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

Calendar
Tuesday, Sept. 16. Paul R. Brubaker, head administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration and a YSU alumnus, visits YSU to discuss the progress of YSU’s Center for Transportation and Materials Engineering. Brubaker will attend a luncheon with YSU President David C. Sweet, Provost Ikram Khawaja, and Associate Provost for Research Peter Kasvinsky and will tour laboratory facilities in Moser Hall. The brief tour will begin at approximately 1:15 p.m. He also will tour Fireline TCON Inc. during his visit.

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 6 p.m. YSU students hold a Mock Presidential Debate in the Lyden House Courtyard. The debate is sponsored by the YSU College Republicans, YSU College Democrats.

Wednesday, Sept. 17, 12:15 p.m. The Kathryn Thomas Umble Flute Studio is featured at a free Music at Noon concert in the Butler Institute of American Art.

Wednesday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m. Seven area marching bands, including the YSU Marching Pride, are featured at the 2008 Parade of Bands in Stambaugh Stadium on the YSU campus. Gates open at 6 p.m. for general admission seating. Admission is $5 for single tickets and $10 for two or more same–family tickets. Parking is $5 in the YSU lots on Fifth Avenue numbered M–27 or F–2.

Wednesday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m. Youngstown Area Jewish Film Festival continues with a screening of Steel Toes at USA Cinema in Niles. The festival is sponsored in part by the YSU Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies. For more information, visit http://judaic.ysu.edu/film_festival.html. 

Thursday, Sept. 18. 12:30 p.m. Moshe Taube, a Holocaust survivor saved by Oskar Schindler, presents a lecture in McKay Auditorium in Beeghly Hall. The talk is free and open to the public. An exhibition about Schindler, the German–Catholic industrialist and rescuer of Jews during the Holocaust who was the subject of the film Schindler''s List, runs through Oct. 22 at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor. The official opening of the exhibit is 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18. The exhibit is sponsored by the YSU Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies.

Friday, Sept. 19, 3 p.m. The YSU Board of Trustees meets in the Trustees Meeting Room in Tod Hall. Prior to the meeting, the board will hold the following committee meetings in the President’s Conference Room on the second floor of Tod Hall: 1 p.m.*, Academic and Student Affairs; 1:30 p.m.*, Finance and Facilities; 2 p.m.*, Internal Affairs; 2:30 p.m.*, Executive Committee. (* approximate start time)

Friday, Sept. 19, 5:30 p.m. Alvaro Ram￭rez, a YSU alumnus and assistant professor of modern languages at Saint Mary’s College of California, gives the keynote address at the area Hispanic Heritage Celebration in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center at YSU. The celebration is the key event for the area’s observance of Hispanic Heritage Month. It is free and open to the public. In addition to the keynote speaker, the celebration will include a flag ceremony, with area Hispanic college students displaying heritage flags from 22 Hispanic countries, display tables, a dance presentation featuring “Flamenco Fuerte,” recognition of student achievements in the local Hispanic community, refreshments, and dancing to the music of disc jockey Kenny Reyes Productions. For more information, call 330–941–3370.

Sunday, Sept. 21, 3 p.m. The New AMICI TRIO performs works from Haydn, Beethoven and Shostakovich in Bliss Recital Hall on the YSU campus. The concert is free and open to the public. The trio consists of faculty in the YSU Dana School of Music – Michael Gelfand, cello; Dror Biran, piano; and Hristo Popov, violin.

Football Saturday

Saturday, Sept. 20, 6 p.m. YSU Penguins host North Dakota State at Stambaugh Stadium. All fans receive a YSU football schedule poster. The third annual Kids Tailgate Day starts at 3 p.m. in the tailgate lot. The YSU Marching Pride “Ice Breaker” pre–game pep rally begins at 4:30 p.m. at the Andrews Recreation and Wellness Center. Stadium gates open at 4:30 p.m. Ticket office hours at Stambaugh Stadium are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to kick–off on game day. 

YSU students continue reign at national MathFest
For the fourth consecutive year, students from Youngstown State University dominated the national MathFest competition.

YSU sent 11 students to MathFest 2008 in Madison, Wis., the annual summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America and Pi Mu Epsilon. Four of the students won awards for “outstanding presentations.”

Over the last four years, YSU students have won 18 “outstanding” awards at MathFest competitions, including four in 2007, five in 2006 and five in 2005. In comparison, no other university has won more than three awards at any single competition.

“Not only did all of our students give good presentations, they attended all invited talks and presentations of other students from other schools,” said George Yates, associate professor of mathematics and statistics and director of the YSU Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics. “This type of professional development gives our students experience and confidence that will prepare them for their future careers.”

Students giving prize–winning presentations this year were Matt Alexander of Espyville, Pa., Ryan Livingston of Hubbard, Jared Ruiz of Girard, and Doug Wajda of Farmdale.

Other students who presented at the competition were Erica Cross of Mineral Ridge, Tyler Drombosky of Boardman, Krista Foster of Girard, Damon Haught of Cortland, John Hoffman of Poland, Allison Wiland of Canfield, and Moriah Wright of Ashtabula.

Yates, along with YSU faculty members Angela Spalsbury, Jacek Fabrykowski, Jozsi Jalics, Thomas Smotzer and Padraic Taylor, assisted with the students’ projects and presentations.

Homework Express launches fourth season

Homework Express, an Emmy Award–nominated television show produced by Youngstown State University, launches its fourth season on Sept. 16 with some exciting new technology.

The interactive call–in television show, started in 2005, is produced by the telecommunications program in YSU’s College of Fine and Performing Arts and broadcast from studios in Bliss Hall on the YSU campus. Students call into the show and get assistance with homework questions from on–air teachers.

This season, the show is introducing Smart Technology, allowing Homework Express teachers to more effectively assist kids with homework, said Jim Stipetich, the show’s executive producer.

“We have a new Smart Board that will allow teachers to transform a math lesson into an interactive, vibrant learning experience,” he said. “Smart Technology lets teachers include video and multi–media in math learning. Plus, it provides opportunities for teachers and students to explore Web sites related to the day’s lessons, simply by touching the screen.”

In addition to Smart Technology, Homework Express this season plans to provide 24/7 live streaming from its Web site, www.homeworkexpress.org, through its partnership with local Internet service provider NOI.Net. Live streaming allows kids without cable but with high speed Internet to also benefit from the math instruction provided by the program’s teachers, Stipetich said.

In order to provide more opportunities for YSU students and better serve the community, Homework Express is recruiting university students from a variety of majors, including education, graphic design, marketing, and computer science. These students will contribute the skills, experience, and knowledge they’ve gained from study in their particular areas.

Hot 101 radio personality Kelly Stevens returns to guide the project’s on–air presentation. Veteran TV teachers Judy Moschella, Kristy Fill, Tom Burd and Amy Burd will also be back on the show.

Homework Express airs 4:30 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays on Time Warner channel 23 and Armstrong channel 20. It also will be shown via live streaming at www.homeworkexpress.org. Students can talk to a teacher live on Tuesdays and Thursdays by dialing 330–941–2030, or toll free 1–866–941–2030.

NY Times reporter featured in Working–Class lecture

Steven Greehhouse, labor reporter for the New York Times, will speak 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, in the Presidential Suite of Kilcawley Center on the YSU campus as part of the YSU Center for Working–Class Studies Lecture Series.

Greenhouse will discuss his new book, The Big Sqeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker, which exposes abuses by employers and points to growing problems in the economy.

Greenhouse will talk with YSU journalism students 12:30 p.m. Sept. 23 in Room 358 of DeBartolo Hall. A public reception, sponsored by the New York Times, is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Kilcawley’s Presidential Suite, followed by the public presentation at 7:30 p.m.

The program is co–sponsored by the YSU journalism program and the YSU labor studies program.

For more information, call John Russo or Sherry Linkon, co–director of the Center for Working–Class Studies, at 330–9412976 or 330–941–2977.

YSU students earn Women of Achievement honors
Four Youngstown State University students will be honored at the Women of Achievement in Diversity Recognition 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, in Room 2068 of YSU’s Kilcawley Center.

The honorees are:

• Achievement in Community Development: Molly Barns of Youngstown, advocate for diversity education and inclusiveness, intern at the Jewish Community Center. The award recognizes an individual that has performed extraordinary services on campus and in the community, in support of minority students and members of the community.
• Achievement in “Beating the Odds” — Jennifer Edwards of Youngstown, a non–traditional student, and working mother of four who has a 4.0 grade point average. The award recognizes an individual who is a hardworking mother that has maintained a GPA of 3.2 or above and has “Beat the Odds” by demonstrating the ability to successfully navigate the academic landscape while fulfilling the daily obligations of motherhood.
• Academic Achievement Recognition — Tarah Holness of Youngstown, who was a presenter at the “All Politics is Local Conference” at Walsh College in the spring and is a student assistant for the College Poll Worker Program. The award recognizes a member of an underrepresented undergraduate or graduate population with a GPA of 3.5 or above who has excelled scholastically and performed extraordinary service to the university or YSU student body.
• Servicio de Adjudicacion — Maria Montanez of Youngstown, Hispanic Heritage Programming. The award recognizes an individual who has performed extraordinary services in support of Hispanic/Latino students or the Hispanic/Latino community. 

The students were nominated by members of the YSU campus community and selected by the Women’s Achievement Diversity Committee. The program is sponsored by the Office of Student Diversity

For more information, call 330–941–2086.

YSU faculty/staff awards, presentations, publications
John Feldmeier, assistant professor, Physics and Astronomy, is a co–author on the paper “Planetary Nebulae in Face–On Spiral Galaxies I Planetary Nebula Photometry and Distances,” in the Astrophysical Journal. Kimberly Herrmann of Penn State University was the lead author.

Jonelle Beatrice, associate executive director of Student Life and director of the Center for Student Progress, and Pat Shively, associate director of the Center for Student Progress, presented “Youngstown State University’s Center for Student Progress: A Year of Success, Recognition and Impending Change,” at the Educational Policy Institute’s Retention 2008 international conference in San Diego. 

Cryshanna A. Jackson, assistant professor, Political Science, was the featured speaker for the Junior Civic League’s annual scholarship luncheon at the Holiday Inn in Boardman.

Martin Abraham, dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, co–authored a paper that was published in a special edition of the journal Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research. The paper, titled “Production of Hydrogen from Glucose as a Biomass Simulant: Integrated Biological and Thermochemical Approach,” focused on the production of hydrogen for use with fuel cells and the generation of hydrogen from biomass–derived resources, also discussing possible system implications of the production process. Abraham’s co–authors were Sadashiv M. Swami, Vaibhav Chaudhari, Dong–Shik Kim and Sang Jun Sim.

Ray Beiersdorfer, professor, Geological and Environmental Sciences, and W. Greg Sturrus, professor and chair, Physics and Astronomy, received a $566,467 grant from the Ohio Department of Education to fund continuation of the Ohio Partnership for Far East Region Science Teachers (OPFERST). This is the third year for the three–year project, which provides high–quality inquiry–based professional development for 350 K–12 teachers in the region. Beiersdorfer and Sturrus made a presentation on OPFERST in March at the spring meeting of the Ohio Section of the American Physical Society.

Sherri Lovelace–Cameron, associate professor, Chemistry, and Katie Cripe, part–time instructor, Chemistry, have published an article titled “Changing Science Teachers’ Beliefs” in the summer edition of the Academic Exchange Quarterly.