Startup Strives to Simplify Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Reduce Toxic Waste

October 19, 2021

UConn Today – Did you know that the prescription you picked up at the pharmacy likely once contained a host of toxic materials that were used as a catalyst for its creation?

Don’t panic. In the development process, the toxins are stripped from the medication, and the FDA has stringent guidelines ensuring its safety.

But UConn chemistry professors Eugene Pinkhassik, Sergey Dergunov, and Ph.D. candidate Kevin Rivera have an innovation that they believe can offer a better, safer, less expensive, and more environmentally sound alternative.

Supply Chain Disruptions Create Shortages of Goods Just in Time for the Holidays

October 12, 2021

UConn Today – For weeks, the media has been warning us to shop for the holiday season now or risk being shut out of the hot-gift market. Equally troublesome is finding a new car to buy, as many dealerships have limited inventory. Even that American staple, our beloved chicken wings, have been in short supply recently.

To make sense of all this, UConn Today spoke with School of Business assistant professor Tao Lu, of the Operations and Information Management Department. Lu researches supply-chain management, transport logistics, sharing economy and socially responsible operations. We asked him about the backorders, delays and consumer-goods shortages.

The Next Inning: Student’s Company Prepares to Sell New Iteration of Baseball-Training Invention

September 27, 2021

UConn Today – Since he was identified as one of the most promising entrepreneurs at UConn this summer, Elijah Taitel ’22 (BUS) hasn’t rested on his achievements.

His company, Extra Base Sports, is preparing to launch a new youth-sized version of its popular baseball/softball training device called the ProVelocity Bat next month, targeting players between 8 and 13.

Education by Intention

September 23, 2021

Years ago, driving through Oklahoma, I stopped for gas. In those days, attendants pumped your gas, and my attendant was a high school student heading for college. When he learned I was a college professor, he asked if college would be better than high school. I asked what motivated his question and he cited discipline problems and unruly behavior by classmates who hated high school.

My own high school experience was in sharp contrast to his, but, more importantly, I could assure him that I had never had a day as a professor when I felt I was more of a guard than a teacher. I encouraged him to anticipate four years of enthusiastic growth with other highly motivated, hard-working, and interested students.

As we enter the Fall of 2021 at UConn, I am pleased to say that I believe our new and returning students face that same optimistic future that I envisioned for him. Our students are not only interested, but interesting. They come together from different places with different specialties and goals.Continue Reading

‘Propelling Change Forward’: School of Business’ Equity Series Tackles Compelling Workplace Topics

September 22, 2021

UConn Today – In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and other calls for social change, there’s a tremendous appetite for knowledge and guidance among business professionals, students, and alumni in a vast variety of industries.

“In the midst of this social revolution I thought, ‘How can we at the School of Business make a difference and bring these issues to a wide audience?’’ says business law professor Robert Bird, who has organized a four-part speaker series on diversity and equity topics.

UConn’s Popular In-Person Career Fairs Returning After Pandemic-Induced Hiatus

September 20, 2021

UConn Today – Like so many other aspects of life, the COVID pandemic has upended the process of searching for internships and full-time jobs for many current and graduating UConn students.

But there’s good news on the horizon: For the first time in two years, UConn is able to return to in-person career fairs – albeit with many health and safety precautions – while continuing to offer the popular virtual fairs, on-demand resources, and other online programming it expanded during the pandemic.