The Duke Digest - July 9, 2012


In Today's Issue:
  • Duke to Host Congressional Briefing on DOD Research
  • NIH Research: Duke Researchers Find a Brain Center for Social Choices
  • Duke Law Faculty Analyze Supreme Court Healthcare Decision
  • Duke Announces Three New Trustees

DUKE TO HOST CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING ON DOD RESEARCH
The Duke University Office of Federal Relations will host a congressional briefing in the Capitol Visitors Center on July 18 to highlight Duke research funded by the Department of Defense.  The briefing, "Department of Defense Research at Duke: Innovative Solutions to Military and Societal Challenges," will feature a panel discussion about the role of universities in the Defense research enterprise as well as specific advances in two areas: signal processing, which is currently in use for IED detection in Afghanistan; and metamaterials, which have led to development of the so-called “invisibility cloak”.

The briefing will take place on July 18, 2012, from 10:30 am – 11:30 am, in SVC 208.  Two Duke researchers, Dr. Leslie M. Collins and Dr. David R. Smith will participate in the panel, and Melissa Vetterkind, Director of the Duke University Office of Federal Relations, will serve as panel moderator.

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There is no charge to attend this public event, and light refreshments will be provided. RSVP to the Duke University Office of Federal Relations at dukefederalrelations@duke.edu.

Website of Leslie M. Collins (duke.edu)
Website of David R. Smith (duke.edu)


RESEARCHERS FIND A BRAIN CENTER FOR SOCIAL CHOICES
Although many areas of the human brain are devoted to social tasks like detecting another person nearby, a new study has found that one small region carries information only for decisions during social interactions. Specifically, the area is active when we encounter a worthy opponent and decide whether to deceive them.
 
A brain imaging study conducted by researchers at the Duke Center for Interdisciplinary Decision Science (D-CIDES) put human subjects through a functional MRI brain scan while playing a simplified game of poker against a computer and human opponents. Using computer algorithms to sort out what amount of information each area of the brain was processing, the team found only one brain region -- the temporal-parietal junction, or TPJ --- carried information that was unique to decisions against the human opponent.
 
"Understanding how the brain identifies important competitors and collaborators -- those people who are most relevant for our future behavior -- will lead to new insights into social phenomena like dehumanization and empathy," the study's lead author explained.

The study, supported by National Institutes of Health, appears in the July 6 Science.

Read More:
Duke Researchers Find a Brain Center for Social Choices (duke.edu)


DUKE LAW FACULTY ANALYZE SUPREME COURT HEALTHCARE DECISION
As the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act, Duke Law faculty offered detailed analysis.

Read More:
A Historic Decision (law.duke.edu)


DUKE ANNOUNCES THREE NEW TRUSTEES
Three new members joined the Duke University Board of Trustees on July 1, the university announced Monday.

Beginning a six-year term on the governing body is Jeffrey Vinik, founder of the Boston-based Vinik Asset Management. Vinik also owns the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning and the Arena Football League's Tampa Bay Storm, and is a minority owner of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox.

Kaveh Danesh, the undergraduate young trustee, will serve one year as an observer and two years as a voting member. A Seattle native, Danesh graduated from Duke in 2012 with a degree in mathematics and minors in English, philosophy, Chinese, chemistry and neuroscience. Starting in September, he will be a Fulbright Scholar in China, where he will apply mathematical models to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment in rural villages while writing about his experiences.

Dr. Malik Burnett, originally from Montego Bay, Jamaica, was selected as a young trustee by the Graduate and Professional Student Council. He will serve as an observer for one year, then as a voting member for one year. He is currently a general surgery resident at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine.

Read More:
Duke Announces Three New Trustees (duke.edu)