Student studies bee ecology in Turkey

Corey Bower (pictured at left during his
2013 REU travels), a senior biology major at Bloomsburg University, is member of a team of undergraduate researchers in Greece and the Republic of Turkey.

After a three-day Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) mini-course in Oklahoma, students and faculty traveled to Istanbul to start an eight-week research expedition that studies the integrative biology of bees in Mediterranean habitats. Our team focuses on research significant to the recent phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that has struck Europe and America. The team will be studying the taxonomy of potential alternate native pollinators and how environmental factors and stress affect foraging behavior of bees. Studies will take place in Canakkale (Turkey), Lesvos (Greece) and Bursa (Turkey).

Appreciating the Language and the Culture

Learning the language and culture of the people we will be collaborating with helps us broaden our understanding and perspective to be better team players. Immediately after disembarking from the plane, you know you’re not “in Kansas anymore”… or in our case, not in Oklahoma anymore. Our first night was in Istanbul, a city that is a true melting pot of cultures from the west and east and offers Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Turkish influences (Blue Mosque pictured).

Our second night was in Canakkale, a city at the Hellespont (Dardenelles), a place of strategic importance from the times of the Trojan War to the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I (Trojan Horse from the 2004 movie Troy pictured). On Sunday June 9th, we toured the archeological site of Troy in the morning and the Gallipoli Memorial in the afternoon. What an amazing amount of history and culture in a 60-minute radius!


— Corey Bower 

URSCA: Student researchers hone scholarship skills

Students (pictured outside of Carver Hall) in the Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activities summer program bonded during their three-day training workshop in May. The workshop emphasized fundamental professional skills, ranging from responsible conduct of research to publishing research, that students will use to complete their projects. Over the 12-week summer session, students are supported by the URSCA Award to complete their projects. This year's research, scholarly, and creative projects are diverse and include the cellular and molecular biology of sperm, water chemistry of the Susquehanna River, behavioral research on diet-exercise-addictive response relationships, social surveys of the Bloomsburg community, audiology and speech pathology, and a mural painting for Danville's downtown. Since the workshop, students are working closely with their faculty mentors for excellent one-on-one individualized learning experiences tailored to the interests of the students.

URSCA: Exploring music, language and culture

For 31 BU students, summer will be a time for exploration, research and creativity. These students have been awarded stipends to participate in research, scholarship, or creative activities with faculty mentors through BU's Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity (URSCA) program.

While many of the projects will be focused in science labs, others will take students into the community. Student Dan Copes will travel to China to study the effects of music on language and culture. Copes performed with the Chinese Club at BU's annual International Banquet in April.

A funky fashion triptych

BU held it's ninth annual Personal Adornment Day and Makeup Extravaganza recently. The event, held at the Moose Exchange in downtown Bloomsburg, features wearable art created by students. Photo intern Katelin Bolig was a participant in the show, but she also captured this triptych of outfits.

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.)