University of Colorado Media Highlights

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A monthly digest of CU’s headline-making news from around the globe
May 2012

Survey says business optimism on rise in Colorado
Colorado business leaders are starting the second quarter with more optimism than they had going into the first quarter, according to a quarterly survey from the Leeds’ School of Business at CU-Boulder. The Leeds Business Confidence Index, released April 3, came in at 62.2 for the second quarter, up from 54.5 in the first quarter. An index reading above 50 denotes positive expectations, while one below 50 conveys a negative outlook. Denver Post, April 3

Mankind evolved a ‘hive mind’ 75,000 years ago
Humans evolved “super brains” 75,000 years ago that helped them achieve some of their greatest triumphs, a leading researcher said. John Hoffecker, an archaeologist at CU-Boulder, said the change to a ‘collective mind’ allowed us to create a potentially limitless number of thoughts for the first time. The super brain also gave humans the capacity to think about invention and novelty. DailyMail.com, April 20

 

CU-Boulder awards music professor with prestigious Hazel Barnes Prize
The University of Colorado awarded Patrick Mason, a professor of voice in the College of Music, with its 2012 Hazel Barnes Prize, the highest faculty recognition for teaching and research awarded by the university. Mason will be recognized at the spring graduation ceremony in May and at a reception in his honor in the fall. He’ll also receive $20,000 and an engraved university medal.

The prize recognizes Mason’s body of work in national and international concerts and in the recording studio, along with his exceptional research and teaching record as a CU-Boulder faculty member since 1993. Daily Camera, April 9

CU-Boulder car hits 1,767 miles per gallon
On a recent Saturday, University of Colorado senior Paul Sweazey slid into the driver’s seat of a custom car built by former engineering students. The mechanical engineering student started his engine and began racing around the track in Houston, pushing the vehicle’s speed near its 30 mph hour limit and then coasting around the turns, saving the car’s energy and fuel. The car sat low to the ground, so even 20 mph felt fast, he said.

Sweazey led CU’s team of five mechanical engineers to second place March 31 in the Shell Eco-Marathon competition, which challenges high school, college and university students from across the world to build energy efficient vehicles. The CU car achieved a fuel efficiency of 1,767 miles per gallon during Sweazey’s best run — breaking the team’s initial goal of 1,500 miles per gallon, students said. Daily Camera, April 9

Project helps science teachers engage students
With spring break behind them and warm weather ahead, some science teachers might be struggling to keep students focused. But an online service may have a solution. The service was designed by Digital Learning Sciences, a collaboration between researchers at the University of Colorado and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Tamara Sumner, the study’s principal investigator, said the service is particularly helpful for teachers with gifted and talented students or students learning English as a second language. “Teachers really need help to customize their curriculums for these diverse students,” said Sumner, an associate professor of cognitive and computer sciences at CU-Boulder. Daily Camera, April 5

Passover celebrated on social media
The sacred Jewish holiday of Passover has been commemorated for more than 3,300 years. And now, the celebration has merged into social media. On Twitter, people are sharing everything from recipes for gefilte-fish cupcakes to a master list of kosher restaurants around the world open for Passover. YouTube videos such as “Passover Rhapsody” — the Exodus story set to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” – are reaching out to a new generation.

This works at a global level through people such as Rabbi Yisroel Wilhelm, an Orthodox Jew who serves as director of the Chabad house at CU-Boulder. “I believe in using anything that God gives us for our benefit.” Daily Camera, April 6

Warm weather brings out the bugs
Researchers at CU-Boulder say the recent bug outbreak is because of the warm and dry spring weather. There are not any more bugs than usual, they are just appearing earlier in the year. “The number of insects we have this season is a response to what happened last year,” said Cesar Nufio, a CU-Boulder researcher. “The adults are waiting this season to emerge so we are not going to get more because it’s warmer. What’s happening is if it is warmer some of the species will do better and survive through the winter. So there are not any more, they are just earlier this year.” 9News, April 10

Students build bikes for kids with disabilities
Hundreds gathered Saturday, April 28, in the courtyard in front of Durning Laboratory for CU’s Design Expo and Adaptive Bicycle Run-Off. Students from Daria Kotys-Schwartz‘s component design class were assigned a project at the beginning of the semester to assemble bikes for disabled children. Kotys-Schwartz, a CU mechanical engineering instructor, said her 130 students split into 27 teams of roughly five members per group. The teams had 13 weeks and a $300 budget to build bikes specific to a child’s needs. Daily Camera, April 28

University of Colorado Colorado Springs

Avoid common mistakes when starting your fitness training
Steer clear of common pitfalls when you start a training routine, including not fueling up enough. The two most important times to eat are when you wake up and after you train. You need fuel in your tank to train hard, and if you don’t fill ‘er up at breakfast, you’ll be running on fumes later. “Make sure the majority of your breakfast consists of carbs, with some protein, maybe in the form of egg whites, thrown in for good measure,” says Jacqueline R. Berning, Ph.D., R.D., an assistant professor at UCCS. “Low-fat yogurt, or milk and cereal, would also fit the bill.” EzineMark.com, April 10

Agilent donates $200,000 in equipment to UCCS
UCCS recently received $200,000 worth of electronic test and measurement equipment from Agilent Technologies Inc. The donation of Agilent InfiniiVision 3000 X-Series oscilloscopes was made in recognition of the long-term relationship between Agilent and the UCCS College of Engineering and Applied Science. The donation was celebrated at UCCS on April 5. The Gazette, April 10

Prof defends states that hold struggling students back a grade
Several states that are considering ending social promotion — the practice of moving low-performing students to the next grade for socialization reasons — are on the right track. Under new measures in these states, third-graders would need to demonstrate reading proficiency on a standardized test to be promoted to the fourth grade. A study of Florida’s policy by Marcus Winter, assistant professor at UCCS and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, suggests that it works well for students who are held back and receive remedial training. USA Today, April 11

A boost for integrated care
Doctoral students at UCCS are learning to address older adult needs by integrating behavioral health services into primary care. With the help of a $139,000 Graduate Psychology Education grant, the program has added three more trainees for three years, bringing the program’s current total number to six and enhancing the depth of that training, said Daniel L. Segal, Ph.D., the program’s training director.

Trainees work with physicians, nurses, social workers, occupational and physical therapists and other professionals across a variety of settings. Segal said older patients are more open to psychological interventions when they are offered in conjunction with their physician’s services. American Psychological Association, April 12

University of Colorado Denver

Tough times, tough life: Early area homesteaders the subject of researcher’s talk
On May 3, the Pueblo Archaeological and Historical Society hosted Abbey Christman, from the Center of Preservation Research at CU Denver, who spoke on “Homesteads to Heartbreak: Boom and Bust in Southeastern Colorado.”

Christman was working with Colorado Preservation when ranchers in Southeastern Colorado, concerned about the expansion of the Army’s Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, approached the organization and asked for help documenting the history of their region. She led a multiyear survey and now plans a second round of research in her job at CU Denver. Pueblo Chieftain, April 24

DPS student school assignments successful
An analysis of Denver Public Schools’ new enrollment system depicts its method of assigning students to schools as largely successful. Gary Kochenberger, a professor and co-director of CU-Denver’s Decision Science program, spent time inside DPS offices with the team that designed the algorithm and watched as it was tested for functionality. His findings were submitted to the A+ Denver’s SchoolChoice Transparency Committee.

The report states 70 percent of DPS students filling out the enrollment forms received their first choice of schools and 86 percent received one of their five choices. Kochenberger recommended the process be automated as much as possible to reduce the potential for errors. Ednews Colorado, April 18

CU Denver students unite under banner of social change
At a certain point, the student activists felt like they’d hit a brick wall. “We complained all the time, but nothing was getting done,” said Rachael Boice, a graduate student at the University of Colorado Denver who’s focused on social justice. “It was a lot of elitist little groups all competing against each other.”

So they created the Collective for Social Change, a group of students at the Auraria campus that has raised the funds for a three-day conference, The Art of Social Justice, which runs through Thursday. The gathering ends with a keynote speech by civil-rights activist and Princeton professor Cornel West, author of such books as Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight against Imperialism. The goal is to break the barriers that often block positive social change. Denver Post, April 11

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

For young women, melanoma rates on the rise
While melanoma deaths are on the decline, the number of people affected is on the rise. According to dermatologist Robert Dellavalle, M.D., from the CU School of Medicine, individuals with blue or green eyes, freckles, moles or red hair are at higher risk for development of melanomas. Asians and those with darker skin have a lower risk, but may find themselves with more aggressive diagnoses when melanoma is found. MSNBC, April 2

Protein fights protein to keep bladder cancer away from the lungs
Researchers have found what they believe to be a new mechanism of metastasis suppression that prevents bladder cancer from spreading to the lungs. Half of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer develop metastatic disease. This is responsible for most deaths caused by bladder cancer, noted researchers Dan Theodorescu, M.D., Ph.D., director of the CUCancer Center, and colleagues in their report for The Journal of Clinical Investigation. The team demonstrated that a protein involved in cancer cell migration is a driver of lung metastasis. High levels of the protein, versican, are associated with poor prognosis in persons with bladder cancer. Oncology Nurse Advisor, April 3

Colorado doctor finds way to treat common vertigo
More than 7 million people in the United States suffer from vertigo, including some 50,000 in the Denver area. The symptoms include feeling surroundings spinning when nothing is moving. Now there’s a new do-it-yourself way to treat the most common form of vertigo. Carol Foster, M.D., at CU School of Medicine, recently published research about a breakthrough in the treatment of vertigo that could be life-changing for people who are disabled at times by extreme dizzy spells. CBS4, April 23

 

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