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Newsbriefs, 9/24/09

Posted on | September 23, 2009 | 835 views |

National Science Board convenes at OSU
The federal panel charged with advising the president and Congress on national policy issues relating to science and engineering research and education has been meeting at Ohio State this week.

The National Science Board meets five times annually with four of those meetings in Washington, D.C., and a fifth at a host institution each year. The NSB responded to an invitation from Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee.

While many of the NSB’s sessions are closed, a public meeting will be held from 8-9:30 a.m. today at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4H Center, 2201 Fred Taylor Drive, to discuss NSB priorities for the next fiscal year.

Whitacre inducted into NMSS’ Volunteer Hall of Fame
Caroline Whitacre, Ohio State’s vice president for research, was recently inducted into the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 2009 Volunteer Hall of Fame for Researchers. She was one of three researchers selected for this national honor in recognition of her outstanding volunteer support, for making a difference in the community and for advancing awareness of the society’s mission to create a world free of multiple sclerosis.

Whitacre also is a professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics in the College of Medicine. For more than 30 years she has been on the forefront of multiple sclerosis research. Whitacre’s research projects have focused on the area of immunology, including new developments in oral tolerance as a treatment strategy. Other research projects have included an in-depth look at multiple sclerosis as it relates to gender differences and pregnancy.

New mobile site helps users navigate Ohio State
A new iteration of the Ohio State Web site home page has been created for mobile device users. Because of smart phones’ location technology, the m.osu.edu site can recommend amenities nearest to the users, such as dining, Wi-Fi spots, Buck ID shops, bus stops and more. Each recommendation comes with one-click walking, car and bus directions as well as parking options.

“We provide much of this same information on the main osu.edu site, but knowing where the user is allows us to refine recommendations — hopefully saving the user time and effort getting to a destination,” said James Burgoon, the head developer of the m.osu.edu site, which is tailored for the iPhone but useable with other smart phones at osu.edu/mobile.
Burgoon said the site will continually evolve because the campus never stops changing. “Also, smart phone technology advances quickly, so to leverage device sophistication, the site will have to evolve,” Burgoon said.

Some of the unique features include a real-time Campus Area Bus Service tracker so riders know exactly when a bus is due at a particular stop and an enhanced search function that allows one-click calling or e-mailing from anyone’s “Find People” profile.

M.osu.edu was developed with the help of numerous departments, including CABS, the Architect’s Office, Student Life, the Office of Information Technology and University Communications.

College of Social Work announces new interim dean
The College of Social Work named Tom Gregoire as its new interim dean, effective Sept. 1. Gregoire previously served for six years as the college’s associate dean and is beginning his 14th year at Ohio State. He earned his PhD in social work from the University of Kansas in 1994.

An associate professor, Gregoire’s research interests include access to substance abuse treatment and treatment among vulnerable populations. He currently serves as principal investigator for a study of an evidence-based community intervention for adolescent substance abusers. His teaching interests include substance abuse and human service administration.

Call for nominations for university wide awards
Academic Affairs is seeking nominations for the university wide faculty and staff awards. Awards include Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching; Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award; Distinguished Scholar Award; Distinguished Staff Award; Distinguished University Professor; Faculty Award for Distinguished University Service; University Distinguished Lecture; Distinguished Service Award; and Battelle Endowment grants. An overview of the awards, brief descriptions of each and deadlines and links to application forms are available at oaa.osu.edu/plans.php.

Kirwan Institute call for proposals: Transforming Race Conference
The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity has announced a Call for Proposals for its second biannual conference, Transforming Race: Crisis and Opportunity in the Age of Obama, to be held March 11-13, 2010, in Columbus. Proposals are due Oct. 15 and should address any of three thematic tracks: Racial Dynamics and Systems Thinking; Race Talk; and Race, Recession and Recovery. Conference planners invite practitioners, community organizers, scholars, researchers and others to submit proposals for papers, entire panels, workshops, performances and more. For more information about the proposals, visit transforming-race.org/transformingrace_cfp.pdf, or about the conference, visit transforming-race.org.

Journal of Undergrad Research seeking submissions, reviewers
JUROS, the Journal of Undergraduate Research at OSU, is looking for undergraduate research papers as well as undergraduate student reviewers. There is no submission fee, authors retain all rights to their works and faculty/grad students are allowed to be co-authors on undergrad papers. Two undergraduate reviewers edit papers and, once all edits are made, the paper is published both online and in a hard-copy edition, Oculus. Students from all disciplines are welcome to apply. For more information contact borodulin.2@osu.edu or visit JUROSonline.com.

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