January 29, 2016 QuickNotes: Saints Doing What They Do Best

January 29, 2016

96 Hours of Modeling Mastery

Ninety-six hours, 27 students, nine teams, and one problem! This is how a number of bright and ambitious Carroll students are spending their next four days.

This weekend is the annual international mathematics competition in which teams of three students work at their home colleges and universities all over the world.  Last year over 7,000 teams participated, and there is an expectation that there will be many more this year.

During the contest, each team of three students selects one of the six available problems to work on for the entire 96-hour contest, and writes a formal paper on their analysis.  The problems are drawn from the real world, and do not have one right answer, but have many useful approaches.  

During the contest students can use any resources they want except for people outside their team, so the library, the Internet, books, journals, etc. are all fair resources.  Here’s a quick summary of this year’s six problems:

A. How do you keep the water in a bathtub at a constant, comfortable temperature as the water cools, but is being replaced by a trickle of fresh hot water?

B. Develop a strategy for clearing debris from orbit around the Earth, so that it will not damage satellites or astronauts.

C. Develop a method for distributing money from a foundation to colleges and universities so as to have the biggest positive impact on undergraduate education.

D. Study the evolution and influence in society’s information networks, and predict how these will develop to the year 2050.

E. Study how the world’s needs for clean water will develop over the next 15 years, analyzing a particular country, and developing a strategy for water management.

F. Study refugee crises, examining the resources needed by a country to deal with a refugee crisis, and develop strategies for refugee management. 

This contest blends together mathematics, real world challenges, and writing, three things that our Carroll students are really good at! 

“We thrilled that 27 Carroll students have volunteered to take time out of their busy lives to take part in this 96 hour math contest,” said mathematics professor Kelly Cline. “This contest is purely extracurricular, and these students have taken it on just for the challenge, the fun, and the learning experience. I think this says a lot about the type of culture we have here at Carroll!” 

Over the years, Carroll teams have done remarkably well in this international contest. We’ve had three “Outstanding” designations, placing those teams in the top 1% of all papers submitted. We’ve had teams designated as a “Finalist” which means they were in the top 2% and teams designated as “meritorious winner” which put them in the top 15%. This contest includes all the most prestigious schools from all over the world. We are very proud of our students and their success in this challenging world-wide competition.

Carroll students gathered Thursday evening in anticipation of the announcement of this year's contest problems. Twenty-seven students are competing in team's of three in the 96-hour competition.

Swimming with Sharks

Seven student business groups survived the “sharks” in last night’s Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) “Shark Tank-style” pitch night. Eight student groups pitched ideas resulting in seven projects that will continue in the program. (One student had two ideas but agreed to focus on one - thus resulting in seven).

The presentations were excellent and the students came well prepared. Some of the business ideas presented included: a granola company, a sock company, a wooden wine display/holder as well as proposals for a mobile medical van to service rural areas, a food truck specializing in tropical drinks and an idea for a cellphone payment app, among several others.

This year’s EIR, former CEO of Crocs, Inc., John McCarvel, spent Wednesday evening and all day Thursday meeting with students about their project ideas. All the students who presented mentioned the advice and direction John had given them during the day.  

“John is fun to work with. He loves the students and loves to laugh which naturally makes work much more fun,” said marketing professor Annette Ryerson.  “The students understand that someone like John will speak honestly to them and provides a wealth of experience in the business world. It was clear that the students were very motivated last night and excited about their projects.”

New for this year’s EIR program is a one-credit class devoted to the program. Each student in the class is involved in one of the seven business projects with some students involved in more than one.

McCarvel will meet remotely with the students three times per month and will travel to Helena once a month to meet directly with the students.

 

 

Student News

CAMP Country

The Carroll Adventure and Mountaineering Program (CAMP) recently took 16 students on an overnight cross-country ski trip into a remote Forest Service cabin on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front. The students skied 3.5 miles into the cabin, donning their overnight sleeping gear and food on their backs. Once at the cabin, the group explored their surroundings, played lots of games, and even made ice cream out of snow for dessert!

The overnight outing was a great success with students from every class at Carroll participating, and many cross country skiing for the first time.

CAMP provides a variety of activities for all interested Carroll students ranging from clinics to day trips to weeklong excursions. Activities for the next few months include downhill and cross-country skiing, a biathlon, telemark clinic, hikes and culminating in 5-day spring break canoe trip on the Green River through the Labyrinth Canyon in Utah!

Check out photos of all the fun!

Saints in the News

Match Burnham, a 6’8” freshman basketball player from Spangle, WA, was recently featured in the Helena IR where he discusses his path to Carroll and his experience thus far on the young Saints team. 

A MATCH MADE IN HELENA - True freshman Burnham exceeding expectations

Photo courtesy of Gary Marshall, BMGphotos.com

Faculty/Staff News

 Recent Grants

Assistant professor of biology Dr. Stephanie Otto-Hitt was recently awarded $1,000 from the Ciliate Genomics Consortium's NSF IUSE grant for developing and implementing an open-investigation lab module in her Molecular Biology course. The module she developed in collaboration with the CGC focuses on how changes in the environment affect gene expression in the organism Tetrahymena thermophila. Dr. Emily Wiley of Claremont McKenna College is the Principal Investigator of the 'Model for Sustainable Teaching-Research Integration' NSF grant from the CGC.

Dr. Otto-Hitt’s students in this semester's Molecular Biology lab course will be designing and carrying out their own experiments on Tetrahymena using a variety of techniques to manipulate environmental conditions and subsequently measure changes in gene expression. The grant monies awarded by the CGC will be used to cover the cost of supplies for their experiments.  

Alumni News

Saints in the News

Education faculty member and Carroll alum Kathy Gilboy’s ‘87, parents, Finn and Betty McCarthy, were recently recognized as the recipients of a distinguished service award known as the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (For the Church and Pope.) This is the highest medal that can be awarded to the laity by the Pope.

Read more about their award:

Finn & Betty McCarthy Recipients of Papal Award

Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Wyoming

Career Moves

Alana Cunningham ‘15, Online Content Producer, KTVH-TV, Helena, MT – read announcement here.

Kate Brown ’15, Director of Membership Services and Communications, Montana Association of REALTORS® (MAR), Helena, MT – read announcement here.

IN MEMORIAM

Trace O’Connell ’80 – read more about her life here.

Upcoming Events

Quaker Artists: An Exhibition of the Quiet Faith, Jan. 26 – Mar. 3, Carroll Art Gallery, St. Charles Hall, Carroll College

A Gallery Opening for the exhibition will be held on Friday, January 29 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

Gathering the works of Quaker artists from the Rockies and Pacific Northwest, the exhibition provides a glimpse of the creativity that often grows from quiet contemplation. Inspired by the images of the Earth, its people, and of life, these works often convey a sense of the peace and the inner life of the artists who have created them.  Quakers are a people whose faith often informs their creations, and in these works, we hope the viewer will be able to discern a sense of the peace and harmony, which are hallmarks of the Quiet Faith.  The exhibition includes fabric art, drawings, sculpture, oil paintings, ceramics, and photography.

The gallery will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and is closed weekends and college holidays. For more information, visit the Visual Arts Current Gallery webpage or call 447-4302. 

TEDxHelena, Jan. 30, Grandstreet Theatre, Helena

Carroll associate professor of biology, Dr. Christine Eckel, and head football coach Mike Van Diest, will be two of the presenters at the first-ever TEDxHelena event. Dr. Eckel’s talk is titled, "Our anatomy is all the same. Our anatomy is all different. Why should we care?" Coach Van Diest’s talk is titled, “What do you do when you realize you've sacrificed your family for your job?”

Learn more about the event, additional speakers and purchase tickets here.

High Country Suite Premiere by Dr. Lynn Petersen, Jan. 31 & Feb. 2, Great Falls, MT 

The world premiere of Dr. Lynn Petersen's, High Country Suite for string quartet will be given by the Cascade Quartet on January 31 at First Congregational Church in Great Falls, Mont., and on February 2 at the Charles M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Mont.  The concert features the work of living American women composers.  More information can be found at www.gfsymphony.org.

Dr. Petersen is a professor of music and the Fr. William F. Greytak Professor of History and Humanities. 

Fighting Saints 2015 Football Team Banquet, Feb. 6, Lower Campus Center, Carroll College

Join us as we honor our 2015 Fighting Saints Football Team. Social begins at 6 p.m. with the program beginning promptly at 6:45 p.m. Cost is $45 per non-player. Tickets are available through February 3 by calling 406-447-4481. 

Mark your Calendars – Upcoming Alumni Events:

YOUNG ALUMNI Social, Feb. 4, 5-7 p.m., St. Albert's Hall, Carroll College

Please join us for a gathering of young alumni at Carroll. Food and drinks will be provided. Please RSVP to the Carroll Alumni Office at 406-447-5169 or alumni@carroll.edu by January 29.

 Stay up-to-date on all that's happening at Carroll.

Find a complete list of campus activities and events online.

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