Researcher: Obesity standard tips scales against African-Americans
   Americans’ love affair with fried and high-fat foods has led to expanding waistlines in epidemic proportions, with an estimated 65 percent of U.S. adults defined as either overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But a researcher in Georgia State University’s College of Education says those numbers may be inflated, especially among African-Americans. “Body mass index,” an existing standard to measure obesity that calculates body weight adjusted for height, doesn’t account for physical differences between blacks and whites, says Jerry Brandon, a professor of kinesiology and health. “The body composition of African-Americans is different than that of white Americans, but most of the norms, standards and treatment procedures are based on the body composition of white Americans,” says Brandon. Because African-Americans have denser bone and muscle structure than Caucasians, BMI measurements can indicate higher obesity rates among blacks even though they may have significantly less body fat than their white counterparts, he says. Contact him at 404/651-1120 or lbrandon@gsu.edu.

Astronomers: ‘Bullet star’ shines 350 times brighter than the sun
   For decades, scientists have observed that Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, spins much faster than the sun. Astronomers now know a lot more about the “bullet star” thanks to the telescopic array at Georgia State University’s Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy. Regulus, with an equatorial spin speed of nearly 700,000 miles per hour and a diameter about five times greater than the sun, bulges conspicuously at its equator - a stellar rarity, says CHARA director Hal McAlister. Because of its distorted shape, Regulus, a single star, becomes brighter at its poles than at its equator – a phenomenon previously detected only in binary stars. According to McAlister, “gravity darkening” occurs because equatorial bulge diminishes the pull of gravity at the equator, causing the temperature there to decrease. CHARA researchers have found that the temperature at Regulus’ poles is 15,100 degrees Celsius, while the equator’s temperature is only 10,000 C, causing the star to be about five times brighter at its poles than at its equator. In fact, Regulus’ surface is so hot that the star is nearly 350 times more luminous than the sun. For more information, contact McAlister at 404/651-1390 or hal@chara.gsu.edu.

Oscar loves a good pin-up
   Prized by collectors as art, movie posters also serve a more practical purpose, helping contribute to a film’s success - or failure – especially during awards season, according to Stan Anderson, associate professor of graphic design at Georgia State University. Film posters, or “key art,” often represent a producer's first chance to make an impression on filmgoers and Oscar voters, serving as “visual foreplay” to the premiere, he says. Poster design is evolving as audiences become more sophisticated about mass-media manipulation, Anderson adds. “New designs must quickly distinguish a film from the barrage of others. It's branding - like going to the grocery store and on the top shelf there are so many different kinds of canned soups that it becomes a barrage of pattern and color. Who can break that pattern so the viewer will stop and look at a specific product?" For more information, including comments on posters for specific Oscar-nominated films, contact Anderson at 404/651-0500 or stan450@bellsouth.net.

King Curriculum Project serves as foundation for social change
   During Black History Month, many schoolchildren learn about African-Americans’ contributions to society through history lessons and field trips. But a Georgia State University initiative allows kids to go a step further by learning how to follow in Martin Luther King Jr.’s footsteps. The Martin Luther King Jr. Curriculum Project trains students to serve as change agents, says Susan Crim McClendon, associate director of the Alonzo Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence in Georgia State’s College of Education. “Rather than just going to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and seeing the exhibits, we wanted them to see their own role and how they can be advocates of social change,” McClendon says. Developed by the Crim Center and written by teachers in Atlanta Public Schools, the curriculum project emphasizes history and character building and includes activities in which students name leadership qualities, conduct oral history interviews with people involved in the civil-rights movement and learn King’s principles of nonviolence by developing peaceful solutions to social problems. “We wanted the students to acknowledge and realize how important the civil-rights movement was to their lives, but to know that it didn’t cure everything. They can be advocates for themselves and others,” says McClendon. Contact her at 404/651-4621 or scrim2@gsu.edu.

Happening at Georgia State University:

Speakers analyze global effects of SARS outbreak
   Legal and business experts will discuss the international public-health implications of the SARS outbreak during a seminar from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Jan. 25 in Room 170 of the Urban Life Building at Georgia State University. "Building Global Bridges: Public Health Law and the International Business Community" features three speakers: David Fidler, Indiana University School of Law; Christopher L. Hagenbush, senior counsel for Coca-Cola North America; and Bruce MacMillan, president and CEO of Tourism Toronto. Fidler will analyze how the SARS response represents a change in global relationships. MacMillan will discuss how the Toronto business community was affected; Hagenbush will comment from his perspective as an Atlanta businessman. The seminar is part of the Gene Matthews Seminar Series "The 21st Century Challenge of Public Health and the Law." Matthews, legal advisor to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 25 years and director of the CDC Foundation's Institute of Public Health Law, will moderate the discussion. A light reception follows. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, see http://law.gsu.edu/clhs or contact Jerri Nims at 404/651-0599 or jnims@gsu.edu.

Art exhibition celebrates travel
   Installations at four Atlanta venues - including two at Georgia State University - examine contemporary travel in “Gas, Food & Lodging,” which opens with a roving reception at 5 p.m. Jan. 27. “Imagining Escape” at the Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design Gallery considers notions of escape, escapism and the wandering life. Southern sightseeing, especially tourist attractions and regional cooking, is the theme of “Going South,” to be held in the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts exhibition space. Other participating venues are the Dalton Gallery at Agnes Scott College, and Eyedrum Art and Music Gallery. For more information, contact Cathy Byrd, Welch School Gallery director, at 404/651-0489 or cathybyrd@gsu.edu.

University celebrates Homecoming Feb. 7-13
   Georgia State University will hold a variety of activities during its annual Homecoming celebration Feb. 7-13. This year’s celebration, “An Affair to Remember,” salutes the jazz era with events and activities for Georgia State students and alumni, as well as the Atlanta community. For more information, contact the Spotlight Programs Board at 404/463-9088 or spotlight@gsu.edu, or visit www.gsu.edu/spotlight.

Urban Bush Women perform at Rialto
   The 2004-05 season at Georgia State University’s Rialto Center for the Performing Arts continues with the award-winning “Urban Bush Women: Twenty Years and Counting…Dare to Go There.” Fusing dance, music and storytelling with African-American spiritual traditions, Urban Bush Women celebrates its 20th anniversary with a program at 8 p.m. Feb. 4. Tickets range from $32-$56 and are available at the Rialto box office, by phone at 404/651-4727, or on the Web at www.rialtocenter.org.

Pianist Emanuel Ax to present master class
   The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Georgia State University School of Music present Emanuel Ax leading a piano master class from noon to 2 p.m. Feb. 18 at the Florence Kopleff Recital Hall. Renowned for his poetic temperament, unsurpassed virtuosity and the exceptional breadth of his performing activity, Ax will work with selected piano performance majors and participate in a question-and-answer session with audience members. Admission is free. For directions and parking information, visit music.gsu.edu. For more information, call 404/651-INFO or the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at 404/733-5038.

Georgia State Leads is a biweekly e-mail publication from the Department of University Relations. For more information about the publication or to sign up to receive Georgia State Leads, contact Beth Flannigan at 404/651-3576 or bflannigan@gsu.edu.

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