Every two weeks, Highlander Highlights shares with readers some of the extraordinary research and accomplishments happening on and off campus through the tireless work and curiosity of our students and faculty.
We Are Radford award winner for February
The We Are Radford employee recognition program is a monthly honor recognizing someone whose daily interactions with students and colleagues represent the best of the Radford University experience. The winner for February is Ben Buzzard, parking enforcement supervisor.
“Ben exhibits the Highlander core values of excellence, inclusiveness and community,” his nominator wrote. “The job as parking enforcement supervisor comes with many challenges, but he always does it with a smile! He does his job with a spirit of cooperation and collaboration and is always available to answer questions. His job may be considered thankless, but not in Ben's case! He raises the bar and sets an awesome example for others.”
Employees who have served at least one year at Radford are eligible to be recognized for upholding the university’s core values.
A ‘deep dive into predator-prey dynamics’ at Selu
Two Radford biology majors are keeping a close eye this semester on wildlife activity at the university’s Selu Conservancy.
Under the direction of biology Professor Karen Powers, junior Alston Jones and freshman Cole Dyson set up 12 cameras in four distinct Selu habitats – water, rocky, field and forest – to monitor and examine species activity. “With several predators detected on camera in the first round of surveys,” Powers said, “they hope to deep dive into predator-prey dynamics in the long term.”
Every two weeks, Jones and Cole visit Selu and hike to the four sites, collect data and take it back to a campus biology lab to analyze their findings. “It's a lot of pictures to go through,” Cole said, explaining the meticulous process. This type of hands-on research experience that comes with working with a university professor is a “huge opportunity,” particularly as a freshman, the biology major from Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, said.
“It's incredibly exciting work,” Cole said, “and it has given me a lot of insight into the potential future of my career and what kind of work biology is.”
Alston also raved about the valuable research opportunity, expressing his gratitude to Powers. One of the best parts about the project, the biology major from Cana, Virginia, said, is “it keeps opening other opportunities up for me.”
One opportunity for Alston and Cole is coming up in March when the student researchers will present their findings at the Virginia Chapter Wildlife Society Meeting in Richmond, Virginia.
AI vs. Vonnegut
It’s no secret AI is becoming a more powerful tool in improving the way we live and do our jobs. It can also be a tempting resource for busy students, providing an easier path to completing a difficult writing assignment.
A year and a half ago, Department of English graduate teaching fellows Melissa Mowbray and Courtney Martin worked alongside Professor Michele Ren to prepare for an English 111 course the two grad students would be teaching in the fall of 2023. The ever-growing accessibility of AI caused concern about “students being able to author their own ideas using written communication,” said Mowbray, who is scheduled to graduate from the master’s program this spring.
To help their students practice skills of compare and contrast, Mowbray and Martin designed an essay unit instructing their undergraduate students to compare AI-generated essays to human-written work. Their students first read such essays as Kurt Vonnegut’s “How to Write with Style” and then performed the same task with AI versions of those pieces that the students created using ChatGPT, Snapchat’s chatbot and Google’s Gemini. Students then compared the human versions against those AI versions.
“Through this process, students were able to recognize that, unlike these human authors, AI cannot share personal experiences, its tone can be inconsistent and impersonal, and it can struggle to have a unique writing style,” Mowbray explained. “Not only were students using the skills of personal experience, voice and style in this essay, but they were also able to gain confidence in what they, as human writers, could do uniquely with communication, aspects of writing that ultimately cannot be replicated by AI platforms.”
On Feb. 13, Mowbray, Martin and Ren presented their revelations from the course in a poster titled “Bad First Drafts: Al vs. Humans in First Year Composition” at the Virginia Tech Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy in Blacksburg.
“Being able to present this research at a conference specifically for higher education pedagogy helped me to understand the extent that education, its instructors and students are being impacted by these developments,” said Mowbray, of Glen Allen, Virginia. “I not only got to share the positive impacts of our instruction but also got to hear from multiple instructors and how they are navigating these extreme changes to education, communication and authorship.”
Radford faculty, student make impression on Women in Data Science conference
School of Computing and Information Sciences instructor Neeta Anna Eapen provided the keynote address at the Women in Data Science (WiDS) conference at Virginia Tech on Feb. 19.
In her address, Eapen explored how data science and machine learning are transforming transportation.
Eapen is a former applications engineer at Oracle and former researcher at National Institute of Advanced Transportation Technology at University of Idaho.
“I discussed how AI is improving traffic management, optimizing public transit and enhancing road safety,” explained Eapen, a passionate advocate for data-driven innovation. “A key focus of my talk was my machine learning-based mesoscopic traffic simulator, which bridges the gap between detailed (microscopic) and large-scale (macroscopic) traffic models. This approach enables more accurate congestion prediction and smarter urban mobility planning.”
Radford senior Lauren Griffin of Buchanan, Virginia, participated in the conference’s student networking panel, where she discussed her research, “Cybercrime Committed Against Children.”
“I was ecstatic to share my research with a new audience and to encourage others to turn their passions into meaningful projects, no matter their area of study,” said Griffin, who majors in cybersecurity and minors in criminal justice at Radford. “My research combines my major and minors with my commitment to educating others on this critical and growing issue.”
Virginia Tech organized the independent event as part of the WiDS Worldwide movement, which seeks to elevate women working and studying in the data science field.
“It was truly an honor to be a panelist and to represent Radford University” at the conference, Griffin said.
And the award goes to …
Eight Radford University graphic design students earned 14 of the prestigious student regional honors ADDY awards presented at the Western Virginia American Advertising Awards Gala in Roanoke on Feb. 25.
The annual awards competition, which honors the best in professional advertising, had 62 student entries from Radford, Virginia Tech, Liberty University and James Madison University. Radford students won 14 of the 19 awards, Judges Choice and Best in Show. Winners will go on to compete in the American Advertising Federation district competition.
"These awards are recognition of the talent, dedication and hours of hard work put in by our students,” said Assistant Professor of Graphic Design John O’Connor. “We are very proud of them as well as the Radford alumni who won in the professional category."
Radford Addy winners were:
- Student Best of Show: Alexandra Rodriguez, for Speak Up
- Student Judges Choice: Jenna Repass, for Burpee Seeds
- Student Gold ADDY: Jenna Repass, for Burpee Seeds
- Student Gold ADDY: Isabella Walsh, for Olive Garden
- Student Silver ADDY: Isabella Walsh, for Kilt Guilt Scottish Ale
- Student Silver ADDY: McKinna Huffman, for Kilt Guilt Scottish Ale
- Student Silver ADDY: McKinna Huffman, for Lipton Tea
- Student Silver ADDY: Alexis Gunnell, for Kilt Guilt Scottish Ale
- Gold Student ADDY: McKinna Huffman, for No Oscar for Barbie
- Student Silver ADDY: Grace James, for Inspired
- Student Gold ADDY: Gabrielle Parton, for The Trojan Women
- Student Silver ADDY: Jude Jungmann, for Judy Moody and Stink
- Student Silver ADDY: Isabella Walsh, for Karen’s Hot Sauce
- Student Gold ADDY: Alexandra Rodriguez, for Speak Up
Six Radford alumni also claimed awards at the event. Those winners were:
- Keri Stegall Davis ’19 at Virginia International Raceway
- Ben Smith ’06 at Branch
- Michael Goodson ’15 at Virginia Tech Dining Services
- David Hodge ’83 at Anstey-Hodge Advertising Group
- Rachel DeBusk ’14 at Virginia Tech/Principal Partnerships Office
- Peggy Underwood ’88 at Pratt Roanoke
“It’s gratifying for everyone in our program to see our students’ talent and hard work recognized by the professional advertising community,” said Ken Smith, professor of graphic design.