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JANET CENTURY PHOTOS
Kent State University officials hope the school’s Math Emporium will help combat a 30% to 35% rate of students receiving a “D” or “F” in math or withdrawing from the university’s remedial algebra courses. Students in the lab use computer software to learn basic math.
NUMBERS MATTER AT KSU
Agency to present alternative uses for space-age technologies By DAN SHINGLER dshingler@crain.com
University invests $1.2M in Math Emporium to address students’ lagging abilities ABOVE AND BELOW: The lab is staffed at any time of the day with 10 faculty members and teaching assistants, who are available to answer students’ questions or coach them through complex problems, as shown here.
By TIMOTHY MAGAW tmagaw@crain.com
NASA looks for launch into auto industry
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n the first day of classes at Kent State University, a student looked math instructor Tracy Laux in the eye and remarked, “There’s no way out.” Indeed, no Facebook, no sleeping through a professor’s lecture and, basically, no way to coast through the university’s remedial math courses without putting the time and effort into actually learning the material. Seated in front of the available 247 computers in a sprawling, 11,154square-foot space on the second floor of the university’s library, students are tasked with using computer software to learn basic mathematics. Forget the
Building cars isn’t rocket science. But with all the challenges facing the automotive industry, could a little rocket science hurt? That’s how NASA sees it, at least, which is why it’s pitching 38 space-age technologies to automakers and their suppliers at an event at NASA Glenn Research Center on Oct. 27. “What we’re doing is showing them newer tech“NASA is open for nologies — things that didn’t business. We’re exist or weren’t even dreamed of 10 years ago,” opening our safe, said NASA technologist so to speak.” Paul Bartolotta, a material – Paul Bartolotta, science expert and the material science expert, agency’s point person for NASA Glenn Research the event. Center So far, Dr. Bartolotta said more than 100 companies have signed up to attend, including the Big 3 domestic automakers as well as Toyota, Honda and a slew of Tier One and Tier Two suppliers from around the country. What they’ll see are technologies specifically chosen by NASA and auto industry focus groups for their potential in the automotive industry. Each one will be presented in trade-show style by NASA’s own scientists and researchers, who will answer any questions that attendees might have. See NASA Page 35
See MATH Page 37
INSIDE Think bigger Solon-based miniature electronics maker Valtronic USA Inc. is looking for larger digs to accommodate the growing demand for its products. The company hopes to be in a larger facility by mid-2012. Read more about Valtronic’s plans on Page 8.
Issue 2 groups hope ads trigger emotion, voter action SB 5 campaigns aim to bolster numbers at polls By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com
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Building a Better Ohio, the group
and repeal Senate Bill 5. SB 5 is the legislation passed earlier this year that takes away the right to strike and sharply curtails the collective bargaining rights of public employees. That both sides could use the same video to support opposing sides of an election issue demon-
strates to campaign watchers how little the two sides are helping voters still undecided about Issue 2. “I think the ads have been even more uninformed than they typically are,” said Paul Beck, a political science professor at Ohio State University who studies political See ISSUE 2 Page 37
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mounting the television ad campaign to support the passage of state Issue 2, created a media firestorm last week when it was discovered using video — showing a young child being rescued from a burning building — that was lifted from a We Are Ohio ad, a spot created to persuade voters to reject Issue 2
Crain’s honors Northeast Ohio’s leading financial officers for their outstanding fiscal leadership and asset management ■ Page C-1
Entire contents © 2011 by Crain Communications Inc. Vol. 32, No. 42