December 8, 2000

Faculty members are involved in scholarly research

Several faculty members in the sciences are involved in fascinating research. Listed below is a brief explanation of these endeavors.

Biology

Patricia Dorn "Southern exposure, linking biotechnology with public health") is developing genetic markers to identify disease-causing strains of the parasite that causes Chagas Disease in Guatemala. Dorn is coupling molecular genetic methods (to identify disease-causing vectors) with public health approaches in the field by working with and training Guatemalan researchers and public health workers on use of genomic technologies.

Craig Hood "Geometry Meets Biology, the shape of life" studies how the sizes and shapes of organisms change as they grow and how those biological forms evolve. His methods combine geometry, video technology, computers and organisms (from embryos to adults) to describe how the shapes of organisms differ and to explore why.

Frank Jordan "It's all a matter of (ecological) scale" monitors the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems in the Florida Everglades to understand how water, people, and organisms interact at different spatial scales. Research links engineering technologies and statistics with ecology, with impacts on both basic ecological science and public concerns (ecological function and stability in Florida Everglades).

Maureen Shuh "Model microbes and cancer" uses molecular genetic methods to study viruses as a model system for understanding how leukemic cancers become established. This approach uses biotechnology to understand the basic science that underlies cancer.

Robert Thomas "Can Environmentalists and Industrialists Ever Agree?" chaired professor in Environmental Communications, has started the Institute for Environmental Communications and pulls together CEOs from chemical manufacturers and activists and representatives from environmental organizations to dialogue about the issues of sustaining industrial needs and meeting environmental goals.

David White "Creating Terra firma" studies formation of new land and vegetation in the Mississippi River Delta using laser transects and sedimentation measurement. Research links engineering technologies with ecology, with impacts on basic science and public concerns (wetland loss).

Chemistry

Kurt Birdwhistell's Inorganic Chemistry research involves the synthesis of novel organo-metallic compounds containing the metal vanadium. These molecules are interesting to chemists due to their ability to catalyze chemical reactions both in biological systems and in industrial processing.

Thom Spence (Physical Chemistry) is currently constructing a laser-based spectrometer employing the cavity ring-down technique. Spence has been involved in the development of this new technology that has proven to be extremely sensitive in the detection of gasses. The resulting spectrometer will be used at Loyola to examine chemistry occurring in the upper atmosphere.

Bill Walkenhorst's (Biochemistry) research involves examination of the structure and stability of proteins, the building blocks of life. Walkenhorst employs spectroscopic techniques including nuclear magnetic resonance imaging to examine how the chemical composition of proteins affects their ability to literally "fold" into conformations that are chemically active in biological systems.