The year has gone by quickly, and the accolades for the department have stacked up. Our enrollment in the new environmental science degree is growing, and new student recruitment in the biological sciences program is on the rise. We are happy to see new developments at the Ozark Research Field Station that will expand capacity for our own student activities as well as visiting researchers.
In faculty news, Dr. David Westenberg was named a Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor, Dr. Yue-Wern Huang was named associate dean of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education, and I am both excited and sorry to share that Terry Wilson will retire at the end of the spring semester.
I encourage everyone to visit our department’s social media pages (see the bottom of this letter) to keep up with the goings-on, and don’t hesitate to stop by the department if you are passing through Rolla or visiting for St. Pat’s or Homecoming. As always, please reach out to me with any comments and questions.
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Students and alumni in the news
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Recent alumna Maya Washington’s research into the effects of autoimmune diseases on mesenchymal stem cells was featured on the S&T News website this past year, alumna Sarah Darknell shared her experiences teaching biology in the classroom, and Alex Kerr set all-time scoring and all-time rebounding records for the S&T Women’s basketball team.
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Westenberg named Curators' Distinguished Teaching Professor
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Dr. David Westenberg, professor of biological sciences, was named Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor. The Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professorship was established at S&T in 1990 to honor outstanding professors, call attention to teaching excellence, and foster improvements in teaching and learning.
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New faculty profile – Dr. Andrea Scharf
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Dr. Andrea Scharf, assistant professor of biological sciences, joined the department in Fall 2022. She grew up in Haan, a small German town near the Dutch border. She became permanently smitten with biology in high school upon first seeing microscopic images of mammalian cells and learning how one-cell organisms become fully functioning adults.
Scharf teaches S&T students genetics and studies how to model the impact of genes on aging with a focus on population level effects, reproduction, and neurodegeneration. Her lab is now fully operational, and she is working with four OURE students on phenotypes of longevity genes. Read her full profile online in the CASE October internal newsletter.
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Phonathon calling starts soon
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We are grateful for the difference your annual support makes in our work. Because of your generosity, we have been able to provide continued high-quality education, support and experiential learning to Biological Sciences students. So, when you get a phone call from a student eager to share what’s happening on campus and in our department, we hope you’ll take the time to connect and catch up. And we hope you’ll help us keep making a difference in our students’ lives by giving back.
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Missouri University of Science and Technology
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