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| Alumni Association Home > Minnesota Magazine > Past Issues > 2008 > March-April 2008 | ||||||||
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Did you know that 40 percent of Minnesota’s more than 14,000 lakes are considered unclean? Deborah Swackhamer, professor of occupational and environmental health at the University of Minnesota, described the condition of Minnesota’s waters for attendees at the Minne-College in Naples, Florida, this past January. More important, however, Swackhamer explained that University and state agencies are working together to create a comprehensive statewide conservation and preservation plan that will help secure the future of Minnesota’s waters as well as other natural resources.
As national president of the Alumni Association, I attend a great variety of events where I learn about the world-changing research conducted by U faculty. Thanks to the strength of our Southwest Florida Chapter, the Minne-College program attracted 150 alumni and friends to hear from five U researchers, making it the largest educational event the Alumni Association has ever held on the road.
Keynote speaker Karen Ashe, professor of neurology and neuroscience, made headlines last year when she and colleagues discovered that mice with brain atrophy similar to Alzheimer’s disease could recover the ability to remember. We learned how this breakthrough might lead to better prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s.
Kathleen Thomas, professor of child development, showed us brain scans of typical children and children with birth complications and explained how the remarkable differences in their brains’ anatomies related to the children’s attention and memory skills. Thomas also discussed her research addressing the short- and long-term effects of diabetic pregnancy on a child’s brain function. Thomas and colleagues have found that some of these children experience prenatal iron deficiency associated with long-term changes in memory function. However, she also demonstrated that children’s developing brains can actually adapt and compensate for many early risk factors.
Jane Davidson, professor of mechanical engineering, explained how she and her colleagues are working to tap the potential of solar energy. They are developing ways to produce cost-effi cient solar heating units made of plastic instead of copper and glass, and are researching how to use solar heat to produce hydrogen from water. While hydrogen has great potential as an environmentally clean fuel, producing it efficiently poses a significant challenge. The sun might hold the key.
And from Mark Seeley, professor of soil, water, and climate, we learned that Minnesota is experiencing higher, more tropical-like dewpoint conditions and that the state’s winters are getting shorter, with earlier ice-out dates on our lakes.
The researchers who participated in Minne-College were drawn to the University of Minnesota because they believe they can do their best work here. To reach the U of M’s goal of becoming a top three public research university, the U must support these outstanding researchers and recruit more. As alumni and friends of the University, we play a vital role in helping the U of M reach the top three. Minne-College was an example of how we can come together not only to see old friends and socialize, but also to learn about the crucial issues of the day from some of the world’s best teachers.
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The other University partners in the Minne-College program were the College of Education and Human Development; College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences; School of Public Health; Institute of Technology; and the Minnesota Medical Foundation.