SWU Division of Science

10/03/2026

Let's go, girls!!

Back on the road!

Women's Soccer travels to Belmont, NC to take on the Belmont Abbey Crusaders at noon today

📊: bit.ly/32dsCMZ
📺: bit.ly/3ATW9Kd

10/02/2026

They survived the obstacle course. Mostly. 😅💪

Dr. Beth Stuart’s Criminal Justice and Forensic Science students put themselves to the test this week, tackling an agility course designed to challenge endurance, coordination, determination, and maybe a few stomachs. 😂

Everyone worked hard. A few got sick. A few discovered exactly where they need to improve. And Dr. Stuart finished the day like she was taking a stroll in a park…at least those have been the rumors about the legend. 😎

It was challenging, messy, exhausting—and exactly the kind of hands-on experience that students tend to remember.

But what did the whole course actually look like? 👀

Come back Monday. We have video. 🥳😜🤩

10/02/2026

One rule of field ecology: keep your eyes open. 👀🐍🦎

While Dr. Mohr’s students were exploring the mountains of the Carolinas, a few of the locals decided to make an appearance. Along the way, the class encountered an eastern fence lizard, a copperhead, and a garter snake—each giving students a chance to see wildlife exactly where it belongs: in the field.

You can talk about habitat, elevation, behavior, and ecology in a classroom. It gets a whole lot more interesting when something suddenly starts moving beside the trail.

Sometimes the best part of a field trip isn’t on the itinerary.

10/01/2026

Congratulations to Faith Paxton, an Exercise Science major in the SWU Class of 2026, on her acceptance to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Master of Science in Physician Assistant Program! 🎉🩺 We’re excited to celebrate this next step in Faith’s journey and can’t wait to see what she accomplishes in the PA profession!

09/30/2026

Sometimes field biology means looking down at what’s under your feet. At Sassafras Mountain, it meant looking up. 🦅🔭

During their recent field day, Dr. Mohr’s students had the opportunity to visit with volunteers conducting a hawk watch at Sassafras Mountain. Students learned how observers monitor migrating raptors, identify birds moving through the region, and contribute observations that help us better understand migration.

It was a great chance to see that field science doesn’t always require a laboratory—or even handling an animal. Sometimes it means patience, careful observation, good data, and a really nice view.

09/29/2026

Dr. Beth Stuart is at it again… and apparently class prep now includes power tools. 😄🔨

Dr. Stuart and her husband, Glenn, spent some time building one of the obstacles for an agility course that Criminal Justice and Forensic Science students will tackle soon. Judging by the construction process, this is going to be a little more involved than your average day in the classroom. 👀

And this is only one obstacle. More challenges—and, more importantly, videos of the students attempting them—are coming soon.

Stay tuned. Things are about to get interesting. 🏃‍♂️💨🚧

09/28/2026

🏎️💨 Physics meets the Dune Buggy Challenge!

Dr. Grogan’s Physics I students put 2D kinematics to work with a challenge that required more than just knowing the equations. They had to make the equations actually do something.

The goal: use horizontal and vertical kinematic equations to determine exactly when to release an object so the moving dune buggy would be in the right place at the right time. Calculate the motion. Time the drop. Hope the physics checks out. 🎯

It’s a great demonstration of one of the coolest parts of projectile motion: horizontal and vertical motion can be analyzed independently, but they have to come together perfectly to hit the target.

Equations on paper are one thing. Hitting a moving dune buggy is another. 😎

09/27/2026

How much ecology can you fit into one Sunday? Apparently, quite a bit. 🏔️🌲

Dr. Mohr’s Ecology students traded the classroom for a full day in the field, traveling from SWU into the mountains and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. From Sassafras Mountain to Devil’s Courthouse, Black Balsam K**b, Looking Glass Falls, and Caesars Head, every stop offered a different look at how elevation, topography, moisture, and habitat shape the natural world.

Miles traveled. Mountains climbed. Waterfalls investigated. Critters encountered. And a whole lot of ecology experienced instead of simply talked about.

That’s a pretty good day of class.

09/23/2026

🎓 Natural Science Seminar Series is back!

We kicked off our first Natural Science Seminar of the semester last Friday with Shannon Curtis, an engineer with Honeywell! ⚙️

Shannon shared her career journey with our students and showed how the versatility of a STEM degree can open doors to opportunities and career paths you may never have anticipated. It was a great morning of learning, asking questions, and seeing how a strong science background can translate into the professional world.

A big thank you to Shannon for spending the morning with us and helping us start this semester’s seminar series on such a great note! 👏🎓. And thanks to Professor Fort for the connections and snagging this great speaker!

09/17/2026

🎯. Students in Dr. Grogan’s Physics I put 2D kinematics to the test with a demonstration that looks like it should have a trick hiding somewhere. Spoiler: it’s just physics. 😎

The launcher simultaneously drops one steel ball while projecting an identical ball horizontally from the same height. One ball falls straight down. The other travels across the room while it falls. Yet both hit the ground at the same time. 🤯

Why? Gravity accelerates both balls downward at the same rate. The horizontal velocity of the launched ball changes where it lands, but not how long gravity takes to pull it to the floor. The slow-motion videos make the result especially satisfying to watch.

Sometimes the best way to understand physics is to see the equations happen right in front of you. 🧪📐