Med prof named dean of Va. medical school Virginia Commonwealth University has announced that Jerome Strauss, the dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, will become the new dean of the VCU School of Medicine starting in September.
"Dr. Strauss' strengths in medical education research and research training rose to the top in a highly competitive field of candidates from across the country," VCU President Eugene Trani said in a statement.
Strauss is succeeding VCU medical school dean Heber "Dickie" Newsome, who has worked at the medical school for more than 40 years.
Strauss is a 1969 graduate of Brown University and has an M.D. and Ph.D. in molecular biology from Penn.
He released a statement upon his appointment to the position in which he said he was "thrilled" to be "making the science enterprise relevant to clinical medicine and building upon strong education programs to fashion exciting and relevant activities to promote the highest quality of medical care."
- Ryan Jones
Philadelphia to host biotech conference From June 19 to 22, thousands of biomedical researchers and biotechnology professionals will descend on the Pennsylvania Convention Center for BIO2005, the annual international convention of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
More than 18,000 people are expected to attend the conference, which BIO president Jim Greenwood said would make it "the most highly attended convention in Philadelphia since the Republican National Convention of 2000."
The conference has prompted a counter-gathering of opponents to genetic engineering and other forms of biotechnological research, called BioDemocracy 2005.
- R.J.
State House approves loan help for teachers The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of a bill that would offer incentives for urban school districts to recruit teachers.
The bill would establish the Urban Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program, a way for new teachers to have college debts canceled. New teachers would have to be certified by the Department of Education, teach full time in an eligible urban school district and have an outstanding loan from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency.
PHEAA would forgive a total of $15,000 for new teachers on a gradual basis, with $2,000 of debt being eliminated in the first year, $3,000 after the second, $4,000 after the third and $6,000 after the fourth year of teaching.
Rep. James Roebuck (D-Phila.), the House Education Committee chairman and a sponsor of the bill, believes the loan-forgiveness program is a positive step for education in the state.
"The young teachers involved in this forgiveness program," he said, "would find over its four-year course that they make a difference in the lives of their students and their community.
"That educational and social bond would be one they would be reluctant to sever."
The bill is now being considered in the state Senate.
- R. J.
SEAS graduate wins Kyoto research prize George Heilmeier, a 1958 Moore School graduate and namesake of the Towne Building's largest auditorium, has been awarded the Inamori Foundation's Kyoto Prize in high technology for "groundbreaking research in the field of liquid crystals and his direct contributions to the development of the liquid crystal display."
The LCD is a staple in today's flat-panel televisions and computer monitors. Heilmeier's team developed the first prototype LCD displays in 1964.
School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean Eduardo Glandt praised Heilmeier's achievement, saying in a statement, "How appropriate that the SEAS research recognition is its Heilmeier Award."
The Kyoto prize includes a 20-karat gold medal and 50 million yen (about $465,000) in prize money.
- R.J.
