Story Ideas for Media 7/30/12

Research

Estimate: A New Amish Community is Founded Every 3 1/2 Weeks in U.S. A new census of the Amish population in the United States estimates that a new Amish community is founded, on average, about every 3 1/2 weeks, and shows that more than 60 percent of all existing Amish settlements have been founded since 1990.
This pattern suggests the Amish are growing more rapidly than most other religions in the United States, researchers say. Unlike other religious groups, however, the growth is not driven by converts joining the faith, but instead can be attributed to large families and high rates of baptism.
“The Amish are one of the fastest-growing religious groups in North America,” said Joseph Donnermeyer, professor of rural sociology in Ohio State's School of Environment and Natural Resources, who led the census project. “They're doubling their population about every 21 to 22 years, primarily because they produce large families and the vast majority of daughters and sons remain in the community as adults baptized into the faith, starting their own families and sustaining their religious beliefs and practices.” CONTACT: Emily Caldwell, (614) 292-8310; Caldwell.151@osu.edu. SEE: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/amishpop.htm

Events

Eye care pros invited to session on new contact lenses containing ‘bio’ products – Aug. 2. The College of Optometry and Bausch + Lomb (B&L) representatives will host an educational session Thursday from 12:30 – 3:30 p.m. in 33 Fry Hall about new contact lenses produced with bio-inspired material. The team that developed the daily disposable lenses included two Ohio State alumni: former associate dean of optometry, Dr. Joseph Barr, B&L global vice president of medical and clinical affairs for vision care and former advanced practice fellow in cornea and contact lens, and Dr. Mohinder Merchea, B&L director of medical affairs for vision care. Both will return to Ohio State to help launch the product and describe the science behind the new lenses, which contain the same amount of water as the cornea and allow for steady hydration and oxygen levels on thesurface of the eye. CONTACT: Shawn Curtner, Optometry Services, SCurtner@optometry.osu.edu

Tour to show why Ohio State is a leader in sustainability – August 3. The Association for Behavior Analysis International will kick off its annual conference with two walking tours of Ohio State’s sustainability projects, at 1:30 and 3 p.m., beginning in the Ohio Union Great Hall, 1739 N. High St. Included will be LEED Certified buildings, trees older than the university itself, the historic Mirror Lake and Oval, Ohio Stadium’s zero waste effort, Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens, and one-of-its-kind wetlands. There is growing recognition that the underlying source of our environmental problems is human action and that the only solution is to change behavior. The question is, how? Behavior Change for a Sustainable World, Friday-Sunday, Aug. 3-5, brings together experts from across the world to explore scientific approaches to increasing environmentally friendly behavior. Speakers include Ohio State’s Lonnie Thompson, pioneer in climate change research. Read more. CONTACT: Bill Heward, professor emeritus, Ohio State University. Heward.1@osu.edu

August camp introduces eighth-grade girls to engineering – Aug. 6-10.. The Women in Engineering Program (WiE) at The Ohio State University will host “WiE GROW,” a summer camp to inspire rising eighth-grade girls to pursue careers in engineering, August 6-10. Thirty students between the ages of 12 and 13 from schools throughout Ohio will visit laboratories and participate in science-related activities to learn about various disciplines in engineering.
At Ohio State, enrollment of women engineering students has steadily increased from 13.5% to 18% over the last five years thanks in part to the College of Engineering’s summer programs like WiE GROW. Reporters and photographers are welcome to cover various aspects of the camp. CONTACT: Candi Clevenger, (614) 292-1806, clevenger.87@osu.edu or Shawna Fletcher, (614) 292-0003, fletcher.234@osu.edu

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; 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