Cullen & Math/Science Ongoing Grant Projects

-Dr. Aquino’s funded research titled The Philokalia and Regulative Virtue Epistemology explores the notion that the current landscape of virtue epistemology is more expansive in its aims and goals then one might think and perhaps  even more  suitable to theological appropriation than in times past. Dr Aquino’s funded research will be featured in a book of essays published by Oxford Press.

-Dr. Gentry’s funded research has aided in the writing of a chapter for her book entitled Beyond Complicity.  Dr. Gentry’s book aims to interrogate traditional Christian approaches to war and bring them, especially Christian realism, the Just War tradition, and pacifism, into conversation with each other.  Dr. Gentry’s funded research has led to the completion of a foundational chapter for this book.

-Dr. Goldsmith’s funded research has aided in the writing of a book entitled The Principal’s Guide to Curriculum Leadership, an extensive review of literature in the field of curriculum research.  Dr. Goldsmith has, along with a literature review in this topic, been in collaboration with experts in this field from across the country.  Dr. Goldsmith’s funded research is well on its way to completion and is expected to be ready for final edits by January.

-Professor Green’s funded project entitled Journeys has produced paintings that synthesize the visual vocabulary of historically and stylistically diverse maps in abstract works that commemorate renowned journeys. Professor Green is working on the 3rd of 5 proposed paintings and has submitted his completed body of work to peer review through a competitive exhibition process.

- Professor McGregor’s funded project entitled Digital Storytelling: An Exploration of Painter X Software for Experimental Sequential Art looks at the scripting, researching, and storyboarding for a digitally created graphic novel.  Mr. McGregor’s funded project has produced 15 pages of digitally-drawn imagery at different stages of completion and he looks to submit the final project portfolio for publication.

-Dr. Wertheim’s funded research entitled Evidence on cross-sectional differences in auditor conservatism following Sarbanes- Oxley aims to add detail and additional explanation to the to the differences between companies that exist in the increase of auditor conservatism following the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Dr. Wertheim’s funded research has resulted in two completed papers for meeting presentation, and resulted in two presentations at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Accounting, Finance, and Economics. Dr. Wertheim is in the final stages of article drafting and hopes to submit the article for publication within the next year.

-Dr. Head’s funded research entitled A Feasibility Study of Phonon Imaging in Superconducting Tin (Sn) aims to complete assembly of a working phonon-imaging apparatus and to ascertain whether the phonon-imaging technique can be successfully employed to investigate causes of long thermalization times observed in superconducting Tin. Phase-one of Dr. Head’s funded research has been completed and he has begun the process to image phonons in superconducting Tin. Significant progress has been made and research is ongoing.

-Dr. Mhlanga’s funded research titled Effects of supplementing a basal diet of Sorghum Bicolor hay with one of three tropical legumes (Lablab purpureus, Vigna unguiculata and Vigna radiata) on nutritional parameters of growing goats, aims at identifying and establishing a forage legume that can be used for local livestock feeding and that can be recommended for use throughout West Texas. An abstract of Dr. Mhlanga’s funded research findings has been submitted and accepted for presentation at the American Animal Science Association, Southern Region conference to be held in February 2010 in Orlando, Florida.

-Dr. Powell’s funded research titled Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Osmium Clusters aimed at finding improved methods for preparing several known transition metal clusters and to synthesize several new clusters. Dr. Powell’s funded project also allowed for the training of undergraduate students in the laboratory techniques and cognitive processes necessary to conduct inorganic and organometallic synthesis research. Dr. Powell’s completed project was published in the Journal of Organometallic Chemistry in September of this year.

-Dr. Sadler’s funded research entitled Partial Wave Analysis of Pion-Nucleon Scattering Data in the N*(1440) Resonance Region looks at the partial wave analysis of the pion-nuleon scattering of observables in the N*(1440) resonance region. Dr. Sadler’s funded research has been done in collaboration with Dr. Jugoslav Stahov of the University of Tuzla, to incorporate low-energy charge exchange data in the research analysis. Data collection has been completed and the analysis is ongoing.

-Dr. Xu’s funded research titled Molecular Mechanisms of Pyrethroid Resistance in Texas Mosquito Strain of Culex Quinquefasciatus investigates the mechanism of pyrethroid insecticide resistance in the strain of mosquitoes most common in Texas. Dr. Xu’s funded research found that these particular Texas mosquitoes do in fact have a much higher resistance to insecticides than Clulex mosquitoes found in other regions. Dr. Xu’s findings have resulted in a book chapter in a textbook on Entomological Research published by The Higher Education Press, an article published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, and invitations to speak at a symposium on Insect Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.

-Dr. Baggs' funded research is a joint study between Abilene Christian University and Arkansas State University that is looking at the personality temperament type of university students. Dr. Baggs hopes to present this research to the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association at their annual convention in 2009, along with submitting a research publication outlining his findings to the Journal of Allied Health. Data for this funded project is in the final stages of being collected.

-Dr. Coates' funded research describes the successful attempt to implement a preschool E.S.L. program during cultural shift in Zambia's Kaonde Tribe, and how its progress can be assessed and replicated in other parts of Zambia and in other countries. This E.S.L. program was the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.  The results of Dr. Coates' research were presented at the Exploring Cultural Perspectives International Conference in Antalya Turkey in July 2008, and a paper outlining these results is being prepared for publication.

-Professor Green's funded project resulted in five paintings that combine the esthetic flavor of Chinese landscape paintings on silk with the visual vocabulary of maps and mapmaking. These works are scheduled for exhibition at the University of Texas at Permian Basin during the 2009-10 school year. Professor Green is currently pursuing other opportunities to exhibit the work.

-Funded research monies allowed Dr. Jones to travel with a team of experts to South Nias, Indonesia last summer.  Her team was associated with the non-governmental group called Tsunami Earthquake American Relief Services (T.E.A.R.S.), which is based out of the Lake Jackson Church of Christ. Dr. Jones and the team collected data on the nutritional status of the children of South Nias, the efficacy of a children's feeding program, and the nutritional value of the local foods commonly eaten.  Key nutrients were noted as being deficient in the diet and in the children as a result of the research.  A grant will be proposed to the United Nations for the release of funds to implement long-term, sustainable solutions to the incidence of malnutrition, such as increasing variety and nutrients through community gardens.

-Dr. Reid's funded research looks at the importance of a public-private partnership when it comes to the growing demands of Elder care. Dr. Reid is in the process of writing a paper that outlines the past, present, and future outlook for Elder care in this country, as well as integrating a biblical point of view on the subject.

-Dr. Shewmaker's funded research is focused on developing a new understanding of the psychological implications of giftedness and their relationship to parenting style.  The current project extends the literature review for a paper expanding the understanding of giftedness for eventual publication of future findings.

-Dr. Wertheim's funded research is in the beginning stages of being written up for submission to the American Accounting Association, in hopes to present at their annual meeting. Dr. Wertheim also hopes to submit the article to the Journal of Applied Business Research. All data collection and statistical analysis for this funded research has been completed.

-Dr. Head's funded research has made significant progress toward it's initial goal of acquiring and assembling a phonon-imaging apparatus. The imaging apparatus has been moved to ACU from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne and set-up has been initiated. While in Illinois, Dr. Head was able to collaborate with faculty from both the University of Illinois and Bowdoin College to collect data. He is currently working toward a result from that partnership to publish while the assembly of the phononimaging apparatus is being complete.

-Dr. Powell's funded research has enabled eleven weeks of full time
work on analyzing the Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Transition Metal Clusters. Several new osmium carbonyl clusters have been synthesized
and structurally characterized. Results will be presented to the American Chemistry Society for presentation at their meeting in 2009
and will be submitted to the Journal of Organometallic Chemistry for
future publication.

-Dr. Xu's funded research has resulted in the collection of many Culex mosquitoes from a number of Texas counties. These mosquitoes have been identified in the ACU lab and have led to valuable results from insecticide bioassay experiments. According to the funded research data and suggestions, Dr. Xu has been able to establish a collaboration with Abilene City professionals, which may lead to the changing of insecticides for mosquitoes control in Abilene.