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Peter R. Cavanagh, director of Penn State's Center
for Locomotion Studies (CELOS), will present the Pauline Schmitt Russell
Distinguished Research Career Lecture of the College of Health and Human
Development at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, in 101 Kern Graduate Center on
the University Park campus. His topic will be "Locomotion on Earth
and in Space: A Biomechanical Journey." The lecture is open to the
public and a reception will follow.
Cavanagh, who is distinguished professor of kinesiology, orthopedics and rehabilitation, medicine and biobehavioral health, is recognized for his extensive research in the mechanics of the foot and lower extremity in a variety of contexts. Principal among these are running mechanics and footwear, the foot in diabetes, falls in the elderly, and the loss of bone mineral during space flight. Cavanagh also was instrumental in the opening of two diabetes foot clinics, one in Centre County and one in Hershey.
In his multimedia presentation, Cavanagh will review some of the research he has conducted over the years. This will range from his earliest work on muscle mechanics and athletic footwear to the recent studies that he and his colleagues at CELOS have conducted on a zero-gravity treadmill to be used by NASA on the international space station.
Cavanagh received his Ph.D. in 1972 in Human Biomechanics from the University of London's Royal Free Medical School. He is the author of several books and more than 100 professional papers. His has numerous professional affiliations and is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and an honorary member of the American Foot and Ankle Orthopaedic Society.
He has served as president of the International Society of Biomechanics and the American Society of Biomechanics and is currently chair of the American Diabetes Association Council on Foot Care. He has received a number of honors and last year received the College of Health and Human Development's Pauline Schmitt Russell Distinguished Research Career Award which honors a senior faculty member who has made outstanding research contributions to the field across a major portion of his or her career.
John Belle, a founding partner in the New York City architectural firm Beyer, Blinder, Belle, will be the featured speaker at the Department of Architecture's Thursday Night Madness series at 8 p.m. on March 19, in 112 Walker Building, University Park. The lecture is a rescheduling of the lecture originally scheduled last semester.
Beyer, Blinder, Belle was named the American Institute of Architects' Firm of the Year for 1995. Belle has lectured extensively on urban design and historic preservation at colleges and universities around the world.
In 1997, Belle received the Metropolitan Historic Structure Association's Apple Award. He has overseen numerous restoration and adaptive reuse projects, including work on New York's Grand Central Terminal and the Ellis Island National Monument.
Belle's lecture, "What's New in Old New York: Reinventing the City for the 21st Century," will discuss redundant use of existing buildings in the 21st century. Participants will learn about creative new uses for historic sites in New York City and other large, urban areas in America.
Sponsored by the Department of Architecture, the Thursday Night Madness series is a weekly assembly where architecture professionals, academics and related individuals present lectures, critiques, films, discussions and reviews to students, faculty, staff and interested lay people. The lecture is free to the public.
Published and aspiring authors can learn how to keep up with the latest publishing trends, enhance their writing skills and turn their part-time writing into a full-time career at the second annual romance and fiction writing conference "A Passionate Journey: From Moonlighting to Full-Time Profession," March 28-29 at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, University Park.
This year's conference features some of today's best-selling romance and fiction writers, including Ginny Aiken, Millie Criswell, Rainy Kirkland and Stephanie Mittman. For the second year, Lock Haven native Sandra Hill, author of the soon-to-be-released novel The Last Viking, will be a presenter at the conference. The keynote speaker will be Merline Lovelace, a former U.S. Air Force officer turned romance writer who has more than 3 million books in print and a new series of mainstream military thrillers.
Throughout the conference, attendees will have the opportunity to hear successful writers and agents discuss topics ranging from plot development and screenplay adaptation, to what to do after the first book, creating a realistic criminal investigation and how to succeed in today's publishing market. Attendees also will have the chance to schedule appointments with literary agents and editors.
Individuals unable to attend the entire conference will have the opportunity to meet the authors at an autograph party Saturday, March 28, from 6:30- 8 p.m. at The Nittany Lion Inn.
For more information about program content or the autograph party, call Lisa Lyles, conference planner, at (814) 863-1738 or ConferenceInfo2@cde.psu.edu. For registration information or to request a brochure, call (800) PSU-TODAY (778-8632), or visit the Web at http://www.cde.psu.edu/C&I/PassionateJourney/.
The Penn State Shenango Future Executive Society will continue its Business Lecture Series on Friday, March 6, with guest speaker F. John Frangakis, president and chief executive officer of Reynolds Services in Greenville, who will discuss aspects of international business.
The Future Executive Society is a Penn State Shenango organization made up of traditional and non-traditional students interested in business and the local community. For more information, call (724) 983-2951.
Andrew Peacock, Australian ambassador to the United States, will offer a seminar on "Australia's Influence on the United States: General Propositions and Personal Experiences," at 3:45 p.m. Monday, March 16, in Eisenhower Chapel Lounge on the University Park campus.
Peacock was a member of the Australian Parliament for 28 years, for many years served as Australia's foreign minister and twice was Leader of the Opposition. For more information, call Patricia Corbett at (814) 863-1603 or contact by e-mail at pac9@psu.edu.
The seminar, sponsored by Penn State's Australia-New Zealand Studies Center, is free.
An interactive panel discussion on humor will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in the Multipurpose Room, Multipurpose Activities Center at Penn State Mont Alto. Five panel members will discuss the importance of humor and the effect it has on our lives.
Jerry Zolten, a retired stand-up comedian who now teaches communication at Penn State Altoona, will discuss the importance of humor throughout one's life. The Rev. Joe Carolin, South Mountain Restoration Center chaplain, will explore the spiritual side of humor. George Payette, retired director of academic affairs, Penn State Mont Alto, will review humor in everyday situations and circumstances. Alice Royer, instructor of women's studies and English, Penn State Mont Alto, will discuss women's translation of humor. The panel will be facilitated by James Hamilton, assistant professor of speech communication, Penn State Mont Alto.
All Penn State Mont Alto theme programs are free to the public. For information on this event, call Alice Royer at (717) 749-6234.
Cambodian holocaust survivor and New York Times photojournalist Dith Pran will speak at Penn State Worthington Scranton at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 24. Pran's wartime life was portrayed in the award-winning movie "The Killing Fields." Sponsored by the campus Public Affairs Club, the lecture is free. For more information, call (717) 963-2700.
The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the Susquehanna Valley Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience will participate in the national observation of Brain Awareness Week, March 13-20, by offering several free programs and lectures to the community.
The goal of Brain Awareness Week is to notify the community of research progress that may help the 50 million Americans who have permanent, neurological disabilities limiting their daily activities.
Activities planned for the week include:
* Friday, March 13, 1-2 p.m.: Joan Lakoski, associate professor of pharmacology; James Connor, professor of neuroscience and anatomy; and Louise Hitchcock, CEO, Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association, South Central PA Chapter, on "Aging, Memory and Alzheimer's Disease." This lecture will be held in the Mohler Senior Center on Cherry Drive in Hershey. The public may attend.
* Wednesday, March 18, 12-1 p.m.: Robert Vannucci, professor of pediatrics, on "Perinatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Damage," in the hospital auditorium.
* Friday, March 20, 12-1 p.m.: Ellen Hess, assistant professor of neuroscience and anatomy; James Connor, professor of neuroscience and anatomy; Robert J. Milner, professor and chair of neuroscience and anatomy; and Joan Lakoski, associate professor of pharmacology, on "Current Events in Brain Research: From Genes to Alzheimer's Disease." The location for the lecture is the Program at Harrisburg Centers, Penn State University, 234 North Third Street. The public may attend.
* Friday, March 20, 9:30 a.m.-1:25 p.m.: Khristy Manges-Thompson, Brandy Fureman, Stanley Hulet and Robert Wheeler, graduate assistants in the neuroscience program, for a hands-on demonstration of brain function and structure at the Hershey Middle School.
For additional information concerning Brain Awareness Week or the scheduled lectures, please contact Linda Flickinger at (717) 531-8650.
This abstract snow sculpture was built outside Irvin Hall
on the University Park campus Feb. 24, when
the area received a foot of wet snow. The artwork didn't last long, though
-- temperatures rose into the 50s
the next day, and by the end of the week much of the snow had melted.
Photo: Greg Grieco
A youth swim program for children ages 4-11 will be offered by the American Red Cross at the McCoy Natatorium on the University Park campus from March 16 through April 9 on various days and at various times for all skill levels. Cost is $60 per person. For information contact Nancy Graham at the Natatorium at (814) 865-1432. To register, contact Kris Catalano from continuing education at (814) 863-0685.
Charles Bierbauer, the senior Washington correspondent for CNN, and David Jones, the former assistant managing editor of The New York Times, will join President Graham B. Spanier as phone guests to discuss the impact of the media on American life on the next edition of "To the Best of My Knowledge," airing 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, on WPSU-FM (90.1, 91.5 & 106.7).
Many accuse both print and broadcast journalists of abandoning "serious" news in favor of celebrity gossip, exposes and sensationalistic murder trials. Others complain that reporters have made people fearful of running for elective office because it will attract media attention to their past lives.
Offering an academic's perspective on these issues will be Robert D. Richards, professor-in-charge of the journalism program at Penn State, who will be Spanier's studio guest on the upcoming broadcast. Listeners with concerns about the kind of news they are getting are encouraged to join Spanier and his guests by calling (800) 543-8242 during the one-hour broadcast. Internet users worldwide will be able to link to sound and pictures from the program at www.psu.edu/ur/tech/tech.html; and they will be able to contact the president during the program via e-mail to response@psu.edu.
"To the Best of My Knowledge" is a series designed to explore topics of local and national concern and to allow listeners a chance to communicate directly with Penn State's president.
If you or your child suffer from a chronic cough, especially at night, difficulty breathing, instances where your chest starts to get tight or hurts, wheezing or breathing faster than normal, you may have undiagnosed asthma. Although asthma is not curable, its symptoms can be controlled. In an effort to help reduce asthma deaths and hospitalizations among children and adults in southcentral Pennsylvania, Penn State Geisinger, The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and The American Lung Association are sponsoring a free asthma screening clinic on Saturday, March 21, from 8:30 a.m.-noon at the Hamilton Health Center, 1650 Walnut Street, Harrisburg.
The screening will include a pulmonary function test as well as the opportunity to meet with a physician to learn more about how to control asthma. Appointments should be made by calling the American Lung Association at (717) 541-LUNG (541-5864). Appointments will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.
College and University students, alumni and employers are invited to attend the eighth annual Pennsylvania Career Day on Thursday, April 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in The Bryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus.
Students and alumni from all Penn State locations will have the opportunity to meet representatives from 150 companies and organizations. A diverse group of employers, including local health care facilities, state government agencies, educational institutions, retailers, manufacturers, businesses and non-profit agencies will participate.
Employers will be accepting resumes for both current and projected openings; conducting on-site interviews for full-time and part-time positions, internships, co-ops and summer employment; and providing information about employment opportunities within specific career fields. Students and alumni from all academic disciplines and all degree levels are encouraged to participate. Attendees should dress professionally and bring several copies of their resume.
Pennsylvania Career Day is coordinated by Penn State's Career Development and Placement Services.
To combat the fear and isolation that can accompany any type of illness, The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center offers support groups for many different situations and experiences its patients and families encounter. If you or a family member are interested in joining a support group, or obtaining information about the various groups at the medical center, contact Glenda Trumpower at (717) 531-6317.
Most lab tests of iron status are affected by presence of infection and/or inflammation. Recently, a new lab test called transferrin receptor was developed and shown to be a more specific and sensitive test for diagnosing iron deficiency. This lab test is not affected by either infection or inflammation. The transferrin receptor is especially important in detecting iron deficiency in the elderly population, where iron status assessment is often confounded by the presence of inflammatory disease. However, certain identifying aspects for iron deficiency in the elderly are not known and a nutrition department study, being conducted by Naman Ahluwalia and Gordon Handte, clinical director, University Health Services, is under way to help determine some of these identifiers. Researchers are recruiting subjects 20-40 years old and 60-80 years old. If you or someone you know is iron deficient or has recently been prescribed to take iron pills, please share this information with them for potential participation. Should you choose to participate, your involvement will include:
-- providing a brief medical history;
-- keeping a detailed record of what you eat and drink for three days; and
-- providing a blood sample (one tablespoon) Ritenour Health Clinic, University Park.
Participants will receive free cholesterol screening and results on other lab tests of general iron health; a diet analysis for adequacy of iron and other nutrients; and $15.
Anyone interested should contact Cindy or Deanna at (814) 865-2786. All information is confidential.
