This Week @ AU

MyAccount will be available to students beginning tomorrow, July 1. Through MyAccount, you can manage your AU computing account online. Use it to reset your password, establish or update password hint questions and answers which can be used to retrieve a forgotten password, or use it to activate a new account. MyAccount is available at http://www.auburn.edu/myaccount. For additional information on MyAccount, visit http://www.auburn.edu/oit/myaccount or click the question mark on the top right of each MyAccount page. You can also contact the OIT HelpDesk at helpdesk@auburn.edu.

AU Provost John Heilman announced Wednesday that Auburn professor George Flowers has been named dean of the Graduate School after a national search. As dean, Flowers will supervise a staff of 13 charged with the admission, advisement and graduation activities for all graduate students. He also will chair the graduate council, which oversees graduate faculty credentialing, curriculum and program reviews. Flowers, an Alumni Professor in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering's Department of Mechanical Engineering, served as acting associate dean of the Graduate School from 2005-06. He has served as interim dean of the school with Joe Pittman since August 2006. He joined the Auburn faculty in 1990 after working with the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of South Florida. Flowers earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1984 at Auburn, followed by a master's degree in 1985 and a doctorate in 1988 at Georgia Tech, both in mechanical engineering. For more information, visit http://wireeagle.auburn.edu/news/381#more-381.

Regions Financial Corporation recently announced a $1 million commitment to Auburn University, which will be split equally between the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and the College of Business. The funds will support a special endowment for a new professor in forestry in addition to scholarships for the College of Business. With forestry as one of the leading industries within the state, the new distinguished forestry professorship will focus on product development and research, identifying creative additional markets for the use of trees. Coupled with the scholarships for the College of Business, Regions' contribution emphasizes the importance of education to drive the economic engine in the communities it serves. For more information, visit http://wireeagle.auburn.edu/news/378#more-378.

After a national search, AU President Jay Gogue today announced that John M. Mason has been named Associate Provost and Vice President for Research. Mason, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, Research and Outreach in the College of Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, has an extensive background in teaching, research, consultation and administrative leadership, and also serves as the director of the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute and executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center. Mason holds a bachelor's degree in transportation from Pennsylvania State University, a master's degree in transportation engineering from Villanova University and a doctorate in civil engineering from Texas A&M University. He is a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania and began his career in consulting engineering practice. For additional information, visit http://wireeagle.auburn.edu/news/376.

The Auburn University Bookstore is pleased to announce a special back-to-school promotion for Auburn Students. Savings of $50 and a free printer are offered with the purchase of specific models of the MacBook and/or MacBook Pro, and the Apple Care Protection Plan. Please see Matt or Ramonde at the Bookstore for details. This offer may be combined with Apple's other Back-to-school special, which offers your choice of a free iPod 8 GHz Nano or 8 GHz iPod Touch, after rebate, with a qualifying purchase. The specials are available in-store only so stop in while supplies last. The Auburn University Bookstore is the Authorized Campus reseller and Certified Apple repair facility.

A team of researchers from the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering has produced antimicrobial coatings that have the potential to prevent diseases from spreading on contaminated surfaces. This is a growing problem not only in hospitals but also in schools, offices, airplanes and elsewhere. Led by Virginia Davis, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and Aleksandr Simonian, professor of materials engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Auburn researchers mixed solutions of lysozyme, a natural product with antimicrobial properties found in egg whites and human tears, with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Similar to a rolled sheet of graphite, SWNTs, at one nanometer in diameter, are a perfect cylinder of carbon. By using a process called layer-by-layer deposition, the team demonstrated the inability of intact Staphylococcus aureus cells to grow on antimicrobial surfaces. Graduate student Shankar Balasubramanian, whose expertise is in biosensors and antimicrobial materials, and postdoctoral student Dhriti Nepal, whose background is in SWNT-biopolymer dispersion contributed to the project.

The Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs has developed a new mentoring program known as Providing Peer Opportunities for Diverse Students (P²ODS). P²ODS's purpose is to mentor and empower underrepresented and disadvantaged students to excel in academics and leadership. The goal is to increase retention and graduation rates for students at Auburn. Program administrators are looking for motivated students who are willing to serve as mentors for freshmen for one year. The program will provide leadership opportunities for both the mentors and the freshmen involved. Students interested in becoming a mentor should contact Jocelyn Vickers at 844-3492 or wilchjl@auburn.edu. The application deadline is Aug. 1.

The Auburn University Amateur Radio Club will be holding a public demonstration of emergency communications on June 28-29 at the Auburn University Solar House on Donahue Drive. With the technology of today, staying in constant contact with almost anyone is very simple. However, during severe weather or times of a natural disaster, some, if not all of the communication "necessities" we count on could become inoperative as a result of the conditions. However, radio communication can be accomplished anywhere at anytime. There are no monthly fees for using amateur radio and it's reliable. Learn how to stay up to date on severe weather by listening to the local SkyWarn group during the next passing of severe weather, participate in emergency communications during a time of disaster, or carry on a conversation with someone from anywhere around the world right from your home with a simple radio. For more information, contact Jimmy Hicks at hicksji@auburn.edu.

With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering is hosting three NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) through its departments of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Computer Science and Software Engineering. During the summer, participating undergraduate students will conduct research on NSF-funded topics. Ten students have been selected to participate in the eight-week summer session with the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering's REU in automotive manufacturing systems. The departments of Chemical Engineering and Computer Science and Software Engineering are hosting 10 students each for participation in 10-week REU programs. REU programs expand students' participation in research and engage them in science- and engineering-related careers.

Tomorrow, June 17, marks the first date that students can begin ordering football tickets for the upcoming 2008 season. Students who have passed 101 or more hours at AU can begin ordering at 9 a.m. Tuesday.  Students with fewer hours passed can begin ordering on subsequent days. A schedule with additional information can be viewed here. Incoming freshmen and transfer students with no previous hours at Auburn will be eligible to order July 15. To order, students must have all accounts cleared with the Bursar’s Office and log on to AU Access; go to the Tigeri tab and click “Order Student Season Tickets.” The deadline to cancel a ticket order is Aug. 15. After this date, cancellations will not be accepted. Withdrawal from school will not automatically cancel an order and clear the charges. Student football tickets will be billed no later than the September Bursar’s bill.

Auburn University has released the Dean’s List and Graduates List for Spring Semester 2008. Information for the lists was provided by AU’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. Students who have chosen to keep their information confidential will not appear on the Dean’s List or Graduates List even if they qualify to be on either or both. To be eligible for the Dean’s List, students must be undergraduates enrolled for 12 or more credit hours, must pass all courses attempted for that semester, have no D grades that term and earn a grade-point average of at least 3.75 on a 4.0 scale. A student appearing twice on the list is a double major. AU awarded more than 2,600 degrees during two spring commencement ceremonies May 10 in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Auburn University has awarded more than 250,000 degrees at its main campus since its founding as the East Alabama Male College in 1856.
The Graduates List can be found online at https://fp.auburn.edu/ocm/gradslist/
The Dean’s List can be found online at https://fp.auburn.edu/ocm/deanslist/

In the May 28 edition of This Week at AU, the top story "Cap and gown orders for summer grads" listed the order deadline as July 20. The actual deadline is this Friday, June 20.

A four-night self-defense class for women will be held beginning today from 6-9 p.m. at the Frank Brown Recreation Center in Auburn. It will continue Wednesday, June 18, Monday, June 23, and conclude Wednesday, June 25. The class is taught by certified Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) instructors from Auburn University and the Auburn Police Division and will include instruction on risk awareness and risk reduction, as well as hands-on physical defense techniques. There is a $15 fee for the class; contact the recreation center at 501-2962 to register. Advance registration is recommended. This class is specifically designed for women and is accessible to all ages and ability levels. Contact Andrea Bartels at bartead@auburn.edu for more information.

Doctoral candidate Theo Manno's research on free-ranging, wild Columbian ground squirrels in Alberta, Canada, has found some parallels with human social activity. The study, published in the journal "Animal Behavior" and featured in the magazines "Discovery News" and "New Scientist," could have implications for policy affecting management of natural resources, said Manno, a student in the Department of Biological Sciences. Expanding upon studies by Stephen Dobson, a professor in the College of Sciences and Mathematics, Manno observed the interaction of a colony of 65 ground squirrels in a nature park in the western Canada province from April-July 2006 and ran the results through a computer model. The model ran on software known as UCINET, which has been used by scientists in a variety of disciplines to identify networks on the Internet and among airline hubs as well as social connections among animals and even among humans. Manno confirmed that ground squirrels are social animals and found that their social groups have some of the same characteristics as those of humans. To read the story, see http://wireeagle.auburn.edu/news/361.

Stores and restaurants in parts of the U.S. are taking tomatoes off their produce aisles and their menus due to a salmonella outbreak linked to tainted tomatoes, but vendors at the The Market at Ag Heritage Park on Thursdays from 3-6 p.m. will have baskets of safe, freshly picked, homegrown tomatoes for sale. Plenty of other summer produce will also be available, including peaches, watermelons, eggplant, corn, new potatoes and more. Visit www.ag.auburn.edu/themarket for more on what this week's Market offers. For more information, contact Katie Jackson at 844-5997 or smithcl@auburn.edu.

The Washington Post's crossword puzzle from June 9 had an AU connection. One of the clues was "Home of the Tigers" and, of course, the answer was "Auburn."

Auburn University researchers have found that wearing thong-style flip-flops can result in orthopedic problems of the feet, ankles and legs. The research team, led by biomechanics doctoral student Justin Shroyer, presented its findings at the recent annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Indianapolis. "We found that when people walk in flip-flops, they alter their gait, which can result in problems and pain from the foot up into the hips and lower back," Shroyer said. "Variations like this at the foot can result in changes up the kinetic chain, which in this case can extend upward in the wearer's body." The researchers, in the AU College of Education's Department of Kinesiology, recruited 39 college-age men and women for the study. Participants, wearing thong-style flip-flops and then traditional athletic shoes, walked across a platform that measured vertical force as the walkers' feet hit the ground. In addition, a video camcorder measured stride length and limb angles. Shroyer's team found that flip-flop wearers took shorter steps and that their heels hit the ground with less vertical force than when the same walkers wore athletic shoes. When wearing flip-flops, the study participants did not bring their toes up as much during the leg's swing phase, resulting in a larger ankle angle and shorter stride length, possibly because they tended to grip the flip-flops with their toes.

Tiger Dining is seeking student input to help name several new dining locations at the new Student Village, which will open fall semester 2009. If your entry is selected, your name will be developed into a logo to be used at Auburn. You will also receive a $25 voucher for that location. Entries will be accepted until July 23 and winners will be notified by Aug. 1. All submissions should be sent to ecp0002@auburn.edu. Locations to be named include Tiger Dining's convenience store, coffee shop, late night dinner, grill station, chef table, deli, salad bar, pizza place, steam table, grill and sauté station. Visit http://www.auburn.edu/dining for more information.

Pradeep Lall has been selected as a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), a designation that recognizes significant engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession. Lall is the Thomas Walter Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Associate Director of the NSF Center for Advanced Vehicle Electronics at AU. He has 10 years of industry experience and he has served as Assistant Director of the CALCE Electronic Packaging Center. Lall is credited with significant contributions to the field of electronic packaging with emphasis on reliability, prognostics, modeling and predictive techniques. He has published numerous works in his field and has received several awards including the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering Senior Faculty Research Award in 2007. He holds several patents and is a six Sigma Black Belt in Statistics. Lall serves as the Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies, IEEE Transactions on Manufacturing and ASME Journal of Electronic Packaging.

The Office of Communications and Marketing has selected this photo taken by Mark Cianicosa, a graduate student in Physics, to display on the AU home page for the month of June. In this photo, Sam Gwin of the Auburn Flyers cycling team leads the pack at the 2008 UGA criterium. To see the full-sized image, visit www.auburn.edu. OCM would like to thank everyone who submitted photos. Next month, we will choose a new photo for the AU home page. If you have a unique or compelling photo of Auburn student life, please send it to auphotos@auburn.edu.

"Boundary Conditions," an exhibition of watercolor paintings by Cynthia Camlin and a growing wall installation by Hannah Israel, is currently on display in Biggin Gallery. The exhibition is presented by AU's College of Liberal Arts Department of Art. Camlin works with watercolor, ink, and gouache on paper. These materials combine chance procedures and different mark-making strategies to build images of melting icebergs. Israel, who is a sculptor, makes use of thermoplastic adhesives to create what appear to be growing forms on the gallery walls and floors. Israel will continue to install the project throughout the duration of the exhibition. The exhibition will be on display through July 22. Biggin Gallery is located at 101 Biggin Hall. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Barb Bondy, exhibitions and lectures coordinator, at 524-1189.