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Directory

David Wright

Associate Professor; Director Academic Technology and Curriculum Innovation

Full-Time Faculty

College of Arts and Sciences: Biology; UDit; Academic Affairs and Learning Initiatives: Ryan C. Harris Learning Teaching Center (LTC)

Contact

Email: David Wright
Phone: 937-229-4604
LTC +1302

Degrees

  • Ph.D., University of Iowa, 1989
  • B.S., University of Sheffield, England

Profile

Dr. David Wright is an associate professor in the Department of Biology. He teaches a number of courses, including introductory biology classes taken by freshmen biology majors and two upper-level courses, anatomy and neurobiology. Dr. Wright works on a number of research projects involving the study of developmental biology. He also pioneers new ways of teaching biology using the Internet. Software developed by Dr. Wright is used at many schools world-wide. He has also developed software for NASA.

Research interests

Sperm Nuclear Architecture: How does the sperm nucleus become so compact? The DNA within the nucleus of the sperm is compressed into a small volume - yet remains capable of quickly becoming reactivated following fertilization. Once inside the cytoplasm of the egg, the sperm nucleus undergoes a remarkable transformation that enables the male genome to become active in the development of the embryo. What are the components of the sperm nucleus that allows the DNA to remain so compressed and inactive during the lifetime of the sperm? How do these components change following fertilization?

Educational Interactive Web Sites: To foster learning outside of the classroom, I have developed a software package called Mentor that enables a teacher to quickly create interactive educational Web sites. The Mentor program runs on a Web Server, from where it dishes out pages of information that can contain pictures, movies and questions. If students answer the questions incorrectly, then Mentor will provide some feedback to educate the student, as if the teacher was standing by their side.

I have also worked with Dr. Shirley Wright, to create the S.E.M. Sight - A web site that introduces students to the use of the scanning electron microscope.

Selected publications

Raskin, D. M., D. J. Wright, and S. J. Wright. (1997). "Sea urchin sperm nuclear enlargement and shape transformations are differentially regulated in vitro." J. Exp. Zool. 277: 401-416.

Horobin, R.W., P.O. Gerrits, and D.J. Wright (1992) "Staining sections of water-miscible resins." 2. "Effects of staining-reagent lipophilicity on the staining of glycol-methacrylate-embedded tissues." J. Microsc. 166, 199-205.

Wright, D.J., T.C. Ritchie, and J.D. Coulter (1991) "Distribution and developmental expression of the nerve terminal protein NT75 in the rat cerebellum." J. Comp. Neurol. 304, 530-543.

Ebeling, C.E., and D.J. Wright (1999) RMAT 2000 Version 1.0, Reliability and Maintainability Model, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Wright, D. J. (1998). "Mentor 98-1 Program Suite for Creating Interactive Web Sites." http://mentor.udayton.edu.

Wright, D. J. (1997). "Mentor 97-1 Program Suite for Creating Interactive Web Sites." http://mentor.udayton.edu.

Wright, D. J. (1996). "Mentor 96-7 Program Suite for Creating Interactive Web Sites." http://mentor.udayton.edu.

Wright, D. J. (1995). Mentor 95 Program for Standalone PC's. Wright, D. J. (1995). Videodisc Controller: Controlling Video Discs from a Standalone PC.