Volunteer Opportunities at Gorman Nature Center

Gorman Nature Center, Mansfield, OH

For students with an interest in the environment education and environmental issues, Gorman Nature Center in Mansfield, OH, is interested in new volunteers. 

GNC is “dedicated to education, enjoyment, and preservation of Richland County's natural areas and inhabitants.”  It features 150 acres of forests, fields, prairies, ponds and streams, and the Center provides over three miles of public trails. For many years, Professor Merrill Tawse has been running popular programs at GNC for kids of all ages.

Option 1: Director Jason Larson says they “are especially looking for students who would like to help us staff the building on weekends (or even during the week). These students would help to answer the phones, greet the public, etc., but they would also be able to work with our educational animals...showing them to the public, etc. …this would also involve cleaning tanks, filters, cages, etc.”

Option 2: GNC is also looking for volunteers “interested in helping with larger projects like trail maintenance, clearing of invasive species and such.”

And An Immediate Gratification Opportunity: In fact, GNC staff is hosting a big project this weekend at the center to remove invasive, alien species from the GNC fields and prairies.  Invasive plants are a real part of park and preserve management, so this is an opportunity for some valuable experience.

Anyone interested in any of these options is asked to contact Jason Larson at Gorman Nature Center (phone, email, and/or leave a message via Richland Count Park District Facebook page).

Updates on GNC events are kept current on the Facebook page.

Chemistry Alumna Publishes Research

Ashland University graduate Katie Moga has recently co-authored a paper describing her work on the development of microneedles for drug-delivery applications.  The paper, published in the journal Advanced Materials, was also featured in ScienceNews.  Katie is currently an analytical chemistry graduate student working in the research group of Dr. Joseph DeSimone at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She completed a B.S. degree in Chemistry and a B.S.Ed. degree in Chemistry Education at AU in 2010.  During her time at Ashland, Katie also carried out research under the direction of Dr. Perry Corbin and completed an Ashbrook Scholars thesis under the guidance of Dr. Matt Arthur.

Several AU chemists had the chance to learn more about Katie’s work while attending the National ACS Meeting last spring in New Orleans.  The photo above shows Katie (left) along with Christine Archuleta, a UNC undergraduate student who also worked in the DeSimone Laboratory.  

Internships and Full-Time Positions with Lubrizol

Ashland University's Career Services Center reports that Lubrizol is scheduled to attend the Fall Career, Internship, and Graduate School Fair on October 8th.  The recruiters representing Lubrizol are AU science graduates Karen Jordan (2002) and Julie Arko (2012).  They will be recruiting sophomores, juniors, seniors, and alumni with interests in chemistry and toxicology.  Additional details are available from the Career Services Center.

Ashland microbiologist presents on integrating research and teaching at national conference

Paul Hyman, Assistant Professor in the Biology/Toxicology department, gave a talk and presented a poster entitled “Integrating Teaching and Research: Mutant Identification and Characterization for Host Range Study” at the 20th Evergreen International Phage Meeting. The meeting was held in August in Olympia, Washington.

Ashland University students Rachel Farley and Nathaniel Green were co-authors on the presentations, which described a series of classroom lab exercises and a related student research project that Dr. Hyman has developed. The class exercises allow Biology students to identify bacteria containing particular classes of mutations and identify a specific mutation by sequencing the gene. These bacteria are later used in a student research project. In addition to using the bacteria to study pathogen evolution, the research students are identifying ways that improve the classroom exercise. The two settings, classroom and research lab, thus both support each other and allow all of the students to contribute to a single research program.

Alumna serving with AmeriCorps

Megan Liggett '13

Alumna Megan Liggett (’13, Biochemistry) reports that she has found a position serving with AmeriCorps with the Monday Creek Restoration Project in southeastern Ohio:

Megan writes: “I am serving as an AmeriCorps State and National volunteer with the nonprofit organization Rural Action.  Rural Action consists of a variety of projects including watershed restoration projects, Environmental Education, and Zero Waste Initiative, as well as work with several partner organizations, all working towards the goal of environmental, economic, and social development in Appalachian Ohio.  My specific assignment is with the Monday Creek Restoration Project in New Straitsville, Ohio.  Monday Creek has been heavily affected by acid mine drainage (AMD) as a result of mining that has occurred in the area over the past century. The primary goal of this project is to work with the community within the Monday Creek Watershed to address AMD and other environmental factors in order to improve the water quality of Monday Creek and its tributaries, and to improve the overall health of the watershed.  Over the course of the next 12 months I will be involved in a wide variety of projects including chemical water quality assessment, biological assessments, environmental education, training, and community involvement, as well as a number of other tasks both in Monday Creek and Rural Action.  I’m very excited to have this opportunity to serve the community in such a unique way, while learning skills that will help me with my future career and making memories that will last a lifetime.”

Monday Creek