23
October
2015
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08:26 AM
America/New_York

Ohio State University News Tips 10/23/15

Dynamics Semantics Workshop – Oct. 24 and 25. Ohio State’s Department of Linguistics is hosting an international workshop this weekend on the borderlands of empirical and computational research in natural language semantics. Jointly sponsored by the Institute for Comparative Research at the University of Tsukuba in Japan and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the workshop features presentations by prominent Japanese and American researchers. The event begins at 9 a.m. on Oct. 24 and 25 in 285 Baker Systems, 1971 Neil Ave. SEE: http://www.ling.ohio-state.edu/calendar/index.php#2015-10-24. CONTACT: Robert Levine, Levine.1@osu.edu.

Panel to discuss refugee crisis in Europe – Oct. 26. Ohio State’s Center for Slavic and East European Studies will host a roundtable discussion on “The Refugee Crisis: The View from Central and Southeast Europe,” featuring Theodora Dragostinova, associate professor in the Department of History (co-sponsor); Yana Hashamova, chair of the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures (co-sponsor); and Jessie Labov, associate professor in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures. The event takes place at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26 at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies (co-sponsor), 1501 Neil Ave. SEE: http://go.osu.edu/refugeecrisis.

Ohio State kicks off year-long celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – Oct. 28. Ohio State celebrates the 25th anniversary of the ADA with an inaugural reception at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the Ohio Union Great Hall, 1739 N. High St. The reception will launch a year-long celebration of the historic legislation that provided civil rights to individuals with disabilities. The theme for the year is “Claiming Our Space in the Ohio State Mosaic!” which will explore the narratives of individuals with disabilities at Ohio State and how they help shape the campus climate and culture, adding to the mosaic of our diverse community.
The reception will include special remarks by TyKiah Wright, Founder/CEO of WrightChoice, Inc. Wright is a local thought leader and nationally-renowned advocate who is committed to diversity and developing the next generation workforce through internship placement and professional development training. SEE: http://odi.osu.edu/events/ada-25th-anniversary.html.

Brutus Buckeye celebrates his 50th birthday with special gifts for newborns – Oct. 30. Brutus Buckeye made his debut as Ohio State’s mascot on October 30, 1965, and as part of Ohio State’s Brutus 50 celebration, Brutus will visit the Wexner Medical Center Maternity Center on his actual birthday, Friday, October 30, 2015, from 3-5 p.m. Brutus will be giving the newborns special bibs. CONTACT: Dave Isaacs, isaacs.84@osu.edu, 614-292-8424.

Cardinal Turkson to Speak at Ohio State – Nov. 2. Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, will visit Ohio State for a community discussion on global sustainability at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at Mershon Auditorium, 1871 N. High St. The Cardinal has become the face of climate change at the Vatican, having led the drafting process of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment. The Cardinal will be available for media interviews at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at Mershon Auditorium. CONTACT: Gina Langen, langen.2@osu.edu or 614-688-4423.

EPA Clean Power Plan experts available. The U.S. EPA has released its Clean Power Plan, requirements to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, to the Federal Register. The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing the plan to implement the greenhouse gas emission guidelines for existing fossil fuel-fired electric generating units under the Clean Air Act.
The plan gives states wide latitude in crafting their own compliance approach, and provides some recommended policy options including emissions markets (cap-and-trade) and renewable portfolio standards (called benchmarks in Ohio).

States and affected parties may now begin filing legal suits or petitioning their federal representatives on the issue. The State of Ohio is expected to file suit. The EPA has said the rule will be published in the Federal Register no later than mid- to late-October. However, some critics are claiming the administration is delaying the publication of the rule before the Nov. 30-Dec. 11 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris.

Three Ohio State faculty experts are available to discuss the plan:
*Cinnamon Carlarne, professor, Moritz College of Law: court challenges already filed and forthcoming against the plan; the plan’s desired/expected effect on the environment and climate change. Carlarne.1@osu.edu, 614-247-6347
*Noah Dormady, assistant professor, John Glenn College of Public Affairs: economic and policy impacts of the plan at the national and subnational levels, and emissions (cap-and-trade) markets. Dormady.1@osu.edu, 614-688-1668
*Ned Hill, professor, John Glenn College of Public Affairs and Knowlton School of Architecture: state and federal policy and economic aspects of the plan; the plan’s effect on state, regional and local planning. Hill.1973@osu.edu, 614-247-4086.

Navigating the Noise. The cacophony of signals constantly at play on Earth - from radio traffic to cell phones and other communications systems – ultimately creates the white noise of human technology in action.
In space, however, this cacophony is getting in the way of some important Earth science research - and it's only getting worse as human technology advances.
Joel Johnson, chair and professor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is now leading a NASA program to help navigate the noise. Since 2001, his team at Ohio State has focused on detecting and discarding manmade Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) from the Earth’s naturally fluctuating microwave signals. The technology is imperative for future satellite missions using microwave radiometry to observe Earth's properties.
Johnson's project, “CubeRRT: CubeSat Radiometer RFI Technology Validation,” recently received $5.6 million from NASA’s Science Mission Directorate to further advance RFI reduction technology.SEE: https://ece.osu.edu/news/2015/10/navigating-noise.