In the News

Pitt prof leads study that finds antiobiotics prescribed more in the South

The New York Times Thursday, September 27, 2012

University of Pittsburgh assistant professor of health economics Dr. Yuting Zhang authored a study that discovered antiobiotics are prescried more frequently to older residents of the Southern U.S., reports The New York Times.

Many experts have expressed concerns that antibiotics are being overprescribed and overused, leading to unnecessary spending on prescription medicines as well as more widespread bacterial resistance to the drugs. In the elderly, who are more likely to suffer adverse side effects and reactions from antibiotics, the health consequences can be amplified.

Original source: The New York Times

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Can startups help complete Pittsburgh's turnaround?

The Atlantic Thursday, September 27, 2012

Hope is in Pittsburgh, and the city is primed for startups that want to change the city, reports The Atlantic.

The mentality that dominates startup culture is all about efficiency. Finding better, cheaper, faster ways of doing things. There's nothing lean, though, about providing mental health services or soup kitchens for starving people. I wonder how well such a worldview can deal with the legacy problems of big cities. I think the jury is out. But judging from the sheer magnitude of startup experiments across the whole Rust Belt, we're going to have a lot more data soon. I'm rooting for Pittsburgh to become that model of development. Because if they can't do it, I'm not sure anybody can.

Original source: The Atlantic

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Katherine Gajewski on greening gritty Philly

Grist Thursday, September 27, 2012

Grist interviews Philadelphia's sustainability director, Katherine Gajewski, who has injected youthful energy into the city's green directives.

We have experienced tremendous support, considering our [Greenworks Philadelphia] plan came out right before the recession hit. I expected more departments to say “We’re focused on our core functions and can’t take anything new on. This does not fit with our priorities.” I haven’t had anyone say, “No. I’m unwilling to do that.” Our mayor has been a leader on this and he’s made it clear that it’s important. But I think it’s also just been an exciting and logical extension of the work a lot of folks are already doing.

Original source: Grist

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Harrisburg University cracks U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges list

US News & World Report Thursday, September 20, 2012

For the first time, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology lands on US News & World Report's Best Colleges list.

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is a private institution that was founded in 2001. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 223, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 1 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Harrisburg University of Science and Technology's ranking in the 2013 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, Tier 2. Its tuition and fees are $23,900 (2012-13).

Original source: U.S. News & World Report
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Hershey's new plant: 700M Kisses a Day and $1B impact on PA

Reuters Thursday, September 20, 2012

Reuters reports on Hershey's global and local moves, including its new $300 million plant that is expected to have a $1 billion impact on Pennsylvania.

Hershey, whose shares rose more than 1 percent, just spent $300 million to modernize and double the size of a plant less than two miles from where its founder Milton Hershey opened his first chocolate factory in 1905.

The updated factory, which officially opened on Tuesday, can make 70 million Hershey's Kisses a day, up from roughly 40 million before.

Original source: Reuters
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PNC among top companies for working moms

Working Mother Thursday, September 20, 2012

Working Mother included PNC Financial Services Group on its list of 100 Best Companies.

With titles like “Women, Money and Power,” “Negotiating Tactics” and “Networking Naturally,” the seminars offered by the women’s network at this financial services company attract mothers who want to improve their professional fortunes. Also grabbing their attention is the 18-month Mentoring for Leadership program, in which high-potential female employees are advised by top executives, who outline the company’s expectations and illustrate paths to success. The five-month Women’s Leadership Development Program provides executive coaching, mentoring and career planning and shows participants how to drive results. In 2011, 78% of the women promoted to positions at the manager level and above utilized flexible work schedules.

Original source: Working Mother

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Stealth Philadelphia startup funded by YouTube and PayPal co-founders

Forbes Thursday, September 20, 2012

Perceptual Networks hasn't yet fully divulged what it does but the Philadelphia-based startup has been funded by some heavy-hitters, reports Forbes.

Perceptual Networks is a company that… um… well, it’s a little bit hazy. On the upstart’s website, under the “products” category, the company states:

“We are building a suite of products that make it easier for you to make friends, fall in love, find the perfect career and find the perfect place to live. We do what matters most.”

Original source: Forbes

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Bike heaven: Pittsburgh as the new Portland

Santa Barbara Independent Thursday, September 13, 2012

A writer for the Santa Barbara Independent spends a week in Pittsburgh and is amazed by the bicycling scene.

Portland and Pittsburgh are very different cities, but both are building exciting bicycle cultures. Pittsburgh is no Portland when it comes to cycling infrastructure, cutting-edge advocacy campaigns, or multitudes of bike-related events, but it has been called “one of the burgeoning bike scenes in North America” by Good Magazine.

Original source: Santa Barbara Independent

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HuffPo: Seven reasons to visit the new Philadelphia

Huffington Post Thursday, September 13, 2012

No new ground is covered here but we agree in spirit with Huffington Post's assessment of Philadelphia's increasing "visit-ability."

Philly is still a restaurant town. In fact, I've made several trips by car from my home in Manhattan for the sole purpose of eating at Zahav in a nondescript building at the far edge of Society Hill. This Middle Eastern hot spot was justifiably named as the best restaurant in the city by Philadelphia magazine. The baked-to-order pita bread alone is worth the drive (why can't you get freshly baked pita bread any longer?), but everything else is authentically magical. Grilled octopus and drinks at the bar at Water Works Restaurant at dusk is another reason to get in the car (or on the plane). Better yet, get an outside table on this historic site overlooking the Schuylkill River, followed with a walk along the Schuylkill River Trail. If you're into beer, check out Monk's or the beer garden at Silk City.

Original source: Huffington Post

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UPenn researchers make breakthrough with all-optical photonic nanowire switch

The Engineer Thursday, September 13, 2012

The Engineer writes about University of Pennsylvania researchers whose recent breakthrough, published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, could lead to development of consumer photonics.

According to a statement, the research team’s innovation built upon its earlier research, which showed that the cadmium sulphide nanowires exhibited extremely strong light-matter coupling, making them efficient at light manipulation.

This quality is said to be crucial for the development of nanoscale photonic circuits, as existing mechanisms for controlling the flow of light are bulkier and require more energy than their electronic analogues.

Original source: The Engineer
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SEPTA's regenerative braking technology saving estimated 10 percent

Wired Thursday, September 13, 2012

Early estimates place SEPTA's power savings at about 10 percent thanks to the regenerative braking system it activated in June, reports Wired.

Currently, trains running along the Market-Frankford line use the same kind of braking technology found in most hybrid cars, converting kinetic energy from braking into electricity and sending it along the third rail to a massive array of more than 4,000 30 Ah nickel cobalt aluminum batteries. Otherwise, that energy would’ve been wasted as heat. By recapturing and reusing that energy, SEPTA estimates it could save up to $190,000 a year in energy costs, not to mention decreasing wear and tear on its trains’ braking systems.

Original source: Wired

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Wayne-based recruitment software maker Kenexa bought by IBM for $1.3B

The New York Times Thursday, August 30, 2012

IBM's purchase of Wayne-based Kenexa for $1.3 billion earlier in the week is a sign that valuations are rising for enterprise software businesses that include social elements, writes the New York Times.

Technology giants are paying hefty premiums to rapidly expand their social footprint. The Kenexa deal, for instance, comes on the heels of Microsoft’s billion-dollar deal for Yammer, the enterprise social network. That $1.2 billion acquisition, announced in June, was seen as Microsoft’s first big push into the market. And Salesforce.com recently purchased Buddy Media, the social media advertising business, for $698 million.

Kenexa will help the company bolster its current suite of social enterprise tools, a group that includes social networking and instant messaging solutions. Kenexa, based in Wayne, Pa., has 2,800 employees and about 8,900 customers. The company reported a profit of $1.9 million in 2011 on revenue of $282.9 million. Revenue was up 44 percent from the previous year.

Original source: The New York Times

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Has labor thrown rail improvements off track?

Bloomberg Thursday, August 30, 2012

Bloomberg writes about labor's impact on rail efficiency, citing several situations in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia has perhaps the most extensive U.S. regional rail network, and the wasted potential to go along with it. Its Center City Commuter Connection, which linked the terminal stations of the Pennsylvania and Reading railroads, allowed trains to run through the city without stopping to turn around, increasing capacity and bringing the system to the same level as express rapid-transit systems in Germany and France. Add in its totally electrified network, and the regional-rail infrastructure of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is the perfect candidate for an upgrade.

Original source: Bloomberg

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UArts graphic design prof's methods higlighted in film

Fast Company Thursday, August 30, 2012

Inge Druckrey, a beloved and highly respected graphic design professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, is the subject of a 38-minute film that highlights her work as an artist and instructor, reports Fast Company.

A particularly thoughtful sequence, one that brings to life Druckrey’s dictum about seeing wonderful things you never noticed, has her narrating a student’s attempt at developing a typeface. Severny lets the student’s capital letter R take up the whole screen, fading from one version to the next as Druckrey narrates the refinements taking place before our eyes. For those who don’t think much about type on a daily basis, it’s a two-minute crash course in "really learning to look" at letters, a glimpse into the interdependent system of angles, connections, and stroke weights that make some typefaces just feel right.

Original source: Fast Company

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New Penn State coach has had share of hard times

The New York Times Thursday, August 30, 2012

The New York Times dives deep into the life of the man with the toughest job in college football, new Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien, revealing his chronically ill 10 year-old son and his family's steely resolve.

Bill O’Brien has an Ivy League education and more than a dozen years as a college assistant, and he took a salary cut of more than 50 percent at age 37 in order to be a glorified film grunt for the New England Patriots. Yet what has shaped him and his wife most has been their experience with Jack, who has a rare genetic brain malformation known as lissencephaly. Jack O’Brien moves around only by wheelchair or commando crawling on his belly and has severely limited motor planning, meaning the brain is slow to tell the body what to do.

Original source: The New York Times

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