HIGHLIGHTS:

Campus ready for Deaf-Blind Conference

What is Work?

OHIO STATE IS READY FOR 2000 DEAF-BLIND CONFERENCE-July 29-Aug. 4. Ohio State's summer conference center is ready for more than 1,000 visitors attending the week-long (7/29-8/4) American Association of the Deaf-Blind biannual national conference, "21st Century-Deaf-Blind Moves On!." Braille signs have been installed around campus at bus stops and on dorm room doors, and a "blue line" approximately three blocks long has been installed so that conference participants may walk between their dorm rooms and the Ohio Union, where activities will take place. The conference includes educational workshops on issues such as employment, life management, technology, political activities/legislation and leadership/organizations as well as tours of the city and opportunities to network with participants and professionals from around the country. The conference is one of about 125 being held on campus this summer through the summer conference center in the Housing, Food Services and Event Centers section in the Office of Student Affairs. Contact: Lesley Deaderick, University Relations, 292-0569

WHAT IS WORK?-July 30. Our ideas about what constitutes "work" are changing, especially the relationships between our jobs and home, how emerging technologies impact what we do, and what our employers expect. The changes means vocational and career educators must adapt their instruction. The new National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education is offering its first guest lecturer, Geof Hawke, from 3-4:30 p.m. in the College of Education's Center on Education and Training for Employment, Room 1089, 1900 Kenny Road. Hawke, a senior research fellow from the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, will discuss "Implications of the Changing Workforce on Vocational Education." Contact: Barbara Reardon, College of Education, 292-9931.

MAGNETIC CELL SEPERATION HOLDS PROMISE FOR CANCER RESEARC-Biotechnology is the hot topic for researchers worldwide, holding keys for discoveries in food production and improved health, as well as advances in the detection and treatment of disease. Research conducted by Jeffery Chalmers, a professor of chemical engineering at Ohio State, furthers the study of immune diseases and the treatment of cancer, by improving current technology for studying diseased cells. Using a process known as magnetic cell separation, Chalmers and his colleague, Maciej Zborowski of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, have developed instruments that improve the ability of scientists to isolate specific cell types from a complex mixture. Their magnetic cell separation research has improved the identification of rare blood cells in blood samples. Chalmers and Zborowski received funding for this research project from the National Institutes of Health, which underscores the increased attention being focused on improving techniques for detecting cancers and other immune diseases. Contact: Jeffrey Chalmers, Chemical Engineering, 292-2727; or Gina Langen, Engineering Communications, 688-4423.

The person listed as Contact will have the best information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story--Reggie Anglen, 292-8423; Elizabeth Conlisk, 292-3040; Amy Murray, 292-8385; Lesley Deaderick, 292-0569; Melinda Sadar, 292-8298; and Karissa Shivley, 292-8295.

Compiled by Amy Murray, University Relations, (Murray-Goedde.1@osu.edu)