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Show Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010 StatesmanCampus News Page 3 USTAR: Funding helps advancement I continued from page 3 fungal activity through significant Michael Johnson, principle invesJohnson said recently-constructplants and humans, Cheng said. tigator of the project and research ed businesses and other entities "FG08 is active against a broad assistant professor at the Utah have already begun to require backspectrum of significant plant and Water Research Laboratory, said he flow prevention systems. animal pathogens," Cheng said. is optimistic about the way the sysPoppleton said that Water He said here are many uses for tem can help close to home. Preventions, LLC, located in Logan, the project, including application "During rainstorms, or when has licensed the project. to agriculture and crop and human fungal infection treatment, and the innovation has the ability to generate 50 jobs within the state of Utah, with potential for an annual revenue of $10 million in five years. Cheng said the project was sparked by a "great need to protect from in-culture and human use" of objects that carry high amounts of harmful bacteria. Cheng said that there were challenges to the research, with regards to applying a research so small —dealing with some of the basic physical structures of an object —to then making it applicable on a large-scale basis. "How can you take these cornpounds and apply it to thousands of acres?" Cheng said as he pondered the endeavor that's been pursued since around the same time USTAR was born. The second project, the Backflow UTAH SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH is a state Prevention System, is a "device with funded initiative with a goal to help Utah technology FILE PHOTO a purpose to be installed in wastewater pipes and prevent waste-water from damaging the interior of obstructions are present, a sewer This innovation, Poppleton said, structures in the event of a backcan become backed up and wastecan provide 25-30 new jobs within flow," Poppleton said. water can flow back into homes Cache Valley, and a $10-$12 million The system is waiting for a patand businesses, causing serious and dollar revenue with five years. ent to continue its development. costly damage," he said. A combination of three local companies and three universities have combined to bring forth the third approved innovation, making synthetic diesel from conditioned biogas. Both organic and agriculture waste treatment have been applied to the project. "Funding from the USTAR TSG will be used to optimize production from biogas to conditioned gas to synthetic diesel," said Conly Hansen, USU professor of nutrition and food sciences and biological and irrigation engineering. "With funding from USTAR, we will be able to enable production of synthetic diesel on a large scale." This project could potentially generate 50 jobs within the state, and an annual revenue of $30 million in five years. The new building next month on Innovation Campus, is an area of the university that O'Malley said is a "must-see." O'Malley said he is also very positive about the new-career potential that USTAR has and will continue to spark. "If (potential research employees) know they're coming through a campus that has the latest in resource and infrastructure, that's a pretty attractive location," he said. —rhett.wilkinson@aggienzad.usu.edu Briefs Campus & Community More program options for UPR Utah Public Radio is completing an upgrade of its signal in the Uintah Basin to a full-power station that expands its coverage area and provides more program options on three separate channels via HD digital technology. Listeners in the Uintah Basin can still hear UPR on 91.5 F.M. and now on radio station KUSK, 88.5 F.M. The HD1 channel provides the same program lineup broadcast simultaneously on 91.5 and 88.5 F.M. HD2 offers popular public radio programs such as "The Diane Rehm Show," "Talk of the Nation" and "BBC World Service Overnight." On HD3, listeners can hear Utah State University's student-operated station Aggie Radio. Utah Public Radio will broadcast its daily "Access Utah" show from Vernal Friday, Sept. 24, from the new USU Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Center Utah Public Radio is a service of Utah State University and is heard by listeners across Utah and in southern Idaho via a network of 32 translators. The station was licensed in 1953 as KVSC, the Voice of State College. Utah Symphony Orchestra concert The Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University hosts the world-renowned Utah Symphony Orchestra under the direction of newly-appointed Music Director Maestro Thierry Fischer in a concert Thursday, Sept. 30. Concert time is 7:30 p.m. in the Kent Concert Hall, Chase Fine Arts Center at USU. "We warmly invite all Cache Valley citizens and USU students to come enjoy this exciting welcome to Maestro Fischer and the Utah Symphony," said Craig Jessop, dean of USU's Caine College of the Arts. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $8 for all students with presentation of ID, and can be purchased at the CCA Box Office. Maestro Fischer was named the seventh music director in the 70year history of the Utah Symphony in September 2009. He is also the principal conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and chief conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic. Public Relations Opening Social AUTHOR THOMAS CAHILL met with the audience after his speech put on by the Caine College of the Arts and the College of HASS BENJAMIN WOOD photo Professor intertwines aspects of history into the issues that face the present da By ROB JEPSON staff writer Author and lecturer Thomas Cahill visited Utah State Tuesday to speak at the convocation for the Caine College of the Arts and the College of HASS. Cahill received a BA in philosophy and scripture and an MFA in dramatic film and literature. He reads ancient Greek, Latin, French and Italian, and served as the North American education correspondent for the Times of London. Sahil Oberoi, a student pursuing a double-bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy, said that listening to Cahill was "a great experience overall," and that he enjoyed how Cahill "intertwined different aspects of history." Craig Jessop, dean of the Caine College of the Arts, said after reading one of Cahill's books he felt "this is exactly the type of teacher educator that I would like to get to know better. So I called Jon Allen who also felt it would be a good choice. We picked up the phone, and we got him." Cahill spoke about his experiences in historical research and the life lessons he had learned from them. The theme of his talk was "real living is meeting," referencing author Marin Buber in his book "I and Thou." Cahill said, as scholars, we often Patrick himself was "a bit of a brat," fail to extract the exact meaning of who thought his parent's religion texts. He said we must understand was "more than a little silly." Cahill the setting, language, and culture said Patrick didn't develop spiritually that texts are written in if we want to until he was captured by Irish pirates understand their full meaning. and sold as a slave. Cahill said that as he becomes "It was in these woeful circumfamiliar with the context in which stances that Patrick began to change documents are written, he begins to ... and to pray to the God of his see the people in parents," Cahill said. He them as fellow "We need peace- compared this pattern to that human beings makers. We need of Americans captured and with whom he held in Iran who "discovered lovers far more can identify, prayer, which brought them than we need rather than as a sense of peace, tranquility, distant figures. generals and and hope, even in the most He identified politicians, for desperate circumstances." figures such as Saint Patrick, Cahill said, peace and love Saint Patrick, later became the first person are the ultimate to bring Christianity to a barAlexander the Great, and Jesus needs of all of barian nation, and the first Christ as people us" person to condemn slavery as whose stories immoral. Thomas Cahill, are often misinCahill said Saint Patrick's Author unique experience was what terpreted. Saint Patrick, Cahill ultimately changed him. said, "didn't "Each of us must find a way call himself a saint, and his mother to give meaning to our lives, and the certainly didn't call him 'Saint' historian approaching this material around the house. His real name was must find the meaning that lies hidPatricious." den in each life," he said. "Calling Saint Patrick `Patricious'," Cahill said that from stories like Cahill said, "seemed to give him an Saint Patrick's we can learn more entirely new identity, something real about ourselves and find solutions to to build on." contemporary problems. Cahill said Saint Patrick's child"We stand in desperate need of hood was easy and sheltered and that contemporary figures to create inno- vative dialogue. We need peacemakers. We need lovers far more than we need generals and politicians, for peace and love are the ultimate needs of all of us," he said. Shashank Chauhan, a law and constitutional studies major, said: "The best part was how he was able to connect the past to our present and talk about how the historical events in the past could be connected to some of the issues we're facing in the present, especially with the West and Islam. Overall it was a great talk." Jon Allen, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, said that one of the reasons they invited Cahill was for his ability to bridge the different disciplines. "Cahill is able to touch the arts, the humanities, and the social sciences. As we were creating two colleges out of one, we wanted to make sure we didn't lose that ability to link." Cahill is the author of five books, including "How the Irish Saved Civilization" and the "Sailing of the Wine-Dark Sea," which are part of a seven-part series he said he intends to conclude in corning years. The Public Relations Student Society of America is holding their opening social Wednesday, 7 p.m, in room 115 of the Animal Science building on the USU campus. The social includes President of Charity Anywhere Foundation, Gordon Carter, as speaker along with free catered Texas Roadhouse. Carter will speak on techniques and obstacles surrounding public relations and publicity in the nonprofit industry. He will draw on over 20 years of experience managing an international non-profit organization active in areas ranging from Algeria to Ecuador. All students are welcome to the social. There is no fee to attend and catering will be provided by PRSSA and Texas Roadhouse. "We hope to draw in public relations students as well as other majors to show them that everyone needs a little PR," says Jesse Dredge, president of USU PRSSA chapter. USU PRSSA hopes to expose students to the professional PR world by inviting speakers to USU. The Utah State University PRSSA has been recognized at a national level and hosts the Mountain West Regional PR Conference each spring. USU PRSSA aims to create an interactive learning environment for students interested in public relations, marketing, networking with professionals, and gaining hands on experience before graduation. —robmjepson@gmail.com !Compiled from staff and media reports |