Volume 58, Number 1 January 2002
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60th Annual Meeting of O.A.S. February 23, 2002 at Pacific University
By Dr. Lori Rynd, O.A.S. President
Have you registered yet for the 60th annual meeting of the Oregon Academy of Science?
This year's meeting will be hosted by Pacific University in Forest Grove. Located west of Portland near the foothills of the Coast Range, Pacific University is one of the oldest universities in the state (founded in 1849). (See map with driving directions inside newsletter.)
The annual meeting will have presentations that span the breadth of the natural and social sciences. The registration area will be located in the University Center (see campus map) and registration will begin at 7:00 AM. Through the morning there will be twelve concurrent sessions with oral presentations on a diversity of scientific topics. The section chairs describe the highlights of each section later in the newsletter. At mid-morning there will be a poster session and an opportunity to visit with old friends and to make new ones. This is a good time to network, both within your discipline and across disciplines.
Lunch is included with the meeting registration. OAS will present two awards this year, for the 2002 Outstanding Scientist and for the 2002 Outstanding Teacher in Science and Mathematics, K-12. Dr. Cathy Whitlock will give the keynote address, "Environmental Change and Forest History in the Pacific Northwest". Following the keynote address some sections will continue with more presentations.
Please pre-register for the meeting. This speeds up the registration process at the meeting, saves you money, and helps with lunch planning.
If you still need to register, please send the registration form and fee to Rick Bolesta. Late registration fees begin on Feb. 9.
Overview of the Meeting Schedule:
7:00-8:00 AM - Registration (in the University
Center)
8:00-9:30 AM - Concurrent Section Presentations
9:30-10:30 AM - Poster Session and Refreshments
10:30-12:00 - Concurrent Section Presentations
12:00-1:00 PM - Lunch/ Awards and Business
Meeting
1:15-2:00 PM - Keynote Address: Dr. Cathy
Whitlock, Dept. of Geography,
University of Oregon
"Environmental Change and Forest
History in the Pacific Northwest"
2:15-4:00 PM - Concurrent Section Presentations
(The schedules for the concurrent section presentations will be available during registration.)
Volunteers Needed for 2002-2003:
We need to fill several positions for 2002-2003. If you can assist O.A.S. with any of these positions, please see Liz Atkinson (2002-2003 President).
Proceedings of the O.A.S. Secretary
Membership Chair
Newsletter Editor
2002 Keynote Address Cathy Whitlock, Ph.D.
Dept. of Geography, University of Oregon
"Environmental Change and Forest History in the Pacific Northwest"
Cathy Whitlock is Professor and Head of the Dept. of Geography at the University of Oregon. Dr. Whitlock arrived at the University of Oregon in 1990. She graduated with a B.A. degree from Colorado College, then did graduate work at the University of Washington where she received both an M.S. and Ph.D. from the Geological Sciences department. A post-doctoral fellowship followed at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Dr. Whitlock worked as the Assistant Curator-in-Charge at the Carneigie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, while also joining the faculty of the Dept. of Geology and Planetary Sciences at the University of Pittsburg. In 1990 Dr. Whitlock joined the Dept. of Geography at the U. of O. and has since become Professor and Department Head.
Dr. Whitlock's research interests include: environmental change in the Quaternary period; vegetation, fire, and climate history of the northwestern United States; and climatic variability through the Cenozoic. Her keynote address at the Oregon Academy of Science meeting is titled "Environmental Change and Forest History in the Pacific Northwest".
During her career Dr. Whitlock has done research in many locations across the northern regions of the Western United States. Her work has been supported by grants from many sources, including the National Science Foundation, the National Park Service, the Forest Service, and the U.S.G.S. She has published extensively about her research. In addition Dr. Whitlock has been professionally active in many other ways. She is President of the American Quaternary Association and serves on the editorial boards for Geology and for Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Pacific Division of the A.A.A.S. She has participated in many national and international organizations and programs in her areas of interest.
2002 Outstanding Scientist Carl Wamser
Portland State University
Carl Wamser is Professor of Chemistry at Portland State University, where he has been on the faculty since December 1983. He received his Sc.B. degree from Brown University in 1966 and a Ph.D. from Caltech in 1970. He also spent a postdoctoral year at Harvard University before beginning his academic career at California State University, Fullerton. At PSU he has directed a research group focused on novel methods of converting solar energy, and he has taught all levels of organic chemistry and several advanced topics. At PSU he has received the Branford Price Millar Award for Faculty Excellence as well as the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award.
The Wamser research group has been studying various ways of improving the chemistry of solar cells. The approach is often called artificial photosynthesis, because many of the fundamental strategies are based on photosynthesis, nature’s solar energy system. The research includes the synthesis of modified porphyrins, analogs of chlorophyll, designed to better sensitize semiconductor electrodes for light absorption and electron transfer. In addition, conductive polymers are being prepared to further improve the efficiency and durability of the cells. The research has been sponsored by grants from the Department of Energy. More recently a grant from NASA was received to institute a novel course on solar energy; students capped off this summer course by installing a 1 kilowatt solar system, donated by PGE.
The research group consists of graduate and undergraduate students, plus high school teachers (sponsored by the Murdock Trust Partners in Science Program) and high school students (sponsored by the Saturday Academy Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering Program).
Professor Wamser has also engaged in several projects related to educational innovation and research. Collaborating with PSU Professor Gwen Shusterman, he has instituted the use of interactive ConcepTests in the large chemistry lecture classes, and they have also instituted peer-led Chemistry Workshops for students in the first two years of the chemistry curriculum. Both projects have been sponsored by grants from N.S.F.. More recently, Professor Wamser was instrumental in the establishment of The Center for Learning and Teaching in the West, a 5-campus, 3-state collaboration sponsored by a $10 million grant from N.S.F. The Center will emphasize research and graduate education in studying the teaching and learning of math and science. PSU will be one of the five university sites.
Outstanding Teacher in Science and Mathematics, K-12 David Damcke
Since Dave started teaching Mathematics in Portland in the 1960's, he has been known as a quiet, effective teacher who is able to generate in his stud-ents great enthusiasm for mathematics. In addition to serving as Department Chair at Adams High School from 1972 to 1981, Dave has been a Title One Director (1982-1998) and PASS Coordinator (1995-1998) at Jefferson High School. In recent years Dave has been working with the School of Education at the Univ. of Portland (as an OCEPT Teacher in Residence) in their K-12 Early Field Experience. He has also had respon-sibility for the Mathematics for Elementary Teachers course, and has made a deep, positive impression on the students. Not only were their skills improved, but their attitudes about learning and teaching mathematics dramatically turned around. As a result of his influence a number of prospective teachers of mathematics have been filled with enthusiasm and eagerness to teach math at the elementary level.
Of special note is one program that Dave initiated in 1998 and which has put Oregon at the forefront of K-12 mathematics education in the nation. This program has been EXCEL (Emerging Scholars Program) at Jefferson and Roosevelt High Schools in Portland. The EXCEL concept was developed at U.C. Berkeley, for helping minority students to succeed in mathematics. The program has been adopted by many colleges and universities throughout the U.S. Dave adapted the program for a high school setting and implemented it with rousing success at Roosevelt High School working with students who have English as a second language (ESL). EXCEL has also proved to be of great value when applied to chemistry. This is the first time EXCEL has been tried at the secondary level and its success has drawn attention to this "Oregon model." As a result, secondary teachers from across this country can look to Oregon schools to learn how to adopt this exciting program.
Concurrent Sessions at the Meeting The section chairs develop the program for each section and they have provided the following highlights for their programs.
Biology: Dwight Kimberly and Jeff Duerr
Historically science has been noted for its enthusiasm for discovery and the subsequent sharing of that journey with others. In the last twenty years we have seen commercialism and profit motives erode away these basic tenets so that the free-flow of scientific information and the enjoyment of the process become attenuated. Against this tide the Oregon Academy of Science has continued to be a regional celebration of our collective work in doing science. This year we are delighted to announce twenty-five oral/poster presentations at our Biology section meeting. We, the biology section co-chairmen, would like to encourage you and your colleagues to join this day of achievement.
Chemistry: Carlisle Chambers
The Chemistry section will have fourteen oral presentations in two concurrent morning sessions. The 20-minute talks will run from 8:00 am to 11:40 am, ending in time for lunch and the keynote speaker. In addition, five chemistry posters will be presented during the common break/poster time. As usual, we will have a variety of talks and posters in inorganic, organic, biochemistry, physical, analytical, and environmental chemistry. We invite you to attend and participate in the chemistry sessions.
Geography: Karen Arabas and Keith Hadley The keynote speaker for the OAS meeting will be Cathy Whitlock from the University of Oregon. She will discuss "Environmental Change and Forest History in the Pacific Northwest." The Geography section will not have a separate section meeting this year.
Geology: Charles Lane
The twelve presentations at this year’s meeting cover wide areas and diverse topics. Although most of the presentations focus on Oregon, Idaho, and Washing-ton, Bob Carson will be presenting information on volcanic research going on in the East African Rift, Tanzania. Professional scientists and students will be presenting on topics such as soil stratigraphy, paleon-tology, structural geology, volcanology, geologic hazards, and hydrogeology. And, of course, Scott Burns will conclude the section with "The Great Debate &emdash; Is the best Pinot Noir produced on soils from sedimentary or volcanic rocks in Oregon?" Scott will let us be the judge &emdash; we’ll have a winetasting test at the conclusion of his presentation.
History, Philosophy, and Social Study of Science: Dave Boersema and David DeMoss
As has become our tradition in the HPS section, we will have a book discussion panel. This year's book is Kim Sterelny's The Evolution of Agency and Other Essays, which argues for the importance of non-genetic inheritance and then applies these ideas to cognitive evolution. The book discussion will constitute our morning session from 9:30 to 11:30. Each panelist, from various schools in the Portland area, will present a brief essay to be followed by open discussion.
Mathmatics and Computer Science: Tim Thompson and William Fuller
The mathematics/computer science section of the 2002 Oregon Academy of Science includes ten presentations on a variety of topics. Eight presentations in mathematics cover topics in a diversity of areas; modeling for n-band color theory, calculating elementary sums, equations over groups, principle of Herglotz, correlation, and EXCEL projects. Computer Science presentations include an application of n-band color theory applied to satellite imagery. Presentations will be distributed in both a morning and afternoon session. Several presentations will be grouped together by topic, allowing for continuity and discussion.
Physics: Scott Prahl and Oz Bonfim
The 2002 Physics section is once again dominated by talks involving optical technologies. These technologies range from those that use coherent aspects of light for interferometry and speckle measurements to those that use light for ablation. Several talks will be given that explore applications of multiply scattered light to measure reflection, polarization, and fluorescence. Two talks will be devoted to CCD video camera characteristics. Finally, we will have one talk on feedback-control of chaotic systems.
Psychology: Diane Rohlman and Loren McBride
You are invited to attend and participate in the Psychology Section of the Academy. A variety of both theoretical and applied topics will be presented with opportunities for questions/discussion. Specific topics include (but are certainly not limited to) gender issues, testing and psychometrics, biopsychology, and developmental questions. Paper presentations will begin promptly at 8:00 AM and will continue throughout the day. We hope to see you there.
Science Education: Patricia Morrell and Kristi Miller
The Science Education section has a baker’s dozen to offer attendees. There’s something for everyone! We have presentations geared to undergraduate science faculty, including how to get majors, how to keep them, and what to do with them while they’re in your class. There are also papers relating to non-majors and how to get them to think like scientists and do science. In addition, we have papers suited to science teacher educators&endash;what are others doing in their classes, what might you try? And, of course, there are presentations of interest to a broader group, looking at assessment issues, science inquiry, and the like. There are lots of good pedagogical ideas to be shared with anyone with an interest in science teaching and/or science teacher preparation!
Sociology/Anthropology/ Political Science / Eco-nomics sections: Richard Mitchell, Alex Steenstra
This year the Sociology/Anthropology, Political Science, and Economics sections will meet together in combined sessions. The program offers depth and diversity with a range of papers concerned with socialization, identity, and political and cultural conflicts and change. From Midwestern trailer parks to the classrooms of India, from fair-weather California sailing to the bad-times bunkers of Pacific Northwest survivalists, modern social life is reviewed, analyzed and critiqued. Senior scholars join early career researchers in presenting works-in-progress, recent investigations, and retrospectives.
How to Get There
Forest Grove is located approximately 45 minutes west of Portland.
- From the north, travel via Interstate 5 and exit onto Highway 26.
- From the south, take 217 to connect to Highway 26 (west toward Banks).
- From Highway 26, exit left onto Highway 6, which will lead you to Highway 47 south. Go about six miles. As you enter Forest Grove turn right onto Sunset Drive. The first building you will see is a residence hall; follow the curve to the right (University Avenue) and the next left is College Way.
Registration and Parking: The registration area will be in the University Center (#15 on the above map). Park in any campus lot that is marked "Open Parking". Parking is also available on adjacent streets, but be sure to check for signs with any parking limitations.
