Story Ideas for Media 10/15/12
News
University team uses campus as test bed to seek ecological synergies. Ohio State is investing in a scientific study to improve the efficiency and sustainability of campus operations by working in harmony with the surrounding ecosystems.
An interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers will work with the university’s Energy Services and Sustainability office to estimate the “environmental footprint,” including the energy use, water use, carbon emissions and other environmental impacts for a selected area of the campus. Next, they will investigate how to reduce that footprint, as well as annual operating costs, by conserving energy and harnessing services from nature such as water provision and waste filtration. This project will help the university work toward its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
The research represents a “campus as a test bed” project in which the university serves as a resource for testing and improving new industrial technologies; helping faculty teams to develop research funding; and engaging students in cutting-edge sustainability science. CONTACT: Bhavik Bakshi, co-director, Center for Resilience, bakshi.2@osu.edu, (614) 292-4904. SEE: http://oee.osu.edu/news/detail.cfm?News=615
Ohio State’s animation program gets high marks. Ohio State’s Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design is ranked as second in the Midwest by Animation Career Review. SEE: http://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/best-animation-programs-top-20-list-midwest
Research
Ohio State study: Potential debt problems more common among the educated. Before the financial crash of 2008, it was highly educated Americans who were most likely to pile on unmanageable levels of debt, a new study suggests.
Overall, the percentage of Americans who were paying more than 40 percent of their income for debts like mortgages and credit card bills increased from about 17 percent in 1992 to 27 percent in 2008.
But college-educated people were more likely than those with high school or less education to be above this 40 percent threshold - considered to be a risky amount of debt for most households.
“People who piled on debt may have been too optimistic about their economic future, but you can’t blame that on a lack of education,” said Sherman Hanna, co-author of the research and professor of consumer sciences at Ohio State University.
“People with college educations may have thought they were immune to any economic problems. But when people stop believing things might go bad, that’s when they get in trouble.” CONTACT: Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457; Grabmeier.1@osu.edu. SEE: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/heavydebt.htm
Events
Grand opening set for Ohio State Driving Simulation Lab – Oct. 18. The Ohio State University will officially open its state-of-the-art Driving Simulation Laboratory at an event from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18. The facility will be open to the media from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. A short program will begin at 10:30 a.m. The interactive demonstrations will begin after the program.
The event will be held at the new laboratory at 1305 Kinnear Rd., Suite 194, and will include interactive demonstrations of both a full-cab, motion-base research vehicle simulator with 240-degree screen and a vehicle drive-on motion pad system.
The $1.3 million, 5,800-square-foot facility was developed in a partnership between The Ohio State University Office of Research, Honda R&D Americas, Inc. and the Ohio Supercomputer Center.
Among many other projects, researchers will use the lab to learn more about driver distraction and how to prevent it. It will allow scientists to monitor heart rate, eye movement and stress levels while in a realistic driving environment.
The facility will be open to the media from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. CONTACT: Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457, grabmeier.1@osu.edu. SEE: http://www.osu.edu/news/newsitem3533
Conference focuses on service-learning and community engagement – Oct. 18-20. Long recognized as an effective strategy for inspiring student learning, engagement and activism, service-learning has been credited with raising high school graduation rates, motivating students to go to and complete college, and encouraging civic participation.
The Service-Learning and Community Engagement Conference brings together students, teachers, teacher educators, researchers, school and university administrators, and community members to explore intersections of service-learning initiatives and community engagements.
Sponsored by The Ohio State University and the Columbus Education Association, the conference takes place across the Ohio State campus on Thursday, Oct. 18, and at the Columbus Convention Center on Oct. 19 and 20. SEE: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4047482128.
The person listed as the CONTACT will have the most current information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story: Liz Cook, (614) 292-7276 or cook.17@osu.edu; Jim Lynch, (614) 247-4110 or lynch.270@osu.edu; or Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385 or murray-goedde.1@osu.edu
