BSC Faculty Team Takes Part in Initiative
Development Foward-Looking
Cyberinfrastructure Coursework for
College and High School Students

( Bluefield)—A team of Bluefield State College faculty members, in collaboration with representatives from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech and faculty from Galileo Magnet High School ( Danville, VA), has worked this summer to create innovative coursework designed to prepare students to enter careers in bioinformatics and its supporting cyberinfrastructure.  The forward-looking initiative is underwritten by a $250,000 National Science Foundation contract with VBI that will demonstrate the new course, broaden access of high school and collegiate undergraduate students to advanced computing technologies, and encouraged trained students to pursue careers in “informatics.”

Lionel Craddock (Associate Professor, Computer Science), Dr. Martha Eborall (Associate Professor, Biology), and Dr. Lewis Foster (Professor, Physics), and Bruce Mutter (Director/Center for Applied Research & Technology [CART] at Bluefield State College) participated in a focused week of training at VBI to develop an interdisciplinary course for initial offering this fall at BSC.   Dr. Stephen Cammer, Dr. Oswald Crasta, Dr. Susan Faulkner, Daphne Rainey, and Betsy Tretola from VBI worked with the BSC faculty in the plenary initiative. 

“Cyberinfrastructure is a relatively new term for research environments in which advanced computational, data acquisition and management services are made available to researchers through high-performance computer networks,” Mutter stated.  “The work that is envisioned in the outreach program is consistent with the published recommendations of the Atkins Report.”  One of the findings of this Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Cyberinfrastructure report emphasizes the significant educational dimensions needed to support cyberinfrastructure initiatives.

VBI, BSC, and Galileo Magnet High School designees have conducted a series of meetings designed to jointly develop a wide range of materials, including projects, course notes, and an instructors manual to support a combination of lectures, and discussion groups.  One example will be a hands-on workshop requiring an emergency response to a hypothetical pathogen outbreak. For this scenario, students will work with the same online software used by experts in areas of infectious-disease management to generate, analyze and interpret a wide range of high throughput genomics data via these state-of-the-art analytical tools. Students will learn to assist experts in public health to develop appropriate control measures for a disease outbreak. The main focus will be integration of multiple disciplines such as biology, computer science, and engineering technology to solve ‘real life’ challenges.

Mutter expressed appreciation for the work of BSC faculty participating in this endeavor.  “Professor Craddock will lead the computer science course component, Dr. Eborall will direct the biology component, and Dr. Foster will ensure that the new course is fundamentally grounded in the physical sciences,” the CART director explained.  “These faculty members three of our very best and they will ultimately bring their extensive experience in the classroom and laboratory to the online environment through our CART Course Management System.”

“The chance to partner with VBI is an exciting one,” Mutter continued.  “We are grateful for the work of Dr. Susan Faulkner, Dr. Bruno Sobral (Director/VBI), and Frank Hart (Dean/BSC School of Engineering Technology & Computer Science) to coordinate this educational outreach effort involving BSC CART, VBI, and Galileo Magnet High School.”

August 7, 2006

School of Engineering Technology & Computer Science Website