Untitled Document

Monday, December 11, 2006

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."

Total Clips: 14

	Date	Outlet
News, Views and Careers for All of Higher Education	12/11/2006	Inside Higher Ed
South's Best Regional Robotics Competition: DHS robotics team scores third win	12/11/2006	The Flint Journal
State touts benefits of early education	12/11/2006	The Cullman Times
Alexandria residents see more stores and students as rural area blossoms	12/11/2006	Anniston Star
Microfluidic Device Used For Multigene Analysis of Individual Environmental Bacteria	12/11/2006	Science Daily
State's biofuel future bright	12/11/2006	Montgomery Advertiser
AU probes grade change	12/10/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
AU hosts 4-H Mater Horseman's Clinic	12/10/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
High school teams go head-to-head in robotics competition	12/10/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
Swedes take the lead in World Cup	12/10/2006	Berkshire Eagle
Food sickness outbreaks rising: Illness spurs scientists to mind peas and queues	12/09/2006	Contra Costa Times - Online
Annual BEST robotics competition today in Auburn	12/09/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
UAH tops state in getting science research dollars	12/09/2006	Huntsville Times
AI Vaccine Developed For Poultry	12/08/2006	Meat Processing


News, Views and Careers for All of Higher Education 12/11/2006 Inside Higher Ed		Return to Top
AU is mentioned in this news roundup in the brief about Athletics and Academics. Quick Takes: Athletics vs. Academics, NIH Bill Passes, Data on Technology Issues, Anger in Iowa, Introducing Randolph College, New Panel on Visas and Security, Indiana Boosts Aid Three newspapers this weekend explored the academic compromises universities make in the name of athletic success. The New York Times reported that an internal audit at Auburn University revealed that an athlete's grade had been changed without the professor's knowledge, to bring the athlete just over the minimum average needed for eligibility. Auburn isn't talking. The Athens Banner-Herald reported that in 1999 and 2000, the University of Georgia's president, Michael Adams, authorized the admission of 119 athletes who did not meet academic standards, and that 21 of them left because of academic problems. And The San Diego Union Tribune reported on the percentages of scholarship athletes at many Western institutions who are "special admits" (translation: they don't meet admissions standards). The newspaper found that special admits are rare in the student body as a whole at the institutions studied, but quite high (70 percent at the University of California at Los Angeles, 65 percent at San Diego State University) for scholarship athletes. ### Just before finishing its work for the year, Congress passed legislation to reauthorize the National Institutes of Health, which has been operating for a decade without a new authorization bill. The bill authorizes spending increases and introduces some new reporting requirements. But — as is the norm for legislation being pushed through before a Congressional adjournment — many broader proposals were dropped to keep the bill from being controversial. Colleges and universities are adding staff positions for information technology while also outsourcing more IT functions, according to a report on technology management issues released by Educause. Other findings: Student ownership of computers is up. More colleges are conducting risk assessments on computer security. The Iowa Board of Regents is again under attack for the aborted search for a new president of the University of Iowa. Faculty and student leaders are again planning votes of no confidence, according to WHO-TV, and some local leaders are calling for the ouster of some regents, The Des Moines Register reported. Tension over the search had diminished a bit when the regents agreed to look again at finalists they had rejected, but when the board announced Thursday that the search was essentially starting from scratch, the dissent returned in full force. The board of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College voted in September to start admitting men — much to the dismay of many students and alumnae. On Saturday, the college announced its new name: Randolph College. The college's choices on name were limited: Just dropping "woman’s" from the name was impossible because Randolph-Macon College is the name of a liberal arts college nearby. On a Web site created to provide information about the new name, the college said that it was selected because many groups on campus wanted "to preserve a part of our historic name." The name change will be official on July 1, but will be used in admissions materials immediately. Dozens of students held a protest of coeducation on the day the new name was announced. Academe is well represented on a panel created by the Departments of Homeland Security and State to advise the government on ways to protect security while encouraging students, tourists and others to come to the United States. The committee is made up of experts from academe and the health care, tourism and other industries. The chair of the Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee is Jared L. Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon University. Other academics on the panel are: Frank Cilluffo, associate vice president for homeland security at George Washington University; Eduardo J. Padron, president, Miami Dade College; Paul B. Roth, executive vice president for health services, at the University of New Mexico; Roxane Cohen Silver, professor of psychology at the University of California at Irvine; Rose Mary Valencia, director of the Office of International Affairs at the University of Texas Health Science Center; and Charles Vest, president emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Indiana University at Bloomington has become the latest flagship institution to improve aid packages for low-income students. The university announced Friday that it would provide the balance of tuition and fees for students who receive Pell Grants, score 1,150 or higher on the SAT, and maintain a 3.0 grade-point average while enrolled at the university. — Scott Jaschik
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South's Best Regional Robotics Competition: DHS robotics team scores third win 12/11/2006 The Flint Journal Marlon Vaughn		Return to Top
The BEST competition took place at AU. DAVISON - Another year, another robotics championship for Davison High School. The nine-member Cardinals team took first place in the annual South's Best Regional Robotics competition over the weekend at Auburn University in Alabama. It's Davison's third first-place finish in four years. "They're really excited ... and relieved in a way," said Davison High School science teacher Brent Prim, faculty advisor to the team. "This is the third time they've won this in four years, and they've worked really hard to get to this point." The object of this year's competition was to design a laundry service robot that could hang wet clothes on a clothesline and retrieve dry clothes. Points were awarded each time a team's robot successfully completed each of those tasks. "They used bandanas to simulate the laundry," Prim said. "They ended up with the most points." Davison placed first out of the 44 teams at the competition, which includes schools from the eastern half of the United States. The team earned its expenses-paid trip to Alabama by winning an earlier competition in Cincinnati. The Davison team - Austin Beattie, Austin Smith, Jared Arnold, Jeff Sheathelm, Alex Cockman, Daniel Hooper, Sean Sauer, Patrick Holzer and David Stockwell - come from all four grades at the high school. Michael Hull, a social sciences teacher, assists Prim in coaching the team. There's no big cash prize or brand-new scoreboard for the football stadium as the bounty for winning the competition. The real reward is an intrinsic one. "It's the reward of being the best this time, and forever having that trophy in your school," Prim said. For a list of the winners and more information on the competition, visit the tournament's Web site, www.southsbest.org.
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State touts benefits of early education 12/11/2006 The Cullman Times Nancy Glasscock		Return to Top
This story cites a study by Alexander Vazsonyi, professor of Human Development and Family Studies at AU. — Children who participate in Pre-K programs are better-prepared for school than those who do not, according to a study by an Auburn University professor. The Alabama Office of School Readiness, which funds programs for four-year-olds across the state, recently released results of an evaluation revealing the benefits of Pre-K programs. According to the results, children made substantial gains in vocabulary and language skills over the course of the program; made significant gains in letter recognition, rhyming words, alliteration; and classroom quality was consistently high across all state-funded Pre-K sites, as well as parent satisfaction with the programs and teachers. Tricia Culpepper, Cullman City Head Start director, said the Head Start program benefits entire families by preparing children for school, especially in reading and math. "It benefits children in reading and math, as well as laying a foundation for readiness at school," she said. Culpepper said the program also offers advice for parents and on proper nutrition. Results from the survey were based on data collected from 1,062 children in Alabama Pre-K between Aug. 2005 and May 2006, and included program quality assessments across 57 sites and parent satisfaction surveys. The statewide study was conducted by Dr. Alexander Vazsonyi, professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Auburn University. Head Start, which is independent of the County and City school districts, operates under the Community Action Partnership of North Alabama, and provides preschool education for children three- and four years old in Winston, Blount, Lawrence, Marion, Cullman, Franklin, Colbert and Morgan counties. Services include education, parent involvement, health and dental care, nutrition, disability services and social services. Culpepper said the Cullman City School Board applied for funding of a summer Head Start program in 1965. The first Pre-K program for Cullman City Schools was a six-week program at West Elementary School. The Child Development Center was granted funding as an expansion into a full-year program in Jan. 1966, and began with 160 children in 10 classes housed in St. John’s United Church. Now, the Head Start program has eight classrooms serving 144 children at Cullman Primary School, which also houses kindergarten and first-grade classes for Cullman City Schools. County schools offering Head Start programs include Welti, Harmony, Parkside and Hanceville. According to the Alabama Office of School Readiness, plans are under way for a more comprehensive evaluation of Pre-K that will include randomization or treatment and control programs that will allow for stronger conclusions. OSR provides services for 1,080 children during the 2006-2007 school year in 53 of Alabama’s 67 counties.
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Alexandria residents see more stores and students as rural area blossoms 12/11/2006 Anniston Star Matt Kasper, Star Staff Writer		Return to Top
Don Bogie, director of the Center for Demographic Research at AU, is quoted as a source in this story. ALEXANDRIA - From behind the counter at the Food Outlet, Terry Taylor's perspective doesn't change. He sees a lot of the same customers every day at the grocery on U.S. 431. But when Taylor steps outside the store, he might as well be looking through a kaleidoscope. "The biggest (change) here is the traffic," he said, resting his palms on the counter as he reflected on his 25 years living in Alexandria. "There used to be nothing here." Now fast-food restaurants -from the Sonic drive-in to Jack's - dot the landscape. The restaurants are clear evidence of recent growth, but the picture of the Alexandria area's continued growth is a little cloudier, say local officials and state demographic experts. A population study released this month projects .39 percent annual population growth in the next four years within a 10-mile radius of the intersection of U.S. 431 and Alabama 144. The study was done by ESRI Business Information Solutions, a data services company that prepared demographic information on Alexandria and other Calhoun County areas. The study also projects that per capita income in the Alexandria area will increase from an estimated $16,193 in 2000 to $21,565 in 2010. The accuracy of the population data is in question. ESRI's estimates are based on 2000 Census numbers, and those numbers have been challenged by local economic experts as being too low. With multiple ways of measuring data, the experts say a projection of .39 percent growth doesn't necessarily take into account the intricacies of local development. The data are collected to accommodate commercial business interests, according to Don Hopper, executive director of the Calhoun County Economic Development Council. The accuracy of such data can be important to economic development. Missing the mark on the low side could mean potential new businesses looking at the data would be put off by what might be interpreted as stagnant growth in an area. Besides looking at population numbers and income, businesses considering new sites also want to know where the competition is locating, said Don Bogie, director of the Center for Demographic Research at Auburn University, Montgomery. In rural regions like Alexandria, measuring demographics is tricky, says Annette Watters, manager of the Alabama State Data Center. "The hard thing about this is it is unincorporated," Watters said. "When you incorporate, you see city limits are from here to there. So how do you know who lives in and who lives out of Alexandria if there aren't any boundaries?" Watters said companies like ESRI make estimates using a computer formula, plugging in a coordinate and a number. Watters said using Census data can be a mixed bag. "If you are looking at an area that is pretty stable and can study the past, it's useful," she said. "(But) if there was a disaster or a new plant that opened, the estimates don't pick that up." "Most large data banks use the Census as their database," said Sherri Sumners, president of the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce. Inaccurate numbers might determine "which of the large shopping centers is coming here," she said. Data aside, the perception of growth is strong in Alexandria. Ask 15-year Alexandria resident Joann Taylor if Alexandria is growing, and she nods and talks about seeing more restaurants and stores. "They (just) need to have a family restaurant here," she said, sitting in a Subway sandwich shop at 6664 U.S. 431. Sonya Chappell of Ohatchee said she has noticed a lot more customers coming into the sandwich shop in the last year and a half. "It's getting more crowded," she said. Fast-food businesses always look at demographics or traffic-count information when deciding where they will locate, Sumners said. Like other area leaders, Sumners said she believes the 2000 Census measurements for Calhoun County were flawed, which renders the data dubious, even if it is a usual way of measuring growth. "Their methodology is to use something that is standard," she said. "Otherwise every community would come to them with numbers. The underlying thesis is a call for an accurate Census." The ESRI study says the Alexandria region lost .03 percent of its population between 2000 and 2005. The figure is disputed by Pat Shaddix, director of the Center for Economic Development and Research at Jacksonville State University. "Just looking at school population, there's no way they could have lost out there," he said. Shaddix said he believes the census undercounted the Alexandria area by 15,000 to 20,000 people. For his own data, he said, he combines numbers from three counties to provide a more accurate measurement, even if it's less specific locally. In many instances, interpreting the numbers, like judging the accuracy of a weather report, is a matter of looking out a car window and seeing how the numbers measure up to reality. Over just a two-year period from 2004 to 2006, enrollment at Alexandria Elementary School increased by 115 students, from 730 to 845, according to Calhoun County Schools Superintendent Jacky Sparks. Sparks says the quality of the schools in Alexandria attracts new residents, and that in turn may spur commercial development. Alexandria is similar to White Plains and Ohatchee in that no nearby industry is fostering the population growth, he said. Alexandria High School Principal Ronald Chambless said he has noticed that more professional people are moving to the Alexandria area from as far away as Birmingham and Atlanta. Sparks said he initially thought the two-year enrollment jump was because of new subdivisions nearby. But older school system data show the increase is part of a consistent upward trend: Enrollment in the 1997 school year was 626. The perception of change, like beauty, might be in the eye of the beholder. But in the end, reliable numbers are needed to put perceptions to the test of truth. "We look at outside data as well," Sparks said. "But our own data is showing (growth)."
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Microfluidic Device Used For Multigene Analysis of Individual Environmental Bacteria 12/11/2006 Science Daily		Return to Top
Jong Wook Hong, an assistant professor of materials engineering at AU, is cited as a contributer to the paper in which this research appeared. When it comes to digestive ability, termites have few rivals due to the gut activities that allow them to literally digest a two-by-four. But they do not digest wood by themselves--they are dependent on the 200 or so diverse microbial species that call termite guts home and are found nowhere else in nature. Despite several successful attempts, the majority of these beneficial organisms have never been cultivated in the laboratory. This has made it difficult to determine precisely which species perform the numerous, varied functions relevant to converting woody plant biomass into a material that can be directly used as food and energy by their insect hosts. Now, scientists using state-of-the-art microfluidic devices have come up with a new way of investigating microbial ecology. In the December 1 issue of the journal Science, California Institute of Technology associate professor of environmental microbiology Jared Leadbetter, biology graduate student Elizabeth Ottesen, and their colleagues announce a new and efficient way of revealing guild-species relationships in complex microbial communities. The approach allows them to discover connections between bacterial cells from natural samples, and the activities encoded by genes. The results also reveal important insights into the relationship between termites and key gut microbes called spirochetes, which aid them in the process of digesting wood. "I think these results involve two pinnacles of novelty," says Leadbetter, "What we're showing are key results relevant to the symbiosis that occurs between termites and the bacteria involved in the conversion of wood fiber into a form of energy that can be used by the insect. But we're also revealing an approach that can lead to a better understanding of the many microbial processes that underlie the environments in which we all live." According to Leadbetter, the techniques of gene amplification, cloning, and sequencing developed over the past two decades have already revolutionized microbial ecology. As a result, we now have a much greater appreciation of the vast diversity of microbial species occurring in nature, as well as the diversity of genes involved with processes that we know are mediated by as-yet unstudied microbes in the environment. However, researchers have had difficulty in determining which subset of the species that have been inventoried actually encode these various key genes. The biggest problem has been the practice of extracting as one mass the composite genetic information of an entire, complex sample. This destroys the individual cells that are the source of the information, thus mixing together that which is encoded by hundreds if not thousands of unique species. As a result, the procedure inevitably dissolves the natural order underlying the organization of genetic information in the environment. The approach of Leadbetter and his collaborators is to use microfluidic devices, in which thousands of individual cells harvested from the environment can be distributed into separate chambers prior to any gene-based analysis, so that each can be studied as an individual. If the cell reveals that it has a certain key gene of interest, then the researchers are also able to determine the species identity of the cell, or whether it contains other key genes of interest. The traditional approach involves removing the gut contents of individual termites, smashing the microbial cells, than extracting and pooling their DNA as one mass, with subsequent analysis of the genes found in the randomized mash. The genes are there, but assigning relationships between any two genes or to the organisms from which they are derived is complicated at best, and often just not possible. "We're trying to move beyond investigating the jumbled information," says Leadbetter. "In the past, trying to study a microbial environment using gene-based techniques was often like studying the contents of several hundred books in a library after first having torn off their covers, ripped up all the pages into small pieces, and jumbled them together into a big pile. We would find sentences and paragraphs that we found extremely interesting and important, but then we were left frustrated. It was very difficult to determine what was in the rest of the book. "But with this technique, we are suddenly able to read portions of the books without having first torn off their covers. We are still reading with a narrow penlight, but certainly, when we identify a sentence of interest, we can rapidly ascertain the title and author of the book that we are reading, and even move on to examine the other pages." In the paper, the researchers describe an analysis of a complex, species-rich microbial community that allowed two genes of interest to be colocalized to the same environmental genome. An early result analyzing thousands of individual cells harvested straight from the gut environment reveals the species identity of a group of microbes resident in the California dampwood termite (Zootermopsis) that perform a key act in the nutritional symbiosis involved in wood decay. The good news for nonscientists is that this provides a new path to reaching a better understanding of many diverse ecosystems. It also leads to a refined appreciation of certain details underlying the activities of a destructive pest, while shedding light on a key step involved in the conversion of plant biomass into useful products. Understanding that conversion in detail is critical to achieving a current societal need-the conversion of low-value lignocellulose materials into biofuels and other commodities of greater value. Termites are extremely abundant and active in many tropical ecosystems, so the current work could also lead to a better understanding of several processes of global environmental relevance, Leadbetter adds. "There are 2,600 different species of termites, and it is estimated that there are at least a million billion individual termites on Earth. It is thought that they emit two and four percent of the global carbon dioxide and methane budget, respectively-both mediated directly or indirectly by their microbes," he says. "Also, by extrapolation of what we understand from numerous studies of a few dozen termites species, we think that there could be millions of unique and novel microbial species found only in the hindguts of termites." The other authors of the paper are Stephen Quake, professor of bioengineering at Stanford, and Jong Wook Hong, an assistant professor of materials engineering at Auburn University.
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State's biofuel future bright 12/11/2006 Montgomery Advertiser Jamie Kizzire		Return to Top
AU's David Bransby and the research on alternative fuels is featured in this story. Alabama could be "the Saudi Arabia of biofuels" by converting wood and switchgrass into fuel, a possibility raised by an Auburn University professor that's gained the support of several elected officials. By raising the crops needed to create the fuel, Alabama could help the U.S. cut its dependence on foreign oil and grow a new, booming agriculture industry, said David Bransby, an agriculture professor and expert in switchgrass as an alternative fuel. "If done correctly, bioenergy can revolutionize agriculture in Alabama," Bransby said. Bransby, who briefed President Bush on biofuels earlier this year, gave his findings to legislators last week at the Alabama Legislative Orientation for new lawmakers at the University of Alabama. The state can produce several agricultural products that can be converted to fuel, he said. Switchgrass, which is being studied at Auburn University, is one possibility. To demonstrate its quality as a fuel, Bransby showed photos of burning switchgrass producing flames 30 feet tall. Another example is the response of testers. "Invariably they come back and say, 'It's the best fuel we've ever tested,' " Bransby said. Wood and sugarcane are two other fuel sources that could be abundantly produced by Alabama farmers, he said. "Alabama can become the Saudi Arabia of biofuels," he said. Bransby said the key is for lawmakers to support initiatives fostering the technology and commercialization of the fuel. Elected officials from both parties appear to have embraced the concept. "I think every single member of this Legislature is aware of the potential," said Sen. Larry Dixon, R-Montgomery. State lawmakers can help build the industry through legislation, such as incentives and tax breaks, said Carl Grafton, a political science professor at Auburn University Montgomery. "As a program, I could see it as comparable to attracting any kind of out-of-state industry," he said. Grafton said the impact would come from a slowly building process, not the more immediate impact seen from attracting an auto factory. But steps are already being taken to explore the possibilities. The state Department of Agriculture and Industries recently created an alternative fuels division, a "one-stop shop" where farmers can get information about getting into the biofuel business. "There is a general consensus that alternative fuels are coming," said Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, a Democrat. Republican Gov. Bob Riley is among 20 governors and four state legislatures to endorse the "25 x 25" initiative. The project's goal is to have 25 percent of the nation's energy generated by renewable resources by 2025. "Agriculture and forestry are very important industries in the state of Alabama, and I am committed to working with them to make this vision a reality," Riley said in his endorsement letter last month. Democratic Lt. Gov.-elect Jim Folsom also campaigned on fostering renewable energy sources. Several other legislators at the Tuscaloosa event said they support Alabama becoming a key supplier of alternative fuels. "I'll put our farmers and our wood growers and our universities up against anybody in America, the world," said Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville. "We can be the leading edge on that. I hope that that will be one of the goals of this legislative session." Sen. Quinton Ross and Rep. John Knight, both Democrats from Montgomery, also said they support alternative energy initiatives. "It's something we have to explore," Ross said. "The atmosphere is prime for it."
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AU probes grade change 12/10/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Mitch Sneed		Return to Top
Auburn University officials say grade changes for students without the knowledge of professors found through an internal audit are under investigation and believe that the practice would be impossible under new policies. The New York Times reported Sunday that one of the grades being probed is an incomplete changed to an A for a student-athlete in a class that was listed as given by sociology professor Paul Starr. Starr said Sunday night that he never met the student, never instructed the student and played no role in a grade change. AU officials would only say that the investigation is ongoing and couldn't say how many incidents have been found, but did say that the incident reported Sunday did not involve a football player. Officials said that this was an academic investigation, not one about athletics. Starr said he only recently learned of the investigation after he was sent an e-mail on Nov. 29 inquiring about a grade change given to a student in an independent study sociology class in 2003. "It's a one-on-one class and I would have certainly remembered it, but that's one I didn't teach," Starr said. "I feel like someone borrowed my identity to do this. I have no evidence of who or why it may have been done. I believe in due process and hope that this investigation will get to the bottom of the matter." Starr said that these audits are designed to find irregularities and often help shape new policies. He said now any grade changes done by professors are followed up with paperwork asking for an explanation and verification. "If this were to happen now, I would know immediately," Starr said. "Academic integrity is vital. These students work so hard to get those credit hours that you don't want to think that someone may have gotten a freebie." The New York Times story said that in this instance an incomplete was changed to an A for a student athlete who needed the credit to graduate, one of four A's the student had in 2003. Three A's came in independent study courses supervised by Professor Thomas Petee, according to the New York Times. An investigation into directed reading courses led to new guidelines being initiated that require multi-level approval before such a class can be offered to a student. The findings of the internal investigation were sent to the NCAA as well as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Petee stepped down as chair of the sociology department in August after the investigation questioned his judgment after finding a he granted a large number of directed reading courses given to student.
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AU hosts 4-H Mater Horseman's Clinic 12/10/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Donathan Prater		Return to Top
An author once said that riding is the art of keeping a horse between you and the ground. If that’s the case, then art classes were in session Saturday at the Auburn University Horse Unit, which hosted the 2006 4-H Master Horseman’s Clinic. Actually, many of the nearly 40 or so participants in the 2006 4-H Master Horseman's Clinic have varying levels of riding experience. The one-day event geared toward horse enthusiasts between 10 and 19 years of age, consists of workshops and horse-riding instructions and drew youth from nine counties across Alabama. Prior to the clinic, Lindsay Neubarth, assistant hunt seat riding instructor for the Auburn University and her staff spoke with the participants to gauge their levels of riding experience. "What we're basically looking for in this clinic out of the riders is their level of equitation and horsemanship," said Kirsten Holt, 4-H Regional Extension Agent. Assistant Western riding coach, Joanna Booker agrees. "What it really boils down to when it comes to riding any horse the right way, is fundamentals," said Booker. How good are your legs? How good is your position? Are you keeping your eyes and chin up? These are all questions Booker put to the riding clinic’s participants, many of which have aspirations of becoming part of equestrian programs at the collegiate level someday. And while some of the clinic's riders have access to their personal horses at home, dealing with a different animal can be a valuable teaching tool according to Booker. "When you put a rider on an unfamiliar horse, you really start to be able to see where their strengths and weaknesses are," said Booker as she supervised riders at the AU Horse Unit. "A lot of the things they'll do out here, their horse at home helps them or because they've ridden it so many times they're not going to encounter the same problems." "Out here the horses don't know you and they're not going to help you," Booker said of the thoroughbred and warmblood horses used during the riding clinic. "You're going to have to work for everything you get from them." And while she's happy to give students who want to eventually join collegiate equestrian programs a steer in the right direction, it's the big picture that Holt hopes events like the 2006 4-H Horseman’s Clinic will help address. "An event like this helps to empower the equestrian youth of this state," Holt said. "We want to make an clinic like this a hands-on, minds-on learning experience." The 4-H Program is a national learning-by-doing program for girls and boys ages K through 12 that has been in existence for more than a century. 4-H is the youth development and education program of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
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High school teams go head-to-head in robotics competition 12/10/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Donathan Prater		Return to Top
It might best be described as the result of a lot of blood, sweat and gears. About 44 high school teams from across the country literally tried to "hold the line" against each other at the 2006 South’s BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) Robotics Regional Championship. For 66 laundry-laden rounds, robotics teams maneuvered, hanged and retrieved pieces of laundry using their remotely controlled and engineered contraptions in round-robin competition in Auburn University's Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Teams racked up points by hanging up or pulling down as many colored bandannas on clotheslines of varying heights within the match's three-minute time limit. The area in which the robots compete three at a time is referred to as the "playing field." There was also a Most Robust Award given to the team with the robot that broke down the least. But the real awards are the introductions to engineering the participants are getting while they're still in high school according to Michael Carroll, 19, mentor and assistant to the robotics team from Auburn’s Lee-Scott Academy. "What we’re really trying to do is to teach kids about engineering and get them excited about science," said Carroll, a sophomore computer-engineering student at Auburn University. The robotics team from Lee-Scott is comprised of 36 members, although only about five or six of them have been trained to actually drive the robot that took six weeks to design and build - the "Spur," named after an Auburn convenience store. Each robotics team is given a box of "returnables," which include batteries, servos and a radio transmitter. Teams are also allowed "consumables" in the construction of their robots such as wood, PVC, Plexi-glass and fasteners. "All the contestants get the same type of construction materials, so it forces you to be very creative in your design," said Carroll, who with his college roommate William Woodall, helped oversee the group of mostly Lee-Scott seniors' design and construction of the "Spur." In a strange twist of fate, Carroll and Woodall were actually former members of the Austin High School robotics team from Decatur, who were also there competing. The robots in the South's BEST Robotics competition could be no more than 24 inches wide and 24 inches in height and not exceed 24 pounds in weight. The "Spur" just made weight at 23.65 pounds. "It's kind of like a fighter in a boxing match," joked Carroll. "You want him to be close to making weight, but not over." Prior to competing in the South's BEST Robotics Regional Championship, teams were required to make a 15-minute presentation before a panel of engineering industry officials and university engineering faculty, as well as document and submit the design process of their robots. Carroll considers the South’s BEST competition a valuable engineering head start to many of the prep students who will go on to major in engineering once they attend college. "Designing and building a robot gives these students a hands-on practical knowledge about of engineering concepts but the writing and documenting portion of what they do is just as important," Carroll said. "An engineer must not only be able to design a robot, but be able to communicate as well." The South's BEST competition started in 1993. This year marks the second time Auburn University has hosted the South’s BEST competition.
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Swedes take the lead in World Cup 12/10/2006 Berkshire Eagle		Return to Top
This news roundup includes AU student-athletes and grades. ST. JAMES, Barbados — At one point yesterday, Argentina was five shots ahead of the field and threatening to turn the World Cup into a runaway. By day's end, that lead was gone — and things had tightened up considerably for today's final round. Sweden's Carl Petterson had five birdies, four of them on the back side, to help carry his team to a one-shot lead over Argentina after three rounds of the World Cup on a windy day at Sandy Lane. Petterson and Henrik Stenson combined to shoot an 8-under 63 for Sweden, which is seeking its first World Cup title since 1991. Argentina is one stroke back while Scotland is two shots behind the Swedes. Baseball: Marquis, Cubs looking like a match CHICAGO — Pitcher Jason Marquis is likely to become the latest acquisition in the Chicago Cubs' offseason spending spree. Marquis and the Cubs are negotiating a three-year contract, a person with knowledge of the talks said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement had yet been made. Terms have not yet been agreed to — the deal is likely to be in the $20 million range. Talks were delayed when Cubs general manager Jim Hendry was hospitalized for two days during the winter meetings. Hendry was released from an Orlando, Fla., hospital on Friday and planned to return to Chicago today. College: Audit reveals grade change at Auburn AUBURN, Ala. — An internal audit at Auburn University found that a grade for a scholarship athlete was changed without the knowledge of the professor who taught the class, raising the athlete's average in the final semester just over the 2.0 minimum for graduation. The grade, which was changed to an A from an incomplete, was one of four A's the athlete received in the spring semester of 2003. None of the courses required classroom attendance. The athlete, who was not identified because of privacy laws, received the other three A's in directed-readings courses supervised by Professor Thomas Petee. Petee was forced to resign as chairman of the sociology department in August because of "poor judgment" in the number of his directed-readings classes, one-on-one courses similar to independent study. Figure Skating: Cohen undecided on defense BOSTON — With the U.S. Figure Skating national championships less than two months away, 2006 champion Sasha Cohen has yet to decide if she'll attempt to defend her title. Cohen, who will perform today at the Marshalls Challenge on the campus of Boston University, said she planned to compete at the 2010 Olympics and 2009 world championships. Other than that, Cohen said her immediate future was wide open. "I haven't made any decisions yet for the rest of the season," Cohen said. "I've been keeping my options open and been training to stay in shape. But I have not made any new programs." — Combined news services
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Food sickness outbreaks rising: Illness spurs scientists to mind peas and queues 12/09/2006 Contra Costa Times - Online Sandy Kleffman		Return to Top
Bryan Chin, director of the Detection and Food Safetly Center at AU, is quoted as a source in this story. The story also appeared in the Times Herald (CA) and the Alameda Journal (CA). Eating raw fruits and vegetables is good for you, experts tell us. Then come unnerving reports of people sickened by bacterial contamination in baby spinach, tomatoes, green onions, sprouts and strawberries -- the list goes on. Statistics back up the popular perception that the nation now has more illnesses linked to fresh produce. The number of such outbreaks has more than doubled in the past decade, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The center found 639 produce-related outbreaks affecting nearly 31,500 people between 1990 and 2004. But that does not mean produce is more contaminated today than it was decades ago, or even that more people are getting sick, experts note. Scientists now have better technology that enables them to take a bacterium's 'fingerprint' and link it to sicknesses in several states. As a result, they can discover an outbreak that would have been missed years ago. 'I don't necessarily feel that there's more of it happening now,' said Dean Cliver, a food safety professor at UC Davis. 'In all probability, it's less. But we sure know when it happens these days, and we didn't use to.' Changes in the way the nation packages and distributes its produce, as well as a trend toward healthier eating, also have contributed to the rise in outbreaks. Years ago, consumers would go to the supermarket and buy a head of lettuce or spinach or a loose bunch of scallions. But today, such items often come in bags that contain leaves from numerous heads. 'So if only one is contaminated, there's a good chance that the entire bag is contaminated,' said Dr. Lee Riley, professor of epidemiology and infectious disease at UC Berkeley. 'They represent multiple farms, not just a single farm,' he added. 'So you have an increased chance of cross-contamination.' The nation now has a centralized food system with large-scale farms and processing plants that ship items far and wide. A problem in one corner of the nation spreads rapidly. The outbreak of E. coli in prepackaged spinach in September was traced back to the Salinas Valley. But it sickened more than 200 people in 26 states. A decade ago, it is doubtful anyone would have connected the dots to identify that as an outbreak, Cliver said. But today, scientists use a technique known as PulseNet, which enables them to identify a specific strain of E. coli. When they discovered the same strain making people sick in numerous states, they knew they had a problem and most likely a common source of contamination. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has improved its tracking methods in recent years. Through a program called FoodNet, microbiology laboratories across the country now send monthly reports on suspected foodborne disease agents they discover in their testing. Doctors also have gotten better about looking for and identifying foodborne illnesses. 'The medical reporting system has been undergoing a fundamental change,' said Bryan Chin, director of the Detection and Food Safety Center at Auburn University in Alabama. 'Our system is getting better in warning the public about possible problems.' But while the pathogens may have been in our food system for decades, no one is advocating complacency in tackling the problem. It takes on added urgency as Americans consume greater quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables, as health experts advise. Contaminated meat has been dealt with successfully by ensuring that Salmonella or E. coli is removed through cooking. But that doesn't happen when fruits and vegetables are eaten raw, making it tougher to tackle problems in produce. The Center for Science in the Public Interest asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October to ban the use of raw manure as fertilizer during the growing season because of fears it may contaminate crops. The group also requested additional restrictions on irrigation water, mandatory sanitation procedures and packaging that makes it easy to trace fruits and vegetables during an outbreak. 'California's reliance on voluntary compliance with guidelines, education and awareness has not been effective in preventing foodborne illness from fresh produce,' the group said in its letter to the governor. Several state lawmakers have indicated they plan to introduce food-safety legislation next year. Others are seeking answers on the technology front. The Detection and Food Safety Center in Alabama is developing equipment to detect when water runoff containing a pathogen is moving onto a farm field, Chin said. Center researchers also are attempting to develop radio frequency identification sensor tags for food items. The tag could be placed on a chicken as soon as it is defeathered, for example, and detect if Salmonella is introduced during the processing. The tags could indicate if a frozen chicken gets too warm during transportation or sits too long on the grocery store shelf. The tags, which are years away from completion and widespread use, would contain information about the farm and the date where the chicken was obtained to help in tracking outbreaks. But while some consumer groups advocate tougher regulation of farming and food processing, Cliver believes experts should first focus on gaining a better understanding of contamination sources. 'What we need is some serious investigation of how these things keep happening,' he said. Reach Sandy Kleffman at 925-943-8249 or skleffman@cctimes.com.
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Annual BEST robotics competition today in Auburn 12/09/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Beverly Harvey		Return to Top
More than 40 teams from Pennsylvania to Florida will try to hang their competition out to dry today during the 2006 South's BEST Robotics Regional Championship - Laundry Quandary. The robotic competition begins at 9:15 a.m. inside Auburn University's Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum and is free and open to the public. Members from each team, including from Lee-Scott Academy, will maneuver remote-controlled robots in and around backyard quadrants to hang and retrieve “laundry” from clotheslines of varying heights. The wet and dry laundry are actually different colored bandanas that are worth from five to 30 points depending on their location and color. Wet laundry retrieved from inside the gazebo garners the most points. Teams earn points for hanging "wet" laundry on the line and removing and storing "dry" laundry in the team's basket. Teams are not allowed to pick up any laundry that falls to the floor. Two members of each team - a driver and a spotter - start out with 12 pieces of wet laundry and compete in three-minute round-robin matches. The spotter is only allowed to load the wet laundry onto the robot and position the team's laundry basket to hold dry laundry. Lee-Scott Academy's purple, upright robot features four laundry "flippers" that carry and gently toss each piece of laundry onto the clotheslines. The Warriors team added three more flippers to their laundry machine after competing in the Alabama's BEST competition held at Auburn University on Oct. 28, where they won first in the Founders Award for Creative Robot Design category, and placed second in the T-shirt design contest and third in the BEST and Robotics award competitions. Each of the teams competing in today's event previously advanced in their local BEST hub competitions, which includes high schools from Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, as well as Montgomery, Tallassee, Wetumpka, Millbrook and Auburn. During the South's BEST event, which began Friday, teams compete in two competitions - robotics and the BEST Award, based on team spirit and sportsmanship, as well as a team project notebook, oral presentation and table display. Prior to the local hub BEST competitions, each school team received a free parts kit and had six weeks to design a robot based on a particular theme and within certain height and weight restrictions. Following the local competitions, teams are allowed to make changes and adjustments to their robotic designs before competing in the regional contest. The BEST competitions are geared toward getting students, such as Lee-Scott Academy senior Steven Tapley, interested in classes and careers in math, science and engineering. Tapley, who will be manning the pit table during today's competition, plans to major in mechanical engineering in college.
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UAH tops state in getting science research dollars 12/09/2006 Huntsville Times Bob Lowry		Return to Top
AU funding for research is mentioned in this story. University supports region's technology needs, Franz says MONTGOMERY - It's no surprise that the University of Alabama at Birmingham, with its world-class medical research, is the king in attracting federal research dollars among universities in the state. But the Alabama Commission on Higher Education learned Friday that in the research areas that include engineering and physical sciences, UAH is number one. UAH President Frank Franz, who will retire in May, told the commission that in 2006 the university was awarded a total of $34 million in federal money for research in engineering, physical science, computer science, mathematics and environmental science. Auburn University was second at $21 million, the University of Alabama received $19 million, and UAB received $11 million for those areas. As part of ACHE's plan for Alabama higher education, Franz said UAH has increased its support for research activities that attract business and industry to Alabama. Franz told the commission that UAH directs most of its research toward supporting the science and technology needs of North Alabama. "That's an extremely broad spectrum," he said. "UAH researchers work especially closely with NASA, the Army Aviation and Missile Command and the many high-tech companies, contractors and other business entities that are present in North Alabama." Other points made by Franz to ACHE: UAH is North Alabama's "pre-eminent supplier of well-trained, high-quality nurses." And he said most of them stay in Alabama. UAH does an excellent job in educating female engineers. Over the past five years, more than 25 percent of the university's engineering graduates were women. The national average was less than 20 percent. Next summer, UAH will open its 200,000-square-foot Applied Sciences Building, which will house state-of-the-art laboratories for all undergraduate courses in physics, chemistry and biology. Meanwhile, Athens State University President Jerry Bartlett told the commissioners that his school - founded by in 1822 - has seen its enrollment triple over the past 20 years to 2,800 students. The school, which offers only junior- and senior-level courses, caters to working students with an average age of 31, he said. Seventy percent of the students are women, and 50 percent are transfers from Calhoun Community College. Bartlett said the school, which offers 31 programs, is heavily involved in collaborating with K-12 administrators and faculty, and outreach programs, often through the Internet or teleconferencing. It also has an extension office at Redstone Arsenal, where it grants credits for military occupational specialties and military and government education, and university centers at Northeast Community College at Rainsville and Wallace State Community College in Hanceville.
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AI Vaccine Developed For Poultry 12/08/2006 Meat Processing Bryan Salvage, Editorial Director		Return to Top
UNITED STATES: Researchers have developed a vaccine that is injected into eggs that protects chickens against avian influenza. An Auburn University veterinary professor in collaboration with researchers at Birmingham, Alabama-based Vaxin Inc. has developed the first "in ovo," or egg-injected, vaccine to protect chickens against avian influenza. The researcher, Haroldo Toro, says it provides 100 percent protection once an outbreak's strain is determined. "We have proven the principle, which is the major step in leading to commercially produced vaccine that could be vital to the poultry industry," Toro said in a new release from Auburn University. "When an outbreak occurs, we would determine the strain and quickly create a vaccine within three months specifically for it." The researchers inserted a gene from a low pathogenic avian flu virus strain (H5N9) into a non-replicating human virus, a Vaxin proprietary technology, which was then injected into developing chicken embryos still in the egg. When protection induced by the vaccine was tested against two highly pathogenic avian flu viruses, a Vietnam H5N1 strain and a Mexican H5N2 strain, the results showed 68 percent and 100 percent protection, respectively. "We can vaccinate lots of birds in a quick, cost- and labor-saving manner which otherwise would not be possible," Toro also said. "Most poultry operations already have automated injection machines to vaccinate against Marek's disease, injecting up to 40,000 eggs per minute. Our vaccine is produced through cell cultures, so we can easily make enough vaccine for thousands of birds." The next step is gaining federal approval to commercially produce the vaccine. Toro says he expects that to take two or three years. Toro's research is funded through a USDA program set up in 2004 for universities to study avian influenza and appears in the scientific journal, Vaccine.
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