Congratulations to the 2018-2019 Physical Sciences Students of the Year

The Physical Sciences Department is proud to present our department’s student award winners for 2018-2019. The winners were presented their award at the GRCC Student Leadership Banquet on March 28. From left to right- Madison Jones for Excellence in Geology, Andrew Hulsman for Excellence in Chemistry, and Janine Sweetman for Excellence in Physics.

Madison Jones (Geology) plans to pursue her BS in geology at GVSU. Madison was one of only 7 students selected for a fully-funded geology research program this summer at the University of Texas-El Paso.

Andrew Hulsman is working on completing his BS in Chemistry at GVSU and will be applying to Physician Assistant programs while working full-time as an EMT and going to school full-time.

Janine Sweetman plans to transfer to the University of Michigan to pursue her degree in environmental engineering. Her goals after her degree are to work with corporations to assist them in minimizing their footprints on the environment along with specializing in water quality to prevent threats to the local watersheds like PFAS.

Congratulations to our award winners!

GRCC Science Talks continue today with ‘Gene Modifications’

Gene Modifications: CRISPR

• Monday, March 25, 2019, at 3:45 p.m.
• Calkins Science Center auditorium, Room 348

Have you heard of CRISPR? It stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. Promises of cured disease, designer organisms, and dangerous consequences all surround this fascinating topic. The background and origin of the CRISPR technique will be presented along with a brief description of applications and potential difficulties.

Bill Faber is a GRCC chemistry professor who has researched physical and biochemical applications focused on identifying and characterizing larger bio-molecules using spectroscopy.

Grand Rapids Community College Science Talks are open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

Please email timothyperiard@grcc.edu with any questions.

GRCC Science Talks continue Monday with “Gene Modifications”

Gene Modifications: CRISPR

• Monday, March 25, 2019, at 3:45 p.m.
• Calkins Science Center auditorium, Room 348

Have you heard of CRISPR? It stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. Promises of cured disease, designer organisms, and dangerous consequences all surround this fascinating topic. The background and origin of the CRISPR technique will be presented along with a brief description of applications and potential difficulties.

Bill Faber is a GRCC chemistry professor who has researched physical and biochemical applications focused on identifying and characterizing larger bio-molecules using spectroscopy.

Grand Rapids Community College Science Talks are open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

Please email timothyperiard@grcc.edu with any questions.

Please tell students: Math, Science, and Engineering lunch next week in Calkins

Please encourage any students interested in the Math, Science, and Engineering Academic Pathway to attend.

GRCC alumnus co-authors paper in Science Magazine

A former GRCC Biodiversity Student, Brian Maitner, has recently co-authored a paper in Science magazine, perhaps the most prestigious of all peer-reviewed science publications!
The title of Brian’s co-authored paper (he is the second author) is “Metabolic Asymmetry and the Global Diversity of Marine Predators.” Brian is finishing his PhD in Bioinformatics with Dr. John Grady at the University of Arizona.
If you know of any students interested in the biodiversity, evolution, and ecology of plants, fungi, or animals, please refer them to Matthew Douglas in the Calkins Science Center.

GRCC Science Talks Continue Today with “Epigenetics”

Epigenetics and Colon Cancer: A tale of mice, microbes, and methyl groups

• TODAY, February 21, 2019, at 4 p.m.
• Calkins Science Center auditorium, Room 348

Have you ever wondered how there can be numerous cell types in your body (skin, muscle, etc.) even though they share the same DNA code? This is explained by epigenetics, the branch of science that studies how chemical modifications on or near DNA influence how genes are expressed. We’ll learn about epigenetics and its important role in maintaining healthy cells.

Nicole Vander Schaaf is a doctoral candidate at the Van Andel Institute Graduate School.

Future GRCC Science Talks will include:

• 03/25/2019: “Gene Modifications: CRISPR” – 3:45 p.m., Calkins Science Center auditorium, Room 348

Grand Rapids Community College Science Talks are open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

Please email timothyperiard@grcc.edu with any questions.

Third Annual ‘Fall in Love With STEM’ this Saturday in Calkins

The third annual “Fall in Love with STEM” event takes place this weekend at GRCC!

GRCC faculty and students will lead sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in “exploration stations,” with activities designed to strengthen science, technology, engineering, and math skills. It’s one of several events organized by the West Michigan chapter of the Association of Women in Science. No advance signup is needed for “Fall in Love with STEM.”

WHEN: Saturday, February 23, from 1-4 p.m.

WHERE: Calkins Science Center, 226 Bostwick Ave. NE

GRCC Science Talks Continue Next Thursday with “Epigenetics”

Epigenetics and Colon Cancer: A tale of mice, microbes, and methyl groups

• Thursday, February 21, 2019, at 4 p.m.
• Calkins Science Center auditorium, Room 348

Have you ever wondered how there can be numerous cell types in your body (skin, muscle, etc.) even though they share the same DNA code? This is explained by epigenetics, the branch of science that studies how chemical modifications on or near DNA influence how genes are expressed. We’ll learn about epigenetics and its important role in maintaining healthy cells.

Nicole Vander Schaaf is a doctoral candidate at the Van Andel Institute Graduate School.

Future GRCC Science Talks will include:

• 03/25/2019: “Gene Modifications: CRISPR” – 3:45 p.m., Calkins Science Center auditorium, Room 348

Grand Rapids Community College Science Talks are open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

Please email timothyperiard@grcc.edu with any questions.

Third Annual ‘Fall in Love With STEM’ set for February 23

Important update: The “Fall in Love with STEM” event, originally scheduled for Feb. 9, has been postponed because of weather. It has been rescheduled for 1-4 p.m. Feb. 23 in the Calkins Science Center, 226 Bostwick Ave. NE.

GRCC faculty and students will lead sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in “exploration stations,” with activities designed to strengthen science, technology, engineering, and math skills. It’s one of several events organized by the West Michigan chapter of the Association of Women in Science. No advance signup is needed for “Fall in Love with STEM.”

Former GRCC Biodiversity Student from Tanzania Now at Harvard Medical School

Fahmy Mamuya, a former Biodiversity Biology student from Arusha, Tanzania, is currently a medical writer and part of a multi-disciplinary research team at Harvard University in the Harvard Medical School.

After GRCC, Fahmy received his PhD in Cell and Organ Systems Physiology at the University of Delaware, followed by an MBA at the same university. He is an expert in cell culture and confocal microscopy. Fahmy has also had NIH-based research scholarships of vision physiology at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Fahmy believes, “…medical research can continue to transcend, and the impact can be harvested through effective communication to diverse audiences.”

Congratulations to this amazing GRCC alumnus, and to our science department for helping Fahmy get started!

GRCC seismometer records last Friday’s Anchorage earthquake

At 8:29 a.m. this past Friday, November 30, a magnitude 7 earthquake sent Anchorage residents scurrying out of buildings and under desks. Six minutes later, GRCC’s seismometer picked up the primary waves that traveled from Alaska to Michigan at a speed of over 13,000 miles per hour. There are preliminary reports of damage in Alaska’s largest city and the surrounding communities. A Tsunami warning was issued and then canceled later in the day.

The image above shows GRMI’s seismic record of the magnitude 7 earthquake in Alaska on Friday morning, November 30, 2018. The two red arrows indicate arrival of the P-body wave and the surface waves.

Calkins Science Center at GRCC hosts a seismometer (GRMI) that is part of the MIQuakes network, a group of high schools, community colleges and universities in Michigan that host seismometers designed to record earthquake activity both locally and worldwide. The stations are sponsored by IRIS – Incorporated Research Institutes in Seismology and MESTA – the Michigan Earth Science Teachers Association.

If you are interested in or other earthquakes recorded by the GRCC seismometer, you can find them on the MIQuakes website.

Community Science Day on November 17

College Channel programming through September 28

The latest schedule, through September 28, includes GRCC Science Talks: Unlocking the Sun.

Michigan Tech Mobile Lab visits GRCC Today

The Michigan Tech Mobile Lab is on campus today, Tuesday, 9/18, from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The capabilities of the mobile lab are diverse, and today’s demonstrations focus on batteries.

The Mobile Lab is located on the south end of campus in the Juan Olivarez Plaza. Additional information about the Mobile Lab can be found here: https://www.mtu.edu/mobile-lab/

Scheduled demonstrations are:

• 8:30 a.m.
• 9:30 a.m.
• 1:30 p.m.
• 5:30 p.m.
• 6:30 p.m.
• 7:30 p.m.

Come check it out!

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Event today: GRCC Science Talks “Unlocking the Sun”

Unlocking the Sun: Spectroscopy in the 1800s

• TODAY, September 17, 2018, at 3:45 p.m.
• Calkins Science Center auditorium, Room 348

Have you ever wondered how we know what the sun is made of, even though it’s too hot to visit?

The story of how we discovered the chemical makeup of our own star combines chemistry, physics, and astronomy in a tale of mystery, far-flung expeditions, and unexpected discoveries. After an overview of spectroscopy, assistant professor Lauren Woolsey will take us through the secrets of the sun from this turning point in science history.

Dr. Woolsey is a Harvard-trained expert in astronomy, solar physics, and exoplanets.

Future GRCC Science Talks will include:

• 11/05/2018: “Species Conservation: How we got here and what can still be done” – 3:45 p.m., Calkins Science Center auditorium, Room 348
• 02/21/2019: “Epigenetics and Colon Cancer: A tale of mice, microbes, and methyl groups” – 4 p.m., Calkins Science Center auditorium, Room 348
• 03/25/2019: “Gene Modifications: CRISPR” – 3:45 p.m., Calkins Science Center auditorium, Room 348

Grand Rapids Community College Science Talks are open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

Please email timothyperiard@grcc.edu with any questions.