Research Projects: (2008-2009)

Dr. Daniel Beckman, professor of biology, received a grant of $19,382 to help fund his project, "City of Springfield Biological Assessment of Urban Streams V." This project helps to determine the health of local streams such as Jordan Creek, Wilson's Creek and Galloway Creek.

Dr. Xin Miao, assistant professor of geography, geology and planning, received a grant of $111,597 from the University of Nevada for the project, "Ecosystem Indicators." This study will provide a complete geomorphology - the study of landforms and processes that shape them - and geographical information system dataset for Clark County.

Neal Lopinot, director of the Center for Archaeological Research, received a grant of $9,734 to fund the research of plant remains from a prehistoric village site dating to around A.D. 900. The site was excavated prior to the construction of a bridge and the realignment of a bridge approach over Big Loose Creek, Mo.

Paul Durham, Director of the Center for Biomedical and Life Sciences received $233,901 from the National Institutes of Health for the project entitled CGRP Regulation of iNOS and MAP Kinases/Phosphates in Trigeminal Ganglia Glia.  The long-term goal of this study is to understand the cellular/molecular mechanisms regulating neuronal-glial interactions during temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pathology and therapy.  Neuronal-glial interactions play a key role during inflammation and pain, yet the cellular mechanisms are not well understood.  The study will focus on the roles of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), nitric oxide (NO), and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases in the initiation and maintenance of TMJ inflammation.

Mike Reed, Associate Professor, and George Wolf, Professor of Physics, Astronomy, and Materials Science have received $48,882 from the National Science Foundation to perform a Sub-minute Survey:  Exploring the galaxy at high temporal resolution at the Baker Observatory.  The survey will obtain data on 40 sample fields, each containing a known variable star of various classes.  After data is obtained a reduction and analysis pipeline will be developed to discover variability of differing types over a wide range of time scales and determine the sensitivity of survey cadence with known variable types.  The survey will also search for new types of variability within the dozen or so field stars of each field.

Robert DeLong, Assistant Professor, and Richard Garrad, Associate Professor, of Biomedical Sciences, along with Kartik Ghosh, Associate Professor of Physics, Astronomy, and Materials Science and Adam Wanekaya, Assistant Professor of Chemistry received $189,575 from the National Institutes of Health for their project entitled Anti-Cancer RNA Nanoconjugates.  This research will identify a way forward to bind RNA to the Au, Zn or Mn oxide nanoparticles such that it retains structure, functionally delivers the siRNA and SSO into human tumor cells and therefore potently inhibits an important anti-cancer model target (B-Raf).

Les Reid, Professor, Jorge Rebaza, Associate Professor, and Cameron Wickham, Professor, of Mathematics have received $95,768 from the National Science Foundation for Research Experiences for Undergraduates at Missouri State University.  This project will offer summer research opportunities in the fields of algebra, combinatorics, numerical analysis, and differential equations.  Each summer nine juniors and/or seniors will spend eight weeks on campus engaging in original mathematical research under the supervision of the senior personnel.

Ryan Giedd, Executive Director of JVIC, along with Paul Durham, Director of the Center for Biomedical and Life Sciences, and Matt Curry, Executive Director of the Center for Applied Science and Engineering, were awarded a total of $825,000.00 from the Missouri Life Sciences Research Board.  This Grant will support the ongoing missions of JVIC as well as aid in the development and enhancement of Infrared camera technology that can be used to monitor biological activity.  This will ultimately result in food safety and medical applications.  This project also includes optimizing the morphology of synthetic collagen implant films for use in medical applications such as wound protection and healing.

Dr. Chris Barnhart, Professor of Biology, was the recipient of an award from the Missouri Department of Conservation, in the amount of $33,000 for the project entitled “Propagation of Endangered Native Mussels for Research and Recovery.”  This project will continue critical research that has advanced our understanding of endangered mussel species distribution, host requirements, and reproductive biology.

Dr. Wenping Qiu and Dr. Laszlo Kovacs, with the Center for Grapevine Biotechnology, and Dr. Paul Durham, Director for the Center for Biomedical and Life Sciences, received an award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture via the University of Missouri, Columbia in the amount of $238,414 for the Vitis Gene Discovery Program.  This multi-institutional research collaboration will identify defense genes that confer the ability of wild grapevines to resist various diseases such as powdery mildew, and will identify grapevine compounds that are beneficial to humans.  The ultimate goal of the program is to exploit these features for the improvement of cultivated grapevines particularly in the area of resistance to fungal disease and of human nutrition.

Dr. Kevin Mickus, Professor of Geography, Geology, and Planning, was the recipient of an award from StatoilHydro ASA via Missouri University of Science and Technology, in the amount of $113,778 for the project entitled “Four-Dimensional (4D) Anatomy of Continental Rifts Transitioning into Sea Floor Spreading:  Insights from Afar, Ethiopia for Oil and Gas Exploration of Global Rift Systems and Passive Continental Margins.”  This project will determine the origin of currently forming passive margin in Ethiopia by collecting gravity data in the Afar region of Ethiopia and combining it with geological and seismic studies.

Dr. Lifeng Dong, Dr. Kartik Ghosh, and Dr. Pawan Kahol, from the Physics, Astronomy, and Materials Science Department, along with Dr. Michael Craig, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, and Dr. Wenping Qiu, Associate research Professor of Agriculture, received an award from the National Science Foundation in the amount of $321,986 for the Acquisition of a field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope to Advance Research and Education at Missouri State University.  The instrument will be used to explore correlations between morphology, structures, and compositions of various materials and their electrical, optical, magnetic, and biological properties.  Also, selected courses will be revised to incorporate the use of the instrument for materials characterization as part of the course curriculum.  Both undergraduate and graduate students will be trained in the areas of material characterizations.

Service Projects: (2009-2010)

Matthew D Morris, director of business and support services, received $10,000 from the Missouri Department of Conservation for Tree Resource Improvement and Maintenance (TRIM) Grant. TRIM is a competitive cost-share program provided by and administered by the Missouri Department of Conservation in cooperation with the Missouri Community Forestry Council and the U.S. Forest Service. The purpose of the program is to provide financial assistance for the management, improvement or conservation of the urban and community forest. Missouri State will use the money to pay for two areas of work, removal of hazardous trees and pruning trees damaged by the 2007 ice storm.

Arlen Diamond, director of broadcast services, has received a $227,256 award from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the Telecommunications Facilities Program. The grant will allow Ozarks Public Television to make equipment upgrades to its master control facility. The equipment included in the grant are a video switcher, HD router, video server and a video, hard drive based program archive. The installation for the equipment will occur over the next several months.

Dr. Arbindra Rimal, associate professor of agriculture, received an agreement from Ellis Management Marketing Group Inc. to begin his marketing study for brandy products from Missouri apples. The award is in the amount of $7,244 and will be used to pay for summer salaries for faculty and students involved in the project. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the market for brandy and brandy products made out of Missouri apples in nine county areas. It also provides Missouri State an important opportunity to contribute to the development of Missouri agricultural industry.

Kay Litchy, director of development and sales for Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts; in conjunction with Randall Blackwood, executive director of athletic and entertainment facilities for Missouri State University, received a grant from the Missouri Arts Council for the 2008-2009 Multidiscipline Project at Hammons Hall. The award is in the amount of $26,790.

Robert Pavlowsky, Director of the Ozark Environmental Water Research Institute, has received $35,774 from the URS Corporation to analyze sixty macroinvertebrate samples.  The samples are collected from Missouri streams to understand the effects of poor water quality and hydrological disturbances on aquatic life

Rayanna Anderson, Director of the Small Business Development Center, received $152,331 from the US Small Business Administration via the University of Missouri – Columbia, to improve people’s lives and the competitiveness of Missouri businesses through research-based education and technical assistance to enhance Missouri’s economy.

Regina Bowling-Peasley, Director of the Southwest Missouri Area Health Education Center, has received $61,583 from the Department of Health and Human Services, via A.T. Still University to support the operation of the Southwest Missouri area Health Education Center as a Model AHEC program and participating center in the Missouri Area Health Education Centers System.  SWMO AHEC serves 21 counties within southwest Missouri by implementing recruitment and clinical education programs to improve the availability and distribution of health care professionals in southwest Missouri.

Kim Roam, Child Care Trainer for the Childhood Education and Family Studies Department, received $1,360 from the Council of Churches of the Ozarks to conduct on-site environmental rating scales, to assist with data collection for Child Care Resource and referral’s Accreditation Facilitation Project.

Arlen Diamond, Director of Broadcast Services, has received a total of $160,000 from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to provide funds for the digital conversion of the KSMS-FM transmitter in Branson, MO and the KSMW-FM transmitter in West Plains, MO. 

Neil Lopinot, Director of the Center for Archaeological Research, received $9,734 from the Missouri Department of Transportation to provide Archaeobotanical Analysis for the Big Loose Creek Site, located in Osage County, MO.

Anita Davis, Assistant Director, and Diane May, Director of the Center for Resource Planning and Management, received $51,000 from the US Economic Development Administration to allow the Southwest Missouri Council of Governments (SMCOG) to provide planning and technical assistance in Barry, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Greene, Lawrence, Polk, Stone, Taney and Webster counties and their respective communities to enhance quality of life and economic prosperity. 

Jun Luo, Assistant Professor of Geography, Geology, and Planning, received $17,500 from the Greene County Planning and Zoning Department to support graduate assistants to work with personnel of the Planning and Zoning Department of Greene County, Missouri to implement best practices of geospatial science in support of county planning and zoning policies.

Lynn Robbins, Professor of Biology, received $4,000 from Friends of the Zoo to oversee research activities for Dickerson Park Zoo.  Dr. Robbins will be reviewing requests from students, universities, and individuals, who wish to conduct research in cooperation with the Zoo, as to scientific merit and the ability of the Zoo to participate in such activities.  He will also conduct research projects as approved by the Zoo Superintendent and oversee the dissemination of information through conference presentations and articles in technical and scientific journals.

Dr. Suzy Cutbirth, Director of the Southwest Regional Professional Development Center, received $47,959.83 from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to hire a part-time employee and to support services to assist non-funded Reading first schools by providing content expertise in scientifically-based Reading instruction, assessment, and professional development.

Dr. Sandra Byrd, Professor of Accountancy, received $7,340 from the United Way of the Ozarks to support two graduate assistants that will assist with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Across the Life Span (ATLS) Program.  The graduate assistants will work with upper-level accounting classes, who are working with ATLS, to assist as site supervisors.  Their duties will include training, e-filing, supervision, tax return preparation, and tax return problem resolution. 

Dr. Arlen Diamond, Director of Broadcast Services, and Ms. Tammy Wiley, General Manager of KSMU Radio and Ozarks Public Television, received $629,485 from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the Television Community Service Grant.  These funds will be used to supplement KOZK-TV’s annual operating expenses.

Ms. Suzy Cutbirth, Director of the Southwest Regional Professional Development Center (SWRPDC), was awarded $1,794,807 from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to fund the SWRPDC operations, as well as many programs that are offered, such as the Missouri Assessment Program, Reading First, and Blindness Skills Specialist, etc.  These programs provide professional development to educators in 90 school districts.

Dr. Chris Craig, Associate Provost for Faculty, received $554,067 from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for Project Access.  Project Access is Missouri’s technical assistance and dissemination agency for autism.  This agency focuses on enhancing and developing the professional skills of Missouri teachers serving students with disabilities – particularly Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Mr. Jeff Morrissey, Director of Computer Services, was awarded $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Education for the Missouri State University Unified Digital Campus (UDC) Development Plan.  This will be a cooperative project between the Springfield and West Plains Campuses to improve workflows through implementation of electronic document storage and management; develop an Operational Data Store/EnterpriseData Warehouse; improve communication with stakeholders through implementation of a web portal; and enhance information security and train faculty and staff to effectively use these new resources.

Education Projects: (2009-2010)

Dr. Keith B. Payne, professor and department head of the defense and strategic studies department, received a contract to provide graduate courses to the instructors at the Army Management Staff College. The courses will be held at Ft. Belvoir, just outside of Washington, D.C. The students taking the courses teach hundreds of senior government officials every year when those officials receive in-service training instruction at the Army's Staff College.

Herbert Lunday, Dean of Student Services, received $99,173 from the Missouri Department of Higher Education to increase the post-secondary education participation of underserved populations in the official service region of Missouri State University – West Plains.  The region comprises Howell, Oregon, Shannon, Texas, Wright, Douglas, and Ozark counties in the mostly rural, socioeconomically deficient region of south-central Missouri.  Substantial outreach efforts will target all citizens, but primary focus will be placed on the area’s public school districts, private academies, non-traditional students, GED recipients, and senior citizens.

Kathryn Hope, Department Head of the Nursing Department, received $20,144 from the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and services Administration to continue nurse education tranieeships.  These funds will cover tuition and fees for fourteen, full-time, Master of Science in Nursing students for FY 2009.

Celeste Prussia, Research Specialist II, and Janice Green, Director of the Bull Shoals Field Station, were awarded $11,680 from the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society to conduct a seven day teen leadership skills academy focused on habitat restoration, specifically giant cane restoration as habitat for Swainson’s warbler.  Attendees will learn about local species and habitats, endangered species, riparian corridors and their relationship to water quality, participate in hands-on habitat restoration, and design programs and projects to present and implement in their schools, homes and communities.

Lynda Plymate, Professor of Mathematics, received $183,696 from the Missouri Department of Higher Education for Building and Connecting Mathematical Concepts Through In-Depth and Technology-Rich Explorations.  This project will bring together teams of high school mathematics teachers, from rural high need school districts in southwest Missouri, to study the use of in-depth and technology-rich explorations for improved math learning.  

Dennis Kear, Dean of the College of Education, was awarded $36,658 from the Oklahoma State Department of Education to increase the number of qualified teachers within the field of visual impairments by recruiting, enrolling and providing 12 hours of special education instruction during the 2009 summer session.

Larry Campbell, Professor of Mathematics, received $59,881 from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education via the Ozark School District.  This grant will support the Missouri Secondary Mathematics Leadership Academy, which will seek to provide on-going, school-based, professional development for Missouri 6-8 grade mathematics teachers. 

Dalen Duitsman, Director of the Ozarks Public Health Institute, was awarded $14,000 from the Missouri Foundation for Health via the University of Missouri - Columbia for MU CASE and Smoke busters – Phase II Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Initiative.  In 2007, the Campus-Community Alliance for Smoke-Free Environments (CASE) initiated work with student groups and community coalitions to increase awareness of the dangers of secondhand smoke, address clean indoor air policies on campuses and cities and increase affordable and available smoking cessation treatments.

Julie Bloodworth, Director of the Missouri Fine Arts Academy, received $346,858.00 from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.  This grant will support a program for around 200 of Missouri’s artistically gifted students in their junior and senior years of high school.  The project will encourage local schools to establish or improve programs for artistically gifted youth.  Curriculum development and teacher training will employ interdisciplinary arts instruction to help the students achieve their full potential.

Dr. David Meinert, Acting Associate Dean of the College of Business Administration, was the recipient of an award from the International Management Education Center, in the amount of $255,000 for the Master of Business Administration Executive Option Program (EMBA).  This project will provide an EMBA learning experience for a cohort of an estimated 40 executives from Chinese provincial governments.  The participants will be sponsored financially by their respective agencies and travel to the United States to learn about American business practices. 

Dr. Dalen Duitsman, Director of the Ozarks Public Health Institute, and Ms. Delores Joyce, Tobacco Use Prevention Program Coordinator, received $108,000 from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for Youth Tobacco Prevention Implementation.  The goal of this project is to support the implementation of Project Smokebusters, a proven community and school based youth tobacco use prevention intervention program, and expand into un-served or underserved areas in the state of Missouri.

Ms. Regina Bowling, Director of the Southwest Missouri Area Health Education Center, was the recipient of an award from Missouri Foundation for Health, in the amount of $665,693 for the Missouri Health Literacy Enhancement Center.  This Center will utilize and build upon the existing MAHEC network and partners to create a multifaceted center with comprehensive outreach, providing access to plain language health care information; offering educational resources that help providers communicate effectively with patients; improving health literacy through education and community collaborations; and strengthening the evidence base for health literacy.

Dr. Martha Finch, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, received $2,000 from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion.  These funds will sponsor an all-day workshop, in which a Wabash Center facilitator will work with faculty to understand and respond to student’s expectations regarding their “spiritual development,” develop creative exercises that teach critical thinking, and understand effective assessment and develop methods to assess student learning.