The Duke Digest - August 6, 2010

In Today's Issue:

  • Duke Neurobiologist Receives NIH Director's Pioneer Award
  • Duke Response to Coburn McCain Report
  • Department of Energy Awards Graduate Fellowship to Duke Student
  • Duke and Education Associations Submit Comments to Department of Education
  • Nicholas School Dean Travels to Louisiana Oil Spill Site
  • Duke Professor Offers Solution to Social Security and Immigration


DUKE NEUROBIOLOGIST RECEIVES NIH DIRECTOR’S PIONEER AWARD
Duke University School of Medicine neurobiologist Miguel Nicolelis, MD, PhD, is one of 17 recipients of the 2010 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Pioneer Award. The award will provide funding to continue Nicolelis’ groundbreaking work into the development of brain-machine interface (BMI) technology.

Read More:
Duke Neurobiologist Receives NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (DukeNews)


DUKE RESPONSE TO COBURN MCCAIN REPORT
Michael Schoenfeld, Duke's vice president for public affairs and government relations, says that criticisms of stimulus-funded research at Duke are unwarranted.  Schoenfeld was responding to the “Summertime Blues” report by U.S. Senators Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) and John McCain (R-AZ), which was critical of certain stimulus projects.

Watch the Video:
Mike Schoenfeld on Benefits of Stimulus-Funded Research (WRAL)
Read More:
Editorials: ‘Stupid and inappropriate’ (The Herald-Sun)


DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AWARDS GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP TO DUKE STUDENT
Jonathan Mueller, a graduate student in nuclear physics, was one of 150 students to be selected to receive a graduate fellowship award as part of a new Department of Energy Graduate Fellowship program.  Each graduate fellow will be provided with tuition, living expenses, and research support for three years to academic institutions across the country.  The new fellowship program is designed to strengthen the nation's scientific workforce by providing support to young students during the formative years of their research.

Read More:
Press Release (U.S. Department of Energy)
Jonathan Mueller Bio (U.S. Department of Energy)


DUKE AND EDUCATION ASSOCIATIONS SUBMIT COMMENTS TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Duke University and several other higher education associations and accreditation organizations submitted comments yesterday to the Department of Education on the June 18 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Title IV student financial aid program integrity issues.

Read More:
Letter to the Department of Education (Duke University)
Over 70 Organizations, ACE Submit Comments on Program Integrity NPRM (American Council on Education)


NICHOLAS SCHOOL DEAN TRAVELS TO LOUISIANA OIL SPILL SITE
Dean Bill Chameides traveled to Louisiana on July 26-29 to tour communities and ecosystems that have been affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and meet with local government officials, fishermen, community and environmental leaders, and Nicholas School alumni who are working on the response to the spill.

Read More:
Nicholas School Dean Travels to Louisiana Oil Spill Site (DukeNews)


DUKE PROFESSOR OFFERS SOLUTION TO SOCIAL SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION
Rarely do you see two of our country's most intractable problems — illegal immigration and the solvency of Social Security — lumped together in the same sentence. Don Taylor, associate professor of public policy at Duke University, proposes an imperfect idea that could address both problems at once: allow immigrant workers to come to the United States to work for up to three years. The price of a work permit would be that immigrant workers and/or employers would have to pay Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes.

Read More:
Imperfect solution to Social Security and immigration (Sun Sentinel)