Author: Andrew Danielson

Music/Journalism student at Purdue University Fort Wayne. Student Editor of the Summit City Observer.

PFW Graduate Students Lead Wildlife Conservation Efforts in Indiana

By Andrew Danielson / Photos by Lauren Lee and Justin Moore

A species of ground squirrels. A unique camera trap with motion-activated cameras. And the states of California and Rhode Island.

As it turns out, all those items have a lot in common, particularly when it comes to the wildlife biology laboratory of Dr. Scott Bergeson, associate professor of animal biology at Purdue University Fort Wayne in the department of biological sciences.

For over a year, two of Bergeson’s graduate students, Justin Moore, originally from Rhode Island, and Lauren Lee, who hails from California, have been working on separate but complementary research projects focusing on wildlife conservation and management.

Lee, who received her undergraduate degree in biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, is working on a project to survey and identify the variety of small mammal species that exist throughout Indiana.

“The goal is to survey the entire state for small mammals,” Lee said.  

Lee’s mentor, Bergeson, explained that the last time a survey of small mammals in Indiana was completed was around 2007. That means that wildlife conservation officials such as those at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources have no fresh statistics on the health and population figures for small mammals.

Mammals are good indicators of the health of a particular ecosystem. If there is a diverse population of mammals in the area, that ecosystem is probably healthy.

“All of these small mammals and all of the other things help maintain the health of these natural spaces,” Bergeson said. “Even our agriculture would suffer if we didn’t have the natural spaces that help filter the pollutants that would otherwise get into our crops. Everything is connected.”  

Smile – You’re on Camera

Lauren Lee and one of her technicians, CJ Klopfenstein, inspect one of the cameras used in the project
Graduate student Lauren Lee

Lee’s project, which is funded by a $150k grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, is ambitious to say the least. If she were to use traditional trapping methods to conduct her survey, as was done in the 1960s, her project would take many years to complete.

But Lee and Bergeson have a solution: camera technology and upside-down buckets.

Lee explained that she installs “camera traps” on publicly-owned property, at least 100 meters away from any trail or road.

Each camera trap consists of a temporary “wall” made of a plastic material that leads to overturned buckets. An upside-down bucket with entrance holes cut into the bottom houses the actual camera.

The traps don’t use any bait, relying instead on animals’ natural curiosity or scent. When an animal approaches the trap, the “wall” barrier naturally guides them to the hole in the bucket. Once the animal walks into the bucket, their photo is snapped.

The cameras are infrared-equipped and motion activated, so there’s no bright flashes when the camera snaps photos. The lenses used on the camera are designed to provide close-up, magnified views of the animals, providing easier identification of the small furry visitors.

Long-tailed weasel
Southern flying squirrel
Juvenile Virginia Opossum

Lee explained that she currently has 102 camera trap sites, spread across the entire state. To collect the photos taken from her cameras, she has to drive to each site, swap out SD cards in the cameras, and perform maintenance on the site as needed.

From those sites, Lee has collected 1.5 million photos, with hundreds of thousands of photo sequences.

To help collect and process all of that information, Lee is being assisted by two undergraduate technicians and an artificial intelligence software. The AI automatically sorts through the sequences of photos and provides Lee with some basic species identification. She then checks what the artificial intelligence has done, making sure that the identifications are accurate.

“So, the whole idea is that we have this huge database of photos from everywhere and then for the next 100 years we can start mining that data to figure out other sorts of things,” Bergeson said.

A Squirrel’s View on Indiana

Yet another of Bergeson’s graduate students, Justin Moore, is also undertaking an ambitious wildlife conservation project with the assistance of two undergraduate technicians.

Moore, who received his undergraduate degree in wildlife conservation from the University of Rhode Island, is working to help stabilize a population of ground squirrels here in Indiana, called the Franklin’s ground squirrel.

Moore explained that ground squirrels are similar to tree squirrels, but they’re actually separate species with different diets, preferred habitat, and behavior.

According to Moore, Franklin’s used to have a fairly wide range in Indiana. However, due to the loss of prairies across the state, the ground squirrel’s preferred habitat, that population has shrunk to just one natural population in the region.

Franklin’s ground squirrel leaves its burrow in a hay bale

“They are state endangered in Indiana, and they’re declining across most of the Midwest,” Moore said.

Moore’e project, which is also fully funded by a roughly $200k grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, is to help stabilize the Franklin’s population by re-locating healthy specimens from other states to Indiana. His project is a pilot study, so the techniques he is using will help in future re-location projects of either Franklin’s or other small animals that are endangered.

How to Move a Squirrel: Carefully!

Moore explained that, together with his mentor Bergeson, they identified a strong, healthy population of Franklin’s in South Dakota. Moore and Bergeson quickly formed an agreement between wildlife conservation officials in South Dakota and Indiana, enabling them to bring Franklin’s from South Dakota back here to Indiana.

But moving squirrels is no easy task.

“There’s a lot that goes into the trapping to make sure that the squirrels and we [the researchers] are safe,” Moore said.

Handling of a baby Franklin’s ground squirrel
Justin Moore holds a Franklin’s ground squirrel

The capture sites for the squirrels in South Dakota are designed to minimize stress and discomfort to the animals, including routine checks on the traps and special coverings to provide shade to captured animals in the traps.

Researchers receive rabies vaccines before interacting with the animals, and all captured animals are initially handled through special handling cones that keep the squirrels calm and unable to bite the researchers.

Once the animals have been captured, they undergo a thorough process of medical checkups, including treatments for any diseases spread by ticks or lice. A veterinarian check-up and a full 21-day quarantine period are also rigorously followed to ensure that diseased animals are not brought into Indiana.

Once Moore brings the squirrels to Indiana, he releases them into what are called “soft release” enclosures, allowing the newly translocated squirrels to get used to their new habitat before being fully released into their Indiana home.

Moore is assisted by technician CJ Klopfenstein as they collar a Franklin’s ground squirrel

To keep tabs on the squirrel population and its well-being, Moore uses small radio transmitters attached to the Franklin’s that allow him to track their movements using a small receiver and antenna.

The new Franklin’s ground squirrels being brought to Indiana are being released in Newton County on property owned by The Nature Conservancy, a non-profit group that advocates for wildlife conservation.

PFW Biology Students Having National Impact with Research

Both of these research projects are forging new ground in the world of wildlife conservation.

Dr. Bergeson said that Lee’s project has already resulted in a research protocol that is now being shared among various states engaged in wildlife research. That protocol, coupled together with her unique use of artificial intelligence, will provide other researchers with tools and techniques needed in today’s field of wildlife conservation.

Moore’s project is also making inroads into the field of wildlife conservation.

As he talked about his project, Moore said that the project will hopefully result in Franklin’s populations stabilizing. That means the population will, one day, grow strong enough to be removed from the state endangered classification.

And these projects are already paying dividends for their researchers, as Moore, Lee, and their technicians, all gain conservation experience from their projects.  

“I feel like any new experience with any kind of wildlife is really, really cool,” Lee said.

Moore agrees with that view.

“I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” he summarized.

It’s a win-win situation for Lee, Moore, and their two undergraduate research technicians who assist them with their projects. They all gain valuable research experience and the opportunities to do future projects or write and publish their findings in research journals.

For the undergraduate technicians, the field research training they are gaining will help them strengthen their potential future applications to graduate school.

But perhaps the greatest benefit these projects are providing is the effect they have on wildlife conservation.

Bergeson said that projects like Lee’s camera traps and Moore’s squirrel translocations are having valuable impacts on Indiana’s conservation efforts.

“Our lab has actual impacts on that, which is super cool,” Bergeson said.  

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Star*Quest Observatory Helps Northeast Indiana Reach for the Stars

By Andrew Danielson

Just to the east of New Haven, Indiana, resides a window to the cosmos: the Fort Wayne Astronomical Society’s Star*Quest Observatory.

Located at 1730 South Webster Road, the Star*Quest Observatory houses telescopes and advanced technology that allow the user to gaze into the heavens with an unblinking eye.

“We are very pleased with the operation,” Gene Stringer said.

Stringer, a long-time member of the Fort Wayne Astronomical Society, led the society’s campaign to build the new Star*Quest Observatory, a modern facility packed with incredible technology.

Photo Credit: Russell Ainslie (Reproduction: Facebook)

The design process of the observatory includes an interesting anecdote tying the facility to local educational institution: Students from PFW’s (then IPFW) School of Structural Engineering assisted in creating a design for the new observatory.

Additionally, professors from both IPFW and Ball State University joined FWAS members and other committee volunteers to choose a final observatory design from architectural firms.

The final design for Star*Quest is what Stringer calls a “delta wing” design.

The building includes two main sections. The front section has swept-back “wings,” with room for up to four telescopes. A control room with additional technology and items makes up the other portion of the observatory.

To facilitate easy sky viewing down to the horizon, the delta-wing sections of the observatory split apart. The roof rolls backward in two different sections via tracks, allowing an uninterrupted view of the heavens for much of the sky.

In addition to the new 16” telescope, Star*Quest also hosts a large computer with 7 terabytes of data storage, computer monitors, and other equipment, as well as the society’s original 12.5” telescope.

The new computer technology, made possible by an approximately $15,000 grant from the Foellinger Foundation, allows the FWAS to host a variety of visitors, including school groups, and offer a diverse array of educational programming.

One of those items of high-tech gear Stringer mentioned was what he called a “spectroscope,” a device that enables scientific research with the telescope by splitting incoming starlight into its composite “spectra.”

“A spectroscope is one of the prime instruments that every observatory wants to have in order to do scientific work,“ Stringer explained. “Most of what we have learned about the sky has been through the use of the spectroscope in order to understand what it is we’ve been looking at.”

According to the Center for Astrophysics, analyzing the spectrum of light and the various colors of that spectra can provide great insight into celestial objects.

“The specific colors and relative amounts of each color reveal information about temperature, what atoms are present, and the speed of the astronomical object being observed, which reveals the distances to far-off galaxies,” the center states.

Star*Quest Observatory and Its Predecessors

Star*Quest has its roots with the origins of the society and their original observatories.

Stringer said that the Fort Wayne Astronomical Society (abbreviated FWAS) began in the mid-1950s. In 1959, the society was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization with 60 original members.

Shortly after the founding of the society, two members of the organization, Glenn Harnishfeger and Maurice Crow, led efforts to build a 12.5” Newtonian-style telescope and observatory for use by the society.

The new members document for the society records that the original observatory and telescope were completed in 1963.

Stringer said that the location of that first observatory is now the site of a grocery store, located off of Lima Road.

The FWAS’ website mentions that the society moved their observatory and telescope in the 1970s to a new location in Fox Island County Park which had been a Christmas tree farm in its prior life.

At that point in time, any trees on the former Christmas tree farm were only a few feet tall, and the society enjoyed great viewing conditions with low levels of light pollution and good views to the horizon.

However, over a 30-year period, the trees on the site grew up, gradually blocking the views of the observatory. This meant that celestial objects that the society wanted to view with their telescope, such as some select planets, were blocked by the growing trees.

In the mid 2000s, the FWAS undertook a project to find a new location for their observatory and telescopes.

“We started the project to build the observatory in 2006,” recounted Stringer, who served as the project manager for the Star*Quest Observatory project.

That project was complicated, as it included finding a new observatory site, fundraising and building a new observatory with modern technological equipment, and getting the word out about the new site to the public.

The FWAS found a new location for their future observatory in Jefferson Township Park. The park provides several desirable characteristics for astronomical observing, including fairly dark skies and clear views down to the horizon of celestial objects.

But a new location was only one of the challenges facing the society. A new observatory required funding.

Stringer said that the FWAS raised approximately $250,000 to build the new, modern observatory, which was completed and opened to the public in 2017.

Named the “Star*Quest” observatory, the facility sports up-to-date technology.

The new members’ document mentions the society’s new 16” Meade RCX400 telescope, which now is the primary telescope for the FWAS. The telescope is equipped with a GPS receiver as well as a 100,000+ object computer database of celestial objects.

Star*Quest Observatory Offers Educational Opportunities

But the new observatory and its technological muscle are available for more than just researchers or FWAS members.

The newsletter of the FWAS, The Eyepice, mentions that on every clear Saturday night, from April till November, the public is invited and welcome to come for star gazing at Star*Quest. Those public viewing hours start one hour after sundown and continue for two hours.

Stringer said that, if any person from the public wants advice on how to use their own personal telescopes, they can bring their equipment to the public-viewing times. Members of the FWAW will provide assistance and instruction in using the scope, all free of charge.

In addition to hosting the Saturday viewing times, the society has partnered with a variety of area organizations for astronomy-focused activities, including Canal Days, Fox Island Sol Fest, the Homeschool Fair, and other events.

The FWAS also enjoys hosting visitors for astronomical events, such as total solar eclipses.  

Stringer said that, during the April 2024 solar eclipse, the Star*Quest Observatory hosted an estimated 800-1000 visitors.

How to Get Involved

Anyone interested in attending events hosted by the Fort Wayne Astronomical Society has a variety of offerings from which to choose.

The society’s general meeting is typically held the third Tuesday evening of every month on the campus of PFW in the Walb Student Union. Meetings start at 7:30 p.m. and generally run till 9 p.m.

Annual memberships in the FWAS for individuals, including their family, are $40. Student memberships are $25 a year. Membership in the society comes with an automatic membership in the Astronomical League, as well as access to the FWAS’ online forum and members-only events. The society’s newsletter, The Eyepiece, listing current and future events can be downloaded from their website.

Although Stringer has spent over 60 years in the world of astronomy, he continues to enjoy sharing the cosmic views seen through a telescope with anyone interested in the heavens.

“Truly, what you see through the eyepiece of a telescope cannot be shown in any other venue,” he said. “You have to look through the scope live to see that sparkling star.”  

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PFW Esports – A Team Sport for the Digital Age

By Andrew Danielson

For Jordan Cunningham, computer games aren’t just a means of relaxation. They are an intensive sport requiring concentration, teamwork, and careful organization.

“It’s so accessible for anyone,” Cunningham said. “You just need a computer.”

A graduate of the Indiana Institute of Technology with a degree in psychology, Cunningham is starting his second year as coach of the PFW Esports team.

But he brings a lot of experience to the table when it comes to gaming and coaching.

Prior to PFW, Cunningham has been both a competitive player of games such as “League of Legends,” as well as an Esports coach, serving as the coach for Indiana Tech’s Esports team.

There’s a lot that goes into running an Esports team, and that digital world is continuing to grow in popularity among universities across the globe, with Esports programs and arenas being installed at the Purdue West Lafayette campus, Purdue Northwest, and PFW.

Esports Originates at Home

Cunningham explained that Esports originated with enthusiastic League of Legends players when they held a tournament for the game in one of the player’s basements. From there, a formal, global tournament was held in 2011, and the world of Esports gaming was born.

Cunningham said that around the year 2016, Esports teams were beginning to pop up at various universities, with smaller colleges and STEM schools generally being the ones most interested in starting Esports teams.

“They started getting this idea of smaller schools can do something that bigger schools aren’t able to do,” Cunningham said.

He explained that bigger schools with high-level division athletics probably aren’t going to offer Esports. For smaller universities, Esports are a way they can offer students a team experience without the expenses entailed with more traditional team sports.

“The maintenance is so low,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham said that the Esports team at PFW is self-sufficient. Once the basic computer hardware and peripherals like computer mice, headphones, keyboards and software have been purchased, there largely is no maintenance to be done.

Esports – A Team Experience

Cunningham said that when he came to PFW as the Esports coach, one of his first tasks was to write a policy handbook for the team.

That manual is largely based off of the manuals in use by the traditional sports teams at PFW.

“I’m going to run this like an athletics team,” Cunningham said.

Esports team members have the same grade requirements as the other sports teams at PFW. If student grades begin falling, they are restricted from participating in tournaments and games.

The Esports team mentality and camaraderie are reinforced in a variety of ways beyond grade requirements, including personal hygiene standards and practice sessions called “scrimmages” held once or twice a week. Scrimmages are simulated tournaments where Cunningham and his team play against other college teams in fake-tournament style competition, with each team trying out new tactics that they might use in the future.

Players on the team have the opportunity to travel to tournaments and stay the weekend. Such opportunities give the players the chance to both build team spirit with their fellow Dons and experience what it’s like to travel as a team to a competition.

Esports – Organized and Regimented

Cunningham explained that each player on the team has one game in which they specialize, such as Rocket League or Super Smash Bros. That speciality is the game at which the player is the most proficient and comfortable at playing. When that team member is playing their special game, they are competing in leagues and levels of comparably ranked players across the country.

If a player wants to play a different game in addition to their primary specialty, Cunningham will sometimes allow that player to be part of a lower-ranked team. That way, the player can maintain their skills in their primary game but also have the chance to play something else.

Cunningham said that each game, called a “title,” has its own days when competitions are held. For example, the Rocket League team will play on one particular day, while the Super Smash Bros team may play on a different day.

When it comes to what titles the PFW Esports team plays, there are several criteria that must be met.

“I’m interested in what the students are interested in,” he said.

If students are interested in playing a particular title, Cunningham will investigate and see if that title is worth the time and effort needed for a dedicated team for that game.

But the biggest factor deciding what titles are played by PFW’s Esports teams is whether the game is currently offered in tournament competitions. If there are no tournaments being held for that game, then there’s no point in adding a team for that game.

Esports Coaching Provides Big Picture

Cunningham laughed when he was asked what he does as an Esports coach.

“That’s my favorite question,” he said with a chuckle.

Cunningham explained that his role is to both coordinate the entire Esports program as well as provide coaching for the players. That means he is tasked with keeping the equipment ready to go, purchasing new computers and peripherals as needed, and scheduling games and practice sessions.

For the coaching side of his job, Cunningham said he’s really providing both a macro and a micro level of instruction to his players.

Cunningham said that he gives his players advice and tips on the bigger picture of the game they are playing. That advice helps the players to adjust their strategy to balance the opposing team’s tactics.

“I always just tell them [the players] to treat it like a math equation,” Cunningham said. “What happens on one side of the equation needs to happen on the other.”

 Cunningham said that he also focuses on the mental game for his players, helping them to compartmentalize their emotions and engage with the game and their teammates in a healthy, constructive manner. That approach of channeling emotions and learning from one’s mistakes helps the player to become both a better player as well as a better person.

Esports Benefits the PFW Community

For Cunningham, the Esports team provides several benefits to PFW.

For some students, the chance to play Esports at the collegiate level while working toward a degree is a dream opportunity. With a beautiful arena on the second floor of Walsh containing 21 Alienware gaming computers, that dream can easily be made a reality.

Yet another advantage to having an Esports arena is that any student on PFW’s campus may use the gaming computers for free.

According to the Esports webpage on the PFW website, the Esports arena is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and is available for faculty, students, and staff.

But beyond the recruitment and gaming opportunities offered by the Esports arena, Cunningham said that the Esports team gives students an outlet to be part of a team atmosphere – an experience they may never have had.

“They get that team experience,” he reflected.

And that team experience, of bonding with one’s comrades and working towards a goal, has paid dividends for the players and the university.

Cunningham said that the Esports team has great retention, with students staying on the team and most students remaining at PFW for their education instead of transferring to other schools.

“My students are awesome,” Cunningham said with a smile. “We’ve had so little academic issues.”

In summarizing what he hopes to accomplish with Esports, Cunningham was candid about his long-term goals.

“We’re all here to help them get through college, have a good experience,” he said. “It’s seeing those life skills and professional skills that you helped them develop at such a pivotal age.”

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PFW Esports Players Learning Teamwork and Life Skills

By Andrew Danielson

The sounds of intense competition permeate the room. PFW athletes communicate in short, terse comments as they strive to overcome the opposing team.

But these athletes are not your typical sports team playing a traditional college sport. These are part of PFW’s esports team, a community of 67 student athletes who compete with universities and colleges across the world in a variety of competitive computer games.

For these student athletes, the Esports team is more than just an outlet for competition. It’s a chance to build community and learn life skills that will support them throughout college and into the future.

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International Students: The Path to an American Collegiate Experience

By Andrew Danielson

A student wants to build microcontrollers in Silicon Valley.

Another wants to travel back to India and provide counseling to troubled young people.

A third student wants to specialize in bio-technologies.

These are just a few of the stories behind some of the students who participated in PFW’s Global Student Celebration.

Held Friday evening on November 21, the Global Student Celebration is a fun occasion that caps a week of festivities at PFW, as international students share a snapshot of their culture with their fellow Dons through food, music, and dance.

Students Ajinkya Naik, from India, Gustavo Corsi da Silva, from Brazil, and Alan Chen-Trejo, from Venezuela

But this week of celebrating international studies and students at PFW is actually part of a broader movement called “International Education Week.”

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, International Education Week is held annually. According to the department of educations’ website, the event holds dual purposes.

First, the week is part of the department’s efforts to prepare Americans for studying abroad. It also serves as a method to educate the future leaders of other nations who are studying in the United States.

In other words, International Education Week is an opportunity for the US to engage in scholastic diplomacy with potential long-term benefits for both the United States and for countries around the globe.

How the process works for an international student to come and study in America is a fascinating and sometimes arduous process.

Coming to Study in America

Like any American college student, an international student must first decide on a college to attend. Name recognition can go a long way toward influencing where an international student decides to apply and study.

For Ajinkya Naik, an international student from India, going to college and getting an education has been a goal since his youth.

“From childhood, I always wanted to get a good quality education in college,” Naik said.

Naik explained that it was Purdue’s good name and reputation that drew him to enroll in the computer science program at PFW.

“In hindsight, it was a great decision,” Naika said with a smile.

But for students like Naika, enrolling at an American university typically requires more than just the normal college-enrollment paperwork.

International students wishing to pursue their academic studies in the United States must first obtain an F-1 category visa. They can only apply to study at universities which have received a Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification.

Besides paperwork, another challenge international students must navigate includes culture shock as they enter the American collegiate system.

John LaMaster, senior instructor of Mathematics at PFW, has observed some of that culture shock in his international undergraduate and graduate students.

“In other countries, those in higher education are much more select,” LaMaster said. “It isn’t an education for all in other countries.”

He explained that, in other countries, only a select group of students usually get the opportunity to study at a university.

 When an international student comes to study at an American university, that student is already highly motivated to perform at a very high academic level. That means that, most likely, an international student would find it unthinkable to sign up or register for a class and never attend, since even one class is an invaluable resource and opportunity.

But it’s not just the academic system that’s a culture shock to international students.

Farah Combs, director of Honors and Experiential Learning at PFW, shared her story of coming to the United States as an immigrant.

Combs explained she and her family emigrated to the United States from Kuwait shortly before Combs was about to enter college.

One of the culture shocks Combs experienced was the level of free speech Americans enjoyed.

“I would say one of the major ones [culture shocks] is honestly … how much freedom of speech people have in regards to talking about the government,” Combs said. “That is not happening back home.”

Beyond culture shock and college applications, international students face another hurdle after graduation: staying in the United States to live and work.

After completing their degrees, international students have limited options for employment in the U.S. These range from working under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program to obtaining a green card. Many of these pathways are highly competitive and often temporary, lasting only a few years and requiring renewal processes that must work their way through government bureaucracy and red tape.  

Graduate Student Teresa Nabangala, from Kenya

Advantages International Students Bring to the United States and the Globe

Although there are challenges to coming to the United States for academic study, international students bring a host of benefits to America and the global community.

Maureen Linvill, director of International Education at PFW, explained that many international students will, upon graduation, return to their home countries and start implementing their academic knowledge in their professional lives.

“A lot go home to share what they’ve learned,” Linvill said.

Other international students, including those coming to PFW, hope to stay in the United States and contribute to American society.

For computer science major Ajinkya Naik, career goals include continuing his higher education in the United States and using his computer science degree to improve the bio-technology and health care fields.

International students at U.S. universities and colleges contribute $42.9 billion to America’s economy according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators. For every three international students, one job in the United States is either created or supported.

International Students in the United States
In the 2024/2025 academic year, international students helped support over 355,000 jobs.
The top five countries of origin for international students are China, India, South Korea, Canada, and Vietnam.
The 1.1 million international students represent 6% of U.S. enrollments as of 2024.

Locally, international students help improve the PFW community by introducing their colleagues at student housing to new experiences.

Shelby Mansfield, assistant director for International Student Services at PFW, explained how international and domestic students living in the same student housing help encourage each other to try new things.

“They get each other to do something new,” Mansfield said.

Trying something new and sharing a global perspective is part of what helps broaden domestic PFW students’ perspectives.

Director Combs mentioned that, for American and international college students, getting to study together in a university setting like PFW is a life experience that students can take with them into their future careers.

“When you go to the workforce, you don’t know what you’re going to be talking to in the business,” Combs said. “It [studying with international students] makes you a better person because you have better understanding.”

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PFW School of Music Expands Opportunities with Surack-Sweetwater Music Industry Building

By Andrew Danielson

2026. That is the year the new Surack-Sweetwater Music Industry Building is set to open.

At a cost of $25 million, the new building will house state-of-the art equipment and world-class facilities, offering students attending the PFW School of Music the chance to learn and study music making at a whole new level.

The new construction will be a staggering 26,000 square feet interconnected to the current Music Center via a skybridge. Packed into that space will be all kinds of technology designed for today’s commercial music needs.

Dr. John Buteyn, clinical assistant professor of music and director of popular music at PFW, said that the new building will contain three state-of-the art recording studios, analog and digital control consoles, and systems for surround and immersive audio.

The recording studios alone are high-end facilities, designed by the same engineers who planned the recording studios at Sweetwater, Russ Berger Design Group.

Dr. Jeremy Grall, director of the PFW School of Music, explained that the new facility will also include numerous editing suites, a large rehearsal room for PFW’s larger ensembles, an intimate “live” rehearsal room (which can hold potential live music concerts), a classroom, a conference room, and multiple offices for faculty.

Professor Buteyn explained that with the new building, space, and technology, PFW will have the ability to record in-house their various musical ensembles, stretching in size from their rock bands all the way to their major wind ensembles and orchestra.

The new structure is a testament to the exponential growth experienced by the School of Music.

PFW School of Music and Degree Programs are Born

John O’Connell, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, explained that in the mid-2000s, PFW (then IPFW) offered a music technology concentration for students majoring in music and an outside field.

However, the program was quite small, with only a single room for students to practice their recording abilities and learn about music technology.

In 2018, PFW became its own entity, with their department of music elevated to become a School of Music. With that change came the opportunity to add new degree programs.

O’Connell said that they were looking for new ways to grow, and the fields of music technology and commercial music offered an exciting opportunity for expansion.  

PFW added three new degrees in 2018-2019: music industry, popular music, and music technology.

But degree programs are only as effective as the opportunities they provide.

Thanks to the generosity of Chuck Surack, philanthropist and founder of Sweetwater Sound, PFW formed an agreement with Sweetwater that enabled the School of Music to begin offering new courses for its music majors at a facility on the grounds of Sweetwater called the “Purdue Fort Wayne Sweetwater Music Center” (SMC for short).

That facility contains industry-standard recording spaces and equipment, giving students the chance to learn on current gear used in the commercial music world.

But that was back in 2018.

Professor Buteyn explained that the SMC, though incredible with what it has to offer, has become too small for the growing student body in the school.

In 2018, there were 24 students in PFW’s music industry and commercial music degree programs. By 2019, that number had risen to 80 students, with the program nearly doubling in size to 147 students by 2022.

This growth is highly unusual for academic programs.

“It’s unheard of,” dean O’Connell said. “It’s really spectacular to have that much growth in that short of a time.”

The School of Music now has approximately 300 students, with about 50% of those students coming to PFW specifically for the new opportunities the music industry, music technology, and popular music degree programs offer.

With the growth the School of Music experienced came a welcome but still serious issue – how to host so many students with limited facilities. Class scheduling, and studio/editing time had become a challenge.

“Quite simply, we outgrew the facilities,” director Grall said.

The SMC is less than a third the size of what the new music industry building will be.

A Big Impact on Students and Their Education

One of the first impacts the school of music will experience with the new facility is that students among the various degree programs will get the chance to work together more closely.

Jake Kaufman, a PFW senior majoring in popular music with a focus in performance/song-writing, said that having the music industry building so close to the Music Center will open up collaboration opportunities.

Currently, students must leave the PFW campus and drive to the SMC in order to take their recording classes. They then have to drive back to PFW to take their other music courses.

But with the new building, that commuting will largely be a thing of the past.

“The best part about this is that the building [the new music industry building] is right there,” Kaufman pointed out.

Kaufman believes that the close proximity between the two music buildings will also help reduce perceived barriers between the commercial/pop music programs and the more traditional/conservatory-style programs.

“There seems to be some sort of separation between classical musicians and the commercial musicians,” Kaufman said. “That line need not exist. We are all musicians and we all should be working together.”

Professor Ryan Tilby, clinical assistant professor of recording at PFW, echoes Kaufman’s thoughts.

“Being all in one building is just going to help us realize that we all need to learn something from each other,” Tilby said. “I just want there to be one big community of people helping each other out all the time.”

One example of future collaboration will be the opportunities for commercial music students to practice recording both electrified as well as acoustical instruments.

Director Grall, who plays a variety of instruments, explained that recording acoustical instruments is actually more of a challenge than people might suppose.

With the new music industry building immediately adjacent to the music center, students will now have the opportunity to record a variety of acoustic and electric instruments, all while using world-class recording gear and techniques.

In the midst of all the excitement of the new facility, it’s easy to forget what makes a building spring to life.

“A building is just a place – it’s a thing,” Grall said. “The ‘thing’ that makes this work is the people.”

Grall went on to say that, thanks to the support of dean O’Connell, the professors, and the students, the building will have life and energy.

Kaufman shared that enthusiasm.

“We are definitely excited for it,” Kaufman said.

There are already plans in the works to add new course offerings for future music students at PFW. For now, the Surack-Sweetwater Music Industry Building is a blank canvas of opportunity awaiting the paint brush of creativity.

“The School of Music is going to keep growing,” director Grall said. “But we don’t even know how it’s going to grow yet, because there’s so many options.”

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Ciao! PFW Musicians Teach and Study at Italian Music Festival

By Andrew Danielson

It has been a busy summer for musician Mastodons, and earlier this month was no exception. From July 1 to 13, a group of former and current students traveled to Italy with Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo to attend the InterHarmony International Music Festival.

Dr. Tescarollo, director of Keyboard Studies at Purdue University Fort Wayne School of Music, served as a faculty member and guest instructor at the first of two sessions of the festival.

Located in Acqui Terme, Piedmont, Italy, the event is an intensive music camp where musicians from across the globe get the chance to play and study music with their international colleagues.

From Left: Christian Urizar, Olivia Bressler, Ben Morton (IU), Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo, and Allyn Beifus (Photos Courtesy: Dr. Tescarollo)

According to the festival organizers, cellist and current music director Misha Quint started what would become the InterHarmony Festival in 1997. In 2000, a name change was made and the InterHarmony International Music Festival came into being.

This year’s festival was held in Italy, but the location varies depending on the year. The festival’s website mentions other host countries as locations for previous camps, including the United States, The Netherlands, and Switzerland.

For Tescarollo, this year’s InterHarmony was his first time going to the camp.

He explained that he knew some of the camp faculty and had indicated interest in possibly attending the festival. When an invitation came to serve as a guest piano instructor for the camp, he jumped at the chance.

Tescarollo said his duties at the camp included teaching private piano lessons and instructing chamber music classes, as well as performing on the piano himself.

Tescarollo pointed out that the location of the festival gave students a unique opportunity to not only study music, but also to experience a new culture and new surroundings.

The town in which the camp was held, Acqui Terme, which means “Thermal Waters,” has been a site of relaxation and culture since the time of the Romans. Located just two hours away from Milan, students had the opportunity to go on excursions and see the historic and culinary heritage Italy has to offer.

PFW senior Christian Urizar at the piano during the festival
PFW music graduate Allyn Beifus playing at the festival

Joining Tescarollo in this international musical venture were four of his former and current piano students.

One PFW Mastodon who went on the trip was Allyn Beifus, a pianist and graduate of the School of Music.

She said one of her goals was to improve as a musician, while also getting to meet new people.

She offered an advice to students considering going abroad to study at an international music festival: “You will experience a trip of a lifetime at a place outside the country, experience the culture, and develop musicianship with the people around you that are participating in this event as well,” she said.

That spirit of excitement and curiosity to learn and study is what Tescarollo hopes students experience with international music festivals like InterHarmony.

He said the camp provided students with some amazing opportunities to learn and study music in an international setting.

“Basically, expand horizons and meet new people and make connections,” Tescarollo said.

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Inside the PFW Surplus Store: Reuse, Resale, and Resourcefulness

By Andrew Danielson

Rows of chairs, desks and filing cabinets are arranged in perfect order inside the spacious, well-lit room. One corner holds computers and monitors; the opposite wall supports a stack of flat-screen TVs.

There’s a quiet sense of anticipation in the room, as if the objects are waiting for new homes.

Welcome to the Purdue Fort Wayne surplus store.

Located at 5190 St. Joe Road in Ginsberg Hall, the store is a hidden gem on campus — a hub for reuse, sustainability and community service.

“We handle all the surplus in Purdue Fort Wayne circulation,” said TJ Swihart, surplus property coordinator.

Swihart, a 2025 PFW graduate in criminal justice, volunteered at the surplus store as a student before taking on his current role last year. His department manages the collection, sorting and redistribution of university surplus — deciding what gets resold, recycled or discarded.

Swihart explained that the goal of the surplus store is to act as a resource for both the PFW campus and the greater Fort Wayne community.

Items no longer needed on campus are collected and brought to the PFW warehouse — located in the same building as the store — where they’re evaluated. Usable items are offered for sale or repurposed for on-campus use. Anything that can’t be reused is recycled or discarded.

The range of items is vast.

“Anything that’s not just your generic trash,” Swihart said, describing surplus that includes everything from computers and projectors to office furniture and televisions. “The most consistent item, I would say, is the computers.”

Many of the computers come from the university’s IT department and are reset to factory settings before being sold at a steep discount.

The store is typically open to the public once a month, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Swihart said customer turnout depends on the inventory, especially high-demand items.

“Apple products are a huge deal,” he said with a chuckle, recalling a sale where about 30 customers lined up for Mac devices.

On an average public sale day, the store sees 80 to 100 shoppers.

But the surplus store also serves internal campus needs. Academic departments can request items for free, such as desks, chairs or electronics.

“It’s not just about selling to the public,” Swihart said. “It’s about storing items for reuse around campus.”

That reuse supports both the university’s budget and its sustainability goals.

“That’s our big thing – being sustainable,” Swihart said.

In addition to in-store sales, the department lists select surplus items on GovDeals.com, an online auction site for government surplus. Specialty or large items — like vehicles — are typically sold there.

One recent success: the sale of a 2001 Chevy Tahoe, maintained by PFW staff and sold for more than $4,000.

The surplus store is part of a broader department that also includes mail services and print operations. The team handles internal moves, mail delivery and more.

Swihart said what makes the work meaningful is seeing objects get reused that many people might think have outworn their useful life. It is the chance to keep items in circulation and out of the landfill.

“I like to try to make the world a better place,” he said. “Being part of a sustainability program is nice.”

The store also partners with nonprofits. Past collaborations have included food drives with Ronald McDonald House Charities. This month, the store is working with Blue Jacket, Inc., a local nonprofit that helps people with barriers to employment.

As part of the July 18 public sale, shoppers can receive a discount by donating professional clothing, such as a sport coat or dress shirt, to support Blue Jacket’s mission.

Whether providing free furniture to campus departments, steep discounts to students or support to nonprofits, the surplus store is helping extend the life of useful goods — and making PFW and the surrounding area a better, more sustainable place for everyone.

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Summer Chorus Sings a Song of Joy

By Andrew Danielson

The Purdue Fort Wayne School of Music has been bustling with activity this summer. Music camps have been in full swing, with opportunities available for musicians of all skill levels and interests.

But this month, PFW is offering a different kind of musical experience. On July 18-19, the School of Music will host Mastodon alumni for the fifth annual Purdue Fort Wayne Alumni and Friends Summer Chorus.

For chorus director William Sauerland, the event is a wonderful opportunity to build community and joy through singing.

“In part, this alumni choir is about creating a culture of care and community,” Sauerland said.

Sauerland, assistant professor of music and director of choral studies at PFW, began his position in 2019. Soon after, Sauerland conceived the idea of starting a summer chorus that would invite music graduates from the School of Music to return for a few days of choral training and singing. The summer chorus was launched in 2020.  

Starting a choral experience during a global pandemic, however, was no easy task. Sauerland recalled the many precautions taken to ensure participants’ safety.

Before attending, participants were required to test themselves for COVID-19. During the event, they wore masks and were spaced eight feet apart in a large auditorium.

That first summer chorus drew roughly 30 participants and lasted for three days. The response was so enthusiastic that organizers decided to bring the event back the following year.

Now entering its fifth year, the summer chorus has seen new additions and changes that add variety and broaden its appeal.

PFW alumni return to sing, connect and inspire

One new tradition implemented by Sauerland is inviting a guest conductor to co-lead the ensemble. Last year, William Skoog, a former director of choral studies at PFW (then IPFW), joined Sauerland on the podium.

This year, a PFW alumnus Dan Borns will serve as guest conductor. A 2001 graduate of IPFW with a degree in choral music education, Borns currently works as a choir director for k-12 students in Batesville, Indiana.

Borns said enjoyed returning as a participant in the 2024 summer chorus.

“I hadn’t seen some of those people in 20 years,” Borns said. “That’s special.”

But Borns isn’t the only alum participating in this year’s chorus.

Teaching at PFW since 2008, Peggy Farlow is a senior lecturer in music therapy at the PFW School of Music. She’s also a proud Mastodon, having received her undergraduate degree in music therapy at IPFW.

She said that one of the great joys of the event is the opportunity to meet both old and new friends.

“You’re going to meet new friends,” Farlow said. “It’s amazing how much you end up having in common with people you’ve never met before.”

This will be her third time as a participant with the choir, and Farlow said she highly enjoys the musical and social experiences the choir has to offer.

That sense of community and just enjoying the entire experience is one of Sauerland’s goals for the summer chorus.

“We just have fun,” Sauerland said.

Although the chorus is centered around fun and connection with a community of Mastodons, there are also ambitious musical goals for the group.

Sauerland said he and Borns have selected six pieces of repertoire for the choir to learn over the two-day event. The lineup includes works such as “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell and “Elijah Rock,” arranged by Moses Hogan.

Singers prep for two-day musical challenge at PFW

Sauerland explained that there is a process for learning and preparing the repertoire in such a short time.

A few weeks before the event, Sauerland emails participants PDFs of the sheet music and audio links to recordings. This gives singers a head start on learning their parts ahead of the first rehearsal.

When the event begins on Friday afternoon, the choir will sing through all six pieces, accompanied on piano by PFW faculty member and limited term lecturer Geoffrey North.

After the initial read-through, Sauerland and Borns will decide how to structure Saturday’s rehearsal schedule.

On Saturday, the choir reconvenes for a fun-filled day of rehearsing and socializing, with both directors offering singing tips and feedback. That evening, the weekend wraps us with an informal concert, showcasing the music the group has learned.

Beyond the music, the weekend offers time for participants to reconnect and socialize. Saturday includes a lunch break and, after the rehearsal and concert, an optional group dinner.

Teachers become students at summer chorus

Sauerland noted that the summer chorus provides a unique opportunity for professional choir teachers and vocalists to experience music-making from the singer’s perspective, rather than from the conductor’s podium.

“This may be the one time in a year that those people can devote to being in the choir,” he said.

He added that, from his own experience as a choral director, getting the chance to be a vocalist in a choir is a great opportunity to observe and learn new approaches from other choral conductors.

“Everybody needs an experience where they’re in the seat of being a student,” he said.

Other music professionals agree. Alumna and music educator Lisa Farlow said the summer chorus is an opportunity to be a singer and musician, instead of serving as the teacher.

“It’s just a great way to be able to use your music skills,” she said.

In just a few weeks, the halls and classrooms of the School of Music will once again be filled with the uplifting sounds of voices raised in song. Both Mastodons and their friends will have a chance to walk through their old “stomping grounds” as they revisit the halls of musical academia.

Borns captured the spirit of this upcoming musical experience:

“Come be part of it and get a chance to sing some good music.”

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VR Reality Summer Camp Builds New Worlds and New Skills

Purdue Fort Wayne’s Virtual Reality Camp lets middle schoolers build immersive 3D worlds — no experience required, just imagination.

By Andrew Danielson

Art.

The word conjures images of the classics. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, the Mona Lisa and delicate saucers from ancient China.

But fine art has another branch that’s slowly been growing in the family – computer designed art.

Take 3D glasses for example. An artist can, with just a few clicks of a button, create an entire world that can be explored and experienced in 3D perspective.

And it doesn’t take a degree to do it. A child can, too, create a world.

That’s exactly what’s going to happen this month at PFW. The Community Arts Academy, part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Purdue University Fort Wayne, is offering a Virtual Reality Camp for kids in grades six to eight.

The sessions run July 14-18, and July 21-25. The camp will see 30 kids  (15 per session) gain hands on experience in using computer technology and virtual reality headsets to create their own 3D games.

“It’s a sweet spot for that age and this technology,” said Molly Papier, director of the Community Arts Academy.

She explained that, at this age range, kids don’t typically have the responsibilities and busy schedules of high school students. However, they do have the technical abilities to appreciate and use computer tech like virtual reality headsets.

For the camp, students are welcome to bring their own VR headsets, although the camp will have some available for use.

Virtual Reality Camp at PFW

The headsets themselves look almost like truncated welder’s masks, with straps that go over the head and support a box-like structure held in front of the eyes. That eyepiece is where the visual magic occurs, because those screens are what provide the 3D experience.

A growing program with lasting impact

But the intriguing world of virtual reality gaming wouldn’t be possible without the computing power of today’s 3D glasses. VR headsets are powerful enough to handle a variety of tasks, stretching from computer gaming to checking email.

“It’s basically a computer in the headset,” said Andres Montenegro, professor of Computer Animation at PFW’s department of Art and Design.

Montenegro has been involved with the camp since its inception in 2018, when it became an immediate hit.

“The whole enrollment was sold out,” Montenegro said with a smile.

And the camp remains a success. Just ask Melanie McCabe, who has seen the impact of the camp on her children.

Both McCabe’s son and daughter attended the 2023 Virtual Reality Camp at PFW, with her daughter returning in 2024 and again this year as a student assistant.

McCabe said that the camp is a great opportunity for kids to learn the behind-the-scenes of game development and coding, particularly for the world of virtual reality.

“I was looking for camps that offered fun and enriching activities and the opportunity to try something new,” she said.

New experiences in a structured learning environment is what this camp is all about.

Students receive a framework from which they can then stretch their creative wings and begin building their own worlds and games. What kinds of 3D worlds and environments the campers create are only limited by their imagination.

“In the past years, they’ve done rollercoasters, they’ve done trains, they’ve done buildings, they’ve done amusement parks,” Papier said.

That’s probably one of the most interesting features of these games. Unlike standard video games displayed on a computer screen, a 3D game “immerses” the player in the game, as if they were actually standing in a different world. By turning their head and using their hands, the user can interact with objects in the game, providing an incredibly realistic experience.

Technology powers creative possibilities

Such realism in computer games wouldn’t be possible without advances in technology, and 3D headsets are no exception to the march of technological progress.

Montenegro explained that, at the beginning, 3D glasses were not just a simple headset worn by the user. When the technology first came out, users had to put special sensors in a room so that the headset could detect the playing area.

Even with the special sensors, the original 3D headsets had to be tethered to a special computer capable of running 3D graphics in order for users to play a game.

Nowadays, much of that set up – tethering, external sensors, special computers – is no longer needed.

Today’s headsets have built-in sensors that track a player’s movements. Games can be accessed directly from the glasses, and players can use either external controls or just their hands to interact with objects.

With such incredible features, starting prices for 3D glasses can run from $299 to over $3,500 dollars.

Some models allow the user to seamlessly blend 3D objects with everyday surroundings, allowing a true mix of virtual and real life experiences. However, the price tag can be prohibitive and not conducive to introducing students to the world of virtual reality or virtual world creation.

And that’s one of professor Montenegro’s priorities – introducing students to the world of 3D art and giving them a foretaste of what this revolutionary technology is bringing to the world of art and design.

“Art and design is transforming into art and technology,” he said. “That revolution is happening now.”

Preparing young artists for a digital future

But Montenegro’s goals go beyond just introducing students to this realm of 3D game creation. New this year, he will be showing the campers how to access the “developer” mode in their 3D headsets, allowing the students to load new projects they might create in the future directly into their headsets.

Together with the “developer” mode tutorial, Montenegro also is hoping to introduce students to the use of AI to creating a game environment. With AI, students can create a basic world that they can then customize and expand to their heart’s desire.

Montenegro explained that tools like AI and virtual reality glasses are not just a thing of the future, they are a present and usable technology that will only continue to develop in importance.

“Every AI tool is quite new actually,” Montenegro commented. “It’s very amazing the number of things you can do with that.”

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