Winter Edition

INSIDE:

Welcome...................................................................................1Student Research Week 2009.................................................1Graduate Students in the News..........................................2-3Graduate Student Profi les..................................................4-5Sea Aggies in College Station.................................................6

Spring 2009 Events................................................................6Really? There are Theories?.................................................7GSC at the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students Annual Conference.................................................7Fall 2008 in Pictures...............................................................8

Student Research Week 2009

WELCOMEBy Brandi Reese, Executive Vice President

It seems as if this fall semester has fl own by quickly. The Graduate Student Council has had a very full semester with a lot to be proud of. We kicked off the year with guest speakers at the bi-monthly meetings, which included Dr. Elsa Murano, President; Dr. Jeffrey Vitter, Provost; Lt. General Joe Weber (Ret.), Vice President of Student Affairs; Dr. Luis Cifuentes, Interim Vice-Provost; Dr. Robert Webb, Dean of Graduate Studies; and Dr. David Wentling, Ombudsperson, just to name a few.

We also hosted some exciting socials that celebrated Texas A&M’s time-honored traditions of Silver Taps and Midnight Yell. These socials introduced many graduate students to the spirit of Aggieland and we were excited to see the great turn-out. Each social provided an opportunity for graduate students to connect with each other as well as learn some of the history and

processes that make these traditions rich. Our seminars and wellness socials have been quite successful

this semester as well. Graduate students have had the opportunity to learn about such things as home buying, academic job interviews, health insurance, and writing skills as well as getting fi t and relaxing at the Recreation Center during the month of free Yoga, Pilates and Contemporary Dance classes.

Special thanks to all the departments and offi ces working to put these seminars and workshops together and especially to the Traditions Council for helping with our socials. If you missed any of these exciting opportunities, don’t worry…. there are many more opportunities remaining this semester and in the spring. Check out http://

studentlife.tamu.edu/agoss for more information. We look forward to seeing you there!

By Matt Kopil ‘08, Student Research Week Director

The 12th Annual Student Research Week is fast approaching and I would like to take this time to introduce the new theme, committee members, and tentative schedule for the week. The new theme for Student Research Week 2009 is “Global Issues-Innovative Solutions.” The theme is meant to encompass all areas of academia and highlight how research in a particular fi eld is used for the greater good of the world as a whole. Along with this year’s theme, Student Research Week 2009 will have a brand new logo to be revealed at a later date. The competition will change slightly this year. Each 1st place session winner will be awarded a commemorative plaque and each fi rst place taxonomy winner, poster and oral, being awarded a monetary prize of $300. Second and

third place prizes have yet to be determined.

Let me take a moment to introduce the 2009 SRW committee. Tiffany Fowler , Sponsorship Coordinator; Travis Humphries (Mays Business School), Marketing/Media Coordinator; Elinor Martin (Geosciences),

Volunteer Coordinator; Gabriella Sosa (Agriculture and Life Sciences), Logistics Coordinator; Sophia Agudelo, Technical Coordinator.

Student Research 2009 will be held March 23-27, 2009. The week will be fi lled with many unique opportunities to hear and see what new and exciting research is going on at Texas A&M University among graduate and undergraduate students. We will also be hosting a number of sessions to highlight the resources available to Texas A&M students. Opening Ceremonies will be held on Monday March 23 in the early evening. During the opening ceremonies there will be a guest speaker that will bring to light the theme and its importance to research here and abroad (stay tuned for the announcement of the speaker). On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday the event will play host to nearly 500 student competitors participating in oral and poster presentations, as well as, lunch panels and resource table exhibits. All are welcome to attend each presentation session. During the week, starting Monday, the new Research Report Card incentive program will start for the 2009 event with new awards and prizes. On Friday, March 27th, the closing ceremonies will take place where winners will be announced and the week will come to a close.

On behalf of the 2009 SRW Planning Committee, I hope that all of you will participate in some way, whether as a competitor, volunteer, judge, or spectator and help make this year’s event something to remember during its 12th year of existence.

2008-2009 GSC Executive Committee.Back Row: Lauren Hulsman, Jeff Stanley; Front Row: Brandi Reese, Tracey Wellington, Paula Lorente

Nth DEGREEThe Graduate Student Council Newsletter - http://gsc.tamu.edu/publications

WINTER 2008 VOLUME I, No. 5

2 • Nth Degree Newsletter • Winter Edition 2008

Nth DEGREE Winter Edition Volume I, No. 5 © 2008 Texas A&M University Graduate Student Council Editors............................................Autumn Gardner, Tracey WellingtonContributors....................................... Kathy DiSanto, Lauren Hulsman, Matt Kopil, Brandi Reese, Shaya Seward, Stefanie Stefancic

Nth Degree is a monthly publication of the Graduate Student Council (GSC). Special Editions are published in the Winter, Spring and Summer. It contains news related to graduate students at Texas A&M University and shares graduate student achievements with the University community.

Articles for the Nth Degree are welcome from graduate students. Articles must include the name of the author to be included in publication. GSC reserves the right to select and edit articles for clarity and length. All correspondence with regards to the Nth Degree should be directed to: Graduate Student Council, 1236 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-1236, E-mail: [email protected].

Subscriptions: To subscribe to the electronic monthly newsletter send an email to [email protected] with the following command as a single line in the body of the message: subscribe GSC-NTHD Firstname Lastname

(Firstname and Lastname is your real name. No “Subject” is required. You do not need to include your email address in your message. LISTSERV automatically uses the address from your email.)

The Graduate Student Council (GSC), serving as the graduate student government at Texas A&M University, exists to share and discuss information important to all TAMU graduate and professional students and to advocate for their interests in dealing with the University, its constituents, and all other appropriate entities.

2008-2009 GSC Executive Council

President Tracey Wellington*, Materials Science and Engineering

Executive Vice PresidentBrandi Reese*, Oceanography

Vice President for InformationLauren Hulsman ’07*, Animal Science

Vice President for University AffairsPaula Lorente*, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning

Vice President for FinanceJeff Stanley*, Statistics

Past President Shari Hilding-Kronforst, Geology

Student Research Week DirectorMatthew Kopil ’08, Sport Management

Chair, Legislative CommitteeArlene Ford, Physics

Chair, Quality of Life CommitteeJoni Kincaid, Geography

Chair, International Student Issues CommitteeJia (Daniel) Liu, Materials Science and Engineering

ADVISORS

Stefanie Stefancic, Educational Administration and Human Resource DevelopmentCoordinator, Adult, Graduate & Off Campus Student Services

Robert WebbDean of Graduate Studies

Assistant to the PresidentAutumn Gardner ’10, Health and Kinesiology

* Members of the GSC Executive Committee

Graduate Students in the NewsFour Students Receive Dissertation Awards from Education’s

Advisory Council Four education students were presented Dissertation of the Year awards by the College of Education and Human Development. Lei-Shih Chen, a doctoral student in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, was awarded for “An Assessment of Health Educators’ Likelihood of Adopting Genomic Competencies for the Public Health Workforce.” Prathiba Natesan, a doctoral student in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, was awarded for “Estimation of Two-Parameter Multilevel Item Response Theory Models with Predictor Variable: Simulation and Substantiation for an Urban School District.” Martha Weatherly, a doctoral student in the Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development, was recognized for “Personal Development and Transformational Outcomes for Women Earning an Online Degree” and Saniye Tugba Bulu, a doctoral student in the Department of Educational Psychology, was honored for “Scaffolding Middle School Students’ Content Knowledge and Ill-Structured Problem Solving In a Problem-Based Hypermedia Learning Environment.”

Texas A&M University News

Meteorology Students Track Ike for 20 Hours

As many Aggies headed home to avoid Hurricane Ike when Texas A&M closed on September 12, seven meteorology undergraduates and two Ph.D. students baked brownies, made sandwiches, loaded up coolers with bottled water, and headed for the 12th fl oor of the Eller Oceanography & Meteorology Building instead. This group of students spent over 20 hours in the Atmospheric Sciences Department’s newly remodeled radar lab monitoring the storm and capturing radar images as it made landfall in Galveston and moved north through Aggieland. The graduate assistants in charge, Larry Hopper and Justin Stachnik, agree that tracking the storm was a valuable educational experience for the students, and that future students will benefi t greatly from studying the data that was collected.

College of Geosciences News

Geochemistry Student Completes Taiwan Fellowship

Getting a chance to pursue meaningful work in one of the most beautiful places in the world is only a dream for most people. For geology and geophysics master’s student Clint Miller, however, that dream became reality when he lived and worked on the campus of the National Taiwan University for two months last summer. Miller, a M.S. student in Environmental Geochemistry who works in the laboratory of Geology & Geophysics Professor Bruce Herbert, spent the summer conducting research on arsenic biogeochemistry in Taiwan. Miller was awarded a fellowship through the National Science Foundation’s 2008 East Asia and Pacifi c Summer Institutes (NSF EAPSI) based upon his proposal titled Evaluating Arsenic Availability in Taiwanese Soils using DOWEX M4195, Fe3+ Substituted Resin.

College of Geosciences News

Mays MBAs making a difference in the community through volunteering

Upholding the Aggie tradition of service, a group of 18 MBA students from Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School recently donated their time and labor for local charities. The group, called MBA SHOC (Students Helping Our Community), spent more than fi ve hours working on a Habitat for Humanity house in Bryan, Texas, and reorganizing a thrift store whose proceeds benefi t Twin City Mission. The mission offers assistance to the homeless and victims of domestic violence in the Bryan/College Station area, as well as other family services.

Mays Business Online

Nuclear engineering Ph.D. student receives Sandia Fellowship

David E. Ames II, a Ph.D. graduate student in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named a Sandia Research Graduate Fellow.Ames will focus his Ph.D. research efforts on high-fi delity nuclear energy system studies towards an environmentally benign sustainable and secure energy source. Ames will work on his Ph.D. under Dr. Pavel Tsvetkov, assistant professor in the nuclear engineering department, and Gary Rochau and Salvador Rodriguez at Sandia National Laboratory. Working in Tsvetkov’s group since 2005, Ames earned his M.S. degree focusing on model reliability and computational benchmarks for advanced applications of Very High Temperature Reactors.

College of Engineering News

Political science Ph.D. student receives a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship

Mark Daniel Ramirez, a Ph.D. student in political science, has received a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship for his dissertation titled “The Strategic Nature of PoliticsRamirez’ dissertation examines how politicians, leaders, and the media can portray issues seemingly unrelated to race in ways that trigger racial considerations. Dissertation fellowships are administered by the National Research Council on behalf of the Ford Foundation to individuals who “have demonstrated superior academic achievement, are committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level, and show promise of future achievement as scholars and teachers.”

College of Liberal Arts News

Nth Degree Newsletter • Winter Edition 2008 • 3

Graduate Students in the NewsHealth and Kinesiology Student Nominated for National Board

PositionNelson Atehortua, a health education doctoral student, will appear on the national ballot of the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) as a nominee for student trustee on the board of trustees.SOPHE invited Atehortua to submit a proposal for the student trustee position. The nomination committee approved Atehortua’s proposal, and his name is listed on the electronic ballot available to all SOPHE members this fall.“I felt honored and expressed my appreciation for such an offer,” Atehortua said. “At the very beginning I was very surprised, but after a few days, I started meditating about the contributions I can make from a position like that to help advance the health education profession.”Atehortua proposed improving the position of students both inside and outside the association, bringing fresh ideas to the conversation and providing supportive leadership to the executive body. These goals will help bridge the fi eld with current innovations and advances in other areas of knowledge that will likely have an impact on the health education profession.Atehortua, M.D., M.P.H., has already served in a national leadership position as chair of the Scientifi c Program Committee of the American Public Health Association Genomics Forum. He is also a Graduate Diversity Fellow and a research scholar affi liated with the Center for the Study of Health Disparities.

College of Education and Human Development News

Two Doctoral Students Selected as TCALL Fellows

Human resource development doctoral student Diana Mena and adult education doctoral student Donna Mancuso were selected as Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL) research fellows for the 2008-2009 academic year. Each will receive $25,000 in fellowship funding as one of the research initiatives of The Texas Adult Literacy Clearinghouse Project.Mena, who holds a master’s in health human resources and a bachelor’s in sociology, has experience in community health awareness and education. Her research interest includes identifying and closing the literacy gap affecting displaced workers of Mexican-American descent. Mancuso has served as a TCALL graduate assistant since 2005 and is focusing her fellowship research on identifying avenues to expand the use of virtual learning opportunities for students in literacy and workforce education programs. She earned her master’s in human resource development and adult education and her bachelor’s in accounting.Since 2005, the TCALL Research Fellowship has provided monetary support and guidance to doctoral students with an interest in adult literacy and learning. The TCALL Fellowship consists of a one-year award, which may be used to offset the cost of travel expenses to conferences, dissertation research, and tuition, fees, and maintenance while a student is enrolled at Texas A&M University. During their fellowship year, students have the opportunity to present their work at state, regional and national adult literacy conferences and to publish their research in peer-reviewed journals and other venues.


Vizzer Earns Scholarship from Sony Pictures Imageworks

Rodrigo Huerta, a student in Texas A&M University’s Master of Science in Visualization Sciences program, was selected by Sony Pictures Imageworks as the top scholarship winner in a nationwide competition of students preparing themselves for careers in digital animation. The scholarship is from Imageworks’ Professional Academic Excellence (IPAX) program. Through the IPAX scholarship fund, Luis will receive tuition money toward his master’s degree in visualization Texas A&M as well as animation courses he’s taking through Animation Mentor, an online animation school. Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc. is an Academy Award-winning, state-of-the-art digital production studio dedicated to the art of visual effects production and character animation.

Inside Track: e-newsletter for the College of Architecture

Two Students Receive Ford Foundation Honorable Mention

Two counseling psychology doctoral students, Miguel Cano and Araceli Lopez, received honorable mention recognition in the 2008 Predoctoral Competition of the Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships.”Although Miguel and Araceli did not receive the fellowship this year, the designation of honorable mention by the Ford Foundation review panel speaks to the recognition of the quality of their work and their promise as future academicians,” Linda Castillo, advisor and associate professor of counseling psychology, said. Approximately 1,200 predoctoral students submitted applications, and this year, approximately 60 were selected. The predoctoral fellowships provide three years of support for individuals engaged in graduate study leading to a doctor of philosophy or doctor of science degree. The fellowships were administered by the National Research Council on behalf of the Ford Foundation to individuals who, in the judgment of the review panels, have demonstrated superior academic achievement, are committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level, show promise of future achievement as scholars and teachers, and are well prepared to use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.


Three graduate students and a postdoctoral researcherreceive awards at international conference

Three graduate students and a postdoctoral researcher from the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering have won awards at the 12th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (micro-TAS 2008), held this month in San Diego.Jen-Huang Huang, Yu-Wen Huang, Serdar Ozturk and Jeongyoon Kim all received recognition for their research, which they presented at the conference.Jen-Huang Huang and Kim received the “Young Researcher Poster Award” for their work in a joint collaboration with Assistant Professor Arul Jayaraman titled “Rapid Fabrication of 3D-Branched Microvascular Flow Networks.” Their poster was one of only four selected as award winners out of a total of 589 posters presented at the conference. Yu-Wen Huang received the “Art in Science Award” for an image selected from her work titled “A Versatile Platform for Rapid Label-Free Detection of Proteins and Small Molecules Using Microfabricated Electrode Arrays.” The image also will be featured on the cover of an upcoming issue of the journal “Lab on a Chip.”Ozturk was named recipient of a student travel grant in to present his work titled “Microfl uidic Investigation of Mass Transport Enhancement in Nanoparticle Suspensions.”

College of Engineering News

Grants for Entrepreneurship Research AwardedThe Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship (CNVE) at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School has named the 2008 recipients of the Aggie 100 Entrepreneurial Scholars Awards. The proposals chosen were from three PhD students and one faculty member. The selected individuals were: Gautham Gopal, marketing PhD student, for his proposal, “How do early growth strategies affect the performance of start-up ventures? An empirical analysis”, Michael Holmes and Justin Webb, management PhD students, for their proposal, “The relationships between entrepreneurs’ psychological characteristics, their behaviors and their performance”, Justin Webb, management PhD student, for his proposal, “Goal orientation as shaping entrepreneurial processes and fi rm performance” and Ramkumar Janakiraman, assistant professor of marketing, for his proposal, “Tapping into word of mouth effect for new product launch: Insights from a start-up fi rm.”Each year the CNVE recognizes the 100 fastest growing Aggie-owned or -operated businesses through the Aggie 100 program. The funding for these entrepreneurship research grants comes from gifts from the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Aggie 100 honorees.

Texas A&M University News


Graduate Student Profi lesName: Alyn Kristin AbbsHometown: Sturgis, MichiganCollege: Education and Human DevelopmentDegree/Major sought: PhD, Educational Psychology, emphasis in Special EducationResearch: Mothers’ Perceptions of Community Integration Opportunities for Their Children with Disabilities in Qatar: Interviews were conducted with 40 Qatari mothers of children with moderate to severe disabilities regarding their perceptions of opportunities for their children in the state of Qatar. Uncovering mothers’ perceptions

of interactions within the community, perhaps what is and what is not available, for their children was the primary focus of the inductive analysis of data from these interviews. The purpose of this study was intended to impact the availability of opportunities within the community for persons with disabilities, according to the culture, as interpretations were made from qualitative interviews by a non-native researcher. This research was intended to help others understand the sharp awareness and knowledge and the keen perceptions of needs that a mother has of her child with a disability as a community member. PI Name: Patricia LynchFellowships/Awards: Fellow, Texas A&M University Graduate Teaching Academy, Texas A&M University Student Research Week, 1st Organization Memberships: Council for Exceptional Children; American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; TASH; Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education; Phi Beta Delta, Society for International ScholarsAdditional Information: 1 Publication; Internships: Researcher, University of Qatar, Doha, Qatar; Researcher, Shafallah Center, Doha, Qatar; Urban Intern: Special Education Teacher/General Education Teacher, Lansing School District, Lansing, MI; Intern in the offi ce of Lieutenant Governor of the State of Michigan: Dick Posthumus, State Capitol, Lansing, MI

Name: Christopher E. Cheleuitte-NievesHometown: Rio Grande, Puerto RicoCollege: Agriculture and Life SciencesDepartment: Ecosystem Science and ManagementDegree/Major sought: PhD, Ecosystem Science and ManagementResearch: My research is focused on cattle herd dynamics in semi-arid rangelands. Although many studies have explored important abiotic (e.g. slope, distance to water) and biotic (e.g. forage abundance and quality) factors that infl uence cattle movement, more

information is needed on the explicit spatio-temporal confi guration of a cattle herd during both active and rest periods. Objectives of this project are to: (1) Relate cattle activity (e.g. grazing, resting, traveling) from motion sensor data from GPS collars and improve methodology from previous research; (2) Determine the average spread of the herd using the center of gravity and establish its relationship to seasonal variation in temperature and precipitation, periods of the day and activity schedules. Positional and activity information of eleven free-ranging Bonsmara cows were obtained at fi ve minute intervals using GPS collars for eight trials of three weeks during a year in a 457 ha rangeland pasture in South Texas.PI name: X. Ben Wu and Humberto Perotto-BaldiviesoFellowships: Graduate Diversity Fellowship and Hispanic Leaders in Agriculture and the Environment (HLAE)Organization Memberships: Society for Range Management, Texas A&M University; Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, Texas A&M University; Hispanic Leaders in Agriculture and the Environment, Texas A&M University; AKKA SEEDS (ESA) Ecology Chapter at the University of Puerto Rico- Río Piedras; National Scholars Honor Society (Spring 2008) – National Society PresidentFellowships/Awards: Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Conference Delegation from Texas A&M University Travel Grant; Master’s Student of the Year – Ecosystem Science and Management Department, Texas A&M University; Hispanic Leaders in Agriculture and the Environment – Texas A&M University Graduate Research Fellowships; Graduate Diversity Fellowship Additional Information: Publications: 1 submitted, 1 in preparation

Name: M. Coral BowmanHometown: Portland, TXCollege: Agriculture and Life SciencesDepartment: Animal Science- Equine SectionDegree/Major sought: PhD, Physiology of ReproductionResearch: My Masters research (also at TAMU) examined the relationship between changes in body temperature and ovulation in mature cycling mares to determine if these fl uctuations could be

used to predict ovulation. Currently, my doctoral research is focused on investigating the effect of exercise-induced stress on ovarian activity and reproductive hormones in mature mares.PI name: Martha VogelsangAwards/Fellowships: 2008 TAMU Association of Former Students Distinguished Graduate Student Award—Teaching, American Petroleum Institute Scholarship, TAMU Academic Excellence Award, Interdisciplinary Faculty of Reproductive Biology Travel Grant, Charles John Koerth Sr. Memorial Scholarship, Graduate Student Research and Presentation Grant, First United Methodist Church General Scholarship Organization Memberships: Equine Science Society, Gamma Sigma Delta (alumni), Alpha Zeta (alumni), TAMU SCUBA Club (alumni, past President and Vice President)Additional Information: 3 publications, Offi ce of Graduate Studies and Offi ce of Undergraduate Research Mentoring Undergraduates in Research (panelist)

Name: Heather KissackHometown: Bartlesville, OKCollege: Education and Human DevelopmentDepartment: Educational Administration and Human Resource DevelopmentDegree/Major sought: PhD, Human Resource DevelopmentResearch: Research interests include the infl uence of organizational culture and culture change in sustaining and transforming organizational practices, critical issues in HRD, the infl uence

of psychological theories and micro-organizational behavior on organizational-level actions, the perceptions and intentions of workplace incivilityPI Name: Jamie Callahan Fellowships and Awards: Regents’ Graduate Fellowship, Emily and Eldridge Lowe Scholarship, Texas Public Education Grant, Texas Aggie Graduate ScholarshipOrganization Memberships: Academy of Human Resource Development, Society for Human Resource Management, Kappa Delta Pi, Phi MuAdditional Information: Two refereed conference presentations; two summer internships with Hill College; project manager of an online course conversion grant


Graduate Student Profi lesName: Joshua M. SwiftHometown: Erie, PACollege: Education and Human DevelopmentDepartment: Health and KinesiologyDegree/Major sought: PhD, Exercise PhysiologyResearch: Current investigations are based on mitigating weight-bearing skeletal losses associated with long-duration microgravity and lunar gravity using rodent hindlimb unloading (HU) and partial gravity models. More directly, a combination of bisphosphonate and high-frequency

resistance exercise paradigms are being investigated as countermeasures to cancellous bone loss experienced during HU. Additionally, we are investigations examine the role that altered blood fl ow, via sympathetic nervous activity, plays in mediating HU-associated hindlimb bone loss. Furthermore, our lab is investigating the effects of administering a beta-adrenergic receptor agonist during HU on femoral artery blood fl ow, osteoblast and osteocyte apoptosis, and beta-adrenergic receptor activity within hindlimb bone. Together these studies will help elucidate the mechanism/s responsible for HU-associated bone loss and develop more precise countermeasures for attenuating these reductions.PI name: Susan Bloomfi eldFellowship/Awards: National Space Biomedical Research Institute Fellow, Texas A&M University FellowshipOrganization Memberships: The American College of Sports Medicine, Texas Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine, The American Physiological Society, The American Society for Bone and Mineral ResearchAdditional Information: 14 published abstracts; 1 published manuscript; 3 manuscripts in preparation; two summer internships at NASA/Johnson Space Center, including one 6-week internship assessing: 1) role of individual nutrient and energy restriction during exercise on urine acid-base balance and bone metabolism and 2) effects of 21-day bed rest and anti-gravity on copper and zinc balance.

Name: John A. TagleHometown: Pharr, TXCollege: Agriculture and Life SciencesDepartment: Biological and Agricultural EngineeringDegree/Major sought: PhD, Water Management and Hydrological SciencesResearch: A major problem affecting water quality is excess loading of nutrients in water. The sources of contamination are many and must be addressed individually. Some of the common point source contamination

comes from agricultural runoff, nutrients percolating into ground water, or effl uent from treated waste water. Excess nutrient loading poses a risk to the environment and is costly to remediate. The objective of the research is to fi nd innovative ways of reducing nutrients reaching our water resources. Through the use of molecular genetics tools we hope to achieve higher nutrient uptake by improving the capacity of microorganisms directly involved in this chemical process.PI name: R. KarthikeyanAwards/Fellowship: National Action Council on Minorities in Engineering, Sloan Research Foundation, Hispanic Leaders in Agriculture and the Environment, Pathways to Doctorate, USDA Hispanic Serving Institutions, Citrus Center Steidinger ScholarshipOrganization Memberships: Hispanic Leaders in Agriculture and the EnvironmentAdditional Information: Laboratory instructor for 5 semesters, Citrus Center internship

Name: Elisabeth Good VichayaHometown: College Station, TXCollege: Liberal ArtsDepartment: PsychologyDegree/Major sought: PhD, Behavioral and Cellular NeuroscienceResearch: Within Dr. Mary Meagher’s psychoneuroimmunology laboratory we seek to understand the relationship between stress and health. Research from our lab has shown that prior exposure

to social stress can exacerbate animal models of multiple sclerosis and infl ammatory pain. Furthermore, our research suggests that these exacerbations are mediated by proinfl ammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6. Given that it has been suggested that glial cells, the non-neural cell populations in the central nervous system (CNS), can modulate infl ammatory processes, my research seeks to elucidate the role of these cells in CNS infl ammation. To date we have shown that inhibiting glial cells in the spinal cord can attenuate infl ammation-induced spinal learning defi cits. Currently we are examining whether glial cells also modulate stress-induced exacerbations of experimentally induced CNS infl ammation. PI name: Mary W. MeagherFellowship: Recovery of Function Training Grant, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Texas A&M University Graduate Student Research GrantOrganization Memberships: Society for Neuroscience (SfN), Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society (PNIRS), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Additional Information: 5 co-authorship publications; Distinguished Graduate Student Award from Association of Former Students at Texas A&M University; member of the Academic Master Plan Research Roadmap Committee

Name: Christopher WestgateHometown: Southold, NYCollege: Liberal ArtsDepartment: CommunicationDegree/ Major sought: PhD, Media StudiesResearch: Social theories of communication, material culture and the performing arts; critical studies of Latino media, literary journalism and collective memory; cultural histories of photography, popular music and recording

technology. As a humanist, Westgate studies Latino media institutions, texts, and audiences. He is particularly interested in acts of cultural commerce between Mexico and the U.S. including, but not limited to: resistant radio broadcasts and music texts, power dynamics between computers and communities, digitized realities of sight and sound contained in typographic or photographic imaginaries, producers of industry, circulators of identity and consumers of policy. Westgate has nearly fi fteen years of experience in the radio industry, and has served in various management and on-air capacities at commercial and non-commercial stations. He currently trains new announcers and hosts his own show at KEOS.PI Name: Eric RothenbuhlerFellowship: Texas A & M, Association of Former Students Academic Excellence Scholarship; Texas A & M, Graduate Research Grant Recipient, Dept. of Communication; Texas A & M, Graduate Research Assistantship, Dept. of Communication, Mexico City, Mexico; Texas A & M, Graduate Stipendiary Fellow, Glasscock Center for Humanities Research; Texas A & M, Graduate Teaching and Research Assistantship; Texas A & M University, Regents FellowshipOrganization Memberships: International Communication Association; National Communication Association; Association for Education, Journalism, and Mass Communication; Cultural Studies Association (U.S.) & Association for Cultural Studies (International); International Association for the Study of Popular MusicAdditional Information: 3 Publications


Graduate Student Perspectives: Sea Aggies in College StationBy Shaya Seward ’08, Masters student in Chemical Oceanography

On Wednesday, September 10, Texas A&M University- Galveston closed and that night I evacuated Galveston to Stephenville, TX with two friends, a cat, and my great dane. I stayed in Stephenville till the following Thursday watching the stories of Hurricane Ike on the news, hoping and praying that it wouldn’t be as bad as projected. On Thursday me and the two other evacuees drove to Galveston with a West Point cadet in tow to try to get us on the island. We encountered roadblocks, but when the guards saw a man in ACU’s, they just waved us on. We spent two hours on island (because of curfew) and two of us were able to get into our homes.

When we fi rst arrived at my apartment, we noticed someone had tried to break in with a crowbar and part of the door frame was missing. The only reason the thief couldn’t get in was because furniture had fallen in front of the door. The pastor from my church in Galveston helped us get in by body slamming the door. My apartment had 2 ½ feet of water in it, so everything on the ground was destroyed. Mold had already started to coat the walls and fl oor. I had just enough time to grab some clothes and living essentials. Before leaving, my pastor had to rebuild the door frame with wood and nails so the door could be locked. Next we checked on my vehicle. The entire cabin had been fl ooded with water; it was totaled.

We then left town and headed to College Station where we spent the night on couches at friends’ apartments. The next night I spent at another graduate student’s house and the following day (Saturday) I moved into a hotel, where I lived until Thursday. Then I left my dog back at the student’s house while I spent Thursday through Sunday in Galveston meeting with my insurance representative and clearing out my

apartment. During that time, I was living in a house with people from my church with no electricity and no potable running water. We were camping indoors. Four of the church disaster relief volunteers came to

my home on Saturday and helped me go through the wreckage and throw all the trashed items away. Whatever could possibly be salvaged was placed on plastic in the middle of rooms to be picked up the following Saturday. Sunday I headed back to College Station and my dog and I moved in with a different graduate student and her husband, where I have been living ever since. Hurricane Ike caused a crazy whirlwind of events in many peoples’ lives. Those students affected were forced to uproot their lives and move, some leaving everything they knew and owned behind.

I lived in Galveston for 4 ½ years, and now I don’t want to go back. There was so much devastation; the town we knew will never be

the same. For the most part, I have enjoyed my time thus far in College Station. I am unable to work on most of my research for the rest of the semester, but that frees my time to fi nish insurance claims and go through the items that were salvaged. This experience has shown me that I am a lot stronger than I thought I was. You never know what you are capable of until you are forced to be better and stronger. Also, whether they are friends or complete strangers, there are lots of caring people out there that are willing to help those in need. To the people who helped me go through my mold infested apartment to those that opened their doors to me and my dog to those that have been carting me around since arriving in College Station, thank you for your kindness. You have helped me more than you realize and have made it easier on me to start over with this new chapter in my life.

Shaya (center) with two other evacuees, with Shaya’s dog and a cat that they rescued.

Spring 2009 EventsBy Stefanie Stefancic, Coordinator, Adult, Graduate & Off-Campus Student Services

Howdy Grads!

Hopefully you had the opportunity to attend one or more of the Fall 2008 Graduate Student Mix and Mingles. This year the Graduate Student Council (GSC) and Adult, Graduate Off Campus Student Services (AGOSS) paired with other departments to offer a wide array of programming and outreach for graduate students. These events were divided into fi ve categories – as an effort to offer a plethora of options to meet the busy needs of our graduate student body.

Graduate Student Recreation is designed to create a well balanced graduate student by offering a verity of group exercise classes at no additional cost to the student. This fall we had courses on contemporary dance, yoga, and Pilates. In the spring we hope to offer sections of yoga, Pilates, and Thai Chi.

Graduate Student Seminars are designed to aid graduate students in identifying information outside of their academic studies that may enhance their Texas A&M experience. The fall 2008 semester’s seminars covered a wide range of topics from personal growth/development to fi nancial management. In most cases all seminars were offered free of charge to students. For the spring 2009 semester the following seminars are being coordinated:

• Financial “Cents” - learning how to manage your money now and plan for the future.

• Is Buying a Home Right for me? – determine if a fi ve to seven year investment as a fi rst time home buyer would be more benefi cial for you then paying rent.

• Nutrition – the value in eating right. – learn how to eat healthy on a budget, plan for the nutrients that feed your brain and much more.

• Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective Grad Students• Leading with your Strengths

Graduate Student Socials are an opportunity for students to get out and get connect with other graduate students. Several socials are scheduled around Texas A&M Traditions. The Traditions socials focus on the associated A&M Tradition and bring both information/history and the opportunity to experience the activity with other graduate students. Non-Tradition socials are an opportunity for grads to come together and connect with each other, to distress and take their minds off research, teaching, and class work. Spring 2009 socials in the works include:

• Family Picnic• A Night at the Movies• Wine Tasting

Graduate Student Workshops are short courses designed to aid graduate students in their academic pursuits. They cover areas from writing for your dissertation, to understanding job searching as an international student. More information about workshops will be available as in early January.

While we are waiting to fi rm up the spring 2009 Graduate Student Mix and Mingle Semester, keep a look out for the spring mailer. This mailer will contain all the information you need to set your spring activities calendar. Some seminars, socials and workshops require a preregistration due to space limitations – make sure to register early to guarantee a spot in events you want to attend.

2007 Graduate Student Wine Tasting


By Kathy DiSanto, Communications Specialist, Offi ce of the Vice President for Student Affairs

TAMU graduate student Bonnie Bustos had a plan when she entered UT-Pan American, a plan that would one day allow her to tack “M.D.” onto her name. With an English major and a Biology minor, not to mention summer internships at the UT Medical Center in Galveston, that plan seemed absolutely on track. Well, maybe not absolutely. It seems the more exposure the Laredo native got to the actual practice of medicine, the less attracted to it she felt. When the time came for her to write the personal statement that would accompany her applications to medical school, the fi re of enthusiasm had all but died. Says Bonnie, “The advisor helping me with my statement kept asking me to rewrite it, but the more I worked on it, the more I realized the passion just wasn’t there anymore. That’s when I started to ask myself if medicine was the right choice for me. It wasn’t.” About that same time, the UT-Pan Am Dean of Students asked Bonnie, “Have you ever thought about a career in Student Affairs?”

To which she replied, “Student Affairs? What’s that?”

She laughs as she remembers that conversation. She had, after all, spent the last three-plus years neck deep in Student Affairs. She just hadn’t known it.

“I was very involved as an undergraduate,” she explains. “That was unusual at a commuter school like ours. “

You don’t have to talk long with Bonnie to realize very involved is something of an understatement. She worked in Career Services, served as both an RA and a TA, and was active in student government and her multicultural sorority, Delta Xi Nu. Far from deterring her, the fact that few of her fellow students were that involved struck Bonnie as a challenge; she worked hard to motivate others to get involved. Working closely with advisors, she helped develop a number of leadership conferences. The school spirit initiative she designed as her senior project continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

Still, she had no idea she “could do this for a living,” not until the Dean suggested she look into a graduate program in Student Affairs. It would, he said, ground her in the theories underpinning the activities she had been involved in for years.

“Really? There are theories?”He assured her there were and steered her into a Higher

Education Leadership Program designed to mentor juniors and seniors

looking for graduate degrees and careers in the fi eld. As part of that program, Bonnie spent a year examining various graduate schools. She fi nally decided to apply for Texas A&M’s Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education (SAAHE) program, housed in the College of Education and Human Development.

Why A&M? Well, there were a number of reasons. Like most graduate students, Bonnie found fi nances one of the most challenging

aspects of post-graduate study. (It takes courage to give up a full-time job, even if you do it to pursue a dream!) The fact that most SAAHE students are guaranteed an assistantship to help cover tuition was a defi nite plus. But as signifi cant as fi nancial considerations were, the program offered Bonnie something even more important: the chance to study student development and immediate opportunities to put theory into practice. Of course if you ask her, Bonnie will tell you the decisive factor was the simple fact that no school in Texas does Student Affairs as well as Texas A&M.

As a member of this fall’s SAAHE cohort—a cohort being 12–15 full-time students who enter each fall and progress through the program together—Bonnie has made a good start on the required 42 credit hours of coursework. (The master of science/master of education

degree in educational administration program also requires two semesters of comprehensive practica, 150 clock hours each.) Furthermore, as a GA in the Offi ce of the Vice President for Student Affairs, she’s gained a foundation for her coursework, “a good overview of how things work.” Among other things, her duties include sitting in on budget presentations to the Student Service Fee Advisory Board, a process she describes as invaluable when it comes to learning the ins and outs of various departments.

Needless to say, these days Bonnie’s ideal future job description revolves around college students and leadership development, preferably at a small state school.

“I’m not talking about leadership development for the student who’s already involved”, she says, “but for the average student.”

With that goal in mind, she studies hard and tries not to feel too guilty when she takes an hour off to watch TV with cats Stumpy, Alice, and Barbie. Finding time outside academics is a challenge, but keeping those future students fi rmly in mind, Bonnie Bustos presses on.

For detailed information on Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education (SAAHE) Program, please visit http://eahr.tamu.edu/articles/student_affairs_administration.

GSC at the National Association of Graduate and Professional Students Annual Conference

Really? There are Theories?

By Lauren Hulsman, Vice President for Information

Howdy Grads! It was my distinct honor and pleasure to represent Texas A&M and the Graduate Student Council at the 22nd Annual Conference of the National Association of Graduate- Professional Students (NAGPS) that was held from October 29 to November 2, 2008. Universities from all over the United States were present to discuss issues related to graduate and professional students, including discussion and adoption of NAGPS legislative platform and sharing ideas or concerns related to graduate student organizations. The conference was held on the campus of the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and organized by both the Board of Directors for NAGPS and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly of UM.

A signifi cant amount happened in just a few short days. In a nutshell, representatives were able to attend various workshops covering issues or needs for graduate student organizations. In the business meetings, representatives elected new board members, accepted/adopted issues that different committees worked on over the past year, and discussed/adopted the legislative platform that NAGPS will follow for the next year (see below). To cap the conference off, a gala awards

dinner was held at the campus’ Weisman Art Museum with entertainment by Jeff Havens. If you would like more information on the workshops I attended or documents adopted, please visit Graduate Student Council’s website at http://gsc.tamu.edu and click on the link for 22nd Annual NAGPS Conference Highlights.

Thanks and Gig’em Ags!About NAGPS: The National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS) is a national organization representing over 350,000 students from over 70 major universities across the United States and Puerto Rico. NAGPS strives to provide resources for graduate student associations, to directly assist students and to advocate

on their behalf at the state and national levels. For more information on NAGPS, please visit http://www.nagps.org/.

Bonnie Bustos

Lauren at the NAGPS Annual Conference at the University of Minnesota.


Fall 2008 in Pictures

The Nth Degree is a publication of the Graduate Student Council at Texas A&M University. Questions and feedback may be sent to: [email protected]

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