Press Releases in September, 2007

Brown and Latin America

Cardoso and Lagos Headline ‘Year of Focus on Latin America’

Brown University Professors-at-Large Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil, and Ricardo Lagos, former president of Chile, will deliver the inaugural Lecture on Globalization and Inequality, sponsored by the Watson Institute for International Studies, on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007. The event is a focal point in a year of University lectures, exhibitions, events, and film series with a focus on Latin American issues. 07-042 (Distributed September 28, 2007)

Eye-Grabbing Science Graphics

Brown Bat Flight Team Wins NSF/Science Visualization Award

A multidisciplinary team of Brown faculty and students has won a first-place award in the International Science and Technology Visualization Challenge sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Science, the journal published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Their winning entry, on the balletic flight of bats, appears in Science. 07-044 (Distributed September 27, 2007)

Clinton Global Initiative

Brown, Princeton to Enhance Partnership with Dillard University

At the 2007 Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York City, Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons announced that Brown and Princeton University would extend and enhance their post-Katrina partnership with Dillard University in New Orleans. 07-043 (Distributed September 27, 2007)

23 Faculty Appointed to Endowed and Named Professorships

Brown University has appointed 23 current faculty members to endowed and named professorships, including three new Royce Professors in Teaching Excellence. The appointments are part the University’s ongoing commitment to recruit and retain the highest-caliber faculty for Brown, a key goal under the Plan for Academic Enrichment. 07-041 (Distributed September 25, 2007)

Extraterrestrial Impact Likely Source of Sudden Ice Age Extinctions

What killed the wooly mammoths? An international team of scientists, including Peter Schultz of Brown University, suggests that a comet or meteorite exploded over the planet roughly 12,900 years ago, causing the abrupt climate changes that led to the extinction of the wooly mammoth and other giant prehistoric beasts. Their theory is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 07-040 (Distributed September 24, 2007)

Ethnicity and Identity

Study: Children of Immigrants Form Ethnic Identity at Early Age

Brown University researchers have published the one of the first longitudinal studies demonstrating that children of first-generation immigrants develop their ethnic identity at an earlier age than previous research has shown. Additionally, a child’s positive sense of ethnic identity is associated with the desire to socialize with children of various racial and ethnic backgrounds. The research is published in The International Journal of Behavioral Development. 07-039 (Distributed September 24, 2007)

Digital Initiatives

The Garibaldi Panorama: Brown to Digitize 19th-Century Relic

A digital long shot: Working in the Annmary Brown Memorial, staff from the University and an outside vendor produced a digital copy of the Garibaldi Panorama. The panoramic scroll is four feet high and nearly as long as a football field.

Brown University Library and the Department of Italian Studies are collaborating to bring one of the finest surviving examples of panoramic art, the Garibaldi Panorama, back to the public eye. Measuring 273 feet long, the double-sided watercolor is one of the longest paintings in the world and all of it will soon be available online to scholars and students. 07-038 (Distributed September 24, 2007)

Biology of Aging

Key to Longer Life (in Flies) Lies in Just 14 Brain Cells

Fruit flies live significantly longer when the activity of the protein p53 is reduced in just 14 insulin-producing cells in their brains, new Brown University research shows. The results put scientists one step closer to understanding caloric restriction, a biochemical process proven to slow aging. Results appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 07-037 (Distributed September 20, 2007)

Stephen A. Ogden Jr. ’60 Memorial Lecture

McCaffrey to Address ‘After Iraq: How the World has Changed’

Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey will deliver the 77th Stephen A. Ogden Jr. ’60 Memorial Lecture on International Affairs on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007. His lecture, titled “After Iraq: How the World has Changed,” begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Salomon Center for Teaching. It is free and open to the public. 07-036 (Distributed September 20, 2007)

Biomedical Engineering

Brown Scientists Take the Petri Dish to New Dimensions

Well-rounded growth: A new 3-D Petri dish allows cells to assemble themselves into bits of microtissue with natural cell-to-cell connections.

Brown University biomedical engineers have created a new method for growing cells in three dimensions rather than the traditional two. This 3-D Petri dish allows cells to self-assemble, creating cell clusters that can be transplanted in the body or used to test drugs in the lab. This simple new technique is part of a growing body of research that shows that 3-D culture techniques can create cells that behave more like cells in the body. 07-035 (Distributed September 19, 2007)

Biomedical Engineering

Bone-Growing Nanomaterial Could Improve Orthopaedic Implants

“Possibly a terrific new material”: A titanium surface covereed by carbon nanotubes could lead to faster, better growth of implanted bone-growing cells and an improved success rate for orthopaedic surgery. The carbon nanotubes could could even self-report, keeping doctors informed about the healing process.

Bone-forming cells grow faster and produce more calcium on anodized titanium covered in carbon nanotubes compared with plain anodized titanium and the non-anodized version currently used in orthopaedic implants, new Brown University research shows. The work, published in Nanotechnology, uncovers a new material that can be used to make more successful implants. The research also shows tantalizing promise for an all-new device: a “smart” implant that can sense and report on bone growth. 07-033 (Distributed September 17, 2007)

Sweet Smell of The Good Earth

Brown Chemists Explain the Origin of Soil-Scented Geosmin

Brown University chemists have figured out precisely how the warm, slightly metallic scent of freshly turned soil is made. In Nature Chemical Biology, the team describes how geosmin, the organic compound responsible for the scent, is produced by an unusual bifunctional enzyme. 07-032 (Distributed September 16, 2007)

Media Advisory

Brown and RISD Presidents To Formalize Dual Degree Program

Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) President Roger Mandle will sign a memorandum of understanding, formalizing the Brown-RISD dual degree program. The ceremony, including remarks from each president, begins at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, 2007, in the University Club, 219 Benefit St. in Providence. 07-034 (Distributed September 14, 2007)

New Brown-Led Study of U.S. Cities

Blacks Likelier Than Whites To Live in Poor-Quality Nursing Homes

New research led by Vincent Mor at Brown University shows that blacks are more likely than whites to live in poor-quality nursing homes in cities across the United States. The research, published in the September/October issue of Health Affairs, is the first to document the relationship between racial segregation and quality disparities in U.S. nursing homes. 07-030 (Distributed September 11, 2007)

Taubman Center for Public Policy

R.I. Survey: Clinton Leads Obama in Democratic Presidential Field

A statewide survey of 571 registered Rhode Island voters conducted Sept. 8-9, 2007, shows Sen. Hillary Clinton with a significant lead over Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination. The survey also finds a drop in the approval rating of Gov. Don Carcieri and a decline – to 31 percent from 50 percent in January – in the number of voters who believe the state is headed in the right direction. 07-031 (Distributed September 10, 2007)