Pictured are Ryan Moore and Janelle Williams.

(COLUMBIA, Tenn. - Jan. 5, 2015) - On Nov. 21, a group of professors and students from Columbia State Community College participated in the Tennessee Academy of Science's annual meeting held at Walters State Community College in Morristown.

Columbia State's faculty members who attended included Mandy Carter-Lowe, associate professor of biology; Glenn Hudson, associate professor of mathematics; Karen Kendall-Fite, associate professor of biology; and Angela Malone, associate professor of biology.

Columbia State students, Ryan Moore and Janelle Williams, recognized for their hard work on class projects, were encouraged by their professors to participate in the student presentation portion at the TAS meeting.

Williams' project came from a linear algebra course she took in the spring. The objective of the project was to research and write about the usage of linear algebra concepts in various technological fields.

"Janelle chose the inclusion of CT scan technology that incorporates certain aspects of the concepts from linear algebra," Hudson said.

Williams, a recent Columbia State graduate, has already begun studies at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in industrial engineering with a minor in business.

Moore's project was a special assignment given to him by Hudson, in which Moore worked towards including math and science courses in a math-science software system. The basic approach allowed the complete range of higher level math and physics/engineering courses taught at Columbia State to be placed into a single-menu driven, course-contained package for the students to access. His results were used throughout the fall semester and will be implemented in future semesters.

"The package is the first of its kind for any higher level math/science computer system for our courses," Hudson said.

Moore is majoring in math and engineering and anticipates graduating in May 2015.

The yearly TAS meetings give the opportunity to present and learn about research in Tennessee as well as to interact with other science professionals. The 102-year-old academy discusses such topics as botany, geology, physics, zoology and psychology.