May
18

A new study published in the April issue of PLoS One by an interdisciplinary team of Virginia Commonwealth University researchers sheds light on the way a tiny parasitic wasp produces its courtship song.

The study analyzes the courtship song of Cotesia congregate using high-speed photography to determine how wing motions produce the song. The male’s song attracts females for mating, and the female then lays eggs in caterpillars that feed on tomato plants. Parasitic wasps are important to humans because they help reduce damage to agricultural crops, making them great control agents.

A camera that can take images at 2,000 frames per second enabled scientists to slow down the view of wing motion so it can be related to the details of sound generation.

The courtship song consists of long “buzzes” followed by a series of loud “boing” sounds. A frame-by-frame analysis was done of the wasp’s song to determine how the sound is produced. The study’s findings indicate that the “boing” “sound is generated at the bottom of the wing stroke when the wing motion stops before switching direction. This surprising finding means that sound is produced by rapid acceleration of the wing tips similar to a whiplash accident when the body stops quickly jerking the head backward. Read More: http://ow.ly/lajpx

May
13

May
11

May
10

VCU Graduation Stories 2013: VCU in Qatar Celebrates Commencement “As a civil servant, I have been honored to continue the work of our ancestors in connecting the past with the present, while building new cultural bridges between East and West. Today, it brings me great pleasure to celebrate an important milestone in that journey, a milestone I think of as ‘Made in Qata’ a celebration of 44 Doha-educated graduates in the Fine Arts! Made in VCUQatar confirms that our community is driving our nation to new cultural frontiers. We are not only translating ideas, but also making them right here, right now. That difference promises innovation, a unique voice and a vibrant brand. Locals, residents, from near and far, together, we make up a creative community, a community that will continue to grow to new heights, and one in which you can share and lead.” ~ Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, addressing the new graduating of VCU in Qatar Read More: http://ow.ly/kUGKv 

VCU Graduation Stories 2013: VCU in Qatar Celebrates Commencement

“As a civil servant, I have been honored to continue the work of our ancestors in connecting the past with the present, while building new cultural bridges between East and West. Today, it brings me great pleasure to celebrate an important milestone in that journey, a milestone I think of as ‘Made in Qata’ a celebration of 44 Doha-educated graduates in the Fine Arts! Made in VCUQatar confirms that our community is driving our nation to new cultural frontiers. We are not only translating ideas, but also making them right here, right now. That difference promises innovation, a unique voice and a vibrant brand. Locals, residents, from near and far, together, we make up a creative community, a community that will continue to grow to new heights, and one in which you can share and lead.” ~ Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, addressing the new graduating of VCU in Qatar

Read More: http://ow.ly/kUGKv 

A ‘Catalyst’ for Fashion

VCU School of the Arts Annual juried fashion show shows off work of top student designers

In scientific terms, a catalyst is a substance that causes or speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction. But the word took on a different meaning for Virginia Commonwealth University fashion students this week.

Read More: http://ow.ly/kTXqu 

[Graduates leave legacy of community efforts] VCU Graduation Stories 2013: Isaac Rodriguez Isaac Rodriguez, who will receive his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering this week, says VCU student inclination toward service stems in part from a culture that elevates its importance. Rodriguez helped found the Hispanic College Fund chapter at VCU, which provides educational, scholarship and mentoring programs to talented Latino students. He also has mentored at-risk Latino students in South Richmond through a community program; helped found the American Society of Artificial Internal Organs; and served as president of the VCU Alumni Association Students Today Alumni Tomorrow program. VCU, he said, “rewards and praises” students who demonstrate a willingness to work on community service efforts. “VCU surrounds itself with this great environment that is very collaborative,” Rodriguez said. “It’s very easy to get involved. It’s one thing that I really love about VCU. Everyone is supportive, and it’s not just on campus but in the rest of the city of Richmond…You can’t do any of this by yourself. You need lots of people to make it work.” Students such as Shaaban, Rodriguez and Fernandes do not speak about community service as a sacrifice but as an opportunity, and they’ve proved that ambitious service efforts do not deter academic performance. Shaaban will attend the VCU School of Medicine in the fall. Rodriguez, who is a Gates Millenium Scholar and the author of research manuscripts, conference posters and book chapters, will begin a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond. And Fernandes this week will receive the Philip B. Meggs Memorial Award, a $2,000 prize bestowed on a top English department student every four years. Rodriguez said he urges those preparing to attend college, including those he has mentored, to make community service and involvement in campus activities a central part of their college experiences. Not only will they create memories that last, they will find new ways to grow. For instance, when a potential employer asks about his leadership background, Rodriguez has numerous cases to cite from his various community service efforts. “I feel like if you just go to college, get your degree and leave, there’s so much experience that you’re missing out on,” Rodriguez said. “If you get involved, you learn a lot that you can’t learn from a textbook.” Read More: http://ow.ly/kT8z4 

[Graduates leave legacy of community efforts]

VCU Graduation Stories 2013: Isaac Rodriguez

Isaac Rodriguez, who will receive his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering this week, says VCU student inclination toward service stems in part from a culture that elevates its importance. Rodriguez helped found the Hispanic College Fund chapter at VCU, which provides educational, scholarship and mentoring programs to talented Latino students. He also has mentored at-risk Latino students in South Richmond through a community program; helped found the American Society of Artificial Internal Organs; and served as president of the VCU Alumni Association Students Today Alumni Tomorrow program. VCU, he said, “rewards and praises” students who demonstrate a willingness to work on community service efforts.

“VCU surrounds itself with this great environment that is very collaborative,” Rodriguez said. “It’s very easy to get involved. It’s one thing that I really love about VCU. Everyone is supportive, and it’s not just on campus but in the rest of the city of Richmond…You can’t do any of this by yourself. You need lots of people to make it work.”

Students such as Shaaban, Rodriguez and Fernandes do not speak about community service as a sacrifice but as an opportunity, and they’ve proved that ambitious service efforts do not deter academic performance. Shaaban will attend the VCU School of Medicine in the fall. Rodriguez, who is a Gates Millenium Scholar and the author of research manuscripts, conference posters and book chapters, will begin a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond. And Fernandes this week will receive the Philip B. Meggs Memorial Award, a $2,000 prize bestowed on a top English department student every four years.

Rodriguez said he urges those preparing to attend college, including those he has mentored, to make community service and involvement in campus activities a central part of their college experiences. Not only will they create memories that last, they will find new ways to grow. For instance, when a potential employer asks about his leadership background, Rodriguez has numerous cases to cite from his various community service efforts.

“I feel like if you just go to college, get your degree and leave, there’s so much experience that you’re missing out on,” Rodriguez said. “If you get involved, you learn a lot that you can’t learn from a textbook.”

Read More: http://ow.ly/kT8z4 

May
09

[Graduates leave legacy of community efforts] VCU Graduation Stories 2013: Nikki Fernandes Nikki Fernandes, who will receive a bachelor’s degree in English this week, found that a VCU community engagement program made her feel closer to her university. Fernandes has volunteered at Church Hill Academy, a private high school for at-risk youth, and taught at the Richmond City Jail. She became involved in the latter effort through a service-learning course taught by David Coogan, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of English. Coogan’s project, Open Minds, a collaboration between VCU and the Richmond City Sheriff’s Office, offers dual enrollment classes held at the Richmond City Jail . Fernandes said she was thrilled with the way the project connected the teaching of literature with community outreach, matching her passionate academic interest with her desire to help others. And she also was excited to be part of an effort that sought to get students to engage with their city. She embraced the program so much that following the course she interned with Open Minds, providing instruction to prisoners. “It increased my appreciation for this school,” Fernandes said. Coogan said Fernandes represents the ideal type of VCU student - intelligent, hard-working and curious about her fellow students and the world around her. “She takes seriously her opportunity to do more and to be more,” Coogan said. Fernandes hopes to eventually attend graduate school, but first she will take a teaching job at Church Hill Academy, where she initially volunteered through her church. She said she’s grown too attached to the students and the Church Hill area to leave them yet. Nikki Fernandes believes literature’s capability “to zoom in and zoom out” on characters to understand them as individuals and as part of the context of a larger society broadens and deepens readers’ understanding of the world around them, helping her students at both Church Hill Academy and the Richmond City Jail. And, for them and others, writing is a way “to put all that clutter in your head on paper and to sort through it. It’s an amazing tool that we have. It allows you to confront things that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to confront.” Through her work with Open Minds, Fernandes met prisoners who have struggled after lacking guidance and opportunities when they were younger. She sees a chance to help prevent similar future difficulties for the kids she tutors and teaches. “The people I’ve met, and the community I’ve become involved in, are worth fighting for,” Fernandes said. Read More at http://ow.ly/kSA2r 

[Graduates leave legacy of community efforts]

VCU Graduation Stories 2013: Nikki Fernandes

Nikki Fernandes, who will receive a bachelor’s degree in English this week, found that a VCU community engagement program made her feel closer to her university. Fernandes has volunteered at Church Hill Academy, a private high school for at-risk youth, and taught at the Richmond City Jail. She became involved in the latter effort through a service-learning course taught by David Coogan, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of English.

Coogan’s project, Open Minds, a collaboration between VCU and the Richmond City Sheriff’s Office, offers dual enrollment classes held at the Richmond City Jail . Fernandes said she was thrilled with the way the project connected the teaching of literature with community outreach, matching her passionate academic interest with her desire to help others. And she also was excited to be part of an effort that sought to get students to engage with their city. She embraced the program so much that following the course she interned with Open Minds, providing instruction to prisoners.

“It increased my appreciation for this school,” Fernandes said.

Coogan said Fernandes represents the ideal type of VCU student - intelligent, hard-working and curious about her fellow students and the world around her.

“She takes seriously her opportunity to do more and to be more,” Coogan said.

Fernandes hopes to eventually attend graduate school, but first she will take a teaching job at Church Hill Academy, where she initially volunteered through her church. She said she’s grown too attached to the students and the Church Hill area to leave them yet.

Nikki Fernandes believes literature’s capability “to zoom in and zoom out” on characters to understand them as individuals and as part of the context of a larger society broadens and deepens readers’ understanding of the world around them, helping her students at both Church Hill Academy and the Richmond City Jail. And, for them and others, writing is a way “to put all that clutter in your head on paper and to sort through it. It’s an amazing tool that we have. It allows you to confront things that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to confront.”

Through her work with Open Minds, Fernandes met prisoners who have struggled after lacking guidance and opportunities when they were younger. She sees a chance to help prevent similar future difficulties for the kids she tutors and teaches.

“The people I’ve met, and the community I’ve become involved in, are worth fighting for,” Fernandes said.

Read More at http://ow.ly/kSA2r 

[Graduates leave legacy of community efforts] VCU Graduation Stories 2013: Mohamed Shaaban In August of 2009, Mohamed Shaaban stood on the walkway at Monroe Park in a crowd of fellow VCU freshmen, feeling lost and alone. Welcome Week was in full festive swing, but Shaaban didn’t know anyone and felt wary of his rambunctious fellow students, who appeared energized and confident in their new surroundings. They seemed to somehow know each other already. Shaaban had only been living in the United States for a couple of months, his family having emigrated from Egypt in the summer, and he had yet to make any friends in his new country. That was fine, Shaaban resolved. He would be joining the pre-med track at VCU, determined to follow in both of his parents’ footsteps and become a doctor. He’d be busy enough without a social life. He had much to accomplish without a bunch of distractions. Four years later, as Shaaban prepares to graduate from VCU, he remembers that brief episode in his life with amused wonder. The urge to go it alone faded fast. Within hours of that low point, Shaaban began to make new friends, and his time at VCU ultimately will be marked both by his academic success and his engagement with his fellow students and the larger community. His legacy includes serving as one of the founders of two vibrant organizations with promising futures – Emerging Health Care Leaders, an organization for undergraduate students with pre-health majors, and United 2 Heal, which gathers surplus medical supplies from area medical organizations and ships them to countries where they are needed. “I’m so grateful that things turned out the way that they did,” Shaaban said. Shaaban is one of the many examples of community-minded students set to graduate from VCU this week. They resisted the temptation to make college a solo expedition, instead finding ways to connect with others through service along the route. The university’s focus on engagement, such as through its Division of Community Engagement, produces what amounts to a force of young volunteers, committed and eager to contribute in communities near and far - from next door to the other side of the world. Some students, such as Shaaban, create their own avenues to service, tailoring new programs to their vision. Others work within the structure of existing organizations, strengthening them with enthusiasm and fresh ideas. Emerging Healthcare Leaders, one of the projects that Shaaban helped found, has received contributions from hundreds of undergraduate students, including those who have participated in local health education efforts at area schools and community events. And United 2 Heal counts not just students but faculty members among its contributors. Stephanie Goldberg, M.D., an assistant professor of surgery who has worked with the organization, said the commitment students have made to United 2 Heal has been astounding. The project requires a great deal of its volunteers, who develop partnerships to acquire the supplies, sort the supplies, find storage, arrange the shipments and work with organizations on the receiving end. Goldberg said the organization, despite the youth of its leaders, has demonstrated maturity and savvy from the outset. Shaaban has been crucial to that. “There’s something about this kid,” Goldberg said. “You meet him and you just want to help him.” Shaaban recognizes how much he would have missed if he’d stuck solely to individual pursuits. For instance, he’ll never forget the “intense” moment he watched a video screen as a delivery truck arrived at a refugee camp thousands of miles away with medical supplies he had helped procure and ship. “The coolest thing about my college experience is that I didn’t just look at it academically,” Shaaban said. “If I had, so much would have been lost.” Shaaban will attend the VCU School of Medicine in the fall. Read More: http://ow.ly/kSuzm [Photo: Mohamed Shaaban takes a break from loading medical supplies bound for a hospital in Egypt. The hospital treats children with cancer whose parents cannot afford to pay for treatment. Shaaban was working with United 2 Heal, an organization he helped launch.]

[Graduates leave legacy of community efforts]

VCU Graduation Stories 2013: Mohamed Shaaban

In August of 2009, Mohamed Shaaban stood on the walkway at Monroe Park in a crowd of fellow VCU freshmen, feeling lost and alone. Welcome Week was in full festive swing, but Shaaban didn’t know anyone and felt wary of his rambunctious fellow students, who appeared energized and confident in their new surroundings. They seemed to somehow know each other already. Shaaban had only been living in the United States for a couple of months, his family having emigrated from Egypt in the summer, and he had yet to make any friends in his new country.

That was fine, Shaaban resolved. He would be joining the pre-med track at VCU, determined to follow in both of his parents’ footsteps and become a doctor. He’d be busy enough without a social life. He had much to accomplish without a bunch of distractions.

Four years later, as Shaaban prepares to graduate from VCU, he remembers that brief episode in his life with amused wonder. The urge to go it alone faded fast. Within hours of that low point, Shaaban began to make new friends, and his time at VCU ultimately will be marked both by his academic success and his engagement with his fellow students and the larger community. His legacy includes serving as one of the founders of two vibrant organizations with promising futures – Emerging Health Care Leaders, an organization for undergraduate students with pre-health majors, and United 2 Heal, which gathers surplus medical supplies from area medical organizations and ships them to countries where they are needed.

“I’m so grateful that things turned out the way that they did,” Shaaban said.

Shaaban is one of the many examples of community-minded students set to graduate from VCU this week. They resisted the temptation to make college a solo expedition, instead finding ways to connect with others through service along the route. The university’s focus on engagement, such as through its Division of Community Engagement, produces what amounts to a force of young volunteers, committed and eager to contribute in communities near and far - from next door to the other side of the world.

Some students, such as Shaaban, create their own avenues to service, tailoring new programs to their vision. Others work within the structure of existing organizations, strengthening them with enthusiasm and fresh ideas.

Emerging Healthcare Leaders, one of the projects that Shaaban helped found, has received contributions from hundreds of undergraduate students, including those who have participated in local health education efforts at area schools and community events. And United 2 Heal counts not just students but faculty members among its contributors.

Stephanie Goldberg, M.D., an assistant professor of surgery who has worked with the organization, said the commitment students have made to United 2 Heal has been astounding. The project requires a great deal of its volunteers, who develop partnerships to acquire the supplies, sort the supplies, find storage, arrange the shipments and work with organizations on the receiving end. Goldberg said the organization, despite the youth of its leaders, has demonstrated maturity and savvy from the outset. Shaaban has been crucial to that.

“There’s something about this kid,” Goldberg said. “You meet him and you just want to help him.”

Shaaban recognizes how much he would have missed if he’d stuck solely to individual pursuits. For instance, he’ll never forget the “intense” moment he watched a video screen as a delivery truck arrived at a refugee camp thousands of miles away with medical supplies he had helped procure and ship.

“The coolest thing about my college experience is that I didn’t just look at it academically,” Shaaban said. “If I had, so much would have been lost.”

Shaaban will attend the VCU School of Medicine in the fall.

Read More: http://ow.ly/kSuzm

[Photo: Mohamed Shaaban takes a break from loading medical supplies bound for a hospital in Egypt. The hospital treats children with cancer whose parents cannot afford to pay for treatment. Shaaban was working with United 2 Heal, an organization he helped launch.]

[Countdown to Commencement] Commencement exercises will be held at 10 a.m. on May 11 at the Richmond Coliseum. For more information about the ceremony, visit http://www.commencement.vcu.edu Join the VCU Commencement conversation on Twitter by following @VCU and using the #VCU2013 hashtag when tweeting about commencement. Share your commencement pictures and VCU memories on Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter using the #VCU2013 and be included in a special VCU Commencement Storify. Watch Saturday’s ceremony live online at www.vcu.edu, starting at 10 a.m. Read More: http://ow.ly/kRJ8e

[Countdown to Commencement]

Commencement exercises will be held at 10 a.m. on May 11 at the Richmond Coliseum. For more information about the ceremony, visit http://www.commencement.vcu.edu

Join the VCU Commencement conversation on Twitter by following @VCU and using the #VCU2013 hashtag when tweeting about commencement.

Share your commencement pictures and VCU memories on Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter using the #VCU2013 and be included in a special VCU Commencement Storify.

Watch Saturday’s ceremony live online at www.vcu.edu, starting at 10 a.m.

Read More: http://ow.ly/kRJ8e

May
08

[VCU Police Deliver Results in Spring Semester] Ongoing upgrades and reforms help keep VCU community safe At the beginning of the 2012-2013 academic year, VCU Police Chief John Venuti had a simple message for would-be troublemakers on campus: “If you are here with bad intentions, we will respond very aggressively.” During the fall semester, a few individuals unaffiliated with VCU put that commitment to the test and found themselves in custody in short order. VCU Police continued to implement an aggressive crime prevention plan throughout the year, and the department’s visibility, deployment and robbery suppression tactics proved effective in deterring crime in the spring semester. Reported incidents of robbery on the VCU core campus decreased to three this semester from 10 in the fall. Bicycle thefts in the VCU Police jurisdiction, which includes the core campus and some surrounding neighborhoods, fell to 21 incidents this semester from 26 in the fall - a decline of 19 percent. Larcenies on campus, the most commonly reported - and the most easily preventable crime - declined 16 percent from the fall to spring semesters and are down 7.5 percent in 2012-2013 compared with the same time in the previous academic year. During the spring semester, the department made numerous upgrades to its police force, technology and procedures. These changes resulted in more effective crime prevention and response and will help the department better protect and serve the community moving forward. In April, VCU Police graduated 16 new officers from its 38th Basic Academy bringing the department closer to its full-staffing goal of 92 sworn officers. Throughout the year, new and veteran officers improved their skills through continual education and training exercises, such as bike school, firearms training and active shooter training. Technology upgrades, including improved dispatch and reporting systems, reduced call times and improved the department’s collection of data. Community engagement continues to be a priority for Venuti and his officers. Throughout the semester, the department participated in numerous fundraisers, including the annual Dunk-A-Cop and educational events to promote the safety and wellbeing of the campus community. This engagement with students is evident in the improvements to the RamSafe transportation program. The system had been hampered by inefficiencies until VCU Police, along with Parking and Transportation Services and other partners, engaged in a dialogue with students, eventually producing the much-improved system that Parking and Transportation operates today. The VCU Police Department works 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure a safe and healthy work, living and learning environment for the faculty, staff and students of Virginia Commonwealth University. VCU Police can be reached at (804) 828-1234 if you are on campus and have an emergency, see a crime, or need to speak to someone right away. For emergencies off campus, dial 911. For emergencies, VCU Police can also be reached at 9804) 828-1196.  Read More about how VCU Police are working to keep our campus community safe: http://ow.ly/kQ2CI 

[VCU Police Deliver Results in Spring Semester]

Ongoing upgrades and reforms help keep VCU community safe

At the beginning of the 2012-2013 academic year, VCU Police Chief John Venuti had a simple message for would-be troublemakers on campus: “If you are here with bad intentions, we will respond very aggressively.”

During the fall semester, a few individuals unaffiliated with VCU put that commitment to the test and found themselves in custody in short order. VCU Police continued to implement an aggressive crime prevention plan throughout the year, and the department’s visibility, deployment and robbery suppression tactics proved effective in deterring crime in the spring semester.

  • Reported incidents of robbery on the VCU core campus decreased to three this semester from 10 in the fall.
  • Bicycle thefts in the VCU Police jurisdiction, which includes the core campus and some surrounding neighborhoods, fell to 21 incidents this semester from 26 in the fall - a decline of 19 percent.
  • Larcenies on campus, the most commonly reported - and the most easily preventable crime - declined 16 percent from the fall to spring semesters and are down 7.5 percent in 2012-2013 compared with the same time in the previous academic year.

During the spring semester, the department made numerous upgrades to its police force, technology and procedures. These changes resulted in more effective crime prevention and response and will help the department better protect and serve the community moving forward.

  • In April, VCU Police graduated 16 new officers from its 38th Basic Academy bringing the department closer to its full-staffing goal of 92 sworn officers.
  • Throughout the year, new and veteran officers improved their skills through continual education and training exercises, such as bike school, firearms training and active shooter training.
  • Technology upgrades, including improved dispatch and reporting systems, reduced call times and improved the department’s collection of data.

Community engagement continues to be a priority for Venuti and his officers. Throughout the semester, the department participated in numerous fundraisers, including the annual Dunk-A-Cop and educational events to promote the safety and wellbeing of the campus community.

This engagement with students is evident in the improvements to the RamSafe transportation program. The system had been hampered by inefficiencies until VCU Police, along with Parking and Transportation Services and other partners, engaged in a dialogue with students, eventually producing the much-improved system that Parking and Transportation operates today.

The VCU Police Department works 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure a safe and healthy work, living and learning environment for the faculty, staff and students of Virginia Commonwealth University. VCU Police can be reached at (804) 828-1234 if you are on campus and have an emergency, see a crime, or need to speak to someone right away. For emergencies off campus, dial 911. For emergencies, VCU Police can also be reached at 9804) 828-1196.

 Read More about how VCU Police are working to keep our campus community safe: http://ow.ly/kQ2CI