SSU is a stop on Georgia Trust tour

Savannah State University (SSU) will be a stop on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s Fall Ramble in October 2016. The Georgia Trust partners with local organizations across the state to arrange exclusive tours and special events in historic properties.

The Ramble will visit a number of sites during the three-day event, with SSU’s historic Hill Hall on the map for Sunday, October 9, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Historic Hill Hall is the oldest extant and most significant structure on the Savannah State University campus. Built in 1901 by students and faculty of the then Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youths, the main distinctive features of the three-story building are its large Palladian (or serliana) window, gambrel roof and Georgian revival portico. The building is named after Walter Barnard Hill, chancellor of the University of Georgia from 1899-1905.

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, a three-phase renovation began in 1999. Unfortunately, in May of 2000, the structure was gutted after a welding torch caused a fire during demolition of a steel staircase. The third floor was nearly completely lost and the building sustained extensive water damage in the aftermath.

The award-winning rehabilitation was completed several years later by way of extensive research, tested preservation methods and the use of authentic materials. Hill Hall reopened for use in the fall of 2008 and has once again become the centerpiece of Savannah State’s campus, housing the university’s main administrative functions and enrollment services center. In 2009, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation honored the exemplary restoration with its Excellence in Rehabilitation Award.

Register for the Fall Ramble tour.

SSU alumna wins naval maneuver competition

Savannah State University (SSU) alumna Ensign Shunsey Brooks won the Distinguished Shiphandler Competition in May 2016 at Basic Division Officer Course (BDOC) in Norfolk, Va.

Approximately 20 ensigns participated and three U.S. Navy captains judged the event. During the competition the ensigns briefed the captains on their plans then demonstrated their ship handling skills on a simulated system. The goal was to safely dock the ship, an LSD 43, on the pier in Norfolk while dealing with unfavorable environmental variables such as heavy winds and current.

“This means I have represented NROTC and Savannah State University well,” Brooks said, “which is enough to make me feel really proud. And I was the first person to win this competition with my ship platform (LSD 43).”

Brooks, a biology major from Vidalia, Ga., graduated from SSU in December 2015 and is currently stationed on the USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) in Mayport, Fla. As the Assistant Communications Officer she works in radio communications and is in charge of information technicians. Her division is responsible for ensuring all communications aboard the ship are functioning.

Just Keep Swimming

Like many of his classmates, Freshman Thierry Sawadogo has a big trip planned this summer. But his is not a vacation. He will be swimming for Burkina Faso in the Olympics in Rio.

A native of Ouagadougou, Thierry admits competitive swimming is not a popular sport there. “Everything is about soccer,” he says. It’s one of the main reasons he decided to come to the United States to study – so he could keep swimming.

He was eight years old when he first got in the pool. At 6'8" and 21 years old, he’s the best in his country. “I grew up watching Michael Phelps. I just knew I had to swim like him.”

Thierry is studying computer science technology at Savannah State. He sees it as a way to work in a field he loves but also to bring innovation to his homeland. “Since my childhood, I loved everything about electronics. Later, I would like to open my own business in my country and help industry build software and applications.”

Thierry trains everyday, before and after classes. “I just stay focused on my main goal. And remember there are people who believe in me, who are counting on me.”

Thierry will be competing under the flag of his country – “I love the U.S. but Burkina Faso… that is my home.” – at the summer Olympics in the 50m freestyle. “I’m a bit scared. It’s a big event, the dream of every athlete.”

Even with the facilities and training he has in America, he knows that he is not a threat to someone like Ryan Lochte this year. “But I will take notes for future competitions. And I will be ready for Tokyo in 2020."

The Path To Success

This story originally appeared in the 2016 issue of Arising, the Research Journal of Savannah State University.

Story by Amy Pine. Photography by Hon Low.

When Aaron Johnson first arrived at Savannah State University in 2012, the Augusta, Ga., native was overwhelmed. While juggling his classes was easy in high school, Johnson struggled to manage his new schedule. One day during his sophomore year, a professor told him about Student Support Services, a program on campus designed to help students succeed academically. Today Johnson is excelling in his classes, tutors fellow Student Support Services participants in his spare time and will graduate in December with a bachelor of science degree in biology with a concentration in secondary education.

Student Support Services was started by the U.S. government in 1968 to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The program is part of TRiO, a group of federal outreach and student services programs designed to help students progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to college and beyond. Savannah State offers three TRiO programs on campus: Student Support Services, Upward Bound and Educational Talent Search.

Student Support Services has been operating at Savannah State University since 1992. Today, the U.S. Department of Education-funded program assists 175 students on campus, facilitating student success by providing services that promote academic excellence, degree program selection and completion, financial and economic literacy, cultural competence, and graduate and professional program application and enrollment. In 2015, Savannah State received more than $1.4 million to continue the program through 2020.

“Our goal is to provide students with the support they need to help them matriculate and graduate,” says Gary Guillory, Ed.D., director of Student Support Services on the Savannah State campus.
SSU’s Student Support Services office serves students who are from low-income backgrounds, first-generation college students or those with disabilities. All of the students must demonstrate the need for academic support.

Once in the program, students attend workshops on an array of topics such as time management, engage with faculty during critical thinking and discussion hours, receive academic advisement and tutoring, attend sessions on financial planning, and learn about graduate programs and the application process.

Student Support Services participants also have access to the Center for Success, a comfortable space in Whiting Hall where students can go to study, have access to resources and receive tutoring services. The space has served as a home away from home for Johnson, who has spent countless hours in the center attending workshops and studying.

“Student Support Services gave me somewhere outside of the library where I could do my work comfortably,” Johnson says. “It also gave me an environment of like-minded people. Everyone is doing homework or working on a project or assignment or doing something business-wise or just trying to do better.”

Johnson excelled in Student Support Services and today serves as one of the program’s three student success coaches, tutoring classmates and guiding them in other aspects of college life.

Guillory says that the peer-to-peer coaching is one of the many reasons why Student Support Services has continued to succeed on the Savannah State campus. Based on recent statistics, 90 percent of students who utilized Student Support Services during the 2014-15 academic year were in good academic standing at the end of the year, and 76 percent of students re-enrolled in the university for the Fall 2015 semester.

“We serve students who are coming out of foster care, many of our students are coming from disadvantaged circumstances [facing] housing insecurity and food insecurity, some have experienced horrific violence in their lives,” says Guillory, who is assisted by a staff that includes Assistant Director Tameka McDaniel, Coordinator of Tutorial and Computer Services Lottie Scott, and Programming Specialist Desiree Johnson. “The program is very successful, even though students are coming from those very difficult backgrounds to achieve their college goals.”

For Shermia Fluker, a junior political science major from Augusta, Ga., Student Support Services has helped guide her on the path to graduate school and a professional career. “I have taken advantage of the free workshops for example [on topics such as] financial aid assistance, critiquing your resume and learning how to pay back student loans,” says Fluker, who has used Student Support Services grant aid money to help pay for school.

Fluker and Johnson are two of many Student Support Services success stories. Program participants in recent years include Jordan Riles-Ogden, Miss Savannah State University 2010-11 who now works as a career development specialist at SSU, and Brittany Bush, an honor graduate who received the university’s prestigious President’s Second Mile Award in May 2015.

“Student Support Services helps students to realize their college success goals, and in doing so, we’re helping to change lives,” Guillory says. “We’re helping students build confidence in their future careers, in their personal and professional lives. We’re helping to produce productive citizens who will advance this democracy of ours.”

Ramona Fun Day at SSU

By Shayanna Bonner

What better way to celebrate the love of literacy than with the youth. Rose Metts, Ph.D., of the Department of English, Languages, and Cultures, along with students of Savannah State University (SSU) felt the same way when they decided to start a literacy program in spring 2012. The literacy program began at Haven Elementary School, but then moved to Thunderbolt Elementary School soon after.

Metts, along with Neesha Navare, Ph.D., Michele Rozga, Ph.D. and Janet Spencer, M.A. of the Department of English, Languages, and Cultures started the Thunderbolt Literacy Program. In preparation for the literacy program, the first-grade teachers of Thunderbolt Elementary were consulted in December 2015. From January to April 2016, Metts, Navare, Rozga and Spencer visited the first-grade classes weekly and read Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary.

Along with reading, they engaged the students in games that included upper-level vocabulary, created art based on the story, and distributed foods that were mentioned in the story. They made the book a reality for the students. Metts created a memento book for each student, and it included statements and photographs of the Savannah State professors. “The visits made every Wednesday the brightest day of the week,” said Navare.

Now, you can’t end the classroom activities without a little fun, right? Ramona Fun Day was just the way to end a great semester for the students. On April 29, 74 first-grade students and five teachers of Thunderbolt Elementary, one parent, 12 SSU student helpers, and four SSU professors gathered in the Willcox-Wiley gymnasium to celebrate Ramona Fun Day.

The event got its name from the book the professors had been reading to the students all semester long. Ramona Fun Day was designed to reinforce the first-grade students’ levels of reading engagement and understanding through interactive games and activities. The goal is to increase the degree to which first-graders comprehend and retain information from books, while encouraging them to continue mastering their reading skills and allowing them to engage with positive, enthusiastic Savannah State students in hopes of instilling a long-term goal of attending college.

SSU students played their part in making this event worthwhile for the younger students. Students were involved in vocabulary games, obstacle courses to build teamwork and trust and reflective writing exercises. All in all, the first-grade students were impressed with the fun activities. “Turn the bus around and play the games all over again,” said one student as they headed back to school. “This was a wonderful event and I hope that we can do it again,” said Spencer.

Preparing for hurricane season

With Savannah State's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Program
By Preshus January

Savannah State University’s (SSU) Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) program is the only bachelor’s degree in homeland security and/or emergency management in the state of Georgia. It is the first in the United States at a historically black college or university.

The program prepares students with skills and information to coordinate the full range of resources to improve outcomes in disasters. It offers knowledge specific to different types and causes of disasters including comprehensive and hazard-specific practices that lead to effective prevention, protection, preparedness, response and recovery, and lessons from past disasters.

Assistant Professor and Special Project Coordinator Norbert Chandler is passionate about his students knowing the importance of professionalism and staying alert. “We don’t follow separate guidelines, we follow the same protocol as FEMA and we support it.” His 35 year tenure of law enforcement service, with 23 years dedicated to homeland security, has been influential for the program. “Safe, Secured, Unified, that’s the SSU we identify as.”

The HSEM program is built on current and developing research with an emphasis on lessening impacts of disasters on the most vulnerable citizens.

The program complies with the SSU Emergency Management guidelines and the FEMA guidelines, and it prepares students for public and private sector positions in this growing field.

“It’s a lot of pressure to be a part of this program, you have to be able to relate to people and have an openness about you. It’s the new, cutting-edge profession of law enforcement,” says Chandler.

June 1 is the beginning of hurricane season on the Atlantic Ocean. With SSU being located in the Low Country, and bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the east, it is important to know what to do in the case of an emergency.

Savannah has been in a drought with hurricanes. The last hurricane to hit Savannah was Hurricane David in 1979, which can lead to complacency. Chandler suggests that people should be prepared all year round. “I keep a bag in my trunk that has flashlights and batteries, emergency numbers and copies of important documents in a zip-lock bag, and special pictures that I otherwise would lose.”

Evacuation guidelines are particularly important and the Chatham Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) website features a variety of guides to help prepare families and individuals for safety in the case of a hurricane. CEMA has master plans ready to put into action at a moment’s notice, including handling increased traffic on evacuation routes.

“We have evacuation gates on I-16 to keep people from getting access in Savannah, so you can leave but you can’t get in. The faster we can communicate to the community, the better for emergency management. Everything starts locally,” says Chandler.

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The HSEM department annually sponsors a $500 scholarship to the intern of the year. HSEM also hopes to offer a fully online master’s program in the coming year.
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Preparation is key to successfully evacuating you and your family.

Important Hurricane Preparedness Tips:

• Know in advance where you will go and how you will get there.
• Create a “Go-Bag”.
• Have a communication plan for your household.
• Place important documents in zip-lock bags for waterproof protection.

A Dolphin Tale

A DOLPHIN TALE
This article originally appeared in the 2015 edition of ARISING: The Research Journal of Savannah State University

When a dolphin washed ashore on Tybee Island in early February, it could have been another heart-wrenching tale of an animal meeting a tragic end. But thanks to Savannah State University’s Marine Mammal Program, the death of the bottlenose dolphin known as Phineas will become a teachable moment.

Led by Tara Cox, Ph.D., an associate professor of marine sciences, the Savannah State Marine Mammal Program had been tracking Phineas since 2009. The program is funded through several grants at the university, including the Title VII, National Science Foundation Enhancing Diversity in Geoscience Education (EDGE), Bridge to Research in Marine Sciences Research for Undergraduates (REU) and Students Engaged in Naval STEM Research (SENSR) programs, among others.

Eleven undergraduate and three graduate students from the various grant programs currently serve as interns in the Marine Mammal Program. The students assist faculty with tracking the local dolphin population in Savannah-area waterways, then map their results back in the SSU Dolphin Sciences Lab.

Student interns in SSU’s Marine Mammal Program spend time on the water and in the lab. (Clockwise from top) Cody Rigney, a junior marine sciences major, studies distribution of dolphins. Associate Professor of Marine Sciences Tara Cox, Ph.D., is director of the Marine Mammal Program. Rachael Randall, a graduate student in marine sciences, spends time in the lab analyzing dolphin blubber for stable isotope ratios. Cassandra Harris, a sophomore marine sciences major, is working to reassess human interaction rates of bottlenose dolphins.

The SSU Marine Mammal team had spotted Phineas at least 16 times over the past five years, tracking the adventurous mammal as he swam around Tybee Island and up and down the Bull River. Beachgoers found Phineas’ body on Tybee’s north beach and contacted local authorities. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources was called in and performed the necropsy with assistance from SSU students and staff. The DNR then shared the deceased dolphin’s picture to its local stranding network, of which Savannah State is a part.

“When they did the necropsy, the dorsal fin was in really good shape,” explains Cox. “We identify animals by unique patterns of nicks and notches on their dorsal fins. My lab manager Robin Perrtree immediately recognized that it was one of our animals.”

Cox hopes that the lab results from Phineas’ necropsy will shed some light on why the dolphin was so emaciated and sickly when he washed ashore. The samples taken during the necropsy are currently being tested for a variety of illnesses including brucellosis, a bacterial infection, and morbillivirus, an illness similar to the human form of measles.

While disease may have been the cause of Phineas’ death, other dolphins in the area face challenges brought on by humans. Through their research, Cox and her team have discovered that the Savannah area has the world’s worst begging problem.

“We see dolphins begging about two-thirds of our days on the water and about a quarter of our sightings,” explains Cox, who developed five metrics to compare dolphins in the Savannah area to those in other dolphin hotspots around the world.

Begging poses a danger to dolphins, which are at risk for injury when they swim so closely to boats. The human snacks that boaters often feed dolphins can also harm the popular mammals.

Cassandra Harris, a sophomore marine sciences major from Stone Mountain, Ga., is currently working in the Marine Mammal Program to reassess human interaction with the local bottlenose dolphin population, updating research that was conducted by Perrtree over the last several years. Harris, who has been intrigued by dolphins since she visited Sea World as a child, is chronicling the number of begging events per sighting and per day, as well as the number of human interactions per sighting and per day.

Harris’ research will help Cox and her team understand the extent of dolphin-human interaction in the area. “My ultimate goal is to affect policy with our science,” says Cox, explaining that members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) came to Savannah a few years ago to observe the waterways and conduct outreach. Cox and her team also regularly visit schools and talk to local fishermen in hopes of discouraging people from feeding dolphins.

“It looks like there has been a slow decline [in begging],” Cox says. “It’s hard to say why, but we’re getting news articles out, we’re doing outreach and there’s been some enforcement. That may be making a difference.”

Harris’ research will be presented at a conference this spring and will be an important step in addressing and understanding the issues facing the local population, something that will help protect dolphins like Phineas for years to come.

The Road to Success

“The Road to Success” originally appeared in the 2016 edition of Arising, the Research Journal of Savannah State University.

Story by Amy Pine. Photography by Hon Low.

Savannah State University students will soon have the chance to become experts on the city’s impressive infrastructure —  and transportation systems around the world —  thanks to a new interdisciplinary grant program focused on transportation.

The Targeted Infusion Project in Interdisciplinary Transportation Studies (TIP-ITS), funded by a $399,548 grant from the National Science Foundation’s HBCU-UP program, will enable SSU to develop an interdisciplinary undergraduate certificate program to educate students in technical, logistical, policy, research and commerce-related issues of the transportation industry. The program is targeted to students who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM disciplines, though the certificate will be available to both STEM and non-STEM majors.

“It’s a three school effort between the College of Business Administration (COBA), the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS), and the College of Sciences and Technology (COST),” says Suman Niranjan, Ph.D., an associate professor of management in COBA and the grant program’s co-principal investigator.

“Transportation draws things from civil engineering, geographic information systems, which falls under urban planning, and global logistics and international business, which talks about supply chain,” says Niranjan, explaining that the certificate program will be available to SSU students as well as local industry professionals.

The SSU team in charge of implementing TIP-ITS includes Niranjan and Principal Investigator and COST Dean Jonathan Lambright, Ph.D., along with faculty members Mehran Mazari, Ph.D., assistant professor of civil engineering technology in COST; Bryan Knakiewicz, Ph.D., assistant professor of civil engineering technology in COST; and Daniel Piatkowski, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science in CLASS. Shilpa Prasad serves as the grant’s program specialist.

The Targeted Infusion Project in Interdisciplinary Transportation Studies team includes, from left to right, Suman Nirajan, Ph.S., Shilpa Prasad, Bryan Knakiewicz, Ph.D., Daniel Piatkowski, Ph.D., and Mehran Mazari, Ph.D.

Many students have already expressed interest in the transportation studies certificate, among them Sarah Dillard, a senior civil engineering technology major from Atlanta. Dillard says the new certificate program will enhance her education and help guide her career choices.

“The transportation studies certificate program will enhance my chances to secure roles that hold influential decisions on the regulations of the roadways and increase my knowledge of how I want to use my studies in civil engineering and technology.” Dillard says.

Feon Green, a senior global logistics and international business major from Savannah, believes that transportation is one of the key competencies that drives globalization. “I am fascinated with the supply chain. The different strategies on how to control the upstream and downstream flow of goods and/or services from the point of origin to end result being the customer is a vital part of our everyday lives,” Green says. “Transportation plays a large part in the supply chain. Without the different modes of transportation it will be impossible for us to survive. Transportation helps make the world more efficient, and I just want to be a small part of that industry and participate in globalization.”

In addition to the certificate program, the three-year TIP-ITS grant includes a research component for undergraduates. Each year, six to 10 students from across disciplines will be provided with stipends to conduct research. The students will work closely with local partners, including the Chatham Area Transit Authority, Georgia Ports Authority, Georgia Department of Transportation and IKEA Distribution Center, to solve industry-specific problems.

Area high school students interested in transportation will also benefit from the TIP-ITS grant through the program’s high school bridge program. For 20 weeks throughout the spring and summer, students in grades 9-12 will have an opportunity to attend specialized interdisciplinary classes on the SSU campus to learn about transportation systems. The program is designed to improve student recruitment and retention in STEM disciplines and introduce students to transportation studies.

The Transportation Studies Certificate program is expected to launch in Fall 2016. Lambright, Niranjan and the team hope that the program’s success will eventually lead to the development of a major program in the discipline.

Alumni Spotlight: Kelvin Frazier, Ph.D.

“Kelvin Frazier” originally appeared in the 2016 edition of Arising, the Research Journal of Savannah State University.
Story by Amy Pine. Photography by Hon Low.

Kelvin Frazier, Ph.D., was a fixture on campus during his undergraduate days at Savannah State University, conducting research in labs alongside professors, playing trombone in the SSU marching band and serving as a founding member of the Golden Key International Honor Society. Today Frazier, who received a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2015, makes it a priority to visit campus and share his experiences with current students.

“Dr. Frazier is the epitome of the phrase ‘Seriously Impressive’,” says SSU President Cheryl D. Dozier. “His successes both in and out of the classroom serve as a model for our students and alumni, demonstrating the value of hard work, determination and family support. He is also a stellar example of the importance of engaging students in research and grant-funded programs.”

Frazier, a Savannah native who graduated from Windsor Forest High School, was a participant in SSU’s National Science Foundation-funded Minority Access for Graduate Education and Careers in STEM Program (MAGEC-STEM), a grant program focused on increasing the number of minority students who successfully complete their undergraduate degrees and continue on to advanced degree programs.

Through MAGEC-STEM, Frazier engaged in research with his faculty mentor Cecil Jones, Ph.D., an associate professor of chemistry, analyzing ways to enhance the use of fluorescence in photodynamic therapy, a key component in some cancer treatments.

Through MAGEC-STEM, Frazier had the opportunity to present his research at numerous conferences around the country and engage in off-campus research at the University of Connecticut and at Procter & Gamble.

“My experiences helped me branch out my network and taught me basic skills I needed in order to succeed in graduate school,” says Frazier, who graduated magna cum laude from Savannah State in 2010 with a dual degree in chemistry and mathematics.

At his graduation ceremony, Frazier received one of the university’s highest honors, the President’s Second Mile Award, an award presented biannually to SSU students in recognition of stellar and meritorious achievement. He went on to matriculate at MIT in Boston, where he worked toward a Ph.D. in physical chemistry.

Frazier says that the research skills he acquired at Savannah State served him well during his five years at MIT, one of the  world’s most prestigious universities.

“Getting in to graduate school, you have to have quality research, and my research advisor (at MIT) looked at my application and saw the research skills I had developed (at SSU), and that’s why he wanted me in his lab,” Frazier says.

Frazier’s abilities stood out at MIT. He received a Provost Presidential Fellowship, the highest fellowship honor for first-year graduate students, and the university’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award, an award in which recipients compete against the entire MIT community.

In addition to garnering accolades, Frazier became deeply involved in the campus community, serving as president of the Black Graduate Student Association and the Academy of Courageous Minority Engineers.

“Savannah State made me very grounded. Who I was at Savannah State is who I was at MIT,” Frazier says. “People really appreciated that. Some of the things I was doing at Savannah State, like trying to build a community if I felt there was a gap, I took with me to MIT.”

Today Frazier continues to live in the Boston area, working as a business and systems integration analyst for Accenture, a global consulting and professional services company. He hopes to one day start his own bio-medical firm or even open his own hospital.

Student Voices: Blessing Enya

“Blessing Enya” originally appeared in the 2016 edition of Arising, the Research Journal of Savannah State University.

Story by Amy Pine. Photography by Hon Low.

I am originally from Nigeria, but I have been in the United States for the past six years. After completing high school in Atlanta, I decided to attend Savannah State University as an undergraduate at age 15.

Being accepted to Savannah State University at such a young age made me a little nervous because I did not know what to expect, and I felt like I was a little child in an adult world. For the longest time, 

I avoided telling anybody my age because I felt like I might be picked on as a result. At the end of the day, people were actually nice and helpful. It was important to me that I try to fit in as much as I could, without forgetting where I came from. My parents were always there to support and help me in any way they could, and it has helped me become the adult I am now at Savannah State University.

During my freshman year, I was a Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (PSLSAMP) Scholar, and I did my first research with Hyounkyun Oh, Ph.D., a mathematics professor, on historical trends and predictions in Savannah’s temperature. The main goal of the project was to predict the temperature in Savannah using regression method, predictive method and Fast Fourier Transform method and compare the temperatures within a 30- and a 60-year period.

By my sophomore year, I joined the National Institutes of Health Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (NIH-RISE) program and worked under Hua Zhao, Ph.D., an associate professor and chair of chemistry, doing research on biodiesel.

By Summer 2013, I got accepted to my first off-campus research position at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where I had the opportunity to work with Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D., an associate professor of biology, on a research project titled “Purification of BB0504 Protein of Borrelia Burgdorferi,” which involved converting DNA to protein and purifying the protein.

I completed my second off-campus research at Alabama State University on “Detection of Avian Influenza Virus (AIV) Using qPCR.” This research involved RNA isolation from bird fecal sample, converting to cDNA and quantifying the cDNA to detect AIV.

Presently I am working with Takayuki Nitta, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biology at Savannah State, on MLV virus and the how small GTPases play a role in virus release. I have presented my research experiences at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, the PSLSAMP conference, the Mathematical Association of America Southeastern Section conference, the Florida-Georgia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation conference and the Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM.

All of these research opportunities have helped me understand more about what is being taught in my classes. They have also helped me with my networking skills and helped determine my plans for the future.

My future goal is to get my M.D./Ph.D. degree in microbiology, and I believe that Savannah State University has helped me achieve my goals. I have been exposed to summer research opportunities, networking opportunities, graduate school seminars and scholarship opportunities that I would not have gotten at other schools. I have told people around me about the kinds of opportunities to which I have been exposed, and they have also had the same experience.

As a result of these opportunities and experiences I have received at Savannah State University, I believe I am Savannah Smart, Savannah Bold and Savannah Proud, and I can get anywhere from here.

True Chemistry

"True Chemistry" originally appeared in the 2016 edition of Arising, the Research Journal of Savannah State University. 

Story by Amy Pine. Photography by Hon Low.

In a chemistry lab at Savannah State University, Zakiya Barnes works with her faculty mentor, Pascal Binda, Ph.D., to conduct polymer research on the formation of biodegradable polyesters. Barnes, a senior chemistry major from Wichita, Kan., hopes the high-level research will help her reach her ultimate goal of joining the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate program (NUPOC).

“(The NUPOC) program is one of the most intellectually challenging in the nuclear field,” says Barnes, a self-proclaimed humanitarian who wants to protect her country’s liberty by serving in the Navy’s nuclear division. “The skills that I acquire in Dr. Binda’s lab really give me an advantage; I can apply the lab techniques and methods that I am learning now to the work I hope to do with the U.S Navy.”

Pascal Binda, Ph.D., (second from left), with his research assistants (from left to right) Zakiya Barnes, DeChristian Guthrie and Rasaan Ford. 

Barnes is one of several SSU students working on U.S. Department of Defense-funded grant research with Binda and his colleague Kai Shen, Ph.D. The College of Sciences and Technology (COST) faculty members each received a grant from the Department of Defense (DOD) Army Research Office in 2015. 

“To have two of our faculty members receive a U.S. Department of Defense grant at the same time speaks volumes about the caliber of the faculty that we’re bringing in to the college and what we’re doing in terms of advancing research and instruction for our students,” says COST Dean Jonathan Lambright, Ph.D. “One of the most important things is that both of these faculty members are well known for involving their undergraduate students in their research work.” 

Binda, an assistant professor of chemistry, received a three-year, $332,633 grant from the DOD to develop a cross-linkable biodegradable polyester using a lanthanide catalytic system. If synthesized properly, the new fabric may have the ability to retain its shape, even when manipulated. 

“Cross-linking polymer can help the military in many ways because of its shape memory. It can undergo high compression forces and extension and still regain its shape,” Binda explains.  “The ring-opening homopolymerization of alpha-methylene gamma butyrolactones has not been reported in literature.”

Boat hulls and pipes are just some of the potential uses for this new “smart” material, which could be utilized in both military and civilian populations. Binda says the cross-linking process could also be used to improve other materials such as Kevlar. 

To help develop the new smart material, Binda has enlisted Barnes and two other Savannah State students to assist with his research. Since joining Binda in his lab, the student researchers have conducted experiments on the formation of biodegradable polyester and have tested and used two different methods for forming the catalyst.

Barnes utilizes a glove box in Binda's box.

For Rasaan Ford, a sophomore chemistry major from Bronx, N.Y., the experience has not only given him invaluable research experience, it has also challenged him to find innovative solutions to new and recurring problems. 

“The methods learned and reactions performed have given me the opportunity to expand my view of how the knowledge of chemistry can be applied,” says Ford, who plans to pursue a Ph.D. in the field. “This research has really given me the chance to think about a problem in a group and construct many different methods as a means to solve the issue, as well as expand my horizons and knowledge of chemistry.”

DeChristian Guthrie, a senior chemistry major from Atlanta, hopes to one day put the research skills she’s learning in Binda’s lab to use as a chemist for a major cosmetics company. “Gaining experience as an undergraduate research assistant will be instrumental to my growth as a chemist of the highest quality,” she says.

The students not only assist Binda with his research, they also have an opportunity to attend conferences and present their research. Though they receive stipends for the time they spend in Binda’s lab, what they gain from the collaborative research with their faculty mentor is immeasurable.

“You need to learn how to work as a team and how to contribute to your team and communicate your ideas. You need to learn to think outside the box,” says Binda. “The student researchers learn the skills they need to succeed in the scientific community. (They learn to) review literature and to understand how to solve a problem when it arises using chemical knowledge that is learned from the university.”

Binda and his student researchers are currently working on the first phase of research. During the second phase of the project, Binda will utilize the gamma ray facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., one of his collaborators on the project. 

Down the hall in a different chemistry lab in the Drew-Griffith science building, Shen and his student research assistants are working on a second U.S. Department of Defense grant. Shen received a three-year, $320,972 grant to study the role of proteins such as metavinculin in cellular function.

Shen (center) with his DOD grant research assistants and other student research assistants (from left to right): Terrence Cumby, Raven Kessie, Edonna Johnson, Sakura McLaughlin (seated), Tiffany Villanueva, Rayne Clarrke, and LaTanya Downer. 

Metavinculin is a protein believed to play a critical role in cells sensing and responding to mechanical forces in their physical environment, from neighboring cells to physical stress. 

The grant will enable Shen, his co-Principal Investigator Karla-Sue Marriott, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry and forensic science, and five student researchers to better understand the sophisticated regulation of cell responses to mechanical forces.

“We want to look at what the mechanism is for the cell to sense and respond to (the) force (of metavinculin and other proteins),” says Shen, explaining that the DOD can utilize his research as a basis for designing and fabricating novel sensor systems for military applications. 

To help facilitate his research, Shen is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy, which has granted him access to the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in Chicago. Shen will utilize the lab’s Advanced Photon Source — one of the brightest x-ray beams in the world — to analyze interactions between metavinculin and other focal adhesion proteins in the cellular system. Shen will also have access to the ANL’s Mira supercomputer, which will enable him to simulate the complex cell signaling system.

Meanwhile back at Savannah State, Shen is working closely with his student researchers, who are utilizing high-tech lab equipment to investigate complex protein structures. The students have access to both a small-angle X-ray scattering and a Horiba Raman microscope, an instrument equipped with an ultra violet laser that enables them to analyze protein structure changes. The university acquired the high-resolution Raman microscope thanks to a $331,997 U.S. Department of Defense/Army Research Office grant Shen and his colleagues received in 2014.

Tiffany Villanueva and Edonna Johnson conduct research in Shen's lab.

Like Binda’s student researchers, the students working alongside Shen receive a stipend for their work, attend conferences and present their research. The experience is invaluable as students prepare to enter graduate programs and pursue careers in the field.

LaTanya Downer, a senior chemistry major from Atlanta, says that the opportunity to work on Shen’s DOD grant will help prepare her for a doctoral degree in analytical chemistry by familiarizing her with graduate-level research and teaching her how to conduct literature review — a key component in doctoral degree programs. 

“Working as a research assistant will benefit both my academic and professional career because it will provide necessary research methodology training and practical research experience, giving me a competitive advantage to start my career,” Downer says.  

Savannahian Tiffany Villanueva, a senior forensic science major with a concentration in chemistry, believes her work studying the role of metavinculin will help her reach her goal of receiving a Ph.D. in biochemistry. 

“(Working on the grant) most definitely already has benefited my academic and professional career. (It) has taught me the responsibility of conducting research, while learning how to better manage time. Additionally, working on this grant has also allowed me to obtain new skills in the lab, while allowing me to better perfect previously learned ones,” Villanueva says.

One of the most unique components of both Shen’s and Binda’s DOD grants is the forthcoming high school internship program. Both professors will select two high school students each to assist them with research. The students will spend eight weeks during the summer conducting research on the respective grant programs and will receive a stipend for their work.

“You start from high school, build the pipelines and you get them involved early in STEM research so that students can streamline into SSU,” Shen says.

Adds Binda, “You can only imagine how high school students can come and see the fancy things that we’re doing in science, and they’ll say, ‘Wow, I can do research.’” 

Harris Neck: Returning a land to its people

“Harris Neck: Returning a Land to Its People” originally appeared in the fall 2015 edition of Impressions, the Official Magazine of Savannah State University. 

Story and photography by Meaghan Walsh Gerard.

In October of 2014, Savannah State University’s Otis Johnson, Ph.D., scholar-in-residence, Dionne Hoskins, Ph.D., professor of marine sciences and director of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sponsored programs, and Jolvan Morris, Ph.D., Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center (LMRCSC) postdoctoral fellow, presented “Coastal Citizens: Where Ecology, Culture, and Politics Intersect” as part of the Distinguished Lecture series in the Asa H. Gordon Library. The lecture focused on the ecology of the southeastern seaboard, especially barrier islands and marshlands, with a number of Harris Neck Land Trust members in attendance. Those land trust members have been fighting to return to the acreage that is now a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge. Hoskins and Morris have been gathering oral histories from the Harris Neck residents and descendants.

“The African American Fisherman Oral History project is an ongoing initiative, so we are in fact continuing to collect oral histories from Harris Neck and several other Gullah Geechee communities from North Carolina down to Florida,” Morris says. “The oral history project explores the role and importance of fishing in these unique communities.”

The History

The Georgia barrier islands have been inhabited since early natives fished and hunted there. It was permanently settled in the 1750s by the Demetre-Harris family as a Sea Island cotton plantation. Following the end of the Civil War, owner Margaret Ann Harris willed the estate to her freed slaves. Many remained at Harris Neck and established a small fishing community. The small village’s micro-economy prospered and practiced sustainable farming and fishing techniques.

So they had a season and worked within that environment and they preserved the environment. Now everything had to work in connection with each other for you to get the maximum benefits from the environment. I don’t really think that they know that they were environmentalists, but they were good at it. - Wilson Moran, resident

In 1942, the U.S. Government was looking to acquire property up and down the coast for military use. Eminent domain claimed hundreds of acres of strategic land for use toward the war effort. Harris Neck was one of those places. A small airbase housed P-39s and P-40s to scout the Atlantic for possible German submarines throughout the war.

In 1944, the Federal Surplus Act was passed, which released the properties condemned in 1942. In 1948, Harris Neck was transferred to McIntosh County, which accepted a provisional deed to keep the airstrip in working order for the benefit of the county and surrounding areas rather than transferring it back to the former residents, as they claim to have been promised.

From 1948 to 1961, Harris Neck became a den of iniquity. The tarmac became a drag strip. The old officer’s club held illicit parties. The county commissioner illegally grazed his cattle. Meanwhile, former residents and their descendants had forged new lives outside of the fishing and aquaculture community.

When the federal government finally caught up to the county’s misdeeds, it reclaimed the land in 1962, stating McIntosh County was in violation of the terms of the airport requirements. It reverted to Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) and became a National Wildlife Refuge, primarily on the basis of a bird called the wood stork.

And my mother used to go down there on low tide, when it was time for the oyster season; she would go down there … and she’d open oysters, bring back and fix for us to eat, and then she would take the little dip net when the tide coming back in … and see the crabs comin’, and she’d put it out there and catch them and put it in the bucket. ... Yeah. Harris Neck was a blessed place.- Olive Smith, resident

 Former residents and descendants of those who lived on the small barrier island formally established the Harris Neck Land Trust in 2006, but they had been challenging the federal decision since it was made in the 1960s. Congressional legislation never made it out of committee for a vote. In 1980, a small group sued the government in Edgar Timmons, Jr. v. United States of America.

Our community plan will protect and preserve the wildlife, land and waters of Harris Neck. It sets aside, for permanent protection, all the ponds created by FWS and puts a buffer zone around Woody Pond, the main bird nesting pond, that is twice the setback distance recommended by the scientific studies. - David M. Kelly, project coordinator, Harris Neck Land Trust, U.S. Congress subcommittee hearing, December 2011.

Today the Harris Neck Land Trust continues to lobby for the ability to return. They held a symposium on the campus of Savannah State in February 2014. The conference explored the history of Harris Neck since 1863 and the environmental justice movement in Harris Neck since 1942.

A Teaching Moment

In 2014, the wood stork was down-listed from endangered to threatened, due in large part to the protected rookeries at Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge. It is one of a string of coastal marshes and forests protected for migratory birds and other wildlife. Tara Cox, Ph.D., professor of marine sciences, gave her students real-world experience. She asked them to create a plan that accounted for the Harris Neck Land Trust’s requests as well as the concerns of U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

“Students are encouraged to choose group projects that have actual applications in coastal zone management (CZM) class,” Cox says. “As I was investigating ideas for group projects for fall 2014, I was working with my Conservation Biology class on the Harris Neck project. The site plan seemed like the perfect fit for the CZM class — they needed to understand and incorporate all aspects of coastal zone management into the plan and it could benefit multiple parties — the Harris Neck Land Trust and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”

Coral Thompson, master of science in marine sciences candidate in Cox’s class, recalls the difficulty in balancing the two objectives. “My focus throughout undergraduate school was biology and I never thought about the politics involved or the social side of science,” she says. “The curriculum of the CZM class encompassed the laws regarding natural resources, and Dr. Cox encouraged the class to consider the impact of these laws and restrictions on the people living along the coast.

“This project was both grueling and rewarding,” she continues. “I did a lot of research on the culture of the Harris Neck Land Trust and their ancestors. As a person, the easy solution is to tell the government to simply return the land that was wrongfully taken. But the laws regarding wildlife refuges do not allow for the answer to be so simple. … In the end, our group wrote out a possible agreement for the two involved parties where only a small portion of the land would be leased to the land trust and the refuge would be gaining volunteers.”

The class’s carefully crafted plan was submitted to the Department of the Interior for consideration. It included a site map, accounting for refuge areas, a small number of environmentally sustainable houses, a working oyster factory and a heritage center. The proposal was recently rejected by the Department of the Interior. The Harris Neck Land Trust is working on future plans but they are not yet releasing the details.

They are determined to find a way to live in harmony with the land once again.

Further reading: Voices from the Fisheries – NOAA Oral History project

View more photos from Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge

Savannah State gala awards service and philanthropy

President Dozier with Rear Admiral (Ret.) Annie B. Andrews '83

SAVANNAH – Savannah State University's (SSU) 125th Anniversary Gala was held Saturday, November 14, at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center. Governor Nathan Deal was the speaker for the gala, the hallmark event of the university’s quasquicentennial celebration. Net proceeds from the university’s premier fundraiser, silent auction and acclaimed community event will support student scholarships. During the black-tie affair, the university presented Awards of Excellence in service, leadership, scholarship and philanthropy.

For 32 years of military leadership in the areas of manpower, personnel, training and education, the Award of Excellence for Leadership was presented to Rear Admiral Annie Andrews ‘83, who recently retired from the U.S. Navy. During her tour at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Andrews led the training efforts of more than 100,000 sailors for duty in the fleet and was instrumental in the commissioning of the Navy's only immersive simulator trainer, the USS Trayer.

For their immeasurable support to help educate Savannah State students, the Award of Excellence for Philanthropy was presented to Robert Jepson, Curtis Anderson and John Kane. In 2008, Savannah entrepreneur and philanthropist Robert Jepson developed a plan to provide full-tuition and housing scholarships for bright, deserving public school students. Joined by Savannah residents Kane and Anderson, the three businessmen established what is now the Savannah State University Board of Visitors Scholarship Fund.

For being a pioneering pediatric surgeon who continues to make significant contributions to the medical field as an adjunct clinical associate professor at Morehouse School of Medicine, the Award of Excellence for Scholarship was presented to James Franklin Densler, M.D., ’54. Densler received his medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., in 1961 – the first to do so with honors.

For having a strong record of community collaboration, for providing services to help low to moderate income families achieve economic stability and for being a catalyst of social change, the Award of Excellence for Service was presented to The Economic Opportunity Authority for Savannah-Chatham County, accepted by the agency’s executive director John Finney. The Economic Opportunity Authority of Savannah-Chatham County’s services range from early childhood education to homebuyer education and services for the homeless to job development and training to energy assistance for low-income residents.

For being a haven for homeless youth and being a bold proponent for the healthy development of children and young adults, the Award of Excellence for Service was presented to the Greenbriar Children’s Center. Greenbriar provides homes for orphaned and homeless juveniles as well as housing for young adults who have nowhere else to turn. Laurita Taylor, assistant director of Greenbriar, accepted the agency’s award.

The gala co-chairs were Charles F. McMillan, president and owner of McMillan and Associates, and David E. Paddison, president of Seacrest Partners, Inc. The title sponsor was SSU Foundation, Inc., and the presenting sponsor for this year’s gala was Thompson Hospitality, SSU’s foodservice provider.

Established in 1890, Savannah State University is the oldest public historically black college or university in Georgia and the oldest institution of higher learning in the city of Savannah. The university’s 4,900 students select majors from 27 undergraduate and five graduate programs in three colleges — Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Business Administration and Sciences and Technology — and the School of Teacher Education.

— SSU —

Study Better. Scientifically.

Finals week. Projects are due. Lengthy works cited papers are looming. You’re dreading the massive tests that lead to hand cramps.

There are ways to reduce stress, study better and ace those tests. And they’re backed by science.

MUSIC: It turns out that music does help your brain expand and create new pathways. Well, some music does. Much has been made of the so-­called "Mozart Effect" but it applies to most classical music of that era. Bach, Beethoven and other Baroque composers were also able to find the sweet spot in the music. There are some studies that think this can be applied to modern music like film scores.

In all cases, the key is no lyrics. The use of words distracts the language part of your brain from focusing on whatever you’re studying. Even an instrumental version of a song that you know the words to can do that.

Try a streaming internet radio site and choose one of the main classical composers. Let the radio do the work for you. There’ll be no distraction but it keeps that part of your mind calm while you study.

NOISE: This is kind of related to music, but in a different way. If you don’t like classical music but just can’t tune out the noise around you, try an ambient noise generator. These work in a similar way to the music, activating a part of your brain while leaving most of it to concentrate on studying. Coffitivity plays coffee shop sounds, RainyMood is, well, rain, and Sounddrown lets you pick from ten different soundscapes. There is a ton of scientific research on sound masking and it’s being put into use in offices and public spaces everyday.

LOCATION & MOVEMENT: Science says don’t sit in one place for several hours. Choose varying places to study. Even a different table in the same building can make a difference. According to an article in the New York Times, “simply alternating the room where a person studies improves retention. So does studying distinct but related skills or concepts in one sitting, rather than focusing intensely on a single thing.”

That goes for sitting anywhere for too long. Just 15-­20 minutes of a jog or a walk can improve learning and retention. Cramming is not nearly as effective as incremental studying. Study for 45 minutes, take a 15-­minute break, then come back to it. And pulling an all-nighter has been shown to result in lower grades, not higher. Breaking it up into blocks and giving yourself a practice quiz were the most effective studying habits found by the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest (highlighting was the least effective, if you were wondering).

INTERNET DISTRACTIONS: It happens to the best of us. All good intentions go out the window when there is a cat video on Facebook. Try something called FocalFilter. It’s a free program that lets you create a list of distracting websites then set a timer for blocking them. This is a great way to integrate the timing of your study blocks. For 45 minutes you know that the internet distractions are blocked. But you also know that you will have a break during which you can check in on your favorite time-­‐wasters.

And if you just can’t stay off the web, try StudyBlue. It’s a web-­based and mobile app that uses the format of study cards to help you retain information and identify what you still need to work on. Professors can even upload their own deck of flashcards to help students learn the material.

All the science confirms that concentration and retention happens best when learners are relaxed and in a calm environment.

Good luck on your exams.

Savannah State to offer Bachelor of Science in Education degrees

Three degrees added to School of Teacher Education

SAVANNAH – Savannah State University (SSU) has received approval from the University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents (BOR) and Georgia Professional Standards Commission to offer a degree of Bachelor of Science in Education (BSED). The anticipated start date for offering the BSED is the Fall 2016 semester.

This program, which will be housed within the School of Teacher Education (SOTE), will create a BSED degree in the areas of biology education, mathematics education, and engineering and technology education. SOTE faculty met with local and regional school systems to identify the areas of greatest need and the most up-to-date required skills for teacher preparation in STEM areas.

Marshalita Sims Peterson, Ph.D., interim dean of SOTE, remarked, “Savannah State is preparing education professionals and leaders committed to understanding and applying the most effective teaching tools and bringing forward the best in student learning.”

The teacher education preparation program already in place offers a degree in biology, mathematics, civil engineering technology or electronics engineering, with a teacher education program track. Students will graduate prepared to teach in their designated STEM field. This past May, SOTE had its first program graduate in Mathematics education.

Established in 1890, Savannah State University is the oldest public historically black college or university in Georgia and the oldest institution of higher learning in the city of Savannah.  The university’s 4,900 students select majors from 27 undergraduate and five graduate programs in three colleges — Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Business Administration and Sciences and Technology — and the School of Teacher Education.

Media Inquiries: email Loretta Heyward at heywardl@savannahstate.edu or call her at: (912) 358-3049


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Savannah State students release oceanography trackers

Drifter deployment
© 2015 SSU Marine Sciences


Drifters were designed and built by students

SAVANNAH – Students in the new graduate Advanced Oceanographic Instruments and undergraduate Oceanographic Instruments courses deployed two surface current drifters using Savannah State University's (SSU) research vessel Margaret C. Robinson on Friday, October 16.

In classes leading up to the deployment both the undergraduate and graduate students built the biodegradable drifters from bamboo and canvas. The graduate students devised the experiment to deploy in the historic floodwaters flowing out of the Edisto River, South Carolina, and into the coastal ocean.

“This real-life experience in experimental development, instrumental design and construction is key for our students to gain while at SSU so they can apply this knowledge out in the workforce or graduate school after graduation,” says Christopher Hintz, Ph.D., associate professor in marine and environmental sciences.

The positions are captured by GPS and the data is sent by satellite to ground based data storage approximately every 6 hours. The drifters are designed to stay afloat for several months. Rachael Randall, a graduate student in the marines sciences program, says, “One of the coolest things about this project was resurrecting skills we thought we would never use working in marine science, like sewing, and actually making an instrument that is reliable enough to support a really expensive satellite transmitter.”

The class took the drifters out in the early morning hours and had calm seas. “The deployment of the drifters was an exciting experience,” says student Nick Castellane. “A good amount of effort went into making these, and knowing the information received will contribute to the scientific community the world over is beyond gratifying.”

Though the drifters only report their positions, the information can be combined with data from the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). SSU’s classes are also using salinity and wind data from the Fripp Island NOAA Buoy to correlate the floodwater current movements with other factors in the area. “This is a real-world example of how oceanographers can use the multitude of oceanographic instruments and data available to understand regional to global scale processes,” Hintz adds.

Track the drifters.

Established in 1890, Savannah State University is the oldest public historically black college or university in Georgia and the oldest institution of higher learning in the city of Savannah. The university’s 4,900 students select majors from 27 undergraduate and five graduate programs in three colleges — Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Business Administration and Sciences and Technology — and the School of Teacher Education.


Media Inquiries: email Loretta Heyward at heywardl@savannahstate.edu or call her at: (912) 358-3049.

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