Spring Break
News In Brief
Issue date: 11/29/07
- Page 1 of 1
Victoria Mock, researcher at the School of Nursing, dies after battle with cancer
Victoria Mock, a professor at the School of Nursing, died of cancer at the age of 65 on Nov. 15. Mock joined the Hopkins faculty in 1994.
She held a bachelor of science from Duke University and a master of science in nursing from the University of California, San Francisco.
She earned a doctorate in nursing science from Catholic University.
Mock played a central role in many cancer-related research projects at the Kimmel Cancer Center and for the National Institutes of Health.
The many accolades received during her career include a Distinguished Researcher Award from the Oncology Nursing Society and an American Cancer Society Professorship of Oncology Nursing from the ACS Mid-Atlantic Division.
The School of Nursing has established the Victoria Mock Research Fund.
The fund will further the work of the Center on Collaborative Intervention Research where Mock focused much of her time and energy.
Mock was known internationally for her study of symptom management for cancer treatment patients.
In addition, a memorial program is being planned in Mock's honor.
The ceremony will be held on Monday, Jan. 14.
- Alex Vockroth
Professor to assist team with computer graphics to aid the blind
With the help of a Hopkins professor, research is underway in the creation of tactile versions of computer graphics that would be used to aid the visually impaired.
The project, led by Ilona Kretzschmar at the City College of New York, uses a polymer film that changes shape in response to electrical signals.
Thus, graphics could be conveyed to the blind through patterns that could be felt.
A prototype, expected to reach completion in three years, will display simple images.
Scientists hope that further research could allow blind people to interact with diagrams, maps and illustrations.
James West of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering was recruited to the project.
The Hopkins professor will be working on improving the of sending electrical signals through the polymer materials.
The team's other principle researchers are from Baruch College, CCNY, Northwestern University and the University of Maryland, College Park.
- Alex Vockroth
Former Hopkins faculty member and city planning expert Jack Fisher dies
Former Whiting School faculty member Jack C. Fisher died Nov. 13 at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 75.
Fisher was part of the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering faculty from 1972 to 2000, and until 1989, he held the position of director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Metropolitan Planning and Research.
He earned a bachelor of political science and doctorate of geography from Syracuse University.
Fisher then went on to work on city and regional planning at Cornell University and later at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich.
At Hopkins, he expanded his professional interests to include international issues.
He founded the International Urban Fellowship Program, which brought experts from Europe and Hopkins together to improve urban planning
Fisher also helped to establish one of the country's first study abroad programs geared specifically for engineering students.
His international work led to appointments as adviser to the Slovenian Ministry of Science and Technology in Ljubljana and as the director-administrator of the Belgrade Transportation and Land Use Study in Yugoslavia.
Fisher is survived by his wife of 25 years, his former wife, two children, a sister and four grandchildren.
- Alex Vockroth
Hospital becomes first in North America to own super-powerful X-ray machine
Johns Hopkins Hospital is the first in North America to install and operate a 320-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner.
Considered the most powerful X-ray machine in its class, the Aquilion 320 measures miniscule blood flow changes or blockages in blood vessels with five times the detector coverage of the 64-CT model commonly used.
The device can capture an image of most of the body's organs in a single rotation, including whole-organ imaging.
Tests run by Hopkins earlier in the year on a less-powerful scanner were successful enough to push the hospital to purchase the device, which costs more than $1 million.
- Marie Cushing
Report shows growth in study abroad participation
A new report from the Institute of International Education (IIE) revealed that the number of American students studying abroad increased 8.5 percent in 2005-2006.
Programs and initiatives sponsored by the U.S. State Department likely contributed to the climbing numbers.
In particular, Gilman Scholarships allow students with greater financial need to go abroad, while the National Security Language Initiative provides scholarships for students learning critical languages like Arabic and Chinese.
Titled "Open Doors 2007," the IIE report uses data from 3,000 accredited institutions. The data showed that Europe remains the most popular destination for U.S. students.
The Middle East experienced a 31 percent growth. Numbers in Asia, Africa and Latin America also increased dramatically.
The majority of U.S. students go abroad for eight weeks or fewer, while 37 percent participate in semester-long programs and 5.5 percent leave home for a year or more.
The nonprofit IIE also reported that the top three majors of study abroad students are the social sciences, business and the humanities.
- Alex Vockroth
Study says a good night of sleep may boost GPA
A good night's sleep could be the key to better grades, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).
The group emphasizes that sleep deprivation does more than make students tired during class: It can also lead to poor performance.
New studies indicate that sleep is important to learning and memory functions.
For college students, both sleep quantity and quality are crucial, according to AASM researchers.
To best achieve this, the AASM recommends getting seven to eight hours of sleep per night and arising at the same time every day, even on weekends.
Watching TV or playing video games shortly before bedtime actually results in disturbed sleep, so the AASM suggests having a quiet relaxation period of 15-30 minutes before heading to bed.
Other advice includes limiting naps to less than one hour, avoiding large meals at night and adjusting the lights in the evening to tell the body bedtime is coming.
- Alex Vockroth
Victoria Mock, a professor at the School of Nursing, died of cancer at the age of 65 on Nov. 15. Mock joined the Hopkins faculty in 1994.
She held a bachelor of science from Duke University and a master of science in nursing from the University of California, San Francisco.
She earned a doctorate in nursing science from Catholic University.
Mock played a central role in many cancer-related research projects at the Kimmel Cancer Center and for the National Institutes of Health.
The many accolades received during her career include a Distinguished Researcher Award from the Oncology Nursing Society and an American Cancer Society Professorship of Oncology Nursing from the ACS Mid-Atlantic Division.
The School of Nursing has established the Victoria Mock Research Fund.
The fund will further the work of the Center on Collaborative Intervention Research where Mock focused much of her time and energy.
Mock was known internationally for her study of symptom management for cancer treatment patients.
In addition, a memorial program is being planned in Mock's honor.
The ceremony will be held on Monday, Jan. 14.
- Alex Vockroth
Professor to assist team with computer graphics to aid the blind
With the help of a Hopkins professor, research is underway in the creation of tactile versions of computer graphics that would be used to aid the visually impaired.
The project, led by Ilona Kretzschmar at the City College of New York, uses a polymer film that changes shape in response to electrical signals.
Thus, graphics could be conveyed to the blind through patterns that could be felt.
A prototype, expected to reach completion in three years, will display simple images.
Scientists hope that further research could allow blind people to interact with diagrams, maps and illustrations.
James West of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering was recruited to the project.
The Hopkins professor will be working on improving the of sending electrical signals through the polymer materials.
The team's other principle researchers are from Baruch College, CCNY, Northwestern University and the University of Maryland, College Park.
- Alex Vockroth
Former Hopkins faculty member and city planning expert Jack Fisher dies
Former Whiting School faculty member Jack C. Fisher died Nov. 13 at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 75.
Fisher was part of the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering faculty from 1972 to 2000, and until 1989, he held the position of director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Metropolitan Planning and Research.
He earned a bachelor of political science and doctorate of geography from Syracuse University.
Fisher then went on to work on city and regional planning at Cornell University and later at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich.
At Hopkins, he expanded his professional interests to include international issues.
He founded the International Urban Fellowship Program, which brought experts from Europe and Hopkins together to improve urban planning
Fisher also helped to establish one of the country's first study abroad programs geared specifically for engineering students.
His international work led to appointments as adviser to the Slovenian Ministry of Science and Technology in Ljubljana and as the director-administrator of the Belgrade Transportation and Land Use Study in Yugoslavia.
Fisher is survived by his wife of 25 years, his former wife, two children, a sister and four grandchildren.
- Alex Vockroth
Hospital becomes first in North America to own super-powerful X-ray machine
Johns Hopkins Hospital is the first in North America to install and operate a 320-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner.
Considered the most powerful X-ray machine in its class, the Aquilion 320 measures miniscule blood flow changes or blockages in blood vessels with five times the detector coverage of the 64-CT model commonly used.
The device can capture an image of most of the body's organs in a single rotation, including whole-organ imaging.
Tests run by Hopkins earlier in the year on a less-powerful scanner were successful enough to push the hospital to purchase the device, which costs more than $1 million.
- Marie Cushing
Report shows growth in study abroad participation
A new report from the Institute of International Education (IIE) revealed that the number of American students studying abroad increased 8.5 percent in 2005-2006.
Programs and initiatives sponsored by the U.S. State Department likely contributed to the climbing numbers.
In particular, Gilman Scholarships allow students with greater financial need to go abroad, while the National Security Language Initiative provides scholarships for students learning critical languages like Arabic and Chinese.
Titled "Open Doors 2007," the IIE report uses data from 3,000 accredited institutions. The data showed that Europe remains the most popular destination for U.S. students.
The Middle East experienced a 31 percent growth. Numbers in Asia, Africa and Latin America also increased dramatically.
The majority of U.S. students go abroad for eight weeks or fewer, while 37 percent participate in semester-long programs and 5.5 percent leave home for a year or more.
The nonprofit IIE also reported that the top three majors of study abroad students are the social sciences, business and the humanities.
- Alex Vockroth
Study says a good night of sleep may boost GPA
A good night's sleep could be the key to better grades, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).
The group emphasizes that sleep deprivation does more than make students tired during class: It can also lead to poor performance.
New studies indicate that sleep is important to learning and memory functions.
For college students, both sleep quantity and quality are crucial, according to AASM researchers.
To best achieve this, the AASM recommends getting seven to eight hours of sleep per night and arising at the same time every day, even on weekends.
Watching TV or playing video games shortly before bedtime actually results in disturbed sleep, so the AASM suggests having a quiet relaxation period of 15-30 minutes before heading to bed.
Other advice includes limiting naps to less than one hour, avoiding large meals at night and adjusting the lights in the evening to tell the body bedtime is coming.
- Alex Vockroth
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