As the fight to prevent and control the spread of the Zika virus in the United States heats up, several University of Toledo scientists are hosting a Science Café to address concerns from the community.

The free, public event titled, “Emerging Viruses: Ebola, Zika and Beyond,” will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 19 at Calvino’s restaurant located at 3141 W. Central Ave. in Toledo.

The informal discussion, which is organized by the scientific research society Sigma Xi at UT, will be led by Dr. Douglas Leaman, professor and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences; Dr. Scott Leisner, associate professor who studies virus-host interactions; and Dr. Travis Taylor, assistant professor and virologist in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology.

“Our experts are here to help educate people in the Toledo community who may be worried about our vulnerability in northwest Ohio or how to protect loved ones from becoming infected,” Carol Stepien, Director of UT’s Lake Erie Center and ecology professor, said. “Through these ongoing Science Café events, we seek to engage the public, advance general knowledge and promote what our university researchers are doing.”

The Zika virus is a mosquito-borne virus linked to birth defects, including microcephaly, in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and brain damage.

Brazil reported a startling increase in cases last fall. The virus has been spreading in Mexico, Central America and South America. It is now becoming prevalent in Florida and other southern U.S. states. More than 300 U.S. travelers have been infected with the virus after returning from an outbreak country.

Ebola is a deadly virus found in several African countries and transmitted through contact with blood or secretions from an infected person.  The virus first arrived in the United States in 2014 through infected travelers or medical evacuations.  Two people treated for Ebola in the United States died.

For more information about the upcoming Science Café, visit utoledo.edu/nsm/lec/sigma_xi.

Media Coverage
NBC 24 (April 20, 2016)

The University of Toledo is among eight Ohio universities to receive a total of $1.9 million from The Ohio Department of Higher Education’s Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative.

The Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative, jointly managed by UT and Ohio State University, is funding 13 collaborative research projects to provide solutions for the harmful algal blooms that affect Lake Erie, Grand Lake St. Mary’s, Buckeye Lake and other fresh water bodies in and around Ohio.

The research projects announced yesterday focus on tracking the sources and movement of harmful algal blooms, ensuring safe drinking water, protecting public health and providing critical education and outreach for stakeholders dealing with both upstream and downstream harmful algal bloom issues.

This is the second round of HABRI awards. The first $2 million in awards, released in February 2015, supported 18 interdisciplinary, multi-university research projects — eight of which are lead by UT — that are currently in progress.

“HABRI was created in the aftermath of the 2014 Toledo water crisis to provide near-term solutions for the full suite of issues surrounding harmful algal blooms,” Chancellor John Carey said. “Guided by the technical needs of state agencies at the front lines of the HABs crisis, Ohio research universities are the engines for creating new knowledge, new technologies and new approaches to give us both short-term assistance and long-term solutions.”

Each project funded by HABRI consists of multiple university partners and state funds have been matched at least one-to-one by participating universities.

“These awards to our universities also serve to train the next generation of Ohio scientists who will be called upon to address future environmental challenges,” Chancellor Carey said.

The projects led by UT researchers are:

• “Characterization of recreational exposures to cyanotoxins in western Lake Erie basin” led by Dr. April Ames, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health and Preventative Medicine;
• “HAB Avoidance: Vertical Movement of Harmful Algal Blooms in Lake Erie” led by Dr. Thomas Bridgeman, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences;
• “Discovery of Enzymes and Pathways Responsible for Microcystin Degradation” led by Dr. Jason Huntley, assistant professor of medical microbiology and immunology; and
• “Evaluating Home Point‐of‐Use Reverse Osmosis Membrane Systems for Cyanotoxin Removal” led by Dr. Glenn Lipscomb, professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering.

Ongoing activities funded by the first round of HABRI include the development of an early warning system for bloom hazards in the western Lake Erie basin, a phosphorus fingerprinting technique to determine the origin of nutrient runoff, alternative water treatment tools to detect microcystin and other toxic algal byproducts, and a better understanding of the exposure of humans to toxins from fish and fresh produce.

Saturday Morning Science is back for 2016 with five programs to give the community the opportunity to learn about hot topics in modern science.

The free, public talks are presented by the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and kick off Saturday with an astronomy presentation called, “Exoplanets: The Discovery of Alien Worlds and Habitable Planets,” by Dr. Steve B. Howell, a UT alumnus and project scientist for the NASA Kepler Mission. 

Each of the programs will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Wolfe Hall Room 1205 on The University of Toledo’s Main Campus.

“We tried to come up with topics that are of general public interest as well as interesting to us. Everyone should feel welcome to come,” said Dr. Joseph Schmidt, UT associate professor of chemistry and an organizer of the event.

Listed by date, the additional programs and speakers are:

• March 19: “Goghing, Goghing, Gone! The Analysis of Color Fading in Masterpieces by Vincent van Gogh” by Dr. Gregory D. Smith, Otto N. Frenzel III Senior Conservation Scientist for the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
• April 16: “The Human Microbiome: Good for What Ails You” by Dr. Patrick D. Schloss, associate professor in the University of Michigan Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
• April 23: “Green Chemistry: Making Better Molecules for a Sustainable Future” by Dr. Amy S. Cannon, executive director of Beyond Benign.
• April 30: “Deadly Doodle: How One Sketchy Sketch Led to Murder” by Kimberly Zebrowski, forensic scientist in the Controlled Substances Unit of the Michigan State Police Department.

“I really hope attendees learn something interesting and get a better understanding of science. Maybe some of the younger members of the audience will consider a career in science,” Schmidt said.

Free parking will be available in area 13 and the west parking ramp. A light breakfast provided by Barry Bagels will be available before the programs.

For more information about Saturday Morning Science, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/SaturdayMorningScience.

Click here to download the promotional poster.

Media Coverage
The Independent Collegian (Feb. 24, 2016)

For 26 years Timothy Fisher has clocked countless helicopter hours flying to frozen lakes across Canada and the northern United States to study the effects of ancient glaciers.

“We are learning from past global climate change to predict what might happen in the future,” Fisher said. “I have disproven common assumptions in the scientific community by coring into the bottom of snow and ice-covered lakes for sediment samples to reconstruct and understand conditions on planet Earth more than 10,000 years ago.”

Timothy Fisher

One of the world’s largest geological societies recently honored The University of Toledo geology professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Sciences as one of the best in his profession by electing him as a Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA), an association with more than 26,000 members in 115 countries. The GSA promotes geoscience research, discovery and stewardship of the Earth.

“This is quite an honor,” Fisher said. “The GSA fellowship carries weight over the quality of my work to reconstruct past positions of receding glaciers and glacial lake levels to decipher whether there is a relationship with climate records in the Greenland ice-cores.  This adds more confidence to what I do and perhaps I will be more aggressive applying for research grants.”

Fisher was nominated for his “significant contributions to the understanding of Glacial Lake Agassiz, the Great Lakes and associated environments,” according to the GSA award.  “His field work, which spans several Canadian Provinces and northern states, has led to publications that change the way we think about the history of some of the predominate landscapes of North America.”

“I am very pleased to congratulate Dr. Fisher on his election as a Fellow of the Geological Society of America,” Karen Bjorkman, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, said.  “His selection is a recognition of his outstanding work in improving our understanding of glacial landscapes, including our own Great Lakes.  It also provides additional evidence of the excellent faculty members we are fortunate to have here at The University of Toledo.”

Fisher has written 67 peer-reviewed publications to argue ideas in his areas of specialty, including the history of Great Lakes sand dunes and how they serve as a record of climate variability.  One article published in the Journal of Paleolimnology was named one of the top ten most cited papers in the scientific journal in 2014.

Fisher’s main research focus has been on the problems of a long-gone glacial lake in north-central North America known as Lake Agassiz, which filled with meltwater at the end of the last glacial period over an area more than three times larger than the modern Great Lakes combined.

“Lake Agassiz doesn’t exist anymore.  Remnants of the glacial lake are in Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba,” Fisher said. “The controversy lies in where all of that freshwater went at the end of the last ice age. Did it drain into the Arctic or North Atlantic oceans, slow down the Gulf Stream and trigger rapid climactic shifts in the northern hemisphere?  That’s now unlikely because the drainage outlet routes are too young. My age control data from coring lakes leads me to believe it’s possible that much of the freshwater from Lake Agassiz evaporated.”

The scientist is working to document a chronology of when and how glaciers retreated to understand the relationship between lake levels and past climate changes.

“I am working on big questions, such as if that relationship is cause and effect,” Fisher said.  “This is background for trying to understand climate change in the future.”

As debate rages worldwide over warming temperatures, Fisher said, “We won’t see a similar glacial cycle again.  The chemistry of Earth’s atmosphere has forever changed with the steady influx of greenhouse gases.”

Media Coverage
13 ABC (Jan. 20, 2016)

In the wake of last year’s water crisis in Toledo which left a half million residents without safe tap water for three days, a graduate-level class in The University of Toledo’s Department of Environmental Sciences embarked on an analysis of issues related to the measuring and reporting of microcystin in drinking water.

The resulting research recently published in the scientific journal Environmental Science and Technology takes aim at the ELISA test kit – the standard method of measuring the concentration of the group of toxins associated with cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Erie – in order to help local government agencies responsible for providing the public with safe drinking water.

“Our goal is to come up with a way to improve the results and reduce the level of uncertainty in their decision-making process to avoid unnecessary panic,” assistant professor of environmental science Song Qian, PhD., said. “Frequent and accurate quantification of cyanobacterial toxins in treatment-finished drinking water is paramount to protecting the public.”

Song Qian

Qian led the group of six UT graduate students and a researcher from The Ohio State University as they collected monitoring data measured during the 2014 bloom season from the City of Toledo’s Water Department and OSU’s Stone Lab in Put-in-Bay.

“We formed this special topics class right after the crisis because some questioned the wisdom of issuing the ‘Do Not Drink’ advisory based on one sample exceeding the standard set by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency,” Qian said. “We applied our knowledge to the issue that is not only of educational and intellectual value, but also highly relevant to the local community.”

After analyzing the two sources of data, the class concluded that the ELISA test can be “highly variable.”

“Such uncertainty is rarely reported and accounted for in important drinking water management decisions,” Qian wrote in the class’ report titled “Quantifying and Reducing Uncertainty in Estimated Microsystin Concentrations from the ELISA Method,” which was published on Oct. 30.  “The risk of exposure to the harmful levels of the toxins has not been adequately communicated.”

ELISA stands for the “enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay” method which Qian says is used for measuring microcystin concentration in almost all Ohio drinking water facilities that use Lake Erie as source water. Qian calls it the most convenient and cost-effective test to use.

The ELISA test kit is the same method the City of Toledo used to measure microcystin in the raw lake water on a daily basis through the 2015 algal bloom season.

According to the published research, “Much of the uncertainty is a result of the highly uncertain ‘standard curve’ developed during each test.”

A standard curve links a microcystin concentration through a color development process to an optical density — a quantity that can be measured directly.

Qian says the problem with the current test kit is that the standard curve is developed from only five or six data points.  He says unavoidable measurement errors in optical density make the standard curve variable from test to test.

In order to increase reliability, Qian and the graduate students propose pooling raw test data from multiple tests using a more sophisticated statistical method.

“Estimation uncertainty can be effectively reduced through the effort of regional regulatory agencies by sharing and combining raw test data from their regularly scheduled microcystin monitoring program,” according to the published report.

Qian admits combining data from multiple tests is a complicated mathematical process.  That is why he is looking for funding to develop easy-to-use software that would analyze monitoring data and calculate a microcystin concentration estimate based on a more stable standard curve.

“Our drinking water is safe because of the advanced treatment used in our city,” Qian said.  “The decision made during the 2014 water crisis was a difficult one given the uncertainty associated with the method.  By teaching the class, we want to figure out how science can help support leaders when they’re making calls during bloom seasons that could threaten public health.  Reducing the uncertainty in the measured microcystin concentration will make the process easier.”

As a result of this research, Qian believes the City of Toledo made the right call issuing the “Do Not Drink” advisory last year because he said, “Our microcystin estimate for that particular day is higher.”

Here is the link to read the full research report: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.5b03029

Media Coverage
13 ABC and WTOL 11 (Dec. 18, 2015)

Christi Paul, anchor of CNN New Day Weekends and HLN’s Daily Share, will address graduates at The University of Toledo’s fall commencement 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 in Savage Arena.

The UT graduate and Bellevue-native, who also will receive an honorary degree during the ceremony, will address more than 2,000 candidates for degrees, including 138 doctoral candidates, 556 master’s candidates and 1,372 bachelor’s candidates.

This marks the first University of Toledo commencement for President Sharon L. Gaber.

Christi Paul

“From her time at UT to her successful career at CNN, Christi Paul has devoted her life to thoughtful curiosity, learning, and helping others with the power of information,” Gaber said. “She has been at the forefront of many major news stories of our time. The award-winning journalist and advocate for women and children is an inspiring voice who will offer a passionate message to our graduates and guests.”

The national journalist graduated from UT in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication degree with a focus on broadcast journalism.

“I’m humbled and honored to give the commencement speech and so grateful to UT, the professors who helped me grow, the staff who guided me to solid internships, and the friends I made along the way,” Paul said. “I will always credit UT for giving me my springboard into the journalism arena.”

Paul has covered many high-profile events throughout her distinguished career, including President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, Hurricane Sandy, and the Casey Anthony murder trial. She was in the anchor chair walking heartbroken viewers through the early hours of the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School and Virginia Tech.

Prior to joining CNN and HLN in 2003, Paul worked as an anchor and reporter in Phoenix, Ariz., and Boise, Idaho. The Idaho Press Club honored Paul for her series about a brave four-year-old girl who underwent a five-organ transplant. Paul began her career at WDTV in Clarksburg, W.Va.

The wife and mother of three also is passionate about helping children. Along with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Paul is co-founder of the “Find Our Children” series that airs on HLN. Viewers have helped bring home 35 missing kids as a result of the news profile segments. The center honored Paul in 2012 with its prestigious Hope Award for her efforts to make the world a safer place for children.

Paul serves on the National Advisory Council for the One Love Foundation, which works with teens to help end dating violence. Paul also serves on the Advisory Board for When Georgia Smiled that helps victims of domestic violence and sexual assault find healing, safety and joy.

UT recognized Paul in 2006 as an Outstanding Alumna of the former College of Arts and Sciences.

The fall commencement ceremony will recognize graduates from the Colleges of Adult and Lifelong Learning, Business and Innovation, Communication and the Arts, Judith Herb College of Education, Health Sciences, Languages, Literature and Social Sciences, Medicine and Life Sciences; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; and Social Justice and Human Service.

Other college specific commencement ceremonies taking place are:

• College of Engineering: graduate commencement 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17; undergraduate commencement 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19. Both ceremonies will be held in Nitschke Auditorium.

• College of Nursing: 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 in Nitschke Auditorium.

For more information, visit utoledo.edu/commencement.

Media Coverage
The Blade (Dec. 19, 2015)
The Blade (Dec. 20, 2015)

Come hangout with Santa and Rudolph as they learn how to find their way home using constellations in The University of Toledo Ritter Planetarium’s annual showing of “Santa’s Secret Star.”

The holiday program is targeted toward children 4 to 8 years of age.

After Santa finishes his Christmas deliveries, he and his reindeer become lost. Without a compass, he and Rudolph turn to the constellations for help, and the stars lead them to the North Star, which guides them home.

The original show was written in 1988 by Ritter Planetarium Associate Director Alexander Mak, and it has been updated for the planetarium’s new projection system.

“It’s one of our more popular shows during the year,” Mak said. “It’s educational, it’s entertaining, and it’s seasonally appropriate.”

Admission to the program is $7 for adults and $5 for children ages 5 and up, senior citizens and UT community members. All children younger than 4 are free.

The program will be held Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 1 p.m. through Dec. 19. Doors will open 30 minutes prior to the show.

After Friday night programs, guests are taken to one of two of the observatories for sky viewing, weather permitting.

Media Coverage
La Prensa (Dec. 8, 2015)
The Blade (Dec. 9, 2015)

Dr. Joel Parker, space mission manager and director at the Southwest Research Institute, will talk about comets and the ongoing Rosetta Mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21 in The University of Toledo’s Driscoll Alumni Center Auditorium.

“Comets are these icy/rocky bodies left over from the formation of the solar system,” said Dr. Michael Cushing, director of the Ritter Planetarium and associate professor of astronomy. “They formed early on in the history of the solar system and very little has happened to them in the four and a half billion years since. By studying these nearly pristine relics from that time, we can learn something about how the solar system formed.”

Parker will talk about the ongoing research on comets and the current European Space Agency Rosetta Mission that is the first in history to orbit a comet.

“There have been many missions where a spacecraft has flown by a comet, but this time we’ve actually gone into orbit around one and even dropped a lander on its surface,” Cushing said.

The free, public seminar is part of the UT Department of Physics and Astronomy’s Colloquium Series.

The University of Toledo is joining hundreds of planetariums across the country for “White House Astronomy Night: A Celebration of Science, Technology and Space” on Monday, Oct. 19.

Join President Obama and stargazers across the country for this seventh annual event designed to ignite the next generation of scientists, engineers, visionaries and celestial dreamers. 

Participants of all ages and education levels are invited to UT’s Ritter Planetarium for the free event 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

“The event is organized so that people can come and go as they please,” said Dr. Michael Cushing, director of the Ritter Planetarium and associate professor of astronomy. “There will be lectures and planetarium programs featured every half hour.”

The event will feature four 15 minute lectures presented by UT astronomers on topics the department is actively researching.

“We have a wide range of research going on at UT, from hot stars, to star clusters, to gas and dust within other galaxies, and even searches for stars near the sun,” Cushing said.

The lectures from astronomers, which will be in McMaster Hall Room 4009, are:
•  7:30 p.m. Stellar Archaeology in Nearby Galaxies
•  8 p.m. Dusty Galaxies Across the University
•  8:30 p.m. Hunting for Missing Solar Neighbors
•  9 p.m. Playing Hide and Seek with Stars and Disks

The event also will include free liquid nitrogen ice cream and physics demonstrations, and a different planetarium program every half hour. The planetarium program schedule is:
•  7:30 p.m. Zula Patrol: Under the Weather
•  8 p.m. Pluto Live
•  8:30 p.m. Fall Skies Over Toledo
•  9 p.m. Black Holes, The Other Side of Infinity

Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to observe the sky, weather permitting, through Ritter Observatory’s 41-inch telescope, the largest optical telescope east of the Mississippi River.

For additional information about Ritter Planetarium, visit utoledo.edu/nsm/rpbo.

Media Coverage
NBC 24 and 13 ABC (Oct. 19, 2015)
NBC 24 (Oct. 19, 2015)

On Saturday, Oct. 17, the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics will host a Family Fun Day at The University of Toledo’s Stranahan Arboretum from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Located at 4131 Tantara Drive in Toledo, the public event will feature free educational programs like “Out of this World Astronomy,” “Beyond Belief Physics,” “Wild and Crazy Chemistry” and tours of the arboretum.

“There will be sun gazing through a special telescope, fun activities involving physics and chemistry experiments similar to what is done at Imagination Station,” said Pamela Stuffolino, event coordinator and research operations manager in the UT Department of Environmental Sciences. “Pond samples also will be on display to learn about environmental science and water habitats.”

Some activities will cost a small fee, including games, a hay maze, fall crafts for children 12 years and younger, and food, including hotdogs, cotton candy, cider and more.

Additionally, raffle tickets can be purchased at the event and will feature prizes, including Tam-O-Shanter family of four package, gift cards and more. Donations will be accepted at the event.

“This is the first fundraiser that the park has had in a long time,” Struffolino said. “We’ve lost some of our rare trees over the last several years due to the harsh weather, so proceeds will go to replacing the trees that were lost, expanding our educational programs, and to creating a scholarship fund for students who help with research projects at the arboretum.”