiential and Applied Discovery (LEAD) initiative laid the foundation for the chemistry and biochemistry department to take a closer look at using methods from the CUR project to incorporate program specific professional skills into its curriculum.

“I think those two coupled together, the CUR Transformations Project and what was happening on the campus, is how we ended up here, to be honest,” Mertz said.

Neiles said she and colleagues began presenting what their department was doing to incorporate these skills into their programs and noticed colleagues and students from other institutions taking an interest. “That’s when I knew we had something,” she said.

The recently published book was developed from a symposium planned for the 2020 National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia that would address each of the chapters as a talk; however, it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The value of the content was such that the ACS continued with the book project.  Neiles said the symposium will run virtually at the upcoming spring ACS meeting.

The book is timely as the ACS Committee on Professional Training is working on new guidelines for professional skills and competencies and the book could help guide programs at other institutions on how to incorporate this training into their curricula.

Neiles and Mertz explained that it is notable that the vast majority of the writing, review process, and editing happened during the pandemic.

“To say we are all proud is an understatement,” Neiles said.

Challenges brought on by the pandemic served to test the contributors’ own professional skills as they worked to meet deadlines while adjusting to professional and personal changes brought on by COVID-19.

Neiles and Mertz said the co-authors and editors were very supportive of each other during the entire process and were determined to have the project completed by year’s end.

“I found that being able to support each other by accepting where the other person was on any given day ended up being incredibly important. There were days where co-authors just couldn’t do any writing due to family, COVID, and just life complications. Nobody got frustrated with each other. We just picked up the baton on days we could and let others pick it up on the days we couldn’t,” Neiles said.

Reflecting on her own experiences with a challenging spring semester and personal life, Mertz said she was extremely happy to see this book being published in 2020, as the accomplishment was a much needed “shining light” on a very difficult year.

For more information on ACS or the ACS Symposium Series book, “Integrating Professional Skills into Undergraduate Chemistry Curricula,” go to acs.org.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland Receives Scientific Equipment Grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation

St. Mary’s College of Maryland announces a SEP Phase XV Scientific Equipment grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation to support, improve and broaden the access and impact of undergraduate science education at the College.

This grant will supply the equipment to establish two new laboratory spaces on campus, a fabrication laboratory and an imaging center, as well as the acquisition of observational astronomy and chemical imaging equipment that will support and expand current curricular and research offerings to both science and non-science majors.

Engaging students through experiential learning is a major component of the College’s new Learning through Experiential and Applied Discovery (LEAD) initiative. Through LEAD, faculty work across disciplines to blend together a thoughtful and purposeful academic experience for students with hands-on learning opportunities intertwined with credit-bearing professional skill development courses.

“We are grateful to the Sherman Fairchild Foundation for investing in St. Mary’s College of Maryland as we continue to work toward integrating practical and professional skills for students through our LEAD initiative promoting success beyond college,” said President Tuajuanda C. Jordan.

Scientific equipment like that provided through the grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation also enables the College to recruit and retain more talented high school students to the College by increasing and diversifying undergraduate research and hands-on learning opportunities for both science and non-science majors.

The St. Mary’s College of Maryland Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization that supports the College through sound fiscal management of a growing endowment portfolio. It is governed by a board of directors that gives its expertise and time in service to the College without compensation.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland, the National Public Honors College, is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education through 2024-2025. St. Mary’s College is ranked one of the best public liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Approximately 1,600 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary’s River in Southern Maryland.

Villadsen Receives National Radio Astronomy Observatory Grant to Support Student Research

Jackie Villadsen, assistant professor of physics, has been awarded a $13,000 grant from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). The funds will provide stipends, conference travel support, and access to astronomical datasets for students participating in research with Villadsen.

Their research will be tied to two sets of radio telescope observations, competitively awarded to Villadsen, on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). These observations include a search for the radio signature of star-planet interaction, and a radio follow-up of close-in exoplanetary systems discovered during the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission.

St. Mary’s College Environmental Studies to Receive Grant to Spur Civic Learning in Major by Design

SMCM student and Professor Muchnick in the field

The Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) awarded Barry Muchnick, assistant professor of environmental studies at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, a mini-grant to advance civic learning and social responsibility as expected dimensions within students’ majors.

Muchnick’s grant was one of 24 awarded by AAC&U out of the 134 applications, indicating widespread interest in rethinking departmental disciplinary designs for learning, life, work, and citizenship. The Civic Prompts: Civic Learning in the Major by Design initiative is supported by a grant from the Endeavor Foundation and aims to limit the civic-free zones within departments.

“The environmental studies program at St. Mary’s College is excited to expand and deepen our commitment to civic education and to continue to offer new opportunities for student engagement and leadership both inside and outside the classroom,” Muchnick said.

The award secured by Muchnick will help fund a June 6 and 7 workshop at St. Mary’s College tasked to better integrate civic learning and social responsibility into the environmental studies program. The workshop is also sponsored by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers

“Educating for democracy is more critical than ever, and AAC&U is proud to support the departments and institutions receiving grants for their commitment to advancing liberal education in the major as a foundation for fostering civic engagement,” said AAC&U President Lynn Pasquerella in a press release announcing the awards.

Bailey and Student Receive Undergraduate Research Grant for Brain Research Study

Picture of Aileen Bailey

Aileen Bailey – Professor of Psychology

Aileen Bailey, Professor of Psychology and recipient of the college’s Aldom-Plansoen Distinguished Professorship, and Zoey Forrester-Fronstin ’17 were selected as recipients of a Psi Chi 2016-2017 Spring Undergraduate Research Grant for Forrester-Fronstin’s project, “The influence of Orexin Antagonist, SB-334867, on Cognition.” Bailey described the project as an extension of research previously done in her lab and published as “Orexin receptor activity in the basal forebrain alters performance on an olfactory discrimination task” in Brain Research, 1594, 215-222 (Piantadosi, P.T., Holmes, A., Roberts, B.M., & Bailey, A.M., 2015).

Bailey said Forrester-Fronstin is looking at the connection between the neuropeptide orexin and its modulation of cognitive flexibility.  Her research is loosely tied to research on Alzheimer’s disease as it focuses on one area of the brain that deteriorates in the disease. “Understanding how this area of the brain works to control cognitive ability may lead to a better understanding of Alzheimer’s disease,” Bailey said.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Continues Research for U.S. Department of Energy

Picture of Geoff Bowers

Geoffrey M Bowers – Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Geoffrey Bowers, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, is continuing a long term collaboration with scientists at Michigan State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The research, for the U.S. Department of Energy, develops general principles for understanding the role natural solid surfaces play in our energy infrastructure.

Bowers recently received funding that will enhance new instrumentation in the SMCM museum studies’ program. He and his undergraduate researchers will use it to study how carbon-based molecules adhere to the surfaces of model and natural geological materials such as shale. They will also be able to examine how such materials decompose when exposed to heat.

“My collaborators at Michigan State and I have been working for the past seven years on understanding behaviors of molecules at places where solid surfaces and fluids (liquid or gas) meet out in the environment,” Bowers said.

Bowers said he and his collaborators are looking to identify the rules nature follows when a surface, like the outer surface of clay, comes in contact with fluid.

The College currently has a thermogravimetric analyzer/differential scanning calorimeter that will allow Bowers and colleagues to take composite materials and track the amount of mass lost at a given temperature and how much energy it took for it to happen.

Bowers said the TGA/DSC is a powerful instrument on its own but by attaching the output to an infrared spectrometer, they will be able to analyze and examine the chemistry of what is leaving the sample, an important component to their research.

Having a TGA/DSC integrated with an infrared spectrometer he said is “a unique feature for St. Mary’s College.” He suspects the number of non-research first institutions that have that kind of instrument and capability is “extraordinarily small.”

Bowers explained that this project is a building block in the creation of a macroscopic understanding of such things as pollutant transport, nutrient cycling, non-conventional gas extraction, and subsurface CO2 sequestration.

“Ultimately, predicting the fate and transport of contaminants in the soil or our watershed or even in the deep subsurface comes down to understanding the ways molecules interact with complex interfaces in complex fluids. We’re privileged to work on basic scientific questions that have practical impacts on society now and in the future. There are lots of great people working on these issues and I am happy that my undergraduate students and I can contribute to making the world a better place now and for generations to come,” he said.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland, designated the Maryland state honors college in 1992, is ranked one of the best public liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Approximately 1,700 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary’s River in Southern Maryland.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Science, Chemical, Geological, and Biological Sciences Program, under Award Number DE-FG02-08ER15929

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