IUPUC assistant professor and Division of Science head James Mendez received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award in chemistry for the 2022-2023 academic year
We aren’t nearly as bright as Fulbright scholar James Mendez, IUPUC’s assistant professor and Division of Science head, but we know brilliance when we see it. Mendez last week was announced as one of 800 academics nationwide to receive the prestigious honor. But he’s one of a much, much smaller group to have received the honor twice.
In February, Mendez will travel to Bratislava, Slovakia, to work with Slovak Academy of Sciences researcher Ivan Simkovic “on a system for 3D printing composites made from chitin, a naturally occurring polymer. This basic research could provide a framework for both renewable and biologically compatible 3D printed materials.”
For those of us, bless our hearts, who can only stand in awe of Mendez’s brainpower, put it this way: His research holds great promise in increasing the effectiveness of wound care.
Mendez’s recognition is a tremendous personal achievement and demonstrates the impressive caliber of rigorous and beneficial research taking place at IUPUC. Great work!
Keeping an eye on COVID, differently
As we continue to adapt to COVID as a fact of life for the foreseeable future, it remains important to track the virus and its prevalence in our community. And just like the virus itself, the means of tracking cases and community spread are changing.
The Republic’s Andy East last week reported that local health officials are predicting “ebbs and flows” in hospitalizations “for the foreseeable future.” As of July 6, 12 people were hospitalized with COVID at Columbus Regional Health, ticking up slightly. That’s the most reliable measure of severity of the virus locally.
The advent of home COVID testing means we don’t have quite as good a handle on the number of local reported cases as we did earlier in the pandemic. However, Bartholomew is among counties in Indiana that is monitoring wastewater to identify community spread.
As East reported, in the 15 days ending July 4, “the concentration of COVID-19 in local sewage was 60% of what it was during the peak of the omicron surge this past winter. By comparison, the level of virus in local wastewater during the 15 days ending June 22 was at about 27% of what it was at the pandemic’s peak.”
This shows a concerning increase in community spread, some of which will result in hospitalizations. The silver lining is, most current cases are not severe. These numbers will be critical for residents to watch and plan appropriate precautions in the coming colder months, when cases tend to really surge.
Salute to those committed to ‘getting up’
Participants in Bartholomew County’s Adult Recovery Court got encouragement from retired Indiana Supreme Court Justice Steven David of Columbus, who spoke to them at a graduation ceremony this week.
“Falling down is part of life, but getting up is living” David told past and current participants, as The Republic’s Mark Webber reported. “It may not make (staying sober) any easier, but you have hundreds, if not thousands of people in this community that you have in your corner.”
That’s true. Dedicated judges, lawyers, recovery advocates and other community members are doing all they can through this problem-solving court to help people who want to overcome addiction.
“One of Indiana’s biggest problems is getting individuals to commit to a life-changing process,” David said. “It’s hard. But as we all know, doing what is right usually isn’t easy – or we’d all do it.”
That’s true, too. But recovery court is helping, one person at a time.
