Take your spring cleaning to the next level by disposing of your electronic waste during the Wayne State University e-waste collection, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, May 4, 2012, in Parking Lot 11 (on Cass Ave. between Antoinette and York). The Wayne State Office of Environmental Health and Safety has teamed with Apple Inc. for the electronic collection. The event is open to WSU and its surrounding community. Past e-waste collections at WSU have made a difference. Recognized by the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities, Wayne State has had significant success in electronic waste collection. The university received 91,760 pounds of electronics during last year's e-waste event. Since beginning this initiative two years ago, Wayne State has recycled more than 750,000 pounds of electronic material and prevented 2.3 pounds of mercury, 8 pounds of cadmium and 55 pounds of lead from ending up in landfills and other end points.

The bright lights will shine at Wayne State University a week from Saturday during the auditions for a youth talent competition that will give young people a chance to win professional training, media exposure and even a shot at a recording gig. The Special Touch Learning Center, a non-profit Sterling Heights-based arts organization, is putting the event together with the help of a number of corporate sponsors. Auditions for the "Detroit's Got Talent" Youth Showcase will be open to Detroit-area singers, musicians, dancers and other performers from the ages of 7 to 17. Organizers expect around 1,000 young people to participate. Auditions for the event are being held at the State Hall Building on Saturday, April 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Readers view well-edited articles as more professional, more valuable and of higher quality than articles that have been minimally edited, according to new data presented Friday at the American Copy Editors Society (ACES) conference in New Orleans. "We can make a compelling case for what editing does as journalism continues its transformation," said Wayne State University professor Fred Vultee, who presented data from a 2010 ACES initiative to measure reader perceptions of the value of editing in online articles.

The former Dalgleish Cadillac building on Cass Avenue in Midtown will be the focal point of the largest construction project in the history of Wayne State University: a $93 million, 200,000-square-foot biomed research center. The first phase of the project is expected to begin this summer with demolition of the old American Beauty Iron Building at Burroughs and Woodward avenues. Wayne State University President Allan Gilmour said he plans to recruit half of the research teams from other universities, with about 450 researchers based in the facility once it opens. "We like the idea of being right between the Henry Ford Health System and the Detroit Medical Center," he said. Gilmour said that while the poured concrete and reinforced steel of the Dalgleish building will drive up construction costs, it will also result in a building that is perfect for the extremely sensitive equipment used in scientific research. "Instruments are so finely calibrated that researchers are always worried about vibrations. There won't be any worries about vibration with this building. It's solid," he said. Gilmour said phase two of the biomedical research complex will include eventually building something on the former site of the American Beauty Iron Building, "either by us or with a partner. More and more, the opportunities in research will come from partnerships." He said there is no timetable to begin phase two and no budget projections. Gilmour said the multidisciplinary approach is favored by such major grant organizations as the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health and will have as a major focus the creation of for-profit spinoff companies. A photo of President Gilmour is included.

Zsa Zsa Booker plans to get a Ph.D. and eventually teach urban librarianship when she completes her master's studies at Wayne State University next month. "It's more than just how to work in the library, but how to work in an urban setting," said Booker, 26. "In a lot of urban settings, there are issues with illiteracy. I want to teach how to work with urban students, urban patrons. My concentration is in academic libraries because I want to ultimately become a professor. ... But I'd like to teach urban librarianship." Booker is earning her master's in library and information science, all while working in WSU's Academic Success Center. There, she conducts workshops and does one-on-one counseling with students. And the Detroit native, who graduated from the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts, now the Detroit School of the Arts, says she owes some thanks for her continuing studies to Bookstock.

Columnist Phil Power writes about the need for Michigan to become the Midwest's premier inland port and transportation hub, uniquely linking air, sea, rail and road capabilities and creating a new industry, a Great Lakes Global Gateway. He adds that the vision is in place, but in reality it's not working. Overlapping governmental jurisdictions, sputtering business and political leadership at both state and regional level and other factors have prevented the vision from becoming a reality. "Opportunity is slipping away because other railroads and ports are establishing other places outside Michigan to do this," said Michael Belzer, an economist at Wayne State University and President and CEO of Great Lakes Global Freight Gateway, a non-profit organization promoting the idea. "Ohio is in the process of eating our lunch, while we've been embarrassing ourselves by inattention and inaction," Belzer said.

Pulling from his 24 terms he's served in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. John Conyers will donate a collection of his documents to Wayne State University. The university announced Thursday the Detroit Democrat will give the papers to the Damon J. Keith Law Collection of African American Legal History at WSU's law school. The collection includes documents that relate to Conyers' work in civil rights and social justice promotion. The school heralded Conyers as a "civil rights pioneer" and said the papers will be a resource for the public. The 40 years worth of papers will be available at the university's Reuther Library after they are processed. The Keith Collection focuses on collecting and preserving African-American legal history including paperwork from African-American lawyers, judges and lawmakers.

The Detroit chapter of The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs will honor outstanding Detroit women at its 61st Founders' Day awards program set for 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday at the Annis Building in Detroit. Receiving the club's highest honor, the Sojourner Truth Award, will be Melba Joyce Boyd, professor of Africana Studies at Wayne State University. A photo of Boyd is included.

Whole Foods, the Austin, Texas-based retailer plans to open a 20,000-square-foot supermarket with about 75 employees in Detroit's Midtown next year. One reason it may be willing to take the risk is that the neighborhood is an anomaly in a tough city enduring very tough times: People are moving in, businesses are opening and hopes are high. Whole Foods has solid anchors in Wayne State University, the Detroit Medical Center and cultural institutions such as the Detroit Institute of Arts and Orchestra Hall, as well as a growing number of startups and rehabilitation projects, and people are moving in thanks to relocation incentives offered by their employers.

Wayne State university is mentioned in a story about post-baccalaureate and pre-med programs. Forty years ago, Southern Illinois University and Wayne State University were pioneers in the profession's efforts to recruit and train minority students who show promise in undergraduate pre-med curriculums but do not have the G.P.A. or MCAT scores to get them into medical school.

Hundreds of psychology and therapy jobs are expected to be created over the next three years as the state of Michigan and health insurers carry out a legislative package that requires health insurers to cover autism treatment for children up to age 18. With 15,400 school-age children and an additional 4,500 ages 2-5 diagnosed with autism, Michigan needs up to 600 more licensed psychologists who also are board-certified behavior analysts and as many as 7,000 licensed therapists to provide autism treatment, said Colleen Allen, executive director of the Autism Alliance of Michigan in Detroit. EMU and Western Michigan University have two master's degree programs that prepare graduates to become board-certified behavior analysts, or BCBAs -- the qualifications necessary to provide treatment under the bill, Allen said. Allen said several other universities could add master's training programs leading to BCBA certification. They include Oakland University, which is working with DMC Children's Hospital of Michigan; Wayne State University; and Central Michigan University, she said.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has awarded a $278,000 grant to Chris Eamon, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. State officials have engaged the College of Engineering researcher in their effort to make roads and highways safer. Diagonal cracks may indicate that allowable concrete shear stresses have been exceeded, Eamon said, and may or may not be significant. He noted that reinforcing steel and draped prestressing cables are placed inside bridge girders to carry a portion of the shear force as well. His team's job is to determine if the structures in question have significant shear cracks, and, if so, to determine the cause and make recommendations on how to repair them, as well as to make recommendations on design procedures. A photo of Eamon is included.

March for Babies, the largest fundraiser for the March of Dimes, will take place Sunday, April 29, at Wayne State University. Dr. Joel Kahn spoke with WWJ about the event and research at the university. "There is exciting research that came out last year from the Detroit Medical Center - Wayne State University … a new innovation to help mothers keep their babies longer before birth. We need more breakthroughs like that," said Kahn.

A channel 7 story notes Saturday's Wayne Cares Midtown Makeover led by Wayne State University and Midtown Detroit, Inc. The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with the goal to clean and beautify Midtown. Details about volunteering and logistics are provided.

Wayne State University hopes a "parallel through-the-road" hybrid system will propel them to victory in "EcoCar 2: Plugging Into The Future," a competition among 15 North American university teams to convert a gasoline-powered Chevrolet Malibu into a fully functional hybrid vehicle. Wayne State's Hybrid Warriors, the only Michigan team in the event, unveiled their hybrid vehicle design Wednesday at NextEnergy. "Our students have been working for nearly a year to design the modifications necessary to convert a gasoline-powered production car into a fully-functional hybrid vehicle," said Jerry Ku, associate professor, EcoCAR 2 faculty advisor and director of the Electric-drive Vehicle Engineering Graduate Program. "They chose PTTR architecture because it represents the best combination of vehicle performance, design creativity and meaningful learning opportunities." WSU College of Engineering Dean Farshad Fotouhi said, "This competition gives our students an edge, providing them with hands-on experience that they can build upon in their professional careers." WWJ autobeat reporter Jeff Gilbert offered another segment on his "Car Chronicles" feature about the EcoCar2 project.

Wayne State University business professor Bill Volz commented during a video interview on campus about Detroit's consent agreement which was signed on April 4.Volz said now the hard decisions and changes begin. He blamed Detroit's cash crunch on antiquated politics and "a series of collective bargaining agreements for which the city couldn't pay."

The contributions of African American surgeons and nurses during the Civil War will be the theme of a community education event from 1:00-3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 14, at the Margherio Family Conference Center in the Mazurek Medical Education Commons. Wayne State University faculty will make up a panel exploring a range of subjects focusing on the Civil War. Marsha Richmond, associate professor, and Kidada Williams, assistant professor in the Department of History, were guests on "The Craig Fahle Show" discussing the upcoming event.

Detroit Free Press theatre critic John Monaghan offers a thumbs-up to the Hilberry Theatre's production of "Major Barbara" writing that even on opening night, the young Hilberry cast had the timing down. "The Hilberry actors, all Wayne State University graduate students, are surprisingly adept at playing characters old and young." "Major Barbara" is in rotating repertory through May 15. A photo of the cast members is included.

Wayne State University's EcoCAR 2 team Wednesday unveiled a hybrid vehicle design at a press event hosted by NextEnergy. The project is part of EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future, in which 15 North American university teams are competing over three years to convert a gasoline-powered production car into a fully functional hybrid vehicle. WSU's team, the Hybrid Warriors, which is the only team from Michigan, announced it will implement parallel through-the-road architecture using an ethanol-85 engine to drive the front wheels and two Remy electric motors and lithium-ion batteries to drive the rear wheels of a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu donated by General Motors for the competition. The car will be on display through April 19 at NextEnergy.

Midtown CompStat is the brainchild of the Wayne State University Police Department and WSU's Center for Urban Studies. The program began in 2009 and uses a targeted crime-fighting approach both on and off campus. "We identify the hot spots by crime mapping. We take the crime mapping and we look at the populations, we look at the event and we say 'Now what strategy can we put out there where we're effective?'," said Wayne State University Police Chief Anthony Holt. Every two weeks law enforcement agencies and other groups meet to identify hotspots in Midtown; those are places where more crimes are happening. The group then comes up with strategies to combat the crime. According to Wayne State police, serious crime is down 38 percent since 2008. In addition to that, robberies are down 30 percent, burglary is down 30 percent and auto theft is down 53 percent.