Faculty Accomplishments

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Gillis, G.B., Kuo, C. and D.J. Irschick. 2013. The impact of tail loss on stability during lizard jumping. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. 86(6):680-689.


Gilman, C.A., Bartlett, M. Gillis, G.B. and D.J. Irschick. 2012. Total recoil: Perch compliance alters jumping performance and kinematics in green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis). J. Exp. Biol. 215:220-226.


Kuo, C., Gillis, G.B. and D.J. Irshick. 2011. Loading effects on jump performance in green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis). J. Exp. Biol. 214:2073-2079.

*Akella, T. and G.B. Gillis. 2011. Hopping isn’t always about the legs: Forelimb muscle activity patterns during toad locomotion. J. Exp. Zool. A. 315A:1-11.


Gillis, G.B., *Akella, T., and *Gunaratne, R. 2010. Do toads have a jump on how far they hop? Pre-landing activity timing and intensity in forelimb muscles of hopping Bufo marinus.  Biology Letters. 6:486-489.

Gillis, G.B., *Bonvini , L.A. and D.J. Irschick. 2009. Losing stability: the impact of caudal autotomy on jumping in the arboreal lizard Anolis carolinensis. J. Exp. Biol. 212:604-609.

Gillis, G.B. 2007. The role of hindlimb flexor muscles during swimming in the toad, Bufo marinus. Zoology 110:28-40.


Was a performer, arranger, and audio engineer for the Young@Heart Chorus fundraising concert and CD launch entitled "Miss You" held on Zoom on October 3rd. The event raised $100,000 to replace the revenue lost when Y@H was forced to cancel their two area performances due to the pandemic. Featuring appearances by Paul Shaffer, Larry David, Steve Buscemi, David Byrne, Los Lobos, Jim James, Edie Falco, John Berman of CNN, and Hoda Kotb & Jenna Bush-Hager of NBC, the concert is available for viewing here: 

Performed with the Young@Heart Chorus, the Springfield SciTech Band, and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players on November 16, 2019 at the Academy of Music in Northampton. In addition, Mark was commissioned by Y@H to write seven arrangements for the chorus and the SSO players, including "Medley from Bizet's CARMEN," "Kiss" by Prince, "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In a Small Town" by Pearl Jam, and Bob Dylan's "Forever Young."


Maria Alexandra Gomez was a Co-PI on National Science Foundation (NSF) project: MRI: Expansion of the Molecular Education and Research Consortium in Undergraduate Computational Chemistry (MERCURY) via Addition of High Performance Computers awarded to Furman University. The project is for three years. 

National Science Foundation


Gomez, M. A., Brooks-Randall, S., Cai, G., Glass-Klaiber, J., Jiang, Y., Jo, S., Lin, Z., Lin, S., Marcellus, M., Nguyen, H. A., Pham, T., Wang, Y., Zhai, F., Gya, P., Khan, S. (2021). Graph analysis of proton conduction pathways in scandium-doped barium zirconate. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 154(7), 074711. doi:10.1063/5.0039103


Patel, M., Zhong, J., Gomez-Haibach, K. S., Gomez, M. A., & King, G. (2020). Low-energy Sr2MSbO5.5(M = Ca and Sr) structures show significant distortions near oxygen vacancies. International Journal of Quantum Chemistry. doi:10.1002/qua.26356


Torayev, A., Sperrin, L., Gomez, M. A., Kattirtzi, J. A., Merlet, C., & Grey, C. P. (2020). Local Distortions and Dynamics in Hydrated Y-Doped BaZrO3. J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces, 124(30), 16689-16701. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c04594