University System News
CONSOLIDATION:
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/regents-give-preliminary-approval-to-ksu-spsu-merg/nbqcg/
Regents give preliminary approval to KSU-SPSU merger
BY JANEL DAVIS – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
The state Board of Regents unanimously gave preliminary approval Tuesday to the merger of Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University. The move came despite objections from SPSU students that the the polytechnic college would lose its identity and the merger would hurt the school’s reputation and increase class sizes. To allay at least one of their concerns, several regents urged university system officials to try to retain a portion of the SPSU name in the new institution, and possibly on students’ diplomas.
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2013/11/12/georgia-regents-ok-kennesaw.html
Georgia Regents OK Kennesaw State-Southern Poly merger
Dave Williams
Staff Writer-Atlanta Business Chronicle
The University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted Tuesday to consolidate Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University. “This is a decision that will strengthen both institutions’ ability to serve students and to ensure we can direct resources appropriately,” board Chairman Dink NeSmith said. “I’m excited about the future potential for the new Kennesaw State University.”
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2013-11-12/board-regents-votes-approve-ksu-spsu-merger
Board of Regents votes to approve KSU-SPSU merger
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — The University System of Georgia Board of Regents has voted to approve merging Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University.
University system officials said Tuesday that processes to set the merger into motion will be executed within the next year.
Related articles:
www.mdjonline.com
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/24036869/article-Regents-unanimous-in-approving-merger?instance=lead_story_left_column
Regents unanimous in approving merger
www.ledgernews.com
http://www.ledgernews.com/kennesaw/kennesaw_news/regents-approve-kennesaw-state-southern-polytechnic-consolidation/article_da6b6c3e-4bd9-11e3-acc5-001a4bcf6878.html
Regents Approve Kennesaw State, Southern Polytechnic Consolidation
www.dailyjournal.net
http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/37bd33e37468454e9115b64d3cb69c19/GA–Kennesaw-State-Merger/#.UoOqpih5iCY
Board of Regents votes to approve Kennesaw State, Southern Polytechnic State University merger
www.northjersey.com
http://www.northjersey.com/news/international/231620061_Board_of_Regents_votes_to_approve_KSU-SPSU_merger.html
Board of Regents votes to approve KSU-SPSU merger
USG NEWS:
www.nbc26.tv
http://www.nbc26.tv/story/23953941/georgia-regents-university-unveils-8-year-plan
Georgia Regents University unveils 8-year plan
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Georgia Regents University President Ricardo Azziz will give an update on the 8-year plan for the university and health system today. He’ll be in Atlanta at the Board of Regents Meeting. However, if you want to learn more, his presentation will be live-streamed at both GRU campuses.
www.covnews.com
http://www.covnews.com/section/122/article/46920/
A ‘woof! woof!’ for new UGA leader
TO: UGA PRESIDENT JERE MOREHEAD
RE: WELCOME ABOARD
Dear Dr. Morehead:
Congratulations on your investiture as the 22nd president of the University of Georgia. I wish I could be there for the ceremony Nov. 19, but I have a long-scheduled conflict on that day. Otherwise, I would be there barking “Woof! Woof!” to show my pleasure in having you officially recognized as the leader of my beloved alma mater. This solemn occasion probably doesn’t lend itself to woof-woofing, but I suspect you would get a kick out of hearing it. You are a Bulldog through and through.
www.walb.com
http://www.walb.com/story/23951837/georgia-university-filling-the-stomachs-of-students-in-need
Georgia university filling the stomachs of students in need
By Josh Rhoden
AMERICUS, GA (WALB) – On the campus of Georgia Southwestern State University there is a closet filled with food ranging from cheerios to canned goods, ready to fill the stomachs of students in need. “They may not realize what kind of situation they are in right now and us providing some meals for them can certainly help them in other ways not necessarily providing money towards food but maybe help them pay some of their other bills,” said Josh Curtin, food pantry organizer. Joshua Curtin spearheaded the effort to create the on-campus food pantry to help students who run out of meals on their meal plan, or who cannot afford food.
www.globalatlanta.com
http://www.globalatlanta.com/article/26584/foreign-students-spend-500-million-in-georgia/
Foreign Students Spend $500 Million in Georgia
Spending by foreign college students in Georgia eclipsed a half-billion dollars for the first time this year, making higher education a more valuable export than state mainstays like kaolin and carpet, according to a new report. Though it has a long way to go to displace products like poultry and aircraft, spending by students on tuition, fees and living expenses grew by $38 million in 2012-13, a 7.5 percent uptick to $500.9 million, according to the annual Open Doors report by the New York-based Institute of International Education. …Still, this year brought glimmers of hope that the rest of the state’s top five could slowly catch up. While Georgia Tech slid 4.6 percent and dropped out of the top 25 in the nation, the others moved forward: Emory (13 percent), University of Georgia at 1,708 (13 percent), SCAD at 1,608 (15.5 percent) and Georgia State University at 1,597 (1.2 percent).
GOOD NEWS:
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2013/11/georgia-state-tops-in-nation-for.html
Georgia State tops in nation for efforts to boost graduation rates
Carla Caldwell, Morning Edition Editor
Georgia State University is the national leader in efforts to dramatically increase graduation rates, according to the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. The association, which represents 219 public research institutions and other organizations, has named Georgia State the inaugural winner of its Most Visible Progress Trailblazer Award for the school’s “exceptional progress with increasing retention toward or completion of a bachelor’s degree during the last three years.”
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2013/11/12/want-to-be-a-millionaire-you-should.html
Want to be a millionaire? You should have gone to Georgia Tech
Jacques Couret
Senior Online Editor and Social Engagement Manager-Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia Tech is the only school in the Peach State to make the top 100 on a list of universities that produce the most millionaires worldwide, Times Higher Education reports. …Georgia Tech ranked No. 80, just behind University of Cape Town in South Africa and just ahead of Moscow State University in Russia.
www.wtoc.com
http://www.wtoc.com/story/23938856/new-program-guarantees-veterans-a-job
New program guarantees veterans a job
By Jonathan Burton
SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) –
One in three veterans is unemployed in America, worse than the year before, when one in five was unemployed, according to the Department of Labor. Startling numbers, but a brand new program at Georgia Tech-Savannah campus, called V.E.T Squared, is working to improve those numbers by guaranteeing veterans a job.
RESEARCH:
www.onineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-11-11/uga-professor-high-school-student-team-create-organic-chemistry-app
UGA professor, high school student team up to create organic chemistry app
By UGA NEWS SERVICE
The second organic chemistry course a college student takes is often referred to as the “gateway to medical school” because students must learn, synthesize and use knowledge in a rapid fashion to make decisions, much like a doctor. …Now, thanks to the help of recent UGA Young Dawgs summer research program participant Chuanbo Pan, who is a neighbor of Locklin and an 11th-grader at North Oconee High School, organic chemistry students at the university and nationwide will have yet another resource at their fingertips—an iPhone and iPad app. Known as the “Organic Chemistry II Survival Guide,” the application provides easy-to-navigate notes for organic chemistry students and is based on three binders full of Locklin’s teaching materials and notes.
www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/science_health/uga-professor-leads-international-sorghum-research-effort/article_cae0168c-4a96-11e3-9eb7-0019bb30f31a.html
UGA professor leads international sorghum research effort
Jeanette Kazmierczak
Largely neglected in favor of its cousins wheat, corn and rye, sorghum may be the plant that saves the day. Andrew Paterson, a Regents professor of genetics, and the University of Georgia’s Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory have been chosen to lead an international group of researchers with a five-year, $4.98 million grant and the goal to increase the production of sorghum worldwide.
www.myfoxatlanta.com
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/23937252/cancer-treatment-on-pit-bull-could-be-used-on-humans
Pit bull tests cancer treatment
By Beth Galvin, FOX Medical Team reporter
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. -When you think about cancer research, a 90-pound pit bull terrier probably doesn’t come to mind. But a Johns Creek dog named Petey has become something of a cancer pioneer. He’s testing a treatment that may one day help both dogs and humans. When Petey was diagnosed, his owners were told he didn’t have much time left and that the standard treatment wouldn’t stop the cancer. So they signed him up to be the first dog at the University Of Georgia College Of Veterinary Medicine to try a new treatment. What happened next has given everyone involved with the study — and Petey — hope.
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/a-healthy-conversation/2013/11/gru-discovers-cause-for-muscle.html
GRU discovers cause for muscle weakening disease
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer-Atlanta Business Chronicle
An antibody to a protein critical to allowing the brain to talk to muscles has been ID’d as a cause of myasthenia gravis — the most common disease affecting brain-muscle interaction, according to Georgia Regents University.
www.edition.cnn.com
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/12/health/veteran-exoskeleton/index.html
A wounded warrior, walking tall
By Pat Etheridge, CNN Contributor
Editor’s note: Former CNN correspondent Pat Etheridge is a journalist specializing in children’s health and family issues. She previously hosted CNN’s “Parenting Today.” Liberty Island, New York (CNN) — On Veterans Day, former Army special ops officer Gary Linfoot took a brisk stroll around the Statue of Liberty. That’s remarkable because Linfoot is a paraplegic — injured while on one of his many tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He’s been wheelchair-bound and paralyzed below the waist since 2008… Today, many entities are working to broaden applications of the wearable robot. A team of engineers and medical doctors at Georgia Tech Research Institute is working to enhance sensors in the suit that would make mobility possible even in difficult terrain.
www.brookings.edu
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2013/11/12-economic-education-rothwell
The Economic Value of Education
Jonathan Rothwell
In the face of ever-rising rising tuition and scarce or confusing quality metrics, many people are understandably frustrated with universities and community colleges. Meanwhile, the Great Recession has delayed or diverted the ambitions of many young college graduates. Unfortunately, some scholars have piled on to these concerns with unwarranted suggestions that there is little to no private or public economic benefit from obtaining a college degree… Those who most directly impact economic growth—inventors and entrepreneurs—also tend to be highly educated. A Georgia Tech survey of patent inventors found that 92 percent had a bachelor’s degree, almost exclusively in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects.
www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/11/12/action-urgently-required-on-typhoon-hurricane-storm-surge-problem/
Typhoon and hurricane storm surge disasters are unacceptable
BY JASON SAMENOW
When hurricanes and typhoons crash ashore, their winds shove inland a wall of water, sometimes 10 to 20 feet or higher depending on the strength of the storm, its size, and shape of the coastline. You can’t stop the surge and you can’t contain it. Your only course of action is to get out of the way… Nevertheless, Bangladesh – which has the world’s most disastrous storm surge history – offers an example of a partially successful response effort in the developing world. Consider this anecdote, from Peter Webster – a scientist at Georgia Tech who worked on a storm surge and flood warning system in Bangladesh – about the effective measures he helped implement (from a 2008 Capital Weather Gang post): In 1971 the Bohar Tropical Cyclone took 300,000+ lives principally drowned by storm surge.
www.wtsp.com
http://www.wtsp.com/news/national/article/344366/81/iPhones-can-be-hacked-while-charging
iPhones can be hacked while charging
USA TODAY
Apple’s iPhone has won praise over its resistance to hackers, but university researchers have revealed you can still be vulnerable. The risk comes when using public USB chargers, says Billy Lau, a Georgia Tech research scientists. Lau and his team, at Georgia Tech’s Security Information Center, made a malicious app look like Facebook and hid the malware code to get an initial security certificate. After gaining Apple’s initial approval for testing, the app was downloaded to an iPhone. Like Lau, hackers could now introduce the app to an iPhone through public USB chargers, disguised as a normal iPhone or iPad charger, connected to a hidden computer.
www.designnews.com
http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=269565&itc=dn_analysis_element&dfpPParams=ind_183,industry_consumer,aid_269565&dfpLayout=article&dfpPParams=ind_183,industry_consumer,aid_269565&dfpLayout=article
3D Printing Goes Nanoscale
Ann R. Thryft, Senior Technical Editor, Materials & Assembly
Georgia Institute of Technology has done some truly bleeding-edge research in self-configuring robotics and robot swarms. It’s also home to research projects in advanced additive manufacturing (AM), design, and materials. The latest one has received a grant from the Department of Energy to develop nanoscale AM with a variety of materials. The technique uses focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID) assisted by gas jets, which sends a highly focused beam of high-energy electrons and a jet of gases to a substrate material. The process creates tiny, nanoscale-layered structures, tens of nanometers to hundreds of nanometers wide, formed one atom at a time. The nanscale allow structures made of a wide variety of materials and materials combinations, and with very high purity.
www.masonrymagazine.com
http://www.masonrymagazine.com/latest-news/1885-building-information-modeling-for-masonry-launches-website-.html
Building Information Modeling for Masonry Launches Website
By David T. Biggs and Tim O’Toole
The masonry industries of the United States and Canada are sponsoring an initiative for Building Information Modeling for Masonry (BIM-M). With the guidance of Georgia Institute of Technology, the goal is to maintain and advance the commercial masonry industry’s market share by improving project delivery methods, including BIM. The first generation BIM software for masonry is projected for 2017-2018. It will have a significant impact on the way masonry buildings are designed, constructed and maintained.
Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/nov/12/despite-protests-regents-merge-southern-polytechni/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Despite protests, Regents merge Southern Polytechnic and Kennesaw today
It’s a done deal. The merger of Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University was approved. According to a fact sheet, both campuses will remain open. The new entity will carry the Kennesaw name. According to the timeline: The Implementation Committee will be appointed in the near future, with operational subcommittees being appointed as appropriate in the upcoming weeks and months.
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/nov/13/emory-professor-and-cancer-researcher-study-scienc/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Emory professor and cancer researcher: Study of science may finally evolve with Common Core
Weighing in today on Common Core is Carlos S. Moreno, an associate professor at the Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Moreno has undergraduate and graduate degrees from MIT in aerospace engineering and a doctorate from Emory in genetics and molecular biology.
www.elpasotimes.com
http://www.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_24508868/unemployment-irag-afghanistan-veterans-is-shameful
Unemployment for Irag, Afghanistan veterans is shameful
El Paso Times Editorial Board
As the nation celebrated Veterans Day this week, one troubling statistic deserved more focus. Ten percent of the veterans of our wars since 2001 are unemployed, well above the national rate of just more than 7 percent. Indeed, the unemployment rate of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has been substantially and stubbornly higher for years than that for non-veterans of similar age and demographics, according to the Washington Post. That is tragic… Selected students will study in a six-month program at UTEP and Georgia Tech. Upon graduation they’ll get a one-year paid consulting period at ADP and are expected to be hired full-time at the end of that consulting period. “We are fortunate to have operations near Fort Bliss and Fort Gordon, as well as strong academic partners at the University of Texas at El Paso and Georgia Tech, which is partnering with Georgia Regents University,” said Terry McGreehan, vice president and general manager of ADP’s Augusta and El Paso offices, “What’s more, we are excited about our partnership with WOS, which has a proven expertise in creating viable opportunities to help veterans find new careers.”
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2013/11/12/essay-whats-missing-discussion-humanities#ixzz2kR2VfUEA
Thinking for Oneself
By Michael Roth
Over the last year there has been a steady stream of articles about the “crisis in the humanities,” fostering a sense that students are stampeding from liberal education toward more vocationally oriented studies. In fact, the decline in humanities enrollments, as some have pointed out, is wildly overstated, and much of that decline occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. Still, the press is filled with tales about parents riding herd on their offspring lest they be attracted to literature or history rather than to courses that teach them to develop new apps for the next, smarter phone.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2013/11/12/essay-suggests-liberal-arts-training-relates-skills#ixzz2kR2eptLc
False Dichotomy
By Devin T. Hagerty
The liberal arts are dead, or — at best — dying. That’s the theme of story after story in today’s news media. Professional skills training is in. The STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields are in. Practical, vocational higher education is in. The liberal arts are out, relics of a “traditional” way of thinking that has been overtaken by the pressing demands of our dizzyingly complex digital age.
www.nytimes.com
Fairness for College Athletes
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
The amateur model in college sports is in serious trouble, with a federal district judge on Friday certifying a class-action suit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Under N.C.A.A. rules, student athletes may not receive compensation — a policy that effectively blocks players from entering into group licensing agreements. The N.C.A.A., however, sells the names and images of players for use in game footage, photographs and video games. Twenty-five current and former student athletes, led by Ed O’Bannon, a former basketball star at the University of California, Los Angeles, are challenging the N.C.A.A.’s right to take in billions while players get nothing.
www.nytimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/opinion/stop-penalizing-poor-college-students.html?ref=todayspaper
Stop Penalizing Poor College Students
By SANDY BAUM, KRISTIN CONKLIN and NATE JOHNSON
THE Pell grant program is the federal government’s main strategy for helping low-income students finish college, but the way the program is designed makes it harder for those same students to graduate on schedule. The problem is that the program provides support for only 12 credit hours per term, which the government defines as full time for financial aid purposes. To complete a bachelor’s degree in four years, though, students need to enroll for 15 or 16 credit hours. Categorizing students as full time even though they aren’t taking enough credits to graduate, the Pell program works against the interests of the very people it seeks to help.
Education News
www.gpb.org
http://www.gpb.org/news/2013/11/12/wheres-the-common-ground-in-common-core
Where’s The Common Ground in Common Core?
By Jeanne Bonner
ATLANTA — The much-debated Common Core school curriculum took center stage at a panel discussion Tuesday in downtown Atlanta. Most panelists said the standards were working fine before a political controversy hijacked the debate. More than forty states use the Common Core school curriculum. Governors, including former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, a Republican, spear-headed the move toward common educational standards. But earlier this year some Republicans began backing away from the Common Core.
www.huffingtonpost.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/obama-career-education_n_4262860.html
Obama Administration Embraces Career Education
Joy Resmovits
DAYTON, Ohio — On a gusty, rainy, recent afternoon, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sat on stage next to two students, an administrator and a teacher, at the head of a big blue auditorium that smelled faintly of pot. Duncan said a few words before relinquishing his mic to the panel, which had assembled to discuss the impact of federal school reforms at Dunbar Early College High School. Then, he looked down and took notes as the students spoke. “It would be great to get college credits in high school, because you could graduate with a high school diploma and an associates degree,” said Awanna Lowe, a student at Dunbar.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/13/michelle-obama-speech-signals-new-administration-focus-boosting-low-income-college#ixzz2kWnoI7bZ
The Obamas’ New Focus
By Michael Stratford
WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama on Tuesday kicked off a new White House push to increase the number of low-income students who apply to and graduate from college.
Speaking to students at a high school here, the first lady drew on her own personal experiences as a first-generation college student who earned two Ivy League degrees to encourage students to set high expectations and take responsibility for their own higher education. She also highlighted the president’s oft-stated goal of having the highest percentage of college graduates in the world by 2020.
Related articles:
www.nytimes.com
First Lady’s New Initiative: College, ‘Whatever It Takes’
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/57430/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=18f406426c6b47d1b1fab4c604927c1e&elqCampaignId=62#
First Lady Undertakes New Education Initiative
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/57434/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=18f406426c6b47d1b1fab4c604927c1e&elqCampaignId=62#
Diverse Conversations: Is a Free College Education a Basic American Right?
by Matthew Lynch
Earning a college education is something that is a double-edged sword for the nation’s youngest adults and for some of their parents too. Society dictates that some form of secondary education is an absolute must for lifetime success, but the cost associated with earning those credentials is debilitating. The Washington Post reports that the average college student will graduate with $25,000 in debt. With more than $1 trillion in outstanding loans, student debt outweighs credit card debt and is exempt from bankruptcy protection.
www.money.cnn.com
http://money.cnn.com/pf/best-jobs/?iid=BestJobs_lp_header
Best Jobs in America
CNNMoney/PayScale’s top 100 careers with big growth, great pay and satisfying work.
www.dawsonnews.com
http://www.dawsonnews.com/section/3/article/13326/
College debuts spa on campus
Open to public three days per week
By David Renner
In its ongoing commitment to prepare students for careers, Lanier Technical College has opened a spa in Dawsonville. …”The students get real-life experience by operating all aspects of a full-service salon,” said Angelia Brown, cosmetology instructor at the Dawsonville campus. “From greeting the guest, client consultation, performing services with the most current equipment available, and using state of the art software to check the client out at the end of the service.” According to Brown, all services are provided by senior level students and the work is closely monitored by the cosmetology instructors.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/12/chicago-state-tries-shut-down-faculty-blog#ixzz2kR2LfvLz
Chicago State vs. Faculty Blog
By Scott Jaschik
Last year, Chicago State University briefly required that all professors have prior approval to talk to any reporter, use social media or engage in most forms of public communication. Facing complaints that the policy was inappropriate and illegal, the university backed down. But the university — where administrators have frequently clashed with faculty members — this week is demanding the shutdown of a faculty blog that has been highly critical of the university. The chief lawyer for the university sent a “cease and desist” letter to the professors who run the blog demanding that they shut it down.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/13/penn-state-continues-searching-its-next-president-what-do-candidates-see#ixzz2kWo1FcPP
Is Penn State Presidency a Prize?
By Ry Rivard
Has the scandal at Pennsylvania State University left a permanently weakened institution or just put an ugly gloss on a solid American university? The university’s halting — and seemingly unlucky — search for a new president frames that question.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Texas-Affirmative-Action/142959/
Texas Affirmative-Action Dispute Comes Down to Defining Sufficient Diversity
By Peter Schmidt
When a federal circuit court hears arguments on Wednesday in a dispute over race-conscious admissions at the University of Texas at Austin, the judges will be dealing with both fresh instructions and big unresolved questions as a result of a recent decision in the case by the U.S. Supreme Court.
www.nytimes.com
Using Food to Make an Off-Campus Area More Inviting
By C. J. HUGHES
Redevelopment along the streets south of Columbia University has long been difficult. Urban renewal schemes, police sweeps and wars on rats have all been deployed since the 1950s with little success. But smaller-scale approaches in the last few years reflect an effort to infuse storefronts along what is loosely known as Manhattan Valley with a bit of flavor. Landlords, brokers and community leaders are pushing to install food businesses in storefronts of different shapes and sizes, betting that cuisine can improve an area like schools or parks can, and filling in many dark retail spaces in the process.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/13/study-links-binge-drinking-and-low-critical-thinking-skills-caveat#ixzz2kWoDw1Ip
Drinking and (Critical) Thinking
By Allie Grasgreen
It’s well-documented that students who binge drink tend to have lower grade point averages and focus less on academics than students who don’t. It might follow, then, that binge drinking is also associated with lower levels of critical thinking. The authors of a new paper addressing this question did indeed find that many students who binge drank over their four years in college had “significantly lower” critical thinking skills upon graduating than did those who didn’t binge drink.
www.nytimes.com
Google Glass Will Expand Its Features Into Music
By BEN SISARIO
To sell Glass, its augmented-reality form of eyewear, Google has already tried to make it a fashion accessory and a must-have video device for any parent or sky diver. Now it is also presenting this $1,500 piece of wearable technology as a way to interact with music.
www.blogs.wsj.com
http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2013/11/13/biological-semiconductors-could-transform-tech-industry/?KEYWORDS=%22University%22
Biological Semiconductors Could Transform Tech Industry
By BEN ROONEY
An Israeli technology company is working on a technology that could transform the semiconductor and energy-storage business. If you transform those industries, you transform modern life. Store Dot, based in Ramat Gan, just to the west of Tel Aviv, is creating biological semiconductors that can, among other things, store a charge, emit visible light and be used to produce high-capacity, or quick-charging, batteries. “If everything works, and we have a lot of evidence that it will do, we have a revolution in many devices—memory, batteries, the display, image sensors,” said Doron Myersdorf, chief executive of Store Dot.
www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304520704579129211308141046?mod=ITP_journalreport_1
What Solar Power Needs for a Brighter Future
Advocates believe it can be a strong alternative. But it needs some help.
By UCILIA WANG
Advocates are convinced the boom times have only just begun. They predict solar power will become even more attractive to consumers over the next two decades as prices decline further and new technologies lead to expanded uses. Solar power has been on a roll in recent years, as plummeting prices for solar panels and generous government incentives have helped to make it much more affordable. “People won’t think solar is novel 20 years from now,” said Minh Le, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, which funds solar technology research and development. “It will be so cheap that it will be on your house, your car, the back of your iPhone.”
www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304906704579115510865908136?mod=ITP_journalreport_1
What’s Holding Back Nuclear Energy
A look at the challenges that keep it from taking off—and how to meet them
By KEITH JOHNSON
Nuclear power seems to have it all. Like renewables, it emits no greenhouse gases. Like coal, it is always on. Nuclear doesn’t face the price volatility that natural gas does, and it actually has a better safety record than the coal industry. For all of these reasons, plenty of countries, from China and India to the Middle East, are betting big on nuclear energy to power their futures. So why does nuclear power’s future in the U.S. look dim? A forecast by the Energy Information Administration, for example, gives it only 3% of new capacity for electricity generation through 2040—the same as for much-maligned coal.
www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304527504579168140813739808?mod=ITP_journalreport_1
The Hunt for Biofuels Looks Beyond Ethanol
A push is on to get more energy from nonedible plants
By MARA LEMOS STEIN
For biofuels, the future won’t look much like the past. We’re heading, some believe, for a post-ethanol age. Today, nearly all plant-based liquid fuels are either used to make ethanol, which is blended with gasoline, or biodiesel. But efforts to increase the amount of ethanol in gas are opposed by auto makers and others who say the environment and economy are better served by more efficient engines and the shift to hybrid, electric and natural-gas vehicles. There are critics, too, who say making biofuel from edible plants—most ethanol is based on corn or sugar cane—is a poor use of land and crops needed to feed growing populations.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/End-of-Federal-Grants-Could/142949/
End of Federal Grants Could Damage Russian Studies, Scholars Say
By Thomas Bartlett
Compared with federal budget cuts in the tens of billions of dollars, the recent elimination of a program that supports Russian studies barely registers. The program, which was run by the U.S. Department of State, provided a relatively tiny $3.3-million to organizations that finance research on Russia and other former Soviet-bloc countries. It also supports language study. Some scholars in the field, however, say the consequences of the cut could be enormous.