Rowan University to Host Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Symposium

April 16, 2004

The Department of Biological Sciences, The Biology Club and The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Rowan University will host the 7th Annual Rowan Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM) Student Research Symposium on Friday, April 23, 2004 (Session I will run from 10 a.m. to noon, and Session II will run from 1 to 3 p.m.) in the Student Center ballroom

The Symposium provides an opportunity for Rowan students, sometimes in conjunction with faculty, to showcase the cutting-edge research they are conducting in the technical fields. This year, students will present approximately 70 research topics. Among the research highlights are:

-- Work involving prostrate-specific antigen, a marker for prostate cancer.

-- Numerous computer science efforts focusing on topics such as car rental and restaurant management, an online bartering system, a chess game for Palm-OS, an artificially intelligent 3D tic-tac-toe game, man-vs-machine Scrabble and more.

-- Fundamental techniques in understanding, building, and programming robots to perform simple tasks.

-- Imaging of Martian ice clouds and the search for water clouds on Mars, which may have relevance to the possibility of life on the planet.

-- Remotely piloted helicopter camera platform that has been modified to carry cameras to shoot aerial still photography and broadcast-quality aerial video.

-- Use of bacteria and algae to remove arsenic from water, particularly in Bangladesh, which has the worst groundwater arsenic poisoning.

-- Exploration of fuel-grade ethanol, derived from bacterial fermentation, as an alternative to fossil fuels.

-- Water quality of two tributaries of the Maurice River in Vineland and their potential environmental impacts, and analyses of Wadswoth, Sterling Lake and Lake Kandle dams.