There are ways in which Matt Gompper's work is simultaneously disheartening and inspiring. As an associate professor in the Fisheries and Wildlife department, he pursues research that falls into an area of wildlife biology known as conservation biology. That is, he seeks to understand the theoretical and real-world causes that drive animal populations to decline or become extinct. While focusing on animal species on the brink of extinction is surely depressing, his efforts are also aimed at conservation—and that's the part that is encouraging.

MU biologist Rex Cocroft studies communication, something crucial to life at many levels, as it occurs within a cell, between cells, and between organisms within social groups. "Once we reach the level of communication between individuals," waxes Cocroft, "not only is there the fascinating intellectual challenge of studying communication, but there is also this tremendous aesthetic appeal…. The signals themselves are often beautiful—the songs of whales, the colors of butterfly wings, the scents of flowers." His first calling was that of a musician, so it's perhaps no surprise that Cocroft was drawn to this aspect of biology, and no accident that he enjoys being at MU. "I love it here [in Missouri] in the late summer," he says, "when the katydids and the cicadas are out and there's this din of calling insects."

Great celestial bodies populate the solar system. For an untrained eye staring at the heavens, the starlight spectacles and endless seas of blackness are nothing short of a miracle. Researchers, however, have developed mathematical equations that may help us understand such mysteries of the universe. From Isaac Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation to Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, the scientific community has paved the way for a greater understanding of the great beyond.

Introduction to Gompper's research in conservation biology. Gompper discusses animal disease and evolutionary ecology.

Without active management and conservation of tigers in the wild, tigers will disappear from the wild in our lifetime. Tigers for Tigers is a student group that raises money to help tigers continue to survive in the wild.

Students work as a non-profit organization to promote the awareness of species extinction, animal ecology, and environmental issues to elementary students.

Gompper and his team work with parasitologists at the School of Veterinary Sciences to learn more about the effects of various diseases on wildlife and how wildlife can act a resevoir for diseases that humans may contract. Gompper discusses many other collaborations as well.

Michael Forney, Department of Physics and Astronomy

Ioan Kosztin, Mentor

In order to establish the structure-function relationship of nanoscopic biomolecules, one needs to follow their dynamics on a mesoscopic time scale that is beyond the reach of current all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. A viable approach to this daunting problem is a multiscale modeling approach that requires as input the detailed free energy profile (potential of mean force [PMF]) of the system. In the present study we report PMF calculations based on a recently proposed method that employs fast (~10ns long) nonequilibrium MD simulations. Our PMF calculation method, which is more efficient than previously used ones, has yielded very good results for the folding/unfolding of deca-alanine and for the potassium ions transport through the gramicidin A channel protein.

Emily Fountain, Biological Sciences

Raymond Semlitsch and Matthew Lucy, Mentors

The purpose of my project is to measure corticosterone levels of the American toad (Bufo americanus). In my study the physiological effect of stress on the toad is quantified using a commercial kit called RIA. Currently, the only available option to measure hormones in amphibians involves long and complicated homemade assays. The result of my research provides an easy and quick method of measuring corticosterone levels for the American toad. In combination with continuing studies on the behavioral effects of habitat fragmentation and deforestation, the commercial RIA kit will be used to determine the impact of stress on population size and/or possible extinction.

MU Biologist Rex Cocroft studies animal communication, something he was drawn to at a very young age. Communication is crucial to life at many levels, occurring within a cell, between cells, or between organisms within social groups. “Once we reach the level of communication between individuals, not only is there the fascinating intellectual challenge of studying communication, but there’s also this tremendous aesthetic appeal – that the signals themselves are often beautiful: the songs of whales, the flapping of butterfly wings, the scents of flowers.” Beyond its inherent beauty, communication is very important for the biology of organisms, since the evolution of the signals has much to do with the evolution of the species itself.

Chicone discusses the fundamental importance of mathematics for the natural world, observing that mathematics serves an array of practical purposes. He gives the example of one of his students, who freezes tissue for a project in cryobiology. The researchers working on this project are using mathematical models to make predictions about the behavior of living cells.

Chicone contributes to other fields of science outside of mathematics, cooperating, for example, with MU’s Medical School and School of Engineering to produce the kind of mathematical models that now play an integral role in designing predictions for scientific experiments.

Chicone believes math is an artistic expression like music, painting, and theatre. Not everyone can identify with this art, he admits, but those who can are able to develop a strong appreciation for problem-solving.

Chicone describes how he became interested in studying mathematics. Beginning with positive experiences he had as a student, his love for the subject continued

When asked about why they were drawn to this area of research or creative activity, MU faculty provide interesting and compelling responses. In some cases, they continued in school because the drive to learn new things was so great, because family provided a sense of identity and career direction, or because of initial interest in a related field. In other cases, they stumbled upon the field quite by accident. Regardless of the reason, the passion they hold for their work is obvious.