News Release for June 26, 2008

"COWGIRLS" OPENS THEATRE OF THE BIG BEND SEASON JUNE 27

"Cowgirls," the boot-stomping musical, opens the 2008 Theatre of the Big Bend schedule Friday, June 27.

"Cowgirls" will be performed on weekends, June 27-29, July 5-6 and July 11-13. All performances begin at 8:15 p.m. at Kokernot Outdoor Theatre.

"Petra's Cuento" will open Friday, July 18, with additional performances July 19-20, July 25-27 and Aug. 1-3.

"Pecos Bill and the Ghost Stampede" will be performed Aug. 7-10.

For admission prices, contact information, facilities and other details, visit the Theatre of the Big Bend web site at www.sulross.edu/tobb.

SUL ROSS PROFESSOR, ALUM, AUTHOR ARTICLES IN WILDLIFE MAGAZINES

Articles by a Sul Ross State University faculty member and a Sul Ross graduate are included in recent issues of prominent wildlife magazines.

The first installment of "Borderlands News," an every-other-month column by Dr. Louis Harveson, associate professor of Natural Resource Management, was published in the May issue of Texas Wildlife, the magazine of the Texas Wildlife Association. "Borderlands News will feature articles about wildlife-related topics from the Borderlands Research Institute for Natural Resources at Sul Ross.

Sul Ross graduate Dr. Selma Glasscock authored "Desert Divide: Transboundary Conservation in the Southwest" in the summer issue of Fair Chase, the official publication of the Boone and Crockett Club.

Glasscock is a professional member of the Boone and Crockett Club and assistant director for the Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation, Sinton.

"ART-RAGEOUS" KIDS' ADVENTURES AT THE MUSEUM OF THE BIG BEND

by Jason Hennington, News Writer

At the Museum of the Big Bend, children's activities are simply "art-rageous." Week-long and Saturday camps are open to children between the ages of 6 and 11, and are based around art, history, and science. This is the first year the Museum is offering the camps and Louisa Mayfield, curator of Education and Public Programming, expects a good turnout.

"We've had a really good response," she said. "The camps are all full."

There are two types of camps offered, week-long camps and Saturday camps. Each session's activities are based on themes.

"The kids seem to really enjoy it. We've had a lot of repeats with kids coming to more than one camp," Mayfield said.

The first camp, "Outstanding Outdoors," held June 14, saw participants make flower pots and involved animals, plants, and all things nature. The first week long camp, "Divine Design-Sculpture" and gave children a chance to make there own piñatas, statues, carve ivory, and create found art pieces.

During the week-long camps drinks are provided, but children bring their own sack lunches except on Fridays. Mayfield said McDonald's has pledged to donate lunch for campers on Fridays during week-long camps, and Subway has also pledged a donation.

Other upcoming camps will have themes including "Fourth of July Fireworks," " Patterns, Discovering Dirt" and "Painting and Drawing." The final camp of the summer will be an overnight camp called "Texas Starry Night: a Night at the Museum."

The overnight camp will have children going to the planetarium and actually spending the night in the Museum.

Mayfield and Rhea Thomas are the camp teachers. Sul Ross State University students from the Education program are scheduled to assist throughout the program.

"It's mostly about the kids, but Sul Ross students are involved as well," Mayfield said.

Ben Ahrens, Cuero, works as the outside activities coordinator for the camp.

"I'm the run them around and get them tired," Ahrens laughed. "I get them out of the room."

Ahrens instructs and participates in games with the children outside the museum giving them a chance to be active outside the classroom.

"It's a good experience, and I get to be a kid again," he said.

Games such as Cat and Mouse, Giants, Wizards, and Elves, Sharks and Minnows, Red Light Green Light, and Duck Duck Goose are some of the recent activities. Ahrens favors one game called 30 Seconds of Chaos, in which the children run around chaotically for 30 seconds with a purpose.

"This really gets them tired," he said.

The time spent outside playing games is used to help the children assert their energy, and at the same time wear them down so they can become more focused on their artwork.Mayfield also plans to have art camps during the 2008-2009 academic year as well, and wants Sul Ross students involved during the semesters.

"My idea is to pull in as many Sul Ross students as I can and get the whole campus involved," she said.

Fall camps will be held Tuesday-Thursday for children between the ages of 4 and 12.

"Each day would be a different age group," Mayfield said.

There would also be a Saturday at the Museum once a month, each having its own theme. In February, the theme will be The Trappings of Texas, a major annual event at the Museum of the Big Bend..

"That will be a big one, and pretty fun," Mayfield said. "It will be based on the Trappings, but for children."

Cost of Saturday camps are $10 while the week-long camps are $25 per child. The overnight camp is $15.

Camps are scheduled for Monday-Friday, July 7-11, July 21-25, and Saturdays June 28, July 19, and overnight Friday-Saturday, Aug. 15-16.

Museum director Larry Francell said that the Education program is an essential component for Museum usage.

"A museum, just like a library, is a lifelong learning center," he said. "Children's involvement is the key. If you get children involved in programs, you attract the parents as well."

For more information, contact Mayfield, (432) 837-8815, or hmayfield@sulross.edu.

MCNAIR RESEARCH HAS STUDENTS SURVEYING SURVIVORS

by Jason Hennington, News Writer

Summer for Sul Ross State University students in the McNair Scholars Program means research; ranging from interviews with Holocaust survivors to evaluating water quality to studying new dental practices.

Through the McNair Program, 21 Sul Ross students have the opportunity to prepare for graduate school, including research projects.

For Jamie Rios, Roma, has interviewed Holocaust survivors. His project, "A Survey of Holocaust Survivors: Transitions of Life from Nazi Germany to Texas, from 1933-1948," involves learning about the ways Holocause survivors' lives have changed.

"I've really enjoyed the interviews," Rios said. "It's a really unique experience. It's neat to sit down with someone who was apart of the Holocaust. I've been reading up on it for a few years."

During the interviews, Rios will research three aspects of life and how they changed in moving from Germany to Texas, economic, cultural and social. The economic aspect involves finances and the transition from Germany to Texas. The cultural aspect deals with religion and practices for the survivors, and the social aspect, includes family and these survivors' reaction to society.

"I had a mild idea of what I was going to find, but after the first interview it changed quite a bit," Rios said. "After talking to (adviser) Dr. (Wayne) Sheehan, I have taken a different direction with the research."

Rios will be traveling to El Paso, and has already been to Houston to speak with survivors.

In Houston, Rios spoke with Otto Schlamme, a survivor who has had a few strokes, and learned that health is a major issue for most of these survivors.

"Part of the reason I chose this is because they are a dying group; many of them are in their 90's or 100's," Rios said. "Health is pretty critical."

Prior to this project, Rios wanted to study Mexican American History, but has always been interested in the Holocaust.

"It's my own curiosity, asking them my own questions about the Holocaust. Talking to them about it is very special and sometimes dramatic," he said. "Their life is being told question by question, answer by answer."

After graduation in May 2009, Rios wants to continue studying the Holocaust in graduate school.

"I want to go somewhere that offers Holocaust studies as coursework," Rios said. "That's what I'm looking for."

He said the McNair program is the reason he has changed his interest for graduate school.

"I've always thought about going to the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Now maybe just for a PhD," he said.

While engaging in this project, Rios has learned a lot from the survivors that he can apply to his everyday life.

"I'm learning a lot, but it's one of those subjects not too many people are enthusiastic about for obvious reasons," Rios said. "It's graphic and brutal at times. From talking to the survivors and other accounts you get a sense of responsibility for learning which you will hear time and time again from them. They would choose to learn something and not be a by stander in any instance. I'm choosing not to be a bystander by learning and hopefully, I will be teaching about them soon."

The McNair Program, named after Ronald E. McNair, the first African American astronaut, is designed to assist low income, first generation, and/or under represented students earn doctoral degrees. The program assists students to prepare for and pass the GRE, LSAT, and MCAT tests, as well as apply for doctoral programs at other institutions. The McNair program also sponsors travel to graduate fairs and symposiums, along with periodic workshops on how to find and secure graduate funding for involved students.

Each student will receives free tuition, room and board, and a stipend for summer research. Each student is mentored by a faculty member appointed depending on field of choice. Recipients will receive three hours of college credit, and will engage in an intense research project in their field of interest.

For more information, contact Mary Bennett, McNair Program director, (432) 837-8478 or mbennett@sulross.edu.

SUL ROSS PROFESSOR RESEARCHES GROWING DIESEL FUEL

by Steve Lang, News and Publications

With diesel fuel prices approaching $5 per gallon, Dr. Keith Klein's solution to the on-going cost escalation is to harness the sun to grow his own supply.

The Sul Ross State University assistant professor of Industrial Technology is in the midst of a three-phase food and fuel project that capitalizes on solar energy. In a dual purpose plan, Klein proposes to grow algae to produce diesel fuel and food stock for livestock through a solar collection system.

His research is funded by two Sul Ross enhancement grants and is based on performance specifications from the Department of Energy. Klein said, "The objective is to develop a sunlight collection system that processes and transports sunlight for the more efficient production of fuel and food with minimal water use and less cooling/ heating of the growing space."

Klein will present a poster on his research at a University of Colorado renewable energy workshop. The "Workshop on Efficient Conversion of Solar Energy to Electricity and Fuels: Critical Research Directions and Tutorial" will be held Aug. 13-15 in Boulder. Energy researchers from universities and agencies nationwide been invited to participate.

Klein's model is a tracking collection system that captures and concentrates sunlight into a beam or shaft of light suitable for processing and/or transporting into remote growing environments.

He explained that 50 percent of sunlight's energy is in the visible spectrum, and the other 50 percent is mostly infrared (heat). In the visible spectrum the blue and red light is used by plants for photosynthesis.

"For the growing environment, we desire to maximize the photosynthesis spectrum, but minimize the infrared and green ,which only add heat to the environment," he said.

The processing unit must use "lens" to separate each spectrum and direct each spectrum into either the growing environment or the production of electricity or heat, or the unit could use technology to shift the "less desirable" spectrum back into the photosynthesis range to be then directed back into the growing environment.

Growing algae in sealed enclosures has been documented, Klein said. Valcent Labs, El Paso, has reported growing bio-diesel in a "closed-loop" algae-production system and are showing a yield of 34,000 gallons of bio-diesel and a like amount of food stock per year per one acre of area.

"The production rate makes the selection of algae very attractive, and the growth process requires little water, while the 'planting' and harvesting is done with a pumping system," said Klein. He added that the growth of algae requires a controlled solution of nutrients, or "growth media," along with carbon dioxide and light. Major nutrients include carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicon.

"Nutrients can be recaptured from liquid sewage, and the process dove-tails with efforts to minimize the release of treated effluent into rivers," he said. "Carbon dioxide can be recovered from the exhaust of boilers or generators burning conventional fuels or bio-gas, which is a product of the anaerobic fermentation or digestion of sewage, livestock waste, or food waste."

Klein calls the light capture and growth system attractive because "both fuel and food can be produced on land not suitable for normal agriculture. In addition, the training of a workforce to grow, process, and transport the products could provide local employment opportunities.."

Klein began his research at Texas A&M-Commerce with a 2003 grant and has continued since coming to Sul Ross. His collaborators are Dr. Martin Terry, Sul Ross assistant professor of Biology, and Kenneth R. Baierlipp, a solar energy consultant.

"To me, this has real capabilities," Klein said. "I think it's a wonderful idea and I hope I can finish it in my lifetime."

For more information, contact Klein, (432) 837-8139 or kklein@sulross.edu.

"BRANDING TOGETHER 2008" JULY 18-20 AT SUL ROSS

Program Council members from 1976-2004 will be honored during Sul Ross State University's annual "Branding Together" alumni and friends reunion, scheduled July 18-20 in Alpine.

Hosted by the Sul Ross Alumni Association, "Branding Together "is open to all alumni, past and current faculty, staff and friends of Sul Ross. Registration and entry forms for events and activities are available online at www.sulross.edu/mybarsrbar.

A Friday night social, campus tour, Saturday Branding Together fun and games, 5K run/walk and "Branding under the Stars" at the Reata patio with music by Tunes of Texas are among planned activities.

For more information, contact Maggie Miller, (432).837-8423, or Saul Garza, director of Alumni Affairs, (432) 837-8697 or via e-mail sgarza@sulross.edu.