The Duke Digest - April 30, 2010


In Today's Issue:

  • Over 100 Student Body Presidents Urge Congress to Support Energy Education (Duke Included)
  • Eighty-Nine Universities and Systems (Including Duke) Urge Reauthorization of America COMPETES Act
  • Two Duke Researchers Elected to National Academy of Sciences
  • Brodhead to Speak on Universities and Sustainability at Conference in China

OVER 100 STUDENT BODY PRESIDENTS URGE CONGRESS TO SUPPORT ENERGY EDUCATION (DUKE INCLUDED)
A group of more than 100 university and college student government presidents submitted a letter on Wednesday urging Congress to support the RE-ENERGYSE ("Regaining our Energy Science & Engineering Edge") proposal, which would invest tens of millions of dollars annually in energy science and engineering education programs at universities, technical and community colleges, and K-12 schools.

Read More:
Over 100 Student Body Presidents Urge Congress to Support Energy Education (Huffington Post)
Letter to Congress (pdf)


EIGHTY-NINE UNIVERSITIES AND SYSTEMS URGE REAUTHORIZATION OF AMERICA COMPETES ACT
Duke University has joined a group of 89 universities and university systems that sent a letter to leaders of the House Science and Technology Committee urging them to act on a bipartisan reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act as quickly as possible. 

“The bipartisan America COMPETES Act enacted in 2007 has played and continues to play a crucial role in outlining our nation’s path forward in the global economy by fostering innovation and keeping the United States competitive,” said the universities. “As universities from across the country, we recognize the fiscal challenges facing the nation, and believe the funding of research and STEM education are investments that the country must continue.”

Read More:
Universities Urge Reauthorization of America COMPETES Act


TWO DUKE RESEARCHERS ELECTED TO NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Two Duke University researchers have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences,one of the highest honors given to a scientist or engineer in the United States.

Philip Benfey, Ph.D. the Paul Kramer Professor of Biology and Director of the Center for Systems Biology in the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy, is being recognized for his work on cellular signaling and cell fate in plants.

Vann Bennett, M.D., Ph.D., a James B. Duke Professor of Cell Biology, Biochemistry, and Neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, is being recognized for his work on structural proteins called ankyrins.

Read More:
Two from Duke Elected to National Academy of Sciences (DukeNews)

PRESIDENT BRODHEAD TO SPEAK ON UNIVERSITIES AND SUSTAINABILITY AT CONFERENCE IN CHINA
Duke University President Richard Brodhead will join university presidents from across the globe next week at a forum in China. On Monday, May 3, he will give remarks at a discussion on universities and sustainability during the fourth Chinese-Foreign University Presidents Forum in Nanjing.

China’s education ministry established the forum in 2002 to convene Chinese and international university presidents to share ideas about challenges and opportunities for higher education in a globalized world.

Read More:
Brodhead to Speak at Conference in Nanjing, China (DukeNews)