Miami University - Top Stories
Tom Myers and Megan Linard will compete in a live pitch at the E3 Expo (photo by Angelo Gelfuso).
by Margo Kissell, university news and communications
A team of Miami University students will compete in the finals of the AARP/ESA Social Connection GameJam next Thursday in Los Angeles.
The three students — Christian Coppoletti, Megan Linard and Tom Myers — will take part in a “live pitch” event at the E3 Expo, delivering their idea for an innovative electronic game for people ages 50 and older to help foster positive social connection.
The students developed the idea during a 48-hour game jam in April, and it was chosen from 28 submissions from universities and colleges around the country.
George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and the UCSC Silicon Valley extension in Santa Clara, California, are the other semi-finalists. Each team received $1,500 per member to fund their travel to the expo for the final round of judging.
Christian Coppoletti will compete with Linard and Meyers.
The winning live pitch team will receive a $10,000 cash prize to be shared among the team members.
Coppoletti, a junior interactive media studies major with a computer science minor, called it “a colossal honor” to reach the finals. He has dreamed of visiting E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), but said he never expected to do so while in college, especially since it’s now an invitation-only event.
The GameJam is co-sponsored by AARP and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), with support from the Higher Education Video Game Alliance (HEVGA). HEVGA solicited participation from its membership representing student game designers and faculty at more than 100 institutions of higher learning.
The team is part of the Miami University Game Jam Club. Bob De Schutter, Miami’s C. Michael Armstrong Assistant Professor of Applied Game Design and the club’s adviser, will accompany the team to the expo.
De Schutter said the students’ ...
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Monday, July 24, 2017
Miami team to compete in finals of AARP's Social Connection GameJam contest
Transport pricing and accessibility
Latest From Brookings
A common criticism of urban transport strategies is that they are unduly concerned with mobility or the ability to move rather than accessibility in which a desired journey purpose can be satisfied. It is often further argued that a consequence of this focus on mobility, particularly motorized mobility, is that transport is not affordable to the poor, and that this exclusion justified the use of subsidies to remedy the situation. A key element of “Moving to Access” is thus concerned with increasing the affordability of transport for the poor. The objective of this paper is to explore the relationships between mobility, accessibility, affordability and transport prices and subsidies in more detail with a view to better reconciling the economic efficiency of the urban transport systems with the welfare of the poor. That generates three main areas of inquiry, namely:
The approach to accessibility
The approach to affordability through transport subsidy
The reconciliation of efficiency pricing with equityconsiderations.
While there is a long history of theoretical and practical discussion of transport pricing and subsidies, there are a number of factors that call for further review and reconsideration. Among those factors are the increasing use of cash transfers and conditional cash transfers as a redistributional mechanism and the advances in information technology that enhance targeting of subsidies. In addition, the uptake of pricing strategies to address congestion and environmental effects raises concerns regarding equity and the impact on accessibility of low-income households. This paper takes these factors into consideration in updating the theoretical as well as practical application of pricing instruments. It offers a framework for assessing alternative pricing strategies and indicates areas for further investigation. The policy conclusions may be briefly encapsulated. First, accessibility is preferable to mobility as a policy objective but it is not necessarily more pro-poor than focusing on mobility, unless accompanied by other measures such as land ...
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Help-a-Hawk 2017
News – Illinois Tech Today
The Office of Campus Life needs student volunteers for Help-a-Hawk—a great opportunity to welcome new Illinois Tech community members to their on-campus living experience.
Help-a-Hawk is Illinois Tech’s volunteer move-in team for incoming students on Friday, August 11 and Saturday, August 12. The typical duties of a Help-a-Hawk team member include, but are not limited to: directing traffic to designated unloading areas and parking lots, physically lifting and moving personal items, and collecting and relocating moving carts to the community desk.
Sign up here by Saturday, July 22. You can select multiple days and volunteer shifts according to your schedule. You will receive detailed information after July 22. If your availability changes, please notify Patrick Fina at pfina@iit.edu.
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COD Students Participate in Prestigious Summer Internships
News at College of DuPage
By Mike McKissackCollege of DuPage students Ray Addi (Westmont), Xinjie Wu (Bolingbrook) and Tony Yang
(Streamwood) are participating in prestigious summer research internships made possible
through a National Science Foundation grant.Addi is at Argonne National Laboratory, while both Wu and Yang are at Northwestern
University.The internships were made possible through the College’s S-STEM Student Success program. The S-STEM program’s funding is provided by a National Science Foundation grant
promoting STEM Student Success through Individualized Coaching and Interdisciplinary
Community, through the Division of Undergraduate Education.Addi is spending the summer working within a research team from the Material Science
Division at Argonne under the supervision of Dr. Amanda Petford-Long. The team is
studying the behavior of magnetic lattices consisting of micron size magnetic bars
arranged in a quasicrystal pattern. His task at the lab is to calculate and analyze
the energy at different nodes of the lattice using Object Oriented MicroMagnetic Framework
(OOMMF) software to see how that energy changes under different external energy.“This internship is giving me the opportunity to apply what I have studied so far
at COD, keeping me curious in learning more scientific topics and craving more advanced
studies,” he said. “I’m trying to learn everything I can about this specific project
by reading related books and scientific articles. I’m also exploring different scientific
research projects here at Argonne Lab by attending conferences and seminars.”Addi said he developed a passion for electronics while still a teenager. He plans
to transfer to the University of Illinois at Chicago and study electrical engineering.“Since I started my studies at COD, my primary goal was to eventually earn a bachelor’s
degree in engineering,” he said. “COD is offering me all the elements to achieve that.
If you want a quality education at an affordable cost, College of DuPage is the best
...
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Embry-Riddle Hosts Drone Cage Obstacle and Speed Course at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, is a nonprofit, independent institution offering more than 80 baccalaureate, master’s and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges of Arts & Sciences, Aviation, Business, Engineering and Security & Intelligence. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., through the Worldwide Campus with more than
125 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and through online programs. The university is a major research center, seeking solutions to real-world problems in partnership with the aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies. For more information, visit
erau.edu, follow us on
Twitter (@EmbryRiddle) and
facebook.com/EmbryRiddleUniversity, and find expert videos at
YouTube.com/EmbryRiddleUniv.
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WPI Athletics Mourns The Passing of Byron Menides
WPI News Archive
Jul 24, 2017
Worcester - Long-time WPI professor and assistant coach Byron Menides died peacefully at age 85 from complications of pneumonia at Dodge Park Rest Home. He leaves his wife of 55 years, Laura Jehn-Menides, his son John and daughter Georgia, and many nieces and nephews.
From 1978 through 2007, he was an associate adjunct professor and instructor at WPI. In the meantime he was a familiar face on the WPI football sidelines for 10 seasons. He was also spotted frequently at Crimson and Gray basketball games.
"Byron was one of the most lovable people I've ever met during my time here at WPI," remarked head football coach Chris Robertson. "He supported WPI in so many ways and loved our football program and all the players he met and interacted with over the years. He was a gentle soul with a big heart and he will be missed dearly."
Menides has had careers in both business and higher education. He has been senior vice president and chief financial officer of Global Power Networks, Ltd. and was a CEO and CFO of a number of public companies.
A 1953 graduate of Dartmouth, Menides earned his bachelor's degree in International Relations. He was a defensive and offensive tackle at Lynn English High School, where he later was line coach for the junior varsity.
Obituary
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Behind the scenes: Making 'Into the Woods'
Princeton University News
Director Ethan Heard describes how the Lewis Center for the Arts' production of the musical "Into the Woods" came together through a spring course in theater and music theater.
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Receptors for Neuron Communication in Humans Vital for Reproduction in Mosses
College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences
Study shows plant version of human glutamate receptor helps moss sperm find eggs, controls spore developmentGlutamate receptors play a central role in the human nervous system. Scientists estimate 90 percent of the human brain’s synapses, or connections between neurons, send signals using glutamate. The role of similar receptors in plants, which do not have a nervous system, is not fully understood.
A new study led by José Feijó, professor of cell biology and molecular genetics at the University of Maryland, revealed two previously unknown roles for glutamate receptor-like proteins in plants: controlling the navigation of sperm to locate eggs and regulating the development of fertilized eggs. This work was published in the journal Nature on July 24, 2017.
“Scientists have shown that plants’ glutamate receptor-like proteins play a role in pollen tube growth and defense against pathogens, but we discovered completely novel functionalities for these receptors that no one has ever observed before,” Feijó said. “Since glutamate receptors were thought to act in neural transmission and essentially nothing else, no one knows why plants would have so many copies of these genes. It is very exciting to find that such genes may have been conserved during plant evolution to mediate cell-to-cell communication in sexual reproduction.”
Feijó and his collaborators tested the function of glutamate receptor-like proteins in the moss Physcomitrella patens because it contains only two genes that encode for these proteins. The popular plant model Arabidopsis thaliana, on the other hand, contains 20 glutamate receptor-like genes.
After the researchers removed the two glutamate receptor-like genes from P. patens by mutation, the mosses grew normally, but did not reproduce. The reason: the mutant plants’ sperm did not reach the archegonia, the female organ that contains eggs for fertilization and secretes a chemical signal to attract sperm.
While normal sperm twisted and tumbled and took sharp turns to find the archegonia entrance, mutant sperm ...
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Column: Freshmen do's and don'ts
State News Opinions
It's your freshman year. You've been waiting for this brand new chapter of your life for weeks, months or maybe even years. Now that it’s finally here, know that there are some things you definitely should and shouldn’t do during your first year of college.
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First 'Research Horizons' event to welcome Pinterest CEO, NSF leader to IU
IU
IUB Newsroom »First 'Research Horizons' event to welcome Pinterest CEO, NSF leader to IUFirst 'Research Horizons' event to welcome Pinterest CEO, NSF leader to IUSept. 6, 2016FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEBLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing will welcome leaders from the public and private global technology sectors to IU on Sept. 8 and 9.
Ben Silbermann, CEO of Pinterest, and Jim Kurose, assistant director at the National Science Foundation, will visit campus for "Research Horizons." The event will spotlight faculty efforts at the school and spark conversations about how research drives innovation.
Kurose, assistant director of the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering at NSF, and Silbermann, co-founder of the social media platform recently valued at $11 billion, will deliver keynote addresses from 9 to 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. to noon, respectively, Sept. 9.
Also delivering a keynote is Thomas Sterling, director of the IU Center for Research in Extreme Scale Technologies, who will speak from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m. Sept. 8.
The school's research will be represented with over 35, five-minute, lightning-round-style presentations from IU School of Informatics and Computing faculty.
Talks are closed to the public, but a livestream will be available. All lectures are open to the media.
"This event is designed to celebrate our school’s research and to facilitate new collaborations," said Martina Barnas, assistant dean for research and director of research collaborations at the IU School of Informatics and Computing. "Research Horizons will be a showcase for a plethora of exciting projects, and it will give a snapshot of the broad spectrum of work being done at our school."
The event also marks the start of another year of remarkable growth at the school, with a record enrollment of 2,878 total students and 14 new tenure-track faculty positions in the 2016-17 academic year. The school also boasts the largest master’s degree program at IU, with 580 students enrolled in ...
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Why deliberative democracy makes better citizens
Northwestern Now: Summaries
To create policies that reflect “the will of the people,” schools need to begin teaching how to engage in public deliberation, Northwestern University professor Matt Easterday wrote in “Why Deliberative Democracy Makes Better Citizens.”After the 2016 presidential election, Easterday noticed his students were struggling to understand the perspective of those on the opposite side of the political spectrum.
But morality can both “bind and blind” us, he wrote. “Unfortunately, when we make calls for greater empathy, we are typically asking for others to understand our perspective or those whose perspectives we share,” he wrote.
Easterday believes it may help to engage in the kind of deliberative democracy practices that our country was designed to support.
Though there are many variations, “deliberate democratic practices such as deliberative polls, citizens' assemblies, and citizen juries bring citizens together to discuss the common challenges we face and to decide what should be done,” he wrote. “Deliberative democracy makes dialogue, and thus, a deeper understanding of key issues, central.”
Easterday wants schools to begin teaching deliberation as part of a broad civic education. Supporting the non-partisan Jefferson Center, which works to advance democratic, citizen-driven solutions to community and public issues, and electing local officials that use deliberate input when making policy decisions can also help.
“To be sure, deliberation alone is insufficient if it does not lead to policy change,” he wrote. “But neither can we have good policy if we cannot fully grasp the issues and policies and deliberate their nuances.”
Easterday, a Public Voices Fellow with the OpEd Project, is assistant professor in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern where he has developed online deliberation platforms for the Roosevelt Institute Network, Jefferson Center, and the Joyce Foundation.
His research focuses on technology for the new civics – producing scientifically supported educational technology to create informed and engaged citizens who can solve ...
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Bird songs provide insight into how developing brain forms memories
UChicago News
Researchers at the University of Chicago have demonstrated, for the first time, that a key protein complex in the brain is linked to the ability of young animals to learn behavioral patterns from adults.The findings, published July 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that a specific neural signal—the mechanistic Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) cascade—regulates the ability of juvenile zebra finches to form accurate memories of songs taught to them by adult birds. The research suggests mTOR’s function in regulating protein synthesis may be involved, since protein synthesis is known to be a key feature of long-term memory formation.
The results have implications for efforts to understand how early-life experiences affect brain function and behavior, including potentially providing new insight into children affected by neurodevelopmental disorders. Disruptions related to mTOR have been associated with autism spectrum disorders in humans.
“In the last five to 10 years, there seems to be a convergence on the mTOR cascade as a common disrupted process in autism spectrum disorders. We are not investigating autism per se, but what got our attention was that the zebra finches model a similar kind of situation, where there’s a developmental event that requires social interactions, and a communication behavior that is hard to study in rodents who don’t typically learn vocalizations,” said Sarah London, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology.
London, whose lab emphasizes research on zebra finch neural development and learning behaviors, co-authored the study with Somayeh Ahmadiantehrani, a postdoctoral fellow at UChicago.
Some unusual features of zebra finches are particularly helpful in linking developmental traits with learning ability. Only the male birds can learn to sing, and juvenile zebra finches learn one song from an adult during a specific period of their development. They then use the memory of that song to guide production of the unique ...
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SED Student Helps Bring Israeli, Palestinian Youth Together
BU Today
Just about everyone has tossed around a Frisbee for fun. Dana Dunwoody is doing it for peace. At a summer camp in an Israeli desert, she is using the flying discs to bring together Israeli and Palestinian youth—and maybe change the world, one toss at time.
“As youths, we get inundated with information about who we are and what our cultures are, and when there’s a lot of violence and hostility going on, there’s a lot of misinterpretation,” says Dunwoody (SED’19), a doctoral candidate in applied human development. “To be able to come together and realize, I can have a say in changing that narrative, is a very empowering experience.”
This is Dunwoody’s second stint as a volunteer counselor at the Ultimate Peace camp. Using the grounds of an Israeli boarding school for a week each summer since 2007, the organization strives to build ties between Israeli and West Bank youths. It does that with Ultimate, a game that’s extremely competitive, but depends heavily on teamwork and sportsmanship. The 200 or so 10-to-16-year-old campers come for the hours of practice and games each day. They have some fun away from the burdens of daily life in that conflict-wracked corner of the world, and if things go the way they are supposed to go, they begin to see one another differently.
“We encourage conversation and sharing of culture,” says Dunwoody, who has a bachelor’s in psychology from Temple University and a master’s in athletic counseling from Springfield College. “We have a lot of different activities the kids do together to create safe spaces to share their identities and explore other cultures.”
Dunwoody uses her skills as an educator and athletic coach to help campers find ways to get along.
Mostly, though, there is ultimate.
Flying-disc sports are a lot more organized than they were in ...
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Bobcat Volleyball earns third-consecutive AVCA Team Academic Honor
Georgia College FrontPage RSS Feed
The Georgia College Volleyball program and head coach Gretchen Krumdieck pulled in their third-straight American Volleyball Coaches (AVCA) Team Academic Award, the organization announced Monday.The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.
Georgia College was one of two teams from the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) on the list, joining the University of Montevallo.
The Bobcats posted a 3.42 GPA for 2016-17, well over the minimum requirement. The AVCA broke a record set last year with over 822 recipients of this honor, including 119 in Division II Women's Volleyball.
"2016-17 was such a huge year for us in the classroom and on the court," said Krumdieck. "All of the accolades this team has received this past year are phenomenal and I am so proud of this award. I'm so grateful to the AVCA for recognizing programs that achieve their high academic standards. This is award is something the team strives for each year."
The Bobcats are just over a month away from the 2017 season, starting in early September. The coaching staff is putting the finishing touches on the schedule, which will be released at GCBobcats.com.
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Touring Season in Full Swing during Summer
All GT News
Campus and Community
Touring Season in Full Swing during Summer
By
Julia Faherty | July 24, 2017
• Atlanta, GA
Click image to enlarge
Emeritus Morris, an industrial engineering major from Lawrenceville, Georgia, gives a campus tour
With summer in full swing, the Georgia Tech Tour Guides are busier than ever. These students are passionate about Tech, excited to assist prospective students, and always ready to lead a group.
Learn more about Georgia Tech Tour Guides — a volunteer group of current Tech students recruited and trained to present campus and their experiences to prospective students and guests.
Fourth-year civil engineering major Grant Davidson serves as the president of Georgia Tech Tour Guides. Davidson began touring the fall semester of his second year and has never looked back — except when a tour member occasionally strays from the group.
“I love being able to stroll through campus and show prospective students what it’s actually like to work, play, and live at Georgia Tech,” Davidson said. “I tailor my tours to who’s in the group and try to make a connection with each attendee based on major, interests, or personality.”
Fourth-year mechanical engineering majors Ana Jafarinia and Amy McAlister serve as vice president of marketing and tour captain, respectively. Both have two years of touring experience.
Each student has a unique reason for touring, but all share a common love of presenting Georgia Tech to others.
“I enjoy being the ‘first impression’ for prospective students,” McAlister said. “I like interacting with them and being a friendly face in an unfamiliar environment. I try to keep my energy high during the tour and throw in a few ‘dad jokes’ to get the group relaxed and comfortable together.”
Nyle Malik is newer to the organization. He’s a second-year computer engineering major and is working as a first-semester guide.
“As an international student, I was unable to ...
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July 24-28, 2017
OSU Today
Today in the News Media is a synopsis of some of the most prominent coverage of OSU people and programs. Inclusion of any item constitutes neither an endorsement nor a critique, but rather is intended only to make the OSU community aware of significant items in the media.
Why do dogs love us? Geneticists search for DNA clues (The Verge)
The genetic blueprint underlying this personality shift is still a mystery, however. So Bridgett vonHoldt, an evolutionary geneticist at Princeton University, and Monique Udell, at Oregon State University, led a team of scientists to find out what sets dogs apart from wolves. Using a combination of genetic sequencing and behavioral tests, they pinpointed a couple genetic differences that seem to track with friendliness, according to a study published today in the journal Science Advances. (see also New York Times, Heritage Daily, Smithsonian)
Why teenagers should never get drunk (Daily Mail)
Researchers believe drinking large quantities of alcohol while the brain is still maturing may permanently damage a person’s nervous system and increase their risk of alcoholism. Study author Professor Anita Cservenka from Oregon State University, said: ‘Adolescence is a time when the brain still matures including not only biological development but also maturation of psychosocial behaviors. (see also Psych Central, Consumer Affairs)
The false promise of home ownership (Washington Post)
Marisa Chappell is associate professor of history at Oregon State University. She is the author of “The War on Welfare: Family, Poverty, and Politics in Modern America.”
OSU professors find gun violence prevention groups are more moderate than portrayed (Gazette-Times)
A group of Oregon State University researchers recently concluded gun violence prevention groups in the United States are “middle-of-the-ground” in ideology. This surprised the professors as it contradicts some depictions of gun violence prevention groups as “anti-gun,” they said.
Louie Quintana named Oregon State head track and field/cross ...
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Infected Insects Cause a Stink
UCR Today
UCR research showing how nematodes use smell to select new insect hosts could improve biological control of crop pests
By Sarah Nightingale on July 24, 2017
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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) — Tiny eel-like creatures called nematodes are surrounding us. While they can be free-living (a cup of soil or seawater contains thousands), the most well-known nematodes are the parasitic kind that wreak havoc in people, animals and plants.
Despite their reputation, scientists at the University of California, Riverside are studying nematodes as a force for good: to kill insects that infect crops and trees.
In a paper published today in Scientific Reports, a team led by Adler Dillman, assistant professor of parasitology in UCR’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, has shown how nematodes use smell to seek out uninfected insects, which they then enter and kill. The findings support the group’s long-term goal of improving how gardeners and the agricultural industry use nematodes in biological pest management.
Nematodes, which are transparent or milky white unsegmented worms between 0.1 and 2.5 millimeters long, represent a whopping 80 percent of all animal life on earth. The varieties that infect insects, such as the Steinernema carpocapsae species studied at UCR, enter their hosts through natural body openings, replicate, and secrete a deadly cocktail of proteins. These nematodes show promise as biological insecticides for more than 250 pests that attack plants such as corn, oranges, tomatoes, peaches, and pine trees.
Insects (like the larva shown in this figure) that have been infested with nematodes emit an odor called prenol that repels other nematodes seeking a host.
While previous research has shown that nematodes can differentiate between insects that have already been infected and those that have not, the mechanism by which this occurs has remained a mystery. In the current study, the researchers discovered that infected insects emit an odor called prenol ...
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Confessions of a serial entrepreneur
Olin BlogOlin Blog
Ten years ago, Matt Kulig walked into a big box home improvement store. After 20 minutes of fruitless searching for a surge protector, asking three employees for help, and being led to three incorrect locations, his patience was spent and he was on the verge of retail rage.
Fortunately, Kulig was able to channel his frustration into innovation by co-founding Aisle411, a mobile indoor mapping and location platform. The serial entrepreneur (he’s now working on his 10th startup) recently shared his story with Executive MBA (EMBA) students at Olin.
The Aisle411 app allows retailers to offer their guests accurate navigation throughout a store. In addition to navigation, it shares information on specials and other helpful data to enhance a customer’s experience. The app also tracks customers’ behavior to provide store owners with valuable insights on shopping patterns.
Today, St. Louis-based Aisle411 serves over 14,000 stores across the globe including Walgreens, Supervalu and Schnucks. They are able to do this thanks to partnerships with key businesses such as Google and Philips.
The EMBA students were all ears when Kulig said, “one can start a company from anywhere – yes, even the Midwest.” Aisle411’s mission is to “Uber-fy” the shopping experience.
Kulig shared 8 entrepreneurial lessons with WashU’s EMBA students:
People Matter. You should like the people you work with.
Networking Matters. Even for the extroverts, you “gotta do it.”
Serendipity Happens. There is no such thing as good luck. There is such thing as opportunity which generally occurs after ideas and people collide.
Don’t Wait For Things To Happen. Make them happen.
It’s All About Selling. When you are an entrepreneur, whether you like it or not, you are in sales. Everyone you talk to is a potential investor, customer or storyteller.
Manage Risk. Do not fear it.
Everything is Negotiable.
Millions of Ideas Happen, But Few Come to ...
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Cheung, Wu Awarded $1.35 Million to Support Work in Plant Male-Female Interactions
UMass Amherst: News Archive
Molecular biologists Alice Cheung and Hen-Ming Wu, biochemistry and molecular biology, recently were awarded a combined $1.35 million from the National Science Foundation’s Division of Integrative and Organismal Systems and Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences to support their continued work in plant male-female interactions, which lead to fertilization and seed production, and in exploring basic mechanisms in plant signal transduction pathways.In a series of papers published between 2010 and 2015 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Communications and eLife, the Cheung and Wu group advanced the mechanistic understanding of a plant cell surface regulator called FERONIA receptor kinase, which was once thought to be involved only in reproduction. They showed that in fact it is required to be present at all times and places for plant growth and survival. Their new research will build upon these findings and other work showing that FERONIA receptor kinase plays critical roles in plant growth, reproduction and coping with environmental stresses.
As department head Jennifer Normanly explains, “Besides advancing their own research, their findings also spurred an active international community to explore FERONIA and related regulators in a large variety of model and crop plants and to identify its role in a broad range of processes, in particular responses to biotic and abiotic stresses that have important agricultural implications.”
Because FERONIA is a member of a considerably larger receptor family whose functions were mostly unknown, the researchers say new understanding the mechanisms of how FERONIA functions may open many research avenues, not only in basic plant biology, but in new methods of improving plant growth, especially in plants under stress, and improving seed yields and crop production.
Cheung adds that in addition to their appreciation of NSF’s recognizing the intellectual merits of their work in dissecting fundamental mechanisms, she and Wu are “very gratified” that proposal review panels cited the ...
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Haslam College of Business Increases Fundraising Goal to $200 Million
Headlines – Tennessee Today
UT’s Haslam College of Business is increasing its goal for the Join the Journey: Investing in the Journey to the Top 25 Campaign from $175 million to $200 million.“The overwhelming support of our alumni and friends here at the Haslam College of Business will allow us to continue pushing forward with our ambitious goals,” said Stephen Mangum, dean and Stokely Foundation Leadership Chair for the college. “The increased fundraising goal will support us as we seek to attract and retain internationally regarded faculty and expand our access mission by providing more support for students from low-income households.”
This fundraising goal is one of the most ambitious business school campaigns in the nation. The college began raising funds in recognition of its centennial anniversary in 2014. Approximately $170 million has been raised to date. The campaign ends December 31, 2020.
Plans associated with the campaign also include expanding the college’s living and learning communities for undergraduates and growing its graduate programs by providing more funds to attract top master’s and doctoral students.
The college enrolls more than 4,200 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. The college became UT’s first named college in 2014 after a historic $50 million gift from the James A. Haslam II (’52) family. Haslam is a former vice chair of the UT Board of Trustees and a founding member of the UT Foundation Board of Directors. He founded the company now known as Pilot Flying J.
—
CONTACT:
Tanya Brown (865-974-1570, tgbrown@utk.edu)
Tyra Haag (865-974-5460, tyra.haag@tennessee.edu)
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Undetected Infection
Science and Technology @ UCSB
The raccoon that topples your trashcan and pillages your garden may leave more than just a mess. More likely than not, it also contaminates your yard with parasites — most notably, raccoon roundworms (Baylisascaris procyonis).“If you see a raccoon in Santa Barbara, chances are that it’s full of roundworms,” said Sara Weinstein, a former UCSB doctoral student now at the University of Utah. That is true in varying degrees throughout North America, where urban raccoons may infect people more than previously assumed.
Led by Weinstein, the UCSB researchers wondered if most human infections went undetected. In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they screened blood samples from 150 healthy Santa Barbara residents. Their study, appearing in the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, found that 7 percent of surveyed individuals tested positive for raccoon roundworm antibodies. That was news to Weinstein, who said the researchers wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d found no evidence of human infection.
According to collaborator Kevin Lafferty, a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey, “These common — but undetected — infections have unknown health effects in people.”
Over 90 percent of raccoons in Santa Barbara play host to this parasite, which grows to about the size of a No. 2 pencil and can produce over 100,000 eggs per day. “These eggs are really small — about 400 of them can fit on the head of a pin,” Weinstein said. “And soap, alcohol, even bleach won’t kill them.”
These microscopic eggs can survive over a year in the environment, creating a disease risk for hundreds of other animals, including humans. If accidently consumed by a bird, a rodent or a person, the parasite’s eggs can hatch. But, said Weinstein, “they don’t just stay in the gut like they would in a raccoon — instead they migrate through the body.” Sometimes they reach the brain, with potentially ...
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La Universitat de Barcelona lidera la citació científica espanyola a Google Scholar
Universitat de Barcelona - Notícies
Transparent Ranking: Top Universities by Google Scholar.
24/07/2017
Institucional
La Universitat de Barcelona és la primera institució d’educació superior de l’Estat en nombre de citacions científiques, segons es desprèn de la quarta edició del Transparent Ranking: Top Universities by Google Scholar, elaborat pel Cybermetrics Lab del Consell Superior d’Investigacions Científiques (CSIC). La Universitat de Barcelona acumula 276.287 citacions, xifra que la col·loca al lloc 160 del món. La Universitat de Granada, amb 250.454 citacions, és l’altra institució estatal que tanca el top 200, en la posició 197.
Completen les cinc primeres posicions la Universitat Pompeu Fabra (lloc 302), amb 182.719 citacions; la Universitat de València (339), amb 164.056 citacions, i la Universitat Complutense de Madrid (346), amb 161.148 citacions.
A escala mundial, la Universitat de Harvard lidera indiscutiblement el rànquing, amb 1.734.533 citacions, seguida a gran distància de Stanford (1.197.114) i de la Universitat Johns Hopkins (1.152.185). En el top ten, vuit institucions són nord-americanes i dues, britàniques.
Aquesta classificació mesura l’impacte i la visibilitat de Google Scholar. El rànquing, que analitza més de 4.000 universitats de tot el món, es basa en la utilització dels perfils professionals dels investigadors a Google Scholar. A través d’ells s’ha calculat el nombre total de citacions de les universitats.
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Sustainability Champions Recognized at Seventh Annual Sustainability Awards
UCSF - Latest News Feed
UC San Francisco faculty, students, and staff members were recognized for their efforts in supporting and advocating for sustainability measures at the seventh annual Sustainability Awards in the Rock Hall Auditorium on June 20.
“We are here today to recognize our Sustainability Award winners, our outstanding faculty, staff, students and teams who exemplified PRIDE values around sustainability throughout the university,” said Cynthia Chiarappa, the vice president of UCSF Health Administration and co-chair the UCSF Advisory Committee on Sustainability.
“Words used to describe these extraordinary individuals included relentless, engaged, devotion, inspiring, diligent, successful, continually, innovative, and leader, to name just a few,” said Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS, as he introduced the 2017 Sustainability Award winners.
Each award winner went above and beyond the duties of their position to integrate environmental sustainability into existing campus programs in education, research, operations, and public service. They also instilled a culture of sustainable practices amongst their peers and engaged the campus/medical center in an ongoing dialogue about reaching UCSF’s environmental sustainability goals.
Sustainability Award Winners
This year UCSF received nominations for the Sustainability Awards from across the UCSF community. The following groups and individuals were winners this year:
The Matthew State Lab was recognized for its efforts in becoming first laboratory to ever achieve a Platinum level certification. Photo by Marco SanchezTeam Category: The Matthew State Lab in Rock Hall was recognized for its efforts in becoming first laboratory to ever achieve a Platinum level certification. Last year, the lab received a Gold-level certification and was inspired to improve their conservation efforts.
In the lab, pipette tip boxes, glassware, cardboard and Styrofoam are recycled and only compostable or washable items are used in the kitchen. The lab’s 20 computer screens are set to sleep after two minutes, which has the added benefit of increasing HIPAA security. Their single-shared printer defaults to double-sided printing and uses 100 ...
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Conference USA’s 2017 Football Kickoff Set to Begin Wednesday
FIU Athletics
Story Links
MIAMI (July 18, 2017) -- Conference USA's 2017 Football Kickoff is set for Wednesday-Thursday, July 19-20, in Irving, Texas. The league's head coaches and two student-athletes from each school will be on hand to preview the upcoming season. Head Coach Butch Davis along with seniors Alex McGough and Anthony Wint will represent FIU. CUSA TV will present live streaming of interviews with coaches and players on both days via Facebook Live. Wednesday's coverage will begin at 3:00 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT with the West Division schools. Coverage continues on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT with the East Division members. Each school will be on in approximately 15-minute increments, and Ron Thulin will serve as the host. The show will also be archived on ConferenceUSA.com and the Conference USA Facebook page. 2017 C-USA FOOTBALL MEDIA KICKOFF FACEBOOK LIVE SCHEDULEWEDNESDAY, JULY 19
3:00p ET LOUISIANA TECH – Head coach Skip Holtz, QB J'Mar Smith, S Secdrick Cooper
3:15p ET NORTH TEXAS – Head coach Seth Littrell, RB Jeffery Wilson, S Kishawn McClain
3:30p ET RICE – Head coach David Bailiff, OL Trey Martin, LB Emmanuel Ellerbee
3:45p ET SOUTHERN MISS – Head coach Jay Hopson, RB Ito Smith, DB Cornell Armstrong
4:00p ET UAB – Head coach Bill Clark, OL Chris Schleuger, LB Shaq Jones
4:15p ET UTEP – Head coach Sean Kugler, OG Will Hernandez, LB Alvin Jones
4:30p ET UTSA – Head coach Frank Wilson, WR Josh Stewart, LB Josiah Tauaefa
4:45p ET C-USA – Commissioner Judy MacLeod
THURSDAY, JULY 20
10:00a ET CHARLOTTE – Head coach Brad Lambert, QB Hasaan Klugh, LB Karrington King
10:15a ET FIU – Head coach Butch Davis, QB Alex McGough, LB Anthony Wint
10:30a ET FLORIDA ATLANTIC – Head coach Lane Kiffin, OL Antonyo Woods, LB Azeez Al-Shaair
10:45a ET MARSHALL – Head coach Doc Holliday, TE Ryan Yurachek, DL Ryan Bee
11:00a ET MIDDLE TENNESSEE – Head coach Rick Stockstill, QB Brent Stockstill, WR Richie ...
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Former LSU Golfer Sam Burns Finishes T6 In PGA Event
LSUsports.net
Headline News
Kent Lowe (@LSUkent)Communications Sr. Associate
OPELIKA, Alabama – Former LSU All-America golfer Sam Burns, who is expected to turn pro in September, gave fans a good look at the possibilities ahead as the Shreveport native posted some amazing numbers in his appearance as an amateur at this weekend’s PGA Barbasol Championship.
Burns, the winner of the Jack Nicklaus Award as National College Golfer of the Year in 2017, posted his third straight round of 5-under 66 on Sunday to close the gap from first to sixth place from six to three strokes from Saturday to Sunday, but he finished the 72-holes still in a tie for sixth.
Grayson Murray posted a three-under 68 on the afternoon to finish the event at 21-under par 263 to win.
Burns posted amazing numbers with rounds of 68-66-66-66 – 266 (18-under par) with 23 total birdies and just 5 bogeys. In each of his three rounds of 66 he posted six birdies and just one bogey (including a birdie on the 72nd hole on Sunday) and five birdies and two bogeys in his round of 68 on Thursday.
Burns after his final round tweeted the following: “Thank you to everyone for the support this week! Pretty fun week and a great final day @BarbasolPGATOUR on my birthday.”
If Burns, who still hopes to play in the Walker Cup in Los Angeles this September before turning pro, would have made $113,312.50 if someone who was a professional had been in that position in the tournament. The Walker Cup team is to be named after the August U.S. Amateur which several LSU golfers will take part of. That event is also in Los Angeles.
Smylie Kaufman, another former LSU golfer who has a career PGA win, had a strong event with a final round 67 to finish T12 at -15 269. Kaufman is still alive for a shot to make the Fed Ex Playoffs moving ...
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Rice Magazine celebrates food, glorious food
The summer 2017 issue of Rice Magazine features a menu of Owls who are contributing, in myriad ways, to Houston’s reputation as one of America’s most innovative and creative food cities. Read the stories of an instructor who cooked up a new way to teach chemistry, an award-winning restaurant critic, the chefs behind Rice’s food (r)evolution and several alums running successful gastronomic businesses. The issue is online at http://magazine.rice.edu/. (Illustration by Adam Cruft; photos by Tommy LaVergne and Jeff Fitlow)
From left, Wiess Instructor of Chemistry Lesa Tran Lu ’07, restaurant critic Alison Cook ’69 and pastry chef Telly Chen De Santiago.
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En marxa 56 projectes de cooperació en el 25è aniversari del CCD
Actualitat UPC
Una bona part dels projectes de cooperació de la UPC, en particular aquells en els que intervenen estudiants, s’han posat en marxa aquests dies en coincidir el període d'execució sobre el terreny amb les vacances d'estiu. L’objectiu és permetre compatibilitzar la participació per part d’estudiants de la Universitat en aquests projectes amb els seus estudis. Així, prop de 165 membres de la comunitat universitària es desplaçaran a 26 països per participar directament en l'execució dels 56 projectes de cooperació impulsats des del CCD a través de la seva convocatòria d’ajuts. El disseny i instal·lació de software i equipament TIC a un centre de maternitat i a una escola d’Etiòpia, la implementació d’estratègies de cultiu per avançar en la producció hortícola a una zona rural de Zimbabwe, la implementació d’un nou model per a la presa de decisions a un camp de refugiats de l’Iran, la construcció d’una embarcació al poble d’Azizakpe, a Ghana, o la posada en marxa d’un taller d’òptica per millorar la salut ocular juvenil al Senegal són només alguns dels projectes que es posen en marxa. El CCD també col·labora amb altres iniciatives solidàries impulsades des de la UPC, com és el cas del Programa CUV-Social. A banda dels projectes de cooperació, des del CCD es dóna suport a activitats d’educació per al desenvolupament i de sensibilització, com ara l’organització de l’Altre Fòrum a l’ETSEIB, l’elaboració de material docent sobre bones pràctiques en bioconstrucció i tècniques constructives tradicionals dels països del sud, entre d’altres. Si se sumen aquest projectes, mitjançant la convocatòria d’ajuts del CCD es dóna suport a 58 projectes i activitats de cooperació.Aportacions voluntàries mitjançant la campanya 0,7%Els projectes i ...
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UU HEALTH Unveils Metrics Toolkit
UC Health News
Urban Universities for HEALTH (UU HEALTH) has unveiled a web-based toolkit and data dashboard to help university leaders measure efforts to build a diverse, culturally competent health and scientific workforce. The interactive web tool allows users to select strategies, indicators and measures that align with their institution’s unique mission and local needs.The University of Cincinnati (UC) was named one of five urban universities in 2012 to participate in UU HEALTH, a national academic learning collaborative focused on enhancing health care workforce development to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities in local communities. UU HEALTH awarded UC’s Academic Health Center (AHC) a four-year grant totaling over $400,000 toward the research endeavor. "Throughout this four-year UU HEALTH project, the leaders were able to develop this best practice dashboard that urban universities from around the country can use to help discern their progress on diversifying the student body to then diversify the local health care work force,” says Tammy Mentzel, project manager and research associate at the UC College of Nursing. "The toolkit can be customized to meet individual institutional goals and the dashboard will inform users as to what should be measured to meet those goals.”In partnership with UC’s Office of Institutional Research, the UC work group developed its own data dashboard to enable AHC leadership to create and track goals toward a diverse and culturally competent students and faculty. The UC-created dashboard was used as a prototype by UU HEALTH.UU HEALTH, which stands for Health Equity through Alignment, Leadership and Transformation of the Health Workforce, is a partnership effort of the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities/Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Health Resources and Services Administrationand the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The project aims to address the severe shortage ...
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“Tuesdays with Morrie” opens show season Nov. 13
Lone Star College CyFair News
Published on: October 07, 2015
Lone Star College-CyFairs performance season opens with the drama Tuesdays with Morrie in the Black Box Theatre Nov. 13- Nov. 22.
Jeff Wax directs the story that follows the real life of journalist Mitch Albom as he reconnects with his former college professor, who is suffering with Lou Gehrigs Disease. Together, the two men kindle a friendship that helps Morrie through his final days and teaches Mitch important life lessons.
Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 13, Nov.14, Nov. 20 and Nov. 21 as well as 3 p.m. Sundays Nov. 15 and Nov. 22.
There will be a talk back with Jared Cootz, Lone Star College-Montgomery professor of sociology, after the Nov. 13 performance.
Visit LoneStar.edu/BoxOffice for ticket pricing, online purchasing and a complete season schedule. Contact 281.290.5201 or CFC.BoxOffice@LoneStar.edufor other information.
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LSC-North Harris students receive distinguished award at Model UN competition
Lone Star College North Harris News
Published on: May 08, 2014 Lone Star College-North Harris students recently participated, along with 5,000 other students from six continents, in the 2014 National Model United Nations-NY (NMUN-NY) conference in New York City. The LSC-North Harris delegation was represented by Jenn Allen, Marcus Buck, Glaydon De Freitas, Janet Flores, Naziat Khan, Tam Nguyen and faculty advisor Dr. Diana Cooley.
All of the students did a remarkable job, said Dr. Diana Cooley, Model UN faculty advisor at LSC-North Harris. It is so rewarding watching them in session, working with students from around the world on issues that not only face people in other countries, but issues that also impact us here in the United States.
The LSC-North Harris delegation won a distinguished delegation award for their active participation in the conference. The group was one of just 32 to be recognized as a distinguished delegation, out of the 233 colleges and universities in attendance. Additionally, Naziat Khan, a returning delegate from the 2013 LSC-North Harris delegation, was appointed Rapporteur for the General Assembly 4.
The Model UN is a wonderful experience that allows our students to see that they are a part of the world, not just a person in the world, added Dr. Cooley.
The LSC-North Harris students represented the country of Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. They presented topics before the General Assembly 1st, 2nd and 3rd Committees, as well as the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The delegation also contributed a position paper for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Lone Star College-North Harris is located at 2700 W.W. Thorne Drive, one-half mile south of FM 1960 East, between Aldine-Westfield and Hardy Roads. For more information about the college, call 281.618.5400 or visit LoneStar.edu/NorthHarris.
Lone Star College System has been opening doors to a better community for 40 years. Founded in 1973, LSCS remains steadfast in its commitment to student success and credential completion. Today, ...
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How bulimics' brains are different
Newsroom: InTheNews
Publication Date: 7/19/2017
ByLine: CNN
URL Link: http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/18/health/bulimia-brain-stress-food-study/index.html
Page Content: Features Walter Kaye, MD
News Type: National
News_Release_Date: July 21, 2017
NewsTags: Neurology; Pediatrics; Primary Care/Family Medicine; Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences; Research/Clinical Trials; Women's Health
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Partnership among USGS, IGS, and others helps RAGBRAI riders learn what’s under their tires
Iowa Now - Research
RAGBRAI riders will want to keep an eye out for the 2017 Learn About the Land brochures from the University of Iowa. The idea of distributing information about the natural resources along the RAGBRAI route first came about in 2005. United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Iowa Geological Survey (IGS) staff produced a brochure for each day of the ride, explaining the topography and hydrology of the land beneath the riders’ tires.
Follow riders across the state—and learn about the University of Iowa’s impact all along the route—on social media by using #RAGBRAI and #forIowa.
This effort has highlighted the work both agencies do individually and collaboratively, while providing riders with a better understanding of the state.
“We want people to realize how interesting Iowa really is,” says IGS geologist Ryan Clark. “People tend to only think about mountains and beaches as being interesting and worth visiting, but we hope people realize there is natural beauty within the state that is worth seeing.”
Originally, IGS and USGS staff handed out the brochures with information about the next day’s ride at each overnight stop. However, demand for the brochures grew rapidly, and riders began asking for them at the beginning of the week. Today, 1,500 packaged brochures are printed for RAGBRAI each year.
Every year, the IGS and USGS teams write articles, draft elevation maps, and provide a daily dictionary of unfamiliar terms. IGS does most of the compiling, designing, and printing; USGS staff members distribute the packets at RAGBRAI campgrounds, talk science with the riders, and answer questions.
“Our organizations would be thrilled if we could educate people on the fact that a large amount of people in Iowa are working to the benefit of the state,” says Clark. “There are people dedicating their careers to understanding the natural resources we have and how to utilize those resources in ...
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The Coast Is Not So Clear
All News @ UCSB
For nearly a century, the O’Shaughnessy seawall has held back the sand and seas of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. At work even longer: the Galveston seawall, built after America’s deadliest hurricane in 1900 killed thousands in Texas.These are just two examples of how America’s coasts — particularly those with large urban populations — have been armored with man-made structures.
These structures essentially draw a line in the sand that constrains the ability of the shoreline to respond to changes in sea level and other dynamic coastal processes. While the resulting ecological effects have been studied more in recent years, the research largely has been conducted in specific settings, making it difficult to generalize these effects across ecosystems and structure types.
A new study by a team of UC Santa Barbara marine scientists and colleagues from three coastal sites in the National Science Foundation’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network provides a key first step toward generalizing ecological responses to armoring across the wide diversity of coastal settings where these structures are used. The team’s findings appear online and will be published this fall in a special issue of the journal Estuaries and Coasts, “Impacts of Coastal Land Use and Shoreline Armoring on Estuarine Ecosystems.”
Comparing Notes
The type of armoring structure varies widely with the environmental setting, ranging from massive seawalls and revetments along the wave-exposed open coast to smaller bulkheads and manmade oyster reefs in tidal marshes and estuaries. “The size and shape of these manmade structures often result in the loss of intertidal habitats,” said lead author Jenifer Dugan, a research biologist at UCSB’s Marine Science Institute. “The extent of that loss is a function of environmental setting, structure type and how far seaward and along the shore the structure extends.”
Scientists from three very different LTER programs were already working on the ecological ...
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All you need to know about the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse
Vanderbilt News
Jul. 24, 2017, 9:08 AM
Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory has compiled a comprehensive guide—from science to safety—ahead of the total solar eclipse set to sweep across the country on Aug. 21, with Nashville the largest city in the path of totality.
KEEP READING »
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Anthony Scaramucci named White House communications director
Tufts Now All Stories
Anthony Scaramucci, founder of the multi-billion dollar global investment firm SkyBridge Capital, was appointed by President Donald Trump as White House communications director on Friday.Scaramucci, a contributor to the Fox News Channel, was an advisor to President Trump during his 2016 campaign, and was rumored earlier in the year to have been in line for a job heading the White House’s Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs. That position never materialized, however. In his new role, Scaramucci will replace Mike Dupke, who stepped down two months ago. Scaramucci, a major donor to Republican campaigns, has been a staunch Trump defender.
Scaramucci earned his B.A. in economics at Tufts and is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
He sits on the Fletcher School’s Board of Advisors, has served on the Board of Oversees of Tufts’ School of Arts and Sciences, and was a member of the Beyond Boundaries campaign committee. He also served as co-chair of the Tufts Financial Network, which aims to help Tufts students and alumni develop connections and advance in the financial world.
Scaramucci is the author of several business books, the most recent being Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole: How Entrepreneurs Turn Failure into Success, which he has called a “brutally honest book about the ups and downs of business and entrepreneurship.”
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Volunteer at the Community Garden
Events at UCF
Hello Knights!!
The gates of the UCF Community Garden will open on May 30th for volunteering. This summer, the volunteer shifts are Monday and Wednesday: 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM, and Tuesday, Wednseday, Thursday: 5:30 PM- 7:30 PM
Volunteers can volunteer individually or as group to help in the community garden, assist with horticultural work in campus landscapes, or help in campus natural lands. Come out and get your feet wet, your hands dirty, and your knowledge expanded, as you learn more about gardening, landscaping, or natural lands management! To learn more about our volunteering please click on the following link, Arboretum Volunteer.
Looking forward to seeing you!
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Intercollegiate athletics program charts course into the future
Student News
The UC Santa Cruz intercollegiate athletics program is playing the long game.The NCAA Division III program, which has been under a budget cloud for the past several years, can now confidently look toward the future. The program has been bolstered by a new student fee, was recently restructured so it aligns with other successful Division III programs in the nation, and will head into the coming season with more awareness than ever before.
“This is a historic moment for Banana Slugs,” said Andrea Willer, executive director of OPERS. “Our NCAA program has more support than ever before. People are engaged and eager to watch this program as it begins a new chapter.”
The NCAA program, established in 1980, consists of 15 men and women’s teams, which have about 270 students on the rosters. The average GPA well exceeds the campus average and the program has boasted a 100 percent academic retention rate for the past five years. The teams have gone on to compete in championships and students have received scholar-athlete honors.
Until recently, the intercollegiate program was at a crossroads. Campus leaders asked that the program develop a new way to fund itself so that it was less reliant on core campus funds, which are needed to support the academic mission of the university.
Students in May backed a $38.50-per-quarter fee that will provide the program with a new revenue source and time to better develop other revenue streams.
The approved fee was significantly less than what had been previously proposed—and didn’t gain support. As a result, the intercollegiate athletics program developed a new, sustainable business model that could provide a roadmap forward. The model calls for a structure that is based off other NCAA Division III programs without football and also seeks to grow revenue through other channels.
The fee this year will generate about $1.1 million, just under ...
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Enterprise Directory (EDir) to be decommissioned—request for action
EDir is the Enterprise Directory used by the University of Alaska Statewide and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The University of Alaska Statewide, Office of Information Technology, will decommission EDir by Feb. 1, 2018. The decommissioning project timeline involves having every EDir-dependent service transferred, reconfigured, redesigned or retired by Jan. 1, 2018.If you know of an EDir-dependent service, please contact the project manager or project team member with whom you work to support your service. The team member table is provided on the website linked below. Ensure that the team member has planned for the impact to your service and is prepared to implement or assist you in implementing changes to your service.
To learn more, please visit the project announcement website at alaska.edu/oit/edir.
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