UD researcher gets to the root of why women leave STEM fields
Call it a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Women who are the most invested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields (STEM) are also the ones who are most likely to leave them.
Part of it may have to do with a well-studied phenomenon called stereotype threat. But the University of Delaware’s Chad Forbes is trying to help change that. (more…)
Engineering doctoral students win Composites Simulation Challenge
Two University of Delaware mechanical engineering doctoral students working in the Center for Composite Materials, Subramani Sockalingam and Raja Ganesh, took first prize at the American Society for Composites (ASC) inaugural Student Simulation Challenge held Sept. 9 at Pennsylvania State University.
The goal of the 12-hour competition, held during the annual ASC Technical Conference, was to see which student team could best predict the behavior of a composite laminate material that included a pattern of holes. (more…)
Ice island reported by UD researcher breaks into mammoth ‘ice cubes’
The giant ice island that broke off Greenland’s Petermann Glacier in July 2012 has plowed into the ocean floor and shattered into a couple of mammoth “ice cubes” sitting in the ocean, according to the University of Delaware researcher who reported the initial glacial event last year.
Andreas Muenchow, an associate professor in UD’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, said the ice chunk twice the size of Manhattan that snapped off the glacier in July 2012 ground into the ocean floor and has split into at least two ice islands and a number of large icebergs. (more…)
Team studies new methods to support hurricane evacuation decision-making
Hurricanes are dynamic. Wind speeds change as the storm progresses and rainfall varies widely, creating tremendous uncertainty as the natural elements interact with man and man-made infrastructure.
Roads may close, traffic patterns may change, leading to travel delays that could impact lives and exacerbate public safety.
And yet researchers, policy makers and government officials have long relied on a static model to map hurricanes and chart evacuation zones, particularly when it comes to timing and decision-making. (more…)
CANR doctoral student Weir wins first place at 2013 ISES conference
Before coming to the University of Delaware, Jessica Weir had never heard of the International Society for Equitation Science (ISES) conference.
Now, after a year spent helping Carissa Wickens, assistant professor in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences (ANFS), set up the organization’s ninth annual conference — hosted collaboratively by UD and the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center from July 18-20 — Weir is both fully versed in the event and plans to attend the 2014 ISES session in Denmark. (more…)
UD professor, scholar document culture of Peruvian community
As the elders of a small hunter-gatherer community told the story of how their people came to be, University of Delaware assistant professor of art Jonathan Cox and Summer Scholar Sarah Driver sat and listened, intrigued by the tale.
Over the course of seven days, they learned firsthand about the Ese’eja (ess-a-eha) Nation, a community of three distinct villages living in the remote areas of Infierno, Palma Real and Sonene, Peru. (more…)
UD alumna Windle sets off on professional journey with feed company
After a decade at the University of Delaware, Michelle Windle is beginning her professional career with Vita Plus, a premier agricultural feed company located in Madison, Wis. And to think that it all began with her knocking on the doors of professors in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences during her junior year as an undergraduate looking for a job.
As fate would have it, Windle ended up knocking on the door of Limin Kung Jr., the S. Hallock du Pont Professor of Animal and Food Sciences, and he offered her some hours in his laboratory. “To tell you the truth, at the time I had bright red dreadlocks. I don’t know what he saw in me, but I’m glad that he did,” said Windle. (more…)
Oceanography graduate student lands scholarship supporting wetland research
Growing up along Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, Brandon Boyd spent a lot of time hunting for waterfowl and fishing for speckled trout in marshes and swamps. There, wetlands are a way of life.
“Ever since I was in high school, I knew I really wanted to do something to help protect wetlands,” said Boyd, a graduate student in oceanography in the School of Marine Science and Policy within the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. (more…)
