Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

In New Orleans, it’s “Fat Tuesday,” too.

Whether you call it “Super Tuesday, “Super Duper Tuesday,” or “Tsunami Tuesday,” today is the day voters in 24 states go to the polls to register their choices for the Democratic and Republican presidential contenders. It’s the closest thing to a national primary the United States has ever had. Some politicians, including U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) have floated the idea of a true national primary. Dr. Michael Nelson, political scientist from Rhodes College and recent lecturer at MTSU, weighs in on these and other aspects of the 2008 presidential political scene in radio-ready stories and mp3-formatted sound snippets you can access at http://www.mtsunews.com. Click on “MTSU Audio Clips” on the right side of the page.

For information on “MTSU Audio Clips,” contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081.
gklogue@mtsu.edu

Poster power

Another talented group of MTSU students will make presentations of their research and mingle with state legislators Wednesday, Feb. 6, during the third annual Posters at the State Capitol in Nashville. MTSU serves as host of the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. event, which includes up to six presenters from other Tennessee Board of Regents schools, as well. The posters represent a wide range of disciplines, including music, psychology, geosciences, physics, and engineering technology and industrial studies. Their subjects range from “Learning Strategies of College Students With and Without Learning Disabilities” to “Investigation of Petro-Tectonic Settings of Felsic Igneous Rocks.” The students hail from Murfreesboro, Trenton, and Memphis, and were selected through a competitive process on campus.

Contact Dr. Tom Cheatham at 615-898-2613 or Dr. Diane Miller at 615-898-5472.
cheatham@mtsu.edu
dmiller@mtsu.edu

A new kind of magical mystery tour

This year marks NASA’s 50th anniversary; the 50th anniversary of Explorer One, America’s first successful satellite; the 45th anniversary of NASA’a Deep Space Network; and the 40th anniversary of the song “Across the Universe” by The Beatles. In celebration of all these anniversaries, NASA will transmit the song towards Polaris, the North Star, in mp3 format. Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says this is “… the first time the space agency has aimed a message at a particular, and particularly distant, location in space.” Burriss notes that, since Polaris is 2.5 quadrillion miles away, the Beatles’ number will take 431 years to reach its destination. “If the Polarians download the song, will it be illegal?” Burriss muses. “Well, maybe not, because in 431 years the song will probably be in the public domain.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

WHAT ITEMS ARE ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?--Dr. Janet Belsky, professor of psychology, will be a guest on “In Your Prime,” a discussion program on NewsChannel5+ (Comcast Channel 50), with host Meryll Rose. Belsky, an expert on issues regarding aging, will discuss setting goals toward the end of one’s life as did the main characters in the recent movie “The Bucket List.” This program will air again at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6; at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15; at noon, Saturday, Feb. 16; at 6:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17; and at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20. For more information, contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

SPANNING THE GLOBE--MTSU students who want to broaden their educational lives by experiencing other cultures in other countries have a new source of funding to help them pay for their study-abroad trips. However, time is of the essence because students wishing to take advantage of these opportunities have tight deadlines to meet. The MT Abroad Office is offering a Study Abroad Scholarship to undergraduate and graduate students who established MTSU student enrollment during the previous semester and maintain at least a 2.75 grade point average. The deadline is Friday, Feb. 8, for all Kentucky Institute for International Studies (KIIS) applications. The deadline is Friday, Feb. 15, for all other applications. Download the forms and find more information at http://www.mtabroad.com. Call the MT Abroad Office at 615-898-5179.