In the news

Ontario and Michigan research networks achieve international connection

A different kind of traffic is flowing over the US-Canada border today as Ontario and Michigan officially interconnect their high-speed optical research and education networks utilizing the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. The direct fiber connection is believed to be a first across international borders for regional research and education networks. "Merit\'s member institutions are very excited about this achievement," said John Camp, CIO of Wayne State University and chair of the Merit Board of Directors. "We see this as a critical step in developing a Regional Optical Network (RON) in the Great Lakes Region. A Great Lakes RON will eliminate geographic barriers for cross-institutional and cross-border collaborative research." Photos of Camp are included.

Ontario and Michigan research networks achieve international connection

Ontario and Michigan have officially interconnected their high-speed optical research and education networks utilizing the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. The direct fiber connection is believed to be a first across international borders for regional research and education networks. John Camp, CIO of Wayne State University and chair of the Merit Board of Directors, commented about the new Detroit-Windsor connection which has the capacity to transmit large amounts of data at very fast speeds. \"We see this as a critical step in developing a Regional Optical Network (RON) in the Great Lakes Region. A Great Lakes RON will eliminate geographic barriers for cross-institutional and cross-border collaborative research."

.

Companies across Michigan are making cuts to stay competitive in this tough economy. Some of those cuts directly impact workers jobs. Public and private companies are trying to reverse this trend. In Governor Granholm\'s State Of The State address she mentioned alternative energy as a way to bring more jobs to our state. \"The great lakes state will be the alternative energy epicenter of America .\" " Kettering University in Flint , MAREC in Muskegon , and Next Energy at Wayne State all are leading in the development of alternative energies,\" said Gov. Jennifer Granholm, (D) Michigan .

13 Black Classicists In Exhibit

To jump-start Black History Month, St. Anselm\'s Abbey School in Michigan Park hosted an exhibit last week on the trials and successes of black classical scholars from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. The collection of photos and documents, titled \"12 Black Classicists,\" was organized by Michele Valerie Ronnick, an associate professor in the Department of Classics, Greek, and Latin at Wayne State University in Detroit . Despite the title, the collection recognizes 13 classicists: Edward Wilmot Blyden, Richard Theodore Greener, William Sanders Scarborough, James Monroe Gregory, Frazelia Campbell, Wiley Lane , William Henry Crogman, John Wesley Gilbert, Daniel Barclay Williams, Lewis Baxter Moore, Reuben Shannon Lovinggood, George Morton Lightfoot and Helen Maria Chesnutt. The parents, faculty and at least one student at the school were impressed.

A blighted, beat-up Detroit is fighting for redemption

A story about Detroit 's efforts to polish its image during Super Bowl Week includes a comment from Jerry Herron, professor of English and American studies. In the article, reporter Mark Sauer writes that city's efforts are "like trying to put lipstick on a pig" and he refers to Detroit as an "old, blighted and beat up river city." But Herron has a different viewpoint. "What people don't realize is that Detroit is the greatest success story in American history," he points out. "More people came here from more parts of the world and got rich faster than anywhere else."

Hollywood vs. Your PC: Round 2

An article about copyright protection for digital entertainment venues includes comments by WSU law professor Jessica Litman, an expert on copyright law. She is the author of the book "Digital Copyright." The copyright controversy centers around peer-to-peer file sharing, which is driving entertainment companies toward increased control of content. The article points out that media companies are lobbying for laws that are friendlier to the rights of content owners and that Hollywood is threatening to withhold access to its libraries unless electronics manufacturers build devices with sufficient copy protection. "Copyright law was intended to protect reading, viewing and listening" Litman says. "Now it takes what people previously saw as their rights and treats them as loopholes the copyright owners will close if they can."

NextEnergy and Wayne State University to Open National Biofuel Energy Lab

NextEnergy, in partnership with Wayne State University (WSU), announced this month the creation of a National Biofuel Energy Lab to be located in NextEnergy\'s new facility in TechTown Detroit. Opening later this year, the first-of-its kind lab will accelerate research and development of biodiesel alternative fuel through a $2 million US Department of Energy grant. The lab will provide a biodiesel knowledge base, forming a solid technical foundation for the development of future fuels of this type. Wayne State professors, graduate students and Ph. D. candidates from the school\'s College of Engineering will conduct the day-to-day research and experiments carried out in the lab. WSU College of Engineering Professors Simon Ng and Naeim Henein will manage lab activity.

Wayne State alumni association honors civil rights martyr

Civil rights martyr Viola Liuzzo was recently named an honorary member of the Wayne State University College of Nursing Alumni Association by the group's board of directors. Liuzzo's eldest daughter, Penny Liuzzo Herrington, and her grandson, Chris, accepted the posthumous honor in special ceremonies hosted by the Wayne State Organization of Black Alumni (OBA) and attended by Jesse Jackson. College of Nursing Dean Barbara Redman is quoted in the story and a photo is included.

WSU Physicist Gets $400,000 Federal Grant

Alexey Petrov, assistant professor of physics at Wayne State University, has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Development Award. The award is one of the highest honors granted by the NSF to young faculty members in the area of science and engineering, and is intended to support their career-development activities. Petrov will use the five-year, $400,000 grant on research to develop new theoretical and computational methods related to the study of particles containing heavy quarks. He also will work with greater Detroit area high schools to develop an educational program in computational science, reaching out to African-American students and other under-represented groups in Detroit schools. For more details, visit www.research.wayne.edu. A photo of Petrov is included.

Brains of male mice boast extra nerve insulation

The brains and spinal cords of male mice contain more of the protective, fatty substance called myelin, which insulates nerve cells, than their female counterparts, new research reveals. The finding could help to explain why some neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis, strike one sex more than another. Dr. Robert Skoff, Wayne State University School of Medicine, and colleagues found an unexpected difference when they compared the composition of white matter in the brains of male and female mice. Skoff says the findings help to explain why hormone therapy has yielded promising results against multiple sclerosis in experimental trials. He explains that further studies in mice will shed light on how these treatments work. "We can sort out exactly which hormones are regulating these changes," he says.