Castaway lizards and evolution

New biology professor Jason Kolbe received international attention this month for his study about lizards and evolution, which appeared in the journal Science. His work was reported by the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Huffington Post, Arizona Star, United Press International, Live Science, the Seattle Times, the London Daily Mail, MSNBC and more. Read the URI press release about his work here.

President Dooley with Dan Yorke

President David Dooley was recently in-studio on News Talk 630 WPRO & 99.7 FM's Dan Yorke Show about just how valuable it is to THINK BIG in Rhode Island and the importance of being a life-long learner. President Dooley even touched on a few topics about URI Athletics -- and shared his pick before the SuperBowl. Check out the full interview that aired on February 3 with our own President Dooley. Listen: http://www.630wpro.com/Article.asp?id=2387699&spid=18040

Big Applause

News reports were plentiful about URI acting student Andrew Burnap when word came that he won the prestigious Irene Ryan Competition, at the regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. The judges selected Burnap from a field of 250 acting nominees from 55 New England schools. With this award in hand, he now prepares for second 'act' at the national festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. in April. News about this award traveled and coverage has included the Providence Journal, Good Five Cent Cigar, South County Independent, South Kingstown Patch, Associated Press and the Boston Globe. News release: http://www.uri.edu/news/releases/?id=6115

Deep Blue Goes Green

URI's Endeavor is the first U.S. research vessel to use refined biodiesel fuel. The announcement about the “greening” of the Endeavor has generated some media interest. The Narragansett Times, WPRI TV-12, East Bay Newspapers and a few others have covered this story, in addition to shipping trade media outlets. Read about it on URI's release or Eco-RI.

Veterinarian of the Year

David Serra, who cares for the University's laboratory animals, was named Veterinarian of the Year this month by the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science. The announcement of the award received considerable attention in the local media, including the Providence Journal, Boston Globe, Rhode Island Monthly, Channel 10, Westerly Sun and South Kingstown Patch. See the URI press release here.

Phones Don't Sleep...

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Research by Human Development and Family Studies Assistant Professor Sue Adams has shown a "hidden" effect of technology -- the sleep deprivation resulting from their 24/7 use. The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported on her findings, "Bleary-Eyed Students Can't Stop Texting, Even to Sleep, a Researcher Finds," and the story was covered by numerous other media outlets, including Princeton Review. For the story, URI student Michelle Fox also spoke with the reporter about her smart phone use habits. On a related front, CNN recently referred to the earlier results about the prevalence of "sexting" from the same study -- see the earlier news on this.

Doctoral student blogging for New York Times

Doctoral student S. Amanda Caudill is conducting field work in Costa Rica this fall to assess mammal diversity on coffee farms. She is reporting on her studies on the New York Times "Scientist at Work" blog. Read her first posting from Nov. 15, and look for future posts here.

Big 'Little" Dinosaur Discovery

News about the discovery of a nest of 15 infant dinosaurs in Mongolia has now been traveling the wires. Based on the research of Geosciences Professor and Department Chair David Fastovsky and colleagues that was written about in the Journal of Paleontology, the popular press has now been reporting on the big little find. News reports about this find appeared in Smithsonian, National Geographic, the Huffington Post, Fox News, LiveScience, Discovery News, UPI, and Channel 10 among others. The story has also appeared in more than half a dozen languages on websites in Spain, Peru, Chile, Mexico, Poland, Kyrgyzstan, Croatia, Italy, India, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Norway, Australia and many more countries. Read the URI press release about the discovery.

A Big Bite of News

Nutrition Professor Kathleen Melanson is in the news again for her recent research confirming the dietary lore that by eating slowly we consume fewer calories. It's a good message to remember as Thanksgiving approaches. Her work has been reported around the world including in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times, Green Bay Press Gazette the Medical Daily and numerous television news programs like Fox/New York, WRNI radio and TBSeFM radio in Korea. Internationally, the news was reported in such publications as the London Daily Mail, Berlin Morning Post, the Scottish Daily Express, the Times of India, and the Bangalore Mirror. Read the most recent press release.

Healthy Honors

University of Rhode Island Cancer Prevention Research Center Director James F. Prochaska and First Lady Michelle Obama were honored at the Society for Public Health Education's annual meeting in Arlington, Va. Prochaska was named a 2011 honorary fellow for his lifetime of achievements in improving the theoretical base of the health education field.  The Associated Press (AP) wrote an article about the awards ceremony and the news was carried nationwide. This coverage included the Washington Post, San Francisco Examiner, India Times, New England Cable News, Boston Globe, Providence Journal, and Washington Examiner as well as numerous other outlets including: Dallas Morning News, Beaumont (TX) Enterprise, The Republic (Columbus, Indiana), The Daily Journal (Johnson County, Indiana), The Times Union (Albany, NY). It was also broadcast on MSNBC, WNBC-TV 10, and FOX/WPRI-TV 12. Read the URI press release about this honor.