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Spring 2013

In this issue: Archive

A Message From Dean Steinmetz

Some of you may know that I will be assuming the duties of Ohio State’s Executive Vice President and Provost in July. During the past four years, introducing you to each edition of ASCENT has been one of my real pleasures.

The Sum is Greater

Backed by the power of your generosity, our faculty and students are engaged in significant work and study that impact our community, our state, and the world around us.

Alumni Notes

In each issue of ASCENT, we ask our alumni to send us updates—we have received some great letters and feedback and many are included here. Tell us your stories!

L.A. Story

Lights! Camera! Spring Break! Twenty Arts and Sciences students spent spring break in Los Angeles, connecting with Ohio State alumni and broadening their knowledge about the world of film, television and fine arts.

It’s Elementary

Undergraduate chemistry major Elisabeth Bianco made big news last October when she won a national nanoscience and nanoengineering competition. For one thing, she was the only chemist among the finalists—the other six were engineers.

Living Language

Mari Noda professor and chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures (DEALL), and DEALL Professor Galal Walker have made changing students’ lives a calling.

Greening The Globe

New plant sciences partnerships sow seeds for change. Arts and Sciences (ASC) and Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (FAES) recognized the time was right for a new center that would be a catalyst for interdisciplinary plant science research.

Working Their Way Up

Students have many important learning opportunities outside the classroom, such as internships, with a wide range of employers. Here, we’ve interviewed six out of the thousands of Arts and Sciences students who have taken advantage of this invaluable way to expand their college experience.

Alaskan Adventure

Matthew Failor (BFA, Art, 2007) embarked on his second Iditarod this year. When asked how an art major from Mansfield, Ohio, ended up training and racing sled dogs in Alaska, he jokingly said, “by airplane.”

Buckeyes and the Bard

Shakespeare took center stage at Ohio State this spring, thanks to a newly expanded partnership between the university and Great Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).

Triple Threat

In his mid-20s, Sai Somboon was working as a university administrator in Philadelphia when the allure of the stage prompted him to change his career. “I asked myself, do I want to perform? Yes! Do I want to teach? Yes!”

A Mind for Business

Suprasanna Mishara, a third-year honors student majoring in neuroscience, happens to have a talent for business and technology. He became an entrepreneur in high school.

Like a Fine Wine

Alumna MaryAnn Worobiec (political science, sociology, 1993) is a shining example that your major does not necessarily determine your future. Like many young adults fresh out of college, Worobiec found herself at a crossroads.

Summer Camp Roundup

Summertime for kids can mean lots of playtime outside, ice cream trucks, trips to the swimming pool . . . and going to camp at Ohio State.

On Capitol Hill

Last February, 15 graduate students from the Department of Speech and Hearing Science, all members of the Ohio State Student Academy of Audiology (SAA), took to Capitol Hill to lobby on behalf of audiology issues.

Alumni Awards

The College of Arts and Sciences 2013 Distinguished Alumni Awards dinner was held on April 26. The event gave us an opportunity to recognize and honor some of our outstanding alumni whose accomplishments are tangible evidence of the growing distinction of arts and sciences alumni.

Science & Scholarship

Creating and sharing new knowledge is the primary mission of Arts and Sciences faculty. They lead collaborations on campus and worldwide that cut across disciplinary boundaries; teach the next generation of scientists, scholars and citizens; and solve problems affecting our communities.