The Fitchburg State University Nursing Program held its Second Annual White Coat Ceremony in Kent Hall this afternoon. After welcome remarks from Nursing Department Acting Chair Dr. Tara Mariolis, President Richard Lapidus, and Dean of Health and Natural Sciences Dr. Jennifer Hanselman, students watched an inspirational video greeting from Rear Admiral Aisha K. Mix, assistant surgeon general and chief nurse officer of the United States Public Health Service.
Prior to the donning of the white coats, student speaker, Madison Waterson from the Class of 2024, offered a few words to this year's white coat recipients, following, coats were presented by members of the Nursing Program faculty. After coat presentations, Nursing Professor Arlana Arsenault administered the White Coat Ceremony Oath.

The Nursing Department faculty and staff treated our Nursing Students to a break before the holidays with their homemade treats and cocoa. A welcomed break before the finals begin.

Theater Concentration, Communications Media student Rebecca Joseph, who recently played Ruth Younger in the university's production of  A Raisin in the Sun, used her talents in our Nursing Simulation Laboratory where she played a patient. After getting her characters backstory, the scene began with Rebecca in the Clinic waiting room to be called by a team of Nursing Program students who were unaware of her ascribed condition.

Friday afternoon, Dean of The School of Health and Natural Sciences Dr. Jennifer Hanselman presented  Engineering Technology Professor Hong Yu's students with certificates acknowledging their participation in the MIT IEEE Undergraduate Research Technology Conference's Micromouse Competition earlier this semester. 

Our Nursing Simulation Laboratory assists nursing students in learning critical thinking and clinical judgment skills in preparation for their healthcare careers. The “manikins” act as lifelike patient simulators, wherein instructors provide real-time feedback via a control center, giving students as close to a hospital scenario as possible.

Late last week, Dean of The School of Health and Natural Sciences Dr. Jennifer Hanselman and Engineering Technology Department faculty welcomed local business partners to the  Fitchburg State University Engineering Technology Department's Industry Advisory Board (IAB) meeting. Included on the agenda was an opportunity for students to present their work to the partners in attendance.

Students in Biology and Chemistry Professor John Ludlam's Invertebrate Biology Lab are studying feeding efficiency in the hornworm. The process involves meticulously weighing & recording natural and artificial food sources, along with the worm, and its waste. The results will give a better idea of how the different food sources are used by the worm. 

The mood was set in an Antonucci Science Complex study space with hanging vines, the scent of flowers, and fog - courtesy of dry ice - as students in the Dr. Katharine Covino (English Studies) and Dr. Erin MacNeal Rehrig (Biology and Chemistry) FYE course "terraform" the space. Students also transformed the space by hanging & presenting the posters they created using the book, Bloom  by  Kenneth Oppel as inspiration.

Students in General Biology Lab learn about Gel electrophoresis, a technique used to separate DNA fragments and other macromolecules by size and charge. DNA samples are loaded into wells (indentations) at one end of a gel, and an electric current is applied to pull them through the gel. DNA fragments are negatively charged, so they move towards the positive electrode. Because all DNA fragments have the same amount of charge per mass, small fragments move through the gel faster than large ones. When a gel is stained with a DNA-binding dye, the DNA fragments can be seen as bands, each representing a group of same-sized DNA fragments.

Students in Earth and Geographic Sciences Professor Jane Huang's Web GIS (Geographic Information System) course work on mapping projects. One student is mapping out all of the highest elevation points in each state.