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Oh, baby, baby …

November 17, 2010

There’s never been a better time to have your baby Buckeye at the OSU Medical Center

By Julia Harris

Television sit-coms and movies often portray labor and delivery units of hospitals as places full of screaming women, bumbling fathers and bad coffee.

A tour of Ohio State’s Maternity Center, however, quickly dispels those myths, with its hallways adorned with big, bright pictures of infants and accommodations that are more like luxury hotel suites than hospital rooms.

Continue reading ‘Oh, baby, baby …’

Billy Ireland exhibit in Thompson Library gallery celebrates Ohio’s native son

November 17, 2010

By Julia Harris

Walking into the current exhibit in the Thompson Library’s gallery, you almost feel as if you’ve been absorbed bodily into a vintage comic book — one with a distinctively Columbus flair. The feeling is perfectly understandable since this exhibition is all about the “First Citizen of Columbus:” Billy Ireland (1880-1935) and his work as cartoonist for the Columbus Dispatch for almost 30 years.

Continue reading ‘Billy Ireland exhibit in Thompson Library gallery celebrates Ohio’s native son’

Staff conversation with Gee

November 17, 2010

OSU to develop achievable goals by spring

By Adam King

President Gordon Gee’s six imperatives that will move Ohio State from excellence to eminence bring promise but are not specific about the path to achieve success. The path becomes clearer this spring as the university develops concise, achievable goals that each college can fine-tune in its own strategic planning process.

Continue reading ‘Staff conversation with Gee’

Peter Swire, Moritz College of Law

November 17, 2010

What is the relationship between passwords and privacy?

If you don’t have a password, the hackers can see everything about you. They can get your bank account, they can look in your medical records and they can see your personal statements to your loved ones, so having a good password protects you against some very serious intrusions.

Passwords also keep separate parts of your life separate. You might have a password at work where you share information about work. Your roommate may have a password as a backup if you need to check your e-mail while you’re out of the room, but you wouldn’t give them your bank account password. So, passwords help keep different parts of your life separate, which is a good reminder to do in a world of Facebook, where you don’t want everybody seeing that worst moment of yours online.

Security guidelines are often at odds with human behavior. How would you describe what constitutes effective password management?

None of us can remember 50 passwords in our heads. One trick is to have passwords that are based on words. There are letters on your phone, so for your bank password, you can have bank as your password. That’s a little bit obvious, but that idea can work because a lot of people can remember words better than they can remember numbers. One way to come up with numbers, since most of us keep our phones handy all the time now, is to start to think about it as a keyboard for letters, and you’ll come up with better passwords.

However, too many passwords can cause a lot of problems. For many sites, if you forget a password they can just send it back to your e-mail, so for low-risk sites that you don’t use very much, don’t worry about forgetting your password. For high-risk sites, such as your bank, you should be much more careful. Once again, keep separate parts of your life separate.

Another trick is to keep passwords in your contact information, but don’t use the full words. If your first dog was named Tony, then you might put the letter T in your contacts, but never write it out in full. That way you remind yourself that you’re using your standard word, but someone who sees your contacts won’t know what it is.

Importantly, don’t use information people can discover about you. Your birthday is a terrible password; the street address of your house is a terrible password; the names of your siblings are terrible passwords. Your nickname in second grade is a lot better. One more trick is to use this nickname as the beginning of a password, but change the numbers, exclamation points or other signs that go with it. However, that’s not an approach for your most important passwords because hackers will be able to guess that basic word on all of the sites that share it.

Why is changing a password considered part of effective password management practices?

For employers, you don’t want an employee from four years ago coming in to cause revenge. For individuals, for the important passwords such as your bank, over time someone might discover the password. Changing the password puts your mind at ease about the friend you told three years ago.

Top 3 on 2, 11/18/10

November 17, 2010

Why did you choose to work at Ohio State? I came to Ohio State as an undergrad to try to get into physical therapy school, and I was accepted in 1981. This also is the year that I became the first female drum major of The Ohio State University Marching Band and the first female drum major in the Big Ten.

What do you like about your job? I love working with and meeting new people. I also really enjoy helping patients and their families and getting the patients up and going again. And I enjoy all of the people that I get to work with at OSU on a daily basis.

What’s the greatest life challenge you’ve overcome? In 2007, I tore my hamstring muscle the morning of the OSU alumni reunion game and I still went out on the Ohio Stadium field and performed that day leading the OSU Alumni Band down the field as one of the alumni drum majors. I had surgery to reattach the hamstring a week later and had to use crutches for 10 weeks.

How do you apply the ‘One University’ concept? As the team leader in rehab in the Medical Center, our rehab team is a very cohesive group that demonstrates excellent teamwork skills in working for one goal — to be the best that we can be.  Being part of a teaching university, this brings great things to the Medical Center and vice versa.

Of what honor or recognition are you most proud? I really have two honors that I am very proud of: Receiving the patient excellence award at the Medical Center and of course becoming the first female drum major at OSU.

If you weren’t working at Ohio State, what would you rather be doing? I love working at Ohio State and truly will miss it when I retire.

What are you going to do when you retire? Golf, travel and take my dog Max for a lot of walks.

Who is your hero? My mother was and still is my hero. She passed away in 1986 and there is not a day that goes by that I do not think of her and how she always taught me to work hard every day and never take anything for granted.

If you were the university president for a day, what would you do? I would first want to meet my staff and see my office and then I would want to go out on campus and talk with the students and staff. Not sure what else I would do.

To nominate a staff member for an upcoming issue, e-mail oncampus@osu.edu.

Ohio State safety officials evacuated William Oxley Thompson Library and three other Columbus campus buildings early Nov. 16 after bomb threats were e-mailed to the FBI.

“We take any threats of this nature very seriously,” OSU Police Chief Paul Denton said at a media briefing.

OSU police were alerted by the FBI at 8:19 a.m. that bomb threats had been received for the library as well as McPherson Lab, Smith Lab and Scott Lab.

Occupants of all buildings were directed to areas of safety. OSU Public Safety issued a Buckeye Alert at 8:41 a.m. to the campus community asking everyone to stay clear of those buildings. Text messages were sent to nearly 32,000 Buckeye Alert subscribers.

The investigation was still ongoing as onCampus went to press. Safety officials said the affected buildings were to remain closed and classes in those buildings cancelled until at least 5 p.m. Nov. 16, and three streets in the area — parts of 17th, Neil and 18th and 19th — were closed as the investigation continued.

Astronauts to discuss space program’s future

November 17, 2010

By Pam Frost Gorder, Research Communications

Three NASA luminaries will speak Nov. 21 at the Columbus Center for Science and Industry (COSI, 333 W. Broad St.) as part of the annual R. Jack and Forest Lynn Biard Cosmology and Astrophysics Lecture.

Former Sen. John Glenn will share a panel with two other veteran astronauts, John Grunsfeld and Harrison Schmitt.

Continue reading ‘Astronauts to discuss space program’s future’

UV light helps vacuums reduce carpet microbes

November 17, 2010

By Emily Caldwell, Research Communications

New research suggests that the addition of ultraviolet light to the brushing and suction of a vacuum cleaner can almost double the removal of potentially infectious microorganisms from a carpet’s surface when compared to vacuuming alone.

Researchers say the findings suggest that incorporating the germicidal properties of UV light into vacuuming might have promise in reducing allergens and pathogens from carpets as well.

Continue reading ‘UV light helps vacuums reduce carpet microbes’

Katherine Burkman, Department of English

November 17, 2010

Katherine Burkman, professor emerita, was a professor in the Department of English specializing in Shakespeare and modern drama, with a special focus on playwright Harold Pinter.

What are your five favorite books and why?

Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf

I love Mrs. Dalloway because Woolf takes a very ordinary and in some ways superficial character, Clarissa Dalloway, and reveals her profundity partly through the fascinating use of a double, whom she never meets but understands, Septimus Smith. Also, the stream of consciousness writing is elegant and beautiful.

The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I love The Brothers K for the way it captures human suffering and redemption with a passion that lifts one out of the daily grind into an intensity that enlarges and deepens the living of one’s life.

Hamlet, by William Shakespeare

The next three favorites are plays, but Shakespeare, Beckett and especially Pinter are my special interests. The way Hamlet, one of the most complex characters in all literature struggles with his situation and finally comes to terms with death and his fate is endlessly fascinating and, of course, has some of the most beautifully tragic writing as well as wonderful scenes that are tragi-comic.

Happy Days, by Samuel Beckett

I came to love Happy Days, which I had always admired, because I had the chance to play the part of Winnie and get inside her. This character, imprisoned in the earth up to her waist and then to her neck, deals heroically with her captivity. Her situation becomes a metaphor for all of us. Unlike Hamlet, there is not much action she can take, but she says it all and finally even sings. Again, the tragi-comic has a special appeal for me.

The Homecoming, by Harold Pinter

I consider Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming to be the most important modern drama. Beneath the surface of the play, which shows characters who behave as if they live in a jungle, there is, as Pinter himself has said, love. Under its brutal exterior, the subtext reveals a modern version of the biblical Ruth. The villain is the professor as jungle wins over desert and Ruth offers her special brand of hope and redemption.

Who is your favorite character (villain or hero) in literature?

Perhaps an un-serious answer would be Queen Elizabeth in Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader. It is just so much fun to see the queen get interested in reading and find that the interest transforms her. She is neither villain nor hero, but she becomes delightfully human.

What is the last book you’ve bought?

Our Kind of Traitor, by John le Carré. I always buy his new books and this one, as all the others, is fascinating. You can’t (or I couldn’t) put it down. Le Carré is angry at our world today and the book is relentlessly dark, but somehow sustaining in its bleak but honest look at the world of politics and spying. The spying becomes a metaphor for how we all behave.

What genre of literature do you prefer to read and why?

Even though my field is drama, I prefer to curl up with a good fiction novel. A good novel draws me in and takes me to other realities that reflect on ours. I suppose that could be said of history, biography, drama, poetry, etc., but I think there is an element of sustained escape combined with involvement in a good novel that lasts over time and gives sustained entertainment. Drama is a close second and poetry a close third. Why not history or biography? I just enjoy truth as it evolves in fiction, drama and poetry more.

To nominate a colleague for a future BookTalk, e-mail Julia Harris at harris.587@osu.edu.

Teacher and mentor, Tomasko to speak at autumn commencement

November 17, 2010

David Tomasko, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and associate dean for undergraduate education and student services in the College of Engineering, has been selected to speak at Ohio State’s autumn quarter commencement. About 2,100 students will receive degrees at the ceremony, which begins at 2 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

Highly regarded by both his faculty colleagues and students, Tomasko has earned numerous research and teaching awards, and he holds a patent for polymer nanocomposite foams.

His research interests are varied — the effect of delivery methods in undergraduate engineering education and engineering outreach to K-12 students and promoting the use of environmentally benign solvents in chemical and materials processing.

Tomasko earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Tulsa and his master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Illinois before joining the Ohio State faculty in 1993.

He directed Ohio State’s Honors Collegium from 2006-08. He was instrumental in establishing the Center for Affordable Nanoengineering of Polymer Biomedical Devices and served as a deputy director of this NSF-sponsored center until 2009.

As an outstanding teacher and mentor, Tomasko creates opportunities for undergraduate students in his research lab. Tomasko tirelessly counsels students, especially minority and at-risk students, to help them find their voice in academia and their place in engineering. Through the Honors Collegium, he worked to create an environment for some of Ohio State’s most exceptional students. He is also active in community outreach through the Ohio House of Science and Engineering that connects Ohio State students to area schools and teachers.

He currently serves as part of the Collegium Faculty Community, whose members are recruited for their reputation as both distinguished researchers and excellent undergraduate student advisors.

He has been recognized for his excellence in teaching and education by multiple departmental, college and university awards including the university’s most prestigious teaching award, the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Newsbriefs, 11/18/10

November 17, 2010

Lower receives Presidential Early Career Award

OSU scientist Steven Lower has received the 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers — the highest award that a young researcher can receive in the US. He will receive his award in a White House ceremony later this fall. Lower, an associate professor in the School of Earth Sciences and the School of Environment and Natural Resources, frequently collaborates with researchers in the medical sciences. For more information, visit researchnews.osu.edu/archive/pecase2010.htm.

OSU energy usage now just a click away

New smart energy readers in key campus buildings allow anyone with a computer to become meter readers. Visiting Buckeye Footprint (footprint.osu.edu) provides an overview of the previous fiscal year’s energy usage across campus as well as real-time meter readings of featured buildings, including the Thompson Library, the Ohio Union, Norton House, Blackburn House and the Student Academic Services Building.

The Office of Energy Services and Sustainability provides data for electricity, heating and cooling usage, which gives an hourly account of the British thermal units and kilowatts generated, compares it to the previous day’s usage (with options to view weekly, monthly and academic year comparisons) and shows an up-to-the-hour cost to the university.

The idea is to give the university community insight into how much carbon dioxide Ohio State generates as part of its ecological footprint as well as provide tips on how to conserve energy usage.

Bell, AVP for arts outreach, to retire

Karen Bell, Ohio State’s first associate vice president for arts outreach, has informed President Gordon Gee and Provost Joe Alutto of her plans to retire from the university, effective at the end of December. Bell has been a faculty member since 1980. As associate vice president for arts outreach, she directed Ohio State’s Arts Initiative and, in only two years under her leadership, the university’s arts presence flourished in central Ohio, nationally and internationally. Bell also served as the chair of the Department of Dance and dean and professor of the former College of the Arts. The Department of Dance is establishing a development fund in Bell’s name, and further information will be available soon.

Ohio State CIO wins industry award

Foundation & Endowment Money Management (FEMM), an organization interested in nonprofit investment management, recently presented Ohio State Chief Investment Officer Jonathan Hook their top award in the category of excellence in endowment management.

Thirty-three nominees competed for 11 spots in FEMM’s 2010 Nonprofit Awards for Excellence. Hook’s revamping of the management of the fund, which weighted the fund’s exposure to managers involved in “deep, fundamental research,” according to FEMM, helped the portfolio return 21.6 percent in the first 10 months of the July 1, 2009, fiscal year.

OSU opens newest primary care center

CarePoint Lewis Center, central Ohio’s newest primary care medical center, opened Nov. 6 at 6515 Pullman Drive in Lewis Center. The 30,000-square-foot center, staffed with doctors from Ohio State University Medical Center, will be home to physicians in family medicine, internal medicine and sports medicine who will offer a complete range of medical care to people of all ages. In addition, the center will house cardiovascular, physical therapy, orthopedic and imaging services. For additional information about CarePoint Lewis Center, including a map, visit go.osu.edu/BA3.

Medical grant focuses on serving underserved, uninsured, underinsured populations

The College of Medicine has received a five-year, $3.8 million grant to establish a new educational track to train internal medicine residents to become leaders in delivering high-quality and culturally competent primary and preventive care for underserved, uninsured and underinsured populations.

Funded by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, the primary care track is resulting in four newly funded positions in each year between 2011 and 2015. The positions will have a dedicated focus on outpatient education through a new community-based, inner-city practice setting staffed by internal medicine faculty preceptors, as well as inpatient training at Ohio State’s Medical Center. This new track is part of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-approved Educational Innovations Project.

Ohio State University Hospital East and the new CarePoint East, both located in the medically underserved near east side of Columbus, will be the sites for the majority of the resident training.

OSU’s international footprint ranks high

Ohio State ranks as one of the nation’s top 20 universities for the number of students studying abroad and its international student enrollment, according to the Open Doors 2010 report, an annual survey published by the Institute of International Education. Ohio State is ranked 20th among the nation’s colleges and universities for students studying abroad with 1,758 and 15th for hosting 4,796 international students. Ohio State also ranks third in the nation with 1,590 students studying abroad on short-term programs.

Short-term study abroad programs are defined as taking place during the summer, January term or for eight weeks or less during the academic year.

International students at Ohio State are from 104 different countries including, China (1,576), South Korea (822), India (821), Taiwan (249) and Turkey (114).

The top fields of study for OSU international students include, engineering, business and biomedical and biological sciences, similar to the national trend.

Gateway Film Center offers $6 ticket

The Gateway Film Center is offering a $6 ticket to all Ohio State faculty and staff in addition to the current student discount ($3 up-charge for 3D screenings does apply). Immediate family members of faculty and staff who present their Ohio State University, Buck ID or Medical Center identification also are
eligible.

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