David Walker returned from military service in Iraq with countless memories and experiences - the kind that would stay with him for a lifetime. Fighting in a war is not something one easily talks about. In fact, some never do. But Walker was open to reflecting on his experience. He just needed the right outlet.
Walker, 27, found that outlet through a unique course at Penn State. The recent biochemistry and molecular biology graduate enrolled in English 497: Narrative, Oral History and New Media Technologies in the spring of 2009. The goal of the course was to help returning veterans become filmmakers by creating short documentaries about the experiences of the Iraq War. Dubbed "Back from Iraq: The Veterans' Stories Project," these films, along with student interviews, class footage, and course materials, are now available at http://wpsu.org/backfromiraq online. (more)
LAW SCHOOL TO HOST FORUM ON THE IMPACT OF HEALTH CARE REFORM: On Tuesday, Nov. 10, Penn State's Dickinson School of Law will present "Lifting the Fog on Health Care Reform: Policy and Transactions." "To help successfully navigate the waters of health care reform," said Samuel Thompson, Penn State law professor and director of the Center for Mergers and Acquisitions, "we're bringing together two panels of distinguished experts to both help participants understand the policy issues and assess the potential impact on the business community." The event will begin at 5:15 p.m. in room 118 of the Lewis Katz Building on Penn State's University Park campus and will be simulcast to room 148 of the Advantica Building, Penn State Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pa. The program also will be available via live webcast. See the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/42462 online.
CONFERENCE REVEALS COMPLEXITY OF NCAA SPORTS-TAX EXEMPTION DEBATE: At a recent conference, several experts convened to discuss some of the complexities of the "business" of big-time collegiate sports, such as why NCAA sports are tax exempt, how tax exemptions are regulated in other organizations, and the relationship between financial revenue and colleges' educational missions. See the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/42719 online.
UNIVERSITY TO HOST ADVANCED INTERVENTION TO VENTURE WORKSHOP: The College of Engineering and Smeal College of Business will host the Advanced Invention to Venture (AI2V) workshop Nov. 20 to 23 at the University Park campus. This intense four-day workshop is open to student teams, faculty, nonacademic-affiliated venture teams and corporate technologists who have committed to starting a company and are striving to define and articulate the market value of their technology and the best strategy for commercialization.See the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/42630 online.
TWO DuBOIS STUDENTS SPEAK AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: Two Penn State DuBois students had the honor of being the only undergraduate students to make presentations at an international conference in Philadelphia in October. Senior Wes McMasters and junior Jeff Sexton both made presentations at the third International Edgar Allan Poe Conference. Their fellow presenters included everyone from graduate students to tenured faculty from around the world. See the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/42645 online.
BRYCE JORDAN CENTER WILL GLOW BLUE FOR WORLD DIABETES DAY: Nov. 14 is dedicated annually as World Diabetes Day. To raise awareness of the problem of diabetes in the Centre region, the Bryce Jordan Center will be lit in blue on that day, the color chosen to represent diabetes and World Diabetes Day. These events are organized in the Centre region by People Centre'd on Diabetes (PCOD), a group of community members that is dedicated to providing clarity, care and concern to Centre County citizens living through the entire spectrum of diabetes. See the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/42617 online. (more)
Penn State's 33rd annual Renaissance Fund dinner has raised $84,085 to endow scholarships in honor of former State College superintendent Patricia L. Best, the 2009 Renaissance Honoree. The annual event raises money for Renaissance Fund scholarships, which are awarded to academically talented Penn State students who have great financial need. The dinners honor community leaders, and contributions are used to endow scholarships in their names. (more)
The 2009-10 Penn State Forum Speaker Series continues on Monday, Nov. 16 with a presentation by Barbara J. Rolls, professor of nutrition at Penn State. The talk, titled "Feeling Full on Fewer Calories," will take place between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the President's Hall at The Penn Stater conference center. (more)
Penn State researchers are examining how stress at work impacts employees and their families using a data collection method known as the "daily diary." Susan McHale, professor of human development and director of Penn State's Social Science Research Institute, and three other investigators on the multisite Work, Family & Health Network presented data at a congressional briefing in October. McHale's presentation focused on studying the effects of workplace stress using a daily diary. (more)
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital leaders today announced a $1 million commitment from The Hershey Company toward the building of a new, free-standing Children's Hospital. This generous gift brings the Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital campaign to $62 million of its $65 million goal. (more)
A clinic will be held in 205 Student Health Center on the University Park campus Friday, Nov. 6, to distribute an additional 1,000 doses of the H1N1 nasal spray vaccine to students 24 years of age and younger. Appointments must be scheduled online through the University Health Services (UHS) Web site at http://www.sa.psu.edu/uhs/basics/online_access.cfm. H1N1 vaccinations are free of charge. (more)
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders marked by impaired social interactions, restricted interests, repetitive behaviors, and communication impairment, which persist throughout a person's lifetime. The ASD prevalence rate--the number of individuals diagnosed with autism--has been steadily increasing over time. A new report from the U.S. Department of Health's Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), based on a phone survey of over 78,000 families, set the prevalence rate at nearly one in 91 children. This is an increase from the prior statistic of one in 150 children reported in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says The Medical Minute, a service of the Penn State Hershey Medical Center. (more)
When plum pox was discovered in Adams County peach trees in October 1999 -- the first time the disease had been found in North America -- the nation's stone-fruit growers watched anxiously to see how Pennsylvania would respond. As the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture officially lifted the quarantine of the area's stone fruit Oct. 29 -- certifying the state as plum-pox free -- James Travis reflected on the 10-year, collaborative eradication effort and the agricultural catastrophe it averted. The virus threatened to wipe out the state's $25 million annual production of peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines and cherries. (more)
Penn State will launch a new interdisciplinary research center focused on the science of communication networks with approximately $35.5 million in funding over 10 years from the Army Research Laboratory. The Communication Networks Research Center, part of the new Network Science Collaborative Technology Alliance, will perform foundational research on network science. The research focuses on the interplay among the social/cognitive, information and communication networks. (more)
