Story Ideas for Media 2-13-06

News

NASA honors astronaut John Glenn – Feb. 20. NASA will honor John Glenn, one of the original seven NASA astronauts, with the Ambassador of Exploration Award at 4 p.m. Monday (2/20) at Ohio State's John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy, Page Hall, 1810 College Road. The presentation marks the anniversary of Glenn's historic 1962 "Friendship 7" space flight. NASA created the Ambassador of Excellence Award to recognize the 38 astronauts who participated in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs for realizing America's vision of space exploration from 1961 to 1972. The award contains a marble-size piece of moon rock encased in Lucite, part of the 842 pounds of samples brought back to Earth during the six Apollo lunar expeditions from 1969 to 1972. Glenn's award will remain on display at the John Glenn Institute in Page Hall. CONTACT: Jim Lynch, (614) 247-4110.

Research

KABOOM! Ancient impacts scarred moon to its core, may have created "man in the moon." Ohio State University planetary scientists have found the remains of ancient lunar impacts that may have helped create the surface feature commonly called the "man in the moon."
According to Laramie Potts and Ralph von Frese, a postdoctoral researcher and professor of geological sciences respectively at Ohio State, these features are instead remnants from ancient impacts.
Their study suggests that a large object hit the far side of the moon and sent a shock wave through the moon's core and all the way to the Earth-facing side. The crust recoiled -- and the moon bears the scars from that encounter even today.
CONTACT: Laramie Potts, (614) 292-7365; potts.3@osu.edu, or Ralph von Frese, (614) 292-5635; Von-frese.3@osu.edu SEE: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/moonboom.htm

Events

Nuclear expert to present lecture – Feb. 14. Siegfried S. Hecker, director emeritus of Los Alamos National Laboratory and visiting professor at Stanford University, will deliver "A Personal Perspective of the Changing Nuclear Threat" at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, (2/14) at the Blackwell, 2110 Tuttle Park Place. Hecker's talk, which is free and open to the public, will address the challenges in avoiding a nuclear 9/11. According to Hecker, while the Cold War nuclear deterrence brought an uneasy global peace, the dissolution of the Soviet Union resulted in a resurgence of regional and ethnic conflicts, troubling nuclear proliferation developments, and the emergence of international catastrophic terrorism. The gravity of these developments was demonstrated on 9/11. Now, our country faces new difficult challenges that threaten international order and our way of life. CONTACT: Gina Langen, (614) 688-4423, langen.2@osu.edu

Outstanding faculty member to deliver University Distinguished Lecture – Feb. 15. Robert Hamlin, the Stanton Youngberg Professor of Veterinary Medicine and a professor of biomedical engineering, will deliver the University Distinguished Lecture at 4 p.m. Wednesday (2/15) in the Wexner Center Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High Street. Hamlin will discuss "Slightly Modified, Giraffes Would Make Great Fighter Pilots, and Bats, Great Cardiologists ... and Please Give Me a Heart That's Part Guinea Pig, Part Spider, Part Rat, and Part Goat ... or It's Lucky We're So Smart!" He will explore how properties of animals, if present in humans, would allow them to perform exceptional feats. The University Distinguished Lecture Series annually recognizes two senior faculty for their outstanding academic achievement, particularly - but not exclusively - in research, scholarship or creative activity. Each recipient presents a scholarly lecture to the community and public. CONTACT: Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385.

Conference explores disability rights – Feb. 16-17. What is the role of personal narrative in advancing the cause of disability rights? A wide range of experts will tackle the question during an interdisciplinary conference Feb.16 and 17 at Ohio State's Moritz College of Law, 55 W. 12th Avenue. "Disability, Narrative, and the Law" will bring together researchers from law and the humanities to explore legal discussions about disability and the self-understanding of persons with disabilities. Tony Coelho, chair of the board of the Epilepsy Foundation and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, will deliver the keynote address at noon on Friday. The agenda is at http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/cilps/conference/dnl2006/agenda.html CONTACT: Sol Bermann, (614) 688-4192.

Chinese government officials speak at Fisher business seminar on investing in China – Feb. 16. The vice mayor of Jintan City, an important industrial market in China, and the executive director of the Jiangsu Jintan Economic Development Zone, will be featured speakers at a Thursday, (2/16) Fisher College of Business Executive Education seminar on investing in China.
The seminar, "U.S. Investment in China: The Jiangsu Jintan Economic Development Zone," will be an interactive discussion with Chinese officials, international executives, international lawyers and real estate experts who will provide a hands-on perspective of the financial, geopolitical, strategic and operational challenges of conducting business in China. Fisher's Chinese business expert Oded Shenkar, the Ford Motor Company Chair in Global Business Management and author of "The Chinese Century: The Rising Chinese Economy and Its Impact on the Global Economy, the Balance of Power and Your Job," will give presentations and moderate. CONTACT: Patricia Allen, (614) 292-8937, allen.965@osu.edu

Girls invited to join Future Engineers' Summer Camp. Middle school girls can catch a glimpse of their future in science and engineering this summer at Ohio State University's College of Engineering. The college is offering the Future Engineers' Summer Camp, encouraging creative thinking and hands-on experimenting. The application deadline for the Aug. 7-11 camp is March 17. The free daytime camp is open to girls with an interest in science, math and engineering who will enter the eighth grade this autumn. Attendees will participate in hands-on engineering activities, discover campus, visit research laboratories and meet with professional engineers, scientists and engineering students. Applications and additional information are at http://www.ceegs.ohio-state.edu/FESC CONTACT: Joan Slattery Wall, (614) 292-4064.

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: Shelly Hoffman; (614) 247-4748 or hoffman.511@osu.edu; Jim Lynch; (614) 247-4110 or lynch.270@osu.edu; or Amy Murray; (614) 292-8385 or murray-goedde.1@osu.edu