In the News
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Friday, Aug. 31, 2012
Key Media Mentions for August 2012
A few recent Media Highlights (August2012):
Tongues Wagging Over Wagner – Seattle Seahawks, August 15Everyone, it seems, is talking about Bobby Wagner.
After practice on Tuesday, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said the rookie middle linebacker from Utah State was “on track” to be the opening-day starter when the team kicks off the 2012 regular season on Sept. 9 against the Cardinals in Arizona.
“We went in with that hope,” Carroll said. “Now we see that’s it possible and we clearly are supporting the fact that might happen.”
Dave Wyman, who played linebacker for the Seahawks from 1987-92 and was the analyst for the radio broadcast of Saturday night’s preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans at CenturyLink Field, also likes what he saw from Wagner in his NFL debut.
“I’m always impressed when I see a rookie have poise and look like he’s in control. It’s almost like he was back in college,” Wyman said. “Bobby Wagner looked like he fit right in with that defense.”
USU Awarded $3M Grant to Develop Electric Car Technology – Deseret News, August 20Utah State University was awarded a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop technology for increasing battery life in electric vehicles, the university announced Monday.
The award is part of $43 million in funding awarded to organizations nationwide by the department's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy to develop breakthrough energy storage technologies, according to the DOE.
"To be among just 12 lead organizations selected for an award is a high honor," Regan Zane, a professor of computer and electrical engineering at the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative at USU, said in a prepared statement. "Through this three-year program, we'll develop cell-level power control architecture that improves electric vehicle battery performance and, as a result, could decrease battery pack costs by some 25 percent."
Former USU Official Pleads Not Guilty in Scholarship Theft Case – Herald Journal, August 21
The former Utah State University administrator accused of stealing and misappropriating scholarship money pleaded not guilty in 1st District Court on Monday.
It was the first court appearance for Jennifer Putnam Twiss of North Logan, who faces charges of theft, forgery and unlawful dealing of property.
Twiss, 34, is the former executive director of enrollment services at USU. She is accused of stealing $36,000 for herself and improperly awarding scholarships to family members.
Charges were filed against her in July. She was fired in March after an internal audit revealed irregularities.
A pretrial conference has been scheduled for Oct. 15. In the meantime, prosecutors are still working with USU to come up with a final figure for restitution, should that become necessary.
How Conference Realignment Wiped WAC Football off the Map – Sports Illustrated, August 21
In the last two years, conference realignment and expansion have remodeled the NCAA landscape, so much so that San Diego State will be playing conference games on the East Coast and West Virginia will be making trips to West Texas. While the scene is still somewhat fluid, a lasting consequence of the realignment craze has materialized: A football conference will be completely wiped off the map.
After more than a decade of membership changes, the Western Athletic Conference will not play football in 2013, barring a miraculous wave of schools joining the ailing conference. Interim commissioner Jeff Hurd denied previous reports that the league had officially abandoned football, but conceded that all signs point to no football after this season and said the conference is not pursuing football-playing schools for membership in 2013.
"We didn't make a formal announcement, but I think it's obvious from an FBS standpoint that we can't continue [playing football]," Hurd said. "That doesn't eliminate the possibility down the road. ... But for the '13-'14 year, we are trying to maintain the WAC as a Division I conference in sports other than football. That's our priority."
TEDx Event Coming to USU – Herald Journal, August 22
A global conference that has brought the world’s most sought-after personalities to the stage is coming to Utah State University this fall, the university’s Office of Research and Graduate Studies has announced.
The TEDxUSU conference will take place at the Logan campus Nov. 7.
TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, is a global set of conferences owned by the private nonprofit Sapling Foundation, which formed to “disseminate ideas worth sharing,” according to its website. Former vice president Al Gore, then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs and comedian Sarah Silverman have presented talks through TED.
Mark McLellan, USU’s vice president for research and dean of the School of Graduate Studies, appeared in a YouTube video to announce the conference.
“Sometimes its important to stop, pause and really showcase your innovation. ... The TED talks are a great way to showcase some of the finest researchers and the finest performers on our campus — as well as some visitors,” McLellan said in the video. “These are brief presentations and are the talk of their lives.”
Robert Turbin Filling in Nicely for Marshawn Lynch – Tacoma News Tribune, August 26With Marshawn Lynch sitting out two exhibition games to rest a nagging back injury in anticipation of the team’s season opener at Arizona, rookie running back Robert Turbin has shouldered the load for the Seattle Seahawks.
Turbin has proved he’s more than ready to take on a majority of the carries if Lynch is unavailable. Turbin is fourth in the league during preseason play with 151 yards on 34 carries, an average gain of 4.4 yards.
Turbin got his first start against Kansas City on Friday, darting through the Chiefs for 93 yards on 14 carries, including a 25-yard touchdown run.
The Seahawks drafted Turbin in the fourth round this year out of Utah State to serve as a change-of-pace back to the bullish Lynch.
So far, the experiment of drafting Turbin has worked to perfection.
Seattle is averaging 184 rushing yards a contest, second overall in the league in preseason.
“He’s a really good football player,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “And I’m so happy with the draft pick. We went out to get somebody who could complement Marshawn and give us more hard-nosed running. And he’s shown us exactly that. We have no problem with him in that role.”