Delectable design

Ice cream, chocolate and Spartan spirit sound more like football game fun than an engineering project. But biosystems engineering seniors Matthew Kloes, Kim Lewis, Marc Sawyers and Shelley Vecchio have found a way to incorporate flavor and fun into their senior design project, while still focusing on developing skills necessary for future careers. The four students are working to produce chocolate-covered ice cream bars formed into a Spartan block "S" shape. "It's a pretty interesting project," Kloes said.

Study: Half of college grads can't balance checkbooks, read newspaper

More than half the students who graduate from four-year universities lack the skills to be considered proficient in literacy, according to a recent study from a national institute. The survey, released last month by the American Institutes for Research — a Washington, D.C.-based social science research organization — tested the literacy of 1,827 students graduating from 80 randomly selected two- and four-year universities. It covered three core areas — prose literacy, document literacy and quantitative literacy — and found that many students could not do basic tasks such as figuring out the cost-per-ounce of various food products in supermarkets. "I would never have expected that because I'm getting a good education here," said MSU psychology sophomore Julia Degreg.

Police briefs 02/02/06

City area plans for high-tech future

Lansing and East Lansing officials are taking steps to attract high-tech jobs to the region, a collaboration that's been slow in the making. On Tuesday, area leaders announced a formal agreement creating a Lansing Regional SmartZone, a designation allowing city and state tax dollars to be funneled into technology developments, three years after applying to be a part of the statewide program in 2002.

Dept. gives $500K back to E.L.

Excess money from the construction of the new Department of Public Works building will be used to pay off bonds on the money used during construction. When the department moved into the brand new building in April 2005, the project cost $500,000 less than budgeted. "We gave a presentation to the (East Lansing) City Council, and there were several items with unsure costs.

WEB EXTRA: MSU, Lansing center collaborate on land use issues

By Caitlyn Kienitz For The State News The MSU Land Policy Program and MSU Extension have a new partner on campus. The Planning & Zoning Center, a Lansing-based land-use consulting firm, is moving to MSU.

Awards recognize grad students, late MSU prof

Three students from separate universities each were announced winners of $10,000 fellowships Tuesday at Kellogg Center. The students were honored with the TIAA-CREF Ruth Simms Hamilton Research Fellowship, which was established through a $500,000 endowment by the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund, or TIAA-CREF, an insurance and retirement savings provider for workers in the academic, medical, cultural and research fields. Hamilton, who died in 2003, was an MSU professor of social science and a pioneer in the field of African Diaspora, a study of the displacement and migration of African people across the globe. Hamilton's son, Bramlett Hamilton, was charged with her murder, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Police briefs 02/01/06

LCC student describes finding murdered prof during trial

Morgan Haeger reached his Lansing Community College class about 20 minutes early on Jan. 23, 2005.

LCC East now in full service

Lansing Community College celebrated the first semester the entire east location is open for use on Tuesday. The location, 2827 Eyde Parkway, is good for students who are dual-enrolled at MSU and LCC because it is close to MSU's campus, said Brian Jackson, LCC East coordinator.

Group celebrates Super Bowl with food

The MSU chapter of Athletes in Action, a Christian fellowship for college athletes, will watch the Super Bowl and, at halftime, try to break the record for the most hot dogs eaten in one sitting. About 40 partygoers can watch the game at the home of Phil Gillespie, MSU's Athletes in Action campus director, whose theater system boasts an 8-foot-wide screen. During halftime, those up for the challenge can participate in a hot dog eating contest, which is held just for fun among group members, said Max Lossen, president of MSU's chapter of Athletes in Action. Competitors will attempt to break the record of 19 hot dogs.

Innovations: Stellar searching

Name: Professor Stephen Zepf Department: Physics and Astronomy Type of research: How galaxies are formed Date of research: Zepf has been studying the origin of galaxies for about 20 years, but his current projects using the Southern Astrophysical Research, or SOAR, Telescope began about a year ago. Basics of the project: "We look at star clusters and galaxies to learn about how the whole galaxy formed," Zepf said. Zepf looks at the different wavelengths of the light emitted from star clusters. In this way, he can determine how old the clusters are and what elements are included in their compositions, which helps him determine the galaxy's age. Using Internet connections and computer programming, Zepf is able to study images of the galaxies from the Hubble Space Telescope and the SOAR Telescope. The SOAR Telescope — located at an altitude of 9,000 feet on a mountain in Chile — is an MSU project in conjunction with The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory and Brazil. Two postdoctoral fellows, one graduate student and one undergraduate student assist Zepf in his research. Social impact of research: "It answers the basic questions of the universe on a big scale," Zepf said. Grants and funding: The National Science Foundation and NASA fund the project, which costs several thousand dollars per year.

Return to Motown

Detroit — I was born and raised in Detroit, and downtown has always been my favorite thing about my hometown.

A growing game

Kevin Corrigan looked up and smiled after an hour of the Hospitality Association's Vegas Night Texas Hold'em tournament on Saturday night.

Officials: Great Lakes need funding

The Great Lakes are reaching a tipping point and without more federal government help, they could be damaged beyond repair, environmentalists say. "The federal government has really been dragging their feet on this issue," National Wildlife Federation regional spokesperson Jordan Lubetkin said.

Police briefs 01/31/06

Motor City spruced up for Super Bowl

While trudging through the puddles around Ford Field on Sunday, I thought hard — went deep, if you will — about my Super Bowl XL predictions: So Detroit might not be the best choice for this year's Super Bowl, but it's probably the city that needs the money the most. And like any good host, Detroit has cleaned up to best of its ability.

Holidays spawn increase in alcohol-related arrests

By Amy Oprean For The State News Michigan police agencies reported a total of 1,323 arrests for drunken driving and another 825 alcohol-related arrests during the 2005 holiday season, nearly 300 more than the same period in 2004.

Fellowship honors slain MSU professor

The first winners of a $10,000 research fellowship will be announced at noon today in the Kellogg Center's Big Ten room. The TIAA-CREF Ruth Simms Hamilton Research Fellowship was established through an endowment by the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund, or TIAA-CREF, an insurance and retirement savings provider for workers in the academic, medical, cultural and research fields. An expert in the field of African diaspora, Hamilton was a distinguished MSU professor of social science and a TIAA-CREF board member who died in 2003.

ASMSU to put out student survey about IM addition

Student government officials are taking initial steps toward creating a survey to determine student demand for additional student recreational space on campus. ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government, allocated $7,000 earlier this month to fund a survey of student opinions on the project, which calls for the construction of a combined IM facility and student events center.