Research

Saint Francis University was recently approved to shelter a chapter of Nu Rho Psi , the National Honor Society in Neuroscience. The chapter will be the ninety-first charter to have been granted since the National Neuroscience Honor Society was established in 2006, and the eleventh in Pennsylvania. The Saint Francis University chapter designation is “Kappa in Pennsylvania (k in PA).” Nu Rho Psi is a non-profit, grass-roots organization comprised of faculty and undergraduate neuroscientists. The purpose of Nu Rho Psi is to: (1) encourage professional interest and excellence in scholarship

I'm Dr. John Harris , 1982 graduate of Saint Francis University, and now the Chair of the Engineering , Computer Science and Mathematics departments at SFU. But forty years ago this year I faced the same questions as you: "What should I major in at college? And what college?" Yeah I get it, I am old, but I still remember the fear I felt, the very real concern that I might make the wrong decision. It is a big decision. Huge, right? Well, I had three major things going for me as a senior in high school: awesome parents that loved me and wanted me to go to a safe school where I could get a solid

Ashley Rovder, an Environmental Engineering major, took part in a unique full-immersion study abroad experience in Bolivia. The experience was made possible through a collaboration between Saint Francis University and the University of Dayton’s Engineers in Technical Humanitarian Opportunities in Service Learning (ETHOS) project. Below, Ashley discusses her experience abroad. What service project did you work on while in Bolivia? I volunteered for SODIS (short for Solar Water Disinfection), a nonprofit organization in Cochabamba, Bolivia, that focuses on providing clean water for the community

Dr. Alireza Shahkarami, Assistant Professor of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering program, received a $70,000 grant from the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Petroleum Research Fund for Undergraduate Research. The three-year grant allows Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering students to conduct research titled “An Experimental Investigation of Microemulsion Phase Behavior at High Pressure and High Temperature Conditions.” Dr. Shahkarami’s research proposal aims to investigate the effect of the water/oil ratio, pressure, temperature, and oil composition on surfactant phase behavior.

Saint Francis University students looking to study abroad have another option this year to go global: spring break in the Galapagos Islands. The excursion for Biology students departs March 2nd and returns March 10th, 2018 and will fulfill a three credit Field Biology course requirement. Professors Dr. Gail Drus and Dr. Melissa Meadows will accompany ten students on the nine-day excursion. Before departing for the islands off the coast of Ecuador, students will research the ecology and learn about the conservation efforts. Once there, they will experience firsthand the stark differences in

A tiny house phenomenon is sweeping the nation. The typical American home is about 2,600 square feet, but more Americans are choosing to downsize into tiny homes with less than 400 square feet. Tiny houses enable people to live a smaller, simpler life in an efficient space. The idea to build a 160 square foot, tiny classroom was developed in the spring of 2017 by Allison Rohrs, Director for the Institute of Energy at Saint Francis University. “The idea is to utilize the tiny house model in order to educate students and the community about renewable energy, efficient living and producing a

Saint Francis University hosted the 7th Annual Student Research Day on November 16th in the John F. Kennedy Student Center. Fifty-four posters and four talks were presented by students from all majors. The event gave students an opportunity to showcase and discuss their research with the university community .

The project to build a Saint Francis University Tiny Classroom is officially a reality! The Tiny Classroom Big Impact project, currently under construction, will provide hands-on, renewable energy education for SFU students and community members in central and southwestern Pennsylvania. A year ago, the Institute for Energy dreamed an idea to construct a tiny mobile classroom. They envisioned the classroom would utilize renewable energy and serve as a teaching tool about sustainability and power technologies for communities in the region. Two local organizations are making that dream come true

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering program at SFU strongly encourage and support undergraduate students to involve in academic and industrial research projects. In these research projects, students have the opportunities to develop new skills, present their research results in national/international professional conferences, publish conference proceedings or peer-review journal articles, and meet external professors and industrial engineers. Our university, department and PNGE program have invested a lot in undergraduate student research by providing facilities, funding, etc. The Coming

Loretto, Pennsylvania — Researchers from Saint Francis University, the University of Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania State University have found that exposure to trace metals from potatoes grown in soil irrigated with waters from the Potosi mining region in Bolivia may put residents at risk of non-cancer health illnesses. The world’s largest silver deposit lies in this region, and exposure to mining pollution from contaminated irrigation waters worries residents. “In this high mountain desert, water is a critically precious resource and the use of metal-polluted waters for irrigation may have