CASNewsletterFall2020

FACULTY Research and Publications DR. GUANGWEI DING, Associate Professor of Chemistry, collaborated on two articles published this year: “MODIS‐Derived Estimation of Soil Respiration within Five Cold Temperate Coniferous Forest Sites in the Eastern Loess Plateau, China,” co-authored with Junxia Yan, Qi Sun, Junjian Li, and Hongjian Li, was published in the journal Forests , and “Soil Aggregates Stability and Storage of Soil Organic Carbon Respond to Cropping Systems on Black Soils of Northeast China,” co- authored with Xiaobing Liu Ma, Yingxue Zhu, Jizhou Zhang, Xiannan Zeng, Jie Wang, and Weiling Du, was published in Scientific Reports . DR. AMY DOLAN, Assistant Professor of Biology, published an article entitled “Population Decline of a Long-distance Migratory Passerine at the Edge of its Range: Nest Predation, Nest Replacement, and Immigration.” The article, co-authored with M. Murphy, L. Redmond, N. Cooper, C. Chutter and S. Cancellieri, was published in the Journal of Avian Biology . DR. ALYSSA KIESOW, Professor of Biology, presented a paper entitled “A Statewide Policy-driven Approach to Gender Equity” at the Conference of the Association for American Society for Engineering Education. The paper was written in collaboration with A. E. Surovek, A. L. Liebl, M. Emery, P. F. Rowland, and C. Anderson. DR. GINNY LEWIS, Professor of German, published a translation of Heinrich Neuwirt’s autobiographical manuscript “Die Flucht aus der roten Hölle” (“Flight from the Red Hell”). The manuscript, housed in the NSU Williams Library, documents Neuwirt’s traumatizing experiences under Lenin and Stalin in the Volga German Republic and recounts his experiences with the famines in the early 20s, collectivization of Russian-German farms, imprisonment, slave labor, and military service as a penal soldier on the Russian front. In addition to translating, Dr. Lewis wrote the introduction to the work, which was published by Peter Lang. DR. PAMELA MONAGHAN- GEERNAERT, Assistant Professor of Sociology, published a chapter entitled “Home Health Caregivers—Paid Family or Something Else?” in the book Advances in Gender Research , edited by V. Demos and M. Segal. The book was published by Emerald Press. DR. JODIE RAMSAY, Professor of Biology, co-authored a textbook entitled Environmental Biology . Written in collaboration with Julie Schorer, the book is an overview of environmental concepts for non-majors. It was published by Kendall Hunt. Several faculty members are expanding their research endeavors through sabbatical leaves or CAS research awards. Faculty pursuing scholarly activities through sabbatical leaves granted by the university include DRS. LYSBETH BENKERT-RASMUSSEN, RICARDO ROJAS, and COURTNEY WAID-LINDBERG.  Through a CAS research award, faculty can put forth efforts to strengthen scholarship in their fields. Faculty granted a CAS research award include DRS. PETER RAMEY, KRISTI BROWNFIELD, and JOHN LONG. A: In all honesty, I only participated in the internship for one week during the pandemic since the program was cut short, but even so, my Northern science classes helped me to be curious and ask questions about the virus. A lot of my time in the lab was spent talking to the other techs about what they knew about coronavirus and the testing procedures that were in place for it. Classes like Immunology taught me to think about not only how the virus was exploiting human cells, but also the epidemiology of the disease, how it was able to spread so quickly and stay undetected. Additionally, the high expectations and heavy workload of Northern classes prepared me to be an efficient lab technician, as I had three years to hone my time management and prioritization skills. Working in a lab during a pandemic definitely required a bit of gusto and the ability to handle a lot of new information in a short amount of time while managing the influx of samples. Q: What advice/insight do you have for students who might be considering a career in MLS? A: My advice for students considering an MLS career is to invest in it. Even if you are considering further schooling in medicine, for example, medical school or PA school, this career is a great starting point. I did not realize the breadth of the field or how much it relates to medicine until I started the MLS classes. Knowing how to interpret test results and solve discrepancies is going to play a major role in my future career as a PA. The lab is the heart of the medical field: without it, doctors would not be able to properly dose medications, identify specific pathogens causing disease, or evaluate cancer treatments. Being an MLS is a perfect opportunity to have a job where you go home at night and can say, “I saved someone’s life today.” COVID-19 PERSPECTIVES: Internship in the Time of the Pandemic, continued… DR. SUSAN CITRAK, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, joined the faculty at Northern in 2020. She grew up in the Northern California Bay Area, and has spent the last 26 years in San Francisco before moving to Aberdeen, SD. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Mills College in Oakland, CA, and then went on to the University of California, Santa Cruz for her doctoral work. At Mills she conducted undergraduate research in physical organic chemistry, studying unimolecular solvolysis reactions involving carbocationic intermediates in ionic liquid solvent systems. During her tenure at UCSC, she moved into inorganic materials chemistry and studied the exchange capabilities, structure, stability and anion properties of metal-organic coordination polymers, as well as ionothermal synthesis of metal-substituted aluminophosphate molecular sieves for potential use in catalysis. Dr. Citrak has particular interest and passion for environmental remediation, and believes that inorganic materials can play a key role in this endeavor. Outside of the lab and the classroom, Dr. Citrak has a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is a novice but excited gardener, a fisherwoman, and a video-game enthusiast. She moved to Aberdeen with her wonderfully supportive husband, Joshua and two energetic boys, Francis and Dashiell. DR. CHRISTOPHER NEAR, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, joined Northern State University in 2020. He taught previously at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Near will be integral to the criminal justice program, teaching New faculty and staff