Researchers at MSU and the Michigan Biotechnology Institute, or MBI, say they plan to use a $4.3 million grant from the Department of Energy to further their examination of alternative fuel technology. Money from the grant will go primarily to researchers at MBI, a Lansing-based company owned by the university.
When interdisciplinary studies in social science senior Peter Croce first arrived at MSU, he was surprised by the limited number of students using skateboards to navigate campus.
Lisa Campion was once an 11-year-old girl attending her first session with 4-H Exploration Days at MSU. Through five or six years with the 4-H Exploration Days program and her continued participation with 4-H, Campion learned about her love for environmental sciences, something that helped her decide what she wanted to do with her life. Campion, now 24, graduated from MSU in 2007 with a degree in environmental science and management and a degree in fisheries and wildlife.
Last month, an injured bald eagle was rescued from the Saginaw River and was sent by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to MSU’s Veterinary Medical Center. Since then, the bird has been rehabilitating under the watchful eye of James Sikarskie, associate professor of small animal clinical sciences. Sikarskie was looking to send the bird to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden when they were in need of another bald eagle. However, the bird wasn’t quite what they were seeking and still is in need of a home. “There are so many eagles that Cincinnati wants someone younger who’s easier to tame down,” he said.
MSU researchers have been awarded a $5 million grant from the Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Researchers in the MSU Department of Animal Science will use the grant to study genetics related to the efficient production of milk in cows, said Rob Tempelman, professor of animal science and member of the research initiative. “We have these genetic markers we can apply,” Tempelman said.
Nutritionists often refer to breakfast as “the most important meal of the day,” but the numbers show MSU students have been eating much less breakfast than they did four years ago. From July 2006 to June 2007, students in the MSU cafeterias ate 68 tons of cereal, and since then, the number has dropped dramatically.
The Spartans welcomed a lion on campus this past weekend, but you won’t catch him with a football. An African male lion was sent from John Ball Zoo, in Grand Rapids, to Potter Park Zoo, in Lansing, then to MSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital to undergo an MRI.
MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, appears to be the latest program to fall victim to funding cuts at the federal level. Last week, the U.S.
Friday marked the 40th anniversary of the U.S. “war on drugs,” a policy of zero tolerance first declared by then-President Richard Nixon in 1971, but members of the MSU branch of Students for Sensible Drug Policy hope that this anniversary will be the country’s last. MSU Students for Sensible Drug Policy, or MSU SSDP, held a candlelight vigil at 8:30 p.m.
Musicians from all ages and abilities convened in East Lansing this weekend for the ninth annual Eric “RicStar” Winter Music Therapy Camp, an opportunity for people with special needs to explore musical expression.
Two MSU graduate students have been chosen as members of the 2012 National Sea Grant College Program Dean John A.
Michigan’s first hydraulic excavator using hybrid technology is being operated at a construction site on MSU’s campus. AIS Construction Equipment Corporation, a 50-year-old Michigan-based company, is the supplier for what will be the Bott Building for Nursing Education and Research located on Bogue Street south of Service Road.
The scandal involving sexual photos sent by Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., has made national headlines over the last two weeks, culminating in his decision to take a leave of absence to seek treatment on Sunday. While many have debated whether Weiner should be forced to resign, the scandal has demonstrated the power of social media. The culture of social media fostered by websites such as Twitter and Facebook has resulted in people such as Weiner being unable to separate work from social experiences, MSU professor Bob LaRose, from the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media, said in an email. “Problems arise from becoming overly involved at the expense of real world responsibilities,” LaRose said.
Many MSU students studying this summer have chosen to take advantage of online course offerings to give them an edge when they return to campus in the fall. With the onset of ANGEL and other digital communication methods, instructors are finding ways to provide education without having to convene on campus. Byron Brown, an economics professor and coordinator of instructional technology support for Libraries, Computing and Technology, said MSU has been offering online courses for more than a decade to provide a supplement for learning in a digital age. Any department on campus can develop an online course through MSU’s Virtual University, Brown said, but all departments are required to uphold the course’s objectives in a way that proves successful in an online setting. International relations and psychology sophomore Kanza Khan said she enrolled in an online class to get ahead in school while living at home in Troy, Mich., this summer.
About five months after its implementation at MSU, campus officials said the Zipcar program has been successful. Jennifer Battle, assistant director of campus sustainability, said the car sharing program — originally launched in January through a partnership with Cambridge, Mass., company Zipcar — has been well-received among MSU students and faculty. “I would generally say we’re on a successful track,” she said.
Graduate students navigating the world of higher education now have a forum for discussing their experiences, following the launch of an MSU-created website. Gradhacker.org — a site created by five MSU graduate students — was unveiled this past weekend at The Humanities And Technology, or THAT, Camp at George Mason University. The site hosts a blog that allows graduate students to both post and comment on the challenges of graduate school and their various experiences pursuing their degrees, said Katy Meyers, an anthropology graduate student who helped start the site. “The purpose of it is to kind of act as a digital roundtable for graduate students,” Meyers said.
Visitors to MSU’s campus soon might find quicker ways to navigate campus thanks to a new website created by an MSU student. Electrical engineering sophomore Nick Hess has teamed up with four other college students — including a fellow Spartan — to start campusroutes.com, a website that uses GPS features to help students and visitors find the fastest walking routes between buildings using campus sidewalks. Hess and Chris Ostrowski — a computer science junior at Western Michigan University — first came up with the idea during Lansing’s Startup Weekend, an event held in April, which showcases innovative business ideas and provides monetary prizes to the best idea as selected by a panel of judges.
Anyone interested in stargazing can attend the free open house at the MSU Observatory next weekend. Open to the public, the events will be on June 10 and 11, and they run from 9:30-11:00 p.m.
A new study led by MSU researchers has found that sustained involvement in artistic activities could be linked to success in starting a new business or producing an innovative product. MSU’s Center for Community and Economic Development surveyed 86 MSU Honors College graduates from 1990-95 and found that exposure to the arts among the graduates was closely related to producing patentable products or leading creative business ventures in the future. The findings are critical for retaining creative people in the state and generating additional funding for arts programs, said Rex LaMore, the director of the center. “I hope it will help us reconsider how we treat the arts — not as an add-on or frill but as an essential component,” he said.
Although it’s been more than 85 years since the Union first opened, Kat Cooper said the original mission of the building isn’t any different. “We like to think of the Union as kind of being the living room of campus — that really hasn’t changed,” said Cooper, the communication manager for Auxiliary Resources, the department that operates the building.