Nobody knows how quickly time flies than Bob Bayn. Bob recently attended Grandparents University (GPU) with two of his grandchildren, 12-year-old Tyler and 9-year-old Kaylee. The Bayns were among 820 who participated in GPU, a program that brings grandparents back to MSU and allows them to share their college experience with their grandchildren. Other Briggsies in attendance included David Miller ('77), who attended with his nephew; and the children of Carole Montgomery, MD ('83), Angela Ethridge ('94), and Christopher Bloss, MD, who attended with their grandparents.

 

Mark your calendar for GPU 2010, June 29 through July 1, 2010. Briggs alumni are offered priority registration for this event that usually sells out in 24 hrs. 

Briggs professor studies the first stars - LBC physics Professor Brian O'Shea and his collaborators, Matthew Turk and Tom Abel of Stanford University, have just published a paper in the journal Science, showing that the first generation of stars could form as twins, not just individuals. They learned this by using simulations which provide the most detailed understanding of the formation of the first generation of stars in the universe to date. The research will appear on the Website Science Express on July 9th.

 

Video simulation of two binary stars forming >>>  

Green Fire Productions has worked with LBC senior seminar students to produce their Letter on Sustainability. Working with Briggs Professor Michael Nelson, the students originally addressed the letter to the Columbia River Quorum, a gathering of sixteen environmental scientists, social scientists, philosophers, communications experts, and creative writers. Sponsored by the Spring Creek Project (Oregon State University) with the support of the US Forest Service, the Quorum seeks to bring science and moral imagination together to communicate about climate destabilization. Originally delivered during the opening comments of the gathering, the filmmakers edited and produced the video.

2 of the 19 high school seniors awarded this competitive scholarship have chosen to attend LBC in the fall. Vishnu Pemmaraju (Troy) and Robert Harrison (Okemos) are among those selected from more than 1,110 high school seniors from across the country who applied to MSU and took an intensive general knowledge exam.  Students in the competition had an average ACT score of 34 (out of 36) and SAT score of 1530 (out of 1600).  The scholarships are valued at about $90,000 for in-state students and $150,000 for out-of-state students.