OSU Today is a daily e-mail news briefing provided by OSU News and Communication Services. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the mailing list, visit here.
Questions, comments and ideas for news briefs may be sent to OSU Today editor Larry Luta at osutoday or Larry Luta.
Physicists at Oregon State University have discovered a way to manipulate the transmission of optical signals in tiny wires, slowing, stopping or even speeding them up to velocities faster than the speed of light. They say that is a major advance that could open the door to a new era of computing and information processing based on optics. The findings, being published in the journal Physical Review Letters, are a step toward manipulating light pulses in the same conceptual way that conventional electronics, since the dawn of switches, semiconductors and transistors, has manipulated electrons.
If you wanted to choose the perfect location for capturing the ocean's energy, you couldn't do much better than the Oregon coast. Waves arrive there with immense power, having traveled across thousands of miles of open water with few barrier islands, reefs or other obstructions to slow them down. Some are so large that they can be tracked by Satellite days before they arrive. Starting in 2007, those massive, ceaseless waves will help light homes and businesses along the West Coast, thanks to an entrepreneur named George Taylor. Buttressing Taylor's optimism, researchers at Oregon State University say that only 0.2 percent of the ocean's untapped wave energy could power the entire world. This figure may seem incredible, but water is a very dense medium, about 1,000 times thicker than air, and capable of transmitting immense energy when in motion.
Oregon State University has accepted an invitation to participate in the 73rd annual Brut Sun Bowl, Sun Bowl Association President John H. Folmer announced. "We are extremely happy to have Oregon State in the Brut Sun Bowl," Folmer said. "They deserve to be here. Oregon State played their way into a trip to El Paso and we are excited about hosting them. They have won six of their last seven, including beating USC. They are truly one of the great stories of college football this season." The Beavers, who will close out the regular season at No. 24 Hawaii on Saturday, are currently 8-4 (6-3 in the Pac-10).
The 26th annual Holiday Marketplace will once again offer handmade crafts, fine art and specialty food from more than 50 Northwest artists from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Memorial Union Ballroom at Oregon State University.
Judging from the tired faces and furrowed brows of students poring over textbooks and laptops in campus libraries and coffee shops, "dead week," the days preceding final exams, might be a misnomer. Oregon State University students say they may feel dead, but class workloads haven't eased up.
"Fatal Attraction: Nonself recognition and programmed cell death in neurospora" is the topic of a presentation by Louise Glass, plant molecular biology professor at UC Berkeley. The talk at 3:30 p.m. in 4001 ALS is part of the Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing seminar series.
OSU surplus items will be sold at an OSUsed sale from noon to 3 p.m. today, Nov. 29, at the surplus property facility, 644 SW 13th St., Corvallis.
The OSU Office of Government Relations is hosting Joshua Kardon, chief of staff to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Tony Williams, partner in Washington Advocates LLC and former chief of staff to Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) in a discussion about the "Post-Election Political Outlook: What Can We Expect from Congress and the Administration in the Next Two Years?" on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. in MU 208.
Joe Fontaine of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at OSU, will deliver a seminar on "Impact of Salvage Logging on Bird Communities" at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30, in 22 Nash Hall on campus.
It's not too late to get a flu shot. Flu shot clinics will be held today, Nov. 29, and Thursday, Nov. 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Student Health Services, 201 Plageman Bldg. Please use the main entrance and follow the signs. Cost is $15 for students and $22 for faculty and staff. Fees can be billed to your OSU account or directly to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon or Samaritan Select.
What do you think about your PEBB benefits? Does PEBB provide the level of customer service you expect? How are they doing on giving you information on benefits and healthcare issues? Please take a few minutes to answer some questions through the anonymous, online survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=808262788234. The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete, and hearing from you will help PEBB provide services that meet your needs and the needs of all members.
Nominations are being sought for Undergraduate Student Research Awards that recognize and reward OSU students who, through the comprehensive use of the OSU Libraries, demonstrated outstanding research, scholarship and originality in writing a paper or completing a project. Two awards will be given: $1,000 to an upper division student and $1,000 to a lower division student. To be eligible, students must have written their papers or completed their research projects as part of their course work at OSU during the 2006 calendar year. Faculty are encouraged to nominate students whose papers or projects that reflect outstanding information literacy skills through the extensive and sophisticated use of library services, resources and collections. Nomination deadline is Jan. 31, 2007. For more information, visit http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/ugresearchawards.html or contact John Pollitz, associate university librarian, at john.pollitz@oregonstate.edu.
Openings are still available in the workshop "Surviving Holiday Stress" presented by Myra Gibson of Cascade Centers, Inc., OSU's Employee Assistance Provider (EAP). This is a free benefit as part of the overall benefit package for OSU employees. For an EAP video orientation, see http://www.cascadecenter.com/Video/Employee%20Big.wmv and for online registration for this particular course, visit http://oregonstate.edu/admin/hr/training/course.htm.
For comments or feedback about this site contact
osutoday@oregonstate.edu.
Copyright © 2008 Oregon State University
Disclaimer
