Untitled Document

-more-

Ohio
State's news, experts and events give you more on the news

News

Study hard; take next week off – Ohio State students are taking final exams this week. Next week (3/22-26), students will observe spring break. Classes for the 10-week spring quarter begin Monday (3/29). Contact: Amy Murray, University Relations, (614) 292-8385.

Experts

OSU law professor: Replace punch cards with electronic voting machines. An Ohio State University law professor is working to rid the state of punch card voting machines, used in 70 of 88 counties in the 2000 election. Daniel Tokaji, assistant professor in the Moritz College of Law, says Ohio and the rest of the nation desperately needs to get rid of punch card voting machines and replace them with more modern systems. He says failing to do so is a form of electoral malpractice.
Tokaji says electronic voting offers a great opportunity to enhance the equality of our voting system, making it easier for people with disabilities to vote and lowering the racial gap in lost votes. Tokaji is also opposed to the proposed requirement of a “voter-verified paper trail,” arguing it would complicate the voting process, while providing questionable security benefits.
Tokaji has influenced the national debate on issues of voting equality, particularly those arising from the transition from punch cards to electronic voting. He served on the legal team working on behalf of the NAACP and other civil rights groups in the recent California recall litigation. He’s presently working with the ACLU to rid Ohio of its punch card machines. Contact: Daniel Tokaji, Moritz College of Law, (614) 292-6566

Research

How couples manage parenting forecasts later marital quality, study finds Just because a married couple has a good relationship when a child is born is no guarantee the marriage will stay that way as their child grows older, a new study suggests. Researchers found that how a couple manages their parenting responsibilities when their child is 6 months old is related to the quality of their marriage when their child is 3. “It may seem that a good marriage relationship would protect a couple, but parenting can change a lot in a how husbands and wives relate to each other,” said Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, co-author of the study and assistant professor of human development and family science at Ohio State University. “The issues you confront in parenting aren't typically the kind of issues you've confronted before you had children.” Contact: Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, (614) 614-688-3437; sschoppe-sullivan@hec.ohio-state.edu See: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/chldmarr.htm

Events

Ohio State researcher takes “smart dust” to Washington – March 17. Ohio State researcher Anish Arora will travel to Washington this week to demonstrate his “smart dust” sensor network research to members of Congress on Wednesday, (3/17) as part of an open house to showcase compelling sensor network applications. The demonstration will take place from noon 2:30 p.m. at 2105 Rayburn House Office Building, 1st and Independence Ave. S.W., Washington, D.C. Arora’s research incorporates the use of tiny wireless sensors scattered to detect movement of vehicles and people on foot, and determine if a person may be carrying a weapon. Sensor network technologies offer security opportunities for agriculture, defense and homeland security, healthcare, and manufacturing. The event is sponsored by Intel to encourage Congress to support research in the area of sensor networks, given the huge potential of its impact in homeland security, habitat monitoring, and industrial monitoring/control contexts. UCLA, UC/Berkeley, MIT, and University of Virginia are also participating, as well as some of Intel’s research with sensor nets. Arora and his graduate students will be presenting a version of his A Line In The Sand sensor network demonstration, posters about “sensor network-centric security,” which argue how sensor networks can protect large-scale, critical and civilian infrastructures, and videos and photographs of past field experiments. Contact: Anish Arora, Computer Science and Engineering, (614) 264-8771 (cell) or (614) 292-1836 (office), Arora.9@osu.edu

Ceremony marks groundbreaking of new Veterinary Medicine Large Animal Clinic – March 17. The College of Veterinary Medicine will break ground on a new large animal clinic in Marysville, in a 1 p.m. ceremony on Wednesday (3/17) at the Union County Garage off County Home Road north of Marysville. Upon completion in spring, 2005, the practice will move from its current location in Marysville to the new 10,000 square-foot building, which will include a surgery suite, pharmacy, conference room, classroom, housing for students and faculty offices. Ohio State’s Large Animal Services provides full-service medical and surgical services for all large animal species, as well as herd-oriented production medical services. It serves patients in thirteen Ohio counties and has approximately 840 clients. Ohio State veterinary students live at the facility and assist with medical services as part of a fourth-year rotation. Contact: Melissa Lamb Peale, director of communications, at (614) 292-3752 or lamb-peale.1@osu.edu

It’s a match! Medical students ready to celebrate – March 18. National Residency Match Day, the day senior medical students across the country learn where they will begin their careers, is Thursday (3/18). For 210 students at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, the suspense will come to an end precisely at noon when they rip open sealed envelopes in hopes of “matching” with their preferred program. The event will take place in the auditorium of the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road. The students, their friends, families and instructors will gather at 11:30 a.m. for a brief ceremony prior to the opening of the envelopes. Contact: Gary Snyder, Medical Center Communications, 614-293-3737.

OSU to Participate in First-ever, Virtual National Internet2 Day – March 18. Ohio State and more than 200 other universities and colleges will observe the first-ever, virtual National Internet2 Day on Thursday (3/18). The Office of the Chief Information Officer and the Ohio Supercomputer Center will host a day-long series of virtual presentations at the new Digital Union, located on the third floor of the Science and Engineering Library, 175 W.18th Ave. Events include live webcasts featuring speakers from disciplines including science and research, teaching, performing arts, and collaboration technologies. From noon to 1 p.m., national presentations will be highlighted. From 1 to 2:15 p.m., Ohio State presenters will demonstrate how Internet2 applications are currently being used here; projects currently underway, how to begin collaboration with other Internet2 institutions, and how students and faculty are benefiting from Internet2.Contact:Cathy Bindewald, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 614-247-6980

Campus area traffic alert: thousands expected for basketball, commencement. Some major upcoming events around campus will likely have an impact area on parking and traffic this week.
·Thursday through Saturday (3/18-20), the Schottenstein Center will host the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Girls’ State Basketball Tournament. Some 4,000 – 7,000 guests per session are expected.
·Saturday and Monday (3/20 and 22), St. John Arena will host the NCAA Women’s Basketball First and Second Round Tournament. Some 5,000 to 8,000 guests are expected per session.
·Sunday (3/21) the Schottenstein Center will host OSU Winter Commencement, with 8,000 to 10,000 guests expected.
Motorists who usually drive in the campus area can learn more at a new website offered by The Ohio State University Office of Transportation and Parking Services.
Visit http://www.tp.ohio-state.edu/specialevents/schott/febandmarchevents2004.shtml for specific information and suggestions on how to minimize any inconvenience.

Winter commencement is on Sunday – March 21. The commencement ceremony for about 1,500 winter quarter graduates will begin promptly at 3 p.m. Sunday (3/21) in the Schottenstein Center. Lonnie Thompson, Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences and research scientist with the Byrd Polar Research Center, will deliver the commencement address. Doors to the Schottenstein Center open to the public at 1 p.m. The Class Processional moves into the arena at 3 p.m. The ceremony will last approximately 2 hours. Honorary Doctor of Human Letters degrees will be awarded to Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University; and Durbin D. Feeling, who has devoted his professional life to the description, preservation, and teaching of the Cherokee language. Distinguished Service Awards will be presented to Rodney J. Harrison, associate vice provost of student affairs emeritus at Ohio State; and Robert F. Reusché, retired vice chair of the Northern Trust Co., a large multi-state trust and banking corporation headquartered in Chicago. Contact: Amy Murray, University Relations, (614) 292-8385.

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.