Spotlight
Summer 2008 Back to Spotlight home page
Foundation’s new grant program funds eight faculty projects
A pilot program of the ESU Foundation to fund small faculty grants awarded its first series of grants to eight faculty projects this spring.
Faculty members are expected
to engage in research, and it’s often
difficult to find the necessary funding.
The ESU Foundation Board of Trustees
elected to begin the Faculty Incentive
Grant program to provide small grants
for projects that aren’t as readily funded
by other sources.
A selection committee chose eight
proposals representing six academic
departments, awarding more than
$15,000 in funding. Another round of
selections is planned for late in the fall
semester.
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| Aber tested the grant-funded camera in Cuchara, Colo., capturing the scenery above in normal visible color, and below with the camera, in infared. |
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| Aber and others are preparing ESU's Ross Natural History Area for experimentation in burning. They've mowed grid lines to establish test plots. |
In May, Dr. James Aber already had
a new infared digital camera, purchased
with grant money, ready
to use for a summer course
called “Small Format Aerial
Photography.” The camera
captures red light just
beyond the human eye’s
visible spectrum. Plants
are very sensitive to this
portion of the spectrum –
anything photosynthetic
will show up in the camera’s
pictures, and so the imagery
is used widely in vegetation
studies. The development of
the technology has military
origins – it was used to
distinguish camouflage from
vegetation in WWII, Aber
said.
Aber, along with ESU professors
Richard Sleezer, a soil specialist, and
William Jensen, manager of ESU’s
natural history areas, has plans for the
camera. They’re planning a field study
with students in which they’ll subject
blocks of a grid of prairie acreage to
different burning frequencies and
timing, and the camera will monitor
how the vegetation changes. The work
is multidisciplinary, with students
coming from the earth science and
biology areas, along with geology,
library science and even art.
Those interested in supporting the
Faculty Incentive Grant program may
send donations to the ESU Foundation,
1500 Highland St., Emporia, KS 66801,
or give online at www.emporia.edu/give.
Spring 2008 awards
• James S. Aber, with R.L.
Sleezer and W.E. Jensen. Physical & Biological
Sciences. Agricultural Digital
Camera with LCD.
• Jane H. Eberle. Instructional
Design & Technology. Interactive devices and
software options to offer
hands-on learning tools
and experiences to enhance
student teacher preparation.
• William Jensen. Biological
Sciences. Radio telemetry
equipment to monitor wild
animals.
• James Persinger. Psychology. Completing“Trainer of Trainers” sessions
to provide training for school
personnel in school crisis
prevention and response.
• Larry Schwarm. Art.
Traveling exhibition of
photographs of the city
of Greensburg’s tornado
devastation.
• C. Matt Seimears. Early
Childhood/Elementary
Teacher Education. Attending
the Oxford Round Table to
present a paper on balancing
national and state curricula.
• Kenneth A. Weaver. Psychology & Special
Education. Travel expenses
to participate in 2008 APA
National Conference on
Undergraduate Education in
Psychology.
• Linda Adams-Wendling. Newman Division of
Nursing. Nursing laboratory
equipment for instruction in
real-life clinical scenarios to
provide opportunities to make
patient care decisions in a
controlled environment.
Note: Some awards were for partial project funding.
Last Updated July 15, 2008