Blasting to start near Perkins Library
The University will begin subsurface blasting in order to remove rock in the area of the Perkins Library expansion between Perkins and the Old Chemistry Building. There will be a test blast at 10 a.m. today and, if all goes well, two more blasts at 1 and 4 p.m. Daily blasting will continue on this schedule Mondays through Saturdays until blasting is complete.
Ray Wrenn, assistant director of construction services for the Facilities Management Department, said the University has set aside a two-month period for the blasting, although there is no definite date for when blasting will be complete. Wrenn said the blasting is not dangerous, nor will it be disruptive.
"It's very controlled," Wrenn said. "If you are inside the buildings, you probably won't even hear anything. If you are outside, you may hear a little thump. The ground may raise up a bit and there may be a little dust." He added that those really close to the blast sites may feel slight vibrations when the blasts occur.
Duke enters Green Power Partnership
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Duke's entrance into the EPA's Green Power Partnership, recognizing the University's leadership in the move to adopt renewable energy technology. Kurt Johnson, director of EPA's Green Power Partnership, lauded the University's dialogue between students and administrators on environmental concerns and cited the Duke Green Power Challenge, started last spring, as one of the factors leading to Duke's induction into the partnership.
The Duke Green Power Challenge encourages students, faculty and staff to purchase wind power for their electricity use. Students behind the Challenge hope that, eventually, 2.5 million kilowatt hours will be generated and supplied to the power grid by a wind farm rather than a coal plant. The administration, in turn, has agreed to match the purchases, dollar for dollar. The Challenge raised $25,000 at the end of the spring semester.
Duke team receives $1.98 million to study advance directives
The National Institute of Mental Health has awarded $1.98 million in research funding to a Duke University Medical Center team that will study the use and effectiveness of psychiatric advance directives. Researchers said this is the first major study funded by the U.S. government to evaluate PADs-- legal documents created by patients who have planned ahead for their preferred course of treatment during a mental health crisis--from initiation to outcomes.
The four-year study will examine whether psychiatric patients will complete advance directives if provided the resources to do so, and will also determine whether doctors and hospitals can effectively put the plans into action. The study will enroll more than 500 patients with serious psychiatric disorders. Additional research funding for the study has been provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Green wall Foundation.
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