Story Ideas for Media 9-12-05

News

Ohio State to assist students displaced by Hurricane Katrina – In a continuing effort to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina, Ohio State will provide emergency assistance to Ohio State students from the region and accept displaced students for autumn quarter enrollment whose home universities have been closed. University colleges and departments are mobilizing resources to ensure that students from the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina are able to continue their education on the Columbus campus. Autumn quarter classes begin Sept. 21.
Academic and financial aid counselors and housing staff members are contacting the more than 50 displaced undergraduates who have expressed an interest in Ohio State. Many fees have been waived and counselors will help students complete a modified admissions application, schedule classes, complete financial aid forms and find available housing. A special orientation will be held for new enrollees and include counseling to address their unique challenges. Enrollment and support services are also being made available for visiting graduate and professional students, faculty and researchers. CONTACT: Liz Cook, (614) 292-7276
For updates on university initiatives to assist survivors, see http://www.osu.edu/katrina/

Fisher College of Business agrees to conduct investment research on venture capital investment in Ohio. The Center for Entrepreneurship at the Fisher College of Business has agreed to provide strategic venture capital investment research and analysis to Buckeye Venture Partners, LLC (BVP), as it launches the Ohio Capital Fund on behalf of the Ohio Venture Capital Authority. BVP is a joint venture between Cincinnati-based Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. and Cleveland-based Peppertree Partners, LLC. The Ohio Capital Fund, a fund of funds, was established by the State of Ohio in February to help increase private investment in Ohio companies in the seed or early stage of business development. The fund's goal is to generate $100 million from private sources for investment in qualified venture capital funds, which, in turn will commit to invest at least half of such monies in Ohio-based companies. CONTACT: Gail Geshwilm Dickson, Fisher College of Business, (614) 292-8022; Aaron Brown, Fahlgren Mortine Public Relations-for the Center for Entrepreneurship, (614) 825-1703; or Herb Brown, Buckeye Venture Partners, (513) 629-1136.

Research

Nanotechnology confronts the "bad hair day," tests new conditioner. Ohio State University researchers have just completed the first comprehensive study of human hair on the nanometer level. Special equipment enabled Bharat Bhushan and his colleagues to get an unprecedented close-up look at a rogue's gallery of bad hair days – from chemically overprocessed locks to curls kinked up by humidity. They used the techniques they developed to test a new high-tech hair conditioner. Ultimately, the same techniques could be used to improve lipstick, nail polish and other beauty products, said Bhushan, Ohio Eminent Scholar and the Howard D. Winbigler Professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State. His specialty is nanotribology -- the measurement of very small things, such as the friction between moving parts in microelectronics. CONTACT: Bharat Bhushan, (614) 292-0651;Bhushan.2@osu.edu, SEE: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/nanohair.htm

It's Electric: cows show promise as power plants. A new study suggests that some of the microorganisms found in cow waste may provide a reliable source of electricity. Results showed that the microbes in about a half a liter of rumen fluid – fermented, liquefied feed extracted from the rumen, the largest chamber of a cow's stomach – produced about 600 millivolts of electricity. That's about half the voltage needed to run one rechargeable AA-sized battery, said Ann Christy, a study co-author and an associate professor of food, agricultural and biological engineering at Ohio State University. The research showed how electricity can be created as the microorganisms in rumen fluid break down cellulose, which is the primary component of the roughage that cows eat. This study represents the first time that scientists have used cellulose to help charge a fuel cell. CONTACT: Ann Christy, (614) 292-3171;Christy.14@osu.edu SEE: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/cowpower.htm

Experts

Experts available to discuss U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Process. Experts available to discuss U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Process. As the confirmation hearing for John Roberts as chief justice gets underway, several faculty members at Ohio State's Moritz College of Law are available to talk with the media about the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation process:
*James Brudney, (614) 292-0795 or brudney.1@osu.edu Professor Brudney served as clerk to Associate Justice Harry Blackmun during the 1980-1981 term, the final Term of an all-male Court (Justice O'Connor began her tenure the following autumn). He can discuss changes in recent decades as to the background and experience deemed suitable for Supreme Court service, the divergent philosophies of statutory interpretation among the current Justices, and recent (and possible future) trends from the Court on workplace law cases, which comprise roughly one-sixth of the Court's decisional docket.
*Peter Shane, (614) 688-3014 or shane.29@osu.edu. Professor Shane is an expert in the area of administrative law. He can discuss the history of Supreme Court appointments, responsibilities of the Senate, judicial records of retiring Justices, issues likely to be important on the Court's agenda that the new Justice could influence, and philosophies of constitutional interpretation and adherence to past precedents.
*Edward (Ned) Foley, (614) 292-4288 or foley.33@osu.edu. Professor Foley served as clerk to Associate Justice Harry Blackmun during the 1988-1989 term. He can address the respect for precedent and stare decisis, how a court adheres to a principle of law once that principle has been laid down by the court. He can discuss how the new Supreme Court will follow the law set down by the previous members or if it will deviate from current law.
*Alan Michaels, (614) 688-3451 or michaels.23@osu.edu. Professor Michaels served as clerk to Associate Justice Harry Blackmun during the 1987-1988 term. He is an expert in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. In addition to discussing the Court in relation to Criminal Law and Procedure, he can discuss the effects of new appointments on the balance of power within the court.

Research

Events

Roads Scholars explore Ohio State's statewide impact – Sept. 13-14. With northern Ohio as their classroom, about 35 new and newly tenured Ohio State University faculty will take on the role of student next week, learning about subjects as varied as vegetable farming, community economic development and aquatic ecology during the 2005 Roads Scholars tour.
The two-day bus tour allows participants to see first-hand the impact of Ohio State research on Ohio citizens as well as observe the relationships that the university maintains with business and community leaders, educators, alumni and students. The tour also highlights the university's role in enhancing the economy in communities and in building the state's educational base.
The tour will visit business and educational sites in six cities, including Ohio State's Marion campus, the Ohio Sea Grant Program at Lake Erie, the OSU/Port Clinton Arts Festival, a Lorain high school, a 4-H program in a Cleveland park, a business and research partner in Cleveland, a vegetable farm in Willard, and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster.
CONTACT: Latina Rockhold, (614) 688-3310

African American Male Resource Center Early Arrival Orientation - Sept. 16-19.
The Office of Minority Affairs African American Male Resource Center will host an inaugural orientation this weekend for African American male first-quarter freshmen attending Ohio State this fall.
The three-day orientation at the Frank W. Hale Black Cultural Center, 153 W. 12th Ave, will include guest speakers, mentoring workshops and panel discussions to help introduce students to strategies and specific resources available to support their academic success. The weekend of events also will include an opening luncheon with university administrators at 11:30 a.m. on Friday (9/16); a San Diego State football tailgate party with guest speaker Archie Griffin, President and CEO of the Ohio State Alumni Association, Inc., at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday (9/17); and a closing luncheon at noon on Sunday (9/19).
CONTACT: Eric Troy, Minority Affairs, (614) 292-2344.

Mark your calendar for a busy month – For your planning purposes, here is a list (by no means complete) of events scheduled through the remainder of September:
Sept. 18 Move-in day
Sept. 19 Convocation 2005
Sept. 19 Student Involvement Fair
Sept. 20 Community Commitment
Sept. 20-22 Farm Science Review at Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio.
Sept. 21 Autumn quarter classes begin
Sept. 23 Board of Trustees meeting
Sept. 24 OSU vs. Iowa football game
Sept. 27 College of Engineering autonomous vehicle begins competition in California for $2 million prize

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 or Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385,murray-goedde.1@osu.edu