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WELCOME TO OSUToday, the latest news and information for faculty and staff of The Ohio State University for Monday, April 16. The deadline for submissions is noon the prior business day.

Headline news

STUDY: BACTERIA CONTROL HOW INFECTIOUS THEY BECOME

The results of a new study suggest that bacteria that cause diseases like bubonic plague and serious gastric illness can turn the genes that make them infectious on or off. Knowing how disease-causing bacteria, like Yersinia pestis and E. coli, do this may one day help scientists create drugs that control the expression of these genes, thereby making the bacteria harmless, said Vladimir Svetlov, a study co-author and a OSU research associate in microbiology. The findings appear in the Friday (4/13) issue of Molecular Cell. Read More >

OSU ALUMNA TAKES OVER LEADERSHIP OF FISHER CIBER

Melissa Torres, named administrative director of the International Programs Office and Center for International Business Education and Research at the Fisher College of Business, will join the university today (4/16). Ohio State is one of 31 CIBERs in the United States. The CIBER program, supported and funded through the U.S. Department of Education, provides programming to link labor and technological needs of the U.S. business community with the international education, language training and research capacities of universities across the country. Read More >

VISITING ARTIST NELSON KICKS OFF EXHIBIT TODAY

An exhibition of drawings by upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, curated by award-winning artist and OSU alumna Dona Nelson, will open at 5 p.m. today (4/16) in Hopkins Hall. Nelson, the 2007 Dilenschneider Visiting Artist in the Department of Art, will give a short talk at the opening. The exhibition is free and open to the public through Friday (4/20). Contact: 292-5072

POZNYAK IS ECE FORUM GUEST APRIL 17

Alex Poznyak, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico City will present “Robust Maximum Principle and its Applications to LQ-Differential Games and Stochastic Control” at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday (4/17) in 260 Dreese Laboratory. The talk deals with the version of the Robust Maximum Principle in the context of Multi-Model Control Optimization formulated as the min-max Bolza problem. A detailed abstract of the talk and Poznyak bio are available online.

EXXONMOBIL INTER-AMERICA PRESIDENT TO LECTURE APRIL 17

Jesse J. Tyson, president of ExxonMobil Inter-America Inc. and an alumnus of the Fisher College of Business, will talk about managing government and business relations in Latin America at 4 p.m. Tuesday (4/17) in 375 Gerlach Hall. He will discuss the challenges and opportunities ExxonMobil faces in the Latin American region in light of changing government policies toward natural resources. The event is sponsored by Fisher’s Center for International Business Education and Research, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Glenn School for Public Affairs and the Mershon Center for International Security Studies. Read More >

OSU MANSFIELD SPONSORS CARE FORUM ON AIDS

Ohio State Mansfield, N.C. State, and the Mansfield-Ontario-Richland County Health Department will cosponsor a “CARE Forum on AIDS and Sexual Awareness,” on Tuesday (4/17)-Thursday (4/19) at the Mansfield campus. All events are free and will be held in Eisenhower Hall unless noted. April 17 sessions include: Rapid HIV testing, 10 a.m.-noon; “Sexual Development and Expression Across the Life Span,” noon; and “Journey Into Spiritual Activism: An HIV+ Writer’s Response to the AIDS Pandemic,” 7 p.m. (Founders Auditorium). April 18 features a panel discussion, “Sexual Education: When, Where, Why?” at noon. April 19 offers a panel discussion, “Living with HIV+/AIDS,” at noon. Contact: Rodger Smith, (419) 755-4215

RETIREMENT CHOICES FORUM SET FOR APRIL 18

Human Resources will offer a forum for newly hired faculty and staff to help with decisions regarding their retirement choices under ARP/OPERS/STRS, from noon-1 p.m. Wednesday (4/18) at 1590 N. High St., Suite 430. The seminar is designed for faculty and staff who have an appointment of at least 75 percent FTE and have been with the university for less than 120 days. A benefits representative will review, compare and summarize the plan options under the OPERS/STRS retirement systems and the provisions of the Alternative Retirement Plan. Contact: 292-1050. Read More >

OARDC ANNUAL RESEARCH CONFERENCE APRIL 19

University, government and industry experts will meet to discuss Ohio’s role in the emerging bioeconomy - renewable energy, biofuels, bio-based products and others - during the 2007 Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center Annual Research Conference, to be held from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday (4/19) at the Blackwell. The keynote speaker is Mark Shanahan, energy advisor to Gov. Ted Strickland and executive director of the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority. Contact: espinoza.15@osu.edu
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DHLRI RESEARCH RETREAT TAKES PLACE APRIL 25

The second annual Dorothy M. Davis Heart & Lung Research Institute Research Retreat will focus on the crossroads where basic science and translational research intersect, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday (4/25) in H1213 Ross Auditorium. Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m. David M. Stern will deliver the keynote address at noon. At the conclusion of the program, the winners of the DHLRI Research Retreat Abstract Competition will be announced. The OSU community is invited to attend the competition on Tuesday (4/17). The poster competition is from 10-11 a.m. and 2-3 p.m. in the Neuropsychiatric facility Gymnasium; the oral competition is 12:30-5 p.m. in 165 DHLRI. Contact: kirsten.houck@osumc.edu or 247-7155

REGISTER FOR 2007 ACADEMIC ADVISING CONFERENCE

Register now for the 2007 Academic Advising Conference, “One University, Many Campuses: Creating Bridges for Our Students” to be held on Tuesday (4/24) at the OSU Marion Campus. View conference details and sign up for breakout sessions online no later than Friday (4/20).

PINWHEELS FOR PREVENTION DISPLAY ON CAMPUS

In recognition of April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, Serving with Honor, the service organization of the Honors and Scholars House, is partnering with Prevent Child Abuse Ohio to raise awareness of child abuse by bringing the Pinwheels for Prevention display to campus. More than 3,500 pinwheels - recognizing local child abuse victims - will remain on display on the South Oval through Thursday (4/19). Throughout the week, members of the campus community can sponsor a pinwheel for $1 at the tables near the display; donations benefit Prevent Child Abuse Ohio. Contact: pitstick.10@osu.edu