CAS News

As both a mathematics professor and researcher, Chris Francisco regularly challenges assumptions. He rejects two of the most common ideas about his beloved subject: that math is inherently boring, and that it is inherently difficult for most people. The associate professor of mathematics and associate head for lower-division instruction uses his passion for the subject to help OSU students succeed across the university.

Oklahoma State University Sociology professor Tamara (Tammy) Mix was recently honored as the Laurence L. and Georgia Ina Dresser Professor in Rural Sociology. The professorship is awarded for three years, with intent to bring distinction to the College of Arts and Sciences through research in sociology.

Heidi Hoffer, a professor in OSU's Department of Theatre, spent time in Islamabad, Pakistan, with Theatre Wallay learning the ways of the Pakastani theatre and assisting them in bringing technology to the theatre in the form of design expertise and lighting systems. Hoffer recently returned from her trip and answered a few questions about her experience:

Before the curtain opens for any theatre production, many people are behind the scenes making sure the operation can run smoothly from start to finish.

Natural disasters and emergencies emit powerful responses from communities and households alike. With those responses, there also comes decision-making processes that take place even before the disaster occurs.

About 2,500 miles west of Hawaii lies the Tarawa Atoll, one of 33 coral atolls constituting the island nation of Kiribati. In World War II, Tarawa was on the outer fringe of the Japanese Empire before United States Marines attacked the island and took control of its airfield. It was not without cost, as around 1,100 U.S. casualties occurred during the 76-hour Battle of Tarawa. Yet after the war ended, only 300 or so of these men were located and brought home. It wasn’t until History Flight, Inc., a private, non-profit organization dedicated to recovering WWII MIA personnel, set out to find them that so many have been located and returned to the United States in coordination with the U.S. government’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).

Oklahoma State Geology Field Camp has grown in popularity over the last couple of decades, and the growth can be attributed to the passion OSU professor Jim Puckette brings to the camp. Puckette is an associate professor in the Boone Pickens School of Geology and has been leading the camp for the last 20 years.

We all know melanin as the pigment responsible for the tanning of our skin when exposed to sunlight. However, Dr. Toby Nelson claims that tanning our skin is merely the surface of what melanin can do.