LEWISBURG, Pa. — The following are Bucknell University story ideas that may interest you in October.
CARBON MONOXIDE CONCERNS — Vaping and the use of e-cigarettes have become a major health concern as U.S. health officials are currently investigating a vaping-related respiratory illness that has caused 12 deaths and sickened 805 people according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A team of Bucknell researchers has been analyzing just what is produced when e-fluid is heated in e-cigarettes and they’ve found evidence of a new health concern — the presence of carbon monoxide. Current students S. Jewel Cook ’20 (chemical engineering) and Ana Islas ’20 (chemistry) have been conducting the research for the past three years, overseen by chemistry and chemical engineering professor Dabrina Dutcher and chemistry professor Karen Castle. Cook presented initial research findings last year during a poster presentation at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Meeting. According to her presentation, when set to certain power levels, electronic cigarettes emit carbon monoxide, preventing blood from carrying oxygen through the body and to the brain. The researchers will publish more detailed findings in a future journal article. CONTACTS: Dutcher, 570-577-1723, dabrina.dutcher@bucknell.edu; Castle, 570-577-3293, karen.castle@bucknell.edu
BOOKING CHINA’S STRENGTH — China has emerged as a major economic, diplomatic and military power during the critical decade from 2008 to 2018. As a result, China’s foreign policy has become more active and dynamic. Bucknell political science and international relations professor Zhiqun Zhu recently published a book, A Critical Decade: China’s Foreign Policy (2008–2018), on China’s rise and key challenges in its diplomacy. The book discusses U.S.-China relations, North Korea, China’s relations with India and Japan, the Taiwan issue, and global governance. It also considers China’s future prospects under current leader Xi Jinping. “Xi is obviously more confident and more willing to project China’s growing power,” Zhu said. “Though China is unlikely to replace the United States as the dominant power any time soon, its policies will challenge the Western-led international order.” This is the first scholarly book that studies the evolution and key challenges of China’s foreign relations during the critical decade of China’s emerging power. CONTACT: Zhu, 570-577-2050, zhiqun.zhu@bucknell.edu
A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT — Bucknell University will host the 14th Annual Susquehanna River Symposium, “Healthy Rivers, Healthy Communities” on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18 and 19, in the Elaine Langone Center (ELC). Offered by the Bucknell Center for Sustainability & the Environment, the free, public event tops October’s Sustainability Month activities at Bucknell. “It brings together academics, consultants, state, federal and regional agencies, conservation groups, and the public to discuss ongoing scientific research and innovative projects, to share ideas, and to increase awareness of the connection between river health and the communities within our watersheds. Its presentations and breakout discussions explore various management and sustainability issues facing the mid-Atlantic region today,” said symposium chair Benjamin Hayes, director of watershed sciences and engineering. One of the country’s leading environmental figures, Ann Pesiri Swanson, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, will deliver the keynote address on Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the ELC’s Forum. A research poster session and evening social will follow from 8 to 10 p.m. in the ELC’s Terrace Room, featuring presentations from faculty and students from 18 universities, Geisinger, and 8 state and federal agencies. CONTACTS: Hayes, 570-577-1830, benjamin.hayes@bucknell.edu; Victor Udo, director of campus sustainability, 570-577-1914, vu002@bucknell.edu
###
CONTACTS: Mike Ferlazzo, 570-577-3212, 570-238-6266 (c), mike.ferlazzo@bucknell.edu; Nathan Madden, 570-577-3651, ndm006@bucknell.edu