2016 Archive

healthier lunch

UofSC works to bring healthier food to school lunch menus

December 19, 2016, Allen Wallace

Many of us share the memory from school days gone by: a glob of something that might be carrots one day, a heap of something green the next, unceremoniously plopped into a compartment of our school lunch trays and then avoided at all costs. The University of South Carolina is working with several state agencies to end that unpleasant tradition and make the lunches healthier and tastier.

Year end review

Twenty-Sixteen: By the Letters

December 15, 2016, USC Times

A is for alphabet, at least according to USC Times. To help close out 2016, the University of South Carolina’s monthly magazine for faculty and staff devoted its entire December issue to the ABCs of 2016 — with each letter representing a different accomplishment, announcement or notable arrival from the past year.

sc encyclopedia

SC Encyclopedia off the shelf and on the web

December 14, 2016, Page Ivey

If you’re of a certain age, you might remember the row of dusty encyclopedias in your parents’ den — books that were the Google of their day but limited in what they could convey. Now you can open the “South Carolina Encyclopedia” and hear Dizzy Gillespie talk about be-bop or watch qualifying for a 1970s Southern 500 stock car race. That’s because the encyclopedia has gone digital.

talbot brewer

Understanding the humanities and happiness with Talbot Brewer

December 07, 2016, Peggy Binette

What are the keys to happiness? What is the meaning of life? Philosopher and University of Virginia professor Talbot Brewer will discuss how to find these answers in the humanities in a public talk Dec. 14. The event is offered as part of a $2.1 million funded grant project titled, “Virtue, Happiness and the Meaning of Life,” which is co-directed by Carolina philosopher Jennifer Frey.

Brittany VanderBeek

A revolutionary rivalry

November 18, 2016, Jo Jo Winkelmann

Graduate business student Brittany VanderBeek was put on a project of epic proportions during her internship at Michelin: Bring Carolina and Clemson students together to help reduce waste at a tire manufacturer. Next semester, the first joint class of students will begin working on solutions thanks to VanderBeek's hard work.

Elise Partin

City of Cayce's first female mayor teaches course on civic engagement

November 08, 2016, Dan Cook

Elise Partin is not only an an adjunct professor in the Arnold School of Public Health — she’s also the first female mayor of Cayce. This fall, she’s teaching an Honors College course called “Demystifying Elected Office.” The goal is to teach students exactly what’s involved in the process of running for and holding an elected position.

brianne dunn

Pharmacy professor takes roundabout route to teaching

November 07, 2016, Laura Kammerer

Brie Dunn earned a chemistry degree as an undergrad and soon found herself wearing a hard hat and steel-toed shoes in an industrial lab. After tiring of that environment, she returned to school to earn a Pharm.D. degree. Through all of those changes, she never thought much about teaching, but that’s exactly what she found herself doing after joining the clinical pharmacy faculty at Carolina six years ago.

Tom Scott

Can't hack this

October 31, 2016, Dan Cook

From bank accounts to presidential campaigns, it seems that nothing is off-limits for computer hackers these days. That's why SC Cyber — a statewide cybersecurity initiative housed in the Office of Economic Engagement — is working to improve our defenses and raise awareness about how cybersecurity issues impact all of us.

Sara Schwebel has edited and published a critical edition of

English professor, students shed new light on 1960 children's classic

October 19, 2016, Lynn Schutte

Scott O’Dell’s 1960 book “Island of the Blue Dolphins” has been a classroom favorite, despite some potentially controversial elements. The University of South Carolina’s Sara Schwebel, associate professor of English, is working to help explain that controversy. With the help of students, Schwebel has edited and published a critical edition of the book, complete with an introduction and essays to help place the narrative in its correct historical and cultural context.

Ari Streisfeld

The road to the academy

October 18, 2016, Dan Cook

For the past 11 years, Ari Streisfeld has played violin in the JACK Quartet, performing at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center and on stages throughout the world. Now, he is on to the next chapter — as assistant professor of violin and violin pedagogy in the University of South Carolina School of Music.

David Lankes

University poised to lead in transformation of libraries, information science

October 10, 2016, Dan Cook

David Lankes went to college to become an illustrator; he ended up working on websites in the early days of the Internet instead. Now director of the School of Library and Information Science and associate dean in the College of Information and Communications, Lankes has been at the forefront of his field ever since.

michael dowdy

Expanding the literary canon

October 09, 2016, Chris Horn

For Michael Dowdy, there’s a familiar ring to this year’s political rhetoric about border walls and deportation of Latinos. “Latinos have a different story than most in coming to the United States and a unique perspective on the American dream,” says Dowdy, a recently appointed associate professor whose specialty is Latino literature and poetry.

after the flood

After the Flood: Weathering the storm

October 02, 2016, Steven Powell

Immediately following the October 2015 flood in South Carolina, USC researchers began looking at issues related to the once-in-a-lifetime catastrophe. In Part 5 of our "after the flood" series, we look at the flood's impact on the state's coastal estuaries. The SC Floods Conference, initially scheduled for Friday (Oct. 7), has been postponed due to Hurricane Matthew.

smithwick

PASOs: Step by step

September 20, 2016, Craig Brandhorst

Julie Smithwick began laying the groundwork for PASOs as part of a field placement project for her master’s in social work in 2005. Now based at the Arnold School of Public Health, the statewide organization provides health care education and resource navigation to 8,500 Latinos a year and boasts a budget of $1.3 million.

Greg Stuart

Students perform world premiere in New York City

September 12, 2016, Dan Cook

Imagine the stakes when you enroll in an experimental music class and it turns out that you’ll not only be listening to challenging sounds, but actually performing such pieces yourself. Not only that, but performing them in New York City just one month into the semester as part of a world premiere.

kids

Preparing for the Peace Corps

August 30, 2016, Erin Mikes

Starting this fall, University of South Carolina students interested in Peace Corps service will be able to participate in a program that will help prepare them for international fieldwork. Housed in the Study Abroad Office, the Peace Corps Prep program will coincide with students’ studies, while enhancing their foreign language skills, giving them hands-on experience and providing them with an idea of possibilities for post-graduation.

swamp fox

21st century fox hunt

August 23, 2016, Craig Brandhorst

Archaeologist Steve Smith is continuing to pursue his lifelong fascination with one of South Carolina’s most famous Revolutionaries, Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. Smith and colleagues are investigating Fort Motte, the Colonial plantation where Marion and “Light Horse” Harry Lee won a major victory against the British.

Andrew Greytak

Nanotechnology you can see

August 22, 2016, Steven Powell

Consumers are getting a dose of something new with quantum dots, a nanomaterial that is rendering particularly rich colors on some recently released TVs, computer displays and e-readers. The department of chemistry and biochemistry’s Andrew Greytak, an innovator in the field, is working to push the nanotechnology’s reach even further.

ultrasound

An insider view

August 17, 2016, Chris Horn

From the start of their medical studies, students in the School of Medicine in Columbia begin learning to use ultrasound, which can image all major organs, as well as joints and blood vessels, at the bedside. It’s one of the school’s distinctions, being the first institution in the nation to integrate ultrasound instruction into all four years of its curriculum.

Julius Fridriksson

Brains on the brain

August 03, 2016, Craig Brandhorst

Aphasia, a communication disorder caused by damage to the left hemisphere of the brain, robs people of their ability to process language. A team of researchers led by SmartState Endowed Chair of Memory and Brain Function Julius Fridriksson is using state-of-the-art MRI, machine learning and new therapies to help those people find their words again.

Greg Carbone

Delving into drought

August 01, 2016, Dan Cook

With South Carolina still recovering from last October’s historic floods, it might seem incongruous to study drought. But this state has faced serious drought in the past — and it will again. Enter the the Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessment team, which works to improve our understanding of drought over time and space.

Two UofSC professors named American Chemical Society Fellows

July 28, 2016, Augusta Bauknight

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has named University of South Carolina professors Scott R. Goode and Susan D. Richardson 2016 ACS Fellows. Goode and Richardson, faculty in the department of chemistry and biochemistry, are among 57 national fellows chosen for their exceptional accomplishments in chemistry and service to the ACS community.

Alisa Liggett and Rachel Denmark

Rewarding efforts

July 21, 2016, Adena Rice

Students usually prefer to avoid the executive director of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity, Alisa Liggett. But students from her University 101 classes, the university’s first-year student seminars, decided instead to nominate Liggett for the 2015 M. Stuart Hunter Award for Outstanding Teaching in University 101 that she later was awarded.

Igor Roninson

Breakthrough Leadership in Research

July 21, 2016, Steven Powell

Igor Roninson brought 10 scientists and Senex Biotechnology, a cancer drug discovery company, to USC in 2011 when he was named the new SmartState Endowed Chair in Translational Cancer Therapeutics. But the South Carolina College of Pharmacy professor, who was named a Breakthrough Leadership in Research awardee by the Office of the Vice President for Research, was just getting started in building infrastructure that would enhance cancer research throughout the state.

eboni nelson

Engineering equality

July 18, 2016

The legal profession has been called one of the least diverse in the country. And while countless attempts have been made within the legal industry to ameliorate the problem, University of South Carolina School of Law professor Eboni Nelson believes the key to real change starts with law schools.

buying a bride

Law professor explores history, future of mail-order marriages

July 11, 2016, Rob Schaller

“Without marriage, there could be no stable family units, no children, and no future. And without mail-order brides, one could argue, there might not be a United States of America. The entire colonial endeavor hinged on marriage,” says University of South Carolina law professor Marcia Yablon-Zug, whose new book, “Buying a Bride: An Engaging History of Mail-Order Matches,” traces the phenomenon as far back as our nation’s first permanent English settlement, Jamestown.

Maksymilian Chruszcz

2016 Breakthrough Star Maksymilian Chruszcz

June 30, 2016, Steven Powell

As a structural biologist, Maksymilian Chruszcz is uniquely positioned to collaborate widely across the academy, and he’s made the most of that potential at Carolina. Since his arrival in 2012, the associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has used his expertise in protein crystallography to develop collaborations with colleagues in chemistry and biochemistry, medicine, public health, biology and chemical engineering.

Selina Hunt McKinney

Soft skills, holistic approach key to well-trained nurses

June 22, 2016, Dan Cook

Training nurses is no easy task. Yes, students need to absorb medical information and learn procedures — but soft skills like communication and diplomacy are important, too. Luckily for students, Clinical Practice Teaching Award winner Selina Hunt McKinney has thought long and hard about how to prepare nurses for the world beyond the classroom.

Allison Manuel

Targeting diabetes

June 17, 2016, Steven Powell

Working in Norma Frizzell’s laboratory in the School of Medicine, doctoral student Allison Manuel is getting down to brass tacks with a chronic disease that afflicts some 30 million Americans. Her research is resolving details of a detrimental cellular consequence of diabetes that was discovered here at the University of South Carolina: an indiscriminate modification of proteins that can overwhelm a cell’s ability to function properly.

The mechanisms of memory

June 15, 2016, Page Ivey

Michy Kelly’s fascination with how brains work began in high school when she noticed that she and her brother were polar opposites when it came to cognitive abilities. Finding the physical difference in brains that have an inability to consistently create new memories — or find old ones — is a key focus of her work, which earned her recognition as one of the University of South Carolina’s 2016 Breakthrough Stars.

costa rica

Carolina Core abroad

June 15, 2016, Adena Rice

Carolina Core classes traditionally stay within four walls at University of South Carolina. However a Maymester study abroad trip to Costa Rica not only taught the students about environmental science 101, but also expanded their knowledge beyond the textbook and into a personal understanding of the culture around them.

From left, Carolyn Morris, Christopher Church, Kristen Seay, Cynthia Flinn

Saving Elyse

June 14, 2016, Chris Horn

The Cold Case Project, an initiative in the Children’s Law Center, focuses on a select group of adolescents who have lingered in the S.C. foster system and are at risk for aging out of foster care without achieving legal permanency — that is, without a family. Partnering with DSS and the family courts, Cold Case staff find ways to reunite these at-risk foster children with responsible family members or to match them with a new family. With children’s lives at stake, giving up is not an option.

Ralph White, chemical engineering professor

Research leadership by the numbers

June 08, 2016, Chris Horn

Ralph White’s story could be told in numbers — journal papers published, graduate students who completed their degrees under his tutelage, or years of service as a department chair and dean and mentor and colleague. Or it could be told in international honors. Whatever the case, it's easy to see why he is a recipient of the 2016 Leadership in Research Award.

Julie Hubbert, UofSC School of Music professor.

Hollywood bound!

May 12, 2016, Glenn Hare

Julie Hubbert is a film buff, and this summer she's headed to Hollywood. But not to stalk the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio or Jennifer Lawrence. A recipient of a National Endowment of Humanities Summer Stipend and a music historian in the School of Music, Hubbert will busy her days in Tinsel Town combing the documents of legendary filmmakers from the New Hollywood era, also dubbed the American New Wave.

Harvie Nachlinger

Last call

May 04, 2016, Chris Horn

Carolina is one of the few large public universities that still announces each graduate by name at its commencement ceremonies, even as the number of graduates has increased dramatically in recent years. For Harvie Nachlinger, it’s just a matter of speed and diction to enunciate each student's name.

Sharon DeWitte (right) and Samantha Yaussy

A skeletal marker of physiological stress might indicate good, rather than poor, health

May 02, 2016, Steven Powell

Biological anthropologist Sharon DeWitte (right) studies ancient skeletons that can open a window onto the human history she hopes to illuminate. But as she and graduate student Samantha Yaussy show in a recently published study, some of the markers on the skeletons that scientists use to decipher the past might need to be looked at in a new light.

greener statue

Deconstructing Reconstruction

April 14, 2016, Peggy Binette

Reconstruction was the first chapter in America’s civil rights movement. And its influence on race relations continues across the country and on college campuses, although few may realize its connection. Now 150 years later, the University of South Carolina’s History Center and Historic Columbia hopes to deepen public understanding of Reconstruction’s history and racial legacy with a symposium April 21–22.

UofSC, IBM open Center for Innovation; announce new collaboration

April 14, 2016, Jeff Stensland

The University of South Carolina and IBM announced a broadening of their collaboration, applying cognitive capabilities and the Internet of Things (IoT) to develop new solutions for predictive analytics and maintenance. On Thursday the two organizations are hosted the grand opening of the $25 million Center for Applied Innovation, where university, IBM and private sector researchers—including Fluor Corporation—will use the technology for a host of real-world applications.

Florence med school campus

Side by side

April 12, 2016, Chris Horn

It’s probably not a record, but third-year medical student Dustin Rawlinson still marvels at how much experience he got in his recent obstetrics rotation — delivering 20 babies in two weeks. Rawlinson is among the inaugural cohort of M-III students at the School of Medicine’s Florence regional campus, and they and the other M-IIIs are getting a full dose of hands-on learning.

Riley Brady

Senior marine science major earns four-year graduate fellowship from DOE

April 05, 2016, Steven Powell

Senior marine science major Riley Brady earned a DOE fellowship in computational studies that will cover all tuition and fees plus provide a $36,000 stipend for four years in graduate school. He says UofSC provided conditions for a perfect storm that is giving him a head start as an independent researcher in his field of climate science.

Chester DePratter

Still searching

March 31, 2016, Dan Cook

Nearly 450 years after it was established, the Spanish settlement of Santa Elena — situated on Parris Island in Beaufort County — has yet to fully reveal its secrets. Scholars know when it was founded and have unearthed thousands of artifacts at the site. But public awareness of the site remains limited, and relatively little is known about the actual layout of the settlement.

blogging

Academic bloggers share research with broader audience

March 28, 2016, Page Ivey

For researchers, little else is more gratifying than studying something that helps someone else — whether it’s finding a sustainable healthy diet, a better way to motivate workers 
or a way to make coursework more engaging. For some professors and researchers that means taking their scholarly work into the blogosphere, where they can reach not just others in their profession, but those who might learn from their work.

amy cockcroft

Cockroft Leadership Program fulfills founder's vision

March 21, 2016

Amy V. Cockcroft was a leader in nursing, always pushing for better-educated and better-prepared nurses and then for nurses who were ready to take on leadership positions. It’s why she established the College of Nursing’s Nursing Leadership Development program more than 20 years ago, to provide nurses with the skills, strategies, knowledge and techniques in becoming successful health care leaders within a generation of rapid change.

Marjorie Spruill

Divided we stand

March 17, 2016, Peggy Binette

History professor Marjorie Spruill will give a public talk about how the events that divided American women in the 1970s are connected to the polarized politics that has gripped America since 1980. Her talk, which will take place at 6 p.m. March 22 in Capstone House, is based on forthcoming book with Bloomsbury Press, titled “Divided We Stand: Women’s Rights, Family Values & the Polarization of American Politics.”

Angela Liese

Ground-breaking researcher helps others start careers

March 16, 2016, Page Ivey

In her 15 years at the Arnold School of Public Health, epidemiology and biostatistics professor Angela Liese has not only done ground-breaking research in the area of nutrition, food security and diabetes, but also mentored dozens of junior faculty both in the Arnold School and in other colleges and disciplines. Liese has been named a 2016 Breakthrough Leadership Award winner by the Office of Research.

norman and gerry sue arnold

Arnold School marks 40 years of making SC healthier

March 15, 2016, Page Ivey

Very few disciplines have as much real-world immediate impact as public health, and the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health has increased its reach and impact in each of its 40 years, going from seven faculty members and 34 students in 1975 to more than 2,500 students and 137 faculty who last year garnered $36 million in research dollars.

Ronit Elk

Cultural health diplomacy

March 04, 2016, Steven Powell

Growing up the daughter of an itinerant Israeli ambassador, Ronit Elk can count India, Turkey and Uganda, among other countries, as childhood homes. The College of Nursing professor is applying what she has learned from years of observing how cultures collide to address long-standing ethnic differences in end-of-life care in rural South Carolina.

lettuce root

Students nurture growing business

February 23, 2016, Luci Clemens

After competing in the Proving Ground competition last semester, three University of South Carolina students are turning their business pitch into a reality — and they’re starting with your salad. John Stewart, Erin Ryan and Bri Matthews are introducing fresh, local lettuce to the Columbia campus dining with an agricultural method called hydroponics.

Anita Singleton-Prather

Sacred music and Gullah culture showcased this weekend

February 22, 2016, Glenn Hare

Noted Gullah storyteller and singer Anita Singleton-Prather, along with the Gullah Kinfolk, will share stories and songs at “Shared Traditions: Sacred Music in the South,” a two-day symposium featuring shape-note singing, African-American spirituals and other music traditions unique to the South. The symposium starts with a meet-and-greet with Singleton-Prather at 3:30 p.m. Friday (Feb. 26) in the McKissick Museum on the historic Horseshoe.

Stranded boat after Hurricane Katrina

Earth, wind and fire

February 15, 2016, Chris Horn

If it's a disaster, whether natural or manmade, the Hazards and Vulnerabilities Research Lab at the University of South Carolina has probably considered the ramifications of it from every angle. It's what they do — studying vulnerability to potential disasters across the U.S. while also interpreting data from past disasters.

helping paw

Man's best friend helps those in need

February 10, 2016, Glenn Hare

Fred is the ideal companion. He’s always eager to help out. He’s entertaining and he’s great with people. Fred and his human partner Becky Sullivan are featured in “A Helping Paw, ” a short film directed and edited by University of South Carolina media arts student Faith Cox. The documentary is the inaugural winner of the Walt Hanclosky Social Issue Production Award for Media Arts in the School of Visual Art and Design.

Alysha baratta

A passion for social justice

January 19, 2016, Peggy Binette

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education.” Four individuals, emboldened by King to ensure social, political and economic equality for all people, were honored by the University of South Carolina for their community service and social justice work at the annual MLK commemoration breakfast.

SOCO shared work environment

Start me up

January 12, 2016, Chris Horn

Columbia’s start-up culture is getting hotter, and Carolina is helping fan the entrepreneurial flames. Incubating companies is only part of the start-up equation. There’s a thriving entrepreneurial vibe now among students — enrollment in entrepreneurship classes has doubled and membership in the Entrepreneurship Club is at an all-time high — and the university has built an ecosystem on campus to foster that interest.

college of nursing

Q&A with Nursing Dean Andrews

January 11, 2016, April Blake

The University of South Carolina’s online graduate program in nursing started 15 years ago. The curriculum was one of the first online programs the university offered, targeting working nurses who wanted to join the ranks of nurse leaders, conduct research and teach. We sat down with College of Nursing Dean Jeannette Andrews to discuss the program's success and plans for the future.