The Summer Research Institute provides Houghton students the opportunity to utilize the skills, knowledge and tools that they have learned and refined during their educational career in pursuit of finding answers to real-world problems. This collaborative nature provides a “bidirectional flow of ideas that provides an ideal environment for learning,” according to S.R.I. Program Director Wei Hu, and “It is through this process that professors learn how to teach and students learn how to learn.”

Research for the summer of 2012 will include:

• Spam detection on Twitter. Wei Hu, professor of math and computer science, will be researching with two computer science students, Zachary Miller and Brian Dickinson, and Dr. Alex Wang from Penn State, on the popular social networking site, Twitter, which has become a target for unwanted and malicious spammers. Several Twitter spam detection methods have been proposed, some of which rely on account features and user behavior, such as the age of user account, number of followers and friends, and number of replies and retweets. The goal of this summer research is to find spam text messages as they occur in sequence on Twitter rather than spammers on Twitter, although these two issues are related.
• Properties of thin metal films. Brandon Hoffman, professor of physics, and four students, including Josh Mertzlufft and Mark Spencer, will be collaborating with Shefford Baker at the Center for Materials Research at Cornell University. Not much is known about the properties of materials with thicknesses of only a few hundred nanometers or less. Thin silver films will be produced in a high vacuum deposition chamber and studied with x-ray diffractometry and various electron microscopes in order to characterize the microstructures and associated stress states of the films. The goal of these experiments will be to improve the general model that describes similar thin metal films.
• Dark matter halo formation. Christopher Wells, professor of physics, and two students, Ian Love and Garrett Hartshaw, will continue their study of dark matter halo formation. It is now known, through indirect observations, that 80 percent of the mass in the universe is an exotic substance known as “dark matter.” A computer cluster is being assembled in the Forsyth Learning Commons, and computer simulations will be undertaken to compare the formation of dark matter halos with and without non-gravitational long-range forces.
• Synthesis of biodegradable glycopolymers. John Rowley, professor of chemistry, and two students, Gabriel Browning and Deanna Montgomery, will explore these biodegradable plastic materials, which contain both chemical structures that can be degraded by living systems (aliphatic polyesters) and covalently bound sugar molecules. Their goal is to chemically synthesize and characterize new types of biodegradable glycopolymers.
• Insect Development. Kurt Vandock, Moreland Research professor of biology and 1st Lieutenant US Army Reserve, and two students, Brianna Consiglio and Emily Perregaux, will be working on an innovative project related to development in Manduca sexta organisms. Preliminary evidence suggests a relationship between the presence of ecdysone and 20-hydroxyecdysone on the overall activity of M. sexta midgut mitochondrial transhydrogenations. This work is supported by the Moreland Fund (Houghton College) and a Department of Defense Grant (Dr. Vandock).
• Inertial Confinement Fusion. Mark Yuly, chair and professor of physics, and two students, Keith Mann and Tyler Reynolds, will be working with scientists from SUNY-Geneseo and the Laboratory for Laser Energetics in Rochester N.Y. In ICF a large amount of energy is deposited, usually with high-powered lasers, to a small pellet of nuclear fuel in order to initiate a fusion reaction. This summer, researchers will measure a certain cross section, crucial to the implementation of this diagnostic technique, in an experiment using the tandem accelerator at the John E. Edwards Accelerator Laboratory at Ohio University.
• Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Matt Pelletier, associate professor of biology, will work with Jonathan Figueroa and Shannon Hritz on human mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow and how they grow and differentiate on specialty surfaces being developed by Corning Inc.  Specifically, they will explore the ability of these cells to differentiate into chondrocytes, adipocytes, and osteoblasts, both in the presence and absence of growth factors normally required for differentiation.

Houghton established the undergraduate Summer Research Institute in 2007 to bring together physics, chemistry, biology, math and computer science faculty and students into a more intense research environment. For more information, visit http://www.houghton.edu/academics/summer_research_institute/

President Shirley Mullen ’76 addressed the graduating class and audience, “If you are here today, you are family, and this is a grand family celebration, when as parents, professors, grandparents, siblings, and friends, we gather to rejoice in the gifts that God has given to our graduates, and more specifically today, in these graduates’ stewardship of those gifts.”

The Commencement Address was given by Dr. Richard Foster, a renowned pastor, theologian and author. “Well, here you are, cap and gown, ready to grab that sheepskin and shout ‘Hallelujah,’ or some less pious, but equally appropriate phrase.  So, what, after all, has this degree of sacred letters given you?” asked Dr. Foster of the graduating class. “I hope it has given you an insatiable hankering to know and to grow. I hope it has given you a brutal honesty about the world in which we live. I hope it has given you an ability to see new, creative possibilities for the future. That is the liberating power of the liberal arts.”

The class of 2012 includes Ben Clark, a fifth generation student whose great-great-grandparents were Sylvester and Elizabeth Rathbun Bedford, who attended Houghton in the late 1880’s; JohnMark Pocock, who has two great-grandparents who attended Houghton prior to the school granting degrees and a great-great-great uncle, Melvin Warburton, who received the first seminary diploma in 1888; and Luke Doty, who is the great-grandson of former Houghton College President Stephen Paine, 1936-1972.

The senior class gift was presented by Megan Toombs ’12.  The gift was an adult- size swing set that will stand just on the other side of the road that runs past the president’s office.  “On behalf of the Houghton College community, I gratefully accept this gift,” said President Mullen. “I look forward to taking my first swing and plan to use it often, whenever I need a brief respite from the president’s office to reflect on the latest presidential puzzle. And when I do, I will think gratefully of the Class of 2012.”

Beyond the tradition of presenting a gift that is bought from the remaining balance of the senior class treasury, more than 80 graduates contributed financially to help make the class gift to the college possible.

In closing  the Commencement ceremony, President Mullen said, “Today you have become graduates of Houghton College…you have been challenged to use your gifts…what a great responsibility…Tomorrow, find your challenge and grace that God has prepared for  you.”

Snapshot of the Class of 2012

294 Undergraduates

3 Music Master’s Graduates

68 undergraduates achieved double majors

145 graduated with honors

1 graduate commissioned as Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army

Valedictorian - Anna Brunner

Salutatorian – Melissa Rosenburg

Graduates came from 14 countries, including Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Macedonia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Rwanda, South Korea, Tanzania and the United States. 

To view the Commencement video or see the slide show, please click link: http://www.houghton.edu/commencement/

Left to Right: Kyle Austin, 2nd Lieutenant Jessica Bramhall Austin and Master Sargent Philippe Rocheleau.

Second Lieutenant Austin is from Homer, N.Y., and will graduate with a B.A. degree in history and a minor in military leadership. She will begin her military service as a Reserve Duty Medical Services Officer. During her time as a cadet, Jessica was afforded many opportunities. During the summer of 2011, she successfully completed three weeks of US Army Airborne School held at Ft. Benning, Ga., with four jumps from a C-17 and one jump from a C-130 at 1,300 feet. She also completed the four-week leadership development and assessment course this past summer at Ft. Lewis, Washington.

In addition to being a student, Jessica actively participated in ROTC events, such as color guard, rifle club, Pershing Rifles, physical training at 6 a.m., and fundraising activities. On top of being a student and a cadet, Jessica was also on the varsity track and cross country team here at Houghton College. These challenging commitments provided growth in discipline, time management, and leadership skills through hands-on experience.

“I am genuinely impressed with Jessica’s personal character, service to her country, and her long list of accomplishments,” said John Van Wicklin, professor of psychology and faculty advisor to Houghton ROTC. 

Second Lieutenant Austin is married to Kyle Austin, who will be graduating with her this semester. Upon commissioning, she will begin training at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, on August 28 to become a Medical Services Officer.

Stoltzfus, a piano performance major and harp minor, and Lustig, a voice performance major, asked David Horace Davies, assistant professor of music theory and composition, to compose a unique piece for them, for which they chose the hymn text Be Thou My Vision.  In consultation with Davies and Cory Renbarger, assistant professor of voice, the two have worked on proper melodic material for Lustig’s voice, as well as on the harp piece for Stoltzfus.

“I’m thrilled to be working with such gifted performers, and my desire was to write something that would be both particularly suited to these two talented musicians and also meaningful for the graduating class as a whole,” shared Davies. 

Lustig added, “I am very excited to premiere this beautiful new arrangement of Be Thou My Vision, which finds new, lyrical melodies to a very old text, interspersed with musical quotes from the familiar hymn tune. I find that the text accurately conveys a deep personal prayer and portrays the convictions of the class of 2012. Laura and I consider it an honor and privilege to serve the senior class through music at the Baccalaureate service.”

Department Chair of Business & Economics, Ken Bates teaching a business class.

The Business Major Field Test was administered at 438 institutions to nearly 33,000 undergraduate students. It is intended to compare the skills and knowledge of the brightest business students at each school to those at similar institutions, in order to improve instruction and learning.

The questions on the exam span the full scope of business and include areas such as accounting, finance, marketing, management and global business issues. At Houghton, the test is also used to calculate 10  percent of a student’s grade for his or her senior business course.

Business students at Houghton receive expert faculty instruction backed up by years of real-world experience in marketing, public relations, advertising, management, human resources, leadership, accounting, finance, law, entrepreneurism, small business management, profit and not-for-profit experience. This, matched with the practical nature of upper-level business courses, accounts for the exceptional and consistent results within the department.

“Our students are involved in a large amount of hands-on, roll-your-sleeves-up kinds of learning opportunities,” said Ken Bates, chair of the business and economics department at Houghton. “These occur when managing the investments of a quarter- million-dollar real money portfolio in our Investment Center or when managing one of the eight real businesses started by our Houghton Student Enterprises group.”

Recently, a group of senior business majors also completed a strategic assessment of Paychex, a Fortune 1000 company, and presented recommendations to their CFO at their corporate headquarters.

“The Houghton business and accounting programs attract high quality students, they receive high quality instruction from faculty in the department, and they work diligently to succeed,” said Richard Halberg, professor of business.

In years past, Houghton has compared itself with 20 selected schools in the CCCU, including Wheaton College, Grove City University and Taylor University. This year is no exception as Houghton has ranked in the top 5 percent of these schools.

To view the webcast, please click on icon below (we will be live at 9:45am EST):

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Disclosure: We cannot guarantee live streaming due to technical difficulties that may arise from various internet connections and independent internet providers. If you experience difficulties, please do not contact Houghton College as there will not be anyone available to assist you.

The Presidents’ Pledge is inspired by the power of philanthropy as a means to create social change and by the crucial role of higher education in addressing key issues and advancing human knowledge. Presidents who participate in The Presidents’ Pledge commit to give five percent or more of their personal income to combat issues of poverty in U.S. communities and around the world. Directed by Ann M. Svennungsen, past president of Texas Lutheran University and The Fund for Theological Education, the project is forging commitment among presidents who currently serve or have led higher education institutions of all types.

“This commitment is motivated both by my own personal experiences in Sierra Leone over the past several years, as well as by Houghton College’s historic commitment as an institution of the Wesleyan Church to a large vision of God’s redemptive purposes in the world,” shares President Mullen. “Consistent with the message of the Jewish prophets and the ministry of Jesus, we believe that God cares about a full range of human need — physical, social, and intellectual — as well as spiritual. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, those who had been influenced by the work of John Wesley consistently brought together a deep personal faith with active commitment to address the social and moral issues of their times. Houghton College is part of that tradition … For me, this commitment also grows out of gratitude and a sense of responsibility to steward what I have been given.”

Day two of the national championships started with… Click here to view

Two senior physics majors, Jonathan Slye and Peter Kroening gave talks about their research projects at this meeting, which is attended by students and faculty from across New York.  Poster presentations were also given by Houghton students Nick Fuller, Andrew Evans, Keith Mann, Ethan Ocock, Mark Spencer and Colin Lauer. 

The R.S.P.S. exists to give undergraduates the opportunity to present their personal research in a context and format chosen to resemble those of professional scientific societies. At these symposia, research projects are presented in talks or poster sessions by undergraduates of various regional institutions, with topics including condensed-matter physics, atomic physics and optics, computational physics, astronomy, particle and nuclear physics, instrumentation and techniques, environmental physics, biological physics, medical physics, and educational physics.