Since its launch at the end of June, people have been clamoring for invites to Google Plus, Google Inc.’s foray into the world of social networking.
For family community services senior Carolyn McLean, obtaining a credit card was simple. After receiving notification from Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, or MSUFCU, stating that she qualified for a credit card, McLean went to MSUFCU’s Union branch, filled out some paperwork and walked out with a credit card.
More than 250 agricultural vendors will flock to campus starting Tuesday for the 32nd annual Michigan Ag Expo. The three-day event — held in and around MSU’s South Campus farm — is expected to draw upwards of 15,000 visitors, nearly all members of the state’s farming industry.
Systemic problems within the Detroit Police Department have led MSU professor and sexual assault researcher Rebecca Campbell to work with authorities on a new system of increased efficiency for response to sexual assault. After 10,559 untested sexual assault kits, also known as rape kits, dating back to the 1980s were discovered, the Department of Justice funded a project in which Campbell is serving as an independent evaluator of the kits with the hopes of forming a new protocol for sexual assault response that could become the national standard.
Nearly 10 months after ground was first broken at the site, construction progress continues as expected at the Bott Building for Nursing Education and Research, university officials said yesterday. The foundation at the site is in the process of being poured, and the building should be ready for occupation in October 2012, university engineer Bob Nestle said. Upon completion, the $17.6 million facility is expected to provide additional space for programs related to MSU’s College of Nursing operations.
When MSU alumnus Dan Redford first arrived on campus, his mind was made up: He was going to become a lawyer and get involved in politics. He soon joined a pre-law fraternity, eventually becoming its president, and even interned in the Michigan State Senate. But he soon discovered that law and politics might not be for him.
July 9, 2011, now will be known as South Sudan’s independence day. In January, a referendum was held, and a majority voted that the Southern region should be independent from the North.
Despite being an admittedly poor fly-fisher, Andrew McGlashen still needed a fishing buddy, so he asked Jeff Brooks Gillies if he’d be interested in joining him. After driving home from a weekend fishing trip, the two came up with the idea for a website devoted exclusively to Michigan’s rivers. McGlashen and Gillies originally met as students in MSU’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, and they used the tools they learned there to launch michiganrivernews.com. The uniqueness of the concept is what McGlashen thinks makes Michigan River News stand out. “We’re the only ones writing just about Michigan rivers, which is a narrow focus, but we think it’s the right focus,” he said.
Rock Camp, a week-long summer program for students ages 12-19, began Monday and will conclude with a performance at the Common Ground Music Festival in Lansing on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
University officials said today MSU’s study abroad program in Japan continues to operate smoothly despite a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit off the country’s northeast shore last week.
A study led by an MSU professor asserts that Asian carp could pose serious damage to the Great Lakes ecosystem if they spread across the region’s waterways. University distinguished professor in fisheries and wildlife Bill Taylor’s research indicates the voracious species of fish could threaten existing fish populations in the state’s lakes and harm water systems and various commercial and recreational fisheries. “You know it’s big when academics and the management community say we don’t need five more years of study,” Taylor said in a statement. Taylor worked with three other researchers from institutions across the country to study the effects of potential Asian carp proliferation, examining key assertions from policymakers along the way. Taylor and his research team disputed claims by policymakers who say electrical barriers are an effective means of preventing the fish from entering lake waters, among other things. The most notable of those electrical barriers operates in rivers near Chicago.
Dave Closs still remembers when he first met Don Bowersox. Closs was an MSU undergraduate student when he started working with Bowersox on computer simulation games for conferences decades ago. Closs and many others in the academic community were struck by the death of the 79-year-old Bowersox at his Traverse City, Mich., summer home on Monday.
MSU Extension is partnering with the Wayne County Airport Authority, or WCAA, to grow bioenergy crops to promote alternative fuels in aviation. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Willow Run Airport have begun growing, harvesting and processing biofuels to explore greener options for aviation fuel.
For Hunter Gartner and his teammates, creating Minute Escape, a pie à la mode dish, was not as easy as pie. Minute Escape is an all-in-one apple pie and custard ice cream dessert prepared in one minute by microwaving it. Gartner, a recent graduate, used patent-pending technology he designed to heat the pie up while keeping the ice cream portion of the product frozen. “It’s an interesting, intriguing concept to think that you can throw ice cream into the microwave and that it will be kept frozen,” alumna and team member Rebecca Watts said. The product was created to compete in the Institute of Food Technologists’, or IFT, National Product Development competition. IFT is a nonprofit scientific society whose members are professionals engaged in food science and technology. One of the main purposes of the competition is to afford food industry representatives the opportunity to spot talented students for potential employment, IFT’s director of media relations Mindy Weinstein said in an email. Minute Escape took first place out of six finalists in the competition, which took place in New Orleans June 11-14. “Finding out that we won, there was a huge sense of pride,” Watts said.
Students interested in learning more about the environment surrounding them have something to look forward to in coming weeks when a smartphone application that turns MSU into a virtual museum will be released. The application, titled msu.seum, was developed for both Android and iPhone operating systems and will allow users to explore the history and archeology of areas on campus.
Demolition of Cherry Lane Apartments and the Faculty Bricks complex will begin Tuesday as the university looks to replace the aging structures with green space.
The 15th Annual Muelder Summer Carillon Series began without a hitch Wednesday as more than 150 people spread blankets and lawn chairs under clear blue skies to listen to the tolling chimes of Beaumont Tower.
As a typical college eater, Peter Farragher, an accounting senior, said it is tough to maintain a healthy diet with a busy schedule, and convenience sometimes leads to eating the worst food. While he could be healthier, eating fruits and vegetables can be tough because they go bad before he finds time to eat them, and delivery services usually don’t offer them, he said.
Anthropology senior Matthew O’Hagan spent weeks meticulously shaving layers of dirt in the shadow of Beaumont Tower, hoping to find a telling remnant that would give insight into the early students of MSU.
MSU faculty member Gary Reid received the Michigan Association of Broadcasters’, or MAB’s, highest honor at the organization’s annual conference on Mackinac Island Monday night. Reid, who serves as a distinguished senior academic specialist in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media, received a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to the state’s broadcasting and radio industries. “I was actually stunned,” Reid said upon learning of the award.