aviation exploration at ecsu undergraduate

BEYONDR e s e a R c h a t e l i z a b e t h c i t y s t a t e U n i v e R s i t y

AVIATION EXPLORATION AT ECSU

S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

ecSU in the SkieSAviation ExplorationUsing Drones

MaterialS reSearchInstrumentationUpgrades

Gaze at the StarSKhan PlanetariumDigital Upgrade

UNDERGRADUATERESEARCH WEEK

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� reSe arch at eliz abe th cit y State UniVerSit y 2019

CON

TEN

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On the cOVerDr. Kuldeep Rawat M.D. ThorpeEndowed Professor & Deanlife, Physical science, Mathematics & technology leads ecsU’s aviationscience Program

3

4MESSAGE FROM THE INTERIMPROVOST & VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

5GREETINGS FROM THE DIRECTOR OF SPONSORED PROGRAMS

6ECSU’S RESEARCH CAPABILITIES

7TEST FLYING, LOOKING TO THE SKIESDr. Rawat and his team flying UAVs (Drones) on campus

9MATERIALS RESEARCHINSTRUMENTATIONDr. Adedeji received grant to upgrade research instruments.

10


S P R I N G 2 0 1 9

SPONSORED PROGRAMACTIVITY

CHANCELLOR’S MESSAGE

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11

11DEPARTMENT OF NAVYVISITS ECSU

12KHAN PLANTETARIUMGOING DIGITALThe Planetarium at ECSU isabout to become a digitalstate-of-the-art experience

15IGNITE NEXT GENERATION OF NEWTEACHERS

17A POP-UP LIBRARYMAY BE COMING TO YOUThe LSTA grant has enabled the Mobile Librarythroughout campus and ECSU community.

19ECSU PARTNERS WITH NASA

21UNDERGRADUATERESEARCH WEEK

elizabeth city state University is accredited by the southern association of colleges and schools commission on colleges to award degreesat the baccalaureate and master’s level. contact sacscOc at 1866 southern lane, Decatur, Ga 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4501 forquestions about the accreditation of ecsU.


ecsU has earned top-tier rankings in various college guides and national publications. Our notable achievements – #1 in affordable schools’ (2018) top 25 Most affordable bachelor’s-Granting hbcUs in america – #2 in U.s. news and World Report’s (2016) top Public schools (Regional colleges in the south) – serve as a prime example of how well ecsU can compete on a regional and national level.

to add to these accomplishments, ecsU ranked in the top 20 hbcUsacross the country by U.s. news and World Report’s (2017) best colleges and received recognition on the list of the 2017 Military Friendly®schools and best bet for vets. this brings deserved attention to ecsU’skeen focus on distinctive approaches to providing college access to a broad community of learners.

Research opportunities and flexible study options are limitless with the 28 undergraduate and four graduate degree programs offered at ecsU. students come to discover through participation in honor societies, community events, creative endeavors, fraternity and sororityorganizations, musical ensembles, ciaa sports, service learning adventures, clubs, civic engagement functions, and student life activities—enhancing their personal growth, leadership development, and overall ability to conquer any challenge that lies ahead. new technology-enhanced learning initiatives also give our students a competitive advantage in the 21st century marketplace.

We invite you to venture over to elizabeth city, north carolina’s “harbor of hospitality,” and see what it’s like to be a part of the vikingcommunity. you’ll find that our beautiful, 222 acre campus, dedicatedfaculty, staff and students, supportive alumni, and local partners makeecsU a great university.

With warm regards and viking Pride,

Dr. karrie G. DixonChancellor


Dear Friends of ecsU,

since 1891, elizabeth city state University’s commitment to providing access to an intellectually stimulating, high-quality, affordable education in an ideal campus setting has remained paramount—and continues to allow ecsU to proudlyserve students from around the country,across the state, and most notably fromnortheastern north carolina.

FROM THE chAncEllOR

(BBR)

(BRIT)

aDMiniStratiOn:

CHANCELLORchancellor Karrie Dixon

INTERIM PROVOST & VICE CHANCELLOR Dr. Farrah Ward

DIRECTOR OF SPONSORED PROGRAMSMs. annemarie Delgado

cOntribUtOrS:

EDITORSEcsU’s Office of sponsored Programs:George cox, vandalyn Ray, John Raynor

WRITERSa. victor adedeji, annemarie Delgado,Robert Kelly-Goss, Kuldeep Rawat, antonio Rook, Dr. Juanita Midgette-spence,Gwen Williams, Margaret young

beyOnD is published by the the Office of sponsored Programs at elizabeth city state University.

send comments, requests for permission to reprint material and requests for additionalcopies to:

the Office of Sponsored Programs1704 Weeksville Road elizabeth city, nc 27909 Phone: (252) 335-3222email: [email protected]

elizabeth city State University is accredited bythe southern association of colleges and schoolscommission on colleges to award degrees at thebaccalaureate and master's levels. contact thecommission on colleges at 1866 southern lane,Decatur, Ga 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4501 for questions about the accreditation of ecsU.

copyright 2018, elizabeth city state University


W I N T E R 2 0 1 9


www.ecSU.eDU/reSe arch �

D t y

Dear Friendds of ECSU,

Elizabeth City State University serves as the premier publicinstitution in northeastern North Carolina and is deeplycommitted to enhancing the quality of life for residents in thisregion, state, and beyond. We are proud of the accomplishmentsin research and scholarly activities demonstrated by our facultyand students that are celebrated in this issue of The ECSUResearch Magazine. Their work illustrates the innovative,interdisciplinary, and global spirit of inquiry that is preeminent

at Elizabeth City State University. Projects featured in this issue range from developing our studentsthrough undergraduate research experiences to improving the quality of education in the rural schooldistricts of northeastern North Carolina. These initiatives shine a light on the dynamic scientific,educational, and artistic activities that engage our students and faculty. The articles in this publicationalso symbolize the University's commitment to support collaborative and innovative scholarly activitiesspanning multiple academic disciplines crossing national and international boundaries. We areextremely proud of the participation of local and regional high school teachers and students in severalof the activities highlighted here. Please enjoy this issue as we progressively transform ourselves to be ofgreater relevance to a rapidly changing world.

Sincerely,

Farrah Jacks Ward, Ph.D. Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

FROM THE IntERIm PROvOst AnD vIcE chAncEllOR


Farrah Jackson Ward, Ph.D.

Greetings,


FROM UNMANNEDAIRCRAFT SYSTEMS TOMATERIALS RESEARCHWith only a glance to the sky you can see that ECSU is aiming high these days with students and instructors takingflight over northeastern North Carolina. Under theleadership of Dr. Kuldeep Rawat, ECSU’s Aviation ScienceProgram is steadily expanding its reach by teaching ourstudents to fly, how to navigate unmanned aircraft systems

(UAS), and hosting a NASA K-12 Aerospace Academy on campus. As Dr. Rawat has stated,not only do our programs enhance workforce development efforts in the region, but theyput us well on our way to becoming “the premier public institution for UAS Education,Applied Research, and Outreach”.

In this Spring edition of Beyond Research at ECSU, you will also read about the University’scontinued work on the forefront of advancing STEM education and careers through ourSummer Transportation Institute (STI) offered to local high school students as well as aninnovative collaborative approach by ECSU faculty to support the development of ruralteachers in North Carolina. With funding received from the Department of Defense, ECSUis acquiring instrumentation that will allow faculty and students to engage in basic researchin the field of Materials Science. In keeping with our mission to serve our community, youwill also learn about ECSU’s Mobile Library Instruction Kit that will be used to expandinstructional outreach to the community.

Finally, we also feature an article on our annual Undergraduate Research Week program thatis open each year to all members of the ECSU community. The undergraduate researchprogram celebrates the ongoing research of both faculty and students and promotes anexciting and multi-disciplinary program with featured guest speakers.

With more than $4 million received in external funding during fiscal year 2018, ECSU ispoised to aim higher with new research opportunities and new degree programs inHomeland Security and an online Masters in Education program.

Annemarie Delgado, MPA, MA, CRA Director of Sponsored Programs

FROM THE DIREctOR Of sPOnsORED PROgRAms


www.ecSU.eDU/reSe arch 6

RESEARCH CAPABILITIES

NATURAL SCIENCES, PHARMACY AND HEALTHPROFESSIONS: Marine and Coastal Research,Synthetic Biology, Cell & Molecular Biology (Animal & Plant), Microbiology, Parasitol-ogy, Biochemistry, Histology, Enzyme Purification,Antiviral Studies, Organic & Medicinal Chemistry,Micro and Nano-electronics for Harsh Environ-ment Application, KinesiologyTECHNOLOGY: Aviation Science, Unmanned Aer-ial Systems, Human Factors, Air Traffic Manage-ment, UAS Integration in National AirspaceSystem Simulation and Testing, Materials for En-ergy Systems, Computer-aided Design and Com-puter-aided Engineering, Instrumentation, Control, and Data Acquisition Systems, EmbeddedSystem Design & Sensor Fusion, Reverse Engineering and Finite Element Analysis Design Optimization MATHEMATICS/COMPUTER SCIENCE: Remote Sensing, Geographical Information Sys-tems (GIS), Mathematical Modeling & Computa-tional MethodsHEALTH DISPARITIES: Mental health, obesity,suicide prevention, nutrition EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Disaster Manage-ment, Disaster Recovery, Resiliency, Economic,Sustainability, Business Resiliency

FACILITIES

NASA AEROSPACE EDUCATION LABORATORY(AEL): Funded through grants received fromNASA and the Golden LEAF Foundation, this labhouses multiple desktop flight simulator stations,renewable energy station (solar panels, wind tur-bines), hand-held data loggers, aircraft/rocket de-

sign stations, wind tunnel, flow-visualization tun-nel, weather stations, 3D printers, mobile roboticstations (ground and aerial), and experimentalsetups to cover various course topics related to STEM education.ECSU KHAN PLANETARIUM: The mission of theKhan Planetarium is to serve as a communityoutreach program and academic support unitthat provides educational programming (PK-Col-lege level) to ECSU students and faculty, regionalschools and the community at-large. The plane-tarium received funding from the Department ofDefense for remodeling and installation of digital upgrades.CENTER FOR REMOTE SENSING EDUCATIONAND RESEARCH (CSERSER): Develops and im-plements innovative and relevant education andresearch collaborators focused on ice sheet,coastal, ocean, and marine research. The CERSERLaboratory consists of computer workstations onMacintosh, Linux, and Windows platforms; remotestorage areas of polar data; servers including alocal web server and file server. CERSER operatesa Sea Pro Model 210 research vessel with UHFRadio, Raytheon 300 GPS and Raytheon 365Depth Finder. The vessel utilizes an ImagenexSportScan dual channel, high-resolution, digitalsidescan sonar with a 23 meter tow cable. Forland research, CERSER utilizes a SIR-3000 GroundPenetrating Radar by Geophysical Survey Sys-tems, Inc. The SIR-3000 is a small, lightweightsystem designed for single user operation and in-corporates advanced signal processing and dis-play capability for in-the-field 3D imaging.SCIENCE GATEWAYS COMMUNITY INSTITUTE(SGCI): NSF-funded, online and in-person re-sources and services. The goal is to allow sci-ence & engineering communities to accessshared data, software, computing services, in-

struments, educational materials, and other re-sources specific to their disciplines. Institute activities include a 4-week coding institute, hackathon, internships, and young professional program.ECSU NASA MOBILE STEM LAB: The mobile laboffers regional schools the opportunity to presentscience to students who might not otherwisehave resources for advanced technology. The labconsists of 10 stations designed to offer studentsthe opportunity to experience cutting edge tech-nology firsthand. The stations cover aviation,technology, robotics, and more.MAJOR & SPECIALIZED INSTRUMENTATION:Digital Starlab Saturn Package 120V model withDome, Aviation learning lab, Robotic Faro Arm, Q-Ball Experimental Quadcopter

ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CAPABILITIES

RESEARCH NEWS

accReDitatiOnsaacSb association to advance collegiate schools of business

abet accreditation board for engineering and technology

caeP council for the accreditation of educator Preparation

cSwe council on social Work education

naSM national association of schools of Music

ncDPi north carolina Department of Public instruction

SacScOc southern association of colleges and schools commission on colleges


RESEARCH NEWS


Aviation Explores Research Applications Using UAVs

CSU’s Aviation and Technology Researchteam is exploring ways in which unmannedaircra systems (UAS) are increasingly beingused in civilian applications. Known mostlyfor its use by the military, UAS are gaining

traction in the areas of law enforcement, agriculture,wildlife resource management, marine science,infrastructure inspection, and construction. As aresult, ECSU is embarking on an effort to positionitself as a principal player in thefield of UAS. In late Spring 2018, the ECSUUAS research team packed up notone, not two, not even three….butseven different research andprofessional grade small UASplatforms. With batteries charged,laptops updated, and firmwareverified, the team loaded up andwent for a 20-minute drive to apredesignated test site, selectedwell away from any distractionsand clear of any nearby airportsand airspace. e team, led by Dr. KuldeepRawat, Department Chair andDirector of Aviation, started theirlong day by unloading the systems,assembling the aircra,

performing thorough and detailed preflight checks,aircra and sensor calibrations, mission planning anduploads, launch and recovery, and meticulouslydownloading and safeguarding the data. Other teammembers included, Technology Professor, Dr. EllisLawrence, two undergraduate students, Weston Smithand Leon Davis, and UAS lab tech and FAA 107certified UAV pilot, Aron Bechiom. e team performed over 10 flights, spanning from

Dr. Rawat with leon Davis reviewing flight plan on site


10 minutes and up to 30 minutes each, depending on missionsize, sensor type, aircra type, winds alo, and battery state.Aer all the flights were completed and data secured, the teampacked everything away and loaded up for the 20-minute driveback to the UAS lab. e systems used during this field testingare SenseFly products: the eBeeAG (3 in various sensorconfigurations for training), an eBee RTK, the Sequoia (2 foracceptance flight and sensor training) and a multi-role,inspection industry grade multirotor called Albris. e day aer the flight was spent processing the raw data,spanning from a few hundred geo tagged pics to form a 3-dimensional mosaic image, including a thermal image map, aNDVI image from a very unique multispectral sensor, and anRTK (Real Time Kinematic) GPS mosaic image in 3-dimensional form. ECSU has a current UAS inventory of 16 systemscomprised of eight fixed wing drones and eight multirotordrones. e fixed wing fleet is composed of an AeromapperEV2, the TBM RoboFlight-70, three SenseFly eBees, twoSenseFly Sequoias, a SenseFly RTK for survey applications. emultirotor fleet consists of a DJI Matrice 600, two YuneecTyphoon H, one DJI Phantom 3, two DJI Inspires, oneSenseFly Albris quadcopter, and one experimental quadcopter

(Q-Ball) for indoor aerial robotics experiments. Sensorpayloads include RGB cameras, multispectral sensors, 4Kvideo cameras, thermal sensor, thermal video camera, andLiDAR system. Current application areas are focused onPrecision Agriculture, Infrastructure Inspection, 3-D Mapping,and Surveying. e Department of Technology and its Aviation Scienceprogram at ECSU recognizes the necessity of North Carolinaemployers to educate present and potential employeesregarding the use of UAS technology. ECSU’s goal is to be thepremier public institution for UAS Education, AppliedResearch, and Outreach.


Dr. Kuldeep Rawat

(l-R): Dr. lawrence, Dr. Rawat, weston smith, leon Davis, and Aron Bechiom with an eBee sQ drone.


The Department of Defense(DoD) researchinstrumentation grant,

received by Dr. A. Victor Adedeji,Associate Professor in the Departmentof Natural Sciences, will be used toacquire instruments that be integratedwith existing facilities in performinghigh quality and competitive materialsresearch activities. ese materialsscience research instrumentations willposition faculty at ECSU to be morecompetitive in acquiring externalresearch funding and establishingcollaborative and interdisciplinarymaterials research. ECSU faculty willbe able to provide basic researchtraining and prepare studentsinterested in materials research forgraduate programs in the field and forlucrative high technology jobs. Grant funds will be used topurchase the following instruments:(i) a Mask Aligner forphotolithography, (ii) UpgradedFilmetric F10-RT-UVX forthermochromic transition studies and(iii) a Stylus Profiler for control of thickness uniformity and size profile.

ese instruments will be usedprimarily for (a) research by faculty -to investigate the impact of samplesizes, shapes and edge terminations onthe Semiconductor-Metal Transition(SMT) characteristics ofthermochromic Vanadium Dioxide(VO2) thin films, (b) researcheducation and training ofundergraduate students and (c)outreach activities to local communitycollege and high schools in the 21-county service area of ECSU. Located on the 2nd floor of theJenkins Science Center building is thephotolithography room. e maskaligner (Suss, MJB4) is installed in ayellow room along with the contactprofiler (KLA Tencor, P7). Both ofthese instruments cost more than$220,000. Pattern transfer forMicroelectronic andMicroelectromechanical systems(MEMS) device fabrication can beimplemented in conjunction withother instruments including the UHVmagnetron sputtering system and theScanning Electron Microscope (SEM).e Research Triangle

Nanotechnology Network (RTNN)awarded Dr. Adedeji $1,000 throughthe Kickstarter program to makemasks at North Carolina StateUniversity for the new mask aligner atECSU. e photoresist used in the patterntransfer process is sensitive to lightspectrum in the ultraviolet to bluewavelength range, which is the reasonfor the yellow room. e images of themask aligner and the contact profilerare shown below. e third instrumentacquired with this grant (FilmetricF10-RT-UVX) has been acquired andis being set-up.

MATERIALS RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION

RESEARCH NEWS

Dr. A victor Adedeji



2017 – 2018 PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS

2017 – 2018 AWARDS RECEIVED

Department of Education$6,471,23425%

national science foundation$3,587,51014%

Other federal Agencies/subawards$2,135,1549%

state and local$1,449,2006%

Department of Defense$2,104,3028%

national Institute of Justice$1,481,6676%

national Institute of health$1,103,8984%

foundations/Private Organizations$7,195,67328%

OVER

$25.5million

Department of Education$1,090,07127%

national science foundation$1,238,22230%Other federal Agencies/subawards

$1,108,13427%

state and local$434,77011%

foundations/Private Organizations$193,0895%

OVER

$4.0million

www.ecSU.eDU/reSe arch ��


11 reSe arch at eliz abe th cit y State UniVerSit y 2019

DePartMent Of the naVy ViSitS ecSU faculty and students met with Mr. Anthony Smith, Sr., Program Director and Manager for

the Department of Navy's HBCU/MI Program. Mr. Smith toured ECSU’s aviation lab and the Center for Remote Sensing Education and Research (CERSER) Lab. He

spoke to students about internship opportunities available with the Navy. Mr. Smith also met with ECSU faculty and gave an overview of the agency’s HBCU /MI

research programs. ECSU currently has received funding from the Office of Naval Research to conduct innovative materials research, leverage existing partnerships

and resources. The long-term goal is to establish a Materials Research Center that will facilitate new partnerships with major research institutions.

RESEARCH NEWS

The Office of Sponsored Programs hosted officials from the Departmentof the Navy who met with faculty, students, and staff to discuss grant andscholarship opportunities.


www.ecSU.eDU/reSe arch ��

Khan Planetarium Gets Big Digital Upgrade

Gazing at the stars through the prism of ElizabethCity State University’s Khan Planetarium is aboutto become a digital state-of-the-art experience. According to Dr. Gloria Payne, the KhanPlanetarium is undergoing a scheduled upgrade

this summer that will connect it to a worldwide digital system. “e upgrade will enhance the educational and researchopportunities for faculty and students in the region,” saidPayne, chair of the ECSU Department of Natural Science,Pharmacy and Health Professions. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, the upgrade will include projection, lighting, andsound systems that power the planetarium’s big screen, full-dome experience. “is will be the only planetarium in the state of NorthCarolina with a Digistar 6 Projection System, and it willhave built-in cloud capability that will allow us to connectwith all Digistar systems worldwide,” she said. Payne says upgrades to the planetarium will begin anexciting new era in planetary learning. Full dome digitaltechnology has become the norm for planetariumsworldwide, offering high resolution and multi-media imageproduction. Visitors to the Khan Planetarium will experience apanoramic view of the stars and universe. e new systemwill automatically connect to science data repositories and

update itself with the latest data about the universe so that repeat visitors will always have something new to seeand learn. Since its inception in 1990, the Khan Planetarium hasserved over 175,000 visitors from the region and across thestate. e facility’s star projector has taught a generation howto find the North Star, as well as constellations, and motionsof planets in the heavens. e remodeling of the planetarium began early May forinstallation of the digital upgrades. A grand reopening ribbon cutting ceremony is expectedin early fall 2018. Payne says that during this period of upgrade, allplanetarium shows are suspended as ECSU prepares for thenext generation of learners.

this work was supported by the Departmentof the navy, Office of naval Research, forupgrading EcsU’s Planetarium through the“Digitalization of Planetarium EnhancesEducation and Research (DOPlEER), dated31 August 2016, under award numberw911nf-17-1-0489. khan Planetarium



Sponsored Programs Activity to Summer Transportation Institute (STI)

Over the past twosummers, thecollaboration betweenthe Department ofMathematics and

Computer Science and the NorthCarolina Mathematics and ScienceEducation Network (NC-MSEN) Pre-College Program at Elizabeth City StateUniversity (ECSU) has worked togetherto provide summer STEM enrichmentopportunities for 47 middle schoolstudents. e NC-MSEN Program andMath/Computer Science Departmentreceived an award from the FederalHighway Administration (FHWA) and the NorthCarolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) tobe a host site for a Summer Transportation Institute(STI). e STI is a two to four-week intensive programto expose middle and high school students to STEMcareers in the area of transportation. STI participantsare exposed to all modes of transportation: air, land,water, space, and safety, and careers associated witheach area. Each area of transportation is covered byguest presenters, professionals, and field trips that allowthe participants to meet transportation relatedprofessionals using STEM skills in their everyday work.is is an opportunity for the participants tounderstand math and science are not courses they haveto take, but rather skills they need to possess. e STIemphasizes that STEM skills are vital for many of thecareer pathways our students are interested in pursuing.Even for participants whose initial interest seemsindependent of STEM, it is important for them tounderstand STEM skills remain important for anycareer choice they make. ECSU has been a host site forSTI-High School program since 2000 under thedirection of Dr. Ellis Lawrence in the Department ofTechnology. Mr. Milton Bond, MSEN Director, and

Professor Antonio Rook, Faculty Math/CS Department,wanted to provide a similar STI experience to adifferent group of participants. ey both believesummer enrichment for students is vital to the growth,development, and preparation for the children innortheastern North Carolina. Bond and Rook are eachECSU Alums and grew up in northeastern NorthCarolina and sought to lead such a program. Both wereonce middle school teachers, so they wanted to focuson an age group they have experience and passion towork with. In 2016, they were awarded their first STI-MiddleSchool Program. ECSU’s program invited 26 studentsfrom Pasquotank, Gates, Perquimans, Edenton,Camden, and Wayne counties to participate in a threeweek intensive non-residential program. Participantstook Math and Computer Programming courses(Python). ey also had Career Exploration class,where they were exposed to different STEM/Transportation careers and competed in a bridgebuilding competition in the Project Design course. STIvisited several locations in North Carolina, including(Port Authority, Wave Transit Bus and Trolley Ride),Wilmington, NC; Center for Homeland Security,Fayetteville State University, Transportation Museum,

RESEARCH NEWS


Professor Antonio Rook

-


Fayetteville, NC; NASCAR Hall of Fame, CSX IntermodalTerminal, Charlotte, NC; NC Museum of Transportation,Spencer, NC, as well as several other sites. In 2017, they were awarded for a second year. STI was extended to four-weeks and provided 21 newparticipants from local counties and other areas in NorthCarolina (Raleigh and Greensboro) and the East Coast,including Virginia and Maryland, the summer enrichmentopportunity. STI planned to create a new experience for thenew participants to keep a fresh outlook on the programmoving forward. ey introduced a new design project(SeaPerch (Underwater Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV)),entrepreneurship project, and new trip destinations. ECSU isthe only STI host site with both a high and middle schoolprogram and the only middle school STI program in NorthCarolina. Our STI-Middle School program is one of 15middle school STIs in the United States. A typical day of STI includes instructional courses (Math,STEM, Programming, or Entrepreneurship), workshops toimprove so skills, Career Exploration, and guestSTEM/Transportation professionals. STI participants arealso required to complete a group project (Bridge Building,Underwater ROV) to apply the STEM skills they have

learned in courses in a tactile learning environment. Middleschool is a great time to introduce students to the manyrelatable methods of math and science beyond what a localschool district may have the resources to provide. STIparticipants have traveled all over North Carolina and toVirginia to be exposed to transportation careers andexperiences. Participants traveled on city transit systems(bus/trolley/monorail) to Wilmington and Charlottte, NC.


�� reSe arch at eliz abe th cit y State UniVerSit y 2019

working with ruralteachers andschools at agrassroots leveland seeing the

needs up close and personal sparkeda passion for Dr. GwendolynWilliams as demonstrated by herlongstanding work in developing andworking with teachers. Her researchhas focused on cultivating teacherleadership. However, the realities andchallenges of preparing teachers forrural communities caused her innerfire to ignite and led to thedevelopment of a unique, imaginativeapproach to educating teachers innortheastern North Carolina. Underthe dynamic leadership ofDistinguished Endowed Professor,Dr. Gwendolyn Williams, theElizabeth City State University(ECSU) Teacher EducationDepartment has committedto supporting the change that isneeded to move beyond the teachershortage crises plaguing the entirecountry. North Carolina is one of thestates hardest hit by teacher shortagesand, within North Carolina, the ruralnortheastern sector has faced thegreatest challenge.

IGNITE: the Next Generation of NewTeachers is the brain child of a syner-gistic team of ECSU professors andcommunity partners led by Dr.Williams and charged with the task ofgiving birth to a new version ofteacher education—the first teacherresidency at Elizabeth City State Uni-versity. It is designed with culturally

relevant pedagogy, hands-on-learn-ing, innovative pedagogical strategiesand developmentally appropriate

teaching practices. Dr. GeraldineHill, Dr. Jennifer Brown, Dr. SandraCopeland, Dr. Nicole Austin, and Dr.Timothy Goodale worked tirelessly ina multidisciplinary fashion of diverseskill sets with Northeast Academy ofAerospace and Advanced Technolo-gies (NEAAAT); Halifax CountyPublic Schools (HCPS); HalifaxCommunity College (HCC); and theCollege of Albemarle (COA) to con-ceive of a new model of a teacher resi-dency that would work in this areaand that had the potential to be du-plicated in rural districts around the country.

e WK Kellogg Foundationawarded a $300,000 planning grantthat enabled Dr. Williams and thecollaborative team to launch IGNITE:e Next Generation of New Teach-ers in June 2017. e grant is de-signed to increase both the quantity

and quality of new teachers availableto teach in public schools in ruralnortheastern North Carolina.

Over the 2017-2018 academic year,IGNITE provided a path for 9 stu-dents with an education associate de-gree to pursue a bachelor’s degree sothat they are well on their way to be-coming full-time classroom teachers.eir journey so far has had them en-gaged in distance learning classroomswhere they have benefited from theexpertise of ECSU faculty. ey haveparticipated in an ECSU based Read-ing and Writing Institute where class-room and national literacy expertscame from diverse locales to workwith IGNITE Preservice and mentorteachers. NEAAAT provided trainingin project based-learning (PBL) andwill prepare PBL training videos overthe next few months. NEAAATvideos will be integrated across all content in all IGNITE courses

e planning grant supports the de-velopment of professional develop-ment schools in Halifax County andNorthampton County School dis-tricts; integrates culturally relevantpedagogy in classrooms; establishes

a mentoring program for cooperativeteachers and harnesses project based-learning principles within and across content.

IGNITE Preservice Teacher, OllieGibbs, empowered by her collegeproject based-learning classroom

By Dr. gwen will iams

Dr. Williams was chargedwith the task of givingbirth to an integrated

approach of educatingteachers how to teach

and learn

Ignite Next Generation of New Teachers, AKellogg Funded Project, Supporting developmentof Rural Teachers in North Carolina

RESEARCH NEWS



experience, transformed her lifelong pas-sion for working with girls into a high-caliber research project that sheintroduced to the entire ECSU faculty,staff and students during the Undergradu-ate Research Week. Rose Petals: A Modelfor Promoting Self Esteem Among RuralPre-adolescent Girls of Color rough theLens of "Just a TA." Faculty and commu-nity representatives recommended herpresentation as an introduction to all in-coming preservice teachers.

Randy Artis, another IGNITE PreserviceTeacher, introduced internationallyrenowned, educational thought leader, Dr.Lisa Delpit at the keynote address of herpresentation for the Harnessing the Powerof Scholarly Dialogue E.V. Wilkins Distin-guished Endowed Chair Lecture Series.Faculty and students from all over cam-pus attended the event. Dr. Delpit’s pres-entation was entitled, e Stories We Tell:Transforming Narratives about "Other People's Children"

Each IGNITE student is in the process of designing and implementing an actionresearch project based on his or her per-sonal interests and the needs of the chil-dren they serve. Halifax student,Marialena Valencia, a first generation col-lege student, was passionate about em-powering her daughter and seven nieceswith the attitudes and skills that will fos-ter a deep commitment to learning andthe pursuit of higher education. Her proj-ect will explore best practices related to developing a love of learning and tenacityor “grit” the ability to keep striving whenlife gets tough. IGNITE student and paraprofessional Beverly Rooks was

moved deeply by an autistic child in herclassroom. Her action research projectwill examine the best practice related tostrategies that can help her student masterphonemic awareness and phonics. All

these Ignite teachers in the ECSU residency are inspired and ready to con-tinue on the path to become extraordi-nary teachers.


ECSU’s G.R. Little Li-brary was awarded a$39,377 grant duringthe 2017-18 academicyear to create a MobileLibrary Instruction Kit

to serve the Elizabeth City State Uni-versity community and the River CityCommunity Development Corpora-tion River City Youthbuild (RCYB).is program was supported by grantfunds from the Institute of Museumand Library Services under the provi-sions of the federal Library Servicesand Technology Act (LSTA) as ad-ministered by the State Library ofNorth Carolina, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

e LSTA grant enabled the staff toacquire the technology to create theMobile Library Instruction Kit topromote library services (including a“Pop-Up Library”) throughout thecampus, and to provide workshops tothe larger Elizabeth City community.e kit consists of a set of thirty lap-tops with projection tools needed tofacilitate instruction sessions to alarger group of students in any loca-tion. Staff also offered various com-puter training sessions with itspartner, River City Youthbuild.

e community partnership withRiver City YouthBuild, led by Infor-mation Literacy Librarian, AnthonyHolloway has been successful andgoes beyond educating young people

about library services. e grant al-lowed ECSU to partner with RiverCity YouthBuild to help its partici-pants learn skills to assist them in anumber of areas such as publicspeaking, applying to college, healthylifestyle, and more.

River City YouthBuild is a programdesigned to give economically disad-vantaged youth in the community theemployment skills through trainingand work. e classes for River CityYouthBuild took place for two hours,once a month, and alternated be-tween the River City facility in Eliza-beth City, and the ECSU campus.

Librarian, Anthony Holloway, asked2017-2018 RCYB Policy CouncilPresident, LaDreama Melvin, whatshe got out of the community part-

nership. She stated, "e partnershipwas very helpful, and it prepared mefor the future, as well as enhanced myability to be confident in my publicspeaking skills."

Library Director, Dr. JuanitaMidgette-Spence stated, “I am veryexcited about the grant and the bene-fit to library users by facilitating in-structional outreach and making theinformation accessible where theusers are. Being able to provide theseactivities is key to lifelong learningopportunities for university studentsand our community partner RiverCity Youthbuild”.

G.R. Little Library received one ofthe 39 competitive grants for the fis-cal year 2017-2018 awarded to NorthCarolina libraries. e LSTA grantprogram funds library projects acrossthe state that advance literacy andlifelong learning, expand access to li-brary resources and expertise, pro-mote partnerships and collaboration,and digitize materials essential to thecultural heritage of North Carolina.

For more information about north carolina’s lsta program visit the state library of north carolina’s lsta web page athttp://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ld/re-sources/lsta-grants or contact thestate library’s Federal Programsconsultant at 919-807-7423.

1 7 reSe arch at eliz abe th cit y State UniVerSit y 2019

Being able to providethese activities is keyto lifelong learningopportunities for university studentsand our communitypartner River CityYouthbuild

RESEARCH NEWS

G.R. LITTLE LIBRARY’S OUTREACH BEYONDTHE CAMPUS AND INTO THE COMMUNITY



Dr. Juanita Midgette Spence



RESEARCH NEWS

In 2015, Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) wasdesignated as one of the nine K-12 AerospaceAcademy sites by NASA to implement acomprehensive K-12 Aerospace Academy program.The academy exposes students, especially minorities

from rural counties surrounding ECSU, to science,technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)learning. Additional support for the site came from theGolden LEAF Foundation and the Burroughs WellcomeFund grants. Dr. Kuldeep Rawat, Department Chair of Technologyand Director of Aviation at ECSU, serves as the PrincipalInvestigator and Site Director on the project. The program team developed curriculum enhancementactivities by adopting a well-established NASA STEMcurriculum with problem-based learning at its core andintegrated 3D printing technology, sensor-basedmeasurement systems, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) design activities to enhance authentic andexperiential learning experiences. The curriculum supportsthe Next Generation Science Standards and contains astrong emphasis on math and science literacy for 21stcentury learners. Dr. Rawat highlighted that the STEM jobs, especially inthe field of engineering and technology, are expected togrow nearly twice as fast as other fields by 2020. “Anincreasing number of jobs at all levels require knowledge of

mathematics and science. Hence, rigor in math and science at early age is crucial to the future success of ouryoung people.” “The program activities are designed to increase interestin STEM fields and improve college readiness and careerexposure through aerospace/aviation-themed hands-onactivities,” said Rawat. During the second year of the project, 855 studentsparticipated in the program. Over 85% of studentparticipants came from the target area of the 21-countyregion of northeastern North Carolina. The participantscomprised of 46.67% Male (399) and 53.33% Female (456)across K to 12th grade levels. Student activities weredelivered through Friday Academy, Saturday Academy andSummer Academies with students participating in a total of thirty-six (36) to forty (40) hours of hands-on experience. Mr. Orestes Gooden, an Assistant Professor in theDepartment of Technology and project coordinator,indicated that learning activities integrated moderneducational technology tools and inquiry-based learning toreinforce science and mathematical concepts required toenter STEM degrees and eventual careers, especially high-demand aerospace and aviation fields. “We supplement classroom instruction with exposure tohands-on experiments, engineering design challenges,virtual simulations, guest speakers, and field trips thatexposed the students to a wide variety of topics andexperiences in STEM.” ECSU’s NASA Aerospace Academy program hasestablished partnerships with school districts, stateagencies, private foundations, and otheroutreach/community engagement programs to maximizethe program impact. The program expects to contributestrengthening the STEM pipeline and seeks opportunitiesto create pathways leading students to post-secondarydegrees, and, ultimately, to life-long, sustainable careers forthe students in northeastern North Carolina.

ECSU Partners with NASA to Establish a Regional K-12 Focused Aerospace Academy


10 minutes and up to 30 minutes each, depending on missionsize, sensor type, aircra type, winds alo, and battery state.Aer all the flights were completed and data secured, the teampacked everything away and loaded up for the 20-minute driveback to the UAS lab. e systems used during this field testingare SenseFly products: the eBeeAG (3 in various sensorconfigurations for training), an eBee RTK, the Sequoia (2 foracceptance flight and sensor training) and a multi-role,inspection industry grade multirotor called Albris. e day aer the flight was spent processing the raw data,spanning from a few hundred geo tagged pics to form a 3-dimensional mosaic image, including a thermal image map, aNDVI image from a very unique multispectral sensor, and anRTK (Real Time Kinematic) GPS mosaic image in 3-dimensional form. ECSU has a current UAS inventory of 16 systemscomprised of eight fixed wing drones and eight multirotordrones. e fixed wing fleet is composed of an AeromapperEV2, the TBM RoboFlight-70, three SenseFly eBees, twoSenseFly Sequoias, a SenseFly RTK for survey applications. emultirotor fleet consists of a DJI Matrice 600, two YuneecTyphoon H, one DJI Phantom 3, two DJI Inspires, oneSenseFly Albris quadcopter, and one experimental quadcopter

(Q-Ball) for indoor aerial robotics experiments. Sensorpayloads include RGB cameras, multispectral sensors, 4Kvideo cameras, thermal sensor, thermal video camera, andLiDAR system. Current application areas are focused onPrecision Agriculture, Infrastructure Inspection, 3-D Mapping,and Surveying. e Department of Technology and its Aviation Scienceprogram at ECSU recognizes the necessity of North Carolinaemployers to educate present and potential employeesregarding the use of UAS technology. ECSU’s goal is to be thepremier public institution for UAS Education, AppliedResearch, and Outreach.


Dr. Kuldeep Rawat

(l-R): Dr. lawrence, Dr. Rawat, weston smith, leon Davis, and Aron Bechiom with an eBee sQ drone.


U N D E R G R A D U A T E

RESEARCH WEEK April 1 – April 5, 2019



UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH WEEK

The Office of Undergraduate Researchat ECSU was established in fall 2016with Dr. Margaret Young serving asthe Director. e Office aims to serveas a liaison to the UNC System and toCUR (Council for UndergraduateResearch); collect, store anddisseminate all information regarding

undergraduate research activities (including grantsand conferences); and coordinate all activities ofECSU’s Undergraduate Research Week. is event isheld the 2nd week of each April which is declarednationally as Undergraduate Research Week(https://www.cur.org/). Two faculty and staff from each department anddivision are appointed by the Provost’s Office to serveon the Undergraduate Research Week Committee. Dr.Farrah Ward, Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for

Academic Affairs, serves as the co-Chair with Dr.Young as the Chair. e other members of theCommittee for 2017 – 2018 included Drs. Victor,Adedeji, Kimberley Bazemore, Malcolm Dcosta(webmaster), Robert Freeland, James Goar, TimGoodale, Gary Harmon, Kenneth E. Jones, Krishna

Kulkarni, Bijandra Kumar, Peter Loebach, AdamMcKee, Lloyd Mitchell, Walter Swan, Kungpo Tao,Jingbin Wang, Mr. Orestes Gooden, Clarence Goss(program graphic designs), and Ms. AnnemarieDelgado and Kenya Hinton. e Committee alsocoordinates the event with the Offices of theChancellor, Academic Affairs, Sponsored Programs,Student Affairs, University Advancement, Businessand Finance, Communications and Marketing,Information Technology, and Facilities Management. Last year’s ECSU Undergraduate Research Week was held April 9 - 13, 2018. Planning for the weeklongevents began in October of 2017. e theme for thispast year was “Daring to Inquire and Inspire”. Each dayof the week had presentations centered on specificdepartments and divisions. Monday (April 9th) wasdeclared as Education Day; Tuesday (April 10th asSTEM Day); Wednesday (April 11th ) as Business,Economics, Kinesiology and Public Health Day; and ursday (April 12th) as Fine Arts andHumanities Day. Special guest speakers on Monday, April 9thincluded Mr. Vann Newkirk II, staff writer of the Atlantic, who spoke on the “e HiddenOutcomes of Economic Injustice” as part of the Welcome Ceremony. Mr. Anthony Smith from the Department of theNavy also visited on Monday and discussed career and funding opportunities with ECSU. is event wasplanned with the Office of Sponsored Programs. e Plenary Session keynote speaker was Dr. LisaClough, Head of Ocean Sciences at NSF who gave atalk on “Ocean Observing: e Past, e Present, eFuture?” . is event was also coordinated with theChamber of Commerce of Elizabeth City. On Wednesday, April 11th, Dr. Lisa Delpit, adistinguished author and Professor of Education atSouthern University, gave a talk on “Other People’sChildren: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom”.

RESEARCH NEWS

Mr. Van Newkirk II

this year’s Undergraduateresearch week will be heldfrom april 1 – april 5, 2019



UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH WEEK

The Office of Undergraduate Researchat ECSU was established in fall 2016with Dr. Margaret Young serving asthe Director. e Office aims to serveas a liaison to the UNC System and toCUR (Council for UndergraduateResearch); collect, store anddisseminate all information regarding

undergraduate research activities (including grantsand conferences); and coordinate all activities ofECSU’s Undergraduate Research Week. is event isheld the 2nd week of each April which is declarednationally as Undergraduate Research Week(https://www.cur.org/). Two faculty and staff from each department anddivision are appointed by the Provost’s Office to serveon the Undergraduate Research Week Committee. Dr.Farrah Ward, Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for

Academic Affairs, serves as the co-Chair with Dr.Young as the Chair. e other members of theCommittee for 2017 – 2018 included Drs. Victor,Adedeji, Kimberley Bazemore, Malcolm Dcosta(webmaster), Robert Freeland, James Goar, TimGoodale, Gary Harmon, Kenneth E. Jones, Krishna

Kulkarni, Bijandra Kumar, Peter Loebach, AdamMcKee, Lloyd Mitchell, Walter Swan, Kungpo Tao,Jingbin Wang, Mr. Orestes Gooden, Clarence Goss(program graphic designs), and Ms. AnnemarieDelgado and Kenya Hinton. e Committee alsocoordinates the event with the Offices of theChancellor, Academic Affairs, Sponsored Programs,Student Affairs, University Advancement, Businessand Finance, Communications and Marketing,Information Technology, and Facilities Management. Last year’s ECSU Undergraduate Research Week was held April 9 - 13, 2018. Planning for the weeklongevents began in October of 2017. e theme for thispast year was “Daring to Inquire and Inspire”. Each dayof the week had presentations centered on specificdepartments and divisions. Monday (April 9th) wasdeclared as Education Day; Tuesday (April 10th asSTEM Day); Wednesday (April 11th ) as Business,Economics, Kinesiology and Public Health Day; and ursday (April 12th) as Fine Arts andHumanities Day. Special guest speakers on Monday, April 9thincluded Mr. Vann Newkirk II, staff writer of the Atlantic, who spoke on the “e HiddenOutcomes of Economic Injustice” as part of the Welcome Ceremony. Mr. Anthony Smith from the Department of theNavy also visited on Monday and discussed career and funding opportunities with ECSU. is event wasplanned with the Office of Sponsored Programs. e Plenary Session keynote speaker was Dr. LisaClough, Head of Ocean Sciences at NSF who gave atalk on “Ocean Observing: e Past, e Present, eFuture?” . is event was also coordinated with theChamber of Commerce of Elizabeth City. On Wednesday, April 11th, Dr. Lisa Delpit, adistinguished author and Professor of Education atSouthern University, gave a talk on “Other People’sChildren: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom”.

RESEARCH NEWS

Mr. Van Newkirk II

this year’s Undergraduateresearch week will be heldfrom april 1 – april 5, 2019


Dr. Margaret Young

www.ecSU.eDU/reSe arch 2 2

Friday, April 13th 2018 was declared as Dr. Darnell Johnson’sDay in honor of a former professor and Head of Mathematics andComputer Sciences at ECSU, who was part of the first committeethat planned undergraduate research week activities at ECSU in2005. Activities included a university-wide poster session (24ECSU’s undergrads participated as well as 3 NEAAAT Academyhigh school students); Planetarium shows (led by Dr. SulatanaKhan); and science and humanities outreach sessions led byECSU’s faculty (Drs. Gary Harmon, Roberto Suau, Victor Adedeji,Althea Bluiett, Anthony Emekalam, James Goar, Adam McKee,Walter Iriarte, Orestes Gooden) and students. Over 400 middle

and high school students and teachers attended from theNEAAAT academy. At noon, a presentation of Dr. Darnell Johnson’s life was given with special invitees including his wife, Dr. Stephanie Johnson, and other family members, in attendance. e week culminated in a Poetry session at Page aer PageBookstore in Downtown Elizabeth City. All activities can beviewed at:http://www.ecsu.edu/academics/undergraduateresearch/undergraduateresearchweek.html.

Dr. Lisa Clough Dr. Darnell Johnson Department of the Navy

Dr. Lisa Delpit


1704 Weeksville RoadElizabeth City. NC 27909252.335.3400

www.ecsu.edu

A constituent institution of the University of North Carolina


aviation exploration at ecsu undergraduate

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