During the October celebration of national physical therapy month, approximately 100 Belmont University Physical Therapy students and faculty volunteered their time to assist with the organization and on-site operation for the 4th annual Dierks Bentley Miles & Music for Kids charity motorcycle ride and concert to benefit Vanderbilt’s Children Hospital. This year, over $215,000 was raised for the children of the hospital. Since the inception of this annual event, over $800,000 has been raised to benefit Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network.
A couple of days before the ride and concert, Bentley surprised the physical therapy students by coming to class to thank them personally for all their hard work in making this event a success. Bentley told the students "We could not have taken this event to the level it now is without the help of my friend Mike Voight and his students at Belmont University.” He explained that this year’s money would be going directly to families who had children being treated at the hospital so they could concentrate on their child’s needs rather than worrying about “all the other stuff” associated with their child’s illness.
The event took place on Oct. 11 with over a thousand leather-clad bikers joining Bentley for the ride into Nashville. Starting at the Cool Springs Harley Davidson in Franklin, Tenn., the long line of motorcycles wound its way through the Natchez Trace and then downtown to Riverfront Park. Once there, Bentley was joined by several celebrity friends to entertain thousands of fans with an open air concert. Physical Therapy Professor Mike Voight, who coordinated Belmont’s participation with the event, said, "This was a great learning experience and fun event for our students. Not only did they get to meet and work with the stars of country music, they also helped the community in a large way.”
]]>
Dr. Lori McGrew, associate professor in the Department of Biology, recently attended the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting in Chicago held October 17-21 along with students Alyson Singh, Kelli Boone and Abby Murphy. This annual meeting provides the world's largest forum for neuroscientists to debut research and network with colleagues from around the world. The attendance at Neuroscience 2009, SfN's 39th annual meeting, topped more than 30,500. At the meeting McGrew presented a poster titled "Using Case Studies to Teach Neuroscience" while the students presented a poster on their Summer Scholar Community research titled "The Effects of Serotonin and Nicotine Treatment on Working Memory in Zebrafish."]]>
Dr. Joan Lind, assistant professor, Mathematics & Computer Science Department, gave an invited talk to a joint Analysis and Probability Research Seminar at the University of Tennessee on Oct. 21. The title of the talk was "Fractal Curves and Phases of the Loewner Equation." In the talk Dr. Lind showcased pictures created by the computer program BLEAT(Belmont Loewner Equation Analysis Tool). BLEAT was developed by Belmont students Andrew Hill, Matt Lefavor and Ben Stein to simulate solutions to Loewner's differential equation.
On Nov. 13, Belmont senior Ross Buffington will present a talk on "Game Implementation for Increasing Mental Engagement of Security Professionals" at the 2009 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Mid-Southeast Conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. In addition, Dr. William Hooper (Math/Computer Science) will be giving a talk on assembly language programming with the Sony PlayStation 3.
Dr. Yvette Hachtel, professor in Belmont's School of Occupational Therapy, has been approved as a Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator and will begin work as a mediator in civil cases in conjunction with Tennessee's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) proceedings. After years of work in Sumner County's Victim and Offenders Reconciliation Program, Hachtel qualifies for Rule 31 status and will work on cases judges assign to Tennessee's ADR program. Through her position as a mediator, Hachtel will be an impartial aid in helping parties involved in civil cases to resolve their disputes outside of the courtroom.
Belmont's Speech and Debate Team competed at the Berea/Cumberland swing tournament Oct. 23-30 in Berea, Kentucky. With 27 universities in attendance, Belmont won first place in the individual events division at both tournaments and placed second in the debate division (fourth overall).
During 2009-10, Dr. Mike Pinter, professor, Mathematics & Computer Science Department, will be serving as Editor of a National Problem Solving Competition. Three times in the fall and three times in the spring, Dr. Pinter will send mathematical problems to the director of the competition who in turn e-mails the problems to participating high schools and colleges around the country. Each high school mailing includes two problems, and each college mailing includes two problems.
Senior Hank Carter (Russellville, Ala.) was recognized this week as the 2009 "IT Student of the Year" at the inaugural Nashville Technology Awards at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. He was introduced and honored before an audience of more than 400 leaders of the technology community in Middle Tennessee. The awards recognized individuals and companies whose success has helped grow Nashville and the surrounding areas into a hub for technology.
Lambda Pi Eta, the honor society of the Communication Studies Department, recently hosted a week of events aimed at giving voice to the homeless as part of National Freedom of Speech Week. The week's theme this year was titled "Homeless not Voiceless.” The program included a panel from the Nashville Homeless Power Project. Residents from Tent City told their stories and answered student questions on how to address the problem of homelessness in Nashville.]]>