CFAES welcomes “green” polymer scientist Judit Puskas (pictured) to its team. She coinvented the coating on a heart stent used in millions of Americans. She now is developing an innovative way to improve breast reconstruction after cancer surgery. Read the story.
Month: April 2019
Grain that grows ‘like grass on the prairie’
A recent NPR story by Dan Charles featured the perennial grain called Kernza. Headlined “Can This Breakfast Cereal Save the Planet?” the story looked at Kernza’s benefits to the soil, which include preventing erosion and sequestering carbon; the scientists at the Salina, Kansas-based Land Institute who developed and are continuing to work with Kernza; and efforts by General Mills, the maker of Wheaties and Cheerios, to turn the new grain into cereal.
Kernza-wise, CFAES scientist Steve Culman and his colleagues are studying the grain as well, including as part of a multistate study. Read more on their work here and here.
‘So many snakes!’—and that’s a good thing
If you’ve been to the Lake Erie islands lately, you’ve probably seen Lake Erie watersnakes, which were brought back from the brink of extinction—to the benefit of the islands’ natural systems—by scientists and volunteers with CFAES’ Stone Laboratory.
Learn more in the video above and in our latest CFAES Story.
Stone Lab weekend? Check the weather
Update as of Friday afternoon from Ohio Sea Grant’s website: “Work weekend is still on but it has been shortened. Friday will still be as planned. Saturday will be shortened and there will be NO OVERNIGHT stays. Everyone will be transported off Gibraltar (Island) and be put on the 3:00 and 4:00pm Miller ferry. You will still be provided Friday night pizza, and Saturday breakfast and lunch.”
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An update from Ohio Sea Grant’s website about this weekend’s Stone Laboratory volunteer work weekend at Lake Erie:
“There is an inclement weather warning for this weekend. Due to high wind and water levels it is possible that the ferries will not be running and Spring Work Weekend will be cancelled or shortened.”
Keep checking your email for updates, says the website, which promises a decision by 11 a.m. today, Friday, April 12.
Check out live webcams at Put-in-Bay harbor and several lab locations.
How to start a sustainable business
CFAES sustainability alumnus Vincent Valentino, pictured, is one of nearly 20 speakers set to share insights at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s 2019 Sustainability Conference on April 17 in Columbus.
‘Oodles’ of science—and also Adirondack chairs
Reporter Laura Johnston looks at Stone Laboratory—Ohio State’s “science island” on Lake Erie and 6.5-acre “hunk of dolomite”—today on cleveland.com. Johnston also is the editor of cleveland.com’s Lake Erie-centric rockthelake.com sister site.
An eco-friendly replacement for plastic?
From an Ohio State story yesterday about a study done by scientists from CFAES:
“New research … has shown that combining natural rubber with bioplastic in a novel way results in a much stronger replacement for plastic, one that is already capturing the interest of companies looking to shrink their environmental footprints.”
Today in Tokyo
📷 with Mr. Toshi Nakahara of the #JapanPrize and @CFAES_OSU soil scientist Rattan Lal, one of two @JapanPrizeAward recipients this year. Congratulations and thank you for representing @OhioState. pic.twitter.com/RmhunKFGvJ
— Michael V. Drake (@UCPrezDrake) April 8, 2019
Watch the ceremony. Read about Rattan Lal receiving the Japan Prize.
Monday: Talk on innovative micro wind turbine
Robert Yost, president and CEO of American Wind Inc. and developer of the patented, basketball-sized MicroCube micro wind turbine, speaks and demonstrates the turbine at 7 p.m. tonight, Monday, April 8, on the CFAES Wooster campus. Admission is free and open to the public. Learn more.
Watch a 2018 interview with American Wind’s Daniel Yost above.
Watch: Rattan Lal receives Japan Prize
CFAES soil scientist Rattan Lal formally received the Japan Prize today, Monday, April 8, in Tokyo. You can watch the ceremony in the video above. Ohio State President Michael V. Drake, First Lady Brenda Drake, and CFAES Wooster Director Dave Benfield were among the delegation from Ohio State attending the ceremony. The Japan Prize is considered one of the most prestigious honors in science and technology.