KU News Release

Oct. 9, 2007
Contact: Kevin Boatright, Center for Research, (785) 864-7240.

Students from KU and Haskell to attend, present at national conference

LAWRENCE — A poster about dinosaurs may sound like a grade school project, but it’s a serious academic subject for Celina Suarez, a graduate student in geology at the University of Kansas.

She’s one of nearly 30 students from KU and Haskell Indian Nations University attending the upcoming national conference of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, which will be held Oct. 11-14 at Bartle Hall in Kansas City, Mo. KU and Haskell are co-hosts of the event, which is expected to attract more than 3,000 participants from all over the country.

Thirteen KU and Haskell students are presenting at the conference. Suarez will exhibit a detailed technical poster that presents part of her doctoral dissertation research on fossil bone. It’s a continuation of work she did for a master’s degree at Temple University. She’s interested in what the geochemistry of the bone can tell scientists about the animal and the environment in which it lived.

SACNAS provides an opportunity for universities across the country to meet and recruit potential graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. There also will be oral presentations and poster presentations throughout the conference. The full agenda is at www.sacnas.org/confNew/confClient/.

KU will have a prominent exhibit at the conference, and more than 60 faculty from KU and Haskell will be on hand to help promote graduate programs. KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway and Haskell President Linda Sue Warner will speak during the conference welcome ceremony, scheduled for 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Oct. 11.

KU is also hosting two field trips to the Lawrence campus for conference attendees on Oct. 11. Participants will visit the Natural History Museum and learn more about the Kansas Geological Survey and KU’s Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets, a program funded by the National Science Foundation.

Suarez, whose hometown is San Antonio and who plans to finish her doctorate in 2009, is interested in university teaching. “Geology has relatively few minorities in the field,” she said. “Attending SACNAS is a good way to get ideas about how to improve minority participation in the sciences.” Her faculty mentors are Luis González and Gwen Macpherson, associate professors of geology at KU.

Though Suarez hopes to be the first in her family to receive a doctorate, it may be a race to the finish. Her twin sister, Marina, is also a graduate student at KU in geology.

Suarez has yet another motivation for attending the society’s conference. “My research will stand out a little more than it would at a large conference, such as the Geological Society of America,” she said. “It’s easy to get lost. I’m hoping to meet potential employers so they’ll keep me in mind when I’m applying for a position.”

Suarez also views SACNAS as an opportunity to encourage undergraduate students to continue their education at the graduate level. “As a graduate student myself, I may have some insights about what they can expect and can advise them as they consider pursuing a Ph.D,” she said.

Her study of dinosaurs goes way beyond Jurassic Park. “The bones are analyzed by crushing a sample, dissolving it in acid, and then analyzing the fluid,” she said. “What’s new about my presentation is I use a laser to study the chemical composition. I found that a single bone can have two different geochemical signatures. That has implications for how bones fossilize and how we study them in the lab.”

KU is sponsoring the registration fee for the 29 KU and Haskell students attending the conference. Most are associated with one or more National Institutes of Health-funded programs designed to encourage diversity in higher education, including:

— KU Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program
— KU/Haskell Bridge Program
— KU Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity
— Haskell Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement
— KU/Haskell Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award Postdoctoral Training Program

“SACNAS is a real opportunity for KU to shine and to highlight our existing partnerships with Haskell,” said Jim Orr, professor of molecular biosciences and director of KU’s Office of Diversity in Science Training. “We are making every effort to ensure the conference attendees from all over the country have a chance to see KU as a leading national research university.”

SACNAS is based in Santa Cruz, Calif., and was founded in 1973 with a mission “to encourage Chicano/Latino and Native American students to pursue graduate education and obtain the advanced degrees necessary for science research, leadership and teaching careers at all levels.” The group’s national conference is the focal point of its activities and receives underwriting from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. The 2007 conference is taking place in Kansas City for the first time.

Haskell students participating are: Tim Blackbear, Michael Daugomah, Tania David, Tatum Davis, Pemy Flueker, William Gilbert, Richard LaBrie, Devin Ketchum, Sierra Seward and Audrey Yellowhorse.

KU students participating are listed below by hometown, level in school, major, parents’ names and high school when available. Students listed as nondegree seeking are enrolled in PREP, a post-baccalaureate research education program at KU.

BUTLER COUNTY
From Andover 67002
Preston L. Alltizer, senior in microbiology and in biology, son of Richard Allitzer; Andover Central High School

CHEROKEE COUNTY
From Baxter Springs 66713
Allyn Michael Kaufmann, doctoral student in pharmaceutical chemistry; bachelor’s in biochemistry from KU, fall 2003; son of Mike and Carolyn Kaufmann; Baxter Springs High School

DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Lawrence 66044
Jason Alexander Koontz, nondegree seeking student in biology, 2007 graduate of Haskell Indian Nations University; Ada (Okla.) Senior High School

Clayton Wauneka, doctoral student in bioengineering, 2007 bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University

From Lawrence 66049
Katrina McClure, senior in environmental studies and in biology; 2005 associate’s degree from Haskell Indian Nations University; Lutheran High School, Rockford, Ill.

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Overland Park 66202
Charles N. Romero, doctoral student in therapeutic science in allied health

RICE COUNTY
From Little River 67457
Rebecca J. Deeds, senior in chemical engineering, daughter of Doug and Rita Deeds; McPherson High School

SHAWNEE COUNTY
From Topeka 66616
Richard Aaron Martinez, senior in American studies and in psychology, son of Kirsten Martinez

WYANDOTTE COUNTY
From Kansas City 66109
Daniel J. Barrera, senior in biochemistry, son of Henry and Teresa Couchman; Piper High School

CALIFORNIA
From Oroville 95966
Katie L. Renwick, nondegree seeking student in biology, 2004 associate’s degree from Haskell Indian Nations University

INDIANA
From Danville
Alicia Rosales, master’s degree student in geology; 2006 bachelor’s degree from Indiana University-Bloomington

MISSOURI
From St. Charles 63304
Ashley R. Malone, master’s degree student in psychology, 2007 bachelor’s degree from University of Nebraska, Lincoln

NEW MEXICO
From Fruitland 87416
Becky A. Begay, nondegree seeking student in biology; associate’s degree from Haskell Indian Nations University

NORTH DAKOTA
From Fort Yates 58538
Ronnette Marie Chase Alone, senior in environmental studies and in political science, daughter of Ronald and Jeanette Chase Alone; Standing Rock Grant School

OKLAHOMA
From Oklahoma City 73112
Kalonie Rene Hulbutta, nondegree seeking student in pharmacy

TEXAS
From San Antonio 78240
Celina Suarez, doctoral student in geology; 2003 bachelor’s degree from Trinity University, San Antonio; 2005 master’s degree from Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa.

Marina Suarez, doctoral student in geology; 2003 bachelor’s degree from Trinity University, San Antonio; 2005 master’s degree from Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa.

From Seguin 78155
Jennifer Dianne Hood, nondegree seeking student in biology, daughter of Kathy Pierce; bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from KU, fall 2006; Shawnee Mission South High School

PUERTO RICO
From Boqueron 00622
Alvin J. Bonilla-Rodriguez, doctoral student in geology; 2004 bachelor’s degree from University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

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