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| Page 4 July 1999 |
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| Why do kids today drink so much soda pop?
That’s what Lisa Harnack wanted to know. So, she went straight to the source, asking the youthful readers of Dragonfly, an Ohio-based magazine for young investigators published by the National Science Teachers Association. She also appeared on Dragonfly TV, a locally produced program that appears on selected PBS stations around the country including KTCA-TV, Channel 2. “When I first read the magazine I thought ‘If I was a kid, I’d be interested in this,’” said Harnack, a nutritional epidemiologist in the School of Public Health. “I thought, ‘this is something that kids are going to get turned on by.’” Harnack was asked by Dragonfly editors to write a survey for the March/April issue, which asked readers a series of questions related to their consumption of soda pop. The survey questions were culled from previous research conducted by Harnack. |
Lisa Harnack |
Harnack said her goal is to find ways, through education and public policy, to successfully reduce the amount of soda pop that kids consume.
But the soft-spoken Harnack would prefer to work on her goals in a less public arena. The magazine featured photos of Harnack today and as a child, which included a sentence describing that Harnack grew up on a southern Minnesota farm learning how to grow and harvest vegetables and care for cows, chickens, and horses. The television program “ended up being a lot more work than I thought it would be,” she said. “It took most of the day to tape a 30-second [spot].”
Nevertheless, Harnack said she enjoyed the experience.
“It really was a good experience,” she said.
News Briefs
Ashley
Haase named
U
of M Regents' Professor
Ashley Haase, professor and head of the University of Minnesota department
of microbiology, has been appointed a U of M Regents' Professor.
“I am greatly honored by this appointment,” said Haase.
There are only 20 Regents' Professors at any time. The Board of Regents unanimously approved Haase’s appointment at its May meeting. Along with the title, Haase will receive a $10,000 annual stipend.
“Doctor. Haase’s recognition as a Regents' Professor reflects his outstanding scientific contributions to AIDS research, his international reputation, and his leadership in microbiology,” said Alfred Michael, dean of the Medical School.
A native of Chicago, Haase received a medical degree from Columbia College
of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. He completed an internship
and residency in medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and completed
a postdoctoral fellowship in virology at the National Institutes of Health.
He also served as chief of infectious diseases at Veterans Administration
Medical Center in San Francisco. Haase was a professor of medicine and
microbiology at the University of California, San Francisco, from 1971
to 1984 before joining the U of M Medical School faculty.
Regents
OK preliminary
FY
2000 capital budget
The Regents, on June 11, approved a preliminary capital budget request for FY 2000. It includes:
Ginkgo
trees to survive
South
Mall construction
Thanks to the work of a few tree lovers, the ginkgo trees located on the proposed entry to the new south mall parking ramp will be saved. Originally, these trees were to be destroyed to make way for the entrance, which now will be moved.
Sr. VP Frank Cerra was among those opposed to the tree chopping.
“These trees were a gift from Japan I am told,” Cerra said. “They are full grown, healthy, beautiful, and an important part of the green in the AHC, of which we have very little.”
An urban forester evaluated the trees’ health and determined all but one could withstand the rigors of construction.
Ginkgo trees are native to Asia but are found all over the world. They are adaptable and tolerant of urban conditions. In Japanese, ginkgo translates to “silver apricot.” Female ginkgo trees produce fruit that looks similar to apricots that are grown in Japan. Ginkgo biloba, the popular herbal product, comes from the ginkgo tree.