Freshmen made a strong showing in the 2015 Northern Illinois University Mathematics Contest, held in late February.
The $100 first prize was won by Tu Nguyen, a freshman biochemistry major from Aurora. Nguyen and other contest winners will be recognized Sunday, April 19, at the Department of Mathematical Sciences‘ Awards Ceremony and Reception.
The math contest saw a tie for second place between Xiaofu Li, a freshman accountancy major from Shijiazhuang, in Hebei Province, China, and Joshua Stevens, a senior from Oswego who is double-majoring in mathematical sciences and physics. Each will receive the $75 second prize.
Greg Sassi, a junior mechanical engineering major from Island Lake, took third place and an award of $50. Sassi also finished third in the 2014 contest.
The annual Northern Illinois University Mathematics Contest has a format where freshmen and sophomores have a fair chance to compete with juniors and seniors. The underclassmen have fewer restrictions on their choice of problems to attempt.
The contest is open to all full-time undergraduates at NIU. Each contestant turns in solutions to a choice of six out of 11 problems. Topics this year ranged from high school level number theory, geometry and trigonometry problems through calculus and linear algebra. Professors Harvey Blau, Y. C. Kwong and Deepak Naidu supervised the competition.
One of the elementary-level problems was the following: Let a, b, and c be odd positive integers. Prove that a quadratic polynomial with coefficients a, b, c has no rational root; that is, no root of the form r/s, where r and s can be taken as relatively prime integers.
Here is a problem that required a non-routine application of calculus: Let ln denote the natural logarithm function. Find the limit, as integer n goes to infinity, of the expression (2ln2 + 3ln3 + … + nln n)/(n squared times ln n).
Free and open to the public, the 14th annual festival will feature student-film screenings from 9 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, and Wednesday, April 15.
Screenwriter and NIU alum Mark Valadez will be the special guest speaker from 7 to 8:15 p.m. Thursday, April 16, the festival’s final night. Winning films will be announced that evening as well.
Valdez’s credits include work as a staff writer on the TNT series “Perception” and more recently on Fox’s “Gang Related.” He also has written for comic books and published four short novels in the popular “Fright Time” series for young readers. In college, he adapted Stephen King’s short story “Popsy” for the graphic novel horror anthology, J.N. Williamson’s Illustrated Masques, published by Gauntlet Press and reissued in trade paperback by IDW.
Professor Laura Vazquez, who teaches digital media production and theory in the Department of Communication, started the film festival 2001. Vazquez serves as director of the festival, which was created to give film students the opportunity to competitively screen their work.
“Over the last few years, Reality Bytes has grown significantly. This years festival is a continuation of that growth and is shaping up to be one of the more impressive collection of films,” Vazquez says. “The films are exceptional, with high production values and well-crafted stories.”
Vazquez and her students watched 75 films this year and carefully selected 18 for festival screening. They also have a good deal of local support resulting in many great door prizes to be given away to festival attendees.
The selected films vary from comedy to drama to animation and come from the Netherlands, South Korea, Australia and the United States. They all focus on strong storytelling that crosses national boundaries.
Each film category includes a “Best in Show” cash prize award.
Some of the works include “Two and a Quarter Minutes,” “Godong’s Party,” “Shote Akfur,” “I Need My Monster,” “2057,” “Chasing the Rabbits” and “Cotton Dreams.”
Newly named NIU Board of Trustees Professor John Skowronski
Memory, impressions and social perceptions are among the research specialties of psychology professor John Skowronski, Northern Illinois University’s newly named 2015 Board of Trustees Professor.
And NIU students who have taken his courses will tell you the professor certainly is unforgettable.
Alumnus Randy McCarthy remembers Skowronski’s “smooth lectures,” the precise way he communicated complex topics and his encyclopedic memory of materials and outside research. He recalls personal conversations that seamlessly flowed from the philosophy of science to Skowronski’s beloved White Sox. He describes his professor’s generosity and friendliness – bringing in vegetables from a home garden, donating to campus organizations, providing students with his undivided attention.
Most vividly, McCarthy remembers the red ink – lots and lots of his professor’s red ink – on each draft of McCarthy’s graduate thesis.
“There were notes about statistical analyses, brief exposés about grammar, historical sidebars about articles that were cited and just the right number of words of encouragement,” says McCarthy, who today works as a research associate for NIU’s Center for the Study of Family Violence and Sexual Assault. “He mentored me from a novice into the early-career professional that I am today.”
Countless undergraduates, grad students, NIU alumni and colleagues share similar impressions: mentor, collaborator, friend. Skowronski recognizes that he asks students to work very hard but believes he provides fair value as compensation.
“In return for asking for their best,” Skowronski says, “I give my best.”
Skowronski designation as the 2015 NIU Board of Trustees Professor recognizes his effort and its results. The award is the university’s top honor for international prominence in research and excellence in all facets of teaching.
Accompanied by a $10,000 stipend and renewable annually during a five-year term, the professorship will be formally presented to Skowronski during the annual Faculty Awards Ceremony and Reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday, April 13, in the Altgeld Auditorium.
“He is devoted to the intellectual growth and success of his students. Generous with time and ideas, Dr. Skowronski makes personal connections in the classroom and in the laboratory, where he hones students’ critical thinking skills, incorporates them into research work, sparks their curiosity and creativity and encourages them to develop their own paths.”
Skowronski came to NIU in 2000 after 14 years on the faculty of The Ohio State University at Newark.
Over the course of his career, he has published more than 125 research articles, often in top social psychology journals and frequently with current or former students. His work has been cited more than 5,500 times and has been described in psychology textbooks used across the globe.
Skowronski also has written a professional-level book, edited another and written 22 chapters for edited volumes. He served as an editor or on the editorial boards for numerous academic journals, and he has given more than 100 presentations at academic conferences and institutions.
“Dr. Skowronski is a credit to the field as well as to your institution,” says Constantine Sedikides, a former student of Skowronski’s at Ohio State who now directs the Centre for Research on Self Identity at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.
“He is a brilliant theorist, superb methodologist and first-rate writer. He is one of the most inventive and creative living psychologists,” Sedikides says. “Dr. Skowronski has made impactful contributions in numerous areas of psychology.”
Much of Skowronski’s research has explored why and how people form their opinions about others’ personality traits.
His early examination of biases in social judgments contributed to new theoretical perspectives. Additionally, his work increased understanding of the spontaneous impressions that people generate about others, how those impressions can be measured and the after-effects of their formation.
John Skowronski
Skowronski also explores autobiographical memory.
He has shed light on why we remember some things and not others, how we place events in time, how our memories make us feel and the role that communication has in creating our memories. He also is well-regarded for his evolution-based theoretical ideas related to the development of a sense of self in humans and for his work exploring social memory.
Most recently, Skowronski has worked with NIU’s Center for the Study of Family Violence (including with his former student Randy McCarthy) on applied research, focusing on potential differences in the social cognitions of parents who are at risk of child maltreatment.
Skowronski has attracted strong graduate applicants to the Department of Psychology and has an active and productive lab. Additionally, he serves as coordinator of the social-industrial/organizational curricular area, where he sharpened the program’s research focus, found ways to provide more opportunities for students to gain teaching experience and improved the graduation rate of doctoral students.
His generosity with his time extends to colleagues as well.
“At a personal level, John has been a remarkably generous mentor,” psychology professor Brad Sagarin says. “He has never refused to provide feedback on my manuscripts, and his comments – infused with his knowledge of the literature, skill as a writer and perspective as an editor – have improved the papers dramatically. John is clearly invested in the success of students and colleagues alike. We are lucky to have him.”
Preliminary rounds start today, and the competition will continue through Saturday at locations in the Holmes Student Center and DuSable Hall. Awards will be presented at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Cole Hall.
“Debate is just one aspect of the tournament, which will also consist of the 11 individual events,” said Judy Santacaterina, director of individual events for NIU Forensics.
“There’s everything from impromptu speaking to oration to oral interpretation events. Debaters debate parliamentary style, and with each round is a new topic, usually some kind of current event.”
In addition to hosting, NIU will field a team of 17 students. A number of NIU alumni also will return to serve as judges for the event, including John Butler, who serves as chair of the NIU Board of Trustees.
Students are being judged on different criteria depending on their events, Santacaterina said.
“When judging debate, each judge has a paradigm they present, but overall they are looking for strong arguments, evidence and delivery,” she said. “In the individual events, you are looking for content, research and delivery. Oral interpretation is more of a theatrical presentation.”
Judy Santacaterina
NIU has hosted the tournament every other year for more than 25 years and has earned the reputation as the “cradle of coaches” in the forensics community for the number of alumni who coach teams at other institutions.
“It started with Dorothy Bishop and M. Jack Parker, who we consider the pioneers of NIU Forensics,” Santacaterina said. “I have also continued that trend to train forensics coaches. Lisa Roth, our current director of Forensics, is a prime example of someone who was trained here and is carrying on that tradition.”
Other alumni who studied at NIU under the tutelage of Santacaterina and now direct or coach teams participating in the tournament include Kacy Abeln, Kishwaukee College; Chase Budziak, Kishwaukee College; Bonnie Gabel, McHenry County College; Kari Janecke Schimmel, Illinois Central College; David Naze, Prairie State College; Jeff Przybylo, Harper College; Sunny Serres, Harold Washington College; Melissa Entzminger, Highland College; and Ken Young, Bradley University.
For more information, call (815) 753-7961 or email jsantaca@niu.edu.
Date posted: March 6, 2015 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on NIU hosting state speech tournament today, Saturday
The evening will feature an epic battle between “Team Hot” and “Team Cool.”
“This year’s event is not one to miss,” says Chem Demo coordinator Devon Boland. “You can expect to see some of the hottest and coolest experiments, like Levitating Fire and Icy Dragon’s Breath. It promises to be a fun show.”
Faculty advisers helping with this year’s demo preparations include Oliver Hofstetter, Narayan Hosmane, Lee Sunderlin and Chong Zheng.
“The Chem Demo Night is a great tradition in our department,” says Jon Carnahan, chemistry and biochemistry chair. “We are proud of our chemistry students for organizing this event and look forward to putting on an exciting show for the community.”
All ages are welcome to attend the free event.
Featured demonstrations will be both fun and educational and will include Underwater Fire, Genie in a Bottle, Liquid Nitrogen Explosion, Rainbow Fire, Glowing Ice and Ice on Fire.
The experiments planned for the evening include flashes and bright lights. Reactions might also emit small amounts of smoke and produce loud sounds. For safety precautions, members of the audience will not be permitted to sit in the front row.
As always, free liquid nitrogen ice cream will be served after the experiments.
Parking will be available in the NIU Parking Deck along the west side of Normal Road, about one block north of Lincoln Highway (Route 38) after 6:30 p.m. (except for reserved and handicapped spaces).
Individual and team competitions will be held in a number of subject areas, including algebra, geometry and pre-calculus. Prizes will be awarded to both individuals and teams in each subject, and also to the best all-around performing schools. Winners will then compete in the statewide competition later this spring.
Participating high schools include Antioch, Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, Grant Community, Grayslake Central, Grayslake North, Kaneland, Lakes Community, Metea Valley, Neuquea Valley, Oswego, Oswego East, Round Lake, St. Charles East, St. Charles North, Waubonsie Valley and West Aurora.
This will be the 35th year of the ICTM High School Mathematics Contest; NIU has hosted all but one of these ICTM events.
“This is a great experience for the high school students,” says Anders Linnér, director of the ICTM contest. “They invest a lot of time in preparation for this contest throughout the academic year, and now they have a chance to compare their skills with a large number of equally talented students across the region.”
As is tradition, department Chair Bernard Harris will hand out the awards at the end of the ceremony, scheduled to start at 2 p.m. in Cole Hall.
Date posted: February 25, 2015 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on NIU to host math contest for high school students
They say results of a new study demonstrate that sleepiness causes workers to become more likely to interpret ambiguous situations in a threatening way.
Some big cities, particularly those located in hot and humid environments, actually birth more thunderstorms than surrounding rural areas, according to a new study led by Alex Haberlie, an NIU Ph.D. student in geogaphy.
The conclusion is one of several fascinating findings from the first long-term, systematic assessment of the influence of urban land use on thunderstorm development.
Each fellow will receive a grant of $1,500 to facilitate research collaboration with an international colleague.
The Cobb program is funded through an endowment that was established from the estate of Lillian (“Pauline”) Cobb, who served as the first chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures from 1930 to 1966. It is a competitive grant program designed to promote the active involvement of tenured and tenure-track NIU faculty members in international travel that will enhance their on-campus programs.
The specific invitational priorities of the Cobb Faculty Travel Fellowship program may be adjusted each year to support particular aspects of the strategic plan and mission. For the 2015 competition, International Affairs identified one invitational priority: international research collaboration. The proposals were evaluated in part for their congruence with NIU’s Triangle Map.
Beyer is an associate professor in the School of Music. He seeks to support the aims of his project, Acromusical: a multi-faceted resource for the berimbau dedicated to performance, publication, research and community building in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Top: Greg Beyer and Andy Bruno. Bottom: Mitchell Irwin and Thomas Pingel.
Bruno is an assistant professor in history. He plans to join a field trip to Lake Baikal in Russia as part of a large international project, “Exploring Russia’s Environmental History and Natural Resources.”
Pingel is an assistant professor in geography. Using unmanned aerial vehicles, he will deploy imagining instruments in Mexico for environmental monitoring.
Irwin is an assistant professor in anthropology. He seeks to strengthen international research collaboration and forest protection in Madagascar.
In addition, the Division of International Affairs has provided funds for two more international research collaboration fellowships. These have been awarded to: Barbara Schwartz-Bechet of the Department of Special and Early Education and Rodrigo Villanueva of the School of Music.
Schwartz-Bechet seeks to create a joint course/degree with the NHL University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. Villanueva will collaborate with colleagues in Brazil to continue his research on Brazilian drummers.
Date posted: February 18, 2015 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on International Affairs announces Cobb Fellow recipients
Having just returned from a highly successful research expedition in Antarctica, NIU geologists Ross Powell and Reed Scherer appeared as guests during Tuesday evening’s broadcast of Chicago Tonight on WTTW11.
Powell led a National Science Foundation-funded science team that became the first ever to reach and sample the “grounding zone” beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, where Antarctic ice, land and sea all converge.
In doing so, the scientists opened a window into a previously unseen and otherworldly environment. They were stunned to discover fish and other marine animals living beneath a half mile of ice in perpetual cold and darkness, posing new questions about the ability of life to thrive in extreme environments.
Date posted: February 11, 2015 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on NIU geologists appear on Chicago Tonight
Having just returned from a highly successful research expedition in Antarctica, NIU geologists Ross Powell and Reed Scherer will appear as guests during Tuesday’s 7 p.m. broadcast of Chicago Tonight on WTTW11.
The scientists will be interviewed by popular host Phil Ponce.
Powell led a National Science Foundation-funded science team that became the first ever to reach and sample the “grounding zone” along the Ross Ice Shelf, where Antarctic ice, land and sea all converge.
In doing so, the scientists opened a window into a previously unseen and otherworldly environment. They were stunned to discover fish and other marine animals living beneath a half mile of ice in perpetual cold and darkness, posing new questions about the ability of life to thrive in extreme environments.
Data gathered from the grounding zone’s water, sediment and ice samples will provide clues about the mechanics of ice sheets and their potential effects on sea-level rise. The information will help scientific modelers to predict the potential speed of ice sheet demise and the impact of climate change on the world’s oceans and coastal communities.
Reed Scherer
Known as the Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) project, the effort to drill through a slab of ice thicker than the Empire State Building is tall and reach the seawater beneath involved a collaboration of universities and top scientists from across the country.
Specifically, the team sought out to assess the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, most of which sits below sea level. (Ice sheets are on land; ice shelves are floating glacial ice over seawater.)
Some recent scientific reports have suggested that collapse of the ice sheet has already begun, though the rate of change deep within the interior of the ice sheet has been unknown. This is the last ice sheet on Earth resting in a deep marine basin and is the most likely player in any future, rapid sea-level rise. If the grounding zone is retreating or primed to retreat, rapid changes in ice behavior could follow over the next century.
Cameras sent down the drill hole revealed the unsuspected population of fish and invertebrates living beneath the ice, the farthest south that fish have ever been found.
More information on the project and photos are available here.
Date posted: February 9, 2015 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on NIU’s Ross Powell, Reed Scherer to appear Tuesday on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight
Freshmen made a strong showing in the 2015 Northern Illinois University Mathematics Contest, held in late February.
