The year at Mizzou

Mizzou Wire rounds up the best, brightest and biggest of 2007

Story by Chris Blose
Published: Dec. 19, 2007

Photos by Rob Hill, Shane Epping and James Yates; collage by Josh Nichols

Walk into a University of Missouri lab, and you might find someone trying to cure cancer. Walk around the corner, and you'll find another researcher studying diabetes. A mile away, a student composes music while another works on a multimedia news project. Down the street, athletes train for big-time Big 12 sports.

A lot happens at Mizzou in the course of a year. In that spirit, Mizzou Wire presents a year-in-review list for 2007 with enough links to keep you clicking, reading, viewing and listening through the New Year. This list is by no means comprehensive, so let us know what you think we left out.

Minds over important matters

As long as disease has existed, humans have been trying to figure out how to beat it. This year at Mizzou, researcher Shubhra Gangopadhyay used nanotechnology to develop devices for delivering cancer drugs. Marc Johnson advanced his imaging technique for unlocking the secrets of HIV and retrovirus assembly. Grace Sun and Gary Weisman continued their investigation into the causes of Alzheimer's disease. Bill Folk laid the groundwork for the first-ever clinical trials on African folk medicine. Salman Hyder published research linking growth hormones and breast cancer.
Researchers continued to make strides in comparative medicine. Thanks to them, people and their pets also will continue to make strides; Jimi Cook's work on dogs with knee injuries has led to an FDA-approved device to treat similar injuries in humans. Likewise, Kristina Narfstrom's success with eye implants to help curb blindness in cats may lead to similar help for humans.
Mizzou professors took their work around the world. Brent Rosenblad went to earthquake-ravaged Peru to help determine the best spots to rebuild schools and hospitals. Bob Sites discovered new insects in Thailand, with a little help from students. At sea, Ken MacLeod found answers to questions about historic mass extinction.
Mizzou students and professors now can hear music the way Mozart, Beethoven and other composers did because of a newly acquired fortepiano.
Thanks to Qingsong Yu, Hao Li and Yong Wang, fear of the dentist's office may be a thing of the past. The three have worked on a device that will improve cavity treatment — and reduce the pain and noise involved.
Even ancient people liked a little spice in their food. Deborah Pearsall and colleagues found chili pepper residue on kitchen tools from 6,000 years ago. In more modern times, the Mizzou Culinary Scholars spiced things up for sailors by cooking and serving a Thanksgiving meal aboard a Navy vessel.
Professors challenged conventional wisdom. Phil Peters showed that juries more often than not give doctors the benefit of the doubt in malpractice cases. Laurie Mintz showed that women with weight problems aren't the only ones who feel bad about themselves after viewing images of rail-thin models. George Kennedy and Daryl Moen fought back on behalf of everybody's favorite punching bag: journalism. Chris Robert said that a little humor in the workplace should be encouraged, not avoided.

The year of the Tiger

From a football team that shattered expectations to a wrestler who continued to meet them, Mizzou sports fans had plenty to cheer about in 2007. Photo by Shane Epping.

Mizzou's football team's theme for the year might as well have been "first time since ..." The team was ranked No. 1 for the first time since 1960 and reached the 11-win mark for the first time ever after a victory over Kansas in arguably the biggest game in that rivalry's history. Despite being left out of the Bowl Championship Series, Mizzou was picked for the Cotton Bowl for its first New Year's bowl since 1970. (Mizzou Wire blogged from the team's first-ever Big 12 Championship game and then from the Cotton Bowl.)
Earlier in the year, wrestler Ben Askren picked up his second national championship while the team captured third place, the highest finish in program history. Askren earned plenty of additional awards.
Golfer John Kelly also competed at the highest possible level, not just against college golfers, but also among the best in the world at the Masters.
Midwest Coach of the Year Tim Jamieson led his baseball team to a fifth-straight postseason appearance and a second-place finish in the Big 12.
Mizzou's soccer team hosted early rounds of the NCAA Championship after earning its first invitation to the tournament since 2003. The team made it to the second round.
Wheelchair basketball star John Gilbert was part of the U.S. national men's team that brought home the gold from the 2007 Para Pan-American Games in Brazil.

Life on campus

Arvarh Strickland was Mizzou's first African-American faculty member. With the renaming of the General Classroom Building in his honor, he is the first African-American with an academic building named for him. Photo by Rob Hill.

Mizzou's first African-American faculty member, Arvarh Strickland, made history again with the renaming of the General Classroom Building in his honor.
Home to "found texts" such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and rejection letters for famous writers — plus the work of established and up-and-coming writers alike — The Missouri Review started its 30th year of publication in March.
Legendary poet and author Maya Angelou brought her resonant voice and inspiring tales to campus.
On any given day, tucked away in Pickard Hall, you might find a newly acquired Diego Rivera print or a gallery full of rare classical casts. The Museum of Art and Archaeology turned 50 this year.
Speaking of anniversaries, Mizzou's largest and most-diverse academic unit, the College of Arts and Science, celebrated 100 years of existence.
Another college on campus started a new era with the naming of the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business.
For the 300-plus high schoolers at the Missouri Scholars Academy, summer camp at Mizzou offered a taste of college life. Likewise, the Magic of Chemistry program sparked science interest in Girl Scouts, and the Yamato drummers got loud for elementary school students.
With ever-increasing enrollment, the first-day freshman count at the university topped 5,000 for the first time ever.
The university regained a bit of its history when the Board of Curators voted to restore the traditional "University of Missouri" name.

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