Steam Talk

Welcome to a special mini-episode of STEAM Talk. The Special Education department at Illinois State University offers several fantastic specialty programs on campus for students to major in. One of these specialties is in low vision and blindness. We are joined today by two undergraduate students in this program who are here to talk about a recent collaborative project they completed as part of their curriculum for SED 365: Assistive Technology.

The Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology at Illinois State University is a multifaceted department that facilitates and empowers STEM education in many forms. Smart Grid for All is a project from CeMaST that provides hands-on learning opportunities for K-12 learners in the classroom. The grid construction sets are used to teach students about energy in an exciting and fun way.

SED:365 stepped in to help make the construction sets applicable for low vision learners! Listen to our interview to learn more about the ways that education can become accessible for all!

Resource Links:

* Special Education at Illinois State 

* Smart Grid for All

* CeMaST at ISU

 

Welcome back to our interview with Dr. Jan Dahl from Illinois State University’s School of Biological Sciences. We continue our discussion on Jan’s research, student collaboration, and implimenting a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) into his curriculum! Enjoy and subscribe to STEAM Talk today!

Resources Mentioned in Episode: 

School of Biological Sciences at Illinois State University: https://biology.illinoisstate.edu/ 

The Dahl Lab at Illinois State University: https://about.illinoisstate.edu/jdahl1/ 

Small World Initiative: http://www.smallworldinitiative.org/ 

High School Summer Research Academy: https://cemast.illinoisstate.edu/students/high-school/il-summer-research/ 

American Society for Microbiology https://asm.org/ 

Phi Sigma at Illinois State University https://biology.illinoisstate.edu/student-organizations/phi-sigma/#tabs-accord2 

Biology Sciences Student Association at Illinois State https://biology.illinoisstate.edu/student-organizations/biology-sciences-student-association/ 

Welcome to STEAM Talk, a show where we explore the amazing world of academic research on campus at Illinois State University through conversation. This episode is the first half of our interview with professor if Microbiology and Principal Investigator of the Dahl Lab, Dr. Jan-Ulrik Dahl. In this episode, Dr. Dahl tells us all about how he ended up at Illinois State University all the way from Germany. We ask him about his early interest in science, what it’s like to run a research lab, and his involvement on campus. Listen to learn more about Dr. Jan Dahl and microbiology at Illinois State University!

Links:

The Dahl Lab at Illinois State: https://about.illinoisstate.edu/jdahl1/

The School of Biological Sciences at Illinois State: https://biology.illinoisstate.edu/ 

Article about Dr. Dahl’s recent grant: https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2021/09/dr-jan-ulrik-dahl-awarded-nih-grant-to-study-resistant-bacteria/

 

STEAM Talk is a production of the Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology at Illinois State University. Learn more here: https://cemast.illinoisstate.edu/

 

Theme music for STEAM Talk is “Hope is Not Lost” by Jim Hall

Jim Hall’s album “Elsewhere” and more are available on bandcamp: https://soundcloud.com/synth-kid/sets/elsewhere 

Music featured in this episode is available on a playlist through Uppbeat* found here: https://uppbeat.io/playlist/61de2f1c4903c

*Music used in this episode comes from Uppbeat, a free music sharing platform for content creators. You can join for free to access 10 downloads per month. Alternate, paid plans are available on their website. Join Uppbeat for free by clicking our show’s referral link here: https://uppbeat.io?referral=steam-0zr51

 

Dr. Shawn Hitchcock, Part 2: Organic Chemistry 

Welcome back to our conversation with Dr. Shawn Hitchcock, professor of Organic Chemistry at Illinois State University and recipient of the Henry C. McBay Outstanding Teaching Award. To learn more about Dr. Hitchcock’s journey to Illinois State and his teaching award, check out part one of this interview. In this episode, we get to learn all about organic chemistry and Dr. Hitchcock’s research in molecular chirality. This conversation is all about the applicability of organic chemistry to viruses (like COVID-19) that affect our daily lives. If you are not familiar with the world of chemistry, have no fear! Dr. Hitchcock explains it all in a way that you’ll be able to understand. Whether you’ve taken a few different college-level chemistry classes (like Kara), or you barely passed your intro CHEM1000 course (like Courtney), you will be able to understand and learn something new!  

 

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to rate and subscribe to STEAMtalk wherever you’re listening. STEAMtalk is a production of the Center for Mathematics, Science and Technology (CeMaST) at Illinois State University. This showis hosted by CeMaST employee Kara and CeMaST Graduate Assistant Courtney. Learn more about CeMaST: https://cemast.illinoisstate.edu/ 

 

Links: 

Read more about Shawn: 

Dr. Shawn Hitchcock wins the NOBCChE Outstanding Teaching Award: https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2021/09/dr-shawn-hitchcock-wins-nobcche-outstanding-teaching-award/ 

Chemistry students find true mentor in research laboratory:https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2018/04/chemistry-students-find-true-mentor-research-laboratory/ 

STEM Alliance at Illinois State University: https://universitycollege.illinoisstate.edu/communities/stem-alliance/index.php 

Henry C. McBay Outstanding Teaching Award: https://www.nobcche.org/henry-c–mcbay-award 

Illinois State University Chem Club: https://chemistry.illinoisstate.edu/chemistry/rsos/

 Dr. Greg Ferrence: https://chemistry.illinoisstate.edu/faculty_staff/profile.php?ulid=gferren

 

Theme music for our show is “Hope is Not Lost” by Jim Hall from the album “Elsewhere”  

Available on bandcamp: https://soundcloud.com/synth-kid/sets/elsewhere 

All other songs played during this episode were obtained from: Upbeat https://uppbeat.io/ 

List of tracks in order of appearance: 

“Sunny” by Hartzmann 

“How Wonderful” by Cutesy Chamber 

“Lucidity” by Winsanga 

“Check it Out” by Mountineer 

“All the Things You Love” by Soundroll 

“Camping” by Cruen 

“Triumph” by All Good 

Welcome to another episode of STEAMtalk, in this two part conversation series, we invite Dr. Shawn Hitchcock to take us on a journey through his life leading up to his position at Illinois State University, his recent award for teaching, and the importance of mentorship.

Dr. Hitchcock is a professor of organic chemistry at Illinois State University. For more information on Illinois State University and the chemistry program click here: https://chemistry.illinoisstate.edu/

Article referenced in episode: https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2021/09/dr-shawn-hitchcock-wins-nobcche-outstanding-teaching-award/

STEM Alliance at Illinois State University: https://universitycollege.illinoisstate.edu/communities/stem-alliance/index.php

More information about the Henry C. McBay Outstanding Teaching Award: https://www.nobcche.org/henry-c–mcbay-award

 

 

 

Hello STEAMTalk listeners! Welcome to the first ever “mini-sode” (mini-episode) of STEAMTalk. This short interview features friend of the show Dr. Gina Hunter of the Office of Student Research at Illinois State University. This interview focuses on current opportunities for undergraduate student researchers at Illinois State and explains how to get involved! The perfect episode for anyone interested in doing research at the undergrad level at Illinois State!

Here are some links to resources mentioned in the episode:

Office of Student Research at Illinois State University: https://studentresearch.illinoisstate.edu/ 

Follow link to find page where you can schedule an appointment with Dr. Gina Hunter or Grad Assistant Sam Bruner: https://studentresearch.illinoisstate.edu/about/ 

Grants and Funding: https://studentresearch.illinoisstate.edu/funding/ 

Welcome to our fifth and final episode of our series on the Image of Research Contest at Illinois State University. We are so honored to be sitting down to talk with one of the first place winners of the contest, Sargylana Cherepanova!

Lana is a graduate student in the Wonsook Kim School of Fine Art. She is working on her MFA in painting, and works with software to create non-video game art pieces. Lana is from an artic city called Yakustk, which is known for being one of the coldest places in the world! Her culture and homeland bring inspiration to her pieces, including the winning submission for the contest, “Sun Time, and Vivid Dreams”

Enjoy our interview with Lana! The 2022 Image of Research Contest is openly accepting admissions from October 1st – November 12th 2021.

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5EswR3d7X6BxjPSQcP4Mg8?si=LSoz_jY3Sh2mXyDQ2y5sAQ&dl_branch=1

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/image-of-research-contest-part-5-sargylana-cherepanova/id1531801472?i=1000537642292

Listen on Stitcher: https://listen.stitcher.com/yvap/?af_dp=stitcher://episode/87299894&af_web_dp=https://www.stitcher.com/episode/87299894

 

Episode 8 of STEAMTalk is part four of our five part series on the Image of Research Contest at Illinois State University. RaeAnn Huffman graduated with her Master’s degree in Agriscience from Illinois State University in Spring 2021. She submitted a photo entitled, “Agronomic Intercropping Systems in Corn and Soybeans” and received the People’s Choice Award in the Graduate Category!

The Image of Research Contest is brought on by the Office of Student Research at Illinois State Unversity. Submissions for the 2022 Image of Research Contest open October 1st 2021.

Welcome to STEAM Talk Image of Research Contest Part 3: Maggie Demaegd!

Maggie received an honorable mention in the Image of Research Contest at Illinois State University with her meme-inspired image! We spoke to Maggie about her process in deciding what to submit to the contest, her work in the Wolfgang Steins’ Crab Lab, and more!

Welcome to STEAM Talk, Season 2, Episode 6. This is part two of our series on The Image of Research Contest at Illinois State. This contest is held by the Office of Student Research, for more information on the contest and the Office, please listen to Season 2, Episode 5.

Molly Frank graduated from Illinois State University in May 2021 with her Bachelor’s in Conservation Biology and Zoology. During her time at Illinois State, Molly took on an internship at Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, where she was able to get up close and personal with the facility’s adorable red pandas. Molly’s job was to help socialize these pandas so they would grow accustomed to their handlers and their veterinarians! While working at the Zoo, she took many photographs, including the amazing image entitled, ‘Relaxing the Reds’ which won the People’s Choice Award in the 2021 Image of Research Contest at Illinois State.

Join us as we talk with Molly about her journey to Illinois State, her internship, her passion for saving the planet, and what show she’s currently binging on Netflix!