Issue date: Dec. 6, 2001

Campus
Happenings

MSU Museum displays holiday containers

In the spirit of the holiday season, the MSU Museum is presenting "Packaging Christmas: American and International Holiday Containers" through February 2002 in Heritage Hall.

The exhibit highlights Christmas packaging from the 1890s to pre-1960s in the United States and around the world, including Christmas gift boxes, wrapping paper, stickers and ribbons with printed holiday designs. Also included in the exhibit are gift items to appeal to the consumer, such as stockings, hats and holiday-theme outer packaging for cigarette cartons and pipe tobacco.

"I hope the exhibit opens visitors' eyes to how Santa has been used to promote Christmas throughout history for such items as toys, which you would expect, to things like tobacco and liquor, which you might not expect," said Val Berryman, MSU Museum curator of history.

The exhibit is from Berryman's personal collection of more than 3,000 Christmas-related items, which he began around 1984 with the intention of creating an exhibit for the MSU Museum. Berryman has worked at the museum since 1963.

The exhibit includes biscuit tins and cracker boxes from England, gingerbread cookie containers from Germany, Santa-shaped liquor bottles from France and Germany, and candy tins from Russia and Holland. Holiday magazine advertisements and store signs, as well as packages from Christmas tree ornaments, lights, candy and other decorations also are displayed.

In February 2002, the MSU Museum's in-depth look at packaging continues with "The Age of Packaging," to mark the MSU School of Packaging's 50th anniversary.

'U' trial grounds provide input on AAS winners

Nine ornamental plants were selected as All-America Selections (AAS) winners for 2002, based on their performance at AAS trial grounds across North America, including on the MSU campus.

Seven flower varieties, one ornamental pepper and a sweet basil that's both ornamental and edible earned AAS ornamental plant awards. Four vegetable varieties -- a cucumber, a winter squash and two pumpkins -- also received AAS awards.

The award-winning ornamental plants for 2002 are:

Geranium "Black Magic Rose," the only hybrid geranium with bicolor foliage -- each leaf has a black center with a green border.
Vinca "Jai Scarlet Eye," the only vinca with a rose-red flower with a small white eye.
Cleome "Sparkler Blush," the first hybrid cleome, which is covered with pink flowers all season.
Ornamental pepper "Chilly Chili," a heat-tolerant ornamental plant in which the fire has been bred out of the fruits.
Pansy "Ultima Morpho," a bicolor pansy with upper petals of purplish blue and bright lemon-yellow lower petals.
Petunia "Lavender Wave," a trailing petunia for use in containers or as a ground cover.
Petunia "Tidal Wave Silver," which offers silvery-white blossoms with dark purple centers all season without pinching or pruning.
Rudbeckia "Cherokee Sunset," a profusely flowering plant of double or semidouble flowers ranging in color from yellow and orange to bronze and mahogany.
Basil "Magical Michael," an edible ornamental herb with aromatic green leaves that can be harvested for culinary uses within 30 days of transplanting into a garden.

MSU tech-based companies get honors for efforts

Two MSU technology-based companies received awards for their successful commercialization of University inventions at the State Capitol Rotunda on Nov. 28.

ERL, LLC of Lansing and GeneWorks of Ann Arbor were honored at the Investment and Commercialization Success Celebration sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Herbert (Mac) Reynolds, president and CEO of ERL, is also a professor of osteopathic manipulative medicine and of anthropology and director of the Ergonomics Re-search Laboratory at MSU.

Reynolds is the principal investigator for the seat surface technology that his company licensed from MSU in 1999. In the past year, General Motors has committed to deploy ERL's seat surface and interior design software on a companywide basis.

Bill MacArthur, who received a doctor of veterinary medicine from MSU in 1994, is the inventor of the technology that GeneWorks licensed from MSU in 1996 to found the company.

GeneWorks is on the cutting edge of the protein pharmaceutical market and has already raised more than $18 million in venture capital funding. MacArthur maintains close working relations with MSU faculty to further develop technology and as a resource to the challenges of a growing biotechnology company.

"Both companies, headquartered and expanding in Michigan, are excellent examples of University-based commercialization efforts," said Christine Force, small business development specialist in MSU's Office of Intellectual Property.

Study on medical decision-making seeks volunteers

MSU is looking for volunteers to take part in a study that will examine ways in which patients and health care providers can better work together.

The volunteers are being asked to help evaluate an education program designed for men with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland.

Volunteers will fill out a questionnaire and watch a video that's designed to help patients make more informed choices about BPH treatments.

"Our project's goal is to find out what types of information are useful in the video and what's not," said Margaret Holmes-Rovner, professor of medicine and director of the project.

Several times during the video the tape will be stopped and participants will be asked for their reactions, Holmes-Rovner said. The video runs for an hour. The entire session will take about two hours.

The project is recruiting African-American and white men over the age of 50 who have not attended college.

BPH affects more than 23 million men in the United States, and most men over age 60 have it. While it is not fatal, the symptoms are sometimes uncomfortable enough to require surgery. There also are drug treatments that are effective.

For more information on the MSU study, call Cynthia Alderson, 432-5484.

For additional information on BPH, access the National Institutes of Health Web site at: www.niddk.nih.gov/health/urolog/pubs/prostate/index.htm#commonProject

GREEEN issues call for proposals

Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Environmental and Economic Needs) at MSU has issued a request of proposals for fiscal year 2002 projects.

GREEEN is looking for projects that benefit Michigan's plant-based agriculture industry in response to critical priorities identified by the state's plant commodity groups.

Proposals will be accepted in each of the following program areas: applied research and demonstration, basic research, Extension activity and value-added research.

Proposals must clearly identify how projects will affect the economic and environmental aspects of Michigan agriculture. Integrated multidisciplinary projects that address long-term issues facing Michigan plant agriculture are encouraged.

Applications are due Jan. 22, 2002. Awards will be announced in late March, with funds becoming available in April.