<HTML> <HEAD> <META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-16"> <Title> </Title> <Style> A:Link { COLOR: #0000FF } A:Visited { COLOR: #F77921 } BODY { BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 10px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFFFF } TD { FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; COLOR: #000000 } TH { BORDER-BOTTOM: #a3a7c9 thin outset; BORDER-LEFT: #a3a7c9 thin outset; BORDER-RIGHT: #a3a7c9 thin outset; BORDER-TOP: #a3a7c9 thin outset; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #003063; COLOR: #FFFFFF; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold } .ReportTitle { FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: Bold; COLOR: #000000; MARGIN-TOP: 5pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5pt } .ReportComment { FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: Bold; COLOR: #000000; MARGIN-TOP: 5pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5pt } .HeadLine { COLOR: Black; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: Bold } .BodyText { COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman, Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt } .FullStory { FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: Bold } .CategoryTitle { COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-WEIGHT: Bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt } .bodyHR { BACKGROUND-COLOR: #003063; } </Style> </HEAD> <BODY> <table width="99%"> <tr> <td bgcolor="FFFFFF" width="10%" valign="top"><img src="http://www.vocus.com/images/pr/citigroup_dot_clear.gif" width="10%" height="580"><td valign="top"> <TABLE Cellspacing="0" CellPadding="0" Border="0" Width="100%"> <TR> <TD Align="Left" Valign="Center" BGColor="#FFFFFF" colspan="2" width="140"><A href="http://www.auburn.edu"><IMG border="0" src="http://www.vocus.com/images/pr/auburn_logo.gif" alt="Auburn University"></A></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <TABLE Cellspacing="0" CellPadding="0" Border="0" Width="90%"> <TR> <TD Width="15"></TD> <TD> Thursday, June 7, 2007 </TD> <TD Width="15"></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <TABLE Cellspacing="0" CellPadding="0" Border="0" Width="90%"> <TR> <TD Width="15"></TD> <TD> NOTE ON FORMATTING: When stories are transferred from the Web, certain punctuation marks and other marks in this report don't carry over and result in symbols and other formatting errors. To see or print the story in full without these translation errors, simply click on "full story" at the end of each item." </TD> <TD Width="15"></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <table Cellspacing="0" Cellpadding="0" Border="0" Width="700"> <tr> <td align="right" class="CategoryTitle">Total Clips: 4</td> </tr> </table> <TABLE Cellspacing="2" Cellpadding="2" Border="0" Width="700"> <TR> <Th align="left" colspan="2">Headline</Th> <Th align="center">Date</Th> <Th align="left">Outlet</Th> </TR> <TR> <Td align="left" width="5"><a class="newsDivider" href="http://tribunetimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070606/YOURUPSTATE/706060397/1239/BUSINESS"><img border="0" src="http://vocuspr.vocus.com/VocusPr30/images/icon_paperclip.gif" alt=""></a></Td> <Td> <a href="#22025019">Clemson SBDC hosts Auburn University-Led Small Business Success Workshop</a><A name="News22025019"></A></Td> <TD align="center"> 06/07/2007 </TD> <TD align="left"> Tribune-Times (SC) </TD> </TR> <TR> <Td align="left" width="5"><a class="newsDivider" href="http://news.vocus.com/click/here.pl?z967024788&z=950239508"><img border="0" src="http://vocuspr.vocus.com/VocusPr30/images/icon_paperclip.gif" alt=""></a></Td> <Td> <a href="#22019567">Preventing common electrical problems</a><A name="News22019567"></A></Td> <TD align="center"> 06/07/2007 </TD> <TD align="left"> Poultry and Egg News </TD> </TR> <TR> <Td align="left" width="5"><a class="newsDivider" href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070605/LIFESTYLE/70605013"><img border="0" src="http://vocuspr.vocus.com/VocusPr30/images/icon_paperclip.gif" alt=""></a></Td> <Td> <a href="#21966462">UL design students named finalists</a><A name="News21966462"></A></Td> <TD align="center"> 06/05/2007 </TD> <TD align="left"> Daily Advertiser </TD> </TR> <TR> <Td align="left" width="5"><a class="newsDivider" href="http://news.vocus.com/click/here.pl?z964937911&z=950239508"><img border="0" src="http://vocuspr.vocus.com/VocusPr30/images/icon_paperclip.gif" alt=""></a></Td> <Td> <a href="#21973298">KU School of Architecture and Urban Planning Named Best in the Midwest</a><A name="News21973298"></A></Td> <TD align="center"> 06/05/2007 </TD> <TD align="left"> Kansas City infoZine </TD> </TR> <Table Width="95%" Border="0" Cellspacing="10" Cellpadding="2"> <tr> <td width="10"> </td> </tr> <Tr> <Td Align="left"> <A name="22025019"></A><hr size="5" class="bodyHR"> Clemson SBDC hosts Auburn University-Led Small Business Success Workshop 06/07/2007 Tribune-Times (SC) </Td> <td width="15%"></td> <Td Align="Right"><A href="#News22025019"> Return to Top </A></Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td width="500">**AU's award-winning Small Business Development Center to lead a workshop at Clemson.** The Clemson University Regional Small Business Development Center will sponsor Dr. Jackie DiPofi, director of the award winning Auburn University SBDC, for a workshop on starting a successful small business from 6-8 p.m. June 26 at the University Center, 225 S. Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville. Auburn's SBDC was cited as a critical factor to small business start- up and growth after a national organization ranked the Auburn University Metropolitan Statistical Area as the No.1 Region in the nation to start and grow a small business. The National Policy Research Council studied 276 national metro areas for entrepreneurial activity and reported the results on entrepreneur.com. "We help small business owners learn the common basics for success", said DiPofi. "We show them how to put dollar signs to their vision and teach them that they must set a goal or they won't reach it." Advertisement Nonprofit Small Business Development Centers across the country provide technical and managerial assistance to those individuals who want to start or grow their small business. Counseling services are confidential and provided at no charge. The Clemson Regional Small Business Development Center has four offices in the Upstate to support entrepreneurs with their business goals. Participants will learn about local resources, business plans, legal forms of organization, licensing, taxes, lending criteria and financial statements. The cost is $25 per person. Preregistration is required. Call 370.1545.</Td> </Tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://tribunetimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070606/YOURUPSTATE/706060397/1239/BUSINESS">Full Story</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10"> </td> </tr> <Tr> <Td Align="left"> <A name="22019567"></A><hr size="5" class="bodyHR"> Preventing common electrical problems 06/07/2007 Poultry and Egg News Jim Donald, Jess Campbell & Gene Simpson </Td> <td width="15%"></td> <Td Align="Right"><A href="#News22019567"> Return to Top </A></Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td width="500">**AU experts, in engineering, poultry housing and economics, discuss safe housing for poultry during the heat of the summer.** AUBURN, Ala. -- During the long hot summer weather in the broiler belt, most of our tunnel houses continued to perform extremely well. In talking with growers throughout the broiler belt we have found that most who upgraded to high tech tunnel houses are satisfied as to how much easier the new technology has made their job of providing the right temperature and other conditions for maximum bird performance. There is, however, one particular kind of problem that we see too often: smothered birds caused by unexpected loss of electrical power, especially in some older solid wall or even partially solid walled houses. Poultry houses and the equipment in them have evolved through the years, but in too many cases the electrical systems have not kept up with the technology upgrades that have been made to the rest of the house. Many growers are living with a false sense of security and think that just because the power is on and the equipment runs in their houses that their electrical system is in good condition. The reality is that there are many houses operating with electrical systems that are close to causing a catastrophic failure. Learning about the importance of a properly sized, installed and maintained electrical system will help prevent system failures. A tripping breaker or hot power panel is telling us that something is wrong. In an environmentally controlled house, regular electrical maintenance has to be part of the production program Quality power starts with planning the electrical service. We are beginning to get a handle on using properly sized transformers, service wires and electrical panels for newer facilities. However, a large number of houses built and wired some years ago seem to be extremely vulnerable to electrical system failure, which can lead to a significant loss of birds. Numerous field visits and reports from electricians indicate that there are four electrical components in older houses that especially should be examined on a yearly basis as a means of preventing losses. These areas are wires, connections, panel boards and breakers. Wires Main feeder wires are the electrical conductors that deliver electricity to our poultry houses. When these wires are overloaded they begin to heat up and exceed the temperature rating of the insulation that protects them. Repeated overheating of insulation causes it to become brittle and break apart so that the conductor is likely to short circuit if it comes in contact with the metal enclosure or another conductor. Another problem with electrical feeder wires is they are often directly buried in the ground and not installed in a protective conduit. Heavy truck traffic over driveways will often cause shifting of the surrounding fill dirt. In time the insulation is damaged and the conductor fails. Buried feeder wires should be installed in protective conduit to eliminate such problems. There is no quick fix for failure of a feeder wire to a poultry house. Excavation has to take place and new materials need to be assembled and installed. Also, special attention should be taken when retrofitting older houses with new tunnel fans and equipment. Sometimes the older 100 amp rated feeder wires are reused to feed 200 amp panels that supply the new more powerful equipment. The old conductors are not rated to handle the new load but will work or get by for a while. The correct action is to replace the wires serving the panel. This is an expensive fix and is often not done. Have a qualified electrician size these new feeder wires and use copper if at all possible. Electrical connections There are right and wrong ways to connect two or more wires together. In wires connected using a split bolt connector, in time the resistance to the connection increased, the junction began to heat up and the two conductors burned apart. This could have been aggravated by moisture causing corrosion of the aluminum, or by unequal expansion and contraction of the metals. Whatever the specific cause, the split bolt connector splice failed. Since this failure was downstream of the generator, power to the poultry house being served by that set of conductors was lost. As stated above, there is no fast fix for a failed lateral to a poultry house. Split bolt connections have been commonly used in retrofitting electrical systems to join old buried conductors to new panels. They are often protected by electrical tape and might even be buried or hidden in a piece of electrical conduit. This makes them difficult to inspect. Most likely sooner or later these connections will give trouble. If you have them in your wiring system you need to plan to replace them. Main electrical connections should be made in a protective junction box where the wires can be fastened by an electrical lug kit that can be torqued to meet the manufacturer's recommendations using a torque wrench. These connections are far more reliable and can be easily inspected and maintained. The lug kit assures a good metal to metal contact with minimal electrical resistance. Heating of connections made in this manner should not be a problem. Panel boards Many houses built 10-15 years ago were wired with 100 amp or less rated electrical panels. Ventilation was natural and electrical loads were much smaller than those experienced in today's houses. Most panels installed were lighter duty ones -- that is, not designed for continuous loads at or near their rated maximums. These non-commercial type panels are acceptable for residential use, but when placed in a poultry house with eight to 12 fan motors and other motors running, they will most likely not hold up well in time. Circuit breakers that snap into aluminum bus bars often do not make good connections. In time these connections degrade and develop resistance to current flow, causing heat build-up in the breaker and panels. Main breakers Most molded case circuit breakers are designed to operate at a maximum temperature of 40 degrees C, which is 104 degrees F. If the breaker is in a cabinet or enclosure that is hotter than 104 degrees F, then the breaker is likely to trip prematurely, even if there is no electrical current overload. The cause of overheating may be a defective breaker or problems with wiring or connections. Many growers remove panel covers or even blow fans on breakers to keep them cool. A properly sized circuit breaker snapped into a quality panel with copper bus bars and the correct wire properly connected to the load won't need to be cooled by a fan or have the cover removed. This is a tell tale sign that you need to have a knowledgeable electrician take a look at your farm. A breaker that needs continual or frequent changing is a sign that there is something much worse wrong. Often we are asked how often breakers and main breakers should be replaced. This is a hard question to answer. A well designed electrical system should require little or no changing of breakers. Older units that have been subjected to high heating and constantly used as switches to turn loads on and off may need to be changed. Bottom line In industrial applications where loss of power is very critical, electricians are called upon routinely to inspect wiring, breakers, panels and connections. A tunnel ventilated house should be considered a similar type of facility and should be evaluated for electrical integrity on a yearly basis. This evaluation should be done when the house is under at least 50 percent of its load and it is best to do it during a fully loaded situation. Breakers, wiring, panels and connections should be evaluated by a qualified electrician or technically trained individual. A temperature gun, volt meter and a flashlight are very effective tools for finding troubled areas in any electrical system. The issue of electrical maintenance on older farms cannot be overlooked. It is just as important to focus on using a qualified and competent electrician to do your work as it is to have the better equipment installed. Many electrical failures can be avoided with preventative maintenance. Find a qualified electrician and have him look at your wiring system. Pay extra attention to panel boards, breakers, connections and wires. Remember that a breaker costing $30 to $50 is protecting a house full of birds worth thousands of dollars. Paying attention to these details might just save you a house of birds. Jim Donald is an Extension engineer, Jess Campbell is a poultry housing technician and Gene Simpson is an Extension economist, all with Auburn University in Auburn, Ala.</Td> </Tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://news.vocus.com/click/here.pl?z967024788&z=950239508">Full Story</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10"> </td> </tr> <Tr> <Td Align="left"> <A name="21966462"></A><hr size="5" class="bodyHR"> UL design students named finalists 06/05/2007 Daily Advertiser </Td> <td width="15%"></td> <Td Align="Right"><A href="#News21966462"> Return to Top </A></Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td width="500">**AU won second place in this design competition sponsored by the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation and managed by the American Institute of Architecture Students. ** UL Lafayette Industrial Design students Andrew Rudolph of Miami, Fla. and Travis Withers of Morse were selected as finalists in the fourth annual American Institute of Architecture Students/International Corrugated Packaging Foundation Chair Affair Student Design Competition held last month in San Antonio. The six finalists chairs, selected from more than 170 entries submitted by teams or individuals, represented 56 schools and were displayed in the AIAS Student Lounge and Gallery in San Antonio. Rudolph and Withers will split the $1,000 third place prize and donate $200 to the university s AIAS chapter. The competition is sponsored by the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation and managed by the American Institute of Architecture Students. The Chair Affair program challenges students, working individually or in teams, to explore a variety of uses of corrugated cardboard in design and construction. Participants were required to design a "chair" using corrugated cardboard and glue. The Chair Affair s definition of a chair is anything that elevates a user of an undetermined size off the ground comfortably for an extended period of time. The objectives of the competition were to encourage and reward excellence in design that integrates function, aesthetics, structure, ergonomics, details and fun. The Chair Affair also offers students the opportunity to learn more about the corrugated packaging industry and the many careers available for architecture, design, and graphic arts students. The winning teams included Nicholette Chan, Andrew Kim and Jean You, Cornell University (first place, $2,500); Cem Sinan Kayatekin, Auburn University (second place, $1,500); and Rudolph and Withers. Jurors for the competition included Wayne Drummond, FAIA, dean of the College of Architecture at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Glenn Fellows, AIA, principal with SMPC Architects; and Jaclyn S. Toole, associate AIA from Bernardon Haber Holloway Architects.</Td> </Tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070605/LIFESTYLE/70605013">Full Story</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10"> </td> </tr> <Tr> <Td Align="left"> <A name="21973298"></A><hr size="5" class="bodyHR"> KU School of Architecture and Urban Planning Named Best in the Midwest 06/05/2007 Kansas City infoZine </Td> <td width="15%"></td> <Td Align="Right"><A href="#News21973298"> Return to Top </A></Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td width="500">**AU's architecture program was ranked sixth nationally by DesignIntelligence.** The University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Planning ranks first in the Midwest and sixth nationwide among all undergraduate architecture programs, according to DesignIntelligence, the publisher of "America's Best Architecture and Design Schools." DesignIntelligence surveys architecture firms and public practitioners across the country, targeting individuals with direct experience hiring and evaluating the performance of graduates. Participants were asked to identify the schools that provide the most well-prepared students. This marks the eighth year that DesignIntelligence has issued the rankings. The national sixth-place ranking among the 54 accredited undergraduate programs in the country marks an all-time high for KU. KU also ranked high in the individual category of "Construction Methods and Materials," placing fifth among all programs nationwide, both undergraduate and graduate. John C. Gaunt, dean of the architecture school, said the subjective nature of architecture makes it difficult to compare one school to another. He is pleased, however, to know that those who graduate from KU's program are well-respected throughout the industry. "To me it's an affirmation of what we're doing in the school and what the school is," he said. "Regardless of any reservations that one would have about rankings, it's very nice to be recognized." Programs ranked in the top 10 are: 1. Cornell University 2. Rice University 3. Syracuse University 4. Virginia Polytechnic Institute 5. Rhode Island School of Design 6. KU, Auburn University, California Polytechnic State University (tied) 9. University of Texas 10. Carnegie Mellon University</Td> </Tr> <tr> <td><a href="http://news.vocus.com/click/here.pl?z964937911&z=950239508">Full Story</a></td> </tr> </Table> <td bgcolor="FFFFFF" width="10%" valign="top"><img src="http://www.vocus.com/images/pr/citigroup_dot_clear.gif" width="10%" height="580"></td> </TABLE> </td> </td> </tr> <table Width="99%" valign="bottom" Border="0" Cellspacing="0" Cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td align="right"> <a target="_top" href="http://www.vocus.com"><img border="0" src="http://vocuspr.vocus.com/pralitypro/images/PoweredByVocus.gif"></a> </td> </tr> </table> </table> </BODY></HTML>