The Stress Gradient Hypothesis holds that as stress increases in an ecosystem, mutually supportive interactions become more significant and negative interactions, such as competition, become less so. The idea has been hotly debated but is now backed by a review of hundreds of studies co-authored in Ecology Letters by Mark Bertness, professor of biology at Brown, who first formally proposed the hypothesis in 1994. The time has come, he said, to test its application and predictive value.

Brown engineering student Cory Hargus ’13.5 has won an Award of Excellence and a $250 prize at the second annual National Collegiate Research Conference at Harvard on January 26, 2013. He entered the poster presentation competition with his research titled, “Solar Enriched Biofuels Via Oxidizable Metal Catalysts.” Hargus was one of more than 200 students entering the poster competition.

Tyler Coverdale’s newly published study in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment on the collapse of salt marsh habitats along Cape Cod tells an intriguing, if unfortunate, tale of how three different human activities spanning 70 years finally added up to a problem that no one anticipated.

Nitin Padture, professor of engineering, received a Distinguished Service Award from his undergraduate alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay. Since 1999 the awards have been given to IIT Bombay alumni who have contributed in a notable and sustained manner to the progress of the Institute.

Researchers have strengthened their understanding of how skin cells called melanocytes sense ultraviolet light and act to protect themselves with melanin. In a new study, they report experiments showing that an ion channel well-known elsewhere in the body for its chemical sensitivity, plays a central role in this process.

Brown will celebrate the $35-million renovation of Hunter Laboratory as the Building for Environmental Research and Teaching at a topping-off ceremony Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. The University will also sign a memorandum of understanding with Building Futures, a nonprofit organization that helps prepare low-income men and women in urban areas for careers in commercial construction. Mayor Angel Taveras and others will make brief remarks.

The Sony Bravia 4K 65-inch television was selected Best in Show and Best Home Theater Product at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The television features Color IQ™ technology developed by QD Vision. Brown engineering alumnus Seth Coe-Sullivan ’99 is the co-founder and chief technology officer of QD Vision. Read more.