Skyway STEM Poster Competition 2011

MCC Student Nisha Patel and MCC Math Instructor Heidi Haegerich
Other MCC student entrants were: Ralph Davis, David Patel and Lee Dowsett

MCC is one of the eight member colleges of the Illinois Skyway Athletic and Co-Curricular Conference. Friday, April 8th, MCC hosted the second annual Skyway STEM Poster Contest. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering & Math. Students from Waubonsee Community College, College of Lake County, Moraine Valley College, Oakton Community College, Prairie State College & MCC have submited research projects to be judged. The poster board competition received 40 submissions from 70 student participants representing the categories of math/technology, biological science and physical science.


MCC Instructors Marla Garrison (Biology), Steve Socol (Chemistry), Heidi Haegerich (Math) all worked tirelessly to organize and host this competition. Talia Koronkiewicz, Coordinator of Student Life & Campus Activities, also worked long and hard arranging the event.

Peter Johnson and Rick Delaney, students of  Instructor Jack Brezinski (Computer & Digital Media), gave a robotics demonstration and address.  Nisha Patel and Ralph Davis were mentored by Marla Garrison (Biology). David Patel is a student of Adjunct Instructor Ed Coty (Physics) while Lee Dowsett is a student of Adjunct Instructor Steve Burks (Chemistry). As Haegerich noted, "They now have an experience that will serve them well in college and graduate school. Students got to do independent research on a topic of their choice, deepening their understanding, bringing Math and Science to life, and allowing them to make connections to the real world."

Congratulations to Katherine Midday, Outstanding Full-time Faculty of the Year 2011

We are very proud to announce that our colleague, Kate Midday, is the MCC faculty's 2011 nominee for the Illinois Community College Trustees Association's Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Member Award. This award recognizes the exceptional accomplishments of Illinois' full-time community college instructors. Kate has been with MCC since 2004 when she was hired as an English instructor. She currently teaches a learning community course Laughing You're Ass Off: the Written and Spoken Arts of Comedy, (English Composition II/Speech), as well as a Women's Literature course.

Kate is the Learning Communities Chair, President of the American Association of Women in Community Colleges, and Faculty Advisor for the Cheshire Cheese Literary Society.  As an ardent advocate for women's issues, Kate works tirelessly through the Women's History Month Committee to present and promote the Annual Women's Film Festival at MCC, now in its sixth year.  Her colleagues and her students praise her as a dedicated and innovative instructor.

Here are the previous winners who have represented MCC:
2010 Janet Scott
2009 Jay Geller
2008 Thomas Takayama
2007 Bruce Spangenberg
2006 Paul Hamill
2005 Don Curfman
2004 Lillian Roy
2003 Susan Galloway
2002 Carol Chandler
2001 Brian Sager
2000 Suzanne Wallace
1999 David Hill
1998 Jim Gould
1997 Lynn Lourie
1996 Robert Weck
1995 Scott Persky
1994 Mark Eckel
1993 Robert Sanborn
1992 Judith Williamson
1991 Greg Alfus
1990 Mary Kurtzman
1989 Janice Young
1988 Jim Trefzgar
1987 Dick York
1986 Dora Tippens

Art exhibition by Mark Arctander and Matt Irie: MCC represented at Waubonsee Community College

New paintings by Mark Arctander and Matt Irie will be shown in the Arrowhead Room Gallery at Waubonsee Community College in Spring Grove, Illinois from January 20th the February 20th, 2011. Gallery hours are 8:00 am to 9:00 pm Monday - Friday and 8:00 am to 4:30 pm on Saturday. Phone 630-466-2964.
Images shown below: Juicy Sluice by Matt Irie and Hand Shadow #32010 (Deer) by Mark Arctander

Closer to home, stop by Gallery One in the MCC Library and view Recent Work: MCC Art Department Faculty Exhibit now through February 23rd. Among works by other MCC art faculty, Mark and Matt share additional works including more hand shadow oil on panels by Mark: Desert Plant #2 and Eiffel Tower with Matchstick. Matt exhibits another of his acrylic latex panels, Hamillflage and a unique display entitled Gifts, a screenprint with paper, cardboard and ribbon.

Instructor Elaine Whalen encourages creativity with classroom presentations

This is not your everyday Weight Watchers meeting! Each semester students in instructor Elaine Whalen’s Nutrition for Wellness (HFE 250) class research popular fad diets and present their findings to the rest of the class.

Two of Elaine's more creative students role play during their presentations!  Tom is leading the Weight Watchers meeting.  His teammates acted as participants asking questions at the meeting, thus educating the rest of the class about the Weight Watchers diet: the pros and cons, the health benefits and risks, safety and effectiveness, etc.

Micah (standing next to instructor, Elaine Whalen) is a stick of butter, representing the Atkins Diet.

Instructor Sheila Venkataswamy shares Hinduism with local high school students

On October 29^th, 2010, sociology instructor Shiela Venkataswamy presented “The Hindu Way of Life” to the Ancient Civilizations class at Prairie Ridge High School.  The presentation was a part of the Indus Valley Civilization unit taught by Mr. Joseph Terhaar. The focus of the presentation  was how Hindu religious principles governed and continue to govern the day-to-day lives of Hindus in India. Topics included caste, sacredness of cows, belief in rebirth and karma, and the worldly nature of Hinduism which has helped Hindus adjust to changes brought about by globalization. (submitted by S.V.)

Damselflies of Chicagoland, a new photo field guide by biology instructor, Marla Garrison

Odonates are yummy!  Dragonflies can bite (and sometimes even draw blood!) - but, the thing is, I bite back. If you look closely at this Swamp Darner's abdominal tip you can see that I'm actually scaring the you-know-what out of him.  I'd like to assume that it was fear of predation and not my breath that caused this reaction.

So, after four summers of sloshing through wetlands, mud, and muck--covered in ticks, leeches, mosquitos and swimmer's itch--swollen with creeping hives from stinging nettles and hyper reactions to deer fly bites-- and slipping, sliding and submerging myself in rivers, creeks and streams--I am finally finished with my first photo field guide in what I hope will be a series of natural history guides for our area and the Chicago Wilderness. My first book, entitled Damselflies of Chicagoland, can be accessed as a free downloadable pdf file on the Chicago Field Museum website: http://fm2.fieldmuseum.org/plantguides/damselflies .

McHenry and Lake Counties are blessed with some of the few remaining wetlands in Illinois. They contain some unique, and in some instances high quality, aquatic habitats where aquatic invertebrates like damselflies and dragonflies (who spend most of their life in a larval form under the water) can thrive. There are 39 species of damselflies (part of the order of insects to which dragonflies belong) in McHenry County. They are colorful, thin as a straight pin, little beasties that flit low amongst the grasses and emergent vegetation at the edge of waterways. Squat down, look closely and your world will brighten before your eyes--I promise!

My plan is to have the next installment Dragonflies of Chicagoland up and published in two to three more years (depending on whether my knees and energy level stay intact).  Submitted by M.G.

Congratulations, Amy Ortiz!

August 10, 2010 was a day of celebration for Amy. The University of Wisconsin-Madison conferred a Ph.D., Art History/Material Culture on her and we offer hearty congratulations! Amy's specialization is in American outsider, visionary, self-taught, and vernacular art. Pictured is a creation of hers featuring tramp art. Amy prepared the catalog for the exhibition, Tramp Art: Cultural Expression, Visual Splendor (Robert T. Wright Community Gallery of Art, College of Lake County). The exhibition and catalog were designed to accompany her doctoral dissertation. Amy is an Instructor of Art History & Art Appreciation.

Science instructors trek Alaska through Chautauqua Institute program

Bev Dow and Kate Kramer framed by Mt. McKinley

Bev Dow (Biology instructor and MCCFA president) and Kate Kramer (Geology instructor) traveled to Alaska in June to participate in a program sponsored by the Chautauqua Institute. Before their classes began they took a three-day trip from Anchorage to Denali National Park. They were among the 15% of tourists to see Mt. McKinley (pictured) on a clear day. Upon returning to Anchorage, Kate and Bev took a course in the ecology of south-central Alaska.

During their three days with two instructors from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, they studied the tundra, taiga, and coastal rainforest ecosystems. Following the class, they took a one-day cruise of the Kenai Fjords, seeing humpbacked whales, Steller sea lions, sea otters, puffins, common murre (birds that look and sound like penguins), and an actively calving glacier. Kate stayed on for a class on glaciers and another class on earthquakes and tsunamis. (submitted by B.D.)

Science Department scores bull’s eye at Catapult Contest

Photo credit: Rob Twardock from College of Lake County

Instructors Steve Socol, Ph.D. (chemistry) and Joe Nothnagel (chemistry, physics) helped organize the second annual Suburban Chicago Intercollegiate Catapult Contest, held at the College of Lake County on May 2nd, and served as judges. The catapult contest is an annual competition for engineering students from some of the local community colleges.

This year MCC, College of Lake County, Oakton Community College, Harper College and College of DuPage competed. Students design and build their own catapults; each team may spend a maximum of $100 on materials. Teams also must adhere to size limitations in creating the catapults which are designed to shoot tennis balls. The teams compete in three events: distance, accuracy, and precision. The MCC team won the precision event placing fifth out of the 12 entered teams. Congratulations to Steve and Joe!

Marla Garrison and student represent MCC at STEM science competition

Biology instructor, Marla Garrison, stands proudly with her student, Maria Nellessen, at the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) STEM Poster Contest. Marla was an advisor to Maria during her microbiology independent study. Maria competed with other Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students from Skyway Conference community colleges at this event hosted  Waubonsee Community College on April 16th. Maria won a bronze medal for her poster entry, "The Effect of Osmotic Upshock on UV Radiation Resistance in Escherichia Coli." Her entry was one of 30 submitted in the general science category.