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

News

Good Housekeeping ranks OSU Pain Center among nation’s best – The Ohio State University Medical Center has been listed among the 35 best pain centers in the country by Good Housekeeping magazine in its May 2003 issue. The OSU pain control center, part of the department of anesthesiology, treats patients with chronic pain caused by conditions ranging from nerve damage and disc degeneration to migraines and scar tissue, as well as some conditions involving acute pain. The center’s physicians treat an estimated 600 patients per month in offices at the Camera Center, an outpatient facility at 2050 Kenny Road. According to the magazine, a physician-led team identified 35 cutting-edge pain centers in the United States. Ohio State is listed as most proficient in treating acute and chronic pain, and its medical director, Dr. Steven Severyn, is named as Ohio State’s top pain doctor. The OSU pain control center specializes in interventional procedures that relieve chronic pain indefinitely, Howie said. Among procedures currently performed are radio-frequency ablations, the creation of lesions on nerves to stop the transmission of pain impulses; installation of pain pumps, which administer medications directly to the spinal area; and intradiscal electrothermal therapy, the heating of disc tissue that shrinks the disc and seals off tissue tears. Contact: Emily Caldwell, Medical Center Communications, (614) 293-3737.

Experts

Expert can discuss proposed concealed weapons law and the growing controversy over the research used by the Ohio legislature in formulating the current bill. New research suggests that laws that allow citizens to carry concealed weapons do not reduce crime and may in fact lead to increases in crime, according to Saul Cornell, associate professor of history. Data from the 1990s show a rise in crime in those states that adopted concealed-carry laws, Cornell said. Cornell is director of the Second Amendment Research Center at Ohio State’s John Glenn Institute For Public Service & Public Policy. The Ohio Senate is currently considering a bill that would approve concealed weapons for Ohioans who pass a criminal-background check and a certified course in handling, shooting and storing weapons. The bill has already passed the Ohio House. Contact: Saul Cornell, Second Amendment Research Center, (614) 292-7858.

Research

Edges of magnetic tape are the key to boosting data density – Ohio State University engineers have examined in unprecedented detail a key manufacturing step that could improve one of the world’s most popular data storage materials: magnetic tape. Businesses ranging from storefronts to major corporations often back up essential computer records on tape, explained Bharat Bhushan, Ohio Eminent Scholar and the Howard D. Winbigler Professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State. Consumers use the same kind of tape in audio and video cassettes. As the world’s information needs grow, tape manufacturers are trying to boost storage capacity, Bhushan said. To compete with the industry’s top rival – computer hard disks – multi-track tapes will have to carry even more tracks. At the same time, tape width will have to shrink so that cartridges can be smaller. The complete story is available at http://www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/magtape.htm Contact: Bharat Bhushan, (614) 292-0651.

Events

Events
“Golden Rice” creator lectures at Ohio State and OARDC – May 1-2. Ingo Potrykus of the Swiss Federal Institue of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland, will discuss biotechology and world food security in lectures this week at Ohio State’s Columbus campus, and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster. Potrykus helped invent beta carotene-enriched "golden rice," a genetically modified food which could help overcome vitamin A deficiencies in parts of the world where rice is a diet staple. Potrykus will deliver “Golden Rice – a Humanitarian Project Meets All the Obstacles of Produce Development,” at 3 p.m. Thursday (5/1) in 170 Davis Heart & Lung Institute, 473 W. 12th Avenue. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is part of the Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Program’s (PMBB) Distinguished Seminar Series. He will present “Golden Rice: The Scientific Challenges Beyond the Basic Pathway Engineering for Provitamin A,” at the OARDC Wooster campus on Friday (5/2) at 3 p.m. in the center's Fisher Auditorium, 1680 Madison Ave. Contacts: For the Biological Sciences (5/1) lecture: Greg Armstrong, (614) 292-4817 or Sandi Rutkowski, (614) 292-4759. For the OARDC lecture: Steve Slack, OARDC director, (330) 263-3701.

The Ohio State University Board of Trustees meets – May 2. The Ohio State University Board of Trustees and its committees will meet Friday (5/2) at the Longaberger Alumni House, 2200 Olentangy River Road. Committee meetings, where most of the discussion takes place, begin at 9 a.m. and the main session at 10:15 a.m. For information on the agenda, see http://www.osu.edu/news_db/lvl2_news_story.php?id=431 Contact: Elizabeth Conlisk, University Relations, (614) 292-3040.

Ohio State hosts 55th Annual State Science Day – May 3. Nearly 1,000 students in grades 7-12 from across Ohio will exhibit their science research projects at the 55th annual State Science Day on Saturday (5/3) at the French Field House. The students will compete for nearly 100 scholarships and awards valued at more than $654,000. Ohio State President Karen Holbrook will welcome the students. The academic equivalent of a state athletic championship, this year's event is one of the largest of its kind in the nation. Drawing from a base of 35,000 student participants at more than 1,000 local science fairs, approximately 1,000 seventh- to 12th-grade students from nearly 300 schools will be evaluated on their scientific research and communication skills. Contact: Mr. Lynn Elfner, Ohio Academy of Science, (614) 488-2228.

Symposium examines image of United States Abroad – May 1. Richard Celeste, former governor of Ohio and former Ambassador to India, and Cynthia Schneider, former Ambassador to the Netherlands, will discuss “Cultural Diplomacy and the Image of the United States Abroad,” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (5/1) in the Mershon Center, 1501 Neil Ave. The speakers will explore the political issues of cultural diplomacy. This event is the first of six symposia organized by the Mershon Center and the OSU Area Studies Centers on Cultural Diplomacy and the Image of the United States in the World. Each of these events will cover a different region of the world, including Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, East Asia and South Asia. The Mershon Center promotes the interdisciplinary study of international security and public policy. Contact: Julie Rojewski, Mershon Center, (614) 292-7529.

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.