University Relations Tip Sheet - February 18, 2003
The Sciences
INTERNATIONAL: Terrorist countries send scholars to United States
As tensions between the United States and Iraq continue to mount, some foreign students find themselves studying under a microscope. Paula Stephan, professor of economics at Georgia State University, recently found that 1,215 people from countries listed by the U.S. State Department as sponsors of terrorism -- Iraq, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria --- received science and engineering doctorates in the United States in the 1990s. That number includes 147 doctorates in subjects related to weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear and organic chemistry and biotechnology research. Stephan said many of those students are not planning to take their knowledge back to their home countries because they have fled oppressive governments and are no longer "friends of the current regime in power." Contact Stephan, who studies the careers of scientists and engineers how they affect the economy, at 404-651-3988 or pstephan@gsu.edu.
SOCIAL SCIENCE: What makes an effective airport screener?
As terror alerts heighten, more emphasis is being placed on the role of the baggage screener in U.S. commercial airports. A Georgia State University study funded by the Federal Aviation Administration aims to make identifying qualified people easier by improving selection, training and performance of airport screeners. David Washburn, associate professor of psychology at Georgia State University, is monitoring research subjects' attentiveness and how effectively they respond to uncertainty. Based on the data he obtains, Washburn will develop a cognitive profile of an effective airport-security screener. In the past, he has studied the decision-making skills of police officers, soldiers and pilots - people who make quick judgments in life-and-death situations. Contact Washburn at 404-463-9342, 404-244-5845 or dwashburn@gsu.edu.
HEALTH: Don't skip meals to lose weight - eat more often
People who'd like to be leaner should eat smaller, more frequent meals, says Dan Benardot, an associate professor of nutrition at Georgia State University. Benardot's research shows that when people eat infrequently, their bodies respond by slowing the process of metabolism and storing more calories as fat. Consuming food at more frequent intervals helps blood sugar remain steady, which results in less production of insulin - a hormone that can trigger the creation of body fat. Weight loss still requires decreasing calorie intakes, but if calories are distributed more evenly throughout the day, Benardot's results suggest body-fat percentages will be lower. He has published his findings in numerous peer-reviewed academic journals. Contact Benardot at 404-651-1582 or dbenardot@gsu.edu.
HEALTH: Keeping kids healthy saves money in long run
As Georgia legislators continue looking for cuts to make in the state budget, Monica Herk, director of the Child Policy Initiative at Georgia State University, says trimming programs that benefit children's health, such as Georgia's PeachCare health insurance program, would ultimately be more costly than keeping them. "When our children fail to receive adequate health care - regardless of the reason - the well-being of our communities declines," says Herk. "When our children get sick and do not obtain medical attention, they miss school, parents and guardians miss work in order to care for them, and businesses lose productive employees." Contact Herk for commentary on children's health policy issues at 404-651-1540 or mherk@gsu.edu.
ASTRONOMY: Hunting for stars can lead to discovery of planetary neighbors
Georgia State astronomers have discovered 13 of the nearest 250 star systems, bringing scientists one step closer to searching for signs of life in our solar system. Before astronomers can find other possible life-sustaining planets, they must first pinpoint the brightly shining stars that planets may orbit. Georgia State University astronomy professor Todd Henry is director of the Research Consortium on Nearby Stars, which is taking the first step in a NASA-planned mission designed to search for evidence of Earth-like planets. The NASA mission, scheduled to launch in 2009, will seek out planets around the stars Henry finds. Henry can answer questions about nearby stars and how astronomers discover new planets. Contact him at 404-463-9954 or thenry@chara.gsu.edu.
BIOTECHNOLOGY: Designing affordable drugs
While most pharmaceutical companies focus on designing drugs to generate profits, chemists at Georgia State University are producing new medicines for people who can't afford costly prescriptions. Designing cheaper drugs is the crux of research by chemistry professor David Boykin. One of his medicines is currently in clinical trials to target two diseases - leishmaniasis and African sleeping sickness - that affect millions of people in African nations. Boykin and his co-researchers have received millions in grant money, including a $15 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to develop drugs for diseases that typically affect people in Third World countries. Contact Boykin at 404-651-3798 or chedwb@panther.gsu.edu.
Happening at Georgia State University:
Performance: Show commemorates Eating Disorders Awareness Week
Georgia State University will commemorate Eating Disorders Awareness Week on Feb. 18 with a performance called "The Thin Line." The 30-minute performance is the story of one girl's struggle with her eating disorder and the feelings of those close to her in their efforts to understand and help. "The Thin Line" educates about recognizing symptoms of eating disorders and encourages individuals, friends and family to seek help. Eating disorders have the highest fatality rate of any mental disease in this country. Lisa Lilenfeld, assistant professor of psychology at Georgia State, will lead a panel of eating disorder experts immediately following the performance. The play begins at 7 p.m. in the Speaker's Auditorium of the Student Center, on the corner of Courtland and Gilmer Streets.
Lecture: How hearing has evolved
As part of a life sciences lecture series sponsored by the biology department at Georgia State, evolutionary biologist Catherine Carr will speak about the evolution of sound processing in the nervous system. Carr, a professor at the University of Maryland, will compare the hearing mechanisms of different animals. Birds and mammals have the ability to discern the approximate location of where a sound is coming from, but the animals evolved these mechanisms independently. This example of convergent evolution suggests various animal species have independently solved a common problem - the ability to localize sound. Carr's lecture is at 10 a.m. Feb. 21 in Room 400, General Classroom Building, on the corner of Peachtree Center Avenue and Decatur Street. For more information on the lecture series, visit www.biology.gsu.edu.
What is Georgia State Leads? Leads is designed and published by Georgia State's Department of University Relations to provide journalists with ideas for stories and experts to flesh them out.
Don't see what you're looking for? Call University Relations at 404-413-1354 or visit our award-winning online Experts Guide at http://www.gsu.edu/experts/.
