By Jenna Renaud

Word of the Week: Type II Fun 

Maybe you’re thinking, “I know what fun is,” but did you know that there are different types of fun?  

Type II fun usually feels terrible while you’re doing it, like climbing up a mountain in the freezing cold, running an ultra-marathon, or standing in line at Disney World in the blazing sun, but when it’s over, your memory erases the miserable parts, and you would do it again for fun.  

This is all based on the “fun scale,” typically used by outdoor enthusiasts. You can read more about it in this article from REI. But in summary the other types of fun are: 

Type I Fun – Enjoyable when it’s happening. Simply fun. Eating good food with good friends. Celebrating birthdays or holidays with family. Movie nights.  

Type III Fun – Not actually fun at all. While you’re doing it or in retrospect. Maybe you’re waiting for the Type II fun effect to hit, but it never does. 

For many people, Type II fun is the sweet spot. It’s challenging but isn’t actually putting your life at risk. With finals right around the corner, consider planning some Type II adventures for this summer. 

This Week at Falvey  

NOW–Wednesday, Jun. 15th  

“That Fairyland of Ice”: Polar Exploration in Mind and Memory Exhibit | Falvey First Floor & Virtual | Free & Open to the Public 

Tuesday, April 19th  

Polar Voyaging and the Humanities | 4–5 p.m. | Virtual | https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849 

Wednesday, April 20th   

2022 Falvey Forum Workshop Series: Capturing the Web – Introduction to Web Archiving | 12–1 p.m. | Virtual | Register Here 

“The Politics of the Irish Harp Symbol from Henry VIII to Brexit” Lecture & Harp Performance with Mary Louise O’Donnell | 4 p.m. | Speakers’ Corner | Learn More Here 

Thursday, April 21st 

2022 Literary Festival: Tiphanie Yanique | 7–8:30 p.m. | Speakers’ Corner | Free & Open to the Public | Find more info here 

Friday, April 22nd  

Villanova Gaming Society Meeting | 2:30–4:30 p.m. | Speakers’ Corner | Free & Open to the Public 

2022 Falvey Scholars Virtual Research Presentation and Awards Ceremony | 10 a.m. | Virtual | Register Here 

2022 Concept Virtual Recognition Ceremony | 1–2 p.m. | Virtual | Register Here 

This Week in History 

April 22nd, 1970 – First Earth Day was celebrated 

Earth Day is an annual event used to demonstrate support for environmental protection and bring awareness to a wide range of environmental issues. 2022 marks the 52nd celebration of the holiday.  

Earth Day was started by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, an environmentalist who wanted to increase awareness and provide unity to the environmental movement. “The objective was to get a nationwide demonstration of concern for the environment so large that it would shake the political establishment out of its lethargy,” Senator Nelson said, “and, finally, force this issue permanently onto the national political agenda.” 

Earth Day has contributed to the passage of the Clean Water and Endangered Species Act. Each year the holiday is recognized by 192 different countries. 

Read more from History.com. 

Jenna Renaud is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.

BY SHAWN PROCTOR

Welcome to part 6 of a 7-part series featuring the 2021 Falvey Scholars. Read more about them every Monday and in the upcoming issue of Mosaic: the Library’s bi-annual publication.

Falvey Memorial Library is honored to announce the 2021 Falvey Scholar award winners. We will showcase the research of our eight young alumni on the blog and in the fall issue of Mosaic.

Sponsored by the Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships, the Falvey Scholars program recognizes outstanding undergraduate research at Villanova University. Award winners are selected from a pool of candidates generated by applications submitted by a senior Villanova University student or a group of students working on a senior project together with the recommendation of the advisor to the senior thesis or capstone project completed for academic credit.

View the 2021 Falvey Scholars Awards virtual booklet.

Researcher Brief

Falvey Scholar: Nicholas Yoo

Hometown: Orange, Conn.

Other Honors: Villanova First Year Match Program Grant; Villanova Undergraduate Research Fellows (VURF) Grant; Oak Ridge National Lab Visiting Faculty Program–Student Grant; Villanova Small Research Grant

Project Title: “The Atomic Interaction between Polymers and Two-Dimensional Materials”

Faculty Mentor: Bo Li, PhD, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering

Learn about Nicholas’ research in his own words:

Tell me about your Falvey Scholar Award-winning research project.

Nanomaterials are an exciting kind of new material that we’ve been researching, because this has so many applications for many fields. First, a literature search was performed in the field of polymers and 2-D nanomaterials to find a foundation and build our own novel ideas from there.

Building off past work, Dr. Li and I formulated an experimental plan to grow polymer structures on the surface of MoSe2. The MoSe2 samples were analyzed with high class equipment such as a Raman spectrometer and atomic force microscope before and after polymer growth to determine which characteristics of the material affected it.

We also cross-referenced our data with data found in literature to check for any irregularities in our samples that may have occurred during experimentation. The experimental procedure was also modified a few times to better control the polymer growth. This was done through a combination of trial and error and literature review.

How did Falvey Memorial Library support your research?

Falvey was crucial to being able to complete the project. Using online databases, I was able to access almost any article I wanted for free. I built the foundations of the entire project using the articles I was able to access through the Library. I designed my own experiment after learning which solvents promoted the most controllable growth, the temperature range for growth, etc.

I continued to use the Library’s resources throughout the project to compare our results to past work and understand more of the work that already has been done in the field. The Library helped me understand the existing work done in the field of polymers and nanomaterials and pursue a novel direction to further the field.

What impact did this project have on you? And what’s next for you?

I learned how to write papers and create poster presentations as well as the day-to-day work of a researcher. I want to go to graduate school to pursue a doctorate in chemical engineering and potentially conduct more research in the field of nanomaterials.

Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communications and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library.

By Shawn Proctor

Villanova “Wild Facts”

In Their Own Words

By Shawn Proctor

Villanova “Wild Facts”

Project Title: “Spatial analysis of heavy metals in marsh soils and ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) from Plum Island Estuary, MA”

Mentor: Nathaniel Weston, PhD, Associate Professor

In Her Own Words

For my senior thesis project, I analyzed the spatial distribution heavy metal concentrations in marsh soils and the endemic ribbed mussel geukensia demissa from the Plum Island Estuary in Massachusetts. This estuary is an intertidal riverine marsh with freshwater inputs and is the largest expanse of salt marsh in the Northeast.

After field collection, I hot acid digested samples and analyzed for metal content on an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer.

Overall, I found that soils did show decreasing trends with increasing distance from the fresh, river inputs.  On the other hand, the metal concentration in mussels was not described by soil concentrations and did not show a clear spatial pattern. Mussels were likely more influenced by size and would likely be more indicative of the metal in suspended sediment than in surficial sediment.

Falvey’s Impact on Her Work:

Over the course of my four years at Villanova, Falvey has been a huge help in my academics, from study spaces to staff to Holy Grounds coffee. By simply keeping the library operating and clean the staff has helped everyone in their research and academic experience. Over the course of my work on this project, I met with Librarian Alfred Fry to guide my literature search for both background reading and writing purposes. Being able to meet with someone in the library who specializes in scientific literature review is a very powerful resource.

In this online era, being able to navigate the internet for credible sources is extremely important. Falvey’s resources make it incredibly easy to search for articles and academic journals either directly through its website or through a number of databases. The wide range of databases, journals and publishers that Falvey provides to students is incredibly helpful. I became especially appreciative of all the online resources Falvey provides during this unprecedented time.

The Impact on Her and What’s Next:

By Shawn Proctor

“Wild Facts”

In His Own Words

Lauren Garofalo

Samantha Sandler

Falvey Memorial Library is honored to announce the 2020 Falvey Scholar award winners. Celebrating Villnaova’s Senior Week, we will be showcasing the research of seven seniors each day this week (May 11-16). An annual program, sponsored by Falvey Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships, the Falvey Scholars program recognizes outstanding undergraduate research at Villanova University. The winners of the Falvey Scholar award are selected from a pool of candidates generated by applications submitted by a senior Villanova University student or a group of students working on a senior project together with the recommendation of the advisor to the senior thesis or capstone project completed for academic credit.

While we are saddened to have canceled this year’s in-person awards ceremony, the health and safety of the community in response to the global outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is paramount. As we cannot gather on campus, the 2020 Falvey Scholars have generously prepared short video presentations on their scholarship. Learn more about Falvey Scholar award winners, Lauren Garofalo and Samantha Sandler, in the clip below, and stay tuned for an in-depth profile on Garofalo and Sandler in the coming weeks.

Falvey Scholars: Lauren Garofalo and Samantha Sandler

Project Title: “Evaluation of a Snake Jaw Robot to Teach Integrated Biology, Mathematics, and Engineering”

Mentor: Dr. Deeksha Seth

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library. Regina Duffy is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library.

Falvey Memorial Library is honored to announce the 2020 Falvey Scholar award winners. Celebrating Villanova’s Senior Week, we will be showcasing the research of seven seniors each day this week (May 11-16). An annual program, sponsored by the Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships, the Falvey Scholars program recognizes outstanding undergraduate research at Villanova University. The winners of the Falvey Scholar award are selected from a pool of candidates generated by applications submitted by a senior Villanova University student or a group of students working on a senior project together with the recommendation of the advisor to the senior thesis or capstone project completed for academic credit.

While we are saddened to have canceled this year’s in-person awards ceremony, the health and safety of the community in response to the global outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is paramount. As we cannot gather on campus, the 2020 Falvey Scholars have generously prepared short video presentations on their scholarship. Learn more about Falvey Scholar award winner, Brett Schratz, in the clip below, and stay tuned for an in-depth profile on Schratz in the coming weeks.

Falvey Scholar: Brett Schratz

Project Title: “Rawls on “The Hard Question” for LGBTQ Rights: Are Religious Exemptions Just?”

Mentor: Professor Sally Scholz, PhD

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library. Regina Duffy is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library.

Falvey Memorial Library is honored to announce the 2020 Falvey Scholar award winners. Celebrating Villanova’s Senior Week, we will be showcasing the research of seven seniors each day this week (May 11-16). An annual program, sponsored by the Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships, the Falvey Scholars program recognizes outstanding undergraduate research at Villanova University. The winners of the Falvey Scholar award are selected from a pool of candidates generated by applications submitted by a senior Villanova University student or a group of students working on a senior project together with the recommendation of the advisor to the senior thesis or capstone project completed for academic credit.

While we are saddened to have canceled this year’s in-person awards ceremony, the health and safety of the community in response to the global outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is paramount. As we cannot gather on campus, the 2020 Falvey Scholars have generously prepared short video presentations on their scholarship. Learn more about Falvey Scholar award winner, Josephine Papotto, in the clip below, and stay tuned for an in-depth profile on Papotto in the coming weeks.

Falvey Scholar: Josephine Papotto

Project Title: “Temporal Variability and Spatial Controls on Sediment Chemistry in Three Puerto Rico Watersheds”

Mentor: Associate Professor Steven Goldsmith, PhD

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library. Regina Duffy is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library.

Falvey Memorial Library is honored to announce the 2020 Falvey Scholar award winners. Celebrating Villanova’s Senior Week, we will be showcasing the research of seven seniors each day this week (May 11-16). An annual program, sponsored by the Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships, the Falvey Scholars program recognizes outstanding undergraduate research at Villanova University. The winners of the Falvey Scholar award are selected from a pool of candidates generated by applications submitted by a senior Villanova University student or a group of students working on a senior project together with the recommendation of the advisor to the senior thesis or capstone project completed for academic credit.

While we are saddened to have canceled this year’s in-person awards ceremony, the health and safety of the community in response to the global outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is paramount. As we cannot gather on campus, the 2020 Falvey Scholars have generously prepared short video presentations on their scholarship. Learn more about Falvey Scholar award winner, Gabriella Giordano, in the clip below, and stay tuned for an in-depth profile on Giordano in the coming weeks.

Falvey Scholar: Gabriella Giordano

Project Title: “Spatial analysis of heavy metals in marsh soils and ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) from Plum Island Estuary, MA”

Mentor: Associate Professor Nathaniel Weston, PhD

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library. Regina Duffy is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library.

Falvey Memorial Library is honored to announce the 2020 Falvey Scholar award winners. Celebrating Villanova’s Senior Week, we will be showcasing the research of seven seniors each day this week (May 11-16). An annual program, sponsored by the Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships, the Falvey Scholars program recognizes outstanding undergraduate research at Villanova University. The winners of the Falvey Scholar award are selected from a pool of candidates generated by applications submitted by a senior Villanova University student or a group of students working on a senior project together with the recommendation of the advisor to the senior thesis or capstone project completed for academic credit.

While we are saddened to have canceled this year’s in-person awards ceremony, the health and safety of the community in response to the global outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is paramount. As we cannot gather on campus, the 2020 Falvey Scholars have generously prepared short video presentations on their scholarship. Learn more about Falvey Scholar award winner, Timothy Long, in the clip below, and stay tuned for an in-depth profile on Long in the coming weeks.

Falvey Scholar: Timothy Long

Project Title: “Even the Mercy of the Lord Burns: Violence, Distortion, and Grace in Flannery O’Connor, Jacques Maritain, and Karl Barth”

Mentor: Assistant Professor Helena Tomko, DPhil

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library. Regina Duffy is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library.