At this point, major issues remain unresolved, which is not uncommon given the natural rhythm of the legislative process in Springfield.

Kathryn Buettner, NIU vice president of University Relations, was in Springfield this week and delivered to the speaker’s general counsel a prioritized list of regulatory relief measures for state universities approved by the state’s presidents and chancellors as a follow up to the legislative cost-shift negotiations. The list was also presented to State Rep. Bob Pritchard and to Senate President John Cullerton’s chief of staff.

Negotiations continue through the weekend and next week in an effort to obtain as much regulatory relief as possible during the current session and commitments to continue the discussion over the summer and fall.

On Wednesday, it appeared that a legislative breakthrough on the concealed carry issue was imminent. An amendment was filed late Wednesday afternoon by Rep. Brandon Phelps that contained the universities’ requested exemption language, among many other provisions. The legislation was the product of Speaker Madigan’s involvement in the negotiations on this issue, and it passed the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday morning by a vote of 13-3.

Although it passed the House 85-30, with one voting “present,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Senate President Cullerton and Gov. Pat Quinn have all taken public positions against the new amendment, putting its future in serious doubt.

Pension reform remains at a stalemate.

Cullerton has not yet called Madigan’s reform proposal pending before the Senate, and the speaker has not called Cullerton’s reform proposal pending in the House. The pressure continues to build on both leaders to negotiate a compromise that will allow the state to move forward.

It will be a very challenging and long week next week as legislators are forced to resolve these challenging issues prior to adjournment. If no resolution is forthcoming by May 31, the General Assembly will be forced into overtime where a three-fifths vote would be required to pass any major legislation, rendering a successful outcome on these major issues even more difficult.

Engineering seniors present their design projects to corporate judges, board members from the Engineering Technology Alumni Society (ETAS) and their peers while they compete for bragging rights and prize money. These projects gave students a creative outlet and competitive edge to implement what they learn in the classroom into real-life applications of their design.

The team that captured the attention of everyone present Friday, May 3? The mechanical engineering team “Robotic Mobile Platform, CAIDEN,” whose life-saving invention is a robot whose name stands for “Communicating Autonomous Identifying Device with Environmental Navigator.”

Judges from ETAS were thrilled to award this project as the overall first place winner of the competition.

The team of mechanical engineering seniors was comprised of Jennifer Case, Jacob Benhart, Brian Costello and Alec Fisher, who challenged themselves to create a robotic mobile platform designed to detect harmful gases so that human involvement isn’t required.

“We split the project into four different categories; chassis, obstacle avoidance, communication system and gas sensor,” Case said. “We’d like to see a version of ‘CAIDEN’ be able to eventually integrate with gas sensors to pull people out of harmful situations. Let’s say there was a natural disaster; instead of sending people in, we would be able to send ‘CAIDEN’ in to see what potential danger areas there are.”

This innovative robotic design became a reality when Case was approached a year in advance by electrical engineering professor Martin Kocanda. “Dr. Kocanda approached me my junior year about designing a robotic platform because he had some gas sensors and he wanted to make a use for them,” Case said.

The students not only were challenged to use these sensors but to design a mechanism that could house them. This was difficult because of all the parts that were needed to construct it, but the team prevailed through the yearlong project.

Students eventually decided that a platform would be the best design route because they believe it will be more marketable than a specialized robot.

“The CAIDEN team performed outstanding development work on the project,” Kocanda said. “CAIDEN has many of the features now in place and has proven feasible. With further work and refinement, a practical search-and-rescue device may become a marketable tool.”

At stake: a regional title – and a chance to prove to the rest of North America that NIU has what it takes.

Each year, the Mini Baja Team designs and creates a dune buggy-type vehicle each year and competes in events that measure durability, mobility and endurance. At least 30 students collaborated on this project, bringing a variety of different educational backgrounds together.

These exceptionally dedicated engineering students promote careers and network with other companies while utilizing skill sets from other NIU colleges.

The object of the North American BAJA SAE competition is to provide collegiate BAJA team members with a challenging project that involves the planning and manufacturing tasks found when introducing a new product to the consumer industrial market. Students must function as a team to not only design, build, test and race a vehicle within the limits of the rules, but also promote their product and develop a sales plan to be judged by a fictitious firm.

This competition allows students to learn communication, engineering and leadership skills that cannot be acquired in the classroom.

“It was a great atmosphere, pretty competitive, but it was also a really cool camaraderie between teams,” said Matt Kucmierz, vice president of NIU Mini Baja. “We walked around to other trailers and talked with other teams who gave us some tips to improve our vehicle, and we were able to give them parts to help them out as well.”

Teams were judged on static and dynamic events that determined the fate of their hard work.

The static events consisted of a sales and design presentation as well as technical inspection of the car, while the dynamic events included trails testing the maneuverability, hill-climb, acceleration and rock-crawl of the vehicle.

“We came into the competition with a much improved static event presentation and did a lot better in the dynamic events than last year. We took last years design and pretty much scrapped it, and started from a brand new frame and new lighter materials,” NIU Mini Baja President Adam Krejci said.

All the work they put into the project this past year cost them about 30 hours a week, and team members report that they couldn’t be more ecstatic about returning back to the competition next year with a new competitive edge.

All the hard work the NIU Mini Baja team  put into the research and design of their car paid off to with a 30th place finish, topping 60 other teams.

“We figured out what we needed to improve after this weekend and we came up with solutions on the car ride home,” NIU Mini Baja member Mike Bain.

The Mini Baja team traveled Monday, May 13, to Bellingham, Wash., and returned Monday, May 20.

Team sponsors include Autometer, Rockglen OHV, HRP World, SJTI and SAE Rockford Beloit. Team members also raise funds so that all the building, testing and racing is possible.

President Peters and Tim Ryan

Tim Ryan, assistant professor of English, is the recipient of the 2013 University Honors Great Professor Award.

Ryan is a specialist in twentieth century American literature and culture, modernism, African-American literature and Southern studies.

This university-wide award, which was established in 2001, recognizes a faculty or staff member who has, over time, contributed significantly to honors education at NIU through teaching as well as advising, research, artistry or service. Recipients manifest leadership, dedication and service to the University Honors Program and NIU honors students.

Ryan has provided exemplary service to the University Honors Program and its students through his service as a two-term chair of the University Honors Committee, his development of a new Honors Themed Learning Community course, and his effective direction of many Honors in-course contracts in the Department of English.

Honors students volunteer highly laudatory comments about Ryan’s performance in and beyond the classroom.

“Ryan is an outstanding member of the University Honors community. His many contributions have had an exceedingly impact on the lives of NIU Honors students,” said Christopher Jones, associate vice provost for University Honors.

Jones presided over the University Honors Program’s Honors Day Recognition Ceremony, which was held April 21 in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center. NIU President John G. Peters, Provost Raymond W. Alden III and Vice Provost Anne Birberick attended the ceremony and presented various awards.

President Peters and Jenelle McCalla

One hundred and fifty-five University Honors graduates were recognized at the event, which was attended by about 400 people. Graduates received certificates as well as medals and stoles to be worn at commencement.

• Freshmen Franz Varga, sophomore Noemi Rodriguez, juniors Benjamin Donovan and Jason Montemayor, and senior Kasey Twine were recognized with Enhancement Awards. These awards honor students’ academic excellence, outstanding involvement in campus and service activities, and strong personal commitment to the University Honors Program.
• 2012 NIU graduates Robert Meyers and Breanna Terranova received Outstanding Honors Capstone Awards.
• Jenelle McCalla received the inaugural University Honors Outstanding Student-Athlete Award, which goes to the student-athlete in the University Honors Program with the highest cumulative grade point average. Elizabeth Tovar of Intercollegiate Athletics presented the award. Other award presenters included Jes Cisneros, Vanessa Segundo and Jason Goode of the University Honors administrative team.

The event ended with a surprise student-led tribute to Jones, who is leaving NIU to become dean of arts and sciences at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y.

Robert K. “Bert” Gray

Northern Public Radio has named Robert K. “Bert” Gray as its new development director.

Gray is a seasoned public- and not-for-profit agency administrator and fundraiser. He brings experience in communications, marketing, planning, personnel and project management to the NIU-based broadcast service consisting of WNIJ (89.5 FM), WNIU (90.5 FM) and NIRIS (Northern Illinois Radio Information Service).

His proven record of leadership – most recently in the central Illinois public broadcasting community – includes legislative advocacy, intergovernmental cooperation and collaborative community partnerships.

As development director, Gray oversees all fundraising functions of the organization, from individual and business support to planned and estate giving, corporate matching gift programs, vehicle donation and more. Gray fills the development position recently held by Staci Hoste, who was named Northern Public Radio’s director and general manager in October.

In this new role, Gray says he looks forward to “helping listeners decide how best to support this great radio resource we have in WNIJ/WNIU/NIRIS.”

Northern Public Radio is the broadcast service of Northern Illinois University.

A wide variety of courses are available beginning Monday, June 17, including classes from five colleges: Education, Engineering and Engineering Technology, Health and Human Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences and Visual and Performing Arts.

Locations for NIU Summer School are spread across the region, from the university’s outreach centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville and Rockford to six community colleges and other convenient sites, in addition to the main DeKalb campus. Many classes are also available online.

Some classes starting later in the summer. Schedules vary from a four-week, accelerated model to eight-week courses (which are still more compressed than versions offered during the fall and spring semesters).

NIU students can search for regional courses by location, delivery mode and/or subject.

Studies show that students who take summer classes experience multiple benefits. They are able to:

• Focus on one course at a time and achieve greater success;
• Fulfill general education requirements;
• Meet pre-requisites or advance in courses for the major field of study;
• Develop new interests by exploring elective courses;
• Lighten course load during the regular school year; and
• Make time for resume-building extracurricular and internship experiences in fall and spring semesters.

Meryl Sussman

“Research shows that when students stay connected to their university, they make continual forward progress to reaching their goals,” said NIU Deputy Provost Earl “Gip” Seaver.

“A summer course or two is a great way to stay in touch with the NIU community while keeping academic skills sharp over the long break, and helping decrease the time to degree” Seaver added.

Meryl Sussman, director of NIU outreach programs, said that the variety of class formats being offered this year make summer study a convenient way to earn credits during a traditionally activity-laden season.

“NIU summer courses offer a variety of times, locations and delivery modes to fit summer schedules,” Sussman said.

“In addition to offering lots of classes in locations near home and work, our online courses literally go where you go during the summer – even if you are away on a business or vacation trip. And schedules are flexible enough that courses can be arranged around summer jobs. We encourage students to add books to their summer plans along with beaches, barbecues and boating.”

For more information, call (815) 753-5008 or email ccradduc@niu.edu.

Jamison Wells

The Northern Illinois baseball season came to a close in the Mid-American Conference Tournament against Buffalo Thursday morning as Bulls pitcher Mike Burke threw a complete game shutout to defeat the Huskies, 13-0.

MAC West Champion NIU ends the 2013 season 22-34. It was only the third such pitching performance since 2004 and the 15th in tournament history, dating back to 1981.

“Burke was outstanding today; he didn’t allow us to get any traction,” said NIU head coach Ed Mathey.

“We did a good job of keeping it close as they had a chance to spread it early. Jordan Ruckman was battling in there but Buffalo eventually got to him; they are very good hitting team, and they turned the tides and never looked back, which is unfortunate because we had a very good year,” Mathey added. “I’m really proud of our guys though and proud of their efforts. This wasn’t the finish we had envisioned but again, a first-ever MAC West Championship is something that can never be taken away. It’s something to build on and move forward with.”

UB put one on the board in the bottom of the first and had a chance to score more but a spectacular unassisted double play by Brian Sisler (DeKalb/DeKalb) ended the inning with Bulls runners in scoring position.

Following the Bulls scoring first, starting pitcher Ruckman (Kankakee/Herscher) held Buffalo scoreless for three innings despite runners reaching base in the frames.

Tommy Hook

The Huskies had their first chance to score in the third as Brandon Mallder (Bridgeview/St. Laurence) walked and Jamison Wells (Combined Locks, Wis./Kimberly) singled to put two runners on base and one in scoring position but NIU was unable to advance any further in the frame.

The Bulls scored five in the fifth, started by Alex Baldock’s lead-off home run to make it 2-0. Ruckman would come off the mound that inning, finishing the game with 4.2 innings pitched, six hits surrendered, four earned runs, four walks and three strikeouts. Zach Badgley (McHenry/McHenry) entered in relief to close the inning, giving up one run in the inning.

The Huskies put runners on in the next two innings as Tommy Hook (Lockport/Lockport Township) and Micah McCulloch (Rochelle/Rochelle Township) singled in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, but Burke and the Buffalo defense held NIU hitless in those rally attempts.

Buffalo would add another five runs in the eighth to take a 13-0 lead in the contest. Junior reliever Kevin Sweeney (Chicago/Fenwick) finished the stanza and the game for the Huskies on the mound, facing three batters and striking out the last two hitters of the game.

Northern Illinois closes its season with the MAC Tournament loss, ending it as the Mid-American Conference West Division Champion, the first-ever title for the Huskies. NIU finished 7-20 in MAC games in 2012, finishing at the bottom of the division.

For more information on NIU baseball and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.

Dusty Page

Dusty Page of the Northern Illinois men’s soccer team has been selected to serve on the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

“I am really pleased for Dusty,” said NIU men’s soccer head coach Eric Luzzi.

“It is quite an honor for him to be selected by the NCAA to be on their national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  Dusty is the model student-athlete and will bring a great perspective to the committee,” Luzzi added. “Dusty has been a strong leader within our team and our athletic department at NIU, and I have no doubt that he will represent NIU and the Mid-American Conference very well as he serves as a representative for all student-athletes within the NCAA.”

Page was one of three student-athletes nominated for the position by the Mid-American Conference and was selected by the NCAA as the new representative from the MAC. Each of the 31 conferences in NCAA Division I have one representative, Page’s term will begin on July 1, 2013 and continue through July 1, 2015.

Similar to the SAAC on each campus, the NCAA Division I SAAC’s mission is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting student-athlete well being and fostering a positive student-athlete image. NCAA Division I SAAC members are responsible for keeping their campus and conference committees educated about relevant issues effecting Division I athletics and student-athletes.

“I had a meeting with Coach (Eric) Luzzi last fall, and he asked by what I wanted to get out of life. My answer was that I wanted to make an impact and positive change, and the NCAA is one organization that I can make an impact through” Page said. “My goals are to make the environment for student-athletes as good as possible. I think sharing the opinions of student-athletes in the Mid-American Conference is important because it is a different experience than you might have in the Big Ten, or other conferences, so I would like to share those opinions and create a great environment for student-athletes in the MAC.”

A native of Germantown, Wis., Page will be a junior on the NIU men’s soccer team this fall. He appeared in 11 matches during the 2012 season and has helped the Huskies reach the MAC Tournament Final in each of the past two seasons.

The NCAA Division I SAAC typically has three in-person meetings per year; Page will participate in his first SAAC meeting from July 18 to July 21 in Indianapolis.

For more information on NIU  men’s soccer and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.

Michael Manderino

Michael Manderino, assistant professor in the Department of Literacy Education in NIU’s College of Education, has drawn significant praise from his colleagues in 2013, and deservedly so.

His dissertation has received awards from three prestigious organizations already this year.

The scholarly paper, titled “Disciplinary Literacy in New Literacies Environments: Expanding the Intersections of Literate Practice for Adolescents,” received top awards from the International Reading Association (IRA), Literacy Research Association (LRA), and the Association of Literacy Educators & Researchers (ALER).

“It is an honor to have my work recognized when there are so many strong dissertations in the field of literacy,” said Manderino, who came to NIU in 2012. “I am privileged to have the opportunity to share my work that is a small reflection of adolescents’ school experiences and the teachers that work with them on a daily basis.”

His research has centered on the intersection of disciplinary literacy and multi-literacies at the secondary level, how students process multiple texts in discipline specific contexts with multimodal texts and the development of secondary literacy coaching programs.

“In just his second year, he has already distinguished himself as a faculty member to watch,” said Jennifer Berne, associate professor and chair of the department. “His cutting-edge work enhances the reputation of our department and the college.”

More importantly, she added, “this kind of publicity helps to get his work out to the field where it has the possibility to effect change for educators. His work on disciplinary literacy is at the center of every conversation about what it means to be literate. These awards assure that his important work will get the attention it deserves.”

Manderino developed his research topic from his interest in assessing how literacy, history and multiple texts correlate. He initially developed the idea in his time as a high school history teacher and has used his theories in using literacy strategies to teach history.

After teaching at the high school level, Manderino went on to earn both his master’s degree in education and doctorate from University of Illinois at Chicago, where he focused his attention on adolescent literacy.

“I stand on the shoulders of giants here at NIU,” Manderino said. “Senior faculty members have provided me with fantastic mentorship. My colleagues have selflessly shared their expertise and availed themselves for collaboration on a number of projects.  I have also been encouraged and given ample opportunities to pursue and grow my research interests through support from the Department of Literacy Education, the college and groups like the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Language and Literacy.”

The Electricity Fair will be held at the DeKalb Public Library from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Families are invited to explore energy, electricity and electrical engineering by participating in hands-on activities and electricity demonstrations from STEM Outreach; the Time Arts program in the NIU School of Art; the Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability, & Energy; Lights for Learning; and more.

This celebration will mark the end of another successful season of Bright Futures, which began its 2013 program in February with energy parties at DeKalb, Cortland, Sycamore and Hinckley public libraries. Throughout the spring, NIU’s STEM Outreach and the libraries have offered free events on everything from using Play-Doh to construct basic circuits to creating miniature windmills to understand the engineering behind wind turbines.

Steven Roman led the Squishy Circuit activity at last year’s fair. The activity is back by popular demand in 2013.

Steve Roman, DeKalb Public Library’s librarian for teens, created the program with STEM Outreach in 2012 and was instrumental in expanding it to additional libraries this year.

“The Bright Futures program has been useful in demonstrating that science need not be intimidating, that it can in fact be a creative and enjoyable endeavor,” Roman said. “Thanks to our partnership with NIU STEM Outreach, we have been able to reach a considerable number of youth and families using both programming and materials that teach about electronics and electricity.”

This year, organizers expanded the program thanks to a grant from the DeKalb County Community Foundation.

In addition to interactive events, the Bright Futures program allowed libraries to purchase hands-on kits that help kids learn the basics of circuitry and electronics. These kits and other electricity-related materials are now available for check-out from participating libraries.

STEM Outreach Associate Jeremy Benson presented electricity demonstrations throughout the program and has seen the excitement that kids experience first-hand. The program has been an important step in exposing DeKalb County’s youth to a variety of careers in science, which is one of the goals of STEM Outreach, Benson said.

“Ultimately, and most importantly, the science kits and interactions with professionals encourage students that science is something THEY CAN DO,” he said. “Science isn’t something that is reserved for white-haired old men in lab coats. It’s all around us and its applications affect our lives every day.”

Roman and other organizers hope that the Electricity Fair will expose even more kids and families to the opportunities that an education rich in science can provide.

Jeremy Benson posed with STEM fans at the 2012 Electricity Fair.

At the fair, families are invited to:

• Build squishy circuits with play-dough, batteries and wire
• Use human power to light up light bulbs
• Test windmill designs
• Make electric art
• Hear a musical performance that uses “circuit bending” to turn toys into instruments
• Look inside NIU’s all-electric truck
• Experience an electrified pickle
• Get their faces painted with electricity-related designs
• Sample electrocuted hot dogs
• Check out new books, DVDs and hands-on electricity kits from the library’s circulating collection

Also at the fair, NIU faculty member Bart Woodstrup will present the electric art project he is creating with his student Philip Pellicore.

This solar visualization piece measures the amount of solar power it collects throughout the day by “growing” an image of a flower on a monitor. Each day, the piece will grow a new and unique flower and each flower will be affected by the amount of solar power available.

Woodstrup is an assistant professor in NIU’s Time Arts Department and has led the Bright Futures Electric Art Lab for the past two years. “I enjoy watching the children discover the creativity that lies in science, math, and engineering and also learning about the technology that is integral to the art-making process,” said Woodstrup.

Woodstrup’s 2012 electric art project is on permanent display at DeKalb Public Library.

His solar visualization project will be on display at DeKalb, Cortland, Sycamore, and Hinckley public libraries throughout the summer. The electric art piece he created for the 2012 Bright Futures program – a glowing, Plexiglas book inscribed with information on electricity and circuitry – is on permanent display at DeKalb Public Library.

It is important to create works of art that everyone can enjoy, Woodstrup said. “Public art reminds us that we share a community and together we aspire to grow and prosper. Art represents our collective desires, goals and experiences; it exists to inspire us to do great things,” he said.

Woodstrup is just one of the many experts who will be on hand to present live electricity demonstrations and answer questions about their work. Organizers encourage learners of all ages to attend the fair, eat electrified hot dogs and get excited about science.

For more information about the DeKalb Public Library Electricity Fair, call Roman at (815) 756-9568 ext. 280. The DeKalb Public Library is open seven days a week and is located at 309 Oak St. in DeKalb.