26
September
2011
|
18:00 PM
America/New_York

Story Ideas for Media 9/27/11

  • Salvinia_molestaa.jpg
    Salvinia molesta infesting a body of water. Photo source: Wikipedia.
  • salvinia_hairsa.jpg
    Optical micrograph of eggbeater-shaped hairs on the leaf surface of the aquatic plant Salvinia molesta. The hairs reduce friction and help the plant stay afloat. Ohio State University engineers have replicated the surface in a plastic coating that could reduce drag and boost buoyancy on boats and submarines. Images courtesy of Ohio State University.
  • drop_on_carpet_composite.jpg
    Left: A drop of water sits atop eggbeater-shaped hairs on a Salvinia molesta leaf. Right: The tips of the hairs stick to water with enough force to keep the droplet from rolling off when the leaf is turned to the vertical.
  • Salvinia_molestaa.jpg
    Salvinia molesta infesting a body of water. Photo source: Wikipedia.
  • salvinia_hairsa.jpg
    Optical micrograph of eggbeater-shaped hairs on the leaf surface of the aquatic plant Salvinia molesta. The hairs reduce friction and help the plant stay afloat. Ohio State University engineers have replicated the surface in a plastic coating that could reduce drag and boost buoyancy on boats and submarines. Images courtesy of Ohio State University.
  • drop_on_carpet_composite.jpg
    Left: A drop of water sits atop eggbeater-shaped hairs on a Salvinia molesta leaf. Right: The tips of the hairs stick to water with enough force to keep the droplet from rolling off when the leaf is turned to the vertical.

News

Ohio State and Wuhan University awarded federal grant to open a Center for American Culture.
The Ohio State University and Wuhan University in the People’s Republic of China have been awarded a $100,000 federal grant from the Department of State to fund the WHU-OSU Center for American Culture, located within the School of Foreign Languages on the Wuhan campus in the Hubei Province of China. The grant will support interactive programming to provide information about American culture and the English language to the people of China. CONTACT: Maureen Miller (614) 247-2462 or visit http://oia.osu.edu

Ohio State’s family-friendly benefits win recognition. Two Ohio State efforts to help faculty and staff balance responsibilities at work and at home are receiving local and national attention.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption has named Ohio State to its 2011 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces List. The foundation ranks employers based on financial reimbursement and paid leave for employees who adopt. The university’s adoption benefit provides $5,000 per adopted child to offset adoption costs and fees, and paid leave when a faculty or staff member adopts a child.
The university’s lactation program, which provides a private, safe space for mothers to express breast milk when they return from paid parental leave, garnered Ohio State a spot on the 2011 Breastfeeding Friendly Employer Award Winners list. With locations across the university and Medical Center, the program aims to offer enough spaces that no nursing mother has to walk more than five minutes to reach a location. CONTACT: Kerry Francis, (614) 247-8737, francis.57@osu.edu

Events

Ohio State solar house competes in Washington – through Oct. 1. Ohio State’s solar house is open for tours and judging in Washington D.C. for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. Ohio State’s energy-efficient solar house is currently in second place among 19 homes built by university teams. Homes are judged in ten contests that evaluate engineering, architecture, comfort, affordability and other aspects of the house. The teams will have to perform everyday tasks, including cooking, laundry and washing dishes, to test the energy efficiency of their homes.
Houses are open for public tours in the solar village through Oct. 2. The winning team will be announced on Oct. 1. SEE: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/ and http://solardecathlon.osu.edu/.

Ohio State’s EcoCAR 2 team kicks off new three-year national competition – Sept. 29. The Ohio State University EcoCAR Team will hold a kickoff event at 1 p.m. on Thursday (9/29) at the Center for Automotive Research, 930 Kinnear Rd.
EcoCAR 2 is a three-year, student-engineering competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors. The competition challenges students from 15 universities to redesign a 2013 Chevy Malibu to be more efficient and use less petroleum while maintaining performance, safety and consumer acceptability.
During the event, Kevin Storch, a General Motors engineer and Ohio State's EcoCAR 2 mentor, will meet the entire OSU EcoCAR 2 team for the first time and will present the team with a $25,000 check from General Motors.
In addition, the team will receive other donations and seed money to participate in EcoCAR 2, which will provide more than $105,000 to every school over the next three years to sponsor engineering graduate research and outreach/business graduate/undergraduate research. CONTACT: Sarah Jadwin, (614) 205-2882, Jadwin.8@osu.edu. SEE: http://car.osu.edu/node/272

National Endowment for the Humanities director gives talk on civility – Sept. 30. Jim Leach, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities will discuss “Civility in a Troubled Economy” at 4 p.m. on Friday (9/30) in the Ohio Union, U.S. Bank Theatre, 1739 N. High St. Leach launched a 50-state tour in November 2009 to call attention to the need for civility in public discourse. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. SEE: http://forms.asc.ohio-state.edu/NEH.

New cyclist outreach campaign “How We Roll” kicks off at Ohio State – Oct. 3. Media are invited to take a bike tour of Columbus as a new cyclist outreach campaign kicks off at Ohio State. The “How We Roll” campaign launches at 6 p.m. on Monday (10/3) on the west plaza of the Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St. “How We Roll” is Bike OSU’s student-led cyclist outreach campaign, designed to foster a positive cycling community on campus, introduce students to cycling in the city and communicate appropriate and safe bicycling behaviors. The launch event includes bike tune-ups, bike registration and more. CONTACT: Matthew Cannon, (513) 907-4353.

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