The amount of rainfall affects the number of infant infections leading to hydrocephalus in Uganda, according to a team of researchers who are the first to demonstrate that these brain infections are linked to climate.

Eight Penn State faculty members have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Fellows are Consuelo M. De Moraes, professor of entomology; Jainendra K. Jain, Erwin W. Mueller Professor of Physics; John A. Kelmelis, professor of international affairs; Judith Kroll, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Linguistics, and Women's Studies and director of the Center for Language Science; Beverly Lindsay, professor of education, higher education and comparative and international education; Steven J. Schiff, director, Penn State Center for Neural Engineering, Brush Chair Professor of Engineering, professor of neurosurgery, engineering science and mechanics, and physics; Mauricio Terrones, professor of physics and materials science and engineering; and Darrell Velegol, professor of chemical engineering.

Steven Schiff, director of Penn State's Center for Neural Engineering, discusses what insipred him to embark upon a project to improve the quality of medical care in East Africa.

The first signs of spring mark the return to downtown State College of Research Unplugged, a non-traditional lecture series where experts from varying fields lead conversations with community members. All six Research Unplugged talks will be held Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m., at the Penn State Downtown Theatre on Allen Street. On March 23, join sociology professor Sam Richards and colleague Danna Jayne Seballos of the "World in Conversation Project" to find out "Why Race Still Matters: Creating Conversations in 21st Century Classrooms."