A Worldof Promise

DNA NanotechnologyResearch at Boise State

Dr. Bernard Yurke

A Worldof Promise

DNA NanotechnologyResearch at Boise State

BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY

An Institutefor Ideas

Sagebrush Survivors

Melville’sMarginalia

Creative Currency

BOISE STATETHE RESEARCH MAGAZINE OF BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY2011

BOISE STATE2011

On the cover: Bernard Yurke, a research professor with joint appointments in the departments of Materials Science and Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineer-ing, is one of the nation’s leading pio-neers in DNA nanotechnology research.

Photography by John Kelly

Boise State UniversityExplore Magazine

2011Vol. 3, No. 1

PRESIDENTBob Kustra

VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH/EXECUTIVE EDITORMark Rudin

EDITORJanelle Brown

ASSOCIATE EDITORKathleen Tuck

DESIGNERAnn Hottinger

PHOTOGRAPHERSJohn KellyCarrie Quinney

WRITERSMike JourneeErin RyanSherry Squires

SagebrushSurvivorsPygmy rabbits inhabit one of the most threatened ecosystems in North America – the sagebrush steppe. Boise State researchers are studying the tiny mammals as part of efforts to preserve them and their habitat.

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CreativeCurrencyThrough the process of knowl-edge and technology transfer, Boise State is working to leverage promising research to address critical issues and improve qual-ity of life in Idaho and around the globe.

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18 An Institutefor IdeasA new Arts and Humanities In-stitute is in the planning stages. The vision is to provide a physical space where performers, artists, historians, philosophers and writ-ers can mingle and collaborate.

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Features

Engineering professor Bernard Yurke, left, and graduate stu-dent Hieu Bui discuss the results of a lab test involving their re-search in DNA nanotechnology.

THE RESEARCH MAGAZINE OF BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY

The Power of DNADNA may be best known as the language of life, but it also is a powerful nanoscale building material with the potential to transform fields rang-ing from consumer electronics and biological sensing to the detection and treatment of disease. Led by engineering professor Bernard Yurke, a Boise State team is pursuing groundbreaking research in this dynamic and im-portant research area.

24Cover Story

DepartmentS

2 Research RecordAn engineering professor consults on the NOVA series “Making Stuff;” The Story Initiative reaches out to the community; the Challis Obser-vatory probes the heavens; and a marketing professor assesses how new technologies affect companies.

30 In PrintA book series aimed at getting kids, and especially boys, to read is the brainchild of English professor and editor Jeffrey Wilhelm, plus a look at new books on police constables in England, the natural world in Latin American literature, theatre history, and Boise’s architecture.

35 Research SnapshotEnglish professor Steven Olsen-Smith, a nationally recognized expert on Herman Melville’s life and writings, is the driving force behind an interactive website devoted to the marginalia of the 19th century author.

JOHN KELLY PHOTO

Boise State University is Idaho’s metropolitan research university, located in the state’s population center and capital city. The university is the largest in Idaho, with nearly 20,000 students enrolled in its undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D. programs.

Explore, the Research Magazineof Boise State University, is pub-lished by the Division of Research with support from the Office of Communications and Marketing. Explore is available online at http://boisestate.edu/research.

Division of ResearchBoise State UniversityAlbertsons Library Room 1531910 University DriveBoise, ID 83725-1135(208) 426-5732http://boisestate.edu/research

Member of: University Research Magazine Association

Community and environ-mental health professor Tedd McDonald is assessing a new program created to help the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections uncover mental and substance abuse problems among juvenile offenders com-ing into the system. A pilot program run by McDonald in 2009 revealed high numbers of juvenile offend-ers with undiagnosed mental and substance abuse problems moving through the department’s system of 12 detainment facilities, making recidi-vism more likely. In conjunction with the Department of Juvenile Corrections, McDonald is leading the design of a new program to help department clini-cians identify juvenile offenders with problems, provide proper treatment

while they are incarcerated and offer resources for their support after release. McDonald, who also is director of the university’s master’s degree program in health sciences, earned the Col-lege of Health Sciences’ faculty researcher of the year award for the 2009-2010 academic year for his work with the Idaho Department of Corrections.

WelCome

The Many Faces of Research The breadth and depth of Boise State research astounds me. A simple glance at the stories in this issue of Explore makes it clear that the work of our faculty and student researchers has many faces. A deeper read reveals the dedication they all bring to their work and scholarship. It is inspiring. Join biologists sprinting through sagebrush after pygmy rabbits in order to better understand their dwindling habitat. Peek into the labs of a research team developing DNA nanostructures that could revolutionize the miniaturization of machines. Read over the shoulder of an English professor whose research on literacy led to a dynamic series of children’s books. Get an inside look at the creation of our new Arts and Humanities Institute, where the wisdom of the ancients will guide the progress of the future. Whether biochemistry advances in fighting cancer, investigation of original music to return arrangements to their roots, or faculty contributions to a fantastic NOVA series on PBS, the passion and expertise of our researchers shines in every corner of discovery on our campus. As you read these stories, I am sure you will find many things that astound you, and, like me, you’ll be left with little doubt about the better world Boise State research is helping to create.

— BOB KUSTRA, PRESIDENT

News Briefs

2 | BOISESTATE.EDU

program aimS to iDentify,help juvenile offenDerS

Boise State teamed up with Inovus Solar, a Boise-based renewable outdoor lighting company co-founded by Clay Young, (BA Marketing, ’84, MBA, ’85) to install grid-smart, solar-powered light poles that allow the real-time testing and development of new solar and power conservation technolo-gies at Boise State. The two light poles, erect-ed near Bronco Stadium and lit by LED luminaries, are part of Boise State’s larger effort to foster initiatives and partner-ships that make the university

a living laboratory for new technologies and ideas. Once the poles are fitted with wireless lighting controls, the university’s Office of Technology Transfer and College of Engineering will work with Inovus Solar to define student projects that take advantage of and show-case the technologies. For example, students could model the cost and energy savings associated with dimming the lights during night hours when safety will not be compromised.

Solar-poWereD light poleSproviDe reSearCh opportunitieS

JOHN KELLY PHOTO

Tedd McDonald

reSearCh reCorD

EXPLORE—2011 | 3

NOVA series featuresengineering Professor’s insights

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News Briefs

A new four-part NOVA series on PBS exploring the materials that will shape the future is covered with the behind-the-scenes fingerprints of Amy Moll. Moll, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, was a leading consultant for the series “Making Stuff: Stronger, Smaller, Smart-er, Cleaner.” The series features New York Times technology reporter David Pogue giving viewers an inside look at how innovations in materials are expanding technological frontiers. “Most people haven’t heard about materials science as a discipline, so this was a great chance to play a role in in-creasing the visibility of a very important and fast-growing area of science,” said Moll, who in her 10 years at Boise State is responsible for securing more than $20 million in research funding in microelec-tronics packaging and a wide range of other projects. Moll spent her 2007-2008 sabbatical working on the show, which premieres on PBS in January. Each hour-long epi-sode focuses on one of the series’ main

sub-themes: stronger, smaller, smarter and cleaner. Following the premiere, the shows will be available on NOVA’s web-site at pbs.org/wgbh/nova/. Moll provided ideas for the show, reviewed scripts for scientific accuracy and helped identify resources, experts and locations for filming. She also helped raise funding, including a $2.5 million gift from the National Science Foundation and a $1 million grant for outreach and education from the U.S. Department of Energy. Moll even gave producers a day-long primer on the fundamentals of materials science. To promote the show and its con-cepts, Moll worked with PBS to develop a series of public demonstrations at 20 sites around the country to introduce the concepts behind materials science. She personally led a number of those demonstrations through a partnership between PBS, Idaho Public Television, the Discovery Center of Idaho, the Micron Foundation, Idaho National Laboratory and Boise State’s College of Engineering. — Mike Journee

Amy Moll holds a concrete sample she tested to determine its mechanical prop-erties when compressed.

on BoiSe State reSearCh

Researchers and casual readers alike have one-stop access to a variety of books focusing on Idaho and the American West through the Boise State University publications office, adminis-tered through the Division of Research. This flexible publishing consortium,

a “university press” of sorts, is host to a handful of endowed series devoted to popular scholarship. These include the

Idaho Landscapes, Idaho Metropolitan Research, Otter Pre K-12 Education, Idaho Environmental and Health Sciences, and Hemingway Western Studies series. In addition, the catalog of works also includes writings by Boise State faculty and staff published by other notable university and commercial presses, as well as magazines and DVDs. “Each series has its own mission, purpose and financing,” said Todd Shallat, director of the Center for Idaho History and Politics and a mem-ber of the board of editors. “But the publications office offers authors a common marketing presence through pooled resources.” Visit the catalog online at http://www.boisestate.edu/research/pubs/.

online Catalog featureS BoiSe State puBliCationS

Creative writing professors Brady Udall and Anthony Doerr have been recognized by e-commerce giant Amazon.com. A list of the year’s 10 best literature and fiction books handpicked by editors of the site includes Udall’s The Lonely Polygamist (No. 10) and Doerr’s Memory Wall (No. 9) Udall’s The Lonely Polygamist is an epic, tragicomic novel about the extremes of human relationships, embodied by a strangely familiar American family that includes four wives and 28 children. Doerr’s Memory Wall explores the power of memory in short stories and novellas set across the world and concerning the strug-gle to forget, remember and reconcile the past. More news about books by Boise State faculty can be found on pages 30-34.

tWo BoiSe State authorSnameD in top 10 liSt for fiCtion

4 | BOISESTATE.EDU4 | BOISESTATE.EDU

remote oBServatory StuDieS quaSarS, gamma ray BurStS

Physics professor Daryl Macomb is inter-ested in galaxies far, far away, or at least the black holes that popu-late them. Macomb studies the cos-mos with former NASA researcher Jay Norris out of an observatory near Challis.

With the help of specialized computer soft-ware and a CCD camera that converts light into electri-cal signals, Macomb can remotely man-

ipulate the observatory’s telescope. This allows him to study quasars (super mas-sive black holes) and gamma ray bursts (explosions billions of light years away associated with the birth of a black hole) from the comfort of his home or office. The images he receives are helping him make sense of the universe. “They tell us how the universe works,” he said, “and what’s out there.”

News Briefs

A globular cluster of stars as viewed from the observatory telescope, below.

PHOT

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Music professor David Mathie believes no instru-ment more closely mimics the human voice than the trombone. An accom-plished trombonist himself, Mathie is leveraging the similarities between voice and instrument to create a new canon of trombone arrangements. Mathie started editing musical arrangements for trombone about five years ago after finding that exist-ing works had been edited beyond the composer’s in-tent, with excessive embel-lishments such as staccatos, accents and slurring. He has since pored over hundreds of original compositions at the Syracuse University Library, the library at the State University of New York, Potsdam, and the Sibley Music Library at the Eastman School of Music, among others, transcribing them for brass and send-ing the arrangements to publishers.

“A lot of existing ar-rangements for trombone are poor, in part because no research is done on the source material,” Mathie said. “Most arrangers are not scholars. They just put in what sounded good to them. But in the original sources, none of that was in there. “I’ve been trying to recover some of the purity of intent and execution in the music. I wanted to write something that would be respectful to the original and take into account the scholarship.” Mathie has tack-led everything from Beethoven to Brahms, Schubert to Gabrieli. “You have to be care-

ful when you edit 21st century interpretations of pieces that were written in 1610,” he said. “Renaissance sounds best for trombone because most of the music of that era is choral. “ His 13 arrangements to date have been performed by collegiate groups and professional ensembles, including Juilliard’s trom-bone choir and the Los Angeles Philharmonic brass section, as well as groups in Berlin and Vienna. They also have earned him favorable reviews in the International Trombone Association journal. Sample Mathie’s arrangements at www.boisestate.edu/music/MusicDepartment/mathie.html. — Sherry Squires

A scholarly Approach to Composition

“ I wanted to write some-thing that would be respectful to the original.”

— David Mathie

JOHN KELLY PHOTO

Boise State’s Center for the Study of Aging is leading the development and study of an online training and support network for caregivers of Al-zheimer’s patients in rural Idaho. Called Building a Better Caregiver, the transitional research effort will customize a program developed by Stanford University for California’s ru-ral areas. Its focus is to meet the needs

of Idahoans living in areas too remote to have easy access to the support systems and information available in the state’s metropolitan areas. Community and environmental health professor Sarah Toevs, director of the center, is developing the pro-gram in conjunction with the Idaho Commission on Aging and federal agencies. It features online courses

with facilitators, literature, discussion boards and a wide range of other care-giver resources. Toevs also will lead efforts to assess the program’s impact on its main goal: allowing those af-flicted with Alzheimer’s and related diseases to stay in their homes under the care of loved ones – avoiding ex-pensive institutionalization for as long as possible.

program SupportS CaregiverS of alzheimer’S patientS in rural iDaho

Market-ing professor Shikhar Sarin, recognized worldwide as an expert on high-tech markets and marketing new

products, is assessing how technol-ogy is affecting business for a growing number of companies. Business always has been about relationships, but those relationships change a great deal when companies deal

in e-commerce. The introduction of online business transactions means a change in the traditional ways of doing business. “Companies have largely dealt with customers and with their sales force on a more personal level,” Sarin said. “But a growing global economy and e-com-merce opportunities lead to faceless, nameless transactions. That increases efficiency in the short run, but in the long run it completely changes the business model. I’m looking at how that model is going to need to adapt.” His research also is focused on help-ing companies that develop new tech-

nologies understand how to apply them in their own work environment, as well as assess if there is an outside market. Sarin, whose recent work includes designing and implementing training for Hewlett-Packard’s marketing teams around the globe, said companies often aren’t sure what to do with new technology once they discover it. “Existing frameworks within most businesses are not good outlets for radical – and often times useful – technologies,” Sarin said. “Companies need an effective strategy for pushing out these technolo-gies to fully benefit from them.”

marketing profeSSor aSSeSSeS teChnology-BuSineSS link

Before there were books or even language, there were stories. Early hu-mans developed a “theory of mind,” the ability to imagine the intentions of oth-ers. It helped them remember and learn from the past, and it wasn’t long before they found ways to communicate. “Story created language,” said creative writing professor Clay Mor-gan. “Perhaps it was a child who told the first story to another child. On that day, we became truly human.” Morgan is examining the connec-tion between humanity and story-telling through The Story Initiative, a Boise State program he founded in 2009. It explores the phenomenon of story in disciplines including film, literature, law, psychology, history, art, music, philosophy, politics, business, medicine, biology and religion. “Story simulates life by engaging the senses, triggering emotions and creating awareness of consequence and meaning. Story is shared, expe-riential, chronological thinking,” said Morgan. “Today, scientists are research-ing whether story might be biologically

based, a genetic instinct.” Partnerships between the univer-sity and community organizations have created a range of opportunities for education and entertainment related to story. One of the favorites is Story Story Night, the brainchild of Morgan and Boise-based arts groups The Cabin liter-ary center and Alley Repertory Theater. Each month it provides a stage and an audience for true tales told without notes or props. Morgan calls it “shared imagination,” and it continues to pack

the house. The next phase of the initiative will involve comparative research through a web forum on the origins and principles of story. Morgan also has proposed a class on story at Boise State that will mix conceptual material with illustrative film or live performance. “Story is how we inhabit time, how cultures and individuals remember, and how we learn and plan and dream,” Mor-gan said. “It’s who we are.” — Erin Ryan

EXPLORE—2011 | 5

reSearCh reCorD

story initiativeCelebrates Power of a well-Told Tale

CARR

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Story Story Night, supported by The Story Initiative at Boise State, provides a venue for Nick Garcia to tell a tale.

Shikhar Sarin

Clay Morgan

6 | BOISESTATE.EDU

Boise State biology students Tom Allen, Amy Ulappa and Jamie Utz race across uneven ground in hopes of cornering a pygmy rabbit in its burrow. The disc Allen is holding is thrown to simulate an aerial predator, a ploy aimed at getting the rabbit to seek cover.

Neatly clipped sagebrush leaves, left, a burrow dug in the soil and fresh scat nearby are clues pygmy rabbits are in the vicinity.

“Giddy-up!” biology professor Jen Forbey yells, and feet pound after a furry rocket. Most people will never know wild pygmy rabbits exist let alone see one, but we’ll spend hours giving chase. This time the rabbit wins. “My first trip out I was miserable,” says junior biology major Kristina Gehlken. “Then I saw one. The adrenaline hit hard.”

Forbey has mentored many such converts. Working her field site out-side Shoshone in south-central Idaho requires stamina and patience. From winter camping to handling scat, the demands of the research are as rug-ged and fascinating as the backdrop.

PyGMy rabbITS Face Many ThreaTS.boISe STaTe IS conducTInG STudIeS

ThaT May helP PreServe TheM.

Story by eriN rYANPhotography by CArrie QUiNNeY

EXPLORE—2011 | 7

Blending in almost completely with its surroundings, a pygmy rabbit stays motionless to escape detection.

The only sound is the crunch of sagebrush.We stalk the prairie like wolves, eyes wide and sweeping for a flash of movement.

Biology professor Jen Forbey

“The sagebrush steppe is considered the most threatened ecosystem in North America, and we lack knowledge about who relies on it,” says Forbey. “Because they can’t survive anywhere else, pygmy rabbits pro-vide a rare opportunity to explore dynamic interactions within this unique habitat.“ No bigger than a softball, captured pygmy rabbits are weighed and measured to determine if they’re mature enough to join a study population. Researchers agree they put an adorable face on the issue of environmen-tal decline. “Pygmy rabbits are hunted by coyotes, badgers, weasels and raptors. Recreation, wildfires, invasive species and develop-ment are destroying and fragmenting their habitat. To top it off, their food supply is of really poor quality. They’re suffering death by 1,000 cuts,” Forbey says. “So how do we conserve them?” In answering this question, Forbey and her students are supported primarily by Idaho Fish and Game, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. The rabbits they capture in the field are transported to nutritional expert Lisa Ship-ley’s wildlife ecology lab at Washington State University, where Boise State graduate students Amy Ulappa and Jamie Utz use the captive population for their research on diet quality and stress. Forbey’s students also work with pygmy rabbit expert Janet Rachlow at the University of Idaho to better understand an animal that is at once vulnerable and tough – just like the sagebrush steppe. “From the highway it looks like a waste-

land,” Forbey says. “Some people call it the sagebrush sea because, like the ocean, there’s a lot going on under the surface.” One of those things is the ability of pygmy rabbits to handle toxins in the sage-brush they consume. Part of the less than one percent of mammals worldwide that are di-etary specialists, they depend almost entirely on a single food source. Fortunately for the rabbits, that source tastes terrible. “If you eat something no one else wants you don’t have to worry about competition,” says Ulappa. Chemical compounds called terpenes create the distinctive smell and contribute to the toxicity of sagebrush. Pygmy rabbits are believed to have special enzymes that combat the toxins and help absorb nutrients. Ulap-pa’s project, however, has shown that while plants may look identical and grow in the same environment, unique chemistry and dif-ferent nutrient levels may affect whether they are heavily foraged or ignored. Her goal is to create a model to predict dietary preference, and Gehlken is working on another model that will allow assessment of plant nutrition and chemistry in a matter of seconds and ul-timately map the pygmy rabbit “foodscape.” “Rather than gathering and processing samples by hand and waiting months for lab

8 | BOISESTATE.EDU

The rabbit’s ears, hind feet and weight are measured to determine if it is mature enough to join a captive study population.

Graduate student Amy Ulappa positions a trap in the entrance to a burrow where a cornered rabbit hides.

Graduate student Jamie Utz, left, junior Kristina Gehlken and Ulappa examine a cap-tured pygmy rabbit.

EXPLORE—2011 | 9

results, our model could allow ecologists and land managers to interpret diet quality in the field with a portable near-infrared scanner,” Gehlken says. “Current conservation of sage-brush habitat is focused on cover characteris-tics, not food quality.” Another mad dash results in a cornered rabbit. Utz plugs escape routes around the burrow while Ulappa camouflages a trap in the entrance. “We can split the atom, but I can’t get my hands on 450 grams of rabbit,” Utz says. “It really puts me in my place.” Working with the captive population at Washington State, Utz uses cues such as coy-ote urine and raptor calls to determine how much risk is worth the reward of tasty food and whether good cover minimizes the stress of predation threats. The data is helping her devise a non-invasive biomarker for stress using fecal pellets.

“The hope is that wildlife managers will be able to run pellets through a chemi-cal assay to evaluate how stressed animals are without trapping or tagging,” she says. “Pygmy rabbits were just up for endangered status, but there isn’t enough research to warrant the listing.” Metal clicks. The trap holds two adult pygmy rabbits, a male and a female – For-bey’s Holy Grail. They seem calm in the steady hands of her students, who under-stand how their adventures on the sage-brush steppe may connect to the preserva-tion of a species. “It’s the excitement of the students that keeps me going,” Forbey says, “watching them all of a sudden become aware of what has been here all along.”

“The sagebrush steppe is considered the most threatened ecosystem in north america, and we lack knowledge about who relies on it. because they can’t survive anywhere else, pygmy rabbits provide a rare opportunity to explore dynamic interactions within this unique habitat.” — Biology professor Jen Forbey

Jamie Utz, left, and Amy Ulappa gently hold a captured pygmy rabbit that will join a study population at a Washington State University lab. The Boise State graduate students are studying the rabbits’ stress responses and diet quality.

After a long but successful day in the field, the research team heads home.

10 | BOISESTATE.EDU

JOHN KELLY PHOTO

By identifying and supporting promising ideas and inventions developed at Boise State, the uni-versity is working to leverage its intellectual property to help ad-dress pressing issues and improve quality of life across the globe.

I t ta k e s a

Students David Meine, left, and Nhung Nguyen conduct an experiment with chemistry professor Dale Russell.

An Innovation Team meeting at Boise State includes a lively discussion among industry experts and university faculty, staff and students.

Chemistry professor Henry Charlier is an inventor on the first two drug-related patents issued to Boise State.

JOHN KELLY PHOTO

CARRIE QUINNEY PHOTO

Two things changed Henry Charlier’s life – a microscope and malignant melanoma. As a third-grader looking through an eyepiece for the first time, he decided to be a scientist. When his Uncle Chuck died of metastatic skin cancer a few years later, he vowed to find a cure.

Now a chemistry profes-sor at Boise State University, Charlier is an inventor on two U.S. patents that could help him keep his promise. They support his efforts to improve chemotherapy that employs a class of drugs called anthracy-clines. While effective against most cancers, anthracyclines

can cause permanent heart damage and are weakened by a metabolic enzyme. If Charlier can design chemical compounds that inhibit that enzyme, it could lead to a more powerful treatment in lower, less toxic doses. The patents also protect the next phase of his research, which will explore the potential of enzyme inhibitors as weap-ons against cancer itself. But without commercializa-tion, Charlier ’s work wouldn’t have the chance to make a difference. Though critical, creation of knowledge is only the first step toward reaching the masses. By identifying and supporting promising ideas and inventions developed at Boise State, the university is work-ing to leverage such intellectual property to help address press-ing issues and improve quality of life across the globe.

A CRUCIAL ROLE “The world is shifting from resource-based economies to knowledge-based production, meaning the transfer of knowledge and technology from universities to the marketplace will play an even more crucial role in economic de-velopment and success,” said Boise State Vice President for Research Mark Rudin. “The challenges of the 21st century demand out-of-the-box ideas, and Boise State is poised to answer the call.” The transfer of knowledge and technology begins with a great idea and – provided everything works out just right – ends with a great product that benefits the public. But even the most compel-ling idea needs extensive market research and funding mechanisms to move it forward. Other essential steps are outlined in the illustra-tion on page 12. At Boise State, the Office of Technology Transfer in

Technology Transfer:Turning Creative Brainsinto Commercial Brawn

By eriN rYAN

EXPLORE—2011 | 11

the Division of Research over-sees this process, drawing on resources both on campus and in industry to evaluate research concepts and support them through commercialization. “The contributions our fac-

ulty and students make in the marketplace are significant, but we’re not a commercial organi-zation,” Rudin said. “Compa-nies bring a lot of knowledge to the table, and we need to tap that expertise.”

Boise State researchers are pursuing projects in every stage of commercialization. For example, engineering profes-sor Peter Müllner co-invented a novel type of metallic foam that has attracted industry

interest for its potential to revolutionize micro-electronics. Chemistry professor Dale Russell developed a portable contaminant sensor that is being tested in the field. Physics professor Byung Kim created a new device with applications across the spectrum of nanoparticle research. And nursing professor Cindy Clark’s tools for determining civility in the workplace are being utilized on an inter-national scale. These projects are highlighted on page 17. Some researchers would put their dis-coveries directly in the hands of the public if they could, but it’s not that simple. “I just want to help people,” Charlier said, “but if you publish without patenting first your work will never see the light of day in the clinic.” The reason is simple. Without the potential for profit the business sector will not invest. Whether in the form of a device proto-type or a new industrial process, the intellec-tual property in Boise State’s portfolio must come with the promise of exclusive rights to development.

Many steps are required to turn a great idea into a commercial product.

Conduct field testing

Direct marketresearch

Assess patentability

Identifyindustry

collaboratorsDevelop prototypes

B E N E F I T S O FC O M M E R C I A L I Z AT I O N

Faculty conduct studies that result in an idea for a new product or invention.

License the invention

B E N E F I T S O FC O M M E R C I A L I Z AT I O N

Many steps are required to turn a great idea into a commercial product.

Faculty conduct studies that result in an idea for a new product or invention.

Discloseinvention

Assesstechnology

readiness level

T e c h n o l o g y T r a n s f e r a t B O I S E S T A T E

EnhancesIdaho’s

competitiveness

Createsnew jobs and businesses

Supportsnew studies

Providesroyalties toBoise State,researchers

Solves major medical, technological

issues

12 | BOISESTATE.EDU

ILLUSTRATION BY ANN HOTTINGER

PROMISING PATENTS Charlier’s patents – the first drug-related ones ever issued to Boise State – pro-vide security and legitimacy for his molecular adventures. They are focused on design-ing molecules that can bind to enzymes and stop them from doing harm. His cur-rent work involves inhibiting carbonyl reductase, a meta-bolic enzyme that weakens anthracycline-based chemo-therapy and leads to more of the drugs being administered and more risk of grave dam-age done to the heart. “Chemotherapy is like trying to cure cancer by shoot-ing the tumor out with an indiscriminate bullet,” Char-lier said. “If we can stop or slow this enzyme’s degrada-tion of chemotherapy drugs, we might be able to protect patients and make their treat-ment work better.” Charlier began testing his theory by envisioning an effec-tive inhibitor and purchasing commercial compounds that resembled the base structure. Through collaboration, he obtained other promising com-pounds made by colleagues. His student Christopher Ewing (B.S., Chemistry, ’08) studied Charlier’s entire body of work before identifying several more candidate compounds. One was triclosan, which is found in household items like soap and toothpaste. At that time, it proved to be the best inhibitor of carbonyl reductase ever discovered. “It was a very, very excit-ing find,” said Ewing, now a medical student at Western University and co-inventor with Charlier on a related patent issued to Boise State. “Dr. Charlier pointed me in

a direction I never thought I would go. He gives students intellectual freedom, allowing them to open their minds to new possibilities.” Ewing’s discovery high-lights the way knowledge and technology transfer play off the disparate strengths of academic and industry part-ners. University research can explore uncharted avenues in ways a private company, working on deadline to find a specific solution, never could. Thanks to that freedom, Charlier now has the makings of a universal chemical struc-ture hoped to be the ultimate carbonyl reductase inhibitor – one he believes also may have the ability to kill cancer cells being treated with anthracy-clines. If this synergy can be demonstrated the implications for cancer sufferers are huge, but only if the intellectual property is inserted into the commercialization pipeline. “The more I learn about it,” Charlier said, “the more fasci-nated I am with the process.”

G l o s s a ryKnowledge Transfer is the process of creating, cap-turing and distributing knowledge, ensuring its avail-ability for future use. At Boise State, it is accomplished through student education, scholarly publications, faculty consulting, academic conferences and research collaborations.

Technology Transfer is a type of knowledge transfer that entails sharing knowledge, skills and technologies to make scientific and technological developments more widely accessible and primed for development.

Technology Readiness Level is a measure used by government agencies and companies to assess the maturity of evolving technologies prior to incorporat-ing them into systems.

Intellectual Property refers to distinct creations of the mind recognized by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Common types include copyrights, trademarks and patents.

Commercialization is the translation of intellectual property into new products in the marketplace, where the public and society can benefit.

EXPLORE—2011 | 13

CARRIE QUINNEY PHOTO

Mary Givens, director of the Officeof Technology Transfer, discusses aproject with MBA student Erik Bergsetduring an Innovation Team meeting.

ADVANCINGTECH TRANSFER No Boise State faculty member understands the process better than Michelle Sabick. In addition to being a biomedical engineering professor and co-director of the Center for Orthopaedic and Biomechanics Research, she also is the inaugural Technol-ogy Transfer Fellow. Two days a week, Sabick

devotes her time and energy to advancing the university’s broad commercialization ef-forts, from mentoring inexpe-rienced faculty researchers to leading an interdisciplinary In-novation Team through market projections and assessments of technology readiness level, a metric that gauges the maturity of intellectual property. “Companies want to in-vest but only if the legwork has been done,” she said. “One as-pect of my job is to help figure out what’s in our arsenal, what stage of the process it’s in, and whether it has real-world applications that will be useful and reasonable to implement.” Sabick’s research has been supported by industry

giants from John-son & Johnson to the NFL, giving her insight into the needs of the market and the challenge of being a professor working to balance teaching, service, research and the ten-ure track. The tradi-tional reward system

in higher education depends mostly on scholarly publica-tions, which can preclude commercialization if certain protocols aren’t followed. “This is an education for most faculty members, so I do a lot of ‘in-reach.’ They need to recognize that their work can benefit people or inspire a spinoff company without them being burdened by the process,” Sabick said. “Research gets an idea to a certain point, and you need support staff to take it to the next level.” That’s why Sabick spent her sabbatical in 2009 taking an MBA class in Boise State’s College of Business and Eco-nomics, deepening her under-standing of business planning, startups and the world outside the lab. “When I got into engi-neering I wanted to focus on applied design, but most of my research has been basic,” she said. “This was an opportunity to change direction.” Finding pathways to ap-plication and commercializa-tion are the primary tasks of Boise State’s Small Business Administration-funded In-novation Team, which includes management professor Kent Neupert and two graduate students, one in business administration and the other in engineering. Guided by Office of Technology Transfer Direc-tor Mary Givens, they evaluate and advance the technology readiness level of inventions that then are reviewed by a volunteer advisory board of experts. One such expert is executive-in-residence Ed Zim-mer, the retired CEO of Boise-based manufacturer ECCO Group and a key advisor to those hoping to maximize the

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Biomedical engineering professor Michelle Sabick helps identify promising research concepts generated by faculty and move them toward commercialization. For example, “Stretch” and “Echo” are code names for projects that could impact the health care field by introducing a high-tech method for measur-ing muscle flexibility and ergonomically-enhanced ultrasound equipment. Prototypes and materials related to these projects are displayed above.

“Universities are the drivers of monumental shifts in thinking and ways of improving our world, but knowledge for its own sake is not enough. Through the ingenuity of our faculty and the skills our graduates bring to the evolving global work-place, Boise State is applying new knowledge to the demands and challenges of the 21st century.” — Mark rudin, Vice President

for research, Boise state

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impact of knowledge generated at Boise State. “There are 18 fundamen-tal phases of commercializa-tion, starting with creative work done by our faculty and students and facilitation by our staff. Sometimes the university is involved in seven, sometimes two, sometimes all of these phases before industry steps in. It takes a village,” Givens said. “From influencing the refine-ment of early-stage technology to delivering field-tested prod-ucts to store shelves, industry partners are essential to the large-scale development of Boise State’s creative currency.”

A STRONGPERFORMANCE That currency is the result of funded research, and Boise State is performing above the

national average when it comes to the number of invention disclo-sures relative to research expendi-tures. As the OTT continues to build infrastruc-ture, the number is expected to rise. “It’s interesting to see who’s got amazing ideas and what the university has done to protect them,” said Sabick. “The process before wasn’t formal, but in many cases, intellectual property from years past is still viable and relevant.” Sabick’s team currently is focused on patent disclo-sures for three projects with potential in the health care field: a high-tech method for measuring muscle flexibility,

“The old image of university professors con-templating the cosmos has been replaced with one of active researchers trying to impact the cosmos. Boise State research is creating new opportunities for economic growth in Idaho by attracting cutting-edge industries, venture capi-talists and the growing creative class.”

— Bill Connors, President and CeO,Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce

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Engineering professorPeter Müllner and graduate student Cassie Witherspoon discuss lab tests for magnetic shape-mem-ory foam, a promising area for technology transfer. Witherspoon has presented her research at a confer-ence in France, con-ducted field work at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and co-authored a paper on magnetic shape-mem-ory foam published in Nature Materials.

EXPLORE—2011 | 15

Office of Technology Transfer Director Mary Givens, left, Technology Transfer Fellow Michelle Sabick and Walter Seale, M.D., discuss a future collaboration.

ergonomically-enhanced ul-trasound equipment, and an improved ventilator system for emergency situations. Students are involved across the board, including senior kinesiology major Carly Gerard. With the help of students in the Radio-logic Sciences Department, she collected data on wrist movement and muscle strain related to use of traditional ultrasound equipment. In addition to creating the pro-totype of a new system that

could mitigate stress

injuries, Gerard has attended Innovation Team meetings re-lated to her project. “It’s helpful knowing how what I’m learning can be

applied and if there’s a mar-ket for it,” she said. “It would be neat to see it go from an idea to an actual device, especially if it keeps health care providers from getting debilitating injuries.” That surprisingly com-plicated journey from an idea to something substantial is the essence of transfer, Giv-ens said. “Boise State has been generating knowledge for almost 80 years, but it wasn’t until recently that the univer-sity really sunk its teeth into

its own stockpile of intel-lectual property,” she said. “We have more momentum than ever before, and we are doing everything we can to engage industry in providing creative solutions to the chal-lenges facing our state and global community.” Beyond profit for businesses, prestige for researchers and game-changing innovations for society, the value of transfer is in the skills, insights and expertise individuals such as Ewing and Gerard will take with them in their pro-fessional lives. “We have 19,993 pieces of intellectual property – our students,” Rudin said. “They are the most powerful knowl-edge transfer we have.”

• Federally funded Boise State research supports jobs, innovation and the education of a skilled work force. Research activities generate knowledge and technologies that have the potential to improve resource management and industrial efficiencies for businesses and enhance the health and quality of life of Idaho’s citizens.

• Each $1 million of research activity maintains 11 direct jobs and 18 indirect jobs in Idaho; 80 percent of Boise State research activities are federally funded. This funding is new money injected into Idaho’s economy.

• In fiscal year 2010, 55 new industry products were designed and prototyped by Boise State’s College of Engineering TechHelp New Product Development Lab.

• Boise State receives approximately 22 percent of its total revenue from state appropriations. That state support is leveraged to attract an additional $250 million of revenue for Boise State operations each year.

• Boise State is performing above the national average relative to invention disclosures resulting from research expenditures, according to the Association of University Technology Managers annual technology transfer survey.

e C o N o M I C e N G I N e :How Boise State Research Benef i ts Idaho

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“Micron and Boise State are partnering to provide out-of-the-box solutions in competitive markets. Academia and industry, in collabo-ration with private and public entities, can foster an ecosystem of innovation that sup-ports creation of new businesses and retention of those that define our Treasure Valley.” — Jai Jaiprakash, Director of

Business Development, Micron

EXPLORE—2011 | 17

Memory Foam Changes Shape

One of Boise State’s most promising technology transfer projects revolves around engineering profes-sor Peter Müllner’s work with magnetic shape-memory foam. The nickel-manganese-gallium alloy foam changes shape when exposed to a magnetic field but returns to its original shape once the magnetic field has been reoriented – making it a potentially ideal replacement for the tiny, fragile moving parts used in a wide variety of devices, electronics and small machines. Müllner, who is director of the Boise State Center for Materials Characterization, is working with OTT and collaborators at Boise State and Northwestern Uni-versity on patents for the foam itself and an energy-harvesting device using the same material that could generate off-the-grid power for any application where energy is needed in remote locations. OTT also is help-ing Müllner and his collab-orators find companies and other partners interested in using the foam in their products and devices.

Microscope AidsMolecular Studies

Physics professor Byung Kim has developed a new type of microscope that will allow researchers to study the way individual molecules interact with one another – an area of nanoscience obscured by the minute scale of the substances involved. With National Science Foundation funding, Kim is studying whether a cantilever-based optical interfacial force micro-scope will reveal the forces that cause certain molecules to “grab” one another when they get too close – a phe-nomenon yet to be explained by science. The work could prove invaluable in the development of new medica-tions and for a wide range of nanoparticle research. Kim’s patent-pending device employs a minis-cule cantilever on a normal interfacial force microscope to hold the molecules apart, allowing researchers to mea-sure and study the forces that cause the phenomenon. With help from OTT, Kim is work-ing with engineers to develop the device and determine the most practical path forward to ensure the technology is accessible and affordable for researchers.

Sensors Test Contaminants

New sensor technol-ogy developed by chemistry professor Dale Russell could soon pave the way for a flexible and highly portable test for soil contaminants like arsenic, mercury, plu-tonium and uranium. Rus-sell’s devices, which use an integrated chip to detect the electronic signature of contaminants, are about the size of an eyeglasses case and versatile enough to be used in handheld devices to get im-mediate, in-the-field results or fixed in place (even un-derground) for an extended period to log data over time. Under the auspices of the Office of Technology Transfer, the sensors are being tested for use in monitoring underground plumes at the Idaho National Laboratory. With three patents related to this technology and two more pending, Russell also is work-ing with OTT and engineers to develop environmentally robust packaging and a user-friendly interface to make the sensors usable in a wide variety of settings, including situations like the clandestine monitoring of international compliance with nuclear non-proliferation treaties.

Tool Assesses Civility in Workplace

Nursing professor Cindy Clark’s tools for determining civility in the workplace – especially health care and higher education settings – have received international recognition for their effec-tiveness. Her Incivility in Nursing Education survey is used in universities and hospitals in the United States, as well as Israel, Iran, Indonesia and China. And with development help from psychology pro-fessor Eric Landrum, the new Organization Civility Scale is garnering interest from consultants who help all types of organizations grapple with incivility problems. After years of “giving away” her INE survey in the name of academic collabora-tion, Clark now is working closely with OTT to help manage further licensing, promotion and distribution of the tools. For a flat fee, groups can contact Clark through OTT to use either tool, engage her services for assessing the data that comes from the surveys and consult with her on ways to address any problems.

B o I s e s tat e ’ s C r e at I V e C U r r e N C yUniversity faculty pursue research on many fronts that holds great promisefor commercialization. Here’s a look at four researchers and their inventions.

By MiKe JOUrNee

Byung KimCindy ClarkPeter MüllnerDale Russell

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A Home for Big IdeasNew Arts and Humanities Institute Returns Learning to Its Roots

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Yet Aristotle, the great pillar of west-ern philosophy and learning, saw little difference between his love of poetry and physics. And Sir Isaac Newton, whose 17th century observations in physics, mathemat-ics and astronomy made him one of his-tory’s most important scientists, considered himself a philosopher first. The idea that art and science are two sides of the same coin is as fundamental and timeless as knowledge itself. But this con-

cept often is obscured in a modern culture where scientific discovery has become a commodity that feeds our economy, national security and viability as a society, as well as our yen for the next best gadget. While the importance of science and technology isn’t disputed, many scholars in the humanities and arts are concerned that an overwhelming focus on these disciplines runs the risk of separating mankind’s quest for discovery and knowledge from its an-

“Is it an art or a science?”This often-asked question rings with mutual exclusivity.

PHOTOS BY JOHN KELLY AND CARRIE QUINNEY

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A Home for Big IdeasNew Arts and Humanities Institute Returns Learning to Its Roots

By MiKe JOUrNee

EXPLORE—2011 | 19

cient roots. This premise – that the meaning of our existence as humans should inform the progress of our society – is behind a new initiative to grow an Arts and Humanities Institute at Boise State University. “Our path forward depends greatly on where we are today and where we were yes-terday,” said Boise State President Bob Kus-tra. “As we look to our future, our continued success as a metropolitan research university depends on our ability to gain the perspec-tive and balance that can only come from the spirit of inquiry, creative thought and artistic practice. These ideals and concepts make us a

university, and with them we will infuse our research agenda with the beauty and mean-ing of being human.” Since Kustra publicly announced the creation of the Arts and Humanities Insti-tute in the fall of 2009, faculty members from the departments of Art, History, English, Modern Languages and Litera-tures, Music, Theatre Arts and Philosophy have been developing the concepts and framework for the institute. With fund-raising efforts gearing up, the group is sketching out a vision for a new physical space on campus

ILLUSTRATION BY ANN HOTTINGER

where the work of painters, sculptors, dancers, actors and musicians will mingle

with that of historians, philosophers and writers to spark ideas, questions and

conversations about the world today. It is a bold move. Jim Leach, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humani-ties, told the institute’s planners that budget concerns have most of academia retrenching. Instead, Boise State’s “counterintuitive” plan had “straightforward confidence” that impressed him.

For Boise State, the time is right. In the last decade, research funding has tripled largely on the strength of the university’s focus on growth in technical, scientific or professional fields. A similar institution-wide investment must be made for the arts and humanities, Kustra contends. The “life-long skills” of critical thinking, self-inquiry and the communication of ideas – all embodiments of the arts and humanities – will serve students well beyond the next economic downturn, making them adaptable to practically any intellectual challenge or employment situation. “The arts and humanities are the lens through which society understands itself,” said Laura Rushing-Raynes, a music professor on the committee developing concepts for the institute. In many ways, planners hope to replicate the interdisciplinary approach that fields in

20 | BOISESTATE.EDU

For the three inaugural honorees in Boise State’s Arts and Humani-ties Research Fellows Program, this past year has been a time of discovery, creativity and accomplishment. With support from the Division of Research, the fellows receive time for activities outside of regular teaching, service and committee duties, dedicated space in the Ron and Linda Yanke Family Research Park, and up to $15,000 in funding for their projects. Here’s a look at the inaugural group, who finish their year in May. A new cadre of fellows will be selected this spring.

Dig Deep

science, technology, engineer-ing and mathematics (known as

STEM) have developed using the perspective of multiple fields. Many

of today’s biggest advances are coming in areas where traditional disciplines

like physics, engineering and biology overlap. Following a similar model, Boise

State’s new institute will provide both physical and intellectual space for arts and

humanities faculty working in different dis-ciplines to compare and combine ideas and

shape new perspectives. Particularly important and unique to

The vision is to create a new physical space on campus where the work of painters, sculptors, dancers, actors and musicians will mingle with that of historians, philosophers and writers to spark ideas about the world today.

An Opportunity to

Creative researCh inthe arts and humanities

Barton BarbourDepartment of HistoryArts and Humanities Research Fellow

Fort Laramie and the Fur Trade: A Window on the West

Already known in academic circles for his history of Fort Union in North Dakota and his recent bi-ography of famed trapper Jedediah Smith, Barton Barbour once again is immersed in the North American fur trade. This time he’s taking a closer look at Wyoming’s Fort Laramie. While the fort was a major stop on the Oregon Trail, its early years as a fur trading post relate to a much broader Western history. While a lot is known about the site as a military fort, little is known about its humbler beginnings. Trappers, Indians, beavers, buffalo and timber-built trading posts are icons of the Wild West. Bar-bour notes that they also formed the foundation for U.S.-Indian policy and the symbiotic relationship between fur traders and the North American government. “Understanding the 19th cen-tury fur trade is extremely useful in explaining North American Indian history,” Barbour said. “The fur trad-ers were always there first, before

the rest of white civilization caught up with them. Interactions in the fur trade were common everywhere – no other epoch in American history has this continuity.” How these traders and trappers dealt with native populations, particularly the nature of their transactions and their policies regarding liquor, greatly influenced the development of federal laws overseeing trade and commerce

meant to maintain a peaceful frontier. While Barbour had thousands of pages of documents to support his work while writing his book about Fort Union, few records remain from the early years of Fort Laramie. The Arts and Humanities Research Fellowship has allowed him a full year of unen-cumbered focus to complete his new manuscript, which he plans to deliver to the University of Oklahoma Press this summer. — Kathleen Tuck

EXPLORE—2011 | 21

the Boise State endeavor is the inclusion of both the arts and the humanities from the outset. Most academic institutes or centers of this nature focus on one or the other rather than both in equal measure. “That is what is so exciting about the way this institute is being imagined,” said Cheryl K. Shurtleff-Young, a professor of art. “Art would be very, very different with-out philosophy and history, and vice versa. That notion is really where we started in thinking about what this institute will be.” While the institute’s creation is a work in progress, Boise State wasted no time in

getting some initial stages of its program-ming up and running. With support from the Division of Research, three Boise State faculty members were named last spring as the first Arts and Humanities Research Fellows.

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“Understanding the 19th century fur trade is extremelyuseful in explaining North American Indian history” — Barton Barbour

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Also, the first arts and humani-

ties interdisciplinary research community –

a research cluster made up of faculty from art

history, English, history and philosophy – began

interdisciplinary research as the Group for Early Modern

Studies (GEMS). With funding from the Division of Research,

GEMS members are merging in-dividual research efforts that focus

Cheryl HindrichsDepartment of EnglishArts and Humanities Research Fellow

The Role of Illness in Literature: A Critical Analysis

Influenza killed an estimated 50 million people in 1918, yet the pandemic barely registered a blip in modernist literature, an innovative artistic movement of the time that addressed some of the deepest problems of modern life. English professor Cheryl Hindrichs first heard the staggering figure while a doctoral student. “Why isn’t illness one of the great themes of literature? It begged the ques-tion for me,” she said. “If the war was such a defining moment for all of these writ-ers, why not illness and influenza? I was shocked at the time to find that something this obvious didn’t have a definitive critical book on it, and it’s been in the back of my mind ever since.” Hindrichs is producing a book manu-script on the role of physical illness in modernist fiction titled Pandemic Mo-dernity: The Aesthetics and Ethics of Illness in Modernist Literature. Hindrichs’ work will build upon that of her greatest love in literature, Virginia Woolf, a prominent modernist who identified some of the difficulties in writing about illness in her essay, “On Being Ill.” Woolf questioned why illness hadn’t taken its place in literature alongside love, war and jealousy.

Hindrichs’ book will deconstruct how ill-ness and death are addressed in a number of modernist works. “Perhaps it’s so traumatic that we don’t have the language to describe it,” Hindrichs said. “But modernists were all about finding words for things that were hard to explain.” Hindrichs also will draw upon the themes explored in her book to design undergraduate and graduate courses on the depiction of illness in the arts and humanities. She hopes to collaborate

with College of Health Sciences faculty to create a forum for the campus and com-munity in which literature serves as a lens to focus on the ethical questions, tricky challenges and rich experiences health care workers encounter. “Illness is a common experience but one that so profoundly affects us when we’ve had to deal with something really serious,” she said. “Literature can be a way into these difficult conversations and for making sense out of our experiences.” — Sherry Squires

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“Literature can be a way into these difficult conversations andfor making sense out of our experiences.” — Cheryl Hindrichs

on the early modern period (circa 1500-1800). Another research group being built around the concept of the environment and society is in its formative stages. Plans for the institute’s permanent home, while in the embryonic stage, include world-class areas for performance, study, exhibits, public spaces and studios. “Ideally this building would be a beau-tiful piece of architecture – a piece of art itself,” said history professor Lisa Brady, a member of the faculty planning group. “It should be an inviting, open gathering place without boundaries and limits for how we

see ourselves as humanists and artists, where people can explore these big, deep concepts.” But no matter the final brick-and-mor-tar form of the institute, everyone agrees the ideas that fill the building are most important. “We want to introduce ideas and spark conversations among people about what’s happening in the world,” said Brady. “En-gaging with and gaining an understanding of the perspective of someone we disagree with is the first step toward having a civil and productive discussion about the prob-lems the world faces.”

EXPLORE—2011 | 23

Larry McNeilDepartment of ArtArts and Humanities Research Fellow

Climate Change and Landscape: A Visual Journey

There is nothing pretty about the power plants, coal mines and flooded native villages Larry McNeil is capturing on film. The beauty of his photography, in this case, is its ability to capture the realities of climate change. McNeil has embarked on a year-long project to document the connec-tion between landscape and climate change in America. He is photograph-ing coal-fired power plants that spew greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, coal mines that fuel these plants and evidence of a warming climate, such as melting glaciers. He has visited eastern Wyoming to photograph the largest coal mine in North America and will visit several Western states throughout the year. On a trip to the small town in Alaska where he grew up, he discovered that the im-mense glacier he remembered from his childhood has receded three miles. “That was so startling to me,” he said. “We understand climate change intellectually. I hope this work gets more people involved in the humanistic side. We see issues differently when we connect with them through art.”

McNeil is using photography, print-making and digital media to convey the impact of coal-fired plants. He’s also planning a photography project with bicycle commuters in Boise who have embraced a non-polluting mode of travel, and he will visit Alaska several times in the coming year to create a photographic series that captures the impact global climate change has on the lifestyles of people in the Arctic. The project follows a long line of acclaimed work from McNeil, who recently was selected as one of five

artists nationwide to contribute to the Art in Embassies program. He also has received a National Geographic All Roads Award that showcases the pho-tography of indigenous and underrep-resented minority cultures. His work recently was exhibited at University of California, Davis, and McNeil hopes it eventually reaches a wide audience. “I think this project’s potential strength is that it can reach out nation-ally and internationally,” he said. “Every-one contributes to this crisis – it has no borders.” — Sherry Squires

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“We see issues differently when we connectwith them through art.” — Larry McNeil

24 | BOISESTATE.EDU

A Boise State research team is developing

promising new uses for “the language of life“

So tiny that trillions can self-assemble in a single test tube, DNA nanostructures serve as scaffolding for nanoscale devices and for other experimental applications.

Dynamic

DnaBy JANeLLe BrOwN

EXPLORE—2011 | 25

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In the corner, a com-puter screen glows with images of DNA origami “smiley faces,” so tiny that if rendered life size, 10,000 of them would stretch across the head of a pin. On the wall a white-board teems with equa-tions, symbols and notes scrawled in red marker, a mathematical conver-sation-in-progress about microelectronics devices far too small to see with

the naked eye. Atop a table sits a 3-foot model of a DNA double helix, 100 million times larger than actual size, its distinctive spiral “staircase” an irresistible allusion to technological steps still on the horizon. Yurke, universally known as “Bernie” to his colleagues at Boise State and around the world, uses these tools and many others to conduct ground-

breaking research in DNA nanotechnology, a field of study that focuses on manipulating DNA and other matter at the atomic or molecular level. With funding from the Nation-al Science Foundation and years of experience at legendary Bell Labs, Yurke leads a multidis-ciplinary team at Boise State in research that could transform fields ranging from consumer electronics and biological sensing to the detection and treatment of disease.

“I’m intrigued by things we don’t yet understand.The joy of discovery is what motivates me most.”

— Bernard “Bernie“ Yurke

Boise State engineering professor Bernard Yurke, right, discusses a lab experiment with junior Jessica Minick.

Step inside Bernard Yurke’s office, and a few clues about his groundbreaking research are instantly on display.

DNA strands are programmed to bind at specific points to fold into “smiley faces.”

DNA strands are programmed to bind at specific points to fold into “smiley faces.”

Bill KnowltonKnowlton has played a founding role in nanotech-nology research at Boise State, includ-ing establishing interdisciplinary teams to pursue re-search in biomateri-

als and microelectronics. An expert in electron transport measurement and fabrication of electronic devices, Knowlton directs efforts to character-ize DNA nanoscale devices using elec-trical and atomic force microscopy.

Jeunghoon LeeAn expert in nano-materials chem-istry, Lee is the materials provider for DNA-based re-search for nanode-vices and medical applications. He di-rects the synthesis

and assembly of nanoparticles such as quantum dots and gold nanopar-ticles for various uses. By attaching DNA to the inorganic nanoparticles, Lee enables them to bind to DNA nanostructures at specific locations.

Will HughesHughes brings a strong background in nanotechnology and biomaterials to DNA nanotechnol-ogy research, where he directs nano-particle assembly and works with

Knowlton to direct characterization studies of DNA nanoscale devices. Hughes also is exploring medical ap-plications of DNA nanotechnology, including developing blood tests to detect certain cancers.

“I’m intrigued by things we don’t yet understand. The joy of discovery is what motivates me most,” said Yurke, a research professor with joint appointments in the departments of Materials Science and Engineering, and Electrical and Computer En-gineering, and the recipient of several international prizes for his pioneering work in DNA nano-

technology and quantum optics. At the heart of Yurke’s re-search is deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, the language of life that contains the genetic code for all living organisms, with the excep-tion of some viruses. While DNA’s role in determining inherited traits such as eye color or suscep-tibility to disease is familiar to many, what may be less known is

DNA’s use as a nanoscale building material. By harnessing its unique properties, Yurke and colleagues in the Nanoscale Materials and Device Group at Boise State are working to develop new technolo-gies for fabricating devices such as microprocessors used in comput-ers that are smaller, faster and more energy efficient than current processes allow. “Boise State is among only a handful of research universities in the country with established groups working in the area of DNA nanotechnology,” said Vice President for Research Mark Rudin. “The work Dr. Yurke and his colleagues are pursuing is truly impressive and holds great prom-ise as a viable technology and a concrete asset for the university in the future.”

UNIQUE PROPERTIES DNA may not instantly come to mind when thinking of build-ing material, but the concept is hardly farfetched. Yurke likens scientists who use DNA to build nanoscale devices to carpen-ters who use wood to construct houses. “Both wood and DNA are biomaterials,” he said. What makes DNA so intrigu-ing is its ability to self-assemble from the bottom up, like Legos put together one piece at a time.

26 | BOISESTATE.EDU

“You throw out an idea, and Dr. Yurke knows everything about it . He taught me that science is excit ing,” said Amber Cox-Huddleston, a senior majoring in materials science and engineering.

Graduate student Hieu Bui, left, dis-cusses a technical issue with Yurke and research professor Elton Graugnard.

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Researchers can exploit this mech-anism to create nanodevices that are much smaller than is possible with top-down processes, such as lithography techniques used to etch circuitry on silicon. DNA-based nanodevices can pack 100 times the density of silicon-based nanodevices in the same space, an enormous leap in miniaturization that could lead to new microelec-tronics products and applications not even imagined today. “How this new technology might become useful someday is still a ways out,” Yurke said. “It’s like the early days of micropro-cessors, where private individuals could own computers but no one knew exactly what to do with them because word processing and spread sheets hadn’t yet been invented. We’re in the same situ-ation. We have a tool kit that can be used to do a lot of neat things, but we haven’t yet figured out the killer application.” Yurke and his colleagues in the Nanoscale Materials and Device Group at Boise State are conducting research that could bridge the gap between theory and commercial viability. He is the principal investigator on an NSF grant, “Self Assembling Nanophotonic and Nanoelec-tronic Devices on a DNA Nano-breadboard,” that also includes

Boise State faculty in chemistry, materials science, and electrical and computer engineering. In addition, Yurke is working with faculty in biology, chemistry and several engineering fields on biomedical applications of DNA nanotechnology. The work is the culmina-tion of a long and impressive career for Yurke, who joined Boise State’s College of Engineer-ing in 2008 after nearly 25 years at Bell Labs, which at its peak was the top research institution of its kind in the country. For Yurke, the move to Boise State was a return home: He grew up in Boise, graduated from Borah High School in 1971 and attended what then was Boise State College for two years. When he ran out of physics classes to take, he moved on first to the University of Texas-Austin and then to Cornell, where he earned a doctorate in physics in 1982. Cornell alumnus Douglas Osheroff, who went on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1996, helped recruit the new Ph.D. to work at Bell Labs. “Bernie Yurke is a really smart, really creative guy,” said Osheroff, who now is at Stan-ford and visited the Boise State campus last year. “The things he’s been able to do using DNA,” Osheroff marveled. “How does he

come up with ideas like that?” “He is a lightning rod for DNA nanotechnology research,” added engineering professor Bill Knowlton. “Bernie is so engaged in science that he’s like a little kid. That excitement and enjoy-ment spills over, and it benefits all of us.”

A YOUNG AND DYNAMIC FIELD One of the compelling as-pects of DNA nanotechnology is how young it is. It was invented in 1982 by NYU’s Ned Seeman, who first developed the concept of using DNA’s branched forma-tions to build nanostructures with useful properties. A decade later, a research paper on DNA com-puting brought new interest to the field. Then, in 2006, Caltech’s Paul Rothemund demonstrated how DNA’s self-assembly mecha-nism could be harnessed to create

I t ’s a Smal l WorldDNA nanotechnology deals with structures between 1 and 100 nanometers in size:

• A nanometer is one billionth of a meter• A sheet of paper is about 100,000 nano-

meters thick• A human hair is 50,000 nanometers wide• A DNA nanotube is 7 nanometers wide• A DNA double helix is 2 nanometers wide

Wan KuangKuang uses his expertise in op-tics and lasers to direct the optical characterization of DNA nanoscale de-vices. The research involves develop-ing capabilities

of light-emitting nanoparticles to “switch” between various states in order to transmit energy. Kuang also works with Yurke on numerical mod-eling and computer programming to fabricate DNA nanostructures.

Elton GraugnardA physicist, Graug-nard has expertise in fabrication and characterization of nanoscale materi-als. He oversees undergraduate and graduate students pursuing laboratory

studies and contributes both to re-search in fabricating DNA nanoscale devices and in building DNA-based molecular circuitry to detect nucleic acids or proteins in blood that indi-cate the presence of diseases.

Cheryl Jorcyk A molecular biologist, Jorcyk collaborates with the Nanoscale Materials and Device Group on studies aimed at using DNA as a chemical amplifier

to detect the presence of nucleic acids called microRNAs in blood serum. Elevated levels of specific microRNAs indicate the presence of certain cancers, such as metastatic prostate cancer.

EXPLORE—2011 | 27

28 | BOISESTATE.EDU

two- and three-dimensional shapes at the nanoscale level, such as smiley faces, maps or cubes. Called DNA origami, the technique opened doors to using DNA as scaffolding on which nanoparticles could be mounted to fabricate nanoscale microelec-tronics devices. Yurke also occupies an honored place in DNA nano-technology’s short history. He is credited with developing the first molecular machine that uses DNA – nanoscale “tweezers” that exploit DNA’s hybridization properties to open and close, and that could lead to possible appli-cations such as synthetic muscle. The invention was featured as the cover story in Nature in 2000

and has been cited close to 500 times in academic journals by researchers who have built on his original breakthrough. “Bernie Yurke is one of the leading pioneers of DNA nano-technology,” said Rothemund, who collaborates with Yurke. “He basically enabled the field to go from building static, nonmoving DNA structures to dynamic moving DNA struc-tures. An entire subfield of ac-tive DNA self-assembly sprang up as a direct result of Bernie’s Nature article.” The official name of Yurke’s invention is “toehold-mediated strand removal in DNA nano-structures.” According to See-man, the invention continues to be the driving force for all sequence-specific DNA-based nanodevices and for all DNA-based circuitry. “This was a giant contribution,” he said. Today, Yurke and the Nanoscale Materials and Device Group continue to expand research boundaries, includ-ing collaborations with peers at Duke, Caltech and other research institutions, as well

as colleagues at Boise State. Among their projects is using DNA origami structures as a platform, or “DNA nanobread-board,” on which tiny com-ponents can be attached. The idea is to use this technology to fabricate multi-component devices with potential for use in next-generation microelectron-ics products and for other, as yet unimagined, applications. The biomaterial’s unique charac-teristics make this approach promising: Not only is DNA origami tiny even by nanoscale standards, it also is very cheap to fabricate; it can be made in any shape; nanomaterials of any type can be added anywhere on the structure; and trillions can be made at once.

A SPECIAL TYPEOF ‘BREADBOARD’ Yurke is credited with coining the term “DNA nano-breadboard,” now in widespread scientific use, after considering the way hobbyists several gen-erations ago used actual kitchen breadboards to mount vacuum tubes and other components to build radios. “A DNA nano-breadboard basically functions in the same way, just on a much smaller scale,” Yurke explained.

Graduate student Craig Onodera presents his re-search results at a weekly meeting of students and faculty involved in DNA nanotechnology research.

JOHN KELLY PHOTO

DNA or i gam i i s t i n y and cheap t o f abr i ca t e . I t c an be made i n any shape , nanoma ter i a l s o f any t ype can be added anywhere on t he s t ruc t ure , and t r i l l i o ns can be made a t once .

JOHN KELLY PHOTO

A petri dish holds DNA nanostructures deposited on mica sheets, part of a process to examine the samples using atomic force microscopy.

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The Power o f Se l f -Assembly : DNA Nano techno l ogy and How i t Works

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Some Boise State research focuses on a type of DNA nanobreadboard called a “nanotube,” a long tube only 7 nanometers thick on which tiny components can be mounted. An article published in the August 2010 issue of Nano Letters, “Programmable Periodicity of Quantum Dot Arrays with DNA Origami Nanotubes,” describes the progress of Boise State researchers in fabricating the devices. Hieu Bui, a graduate student in elec-trical and computer engineering, was lead author on the Nano Letters article. A related research area involves “splicing” DNA nanotubes together, either end-to-end or in various configurations, to create a larger surface on which to attach nano-scale components. Craig Onodera, a graduate student in materials science and engineering, is conduct-ing this research under Yurke’s and co-workers’ direction. In addition, Yurke and other col-laborators, including biology professor Cheryl Jorcyk, are pursuing medical applications of DNA nanotechnology, including using DNA as a chemical amplifier to detect cancer-related mi-croRNAs in blood serum. “These DNA-based tests will involve analyzing a blood sample and will be a much faster and more cost-efficient diagnostic tool than X-rays or biopsies,” Jorcyk said. In addition, the blood serum tests hold promise for providing an early detection method for cancers such as lung cancer, which at present only can be diagnosed in later stages. Ask Yurke about these and other possibilities for DNA nanotechnology, and his eyes sparkle. His enthusiasm for his research, and for science in general, is contagious. “I expect it to happen soon,” he said, when asked when the emerging technology is likely to become com-mercially viable. “Industry already is invested in DNA nanotechnology research, and there are a number of re-search groups around the world work-ing on this. It’s encouraging to see the progress we’ve made and the potential that lies ahead.”

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G only with C), forming a unique genetic sequence.

Researchers use biotechnology techniquesto harness DNA’s unique properties:

1) STAPLE STRANDS OF SYNTHETIC DNAare programmed with complementary bases (A-T and T-A or G-C and C-G) to “stick” at specific points to a long DNA scaffold strand.

3) THE DNA STRAND FOLDS INTO A SPECIFIED SHAPE, according to where the staple strands are programmed to bind to the scaffold strand. This technique is called DNA origami.

4) SOME SECTIONS OF THE STAPLE STRANDS have segments (drawn vertically) that don’t bind with the scaffold strand. Instead, these “sticky sections” serve as recognition strands onto which quantum dots, a type of tiny semiconductor, or metal nanoscale particles can bind.

5) THE NANOSTRUCTURE (ABOVE) FUNCTIONS AS A DNA NANOBREADBOARD – a template or substrate on which other nanostructures and various nanoparticles can be attached. DNA nanobreadboards can take various shapes, including DNA nanotubes (left).

6) THE NANODEVICES FUNCTION AS TINY COMPONENTS that transfer energy, process information, or operate as machines that perform tasks such as opening and closing tiny “tweezers.” Refining these nanodevic-es, developing applications, and integrating them into next-generation technologies are the next steps in the research process.

2) THE STAPLE STRANDS AND SCAFFOLD STRAND are mixed together in a solution. Trillions can be processed in parallel.

INFOGRAPHIC BY ANN HOTTINGER

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30 | BOISESTATE.EDU

JOHN KELLY PHOTO

The answer, according to his groundbreak-ing research, is fairly straightforward: tap into pre-existing interests and package them in a useful and appealing format that then bridges

to new, related interests. That’s the premise behind The 10, a 100- volume book series dedicated to topics selected and edited by Wilhelm. A volume titled The 10

Reading that Feels RealGetting kids, especially boys, to pick up a book is goal of The 10 series

By KATHLeeN TUCK

As a former classroom teacher, English professor and literacy expert Jeffrey Wilhelm is never at a loss for research ideas. But for years one question has bugged him more than all the others: How do you get kids, especially boys, to read?

English professor Jeffrey Wilhelm gingerly holds a slug and a spider, both featured in The 10 Grossest Bugs. Other “grossest bugs” are displayed at left.

Grossest Bugs is a fun-filled examination of crea-tures guaranteed to make your skin crawl. Along with close-up pictures of slugs, spiders and botfly fangs, the book also includes interesting, even bizarre factoids such as “a cockroach can live a whole week without a head.” While it may elicit shudders from the squea-mish, Grossest Bugs offers solid information in a way that invites readers to explore further. Other books in the series, which range in subject mate-rial from science and social studies to art and culture, do the same. Readers can learn about the 10 most outra-geous outlaws, shocking sports scandals, coolest dance crazes, revolting parasites, revolutionary inventions, disastrous accidents, unforgettable NASCAR experiences, daring heists and 92 other subjects. Aimed at 4th-12th graders, the glossy magazine-format books are short, filled with vivid illustrations, and peppered with thought-provoking questions and quick “wow,” “gross out” or “risk” trivia. The 10 Grossest Bugs asks readers if they would be willing to accept maggot therapy as a last-ditch effort to clean a wound. In The 10 Most Essential Elements, readers can ponder whether hydrogen power is a better choice than fossil fuel, despite its higher cost. The 10 Most Innovative Bands asks what recent musical inventions might have a lasting influence on other bands. Aimed at engaging readers, the books have become popular in classrooms across

the United States and Canada. Published by Rubicon Publishing in association with Scho-lastic Inc., each title comes with a teacher’s guide to assist with its use in the classroom. “I want to help teachers teach kids,” said Wilhelm, whose 15 years teaching in grades 5-12 gave him plenty of insight into what motivates boys to pick up a book.

A Research-based Approach Wilhelm conducted a five-year study on boys’ reading habits both at school and at home, published in Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men (coauthored with Michael Smith) in 2002. The study won the National Council of Teachers of English David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Research in Eng-lish Education. Wilhelm also is co-author with Smith of Going With the Flow: How to Engage Boys (and Girls) in Their Literacy Learning, pub-lished in 2006. “It’s a fact of life that boys re-sist literacy more actively than girls,” he said. “I asked myself why? What can be done? Many studies out there cite the statistics, but they only offer quantita-tive data. There was a huge need to find out why boys underachieve girls and what we could do about it.”

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Wilhelm’s five-year study found that boys read to get things done more than just for pleasure. “Boys need to be en-gaged. They don’t read to please others, and they are less patient,“ he said.

“It’s a fact of life that boys resist literacy more actively than girls. There was a huge need to find out why boys underachieve girls and what we could do about it.“ — Jeffrey Wilhelm

The 10 Series

Series editor Jeffrey WilhelmScholastic Books, 2008

Instead of looking at brain biology to determine why boys and girls take differ-ent approaches to reading, Wilhelm chose to focus on how to encourage new behav-ior. “I looked at what was in our control to address,” he said. That meant getting into the heads of the boys in his study. Wilhelm had the boys keep logs of their reading behavior throughout the day and take interest sur-

veys laced with literacy op-tions to see what they liked to read. He asked them to think aloud into a voice re-corder as they read, record-ing their thoughts and reac-tions. And he wrote profiles of boys embracing different types of literacy and noted

the reactions of his study subjects. “I found things that were true of each kid across all data sets,” Wilhelm said, includ-ing boys living in poverty and comfort, and from several different ethnic backgrounds. What he found was that boys read to get things done more than just for pleasure. “Boys need to be engaged,” Wilhelm said. “They don’t read to please others, and they are less patient.” The good news was that by developing interesting material aimed at engaging boys, girls – who tend to be less picky about what they read – would be helped as well. And top-ics that appeal to elementary school children often also interest teenagers and adults. “We don’t really change as we age,” Wilhelm said. “We want reading to matter and be interesting. We want it to be fun and to provoke us. We want it to develop our identities and competence. I still read as if I were a middle school reader.”

Developing the Series To develop his series, Wilhelm created a template, helped identify 100 interesting topics based on curriculum areas and re-

cruited writers. Many of those writers were participants in the Boise State Writing Proj-ect, founded by Wilhelm to improve writing and literacy teaching in K-12 education. He then held workshops to instruct the writers, about 90 total, on the template and writing style. Each penned one or more books and Wilhelm edited the series. While some writers relied on historical records, journals and contemporary litera-ture, some also involved their audience in the work. For instance, Wilhelm’s wife Peggy Jo wrote The 10 Most Innovative Bands while working as a music teacher at Foothills School of Arts and Sciences in Boise. She involved her music history class in selecting which bands should be included. In fact, students are invited to be part of the process for each book. Every title includes a section at the end that lists the criteria used to select that book’s “10” and asks, “What do you think?” Readers are encouraged to agree or disagree with the list and to consider other possibilities. Wilhelm currently is involved in an-other series of books aimed at students in grades 4-6. Books will tackle 10 social ac-tion topics: nutrition, water, identity, new media ethics, children’s rights, poverty, media bias, economy/finance, climate change and sustainable energy. As with The 10 books, these will build on topics that already are part of existing curriculum – the common core state standards – and mainly target boys. The first book in Wilhelm’s new series, titled You Are What You Eat, and That’s Big Bad News, was written with his daughter, who was a high school senior at the time. It examines the problem of obesity as it relates to nutrition, the “supersize” culture and more. “Boys will say ‘what will I learn from this’ or ‘what can I do with it,’ “ Wilhelm said. “This series will attempt to make them want to read, think and then act.”

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Many of the authors of The 10 series have been participants in the Boise State Writing Project, founded by Wilhelm to improve writing and literacy teaching in K-12 education.

The 100 books in Wilhelm’s series are designed to capture boys’ attention.

PHOTO BY JOHN KELLY

EXPLORE—2011 | 33

EXPLORING HUMANITYTHROUGH NATURE’S LENS

A collection of essays edited by Spanish professor Adrian Taylor Kane hopes to take Latin American litera-ture to a new level, where place and its relationship to humanity can be more thoroughly explored. As the title suggests, the essays examine literatures from the perspective of ecocriticism. This field involves exploring ecological values, human perceptions of nature and how they have changed throughout history, and whether or not current environmental issues are accu-rately represented or even mentioned in written works. Until recently, ecocriticism was used primarily to ad-dress works written only in English. Kane’s edited anthol-ogy of 11 essays moves the conversation toward Latin American literature. “Imagery of the natural world has played an impor-tant role in Latin American literature,” he said. “These essays give a sense of the possibilities that ecocriticism holds for the analysis of Latin American culture.” The anthology first takes a historical approach, look-ing at the treatment of nature by four Latin American fiction writers throughout different time periods in the 20th century. It then tackles environmental utopias, a common theme in Latin American works. Finally, the es-says address groups that traditionally don’t have a voice within society, offering glimpses into the oppression of both nature and marginalized groups. “What binds these essays together is the conviction that analyzing the role of nature can help us better un-derstand unique cultures and the human-nature relation-ships within them,” Kane said. — Sherry Squires

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The Natural World in Latin American Literatures: Ecocritical Essays on Twentieth Century Writings

Edited by Adrian Taylor KaneMcFarland & CompanyInc., 2010

“Imagery of the natural world has played an important role in Latin American literature.“

— Adrian Taylor Kane

ILLUMINATING THE LIVESOF ‘INVISIBLE MEN’

History professor Joanne Klein’s latest book provides a unique window into working-class England from the turn of the 20th century to the outbreak of World War II, as seen through the eyes of everyday police constables. Drawing on a vast archive of previously overlooked police records, Invisible Men: The Secret Lives of Police Constables in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham 1900-1939 enlightens readers not only about the situations and people the police came across on their foot patrols, but also the social dynamics, politics and pressures that impacted them as individuals. While Klein used surviving records such as disciplin-ary reports and the personal notebooks of the constables themselves, she is quick to point out that Invisible Men is not a wonkish work about policing policy. Nor is it a romantic look at that quintessentially English literary icon, the detective. “It’s about how common constables went about their jobs and lives day after day,” said Klein, whose work and research interests center on the history of the working classes. “We never hear about what it was like for them to walk the streets or what their lives were like at home. I wanted to tell that story.” One of the things that surprised Klein most was dis-covering how “chatty” her research subjects were. “They talked to everyone in the streets, in pubs, everywhere. That’s probably part of the reason they were good cops, but you just don’t think of men like this being such talkers. They were.” — Mike Journee

Invisible Men: The Secret Lives of Police Constables in Liv-erpool, Manchester and Birmingham 1900-1939

By Joanne KleinLiverpool UniversityPress, 2010

“We never hear about what it was like for them to walk the streets or what their lives were like at home. I wanted to tell that story.“

— Joanne Klein

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BRINGING THEATRE HISTORYTO CENTER STAGE

For Leslie Durham, theatre is a vibrant, living art form, populated throughout its history by engaging and engaged artists. Thus the deliberate dual pronunciation of her theatre history textbook title, Theatre Lives. Durham, interim chair of the Department of Theatre Arts, said the title is meant to evoke the connection be-tween those who create and experience theatre and the vitality of the discipline as an active art form. The book examines the creative processes, training, unique per-spectives and influence of actors, directors, writers and other artists past and present. “It is important for students to see their work in a broader context,” Durham said. “What they are doing has deep roots. I hope they will come to appreciate that as they move through their careers.” Durham partnered with Sally Shedd, a colleague from graduate school who currently is a theatre professor at Virginia Wesleyan College, to create the book. Together they looked at what was missing from the current litera-ture that would help make the topic more applicable to emerging artists. “Most books have theatre history in one section, and the work of actors and directors in another,” Durham said. “Until now, I had been cobbling this together on my own. I wanted to make history come alive and help my stu-dents see it as relevant.” For instance, a section on Greek theatre looks at the work of the playwright, while subsequent chapters focus on specific artists who proved to be essential to other periods. Durham currently is working on a book titled Strictly Prohibited: Women’s Voices on New York Stages in the 2009-2010 Season, which analyzes the work of important female playwrights. — Kathleen Tuck

Theatre Lives: An Introduction to Theatre

By Leslie Atkins Durhamand Sally H. Shedd

Kendall Hunt Publishers, 2009

“I wanted to make history come alive and help my students see it as relevant.“

— Leslie Durham

MAKING THE CASE FORARCHITECTURAL ICONS

For history professor and preservationist Todd Shallat, architecture is memory and civic identity. A skyline, in many ways, defines its city. That’s the premise behind Quintessential Boise: An Architectural Journey, a visual and intellectual tour through the architectural icons that make Boise, Idaho, unique. Penned by Charles Hummel, a lifelong designer of Boise buildings, and Tim Woodward, a longtime Boise journalist and native, Quintessential Boise was the first publication of Boise State’s Idaho Metropolitan Research Series, which explores urban-rural concerns that compli-cate regional planning. “Architecture is the dialogue between generations that translates form into space,” said Shallat, who co- edited the book and serves as director of Boise State’s Center for Idaho History and Politics. “A plea for smart-growth planning, the book highlights the urban issues that vex metropolitan growth and points out the build-ings and streets that define Boise and make it livable.” Released in spring 2010, Quintessential Boise offers a five-star system for understanding authentic streetscapes, commentary on architectural traditions and styles, and analysis of growth and transportation pat-terns. It includes top-shelf photography, both contempo-rary and historic; art prints from the City of Boise’s collec-tion; history and maps of neighborhood sub-regions; and personal reflections on downtown’s urban renewal. “This book is dedicated to the proposition that streets and their buildings are keys to the life of a city and that good architecture, like good books, should engage the public in readable and provocative ways,” said Melissa Lavitt, dean of the College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs and editor of the Idaho Metropolitan Research Series. — Mike Journee

Quintessential Boise: An Architectural Journey

By Charles Hummel and Tim WoodwardEdited by Todd Shallat and Jeanne HuffIdaho Metropolitan Research Series, 2010

“Architecture is the dialogue be-tween generations that translates form into space.“

— Todd Shallat

R arely does one get a glimpse into the forma-tive thoughts and intel-

lect of one of the world’s legendary writers. Thanks to Melville’s Marginalia Online, new insight into American icon Herman Melville and his work is surfacing more than a century after his death. English professor Steven Olsen-Smith, a nationally rec-ognized expert on Melville’s life and writings, is the driving force behind the interac-tive website devoted to the marginalia of the 19th century author famous for penning

such classics as Moby-Dick and Billy Budd. Marginalia, the formal term for notes and an-notations made in the mar-gins of books, can hold great value for scholars because it provides a window into the thought processes and interests of the person who scrawled the notes. In the case of Melville, a self-educat-ed writer with an extensive personal library, the margina-lia provides new opportuni-ties to research Melville’s life and legacy.

“Everyone thinks of Melville as someone who has been thoroughly researched,” Olsen-Smith said. “What more could there be to say? The new information we’ve uncov-ered helps illustrate there is a lot more that remains to be said and found.”

A lifelong fascination Olsen-Smith’s fascination with Melville springs from a deep admiration for his literary contributions and a curiosity about his life. Born in New York

oF a JobBoise state researchers uncover new

knowledge aBout literary icon herman melville

By sHerrY sQUires

“Melville is the quintessential artist, in a sense. He never achieved affluence

but he attained immortality for himself

in literary history.“

— Steven Olsen-Smith

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Whalea

Melville scrawled “Exquisite” in the margins of a page in his copy of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Mosses from an Old Man. Below, “Very curious, and —’ was marked in Melville’s copy of Thomas Warton’s History of English Poetry. Images courtesy Houghton Library, Harvard University.

English professor Steven Olsen-Smith

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City in 1819, Melville’s family fell into poverty. He spent time on whaling vessels and held a number of laborer’s jobs in his lifetime. His books and poetry were most often met with criti-cism. While lack of money pre-cluded opportunities for formal education, Melville essentially educated himself by systemati-cally reading a wide range of challenging books and making notes about what he thought at the time and why. “He’s the quintessential art-ist, in a sense,” Olsen-Smith said. “He never achieved affluence but he attained immortality for himself in literary history.” Olsen-Smith is passing on that appreciation to a new gen-eration of students. He and the four student interns who work on his project read Melville

every week and get together to talk about it — a Dead Poet’s Society-type gathering enjoyed by all. “The students themselves are living the life of the mind here at Boise State, and the experience of working closely with Melville’s reading creates a sense of kinship that affirms and encourages their efforts,” Olsen-Smith said.

Illuminating the past Olsen-Smith and his students are using high-tech software to bring the margi-nalia Melville left in books by authors ranging from Shake-speare to Milton back to life – even notes that had been erased and thought lost forever. Their groundbreaking work, along with supporting work

by scholars at other research institutions, is now accessible to everyone at melvillesmarginalia.org. The website’s interactive format allows users to view im-ages of Melville’s notes and read explanatory text about their significance. While scholars around the world have long consulted Melville’s library of books as part of their studies, the work of the Boise State team has added new knowledge. “Our extended research has allowed us to rec-ognize dimensions of evidence that other researchers have missed,” said Olsen-Smith. For example, when Mel-ville’s copy of The Natural History of the Sperm Whale by Thomas Beale was found in the 1930s, most of the mar-ginalia had been erased. But

Melville penned the above inscription in his copy of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s The Conduct of Life. The inscription “Alas!”, below, is found in Melville’s copy of Edward Fitzgerald’s Polonius. Melville autographed his copy of Thomas Moore’s Poetical Works, opposite page. Images courtesy Houghton Library, Harvard University. Full citations listed in the online version of Explore at boisestate.edu/research.

CARRIE QUINNEY PHOTO

English professor Steven Olsen-Smith, left, and student Joshua Preminger, right, photograph a page from Dante’s The Divine Comedy that Her-man Melville has marked and anno-tated. Student Eric Austin, center, also is working on the project.

reSearCh Spotlight

Research a powerful enginefor economic growth In today’s challenging economic climate, the question “What’s the return on my investment?” has particular reso-nance. This is true for universities as well as for business and industry, as we consider whether the activities we’re pursuing today will help lead to economic growth and improved quality of life in the years ahead. I believe an investment in research offers solid divi-dends for the future. By enriching the academic environ-ment and expanding faculty-student interactions, research plays a central role in the university’s mission of prepar-ing its students to excel in the workplace and in life. By creating new knowledge that can in turn be used to create new products and services, research leads to new jobs and opens new doors. By addressing major medical and tech-nological challenges, research makes it possible to devel-op new drugs, treatments and technologies that enhance quality of life. This is not to say that all research leads directly to economic development, any more than every manuscript leads to a bestseller or every prototype leads to a new product line. Instead, it is a key that opens windows of op-portunity that otherwise would remain shuttered. Technology transfer, the process of moving an idea or invention through the many steps required to bring it to the marketplace, is a major focus of this issue of Explore. I hope our article on pages 10-17 has provided you with some new insights about this dynamic process and Boise State’s equally dynamic landscape of creative people and projects. The “creative currency” generated by Boise State research will increase in value in the years ahead. That’s good news for all of us, and for the state in which we live.

— MARK RUDIN, VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH

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EXPLORE—2011 | 37

an enhanced version of the book on Melville’s Marginalia Online allows users to trace Melville’s description of a dy-ing whale in Moby-Dick, first published in 1851, back to his reading of Beale’s book. The manuscript of Moby-Dick is not known to sur-vive, so the evidence brings scholars as close as they can come to the artistic practices behind the book. “The erased notes show

that Melville read source ma-terial with a predisposition toward simile and metaphor,” said Olsen-Smith, noting that in the Beale book Melville compared a whale’s dying spout to a declining fountain, and the fights of rival bull sperm whales to conflicts in Greek mythology between gods and mortals.

Analyzing marginalia Olsen-Smith’s team plans to analyze the marginalia in other books that survive from Melville’s library, scan each page for the website and explain the links between the marginalia and Melville’s own works. The site went live in 2006, but a newly unveiled version allows users to thumb through Melville’s works page by page and access a fully searchable catalog of books

and marginalia. The task of analyz-ing the marginalia in Melville’s personal library will likely take years, both because of the size of the col-lection and the fact that only a fraction of the books so far have been recovered. To date, 285 of the estimated 1,000 books have been found. Olsen-Smith is the pri-mary scholar respon-sible for tracking the recovery of Melville’s dispersed collection. “A great deal of technical work goes

into getting one of the Melville works online,” said Joshua Preminger,

who recently graduated with degrees in philosophy and English literature. “Working so closely with works personally marked and annotated by my favorite author has taught me a great deal about his interests as a thinker, his writing pro-cess, and afforded invaluable insight into the complexity and meaning of his work.”

Herman Melville, as portrayed by artist Joseph O.Eaton, 1870. Courtesy Houghton Library, Harvard University.

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