Targeted News Service

U.S. Public and Private Higher Education

News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from public, private and community colleges in the U.S.

Featured Stories

University of Greenwich: Solar Panels to Grow Food Thanks to University of Greenwich Project

LONDON, England, Dec. 1 (TNSRes) -- The University of Greenwich issued the following news:

* * *

A new ground-breaking partnership will explore how a fruit farm can power itself and produce crops by using electricity generated on site through agrivoltaic materials.

* * *

The Farming Innovation Programme study will learn more about the application of solar panel technology on the farm, with Hugh Lowe Farms Ltd, a Kent commercial soft fruit grower, in partnership with Polysolar Ltd.

Agrivoltaic materials enable a solar panel to generate electricity as well as protecting crops. The same panel ... Show Full Article LONDON, England, Dec. 1 (TNSRes) -- The University of Greenwich issued the following news: * * * A new ground-breaking partnership will explore how a fruit farm can power itself and produce crops by using electricity generated on site through agrivoltaic materials. * * * The Farming Innovation Programme study will learn more about the application of solar panel technology on the farm, with Hugh Lowe Farms Ltd, a Kent commercial soft fruit grower, in partnership with Polysolar Ltd. Agrivoltaic materials enable a solar panel to generate electricity as well as protecting crops. The same panelcan be used for harvesting solar photovoltaic (PV) power as well as growing crops beneath it.

The project, run by the University of Greenwich, has been awarded a quarter of a million pounds, through a UKRI grant, to explore if agrivoltaic materials can be retrofitted to existing greenhouses or polytunnels and help UK-protected agriculture to meet net zero-carbon targets.

The energy intensive and valuable UK berry fruit farming sector will trial installation of various next generation panels, practically and cost effectively, in a real-world commercial setting. The study will monitor the success of fruit crops and show how generated energy can facilitate automated farming.

Pictured is an artist's impression of what the polytunnels could look like in place on the farms.

The team of researchers is led by the University of Greenwich's Dr Elinor Thompson, Reader at the School of Science.

She said: "We have already worked with collaborators on the use of agrivoltaics with leafy crops*. It is great now to be able to try out the technology in a really big installation, on a valuable UK crop, as part of the country's efforts to reduce carbon emissions."

Martyn Rush of Polysolar Ltd said,

"Agrivoltaics has always been an area of interest for Polysolar, our PV-enabled domestic greenhouse product is proof of our belief in the sector. Working with academics and commercial growers on a larger scale gives us opportunities to try a variety of our PV technologies, delivering in-depth real-world data to support a wider roll-out assisting the transition away from fossil fuels.

"We are excited to continue our work with Dr Elinor Thompson in agrivoltaics and how PV can positively impact the future of covered crop growth and the electrification of agriculture."

Marion Regan of Hugh Lowe Farms said,

"Sustainable berry production will increasingly rely on automation and robotics so generating renewable electricity to power dispersed production units, with the added benefit of simultaneously producing a crop, is an exciting prospect. We are also delighted to be working with leaders in this field."

Funding Awarded to Cranfield to Support New Technology in Zero Emissions Challenge

CRANFIELD, England, Dec. 1 -- Cranfield University issued the following news release:

Cranfield University has been awarded funding from UKCCSRC (UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre) to investigate a new technology that could minimise the impact of amine scrubbing technology - a widespread form of carbon dioxide (CO2) capture.

The Cranfield team, led by Dr Peter Clough, will be working with a team of experienced engineers at Petrofac, a leading services provider to the energy sector. Petrofac designs, builds, manages, and maintains infrastructure for the energy industries and is already ... Show Full Article CRANFIELD, England, Dec. 1 -- Cranfield University issued the following news release: Cranfield University has been awarded funding from UKCCSRC (UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre) to investigate a new technology that could minimise the impact of amine scrubbing technology - a widespread form of carbon dioxide (CO2) capture. The Cranfield team, led by Dr Peter Clough, will be working with a team of experienced engineers at Petrofac, a leading services provider to the energy sector. Petrofac designs, builds, manages, and maintains infrastructure for the energy industries and is alreadysupporting projects that are unlocking the potential of new technology for tomorrow's carbon capture, utilisation, and storage developments. This includes the Acorn project in the North East of Scotland.

Amine scrubbing is a method of chemically capturing CO2 and concentrating it such that it can be utilised or sequestered. It is also poised to be widely deployed in the decarbonisation of industrial and power generation processes to meet global Net Zero targets.

Dr Peter Clough, Lecturer in Energy Engineering at Cranfield University said: "A major challenge of amine scrubbing is amine slip, where some of the amines, used in separating CO2 from flue gases, form aerosols and are released from the top of the absorber tower into the atmosphere. Our research will seek to demonstrate a brand-new concept for preventing the release of these fugitive amines emissions by harnessing the dipole moments* and electronic configuration of the amines to capture the aerosols."

Jonathan Carpenter, Petrofac Vice President - New Energy Services, said: "We have decades of experience in gas processing, and are excited to deploy this expertise in support of this research project. The project reflects our commitment solving the challenge of reducing emissions and unlocking the new technologies needed to reach Net Zero targets."

To comply with environmental regulation, stringent emission limits will be imposed on CO2 capture plants for the release of amines. For individual plants, meeting amine emission targets is challenging using existing technology, but may become more challenging when considering multiple CO2 capture plants in a clustered area as this may lead to stricter emission limits. The new technology will minimise amine slip and be essential for the safe implementation of amine scrubbing across industry and enable the UK to decarbonise to meet its net zero target.

Cranfield is one of ten Universities to receive the Flexible Funding 2021 award from UKCCSRC each looking at ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enable new technology development.

CalState-Channel Islands: Basic Needs Program Secures CalFresh Outreach Grant

CAMARILLO, California, Dec. 1 (TNSOps) -- California State University Channel Islands campus issued the following news release on Nov. 30, 2021:

The CSUCI Basic Needs Program, located in Aliso Hall Plaza, recently secured a grant continuation award of $230,116 from Chico State's Center for Healthy Communities (CHC).

This is a three-year grant that will be utilized to help support and expand the Basic Needs Program's CalFresh Outreach efforts. CalFresh is California's version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The purpose of CalFresh is to supplement the food budget ... Show Full Article

= Miller School of Medicine: Dr. Ranjith Ramasamy Earns Young Investigator Award of Excellence for Work in Sexual Medicine

MIAMI, Florida, Dec. 1 (TNSAwa) -- The University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine issued the following news:

Ranjith Ramasamy, M.D., associate professor and director of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Reproductive Urology Program, became the second recipient of the Young Investigator Award of Excellence from the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) Inc. during its annual fall scientific meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona.

SMSNA recently created the award for individuals who have shown great promise and made exceptional contributions to the field of sexual medicine, ... Show Full Article MIAMI, Florida, Dec. 1 (TNSAwa) -- The University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine issued the following news: Ranjith Ramasamy, M.D., associate professor and director of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Reproductive Urology Program, became the second recipient of the Young Investigator Award of Excellence from the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) Inc. during its annual fall scientific meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. SMSNA recently created the award for individuals who have shown great promise and made exceptional contributions to the field of sexual medicine,an area that Dr. Ramasamy has brought to light during COVID-19. This marks the second investigator award Dr. Ramasamy has received following the Ira and Esther Rosenwaks New Investigator Award from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in 2020.

"I was extremely humbled, honored, and happy that both societies decided to award me these honors," said Dr. Ramasamy. "These awards are ultimately a great sense of validation that hard work, teamwork, and genuine curiosity will always receive the credit it is due."

"This award from the SMSNA recognizes the excellent achievements and contributions made at an early stage in a career in the field of sexual medicine," said Serge Carrier, M.D., president of the SMSNA. "Dr. Ramasamy being awarded with the Young Investigator Award of Excellence is well deserved with the exceptional amount of research and publications he has done in the field of sexual health."

Research Breakthroughs

It was Dr. Ramasamy's research on COVID-19, infertility and sexual dysfunction that led to his breakthrough year in 2020-2021. As the pandemic took hold, Dr. Ramasamy was the first to publish data on the safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for male reproduction, as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 virus on male fertility, penile tissue, and erectile dysfunction. These findings have helped to answer global questions on the urological impacts of COVID-19.

As a result, Dr. Ramasamy's research made international headlines and made him a sought-after authority on the subject. He debunked misinformation about COVID and the vaccine and interacted with more than 6,000 social media followers.

For now the work continues as Dr. Ramasamy will use his platform in the medical field and public eye to bring attention to new urological discoveries.

"As the impacts of COVID-19 will likely last for many years, we're focused on the phenomena of long COVID-19 and its impact on male reproduction following acute infection recovery," Dr. Ramasamy said.

* * *

URL: Sexual Medicine Society of North America

- University of Minnesota Announces Quinn Gaalswyk as Its New Chief Auditor

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, Dec. 1 (TNSPer) -- The University of Minnesota issued the following news release on Nov. 30, 2021:

Following public interviews with three finalists earlier today, the University of Minnesota Board of Regents selected Quinn Gaalswyk to be the University's next chief auditor. This hire comes following a national search by the Board after the University's long-time chief auditor, Gail Klatt, retired in Fall 2021.

"As a Board, we have a duty to ensure the University effectively and responsibly uses every dollar it receives and that University policies are followed," said Board ... Show Full Article MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, Dec. 1 (TNSPer) -- The University of Minnesota issued the following news release on Nov. 30, 2021: Following public interviews with three finalists earlier today, the University of Minnesota Board of Regents selected Quinn Gaalswyk to be the University's next chief auditor. This hire comes following a national search by the Board after the University's long-time chief auditor, Gail Klatt, retired in Fall 2021. "As a Board, we have a duty to ensure the University effectively and responsibly uses every dollar it receives and that University policies are followed," said Boardof Regents Chair Ken Powell. "We can only do this with a strong partner auditing the University's work, providing open and transparent feedback and holding us all accountable to our policies and best practices. My Board colleagues and I are pleased to have Quinn overseeing this important work."

Gaalswyk brings extensive experience conducting University audit work, having joined the Office of Internal Audit (OIA) 14 years ago. During his time at the University, Gaalswyk has supported a broad range of responsibilities, from managing teams and overseeing significant audit and investigative work to exploring ways to improve or grow the work of OIA. Previously, Gaalswyk served as a senior auditor with global firm Ernst & Young. He also provides governance-level audit perspective to the Metropolitan Council as a member of its audit committee and recently performed a quality assessment review for Arizona State University on its internal audit function.

The University's chief auditor provides independent assurance and advisory services to add value and improve University operations across all of its five campuses. This person leads the OIA and is responsible for designing, organizing and directing this function to continually assess whether the University's network of risk management, internal control and governance is adequate and functioning effectively.

In keeping with standard practice for the hiring of senior leaders, the Board will act on Gaalswyk's employment agreement at its December meeting.

- UC-San Diego: Frank Wurthwein Named Director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center

LA JOLLA, California, Dec. 1 (TNSPer) -- The University of California San Diego campus issued the following news release:

The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) has a new director. Frank Wurthwein, lead of SDSC's Distributed High-Throughput Computing Group, executive director of the Open Science Grid (OSG), a physics professor and a founding faculty member of the Halicioglu Data Science Institute at UC San Diego assumes the role Dec. 1.

"We are confident that Professor Wurthwein will guide the SDSC, one of the original National Science Foundation supercomputer centers, boldly into the future ... Show Full Article LA JOLLA, California, Dec. 1 (TNSPer) -- The University of California San Diego campus issued the following news release: The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) has a new director. Frank Wurthwein, lead of SDSC's Distributed High-Throughput Computing Group, executive director of the Open Science Grid (OSG), a physics professor and a founding faculty member of the Halicioglu Data Science Institute at UC San Diego assumes the role Dec. 1. "We are confident that Professor Wurthwein will guide the SDSC, one of the original National Science Foundation supercomputer centers, boldly into the futurebolstered by his experience and commitment to global collaboration and innovation. Chancellor Khosla joins us in looking forward to working with Professor Wurthwein in his new role," said Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth Simmons and Robert Continetti, senior associate vice chancellor, academic affairs, in the campus statement announcing Wurthwein's appointment.

Wurthwein has been serving as interim director of SDSC since July 2021 when long-time director Michael Norman, also a professor of physics, resumed his role as a full-time faculty member. Wurthwein also has served as a member of the SDSC Executive Team since 2015.

"It's an honor and my great pleasure to be taking on this responsibility, especially now, when SDSC is at the forefront of so many exciting new technologies to accelerate science, and translate innovation into practice," said Wurthwein.

As SDSC director, Wurthwein will be responsible for the strategic direction and operational management of the center, leading its more than 260 employees and volunteers, and managing the center's more than $50 million annual budget. He will guide the center in creating high-performance, innovative computing infrastructure, applications and services to support the ever-growing variety of research within and beyond the STEM fields at UC San Diego, across SDSC's national collaborations and within the global community.

Importantly, Wurthwein will work to expand the center's involvement in emerging and future domains of supercomputing. With a focus on identifying areas of investment for internal and outside partners, he will foster relationships with agencies, elected officials, organizations and others to forge collaborative and financial support pathways for the future.

Wurthwein's academic work centers around international collaborations involving the Compact Muon Solenoid at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN - work that has involved thousands of physicists and engineers from more than 200 institutions in more than 40 countries. Wurthwein will continue to serve as executive director of the OSG, the premiere national cyberinfrastructure for distributed high-throughput computing that provides high-throughput computational services for scientific institutions doing work in high-energy physics, structural biology and other domains.

Wurthwein received his Ph.D. from Cornell in 1995. After holding appointments at MIT and Caltech, where he was a Millikan Fellow, he joined the UC San Diego faculty in 2003. His research interests in particle physics include the search for dark matter, supersymmetry and electroweak symmetry breaking. As an experimentalist, Wurthwein is also interested in instrumentation and data analysis.

Over the last few years, the new SDSC director has been developing, deploying and operating worldwide distributed computing systems supporting high-throughput computing with large data volumes, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and open cyberinfrastructure to democratize access to computing for an open society. Examples of Wurthwein's impact include his work with the OSG, which focuses on high-throughput computing, and the Pacific Research Platform (PRP) and National Research Platform (NRP), which focus on AI and ML. Together, the OSG, PRP, and NRP programs prioritize the democratization of access.

- Former Oklahoma State University First Lady Ann Hargis Takes on New Role With OSU Center for Pet Therapy

STILLWATER, Oklahoma, Dec. 1 (TNSPer) -- Oklahoma State University issued the following news:

Pete's Pet Posse co-founders Ann Hargis and Kendria Cost are taking new roles to promote healthy minds across the Oklahoma State University system through the newly created OSU Center for Pet Therapy.

The center, which opened this fall in the Student Union in Stillwater, traces its roots back to 2013, when Hargis and Cost first launched Pete's Pet Posse with the goal of helping students cope with the challenges and stress of college. The program continued to grow in popularity and impact, becoming the ... Show Full Article STILLWATER, Oklahoma, Dec. 1 (TNSPer) -- Oklahoma State University issued the following news: Pete's Pet Posse co-founders Ann Hargis and Kendria Cost are taking new roles to promote healthy minds across the Oklahoma State University system through the newly created OSU Center for Pet Therapy. The center, which opened this fall in the Student Union in Stillwater, traces its roots back to 2013, when Hargis and Cost first launched Pete's Pet Posse with the goal of helping students cope with the challenges and stress of college. The program continued to grow in popularity and impact, becoming thelargest university pet therapy program in the country, and now has a permanent home base in Stillwater -- the OSU Center for Pet Therapy.

As director of the Center for Pet Therapy, Kendria Cost is leading the multi-campus team from Stillwater.

"We started pet therapy at OSU to bring smiles to the campus and quickly realized there is a much deeper emotional need uniformly across all university campuses that the dogs are uniquely capable of addressing," Cost said. "We are not counselors, but it's amazing to watch how these dogs draw out both the joy and the pain of our students simply by being present in the moment and offering unconditional love."

Pete's Pet Posse, named after the university's iconic mascot, Pistol Pete, is under the umbrella of the Center for Pet Therapy along with the student auxiliary called Ruff Riders, an advisory board and research board. The center was created from donated funds in an endowment from the OSU Foundation and operates independently. Pete's Pet Posse has nearly 60 dogs working on five OSU campuses: Oklahoma State University, the OSU Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa, OSU Tulsa, the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah and at OSU-OKC.

Former OSU First Cowgirl Ann Hargis continues the work she started with her therapy dog Scruff while serving as OSU's First Lady. Ann and Scruff serve both the Stillwater and Oklahoma City campuses and are available as needed system wide.

"When we started this program, we never dreamed of its impact on the students, faculty, staff and even campus visitors. The dogs have a magic about them that is contagious," said Hargis. "Parents and students tell us Pete's Pet Posse is one of the reasons they chose OSU and the program is regularly ranked among the top university programs in student satisfaction surveys. This semester, we are easily seeing 100 students an hour at the Edmon Low Library visits -- that is a lot of smiles."

"For the first time, we have a home!" continued Cost. "Our new hub is a very orange place for guests, students, parents and faculty to stop by and ask questions, talk to Ruff Riders about experiencing the pet therapy teams and to schedule visits. Most visits are scheduled in the places where the students congregate, the Union, campus events, student organizations, campus offices, Greek houses and residence halls and of course - the OSU Library."

Existing Customer Login