IMAGE OF THE WEEK
Penn State has been updating the you-are-here maps around campus. Here is a new one located in the West Campus area.
GOOD NEWS
Thomas Potteiger ’81 retired from Lockheed Martin in May 2019 after 21 years. Potteiger worked in the Flight Operations Department in Avionics Test and Aircrew Instruction of Aeronautical subjects including navigation solutions (GPS/INS/EGI) and digital map display. He also served in the U S Air Force for 25 years as a C-130 Navigator from 1983 to 2007.
Mark your calendar for the Geography Fall Welcome Picnic on September 14. For more information and to RSVP go to: https://www.geog.psu.edu/event/geography-fall-welcome-picnic-2019
The International Society for Landscape, Place, and Material Culture (ISLPMC) is holding their annual meeting in Detroit, Michigan, October 9 to 12. The conference will include a day of paper sessions, along with two days of walking and bus tours. For more information, visit: http://www.pioneeramerica.org/annualmeeting2019.html
Save the date for the Penn State GIS Day events held on Tuesday, November 12, 2019.
NEWS
Writing with your eyes closed
Geography alumnus Joel Burcat ’76 has published a novel
Joel Burcat’s debut novel, “Drink to Every Beast,” isn’t climbing best-seller lists or getting attention from prominent critics. But it’s remarkable for a different reason.
He finished it after he became legally blind.
An environmental lawyer in Harrisburg, Pa., Burcat, 64, had been writing in his spare time for many years and had cranked out several novels, including an early version of this one. But none had found a publisher and gone out into the world.
Forest carbon still plentiful post-wildfire after century of fire exclusion
Forests in Yosemite National Park hold more carbon today than they did 120 years ago despite burning in a severe wildfire in 2013, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers.
Five added to Student Engagement Network’s Faculty Academy
Beth King was named as a fellow
Five faculty were added to the Faculty Academy program through the Student Engagement Network at Penn State.
The goal of the Faculty Academy is to advance engaged scholarship at Penn State. Faculty apply to the academy with a proposal to deepen the campus-wide discourse, practice and recognition of engaged scholarship at the University. Selection to the academy can be for one- or two-year appointments.
Global climate solution leaders to participate in Drawdown conference
A group of international leaders on solutions to climate change have advised the creation of an upcoming conference, “Research to Action: The Science of Drawdown.” The event will take place Sept. 16-18 at The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center on Penn State’s University Park campus.
RECENTLY PUBLISHED
Nonpharmacologic Approaches to Pain Management with IUD Insertion
Passmore R.C., Gold M.A.
In: Coles M., Mays A. (eds) Optimizing IUD Delivery for Adolescents and Young Adults
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17816-1_10
There are a number of nonpharmacologic approaches one can offer to help adolescent and young adults (AYAs) manage anxiety, discomfort, and pain related to bimanual and speculum exams and intrauterine device (IUD) insertions. These may include diaphragmatic breathing, hypnotic language, music, heat packs, social support (“IUD doula”), aromatherapy, acupressure, and acupuncture. Given the clear and direct relationship between anxiety and pain perception [1], any nonpharmacologic approaches that reduce anxiety have the potential to reduce pain associated with IUD insertions.