The Fall 2019 Issue of Our Friends and Alumni Magazine
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Progress in science rarely follows a linear path. Rather, it’s two steps forward, one step back. Incremental, step-by-step advancement, along with occasional stumbles, is a theme of the Fall 2019 issue of the college’s
Discovery magazine
. In addition, we celebrate USU’s 2019-2020
“Year of the Woman”
with some fascinating features about College of Science alumnae. We hope you’ll enjoy this issue.
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Above - Aggie alumna Julie A. Robinson, PhD, Chief Scientist for the International Space Station, at Armand Bayou Nature Center near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Courtesy NASA.
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What do humans need to survive? Air, water, nutrients, shelter, sleep? At first glance, it’s a short and, seemingly, simple list. Yet, ensuring all of these needs are met becomes increasingly complex at closer observation.
What if the air and water are contaminated or scarce? What if nutrients are in short supply or the person needs assistance to take them in? What if a natural disaster makes shelter, and sleep, impossible?
Now, ask these questions again away from the familiar comfort of planet Earth. How do you sustain human life in space? On other planets?
Those are questions USU alumna Julie Robinson (BS’89, Chemistry and Biology), as Chief Scientist of the International Space Station (ISS) at NASA Headquarters, contemplates on a daily basis.
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Above - Author and retired NASA Space Shuttle engineer Marcha Fox (BS'87, Physics.) M. Muffoletto.
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Six months after her 1987 graduation from Utah State University, Marcha Fox burst into tears during an interview with the director of the USU Women’s Center, who was collecting stories from “non-traditional” students.
“She asked me how I did it – how, starting college at age 35 with six children at home – I managed to earn a bachelor’s degree in physics,” says Fox, a native of New York State. “I just lost it. I had no idea how I did it. I didn’t cry at the commencement ceremony but then, it hit me.”
Something in that question unleashed fears, worry, exhaustion and, finally, pride, Fox had held deep inside during hours upon hours of lectures, labs, study and exams.
“I had no idea how I’d survived juggling so many responsibilities other than one day, one class and one quarter at a time,” says Fox, who now, after a 21-year NASA career, lives along Lake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin.
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Above - Alum Liang Peng (PhD'17, Computer Science), third from right, at his doctoral dissertation defense. Courtesy Liang Peng.
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I was admitted to the Ph.D. program of computer science at USU in the Fall of 2011, after graduating from Kansas State University with a master’s degree in statistics. Before the semester started, I did a four-day, short trip to California’s Silicon Valley, visiting a friend, who was interning with VMware in Palo Alto. I was impressed by the large number of tech companies in the Bay Area. The examples included Google, Facebook, HP, Intel, Cisco, and many others. I thought, then, it would be nice if I could one day work or intern with one of these companies.
The first semester at USU was not easy for me, since I had not majored in computer science for my undergrad degree. I was working as a teaching assistant, while taking two courses: image processing and artificial intelligence. I was working very hard to implement the game and algorithm from an artificial intelligence (AI) course assignment experience. On top of this, I was trying to figure out which research topic I wanted to choose for the next five years of my Ph.D. study.
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Above - In Nov. 2015 photo, USU AFROTC Cadet Isabella Muffoletto (BS'18, Public Health) serves in Detachment 890's annual, 24-hour POW/MIA Vigil on the USU Quad. USU photo.
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As part of Utah State University’s 2019-2020 “Year of the Woman,” university historians and writers are crafting “Then and Now” vignettes featuring stories of Aggie women throughout the university’s history. Among a diverse range of themes, the university offers a story of “USU Women in the Military.”
Aggie women have served shoulder-to-shoulder with their male counterparts since Utah State University’s inception.
For the “Year of the Woman,” USU highlights two active duty College of Science alumnae:
Then:
COL. Milada Copeland (USA), Chief Information Officer, Utah National Guard, Draper, Utah
Milada Copeland’s initial foray into college academics in her native Michigan was less than stellar and ended prematurely. Barely 17 years old when she started her studies, Copeland (BS’88, Biology) admits she wasn’t ready.
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Above - Undergraduate Research Fellow Audrey Lidgard, center, works with faculty mentor Susannah French, left, and doctoral student Spencer Hudson in French's research laboratory.
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The College of Science sends a sincere message of “Thank You” to all Aggies who participated in the USU Alumni Association’s ‘A’ Day of Giving Sept. 27 during USU’s 2019 Homecoming festivities.
This was a new venture for the university and the College of Science was excited to take part. Colleges and university units participating in the one-day fundraiser were invited to select an “Area of Impact” to which donors could give. Our college selected “
Undergraduate Research” as our area of impact. Proceeds from the fundraiser will support student travel to present research at conferences and other opportunities to promote undergraduate research.
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