Recent Faculty Accomplishments
Dr. Jessica Sklar - Mathematics
Dr. Jessica Sklar’s work with Mathemalchemy (a math and art installation currently on display at the University of Quebec in Montreal) appears in the March 14, 2025 (Pi Day) issue of The New York Times. The article “A Mathematical ‘Fever Dream’ Hits the Road” highlights some of the exhibit’s art installations composed of all manner of materials, from beadwork to bended wire. Sklar’s felted tortoise sculpture, Tess, is pictured about halfway through the article.
Dr. Jessica Sklar - Mathematics
Dr. Jessica Sklar and her collaborator artist Bronna Butler have a piece of art in the Seattle Universal Math Museum’s current exhibit: “Intersections: Math, Art, Truth, Humanity.” The exhibit is a joint effort between SUMM and the Mercer Island Visual Arts League and runs from now through April 25th. Sklar and Butler’s piece is called “Dürer’s Cat.” There’s also a reception on Friday, April 4th from 5-7pm at the Mercer Island Community and Events Center.
Dr. Chris Schiller - Biology
Dr. Chris Schiller and his research collaborators had an article published in the November 2024 edition of PLoS ONE – “Mechanisms of rapid plant community change from the Miocene Succor Creek flora, Oregon and Idaho (USA).” Dr. Schiller says: “Our project explores how ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest responded to dramatic climate warming ~15.5 million years ago–the last time that the Earth’s climate got as warm as we expect it will by the end of this century. We reconstructed forests that included beech, hickory, elm, and swamp cypress, plants that today are found in the warm, humid parts of eastern North American forests. Critically, in addition to being impact by a rapidly changing climate, we found that these forests were also impacted by dramatic volcanic eruptions, produced by the hotspot that today is under Yellowstone.”
Dr. Jeff Caley - Computer Science & Data Science
Dr. Jeff Caley was interviewed by South Sound Magazine for the article “Career-Focused Classrooms: How Local Educators Are Prepping Students for Professional Success.” Dr. Caley discussed how he keeps his course content current and how nurturing relationships between current students and alumni can provide exciting internship and job opportunities. “It’s really fun to see students learn a bunch of new stuff and then go out and apply it,” Caley responded when asked what he likes about teaching. “You’re helping them get to where they want to go.”
Dr. Mike Behrens - Biology
Dr. Mike Behrens has partnered with PLU alumna Stena Troyer ’17 of Harbor WildWatch to support a Beach Monitoring Program where volunteers collect data in order to help measure and track the population numbers and biodiversity of marine species. Read more about this project in Gig Harbor Now: “Harbor WildWatch’s Beach Monitoring Program keeps volunteers up late“
Dr. Dean Waldow - Chemistry
Dr. Dean Waldow recently traveled back to his alma mater, Augustana College (Sioux Falls, SD) to give the annual Froemke Chemistry lecture, where a distinguished Augie alumnus returns and talks about their life and career. This is the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry’s signature lecture of the year.
Dr. Sean O'Neill & Dr. Katie Hay - Physics
Assistant Professor of Physics Sean O’Neill and Professor of Physics Katie Hay published a journal article with PLU Physics alum and former research student, Justin DeMattos ’19. Their article – “Theoretical and computational models for Saturn’s co-orbiting moons, Janus and Epimetheus” – was published in Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy in July 2024. Justin is currently a Principal Engineer in Modeling and Simulations at Northrop Grumman.
Dr. Katie Hay - Physics
PLU’s Wild Hope Center and the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) selected Physics Professor Katie Hay to attend the 2024 NetVUE Faculty Seminar: Teaching Vocational Exploration in Indianapolis in June 2024. Attendees learned how to “strengthen the teaching of vocational exploration by probing a variety of understandings of vocation and their importance in educating undergraduates, by developing new courses or course materials or redesigning existing courses, and by establishing a broader network of faculty members committed to teaching vocational exploration.”
Dr. Michelle Ceynar - Psychology
PLU Professor of Psychology Michelle Ceynar and her co-editors released a new volume in their series – Early Psychological Research Contributions From Women of Color, Volume 2. The book is meant for educators, undergraduate, and graduate students, and it contains a vast collection of dissertations written by women of color, as well as pedagogical suggestions for using this collection in teaching. The book, like the previous volume, Early Psychological Research Contributions from Women of Color, Volume 1, is published and available for purchase through Routledge.
Dr. Neva Laurie-Berry - Biology
PLU Associate Professor of Biology Neva Laurie-Berry and Margaret Murdoch, Biology ’24, just had Margaret’s capstone published to the National Science Teaching Association‘s peer-reviewed case study collection. In the case study – “Spinach Hearts & Apple Ears: From Plant Tissue to Human Tissue” – students act the part of biomedical researchers “investigating the use of decellularized plant tissues as scaffolds for regenerating human tissues for medical research or treatment.” The case study includes teaching notes and a video on tissue scaffolding.
Dr. Romey Haberle - Biology
This fall, PLU Associate Professor of Biology Romey Haberle created the NSCI Gardening Party – an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to gather a few times during the semester for some communal gardening. Many hands make light work, and the first meeting cleaned up invasive plants and overgrowth in front of the Rieke entrance, making way for planting native prairie plants later in the semester. If you’d like to stop by to dig in the dirt with us, you can check out our college calendar for future dates.
Dr. Katie Hay & Dr. Bret Underwood - Physics
Professor of Physics Katie Hay and Professor & Chair of Physics Bret Underwood published a peer-reviewed educational resource with the Partnership for Integration of Computation in Undergraduate Physics (PICUP) in December 2023. Their publication – “Pair Programming: Variables, Vectors, and the Programming Environment” – is a pair-programming activity that requires no prior programming experience and teaches students how “to define types of variables, such as scalars and vectors, and perform simple calculations.”
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