Astronauts on the International Space Station star in NASA's first space-plus-Earth Google+ Hangout.
By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News
NASA followed one of the classic rules for Internet videos during its first space-to-Earth Google Hangout on Friday: If you want to bring in the viewers, don't forget the cats.
Astronaut Tom Marshburn's demonstration of how an astronaut in the International Space Station's zero-gravity environment can imitate a falling kitty was one of the highlights of the hourlong video chat, which addressed more than 30 questions sent in via YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and real-time hookups with kids across the country.
One of the questions, phrased in the form of a video, came from the host of the "Smarter Every Day" webcast series, a rocket engineer known as Destin. (He keeps mum about his last name to protect his kids, who appear in the webcasts.) Destin ran his own mini-video showing how a falling cat rights itself in the air to land on its feet, and asked if the astronauts could match that feat in zero-G.
"We don't have any cats onboard," said space station commander Kevin Ford, "but we have a medical doctor who maybe can try to demonstrate the next best thing to a cat."
Marshburn, who's a physician as well as an astronaut, then proceeded to float in front of the camera and twist his body to change position ? not quite as adroitly as the cats, but not bad for a human.
"I hope you believe that what you saw happened with the cat isn't a mystery, and that it can happen in space, too," Ford concluded. You can watch the demonstration around the 33-minute mark in the Hangout video.
Other astronauts participating in the chat included Canada's Chris Hadfield aboard the station, and NASA's Ron Garan and Nicole Stott on the ground. They took questions passed along from social media by NASA moderator John Yembrick; from live-video hookups with classrooms at University High School in Orlando, Fla., and Mescalero Apache School in New Mexico; and from a youngster named Fred whose video link was facilitated by the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Google
Astronauts Tom Marshburn, Kevin Ford and Chris Hadfield join the Google+ Hangout.
Here are a few more nuggets from the video:
Hadfield said that this week's communications outage on the space station was "not that big a deal," and that the crew members were well-trained to operate the station even when they were out of contact with ground controllers. "It wasn't any sort of panic or anything, it was just us dealing with a problem on the ground, and our crew dealing with the problem on board," he said.?
Getting into the right sleep cycle is a big challenge on the space station, where there are 16 sunsets and sunrises every day. Garan said that when it gets close to bedtime, some astronauts avoid looking out the window at Earth's bright side. Stott said NASA is experimenting with a scheme that makes the lighting inside the space station more bluish for the "morning" of the astronauts' workday, and more orangish during the "evening."
The station's crew members showed off the medical kits they kept on board for health problems, but if there's a life-threatening emergency on board, astronauts would get into one of the Russian Soyuz capsules attached to the station and fly the stricken crew member back to Earth. "Our Soyuz is our ambulance," Marshburn said.?
When the astronauts were asked which scientist from the past they wish they could bring to the space station, Marshburn instantly said Isaac Newton, who drew up physics' three laws of motion in the 17th century. "We see what he could only imagine," Marshburn said.?
Taking pictures from space is a challenging task that requires advance training, due to the sharp contrast between the blackness of outer space and the brilliance of the planet below, Hadfield said. But there's one big plus: Because of the zero-G environment, it's a lot easier to handle huge telephoto lenses. "Every photographer in the world would love to have that much glass in front of their eyes ... and not have to balance it," Hadfield said.
When the astronauts were asked about their growing social-media stardom, Hadfield said, "I don't think anybody tries to push the edge of human experience more than we do." Being able to see the whole world below is "too good an experience not to share," and avenues such as Twitter, Facebook and Google+ help facilitate that, he said. He noted that a lot of the astronauts' popularity had to do with their unique perspective. "We know just how lucky we are to be here," Hadfield said.
For more outer-space video goodness, tune in the Weekly Space Hangout at 3 p.m. ET Friday. Yours truly will be on the screen along with other scribes to review the week's space news, including the meteor blast that hit Russia a week ago.
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
The Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said Friday that he's interested in writing legislation this year improving background checks for gun buyers and cracking down on illegal firearms sales.
In an interview, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., provided little detail about his plans. But he said the federal background check system should be fixed to make sure more people with serious mental illnesses don't get firearms.
Criminals and people with significant mental problems are among those barred by federal law from buying guns. States are supposed to supply the federal background check system with purchasers' mental health records, but often they do not because of privacy rules and other barriers.
"We want to improve that system to try to screen out people who should not be able to possess firearms," Goodlatte said.
Until now, House GOP leaders have only said they will wait to act until the Democratic-run Senate produces legislation. The Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., could begin writing its own gun curb measure in the next week or two.
Goodlatte did not say when his panel might write legislation, but he said he would not necessarily wait for the Senate to pass legislation.
President Barack Obama has proposed near-universal background checks. Currently, the checks are only required for purchases from federally licensed gun dealers, not sales between private individuals at gun shows, online or elsewhere.
Goodlatte said his legislation would be unlikely to require private background checks for private gun sales between people.
Obama also wants to ban assault weapons and ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Goodlatte said he opposes those ideas.
Goodlatte did not say when his panel might write legislation. His comments that the House would begin acting on gun legislation were first reported by Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Congress.
Details remain unclear about the mental health of Adam Lanza, who shot 26 people to death at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school in December. But shooters in some recent mass shootings have been afflicted with mental problems, including those involved in the Virginia Tech killings in 2007 and the 2011 Tucson attack that killed six people and wounded 13, including then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.
As other congressional Republicans have done, Goodlatte also complained that current gun laws are not being enforced sufficiently. He and other GOP members of the Judiciary Committee wrote letters Friday to Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, asking for data on federal firearms prosecutions for the past 11 years.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) ? The passengers of the Carnival cruise ship Triumph began the process of getting back to normal early Friday, checking into hotels for a shower, hot meal and good night's sleep or boarding buses bound for other cities after five numbing days at sea on a powerless ship disabled by an engine-room fire.
The cruise ship carrying some 4,200 people finally docked late Thursday in Mobile, as passengers raucously cheered the end to an ocean odyssey they say was marked by overflowing toilets, food shortages and foul odors.
"Sweet Home Alabama!" read one of the homemade signs passengers affixed alongside the 14-story ship as many celebrated at deck rails lining several levels of the stricken ship. The ship's horn loudly blasted several times as four tugboats pulled the crippled ship to shore at about 9:15 p.m. CST. Some gave a thumbs-up sign and flashes from cameras and cellphones lit the night.
Less than four hours later, the last passenger had disembarked.
Some, like 56-year-old Deborah Knight of Houston, had no interest in boarding one of about 100 buses assembled to carry passengers to hotels in New Orleans or Texas. Her husband Seth drove in from Houston and they checked into a downtown Mobile hotel.
"I want a hot shower and a daggum Whataburger," said Knight, who was wearing a bathrobe over her clothes as her bags were unloaded from her husband's pickup truck. She said she was afraid to eat the food on board and had gotten sick while on the ship.
Later, buses arrived in the pre-dawn darkness at the Hilton in New Orleans to reporters and paramedics on the scene with wheelchairs to roll in passengers who were elderly or too fatigued to walk.
Many were tired and didn't want to talk. There were long lines to check into rooms. Some got emotional as they described the deplorable conditions of the ship.
"It was horrible, just horrible" said Maria Hernandez, 28, of Angleton, Texas, tears welling in her eyes as she talked about waking up to smoke in her lower-level room Sunday and the days of heat and stench to follow. She was on a "girls trip" with friends.
She said the group hauled mattresses to upper-level decks to escape the heat. As she pulled her luggage into the hotel, a flashlight around her neck, she managed a smile and even a giggle when asked to show her red "poo-poo bag" ? distributed by the cruise line for collecting human waste.
This was only part of her journey to get home. Hernandez, like hundreds others, would get to enjoy a brief reprieve at the hotel before flying home later in the day.
"I just can't wait to be home," she said.
It wasn't long after the ship pulled into the Port of Mobile that passengers began streaming down the gang plank, some in wheelchairs and others pulling carry-on luggage. One man gave the thumbs up.
An ambulance pulled up to a gate and pulled away, lights flashing.
Carnival had said it would take up to five hours for all the 3,000 passengers to be off. It took closer to four.
"All guests have now disembarked the Carnival Triumph," Carnival tweeted.
For 24-year-old Brittany Ferguson of Texas, not knowing how long passengers had to endure their time aboard was the worst part.
"I'm feeling awesome just to see land and buildings," said Ferguson, who was in a white robe given to her aboard to weather the cold nights. "The scariest part was just not knowing when we'd get back."
As the ship pulled up, some aboard shouted, "Hello, Mobile!" Some danced in celebration on one of the balconies. "Happy V-Day" read one of the homemade signs made for the Valentine's Day arrival and another, more starkly: "The ship's afloat, so is the sewage."
A few dozen relatives on the top floor of the parking deck of the terminal were waving lights at the ship as it carefully made its way alongside. Those about were screaming, whistling and taking pictures.
Hundreds gawked from dockside at the arrival at the Alabama cruise terminal in Mobile, the state's only seaport, as the Triumph docked.
Taxis were lined up waiting for people, and motorists on Interstate 10 stopped to watch the exodus of passengers from the cruise ship.
Some still aboard chanted, "Let me off, let me off!"
It took six grueling hours navigating the 30-odd-mile ship channel to dock, guided by at least four towboats. Nearly 900 feet in length, it was the largest cruise ship ever to dock at Mobile.
In texts and flitting cellphone calls, the ship's passengers described miserable conditions while at sea.
Buses left the terminal over several hours. Up to 100 had been reserved to carry passengers either on a seven-hour ride to the Texas cities of Galveston or Houston or a two-hour trip to New Orleans.
Galveston is the home port of the ill-fated ship, which lost power in an engine-room fire Sunday some 150 miles off Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. It was the end of a cruise that wasn't anything like what a brochure might describe.
Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill apologized at a news conference and later on the public address system as people were disembarking.
"I appreciate the patience of our guests and their ability to cope with the situation. And I'd like to reiterate the apology I made earlier. I know the conditions on board were very poor," he said. "We pride ourselves on providing our guests with a great vacation experience, and clearly we failed in this particular case."
Passenger Ferguson said crew members tried to make the situation bearable.
"They did their best to keep our spirits up," she said.
Joseph and Cecilia Alvarez of San Antonio said some passengers passed the time by forming a Bible study group.
"It was awesome," he said. "It lifted up our souls and gave us hope that we would get back."
While the passengers are headed home, Triumph will head to a Mobile shipyard for assessment.
Earlier Thursday ? four days after the 893-foot ship was crippled in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico ? the passengers and crew suffered another setback with towline issues that brought the vessel to a dead stop for about an hour just as it was getting close to port.
As the vessel drew within cellphone range Thursday, passengers vented their anger.
In a text message, Kalin Hill, of Houston, described deplorable conditions over the past few days.
"The lower floors had it the worst, the floors 'squish' when you walk and lots of the lower rooms have flooding from above floors," Hill wrote. "Half the bachelorette party was on two; the smell down there literally chokes you and hurts your eyes."
She said "there's poop and urine all along the floor. The floor is flooded with sewer water ... and we had to poop in bags."
The company disputed the accounts of passengers who described the ship as filthy, saying employees were doing everything to ensure people were comfortable.
Carnival has canceled a dozen more planned voyages aboard the Triumph and acknowledged the crippled ship had been plagued by other mechanical problems in the weeks before the engine-room blaze. The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation.
Passengers were supposed to get a full refund and discounts on future cruises, and Carnival announced Wednesday they would each get an additional $500 in compensation.
Kendall Jenkins of Houston won her first cruise as a contest prize. But she's never planning to set sail on a cruise again after the ill-fated voyage of the Triumph, despite the offer for another free cruise.
"This is my first and last cruise. So if anyone wants my free cruise look me up," said Jenkins, 24.
She and her friend, Brittany Ferguson, bounded off the ship Thursday night clad in bathrobes. They immediately kissed the pavement at the Port of Mobile, having spent their final minutes aboard jumping up and down excitedly.
___
Associated Press writers Ramit Plushnick-Masti in Houston, Stacey Plaisance in New Orleans, Bob Johnson in Montgomery, Ala., and Melissa Nelson-Gabriel in Mobile, Ala., contributed to this report.
Ian McDiarmid as Galileo (left) and James Tucker as the Bursar (Image: Ellie Kurtz)
It has been more than 400 years since Galileo Galilei pointed his telescope toward the night sky and observed the movement of the moons around Jupiter, providing proof that all things do not revolve around the Earth - and drawing the ire of the Catholic church.
And it has been nearly 80 years since playwright Bertolt Brecht wrote the first version of A Life of Galileo?while living in Denmark after fleeing Germany when Hitler took power.
Yet the latest retelling of this famous tale by the Royal Shakespeare Company underscores the emphatically contemporary nature of the struggle between static world views and dynamic knowledge.
This is reinforced by using the familiar, modern clothing of tweedy dishevelment among Galileo and his colleagues and pupils, and sets featuring the lab-staple whiteboard and a large blue backdrop that resembles a wall of solar panels.
But of course this is not simply an old story with modern accoutrements and gimmicky staging. Portrayed by Ian McDiarmid, Galileo?s compulsive curiosity, his sheer joy when his pupil grasps a new concept for the first time, and his bewildered frustration when adversaries refuse to observe the evidence literally in front of them feel both timely and timeless. ?All I ask is for them to believe their eyes!? exclaims poor Galileo.
In a moment when 46 per cent of US citizens believe the Earth is less than 10,000 years old and four US states are weighing up bills that would challenge the teaching of evolution, the tension remains strong between theologies that carve out a creation story for humans and the evidence that we are the serendipitous result of millions of years of evolution.
There are strong reminders of these tensions in the play, for example, when a cleric bullies Galileo to keep his heliocentric ideas to himself, crystallising the church?s terror at the implications of his ideas: ?Is no one watching us?" asks the cleric. "Has no one imagined a part for us to play other than this one??
Galileo is cowed into compromise. His new ideas may be used to help seafarers better navigate by the stars, but not to upend the understanding of the order of things. They may answer practical questions, but not existential ones. ?We may research, but we may not draw conclusions.?
He accepts the new conditions in word only. His experiments continue, and when given the slimmest opening his feverish curiosity breaks out into the light of day. When he learns that his friend and science enthusiast Cardinal Barberini may ascend to the papacy, he lauds the arrival of an era of reason. Too soon, of course.
In the second act, we meet the new pope in his undergarments. As he debates the use of torture and threats to force Galileo to renounce the Copernican ideas laid out in his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Barberini dons layer upon layer of vestments. Crimson robes, a glittering great cape, and finally the mitre: when he is cloaked in the power of his office, Barberini assents to the threat of torture.
The scene parallels the opening scene of the play, in which Galileo, also in only his undergarments, is bathing and getting ready for the day. The contrast is evident: in the flesh, they are both ageing men. But their power to spread ideas is proportional to the grandeur of their garments. When Galileo is threatened and ultimately abjures his earlier assertions, he returns beaten and bare-legged in a crumpled white gown.
The legacy of Galileo?s recantation is left open. Brecht rewrote aspects of the play following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, when he was living in the US. ?Overnight the biography of the founder of the new system of physics read differently,? he wrote in an introduction to the new version. ?The infernal effect of the great bomb placed the conflict between Galileo and the authorities of his day in a new sharper light.?
Brecht never saw the stage production of his later version in New York, as he left the country after being questioned by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
By the end of the play, Galileo is wary of science shaped by interests more nefarious than the quest for truth. He sees a danger in scientists being reduced to little more than ?inventing pygmies? for sale to the highest bidder, their ideas open to be used for cruel ends. Galileo?s public recantation and private pursuit of truth and Brecht?s ambivalence about the responsibility of scientists to shape the use of their research for the benefit of humankind are not necessarily two sides of the same coin, it seems.
But it isn?t clear that in publicly defying the church Galileo would have reshaped the way that scientific knowledge is applied. And in real life, as in the play, in sneaking his final, influential publication Discourse and Mathematical Demonstrations About Two New Sciences out under the noses of the church which held him under house arrest for the final years of his life, Galileo seems vindicated in his decision to live to think another day.
As New Yorker critic Adam Gopnik recently put it, ?the best reason we have to believe in the moons of Jupiter is that no one has to be prepared to die for them in order for them to be real?.
It may be an excruciatingly slow process, but the truth has a way of emerging into the light eventually. It was just two decades ago - and 350 years after Galileo?s death - that the Catholic church finally admitted that it had been wrong to condemn him.
A Life of Galileo is on at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, until 30 March.
Cancer drugs should kill tumors, not encourage their spread. But new evidence suggests that an otherwise promising class of drugs may actually increase the risk of tumors spreading to bone, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The drugs, IAP antagonists, block survival signals that many cancer cells rely on to stay alive. Working in mice, the investigators found that targeting the same protein that makes tumors vulnerable to death also overactivates cells called osteoclasts, which are responsible for tearing down bone.
?These investigational drugs are getting broad attention right now because they seem to be very effective against primary tumors,? says senior author Deborah V. Novack, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine. ?There is also excitement because until now, these drugs have not appeared to have major side effects.?
The research appears in the February issue of Cancer Discovery.
In light of the study, Novack urges oncologists to think about protecting bone in patients taking IAP antagonists, including patients with cancers that don?t typically spread to bone. Numerous IAP antagonists are in early clinical trials against breast, lung, pancreatic, ovarian, prostate, liver, skin and blood cancers.
?For many of these cancers, doctors are not watching bone,? Novack says. ?Osteoporosis is not the biggest concern when treating cancer, but if they?re not doing bone scans, they may miss a cancer spreading to bone.?
To maintain healthy bone, osteoclasts work in tandem with cells that build new bone. But IAP antagonists overactivate osteoclasts, destroying bone that is not replaced. In mice, the researchers showed that the drug led to osteoporosis, creating an environment that encouraged tumor growth in degrading bone, even while simultaneously killing breast cancer cells elsewhere.
After showing that the problem with IAP antagonists is specific to bone, Novack and her colleagues tested long-established drugs called bisphosphonates that inhibit osteoclasts and are used to treat osteoporosis.
?We found that bisphosphonate treatment protected bone from the negative effects of these drugs,? Novack says. ?While bisphosphonates are common for breast cancer patients, they?re not, for example, commonly given to lung cancer patients. But since IAP antagonists are now in lung cancer trials, we?re saying doctors may want to consider bisphosphonate treatment for lung cancer or other cancer patients receiving these drugs. Or at least closely monitor the bone status.?
IAP antagonists are now only available to patients enrolled in phase 1 or 2 clinical trials. While these kinds of trials examine the short-term safety and effectiveness of new drugs, the researchers say they may not catch bone metastasis.
?These trials do not necessarily look for long-term effects of the drugs,? says Chang Yang, MD, PhD, staff scientist and the paper?s first author. ?If the cancer is going to metastasize to bone, it may take six months to two years to see that outcome. This may not be seen during the clinical trial.?
Numerous drug companies are developing IAP antagonists intended for many kinds of cancer, but only Genentech agreed to provide Novack and her colleagues with its drug, called BV6, to evaluate in the study. Because the investigators could not obtain other proprietary IAP antagonists, they also made two other similar drug compounds and found them to have the same detrimental effects on the bone.
And to further ensure that over-stimulated osteoclasts are the only culprit in the bone metastasis associated with these new drugs, they performed studies in mice that lack the ability to dial up the production of osteoclasts. Even when given IAP antagonists, these mice were protected from osteoporosis and osteoclast activation.
Together, Novack says the studies have demonstrated that these results are unlikely to be a quirk of a particular compound.
?The osteoporosis and spread of tumors we see in bone are unintended side effects of IAP antagonists, but they?re not off-target effects,? she says. ?They?re based on the mechanism of action for the entire class of drugs.?
Yang C, Davis JL, Zeng R, Vora P, Su X, Collins LI, Vangveravong S, Mach RH, Piwnica-Worms D, Weilbaecher KN, Faccio R, Novack DV. Anticancer IAP inhibition increases bone metastasis via unexpected osteoclast activation. Cancer Discovery. February 2013.
This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant number AR052705, with additional support from AR52921 and AR53628, CA100730, and the Barnes-Jewish Foundation. Histological and microCT analysis was supported in part by the Washington University Center for Musculoskeletal Research NIH/National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), grant number AR057235. The Molecular Imaging Center was supported by NIH grant P50 CA94056. Genentech, Inc. provided BV6.
Washington University School of Medicine?s 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children?s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children?s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
? AFP/Powered By Newslook This video still image shows the smoke trail created by the meteor that exploded over the Chelyabinsk region of Russia on Feb. 15, 2013.
It's really starting to look like the sky is falling.
According to media reports, a fireball streaked through the skies above California's Bay Area Friday evening (Feb. 15), just hours after another bright meteor exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk and a 150-foot-wide (45 meters) asteroid gave Earth a historically close shave.
The Bay Area fireball blazed up around 7:45 p.m. local time Friday (10:45 p.m. EST; 0345 GMT Saturday), NBC Bay Area reported. The meteor apparently had a bluish tinge and was visible over a wide swath of the region, from Fairfield north of San Francisco Bay down to Gilroy, which is south of San Jose.
There were no immediate reports of injuries, which distinguished the California fireball from its Russian counterpart. The Chelyabinsk blast generated a powerful shock wave that damaged hundreds of buildings and wounded more than 1,000 people.
Friday's Russian fireball was the largest such explosion since a 1908 airburst levelled 825 square miles (2,137 square kilometers) of forest in the Tunguska region of Siberia, NASA scientists said.
The flyby of asteroid 2012 DA14, which also took place Friday, didn't generate such pyrotechnics in the atmosphere, but it was dramatic enough in its own right. The space rock cruised to within 17,200 miles (27,000 kilometers) of Earth at one point, coming closer than the ring of geosynchronous satellites circling the planet.
The flyby marked the closest approach of such a large asteroid that astronomers had ever known about in advance.
The space rock that generated the Chelyabinsk fireball had nothing to do with asteroid 2012 DA14, NASA researchers stressed. Little is known about where the Bay Area meteor came from at the moment, but it may turn out to be unrelated as well, making Friday a day of truly improbable cosmic coincidences.
UTSA engineering dean C. Mauli Agrawal receives award from Society for BiomaterialsPublic release date: 12-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: KC Scharnberg kc.scharnberg@utsa.edu 210-458-7555 University of Texas at San Antonio
Agrawal's 25 years of service to orthopedic and cardiovascular biomaterials recognized internationally
C. Mauli Agrawal, David and Jennifer Spencer Distinguished Chair for the Dean of Engineering and Peter Flawn Professor in Biomedical Engineering at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), has been selected as the sole recipient of the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) 2013 Award for Service. The award honors Agrawal's significant service to the SFB in establishing, developing, maintaining and promoting its objectives and goals and the field of biomaterials.
He will be recognized at the society's annual meeting in Boston, Mass., April 10-13.
"It is truly an honor to receive this international recognition," says Agrawal. "I was fortunate to enter the field of biomaterials when some of the pioneers who changed the practice of medicine through revolutionary implants were still active. I have been privileged to learn from them and pass on the tradition to younger generations. This has made my 25 years in the field very fulfilling."
Agrawal specializes in the area of orthopedic and cardiovascular biomaterials. His work in these fields has resulted in several patents, many of which have been licensed to commercial entities. His lab is currently investigating tissue engineering approaches to treat aortic aneurysms, developing new technologies for drug eluting stents, exploring some revolutionary techniques for preventing blood loss related to battlefield injuries, and developing stent based micro-thin implantable blood pressure sensors.
Lynne Jones of Johns Hopkins University and chair of the Society for Biomaterials Awards, Ceremonies and Nominations Committee says, "Dr. Agrawal's service to the Society for Biomaterials has been demonstrated in many ways across many years. It is a pleasure to recognize his many contributions to the SFB."
During his professional career, Agrawal has been the recipient of several honors and awards, and has authored more than 300 scientific publications, four scientific books, and has established more than a dozen patents. He is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, an honor reserved for those in the top two percent of the medical and biological engineering field. In 2010, he was awarded the distinguished BioMed SA's Julio Palmaz Award for Innovation in Healthcare and the Biosciences.
He was elected president of the Society for Biomaterials in 2006 and served as the chair of its Annual Scientific Meeting in 2001. Additionally, he is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Sigma XI Society, Biomedical Engineering Society and the Engineering Deans' Council. He also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research (Applied Biomaterials), Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, and IEEE Systems of Systems.
Agrawal earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India, his master's degree in mechanical engineering from Clemson University, and his Ph.D. in materials science from Duke University.
Agrawal came to San Antonio in 1991 for a position as assistant professor of orthopaedics and director of orthopaedic biomaterals at The University of Texas Health Science Center. In 2003 he joined the UTSA College of Engineering as associate dean for research and was appointed dean in 2005. He established the department of biomedical engineering at UTSA as well as led the effort to establish the joint biomedical program between UTSA and the UT Health Science Center, the Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute, the Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship and the Interactive Technology Experience Center (iTEC).
Under Agrawal's leadership, the college's annual research expenditures have increased dramatically from $1 million to $14 million, he has recruited faculty from top universities across the world, and student enrollment has nearly doubled, putting UTSA on the map as the fastest growing engineering program in the state.
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The Society for Biomaterials is the world's premier professional organizations for implants and biomaterials with members from more than 25 countries. For more information, visit http://www.biomaterials.org.
Nationally ranked and recognized, UTSA College of Engineering provides world-class education and research opportunities to the region's multicultural community, to the nation and beyond. The college offers 16 different graduate and undergraduate degrees to its 2,500 students within the departments of biomedical, civil and environmental, electrical and computer, and mechanical engineering and is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. For more information, visit http://www.engineering.utsa.edu.
About UTSA
The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the largest of nine academic universities and six health institutions in the UT System. As a multicultural institution, UTSA aims to be a national research university providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
UTSA serves nearly 31,000 students in 135 degree programs in the colleges of Architecture, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Honors, Liberal and Fine Arts, Public Policy, Sciences and Graduate School. Founded in 1969, UTSA is an intellectual and creative resource center and a socioeconomic development catalyst for Texas and beyond. For more information, visit UTSA online at http://www.utsa.edu and on Twitter @UTSANews.
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UTSA engineering dean C. Mauli Agrawal receives award from Society for BiomaterialsPublic release date: 12-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: KC Scharnberg kc.scharnberg@utsa.edu 210-458-7555 University of Texas at San Antonio
Agrawal's 25 years of service to orthopedic and cardiovascular biomaterials recognized internationally
C. Mauli Agrawal, David and Jennifer Spencer Distinguished Chair for the Dean of Engineering and Peter Flawn Professor in Biomedical Engineering at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), has been selected as the sole recipient of the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) 2013 Award for Service. The award honors Agrawal's significant service to the SFB in establishing, developing, maintaining and promoting its objectives and goals and the field of biomaterials.
He will be recognized at the society's annual meeting in Boston, Mass., April 10-13.
"It is truly an honor to receive this international recognition," says Agrawal. "I was fortunate to enter the field of biomaterials when some of the pioneers who changed the practice of medicine through revolutionary implants were still active. I have been privileged to learn from them and pass on the tradition to younger generations. This has made my 25 years in the field very fulfilling."
Agrawal specializes in the area of orthopedic and cardiovascular biomaterials. His work in these fields has resulted in several patents, many of which have been licensed to commercial entities. His lab is currently investigating tissue engineering approaches to treat aortic aneurysms, developing new technologies for drug eluting stents, exploring some revolutionary techniques for preventing blood loss related to battlefield injuries, and developing stent based micro-thin implantable blood pressure sensors.
Lynne Jones of Johns Hopkins University and chair of the Society for Biomaterials Awards, Ceremonies and Nominations Committee says, "Dr. Agrawal's service to the Society for Biomaterials has been demonstrated in many ways across many years. It is a pleasure to recognize his many contributions to the SFB."
During his professional career, Agrawal has been the recipient of several honors and awards, and has authored more than 300 scientific publications, four scientific books, and has established more than a dozen patents. He is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, an honor reserved for those in the top two percent of the medical and biological engineering field. In 2010, he was awarded the distinguished BioMed SA's Julio Palmaz Award for Innovation in Healthcare and the Biosciences.
He was elected president of the Society for Biomaterials in 2006 and served as the chair of its Annual Scientific Meeting in 2001. Additionally, he is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Sigma XI Society, Biomedical Engineering Society and the Engineering Deans' Council. He also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research (Applied Biomaterials), Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, and IEEE Systems of Systems.
Agrawal earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India, his master's degree in mechanical engineering from Clemson University, and his Ph.D. in materials science from Duke University.
Agrawal came to San Antonio in 1991 for a position as assistant professor of orthopaedics and director of orthopaedic biomaterals at The University of Texas Health Science Center. In 2003 he joined the UTSA College of Engineering as associate dean for research and was appointed dean in 2005. He established the department of biomedical engineering at UTSA as well as led the effort to establish the joint biomedical program between UTSA and the UT Health Science Center, the Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute, the Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship and the Interactive Technology Experience Center (iTEC).
Under Agrawal's leadership, the college's annual research expenditures have increased dramatically from $1 million to $14 million, he has recruited faculty from top universities across the world, and student enrollment has nearly doubled, putting UTSA on the map as the fastest growing engineering program in the state.
###
The Society for Biomaterials is the world's premier professional organizations for implants and biomaterials with members from more than 25 countries. For more information, visit http://www.biomaterials.org.
Nationally ranked and recognized, UTSA College of Engineering provides world-class education and research opportunities to the region's multicultural community, to the nation and beyond. The college offers 16 different graduate and undergraduate degrees to its 2,500 students within the departments of biomedical, civil and environmental, electrical and computer, and mechanical engineering and is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. For more information, visit http://www.engineering.utsa.edu.
About UTSA
The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the largest of nine academic universities and six health institutions in the UT System. As a multicultural institution, UTSA aims to be a national research university providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
UTSA serves nearly 31,000 students in 135 degree programs in the colleges of Architecture, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Honors, Liberal and Fine Arts, Public Policy, Sciences and Graduate School. Founded in 1969, UTSA is an intellectual and creative resource center and a socioeconomic development catalyst for Texas and beyond. For more information, visit UTSA online at http://www.utsa.edu and on Twitter @UTSANews.
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This past Saturday was another shower I co-hosted. ?The shower was at my sister's home, but I took over was responsible for the decorating. ?Perhaps you remember my vintage inspired baby shower a couple of years ago or my daughter's wedding shower last summer... if you know me, then you know that I'm a "theme" girl and this one was not different. ?The theme of course was "circus"... with a bit of carnival and zoo thrown in for good measure. ?Getting all the goods to my sister's house was a bit of a challenge... my little Honda Civic was loaded to the roof with all the stuff I hauled over there!
I forgot to take a picture of the invites. ?I ordered them from Paper Coterie so I was able to send myself a copy, except that the actual invites weren't just rectangular... they were all curvy... and very cute! ?Notice the font was even a circus poster kind of font and the colors helped set the stage for the shower decorations.
Since starting the planning last fall, I've been collecting vintage items at the thrift store, garage sales and antique stores. ?This cute little animal cracker tin was just pennies at the thrift store and the little vintage clown heads are tissue Christmas ornaments found at a local antique store. ?The pale aqua folding chair is child sized and I've had it for a number of years... I like to use it for a bit of height. ?The ticket rolls were ordered from my new favorite party supply store...
A couple of boxes of animal crackers were a must... along with salt water taffy and some vintage ticket bundles.
I found some vintage looking soda pops at my local grocery store...
And no circus themed anything would be?complete?without popcorn! ?We filled vintage styled popcorn bags with caramel corn.
One of the recipes I found on Pinterest was for crock pot hot chocolate. ?So with this still being February and technically winter I wanted to have a hot chocolate bar! ?Toppings like shaved chocolate, mini chocolate chips, chocolate covered marshmallows and of course... plenty of whipped cream!
The other beverage option was lemonade... no trip to the circus would be without lemonade, right? ?We had strawberry and raspberry syrup in case the guests like their lemonade with a bit of extra flavor.
And you just KNEW that there would be paper straws.... right? ?And this little framed photo was just downloaded from the internet... the frames were just inexpensive plastic frames from Ikea. ?We used red, green and white although the red and green may only be available for the Christmas holidays....
The food was fun and finger sized....
Of course, once again I forgot to photograph the food table with the actual food in place! ?But we had?Chinese?chicken salad in white takeout boxes, mini quiche, stuffed mushrooms, pizza puffs (also found on Pinterest and delicious) and veggies with dip.
Vintage styled party hats, tickets, suckers and candy sticks were?strewn?across the table as well.
The guests enjoyed the food and the games. ?The game books were a big hit with everyone!
As were the prizes, of course!
And after all the games, prizes and lunch? ?Well treat time too. ?Mini plain white cupcakes frosted with orange, lemon and root beer frosting.
Mini low fat cheesecake cups and mini frosted brownie bites... both topped with a slice of fresh strawberry. ?A super cute small, gauzy, bunting edged circus looking tent from Ikea's kids section really spotlighted the desert table.
And no party of mine would be complete with out my fantastic sugar cookies! ?Sprinkled with little multi colored sprinkles.
Am I making you hungry for sweets yet?
But really... the stars of the day were these two little angels. ?My nephew, Carson, on the left and my cousin's son, Nash, on the right. ?Still so tiny, cuddly and sleepy!
There's nothing like the smell of a little baby.... and it was a fabulous day!
Feb. 11, 2013 ? If you want to keep your true love's heart beating strong, Susan Ofria, clinical nutrition manager at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, said the real food of love is dark chocolate and red wine. In moderation, red wine and dark chocolate are good health choices not just on Valentine's Day, but for any occasion.
"You are not even choosing between the lesser of two evils, red wine and dark chocolate have positive components that are actually good for your heart," said Ofria, a registered dietitian at the Loyola University Health System's Melrose Park campus.
Red wine and dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70 percent or higher contain resveratrol, which has been found to lower blood sugar. Red wine is also a source of catechins, which could help improve "good" HDL cholesterol.
Ofria, who is also a nutrition educator, recommends the following list of heart-healthy ingredients for February, which is national heart month, and for good heart health all year.
Eight Ways to Say "I Love You" From Loyola Dietitian
Red Wine -- "Pinots, shirahs, merlots -- all red wines are a good source of catechins and resveratrol to aid 'good' cholesterol."
Dark chocolate, 70 percent or higher cocoa content -- "Truffles, souffl?s and even hot chocolate can be a good source of resveratrol and cocoa phenols (flavonoids) as long as dark chocolate with a high content of cocoa is used."
Salmon/tuna -- "Especially white, or albacore, tuna and salmon are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, and canned salmon contains soft bones that give an added boost of calcium intake."
Flaxseeds -- "Choose either brown or golden yellow, and have them ground for a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, phytoestrogens."
Oatmeal -- "Cooked for a breakfast porridge or used in breads or desserts, oatmeal is a good source of soluble fiber, niacin, folate and potassium." Black or kidney beans -- Good source of niacin, folate, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, soluble fiber.
Walnuts and almonds -- "Both walnuts and almonds contain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, magnesium, fiber and heart-favorable mono- and polyunsaturated fats."
Blueberries/cranberries/raspberries/strawberries -- "Berries are a good source of beta carotene and lutein, anthocyanin, ellagic acid (a polyphenol), vitamin C, folate, potassium and fiber."
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What might Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine be looking for in a safety?
WR Brian Hartline and S Chris Clemons continue to look like the likeliest Dolphins free agents to return next season.
Patriots DT Vince Wilfork?s offseason training program made room for shoveling snow last weekend.
Taking a look at the Jets linebacking corps.
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti has no problem leaving football matters to G.M. Ozzie Newsome.
Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons says there?s no blueprint for going from his job to head coach.
Former Browns coach Sam Rutigliano warns owner Jimmy Haslam not to lose touch with the team.
Should Steelers LB James Harrison stay or go?
Texans LB Brian Cushing will give some updates on his rehab in an interview with the team?s website on Tuesday.
Colts players hosted local students at a show about Jackie Robinson as part of Black History Month.
The Jaguars made some changes in?their front office and announced that Macky Weaver, nephew of former owner Wayne Weaver, will be leaving the team.
Titans QB Matt Hasselbeck is working with former NFL LB Isaiah?Kacyvenski to promote a product designed to help diagnosis head injuries.
Some people don?t get why the Broncos drafted QB Brock Osweiler last year.
The Chiefs added TE Kevin Brock?to their roster.
DT Richard Seymour?s contract voided, but the Raiders still have remnants of it on their cap.
Marty Schottenheimer?s new book spares no criticism of former Chargers G.M. A.J. Smith.
G Charlie Bryant and DT Nick Hayden are the newest additions to the Cowboys roster.
A look at the state of the Giants defensive line.
How is Eagles coach Chip Kelly handling being on the podium during his press conferences?
What is WR Santana Moss? future with the Redskins?
The Bears signed CB LeQuan Lewis, who spent time with the Buccaneers and Cowboys last season.
People are talking about the Lions making a run at signing RB Reggie Bush.
S Charles Woodson and LB A.J. Hawk loom large as the Packers set their strategy for the offseason.
A vote for the Vikings and WR Percy Harvin to part ways.
The Falcons waived DB/LB Matt Hansen, who injured his knee while with the team last offseason.
A letter from Charlotte?s mayor got the ball rolling on the deal that will provide money for the Panthers? desired stadium renovations.
S Rafael Bush was to be an exclusive rights free agent, but said he?s already re-signed with the Saints.
Should the Buccaneers keep CB Eric Wright for the 2013 season?
An explanation of why trading WR Larry Fitzgerald doesn?t make sense for the Cardinals.
The Rams have teamed with Washington University to promote heart-healthy nutrition and lifestyles.
The rhino named after 49ers T Alex Boone will be living in an enclosure named after the Ravens as part of the San Francisco Zoo?s Super Bowl bet with the Maryland Zoo.
Eric Williams of the Tacoma News Tribune wonders if the Seahawks and Vikings should be talking about a trade involving QB Matt Flynn and WR Percy Harvin.
Curled up on my twin-sized bed, between the pink and lavender patterned crochet quilt, my mind wandered to a far-away place filled with romance and all the beautiful things it promised. I was about eight years-old. When I was nine, I wrote my first unpublished novel. Of course, there was a knight in shining armor, a gorgeous princess with a flowing gown, a wicked old woman who didn?t want them to be happy, and a thing called ?love? that whisked them away, together, to a tall castle far in the woods away from everything evil, where they lived happily ever after as man and wife.
As I got older, my taste in romance novels changed. I was drawn to Harlequin Romance Novels like a moth to a flame. I hid under the covers with the Mills and Boones books I traded with the girls at school. And when the multiple presences inside the house became too invasive, I crept outside to the back of the house where it was peaceful and quiet and read Danielle Steele and Sidney Sheldon under the florescent light, listening to the buzzing of mosquitoes and night moths.
Now in my mid-thirties, reality has settled the fact that those stories often times only existed inside the minds of the authors. But it takes lots of years to undo what has been deeply ingrained in a child?s mind and I?m still a work in progress. Fortunately, young girls in Africa today are not limited to the kinds of romance and fiction novels my generation was limited to because those of us who were fixated on foreign and unrealistic romance tales have grown up to rewrite those stories using characters who look like us, sound like us, and who live like us. These authors bring some reality to their novels that are a blend of fiction and real life. I reached out to five African romance writers for this piece and three decided to speak candidly about their lives and why they chose to become romance authors.
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought the arrival of Cricket's first waterproof smartphone and Three introduced an updated Galaxy S III known as the Ultrafast. Not to stop there, we'll take a trip to India to highlight the latest value-oriented smartphone. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of February 4th, 2013.
Former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron is in talks with LSU coach Les Miles to run the Tigers' offense, said a person familiar with the situation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday because the deal was not yet complete. The person says LSU hopes to have an official announcement next week.
The 52-year-old Cameron was fired by Ravens coach John Harbaugh after a Week 14 loss to the Washington Redskins. Following some late-season struggles, Baltimore went on to win the Super Bowl with former Colts coach Jim Caldwell as offensive coordinator.
Greg Studrawa has been LSU's offensive coordinator the past two seasons. He is expected to be retained as offensive line coach.
LSU went 10-3 last season and finished No. 14 in the nation, but the offense struggled with a new quarterback and an offensive line that was beset with injuries. The Tigers ranked 10th out of 14 teams in the Southeastern Conference in total offense, and first-year starting quarterback Zach Mettenberger finished near the bottom of the conference in efficiency rating. LSU was 92nd in the nation in passing.
Studrawa became offensive coordinator shortly before the 2011 season began when Steve Kragthorpe, who had been hired a few months earlier to run the offense, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Miles shuffled his staff and Kragthorpe, the former Louisville and Tulsa coach, remained on as the quarterbacks coach.
Miles and Cameron go way back. The two worked together from 1987-93 as assistants under Bo Schembechler at Michigan.
Cameron was head coach at Indiana from 1997-2001. He never had a winning record with the Hoosiers, but his offenses with Antwaan Randle-El at quarterback were productive. After that he spent five seasons as offensive coordinator with the San Diego Chargers, developing a prolific offense with Phillips Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson.
That helped him land the job as Miami Dolphins head coach in 2007, but he was fired after one season. He went 1-15 as Nick Saban's replacement in Miami.
He joined the Ravens in 2008 and helped develop quarterback Joe Flacco.
Cameron Percy of Australia follows his shot from the fairway to the ninth green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during a practice round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Cameron Percy of Australia follows his shot from the fairway to the ninth green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during a practice round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Padraig Harrington of Ireland, and his playing group make their way to the fifth green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during a practice round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Fans above the fourth tee of the Pebble Beach Golf Links watch a practice round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Actor Bill Murray, left, laughs with Andy Garcia, right, on the third tee of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during a practice round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Roberto Castro, right, walks to his ball on the tenth green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during a practice round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) ? Retief Goosen started the week celebrating his 44th birthday. The two-time U.S. Open champion has reason to feel much younger.
For starters, he's playing golf.
When he left the PGA Championship last August, Goosen wasn't sure he'd ever play again. His back had been bothering him for three years, and it reached a point that a disc in his lower back essentially had disintegrated. His only option was surgery.
"At that point, my back was so messed up I pretty much couldn't play anymore," Goosen said Wednesday at the Pebble Beach National Pro-am. "It was impossible to go through 18 holes without getting spasms in the back and struggling to hit some shots on certain lies. ... At that stage, I pretty much felt like my career was over."
The disc replacement surgery saved him.
He was walking without pain a month later, hitting wedges in December and decided over Christmas he was ready to start playing. Goosen returned at the Volvo Champions in his native South Africa last month and tied for 20th, missed the cut in the Qatar Masters and now is ready to go.
"It's nice to be back here in America," Goosen said. "My focus is to play a full schedule in America this year and get back into the swing of things."
He has a long way to go still.
Goosen is exempt only for the U.S. Open, which he last won at Shinnecock Hills in 2004. Once part of the "Big Five" with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh, he has fallen to No. 119 in the world and is no longer eligible for the biggest events ? two World Golf Championships and the Masters in the next two months.
In his favor is good health and loads of optimism.
"I feel 20 years younger coming in this year. I feel great," he said. "For me, I feel like I got a lot better chance of playing better now than I did the last couple of years at least just because the way I feel. It's still early days. We'll see how my back will hold up with this new disc. I think I'm first ever professional golfer that's had a disc replacement that plays on the tours. So we'll see how it will hold up in the next few months playing a lot and getting back into the swing things."
Goosen is one of several interesting story lines at a tournament where the star is always the course.
Mickelson is the defending champion and trying to match Mark O'Meara with a record fifth win at Pebble Beach. It helps that Lefty is coming off a wire-to-wire win last week in the Phoenix Open, which began with a 60 when his putt for golf's magic number swirled out of the cup on the last hole.
Dustin Johnson is a two-time winner at Pebble Beach and might have had three wins if not for that messy 82 he had in the final round of the U.S. Open in 2010, when he lost a three-shot lead in the final round with a triple bogey on the last hole, and it only got worse from there.
This is the final week for players to qualify for the Match Play Championship, and two-time Match Play champion Geoff Ogilvy is on the ropes. He has dropped to No. 69 ? only the top 64 qualify, if everyone plays ? and likely needs at top-five finish to get to Arizona.
Still in the tournament is Singh, another former No. 1 and Pebble champion, drawing plenty of attention for the worst reason. Singh told Sports Illustrated he used deer-antler spray said to contain a substance that is on the banned list of the PGA Tour's anti-doping policy.
Singh admitted to using it in a statement, and under the policy, an admission is equal to a failed drug test. Sanctions have not been announced. The tour has yet to comment, though PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem is in town this week. If the 49-year-old Fijian is to be suspended, it would not likely be this week.
And then there's Lee Westwood.
He joined the PGA Tour again, and this time the 39-year-old Englishman is serious about it. He moved his family to Florida during the holidays, his kids are in school and Westwood is looking forward to a season of playing both the PGA Tour and European Tour without the taxing travel.
Westwood is playing with his father, John, who some 30 years ago decided to take his son to a golf course without knowing where it would lead. Westwood said that day at Kilton Forest in England was the first time both of them had ever set foot on a golf course.
"I turned pro at 19 and came on tour, and he was still a 12 handicap, so I can't understand the reasons for that," Westwood said. "He went to every lesson that I've had, drove me there and sat there and listened to it. I just got a bit better than him. Must be down to talent or something like that. I must have my mom's talent for golf."
Westwood was particularly sharp with his dry humor Wednesday at Pebble Beach, where it's easy to be in a good mood when the landscape is colored with a blue sky, green grass, white surf and a blazing sun.
Pebble Beach is known as the felicitous meeting of land and sea, and the tournament can be an important meeting of PGA Tour players and amateur partners who in most cases are far more successful ? CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, stars from other sports that include Wayne Gretzky, Matt Cain and Justin Verlander, actors Bill Murray and Andy Garcia, entertainers like Clay Walker and Kenny G.
It requires patience to get through rounds that approach six hours, with two pros and two amateurs at Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Country Club.
It's not for everyone ? but there are some who wouldn't miss it.
Padraig Harrington is on that list.
"It's one of the more enjoyable weeks of the year," Harrington said. "No matter how the golf goes, it's always a bit of fun here."
I obtained the Bfa in Film yield from Nyu's Tisch School of the Arts. As man who has also attended Usc's Film School as well as having taken classes at Ucla's Film Program, I view I could offer some good perspective of what I view of each and start with the one I spent the most time at: Nyu.
The Location
Nyu's film school is placed in Greenwich community on the island of Manhattan in New York City. Going to school in such an urban location offers both positives and negatives. On a inevitable note, New York City is your campus and therefore you are in the mix of all the limitless cafes, stores, notable locations, iconic neighborhoods and curious New York personalities that the city is notable for.
On the negative side, also, New York City is your campus so you don't have the 'protected campus experience' you would have at a school with a concluded off dedicated campus. In my view I viewed living, taking classes and development films in Nyc to be a mammoth advantage. Where else would you get such great inspiration and material to draw from than in one of the greatest cities in the world. The only negative would be if you wanted to get out of the city to shoot or just to get some quiet away from the hustle of the city. It's hard to keep a car in the city without spending a fortune but subways and trains can take you just about in any place you need to go affordably.
The Curriculum
Nyu Film School's curriculum consists of classes in all the major areas of the filmmaking process. There are classes in sound, editing, writing, television technology and ultimately group classes where you make films together in small crews. Generally, as you move through the schedule the projects you work on become more complex. In beginning film classes you might make black and white 8mm or short videos.
As you expand you make longer and more complicated projects and can choose between experimental type or report films. Ordinarily students are given a inevitable amount of tape or film stock and the basic equipment such as lights and dollies that one would need. If a learner wishes to make something that requires more complicated props and/or equipment then they need to contribute the funding themselves.
Generally, every learner that wants to can direct their own films with other students acting as crew members on their films and vice versa. Nyu has a good option of equipment. It is not all the time the latest technology and technology changes so frequently, especially when it comes to video, but in normal you won't be lacking for anything. They have ample editing facilities running from old steenbeck for film splicing to computer systems for use of final draft and adobe premier. Again, if a learner wishes to shoot more footage than the school is willing to contribute film or video for the learner can pay for added developing, etc.
The Professors
Generally I found the professors to be competent with a few 'exceptional' ones thrown in. They are all working professionals with some more thriving than others. In some classes you also have guest lecturers and occasionally notable alumni will teach a class such as Spike Lee or Woody Allen. Each week the school hosts film screenings and the director or producers of the film will show up to discuss with the class and take questions about how the film was put together and the history of development the film. These are great opportunities to network with thriving alumni and often previous graduates of the schedule show up to watch these screenings so they are a great way to make contacts.
After Graduation.
Where I felt the Nyu Film schedule fell a wee short was in vocation planning and direction. They didn't dedicate a whole lot of time to teaching you how to build a vocation after you graduated. This is one of the flaws I have found in most film programs. Luckily, Nyu has so many graduates that work in the industry that if you are proactive you should precisely be able to find thriving graduates willing to sit down and speak with you about your 'after graduation' game plan.
In recent years the school has been good at building up its active alumni society on both the East and West coasts so either you conclude to be based in New York or Los Angeles you can apply this reserved supply to originate a network for yourself which is very important. Overall, I found the Nyu Film School palpate to be a good one for those wanting a generalized instruction in different aspects of filmmaking before embarking on a career.
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Public release date: 12-Feb-2013
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