Published!

Entering college, most students are unsure about things like the right major, career path, and what they want to do with their life. College is the journey that helps students discover who they are and what direction they want to take their life. Most students do not even consider things like getting published in a scientific Journal while still pursuing their undergraduate degree, but for Zackary Gregg and Waleed Ijaz it happened. Recently these two had their paper, “Complex Formation during SID and Its Effect on Proton Mobility”, published in The Journal Of Physical Chemistry Letters with their faculty member, Dr. George Barnes. Their undergraduate research has truly made an impact on their future.

Below is the abstract of their work. Full the full paper please visit: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jz402093q

Surface-induced dissociation (SID) of protonated peptides is a vibrant, active field of study. Significant focus has been placed on understanding the mechanism of dissociation, with most approaches using equilibrium thermodynamic arguments. Here, we explore the dynamics of SID using atomistic simulations. We find that it is common for complexes of peptide fragments to form following dissociation. An important consequence of complexation is that excess protons are not isolated following initial fragmentation and can participate in subsequent chemical reactions. Our work reveals an alternate mechanism for proton mobility that, to our knowledge, has not been previously observed in simulations.

School of Business Feature: Mary Hartwick '15

     Undergraduate research is more than case studies, experiments, and research; it is an experience. Mary Hartwick is continually reminded of this as she works closely with Dr. Paul Thurston researching the recent merge of Gilda’s Club and the American Cancer Society in the Capital Region. Mary is in the process of writing a case study, which she hopes to get published, about the merger of these two companies. Her case study will include the challenges nonprofits face with developing their sustainable revenue sources that help in their efforts to accomplish the mission of the organization. She hopes that her case study can be used by both students in strategic management classes as well as leaders of other nonprofit organizations. Previously, Mary worked on a different case with Dr. Thurston that studied Mother Myrick’s  Confectionary which has been accepted into the NACRA conference in Victoria, British Columbia this fall. To Mary, undergraduate research has been a learning experience. Throughout her experience she has learned how to conduct interviews, sift through archival data, take enormous amounts of information and write case studies out of it, and how to get case studies published. She also learned how to go through the proper channels in non-profit organizations to get the information she needs. According to Mary, “Undergraduate research is a valuable experience because it allows you to gain experience in a field that you might want to pursue after college and it allows you to gain connections in that field, or come into contact with people that can help you get to the field you want to be in”.

American Cancer Society photo is from www.dbqfoundation.org

Gilda's Club Photo is from: www.angelasbridal.net

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School of Liberal Arts Feature: Francis Butler '15

     This summer Francis Butler assisted Dr. Bruce Eelman, Associate Professor of History, on his book project concerning mob violence in response to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. After Lincoln was assassinated, riots occurred throughout the nation as supporters of Lincoln sought to punish those who spoke out against the former President during the war or those who celebrated his assassination. The team researched where they happened, who was involved, and what other reasons provoked the riots. Francis hopes to continue his research with Dr. Eelman during the school year and thinks they could have a paper written in time for the New York State Historical Association (NYSHA) conference in 2014. Francis finds the research process to be rewarding because it allows him to explore and ask and answer his own questions about the American Civil War in a hands-on way. In his research he was able to deeply investigate the lives of the people in which he was studying. Francis discovered that finding a reliable source is a challenge while completing historical research. He occasionally had to research the author of the newspaper article he was reading to decipher the bias behind the article. Francis recently presented in the 2013 NYSHA Conference with his paper titled “To Bleed for a Higher Cause: The Excelsior Brigade and the Civil War.”

 Lincoln Assassination Picture from commons.wikimedia.org

     He found it to be a great experience because he was able to collaborate with several prominent scholars in the field of the Civil War Era Studies. He also made connections with scholars who agreed to help him as he undertakes his capstone experience. When speaking of his undergraduate research experience Francis said, “It allowed me to actually do what historians do and experience learning in a dynamic and unique way where I had agency over my work. I think that if more Siena students participated in undergraduate research it would allow them to develop their skills as research and thinkers and enable them to begin working in their desired field before graduation. I think this experience will be invaluable for me as I go on to graduate school and my career after graduation.”

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Accepted for Publication: Francesca Romano '14

     In the summer of 2012, I participated in the Summer Scholars Program at Siena working as a research assistant for Dr. Bannon.  Our project examined the results of Dr. David Vella’s article, “Explicit Formulas for Bernoulli and Euler Numbers,” and extended the formulas in Vella’s article to the multivariable setting. At the end of the project, I wrote an article reporting the results of my summer research, titled “More Explicit Formulas for Bernoulli and Euler Numbers,” which was recently accepted for publication to Involve, a refereed journal of mathematics.

     This past summer, I participated in the Summer Mathematics Institute at Cornell University. I spent eight weeks at Cornell taking an advanced undergraduate course in abstract algebra, participating in daily project sessions geared towards encouraging mathematics research, and attending daily lectures from guest speakers. I was able to meet and talk with the guest speakers over dinner, many of whom are well-known in the mathematics community. The SMI program gave me the opportunity to network with professionals in my field, fine-tune my scientific writing skills, and experience the rigorous demands of graduate school.

-Francesca Romano '14

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School of Science Feature: Danielle Berish '14

     Undergraduate research has brought Danielle Berish experiences that she would not have otherwise had. During the Summer Danielle studied the decay of the top quark using the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) with Dr. Matthew Bellis. The LHC is the world’s largest particle accelerator that is located at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN). In the LHC, proton beams are accelerated to high energies and then collide at one of the four particle detectors located around the accelerator, like CMS.

     Danielle has been given the opportunity to be part of an analysis group that consists of undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctorals, and professors across New York. The goal of the group is to measure the likelihood that a top-antitop pair will result from a proton-proton collision. Danielle plans to present her research on campus at the Summer Scholars Research Symposium on September 27^th. She also hopes to present her research off campus at the April 2014 meeting of the American Physical Society. The analysis group Danielle is working with hopes to get a paper published when they are done with their research. Working with the group on a worldwide experiment, Danielle has learned many problem solving methods and material that she would have not learned in the classroom. It has also helped her discover what she wants to do after she graduates from Siena.

     Danielle believes that “students should pursue undergraduate research and creative activity because it is a great learning experience. There are several benefits to research and I strongly believe that it creates linkage to major field concepts, careers, graduate school and the like. It gives students the opportunity to see what is happening in their field first hand. It gives them an idea of what is out there after undergrad at Siena College and it gives them a chance to try out several things so that they can decide what they want to do.”

To see the full newsletter visit the CURCAnews Webpage.