Story Ideas for Media - 05/23/05

News

College’s focus on social responsibility draws national attention
In January, a five-year program for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences’ new Social Responsibility Initiative (SRI) was approved by the Vice President for Agricultural Administration\'s Cabinet. The SRI serves as an umbrella for and coordinates interdisciplinary efforts of programs focusing on food, agricultural, community and environmental issues. According to Bill Flinn, the initiative’s director and a professor of rural sociology in the Department of Human and Community Resource Development, these efforts are important because there\'s more call than ever to produce safe, wholesome, and nutritious foods using humane and environmentally conscious means. Vice president and dean of the college Bobby Moser said he envisions the SRI as positioning the college as a national leader in the social and human dimensions of food, agricultural, and environmental issues, “but its success will depend on collaborations between scientists and partners within our college, within the university community, and beyond.” CONTACT: Martha Filipic, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, (614) 292-9833.

Ohio State partners with Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Animals at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo will benefit from a partnership with The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Patricia Dennis, Ohio State assistant professor of veterinary preventive medicine, will direct and oversee the Epi-Zoo Program, a new three-year partnership between Ohio State and the zoo to study the health and well-being of zoo animals while providing research, education and outreach opportunities in wildlife health. Dennis’s work is funded through the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University and an endowment provided by the Cleveland Zoological Society. CONTACT: Melissa Lamb Peale, College of Veterinary Medicine, (614) 292-3752.

Experts

Experts says organic mulches can provide viable alternative to black plastic
It\'s easy to recognize the benefits mulches afford vegetable crops, but an Ohio State expert says the challenge lies in choosing which mulch performs the best and also is affordable. Elaine Grassbaugh, an Ohio State University horticulture and crop science research associate, said many vegetable growers, especially in fresh-market tomato production, use black plastic to attempt to protect their plants from weeds. But other mulch options exist, especially for those growers thinking of organic production, she says. The black plastic does well to capture and retain heat, a main ingredient in tomato plant performance success. However, black plastic is labor intensive and expensive, both in installing the plastic and removing it at the end of the season. A two-year study, conducted by Grassbaugh, found that some organic mulches (wheat straw, shredded newspaper and composted bark) provide a viable alternative to black plastic. CONTACT: Candace Pollock, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, (614) 292-3799.

Research

Too much knowledge can be bad for some types of memory, study says
A new study has found that adults were more likely to remember pictures of imaginary animals they’d never seen before than pictures of actual animals, such as cats, with which they were familiar. “The adults remembered these artificial insect-like creatures they had just seen for the first time much better than they did the cats that were very familiar to them,” said Vladimir Sloutsky, co-author of the study and professor and director of the Center for Cognitive Science. The results show how some types of memory might be better when people forget what they know and instead approach a subject with a child-like sense of naïveté. CONTACT: Vladimir Sloutsky, Center for Cognitive Science, (614) 688-5855; or Jeff Grabmeier, University Relations, (614) 292-8457.

Events

WSJ journalist to discuss balance of liberty, security post-9/11 – May 24.
Jess Bravin, senior special writer for the Wall Street Journal, will present “Law and Terror: The Balance of Liberty and Security After 9/11” at 4 p.m. on Tuesday (5/24) in Page Hall, 1810 College Road. His talk will be followed by an open discussion at 5 p.m. The event is part of the second annual Stanley Muroff Forum, dedicated to the discussion of timely and highly relevant issues in civil liberties and civil rights. Bravin has covered extensively the legal side of the war on terrorism focusing on the intersection of national security and civil liberties. CONTACT: Shannon Wingard, University Relations, (614) 247-6821.

Architect at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to discuss his work – May 25.
Alan Balfour, dean of the School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is the next speaker in The Knowlton School of Architecture’s lecture series. He will discuss his work, which focuses on the role imagination plays in creativity. Among other achievements, Balfour was the 2000 Topaz Laureate, the highest recognition given in North America to an academic in architecture. The event is at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday (5/25) Knowlton Hall Auditorium, 275 W. Woodruff Ave. The lecture is free and open to the public. CONTACT: Amy Carey, Knowlton School of Architecture, (614) 247-7244.

Fisher College to honor corporations, individuals with diversity awards – May 25.
The Fisher College of Business is hosting its fourth annual Diversity Business Awards Program and Alumni Reception to show appreciation for corporations and individuals who have worked with the college on diversity initiatives. The event is at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday (5/25) at the Blackwell Hotel, 2110 Tuttle Park Place. Allen A. Boston, partner and director of campus and diversity recruiting for the Office of Minority Recruiting at Ernst & Young LLP, is the keynote speaker. CONTACT: Laura Bowers, Fisher College of Business, (614) 292-8937.

Digital Union to celebrate its anniversary by showcasing projects – May 25.
The Digital Union is hosting an anniversary showcase from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday (5/25) to celebrate its first year of integrating technology solutions and introducing emerging technologies. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Digital Union, 370 Science and Engineering Library, 175 W. 18th Ave. Faculty, staff and students from 13 critical inquiry projects examining trends in academia, technology and leadership will share the results of their efforts in separate, ongoing electronic poster sessions, including one on ePortfolio Projects. CONTACT: Amy Murray, University Relations, (614) 292-8385.

Student financial aid director to testify before House committee – May 26.
Tally Hart, director of Student Financial Aid, will testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform hearing on federal student loan programs. Specifically, she will discuss how the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program works at Ohio State, which has the largest direct loan program in the nation. The hearing is set for 10 a.m. on Thursday (5/26) in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building, South Capitol Street & Independence Avenue SE. Hart’s testimony is part of the second panel, featuring university representatives. Officials from the U.S. Department of Education will testify in the first panel. CONTACT: Shannon Wingard, University Relations, (614) 247-6821.

First-year engineering students to compete in robot competition – May 26.
First-year students from Ohio State’s College of Engineering will enter robots they designed in a competition to navigate the Mars at 4 p.m. on Thursday (5/26) at St. John Arena, 410 Woody Hayes Drive. The students will set their robots in motion around a specially-built, 12- by 12-foot course with instructions to replace a dead battery in a sensor station and pick up Mars rocks or ice samples, all within two minutes. The competition requires each of the 48 teams of four students to design, build and program an autonomous robot using creativity and engineering principles learned in the classroom. In addition, a significant portion of their assignment involves planning, managing and documenting their work on the project. The robots, limited in size to 9 inches square, are constructed of materials that include sheet metal, PVC sheet and piping and Erector sets. CONTACT: Joan Slattery Wall, College of Engineering, (614) 292-4064.

Symposium will examine trauma with international perspective – May 27.
Ohio State will host a one-day conference on Friday (5/27) that will examine the notion of trauma and responses and treatments for groups seen as traumatized. “Critical Theories of Trauma: International Reflections of Theory and Practice” will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Hale Black Cultural Center. 153 W. 12th Ave. Conference speakers will examine how the notion of trauma has been influenced by cultural views on race, sex, gender, class and religion. Janet Walker, film studies professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara who is producing a series of short, experimental videos about the lives of Holocaust survivors from the wartime through the present, will give the keynote address at 7:30 p.m. The conference is sponsored by Ohio State’s Clusters of Interdisciplinary Research on International Themes. CONTACT: Jeff Grabmeier, University Relations, (614) 292-8457.

Cullman Symposium focuses on ‘Competing through Service’ – May 26, 27.
The Fisher College of Business will host the 12th biennial W. Arthur Cullman Symposium on Thursday (5/26) and Friday (5/27) in the Blackwell Hotel, 2110 Tuttle Park Place. This year, the symposium focuses on “Competing through Service,” which examines the growing dominance of the services industry and how top-performing organizations, such as Limited Brands and NetJets, compete through the strategic use of service. Speakers include Les Wexner, chairman and CEO of the Limited Brands; Todd R. Barnum, chairman and CEO of Max and Erma’s Restaurants, Inc.; and Neeli Bendapudi, director of the Fisher College’s Initiative for Managing Services and associate professor of marketing in the Fisher College of Business. The conference is sold out, but media may attend. CONTACT: Laura Bowers, Fisher College of Business, (614) 292-8937.

The person listed as CONTACT will have the best information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story – Elizabeth Conlisk, (614) 292-3040; Liz Cook, (614) 292-7276; Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385, and Shannon Wingard, (614) 247-6821.