Research news
CH2M HILL chairman and CEO to speak at OSU April 15
Lee McIntire, chairman and CEO of CH2M HILL, will give a free, public lecture on Monday, April 15, at Oregon State University, discussing the opportunities and risks of running a global business.
Part of the OSU Division of Business and Engineering Lecture Series, the talk begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Austin Auditorium of LaSells Stewart Center, 875 S.W. 26th St., Corvallis.
McIntire’s talk, “Working on the Frontier: The Changing Nature of Global Business,” focuses on the increased globalization of business, the reasons companies have for expanding internationally and how they can best accomplish it.
McIntire took over as CEO at CH2M HILL in 2009 and has more than 30 years of international engineering and construction experience. The firm serves clients on six continents, with 30,000 employees and annual revenue of $6.4 billion.
This will be McIntire’s first visit to the Oregon State campus. CH2M HILL was founded in 1946 by an OSU professor and his three students, and Corvallis remains home to one of more than 160 global offices.
Prior to joining CH2M HILL, McIntire was a partner and board director of the Bechtel Group. He is a non-executive director of BAE Systems, PLC and lends his leadership to forums such as the Business Roundtable and World Economic Forum. He was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award in 2011.
Generic OSU Media Contact: Angela Yeager Source:Jenn Casey, 541-737-0695
Multimedia: Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pageCH2M HILL chairman and CEO to speak at OSU April 15
Lee McIntire, chairman and CEO of CH2M HILL, will give a free, public lecture on Monday, April 15, at Oregon State University, discussing the opportunities and risks of running a global business.
Part of the OSU Division of Business and Engineering Lecture Series, the talk begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Austin Auditorium of LaSells Stewart Center, 875 S.W. 26th St., Corvallis.
McIntire’s talk, “Working on the Frontier: The Changing Nature of Global Business,” focuses on the increased globalization of business, the reasons companies have for expanding internationally and how they can best accomplish it.
McIntire took over as CEO at CH2M HILL in 2009 and has more than 30 years of international engineering and construction experience. The firm serves clients on six continents, with 30,000 employees and annual revenue of $6.4 billion.
This will be McIntire’s first visit to the Oregon State campus. CH2M HILL was founded in 1946 by an OSU professor and his three students, and Corvallis remains home to one of more than 160 global offices.
Prior to joining CH2M HILL, McIntire was a partner and board director of the Bechtel Group. He is a non-executive director of BAE Systems, PLC and lends his leadership to forums such as the Business Roundtable and World Economic Forum. He was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award in 2011.
Generic OSU Media Contact: Angela Yeager Source:Jenn Casey, 541-737-0695
Multimedia: Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pageInvention could make spent nuclear fuel useful for irradiation purposes
An OSU engineering student has invented a way to use spent nuclear fuel for a useful purpose: the irradiation of medical supplies, food or other products.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – A researcher at Oregon State University has invented a way to use spent nuclear fuel to produce the gamma rays needed to irradiate medical supplies, food and other products – an advance that could change what is now a costly waste disposal concern into a valued commodity.
The technology, if widely implemented, might allow each of the 104 nuclear reactors in the United States to create a revenue stream of $10 million a year while providing thousands of new jobs. And by lowering the cost of irradiation, it could become commercially feasible for a wider range of uses.
A provisional patent has been issued on the technology, and commercialization efforts are under way through a private company, G-Demption LLC, created for that purpose.
“This is essentially a way to re-use spent nuclear fuel for a valuable purpose,” said Russell Goff, a masters student in the OSU Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics. “Until now no one really thought to do this. But this approach is safe, practical and economical. Instead of treating all nuclear waste as a disposal problem, we could be putting much of it to good use.”
Irradiation is a growing industry, and is commonly used in the sterilization of medical supplies such as bandages or syringes. It’s also widely approved for helping to preserve foods – many spices, and some fruits and meat products are irradiated. The use of gamma radiation for these purposes does not make the underlying product radioactive, and generally has no effects on it that are any more pronounced than other sterilization or preservation technologies.
However, the gamma ray sterilization industry is constrained by the need for cobalt 60, the radioactive isotope most commonly used.
“The U.S. already uses about half of the world’s supply of cobalt 60 for various types of irradiation, and the process can be expensive,” Goff said. “The new system we’ve created should be significantly less expensive, and as such could open the technology to more routine uses. We could double the world supply of gamma rays with this new technology and still won’t come close to meeting the market demand for this valuable resource.”
Sterile medical supplies are a huge market for gamma irradiation, Goff said, and increased used of irradiation could reduce the need for sterilization with ethylene oxide gas, which is a highly toxic and flammable gas.
The system Goff has invented adds another level of protection to prevent unwanted fission products from escaping the spent nuclear fuel and entering the environment, but allows gamma radiation to be released in a controlled manner for irradiation purposes. Because recently spent nuclear fuel – less than 12 years old - still has fairly intense levels of radiation, it provides an economical way to irradiate products.
The nuclear waste handling systems needed to use the new technology are similar to those already being used at nuclear power plants, he said, and the process of sterilizing the products is almost identical to processes used in the cobalt 60 irradiation industry today.
Aside from providing a commercial use for spent nuclear fuel, the approach would also reduce the significant expense of otherwise storing it, Goff noted. This system might also have special appeal in developing countries, where refrigeration and other approaches to preserving food, as well as access to sterile medical supplies, are not always readily available.
College of Engineering Media Contact: David Stauth Source:Russell Goff
515-231-0736
YouTube video: http://bit.ly/XT0fxO
Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pageInvention could make spent nuclear fuel useful for irradiation purposes
An OSU engineering student has invented a way to use spent nuclear fuel for a useful purpose: the irradiation of medical supplies, food or other products.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – A researcher at Oregon State University has invented a way to use spent nuclear fuel to produce the gamma rays needed to irradiate medical supplies, food and other products – an advance that could change what is now a costly waste disposal concern into a valued commodity.
The technology, if widely implemented, might allow each of the 104 nuclear reactors in the United States to create a revenue stream of $10 million a year while providing thousands of new jobs. And by lowering the cost of irradiation, it could become commercially feasible for a wider range of uses.
A provisional patent has been issued on the technology, and commercialization efforts are under way through a private company, G-Demption LLC, created for that purpose.
“This is essentially a way to re-use spent nuclear fuel for a valuable purpose,” said Russell Goff, a masters student in the OSU Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics. “Until now no one really thought to do this. But this approach is safe, practical and economical. Instead of treating all nuclear waste as a disposal problem, we could be putting much of it to good use.”
Irradiation is a growing industry, and is commonly used in the sterilization of medical supplies such as bandages or syringes. It’s also widely approved for helping to preserve foods – many spices, and some fruits and meat products are irradiated. The use of gamma radiation for these purposes does not make the underlying product radioactive, and generally has no effects on it that are any more pronounced than other sterilization or preservation technologies.
However, the gamma ray sterilization industry is constrained by the need for cobalt 60, the radioactive isotope most commonly used.
“The U.S. already uses about half of the world’s supply of cobalt 60 for various types of irradiation, and the process can be expensive,” Goff said. “The new system we’ve created should be significantly less expensive, and as such could open the technology to more routine uses. We could double the world supply of gamma rays with this new technology and still won’t come close to meeting the market demand for this valuable resource.”
Sterile medical supplies are a huge market for gamma irradiation, Goff said, and increased used of irradiation could reduce the need for sterilization with ethylene oxide gas, which is a highly toxic and flammable gas.
The system Goff has invented adds another level of protection to prevent unwanted fission products from escaping the spent nuclear fuel and entering the environment, but allows gamma radiation to be released in a controlled manner for irradiation purposes. Because recently spent nuclear fuel – less than 12 years old - still has fairly intense levels of radiation, it provides an economical way to irradiate products.
The nuclear waste handling systems needed to use the new technology are similar to those already being used at nuclear power plants, he said, and the process of sterilizing the products is almost identical to processes used in the cobalt 60 irradiation industry today.
Aside from providing a commercial use for spent nuclear fuel, the approach would also reduce the significant expense of otherwise storing it, Goff noted. This system might also have special appeal in developing countries, where refrigeration and other approaches to preserving food, as well as access to sterile medical supplies, are not always readily available.
College of Engineering Media Contact: David Stauth Source:Russell Goff
515-231-0736
YouTube video: http://bit.ly/XT0fxO
Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pageOSU’s College of Business celebrates outstanding alumni and businesses on May 7 in Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. – Six alumni of Oregon State University and one business partner will be honored for their achievements at the OSU College of Business’ Celebration of Excellence on Tuesday, May 7, at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront.
The 12th annual Alumni and Business Partner Awards will recognize outstanding professional achievements and services to the college by alumni and business partners. This year individuals from four different states and an alumnus working in the United Arab of Emirates will be honored.
The evening begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by the dinner and the awards presentation at 6:30 p.m. For more information or to register, go to http://business.oregonstate.edu/awards or contact Rachelle Nickerson at rachelle.nickerson@oregonstate.edu.
The 2013 award winners representing alumni from around the globe include:
Hall of Fame: Robert G. Zahary ’65, higher education consultant (United Arab Emirates);
Distinguished Service Award: Frank Morse ’70, Oregon State senator and businessman (Albany, Ore.);
Distinguished Business Professional: Gordon Clemons ’65, chairman and CEO, CorVel Corporation (North Carolina); and Don Atkinson, senior executive in sales management, marketing and business development (Federal Way, Wash.);
Distinguished Early Career Business Professional: Meadow Clendenin Stahlnecker ‘99, attorney, Patton Boggs LLP (Dallas, Texas);
Distinguished Young Business Professional: Alicia Miller ‘05, senior financial analyst, Nike, Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.)
Distinguished Business Partner: Oregon Department of Transportation
College of Business Media Contact: Angela Yeager Source:Jenn Casey, 541-737-0695
Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pageOSU’s College of Business celebrates outstanding alumni and businesses on May 7 in Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. – Six alumni of Oregon State University and one business partner will be honored for their achievements at the OSU College of Business’ Celebration of Excellence on Tuesday, May 7, at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront.
The 12th annual Alumni and Business Partner Awards will recognize outstanding professional achievements and services to the college by alumni and business partners. This year individuals from four different states and an alumnus working in the United Arab of Emirates will be honored.
The evening begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by the dinner and the awards presentation at 6:30 p.m. For more information or to register, go to http://business.oregonstate.edu/awards or contact Rachelle Nickerson at rachelle.nickerson@oregonstate.edu.
The 2013 award winners representing alumni from around the globe include:
Hall of Fame: Robert G. Zahary ’65, higher education consultant (United Arab Emirates);
Distinguished Service Award: Frank Morse ’70, Oregon State senator and businessman (Albany, Ore.);
Distinguished Business Professional: Gordon Clemons ’65, chairman and CEO, CorVel Corporation (North Carolina); and Don Atkinson, senior executive in sales management, marketing and business development (Federal Way, Wash.);
Distinguished Early Career Business Professional: Meadow Clendenin Stahlnecker ‘99, attorney, Patton Boggs LLP (Dallas, Texas);
Distinguished Young Business Professional: Alicia Miller ‘05, senior financial analyst, Nike, Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.)
Distinguished Business Partner: Oregon Department of Transportation
College of Business Media Contact: Angela Yeager Source:Jenn Casey, 541-737-0695
Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pagePedestrians at serious risk when drivers are “permitted” to turn left
A "permitted" left turn in heavy traffic poses a serious risk to pedestrian safety, a new study shows, because drivers may not look to see if pedestrians are present.
The report this story is based on is available online: http://bit.ly/kZJkWs
CORVALLIS, Ore. – A study to examine driver behavior in permitted left turns has identified what researchers call an “alarming” level of risk to pedestrians crossing the street – about 4-9 percent of the time, drivers don’t even bother to look and see if there are pedestrians in their way.
As opposed to a “protected” left turn, in which a solid green arrow gives a driver the complete right of way in a left-turn lane, a “permitted” left turn is often allowed by a confusing hodgepodge of signals, and drivers may have to pick their way through narrow windows of oncoming traffic.
This difficult driving maneuver, which is played out millions of times a day around the world, is fraught with risk for unwary pedestrians, who too often appear to be an afterthought.
The danger is much higher than had been realized, experts say.
“There are far more pedestrian crashes in marked crosswalks than anywhere else on roads, and pedestrians already have a false sense of security,” said David Hurwitz, an assistant professor of transportation engineering at Oregon State University. “This study found that one key concern is permitted left turns.”
As they wait to turn left, sometimes taking a narrow opportunity to lunge into a stream of oncoming traffic, drivers focus most of their attention on the vehicular traffic and the traffic signal, rather than any pedestrians crossing the street, the research showed. The heavier the traffic, the less attention paid to pedestrians.
In a controlled analysis in a full-scale driving simulator that monitored specific eye movements, the engineers found that about one time in 10 or 20, the driver didn’t even look to see if a pedestrian was there before moving into the intersection. This suggests a major level of risk to pedestrians, researchers said, if they assume that drivers not only will look for them, but will allow them to cross the street.
The problem is aggravated by “permitted” left turn signals that vary widely, from state to state and sometimes even from one city to the next. Such turns might be allowed by a circular green light, a flashing circular yellow light, a flashing circular red light, or even a flashing yellow arrow. More consistent national standards regarding the flashing yellow arrow were recommended as recently as 2009, but the process of upgrading signals across the nation takes time.
The danger is sufficiently high, the researchers concluded, that more states and cities should consider prohibiting permitted left turns while pedestrians are allowed to be in the crosswalk. In Washington County, Ore., traffic managers recently did just that, after receiving a high number of complaints about pedestrian-vehicle conflicts.
“In traffic management you always have multiple goals, which sometimes conflict,” Hurwitz said. “You want to move traffic as efficiently as possible, because there’s a cost to making vehicles wait. You use more fuel, increase emissions and waste people’s time. The permitted left turn can help with efficiency.
“But the safety of the traveling public is also critical,” he said. “Sometimes the goal of safety has to override the goal of efficiency, and we think this is one of those times.”
Also of some interest, the study found preliminary evidence to suggest that the currently-mandated type of signal, which uses four heads instead of three, offers no change in driver behavior. However, the cost to implement a four-head signal is about $800 more than retrofitting the three-head version, which is widely used around the nation. Many millions of dollars might be saved nationally by using the simpler signal.
The findings of these studies have been compiled in a report by OSU and Portland State University researchers to the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium, which funded the research. They will also be presented this year at the Driving Assessment Conference in New York and the Western District ITE meeting in Arizona.
OSU has a sophisticated driving simulator research facility, which allows test subjects to see, experience and react to realistic driving experiences while scientists study their reactions and behavior. This study was done with 27 subjects experiencing 620 permitted left turn maneuvers.
College of Engineering Media Contact: David Stauth Source:David Hurwitz, 541-737-9242
Multimedia: Promote to OSU home page: Promote to the OSU home pagePedestrians at serious risk when drivers are “permitted” to turn left
A "permitted" left turn in heavy traffic poses a serious risk to pedestrian safety, a new study shows, because drivers may not look to see if pedestrians are present.
The report this story is based on is available online: http://bit.ly/kZJkWs
CORVALLIS, Ore. – A study to examine driver behavior in permitted left turns has identified what researchers call an “alarming” level of risk to pedestrians crossing the street – about 4-9 percent of the time, drivers don’t even bother to look and see if there are pedestrians in their way.
As opposed to a “protected” left turn, in which a solid green arrow gives a driver the complete right of way in a left-turn lane, a “permitted” left turn is often allowed by a confusing hodgepodge of signals, and drivers may have to pick their way through narrow windows of oncoming traffic.
This difficult driving maneuver, which is played out millions of times a day around the world, is fraught with risk for unwary pedestrians, who too often appear to be an afterthought.
The danger is much higher than had been realized, experts say.
“There are far more pedestrian crashes in marked crosswalks than anywhere else on roads, and pedestrians already have a false sense of security,” said David Hurwitz, an assistant professor of transportation engineering at Oregon State University. “This study found that one key concern is permitted left turns.”
As they wait to turn left, sometimes taking a narrow opportunity to lunge into a stream of oncoming traffic, drivers focus most of their attention on the vehicular traffic and the traffic signal, rather than any pedestrians crossing the street, the research showed. The heavier the traffic, the less attention paid to pedestrians.
In a controlled analysis in a full-scale driving simulator that monitored specific eye movements, the engineers found that about one time in 10 or 20, the driver didn’t even look to see if a pedestrian was there before moving into the intersection. This suggests a major level of risk to pedestrians, researchers said, if they assume that drivers not only will look for them, but will allow them to cross the street.
The problem is aggravated by “permitted” left turn signals that vary widely, from state to state and sometimes even from one city to the next. Such turns might be allowed by a circular green light, a flashing circular yellow light, a flashing circular red light, or even a flashing yellow arrow. More consistent national standards regarding the flashing yellow arrow were recommended as recently as 2009, but the process of upgrading signals across the nation takes time.
The danger is sufficiently high, the researchers concluded, that more states and cities should consider prohibiting permitted left turns while pedestrians are allowed to be in the crosswalk. In Washington County, Ore., traffic managers recently did just that, after receiving a high number of complaints about pedestrian-vehicle conflicts.
“In traffic management you always have multiple goals, which sometimes conflict,” Hurwitz said. “You want to move traffic as efficiently as possible, because there’s a cost to making vehicles wait. You use more fuel, increase emissions and waste people’s time. The permitted left turn can help with efficiency.
“But the safety of the traveling public is also critical,” he said. “Sometimes the goal of safety has to override the goal of efficiency, and we think this is one of those times.”
Also of some interest, the study found preliminary evidence to suggest that the currently-mandated type of signal, which uses four heads instead of three, offers no change in driver behavior. However, the cost to implement a four-head signal is about $800 more than retrofitting the three-head version, which is widely used around the nation. Many millions of dollars might be saved nationally by using the simpler signal.
The findings of these studies have been compiled in a report by OSU and Portland State University researchers to the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium, which funded the research. They will also be presented this year at the Driving Assessment Conference in New York and the Western District ITE meeting in Arizona.
OSU has a sophisticated driving simulator research facility, which allows test subjects to see, experience and react to realistic driving experiences while scientists study their reactions and behavior. This study was done with 27 subjects experiencing 620 permitted left turn maneuvers.
College of Engineering Media Contact: David Stauth Source:David Hurwitz, 541-737-9242
Multimedia: Promote to OSU home page: Promote to the OSU home pageOSU receives $4.7 million USDA grant to help Oregon teens stay healthy
Oregon State University has received a grant of nearly $5 million to develop an obesity prevention and healthy lifestyle program for teenagers.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University has received a grant of nearly $5 million to develop an obesity prevention and healthy lifestyle program for teenagers.
Unlike many programs that focus on treatment of children already at risk of obesity, this new program will aim at active high school-age teens involved in 4-H soccer programs in Oregon.
OSU project directors Siew Sun Wong, an assistant professor of nutrition and a specialist with the Extension Service, and Melinda Manore, a professor of nutrition, were awarded $4.7 million to start the program, called “The WAVE Ripples for Change: Obesity Prevention for Active Youth in Afterschool Programs Using Virtual and Real-World Experiential Learning.” It was awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
“These youths are active now, but what happens when they don’t have a team sport to motivate them?” Manore said. “Many parents of active teens allow their kids to eat unhealthy food, because they don’t worry about their weight. This is about building healthy behavior that becomes part of their life.”
The intervention program will begin June 2013 in three Oregon counties – Marion, Polk and Yamhill. About 500 teens ages 15 to 19 will engage in three different life skills programs developed by OSU. One of the programs will be a real-world scenario where teens will learn about growing their own food, cooking healthy, preparing inexpensive meals at home, and staying active.
The other two programs use new cutting-edge technology to create virtual environments, led by Jon Dorbolo with OSU’s Technology Across the Curriculum, where teens will practice these same skills but as an avatar in a 3-D virtual world. One virtual world will be “realistic,” based on the real environment; the other will be a fantasy world where anything is possible.
“Kids are into technology and they spend a lot of time with it, so we want to know if there is a way to tap into that and develop a program that can be used both at home and in the classroom to encourage healthy behavior,” Manore said.
Wong, who is an expert on the use of technology to improve dietary habits, said the virtual world can be used to reach out to teens and discover their skills and potential.
“Jake, the character in the movie ‘Avatar,’ saw how good this virtual world can be and it inspired him to make a change, which is the idea behind this part of the intervention,” Wong said. “Likewise, the idea is to create an ideal virtual world where participants can experience creative learning, be inspired and motivated to transform this positive experience back to the real world to make it a better place.”
At the end of the five-year project, OSU biostatistician Bo Zhang will lead the researchers to examine the data to see which of the three programs – the real world, the virtual “real” world, and the virtual fantasy world – resulted in better outcomes.
The research team will measure the teens’ body mass index, physical activity levels (using sensor and cloud infrastructure developed by OSU engineering faculty Patrick Chiang and Christopher Scaffidi), and their ability to meet USDA’s Choose MyPlate recommendations.
According to the researchers, the goal is to see how teens who are already physically active due to involvement in team sports can develop lifestyle skills that will stay with them past school age. Part of the intervention will include working with the young people’s parents or primary caregivers to ensure they understand about proper nutrition and exercise.
The project’s OSU team members include faculty from nutrition and exercise sciences, engineering, Information Services, Extension, SNAP-Ed Educators, KidSpirit, and 4-H programs. Other participants on the project include Bob’s Red Mill, Cooking Matters at the Store, Marion-Polk Food Share, as well as University of Arizona and San Diego State University’s Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health.
College of Public Health and Human Sciences Media Contact: Angela Yeager Source:Siew Sun Wong, 541-737-5855
Multimedia:
(left to right) Patrick Chiang, Jon Dorbolo, Siew Sun Wong, Melinda Manore, Bo Zhang, Christopher Scaffidi are part of an OSU research team who received a $5 million USDA grant to help teens stay active and eat healthy. March 2013. (photo courtesy of OSU College of Public Health and Human Sciences)
OSU receives $4.7 million USDA grant to help Oregon teens stay healthy
Oregon State University has received a grant of nearly $5 million to develop an obesity prevention and healthy lifestyle program for teenagers.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University has received a grant of nearly $5 million to develop an obesity prevention and healthy lifestyle program for teenagers.
Unlike many programs that focus on treatment of children already at risk of obesity, this new program will aim at active high school-age teens involved in 4-H soccer programs in Oregon.
OSU project directors Siew Sun Wong, an assistant professor of nutrition and a specialist with the Extension Service, and Melinda Manore, a professor of nutrition, were awarded $4.7 million to start the program, called “The WAVE Ripples for Change: Obesity Prevention for Active Youth in Afterschool Programs Using Virtual and Real-World Experiential Learning.” It was awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
“These youths are active now, but what happens when they don’t have a team sport to motivate them?” Manore said. “Many parents of active teens allow their kids to eat unhealthy food, because they don’t worry about their weight. This is about building healthy behavior that becomes part of their life.”
The intervention program will begin June 2013 in three Oregon counties – Marion, Polk and Yamhill. About 500 teens ages 15 to 19 will engage in three different life skills programs developed by OSU. One of the programs will be a real-world scenario where teens will learn about growing their own food, cooking healthy, preparing inexpensive meals at home, and staying active.
The other two programs use new cutting-edge technology to create virtual environments, led by Jon Dorbolo with OSU’s Technology Across the Curriculum, where teens will practice these same skills but as an avatar in a 3-D virtual world. One virtual world will be “realistic,” based on the real environment; the other will be a fantasy world where anything is possible.
“Kids are into technology and they spend a lot of time with it, so we want to know if there is a way to tap into that and develop a program that can be used both at home and in the classroom to encourage healthy behavior,” Manore said.
Wong, who is an expert on the use of technology to improve dietary habits, said the virtual world can be used to reach out to teens and discover their skills and potential.
“Jake, the character in the movie ‘Avatar,’ saw how good this virtual world can be and it inspired him to make a change, which is the idea behind this part of the intervention,” Wong said. “Likewise, the idea is to create an ideal virtual world where participants can experience creative learning, be inspired and motivated to transform this positive experience back to the real world to make it a better place.”
At the end of the five-year project, OSU biostatistician Bo Zhang will lead the researchers to examine the data to see which of the three programs – the real world, the virtual “real” world, and the virtual fantasy world – resulted in better outcomes.
The research team will measure the teens’ body mass index, physical activity levels (using sensor and cloud infrastructure developed by OSU engineering faculty Patrick Chiang and Christopher Scaffidi), and their ability to meet USDA’s Choose MyPlate recommendations.
According to the researchers, the goal is to see how teens who are already physically active due to involvement in team sports can develop lifestyle skills that will stay with them past school age. Part of the intervention will include working with the young people’s parents or primary caregivers to ensure they understand about proper nutrition and exercise.
The project’s OSU team members include faculty from nutrition and exercise sciences, engineering, Information Services, Extension, SNAP-Ed Educators, KidSpirit, and 4-H programs. Other participants on the project include Bob’s Red Mill, Cooking Matters at the Store, Marion-Polk Food Share, as well as University of Arizona and San Diego State University’s Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health.
College of Public Health and Human Sciences Media Contact: Angela Yeager Source:Siew Sun Wong, 541-737-5855
Multimedia:
(left to right) Patrick Chiang, Jon Dorbolo, Siew Sun Wong, Melinda Manore, Bo Zhang, Christopher Scaffidi are part of an OSU research team who received a $5 million USDA grant to help teens stay active and eat healthy. March 2013. (photo courtesy of OSU College of Public Health and Human Sciences)
Sexualization in media and toys focus of next Corvallis Science Pub
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Sex may sell everything from magazines to perfume, but the effects of pervasive sexuality in marketing and consumer products go far beyond the cash register. At the Corvallis Science Pub on April 8, two Oregon State University psychologists will discuss their research on the impacts of sexually explicit images on children and youth.
The Science Pub presentation begins at 6 p.m. at the Old World Deli, located at 341 S.W. Second St. in Corvallis. It is free and open to the public.
Elizabeth Daniels teaches at OSU-Cascades in Bend and has surveyed middle and high school-aged boys and girls about their reactions to images of athletes. Aurora Sherman has worked with young girls to understand how such toys as Barbie, Bratz and Mrs. Potato Head dolls influence the girls’ self-image.
Daniels and Sherman suggest that it takes media savvy and strong role models to promote healthy development in the face of what the American Psychological Association calls “the massive exposure to portrayals that sexualize women and girls and teach girls that women are sexual objects.”
Sponsors of Science Pub include Terra magazine at OSU, the Downtown Corvallis Association and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Generic OSU Media Contact: Nick Houtman Source:Aurora Sherman, 541-737-1361
Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pageSexualization in media and toys focus of next Corvallis Science Pub
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Sex may sell everything from magazines to perfume, but the effects of pervasive sexuality in marketing and consumer products go far beyond the cash register. At the Corvallis Science Pub on April 8, two Oregon State University psychologists will discuss their research on the impacts of sexually explicit images on children and youth.
The Science Pub presentation begins at 6 p.m. at the Old World Deli, located at 341 S.W. Second St. in Corvallis. It is free and open to the public.
Elizabeth Daniels teaches at OSU-Cascades in Bend and has surveyed middle and high school-aged boys and girls about their reactions to images of athletes. Aurora Sherman has worked with young girls to understand how such toys as Barbie, Bratz and Mrs. Potato Head dolls influence the girls’ self-image.
Daniels and Sherman suggest that it takes media savvy and strong role models to promote healthy development in the face of what the American Psychological Association calls “the massive exposure to portrayals that sexualize women and girls and teach girls that women are sexual objects.”
Sponsors of Science Pub include Terra magazine at OSU, the Downtown Corvallis Association and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Generic OSU Media Contact: Nick Houtman Source:Aurora Sherman, 541-737-1361
Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pagePutting a human face on a product: when brand humanization goes wrong
A new study, published online ahead of print in the Journal of Marketing, finds there is a greater backlash by the public when a product branded with human characteristics fails.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – When companies put a human face on their brand, the public usually responds positively. This advertising approach has brought us alarm clocks with sleepy faces and color-coated chocolate candies with legs and arms.
But a new study, published online ahead of print in the Journal of Marketing, finds there is a greater backlash by the public when a product branded with human characteristics fails.
Lead author Marina Puzakova, an assistant professor of marketing at Oregon State University, said even though consumers can tell a camera designed with human characteristics such as little eyes and legs isn’t a person, the very act of humanizing a product can be a powerful tool.
“Somehow, now the product seems alive and mindful, and therefore can be perceived as having intentions and its own motivations to act in a certain way,” Puzakova said. “This perception of intentions can be extremely strong – consumers now see the brand as performing bad intentionally and therefore consumers develop more negative sentiments toward the brand.”
Puzakova conducted five experiments with products that had experienced negative publicity. As a general procedure, participants saw advertisements of both existing and fictitious products, where “human” characteristics, such as arms, legs, or facial-like features were manipulated. Then Puzakova showed participants news reports about how the product had failed in some way, not lived up to its advertising claim, or did not function based on consumer expectations.
In every instance, participants reported that they had stronger negative reactions to the products that were given human characteristics, also known as “brand anthropomorphization.”
“Brand anthropomorphization can be a very powerful advertising tool, so I am definitely not saying that companies shouldn’t use it,” Puzakova said. “However, they need to be aware that when they imbue their products with human-like characteristics, any backlash when something goes wrong could be stronger.”
Puzakova’s study found that the strength of negative reactions depended on consumer personality differences as well. Based on a personality test she gave participants, she found that people who believe in “personality stability,” or that personality traits are always the same and don’t change over time, tended to have stronger negative feelings towards anthropomorphized brands.
“Broadly speaking, men tend to believe in personality stability more than women, and seniors as well,” Puzakova said. “Also, some cultures tend to believe in this more than others. This can be important for advertisers to know, depending on who their target market is.
Having a deeper knowledge about their target markets, companies can also design their advertising communications tailored for different types of consumers. For example, marketers may want to emphasize flexibility and change in an ad campaign in order to reverse negative attitudes by male consumers, who tend to believe in personality stability.
Puzakova’s research also has a lesson for companies whose brands fail because of a product malfunction.
“As consumers who believe in stability of personality traits react to product failures more negatively, our research finds that companies need to provide either monetary compensation or give away coupons,” Puzakova said. “Offering a public apology is not enough. For instance, companies that have a humanized brand marketed heavily towards seniors may need to be prepared to generously compensate those consumers if something goes wrong.”
The bottom line, Puzakova said, is companies need to know their audience and the possible dangers of humanizing a brand when a product malfunctions. It can be a powerful advertising tool, but if the product fails in some way, the damage control could be costly and timely.
Hyokjin Kwak of Drexel University and Joseph Rocereto of Monmouth University contributed to this study.
College of Business Media Contact: Angela Yeager Source:Marina Puzakova, 541-737-4297
Multimedia:An image showing a humanized versus non-humanized product.
Marina Puzakova
Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pagePutting a human face on a product: when brand humanization goes wrong
A new study, published online ahead of print in the Journal of Marketing, finds there is a greater backlash by the public when a product branded with human characteristics fails.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – When companies put a human face on their brand, the public usually responds positively. This advertising approach has brought us alarm clocks with sleepy faces and color-coated chocolate candies with legs and arms.
But a new study, published online ahead of print in the Journal of Marketing, finds there is a greater backlash by the public when a product branded with human characteristics fails.
Lead author Marina Puzakova, an assistant professor of marketing at Oregon State University, said even though consumers can tell a camera designed with human characteristics such as little eyes and legs isn’t a person, the very act of humanizing a product can be a powerful tool.
“Somehow, now the product seems alive and mindful, and therefore can be perceived as having intentions and its own motivations to act in a certain way,” Puzakova said. “This perception of intentions can be extremely strong – consumers now see the brand as performing bad intentionally and therefore consumers develop more negative sentiments toward the brand.”
Puzakova conducted five experiments with products that had experienced negative publicity. As a general procedure, participants saw advertisements of both existing and fictitious products, where “human” characteristics, such as arms, legs, or facial-like features were manipulated. Then Puzakova showed participants news reports about how the product had failed in some way, not lived up to its advertising claim, or did not function based on consumer expectations.
In every instance, participants reported that they had stronger negative reactions to the products that were given human characteristics, also known as “brand anthropomorphization.”
“Brand anthropomorphization can be a very powerful advertising tool, so I am definitely not saying that companies shouldn’t use it,” Puzakova said. “However, they need to be aware that when they imbue their products with human-like characteristics, any backlash when something goes wrong could be stronger.”
Puzakova’s study found that the strength of negative reactions depended on consumer personality differences as well. Based on a personality test she gave participants, she found that people who believe in “personality stability,” or that personality traits are always the same and don’t change over time, tended to have stronger negative feelings towards anthropomorphized brands.
“Broadly speaking, men tend to believe in personality stability more than women, and seniors as well,” Puzakova said. “Also, some cultures tend to believe in this more than others. This can be important for advertisers to know, depending on who their target market is.
Having a deeper knowledge about their target markets, companies can also design their advertising communications tailored for different types of consumers. For example, marketers may want to emphasize flexibility and change in an ad campaign in order to reverse negative attitudes by male consumers, who tend to believe in personality stability.
Puzakova’s research also has a lesson for companies whose brands fail because of a product malfunction.
“As consumers who believe in stability of personality traits react to product failures more negatively, our research finds that companies need to provide either monetary compensation or give away coupons,” Puzakova said. “Offering a public apology is not enough. For instance, companies that have a humanized brand marketed heavily towards seniors may need to be prepared to generously compensate those consumers if something goes wrong.”
The bottom line, Puzakova said, is companies need to know their audience and the possible dangers of humanizing a brand when a product malfunctions. It can be a powerful advertising tool, but if the product fails in some way, the damage control could be costly and timely.
Hyokjin Kwak of Drexel University and Joseph Rocereto of Monmouth University contributed to this study.
College of Business Media Contact: Angela Yeager Source:Marina Puzakova, 541-737-4297
Multimedia:An image showing a humanized versus non-humanized product.
Marina Puzakova
Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pageHumanitarian engineering documentary to be screened
The film documentary Kel Wer tells the story of a group of Oregon State University students who traveled to the small village of Lela, Kenya, to help the community gain access to safe water.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – In July of 2012, a group of Oregon State University students traveled to the small village of Lela, Kenya, to help the community gain access to safe water.
The story of their journey will be told in Kel Wer ("to bring song" in the native Dholuo language), a documentary that will debut at OMSI in a free public screening on Tuesday, April 9. It will explore the challenges the students faced and the incredibly welcoming and resilient people they met along the way.
Doors will open to the public at 6:30 p.m., a photography exhibit of the people of Lela will be available for viewing in the lobby, and the 35-minute documentary will start at 7:15 p.m.
Following the screening, members of Oregon State's chapter of Engineers Without Borders will share their personal experiences and answer questions. Seating is limited and available on a first-come basis.
EWB-USA is a non-profit humanitarian organization that works with developing communities world-wide to improve their quality of life through environmentally and economically sustainable engineering projects, while developing internationally responsible engineering students.
More information about the project is available online at http://bit.ly/O7J7ij, and a Facebook event link is at http://on.fb.me/Xoc7ZR
The documentary was directed by Justin Smith. The project is a collaboration between the OSU College of Engineering and OSU University Relations and Marketing.
Multimedia: Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pageHumanitarian engineering documentary to be screened
The film documentary Kel Wer tells the story of a group of Oregon State University students who traveled to the small village of Lela, Kenya, to help the community gain access to safe water.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – In July of 2012, a group of Oregon State University students traveled to the small village of Lela, Kenya, to help the community gain access to safe water.
The story of their journey will be told in Kel Wer ("to bring song" in the native Dholuo language), a documentary that will debut at OMSI in a free public screening on Tuesday, April 9. It will explore the challenges the students faced and the incredibly welcoming and resilient people they met along the way.
Doors will open to the public at 6:30 p.m., a photography exhibit of the people of Lela will be available for viewing in the lobby, and the 35-minute documentary will start at 7:15 p.m.
Following the screening, members of Oregon State's chapter of Engineers Without Borders will share their personal experiences and answer questions. Seating is limited and available on a first-come basis.
EWB-USA is a non-profit humanitarian organization that works with developing communities world-wide to improve their quality of life through environmentally and economically sustainable engineering projects, while developing internationally responsible engineering students.
More information about the project is available online at http://bit.ly/O7J7ij, and a Facebook event link is at http://on.fb.me/Xoc7ZR
The documentary was directed by Justin Smith. The project is a collaboration between the OSU College of Engineering and OSU University Relations and Marketing.
Multimedia: Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pageU.S. Bank creates scholarship endowment for high-achieving OSU students
CORVALLIS, Ore. – U.S. Bank has committed $100,000 to Oregon State University’s Presidential Scholarship program, which supports high-achieving incoming freshman from Oregon. It is the university’s most prestigious scholarship, and pays tuition costs for nearly 240 students each year.
U.S. Bank has been supporting scholarships at OSU since 1988. Their most recent gift creates a permanent endowment for the scholarship in their name.
“Presidential Scholarships are among the best tools the university has to recruit Oregon's best and brightest students to our campus,” said OSU President Ed Ray. “This gift will help these talented students get the most out of their time at Oregon State, while freeing them as graduates to make career choices without the constraints of educational debt.”
U.S. Bank’s gift is part of OSU’s Presidential Scholarship Match Program. As part of the match, OSU provides funds immediately to qualified students while donors complete pledge payments to fully fund their endowed scholarship.
“The match program is a great incentive to create a permanent endowment for a program that is already very rewarding,” said Mitch Benedict, market president of U.S. Bank’s Linn-Benton office. “We are thrilled to know that with this newest gift, U.S. Bank will continue to support these impressive students for generations to come.”
Lake Oswego freshman Michael Conan was named the U.S. Bank Presidential Scholarship recipient as a result of this most recent gift. A business major with aspirations of becoming a certified public accountant, Conan credits the scholarship program as the reason he chose OSU.
“This scholarship was the deciding factor in which college I would attend, and I believe that the decision to attend Oregon State University is the best choice I could have made,” said Conan. “The community and learning environment at OSU has exceeded all expectations, and I believe it will continue to impress me as I move through the business program.”
The Presidential Scholarship program awards an average of $8,000 per year to students. Scholarships are renewed each academic year for up to four years to students who remain in good standing.
With this gift, donors have committed nearly $155 million in support of scholarships and fellowships, toward The Campaign for OSU’s overall $1 billion goal, including more than 500 new scholarship and fellowship funds.
U.S. Bank creates scholarship endowment for high-achieving OSU students
CORVALLIS, Ore. – U.S. Bank has committed $100,000 to Oregon State University’s Presidential Scholarship program, which supports high-achieving incoming freshman from Oregon. It is the university’s most prestigious scholarship, and pays tuition costs for nearly 240 students each year.
U.S. Bank has been supporting scholarships at OSU since 1988. Their most recent gift creates a permanent endowment for the scholarship in their name.
“Presidential Scholarships are among the best tools the university has to recruit Oregon's best and brightest students to our campus,” said OSU President Ed Ray. “This gift will help these talented students get the most out of their time at Oregon State, while freeing them as graduates to make career choices without the constraints of educational debt.”
U.S. Bank’s gift is part of OSU’s Presidential Scholarship Match Program. As part of the match, OSU provides funds immediately to qualified students while donors complete pledge payments to fully fund their endowed scholarship.
“The match program is a great incentive to create a permanent endowment for a program that is already very rewarding,” said Mitch Benedict, market president of U.S. Bank’s Linn-Benton office. “We are thrilled to know that with this newest gift, U.S. Bank will continue to support these impressive students for generations to come.”
Lake Oswego freshman Michael Conan was named the U.S. Bank Presidential Scholarship recipient as a result of this most recent gift. A business major with aspirations of becoming a certified public accountant, Conan credits the scholarship program as the reason he chose OSU.
“This scholarship was the deciding factor in which college I would attend, and I believe that the decision to attend Oregon State University is the best choice I could have made,” said Conan. “The community and learning environment at OSU has exceeded all expectations, and I believe it will continue to impress me as I move through the business program.”
The Presidential Scholarship program awards an average of $8,000 per year to students. Scholarships are renewed each academic year for up to four years to students who remain in good standing.
With this gift, donors have committed nearly $155 million in support of scholarships and fellowships, toward The Campaign for OSU’s overall $1 billion goal, including more than 500 new scholarship and fellowship funds.
Public invited behind doors of HMSC April 13 for Marine Science Day
NEWPORT, Ore. – Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center will allow the public to explore “behind the scenes” of this unique facility on Saturday, April 13, when the Newport facility hosts its annual Marine Science Day.
The free event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature scientists and educators from OSU, federal and state agencies, Oregon Coast Aquarium, and the new NOAA Marine Operations Center-Pacific. It is a chance for the public to explore one of the nation’s leading marine science and education centers.
An online schedule of events is available at: hmsc.oregonstate.edu/marinescienceday
In addition to a diversity of marine science presentations, two research themes will be highlighted. One is the science behind bycatch reduction devices, which will be featured by researchers from NOAA Fisheries, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, OSU, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and Foulweather Trawl, a Newport netmaker.
Marine Science Day visitors will see actual bycatch reduction devices and have an opportunity to view videos showing how fish are excluded or retained, depending on their size, swimming ability or other characteristic. Other research will highlight genetics or other tools used to distinguish between wanted and unwanted catch. Scientists will be on hand to answer questions and discuss their research.
“Visitors will learn not only about the problem of bycatch but also about the solutions, which range from simple and elegant to complex and cutting-edge,” said Maryann Bozza, program manager of the center. “All of the different HMSC research displays on bycatch reduction will be grouped together.”
A second theme will be wave energy, highlighting the efforts of the OSU Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center to improve and facilitate testing of wave energy devices and evaluate their potential effects on marine habitats. HMSC’s Sarah Henkel, a senior research assistant professor in the OSU Department of Zoology, will present an update of wave energy developments on the Oregon Coast.
Henkel’s talk begins at 3 p.m. in the Visitor Center auditorium.
Among other highlights of Marine Science Day:
- Visitor Center activities will include new wave energy exhibits, the recently dedicated Japanese tsunami dock exhibit and a new interactive wave tank.
- The center’s new octopus, named “Miss Oscar,” will be featured in a 1 p.m. interpretive talk and octopus feeding demonstration.
- The public can take self-guided tours through the facility’s marine research labs, library and classrooms, where scientists will have interactive exhibits explaining their research. Visitors may also take guided tours of HMSC’s seawater facilities and aquatic animal husbandry laboratory.
A number of educational activities for children and families will be available, presented by Oregon Sea Grant, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
The OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center is located at 2030 S.E. Marine Science Drive in Newport, just south of the Highway 101 bridge over Yaquina Bay.
Media Contact: Mark Floyd Source:Maryann Bozza, 541-867-0234
Multimedia: Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home pagePublic invited behind doors of HMSC April 13 for Marine Science Day
NEWPORT, Ore. – Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center will allow the public to explore “behind the scenes” of this unique facility on Saturday, April 13, when the Newport facility hosts its annual Marine Science Day.
The free event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature scientists and educators from OSU, federal and state agencies, Oregon Coast Aquarium, and the new NOAA Marine Operations Center-Pacific. It is a chance for the public to explore one of the nation’s leading marine science and education centers.
An online schedule of events is available at: hmsc.oregonstate.edu/marinescienceday
In addition to a diversity of marine science presentations, two research themes will be highlighted. One is the science behind bycatch reduction devices, which will be featured by researchers from NOAA Fisheries, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, OSU, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and Foulweather Trawl, a Newport netmaker.
Marine Science Day visitors will see actual bycatch reduction devices and have an opportunity to view videos showing how fish are excluded or retained, depending on their size, swimming ability or other characteristic. Other research will highlight genetics or other tools used to distinguish between wanted and unwanted catch. Scientists will be on hand to answer questions and discuss their research.
“Visitors will learn not only about the problem of bycatch but also about the solutions, which range from simple and elegant to complex and cutting-edge,” said Maryann Bozza, program manager of the center. “All of the different HMSC research displays on bycatch reduction will be grouped together.”
A second theme will be wave energy, highlighting the efforts of the OSU Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center to improve and facilitate testing of wave energy devices and evaluate their potential effects on marine habitats. HMSC’s Sarah Henkel, a senior research assistant professor in the OSU Department of Zoology, will present an update of wave energy developments on the Oregon Coast.
Henkel’s talk begins at 3 p.m. in the Visitor Center auditorium.
Among other highlights of Marine Science Day:
- Visitor Center activities will include new wave energy exhibits, the recently dedicated Japanese tsunami dock exhibit and a new interactive wave tank.
- The center’s new octopus, named “Miss Oscar,” will be featured in a 1 p.m. interpretive talk and octopus feeding demonstration.
- The public can take self-guided tours through the facility’s marine research labs, library and classrooms, where scientists will have interactive exhibits explaining their research. Visitors may also take guided tours of HMSC’s seawater facilities and aquatic animal husbandry laboratory.
A number of educational activities for children and families will be available, presented by Oregon Sea Grant, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
The OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center is located at 2030 S.E. Marine Science Drive in Newport, just south of the Highway 101 bridge over Yaquina Bay.
Media Contact: Mark Floyd Source:Maryann Bozza, 541-867-0234
Multimedia: Promote to OSU home page: Not Promote to the OSU home page
