Office of Sponsored Projects and Research Holds First Firecracker Event: Focus on Faculty Research

Posted by: admin on May 10, 2016, No Comments

On Tuesday, April 19, the Office of Sponsored Projects and Research (OSPR) at ESU held its first “Firecracker” event. ESU faculty had exactly five minutes to present an area of their research in order to spark interest in a wide range of teaching and research topics. Ten faculty members were timed as they shared their varied interests and areas of study with attendees. The faculty represented a handful of ESU’s academic departments and the presentations covered topics ranging from 3D printing to app development.

Firecracker was inspired by TED Talks and is utilized to enhance inter-department relationships while encouraging faculty to continue conducting research in their specific areas of interest.

The first presenter was Michael Gray, Ph.D., associate professor of history, who presented his Civil War research and briefly mentioned proposing an online course on Civil War history for students who could not make it on an actual trip to historical landmarks. Mihye Jeong, Ph.D., associate professor of physical education presented her research about dealing with mobility for handicapped people, particularly in the school environment. Other presenters included, Robert Marmelstein, Ph.D., professor of computer science, Jennifer White, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, David Mazure and Darlene Farris-LaBar, both associate professors of art + design, and Tim Connolly, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy and religious studies.

Collaborative presentations included research by Steve Godin, Ph.D., professor of health studies, Dongsheng Che, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science, Peng Zhang, Ph.D., associate professor of exercise science, and Chad Witmer, associate professor of exercise science. Eugene Galperin, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics, closed out the Firecracker event with his presentation on combining environmental awareness through teaching math.

The next Firecracker event will be held in the fall 2016 semester. For information please feel free to contact Christina McDonald, manager, office of sponsored projects and research at cmcdonald9@esu.edu or (570) 422-7954 or Sarah Weber, pre- and post-grant project coordinator at sweber14@esu.edu or (570) 422-7908.