Building ideas and businesses from the ground up is an enticing prospect to many Ohio State students who are hungry for success on their terms. Opting to create instead of conform, shaping a career path around startups was once deemed a fad by labor experts and is now a full blown movement gaining considerable speed.

CoStart, Ohio State’s student organization that celebrates innovation and is housed in the Technology Commercialization and Knowledge Transfer Office (TCO), launched Ohio State’s first- ever BOSS (Building Ohio State Startups) Program focused on students who are building their own visions, one startup at a time.

BOSS encompasses all aspects of startup creation. Ten student innovations were submitted and vetted through a six week program where participants pitched their ideas to TCO team members. Feedback and assignments were given to students to be completed by the next pitch session. Three rounds of competition shaved the group of ten to the final five.

The final victors were named during the BOSS Final Pitch Event on March 4th at TCO during the program’s final pitching round. The five pitches took place on March 4th at TCO in the South Campus Gateway, an open-invitation event starting at 5:30 p.m. Early birds were treated to a Skype™ session with Peter Michailidis, Ohio State alum who recently sold his startup, Pushpins, for over $10 million. Pitches began at 6:00 pm to a panel of engaged judges which included the following:

• Brian Cummings- Vice President of TCO
• Ray Atilano- Executive Director of TCO
• Rich Langdale- Managing Partner of NCT Ventures
• Rob Underhill- Entrepreneur and CFO for materials company
• Chalonda Handy- Licensing Associate for Nationwide Children’s Hospital

After five pitches, standing ovations and many laughs, judges deliberated and selected the top two ideas to receive funding; $1,000 for first place and $500 for second.  Winners also receive full access to TCO services including the Ideation Lab, Patent Coordination, Software Prototyping, and the expertise within the New Ventures Center.

First place went to No Mercy Customs (NMC), a product design company targeting the wrestling and MMA communities led by Lucas Williamson (founder).NMC has designed, painted, and shipped this custom products to 20 states. The company plans to launch NMC Athletics, a sister wrestling equipment brand producing a three-component head protection system.

Second place went to Emeritus, led by Austin Miller, an Ohio State junior. This app (which works on everything from smartphones, tablets, and laptops) connects students and educators and encourages participation while enhancing interactivity. Instructors can poll classes and take attendance quickly as well as receive real-time feedback. Students can also access course materials and instructions immediately through this app.
The winners will continue their mentorship with New Ventures and the entire TCO team on a regular basis. The next BOSS program is slated to commence in early summer of this year.

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To get in on the action, become a mentor, or build your startup please contact Krystal Geyer, at geyer.71@osu.edu

​Educational Innovation 

To share your thoughts, ideas or suggestions on this initiative, please contact Kathleen Kemp​, senior director of Marketing and Strategic Communications in the College of Medicine.

‘Lead. Serve. Inspire.’

Medical Education Research Conclave

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​Thomas F. Mauger, MD currently serves as the Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.    He has been on staff at the College since 1988 and has a pure OSU pedigree – Mauger received his MS and MD at OSU and completed his residency here as well.  Thus, it is no surprise that his most recent endeavor typifies the “but for Ohio State” spirit that is so much a part of the OSU fabric. 

Dr. Mauger is committed to a patient-centered approach to providing health care and he extends that approach to underserved populations.  Locally, he volunteers at the Columbus free clinic.  In December, however, he and a group of his OSU colleagues pushed the borders of their altruism and expertise beyond Columbus, taking a trip to Ethiopia.

Joining Dr. Mauger on the trip were Robert Brueggemeier, PhD and Dean of the College of Pharmacy; Stanley Alan Lemeshow, PhD, MSPH and Dean of the College of Public Health; Patrick M. Lloyd, PhD, MS and Dean of the College of Dentistry; Professors Michael Earley, OD, PhD and Wondwossen Abebe Gebreyes, DVM, PhD, ACVPM; Kelechi Kalu, PhD and Associate Provost for Global Strategies and International Affairs; and Jesse Zweik, a researcher.

Mauger and the group flew into Gondar, located in the northern part of Ethiopia and visited a community health center as well as the University of Gondar.  They met with some of their counterparts at the University to exchange ideas, discuss health care issues plaguing the Ethiopian people and, perhaps as important as anything, to establish relationships.  Later in the trip, they visited Addis Ababa University (AAU) and, again, began to establish relationships with colleagues at AAU.

“Ultimately, the hope is to establish a robust portfolio of educational, research and patient care collaborations that would be mutually beneficial to both the people of Ethiopia and to The Ohio State University.  We established important dialogs and began plans in Gondar and Addis Ababa,” he says.

The relationships cultivated on that trip in December will come in handy because Dr. Mauger says the table is set for further collaboration between him and his colleagues at the College and their counterparts in Ethiopia.  In fact, another trip to Ethiopia is imminent. 

Mauger says, “A team from our department will be traveling to Gondar again in two weeks to collaborate on eye care issues and eye surgery training.”

ADA, Ohio – Corn growers thinking about planting decisions for the 2013 season and debating whether to use drought-tolerant hybrids or conventional hybrids may want to consider how drought-resistant hybrids respond to typical growing conditions as well as in drought-stressed conditions, an Ohio State University Extension expert said.  

While new drought-tolerant corn hybrids are marketed to provide a margin of protection in drought-stressed conditions as well as non-drought-stressed conditions, growers can benefit from gaining more perspective on the issue, considering that Ohio in a typical year can experience stress from extreme cold, extreme rain or extreme drought, said Peter Thomison, an OSU Extension agronomist. 

Such decisions are crucial as growers prepare for the upcoming planting season, many of whom were hard-hit by the 2012 drought that left farmers nationwide with losses and lower yields due to the worst dry conditions in nearly 50 years. 

“Growers are aware that weather can have major impact on the practices they pick, and they want to limit their exposure,” he said. “Some growers will view the 2012 growing season as an aberration and continue their traditional practices. 

“If they’re using best management practices, that’s fine. But I think that as many growers are hearing more about climate change and the potential for more erratic weather conditions, they don’t want to use growing practices that count on good growing conditions and are looking at ways they can weather-proof their crops.” 

Thomison will talk about the 2012 growing season and new tools growers have for managing drought during a presentation March 6 at the Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference. The conference, which runs March 5-6, is offered by OSU Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC). OSU Extension and OARDC are the outreach and research arms, respectively, of Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. 

The CTC conference will feature some 60 presenters and include information on nutrient management, soil and water, “Corn University,” “Soybean School,” crop scouting, no-till and seeding technology. 

Thomison’s presentation is a part of Corn University, a series of presentations that Thomison will also moderate, in which agronomists from the University of Illinois, Purdue University and the University of Nebraska will address pressing issues of interest to corn farmers and agriculture industry representatives.

Topics will include seeding rates for maximum yield and planter set-up for maximum yields, Thomison said. 

An overall goal of Corn University is to help growers gain perspective, he said. 

“There are a lot of new products and issues out there, and (CTC) allows growers to hear presentations from university specialists in an effort to integrate these issues and put them into perspective in terms of their importance,” Thomison said. “We want to see long-term data, compare it to existing products and provide more insight and perspective in terms of what is happening in corn planting.” 

Some of the issues include the question of whether drought-resistant hybrids will produce protection on drought as well as typical growing conditions and whether drought tolerant hybrids can handle higher plant populations better than traditional hybrids, he said. 

The presentations will also focus on other traditional approaches growers can use to managing drought stress, including switching to a corn-soybean rotation for those growers who experienced low yields because of continuous corn growing. Other issues include growers choosing to cut their seeding rates to not push growing higher populations because of increased risk.

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Note: The Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference is March 5-6 at the McIntosh Center of Ohio Northern University in Ada. The full schedule and registration information is at http://ctc.osu.edu. Participants may register online or by mail. Registration for the full conference is $85 (or $65 for one day) if received by Feb. 27. 

Information is also available in county offices of OSU Extension.  

The conference is sponsored by OSU Extension, OARDC, Northwest Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Ohio No-Till Council.

Writers

Tracy Turner
614-688-1067
turner.490@osu.edu

Sources

Peter Thomison
614-292-2373
thomison.1@osu.edu

I know National Nutrition Month is coming up in March, and I want to use the occasion to jump-start my resolution to eat better this year. But I’ve done this kind of thing before and I’m out of new ideas. Where can I find some good ones?

This is a great plan. It’s not unusual for New Year’s resolutions to wane by now. But using National Nutrition Month to revive your resolve is a shrewd move: There will likely be an abundance of nutrition-related information out there for the taking, and you’re bound to find new ways to get back on track.

You can take the bull by the horns and search out ideas yourself. A great place to start is the website of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association). As the sponsor of National Nutrition Month, the organization offers a dozen two-page tipsheets on a variety of topics at http://www.eatright.org/nnm/handoutsandtipsheets/.

Here are just a few pointers from some of the tipsheets:

• To reach a goal of eating 2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables each day, try adding sliced pineapple, apple, peppers, cucumber and tomato to your sandwiches. (Find more ideas in the tipsheet “20 Ways to Enjoy More Fruits and Vegetables.”)
• For a kid-friendly healthy snack, peel a banana, dip it in yogurt, roll it in crushed cereal and freeze it. (More in “25 Healthy Snacks for Kids.”)
• Add some variety to your salad by adding corn, peas, sugar snap peas, water chesnuts or a variety of other vegetables. (More in “Color Your Plate with Salad.”)
• Trying to lose weight? Slow down: It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to get the signal that your body is getting food. Don’t wait until you feel full before you stop eating. (More in “Eating Right for a Healthy Weight.”)
• On days when you’re planning a dinner out, plan ahead. Have a light breakfast and lunch. (More in “Healthy Eating on the Run: A Month of Tips.”)
• If you’re tired of the same old breakfast options, make your own morning sandwich with a toasted whole-grain English muffin with lean ham and low-fat Swiss cheese. (More in “Power Up with Breakfast.”)
• Give Nutrition Facts labels a fresh eye. Look at the “% Daily Value” column. Aim high (20 percent or more) in vitamins, minerals and fiber, and aim low (5 percent or less) for total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. (More in “Shop Smart — Get the Facts on Food Labels.”)

 My advice? Download all 12 tipsheets and use them for inspiration throughout the month.

Chow Line is a service of Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Send questions to Chow Line, c/o Martha Filipic, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH, 43210-1044, or filipic.3@osu.edu.

Editor: This column was reviewed by Dan Remley, field specialist in family nutrition and wellness for Ohio State University Extension.

For a PDF of this column, click here.

Writers

Martha Filipic
614-292-9833
filipic.3@osu.edu

Sources

Dan Remley
OSU Extension, Family Nutrition and Wellness

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The Athletic Training Division would like to congratulate Dr. Laura Harris on her selection as a 2013 Athletic Trainer of the Year by the Ohio Athletic Trainers' Association (OATA).  Dr. Harris is an Associate Professor in her 13th year with the Athletic Training Division where she serves as the Director of Clinical Education. She has provided extensive service and leadership to the OATA as a committee member, Vice-president, District representative, and now as the Secretary of the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers Association (NATA District 4).  She is a past winner of the OATA Linda Weber-Daniel Outstanding Mentor Award, School of Allied Medical Professions Outstanding Teacher Award, and the Outstanding Manuscript Award from the Journal of Athletic Training.  Dr. Harris will be recognized at the OATA Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposium in Dublin Ohio in May.

Writers

Sources