Monday, August 25, 2014

Recent Headlines from AU Sciences

Construction at the Black Fork Wetlands Environmental Studies Center
Summer 2014 has been eventful for the sciences at Ashland University.  Several activities are highlighted below. 

The Black Fork Wetlands Environmental Studies Center is the largest of Ashland University's five environmental preserves.  Construction of an indoor/outdoor classroom building is underway.  Also, check out the new promotional video for the Environmental Science Program.

Dr. Jeff Weidenhamer's recently completed a five-month research experience in Australia.  Find more details in this AU News article.

Mackenzie Reece (Senior Biology & Biochemistry major), Alison Biro (Senior Toxicology major and Choose Ohio First Scholar), Zach Bernhard (Junior Biochemistry major) were selected for participation in the Business Concept Competition of this year's Entrepreneurship Immersion Week.  Stay tuned for more posts about our students' summer experiences.

Dr. Nigel Brush, Associate Professor of Geology, is leading a Mastodon excavation in Morrow County.  Ten AU students and volunteers throughout Ohio are contributing to the work that was recently featured in this article and video by the Mansfield News Journal.  Dr. Brush's activity on a different project was recently featured in by the Columbus Dispatch.  This article highlights the efforts to identify an interesting rock that was found in an Ashland County stream bed.

Involvement in professional conferences over the summer includes:  Michael Clement, Chemistry Laboratory Supervisor, attended the National Association of Scientific Materials Managers Conference in Indianapolis, IN.  Dr. Paul Hyman, Associate Professor of Biology, presented research at the Viruses of Microbes Meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.  Dr. Brian Mohney, Associate Professor of Chemistry, gave an invited presentation at the International Society of Chemical Ecology Meeting in Champaign, IL.  Dr. Patricia Saunders, Associate Professor of Biology and Director of the Environmental Science Program, gave presented research at the Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting in Portland, OR.  Dr. Jeff Weidenhamer, Trustees' Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, presented his research and received an award at the Seventh World Congress on Allelopathy in Vigo, Spain.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Ashland University Involved in Research Showing Lead Released from African Cookware Contaminates Food


Lead levels in foods prepared in aluminum pots from Cameroon exceed U.S. guidelines for lead consumption according to a new study published this month in Science of the Total Environment.  Significant levels of aluminum and cadmium were also found to be leached from the cookware.  

Chemistry professors Jeff Weidenhamer and Rebecca Corbin as well as senior biochemistry major and Choose Ohio First scholar Peter Kobunski were involved in the research, which included testing 29 samples of cookware.  The study was conducted in partnership with Occupational Knowledge International in San Francisco and the Cameroonian NGO Research and Education Centre for Development (CREPD). 
More details about this work is available through EurekAlert!, a global news service for science, medicine, and technology.  An audio slide presentation as well as the journal article may be accessed here.