Racer Report: April 22-26

MURRAY, Ky. – The latest Murray State University Racer Report includes student, faculty, staff and alumni accomplishments, announcements, upcoming campus events and more for the week of April 22-26.

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Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES) senior Zachary Brown of Louisville, Kentucky has been selected to participate in a 10-week NASA DEVELOP Summer 2024 Internship program at the Goddard Space Center in Maryland. NASA DEVELOP is an applied science, capacity-building program in NASA's Earth Science Division. In collaboration with partner organizations, NASA DEVELOP conducts feasibility studies that address local, national, and international environmental and policy concerns using data collected by NASA's Earth-observing fleet of satellites. 

“NASA DEVELOP is centered around ‘building capacity,’” said Brown. “I am eager to put on the shoes of a NASA researcher and learn how to apply what I have already learned here at Murray State to increase my capabilities within the field in an accelerated and collaborative environment.”

Brown will choose between two project teams: the Indiana Ecological Conservation or the Nevada Wildland Fire. The Indiana Ecological Conservation project focuses on identifying change in mid-story composition and canopy cover in southern Indiana to inform restoration activities. The Nevada Wildland Fire project will identify drivers of fuel load growth as early warning indicators for protection of the desert tortoise habitat in southern Nevada.

“Both projects are really interesting and I have a personal interest and passion in both study topics, but since I have to choose, I am going to pick the Nevada Wildland Fire project,” said Brown. “Wildfires have always captivated me and I would love the opportunity to apply my skills and knowledge to the project.” 

Brown said what he is most looking forward to is simply being a part of the bigger picture.

“I have done many of my own projects and studies through my coursework that really haven't impacted anyone or anything besides me and my grade for the course,” he said. “I am ecstatic to be involved in such a unique opportunity that will be used to educate and inform a broad range of audiences and decision makers that enact real world change.”

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Murray State University faculty members Dr. Oluwabunmi Dada in the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, and Dr. Ayorinde Ogunyiola in the Department of Political Science and Sociology were approved for $10,000 in grant funding.

Titled “Strengthening Disaster Preparedness: Assessing Risk Perception and Early Warning Systems for Flash Flooding,” the project will address the growing concern of flash floods in the United States (with Kentucky as a case study) by drawing insights from sociology and disaster management. The proposed research will investigate how people in Mayfield, Kentucky, perceived and prepared for the devastating July 2023 flood. Using a mixed-method approach, the research will explore risk perception, early warning, and disaster preparedness. Findings from this study will have national significance, be useful in improving flash flood preparedness, and reduce negative impacts on vulnerable communities.

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The Murray State University Department of Biological Sciences hosted The Wildlife Society’s 2024 Southeastern Student Conclave at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park on March 14-16.

Twenty higher education institutions across the Southeast participated in the event for a total of 310 student and faculty attendees. Schools that participated: Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Arkansas State University, Arkansas Tech University, Auburn University, Clemson University, Cleveland State Community College, Eastern Kentucky University, Frostburg State University, Haywood Community College, Louisiana State University, Louisiana Tech University, Mississippi State University, North Carolina State University, Tennessee Technological University, University of Florida, University of Georgia, the University of Tennessee (UT) Chattanooga, UT Knoxville, UT Martin and Virginia Tech.

Students engaged in both individual and team competitions that assessed both their intellectual and physical abilities, quiz bowl (a double elimination tournament covering questions relevant to natural resource management), and an art and photography competition. Moreover, students were able to gain hands-on experience through workshops, explore western Kentucky during field trips, and had the opportunity to network with other students, faculty and professionals in the field of wildlife.

Additionally, Dr. Sharon Deem, director of the St. Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine, was the keynote speaker and talked about being a wildlife veterinarian and epidemiologist.

Overall competition winners:

First place: Mississippi State University

Second place: Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

Third place: Virginia Tech

Quiz Bowl winners:

First place: Mississippi State University

Second place: North Carolina State University

Third place: University of Florida

The event was made possible by 73 professional volunteers, 34 Murray State student volunteers and organization by Drs. Andrea Darracq, J. Matthew Carroll and Howard Whiteman, of the Department of Biological Sciences. The event was funded by 30 sponsors ranging from federal, national, state and local organizations, businesses and Murray State alumni, including the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources, USDA Wildlife Services, National Wild Turkey Federation, Murray State’s Jesse D. Jones College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Watershed Studies Institute and the Department of Biological Sciences.

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Dr. Alexey Arkov, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, along with students Emma Alexander (Murray, Kentucky), Ryan Schmidtke (O’ Fallon, Illinois) and Ethan Hackney (Belfry, Kentucky) published a manuscript in FEBS Letters - a high-quality peer-reviewed research journal published on behalf of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS). In addition, one of Arkov lab's confocal microscopy images was chosen for the journal cover. This image shows multiple organelles assembled from cellular components required for development of germline cells, which give rise to all other cells in the next generation individuals. As stated by the FEBS Press, FEBS Letters publishes "highly significant research studies that merit urgent publication, and timely reviews of wide interest in the molecular biosciences."