Lynchburg youth get taste of science at Randolph College

Excitement for science was palpable Tuesday afternoon as participants in Lynchburg Parks and Recreation summer programs came to Randolph College to learn about electricity.


Peter Sheldon, a physics professor, showed the children how electricity from Tesla coils and Van de Graaff generators—also called lightning machines—interacts with packaging popcorn, pie plates, and human hair.





Sheldon encouraged the students to attend the College's Science Festival, scheduled for March 23—25 next year, to participate in more cool science experiments.

Students help design cell phone program to improve health care interventions

Thawda Aung ’13, left, worked with Katrin Schenk, a physics professor, to program cell phones to track and encourage exercise. Yong Jun “Jim” Kwon ’14, not pictured, worked on the project in Nebraska.

A cell phone program designed with the help of two Randolph College students could make great strides for health care.

As part of the 2011 Summer Research Program, Yong Jun “Jim” Kwon ’14 and Thawda Aung ’13 devised ways that a cell phone could monitor a person’s location and movement, serving as a pedometer and sort of a personal trainer. Katrin Schenk, a physics professor, got them involved with the project. Researchers and doctors at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Northwestern University, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs also took part.

The research team’s goal was to create a pilot project in which veterans with adult onset diabetes would carry a phone that tracks their activity levels—how much they are walking and where they are going. The veterans would receive text messages or phone calls to prod them to exercise more or congratulate them when they are doing well.

The program could help doctors and nurses ensure that patients are getting the exercise they need. “If you monitor something like this more continuously, you might be able to intervene sooner,” Schenk said.

Aung and Schenk worked on the Randolph campus to write the program that would track location and movements and upload that information to a server. Kwon worked in Nebraska figure out how to convert motion data from a cell phone into a count of actual steps a person has taken.

In September, the Nokia phones will be distributed to veterans in Nebraska. The initial program would test whether the system helps promote more exercise. Schenk plans to present the findings in a conference in 2012.

About 90 Area Students Spend Week With WildCats Building Basketball Skills

Once again, Men's Head Basketball Coach Clay Nunley and his team members welcomed area youth--ages 6-14--for Randolph's popular summer week-long basketball camp this week.

Campers received instruction that included drills, 5-on-5 games, and contests. Special speakers added to the event. Campers were also able to spend time touring on Randolph's beautiful campus.

The camp is one of Randolph's most popular and fills up up every year.

Randolph Professors Use Egg-Carrying Rockets to Teach Science to Middle Schoolers

Randolph College professors Peter Sheldon and Peggy Schimmoeller hosted middle school students from Central Virginia Community College's 2011 Summer Career Academy Thursday, August 4. CVCC partners with the Region 2000 Technology Council and the Region 2000 Career Pathways through Tech Prep Consortium to host the high technology career academies for middle and high school students.
Students in the Advanced Manufacturing Academy spent the morning at Randolph College learning about and building bridges. They also built egg-carrying rockets that they then launched on front campus.

Randolph Professor Receives Second Fulbright

Jennifer Gauthier, a Randolph College communication studies professor, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant for the fall semester.

Gauthier will serve as Research Chair in North American Society and Culture at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec and will pursue her research on First Nations cinema at the National Film Board of Canada. This project examines films made by and about the Native peoples of Canada during the NFB’s 70-year history.

Gauthier is one of approximately 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in 2011-2012, according to the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

This is Gauthier’s second Fulbright. From 2000-2001 she completed the research for her Ph.D. dissertation in Ottawa at the University of Ottawa’s Institute for Canadian Studies.

For more information, please see www.randolphcollege.edu/newsevents/pressreleases/news_detail.asp?id=1315

Student Center Renovation Update: Aug. 3

What a difference a week makes! Work continues to transform Randolph's current Student Center. Construction crews are slowly removing more floors and walls in anticipation of the construction phase of the renovation. After decades of using small rooms and chopped up spaces, Randolph's students, faculty, and staff will soon have access to a completely transformed facility--one with amazing views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and features that include everything from a two-level cardio room to a student radio station overlooking the floors below it. The new performance theatre will take advantage of the beautiful arched beams and offer more venues for students on campus.

What is Wanda WildCat up to now?

Randolph College has always known its friendly mascot was a star. Word on the street is that Wanda WildCat was spotted posing for paparazzi today. What on earth is that 'Cat up to now? Only time will tell!