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June 25, 2008 by Karen Pojmann
It’s been a big week for women in the military, with President Bush nominating Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody to become first female four-star general in the United States. According to Pentagon reports, only 57 of this country’s active-duty generals and admirals are women.
Mizzou soon will welcome one of them.
The wife of our newly appointed vice chancellor for research, Robert Duncan, is Maj. Gen. Annette L. Sobel. Sobel has served as the director of intelligence for the National Guard Bureau and director of the New Mexico Governor’s Office of Homeland Security. She has won multiple service awards from the Army and the Air Force. She has taught at the University of New Mexico, the University of Texas at Galveston and Wright State University. She serves on the national board of directors for Girl Scouts of the USA. And did we mention she’s also a medical doctor and senior flight surgeon? You might say Sobel is the very model of a modern major general.
The couple joins us Sept. 1.
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June 23, 2008 by Lisa Bruce
More than a million dogs suffer from cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) deficiency each year. The condition is comparable to a common sports injury in humans — anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. A Mizzou veterinarian has helped to develop the Tightrope, a device used with minimally-invasive surgical techniques, to stabilize dogs’ knees.
James “Jimi” Cook, professor of veterinary medicine and surgery and the William C. Allen Endowed Professor for Orthopedic Research, worked with Arthrex, Inc. to develop and test the Tightrope device. More invasive techniques can lead to serious complications.
Learn more about about the innovative surgery.
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June 18, 2008 by Karen Pojmann
Mizzou alumnus Neal Boyd blew away the judges—as well as the particularly wound-up and finicky audience—last night on the NBC show America’s Got Talent. Backstage, the passionate opera tenor talked candidly (with Jerry Springer) about his childhood in a low-income family in Sikeston, Mo., sweetly singing the praises of his supportive, self-sacrificing mother. Then he took the stage. By the halfway point in his performance, the members of the Los Angeles studio audience were on their feet, cheering. Even persnickety Piers Morgan uttered a stunned “wow,” later telling an emotional Boyd: “You are a very, very special talent.” Sharon Osbourne observed, “You have a fabulous warmth that comes from you,” and David Hasselhoff declared, “This show is about talent. And it’s about $1 million. And right now you are the front-runner.”
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June 16, 2008 by Karen Pojmann
If your summer TV viewing schedule includes regular doses of “reality” talent shows, you’re likely to catch 2001 Mizzou graduate Neal Boyd’s operatic stylings at 8 p.m. Central Standard Time tomorrow, June 17, on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Perhaps you’ve already caught a snippet of Boyd’s work during the show’s previews, in which the Mizzou-trained tenor apparently tears up over the gushing of judges Sharon Osbourne, David Hasselhoff and Piers Morgan. We don’t know how far he goes on the show, a competition during which a winner is chosen by process of elimination. Boyd can’t talk about any details yet; everything is very hush-hush until the finale airs. But it’s probably OK to give Boyd a shout-out if you see him around campus. The Sikeston, Mo., native says he plans to work with his former MU vocal coach, Associate Professor Ann Harrell, this summer. Read all about it — and hear an audio clip of Boyd performing — at Mizzou magazine online.
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May 29, 2008 by Chris Blose
We featured Mizzou softball’s deep postseason run last week, and now the baseball team is taking its crack at the NCAAs. The team has been invited to its sixth-straight NCAA regional tournament. The Tigers (38-19 on the year) will be grouped with Ole Miss, Bethune-Cookman and the No. 1 team in the country, Miami, in Coral Gables, Fla.
The tournament begins Friday, May 30. The MU Tigers site has details, and those lucky enough to have ESPNU (we don’t) can watch televised coverage.
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May 16, 2008 by Shane Epping
It required about six months and 1,600 hours of sweat equity for a group of civil engineering students to design and construct two bridges for the 2008 National Timber Bridge Design Competition. The combination of 100 2x4s, 75 1x4s, 21 sheets of plywood, 20 gallons of glue and 300 gallons of sawdust measured their success. At about 13 feet long and 54 inches wide, each bridge ended up being long and strong enough to avoid troubled water.
Final results for both structures included: second place for best overall design, first place for best support structure and first place for most innovative design. A top-three finish in each of the remaining three categories helped the team earn $2,250 overall, more prize money than any other school.
The team was grateful for local help. “Not only did MU come together and support our Timber Bridge Team, but Columbia’s hometown lumber companies did, too,” says Josh Long, vice president of the group.
Above, the Timber Bridge Team memorializes its bridge work on Francis Quadrangle. From left to right, members include Adam J. Kral, president; Ardie Mansouri, treasurer; Al-Barrae Shebib; Jeremy Welschmeyer; Josh Long, vice president; Derek Zimmerschied; and Jin Lin. Not pictured are Ryan Moats, JC Sellers, Jonah Sprehe-Costello, Trevor McWilliams, Jake Pressler, Ryan Fitzpatrick and faculty adviser Hani Salim. Photo by Shane Epping.
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May 13, 2008 by Chris Blose
About 200 Mizzou students will be graduating this spring after working to earn their degrees online through MU Extension. They’ve completed their undergraduate and graduate degrees in a nontraditional way that transcends daily class schedules and geography, and they have a commencement ceremony to match.
Extension now offers Mizzou’s first online commencement ceremony. Graduates’ names and degrees are listed; there are speeches from Provost Brian Foster and Mizzou Alumni Association President Titus Blackmon; and friends, family and others can sign a guest book and wish graduates well. Coat and tie are optional for the ceremony, of course, and weather and parking shouldn’t be concerns.
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May 6, 2008 by Chris Blose
File this under the toot-our-own-horns category. Mizzou Wire has been nominated for a People’s Choice award in the Best Magazine Site category at eduStyle, a Web design gallery dedicated to higher education Web sites. Readers are welcome to vote, of course. It may not be the most important vote of the year, but we’re happy to be in the running.
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May 6, 2008 by Chris Blose
The Bond Life Sciences Center is offering a chance to get stimulation from caffeine and science at the same time. Tonight marks the first Science Cafe, with biochemistry Professor Bruce McClure leading a casual discussion about “The Science Behind Genetically-Modified Crops (and Other Organisms)” from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Cherry Street Artisan, 111 S. 9th St.
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May 1, 2008 by Chris Blose
Spring weather has been showing up in spurts, so we’re spending as much time as possible outside. That includes picnics. The MU News Bureau has released information and tips from Richard Fancher of MU’s Department of Environmental Health and Safety on how not to spoil the picnic, literally.
The biggest issue in trying to avoid food-borne illnesses is food temperature; people should try to keep food out of the “danger zone” between 41 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Foods that are susceptible to bacterial growth, such as mayonnaise, can be especially troublesome and should be kept on ice in the cooler. On the flipside, Fancher recommends cooking all meats to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
See the news release for more tips and full details.
