On April 10, 2008, Popular Mechanics and the National Science Foundation will present "Bridges to the Future: A vision for infrastructure in the 21st century," a webcast discussion exploring the best ideas for improving American infrastructure and building a better, safer future.
The sessions are call-in programs, with conversation driven by the questions that come in live from decision-makers, the research community and the public.
A downloadable flier is available here.
For more information, visit www.nsf.gov/bridges.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Southern Growth Policy Board: Bioenergy in the South Working Groups
In July 2007, a meeting of over 50 bioenergy researchers took place at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to discuss how to connect the work being done in bioenergy across the South. The first step in connecting researchers has been the development of subject-specific working groups.
Information about the working groups and host institutions may be downloaded at http://wvepscor.org/library/files/Working_Groups_Description.pdf.
Each group’s host will direct participation in the working groups. Some may choose to function in a completely virtual environment and others may find face-to-face meetings more appropriate.
All working groups will meet for a one-day meeting in September 2008 to discuss findings and future steps.
For information about participating in one of these working groups, contact cpennock@southern.org or (919) 941-5145 by April 11.
Charity Pennock
Senior Policy Analyst
Southern Growth Policies Board
Project Coordinator, SAFER
(919) 941-5145
cpennock@southern.org
www.southern.org
www.saferalliance.net
Information about the working groups and host institutions may be downloaded at http://wvepscor.org/library/files/Working_Groups_Description.pdf.
Each group’s host will direct participation in the working groups. Some may choose to function in a completely virtual environment and others may find face-to-face meetings more appropriate.
All working groups will meet for a one-day meeting in September 2008 to discuss findings and future steps.
For information about participating in one of these working groups, contact cpennock@southern.org or (919) 941-5145 by April 11.
Charity Pennock
Senior Policy Analyst
Southern Growth Policies Board
Project Coordinator, SAFER
(919) 941-5145
cpennock@southern.org
www.southern.org
www.saferalliance.net
Thursday, March 27, 2008
WV Department of Education: West Virginia's Use of School Technology at the Top of the Class
West Virginia’s school technology policies and implementation strategies are among the best in the nation according to Technology Counts 2008: STEM, The Push to Improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The state received an overall score of 95.3 on the report, which ranks West Virginia at the top of the class for its use of technology.
For the rest of the article, visit http://wvde.state.wv.us/news/1641/.
For the rest of the article, visit http://wvde.state.wv.us/news/1641/.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
DoD to Award $15.7 Million for Science and Engineering Research
The Department of Defense announced today plans to award $15.7 million to 24 academic institutions in 18 states to perform research in science and engineering, under the fiscal 2008 Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR).
The Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research solicited proposals using a defense-wide broad agency announcement. The announcement was published on the Internet and accessed by the DEPSCoR state committees, which solicited and selected projects for each state's proposal.
Academic researchers in Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming were eligible to receive awards under this competition.
All awards are subject to the successful completion of negotiations between DoD and the academic institutions.
The list of projects selected for fiscal 2008 DEPSCoR funding can be found on the Web at: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2008/d20080326depscor.xls .
The Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research solicited proposals using a defense-wide broad agency announcement. The announcement was published on the Internet and accessed by the DEPSCoR state committees, which solicited and selected projects for each state's proposal.
Academic researchers in Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming were eligible to receive awards under this competition.
All awards are subject to the successful completion of negotiations between DoD and the academic institutions.
The list of projects selected for fiscal 2008 DEPSCoR funding can be found on the Web at: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2008/d20080326depscor.xls .
University leaders release report on impact of flat NIH funding on young scientists
On March 11, 2008, a group of seven concerned academic research institutions released a new report—A Broken Pipeline? Flat Funding of the NIH Puts a Generation of Science at Risk—warning that America stands to lose a generation of young researchers and the cures they could discover if current NIH funding trends continue. The report features the voices of 12 junior researchers from institutions across the country who, despite their exceptional qualifications and noteworthy research, attest to the funding difficulties they and their peers are experiencing. Such difficulties, they say, are negatively impacting their work as well as science in general, and are causing many young scientists to abandon academic research.
For more information and the complete report, visit http://www.brokenpipeline.org/.
For more information and the complete report, visit http://www.brokenpipeline.org/.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday Gazette-Mail: Researchers growing tomatoes by the thousands
This article originally appeared in the March 23, 2008, edition of the Sunday Gazette-Mail.
By Sara Busse
Dr. Barbara Liedl likes her tomatoes tart. A bit acidic. And as she's growing dozens of varieties in the name of science, trying to find the best ones for the public, she invites others to taste tests to make sure they will please a variety of palates. I was happy to help out.
I visited Liedl at her greenhouse at West Virginia State University, where she's a researcher with the Agricultural, Consumer, Environmental, and Outreach Programs of the Gus R. Douglass Land-Grant Institute.
One of her specialties is breeding greenhouse tomatoes. "A niche market within the tomato field but growing like gangbusters," she tells me. While most of us just put a plant into the ground or in a pot on the deck, Liedl works on a much larger scale.
"We do a lot of the work in a hydroponic setup, but it could also work with tomatoes in pots or in the ground," Liedl explains. "The big difference is the environment. In a greenhouse or high tunnel, the temperatures and humidity can be higher. Also the plants are in that situation longer than tomatoes grown in the field (in a hydroponic greenhouse like Gritt's Midway they will have the tomatoes in the greenhouse for six to nine months). Since the environment is so different, you need plants that are suited for that environment versus a field."
Human hands originally did the breeding, with workers gathering pollen using electric toothbrushes. Now, she orders bumblebees from Belgium every couple of weeks. There's another helper - Bling, the rescue cat. He's in charge of keeping out mice and voles and other pests.
"I am always looking to keep as much of my work as possible sustainable. For instance, this spring we are going to try out a new media for hydroponic substrate: parboiled rice hulls, which can be composted after use. If that works, we will be using it in all of our hydroponic work," she explains.
"We are not certified organic. And as a research location with several people using the greenhouses and field plots, it isn't in our best interest to be certified. So instead I contract out with farmers across the state to do any organic trials I need," she said.
Now she's using a grant to breed disease- and pest-resistance into heirloom tomatoes, and she's working with researchers from Ohio State, University of Minnesota and North Carolina State University on grafting tomatoes for use in organic and high tunnel research.
I asked Liedl to give some advice to us plain home gardeners. First, I asked if she had heard of the "old farmer's tale" of planting tomato plants with the lowest section of leaves buried to form better roots.
"That's not actually an old tale," she replied, "but one I have often had to do in the field. If my transplants are too leggy, I plant them deep, but I strip off the leaves below ground as they will just rot and lead to more problems. If they would need to be planted really deep, you can also plant them horizontally."
She suggested a Web site from her alma mater, Purdue University, about planting leggy tomatoes: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/leggy_tomatoes.htmlleggy_tomatoes.html.
Now, for the big question that I ask every tomato grower I meet: What species does she recommend?
"Recommendations are tough. Everyone has their own idea about what tomato tastes best. What I like personally is something with a little bit more acidy bite than the typical American palate, so I am careful when I taste tomatoes for my breeding program to have at least one other person around when I am selecting to make sure I am not biasing the selection." That's where I came in.
Liedl's two awesome assistants, Kristen Wilfong and Melissa Smith, have already chosen tomatoes to be tasted. They are marked with a Sharpie so they know which plant produced the beauties. They then measure them for size. They check the color using an expensive meter. They take a reading that measures soluble sugar. Then, they slice. (I love this greenhouse - three of its most important tools are a knife, a cutting board and a box of unsalted crackers!)
I tasted several tomatoes that were quite good. One called First Prize was aptly named, as it was great.
I never thought I could hate a tomato. But, being brave, I taste-tested one even after I saw Liedl grimace after her bite. It was awful!
The tomatoes I tasted were greenhouse wonders and most of us don't grow them like Liedl does.
So, I still wanted to know which ones I should put in my little home plot. Liedl admits she doesn't grow any tomatoes at home. Check out the list with some favorites of Liedl's staff from the past few years of working in the greenhouse and in the field.
Tomato suggestions from the experts
These tomatoes are favorites of Dr. Barbara Liedl's staff from the past several years. They are suitable for growing outdoors, not just in a greenhouse setting.
Large, red: Delicious, Terrific, Jetsetter. The staff also like greenhouse tomato lines Cabernet and Caruso, which may not be adapted to field conditions.
Large, orange: Orange King was one tried for the Organic Seed Partnership last summer and was a big hit.
Saladette or large grape: The staff loved Juliet Hybrid in the field last summer.
Heirlooms: Lots of people say Brandywine is the best. The staff hasn't been impressed with Brandywine. However, some of the hybrids grown last year with it were the best of that bunch, so the staff is continuing on with it. Liedl recommends the book by Carolyn J. Male, Smith & Hawken: "100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden."
Various colors: The staff hasn't found a yellow tomato it all likes, but not many were tried. The staff has also had bad luck with the "purple" tomatoes, Cherokee Purple and Prudens Purple.
Sara Busse is a Charleston resident and master gardener.
By Sara Busse
Dr. Barbara Liedl likes her tomatoes tart. A bit acidic. And as she's growing dozens of varieties in the name of science, trying to find the best ones for the public, she invites others to taste tests to make sure they will please a variety of palates. I was happy to help out.
I visited Liedl at her greenhouse at West Virginia State University, where she's a researcher with the Agricultural, Consumer, Environmental, and Outreach Programs of the Gus R. Douglass Land-Grant Institute.
One of her specialties is breeding greenhouse tomatoes. "A niche market within the tomato field but growing like gangbusters," she tells me. While most of us just put a plant into the ground or in a pot on the deck, Liedl works on a much larger scale.
"We do a lot of the work in a hydroponic setup, but it could also work with tomatoes in pots or in the ground," Liedl explains. "The big difference is the environment. In a greenhouse or high tunnel, the temperatures and humidity can be higher. Also the plants are in that situation longer than tomatoes grown in the field (in a hydroponic greenhouse like Gritt's Midway they will have the tomatoes in the greenhouse for six to nine months). Since the environment is so different, you need plants that are suited for that environment versus a field."
Human hands originally did the breeding, with workers gathering pollen using electric toothbrushes. Now, she orders bumblebees from Belgium every couple of weeks. There's another helper - Bling, the rescue cat. He's in charge of keeping out mice and voles and other pests.
"I am always looking to keep as much of my work as possible sustainable. For instance, this spring we are going to try out a new media for hydroponic substrate: parboiled rice hulls, which can be composted after use. If that works, we will be using it in all of our hydroponic work," she explains.
"We are not certified organic. And as a research location with several people using the greenhouses and field plots, it isn't in our best interest to be certified. So instead I contract out with farmers across the state to do any organic trials I need," she said.
Now she's using a grant to breed disease- and pest-resistance into heirloom tomatoes, and she's working with researchers from Ohio State, University of Minnesota and North Carolina State University on grafting tomatoes for use in organic and high tunnel research.
I asked Liedl to give some advice to us plain home gardeners. First, I asked if she had heard of the "old farmer's tale" of planting tomato plants with the lowest section of leaves buried to form better roots.
"That's not actually an old tale," she replied, "but one I have often had to do in the field. If my transplants are too leggy, I plant them deep, but I strip off the leaves below ground as they will just rot and lead to more problems. If they would need to be planted really deep, you can also plant them horizontally."
She suggested a Web site from her alma mater, Purdue University, about planting leggy tomatoes: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/leggy_tomatoes.htmlleggy_tomatoes.html.
Now, for the big question that I ask every tomato grower I meet: What species does she recommend?
"Recommendations are tough. Everyone has their own idea about what tomato tastes best. What I like personally is something with a little bit more acidy bite than the typical American palate, so I am careful when I taste tomatoes for my breeding program to have at least one other person around when I am selecting to make sure I am not biasing the selection." That's where I came in.
Liedl's two awesome assistants, Kristen Wilfong and Melissa Smith, have already chosen tomatoes to be tasted. They are marked with a Sharpie so they know which plant produced the beauties. They then measure them for size. They check the color using an expensive meter. They take a reading that measures soluble sugar. Then, they slice. (I love this greenhouse - three of its most important tools are a knife, a cutting board and a box of unsalted crackers!)
I tasted several tomatoes that were quite good. One called First Prize was aptly named, as it was great.
I never thought I could hate a tomato. But, being brave, I taste-tested one even after I saw Liedl grimace after her bite. It was awful!
The tomatoes I tasted were greenhouse wonders and most of us don't grow them like Liedl does.
So, I still wanted to know which ones I should put in my little home plot. Liedl admits she doesn't grow any tomatoes at home. Check out the list with some favorites of Liedl's staff from the past few years of working in the greenhouse and in the field.
Tomato suggestions from the experts
These tomatoes are favorites of Dr. Barbara Liedl's staff from the past several years. They are suitable for growing outdoors, not just in a greenhouse setting.
Large, red: Delicious, Terrific, Jetsetter. The staff also like greenhouse tomato lines Cabernet and Caruso, which may not be adapted to field conditions.
Large, orange: Orange King was one tried for the Organic Seed Partnership last summer and was a big hit.
Saladette or large grape: The staff loved Juliet Hybrid in the field last summer.
Heirlooms: Lots of people say Brandywine is the best. The staff hasn't been impressed with Brandywine. However, some of the hybrids grown last year with it were the best of that bunch, so the staff is continuing on with it. Liedl recommends the book by Carolyn J. Male, Smith & Hawken: "100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden."
Various colors: The staff hasn't found a yellow tomato it all likes, but not many were tried. The staff has also had bad luck with the "purple" tomatoes, Cherokee Purple and Prudens Purple.
Sara Busse is a Charleston resident and master gardener.
Sunday Gazette-Mail: Rockefeller scientists to join forces at new facility
This article orginally appeared in the March 23, 2008, edition of the Sunday Gazette-Mail.
By Veronica Nett
Staff writer
Scientists and researchers of the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute are coming home to Morgantown.
Two groups of 10 scientists and researchers affiliated with the neurosciences institute are scheduled to relocate to its new $32 million research facility on West Virginia University's health sciences campus this summer.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., founded the neurosciences institute in 1999 in honor of his mother, Blanchette, who died in 1992 of Alzheimer's. It is the only nonprofit facility in the nation solely dedicated to the study of both human memory and diseases of memory.
Since 2000, the two groups of scientists affiliated with it have been working in separate labs at WVU and Johns Hopkins University in Rockville, Md.
Their new three-story, 78,000-square-foot facility includes more than 20,000 square feet of lab and office space, state-of-the-art open laboratories with 10 feet of counter space for each scientist, a darkroom, specialty labs for microscopy and electrophysiology, and a two-story commons area and a terrace with expansive views of Morgantown.
In all, the building will provide enough space to house up to 100 scientists.
Architects designed the building to provide research teams with every available comfort while in laboratories or offices, said Mark Cochran, executive director and chief executive of the institute.
"Laboratories that are really successful keep their scientists in the lab," he said.
The institute's mission is to accelerate the process of applying neurological discoveries - including diagnostic tools and treatments - to patients, Cochran said.
"Once you connect the dots from the benches to the bedside, that's good science," he said.
West Virginia provides the perfect setting for this to happen, Cochran said, since it has the oldest and most stable population in the nation, he said.
"It's a perfect laboratory to study diseases of aging, particularly of memory and Alzheimer's, and we have the excellent resources from WVU right at our fingertips," Cochran said.
The state's stable population allows researches to follow family lines easily and trace the history of a disease, he said. "We're taking something that is generally seen as a negative stereotype and turning it into something positive."
There are about 47,000 West Virginians suffering from Alzheimer's in the state, and that number is expected to jump to 50,000 within the next 10 years, Cochran said.
Researchers will also bring to WVU several new patents and approaches to Alzheimer's treatment, particularly the use of bryostatin, a drug developed for cancer patients. Other study areas include a new way to bypass the brain's protective barriers safely for delivering test substances directly to the brain.
Cochran said the institute has about 80 pending patents all over the world.
His goal, Cochran said, is to bring in scientists who have already secured research grants. In exchange for bringing their research to Morgantown, the institute will pay for half of their grant and provide lab space designed for the research team's needs, he said.
By doing this, the institute will ensure it is bringing in the best of the best, Cochran said. The institute will also get a percentage from the sale of patents and other research developments made at the institution, he said.
The building is about 85 percent complete, and about half of it will remain unfinished for outside research teams, he said.
Opening ceremonies are scheduled for Sept. 19.
Cochran said so far he has raised about half of the money needed to get the facility up and running. Last year, the institute spent about $6 million, this year it will spend another $7.5 million and next year it is projected it will cost about $8 million, he said.
"Research is not cheap, but to me it is all an investment," Cochran said. "My hope is to get half of my money from grants, 25 percent from patents and 25 percent from donations."
To keep going, he said, he estimates that the institution will need to pull in about $2.5 million in donations alone every year.
Cochran accepted the position of CEO of the institute in 2006. He brings with him extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, venture capitalism and as a scientist.
WVU has committed $10 million to the institute, which also got a $19.6 million federal grant obtained with the assistance of Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., and $10 million in West Virginia state economic development funds.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony in September, the institute will also unveil a U.S. Postal Service Alzheimer's awareness stamp, made to honor the caregivers who work with those who suffer from Alzheimer's.
By Veronica Nett
Staff writer
Scientists and researchers of the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute are coming home to Morgantown.
Two groups of 10 scientists and researchers affiliated with the neurosciences institute are scheduled to relocate to its new $32 million research facility on West Virginia University's health sciences campus this summer.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., founded the neurosciences institute in 1999 in honor of his mother, Blanchette, who died in 1992 of Alzheimer's. It is the only nonprofit facility in the nation solely dedicated to the study of both human memory and diseases of memory.
Since 2000, the two groups of scientists affiliated with it have been working in separate labs at WVU and Johns Hopkins University in Rockville, Md.
Their new three-story, 78,000-square-foot facility includes more than 20,000 square feet of lab and office space, state-of-the-art open laboratories with 10 feet of counter space for each scientist, a darkroom, specialty labs for microscopy and electrophysiology, and a two-story commons area and a terrace with expansive views of Morgantown.
In all, the building will provide enough space to house up to 100 scientists.
Architects designed the building to provide research teams with every available comfort while in laboratories or offices, said Mark Cochran, executive director and chief executive of the institute.
"Laboratories that are really successful keep their scientists in the lab," he said.
The institute's mission is to accelerate the process of applying neurological discoveries - including diagnostic tools and treatments - to patients, Cochran said.
"Once you connect the dots from the benches to the bedside, that's good science," he said.
West Virginia provides the perfect setting for this to happen, Cochran said, since it has the oldest and most stable population in the nation, he said.
"It's a perfect laboratory to study diseases of aging, particularly of memory and Alzheimer's, and we have the excellent resources from WVU right at our fingertips," Cochran said.
The state's stable population allows researches to follow family lines easily and trace the history of a disease, he said. "We're taking something that is generally seen as a negative stereotype and turning it into something positive."
There are about 47,000 West Virginians suffering from Alzheimer's in the state, and that number is expected to jump to 50,000 within the next 10 years, Cochran said.
Researchers will also bring to WVU several new patents and approaches to Alzheimer's treatment, particularly the use of bryostatin, a drug developed for cancer patients. Other study areas include a new way to bypass the brain's protective barriers safely for delivering test substances directly to the brain.
Cochran said the institute has about 80 pending patents all over the world.
His goal, Cochran said, is to bring in scientists who have already secured research grants. In exchange for bringing their research to Morgantown, the institute will pay for half of their grant and provide lab space designed for the research team's needs, he said.
By doing this, the institute will ensure it is bringing in the best of the best, Cochran said. The institute will also get a percentage from the sale of patents and other research developments made at the institution, he said.
The building is about 85 percent complete, and about half of it will remain unfinished for outside research teams, he said.
Opening ceremonies are scheduled for Sept. 19.
Cochran said so far he has raised about half of the money needed to get the facility up and running. Last year, the institute spent about $6 million, this year it will spend another $7.5 million and next year it is projected it will cost about $8 million, he said.
"Research is not cheap, but to me it is all an investment," Cochran said. "My hope is to get half of my money from grants, 25 percent from patents and 25 percent from donations."
To keep going, he said, he estimates that the institution will need to pull in about $2.5 million in donations alone every year.
Cochran accepted the position of CEO of the institute in 2006. He brings with him extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, venture capitalism and as a scientist.
WVU has committed $10 million to the institute, which also got a $19.6 million federal grant obtained with the assistance of Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., and $10 million in West Virginia state economic development funds.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony in September, the institute will also unveil a U.S. Postal Service Alzheimer's awareness stamp, made to honor the caregivers who work with those who suffer from Alzheimer's.
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