Monthly Archives: September 2013

NASA's Plans For The Future And Present

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September 11, 2013

Image Credit: NASA

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NASA

Space exploration has always created benefits for humankind from new technologies and discoveries, to deepening international relationships and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

For more than 50 years, NASA has led the world in space with missions to extend human reach and transform our capabilities and understanding. Were currently implementing an ambitious plan that integrates NASAs activities across exploration and science. It focuses on new technologies to carry out robotic and human missions to the moon, an asteroid and Mars, while enabling us to live and work in space for the long term. This week, I will join with others in government, industry and academia at the AIAA 2013 conference in San Diego to discuss NASAs plans for the future and present a paper that captures the meaning of the phrase Off the Earth, For the Earth from the International Space Station Expedition 34 patch.

As we prepare to explore farther into our solar system, we have to do things differently. Thats why were partnering with American companies to conduct routine flights to the International Space Station, so that NASA can focus on developing the spacecraft and technology to carry out deep space missions. And its why weve worked so hard to create a vision of shared exploration objectives with our international partners, recently detailed in the Global Exploration Roadmap.

Advances weve made in robotics and human spaceflight enable us to begin developing a mission to capture and redirect an asteroid closer to Earth so astronauts can visit it, but this is only a beginning. Our new asteroid mission and many related activities will not only take us to new destinations more importantly, theyll lay the groundwork for exploration achievements for years to come.

Web feature: Whats Next for NASA?

Off the Earth, For the Earth offers an animating title for the framework for Americas space program based on todays needs and tomorrows opportunities. The pieces to begin implementing this framework exist starting with the full realization of the potential of the International Space Station. It also includes the groundbreaking work now taking place at NASA and around the world to accelerate the pace of technology development and solidify the role of commercial providers of cargo and soon, crew, transportation to low Earth orbit.

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NASA's Plans For The Future And Present

NASA TV Coverage Set for Orbital Sciences Demonstration Mission

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NASA Television will air pre- and post-launch news conferences and provide live launch coverage of Orbital Sciences Corporation's cargo resupply demonstration mission to the International Space Station.

The company's Cygnus cargo carrier will be the first spacecraft launched to the orbiting laboratory from Virginia. It will be launched aboard Orbital's Antares rocket at 11:16 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Sept. 17, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia.

NASA TV launch commentary coverage will begin at 10:45 a.m. Video b-roll of launch preparations will air at 10:30 a.m. A post-launch news briefing will begin at approximately 1 p.m. at the Wallops Visitors Center. NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will operate a phone bridge for the pre- and post-launch briefings. To participate in any briefing by phone, reporters must call the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 at least 15 minutes before the start of the briefing.

Cygnus will deliver about 1,300 pounds (589 kilograms) of cargo, including food and clothing, to the Expedition 37 crew aboard the space station. Future flights of Cygnus will significantly increase NASA's ability to deliver new science investigations to the nation's only laboratory in microgravity.

NASA will preview the launch and mission in a news conference at 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, at the Wallops Visitors Center. NASA TV and the agency's website will air the briefing live with question and answer capability available from participating NASA centers or on the telephone. Questions also can be asked during the briefings via Twitter by using the hashtag #askNASA.

The briefing participants are:

-- Alan Lindenmoyer, program manager, NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program -- Frank Culbertson, executive vice president, Orbital Sciences Corp. -- Mike Pinkston, Antares program manager, Orbital Sciences Corp. -- Sarah Daugherty, test director, NASA's Wallops Flight Facility

The deadline to apply for accreditation to attend the launch is 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12 for media who are U.S. citizens. The deadline has passed for non-U.S. citizens. For additional information regarding accreditation contact Keith Koehler at keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov.

Rendezvous with the space station is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 22. NASA Television coverage will begin at 4:30 a.m. and will continue through the capture and installation of the Cygnus spacecraft. Capture is scheduled for about 7:17 a.m. with installation of the craft beginning about 9 a.m.

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NASA TV Coverage Set for Orbital Sciences Demonstration Mission

Nasa joins Instagram: the best pictures so far

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"We believe we have some of the most engaging images on and off the planet -- and we cant wait to engage with Instagrammers."

Nasa photographed the launch of the moon orbit called the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)

(Nasa/Chris Perry

LADEE will gather detailed information about the lunar atmosphere, conditions near the surface and environmental influences on lunar dust.

Nasa also posted an image of Earth as seen by the Geostationary Satellite system (GOES). Geostationary describes an orbit in which a satellite is always in the same position with respect to the rotating Earth.

This allows GOES to hover continuously over one position on the Earth's surface. GOES satellites watch out for atmospheric "triggers" for severe weather conditions such as tornadoes.

(Nasa/NOAA GOES Project)

An Instagrammed image from the Hubble Space telescope captured a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Antlia, other wise known as the Air Pump.

The galaxy lies more than 110 million light-years away from Earth.

(Hubble/European Space Agency and Nasa)

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Nasa joins Instagram: the best pictures so far

Associations Appoint New Editor-in-Chief of American Journal of Preventive Medicine

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Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 11, 2013

The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) have announced the selection of Matthew L. Boulton, MD, MPH, FACPM, as the new editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM), an international peer-reviewed medical journal published monthly by Elsevier, Inc. Dr. Boulton is Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Associate Professor of Health Management & Policy, and Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of Michigan (UM) School of Public Health, with a secondary appointment as Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in Infectious Diseases at the School of Medicine. He is also Director of the federally-funded Center of Excellence in Public Health Workforce Studies, Director of the Preventive Medicine Residency (PMR), and previously served 6 years as Associate Dean for Public Health Practice.

Dr. Boulton is an active researcher and has published extensively in the peer review public health and medical literature for many years. He is considered a leading national expert on the public health workforce and has research and programmatic expertise in infectious disease epidemiology and surveillance, vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization services, preventive medicine education, and public health in China and India. He currently serves on four editorial boards and is a peer reviewer for 15 other leading public health and medical journals, including AJPM. He also has served as the chief editor and/or primary author on a number of major technical reports for national public health professional groups, the U.S. CDC, HRSA, and RWJF, in addition to authoring a number of book chapters on the epidemiology and field control of infectious diseases. .

Dr. Boulton is a national leader in public health who brings more than editorial expertise to the position. He is a board-certified specialist in general preventive medicine and public health, a Fellow of ACPM, and an active member of APTR as well as recipient of the their Duncan Clark Award (2012) for lifetime achievement in preventive education and public health and the APTR F. Marian Bishop Outstanding Educator of the Year Award. He has received numerous other national, state, and university honors including the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Distinguished Partner of the Year, the Association of Schools of Public Health/Pfizer Faculty Award for Excellence in Academic Public Health Practice, and the University of Michigan School of Public Health John H. Romani Award for outstanding leadership in public health, all awarded in 2012. Dr. Boulton has many years experience as a member of the national public health practice and preventive medicine community having worked 16 years in Michigans state and local public health system, including serving as the governors Chief Medical Executive and State Epidemiologist. In that role he was the lead physician at the state for public health, Medicaid, substance abuse, mental health, and services to the aging. He has been continuously engaged at a national level with the public health practice community, serving on a number of national advisory boards including the U.S. CDCs Board of Scientific Counselors for Infectious Diseases.

We are very fortunate to find someone of Dr. Boultons caliber to lead the journal in these exciting times for preventive medicine and public health, noted ACPM President and AJPM Board of Governors member Halley Faust, MD, MPH, FACPM. He brings the full packageextensive public health leadership, national credibility and recognition, editorial expertise, and the vision and business acumen to navigate the journal through an era of health reform, relentless technological innovation, and evolving business and readership models. Stephen A. McCurdy, MD, MPH, APTR Board of Directors member and Chair of the AJPM Board of Governors, added "Dr. Boulton is a highly successful academician at the University of Michigan Schools of Public Health and Medicine and he brings a wealth of experience and accomplishment in preventive medicine, most notably as a practicing public health physician in the governmental sector. Dr. Boulton brings a vision of increased engagement and growth in the national and international arenas that is extremely exciting.

Dr. Boulton will assume full editorial responsibility for AJPM on January 1, 2014, replacing Kevin Patrick, MD, MS, FACPM. Dr. Patrick has served as the journals chief editor for the past 18 years and taken the journal to new heights with regard to its impact, visibility, recognition, and growth as a scholarly medical and public health journal. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine is one of the premier public health and preventive medicine journals in this country and it is an honor for me to serve as the next Editor-in-Chief, said Dr. Boulton. My goal is to continue the tradition of outstanding journal stewardship, as has been provided by Dr. Patrick and his team, and orchestrate the next step in the journals development with the assistance and advice of my colleagues on the AJPM Board of Governors, key partners at ACPM and APTR, and the members of our editorial team. # # #

About American College of Preventive Medicine Founded in 1954, the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) is the premier U.S.-based physician organization focused on practice, research, publication, and teaching of evidence-based preventive medicine. As the umbrella society for the specialty of Preventive Medicine and physicians dedicated to prevention, ACPM seeks to improve the health of individuals and populations through evidence-based health promotion, disease prevention, and systems-based approaches to improving health and health care. For more information, visit http://www.acpm.org.

About Association for Prevention Teaching and Research Established in 1942, the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) is the professional organization for individuals and institutions that advance the education of physicians and other health professionals in prevention and population health. Members include faculty from preventive medicine and public health departments within medical schools and health professions institutions and the accredited and emerging graduate programs in public health. For more information, visit http://www.aptrweb.org

About AJPM

AJPM, published monthly by Elsevier, is the official journal of the American College of Preventive Medicine and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research. The journal publishes cutting-edge articles in prevention research, teaching, practice and policy. Original research is published on interventions aimed at the prevention of chronic and acute disease and the promotion of individual and community health. Papers also address educational initiatives aimed at improving the ability of health professionals to provide effective clinical prevention and public health services. Papers on health services research pertinent to prevention and public health are also invited. AJPM annually receives approximately 1,300 unsolicited manuscripts, and regularly publishes theme issues or supplements to the Journal devoted to areas of current interest to the prevention community.

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Associations Appoint New Editor-in-Chief of American Journal of Preventive Medicine

Choose the Right Undergraduate Major for Medical School

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Admissions data suggests that a students choice of major matters less in medical school admissions than MCAT scores.

When I was applying to colleges as senior in high school, I thought that I had to be a "premed" major if I wanted to go to medical school.

I was surprised when most of the schools I planned to apply to did not offer premed as a major. It was at that point I realized one of the essential rules of being premed: you do not need to be any particular major in order to go to medical school.

So if there is no premed major at your school, is there a best major for premeds? Are there any majors that will give you an advantage in the admissions process? Unfortunately, the answer is much more complicated than a simple yes or no.

[Find out when to apply to medical school.]

Why Don't Majors Matter?

The Association of American Medical Colleges has data to suggest that your major simply does not matter when it comes to getting accepted to medical school. According to their data, only 51 percent of students who enrolled in medical school in 2012 majored in biological sciences. That means the remaining medical school matriculants majored in humanities, math or statistics, physical sciences, social sciences or specialized health sciences.

When they broke down the MCAT and GPAs of these matriculants by major, all the categories have essentially the same GPA, science GPA and MCAT score. Matriculants who majored in biological sciences had a mean MCAT of 31 and GPA of 3.69. Humanities majors had a mean MCAT of 31.8 and GPA of 3.66. The numbers for math and statistics, physical sciences, social sciences and specialized health sciences majors were similar.

In a sense, medical schools do not really care what major you choose, as long as you finish your prerequisites and do well in school overall.

No matter what major you studied in college, everyone will learn the same material in medical school, and the majority of the material will be new for everyone. In looking at your GPA and MCAT, admissions committees simply want to know that you can handle the intellectual rigors of medical school.

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Choose the Right Undergraduate Major for Medical School

Liberty Mutual Cuts List in Creative Review

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Liberty Mutual has narrowed the list of contenders in its creative review to include mcgarrybowen, Mullen, Havas Worldwide and incumbentHill Holliday, sources said. McCann Erickson was cut from the search late last week.

The Boston insurance company is now testing ideas from those agencies before making a decision in October. In June, Liberty Mutual put the business into review, appointing Pile + Co., Boston, to handle the process.

This week the marketer is also seeing final presentations from media agencies pitching its business, which has also been handled by Hill Holliday. Those shops are said to be down to the incumbent Hill Holliday, Carat, MediaCom and Mediahub/Mullen.

A Liberty Mutual rep could not be reached; participating agencies either declined comment or referred calls to the insurance marketer.

Some sources say that Liberty Mutual is reluctant to take both the creative and media business out of the Boston agency market, which would give home-town advantage to shops like Mullen, its Mediahub/Mullen unit and Hill Holliday.

Last year, the company spent nearly $150 million on measured media, up from about $116 million in 2011, according to Nielsen. That amount, however, does not include online spending.

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Liberty Mutual Cuts List in Creative Review

Liberty Interactive Kicks-Off Third Annual Women's eCommerce Network

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ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Liberty Interactive Corporation ("Liberty Interactive") (Nasdaq: LINTA, LINTB, LVNTA, LVNTB) today announced the 2014 Women's eCommerce Network (WeCN), a unique program that pairs established women business leaders and executives (the Council) with five early stage eCommerce companies (the Class) for a six month mentorship period.

The 2014 program commences with an Opening Summit in Silicon Valley, where each Class member is paired with two Council members who will counsel her through a targeted, business-enhancing project. The six month mentorship period then culminates in April with a Closing Summit hosted by Liberty Interactive.

The WeCN provides exposure to best practices and emerging trends, as well as networking opportunities with the broader Council through the Summits and an established Alumni network. The objective of the WeCN is to establish business relationships that will enhance the opportunities for long-term business success and create a foundation for support that ensures the next generation of women business leaders and executives.

We are pleased to support the WeCN, said Greg Maffei, Liberty Interactive, President and CEO. Now in its third year, this growing network has attracted an impressive group of female digital commerce executives both as mentors and class members. The WeCN has become a powerful tool for founders of young eCommerce businesses with real promise.

The WeCN 2014 Council is comprised of distinguished business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors from leading brands and companies. Many served as mentors in 2011 and 2012 and are returning again for the third year. The Council members are:

Joining the WeCN 2014 Class are entrepreneurs of early-stage eCommerce companies. Class members include:

Also participating in year-three of the program are executives from Liberty Interactive and QVC, including Andrea Wong, Liberty Board Member and President of International Production for Sony Pictures Entertainment, Claire Watts, CEO, QVC US, Robin Pringle, VP, Liberty Interactive and Courtnee Ulrich, VP, Liberty Interactive.

Andrea Wong commented, The program format of pairing established and ascending eCommerce leaders to focus on real world business projects gives the Class members a tangible benefit from the Network. Its also about women mentoring and helping each other to enable early stage business to achieve long term success.

The third WeCN Opening Summit will take place on September 18, 2013 in Silicon Valley. The days agenda includes discussions on building up the team, including management around the CEO, board, advisors, and the structure of the organization and scaling the business, and is designed around an intimate format that encourages direct conversations and relationship building.

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Liberty Interactive Kicks-Off Third Annual Women's eCommerce Network