PSU Magazine Fall 2003

In helping start-up company, University receives stock Portland State is the first Oregon uni– versity to take advantage of the passage of Measure 10 last year, which allows institutions in the Oregon University System to receive stock in companies that are commercializing ideas devel– oped in university laboratories. PSU is leasing space to Octavian Scientific, Inc., a semiconductor equip– ment start-up, in the University's Fourth Avenue Building. Being on campus gives Octavian access to PSU's faculty and research facilities, such as the Integrated Circuits Design and Test Laboratory. PSU receives stock in Octavian in exchange for rights to technologies developed . The partner– ship earned PSU designation as a top 10 growth company from Portland Business Alliance. Octavian is focused on developing products that reduce costs and increase performance in testing semiconductor devices. Research is being conducted in conjunction with Robert Daasch, electrical and computer engineering faculty, his students, and the College Tennis program cut Facing budget reductions , Tom Burman, PSU Athletic director announced in May the elimination of the Portland State men's and women's tennis program. The decision was effective immediately; however the University is honoring the schol– arships of team members during the 2003-2004 year. "Elimination of a program is the least desirable alternative," says Burman. "But, with our institution's budget situation, we had Lo make a fiscally responsible decision. " With the elimination of the tennis programs, Portland State has 14 varsity sports. On the women's side there is soccer, volleyball, cross coun– try, basketball, golf, indoor track and field, softball, and outdoor track and field. On the men 's side are football, cross country, basketball, wrestling, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field. of Engineering and Computer Science's Integrated Circuits Lab. The idea behind Measure 10 is Lo nurture young companies that start up at Oregon's universities by helping them keep their costs lows. At the same time , some of these young com– panies may grow up and achieve com– mercial success, in which the hosting university will share. Profits can then be used Lo help more new companies get a start. The University worked closely with the Oregon Department of Justice to negotiate terms of the agreement, as well as to design a blueprint for the "business accelerator" process. Univer– sity officials plan to eventually extend this agreement to as many as 30 to 40 companies from a variety of sectors. Camp experience provides respite and care Hiking, l1y-fishing, and Saturday night skits are the normal fare of outdoor camp. However, PSU Speech and Hearing Sciences Program's annual camp is anything but ordinary. lL is for stroke survivors affected by aphasia, a loss of ability Lo verbalize, read, and/or write. On September 13-14, they came Lo Mount Hood Kiwanis Camp near Zigzag with their care– givers for help and relaxation. "Petrified" was the word Dayna Chapin used Lo describe the first day of camp for her and other students, who staff the camp 18 strong along– side four faculty members and a regis– tered nurse. Chapin, 33, who earned her master's degree in spring 2003 and is now a speech-language pathologist in Portland, worked through her own fear by befriending an older women who was a stroke survivor and largely nonverbal. "l realized that words aren't all that important ," says Chapin. "I didn't know what she wanted to say, but I could tell a lot from her facial expressions The learning-for students, faculty, stroke survivors and caregivers– builds through the weekend. When Chapin learned that a game of horse– shoes was on the agenda for campers, she thought it would never work. It did, even for the campers with partial paralysis. "I was putting stroke survivors in a box," says Chapin. "I had thought I was protecting them, but they really didn't need protection. " Stroke survivors, too , tend to put themselves in a box, says Chapin . Many don't leave their house after a stroke. The camp offers them a social setting where they can feel comfortable and participate in recreational activities that they may have given up or thought they couldn't do. Relaxed convers ations between s troke survivors and student coun– selors are part of Stroke Camp. For caregivers, Stroke Camp provides a brief respite from daily demands and an opportunity to share with and support others who look after stroke survivors. This year's campers and their family members-about 50 people in all– were mostly from the Northwest. The stroke survivors, both new and repeat visitors, ranged in age from their early 30s into their 70s. FALL 2003 PSU MAGAZI E 3