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This award-winning article picked up a bronze for excellence in writing in the category of "research/technology/science feature," at the CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) District VI conference in January 2008, competing against universities of all sizes!

WOW! The sensation of discovery: faculty research and creativity

by Jesse Tuel

Japan’s mythical gods of wind and thunder rampaged through Albert Taylor Hall at the presidential inauguration ceremony in late March, their interplay building to a quaking crescendo at the fingertips of the ESU Wind Ensemble and its conductor, Dr. Gary Ziek. His composition climaxed, and just as quickly, it was silent. Whispered one audience member, “Wow.”

“Wow” is what happens when ESU’s researchers and artists are turned loose to discover their disciplines, in a pursuit that is complementary to teaching and not always included in the image of a professor and chalkboard. In disciplines across campus, it is an expectation and a privilege to uncover the unexpected. The tenure mechanism encourages it by setting standards, and peer-reviewed publications demonstrate the excellence of ESU faculty in their fields.

Ziek, director of bands and associate professor of trumpet, spent his summer 2006 vacation in Japan, collecting impressions of the country and its people. A six-week case of writer’s block left him staring at a blank computer screen, until he realized he couldn’t channel indigenous Japanese sounds – he had to view Japan through a language he understands, that of Western music. Then the piece spilled out, as if it was already
there.

Dr. Gary Ziek (above)

Dr. Michael Butler (above)

A robot from the department of instructional design and technology at the 2007 Research and Creativity Forum.

“After I got over that, the piece kind of wrote itself in about three weeks,” Ziek said. “It’s hard to say where you get your ideas sometimes. They kind of pop into your head.”

The five-part “Impressions of Japan” (here it online) is one of 20-plus pieces Ziek has composed in the last decade, and his creations have been performed about 250 times around the world. Meanwhile, Ziek and other faculty members get the chance to mentor blossoming students. “That makes you feel very proud when you’re passing on the torch,” he said.

Before Dr. Michael Butler tested the agility and reaction time of every ESU athlete two years ago, he had speculated that basketball players might be the quickest. But surprise – the associate professor found that it’s volleyball players, by a slight margin.

Butler’s ongoing research on athletes’ response times builds on his expertise in motor skills (see the video). Athletes, standing on a large pad with a square in the middle and four squares around it, respond to the computer screen’s instructions by jumping to the appropriate square. The equipment was developed by former ESU football player John Lohmeyer (BSE 1974, MS 1977), a member of the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame and the ESU Foundation Board of Trustees, in collaboration with a colleague in Salina, Dr. Gary Harbin.

Traditional reaction time testing involves pushing buttons. Butler’s research comes closer to an athletic simulation by measuring agility and response time. “I’m not aware that it’s ever been done – at least not in an academic setting,” Butler said. “We’re kind of measuring something that’s never been measured in this way.”

Athletes use their agility to move, and their intelligence to recall where the colors are below their feet – just like a football player reacting to the offense within the context of the defensive scheme his coach called. Real-world applications for Butler’s research include, for instance, athlete safety. Say a running back suffers a concussion – his performance can be tested and compared to preseason results. If the results don’t match, the ball carrier isn’t ready to avoid those pulverizing linebackers.

Butler’s talent is exposing students to a higher level of education, Lohmeyer said, and the equipment becomes a teaching tool for research. “The world is craving better
and more detailed knowledge on athletes,” Lohmeyer said. “I think it speaks well of Emporia State that this kind of work is under way.”

Just like their students, teachers are constantly absorbing knowledge. Dr. Scott

Dr. Scott Crupper

Crupper, associate professor in the department of biological sciences, earned the 2007 President’s Award for Research and Creativity. Collaborating with other researchers around the nation, Crupper searches for antibiotics and bacteria that will kill cancer cells, and students work alongside him. “I think it makes me a better teacher because you can pull from your personal experiences,” Crupper said. “Having a background where you’re actually researching in a laboratory helps us teach more authoritatively.”

Dr. Zane Swanson would know something about that. Swanson, an associate professor in the department of accounting and information systems, along with other professors, led a team of ESU students to the 2006 grand championship in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language). The ESU team took the top international prize for writing an XBRL software program for auditing that flags unusual transactions. At the 14th International XBRL Conference in 2006, the SEC chairman recognized ESU in his remarks. Swanson was there with two MBA students from the team. “These guys got mobbed afterward,” Swanson said of the students. “One of the firms invited them to dinner. They both got job offers as a consequence of that.”

Tenure is the mechanism that ensures quality control among faculty members, who are eligible in their sixth year of teaching. Assistant professors, associate professors and
professors are promoted along the tenure track based on their performance; in all academic departments, faculty members must engage in research or scholarly activity,
said Dr. John Schwenn, vice president for academic affairs.

“The universal idea is that, if you demonstrate it, you’re going to continue it in the future,” Schwenn said.“It helps measure the quality of the faculty we have. It’s a
set standard that helps us say, ‘You’re quality and you are worth investing in.’” The low teacher-student ratio at ESU means undergraduates and graduates are working with experts. “I think the one-on-one interacting with faculty makes a really big difference in the type of education you get,” Schwenn said. “There is really someone watching out for you, you have someone who knows you, who can provide you with stimulus and direction that is tailored to you.”

Last Updated April 17, 2008