Three YSU mathematics students will be presenting their research results at the Joint Mathematics Meeting of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America in January in Washington D.C. From the left are YSU math students Jared Ruiz, Ryan Livingston and John Hoffman, and their faculty advisor, Jacek Fabrykowski. See News Brief below.

Calendar
Wednesday, Dec. 17. YSU Board of Trustees meets in the second floor conference room of Tod Hall on the following schedule: 1 p.m., Executive Committee; 1:15 p.m., Internal Affairs Committee, 1:45 p.m., Finance and Facilities Committee. The regular quarterly Board of Trustees meeting will be 3 p.m. in the Trustees Meeting Room on the first floor of Tod Hall.

Thursday, Dec. 18, 1:30 p.m. YSU announces a prestigious, seven–figure gift to the Centennial Capital Campaign. News conference will be in the Presidential Suites of Kilcawley Center.

Friday and Saturday, Dec. 19 and 20. YSU’s Ward Beecher Planetarium presents free shows: Of Space and Time at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and Wilbear’s Adventure at 1 and 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Saturday, Dec. 20, 2:05 p.m. YSU women’s basketball team plays Akron at Beeghly Center.

Math students present research at national conference
Three mathematics students at Youngstown State University will be presenting their research results at the Joint Mathematics Meeting of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America in January in Washington, D.C.

Students John W. Hoffman of Poland, W. Ryan Livingston of Hubbard and Jared M. Ruiz of Girard will make a presentation titled “A Note of Covering Systems of Congruences: Variations on a 2002 AIME Problem.”

This is the latest in a string of accomplishments for the mathematics trio. Last summer, the three were selected to participate in an eight–week research experience for undergraduate students operated by the Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics at YSU. Funded by the J. Douglas & Barbara Faires Endowment Fund, the team worked under the direction of Jacek Fabrykowski, YSU professor of mathematics and statistics. Ruiz received summer support from the University of Akron (McNair Scholar Program). They investigated covering systems of congruences in the field of number theory. The program ran from May 16 through July 11, and the threesome prepared five manuscripts for publication.

Ruiz, Livingston and Hoffman also attended the Annual Summer Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America and Pi Mu Epsilon in Madison, Wisc., in late July and made presentations.

Students are encouraged to pay tuition online
Youngstown State University students making out their end–of–the0year “to–do” lists should make sure to add this item: Pay tuition bill online.

Students can now pay their bills online through the MyYSU portal. And, students who make the payments online before Jan. 5 will have a chance to win a new laptop computer and other prizes from Staples.

“Using the MyYSU portal is a secure, simple, convenient, quick and environmentally–friendly way to pay your bill,” said Beth Yeatts, director of Student Accounts and University Receivables. “We encourage all students to use the system.”

As an incentive, YSU is offering a laptop computer from Staples. Students who make a payment online between Dec. 8, 2008, and Jan. 5, 2009, will be eligible. The winner will be selected randomly. Second prize is a $50 gift certificate from Staples, and third prize is a $50 Staples gift certificate.

Yeatts said that billing statements for Spring 2009 semester will be sent out after Dec. 15, by regular mail. Students will also receive an e–mail notice that they can review their new billing statement online. To review the statement and pay the bill online via the portal home page, students should click on “Student Accounts” under the e–Services for Students heading then click on the “Bill and Payment Information” link. Students can pay by credit card or from their savings or checking accounts. Students who encounter access or technical problems should contact the YSU Tech Desk at 330–941–1595.

Also, Yeatts noted that students who want to set up an installment payment plan for their bill can only do so online through the MyYSU portal. “So, in addition to being simple and safe, paying online is the only way to set up an installment plan,” Yeatts said.ﾠ “It truly is the way to go when paying your bill.”

For more information, call 330–941–3133.

Faculty/staff awards, presentations, publications
Julie Blaskewicz Boron, assistant professor, Psychology, co–authored a published chapter, “Midlife Cognition: The association of personality with cognition and risk of cognitive impairment,” with Sherry L. Willis of Pennsylvania State University. She also organized a symposium, titled “CREATE: Understanding the potential of healthcare technology to improve the lives of older adults,” which was presented at the Annual Gerontological Society of America Conference in San Francisco. She presented a paper at the symposium, “Complexity of Older Adults’ Medication Regimens,” and presented two posters on cognitive development in adulthood based on participants of the Seattle Longitudinal Study. Additionally, Boron attended the Cognitive Aging Conference in Atlanta where she presented a poster, “Effects of facet–level personality on cognitive ability in adulthood: Seattle Longitudinal Study,” and co–authored a poster titled “Understanding older adults’ attitudes about technology use in the home.”

Frank X. Li and Faramarz Mossayebi, assistant professors, Electrical & Computer Engineering, presented papers at the 115th annual American Society for Engineering Education Conference and Exposition in Pittsburgh. Li’s presentation was titled “Developing an Induction Heating System Laboratory with DSP Microprocessors and Power Electronic Devices.” Mossayebi’s presentation was titled “Developing an Advanced Digital Control Laboratory with a System–on–programmable–chip (SOPC).” 

Carl Sims, assistant professor, Biology, presented and coauthored a research poster, titled “Sex Differences in the L–Type Calcium Current in Adult Rabbit Right Ventricular Myocytes Modulate Gender Vulnerability to Early Afterdepolarizations,” at the International Biophysical Society meeting. The research was also published in abstract form in the Biophysical Journal. Additionally, Sims coauthored and published an article, titled “Sex, Age and Regional Differences in L–type Calcium Current Are Determinants of Arrhythmia Phenotype in Rabbit Hearts with Drug Induced Long QT Type 2,” in the scientific journal Circulation Research. 

James Andrews, professor, Physics & Astronomy, co–authored a paper titled “Melt–Processed All–Polymer Distributed Bragg Reflector Laser,” published in Optics Express, an optics research journal. The paper was also featured on the Institute of Physics Web site, Optics.org. Andrews wrote the paper with researchers from Case Western Reserve University’s Departments of Physics and Macromolecular Science & Engineering. 

Deborah Mower, assistant professor, Philosophy and Religious Studies, was awarded a 2008 NEH Summer Seminar grant to study Eastern and Western approaches to Confucianism as a version of Virtue Ethics. The seminar, titled “Traditions into Dialogue: Confucianism and Virtue Ethics,” is held at the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University and brings scholars together from around the world. Mower also had a poster paper, titled “Sex Differences in Moral Interests: The Role of Kinship and the Nature of Reciprocity,” accepted at the 34^th Annual meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology.