The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, January 19, 2011 - 3A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, January19, 2011 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS DETROIT Ex-Ford executive appointed Wayne State president Wayne State University has named ex-Ford Motor Co. execu- tive Allan Gilmour as its perma- nent president. Gilmour was unanimously elected president by the Detroit university's governing board yes- terday. His contract runs through the 2012-13 academic year. Gilmour had served as the uni- versity's interim president since Aug. 30. He replaces Jay Noren, who resigned this summer. Gilmour is a Harvard University and University of Michigan gradu- ate and retired in 1995 as Ford's vice chairman and chief financial officer. He rejoined the automaker from 2002-05 in various leader- ship roles. Gilmour serves on DTE Energy Co.'s board and formerly served on the boards of Dow Chemical Co., Whirlpool Corp. and other corpo- rations. He is Wayne State's 11th presi- dent. DETROIT Undercover police officer killed while chasing burglar An undercover police offi- cer chasing a burglary suspect through the back yard of a sub- urban Detroit home was shot five times and killed with a gun stolen from the house, authorities said yesterday. Larry Nehasil was hit in the head, back, buttocks, thigh and hip Monday evening as he and other officers tried to arrest two men suspected in as many as 50 area burglaries. One suspect also was shot to death. Nehasil's bulletproof vest stopped the shot to the back, but not the others, including the fatal shot to the head, said Undersheriff Mike McCabe. The 48-year-old Livonia offi- cer was part of a surveillance team tailing the two brothers into Walled Lake, about 22 miles northwest of Detroit. COLUMBUS, Ohio Supreme Court justice calls for end of death penalty An Ohio Supreme Court justice who helped write the state's death penalty law three decades ago is calling for an end to capital pun- ishment in the state. Justice Paul Pfeifer was one of the leading proponents of Ohio's death penalty law as a state legis- lator in the 1970s and 1980s. Pfeifer also said yesterday that Gov. John Kasich should consider commuting the death sentences of all inmates condemned to die to life without parole. Pfeifer, a Republican, was chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee as Ohio debat- ed the capital punishment bill that became law in 1981. He says the recent decrease in death sentences is a sign society believes life sentences are punish- ment enough. LOS ANGELES Classroom gun accident wounds two students A gun in a 10th-grader's back- pack discharged yesterday when he dropped the bag, wounding two students at a high school, includ- ing one who remained in critical condition, police said. A 15-year-old girl with a head wound underwent hours of sur- gery at Los Angeles County Har- bor-UCLA Medical Center, said Dr. Gail V. Anderson Jr. A 15-year- old boy was in serious condition with neck and shoulder wounds. Both teens were hit with the same bullet, Los Angeles deputy police chief Patrick Gannon said. John Deasy, deputy superin- tendent of the Los Angeles Uni- fied School District, said there was no indication the student had touched the gun before it dis- charged. "He literally dropped his knap- sack on the desk and it went off," Deasy said. Gannon said the student apolo- gized before running to another classroom. -Compiled from Daily wire reports CITY COUNCIL From Page 1A time to discuss the ordinance, Hieftje said it is being necessar- ily cautious in examining the lan- guagethe ordinance uses. "We are going to be extremely careful that we craft some legisla- tion that we believe is going to best serve the patients and the caregiv- ers and anyone who is involved," Hieftje said. In an interview after addressing council, Dexter resident Gershom Avery, a medical marijuana pro- ponent who spoke during the pub- lic comment section, said he feels strongly that the city shouldn't compile the information of cultiva- tion facility and dispensary own- ers. "The best solution is to remove the temptation to act as an agency of the federal government ... by not compiling these lists," Avery said. When asked how he felt about a section in the ordinance that prohibits felons from opening either dispensaries or cultivation facilities, Avery said he thinks that people charged with marijuana- MSA passes resolution to simplify online audit process for dual-degrees- ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily Council members Mike Anglin (Ward-5) and Christopher Taylor (Ward-3) discuss amendments toa medical marijuana ordinance at a City Council meeting last night. related felonies should be permit- ted to open such businesses. "It is curious that those people who can actually document that they have years of experience growing, by virtue of their own criminal record ... are the ones that are strictly forbidden from partici- pating," Avery said. Ann Arbor resident Renee Wolfe, who spoke before Council, said in an interview after the meeting that she was the first multiple sclerosis patient in the state to use federally- supplied marijuana. She also said she has a felony on her record for manufacturingmarijuana. "The felony was for growing my medicine," Wolfe said. Renee said it is important that the city of Ann Arbor make it pos- sible to open medical marijuana cultivation facilities and dispensa- ries so that individuals in need of health-related assistance are able to obtain it. "If I didn't have my medicine, I wouldn't be able to live my life," Wolfe said. - Rayza Goidmith contributed to this report. NCRC From Page 1A event. Coleman and other University administrators, including the Uni- versity's Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs Ora Pescovitz, the University's Vice President for Research Stephen Forrest, Univer- sity Provost Philip Hanlon and the University's Vice President and General Counsel Suellyn Scarnec- chia, cut the ceremonial ribbon to commemorate the opening of the three projects. Pescovitz said she feels that beyond the NCRC's large space, the complex has "immeasurable, infinite potential." She echoed Coleman, saying that innovation is essential for the "future" of the University and for the nation asa whole. Forrest said despite his initial concerns about the cost and pop- ularity of the accelerator, it will likely benefit the University com- munity and state economy. "It started out as a risky venture but promises to be an essential step in the (University's) prom- ise of being the leaders and best and encouraging and helping fac- ulty and students and our venture partners to start their companies right here in Michigan," Forrest said. Ken Nesbit, executive director of Tech Transfer, said one of the goals of the business accelerator is to help transform small startup companies into large, powerful companies that will hopefully stay in the Midwest and create local job opportunities. Jim O'Connell, associate direc- tor of business formation at the Tech Transfer Center, said the accelerator will likely focus on technology and companies that have some kind of link to the Uni- versity before looking to other companies. The accelerator space, which can house 10 to 15 compa- nies, has several potential tenants waiting to become part of the cen- ter, he said. O'Connell added that he feels there is an increased chance of a company staying in Michigan after being incubated in the Ven- ture Accelerator. In return for the services offered by the University, each business signs on for a one-year lease and pays a leasing fee. O'Connell said though the cost of leasing may be higher at the Venture Accelerator, the rate includes many resources available to the companies. "This is about adding services and values beyond what you can get in a $5 office," O'Connell said. Acting as a "feeder" space for beginning businesses, O'Connell said that after a few years, the rate may become too expensive for businesses that no longer need all of the accelerator's services. The businesses are then encouraged to move out into their own space. A media tour of the facilities yesterday revealed five startup businesses housed in the new offices and laboratories. One of the businesses, Life Magnetics, moved in on Dec. 20, 2010 and is current- ly purchasing lab equipment. The other four businesses are expected to move into the space in the com- ing months. Founded in 2009 by Brandon McNaughton, a former University applied physics graduate student, Life Magnetics is developing a bio- sensor to measure the growth of single bacterial cells and the cells' responses to antibiotics. McNaughton works on the proj- ect with Bill Wood, the project's interim CEO, and with his previ- ous adviser, Raoul Kopelman, a Richard Smalley distinguished University professor of chemistry, physics and applied physics. In an interview after the tour, McNaughton said the goal of the device is to determine the best therapy for a patient with a bacte- rial infection and to speed up the process of discovery, which cur- rently takes two or more days. The goal for the biosensor is to com- plete the test within one hour, he said. The biosensor's ability to moni- tor individual cells could also be applied to track the growth of can- cer cells, McNaughton said. He added that he believes a clinical prototype of the biosen- sor will be completed within two to three years, but may be delayed from going to market pending FDA approval. The company currently has five employees and hopes to have 15 by the end of the year and 90 to 100 within the next four to five years, McNaughton said. Next door to Life Magnetics is 3D Biomatrix, a business creating three-dimensional cell scaffolds to grow and test cells. Rachel Cuddihy, one of the com- pany's researchers and a former Ph.D. student at the University, said most drug tests occur in two- dimensional environments, which don't mimic the human body. In a three-dimensional scaffold, cells act more like the human body and can beused in the pharmaceutical industry, Cuddihy said. In an interview after the event, Cuddihy said she and her col- leagues are excited to be in the "beautiful facilities" and in close proximity to other emerging com- panies.. Other businesses in the acceler- ator include Phrixus Pharmaceuti- cals, a clinical-development stage company working on a drug to treat heart failure, and Civionics, a company designinglow-cost wire- less sensors to measure structural health and energy usage in build- ings. EngXT is another business housed in the accelerator, and has developed an electric-field moni- toring system that gives off signals to monitor electrostatic stress on electronic devices. In an interview after the tour, Steven Rogacki, an engineer -for EngXT and a lead engineer in research at the University, said the business resources at the Venture Accelerator are vital to the future of the company. "It's absolutely essential," Rogacki said. "I wouldn't know how to proceed without that kind of help." Change intended for Business and Engineering students By ROBIN VEECK Daily StaffReporter The Michigan Student Assem- bly unanimously approved a reso- lution at its meeting last night supporting a new system for Wol- verine Access to display degree audits and grade point averages for students working toward dual degrees. Students in all cross-college programs must currently audit their own schedules in each col- lege they're enrolled in. The resolution specifically endorses reform of Wolverine Access to display degree audits and trans- fers from both colleges on the same online document for stu- dents pursuing dual degrees in the Ross School of Business and. the College of Engineering. Drafted through an MSA part- nership with the Society of Busi- ness Engineers, a campus group made up of students enrolled in both the College of Engineering and the Ross School of Business, the resolution states that "the lack of appropriate grade point aver- ages appearing on the transcript complicates the process of, and/ or places (students) at a disadvan- tage when applying for a job or future studies." The resolution originally endorsed the reform of degree audits on Wolverine Access for all cross-college programs, but the resolution's authors decided that limiting the scope of the resolu- tion to Business and Engineering students would make implemen- tation more feasible. Interim MSA Vice President Sean Walser said in an interview after the meeting that the Uni- versity of Michigan Engineering Council recently passed a similar resolution. Both resolutions will now be sent to Business School Dean Robert Dolan, Engineering Dean David Munson, BBA Pro- gram Director Scott Moore and Engineering Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education James Holloway. The resolution was written by Society of Business Engineers president Zubair Ahsan, Soci- ety of Business Engineers vice president Uppili Rajagopalan and Societyv of Business Engi- neers member Arshabh Sarda. All three are both Business and Engineering students. Walser and MSA Engineering Rep. Kyle Summers also contributed to the resolution. Walser said he hopes the next step will be for the authors of the resolution to meet with the "appropriate people" to discuss the implementation of dual- degree audits on Wolverine Access. "We don't know how success- ful-that will be, but it's definitely something that I'm interested in personally, and I know other rep- resentatives are interested in," Walser said. MSA ADDRESSES HOUSEKEEPING ISSUES At last night's meeting, MSA also passed a resolution amend- ing attendance policies. Instead of being required to attend a committee meeting once a week, standing rules now allow repre- sentatives to attend either a com- mittee or a commission meeting. Additionally, the power to excuse absences was transferred from MSA's president to MSA's speaker. MSA also approved Engineer- ing junior Crissie Zuchora and LSA senior Adriana Coleska as new representatives, who were appointed to fill empty seats. SHRIVER From Page 1A he developed with his wife Eunice Kennedy Shriver. In a statement yesterday, Presi- dent Barack Obama said Shriver will live on as a symbol of commu- nity service and humanitarianism in the United States. "I was deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Sargent Shriv- er, one of the brightest lights of the greatest generation," Obama said. "Over the course of his long and distinguished career, Sarge came to embody the idea of public ser- vice." In an interview with The Michi- gan DailylastOctober, JudyGuskin highlighted Shriver's strong work ethic and dedication to the pro- gram, noting that he inspired the workers in the Peace Corps office to adopt a similar attitude. "We worked long hours," she said. "We would stop when it got dark, and we got too hungry so we'd go out to eat, and then we'd come back and look up and see Sarge Shriver's window was still lit. People were still working up there, so we went back to work." Al Guskin said in an interview last night that the Peace Corps is successful on such a widespread level because of Shriver's undying perseverance and constant positive attitude. "He was a great man," Guskin said. "He was a giant, really, in terms of what he accomplished. The Peace Corps's success is directly tied to his vision, his enthusiasm, his ability to create an organization and a structure that would outlive him, which is the greatest compliment you can make of anyone who was a lead- er." Though Guskin said he didn't interact with Shriver much person- ally, he said everytime he met with Shriver, he was awed by his dedica- tion to the program. "I didn't know him well, though I met him at many occasions, both in this country and when I was serving in Thailand, and he was always full of enthusiasm," Guskin said. "He was always so positive, particularly about the Peace Corps volunteers." Judy Guskin echoed her hus- band's sentiments yesterday, saying that it was Shriver's unwavering optimism that allowed the Peace Corps to flourish. "Of all the people I met and had an opportunity to work with, he was the most inspiring," Judy Guskin said. "I loved his optimism and with his message of service he touched the hearts of thousands of Peace Corps volunteers." John Greisberger, director of the University's International Center and a former Peace Corps volun- teer, said Shriver was "an amazing individual," who often expressed his fondness for the University community's critical role in con- tributing to the program. "That challenge was really picked up by our students here at Michigan, and what Shriver said is that the Peace Corps would just be another idea if it weren't for the affirmative response of those Michigan students and faculty," Greisberger said. Since the program's founding, almost 2,200 University gradu- ates have participated in the Peace Corps in more than 44 countries, according to the University's Peace Corps website. Judy Guskin said she also had the opportunity to work with Shriver on the War on Poverty, several years after they first col- laborated during the Peace Corps's inaugural venture to Thailand. "I was lucky to work for him both through Peace Corps when it was set up and also the war on pov- erty," Judy Guskin said. "It was a great, great pleasure." Judy Guskin said that in honor of Shriver's hard work in develop- ing the program, she and other volunteers helped to develop The Sargent Shriver Award for Distin- guished Humanitarian Service, which is awarded by the National Peace Corps Association each year to a returned volunteer who con- tinues to work toward humanitar- ian efforts. "That was one of the ways we felt as volunteers we could let him know how much we appreciated the inspiration he gave to all of us," Judy Guskin said. "He will live on in memory, and I think I speak here for all the volunteers who were touched by him." Rackham student Alex Pompe, a former campus coordinator at the University's Peace Corps office, said he was constantly reminded of Shriver and Kennedy's original message while working for the Peace Corps, especially during the 50th anniversary celebration of the program this past fall. "The loss of such an amazing person is really felt throughout the Peace Corps community at the Uni- versity of Michigan," he said. VOTING From Page 1A mhan and Gonggrijp from being deported from the country. Halderman said he was in India to present solutions to problems in electronic voting machines, or EVMs, at a conference on com- puter security issues. One of Halderman's colleagues, Indian citizen Hari Prasad, was arrested and detained by Indian police in August for trying to present the research. Halderman said he believes some Indian offi- cials may have been upset about his research, which may be why Prasad was arrested and why Halderman was almost deported. "The research showed sig- nificant vulnerabilities in India's voting machines which, up to that point, Indian authorities had been claiming were 'perfect' and 'tamper-proof,"' Halderman said. Technology Review, a publi- cation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reported that Indian EVMs are the most widely used voting system in the world, with more than 400 million Indian voters using the machines alone. Halderman said his research could be disliked by public offi- cials because it reveals holes in the Indian voting system that would undermine the legitimacy of their political victories. There- fore, his EVM study could be interpreted as a means of ques- tioning whether the offices had been acquired through ill means, he said. "If you were elected fairly, of course finding out that the system was-insecure might cast doubt on your legitimacy. If you were elected by cheating,. then obvi- ously you don't want the system to be improved," Halderman said. "Now, our studies to date have not even tried to demonstrate that previous elections were stolen." Published in April, the study found that India's EVMs are "vul- nerable to serious attacks." It says that the systems "do not provide transparency," soresultsfroamthe machines can't be confirmed to have been cast honestly. Halderman said he hoped to shed light on these issues while in India. However, when he landed in India on Dec. 12, Indian offi- cials told Halderman to return to the United States on the plane he had arrived in. "Luckily, I have a lot of experi- ence missing planes," Halderman said. "So I did everything I could to try to miss that one." Since Halderman could no lon- ger present his research, he spent his time with friends and visited landmarks like the Taj Mahal. Though he is now safely at home, Halderman said his colleagues in India are still in a tense and dan- gerous situation because of their research. Even so, Halderman said he plans to return to India and con- tinue research on the country's EVMs. "I'm very eager to go to India again," Halderman said. "We'll see what happens." He said he plans to continue his work on India's voting systems because most of the research in the past has been on systems in wealthier nations, even though most of the world's democracies are in poorer countries. "We have a lot to learn about how to make voting systems that are secure and suitable for the needs of countries outside of the U.S. and Europe," Halderman said. Halderman and his doctor- ate students made headlines in October for hacking the pilot site of an Internet voting system in Washington, D.C., which would have allowed overseas voters to cast ballots in the United States's November election, according to an Oct. 7, 2010 Michigan Daily article. Halderman and his stu- dents programmed the system to play "Hail to the Victors" after each vote was cast - ultimately causing administrators to shut down the online voting system. WANT TO WORK FOR THE DAILY? Come to our last mass meeting. TONIGHT AT 7:30 P.M. AT 420 MAYNARD ST.