Below are a variety of items about upcoming events and other news notes on the campus of Youngstown State University:

• Research takes YSU students around the world
• Pavlik and Youngstown is topic of sociology lecture
• 'Dinner with Industry' set for April 7
• Leonardi concert features bassist Rufus Reid
• Nursing symposium focuses on evidence–based medicine
• Psychologist is Shipka lecturer

Calendar
Monday, March 29, noon to 1:30 p.m. YSU's Office of Career & Counseling Services and Department of Campus Recreation sponsor the fifth annual "What Not To Wear And What To Wear To Interviews and Beyond: Fashion and Feedback" seminar in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center on the YSU campus. The event is open to YSU students and alumni and is designed to inform participants on proper interview attire. For more information, call 330–941–3515.

Tuesday, March 30, 12:30 p.m. Carol Tavris, a renowned social psychologist, lecturer and writer who is devoted to educating the public about psychological science, is featured in the Shipka Speaker Series in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center. See News Brief below.

Tuesday, March 30, 3 p.m. The YSU softball squad plays a doubleheader against Canisius in McCune Park in Canfield. The team also plays a doubleheader against Butler 1 p.m. Saturday, April 3, and a single game at noon, Sunday, April 4, also in McCune Park.

Wednesday, March 31, noon. YSU professor Paul Carr speaks at the Main Branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County. Carr is the co–editor of Doing Democracy: Striving for Political Literacy and Social Justice, which takes a critical look at how democracy is taught, learned, understood and lived. Free. Carr is a professor of Educational Foundations, Research, Technology and Leadership in the YSU Beeghly College of Education.

Wednesday, March 31, 12:15 p.m. Free Music at Noon concert features the YSU Dana School of Music's Clarinet Studio in the Butler Institute of American Art.

Wednesday, March 31, 1 p.m. Judge Colleen Mary O'Toole of the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals will talk about the Constitution and potential legal challenges to national health care reforms at a forum 1 p.m., Wednesday, March 31 in the Ohio Room of Kilcawley Center. The event is free and open to the public and hosted by the YSU College Republicans and Pre–Law Society. For more information, call 330–398–0428.

Wednesday, March 31, 3 p.m. The YSU Board of Trustees' Academic and Student Affairs Committee meets in the Galley in Kilcawley Center. The board's Executive Committee meets at 4 p.m., also in the Gallery.

Wednesday, March 31, 3 p.m. The YSU baseball team starts the home season with a game against Canisius at Cene Park in Struthers. The Penguins also take on UIC in a three–game set at Eastwood Field in Niles 3 p.m. Friday, April 2, and noon and 3 p.m. Saturday, April 3. For more information, visit www.ysusports.com.

Friday, April 2, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. YSU's Rose Melnick Medical Museum and William F. Maag Jr. Library host a free nursing symposium on evidence–based medicine in the Rose Melnick Medical Museum on the YSU campus. See News Brief below.

Friday, April 2 6 to 8 p.m. YSU student artists will be honored at a reception and awards ceremony at the opening of the 74th annual Student Juried Exhibition at the McDonough Museum of Art on campus. The exhibit runs through April 16. For more information, call 330–941–1400.

Saturday, April 3, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Women of Color Expo will be held in Kilcawley Center. The event features workshops such as "Parenting in a Hip Hop World," "Coming of Age in 2010" and "What's Love Got to Do With It." The event is co–sponsored by the YSU Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity.
 

Research takes YSU students around the world

Youngstown State University senior Ben Detwiler had never traveled much before he signed on as a research assistant in physics professor James "Jeff" Carroll's nuclear isomer lab three years ago.

Since then, the electrical engineering major's part–time job has taken him to Hawaii, Germany, California, Chicago and Washington D.C., all expenses paid.

But world travel is just one of the perks that Detwiler and other student research assistants enjoy, said Carroll, while working on a nuclear isomer research project supported by $4 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Defense.

"These students get to share in groundbreaking experiments and work with state–of–the–art technology," he said, adding that many student–researchers have also co–authored academic papers published in prestigious physics journals and presented their work at physics conferences around the world.

Last October, for example, Carroll took four members of his team to Waikoloa, Hawaii, for the annual meeting of the American Physical Society Division of Nuclear Physics, held jointly with the Japan Physical Society, where the students presented posters describing aspects of their work with isomers.

Detwiler went on that trip, along with his brother Tim, a senior also majoring in electrical engineering; Trevor Balint, a senior physics major; and Isaac Mills, a senior education major. All four were awarded travel support by the society on the strength of their research submissions.

"It was pretty cool to get the input of other scientists, but it made me a little nervous at times because I knew they had a lot more experience that we did," Ben Detwiler said. "No one else there was doing research on isomers, so there was a lot of interest in our work."

Detwiler was part of a team that traveled to Germany to perform experiments at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research, that country's top nuclear research institution. He's also conducted several experiments for the grant–funded research at an Army lab in Washington.

Groups of student researchers have accompanied Carroll on three separate trips to Japan to perform experiments at the Radioactive Ion Accelerator Complex there. A private company, Ecopulse Inc., funded the most recent trip.

Carroll said he chooses research assistants representing a wide range of academic majors, not just physics, and prefers to hire freshmen or sophomores so they can work for several years on the project. "I want students to get immersed in the research, to develop ownership in it, to become partners in it," he said.

Gregg Sturrus, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, said Carroll's use of student lab workers helps to fulfill the department's mission to teach through research. "We believe this kind of experience enhances students' education and improves their status for entry into graduate school or future jobs," he said. "Their experiences really rival those for graduate students on every level."

An internationally–respected nuclear physicist, Carroll has been awarded more than $4 million in federal research dollars on a competitive, single–investigator basis since he joined the YSU faculty in 1995, the largest amount ever awarded to a single faculty member at YSU. Carroll also had a paper published recently in the Physical Review Letters and featured on its website, prl.aps.org, his third publication in that prestigious international physics journal and one of nearly 80 peer–reviewed publications overall.

Ron Propri, a YSU alumnus who worked with Carroll as an undergraduate, and Phil Ugorowski, formerly a post–doctorate student in the isomer project, were among his co–authors.

"Acceptance of a publication in Physical Review Letters is quite an accomplishment," Sturrus said, estimating that fewer than 10 percent of research physicists have published in the journal. "It shows that the work done is more than accepted as quality research; it indicates that the work is of interest to all physicists."

Pavlik and Youngstown is topic of sociology lecture

The sociological aspects of the relationship between Kelly Pavlik and the city of Youngstown is the topic of a talk by James Rhodes, a Simon Fellow in Sociology at the University of Manchester, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 1, in the Presidential Suites of Kilcawley Center on the campus of Youngstown State University.

The free presentation is part of the YSU Center for Working–Class Studies Lecture Series, co–sponsored by the YSU Department of Anthropology and Sociology.

Rhodes' lecture is titled, "Kelly Pavlik: A Sociological Study of Reporting on the Man, the City." Rhodes's research examines how Pavlik, a Youngstown native and the middleweight world boxing champion, has been used to reject claims about Youngstown''s demise. Rhodes is concerned with the role that memory, masculinity, race and class play within the popularity of Pavlik. The research looks at representations of Pavlik and Youngstown within local and national discourses, examining how these reveal ongoing tensions between the past, the present and the future.

The YSU Center for Working–Class Studies is a multidisciplinary teaching and research center devoted to the study of working–class life and culture. For more information, contact John Russo at 330–941–2976 or jbrusso@ysu.edu or Sherry Linkon at 330–941–2977 or sllinkon@ysu.edu.

'Dinner with Industry' set for April 7
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan is the featured speaker at the Society of Women Engineers' "Dinner with Industry," 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 7 in the Presidential Suites in Kilcawley Center on the campus of Youngstown State University.

This event is designed to help engineering students network with industry representatives.

"It is not an interview session, but rather a chance for students to meet with industry in their field of study and to talk about the industry, what employers are looking for in new employees, etc.," said Carol M. Lamb, YSU assistant professor of engineering technology.

Society of Women Engineers is also seeking industry leaders and companies to sponsor tables, which will cover the cost of two industry representatives at each table, along with six students. 

Leonardi concert features bassist Rufus Reid
Legendary string bassist Rufus Reid is the featured guest as Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music presents the 2010 Leonardi Legacy Concert 8 p.m. Monday, April 5, in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center on the YSU campus.

Dana's Jazz Ensemble 1 will also perform.

Reid, one of today''s premiere bassists on the international jazz scene, has traveled, performed and recorded with scores of great jazz masters, past and present.

Upon graduation from Sacramento High School, he entered the Air Force as a trumpet player. After the military, Reid pursued a career as a professional bassist and moved to Seattle, where he began serious study with James Harnett of the Seattle Symphony. He continued his education at Northwestern University in Illinois, where he studied with Warren Benfield and principal bassist, Joseph Guastefeste, both of the Chicago Symphony. He graduated in 1971 with a bachelor of music degree as a Performance Major on the Double Bass.

Also a venerable composer, Reid participated in the BMI Jazz Composer's Workshop for five years. He won the Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Award for his composition, "Skies Over Emilia." The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation named Reid a Guggenheim Fellow in 2008, and he received a 2006 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. 

His book, The Evolving Bassist, has been continuously published since 1974 and is recognized as the industry standard as the definitive bass method.

The Leonardi Legacy Concert is an annual event honoring the late Tony Leonardi, founder of YSU's Jazz program. The event brings a prominent jazz artist to YSU to participate in master classes and workshops, interact with students and perform a concert for the community.

All tickets are general admission and may be purchased the evening of the performance. Tickets are $10. Admission is free for YSU students with a valid ID. Corporate tables are available for $300 and include eight tickets to a pre–concert reception and meet and greet with the artist; eight premier reserved table seats; complimentary table refreshments and table designation. Tickets and tables may be purchased in advance through the Bliss Hall Box Office or by calling 330–941–3105.

Nursing symposium focuses on evidence–based medicine
Youngstown State University's Rose Melnick Medical Museum and William F. Maag Jr. Library host a free nursing symposium on evidence–based medicine in nursing practice 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 2, at the Rose Melnick Medical Museum on the YSU campus.

The symposium features four speakers on various aspects of evidence–based nursing practice: ??

9 a.m. "Implementing EBM policies at a community hospital," Cindy Wetzel, Salem Community Hospital.

10 a.m. "Safe Medication Administration," Lora Leonard, Kent State University.

11 a.m. "Using Evidence–Based Practice for Managing Clinical Outcomes in Advanced Practice Nursing," Dr. Irene Glanville, University of Akron.

Noon. Break for refreshments and to view museum exhibits.

12:30 p.m. "Building an Evidence–Based Practice Infrastructure and Culture: A Model for Rural and Community Hospitals," Dr. Linda Dudjak, University of Pittsburgh.

The museum is located at 655 Wick Avenue, across the street from the Wick and Weller Houses. 

For more information, contact Maria Barefoot at 330–941–3681 (mrbarefoot@ysu.edu), or Cassandra Nespor at 330–941–4662 (clnespor@ysu.edu).

Psychologist is Shipka lecturer

Carol Tavris, a renowned social psychologist, lecturer and writer who is devoted to educating the public about psychological science, is featured in the Shipka Speaker Series 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 30 in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center on the Youngstown State University campus.

The lecture is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the lecture in the Presidential Suites on the second floor of Kilcawley Center.

Tavris' book, with Elliot Aronson, "Mistakes Were Made (But Not by ME): Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts," applies cognitive dissonance theory to a wide variety of topics, including politics, conflicts of interest, memory (everyday and "recovered"), the criminal justice system, police interrogation, family quarrels, international conflict and business.

She has spoken to students, psychologists, mediators, lawyers, judges, physicians, business executives, and general audiences on, among other topics, self–justification; science and pseudoscience in psychology; gender and sexuality; critical thinking; and anger.