Physics Professor Guides Innovation Workshop in Mexico City

Peter Hoekje, Associate Professor of Physics, recently traveled to Mexico City to participate in Semanai, a week-long event for students and teachers to experience learning in a fresh way. Semanai is hosted by a large private system of about 30 colleges known as Tecnologico de Monterrey.

Hoekje (middle) assists as technical adviser during Semanai
(Photo Courtesy of Tecnológico de Monterrey Facebook)

For the week's music production program, Dr. Hoekje was invited to give a workshop in musical instrument acoustics, and to serve as technical adviser and judge in a design competition.

Hoekje mentored 30 students from various majors such as music production, industrial design, mechatronics, and biomechanical engineering. Working in teams of five over the course of four days, the groups were tasked with creating n original design or prototype of a toy, digital interface, or musical instrument.

Among the complex creations that resulted: a musical interface, labeled the "liszt," which used different finger placements on sensors on the controller to play musical sequences.

During Semanai, Hoekje said, "The students are really enjoying the challenge, the opportunity to learn new things, and the experience of working in groups of people with different backgrounds." Hoekje hopes to do something similar at Baldwin Wallace.

BW Profs Present Innovative Teaching Techniques in Higher Ed

Baldwin Wallace Faculty Members Andy Dohanos, Susan Finelli, Paul Penko and Jack Winget were front and center, promoting inspired teaching at the 2015 Teaching & Learning in Higher Education Conference, a two day conference focused on forward-thinking research, practices and perspectives in higher education. The four BW professors presented work in their given fields to benefit other college educators attending the conference at Franklin University in Columbus.

Dohanos, a BW grad who now teaches in the department of communication arts and sciences, and Winget, a longtime theatre professor, joined together for a session titled "From Improv to Praxis: Cross-Disciplinary Teaching and Learning." The pair drew on their experience co-teaching an innovative class at BW that teaches conflict resolution through both theatre and communication techniques.

Meanwhile, Finelli, who teaches both undergraduate and graduate technology courses in the School of Education, promoted tech integration in the classroom in her presentation, "The Tech Toolbox: Building for Student Success!" Physics department colleague, Penko, discussed "the need for students to exercise the entirety of an engineering project" using rocketry as the model elective in her presentation "An Elective in Rocketry."

Physics Major Recognized at Women of Achievement Awards

Kaylee Yuhas ’16, an impressive BW physics scholar is the winner of the Dr. Jennie S. Hwang Award presented at the YWCA Cleveland’s prestigious Annual Women of Achievement awards luncheon and conference. Yuhas, who carries a perfect 4.0 GPA within her major (and 3.964 overall), is the third BW STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) major in row from BW to win the award.

At BW, Yuhas has been recognized as “Outstanding Physics Student of the Year,” is a member of the mathematics honor society, Kappa Mu Epsilon, and presented her original scholarly work on starspots at the American Astronomical Society’s 225th Annual Meeting. While adding a math minor to her academic rigor, Yuhas also serves as President of the Baldwin Wallace Problem Solving Club, and volunteers with the Richfield Kiwanis Club.

Outside the classroom, Yuhas, who aspires to earn a Ph.D in astrophysics or software engineering, has developed rich YouTube content to share complex scientific concepts in an accessible and entertaining way. She hosts instructional videos on her own channel, Explorium, and now serves as head writer at Life Noggin, an animated educational YouTube channel for people who are “positively obsessed with learning new things.” Life Noggin has more than 50,000 subscribers.

"As a physics major, I understand the beauty and importance of math and science, and was inspired to share that knowledge with others," Yuhas says of her video outreach. "My goal is to make the STEM field more approachable to both scientists and non-scientists alike, and pique my viewers' curiosities."

Icing on the cake? The Brecksville native authored two books while still in high school. Oh, and she's juggled 5 part time jobs to help pay for her education.

The $1,500 Dr. Jennie S. Hwang Award scholarship was created through the generosity of Dr. Hwang, a scientist, engineer, corporate executive, international businesswoman, worldwide speaker, prolific author, corporate director, university trustee and community leader.

Dr. Jim McCargar, associate dean of BW's School of Mathematics, NaturalSciences & Computing
celebrates Kaylee's scholarship award at the AprilYWCA Women of Achievement luncheon.
Astronomy professor Dr. Gary Kader also attended.

Summer Camps Reach Out to the Next Generation

The BW Conservatory of Music has many a summer camp
for pre-college students to take advantage of!

There is more to Baldwin Wallace University than the education of current college students. Each summer, BW hosts camps and programs dedicated to academics, athletics, cheerleading, music, and more;  offering a younger generation of students to benefit from the expertise and mentoring of BW's faculty, coaches, staff and students.

A new Health Care Career Exploration Week is already wait-listing, but other camps continue to register students. The Experience Honors Summer Program is dedicated to smoothing the secondary school to post-secondary school transition process. The Gedanken Problem-Solving Institute, headed by BW Physics professor Dr. Edwin Meyer, seeks to teach students about the importance of problem solving, as well as assist them in developing their own generalized approach to problem solving.

The Gedanken-Problem Solving Institute leads
 students to successful problem solving.

The Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music also has its share of camps, bringing in school age and adult learners to aid them in music studies, workshops, camps, and institutes. String, Piano, Band, and Music Theater camp are all options for younger students. Available to high school students is the International Guitar Festival, CSI: Conservatory Summer Intensive, and Music Theater Overtures (this writer's personal favorite!).

All of these opportunities, however, barely scratch the surface of what the summer BW has to offer. For an extensive list of the camps, click here. And check back, as new enrichment opportunities continue to be added.

Students and Faculty Elevate Science/Math Days at Cedar Point

The BW Cedar Point team, left to right, back row: David Revta and Dr. Ed Meyer, midde: Dr. Lisa Ponton and Alan Duncan, front: Brandon Dropic and Dr. Jim Emigh (not pictured: Dr. Peter Hoekje)

A group of Baldwin Wallace University students and faculty has transformed the learning materials used in one of the most anticipated spring field trips for Ohio middle and high school students: Physics, Science and Math Days at Cedar Point.

The week-long event (May 11-15 for 2015) turns “The Roller Coaster Capital of the World!®" into "the world’s biggest classroom" with special presentations, demonstrations and hands-on exhibits aimed at helping students to see how math and science apply to a wild ride on the Slingshot or the Wicked Twister, or the creation of cotton candy.

BW electronics technician David Revta spearheaded the BW effort to develop new middle and high school workbooks that include concepts, illustrations, and problems to solve—all based on the Cedar Point experience. “Our ultimate goal as education partner,” Revta says, “was to strengthen the ties to state science standards, and offer a progressive, tiered curriculum that will allow teachers to customize learning for their students.”

Brandon Dropic '15, a neuroscience/chemistry major from Seminole, Fla. got involved in this the project for the “unique experience of connecting other students to chemistry in a fun, non-traditional way.” He goes on to explain that “since chemistry questions had not previously existed, we were creating something brand new and exciting.”

While Cedar Point’s ties to the laws of physics are obvious, chemistry professor Dr. Lisa Ponton says finding chemistry connections sounded like a challenge. But, the inspiration came easily when the group visited the park to brainstorm. “We zeroed in on the steam combustion railroad, the kettle corn and cotton candy right away,” Ponton explains. “So we included problems like density comparison, moisture calculation, and the pressure involved in the corn exploding.”

In addition to Dropic, Ponton and Revta, the BW team included chemistry major Alan Duncan '15 from Valley City, Ohio, plus faculty members, James Emigh (education), Dr. Peter Hoekje (physics) and Dr. Edwin Meyer (physics).

BW also plans to send students and faculty to the park during science week to host a booth and answer questions, further helping Cedar Point to offer a one-of-a-kind learning experience, wrapped in pure fun.

Photo courtesy Cedar Point

BW Physics and Math Star Inspires STEM Careers on YouTube

BW student and academic powerhouse, Kaylee Yuhas is truly a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) superstar. Kaylee has earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average majoring in physics and mathematics and has set the bar unbelievably high by earning the highest grade point average among all physics majors. Yet, what distinguishes Kaylee as entirely exceptional is her passion for motivating young women to pursue STEM careers.

Kaylee has recently created an instructional video series called Explorium, earning her YouTube channel hundreds of loyal subscribers. The intent of Explorium is to make science more approachable and fascinating as well as to inspire budding scientists, especially girls and young women. The video series teaches complex scientific and mathematical concepts in an accessible and entertaining way.

Included in Kaylee’s scholarly work, is original research on starspots, which she presented at the American Astronomical Society’s 225th annual meeting.

Outside of the classroom Kaylee serves as President of The BW Problem Solving Club, is an avid reader and volunteers with the Richfield Kiwanis Club. Kaylee has also partnered with physics faculty to help teach 12-18 year old students at a problem solving summer camp and works five part time jobs to help pay for her education. She aspires to earn a Ph. D. in either astrophysics or software engineering.

Ohio Magazine Showcases BW STEM Scholar Success

The BW STEM Scholars program and physics and philosophy double major Sam Schwab '15 are featured in the current issue of Ohio Magazine. The "Career Choices" article notes the rise in U.S. jobs related to STEM, short for science, technology, engineering and math, and details how four Ohio colleges, including BW, are working to support student success in challenging STEM-related majors.

Schwab, who lives in BW's STEM Living Learning Community, had praise for opportunities that occur outside the classroom. “I was lucky enough to connect with some students and created a hands-on calculus course with a professor [ Dr. Edwin Meyer] last semester.”

The development of personal and professional career skills is another hallmark of the BW program. “We like the students to see the STEM fields as a business or entrepreneur opportunity,” Dr. Jacqueline Morris, director of neuroscience explained in the piece. “We want them to make the connection ... to make their education into a career.”

BW's director of STEM student initiatives, Stephanie Forstner, told the magazine that the BW approach, "offers holistic support — financially, academically and socially. Each student gets a success coach...throughout their college experience, and there is a real sense of community within the STEM program.” 

Statistics show that extra support pays off. BW STEM majors who are a part of the scholars program are nearly twice as likely to graduate with a STEM degree in four years, versus STEM majors who do not participate.

Physics Professor Authors Problem-Solving Book for Teachers

Dr. Edwin Meyer, chair of BW's physics department, is expanding the reach of his philosophy that problem-solving is a pathway to lifelong career agility. Meyer has co-authored a new textbook for teachers, “Guide to Teaching Puzzle-Based Learning" and is now available from all major booksellers.

The book, published by textbook giant Springer, provides teaching strategies to encourage and expand the problem-solving and critical thinking capabilities of all students.

Having spent time as a corporate job recruiter in the past, Meyer believes that problem-solving is the key to success in any field and incorporates this idea into both his own courses and into the guide book: “By far the most marketable skill in the workplace today is the general ability to solve problems. That is, the ability to think creatively and intensely - about anything,” Meyer says.

At BW, in addition to his physics classes, Meyer teaches graduate and undergraduate problem-solving courses that include a timed Rubik's Cube challenge, thought-provoking puzzles and other other mental calisthenics. He also runs enrichment programs for high school students and had led workshops and seminars on problem-solving from New Jersey to Australia.

Meyer's publisher, Springer, has plans to translate the book into German and Japanese, as well.

Professor's Lecture in France is "Magnifique"

Dr. Peter Hoekje, BW professor of physics got to take his passions across the world this summer... invited to give a lecture as a part of the International Symposium on Musical Acoustics in Le Mans, France.

The conference centered around research on the physics of musical instruments and voice, sound synthesis and analysis, and the perception of musical sounds. In his talk, Hoekje incorporated demonstrations of a variety of instruments, including the crowd-favorite "carrot clarinet."

Hoekje’s teaching philosophy encourages students to take their learning beyond the classroom: "All my classes incorporate hands-on or experiential learning, because it’s fun and makes learning the abstract concepts much easier. There is always a project where students apply the course material to something directly relevant to themselves."

While Dr. Hoekje teaches physics workshop courses and courses on waves, optics, and mechanics, he passes on his passion for musical science in his 100-level acoustics course with labs that include students constructing their own flutes.

Calculus Success Strategy Focuses on Concepts over Calculation

Ed Meyer, chair of BW’s Physics Department, is out to help students improve their chances of success with calculus in high school or college. “I struggled with undergraduate calculus under the traditional mathematics teaching model,” admits Dr. Meyer, who worked for more than a decade as a corporate research scientist. “Calculus should not be a roadblock to success in the STEM disciplines.”

In a two-evening Hands-on Calculus short course coming up on August 12 and 14 at BW, Meyer and several master teaching assistants will throw out the usual derivatives and integrals, in favor of fun, hands-on exercises that will help students grasp the ideas behind calculus.

“Students can get the right derivative and still be frustrated because they have no idea what it means,” continues Meyer. “The new Common Core standards emphasize an understanding of the concepts over the ability to memorize formulas. This course will focus on concepts over calculation.”

“Hands-on Calculus” will run from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 12 and Thursday, August 14 at BW’s Center for Innovation and Growth (340 Front St, Berea). The course is appropriate for motivated and curious middle school students, high school students, and entering college freshmen that have a basic understanding of manipulating equations with algebra. Dr. Meyer is hoping for multi-generational attendance so that all can have some fun with applying calculus to better understand it.  The cost is $39 or $49 for families and includes all materials and snacks. Call 440-826-2312 for information or to register.

Physics Major Impresses NASA - Extends Space Center Internship

BW physics major Gil Montague '15 has put in such an impressive performance in his summer internship at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Fla. that he's been asked to stay on for 16 weeks in the fall. The physics major and co-founder of BW's Problem Solving Club has been working on a swarming robotics research project funded by the NASA/KSC Innovation Fund.

"I really think the field of robotics and artificial intelligence will positively impact the future of mankind so I applied to this opportunity at Kennedy Space Center to be a part of that change," Gils says.

"Gil loves a challenge," says Professor Ed Meyer, who chairs BW's physics department and advises the Problem Solving Club, "When tackling a hard problem, he is absolutely relentless in his pursuit of the answer. I expect that is what impressed the folks at NASA."

Gil tells us that the NASA project has implications for future space missions. "It's a collaboration between the KSC Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations group, the University of New Mexico Biological Computation Lab, and the NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group and focuses on the development of software algorithms for possible use in future NASA extraplanetary robotics missions."

Fortunately Gil has already satisfied his physics major requirements and can stay the additional 16 weeks to on this exciting project.

Challenging Summer Camp Featured in Crain's Cleveland

The summer enrichment program started by BW's problem-solving champion and physics chair Edwin Meyer has caught the attention of Crain's Cleveland.

In a story profiling innovative pre-college summer programs for high school students, the weekly business magazine shines a light on Meyer's Gedanken Institute for Problem Solving, a day camp experience that challenges students ages 12 to 16 with real-world problem-solving exercises and games. “It's the week I look forward to all year,”  Meyer told Crain's. “It's exhausting, but the students have a blast. To work with young people, when you see the light go on, it's worth it.”

“This can be a life-changing event for a student,” Meyer said. “It's also an opportunity for them to develop social capital: to get to spend eight or nine hours a day with people who think like them.”

BW is welcoming students of all ages to campus this summer. For more information on the problem-solving camp and many others, visit the BW camp listing page online.

BW Physics Prof Calculates Home Run Physics for Indians

For the Cleveland Indians 20th home opener at Progressive Field, Baldwin Wallace physics professor Ed Meyer ran the numbers on home run hitting for a WKYC-TV 3 pregame special.

In the report on the science of slugging, Dr.  Meyer recounted how he helped the Indians locate the stadium's home run porch, calculating the distance to keep long ball production steady.

Meyer also noted that the number he (and all Tribe fans) are most interested in adding up this season is "wins!"

Sean Anderson '15 Seizes Research Opportunities

Sean Anderson '15, a Neuroscience-Psychology major, has made the most of his time here at BW, assisting in numerous Neuroscience Lab and physics research projects, such as how normal-hearing people adapt to similar deficits in auditory information.

Over the summer, Anderson, who's been active in BW's research community, was selected out of 400 students for the Summer Research Initiative - a competitive internship at the University of Maryland that promotes diversity in social science.

His ultimate goal is to earn a doctorate in Cognitive Neuroscience or Hearing and Speech sciences.

School as Mental Gymnasium - Dr Edwin F Meyer at TEDx

Physics professor Ed Meyer, BW's resident "personal trainer for the mind," puts his passion for problem-solving into a TED Talk, at a TEDx event organized by Bendix. (This link picks up in the middle of his talk, the full 15-minute talk is embedded below.)

TED Talks are all about "ideas worth spreading." Meyer, who teaches a popular problem-solving course at BW, has spread his message about the need to develop mental fitness through problem solving literally around the world, most recently at a CS4HS conference at Rutgers University. (Photo below)

Deying Gravity on NASA's "Vomit Comet"

Five Baldwin Wallace University students conducted summer research during a wild ride on NASA’s “Weightless Wonder” airplane, aka "the Vomit Comet." The BW experiment was one of just fourteen selected for NASA’s 2013 Reduced Gravity Student Flight Program.  Read more about our fearless flyers' amazing adventure on the BW website, in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, on space.com, in The Strongsville Post and in the Strongsville Patch.

Left to right, Astronaut Mike Fossum, Sarah Rospert '13 (biology), Astronaut Cady Coleman, Carissa Bonus '13 (biology), Logan Sirline '14 (neuroscience/chemistry) and Frank Prochaska, NASA Reduced Gravity Education Program Manager