Feb. 14, 2025
Ferris State celebrates faculty, staff, and students for innovative projects aimed at improving life – and searching for it in space
Ferris State University celebrated innovative work from faculty, staff and students and how they make a difference in the world, from studying diseases in wastewater in our communities all the way to looking for life on exoplanets in the deepest reaches of space.
Ferris State President Bill Pink speaks to the audience at the Celebration of Creative and Scholarly Works event in the David L. Eisler Center.
The 12th annual Celebration of Creative and Scholarly Works saluted nearly 50 faculty and staff members and students responsible for earning $10 million in external grant funding as well as creating scholarly articles for 143 publications, preparing 252 presentations for local, national, and international gatherings, and participating in five artistic and professional performances and exhibits.
“At Ferris State, we take immense pride in fostering an environment where innovation, inquiry, and artistic expression thrive,” said Bobby Fleischman, the university’s provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “The work we celebrate today is a testament to the intellectual curiosity, dedication, and passion that define our academic community.”
Fleischman said the event is more than a showcase.
“It reflects our commitment to academic excellence and the impact we make both within and beyond our institution,” he said. “The discoveries, creative works, and scholarly achievements presented today demonstrate the power of education to inspire, challenge, and change lives.”
Eric Nybo, an associate professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the College of Pharmacy, was named Outstanding Faculty Innovator. Nybo earned $1.6 million in grant awards, authored articles for four publications, and made nine presentations.
“It’s really hard to build something,” he said. “I look at our colleagues who are exploring the stars and new planets we never even dreamed of. Testing wastewater. Developing new cancer medications. My gosh, all this occurs at Ferris State University.”
Nybo said Ferris State has a “community of innovators.” Innovation is one of the four pillars of the university’s 2024-2027 strategic plan.
“I think the key to innovation is to observe, to look for things that don’t work as well as they could or should, whether through a telescope of a microscope. And then you apply the solution to it,” he said. “All ideas are good. There are no ideas too small or too large to affect change in the world. At Ferris State, all ideas are welcome. Keep dreaming those big dreams.”
College of Engineering Technology student Francisco Vasquez and Dinesh Shetty, an assistant professor in the College of Arts, Sciences and Education, were honored with the Outstanding Student Innovator and Mentor Award for their work “Light Curve Analysis of Exoplanet Using Transit Photometry,” where they search for life on distant planets.
Associate professor Schuyler Pike, director of the Shimadzu Core Lab, was among the 48 faculty members saluted for innovative projects. Among his is using a state grant to study wastewater to learn about infectious diseases.
Mathematics professor Victor Piercy spoke about his project taking calculus students to Zekelman Holocaust Center near Detroit to study the ethics in the context of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields.
Kyle Austin of Ferris State’s Kendall College of Art and Design shared how the college’s partnership with Disability Advocates of Kent County is studying potential barriers within KCAD as well as the greater community and forming solutions.