Put on your dancin' shoes

Dance is a big deal at Bloomsburg. The university has a minor in dance and a very active student-run, student organized Dance Ensemble.

Photo intern Katelin Bolig captured their recent show, which has a joyous do-it-yourself vibe.

The minor in dance show directed by dance professor Julie Petry on Sunday and Monday, May 5 and 6, will tackle some serious themes and bring a professional focus to the performance.

Click on any photo to see them larger.

A sneak peek at 'The Underpants'

BU photo intern Katelin Bolig went behind the scenes at rehearsal for the Bloomsburg University Players production of The Underpants and captured some images of the makeup and costume as well as the rehearsal.

Details of the comedy adapted by Steve Martin from Carl Sternheim’s play. Showtimes are Wednesday, April 17, to Saturday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 21, at 3 p.m. at the Alvina Krause Theater, 226 Center St., Bloomsburg.

Admission is free with BU ID, $6 for adults and $4 for students and seniors.

Directed by David A. Miller, assistant professor of theatre, The Underpants tells the tale of Theobald Maske and his unusual problem: his wife’s underpants won’t stay on.

Advance tickets are available at Haas Center Box Office at (570) 389-4340. For more information, visit buplayers.org.

In a jazz mood

Every spring (this year, Friday, April 12), hundreds of high school and middle school students come to campus for BU's Jazz Festival.

BU has become a jazz destination in several senses of the word.

The festival offers the high school students the opportunity to hone their skills with guest artists and clinicians.

BU's own ensemble, directed by music professor and department chair Stephen Clickard, has been earning a higher profile in the jazz world. The ensemble was invited to New Orleans this March to participate in the Crescent City Jazz Festival.

Clickard — a player, composer and arranger — has been playing professionally since high school when he was invited to join a college band.

These shots were taken during a rehearsal before the New Orleans trip.

The first shot on the right shows Christian Smith on percussion. A multi-instrumentalist, Smith was first in the rehearsal room that day and promptly sat down at the piano and played very beautifully. The center photo shows saxophonists Brittany Baselice and Beth Meyers and the last shot is guitarist Matt Leese warming up before rehearsal.

Below is a short video interview with Clickard about what makes jazz special. (Editing for this one was done by me, so the edges are a little rougher than normal. —EGF.)

A field for those who love the outdoors

The term "networking" tends to be associated with strictly business fields. But it's just as important in other disciplines as well.

The College of Science and Technology hosts Career Day each spring. This year 70 science alumni came back to Bloomsburg to share their career insights.

Above, geologist Edward Banaszek '80, vice president of operations for Mogul Energy International, talks to a geology class on the Thursday before career day. Banaszek was featured in the spring 2007 issue of the Bloomsburg magazine and he's kept in touch with Bloomsburg ever since. His words of wisdom for the geoscience majors — there's jobs out there.

Field trips are a regular part of the curriculum in the Department of Environmental, Geographical and Geological Sciences. At right, are some photos taken by professors at various trips last fall.

The majors housed in the department lead to careers ranging from environmental protection, community planning, energy production and even space exploration.

Since the career often involves a lot of work in the field — it can be a fantastic career choice if you love the outdoors. If you own hiking boots, it's a definitely a major to check out. Click on any image to see them larger.

A curriculum in leadership

You don't necessarily expect to hear about college basketball in your typical MBA class. But Darrin Kass (far right) isn't really your typical MBA professor. Leadership is a big part of BU's MBA curriculum and Kass is fond of talking about basketball coaches to illustrate leadership styles.

BU's MBA program does some other things differently as well, such as going outside of the classroom and climbing a mountain to hone leadership and communication stills first-hand. The shots at right are  from a trip a couple of Septembers ago to Mount Katadihn in Maine.
(A documentary on the Katadihn climb can be found here.)



In the interview below (edited by BU student Audra Briggs), Kass talks about how leadership is important to business, why he loves basketball, and how students from all majors can benefit from an MBA.

PS: Another interesting point. When I was going to college, everyone would say, "Get some experience before getting a master's degree." Kass says that's no longer (if it ever was) true. Getting the MBA right after your bachelor's degree boosts your salary down the road. — EGF.

Finding connections

One of the things that Bloomsburg prides itself on is giving students opportunities to meet with 

successful graduates. A recent mixer for business students sponsored by the Zeigler Institute for Professional Development is a great example. BU alumni gave an evening to come back to Sutliff Hall and share their experience with dozens of students in an informal reception-style setting.

From a photographer's perspective, these events happen often enough in different colleges and departments that it could be easy to forget how special they are. Technical notes: This was shot with the Canon 7 and Tokina 16-50 without any sort of flash to intrude on the conversations.

The Canon 7 was also used to shoot the video interview with BU grad Ed Artim, who's a manager for Vanguard. Artim had come back to campus with a colleague in December to share insights with students. The video editing was done by BU student Audra Briggs.

Lets get a good look at those atoms

If you look at them really closely, what do atoms look like?

Physics and engineering technology professors John Huckans and Ju Xin, along with a group of about a dozen students are working on a project to find out.

Working with the professors, the students are learning the techniques to bring rubidium atoms to an extremely low temperature (100 microKelvin), where quantum mechanical properties of the atoms are more easily observed. The atoms will be cooled and held in place by laser beams and magnetic coils within an ultra-high vacuum system. Absorption images of ultracold atom clouds will be captured with a digital camera at near-infrared wavelengths.

The top photo shows the instrument — machined metal, hoses and clamps — that the group is constructing to observe the rubidium atoms.

The second photo shows the plan of the project on the lab's blackboard. Below that Huckans talks to the team at a regular 8:30 am group meeting. The next two photos are details of the instrument.

When it's all finished, maybe we'll be able to post the absorption images here.