Thank-You to The George Washington University for being a Perfect Partner to the Festival!
The George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science has been an amazing and supportive sponsor to the USA Science and Engineering Festival. In addition to sponsoring the Festival, SEAS has been instrumental in spreading the word with a dedicated section of their website focused on the Festival including how to become involved, an alumni challenge and information on their sponsorship events.
As a proud sponsor of the USA Science and Engineering Festival, SEAS will host a number of pre-Festival events the week of April 23rd in addition to the Finale Expo at the Walter E. Convention Center. The highlight event will include Book Talk, a panel discussion of the following best-selling authors: Robin Cook, Theodore Gray, Shawn Lawrence Otto, William Gurstelle, Joy Hakim, Homer Hickam and Pendred Noyce.
We would like to thank SEAS for your support and commitment to our mission! The USA Science and Engineering Festival would not be possible without our wonderful sponsors. With the Festival less than two months away, we are gearing up for another successful Expo. Our website offers great features such as “Plan Your Day” and “Thematic Tracks” to help our Festival attendees get the most out of this extraordinary celebration!
We can’t wait to see you in April!
Mangelsdorf wins international Luft Award for endocrinology research
DALLAS – Feb. 28, 2012 – Dr. David Mangelsdorf, chairman of pharmacology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has been awarded the 2012 Rolf Luft Award for research that has advanced understanding of nuclear receptor pathways.
Dr. David Mangelsdorf
The annual award from the Karolinska Institutet, the prestigious medical university in Sweden which is also home to the Nobel Assembly, honors one scientist worldwide for outstanding contributions in endocrinology and diabetes research.
A UT Southwestern faculty member since 1993 who was named department chairman in 2006, Dr. Mangelsdorf will receive the institute’s award on March 16 when he delivers his prize lecture, “Nuclear Receptor Regulation of Nutrient Metabolism: From Worms to Humans.” The award consists of a medal and cash prize.
In announcing the award, Karolinska Institutet officials commented that Dr. Mangelsdorf’s “work on nuclear receptors led to landmark discoveries of how regulatory pathways govern cholesterol, lipid, and bile acid homeostasis. He defined crucial signal-transduction networks in their entirety by identifying the ligands, target genes, physiological functions and molecular mechanisms for several orphan nuclear receptors.”
Nuclear receptors are proteins that turn genes on and off, serving as sensors that protect human cells against elevated levels of lipids. Dr. Mangelsdorf has identified several new molecules, or ligands, that activate so-called orphan nuclear receptors whose biological functions previously had remained unknown.
“At the time, I had no idea the orphan receptors that I was working on had anything to do with cholesterol or bile acids,” said Dr. Mangelsdorf, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor of biochemistry at UT Southwestern. “That is where serendipity – a big factor in almost every discovery – played its hand.”
Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, president of UT Southwestern, said: “This award recognizes excellence in scientific discovery and the fruits of Dr. Mangelsdorf’s determination to unlock mysteries surrounding human metabolism. This research holds important implications for the treatment of several diseases.”
Early-career advice from Nobel laureate Dr. Alfred Gilman, regental professor emeritus of pharmacology, stuck with Dr. Mangelsdorf and set him on the path to discovery.
“Dr. Gilman told me, ‘Mangelsdorf, whatever you do, do not practice safe science,’” Dr. Mangelsdorf recalled. “His meaning was clear: To answer a big question, you have to ask a big question, and take a big risk. That’s exactly what I did.”
Dr. Steven Kliewer, professor of molecular biology and pharmacology at UT Southwestern who runs a joint research lab with Dr. Mangelsdorf, said his colleague’s work has helped biomedical investigators understand how nuclear receptors control metabolism.
“He’s an extremely creative scientist who is fearless in terms of following the science, wherever it leads him,” Dr. Kliewer said. “His work with the receptor DAF12 in parasitic nematodes has provided a new approach for treating and preventing parasitic infections. This has enormous human health implications.”
Dr. Mangelsdorf gives equal credit to Dr. Kliewer, saying he “brought a fresh set of ideas and approaches when he was recruited here in 2002, and based on his initial discoveries, together we have had a string of exciting new stories.”
Dr. Mangelsdorf was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences in 2008. In 2007, he received the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Medicine from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas. Earlier awards include the Heinrich Wieland Prize from Boehringer Ingelheim, the Transatlantic Medal from the European Society of Endocrinology, the Gerald D. Aurbach Award from the Endocrine Society, the Adolf Windaus Prize from The Falk Foundation and the John J. Abel Award in pharmacology from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
A graduate of Northern Arizona University, Dr. Mangelsdorf earned a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Arizona and completed postdoctoral work at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
Prove It! in an Online Video Competition!
Prove it! is an online video competition created by the British Science Association for National Science & Engineering Week 2012 (9-18 March) to get as many people as possible talking about science during March.
The competition challenges students to explain one aspect of our world in motion in 30 seconds, either by filming themselves or by making an animation. Themes can relate to science and non-science subjects, and could include the plate tectonics, social media, the solar system, northern lights, gravity, dance, climate change. Watch this to get some tips for making your video:
A special panel of celebrity judges including Professor Robert Winston, British-born astronaut Richard Garriott and Dr Yan Wong, presenter of the BBC’s Bang Goes the Theory, will be judging entrants’ videos and crowning the stand-out science superstars as part of National Science & Engineering Week 2012 . The winners of the best videos will be offered class visits to The Natural History Museum and the AirKix Indoor Sky diving centres.
Visit the Films for Learning Prove it page and see what schools have already entered – can you and your students do better? There is also information on how adults can enter on the website. The competition closes on 19th March 2012.
Homophobia starts in elementary school; teachers do little
Clare Davidson-Sherman, the adopted daughter of Karen Davidson-Fisher, has several mommiesher biological one, her adoptive mothers former partner who has joint custody, and now Davidson-Fishers legal wife, ABC News reports. The 8-year-old has come face-to-face with bullying in her Omaha, Neb., public school. One of her third-grade classmates used a derogatory and sing-songy tone as she taunted, Clare has lesbian moms!
She was upset, said Davidson-Fisher, a 39-year-old former mental health therapist. But the teacher talked to the kid. There are at least three kids in my daughters class who have same-sex parents. Its something that needs to be taken care of.
Go-ahead for £89m university research centre
A LEADING Scottish university has been given planning permission to build an ambitious £89 million research and technology centre.
The planning committee of Glasgow City Council has approved the project by Strathclyde University to build a new centre to create jobs and attract investment.
The Technology and Innovation Centre, set to open in 2014, will bring together academics and businesses to address issues such as economic regeneration and technological challenges.
10 Education Apps for iPod and iPhone that Support Adult Learning
Mobile Device Apps That Support Adult Education – b Features and cost of education applications are provided for anyone in search of a way to make their mobile devices useful for learning in higher education.
After purchasing an iPhone or iPod Touch, maybe even both, you may be wondering what apps are available to support your learning in current or future adult education courses. Wonder no more! There are a number of free and low cost applications available for use in college education or continuing education courses.
These education apps are designed to take advantage of the digital capabilities of iPod Touches and iPhones. They also reduce or even eliminate the need for other digital devices, such as a Netbook computer. One example is an app which turns an iPod Touch into a graphing calculator. There are also several EBook applications which allow you to read books and documents in plain text, PDF, html, Kindle, or Nook formats.
The following are 10 education programs suitable for adult education. These are a sample of what is available from the iTunes App store.