Winter 2011 - Pitt-Johnstown Home Page - University of Pittsburgh

accomplishments are many and varied, too many to include here. What follows is just a smallsample of various academic activities.More than 300 students from 13 area schools converged on campus for the fourth annualSTEM Professions Day. Among the speakers was Pitt-Johnstown alumni and 2010Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching recipient BeckyPiscitella '99. Scholarships were presented to Victoria Maher, a senior at ConemaughTownship High School who plans to major in secondary education mathematics, andBrosnan McCray, a senior at Conemaugh Valley Junior-Senior High School who intends tofollow the pre-pharmacy curriculum.Members of the Pitt-Johnstown faculty also took part in the event by leading discussionsabout opportunities in the areas of computer science, engineering, mathematics, andphysics. Pitt-Johnstown’s instructor of physics David Willey, who has been featured on theNational Geographic Channel and was a regular guest on "The Tonight Show with JayLeno," conducted an interactive physics demonstration entitled "How Does a Thing LikeThat Work?". Additional presenters included Dr. James Bilitski, associate professor ofcomputer science; Amy Miller, associate professor of mechanical engineering technology;Frank Smigla, assistant professor of computer science; and Joseph Wilson, instructor ofmathematics.Stephen Lindberg is now serving as the eastern section president for the NationalAssociation of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). Paul Washington is the founding co-editor ofNortheastern Geoscience, a new journal of regional geology to replace the recently defunctNortheastern Geology & Environmental Science.Amy Miller (MET), Andy Rose (CET), and ET students Kelsey Jones, Rachel Lasko, andAbigail Sedlmeyer participated in the AAUW Johnstown Branch's "Girls Tech Over" onNovember 5, 2011 at Penn Highlands Community College. The day's activities wereintended to encourage local girls to become interested in Science, Technology, Engineeringand Mathematics (STEM) and explore career options in STEM fields. The AAUW worked inconjunction with the Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania and numerous guest speakersfrom local universities and industries. Amy Miller prepared a presentation on "What isEngineering?" and included hands-on demonstrations of wind and solar power, magneticlevitation and other engineering concepts. Andy Rose prepared a presentation on "Bridgesand Structures" in which the girls built a 6-ft-long truss bridge that they could actually cross.Professors Rose and Miller were assisted by the ET students who are members of Pitt-Johnstown's chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).Brian Houston and 25 CET students participated in Richland Science Night on November17. Approximately 120 elementary students participated in a robotics-themed eveningsponsored by the Carnegie Science Center.4