Archive for May, 2009
Today’s News from the Duck Beat
This isn’t about the alumni center ducks, but it’s so sweet I had to share. It’s a news story about a banker in Spokane who helped rescue a family of ducklings—the ducklings’ parents had built the nest on a building ledge in center city, which as you can imagine posed some challenges to the ducklings.
Seems like stories like this float around the Internet every year. But this one looks to be new, and be sure to watch the video—it’s only a minute long, and it will make you smile.
Tina Hay, editor
Renewable Energy: Solar, Wind, and… Gas?
From the always interesting Wired magazine blog comes news of a Penn State researcher’s innovative approach to solving a major problem of renewable energy: storage. Dr. Bruce E. Logan, the Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering, is leading research into bioenergy production, specifically into the idea of bacteria producing storable energy that can be converted into electricity. In case I haven’t made clear why this is interesting, I’ll let the folks at Wired explain:
How can tiny bug farts solve our energy problems? It turns out that when a large collection of single celled organisms (known as a culture) containing mainly Methanobacterium palustre live on the positive electrode of a battery, they use the plentiful supply of electrons to convert carbon dioxide into methane. The methane produced can be collected and stored and when further juice is required by the grid, it can be burned to produce electricity… Who would have thought the collective breaking of wind of billions of bugs could be so useful?
Turns out the idea of microbial energy generation isn’t exactly new — Logan’s work with fuel cells was written up in Wired five years ago — but this latest research is all the more reason to be hopeful about a tiny solution to a huge problem.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
Getting Ready For “The Great Show”
From the “it’s never too early” department: The marketing folks on the other side of campus are already ramping up the hype for the 2009 home football schedule. In addition to annual events like Homecoming and the White Out (or White House, apparently), we’ve now got theme games like ”Classic Day” and “Favorite Jersey Day.” Not sure if traditionalists will see the need for such things, but new- and old-school fans alike should appreciate the visual below.
If I did my math right, kick-off is only 110 days away.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
A Penn Stater Blogging for Newsweek
Newsweek magazine just launched a new blog called “The Human Condition,” and the main author of the blog is none other than Kate Dailey ’02, a former Lion Ambassador and former associate editor at Women’s Health and Men’s Health magazines.
There’s new content on the blog every weekday, and most of it (so far, anyway) is written by Kate. She explains the subject matter this way: “Our tag is ‘Mind. Body. Culture’ and, though the content so far has been very health/nutrition driven, we plan to cover a wide variety of topics relating to medicine, psychology, sociology, anthropology, gender, etc.—all the ‘people sciences.’”
Sample entries so far have ranged from “The Five Worst Gym Machines: Top Trainers Tell What Doesn’t Work” to “Surviving a Layoff: You Kept Your Job. Now Keep Sane” to “OMG! Grey’s Anatomy Finale Mystery SOLVED!”
I asked Kate how she got such a cool gig, and she said it goes back to a summer internship she did at Newsweek while a grad student in journalism at Columbia University. “I was reluctant about being an intern,” she says. “I had been running a section of the magazine at Women’s Health, and here I was working with kids 10 years younger than I was, while doing a lot of entry-level work. But I knew the opportunity would help my career in the long run.” A few months later, when she saw a posting for the Newsweek blogging job, she was able to use her contacts to get a foot in the door with the hiring manager of the blog.
“She asked me to do some sample blogging, and after our interview I harassed her almost every day via e-mail with more ideas that we could run on the blog and suggestions of how to shape and market it,” Kate says. “My persistence paid off.
“I feel very lucky to get a job in this economic climate, and even luckier that it’s this job.”
Tina Hay, editor
Some Cool Commencement Speakers
I bet Helen Thomas has some good stories. And the students graduating from Penn State Lehigh Valley this weekend will get to hear a few of them: The longtime White House reporter is that campus’ commencement speaker this year. Quite a coup for that campus, I’d say.
It’s graduation weekend throughout the Penn State system, and in looking at the roster of speakers, there were several besides Helen Thomas who caught my eye:
—Physicians Vance ’94 and Vince Moss ’94 will speak at the Eberly College of Science ceremony.
—Penn State Brandywine will have Joanne Finegan ’83, CEO of a brain-injury rehab center in Paoli, Pa., called ReMed Recovery Care Center.
—Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is speaking at the College of Medicine graduation.
—Penn State Harrisburg’s ceremony will have our own David Han ’88, ’05g, a vascular surgeon at Penn State Hershey and president of the Alumni Association.
—Jennifer Hopkins ’84, president of the Sustainable Energy Fund, will speak to the Penn State Hazleton grads.
—Shelly Lazarus, chair of the giant advertising/PR firm Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, will speak at the Smeal College of Business graduation (and receive an honorary degree).
—Worthington Scranton will have Richard Fitzsimmons, who has been librarian at that campus since the day it opened 40 years ago. I bet he has some stories to tell, too.
I remember graduating in an August commencement ceremony in Rec Hall, and I think our speaker was John Oswald, who was just finishing up as Penn State president. I say “I think” because whoever it was, it wasn’t a memorable speech.
Do you remember who spoke at your Commencement?
Tina Hay, editor
A Foggy Morning at Penn State
It was foggy here this morning (still is, actually), and as I drove down College Avenue, I wondered how Old Main would look in fog and whether it would be worth a photo. I looked to the right as I passed, and—well, it was so foggy you couldn’t even see Old Main. So much for that idea.
But the elms along the Allen Street Mall were looking good, as you can see:
And so was the pond outside the alumni center:
Click on either photo to see it bigger, in a new window.
Tina Hay, editor
Getting on Track with Erin Strout
When she’s not writing for The Penn Stater, freelance writer Erin Strout ’97 Com writes for publications like Runner’s World. A marathoner and triathlete, Strout brings hard-earned expertise to her work for the venerable magazine. Her latest piece, which appears in RW’s June issue, explains how working out at the local high school track can be a great way for even seasoned runners to focus their training and improve their times. No matter how fast you are (or want to get), it’s great practical advice.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
The Family That Graduates Together…
Well, this is pretty great: On Saturday, when Ira Lerner picks up the bachelor’s degree he earned at Penn State Lehigh Valley through the University’s OLEAD adult learner’s program, he’ll share the stage with his son, Edward. Both father and son are graduating this weekend, and Edward, a physics major at University Park, decided to walk at Lehigh Valley so he and his dad can share the moment. Aside from simplifying the family’s weekend plans — Ira and Edward would have had to miss each other’s commencement ceremonies on Saturday — this figures to be a moment folks in the Lerner household remember for a long time.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
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