of glutamate synthase from the newly isolated soil bacterium Arthrobacter nicotianae strain PR to the world scientific community. This gene discovery research work was carried out by Dr. Narayanan Rajendran, Associate Professor of Biology, Dr. Williard Mazhawidza, a post-doctoral researcher Michael Somuah, a KSU undergraduate biology student, and Colby Smith, an undergraduate biology student from another university. Dr. Rajendran also received a 2009 Indo-U.S. International Professorship from the American Society for Microbiology. This international professorship encourages partnerships between the United States and India and will enable Dr. Rajendran to teach a course on agricultural microbes bioinformatics this summer in India at the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum, where he also will serve as the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony.
Jennifer Green, a graduate research assistant in the Division of Computer and Technical Sciences, presented her research at the World Congress 2009 Computer Science and Information Engineering Conference, sponsored by the World Research Institutes. The research paper, “Real-Time Logic Verification of a Wireless Sensor Network,” co-authored by Dr. Siddhartha Bhattacharyya, was accepted for publication by the IEEE Computer Society.
Kentucky State University science majors Lauren Lobel, Maleka Embry, Rachel Hayden, Elizabeth Perkins and Michael Somuah, accompanied by Dr. T.S. Kochhar, campus coordinator for the National Science Foundation's Kentucky-West Virginia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP), and Dr. George Antonious of the Land Grant Program, attended the third annual KY-WV LSAMP Student Research Symposium in April where the students made scientific presentations of their research projects. Ms. Lobel won first prize in the Agriculture Science category for her oral presentation, "Capsaicin and Ascorbic Acid in Hot Pepper." Ms. Embry tied for second place for her oral presentation, "Heavy Metals in Edible Plants." Ms. Hayden, Ms. Perkins and Mr. Somuah were presented certificates of recognition for their presentations. Additionally, Kentucky State University received a "Footprint Award" for being one of the two best overall LSAMP programs in the State of Kentucky.
Senior Michael Somuah received the nationally competitive American Society for Microbiology's Microbiology Undergraduate Research Fellowship, which will allow him to spend 10 weeks at Cornell University learning new research techniques and technologies.
The College of Professional Studies hosted the 33rd Annual Teaching Public Administration conference, May 27-28, 2009, and the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Public Administration Theory Network, May 29-31. Hosting these events was a first for the University and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Conference evaluation comments indicated that participants were impressed by both the content and excellent accommodations for each event.
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