Top Stories
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Students practice green living on campus
Bucknell's sustainable living cooperative houses 13 students who are taking unique steps to reduce their carbon footprints. [full story]
The students, who range in age from sophomores to seniors, live together at the Taylor Street House co-op with a shared commitment to use energy wisely. They compost their food, tend a house garden, take timed showers, collect water in a rain barrel, hang laundry on an outdoor clothesline and even use a self-powered bicycle-operated blender.
"This is definitely a small version of what we'd like to see happen on campus," said Ali Blumenstock '11, who is majoring in environmental studies. "We are looking to conserve as much as possible. We've tried to do things on campus to change the amount of consumption, like putting signs on paper towel dispensers saying, 'These come from trees.' There are little things like that to do, step by step."
University-wide greening efforts like these are coordinated by the campus greening initiative. Plans include an LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building complex of several residence halls, fraternities and a common building on the east side of campus. Students this year also organized a 350 Climate Action Festival as part of a national effort to raise awareness about pollution and energy consumption.
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Bucknell to host academic symposium 'In Media Res'
Alumni, authors and activists are among the panelists for the Nov. 13 and 14 event. [full story]
"In Media Res: Gender, Race and Popular Culture" uses a range of programs and events to explore emerging scholarship on race, gender, class, media and popular culture.
"We're looking forward to hearing from a lot of very interesting people, including Rutgers law professor Imani Perry, activist/author Suheir Hammad, actor and Bucknell graduate Gbenga Akinnagbe '00 and filmmaker Martha Diaz," said Jessica Hess '99, director of Multicultural Student Services at Bucknell.
Two events are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13, and the conference continues with academic symposia and panels.
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Student, alumni launch sustainable energy venture
Started on a bare-bones budget, Eclipse Solar LLC is turning a profit with several clients and plans to expand. [full story]
The company is a result of the School of Management's business venture competition, which Craig Dwyer '10 and Eric Diamond '09 entered with an eye on the $5,000 grand prize. They decided on a solar energy sales and installation venture and wrote a business plan focusing on government incentives as a selling point for solar energy systems.
Dwyer and Diamond placed fourth in the competition and were inspired to pursue the idea. They brought in another partner, Drew Willey '09, and set up shop in a 1,240-square-foot storefront in West Chester, Pa. Eclipse Solar now sells and installs solar electric panels, or photovoltaics, which convert sunlight to electrical power.
The partners also are developing designs for several potential commercial clients. Meanwhile, Dwyer is finishing his last year at Bucknell. He is conducting an independent study on how to operate a company while still in college.
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Students travel to academic intercollegiate competitions
Chemical engineering and computer science students test their mental mettle in November contests. [full story]
Bucknell students will compete this month in the Chem-E Car Competition in Nashville, Tenn., against more than 30 regional champions from across the United States and Puerto Rico. Each team will design and construct a chemically powered vehicle with size constraints. Bucknell's seven-member team received an automatic bid after taking first place in the Mid-Atlantic Regional contest in April.
The University also will send three teams of three students each to northeastern Pennsylvania in November to compete in the "Battle of the Brains." Teams must use their computer programming skills and mental endurance to solve eight or more complex problems under a grueling five-hour deadline.
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Special web content for Bucknellians
Videos of recent speakers, celebrations and events are online, along with student blogs and a slideshow of the University bookstore construction. [full story]
Don't miss Bucknell's online multimedia featuring:
- Reports from seven students sharing their study abroad experience in blogs
- Progress on the construction of the new downtown Barnes & Noble Bucknell bookstore
- Renowned historian Niall Ferguson's Bucknell Forum talk, "Is the United States and Empire? Should It Be?" (log-in required; available until Nov. 15)
- Harvard psychology professor Howard Gardner's Bucknell Forum presentation on his 15-year GoodWork Project (log-in required; available until Nov. 15)
- Commentary by and interview with distinguished author John Edgar Wideman, the 2009 Janet Weis Fellow in Contemporary Letters (log-in required; available until Nov. 15)
- Clinical Professor of Management and Executive-in-Residence William Gruver's reflection on his career and American business today on WVIA's "Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal"
