STEM Seminar Spring 2023 - Class Activities

Mon May 8 - 2:00-4:30 Final Conference


Fri Apr 28 - Last Class Guest Speaker
Cybersecurity, Dr. Mir Pritom, Department of Computer Science, App State

Fri Apr 21 - Leadership Workshops
Dr. Jim Street

Fri Apr 14 - Guest Speaker - Sharing an Experience
Dr. Parisa Tashakkori, Pediatric Dentist, Boone, NC (Chemistry Alumni, Former STEP Chemistry Scholar, S-STEM Alumni Mentor)
Dr. Parisa Tashakkori grew up in Boone, North Carolina. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Biology from Appalachian State University. She then moved to Greenville, North Carolina, where she attended East Carolina School of Dental Medicine and upon graduation was inducted into the Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honor Society as well as presented with the Academy of Dentistry International Student Servant Leadership Award. While in dental school, Dr. Tashakkori was involved in many leadership and service groups such as dental student government, academy of pediatric dentistry, and interprofessional health science leadership council, to name a few. After graduating from dental school Dr. Tashakkori moved to Durham, North Carolina, where she was a member of the Academy of General Dentistry and worked in private practice for a few years where her passion for pediatric dentistry grew. She decided to pursue a specialty in pediatric dentistry at Bon Secours St. Mary's Hospital Pediatric Dentistry Residency in Richmond, Virginia, where she trained in hospital and community dentistry treating a diverse patient group with a wide range of dental and medical healthcare needs.

Fri Apr 7 - Easter Holiday

Fri Mar 31 - Guest Speaker
Dr. Scott Marshall, Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences, App State

Fri Mar 24 - Leadership Workshop
Dr. Jim Street

Fri Mar 17 - Spring Break

Fri Mar 10 - Guest Speaker
Dr. Roshani Silwal, Department of Physics and Astronomy, App State
Title: ION TRAPS AND THEIR MARVELS!
Ions are present in hot fusion and astrophysical systems such as active galactic nuclei, supernova remnants, and solar flares, and make up more than 95 % of the universe. Our earth, on the other hand, consists mainly of neutral atoms with less than 0.1% ions. Luckily, we can produce and trap these ions using small-scale “Ion Traps” allowing us to create and study the sun-like atmosphere inside our labs. Since their invention over three decades ago, a variety of ion traps; “Penning Traps” and “Paul/RF traps” have been developed and utilized in studies relevant to atomic and nuclear physics, astrophysics, fusion, medicine, and more. Several unknown spectral features present in the sun and stars, detected by x-ray telescopes were identified using ion traps. Other applications include precision spectroscopy, metrology, mass spectrometry, surface-science studies, and quantum computing. I’ll introduce various ion trap facilities that I have worked on and present some of the exciting science that can be explored with ion traps.

Fri Mar 3 - Guest Speaker
Dr. Maggie Sugg, Department of Geography and Planning, App State

Fri Feb 24 - Guest Speaker
Title: Data and Data Visulization in the AppMAIS Project
The Appalachian Multi-purpose Apiary Informatics System (AppMAIS) was created with a $1.1 million grant through the University of North Carolina System’s Research Opportunities Initiative in 2022. This is a joint project between App State CS and Biology and Biochemistry at UNCC. We have created a project that will allow us to acquire, analyze, and disseminate honey bee data that are collected from 24 hives in Watauag and three neighboring counties. The vast amount of datai, makes observations and analaysis of all the data impossible. We reply on some visualization tools to visualize the data and learn from them.

Dr. Rahman Tashakkori, Computer Science, App State


Fri Feb 17 - Leadership Workshop
Dr. Jim Street

Fri Feb 10 - Guest Speaker
Dr. James Sherman, Physics and Astronomy, App State
Title: Changes in Atmospheric Aerosols in the Background Southeastern U.S.-Implications for Regional Climate and Air Quality
Abstract: Atmospheric aerosols are small, suspended particles and are often observed as haze, dust, and smoke. They modify climate directly by scattering and absorbing sunlight and indirectly by serving as seeds for cloud droplets. Aerosol direct and indirect effects on earth's radiation budget are the largest uncertainties in climate models, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 6; 2021). High summertime aerosol loading is also believed to have contributed to lack of warming in the SE U.S. during the 20th century. The AppalAIR facilities at APP State are home to the only active collocated NOAA Federated Aerosol Network, NASA Aerosol Robotic Network, and NASA Micro-pulsed Lidar Network sites in the U.S., with continuous measurements dating back to 2009. The APP sites are the only comparable sites relying completely on students for supporting site operations (70 undergraduate and MS students since 2009). This talk summarizes changing aerosol loading and properties, in the context of changing regional air quality. Amendments to the Clean Air Act have led to drastic reductions in SO2 emissions from eastern U.S. coal plants, which has contributed to improved air quality. However, the impacts on atmospheric chemistry and climate are still not fully understood. The APP sites are playing a leading role in answering some of these questions and creating opportunities for the next generation of climate scientists.

Fri Feb 3 - Career Development Workshop
Laura Pell, Assistant Director/Career Coach, College of Arts and Sciences, App State

Fri Jan 27 - Leadership Workshop
Dr. Jim Street

Fri Jan 20 - First Day
Introducing new scholars.
Building the teams
Plan for the semester.

Study Halls
Logan Richardson manages all the Study Halls
Dr. Tashakkori - How is your shinny rock doing?