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Brown University Library

Lectures celebrate Ma Digital Scholarship Lab

Digital scholarship: The Patrick Ma Digital Scholarship Lab offers digital materials at a resolution that lets scholars and researchers inspect and interact with them at very close range.
Brown faculty and visiting scholars from across the academic disciplines will offer a series of public lectures this spring, hosted by the Brown University Library in celebration of the new Patrick Ma Digital Scholarship Lab. (Distributed March 4, 2013)
Through March 17

Student show opens at Bell Gallery

Anna Muselmann: Yellow Finch: Oil on canvas (2012)All photos courtesy of Bell Gallery
Brown University’s 33rd annual Student Exhibition, showcasing the work of 32 young artists, is on view at the Bell Gallery  through Sunday, March 17. (Distributed March 1, 2013)

Brown unveils novel wireless brain sensor

Cortex communication: Engineers Arto Nurmikko and Ming Yin examine their prototype wireless, broadband neural sensing device.
In a significant advance for brain-machine interfaces, engineers at Brown University have developed a novel wireless, broadband, rechargeable, fully implantable brain sensor that has performed well in animal models for more than a year. They describe the result in the Journal of Neural Engineering and at a conference this week. (Distributed February 28, 2013)
Taubman Center Public Opinion Survey

Poll: R.I. supports same-sex marriage

A new statewide public opinion survey conducted by the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University finds strong support for same-sex marriage in Rhode Island. Voters continue to worry about the state’s economy and express little confidence that state government officials will make the right decisions for Rhode Island’s future. (Distributed February 28, 2013)

Brown researchers build robotic bat wing

Wing of bat in life and lab: A robotic bat wing lets researchers measure forces, joint movements, and flight parameters — and learn more about how the real thing operates in nature.
The strong, flapping flight of bats offers great possibilities for the design of small aircraft, among other applications. By building a robotic bat wing, Brown researchers have uncovered flight secrets of real bats: the function of ligaments, the elasticity of skin, the structural support of musculature, skeletal flexibility, upstroke, downstroke. (Distributed February 20, 2013)
Media Advisory

Brown students to host R.I. Fiscal Summit

Brown University student group Common Sense Action will host the Rhode Island Fiscal Summit on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at noon in Alumnae Hall on the Brown campus. The event, which will address the fiscal challenges facing the United States, includes a panel discussion by local public leaders and a keynote address by Stephen Rattner, former counselor to the U.S. secretary of the treasury. (Distributed February 20, 2013)
A long distance call

Astronaut’s kids see dad’s office from Ladd

Rhode Island on a clear day: Commander Ford photographed Narragansett and Mt. Hope bays from the International Space Station. His adult kids watched him fly by from the Ladd Observatory, near the top edge of the photo, just right of center.
Space Station Commander Kevin Ford exchanged Valentine’s Day greetings with his adult kids Heidi and Anthony — he speeding by about 220 miles above Providence and they watching him fly past from Brown’s Ladd Observatory. (Distributed February 20, 2013)
2013 AAAS Annual Meeting

At AAAS: Resilience of coastal communities

Preserving the vitality of the coastal marine environment requires more than environmental action. Fishermen and other dwellers in the coastal region are part of the ecology. Their goals, resilience, and interactions with the environment must be understood in developing an effective policy approach to environmental preservation and adaptation. (Distributed February 18, 2013)
2013 AAAS Annual Meeting

Training speech networks to treat aphasia

Ta Da!: The waveforms of two similar sounding syllables “ta” and “da” allow researchers to make precise time measurements and comparisons of speech production.
Decades of research have helped scientists like Sheila Blumstein of Brown University understand how the brain produces speech. At the AAAS conference in Boston Feb. 16, 2013, she will speak about her efforts to translate those basic findings into a therapy for patients with aphasia. (Distributed February 16, 2013)
2013 AAAS Annual Meeting

Genetic components of political preference

Rose McDermott, professor of political science at Brown University, will explain the role that genes play in political preferences, an area of study that has begun to draw significant attention in the last decade. McDermott will participate in a Feb. 15, 2013, panel discussion, “The Science of Politics,” during the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Boston. (Distributed February 15, 2013)

Brown creates School of Public Health

A new School of Public Health: Brown’s leadership team for the School of Public Health: Rear, from left, department chairs Christopher Kahler (Behavioral and Social Sciences), Stephen Buka (Epidemiology), and Constantine Gatsonis (Biostatistics). Front, Ira Wilson (Health Services, Policy and Practice) and Terrie “Fox” Wetle, inaugural dean of public heath.
The Corporation of Brown University has approved creation of a School of Public Health in July. The new school will allow Brown’s already strong research and teaching in public health to expand further. Terrie “Fox” Wetle, associate dean of medicine for public health, will serve as the school’s inaugural dean. Her first task is to gain national accreditation, which should take about two years. (Distributed February 14, 2013)

How a microbial biorefinery regulates genes

The protein PcaV in the presence of protocatechuate: Digesting lignin, a very stable, plentiful polymer in biomass, is a limiting step in the production of biofuels. Brown researchers have identified a microscopic chemical switch that lets bacteria get to work, breaking lignin down into its component parts.
Digesting lignin, a highly stable polymer that accounts for up to a third of biomass, is a limiting step to producing a variety of biofuels. Researchers at Brown have figured out the microscopic chemical switch that allows Streptomyces bacteria to get to work, breaking lignin down into its constituent parts. (Distributed February 14, 2013)
Meeting of the Brown Corporation

Financial aid budget grows 5.6% for FY14

A steadily growing commitment: Brown University’s financial aid budget will grow 5.6 percent to $95.2 million next year. It has more than doubled in the last eight years, averaging an annual increase of 9.4 percent for the last decade.Chart: Facts about financial aid
The Corporation of Brown University has approved a total operating budget of $902 million for the 2014 fiscal year, including the use of $4.4 million from University reserves to balance revenue with expenditures. Total undergraduate fees will rise 4 percent to $57,232. The budget for undergraduate financial aid will rise 5.6 percent to $95.2 million. (Distributed February 14, 2013)
Understanding Angelman syndrome

Study in mice yields Angelman advance 

Two schematics: CN2097: The binding of the synthetic compound CN2097 (yellow in these renderings) to the synaptic protein PSD-95 restores healthy neural function in mice with the Angelman syndrome gene mutation.
In the journal PLoS Biology, a team of scientists reports experiments showing how the gene defect of Angelman syndrome disrupts neurological processes that may be needed for memory and learning. In tests in mice, the team showed that a novel compound could restore the healthy processes. (Distributed February 13, 2013)

A neural basis for benefits of meditation

Mindfulness meditation training in awareness of present moment experience, such as body and breath sensations, prevents depression and reduces distress in chronic pain. In a new paper, Brown University scientists propose a neurophysiological framework to explain these clinical benefits. (Distributed February 13, 2013)