Left to right, front row: Rose Pasquale, Morgan Olsen, Amy Krause, Cree Flory, Chelsea McCartle, Ashlee Gerardi, Amy Skripko, Raymond Siedlecki, Bradley Golder. Second row: Katie Bastian, Jennifer Williams, Christopher Green, Amber Mausteller, Tracy Swinger, Corey Flower. Back row: Eric Skibba, Kenneth Snell, Austin Mohney, Jacob Cox, Jamie Nowalk, Brandon Noldy, Michael Schell, James Penrose, Mark Malacarne, Eric Driscoll, Stephen Cohen. Not pictured: Oyindamola Awogbamila, Andrew Beverly, Cody Royer, Joshua Tathem, Michael Walizer, Loren Swiger, Andrew Epps, Karissa Bowersox.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Lock Haven University held its 50th Annual Science Convocation in Ulmer Planetarium on Friday, October 22. Students received awards for academic achievement in biological sciences, chemistry, geology, physics, and nanotechnology. Many students received nanotechnology scholarships funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The tradition began in 1961 when the departments of biological sciences, chemistry and geology and physics met for the inaugural Annual Science Majors Mixer. In 1971, the name of this annual event was changed to the Science Convocation and it grew to recognize both student and faculty achievement and to celebrate the rapport among faculty and students.

“The Annual Lock Haven University Science Convocation is a wonderful opportunity to spotlight science each fall by recognizing our students’ successes and celebrating their accomplishments with their families,” said Dr. Michael Cullin, chair of the Fall Science Convocation Committee. “This year’s talk about the Asymmetric Threat was topical and had applications to each of the science disciplines.”

The keynote speaker for this year’s convocation was Dr. David Cullin, brother of Dr. Michael Cullin. David Cullin, is senior vice president for Technology Transition for ICx Technologies. Previously, he worked for the Department of Defense as a research chemist with the Naval Surface warfare Center and went on to direct the Department of Defense critical reagents program. He became the director of technology at the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense, focusing on new technology that would help the armed forces counter weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). He discussed the changes in the security environment that have occurred since 9/11.

In his talk on “the asymmetric threat,” David Cullin explained that unlike conventional warfare, the current security environment has “no clear enemy, no front line, and no set definition of victory.” In fact, in the face of potential weapons of mass destruction, “success is measured by things that don’t happen.” Unfortunately, you never really know how much you have prevented.

David Cullen noted that WMD threats can be chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive. “It’s all about deterrence,” he said. “If you can detect these things at the right time, you can prevent bad things from happening.” Ideally, we should detect terrorist activity early, when adversaries are beginning to acquire the raw materials, rather than late in the process when a WMD is ready to be deployed. He concluded, “The new threat environment requires a new and more creative way of approaching problems.”

After the awards ceremony, the award winners posed for a group photo.

The science convocation was chaired by Dr. Michael Cullin and arranged by the departments of biological sciences, chemistry, and geology and physics.