LLC Newsletter
June 2nd, 2006
This Month in Research Update:
- Competition Update
- University submits proposal response
- Events
- University highlights Argonne at Chicago Technology Forum
- University June Event Highlights
- OVPRANL News
- University to honor 10 employees and 4 children of employees
- University startup Midway Pharmaceuticals, Inc. receives $500K in funding
- More women to benefit from earlier breast cancer detection made possible by University technology
- Research at Chicago releases 5 new videos
- Research in the News
- University paleontologist Neil Shubin named Provost of Field Museum
- Five University of Chicago scholars elected to prestigious academies
- Women attracted to men when they see interest in children reflected in their faces
Competition Update
University submits proposal response
Culminating 15 months of work, The University of Chicago submitted a bookshelf-long proposal for the management of Argonne National Laboratory to the DOE Chicago Office at 1:39 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31. Preparations for the Oral Exam commenced at 3:00 p.m.. The proposal was submitted by Tom Rosenbaum, Vice President for Research and for National Laboratories, and Bob Rosner, Argonne Laboratory Director , on behalf of the University and its industrial partners Jacobs Engineering and BWXT.
Events
University highlights Argonne at Chicago Technology Forum
In celebration of Argonne’s 60th anniversary, the University hosted a special Chicago Technology Forum on May 24 dedicated to Argonne and its contributions to industry and the nation’s economy. Bob Rosner discussed Argonne ’s plans for advancing science and technology. Laboratory and corporate representatives also provided insights on how corporations have successfully partnered with the Lab.
“Our nation’s growth is known to depend heavily on R&D,” said Rosner. “Invention translates to market dominance over time: if you patent it, you can dominate.” National laboratories like Argonne are filling the gap left by U.S. industry that is increasingly focused on short-term results. In contrast, national laboratories take a longer view, conducting use-inspired basic research that has the potential for, and has proven, enormous return on investment.
In the latter half of the program, laboratory representatives Denny Mills, Deputy Associate Laboratory Director, and Don Hillebrand, Acting Director, Center for Transportation Research, provided insights on the opportunities for corporate collaboration at Argonne . Jonathan Greer, Director of Structural Biology, Abbott Laboratories, and Marti Lenz, Director of Engine Systems Design, Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. spoke of the tremendous advancements their companies have made as users of Argonne ’s facilities.
The Chicago Technology Forum highlights emerging technologies for a select audience of academic, business, and investment leaders. Originally announced five years ago by Mayor Daley and University of Chicago President Don Randel , the Technology Forum has become a novel partnership among the state’s preeminent research universities and laboratories.
University June Event Highlights
Following provides an overview of upcoming University events:
Oriental Institute
Wonderful Things! the Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun; The Harry Burton Photographs
Through Sunday, October 8
Breasted Hall, Oriental Institute Museum
1155 E. 58th St. (773) 702-9507
http://www-oi.uchicago.edu
The Department of Music
Annual End-of-Season Collaboration
8 p.m. Friday, June 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday, June 3
Mandel Hall, 1131 E. 57th St (773) 702 Ð3427
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
Sermon by President Randel
11 a.m. Sunday, June 4
Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.
1156 E. 59th St. (773) 702-7059
The 57th Street Art Fair
11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday, June 3
10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday, June 4
57th St. and Kimbark Ave.
http://www.57thstreetartfair.org/
Click here for more details.
OVPRANL News
University to honor 10 employees and 4 children of employees
The University of Chicago will honor 10 Argonne employees and four children of Argonne employees with awards at the University of Chicago Board of Governors 2006 Awards Program on Thursday, July 13.
Distinguished Performance Awards, which recognize outstanding scientific or technical achievements, or a distinguished record of achievement, will be awarded to Raymond Osborn, Stephan Rosenkranz and John Mitchell (MSD), Branko Ruscic (CHM), P. (Thiyaga) Thiyagarajan (IPNS) and George F. Vandegrift (CMT).
Outstanding Service Awards, the highest honor the University gives to Argonne employees in support positions, will be awarded to Joan Brunsvold (C&PA), Donald Graczyk (CMT), Beverly Marzec (IPNS), and Donald Reigle (SCD).
Each Distinguished Performance and Outstanding Service Award winner or winning team will be presented with an award and a check for $3,500.
The University will also award scholarships to Jawayria Kalimullah, daughter of M. Kalimullah (NE); and Carla Penicka, daughter of Jaromir (Merrick) Penicka (APS-AES). The scholarship covers the students’ first-year of undergraduate tuition and is automatically renewed for the following three years, as long as the recipient remains a full-time student in good academic standing.
Lastly, the University will award J. Harris Ward Fellowships to Christopher Macrander, son of Albert Macrander (APS-XSD); and Katarina Ruscic, daughter of Branko (CHM) and Lillian Ruscic (CMT). The fellowship will be awarded as a $4,500 stipend for the Fellow’s first year of graduate study at The University of Chicago.
The University of Chicago Board of Governors 2006 Awards Program will begin at 2 p.m. in the Building 213 Cafeteria. A reception will follow. All Argonne and U.S. Department of Energy employees whose schedules permit are invited to attend.
University startup Midway Pharmaceuticals, Inc. receives $500K in funding
UChicagoTech, The University of Chicago's Office of Technology & Intellectual Property recently announced a financing deal worth $500,000 for Midway Pharmaceuticals, a University startup working to develop non-antibiotic therapies for hospital-acquired infections and for a range of gastrointestinal diseases (GI) including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis (UC) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The funding was provided by BioAdvance, one of the nation’s leading investors in early stage biotechnology companies. Full story.
More Women to benefit from earlier breast cancer detection made possible with University technology
With breast cancer, there is clear evidence that earlier detection and treatment improves outcomes. Thanks to technology developed by University researchers, and the recent acquisition of R2 Technology, a company that holds the exclusive license to the University’s patents, more women will benefit from earlier detection of breast cancer. Full story.
Research at Chicago releases 5 new videos
The University’s Research at Chicago group recently posted five new videos highlighting the diverse work of University researchers. Below provides details and links to the videos – all available for on-line viewing:
- Tiktaalik: Fish out of Water : Paleontologist Neil Shubin discusses his newly discovered species, Tiktaalik roseae, that fills in the evolutionary gap between fish and land animals.
- Biological Microsystems : Chemist Milan Mrksich discusses his research on integrating living cells with non-living engineered microsystems to create hybrid devices.
- Advertising as Strategic Investment : Sanjay Dhar, marketing professor in the GSB, investigates the strategic role of advertising investments in the formation of long-run industrial market structures.
- Rethinking the National Brand : Sanjay Dhar observes several striking geographic patterns in the performance of national brands.
- The Economic Value of Life : Robert Topel calculates the social value of increased longevity, observing that even modest reductions in mortality may indicate enormous social returns.
Research in the News
University paleontologist Neil Shubin named Provost of Field Museum
The Field Museum and The University of Chicago jointly announced Friday that Neil L. Shubin, PhD, will be appointed Provost of The Field Museum and Associate Dean for Organismal and Evolutionary Biology at The University of Chicago.
An authority on evolutionary and developmental biology, particularly on the evolution of limbs, Dr. Shubin is currently Professor and Chair of The University's Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy.
He gained recent media attention as a lead scientist on important research published in Nature describing Tiktaalik roseae, a “missing link” between fish and land animals. The story of this 375-million-year-old fossil was covered around the world and resulted in Dr. Shubin being named ABC News' “Person of the Week” on April 7. Full story.
Five University of Chicago scholars elected to prestigious academies
Two University of Chicago faculty members, Francisco Bezanilla, Professor and Pritzker Scholar in Pediatrics and the Institute for Molecular Pediatric Science, and Melvyn Shochet, the Elaine M. and Samuel D. Kersten Jr. Distinguished Service Professor in Physics, the Enrico Fermi Institute, and the College, were among 72 individuals elected to the National Academy of Sciences on Tuesday, April 25. Election to the 143-year-old academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be awarded to an American scientist. The election of Bezanilla and Shochet brings to 41 the current number of Chicago faculty elected to membership.
In addition to the NAS election, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences elected three University scholars to its membership on Monday, April 24. Those faculty members are: Michael Dawson, the John D. MacArthur Distinguished Service Professor in Political Science and the College, Reid Hastie, Professor of Behavioral Science in the Graduate School of Business, and Michael Murrin, the David B. & Clara E. Stern Professor in the Humanities. They are among 175 new fellows and 20 new foreign honorary members.
Also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences this year is Fred Kavli, the founder of the Kavli Foundation of Santa Barbara , Calif. , which donated $7.5 million to the University in 2004, to make permanent the Center for Cosmological Physics. Full story.
Women attracted to men when they see interest in children reflected in their faces
Women are able to subconsciously pick up cues of interest in children in men’s faces and use those cues to determine if they are attracted to them for long-term relationships, according to new research at the University of Chicago and the University of California , Santa Barbara . Full story.
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