Front Page News at Indiana University

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IU to lead nationwide research network to expand supercomputer capabilities
"The strategy is working"
IU School of Informatics records milestone; first-ever PhD now at renowned institute
Youth drug use in Indiana: Annual survey finds overall drop, slight marijuana use increase
International conference focuses on challenges faced by women in rural areas every day
New data from the IU Office of Overseas Study explodes study abroad myths
Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy comes to IU's Brown County Playhouse
School of Education alumni honored for contributions across the world, the nation, and the campus
IU Bloomington Scoreboard

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IU to lead nationwide research network to expand supercomputer capabilities -- A group of information technology researchers at Indiana University has been chosen by the National Science Foundation to lead a four-year, $15-million project to develop new software to link together the supercomputers of tomorrow and enable new approaches to scientific research for problems of massive scale. The NSF will provide $10.1 million, with project partners providing the balance. The grant will enable construction of an experimental supercomputing network to be called FutureGrid, which will be made of almost 1,400 advanced computer processing units at Bloomington and five other locations in the United States. Read the complete story.

"The strategy is working" -- The selection of Indiana University to lead the development of a new FutureGrid that will revolutionize the world of supercomputing has boosted the state of Indiana into the top tier of information technology and scientific research. And the $15-million project, with $10.1 million from the National Science Foundation -- "the Academy Award of supercomputing grants" -- and the balance coming from project partners, would never have been possible without the sustained commitment among the state, Lilly Endowment and university to make Indiana one of the nation's life sciences and IT leaders, according to university officials. Read the complete story.

IU School of Informatics records milestone; first-ever PhD now at renowned institute -- Indiana University's School of Informatics, founded in 2000 as the first school of its kind in the United States, has officially awarded its first PhD in informatics. The doctoral degree to James Costello was formally recorded by the university on August 31. "This is a milestone moment for the School of Informatics and Indiana University," said Bobby Schnabel, dean of the School of Informatics. "And it is particularly exciting that the first informatics doctorate goes to Jim, who has had such outstanding successes here at IU Bloomington, and has such a bright future before him." Read the complete story.

Youth drug use in Indiana: Annual survey finds overall drop, slight marijuana use increase -- Drug use by Indiana sixth through 12th graders continues to decline but findings from the 19th Annual Survey of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Use by Indiana Children and Adolescents, conducted by the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University Bloomington and funded by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's Division of Mental Health and Addiction, also pointed to an increase in marijuana use. The survey, which questioned 182,496 students in 557 public and private schools, found that the reported use of marijuana in the past year (past-year use) increased for students in grades 7, 8 and 10. Monthly use rates increased for youth in grades 8, 10 and 11. Increases ranged from 0.5 percent to 1.2 percent, with all other use rates holding steady. Read the complete story.

International conference focuses on challenges faced by women in rural areas every day -- Like other similar academic gatherings, the Triennial Rural Women's Studies Conference on Sept. 24-27 at Indiana University Bloomington will feature scholars and policymakers who will present papers and participate in panel discussions. But the international conference also will include many women who experience challenges in rural areas around the globe every day. They will include the former director of a local grower's guild in Evansville, Ind., an agricultural extension officer and member of the Hopi Tribe, rural development officers from Africa and a group of nurses who work in medical programs in rural Pennsylvania. Read the complete story.

New data from the IU Office of Overseas Study explodes study abroad myths -- Basic assumptions that students make about study abroad -- that they might have a lower grade point average, for example, or take longer to graduate -- are turning out to be myths, according to innovative research at Indiana University. Researchers in the IU Office of University Planning, Institutional Research and Accountability recently published an analysis of study abroad trends at IU Bloomington. The report is one of the first to utilize well-respected sources of institutional data as the basis for a rigorous statistical analysis of study abroad "plans, participation and outcomes." Read the complete story.

Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy comes to IU's Brown County Playhouse -- The Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy Driving Miss Daisy concludes the 61st season of Indiana University's Brown County Playhouse. The performance features two of the Midwest's best-known actors in the main roles. Racism and separate ethnic communities are still the norm in post World War II Georgia. Daisy, a 72-year-old Jewish widow resides in Atlanta. After she crashes her car, Daisy's son hires an African American chauffer, Hoke, to drive and look after her. Their prickly relationship faces many challenges during their 25 years of driving through America's tumultuous history, ultimately evolving into true friendship. Read the complete story.

School of Education alumni honored for contributions across the world, the nation, and the campus -- The global reach and innovative spirit of the Indiana University School of Education is reflected in the 2009 honorees for the school's Annual Recognition Dinner on Friday (Sept. 11). The three recipients of the IU School of Education Distinguished Alumni award include education leaders in Korea and Indonesia as well as the former dean who helped build national recognition for what was then known as the IU Department of Afro-American Affairs. IU Foundation president Gene Tempel will receive the distinguished alumni award from the Higher Education and Student Affairs program in the School of Education. Read the complete story.

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Indiana University Bloomington Scoreboard

Schedule for Friday, Sept. 11:
Women's Volleyball: Delaware, 10 a.m.; Ohio, 7 p.m., Athens, Ohio
Men's Soccer: New Mexico, 5 p.m., South Bend, Ind.
Women's Soccer: Hofstra, 7 p.m., West Hempstead, N.Y.

Schedule for Saturday, Sept. 12:
Men's and Women's Cross Country: Indiana Open, Bloomington, Ind.
Women's Volleyball: Eastern Kentucky, 10 a.m.; Missouri State, 5 p.m., Athens, Ohio
Football: Western Michigan, 12 p.m., Bloomington, Ind.
Field Hockey: Davidson, 3 p.m., Davidson, N.C.
Men's Golf: Wolf Run Intercollegiate, Zionsville, Ind.
Women's Golf: Mary Fossum Invitational, East Lansing, Mich.

Schedule for Sunday, Sept. 13:
Men's Soccer: Seattle University, 11:30 a.m., South Bend, Ind.
Women's Soccer: St. John's, 1 p.m., Queens, N.Y.
Field Hockey: Wake Forest, 2 p.m., Winston-Salem, N.C.
Men's Golf: Wolf Run Intercollegiate, Zionsville, Ind.
Women's Golf: Mary Fossum Invitational, East Lansing, Mich.

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IU in the news

For Flight 93 memorial, long-awaited progress
USA Today, Sept. 11 -- Eight years after terrorists hijacked United Flight 93 and crashed it in the western Pennsylvania countryside on Sept. 11, 2001, the memorial to the 40 passengers and crew who fought against them looks more like a roadside shrine than a national park, a homemade expression of patriotism and sorrow nestled in a rural expanse. Edward Linenthal, an Indiana University professor who has written a book on commemoration of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, says memorials dedicated to single events can become part of a larger American identity -- among them the Civil War battlefield and cemetery at Gettysburg, Pa., and the Alamo, the San Antonio site of a doomed resistance by Texans against the Mexican army. Flight 93 also is a story of heroic resistance: The commission that investigated the 9/11 attacks determined that passengers fought back against the hijackers, and tried to storm the cockpit to prevent the jet from reaching an intended target in Washington. In response, the terrorists rolled the plane until it was upside down and, still speeding at nearly 600 miles an hour, crashed it into a grove of hemlock trees. "The 9/11 sites will have very, very long life spans because the stories about what happened there . . . will have importance over multigenerations," says Linenthal, who also is on the Flight 93 advisory commission. The memorial design is less critical than how the story the memorial tells "is woven into the national fabric." Full story.

IUS hits record enrollment for fall semester
Business First of Louisville, Sept. 11 -- Indiana University Southeast set a record for fall enrollment with 6,840 students enrolled for classes at the New Albany school. IUS's previous fall enrollment record was 6,716, set in 2002. Enrollment increased 5.5 percent from fall 2008, when 6,482 students were enrolled. IUS's freshman class is the largest in the school's history. A total of 1,094 freshmen are enrolled at the school, up from 1,070 a year ago. The university set a record for the total number of credit hours taken. Students enrolled in 69,323.5 credit hours, up 8.2 percent from the previous fall semester. Full story.

Cannabinoid controversy
The Scientist, Sept. 10 -- Switching on a subtype of the receptor that binds cannabis, the active ingredient in marijuana, can suppress inflammation -- suggesting a new and particularly promising target to treat autoimmune problems such as multiple sclerosis and the damage caused by immune cells after a stroke. But hotly contested evidence for whether or not this cannabinoid receptor is expressed on neurons may limit the potential for pursuing that target in the search for new medicines. Understanding the receptor's role in damaged neurons and autoimmunity "has pretty important therapeutic implications," said Ken Mackie, a neuroscientist at Indiana University in Bloomington who studies cannabinoid receptors in the brain. Full story.

Public invited to 50th anniversary celebration
Post-Tribune, Sept. 11 -- This year marks the 50th anniversary of IUN at its Glen Park campus, and the university invites the public to a fun celebration of a successful half-century of higher education. With all the colors, tastes and fun of a classic circus carnival, the IUN 50th anniversary celebration is sure to bring smiles to children and adults of all ages. Also, Asia Day returns this month, and next month marks the return of the Big One-Dollar Book Sale. Full story.

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