Ascent Autumn 2014 by College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio State

AUTUMN 2014

ASCENT

news from the College of Arts and Sciences

on the Cover

12 HELP FOR AN ELF

There may not be any cookies in this tree ... but there is an elf door. Abel Hernandez made it for Keebler’s #tinydoors social media campaign.

WONDERWOMEN 14

CRIME AND JUSTICE SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE

HONORING THE SACRiFICES OF OTHERS

JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARIES

MAYMESTER British Invasion ENVIRONMENTAL Citizenship

26 PROGRAM 60

Team ASC and ZAMON SAWYER

TIMEANDCHANGE

10 2

Orton Museum: The portal to Ohio’s geological history — from a 2-billion-year-old fossil to the skeleton of Jeff, a 7-foot-tall giant ground sloth roaming Ohio 2M13,000 years ago.

30 BRAVE HEART

ASCENT WELCOME to the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University. For us, ASCENT reflects the amazing potential and value of an arts and sciences education at Ohio State. The Buckeye experience is powerful, transformative and stays with us throughout our lives, reaching far beyond geographic borders. We want to share these stories with you and we hope that you’ll share your stories, ideas and feedback with us.

The act or process of ascending; advancement

SULLIVANT HALL GRAND OPENING

CIRCULATION ASCENT is mailed 2x/year to alumni (circulation 172,500). We also send supplemental updates to our alumni, students, faculty, staff, donors and friends throughout the year via e-newsletter. GO GREEN ASCENT is printed with environmentally friendly papers (30% post industrial and 100% post-consumer fibers) using soy-based ink. To receive just the e-newsletter and save a tree, please contact us.

SULLIVANT’S TRAVELS

What drew 1,200 people to Sullivant Hall on a beautiful Saturday afternoon? Try red ribbons, dances on ropes, a rotunda choir, open houses and more.

Think Tank

CONTACT US/UNSUBSCRIBE Please send us your feedback, comments and story ideas. Additionally, you always can choose to stop receiving this magazine by sending a note or email to asccomm@osu.edu, or by mail to: 1010 Derby Hall; 154 N. Oval Mall; Columbus, Ohio 43210

EDITOR Libby Eckhardt | EDITORIAL STAFF Elizabeth Tarpy Alcalde, Victoria Ellwood, Sandi Rutkowski | DESIGN STAFF Greg Bonnell, Andrew Bromwell, Karin Samoviski PHOTOGRAPHY Janell Strouse | WEB COMMUNICATIONS Eva Dujardin Dale, Jody Croley Jones, Kevin Whaley

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 186 University Hall | 230 N. Oval Mall | Columbus, Ohio 43210 | asc.osu.edu

In each Issue Message from the Dean

News & Notes

Alumni Notes

Science & Scholarship

artsandsciences.osu.edu

David Manderscheid | Executive Dean and Vice Provost Janet Box-Steffensmeier | Divisional Dean, Social and Behavioral Sciences Christopher Hadad | Divisional Dean, Natural and Mathematical Sciences Mark Shanda | Divisional Dean, Arts and Humanities

Autumn on the Oval: Students JaMezz McKinney (exploration), Jason Black (art) and Audrey Galat (art)

a message from dean MANDERscHEID Autumn on the Oval: timeless yet ever-changing. Energy, excitement, transformation, renewal — new students, faculty, dreams and exploration keep us vibrant and on the leading-edge. Twice each year, we bring a bit of campus to your door and share some of what is going on at the moment through ASCENT. As I write, it is October, designated “Research Month” at Ohio State, although research is built into the fabric of our Top-10 public research institution yearlong. Typically, we equate research with science, but research is not restricted to one area — research creates new knowledge, solves myriad problems large and small, drives creativity, innovation — and our economy — and keeps us moving forward as human beings. Everyone engages in research every day. This is how we navigate successfully through life. How we choose a new doctor, buy a new car, pick a political candidate. You can be proud of our robust ASC research profile and I ask you to join me as an advocate for funding for research. Every research dollar we win — and we receive grants all across the arts; the humanities; and the social, natural and mathematical sciences — supports the work of our faculty and their students at all levels, undergraduate to postdoc. The value of an arts and sciences education and its power to inspire never dims. Please let us hear from you. Our alumni remain our best friends, strongest advocates and our ultimate legacy.

DAVID MANDERSCHEID, Phd Executive Dean and Vice Provost College of Arts and Sciences, The Ohio State University

NEWS & NOTES SCIENCEWRITERS 2014 Ohio State hosted more than 400 science writers from around the country October 17-21 for the ScienceWriters 2014 conference. The annual conference is a joint meeting of the National Association of Science Writers and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. Briefings on the latest scientific research going on around the globe included presentations by arts and sciences faculty John Beacom, professor of physics and astronomy and director, Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics; Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology; Josh Goldberger, assistant professor of chemistry; Ellen-Mosley Thompson, Distinguished University Professor of geography and director, Byrd Polar Research Center; Per Sederberg, assistant professor of psychology; Allison Snow, professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology; and Lonnie Thompson, Distinguished University Professor, Earth sciences.

GRADUATE STUDENTS’ COMPUTER GAME WINS PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD The web-based computer game, Moon Rush, a 3D computer game featuring a virtual moon race, spacecraft landing and lunar buggy, conceived by graduate students CHENG ZHANG (design/computer science engineering) and SHERRI LARRIMER (design), won the People’s Choice Award in the “Shoot the Moon Game Design Challenge,” a competition sponsored by Games for Change and Schusterman Philanthropic Network.

REDISCOVER ASC 2.0 Rediscover the Arts and Sciences 2015 takes place the weekend of April 24, 2015. Friday: We honor our Alumni Awards winners and many dedicated supporters at our annual Alumni Awards and Donor Recognition Dinner. Saturday: We learn, engage and discover with outstanding faculty and students in the arts and sciences. Mark your calendars!

WANT MORE? SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER AT go.osu.edu/ascnews artsandsciences.osu.edu

At the Lantern Media Group studios: Dan Caterinicchia (left), assistant professor-clinical and student media director; and Dan McDonald, School of Communication director

Journalism and Communication Celebrate Anniversaries The School of Communication celebrated two anniversaries in October: the 100th anniversary of the journalism program and the 20th anniversary of the merger of journalism and communication into the School of Communication. “Both journalism and communication have well over 100 years of study and classwork here at Ohio State, and these coinciding anniversaries are a special occasion,” said Dan McDonald, director, School of Communication. “On the one hand, recognition that journalism should be a formal area of study; on the other, recognition that the two areas have much in common and learning about one can lead to understanding aspects of the other.” The school, routinely at the top of rankings, is known for its rigorous and innovative curriculum, renowned faculty, state-of-the-

art multimedia classrooms, multiplatform labs and podcasting studios, and it has one of the top internship and alumni networking and mentoring programs in the country. “We know that our students will be working in professions that will require them to be flexible and experienced,” said McDonald. “We have built, and continue to build, programs that equip them with the training and skills to harness the power of communication — how to understand audiences, shape messages and interact with individuals and technologies — as well as the power and influence of communication on society.” The School of Communication is home to the new Lantern Media Group, a comprehensive multimedia news organization that also includes The Lantern, one of the best collegiate newspapers in

the nation, a digital television station and various social media outlets.

THE LANTERN DOMINATES JOURNALISM COMPETITION

For the last four years, The Lantern has won the General Excellence Award from the Ohio Newspaper Association. The award is given to the best college media outlet in the state. Recently, the newspaper won the most awards of any university in the 2014 Ohio Society of Professional Journalists competition, including a sweep of all four scholarships for top stories.

comm.ohio-state.edu

Pelotonia

This year, Dean Manderscheid (left) rode with Team ASC for Pelotonia 2014. Team ASC, the college’s peloton, rode for the fourth year, and our riders and “virtual riders” raised nearly $28,000 for cancer research.

Despite progress, the race to cure cancer is not over. Cancer touches nearly everyone in some way. In 2008, cyclists began riding in Pelotonia, a grassroots bike tour with one goal, to end cancer. Every dollar raised goes to Ohio State’s James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute to fund cancer research at all levels — from faculty to graduate and undergraduate students.

Zamon Sawyer

Killing Cancer One Mile at a Time This year’s more than 7,000 cyclists included several Arts and Sciences Pelotonia Undergraduate Research Fellowship winners. Their 22 research projects varied: using tools of decision theory and experimental economics to study improved doctor-patient communication; evaluating effects of chemotherapy on hearing ability; ethics of organ removal as a treatment means. Our featured Fellowship rider, fourthyear biology student Zamon Sawyer’s project looks at what role paired box genes (PAX) play in the production of fatty acids, needed by cancer cells to grow. Finding ways to regulate fatty acid production could disrupt the rapid growth of cancer cells.

Team Buckeye gets ready to ride out.

make a difference in their lives. I want to start a dental practice with low treatment fees and educational workshops for my community’s underserved populations.” Sawyer’s interest in research was driven by pure curiosity. She was hooked when she took an introductory research course for freshman, then went shopping for labs at the beginning of her junior year. She found a “very welcoming mentor in Molecular Genetics Professor Helen Chamberlin.” “I was interested in this project because cancer has affected my family and friends. I believe that with modern technology, a cure can be found. My project reaffirms that a multidisciplinary approach is necessary to find a cure for cancer.

Sawyer, from Pickerington, Ohio, plans to attend dental school following graduation. “I became interested in dentistry at a young age because it is a field that combines the two things that I love, science and helping others.

“I was inspired to ride in Pelotonia because I wanted to give back. I am grateful for Pelotonia’s supporting my research; riding and raising funds was the least I could do.

“Unlike medicine, dentistry will allow me to see patients more frequently and

“I am really glad that I did. I experienced what it means to be a part of the Buckeye

“I was inspired to ride in Pelotonia because I wanted to give back. I am grateful for Pelotonia’s supporting my research; riding and raising funds was the least I could do.”

Riders can choose from several different routes and distances — 25, 50, 75, 100, 155 and 180 miles.

family/community — it was a wonderful way to start my senior year. “We encouraged and checked on one another throughout the ride; whenever I felt like stopping I just looked left or right and saw someone three times my age sweating and working hard — that motivated me to keep pushing.” This is only to be expected from Sawyer, who is very service-focused. A resident advisor in Baker Hall East, she is president of Ladies of Leadership, a student organization that provides upper-level undergraduate women opportunities to mentor first-year women of color to reach their academic and leadership aspirations. Still, Sawyer knows how to have fun; she enjoys “dancing, exercising, laughing, shopping and trying or cooking new foods — and traveling!”

pelotonia.org

TimeandChange A 450 MILLION YEAR OLD TRILOBITE BEARS WITNESS TO OHIO’S PAST

Last March, Dale Gnidovec gave a talk for the North Coast Fossil Club in Cleveland. He had just arrived when he was approached by one of its members. The man looked familiar because he sometimes visits the Orton Geological Museum where Gnidovec is curator. In the man’s hand was a printout of an eBay sale offering a large Ohio trilobite — for $15,500. Gnidovec thought he was going to say something like, “Look at the outlandish prices some people will pay for fossils,” but instead he wanted to buy it for Orton Museum. Gnidovec said he almost fell over. The man, who wants to remain anonymous, is a retired chemist with his own collection. “He travels all over to collect,” Gnidovec said, “but his wife told him ‘this specimen is too nice for you’ and he agreed that it should be in a museum. “Unfortunately, a lot of things that should be in museums do not end up in them. “But this is someone who doesn’t collect for the egoboost of owning something unique that no one else can have. “There are all kinds of collectors and clubs — appealing to all kinds of interests, rocks and minerals, fossils — and these amateurs often find and donate things and some of them know more than academics,” Gnidovec said.

INSIDE ORTON: More than Isotelus maximus Visit and trace Ohio’s geological history through time and place in the planet’s geological record through rocks, minerals, fossils — more than 500,000 — from Ohio and around the world. Orton Geological Museum is free and open to the public, 8 a.m.–5 p.m., M–F.

The beautiful dark brown 14.5 inch-long specimen of Isotelus maximus, Ohio’s official state fossil, was delivered to the Orton Museum in late March. From its pristine look, one might not guess that it lived during the Ordovician Period, about 450 million years ago. “At that time,” Gnidovec said, “Ohio was under a warm tropical sea and it was much closer to the equator — about where Australia is today.” Talk about time and change, it nearly defies ordinary comprehension.

go.osu.edu/ortonhall

FIVE FACTS: about the orton hall geological museum

The museum’s catalog contains more than 500,000 rocks, minerals and fossils. Visitors can spend hours tracing geological history through time, starting with the oldest fossil on display, a Precambrian stromatolite from Wyoming that is around 2 billion years old. In the museum you’ll also see many brachiopods, the most common fossil found in Ohio. Say hello to Jeff! Upon entering the museum, visitors are greeted by a skeleton of a 7-foot-tall giant ground sloth. The skeleton earned the nickname “Jeff” from its scientific name, Megaloynx jeffersoni. Megalonyx means “great claw” and jeffersoni refers to President Thomas Jefferson, the first person to bring attention to the species. Giant sloths roamed Ohio during the Pleistocene Epoch from 2 million to 13,000 years ago.   Ohio used to be Down Under! Currently, Ohio is situated above the equator, with the 40 degree north line actually running right through campus. However, back in the day, Ohio was located 20 degrees south of the equator — where Australia is today. We now know that Ohio was covered by a tropical ocean during that time, due to the many fish fossils in the area. Stop by the museum to see the Dunkleosteus terrelli, a 20-foot-long carnivorous fish from the Devonian period.   Part of the School of Earth Sciences, the museum is a great resource for students. Students in geology, biology, civil engineering, art, education and creative writing classes use the exhibits to learn about history and for inspiration. Not only do students come to the museum, the museum also comes to them — offering guest speakers to lecture a class about geological subjects.

Time and change: the glossy, dark brown, 14.5 inch-long Isotelus maximus, Ohio’s official state fossil, once lived under Ohio waters, 450 million years ago. It is just one compelling reason to visit Orton Museum.

ortongeologicalmuseum.osu.edu

The museum is free to the public and is visited by about 13,000 people per year. Visitors can explore the museum on their own, but guided tours for groups can be arranged by contacting Curator Dale Gnidovec, who gives tours to about 2,000 people a year, including many school and scout groups. The tour takes guests on a journey back through time and shows them the wonders of geology.

Wonder Women

Forces for change in the laboratory, classroom and community

ANITA HOPPER

A pioneer in the field of RNA biology, Anita Hopper’s influence was never more evident than at Anitafest, a big “party” thrown by her peers last June. More than 300 RNA researchers — colleagues, collaborators and former students — came from around the world to honor Hopper, some from as far away as India and Poland. Twenty-one gave scientific presentations and shared “Anita anecdotes.” In between the science, came heartfelt odes to Hopper’s willingness to mentor, support and nurture the work and ambitions of others, even competitors.

when you make mistakes than when things go right.’” Atkinson agreed and added, “Anita’s greatest quality was that she was like glue — she was the one who provided cohesion — even if you weren’t in her lab, your social life revolved around her.” “Her impact goes way beyond her lab,” one colleague said. “I didn’t work with Anita, but she helped me figure out how to be a scientist. Her enthusiasm and energy played a big role.”

Former PhD students, now professors themselves, Nigel Atkinson and Srimonti Sarkar, said Hopper’s influence on them was profound.

In the eight years that Anita Hopper chaired the Department of Molecular Genetics, she just stepped down this September, she did everything colleagues extolled at Anitafest — encouraged, inspired and created a supportive atmosphere that attracted and retained some of the country’s top researchers.

Sarkar credits Hopper with, “changing my whole philosophy of how to do science, teaching me to trust, be open and share. Everyone got equal attention; she was our cheerleader. She taught us not to be afraid of making mistakes. Anita always said, ‘You will learn more

The house that Hopper built is both a dynamic hub where important discoveries are made and a true home where everyone is valued, young researchers do not fear to make mistakes and Hopper is still the glue that holds everything together.

Lessons Learned from Anita: Penn State’s Leslie Parent shares her top six 1.

Dogmas are meant to be challenged

Pay attention to the RNA

Listen to and support your students

Look at the data yourself

Believe in the power of genetics

6. A great mentor is worth her weight in gold

Anita Hopper and Susan Olesik chair two powerful science departments: Olesik, chemistry and biochemistry; Hopper, molecular genetics. Both have made an impact in their fields, influenced countless young researchers and set the bar for mentoring, embracing diversity and supporting STEM outreach. Both are fierce advocates for science.

Susan Olesik Two recent awards highlight the breadth of Susan Olesik’s accomplishments in both high-impact research and extraordinary advocacy for public understanding of science. The Award for Chromatography and the ACS Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach are two premier honors conferred by the nation’s largest professional society for chemists, the American Chemical Society (ACS). Olesik received the awards at ACS’s annual meeting in a ceremony that one colleague described as “the Academy Awards for chemists.” Olesik, who pioneered the field of enhanced-fluidity liquid chromatography — now commonly used by the pharmaceutical industry — was the first woman to receive the Award for Chromatography. The Helen M. Free Award recognized Olesik’s effective, longstanding public outreach initiatives to encourage young people’s love of science. A nominator said, “Her winning combination of partnering scientists, teachers and school-aged children transformed science content from a body of boring and confusing concepts to exciting experiments of inquiry, wonder and ‘ah-ha’ moments.” For the past 15 years, Olesik has collaborated with other scientists to improve K-12 science education, working

artsandsciences.osu.edu

in both urban and rural schools in Ohio, making a positive impact at every level. “What makes her activities so powerful,” one colleague said, “are relationship-rich interactions that connect people to each other on a very deep level, keeping them involved year after year.” Indeed, Olesik’s Wonders of Our World Program (WOW), started in 1999, is still going strong. And, the Ohio House of Science and Engineering, a consortium Olesik cofounded in 2008, is improving STEM education throughout central Ohio with a programming pipeline that supports students K-12. Along with the many and varied “normal” duties, when Olesik became chair in 2011 she inherited two additional tasks: ensuring the seamless transition of two separate departments (chemistry and biochemistry) into one, accomplished in 2012; and raising awareness and funds to support the new CBEC building project, which opens in 2015. The recent Nelson Report — ranking her department #1 among the country’s top 50 chemistry departments for percentage of women faculty, and among the top #5 in racial diversity — attests to her seriousness in making a strong department even stronger. But Olesik never rests, so expect that last number to be #1 before long.

CRIME AND JUSTICE SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE Building a Diverse Community of Scholars Over the past nine years, young minority scholars from around the country have come to Columbus for an intensive research-oriented mentoring experience to help advance their scholarship on crime and justice. The Crime and Justice Summer Research Institute (SRI) is organized by Ruth Peterson, professor emerita of sociology and former director of Ohio State’s Criminal Justice Research Center (CJRC), and funded by the National Science Foundation. Since 2006, the institute has been hosted by the CJRC. “When we first entertained the idea of a program to support young underrepresented scholars in our field, we didn’t have a model of success to emulate,” said Peterson. “But we knew that we wanted to create a support network to address the isolation young scholars experience when they first start out and to provide opportunities for them to engage with senior scholars to gain valuable insight and feedback on their work.” The SRI takes place at Ohio State in July. Over the course of three weeks, young scholars develop a research paper or proposal for submission, participate in professional development workshops and present their papers for critical feedback and review. Since 2006, nearly 70 young faculty members have come through the institute, though many more have applied. Michael Lawrence Walker, University of Nebraska-Omaha, applied to the institute because of its reputation of grooming top scholars in the area of crime and justice-related research.

“I knew that the SRI was outstanding for mentoring, and it presented a great opportunity to work on a project and become embedded within a great network,” said Walker. “My mentor greatly improved my writing, thinking and my presentation of research.” Nicole Martorano Van Cleve, Temple University, summed up her experience: “It is hard to overestimate the privilege of being surrounded by brilliant and supportive peers as you cultivate your ideas.” Next year’s Summer Institute will be Peterson’s last. The responsibility will pass to Rod Brunson, associate professor, and Jody Miller, chair and professor, School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, as co-coordinators. Brunson is a former SRI Fellow. Miller received her master’s in women’s studies from Ohio State. “It’s been a labor of love for me and one of the decisions in my academic career for which I am most proud.” said Peterson. And well she should be. Of the 68 individuals who have participated in the SRI in the last nine years, many have authored books and published articles in peer-reviewed journals and many more have been recognized by their academies with scholarly awards. Perhaps the best indicator of the intellectual merit of the program, however, is the fact that these scholars have forever changed the conversations around crime and justice.

Each summer since 2006, young minority scholars from around the country have come to Ohio State to participate in the Crime and Justice Summer Research Institute. During the institute, each participant completes an ongoing project, either a research paper or grant proposal, in preparation for journal submission or agency funding review. The institute culminates in a research symposium where participants present their completed research before a scholarly audience.

OHIO STATE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

HONORS ASC ALUMNI

The Ohio State University Alumni Association’s annual awards program honors living alumni who personify the university’s tradition of excellence, thereby bringing distinction to themselves and to our alma mater through their outstanding achievements. This year’s ceremony, held on Sept. 12, 2014, honored the following arts and sciences friends and alumni:

Ralph Davenport Mershon Award John L. Melvin (BS, biological sciences, 1955) Dr. Melvin has been driven by the wish to serve others. He is the Michie Professor and chair of Rehabilitation Medicine, Jefferson College of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University.

Thompson Award for early career achievement Chukwuemeka Onyejekwe (political science, 2002)

ABOUT THE CJRC Ohio State’s Criminal Justice Research Center (CJRC) was established in 1989 as the focal point for research and intellectual work among faculty, graduate students, policymakers and practitioners interested in the study of crime, law and justice issues. Major projects include the Undergraduate Internship Program; Historical Violence Database; the Racial Democracy, Crime and Justice Network; the Summer Research Institute and Research Projects on the Social Context of Adolescent Risky Behavior and research on gun legislation and violent crime. cjrc.osu.edu

Ralph Davenport Mershon Award Jeffrey Myers

Onyejekwe, aka rapper Mekka Don, the son of Nigerian immigrants, and a former walk-on for the football team, gave up his career as a lawyer, at a prestigious New York City law firm, to make it big in the music industry.

Dr. Myers has made significant contributions to Ohio State for 30 years. He received a Bachelor of Physiologic Optics in 1982 and a Doctorate in Optometry from the College of Optometry in 1984.

Duncan Alumni Citizenship Award Ann ThomasMacDonald (BA, psychology, 1988) “Ann is a behind-the-scenes, unsung hero of our time. All totaled, Ann has raised over $100,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help us accelerate miraculous new treatments and healing therapies once thought impossible.”

Thompson Award for early career achievement David E. Vollman (BS, chemistry, 2001) Dr. Vollman has achieved significant success as he reaches his mid-30s. He currently serves as an assistant professor, patient safety officer and assistant residency program director at Washington University, as well as a staff ophthalmologist at the St. Louis VA Medical Center.

artsandsciences.osu.edu

HONORING THE SACRIFICES OF OTHERS Neither Maureen “Mo” Savko nor her partner Cory McCowen is an alumna of Ohio State. But individually and together, they are Buckeyes through and through. In 2006, Savko and McCowen established The Savko Family Endowed Fund for Religious Studies in honor of their mothers and to ensure that future generations of students have the opportunity to explore issues around faith, religion and culture. “The spirit of Ohio State is a family affair,” said Savko. “We want to be part of that.” Growing up in Columbus, Savko watched her parents sacrifice so that she and her siblings could have a better life. “My mother was the most religious person I ever knew,” said Savko. “She worked two jobs to put us through Catholic schools; the midnight shift at Worthington Foods and a day shift at the school cafeteria.” Savko’s mother died suddenly in 2003. A friend reached out to her and they talked about how best to honor her mother’s legacy of sacrifice. “When I found out that Ohio State had a new religious studies area, it just hit me,” said Savko. “What better way to pay tribute to my mother and ensure that her spirit touches the lives of future generations?”

In 2006, Savko and McCowen established The Savko Family Endowed Fund for Religious Studies in honor of their mothers and to ensure that future generations of students have the opportunity to explore issues around faith, religion and culture. McCowen, a California native, shares a similar experience, growing up with a mother who sacrificed much and left a lasting impression. “My mother was a single mom and she did everything possible to make life better for me and my brother. I remember her taking us to a different church every year — to help us learn about and appreciate others’ religions. She wanted to open our minds.” Savko and McCowen live in Florida; Savko is retired from Timken (Columbus) and McCowen is retired from UPS (Atlanta). Although they are a bit of a drive from Columbus, their hearts are with Ohio State. “I’m a Buckeye convert,” said McCowen. “The first time I watched Script Ohio in the stadium, tears came to my eyes. What struck me about Ohio State is the fact that it’s a family. I felt the spirt of Ohio State all around me.” Savko’s niece is a recent alumna of Ohio State and a current university employee. “Ohio State really is a family,” said Savko. “It permeates across generations and geography.” Savko and McCowen are thinking about adopting two kittens. They’ve picked out their names; Scarlet and Gracie.

artsandsciences.osu.edu

MayMester A distinctive feature of Ohio State’s new semester calendar is the May session, nicknamed Maymester, which was inaugurated in 2013. The four-week session encourages students to experience a class topic outside of their current educational track to expand their horizons. More than 130 courses and nearly 40 study abroad programs (destinations included Uganda,

Hungary, Brazil, India, Mexico, China, Britain, France and Germany) were offered during the inaugural May session. The colleges of Arts and Sciences; Engineering; Education and Human Ecology; Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Nursing; Public Health; and Social Work contributed courses. May session 2014 took place from May 5-30.

Ohio State students (l-r) Miranda Cochran, Megan Meyers and Andrew Luft find a friend in London. (Photo by Ryan Shaw)

British Invasion “We had a two-week ‘backstage pass’ into the history of rock and roll. I saw the places that have been cherished for the past 50 years due to their cultural significance. I walked across Abbey Road, aligning my footsteps with the 45-year-old shoe prints of The Beatles.” So said Andrew Luft, fourth-year psychology and English major. He was one of 35 Ohio State undergraduate students enrolled in the School of Music May session course — British Invasion 2014. The course included a short-term class focused on British music of the 1960s and a study abroad trip to England. “The 1960s was a remarkable, engaging and exciting decade that saw enormous change,” said Tim Gerber, professor in the School of Music. “We had Civil Rights, the British Invasion, Woodstock, the rise of Motown, JFK, hippies and free love.”

The course took a look at how British bands — including The Beatles, Cream and The Who — were influenced by American music styles. “African-American musicians had a huge impact on British rock and roll,” Gerber said. “Those British bands were listening to American R&B artists long before they were writing their own stuff.” The class focused on artists and their music, lyrics, lyric analysis, songwriting processes and history. They took a trip up to Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and headed out on a study abroad trip to London and Liverpool. The general education course attracted students from such diverse areas as nursing and business, English and history. Most had never been overseas and many had never been on a plane.

ENVIRONMENTAL Citizenship Last May, more than a dozen students took to the rivers and watersheds to learn about environmental citizenship. Rick Livingston, associate director of Ohio State’s Humanities Institute and senior lecturer in the Department of Comparative Studies, designed the May session course, “A Place Between The Rivers: Ecological Restoration and Environmental Citizenship in Central Ohio.” “My goal was to deepen students’ awareness and understanding of environmental citizenship by taking them beyond the classroom to witness, firsthand, environmental restoration projects along the rivers of Central Ohio — the Olentangy, the Scioto and Big Darby Creek,” said Livingston. Students in Livingston’s class did their share of readings in environmental philosophy and ecocritical reflection, but the bulk of the class took place outdoors at projects restoring wetlands, removing dams, preserving habitat and native biodiversity and bringing back ecological keystone species, such as bison, which have been absent from Ohio for almost 200 years. Rory O’Shaughnessy, a junior majoring in microbiology, was especially keen to get up close with river restoration projects. She is an avid rower. “The rivers are so important to me,” said O’Shaughnessy. “Obviously, on some level, I knew that before this course. But this class really taught me the importance of how to behave like a citizen — that it means being aware of your impact on the area around you.” “Our corner of the world is currently being reshaped by projects both intentional and unintended,” said Livingston. “It’s critical that students develop a sense of citizenship and humanity that includes the physical world they live in.” artsandsciences.osu.edu

“My goal was to deepen students’ understanding of environmental citizenship, to witness environmental restoration projects along the rivers of Central Ohio — the Olentangy, the Scioto and Big Darby Creek,” said Livingston.

THE HUMANITIES INSTITUTE’S ENVIRONMENTAL CITIZENSHIP INITIATIVE In his role as associate director of Ohio State’s Humanities Institute, Rick Livingston is leading the institute’s Environmental Citizenship Initiative to address the challenge of creating a culture of ecological literacy for the 21st century. The initiative brings together students, staff, faculty, researchers and community members to explore the many dimensions of environmental concern and sustainability, from climate change and biodiversity to local food systems and green cities. Committed to making the arts and humanities full partners in this transdisciplinary dialogue, the Environmental Citizenship initiative promotes innovative approaches to environmental awareness and understanding. Current projects include “BioPresence: Bringing (Other Than Human) Animals into the Framework Plan,” a multi-media collaboration with the AWASH (Animal Worlds in the Arts, Sciences and Humanities) working group. Find out more on Twitter (@AnimalOSU), Facebook (BioPresence Animalosu) and Tumblr (biopresence.tumblr).

sullivant HALL grand opening {Sept. 20, 2014}

RENOVATION CREATES INTEGRATED ARTS SPACE THAT TRANSCENDS DISCIPLINARY BOUNDARIES IN THE HEART OF THE UNIVERSITY’S EMERGING ARTS DISTRICT Pictured above: Top left, volunteer and first-year arts scholar student Alex Brandt helps a visitor navigate the festivities. Top right, dance student Charlotte Stickles performs Site and Sound in the Rotunda. Bottom left, MFA acting student Patrick Wiabel demonstrates a duet with an avatar of Marcel Marceau in ACCAD’s motion capture lab. Bottom right, (l-r) Cate Wisneski; Bill Barnett; Ohio State President Michael Drake, Claudia Barnett Scott; Laurey Barnett Treiger; Lawrence Barnett, Jr.; Jim Barnett. (Photos: A.J. Zanyk)

On a brilliant early fall Saturday, Sullivant Hall offically opened following a transformative three-year, $31 million full-building renovation. The Grand Opening included remarks from university President Michael Drake, a ribbon-cutting honoring donors Lawrence and Isabel Barnett and their family, open houses throughout the building and a world premiere dance performance.

Isabel Barnett Center for Integrated Arts and Enterprise; and the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum.

The Neo Classical Revival structure, built in 1912, has housed the Ohio Historical Society’s museum, the archaeological museum, zoology museum and a fine arts gallery. Today it is home to the Departments of Dance and Arts Administration, Education and Policy; the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD); the Lawrence and

The renovation, designed by Acock Associates Architects, includes a three-story rotunda, six new dance studios, floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the space with natural light and a flexible black-box theatre. The result is a Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building that includes energy-efficient additions.

Lawrence Barnett, Ohio State alumnus and entertainment industry leader, and his wife Isabel, committed $6 million to establish the multi-disciplinary Barnett Center and support extensive renovations to Sullivant Hall.

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sullivant’s Travels A journey into the mind of a building

“The cumulative effect of these works served as a metaphor for learning, collaboration, creative play and dreaming.” — Stephan Koplowitz, choreographer and director

More than 80 student performers from Ohio State helped to christen the newly renovated Sullivant Hall in a site-specific performance event, Sullivant’s Travels, choreographed especially for the building’s grand opening on Sept. 20. More than 1,200 were in attendance to view the various works and open houses throughout the building. The event featured students from the Department of Dance and the School of Music and included 11 works spotlighted throughout the building — in dance studios, in the building’s grand rotunda, on an outdoor balcony, in a theatre and even in faculty offices. Each of the performance works was a world premiere inspired by the history of the building, the architecture and/or current use of specific spaces. “The cumulative effect of these works served as a metaphor for learning, collaboration, creative play and dreaming,” said choreographer and director Stephan Koplowitz, an internationally known choreographer who was commissioned by the Department of Dance and College of Arts and Sciences to create the piece. “We fractured and recreated the space to assemble this collaborative work,” said Koplowitz. “Each audience member could select a unique path through the building to experience various performance events. Like immersive theatre, everyone had a slightly different experience and view as they journeyed through Sullivant Hall.” Performing on the Barnett Theatre’s lighting grid in Horizon Time are dance students Noelle Bohaty and Chelsea Shott. (Photo: Nick Fancher)

DANCE FACULTY PRODUCE AN AWARD-WINNING, CROWD-SOURCED DANCE PERFORMANCE FILM WITH A GLOBAL CAST FROM ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS Filmmaker Mitchell Rose and Choreographer Bebe Miller created an international crowd-sourced dance film, Globe Trot that premiered online in June. Fifty filmmakers on all seven continents, including an Ohio State research station in Antarctica, shot two seconds of people performing Miller’s choreography and sent the footage back to Rose, who edited it together to create one continuous three-minute dance film. The performers were not professional dancers; these “regular folks” learned the choreography, along with filmmakers who learned how to shoot the footage, via a 12-page, step-by-step online instruction manual featuring choreography videos and framing specifications. “I wanted to create a film that has a global reach,” Rose said, “getting dancers and filmmakers involved from all around the world.” After a year of production, the result is inspiring. “When I first saw the footage, I said ‘I love people!,’” said Miller in a feature produced by WOSU-TV’s arts and culture television program, Broad & High. “There is something so warming about looking at this range of people doing the steps together.” Rose added, “I’ve done a lot of different kinds of dances. I’ve done dramatic and conceptual and going for beautiful. But I’ve never done joyous, and that’s what I really wanted to accomplish in this film — a sense of joy.” Globe Trot has already won six festival awards since premiering at the prestigious Cinedans festival in Amsterdam in March.

go.osu.edu/globetrot

ALUMNI NOTES

Joseph Jones, Jr. (PhD, zoology, 1960), retired, dean, College of Arts and Sciences and professor of biology, Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, Texas, and founding member of the Council of Historically Black Graduate Schools. The Ohio State University provided me with professional credentials in the field of biology. This was a major achievement for me, an African American, from the Deep South. In 1960, when I received my degree from Ohio State, less than 3 percent of PhD degree recipients were African American and even fewer were in a STEM field. Having the degree in zoology from Ohio State gave me credibility and enabled me to engage in advanced research, successfully publish in leading journals and have a professional career in academic administration and teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels in four universities.

Tell us your story!

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Teresa Cassidy (BA, communication, 1981), career and academic advisement professional, Lorain County Community College. Receiving my Bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree from Ohio State opened so many doors to me when I graduated. Ohio State is a way to achieve academic goals and career goals.

William Fleece (BS, psychology, 1957), attorney. Ohio State provided me with a well-rounded experience and education in a number of different disciplines. It provided a platform to make lifelong friends.

Thom Fogarty (BFA, dance, 1977), artistic director, 360repco, a repertory theatre company based in New York City. Ohio State is where it all began for me as an artist and performer. If I had not taken the dance classes that were offered to fulfill a physical ed requirement, this career would have never happened. continued on pg. 29

Abel Hernandez, industrial design graduate student, was selected to create a tiny elf door for Keebler’s “tiny elf door campaign.” Others contributed flowers, sticks and a small pathway.

“Fabricating a tiny wooden door with metal hinges at such a miniature scale seemed like a fun opportunity to use my imagination and design fabrication skills.” Abel Hernandez, industrial design graduate student, was selected by Kellogg’s Keebler brand and the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department to design and build a tiny elf door in the base of a tree at Whetstone Park in Columbus. His door was one of four created in Columbus for a national tiny door campaign promoting the idea that the Keebler elves are real and living in the trees. Hernandez’s door is in the Park of Roses within Whetstone Park; the other doors are located in Schiller Park and Bicentennial Park. “I found the challenge of creating something whimsical very appealing. Fabricating a tiny wooden door with metal hinges at such a miniature scale seemed like a fun opportunity to use my imagination and the design fabrication skills I had acquired while creating some of my wooden and metal furniture pieces in undergrad,” said Hernandez. Hernandez grew up in Providence and attended the Rhode Island School of Design for his undergraduate degree. He now works for the Lawrence and Isabel Barnett Center for Integrated Arts and Enterprise, where he manages all of the digital media platforms. Hernandez designed his door with all natural materials, including poplar, brass and maple. Since installing the door, Hernandez is happy to report that others have contributed to the site, placing flowers, a tiny pile of sticks and a pathway made of acorn caps near the door. The hashtag #tinydoors is written on the inside of every door, with the goal that visitors will tweet a picture of the door when they find it. “The Keebler project is a great use of social media to get people out into the natural world,” Hernandez said. Using natural materials was important for Hernandez, who is developing his own menswear line using recycled materials, like old clothing from Goodwill, and “upcycling” them into new clothes and accessories. He hopes this experience will open new doors of opportunity for him. By Molly Kime, Communication student

Program More than 300 students on campus are, well, just a little older than their classmates. Ranging in age from 60 to nearly 90, they keep up just fine, taking classes from physics to painting, history to hip-hop to … you name it, thanks to Ohio State’s tuition-free Program 60, established in the 1970s by the Ohio Legislature, now coordinated through Ohio State’s Office of Distance Education and eLearning. “Program 60 lets any Ohio resident age 60 and older take just about any course at the university, provided there is space available and the professor has given permission,” explained Julie Maurer, program coordinator. “Some people have been taking classes for 20 years!”

Most people take one class at a time, but some take several, including one woman in her late 60s, Nancy Morcos, who took three dance classes last semester.

Program 60 participants don’t just sit back and observe; they’re fully integrated in the classroom. “I get amazing feedback from the instructors who absolutely love having them in their classes,” Maurer said. “They connect with the other students and build relationships.”

Mitch Alvarado

Mitch Alvarado had never heard of Program 60 until his neighbor suggested they take a drive down to campus. “I had just retired and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” said Alvarado. “My neighbor, who also is retired, stopped over one day and said ‘Hey, let’s go back to school.’” That was five years ago. “It gives me purpose,” said Alvarado. “I’m learning.” Since retiring from U.S. Bank, where he served as vice president of the plastics division for more than 17 years, Alvarado had been averaging four classes a quarter; then, with the semester switch, five classes a semester, ranging from human nutrition to advanced behavioral neuroscience. And, the history of rock ‘n’ roll.

“I love it, I absolutely love it. I look forward to learning something new every single day.”

Joseph Funfar

At 87, Joseph Funfar, father of four daughters, with six grandchildren, may be the oldest student enrolled. Funfar earned a bachelor’s degree in education, and a master’s degree in information science from the University of Pittsburgh and a PhD in sociology from St. Louis University.

“Being able to interact with students at this stage of my life, it’s good for my mental health. Education is an ongoing process and should continue through your life.” Funfar has participated since 2004. He was enrolled in continuing education classes at the University of Pittsburgh before he moved to Columbus 12 years ago. Over the years, Funfar has taken classes in psychology, sociology, political science, biology and a geography course on modern geopolitical imagination.

Nancy Morcos

Nancy Morcos said she “had a ball” in her hip-hop dance class. And in her ballet class. And in her contemporary dance class. In fact, Morcos was in the dance studios five days a week last autumn.

“Program 60 is one of the best-kept secrets in Columbus. I went with a friend to a dance class and got hooked. I am addicted now! I’ve been taking classes for eight years and I’m going strong.” Morcos, 68, was a special education teacher in Columbus City Schools for 27 years. The Ohio State alumna had earned a master’s degree in English and lectured at the university before that. When she was younger, she had danced with the Dayton Ballet, Cincinnati Opera Ballet, BalletMet Dance Ensemble, Fasting-Farquhar Ballet and other local groups.

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Eve Nordyke

Native Texan Eve Nordyke, who says she’s 65 and three-quarters, retired from an information technology company, relocated to Ohio and found a new calling as an avid Buckeye with a passion for the theatre. Hearing about Program 60, Nordyke (a former English major) took a script analysis class. “I’ve been regularly taking theatre classes now for six years — I figure I’ll graduate in about 2048!” She said she’s gotten nothing but encouragement and support from fellow students and instructors. “No one’s ever had the attitude — what’s this old lady doing in our class?

“It’s absolutely wonderful to be around 20-year-olds — they’re so full of energy and enthusiasm.”

Allen Musheno

Allen Musheno’s learning curve went from English literature (DePauw) to law (Case Western) to economics and mathematics (Ohio State). A retired administrative attorney for the State of Ohio, 66-year-old Musheno has taken courses since autumn 2011. First up: economics, “because I was perplexed by what happened to our economy in 2008.” “When the instructor began drawing mathematical models, I realized it had been a long time since I had a math course!” Thus began Musheno’s odyssey through algebra, trigonometry and calculus.

“Challenging would be an understatement. This has been tough, but I keep thinking it’s just like solving puzzles. “I love the experience of walking into a classroom, learning new things and seeing the world in a different way, just like any other student.”

DONUTS WITH THE DEAN Fun begins with friendliness and freebies: Donuts. T-shirts. Face time with the Executive Dean. Photos. Twitter. This tweetup event, initiated last spring, is not only a great chance to meet the dean, but other ASC students. The buzz it has generated shows it is the perfect way for a social media-savvy dean to connect with today’s undergraduate students, for them to connect with each other and make Ohio State’s largest college a lot smaller. @ASCatOSU @dmanderscheid

Alumni Notes continued from pg. 23 Karen Kurtz Harper (MA, English, 1969), author of historical novels and contemporary suspense stories. My years studying for my master’s and teaching at Ohio State set me on the path to a teaching and writing career.

George Huffman (BS, physics, 1976) has been named deputy project scientist for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, a joint project of NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Huffman works at NASA Goddard Space

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Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, developing internationally recognized global precipitation datasets based on satellite and surface observations.

John Krieg (BS, physics, 1952), retired, Aerospace Corporation. I spent 38 years in the expansion of high technology. So

far as I know, I am the only person to have had the title of Rocket Engineer. Without my degree from Ohio State, this wouldn’t have been possible.

Michael Langthorne (BA, photography and cinema, 1977), project manager, University of Notre Dame. But for Ohio State, I would have been adrift. I came here because it offered bachelor, master and even PhD programs in photography and cinema. If money had been no object I could have stayed forever learning.

continued on pg. 32

Allegra Lewison, neuroscience student, recipient of the Gretel B. Bloch Endowed Scholarship, spent six weeks in Israel volunteering with Magen David 30 Adom, Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equivalent of the American Red Cross.

Allegra Lewison’s Journey to Jerusalem and the MDA Allegra Lewison doesn’t shy away from the sight of blood. As a high school student in Parkland, Florida, she shadowed her neighbor, the assistant fire chief of the Coral Springs Fire Department, on ambulance runs. “I always knew that I wanted to volunteer in the medical field,” said Lewison, a third-year neuroscience major with a minor in Hebrew. A chance encounter at an accident scene further cemented Lewison’s decision that medicine was her calling. In the spring of her senior year in high school, Lewison, along with her mother and grandmother, were heading north on I-95 toward Orlando, when they came upon

an accident. Two men were lying in the emergency lane of the freeway — one on his side with his motorcycle helmet still on. Lewison ran over to help the man while others attended to the second accident victim. “The man’s name was Boaz and he was mumbling in English and Hebrew,” said Lewison. “When I began to talk to him in Hebrew his eyes lit up.” Ambulances and news trucks arrived on the scene. Both accident victims were taken to the hospital. Lewison continued on to Orlando, but she couldn’t get Boaz or the accident out of her mind. That evening, on the way back from Orlando, Lewison decided that she needed to find the hospital where the motorcycle driver was admitted and stop by to see him.

meltoncenter.osu.edu

“It was Friday — Shabbat — and I didn’t want him to be alone,” explained Lewison. “I just felt that I had to be there.” Lewison carried that memory with her when she came to Ohio State and last summer when she spent six weeks in Israel, volunteering with Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s equivalent of the American Red Cross, a national ambulance, bloodservices and disaster-relief organization. One particular emergency run sticks out in her mind.

Magen David Adom,” said Matt Goldish, director of the Melton Center and the Samuel M. and Esther Melton Professor of History. “Our students have had the opportunity to run many terrific programs through the Bloch Scholarship and we are very grateful to the Bloch and Shore families who made it possible. As for Lewison’s future plans, she may take a year off after graduation and then turn her attention to medical school.

“We got a call that an 8-year-old girl was having a seizure,” explained Lewison. “I was riding alone, talking with the little girl at the same time I’m communicating vital

information to the driver. It was big moment for me.” Lewison is carrying on her commitment to MDA through a project she is organizing with the help of Ohio State’s Melton Center for Jewish Studies. In April 2014, Lewison applied for and was selected to receive the Norbert and Gretel B. Bloch Endowed Scholarship, for deserving students who wish to create a program of Jewish interest. The scholarship, administered by the Melton Center, provides students tuition support and funding to develop, publicize and carry out a program of their choosing. Melton staff lend programmatic and academic support to scholarship recipients. “The Melton Center is delighted to be able to support Allegra and her program on

About the Melton Center for Jewish Studies The Samuel M. Melton Center for Jewish Studies was established at Ohio State in 1976 with a generous donation from Samuel M. Melton. The center was the first center for Jewish Studies at an American public university. The center develops, promotes and supports teaching and research in Jewish studies by faculty and students; actively encourages the study of all aspects of the Jewish experience; and sponsors educational programs that serve the public.

Alumni Notes continued from pg. 29

Geary Larrick (BS, music education, 1965), retired professor of music and member of the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors. Ohio State took me as ‘a diamond in the rough,’ and helped me to mature, as well as gain technique in music performance and knowledge of literature and teaching. Thank you!

Lisa Lopez (BA, women’s studies, 1976) retired, chief legal officer, Haemonetics Corp. At Ohio State I felt challenged, stimulated and supported. The leadership opportunities afforded on a campus of the size and range of OSU gave me the confidence to apply to Yale Law School, and later to achieve professional success as the chief legal officer of a multi-national medical device company.

David Merves (MA, 1980; BA, journalism, 1977), professor at Miami Dade College, Miami, Florida. My professor, adviser and mentor, Dr. John Clark, guided me throughout my career. His confidence in me was all I needed.

Matthew Mitten (BA, economics, 1981), professor of law and director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University Law School and president-elect of the Sports Lawyers Association. Mitten was selected to serve on the Court of Arbitration for Sport ad hoc Division for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Steve Nelson (BA, aviation management, 2013), airline captain, American Airlines. The captain who interviewed me for my first pilot job in 1978 was an alumnus of OSU, and he kept saying that it would be a shame if I didn’t finish my degree. Thirty-nine years after I started at OSU, I got my degree. I owe a huge amount of gratitude to my academic counselor Kris Wethington, who put all the pieces together in order for me to finish at the age of 57.

Barnett center Think Tank For years, generous donor Larry Barnett, an Ohio State alumnus and entertainment industry leader, dreamed of a place at the university where students could not only study and create art, but also master the business and entrepreneurial aspects of the arts. And that’s exactly what is taking shape at the Lawrence and Isabel Barnett Center for Integrated Arts and Enterprise. The center, which opened last year in the renovated Sullivant Hall and was funded by a gift from the Barnetts, is putting programs into place that make his dream a reality. “We’ve created graduate student think tanks where interdisciplinary groups of students work collaboratively on case studies to solve critical issues in the arts,” said Sonia Manjon, director. “The purpose is to look at specific issues artists are facing in the world, giving students the opportunity to be problem-solvers and to learn what arts entrepreneurship really means.” The first Think Tank included six students from arts policy, dance and the John Glenn School of Public Affairs. They embraced the challenge of creating an entrepreneurial operating structure for Sweet Honey in the Rock, the acclaimed 40-year-old performance ensemble rooted in African-American history and culture.

Alumni Notes

Helina Selemon (BS, microbiology, 2012) has been accepted into the Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York (CUNY). My science training at Ohio State has enhanced my critical thinking and refined my analytical skills. It shapes the way I look at our universe and our role in it. I want to create science programming for kids. Science can be fun and interesting to engage with at any age.

As part of the Barnett Center for Integrated Arts and Enterprise, graduate students are conducting a case study with acclaimed musical group Sweet Honey in the Rock (above) to create a more entrepreneurial business structure.

Through visioning sessions, interviews and collaboration, the group is helping Sweet Honey in the Rock identify and adopt a new business structure. “We want to examine how they are set up as a business, and what their business model is. We want to help them identify their vision, and how to realize it,” Manjon explained. Gretchen McIntosh, graduate student in arts policy and administration, said the Think Tank is a unique opportunity. “I immediately recognized the value of a collaboration like this,” she said. “The Sweet Honey in the Rock project is especially important because of the group’s history in activism, preservation and community building. As students, we benefit from studying their rich history to inform future success, and we’re offered an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the performing arts industry. For me, this case study offers the chance to hone my arts administration skills.” Manjon said the Think Tank will continue working with Sweet Honey in the Rock, helping them identify structural options and assisting with a transition plan and implementation. Additional Think Tanks are being established to work with other organizations, including the King Arts Complex in Columbus.

barnettcenter.osu.edu

Erwin Thal (BA, biological sciences, 1958), professor of surgery, UT Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas. My days at Ohio State have had a profound influence on my academic medical career. As senior manager of the 1957 National Champion Football Team, I learned the importance of teamwork and the value of education as espoused by Woody Hayes. Working in research labs gave me the motivation and necessary tools to pursue an academic career.

Cyndi Thomas (BA, military history, 1996), business strategy and transformation consultant. Little did I know that Ohio State’s military history department was among the best in the country. My professors (some of whom are still teaching) Guilmartin, Millet, Grimsley, were amazing. Go to a book store and you will see their names, turn on the History Channel and you will see their interviews. They are experts in their field, and in many cases, lived the history they taught.

Peter Van Buren (BA, photography and cinema, 1982), author, Ghosts of Tom Joad: A Story of the #99Percent, set in central Ohio. Van Buren also is the author of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People. A 24-year veteran Foreign Service officer at the State Department, Van Buren spent a year in Iraq leading two State Department Provincial Reconstruction Teams.

SCIENCE & SCHOLARSHIP In the arts and sciences, our faculty and their students focus on discovery, innovation and creating original works of art, research and scholarship that solve critical problems, expand human knowledge and inspire the world to see, think and create in new ways. Thirty-eight departments, schools and programs and 20 world-class research centers form a front line of multidisciplinary, collaborative partnerships forged to make a distinctive difference worldwide. Their work is recognized with top awards and honors and supported by major federal and state granting agencies, along with funding from business, industry and international organizations. $1.6M NIH GRANT FUNDS CRITICAL FACTORS IN INFANT LEARNING STUDY VLADIMIR SLOUTSKY, professor, psychology, and director of the Cognitive Development Lab, received a five-year, $1.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the development of categorization and category learning in infants and young children — critical components of human intelligence — work that will provide a window into how these important processes emerge and change in the course of development.

Unique NSF/NIH Grant Funds Work at Interface of Biological and Mathematical Sciences $3M+ NIH GRANT FUNDS INTERNATIONAL, CROSS-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH ON MEDICAL IMPLANTS Earth Sciences Professor STEVEN LOWER’S new five-year grant of just over $3 million dollars ($3,002,203) from the National Institutes of Health, along with two other recent grants, funds his innovative, decade-long, cross-disciplinary research on the potentially deadly blood infection caused by bacterial cells that attach to implanted cardiac devices. Affecting approximately 4 percent of the one million patients receiving implants each year, it adds up to thousands of surgeries and racks up more than $1 billion in health-care costs every year. Lower leads an international team that includes a medical researcher, biochemist, physician, computational chemist and geneticist; from Duke, Texas A&M, University of Florida, and universities in Brazil and Switzerland.

Helen Chamberlin, professor, molecular genetics; and Adriana Dawes, assistant professor, mathematics and molecular genetics; are co-PI’s on a new $1,280,030 NSF/NIH grant that funds “phenotype engineering by a signaling network modification.” They are exploring what goes wrong during cell division to cause cancer and ways to prevent it, work with possible future implications for personalized medicine.

NOTED PLANET HUNTER APPOINTED JPL DISTINGUISHED VISITING SCIENTIST In August, B. SCOTT GAUDI, professor, astronomy, began a twoyear appointment as Distinguished Visiting Scientist (DVS) at Cal Tech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). At JPL, one of NASA’s major research and mission development centers, more than

$2M NSF GRANT FUNDS NEW MATERIALS RESEARCH COLLABORATION The new, $2 million dollar project funded by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation will allow JOSHUA GOLDBERGER, assistant professor, chemistry and biochemistry, and his team, to look at ways to control and modulate the thermal conductance and thermoelectric properties of germanium and tin by manipulating the materials’ thermal properties on the atomic level. Other team members include JOSEPH HEREMANS, professor, mechanical and aerospace engineering; and physics.

5,000 scientists and engineers develop technologies and build missions enabling cutting-edge science in many areas. The DVS Program brings in leading scientists from around the country to enrich their program.

PHD STUDENT EXPLORES DATA SCIENCE FOR SOCIAL GOOD

JUNIOR NAMED 2014 BEINECKE SCHOLAR Last spring, junior honors student ABBY CARLOZZO, majoring in dance, minoring in French and arts entrepreneurship, was named a 2014 Beinecke Scholar. These scholarships, awarded annually to 20 college juniors around the country demonstrating intellectual ability, scholastic achievement and personal promise who are planning on graduate work in the arts, humanities or social sciences, provide $34,000 to support their graduate studies.

Statistics graduate student ANDREW LANDGRAF was one of 48 graduate students selected Fellows of the three-month Eric & Wendy Schmidt Data Science for Social Good Fellowship Summer Program at the University of Chicago. The internship-like program, designed for aspiring data scientists around the country, puts data mining, machine learning and big-data skills to work on projects that have social impact.

GRADUATE STUDENT TEAM WINS $100K DOE CLEAN ENERGY PRIZE KAir Battery LLC, founded by chemistry graduate students DAMIAN BEAUCHAMP, XIAODI REN and Professor YIYING WU, based on their potassium-air battery invention, took top prizes at last spring’s Rice Business Plan Competition in Texas, including DOE’s Clean Energy Prize of $100,000. The KAir team includes chemistry grad students MINGFU HU, XUANXUAN BI and ZHONGJIE HUANG and Fisher College grad student KATE FISHER.

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SCIENCE SUNDAYS AT OHIO STATE

2014–2015

SCIENCE SUNDAYS provides a forum to interest, engage and inform audiences of all ages about a wide range of current and emerging topics in science that touch our everyday lives. All events are free and open to the public.

UPCOMING TALKS NOV. 2, 2014

FEB. 8, 2015

James Sneyd

Joel Cohen

DEC. 7, 2014

MARCH 8, 2015

Martina Newell-McGloughlin

Fran Kalal

JAN. 11, 2015

APRIL 12, 2015

Clifford Will

Craig Mello

Mathematics and Music: the Beauties in Pattern

Genetically Modified Organisms: Debunking the Myths

Black Holes, Waves of Gravity & Other Warped Ideas of Dr. Einstein

The Human Population: Its Past and Its Prospects

Digital Tailoring, Grooming and Simulation in Pixar Films

A Worm’s Tale: Secrets of Evolution and Immortality

asc.osu.edu/science-sundays