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volume 4 issue 2fr
on
tiers
Urban and regional studies professor Dr. Raymond Asomani-Boateng
is passionate about making a difference in the urban landscape of his native
Ghana. His research is helping to transform fruit and vegetable waste collected at
city markets from a public health concern into an income-generating product.
D i s c o v e r y | c r e a t i v i t y a n d i n n o v a t i o n o n c a m p u s
4
6
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6 cesr | 8 gsr | 12 urc | 13 honors | 15 rAsP | 16 A thousAnd words
dePArtments
chAnging ghAnA’s urbAn LAndscAPeRaymond Asomani-Boateng’s research proved that his idea to turn commodity
waste from urban markets into high-quality compost could work for Ghana. His
research continues with efforts to help develop a market for the compost.
mArketing gender inequALitySport management graduate student Kelly Fallon was intrigued by the assigned
readings on gender representation in her sport psychology class. When professors
invited her to join their research on the topic, she immediately accepted. 8
going Above And beyond The College of Graduate Studies and Research proudly announces
the recipients of the 2010 Distinguished Faculty Scholar Awards:
Steve Buechler, Daniel Cronn-Mills, and Brian Frink.
defying trAditionAL Logic Minnesota State Mankato information systems and technology
professor Cyrus Azarbod hopes to use fuzzy logic to identify
patterns and offer solutions to social and educational issues.
12 engineering AwArd-winning reseArch A typical dose of the common antibiotic amoxicillin is 500mg, yet a person only
absorbs 280mg. Four civil engineering students conducted award-winning research
to determine if, and how, the antibiotics that pass through a body unchanged
affect a septic system’s delicate balance of decomposing microbes.
11tuning in to humAn behAviorThree Psychology Department faculty members tap their colleagues’ ingenuity
and expertise to produce a new radio show, “Psychological Frontiers: Exploring
human behaviors,” which airs twice weekly on KMSU.
got Photos?Faculty members who have high-quality digital
photographs of recent research or creative projects are
encouraged to submit them to the College of Graduate
Studies and Research for inclusion in upcoming issues
of FRONTIERS or TOMORROW. Photographs
should be at least 200 dpi and should be accompanied
by a brief caption describing the project and the
photo. E-mail photographs (in jpg or tif format) to
Above: Construction continues on the $1.8 million, 6,300 square-foot Center of Renewable Energy. Designed to test emission and efficiency for fuels used in engines as well as building heating units, the Center will be the only facility in the upper Midwest capable of conducting emission tests in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. Center operations are expected to begin in October 2010. Photo courtesy of Bobby McFall
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volume 4 issue 2
College of Graduate Studies and ResearchDr. Terrance FlahertyActing Dean of Graduate Studies and Research
Graduate StudiesChris Mickle Director of Graduate Studies
Research and Sponsored Programs (RASP)Annie LoPrienoDirector
Center for Excellence in Scholarship and Research (CESR)Dr. Steve Bohnenblust Director
McNair Achievement Program (MAP)Laura Riness Director
Undergraduate Honors ProgramDr. Chris CorleyDirector
Undergraduate Research Center (URC)Dr. Marilyn HartDirectorDr. Dawn AlbertsonConference Chair
Institutional Review Board (IRB)Dr. Trish HargroveIRB CoordinatorDr. Mary HadleyDr. Richard AugerCo-Chairs
F a l l 2 0 1 0 Vo l u m e 4 , I s s u e 2
The mission of FRONTIERS is to celebrate the scholarly and creative accomplishments of Minnesota State Mankato faculty and students and inform the campus community of research-related opportunities. FRONTIERS is published two times per year by the College of Graduate Studies and Research and distributed to Minnesota State Mankato faculty, staff, and graduate students. The College of Graduate Studies and Research welcomes ideas for feature stories and other content consistent with the mission of the newsletter. Please e-mail story ideas to [email protected].
DesignerKristin Higginbotham
PhotographerChelsea Kocina
WriterCarol Jones
Print CoordinatorDoug Fenske
A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. Minnesota State University, Mankato is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity University. This document is available in alternative format to individuals with disabilities by calling the College of Graduate Studies and Research at 507-389-2321 (V), 800-627-3529 or 711(MRS/TTY).
frontiers
frontiers
Ghana
WWorking with so-called “queens” of markets and
commodities, urban and regional studies associate
professor Raymond Asomani-Boateng may well
change the landscape of urban Ghana. His concept
of turning open market organic waste into the
marketable product compost has the potential to
reduce waste, reduce flooding, and improve land use,
while creating employment and wealth in his native
country.
Asomani-Boateng grew up in Accre, Ghana, in a
high-density, urban neighborhood. He experienced
first-hand the challenges of waste disposal, clogged
water runoff channels, and flooding. As he entered
post-secondary education, he decided that he wanted
to do something to help. “It was one of my goals
at the university,” said Asomani-Boateng, “to do
something related to the environment.” His interest
in urban environmental issues has become a passion
that he is eager to share with others.
“Did you know that a commercial market in Ghana
will generate 360-400 tons of waste per year? And
approximately 80 percent of that is organic,” said
Asomani-Boateng. He would like to transform that
organic waste into high-quality compost and sell it.
Currently, market waste is picked up by the city,
hauled away, and piled up. The sheer quantity of
the waste creates storage problems and it is dumped
wherever there is room. And because the area is flat,
piles of waste prevent water from draining properly
when it rains. This causes urban flooding. The waste
4 f a l l 1 0 f r o n t i e r s f a l l 1 0 f r o n t i e r s 5
piles are set aflame in an effort to reduce their size and continue to burn due to
methane gas produced during decomposition.
Asomani-Boateng’s idea to compost the waste is simple and positively
addresses a multitude of urban environmental issues. However, putting the
idea into action is the hard part. He received a faculty research grant from the
College of Graduate Studies and Research and conducted a pilot project to
implement the idea. During the summer of 2009, he travelled to Ghana and
began his research.
Commercial markets in Ghana operate under a network of managers and
sellers. The managers are called queens. Each market has a queen, and each
commodity has a queen. For example, there is a banana queen, a mango queen,
and others. The commodity sellers are managed by the commodity queen.
Queens hold the power and authority over the sellers, so in order to implement
the composting idea, Asomani-Boateng needed to get the queens’ approval.
The pilot project involved ten commodity sellers. For nearly two weeks they
separated out their organic waste. In that time, two tons of feedstock, or clean
organic waste, was generated. The feedstock was transported to a composting
site. Eight weeks later, the compost was ready to be distributed to local farmers.
Asomani-Boateng’s project proved the idea to turn organic market waste into
compost could work in urban Ghana. In fact, it was positively received. “After
an interview on a radio station, some districts approached me as to how I
could help them develop similar programs,” he said.
“However, in order to compost in a sustainable fashion, there must be a
market,” Asomani-Boateng added. He travelled back to Ghana in summer
2010 in an effort to help develop the market. Passionate about making a
difference in the urban landscape, Asomani-Boateng continues his research to
identify the challenges and barriers of marketing the compost and work with
locals to develop solutions to those challenges.
chAnging Ghana’s urbAn LAndscAPe
Asomani-Boateng’s idea to compost the waste is simple and positively addresses a multitude of urban environmental issues.
Left: Women control the central markets in Ghana, which are vital to the nation’s economy. Sellers offer everything from clothing to toiletries to food.
Middle: During one of his visits to Ghana, Raymond Asomani-Boateng convinced commodity workers to separate organic waste from garbage. In two
weeks, they collected two tons of organic waste. Here Asomani-Boateng explained the process of composting to commodity sellers. Right: Asomani-
Boateng received a faculty research grant from the College of Graduate Studies and Research to conduct a pilot project to implement his idea of
transforming tons of organic waste from Ghana’s markets into compost. He travelled to Ghana in summer 2009 to begin his research and returned
in 2010 for phase 2. Bottom: Local commodity markets in Ghana are controlled by market and commodity "queens." Asomani-Boateng spent time
educating the queens about the benefits of recycling organic waste into compost. They helped him collect two tons of organic waste in two weeks.
6 f a l l 1 0 f r o n t i e r s f a l l 1 0 f r o n t i e r s 7
Buechler sets a high standard for our students so that undergraduates will be well prepared for graduate school and graduate students will be well prepared for PhD. programs,” said Rogne. A prolific author, Buechler developed an international reputation in the interdisciplinary field of social movement studies. With six books and two dozen other publications, the sheer quantity of his work is remarkable; however, critics say the quality of his work makes it especially noteworthy. With writing described as a model of clarity and lucidity, Buechler’s texts are praised by many and widely referenced in the field. McAdam said, “Nearly 20-25 years after their initial publication, his first two books remain required reading for scholars interested
in understanding the history of American feminism. And his 2000 book, Social Movements in Advanced Capitalism, makes him the foremost authority in the field on ‘the political economy of contention.’” Buechler concedes it can be challenging to balance teaching and scholarship. “It does take a deliberate effort to carve out the time,” he said. However, he finds the reward worth the work. “There is nothing as tortuous as writing or as gratifying when you get it just right,” he said.
Daniel Cronn-Mills, professor of communication studies, was bitten by the forensics bug in 6th grade when he placed
third in Humorous Interpretation in his first speech tournament. “Now, 33 years later, my dedication to competitive speech and debate remains strong,” said Cronn-Mills. And his dedication is reflected in a wide variety of contributions to the field: as a professor, an advisor, a committee member, and an administrator. While teaching at Minnesota State Mankato, Cronn-Mills skillfully served as the director of Maverick Forensics for more than a decade. Warren Sandmann, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, said, “Dr. Cronn-Mills’ work kept the program in the top echelon of competitive forensics
A former New York City artist, Brian Frink began
teaching art at Minnesota State Mankato in 1989.
His art is exhibited nationally and has earned
numerous awards and scholarships. Colleagues
describe him as an instrumental figure in this
century’s art history and development.
steve buechler
steve buechler
daniel cronn-mills brian frink
daniel cronn-mills
c o n t i n u e d o n p a g e 1 0
While teaching at Minnesota State
Mankato, Cronn-Mills skillfully served
as the director of Maverick Forensics for
more than a decade, and his ethics-related
research directly impacted the ethics codes
for competitive speech and debate.
At teaching universities, faculty members teach; at research universities, faculty members conduct research and write and graduate assistants teach. But as Minnesota State University, Mankato transitions from a primarily teaching university to an applied research university, faculty members are challenged to teach and engage in scholarly pursuits. Fortunately, many of our faculty members are inspired to do both. Each year, the College of Graduate Studies and Research identifies three particularly distinguished faculty scholars. The Distinguished Faculty Scholars Award recipients for 2010 are Steve Buechler, Daniel Cronn-Mills, and Brian Frink.
A member of the Minnesota State Mankato faculty since 1986, Steven Buechler’s leadership at the University and in the field of sociology has earned international respect. Doug McAdam, professor of sociology at Stanford University, said, “Through an impressive volume of high quality work, Steve has emerged as one of the more visible and accomplished social movement scholars of his generation.” As a new faculty member of a teaching university more than 20 years ago, Buechler’s primary focus was on teaching. There was no designated time in his schedule for scholarship and writing. In somewhat of an extracurricular fashion, he made time. Over
the years, he found that the two activities were mutually beneficial. “Teaching and writing are a bit more interactive than many people think,” he said. Both in his teaching and in his writing, Buechler says he challenges conventional ideas. His publications provide theoretical interpretations of and commentary on research in the field of sociology and the subfield of social movements. Buechler’s articles helped shape the framework of the research created by his generation in preparation for the next generation to study these topics. And Buechler’s students are admirably prepared. Leah Rogne, associate professor at Minnesota State Mankato, credits Buechler with the success of their graduates. “Dr.
As a faculty member of a teaching
university, Steve Buechler’s primary focus
is on teaching. However, he also made
time for scholarship and writing and
over 20 years developed an international
reputation in the interdisciplinary field of
social movement studies.
8 f a l l 1 0 f r o n t i e r s f a l l 1 0 f r o n t i e r s 9
Kelly Fallon, sport
management graduate student,
examined 13 years worth
of cover images of ESPN
the Magazine, analyzing
them to determine gender
representation, clothing
coverage, type of sport, and
action or posed representation.
kKelly Fallon, sport management graduate student at Minnesota State Mankato, was intrigued by the assigned readings on gender representation in her sport psychology class. When human performance faculty members Drs. Suzannah Armentrout and Cindra Kamphoff invited Fallon to join their research on the topic, she immediately accepted.
Fallon’s project examined the photographic images used on the covers of ESPN the Magazine, analyzing them to determine gender representation, clothing coverage, type of sport, and action or posed representation. She gathered data contained in 13 years (369 issues) of ESPN the Magazine from 1998 to February 2010. Fallon was curious to see if women were equally represented on the cover, not only in frequency of appearance, but also in type of appearance.
“Previous research on female athletes in the media,” said Fallon, “shows that they are underrepresented, being featured only 6-8% of the time. And when they are featured, they are portrayed almost more as models than athletes.”
Fallon discovered similar results in her study of ESPN the Magazine. “The content analysis revealed that females were substantially underrepresented on the covers. In fact, males outnumbered females 14-to-1,” said Fallon. “And when females were featured (7 percent), the majority of them were depicted wearing tighter and less clothing and in posed photographs versus action shots during competition.”
Fallon voiced frustration with the way the media continue to portray females as models more often than as athletes simply to sell magazines. A former Division I volleyball player with the University of Minnesota who now serves as assistant volleyball coach for the Mavericks, she understands not only the hard work and dedication of the athletes, but also the level of skill required to compete. “Unfortunately, we still need to fight to show that we are athletes who can perform in our sport,” said Fallon.
Although not thrilled with her findings, Fallon enjoyed the opportunity to present them at the Graduate Research Conference. “People were awestruck when they heard the results and saw the covers. When a person reads the magazine they do not see the trends, but when all the covers are shown together the statistics really show through.” In addition to being fun, Fallon said the GRC was a great way for her to grow in her professional development.
Research advisor Dr. Armentrout agreed that the GRC is a wonderful platform for professional development. “Being actively involved with the GRC helped Kelly realize the importance of research and the contribution this project made to students, campus, women, and the media,” said Armentrout.
MARkETinG GEnDER inEqUAliTy
programs in the country. Minnesota State Mankato is publicly recognized as the school for professional development in forensics.” Cronn-Mills serves not only as a teacher and advisor, but also regularly researches issues in intercollegiate forensics. Perhaps most notable was his ethics-related research with Larry Schnoor, which directly impacted the ethics codes for competitive speech and debate. The publications and work of Cronn-Mills have attracted talented students and faculty to Mankato who have also gone on to contribute to the field of communication studies. Stephen Croucher, a former student who now serves as an assistant professor at Bowling Green State University, said, “Dr. Cronn-Mills taught me how to research, how to write, and how to be an academic.” A bit of a techno-wiz, Cronn-Mills has helped move competitive forensics into the technology age. He noticed that the American Forensic Association’s national tournament, which required the coordination of 1,500 entries, could benefit from a more efficient scheduling system. So he developed scheduling templates that reduced a three-day manual process to a three-hour computer process, while reducing the error rate to nearly zero. Cronn-Mills went on to develop tabulation templates that calculate ranks, rates, individual sweepstakes, and team sweepstakes and received the association’s Distinguished Service Award. In addition to the scheduling and tabulation templates, Cronn-Mills developed online databases and indexes serving competitive forensics. He created and continues to update the Online Index
of Forensic Research. Furthermore, Cronn-Mills developed and implemented two online databases and calendars for national collegiate and Minnesota high school invitational speech tournaments. Cronn-Mills’ contributions to the University and the field of competitive forensics are recognized beyond Minnesota State Mankato. Sandmann said, “It is no exaggeration to state that Dr. Cronn-Mills is one of the leading scholars in this field—if not the leading contemporary scholar.”
A former New York City artist, Brian Frink began teaching art at Minnesota State Mankato in 1989. From the beginning, Frink recognized the challenge of pursuing his art while teaching fulltime, so he created a lifestyle in which everything is connected. “When I am at my studio painting, I am working on my teaching—exploring techniques and processes to share with my students. When I take a group of students to New York art galleries, I am exposed to new ideas as an artist. My work as a teacher helps push me as an artist and my work as an artist is as much a part of my teaching responsibility as grading.” Frink makes the transition between teaching and creative research look seamless. However, when you view his work and hear from his admirers, it is immediately apparent that his creative research takes a great deal of deliberate effort. Minnesota State Mankato colleague Liz Miller sees firsthand the way Frink’s effort impacts others. “Brian’s intensive dedication to his studio practice is
matched by his energy and charisma in the classroom, his contributions to the Department of Art, as well as to the University and broader community,” she said. Frink’s work is widely recognized outside of the University, too. In addition to having his work extensively exhibited, Frink has received several awards and scholarships including the Wisconsin State Arts Board Fellowship, several Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowships, two McKnight Foundation Grants, a Jerome Travel Grant, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Recently, Frink entered a period of transition with his art. Previously, he created paintings that are abstract and somewhat detached and offer a commentary on confusing times. His current work is a reversal of that, painting peoples’ pets—dogs and cats. These paintings, he said, offer a very direct connection to his audience. An extremely accessible artist who enthusiastically shares his work, Frink is a bit embarrassed by the accolades. “I don’t really think of myself as very distinguished,” he said. Others, however, have different ideas. Roy Strassberg, a former Mankato faculty member who now teaches at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, said, “I expect that, given his record of significant and important contributions to his field, he will ultimately be positioned as an instrumental figure in the history and development of art in the 21st Century. He is that good and that committed.”
f a l l 1 0 f r o n t i e r s 1110 f a l l 1 0 f r o n t i e r s
g o i n g A b o v e A n d b e y o n d . . . c o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 7
Psychology professor Dawn
Albertson records two-
minute psychology lessons
for the KMSU radio show
“Psychological Frontiers.”
Faculty members Dan Sachau
and Emily Stark help steer the
show, but it is a departmental
effort. “There is no way we
could generate enough material
on our own,” said Albertson. “It
is very much a team effort.”
“Psychological Frontiers: Exploring human behaviors”
airs on kMSU 89.7 FM on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.
and Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. Past shows are available at
mnsu.edu/psych/radio/show/.
brian frink
Minnesota State Mankato psychology professor Dan Sachau had been mulling over the idea of a psychology-related radio show for a while. When Dawn Albertson joined the Psychology Department faculty, he knew the time was right. Sachau and Albertson, together with assistant professor Emily Stark, are the driving force behind “Psychological Frontiers,” a new radio show that airs twice weekly on KMSU 89.7 FM. While commuting, Sachau listens to KMSU. He became familiar with the show “A Moment in Time,” which is essentially a two-minute history lesson produced by the University of Richmond. He liked the format and thought it would work well for psychology. However a radio show, even a two-minute show, is not a one-person operation. When Albertson arrived, things started to fall into place. Having followed her DJ father around as a child, she was comfortable in the broadcasting studio. In addition, she has a natural talent as a radio host and agreed to be the voice of the show. While Albertson is on air, and Sachau and Stark help steer the show, the program is a departmental effort. “There is no way we could generate enough material on our own,” said Albertson. “It is very much a team effort.” The scripts contributed by Psychology Department faculty members focus on the science of psychology—the science of the mind and behavior. Faculty members translate primary research into digestible snippets of information. These snippets must be delivered in a way that can be understood by the general public, and just as important, they must be interesting to the general public. Producing the show takes a lot more time than the faculty members expected. “Although each script is only 250 words, they take hours to write," said Sachau. "In addition, a two-minute show takes about 45 minutes to record. It's tricky distilling a complex theory or study down to 250 listener-friendly words.” Sachau appreciates Stark’s work helping to finalize the scripts for recording. "Emily Stark takes the lead editing the shows,” he said. “She is bright, witty, and has a good ear for what will work with the public.” Albertson said the radio show is a great way to combat the Dr. Phil image of psychology and offer some real scientific information in a fun and informative way. The American Psychological Association challenged its members to share their research with people outside their specialty. “It is part of our job as scientists to be able to communicate information to the public,” said Albertson. “And the radio show is a great format.” The Psychology Department faculty research interests are as broad as the field. “There are so many things to choose from: classic psychology as applied to everyday life; freaky fun facts; counterintuitive, interesting pieces,” said Albertson. “We leave it up to the faculty to decide. We just ask that it be significant.” Topics vary widely and have included titles such as, "Kissing as a mating ritual. Is my partner thinking what I'm thinking?" and "Are you sure that's what you wanted to do? The parasite that can change behavior." KMSU radio provides complete technical support and regularly airs the show in their broadcast schedule. Station manager James Gullickson said it is a joy working with the Psychology Department and he welcomes additional campus projects. “We are blessed to have the opportunity to serve the campus and greater community,” he said. “And there is always room on KMSU for campus-related programming.”
tuning in to humAn behAvior
RACinG in ThE nAME oF RESEARCh
Soft-spoken, burgeoning leader, curious, open to different viewpoints. There seem to be as many adjectives to describe Sodjine Ketika as there are people who know him. A native of the West African country Togolese Republic (Togo), Ketika studies computer engineering at Minnesota State Mankato. He also happens to be a new member of the Honors Program. Soon after arriving on campus, Ketika scheduled a meeting with Honors Program Director, Chris Corley. “I actually didn’t know anything about the Honors Program, but my advisor from another school knew Dr. Corley and asked me to meet with him when I got to Mankato,” said Ketika. “After I learned about the Honors Program, I thought I would like to give it a try.” Corley was impressed with Ketika. “Sodjine takes ownership of his education and is not willing to sit back and see what develops, rather he seeks out opportunities,” said Corley. “He shares a curiosity about the world with other honors students as well as an eagerness to tackle problems and find solutions.” Currently, Ketika is busy tackling problems with electrical engineering professor Vincent Winstead. And frankly, the problems they are working on look a lot like play. Ketika and Winstead plan to compete in an autonomous vehicle competition sponsored by SparkFun Electronics and scheduled to be held in Boulder, Colorado in April 2011. They will compete against SparkFun professionals, other college students, and electronic gadget gurus. The competition includes racing a robotic vehicle through a parking lot around the SparkFun building. Rules of the competition are few. Each robot is required to navigate the perimeter of the SparkFun building on its own. Once the race begins, competitors will not be able to exercise any additional control over their vehicle. It must independently negotiate obstacles like potholes and pavement cracks, curbs, sticks, turns, and parked cars, with the goal of beating other robots. The fastest vehicle wins.
Ketika and Winstead’s robotic vehicle employs a global positioning system (GPS) for navigation and sonar sensors out front to hopefully stop it from hitting the curb or getting stuck in a pothole. “Our primary task is to coordinate the vehicle’s software and hardware,” said Ketika. In preparation, he conducted detailed research on GPS communication protocol and electronic programming. Computer engineering codes will direct the GPS to communicate with the acceleration and steering units of the vehicle, helping the robot understand the GPS coordinates and navigate the race course autonomously. Ketika and Winstead must also program a series of problem-solving choices for the robot if it encounters any problems or obstacles along the race. In addition to the sonar sensors, which will help the vehicle avoid obstacles, Ketika and Winstead also discussed using a camera to help the robot ‘see’ and hopefully avoid obstructions, but it is unclear if they will have the on-board processing capability, sufficient interface ports, or time to integrate it into the project. They plan to begin testing their robotic vehicle around campus this summer. Ketika's enthusiasm made an impression on Winstead. “In class he is a motivated student, one who asks questions and is serious about learning the subject,” said Winstead. “When he stopped by my office interested in robotics research, I was anxious to get him involved.” Although Ketika sometimes feels overwhelmed by the work involved with research, he is motivated by a favorite quote by Albert Szent Gyorgyi, "Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and think what nobody has thought." Ketika plans to present his research project at Minnesota State Mankato’s Undergraduate Research Conference next spring.
Engineering Award-Winning Research
Honors student Sodjine Ketika (foreground), who is studying computer
engineering, plans to compete in an autonomous vehicle competition
sponsored by SparkFun Electronics along with his advisor, electrical
engineering professor Vincent Winstead. The competition will be held in
Boulder, Colorado in April 2011.
12 f a l l 1 0 f r o n t i e r s
Sometimes a casual conversation leads to award-winning research. At least that is what happened after civil engineering students Carl Sorensen, Jacob Moser, Mark Origer, and Adam Nix heard about assistant professor Stephen Druschel’s conversation with a septic system pump driver. The driver and colleagues noticed there seemed to be a relationship between frequency of pumping calls and people who use antibiotics. Because microbes work to decompose waste and antibiotics kill microbes, the workers wondered if the antibiotics were causing an increased number of system failures and pumping calls. When Druschel presented the question to Sorensen and Moser, they were intrigued. After initial investigation revealed a general void of research on the topic, Origer and Nix joined the group to work on the project for the Undergraduate Research Conference. The group won a Foundation Grant Award that included a stipend and money for supplies. With waste samples from the local waste water treatment plant, the group set up two miniature (1:500 scale) septic system tanks in a Trafton lab. “Our project wasn’t real popular,” joked Moser. One system acted as control without antibiotics, the other received a dose of the common antibiotic amoxicillin. Each tank was inoculated with influent waste and allowed to grow for ten days. After this initial growth, amoxicillin was added twice daily to one tank. “We chose amoxicillin because it is so common,” said Sorensen. “And we know that a typical dose of amoxicillin is 500mg twice a day. Yet, on average, a person only absorbs 280mg of each pill. Consequently, 220mg of amoxicillin passes through the body unchanged.” During the course of the experiment, the group monitored the viability of the bacterial population in the septic tank. As expected, they found that the
number of decomposer microbes initially dropped off when the antibiotics were administered. However, the group was surprised by what they found later. Ten days following the antibiotic treatment, the numbers of decomposer microbes had bounced back. In addition, the students found no difference in waste water treatment results between the two tanks. Group members noted that the project was conducted under ideal circumstances. With additional stressors typical to household waste such as bleach and antibiotic soap or a stronger antibiotic, the project may have yielded different results. The project seemed to whet their appetite for further research. “This project was a great learning experience,” said Origer. “I learned a lot about conducting research. And, although he was always around to consult, Dr. Druschel really pushed us to solve problems on our own.” The group presented their project and findings at Minnesota State Mankato’s URC, winning a trip to the National Undergraduate Research Conference in Missoula, Montana. “The research project had benefits far beyond our expectations,” said Sorensen.
Civil engineering students (left to right) Jacob Moser, Mark Origer, Carl
Sorensen, and Adam Nix monitored the effects of antibiotics on a septic
system microbe population.
f a l l 1 0 f r o n t i e r s 13
can be a valuable tool to enhance student achievement. Educational institutions already know a lot about student assessment and behavior. They know what kinds of services help ensure student success and how to serve students when they struggle. But they don’t know how to predict if someone enrolled in a program will be a good student. Using fuzzy logic, the data mining tool can learn about student behavior from data stored in warehouses and predict behavior of future students, allowing an educational institution or an individual professor to modify the teaching approach and improve chances of success before a student fails. Azarbod isn’t interested in marketing the program. “I tried that with another project and spent a year after the fact bogged down in patent and administrative details. That is not for me. I want to solve one problem and move on to the next. What I really want to do is just offer researchers and industry a way to predict problems and solve them before they come to fruition,” said Azarbod.
14 f a l l 1 0 f r o n t i e r s
DEFyinG TRADiTionAl
Information systems and technology professor Cyrus Azarbod specializes in databases and data mining—using automated data analysis techniques to uncover relationships among data items. A problem-solver by nature, Azarbod thought there must be a better way to use stored data to predict and solve problems before they occurred. For this, he turned to fuzzy logic control. Fuzzy logic, originally developed by Lotfi A. Zadeh, University of California, Berkeley, is used in system control and analysis design. Most data mining tools are based on mathematical formulas. However, because it is nearly impossible to write formulas that mimic nature, fuzzy logic control makes use of human common sense. People take in all sorts of information from their environment. They analyze, average, and summarize all of this input data and develop an optimum course of action. For example, Azarbod explained, most drivers know that it is optimum and safest to “drive with the flow of traffic.” They evaluate input from multiple sources such as: What are the cars in front doing? Are there any trucks holding up one of the lanes? Is traffic entering from side streets? What are the weather conditions? He calls this fuzzy input
and says drivers combine it daily with non fuzzy input like the speedometer reading and specific, precise instructions such as the speed limit to determine an optimum course of action. This combining action is called fuzzy processing. Fuzzy logic can be applied to help us determine the optimum course of action for large systems such as traffic control and commuter trains. Fuzzy logic used in system control and analysis shortens development time and sometimes, in the case of highly complex systems, it is the only way to solve a particular problem. Product developers already implement fuzzy logic control to predict, estimate, and analyze information all around us. There are hundreds of millions of dollars worth of successful commercial products such as self-focusing cameras, washing machines that adjust to the amount of dirt on clothes, automobile anti-lock braking systems, and subway control systems that use fuzzy logic control for passenger comfort. “But fuzzy logic control has implications beyond physical systems,” said Azarbod. “It can be applied to economics, psychology, weather forecasting, biology, politics, and education.” Large commercial operations use it regularly for marketing, credit card fraud detection, and more.
But it is not available to those with limited resources such as small businesses, researchers, or non-profit organizations. With most data mining programs, users must know what information they want to retrieve. Fuzzy logic data mining helps users discover patterns and new knowledge they didn’t know existed. Over the last eight years, Azarbod and his students at Minnesota State Mankato along with some students at the American University of Armenia have been collaborating on the development and testing of the fuzzy logic control software entitled Web-based Fuzzy Data Mining (WebFDM). This predictive data mining engine uses human subject-matter expertise to fine tune the interconnection components of the software. It assists the user in setting up the common sense parameters so that the optimum setting can be used to test or mine new data. WebFDM’s goal of creating an environment for researchers and industry professionals to perform fuzzy logic data mining was further realized last year when the software became deliverable online. The program can be used to predict trends or showcase data relationships that subject matter experts did not know existed. For example, Azarbod explains, the program
GRAnT AnD ConTRACT hiGhliGhTSNovember 1, 2009 – February 28, 2010
The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RASP)
congratulates the following faculty and staff for their success in
securing external support for their projects between November 1,
2009 and February 28, 2010.
PROJECT DIRECTOR: Shannon Fisher (Water Resources Center)
PROJECT: Evaluation of Artificial Drainage in Altering Hydrology
FUNDING SOURCE: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
AWARD: $626,500
PROJECT DIRECTORS: Bruce Jones, Gary Mead (Automotive
and Manufacturing Engineering Technology), and Vince Winstead
(Electrical and Computer Engineering and Technology)
PROJECT: Advanced Automotive Technologies
FUNDING SOURCE: Minnesota Department of Commerce
AWARD: $460,700
PROJECT DIRECTOR: Rebecca Bates (Computer Science)
PROJECT: Collaborative Research: Connection, Community, and
Engagement in STEM Education
FUNDING SOURCE: National Science Foundation (NSF)
AWARD: $275,000
PROJECT DIRECTOR: John Knox (College of Science,
Engineering, and Technology)
PROJECT: Renewable Energy Research Lab
FUNDING SOURCE: Department of Employment and Economic
Development
AWARD: $743,250
PROJECT DIRECTORS: Patricia Hoffman and Anne Dahlman
(K-12 and Secondary Programs)
PROJECT: Assessing the Effectiveness of Pre-referral Strategies in
Referral to Special Education
FUNDING SOURCE: Minnesota Department of Education
AWARD: $150,000
PROJECT DIRECTORS: Shannon Fisher and Scott Matteson
(Water Resources Center)
PROJECT: Minnesota River Monitoring 2010-2011
FUNDING SOURCE: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
AWARD: $260,000
f a l l 1 0 f r o n t i e r s 15
Over the last eight years, information systems and technology professor Cyrus Azarbod and students have collaborated
on the development of a fuzzy logic control software program. The program can be used to predict trends or showcase
data relationships that subject matter experts did not know existed.
If you are interested in providing data for the continued testing of WebFDM, you may contact Dr. Cyrus Azarbod directly at [email protected] or 507-389-5405.
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Brian Frink, one of the 2010 distinguished faculty scholars, explores a new direction with his pet portraits. “My pet portraits are a way to
create paintings that are more about connecting and empathy rather than detachment and irony,” said Frink. “My desire is to create work
that makes a metaphorical statement about love and community.” Frink currently uses social media as an image source, collecting pet
photographs through his Facebook page, “I Love YOUR Cat! I Love YOUR Dog!”
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