Assistant Dean wins the Sturgis Award(link to The Southern)

Dean of Our College Earns Professional Designations

New technique may detect harmful bacteria

Physics researcher wins CAREER award from NSF

Gupta Honored for Superior Teaching

Gibson Wins Top Scholar Award

American Physical Society honors Malik

SIUC's Crelling wins international award for coal research

SIUC to lead 17-county disaster readiness effort

Central USA sees mountain lion migrations

Deadly Frog Fungus Spreads in Virus-Like Waves

Means earns professional designations

By Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Two leading professional organizations in the area of toxicology have awarded their highest rankings to the dean of the College of Science at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
The American Board of Toxicology recently named Jay C. Means as a Diplomate of its organization. Also, the Academy of Toxicological Sciences elected Means as a Fellow. The honors certify Means as a national and international leader in the field of toxicology, which encompasses the investigation of adverse effects of chemicals and other substances on living organisms.
Means also recently received an appointment to the SIU School of Medicine as a professor in the Department of Pharmacology. Using videoconferencing equipment at the Life Science III building, Means will teach 500-level toxicology courses to Springfield-based graduate students, as well as collaborate on research and grants.
In recent years, toxicology has come to the forefront through television shows featuring crime scene investigators and other sleuths who solve mysteries using science. Means said toxicology can involve such forensics as featured on those shows, but also involves studying how contaminants cause disease and how they impact the environment.
Qualifying as a Diplomate with American Board of Toxicology was a challenging process. First, the board scrutinized Means' qualifications and research vitae, to ensure he possessed the required academic and professional background.
Means then traveled to North Carolina for a series of rigorous board exams administered by the group. The exams, divided into three parts, covered toxicity agents, organ systems and effects and general principles of applied toxicology.
Created in 1979, The American Board of Toxicology is a non-profit corporation aimed at encouraging the study of toxicology, establishing professional standards and recognizing those who demonstrate competence in the field.
The Academy of Toxicological Sciences elected Means as a fellow based on his credentials, including expertise and experience in environmental chemistry of trace organics, trace metals and organo-metallics in aquatic systems, analytical biochemistry, organic geochemistry, genetic toxicology, mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis and small fish tumor models, among others. He also has more than 35 years of experience at the collegiate level as a teacher, researcher, professor and administrator.
The Academy of Toxicological Sciences certifies practicing toxicologists based on education, professional experience demonstrated achievement, proven ability and scientific expertise. It certifies toxicologists who are recognized by their peers for their expertise and sound scientific judgment. The certification ensures the competence and experience of professionals whose work affects public welfare. There are only about 250 ATS Fellows, worldwide.
Means became dean of the SIUC College of Science in July 2007. He previously was associate director of the Environmental Research Center and chair of the chemistry department at Western Michigan University, where he also held an endowed professorship of environmental chemistry and was a professor of environmental chemistry and biological sciences.
Means earned a bachelor's degree in education, master's in food chemistry and doctorate in food chemistry from the University of Illinois. He also earned a master's degree in curriculum development from Concordia Teacher's College.

New technique may detect harmful bacteria
Like a detective knows a suspect's habits, researchers know a lot about the tendencies of harmful bacteria.

A researcher at SIUC is playing the role of a sleuth in setting up a classic "sting" operation to bust microbes like e. coli and deadly staphylococcus using a classic decoy ploy.
Punit Kohli, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Science at SIUC, is using nano-scale technology to engineer what are essentially artificial antibodies that will bind with and indicate the presence of those germs. His research, funded by a two-year, $216,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, might one day even open the door for such techniques to also attack and neutralize such microbes.
Kohli and his graduate students are making the tiny "sacks" — 50 to 150 nanometers in size — in a laboratory at SIUC. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter long.
The sacks, made from organic materials such as carbon, hydrogen and phospholipids, have sensors on their surfaces that researchers engineer to bind with specific microbes. Researchers know a microbe's habits the way a cop knows a criminal, and Kohli is using these "profiles" to set up his sting.
When researchers place the receptor-laden sacks in a solution or serum they act as a decoy for the microbe and the two bind. The action simulates the way a normal antibody attaches itself to an invading microbe, and how a microbe attacks a normal cell. The bond works like a "lock and key" mechanism, based on the structure and compounds that make up the receptors.
In this case, however, instead of causing illness the bond causes a fluorescent reaction, which grows greater based on the number of bonds that occur in the solution. Researchers can detect this reaction, either with a light-measuring instrument or sometimes even the naked eye, with the glow indicating the presence of specific microbes.
And the case is solved.
The test should be very fast and accurate, Kohli said. It also will detect extremely low concentrations of the microbes.
Kohli envisions using the technique on a series of test strips or slides, each containing sacks and receptors specifically engineered to detect different microbes or proteins. Researchers could use it, for instance, to monitor food and water supplies or to detect the presence of diseases such as cancer.
Eventually, researchers might figure out ways to make the sacks deliver drugs to the invading microbes after binding with them. Delivering drugs in such a highly targeted way would theoretically cut down on medication side effects, Kohli said.
"This is one of the side projects we're working on," he said.
Kohli and his graduate assistant, Xuelian Li, already have shown the technique will work for detecting the presence of certain proteins and plan to submit a paper on their work within a few months. That success bodes well for the overall concept, Kohli said.
"If we can detect proteins it should be possible to detect larger particles," he said.
Li is busy making the nano-sized sacks in a laboratory. The sacks form themselves in a beaker solution during sonication, or agitation via sound waves. The researchers can engineer the sacks based on the compounds they use to create them and other variables. After they form, the researchers polymerize the sacks.
"This makes them very strong and robust, which is what we want," Kohli said.
- Tim Crosby

Physics researcher wins CAREER award from NSF
By Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill. — An assistant professor of physics at Southern
Illinois University Carbondale has won a coveted grant from the federal
government aimed at establishing promising junior researchers by
providing long-term funding for their work.
María de las Mercedes Calbi recently received a CAREER award from the
National Science Foundation to support her research project, titled
"Kinetics of Adsorption in Nanoporous Structures." The $400,000 grant
will last through 2013.
Calbi is developing theoretical models and methods aimed at
understanding how molecules and atoms gain access and bind to carbon
nanotube bundles, and how fast they can do it. The work, much of which
Calbi will do with computer simulations, has great potential in areas
such as gas separation, purification and storage.
CAREER grants support early career research and teaching activities and
are highly competitive. Calbi said winning the award is thrilling.
"It's a great opportunity for young faculty as it can fund your research
for five years," said Calbi, who joined the Department of Physics in the
College of Science at SIUC in 2003. "I've had great support from our
faculty and the head of the department here, which is very important
because the award is so competitive that it is very easy to get
discouraged while applying.
"This shows we can compete with any other university," she said. "It
shows you can do it at SIUC."
Although atom and molecule adsorption has been used for some time in
areas such as gas separation, Calbi's work moves the concept forward by
focusing on how carbon nanotube bundles behave in this arena. The
structures are extremely tiny — a nanometer is one billionth of a meter
— collections of long, hollow tubes that form spontaneously under given
conditions.
Because of their shapes and porous nature, the structures provide
several different types of surfaces as bonding points for atoms and
molecules, allowing Calbi and her team of students to efficiently study
the adsorption process under different conditions. The atoms and
molecules can attach themselves inside a nanotube or along the
valley-like areas that run along the outside of the tubes, for instance.
The structures also contain interstitial pores between the tubes, which
provide additional potential bonding points.
Calbi also wants to know how to ensure the strongest possible bond
between the gas and structures. She also wants to study how quickly
certain atoms and molecules can gain access to and bond with a surface,
an area known as adsorption kinetics.
She also will look at the relationship between the size of pore in
relation to the size of atom or molecule and how it affects bonding
strength. The closer in size generally means the stronger the bond, but
this also makes access more restrictive. Calbi will examine how this
trait plays into the overall question of adsorption.
Calbi also will look for efficient combinations that balance the time it
takes for adsorption against the energy required to do so using
different atoms and molecules under various conditions.
While she will focus on nanotube bundles to extract this knowledge,
Calbi's goal is to obtain the basic principles that could be used to
understand such processes in other nanomaterials, or even to design
nanostructures with specific applications.
Because of its nano-scale nature, Calbi's work will delve into the world
of quantum mechanics, which operates under an entirely different set of
laws than classical physics.
"Much of it is really unknown," Calbi said. "When you have diffusion of
molecules in restricted spaces, such as inside a nanotube, the molecules
can behave in a very different way."
Although she will do most of the work with theoretical models and
computer simulations, Calbi also will work closely with Aldo Migone,
professor and chair of the physics department, who will test various
concepts in his laboratory. Migone's work will confirm or disprove the
various theories and models Calbi's team advances.
Nanotube structures, such as those Calbi works with, are promising
materials for separation and membrane applications. When fully
understood, one possible use might involve efficient hydrogen storage
methods, which could open a variety of environmentally sound
technologies. Other possible applications include air purification
systems and environmental remediation.
Another important aspect to the grant involves student outreach and
education. Calbi will hire three graduate students and one undergraduate
student to work on the project, which will provide an important research
opportunity for them. She also plans a new physics course on surface
science at nano scale, which will emphasize using computers to model
processes that occur at such a small scale.
"It will teach students how to use a computer as a tool for doing
physics research," she said.
Calbi also will continue working with the annual "Expanding Your
Horizons" mathematics and science event at SIUC, which is aimed at
encouraging girls in seventh-ninth grades to consider careers in those
fields.
"While I lead my workshop, the girls will also get to know the work I'm
doing here as a scientist and I really want to convey the message, 'see,
you can do this too,'" Calbi said.
Calbi earned her doctorate degree in physics in 2000 at the University
of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She then worked as a post-doctoral fellow in
the physics department at The Pennsylvania State University from 2000 to
2003 before being hired at SIUC as assistant professor of physics.
-30-

Faculty members honored for superior teaching
 By K.C. Jaehnig
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Eight faculty members from Southern Illinois University Carbondale have won top marks from their colleges for superior teaching, while three others have been cited for educational achievement outside a college. They will be honored at the University's "Excellence Through Commitment" awards dinner April 22 at the Student Center.
SIUC college deans named Lilly A. Boruszkowski (College of Mass Communication and Media Arts), Bidyut Gupta (College of Science), J. Kent Hsiao (College of Engineering), Jean C. Mangun (College of Agricultural Sciences), Michael D. Michalisin (College of Business and Administration), Stacia L. Robertson (College of Education and Human Services), David E. Sutton (College of Liberal Arts) and Stewart P. Wessel (College of Applied Sciences and Arts) as their No. 1 educators. Amy C. Arai, Stephanie J. Graves and Wenona Y. Whitfield received kudos as the year's top faculty member in the School of Medicine, Library Affairs and the School of Law respectively.
Each will receive $3,000 outright plus a matching amount through the Office of the Provost to support professional activities during the next fiscal year. The Alumni Association also will present each teacher with a watch.
• Boruszkowski, associate professor in the Department of Cinema and Photography, has taught both undergraduate and graduate students in her 25 years at SIUC. In that time, she has taught all her department's core production classes, has helped the department revise its curriculum and has developed new courses, including one at the graduate level on autobiography and biography and an undergraduate course on sound recording, design and editing.
In addition, Boruszkowski has worked with civil engineering faculty to develop materials for public school children on environmental and water resources engineering. She also has produced an educational video on cameras and lenses that continues to sell extremely well.
Boruszkowski is a two-degree graduate of Northwestern University, earning her bachelor's in 1976 and her master's in 1980.
• Gupta, professor in the Department of Computer Science and director of its graduate program, has developed both undergraduate and graduate courses, striving to impart both basic information and innovative trends and encouraging students to think independently. While rapidly changing material and varying levels of student preparation make teaching in this field a challenge, he works to ensure that all understand the information before proceeding.
He takes a personal interest in graduate students, helping them register for appropriate courses, arranging for assistantships, monitoring their academic progress and working with those on probation to find solutions for their problems.
Gupta is a two-degree graduate of the University of Calcutta, earning his master's in 1978 and his doctorate in 1986.
• Hsiao, associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, regularly receives top marks in evaluations by students from both his department and the college as a whole and has won teaching awards both at the department and college level.
Since coming to the University in 2001, Hsiao has taught 10 different courses, including one he designed and two he modified. He spends a lot of time with students outside the classroom, teaching review classes and independent study courses and serving as a mentor to entering freshmen. He also helped two of his students put together the research proposals that won them fellowships from the Department of Homeland Security.
Hsiao is a two-degree graduate of Brigham Young University, earning his bachelor's in 1976 and his master's in 1977. He completed his doctorate in 2000 at the University of Utah.
• Mangun, associate professor in the Department of Forestry, has, with a colleague, developed and runs an environmental awareness program that pairs SIUC forestry students with minority and female high school students in deep Southern Illinois. Both groups learn, both groups win.
Her teaching evaluations, student comments and peer reviews all attest to her classroom excellence. In addition, she ranks as one of the college's best advisers, beginning with her efforts to recruit potential students, through her guidance in academics, her support for extracurricular activities and ending with her assistance in looking for jobs.
Mangun earned her bachelor's degree in 1972 from Columbia University. She is a two-degree graduate of Purdue University, earning her master's in 1985 and her doctorate in 1991.
• Michalisin, associate professor in the Department of Management brings professional business and consulting experience, innovative teaching techniques and knowledge of the latest developments in strategic management to the classroom.
Known for up-to-date, relevant course material, Michalisin is highly regarded by students at all levels; his teaching evaluations consistently rank him as good to excellent. He has won recognition for his teaching in seven of the last 11 years. He also serves as a mentor for both current and former students.
Michalisin earned his bachelor's degree in 1985 from The Pennsylvania State University, his master's of business administration in 1992 from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and his doctorate in 1996 from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. He is also a certified public accountant.
• Robertson, assistant professor in the Rehabilitation Institute, teaches both undergraduate and graduate students and excels at blending different ethnic and cultural backgrounds into a welcoming whole. She is known for her patience, approachability, interest and ability to develop critical thinking skills.
Course evaluations and student letters consistently rate Robertson highly, both as a teacher and as a role model, and she plays an active role in mentoring graduate students, especially during their fieldwork. The institute honored her last year as its teacher of the year.
Robertson earned her bachelor's degree in 1988 from Illinois State University, her master's in 1995 from the University of Illinois and her doctorate in 2003 from The Pennsylvania State University.
• Sutton, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, consistently has received his department's highest student rankings, course after course, semester after semester, from undergraduate and graduate students, majors and non-majors. Students report that he has inspired them, touched their lives and transformed how they see the world.
In teaching, Sutton uses the Socratic style of discussion; out-of-class projects focus on the lives of other students, community residents and their own families; popular movies; novels by authors from other cultures; and objects, such as food. (He hosts a Friday morning bagel brunch in his office for graduate students and faculty). He is the only anthropology faculty member to develop an online course and an honors course.
Sutton is a three-degree graduate of the University of Chicago, earning his bachelor's degree in 1985, his master's in 1987 and his doctorate in 1995.
• Wessel, associate professor in the School of Architecture, has twice won teaching honors from his unit. His peers and both current and former students praise his performance. A skillful motivator, he helps them develop into the best they can become, both within the classroom and in the independent studies and research assistantships for which he serves as mentor.
Wessel developed an experimental furniture design studio that he continues to teach. A nationally recognized designer himself, he brings special knowledge to his supervision of students as they design and build their own prize-winning pieces.
Wessel earned his bachelor's degree in 1983 from SIUC and his master of fine arts degree in 1992 from the University of North Texas.
• Arai, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology, coordinates the teaching of material related to the neuro-muscular system to second-year students. She has developed a Web-based site for tutors in this program, which includes information about scheduling and learning objectives, content material and PowerPoint slides.
Arai also developed online versions of the medical school's problem-based learning modules, which teach students by drawing upon the records of real-life patients. Now used with both first- and second-year students, the e-modules make updating faster, more convenient and less prone to error. They also are more popular with students than their paper counterparts.
Arai is a three-degree graduate of Japan's Chiba University, earning her bachelor's in 1982, her master's in 1984 and her doctorate in 1987.
• Graves, assistant professor in the library's humanities section, led the team that brought in Meebo, a Web site that lets librarians and users of the major instant messaging systems exchange messages with each other. This free, easy-to-use system has led to a huge increase in the number of questions from library patrons.
To track those questions, Graves worked with the library's computer programmers to develop an easy-to-use database. She is now adapting that database to track all reference questions the library receives. Graves also helped design the look and content of the portion of the library's Web site dealing with databases and article searches.
Graves earned her bachelor's degree in 1999 from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., and her master's in 2004 from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
• Whitfield, associate professor and the law school's former associate dean for academic affairs, is known for teaching students to read between the lines, think on their feet, anticipate questions, look at situations from all angles and consider the ethical implications of their own actions. Using the Socratic method, whereby the instructor asks questions but gives no answers, she fosters in them the development of analytical thinking.
Students describe Whitfield as demanding but also as stimulating, provocative and articulate with excellent classroom "presence" and a genuine concern for students and society as a whole.
Whitfield earned her bachelor's degree in 1970 from Illinois Wesleyan University and her law degree in 1977 from SIUC.

Plant biologist Gibson wins top scholar honor

By Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill. — A plant biologist and researcher is this academic year's Outstanding Scholar at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
David J. Gibson, professor in the Department of Plant Biology in the College of Science at SIUC, is the winner of the award, which is part of the annual Excellence Through Commitment honors. Established in 2004, the awards program recognizes ongoing contributions by tenured and term faculty, staff and graduate assistants throughout the University.
The honor includes a $7,500 monetary award, $7,500 in other-than-salaries support, a certificate, the title of Distinguished Scholar, a reserved parking space for one year and a wristwatch provided by the SIU Alumni Association.
The University will honor this year's winners at a dinner set for Tuesday, April 22, in the SIUC Student Center.
During his 12 years at SIUC, Gibson has helped push the University into the international limelight with his research and leadership, officials said.
"He is truly one of SIUC's stars," said Dale H. Vitt, professor and chair of the Department of Plant Biology.
During his 25 years as a researcher, Gibson has published a critically acclaimed book, "Methods in Comparative Plant Population," and 94 papers in peer-reviewed journals and books, Vitt said. His papers have appeared in 42 different journals including some of the most prestigious in the science community — Ecology, Journal of Ecology, Journal of Applied Ecology and Global Change Biology, among others.
As a faculty member, Gibson has shepherded 22 master's and doctoral students through their degree programs while garnering more than $1.5 million in research funds from local, state and federal sources, including the National Science Foundation. Much of his research has involved international collaborations, Vitt said.
"David Gibson is truly an outstanding scientist who has an international reputation," Vitt said. "His research in plant interactions and his book … represent outstanding contributions."
Gibson earned his doctorate in 1985 at the University of Wales, Bangor, United Kingdom, where he studied with P. Greig-Smith, an international authority on ecological theory. He earned his master's degree in botany in 1981 at the University of Oklahoma and his Bachelor of Science degree in 1979 at the University of Reading, United Kingdom.
Gibson did post-doctoral work as fellow at the Division of Pinelands Research in 1985 at Rutgers University. He was a research associate at Kansas State University in 1986 and staff scientist for the International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project examining the Konza Prairie in 1987.
He became an assistant scientist in 1987 at Kansas State University and became an assistant professor in 1988 at the University of West Florida. He joined the faculty at SIUC as an assistant professor in 1992, becoming a full professor in 2000.
Gibson's focuses his work in the area of grasses and grasslands ecology. His work on the Konza Prairie in Kansas revealed the long-term effects of fire on grasslands and is widely cited by other researchers, Vitt said. Gibson later showed the research held ramifications for the overall management of tall-grass prairie, and in Illinois he has shown how the effects of fire are important for grasslands restoration and management. He also focuses on interactions among plant and other organisms, Vitt said. In his latest research, Gibson focuses on the contrasting ecology of rare and invasive species.
In 2006, the College of Science named Gibson as its Outstanding Researcher. He also is an elected fellow of the Institute of Biology in the United Kingdom, the highest rank within the professional organization representing biologists in the U.K.
Gibson is one of three principle editors for the Journal of Ecology, serving in that position at the oldest international plant ecology journal since 1998. He is an editorial board member for the Journal of Vegetation Science and from 1991 to 1996 served as a subject matter editor for the Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society.
International critics have favorably reviewed Gibson's 2001 book, which explains how to design and explore research questions in population ecology.
"David is one of the primary reasons why the plant biology department is internationally known," Vitt said.

American Physical Society honors Malik
By Tim Crosby

    CARBONDALE, Ill. — A leading group of physical scientists is
honoring a Southern Illinois University Carbondale physics professor.
The American Physical Society elected F. Bary Malik, professor emeritus
in the Department of Physics in the College of Science at SIUC, as a
fellow.  The group honored Malik for his extensive contributions to
atomic and nuclear physics, mathematical phynuclear physics and for
developing physics research programs around the world, especially in
emerging nations.
Malik has worked with physicists from countries including Argentina,
Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Jordan and many others. He has organized
countless conferences and collaborated on and facilitated dozens of
research projects.
Earlier this year, Malik received the John Wheatley Award from the
American Physical Society. Malik received a $2,000 award and a
certificate and spoke at the society's annual meeting March 6 in
Denver.  That award, presented every other year, honors physicists who
make contributions to the development of the field in the third-world
countries by working with researchers and teachers there.
SIUC in 1996 named Malik its Outstanding Scholar.  Malik, who retired in
2005 after 25 years at the University, continues conducting research at
the University. His work includes heavy-ion physics, strange particle
production from hot nuclei and fission theory, among other topics.

SIUC's Crelling wins international award for coal research
By Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill. — A piece of coal might look like a simple black lump to the average person, something you can burn to make heat and energy.
But when John C. "Jack" Crelling looks at coal, he sees endless variety in composition and uses ranging from making dyes to facilitating iron production to liquid fuel for automobiles.
For his vision and decades of work in the coal classification field, Crelling recently received the Reinhardt Thiessen Medal from the International Committee for Coals and Organic Petrology. Named for an early coal research pioneer with the U.S. Bureau of Mines, the international award is a top honor in the worldwide study of fossil fuels. Crelling, a research scientist in Southern Illinois University's Department of Geology, is one of only a handful of Americans to receive it during its 50-year history.
Crelling said the honor came as a surprise.
"I never thought I would get such an award," said Crelling, who retired from the University a year ago after almost 30 years, but continues his research, grant writing and laboratory work. "I am very lucky and happy.
But I've also had great support from the University and the Coal Research Center here."
Steven P. Esling, chairperson of the Department of Geology in College of Science at SIUC, said Crelling is an internationally recognized scientist, respected throughout his field.
"He has an incredible record of achievement," Esling said. "He has now earned every major award given to a coal geologist. His past contributions to our program in teaching and research, as well as his continuing research activity, are sources of great pride to the Department of Geology."
Crelling's work focuses on characterization of coal — there are many different kinds based on what type of conditions it formed under and what material formed it. Coal characterization is critical to matching up the right kind of coal with a particular use.
Some coals, for instance, burn fast and others slowly. Some are ideal for "coking," the process of heating coal in the absence of oxygen to form a hard, sponge-like mass used in the production of iron. Still others are good for converting to liquid fuel for automobile engines.
When Crelling looks at coal, it is often through the lens of a microscope, which reveals the coal's structures and composition.
Microscopic examination can reveal the kind and amount of components, called macerals, that are derived from various plant parts.
But Crelling sees more than what the microscope shows. He also sees coal's storied history and potential.
"Coal is not uniform. So it's all about understanding the behaviors of different types of coal, characterizing them and predicting how they will behave," Crelling said. "Even for something as simple as combustion, you have to know the coal."
"Probably one of the best uses of coal is an old use as a feedstock for the production of chemicals," Crelling said. "Before we had the petrochemical industry coal tar was the valuable product that supplied fertilizers, explosives pharmaceuticals, roofing and road materials. "
In the mid-1800s, an English chemist named William Perkin discovered how to make a unique fabric dye using coal tar, which previously was considered a useless byproduct of baking coal, Crelling said. He called the new color "mauve" and its fame was sealed when Queen Victoria wore a dress dyed in its hues to a wedding.
"Up until that time the only dyes were natural dyes, and it was a very muted world. When these coal tar dyes came out, it brightened the world.
That was the start of organic chemistry," he said.
Crelling sees humans eventually returning to coal as a source for the chemicals on which they now depend.
"As petroleum supplies dry up we're going to have to go back to coal for these chemicals," he said. "There are other uses for it besides just burning it."
Crelling's insights and appreciation for the material led him early to an early career at Bethlehem Steel, where he led the company's coal and coke petrographic laboratories. He joined the SIUC geology faculty five years later in 1977, where he became an internationally known leader in the areas of petrographic examination of coal and manufactured carbons, and an innovator in maceral separation and fluorescent microscopy in his field.
Crelling continues conducting research and giving papers at conferences.
He received the Thiessen Medal at a conference in Victoria, Canada after giving two new research papers.
Jay Means, dean of the College of Science, said Crelling is a gifted, committed professor with a long, distinguished record of academic excellence, both in the classroom and his specialization.
"Even though Jack retired from the faculty last year, he continues to contribute in significant ways to the research effort of the geology department and also to the mentoring of talented young faculty in that department," Means said. "The Thiessen Medal is the top international prize in Dr. Crelling's field and recognizes a career-long set of contributions to and major advancements in his field. I am pleased to add my congratulations to those of the faculty and Jack's peers in acknowledging this most prestigious award."

SIUC to lead 17-county disaster readiness effort
By Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Carbondale officials
today (Jan. 29) announced that faculty members will lead a $1.2 million,
multi-county emergency preparedness effort funded by the federal government.
Nicholas Pinter, professor of geology in the College of Science at SIUC,
is the lead investigator on the grant, which will assist 17 Southern
Illinois counties in assessing their disaster risks and making plans for
disaster mitigation. SIUC faculty will work with colleagues from Indiana
University-Purdue University Indianapolis and with five Illinois
regional planning commissions in assisting local agencies with writing
pre-disaster mitigation plans.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency — FEMA — is funding the work,
which Pinter said will continue through 2010. The money is administered
through the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
During a news conference this morning, Pinter and other officials
outlined the community service program and its goals.
"This grant from FEMA will help each of these counties identify the
risks they have and make plans to deal with any of those potential
disasters," said Pinter, who began pursuing the grant about two years
ago, along with members of The Polis Center at IUPUI. "Southern Illinois
has a history of major disaster losses — from the great flood of 1993 to
the tri-state tornado to the New Madrid earthquake. It makes sense that
these counties prepare for events such as these and others."
The money will go to SIUC, IUPUI and the regional planning commissions
that work with the 17 counties involved.
The counties include Pulaski, Massac, Union, Johnson, Jackson,
Williamson, Franklin, Jefferson, Perry, Gallatin, Edwards, White,
Crawford, Bond, St. Clair and Clinton. The city of Cairo, in Alexander
County, also will participate in the project.
The regional planning organizations involved are the Southern Five
Regional Planning Commission, Greater Egypt Regional Planning and
Development Commission, Southeastern Illinois Regional Planning and
Development Commission, Greater Wabash Regional Planning Commission and
Southwestern Illinois Planning Commission.
Pinter said the grant will help officials meet federal standards for
disaster planning.
"Each of these entities is required to look at the full range of
possible disasters," he said. "They must assess the dangers before they
can reduce their vulnerability."
Once the assessments and plans are in place, Pinter said each agency can
ask for additional funding from FEMA to reduce the dangers. An example
might include shoring up a river levee or building earthquake-resistant
fire and police stations.
Pinter, along with Harvey Henson, a research project specialist in the
geology department at SIUC, will bring expertise in earthquake, flooding
and other geologic risks to the planning process. They, along with a
number of graduate students, also will gather and help analyze data and
work with regional planning commissions to help update databases, such
as locations of schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure.
Researchers at The Polis Center at IUPUI will use computer software to
model the effects of various disasters on certain geographic areas. The
Polis Center is an interdisciplinary academic research organization
focused on developing information about communities and applying such
data to innovative solutions.
"The software can take a specific disaster, say an F5 tornado, and look
at how it would impact an area," Pinter said. "It can look at the
vulnerability and help us determine how we can mitigate that risk."
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he was pleased FEMA recognized the
need for federal assistance by local communities preparing for emergencies.
"These federal dollars will ensure that counties in Southern Illinois
can engage in the planning and preparation necessary to limit the
fallout from a potential disaster," Durbin said. "I commend SIUC for
taking a leadership role in these efforts."
Pinter said the grant helps SIUC fulfill its community service mission.
"FEMA and IEMA have generously provided support to help these Southern
Illinois counties prepare pre-disaster mitigations plans," he said.
"Planning for disasters, rather than just reacting when they strike, is
the best way to reduce damage and loss of life."

By Jeff Martin, USA TODAY
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — States in the Midwest and South that have not been home to mountain lions in the past century are starting to see some migrating big cats within their borders.
Wildlife officials say their numbers may increase if the trend of more females roaming into their regions continues.
On Feb. 5, wildlife officials using DNA confirmed that a cat seen about 50 miles southwest of Milwaukee on Jan. 18 was a lion — Wisconsin's first confirmation since 1905.
Two days later, a 100-pound male lion was killed by a conservation officer in Scottsbluff, Neb. There's new evidence lions are not just wandering through the state, but making it their home.
John Kanta, a regional wildlife manager with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, says the migration is due in part to the fact that the Black Hills of South Dakota are saturated with mountain lions. Young males, he says, are often forced out by older cats.
Most reports of mountain lions — also known as cougars and pumas, among other names — traveling hundreds of miles across the country in recent years involved males. Now, Kanta says, researchers are noticing female pumas beginning to make their own long-distance treks and looking to breed. That, he says, holds the potential for a far greater impact on states throughout the central USA, from Wisconsin in the north to Arkansas in the south.
"We know these large predators can re-establish themselves in areas where they've been eliminated," said Adrian Wydeven, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ecologist.
Such a scenario could be set in motion if a male cougar finds a mate in suitable terrain, said Mark Dowling, co-founder of the Cougar Network, a non-profit research organization.
Last year, the body of a cougar kitten was found near Chadron, Neb. That was significant, as it probably represented the state's first evidence of reproduction in modern times, said Sam Wilson, manager of the non-game mammal and furbearer program with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
Elsewhere:
•Montana. A female puma from South Dakota's Black Hills turned up in Montana's Custer National Forest. That's about 130 miles from its home in the Black Hills. Earlier, a female puma was killed by a landowner more than 300 miles east of the Black Hills.
•Missouri. The Department of Conservation's Mountain Lion Response Team has confirmed 10 instances of mountain lions in the state since 1994.
•Arkansas. Arkansas contained the highest percentage of potentially favorable habitat — 19% — among nine states studied by Southern Illinois University Carbondale wildlife ecologist Clay Nielsen and SIU graduate research assistant Michelle LaRue. Although much of the Plains is considered unsuitable for pumas, the research by Nielsen and LaRue suggests that large parts of the central USA hold strong potential to support them, particularly the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas, as well as parts of Oklahoma and Minnesota.

Questionable Results
Not everyone agrees with the new results. Biologists Camille Parmesan and Michael Singer of the University of Texas, Austin, called the team's analysis "questionable" in a response to the paper posted online on the PloS Biology Web site.

Parmesan claims that the team wrongly equated the date of the first observed amphibian decline in a region with the onset of chytrid infection.
"They're using the date of decline as a proxy, but they actually don't know when the fungus arrived," Parmesan told National Geographic News.
"The decline could be occurring because of anything—including climate change."
Parmesan and others suggest a third possibility: Global warming and the spread of natural disease are working together to reduce frog populations.
"The data's pretty crappy to be honest, but it's good enough to say that both the fungus and climate change are separately responsible for some population declines and some species extinctions," she said.
"More than that, you can't say."