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GCU MAGAZ I NE • 25
What is exciting about these topics — and about
17 more like them— isn’t that students and
faculty at Grand Canyon University are posing
such questions. It’s how they will attempt to
arrive at the answers that is of major significance.
In the dawning of a new era, GCU’s College
of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET)
this fall will establish, for the first time, scientific
research on campus.
“One of the things I was brought here to do
was to revisit the idea of whether we could build a
research capability for the faculty and students,”
said CSET Assistant Dean Jon Valla, who came to
GCU in June 2015 after working at Midwestern
University in Glendale, Ariz., and Barrow
Neurological Institute in Phoenix.
The resounding answer, Valla learned, was
yes. Once it was proposed, science faculty and
students began flocking to the fledgling program.
The reasons are clear. Promoting a research
capability in the sciences gives GCU students
an edge in applying for medical and graduate
programs. They can also dig deeply into subjects
they care about and strive for outcomes that
make a difference in the world.
“This also improves the scientific reputation as
well as the overall reputation of the University,”
Valla said.
About 20 projects proposed by science faculty
and students have been approved to start this
semester. Valla said dozens of students have
applied for the extracurricular projects.
“The students are so hungry,” he said.
The research is in addition to work performed
at GCU’s Center for Innovation in Research and
Teaching (CIRT), which publishes the Journal of
Instructional Research (JIR) online.
The research opportunities, however, do
not detract from GCU’s superior reputation
as a “teaching university” in which faculty
responsibilities are first and foremost to
instruct students.
“We will continue to be a teaching university
first, but now we will be a teaching university
with a research capability,” Valla said.
Here are some examples of what is being
explored:
Environmental sustainability:
Dr. Randhir
Prakash Deo, a CSET professor, has conducted
extensive research on the impact of contaminants
in the environment, and several projects he plans
to explore will utilize his expertise.
A project he is leading will research the
effects of certain pharmaceuticals after they pass
through humans into the environment.
“Wastewater is not able to degrade these
stubborn chemicals,” Deo said.
In addition to monitoring, calculating a risk
assessment and creating a remediation plan,
Deo intends for students to take the scientific
process a step further and propose action
strategies for change.
“This is unique,” he said. “There could be laws
written, stricter regulation and a charge created
to clean the environment.”
Phytoremediation:
Deo is teaming
with CSET professor Dr. Neal Adam on a
phytoremediation project to research the use
of plants to cut down on pollution and assess
environmental health.
“Some grasses are good at removing
heavy metals from the soil,” Adam said. “A
first step in our program would be to see if
we can produce similar results in this area.
Then, more importantly for our project,
would be to test to see if plants actually take
up pharmaceutical compounds. Can plants
remove pharmaceutical contaminants from
the soil/water solution?”
Firefighter wellness:
Goodyear (Ariz.) Fire
Captain Branden Husky and Donna Gerakos, a
CSET assistant professor, already are hard at work
investigating a curriculum to improve the health
and decrease the injury rates of firefighters.
A 21-year firefighting veteran, Husky has
witnessed first-hand the kinds of problems that
put firefighters out of commission.
Back injuries are number one, Husky said,
followed by knee and shoulder injuries, heart
disease and crashes to and from scenes.
“The top four we can do something about,”
said Husky, who is enrolled in GCU’s exercise
science degree with a sports performance
emphasis.
“Until now, I never thought of firefighters as
athletes,” Gerakos said.
Gerakos has been meeting with Husky
throughout the summer to develop the
strengthening and conditioning program.
They have a goal: to teach the first class in
September at the Arizona State Fire School.
*****
The first research projects are focused
on biology and chemistry, Valla said, but
engineering, IT and computer science soon
will follow.
“The hope is that other colleges will follow
the same model,” Valla said.
He stressed that the Christian ethic will be
alive and well in research.
“The application of the Christian ethic
to the practice of research is critically
important,” he said.
How helpful are certain plants in cleaning toxins from soil?
Will 3D printing technology eventually create anatomical replacements?
Can a fitness curriculum help firefighters prevent injuries?
Goodyear (Ariz.) Fire Captain Branden Husky (left)
and Donna Gerakos, a CSET assistant professor