STATE UNIVERSITIES
Wayne State professor awarded $787,669 NIH grant
Mary Kay Pflum, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at Wayne State University, received a $787,669 National Institutes of Health grant for her research. The technology Pflum is developing, which does not currently exist, aims to address a significant need in cell biology research. This substrate-trapping technology could help to uncover the full activities of the enzyme Histone Deactylase, which will guide future drug design efforts.
OU collaboration with Oakland County Parks wins national award
The Oakland University Center for Autism’s Outreach Services (OUCARES) was recently honored with a 2016 Removing Barriers Special Award from the National Association of County Parks and Recreation Officials. The recognition was for a program that allows OUCARES summer camp participants to engage in activities such as fishing, boating, rappelling and climbing at Independence Oaks Park in Clarkston.
PEER INSTITUTIONS
Restoration set for Mirror Lake and surrounding district at OSU
The Ohio State University is announcing a restoration of historic Mirror Lake and the surrounding district, focusing on safety and sustainability. A series of modifications over many decades had resulted in a body of water that was both polluted and leaking, requiring consistent maintenance and creating thousands of gallons of waste water daily. The new restoration will return Mirror Lake to a more natural and sustainable state, closer to its historical form.
UI partnering with Iowa Children’s Museum to teach physics
The University of Iowa has partnered with the Iowa Children’s Museum to produce a new hands-on exhibit that will use an interactive skate park concept to teach physics principles. The 3,000-square-foot exhibit, scheduled to open in 2018, will invite children to design their own skateboarding courses and platforms using both virtual and physical building blocks. Funded by a three-year, $1,275,430 grant from the National Science Foundation, it will become a permanent fixture at the museum.
Carnegie awards $1M to IU to strengthen Russian studies
Carnegie Corporation of New York has awarded Indiana University’s Russian and East European Institute $1 million to create a Russian Studies Workshop and bolster Russian studies at IU. With the grant, the Russian and East European Institute will expand its work as an incubator for collaborative research and as a training center on contemporary Russian politics and society.
— Compiled by Meg Bauer, The University Record
