ACHIEVERS

Tabar Recognized as Leading Collegiate Entrepreneur
Senior entrepreneurship student Andy Tabar has been named one of the Top 20 collegiate entrepreneurs in the country in this year’s StartupNation Dorm-Based 20 Rankings for his business, Bizooki.com. Entrants were judged on a variety of criteria, including innovativeness of business concept, potential for growth, cutting-edge business practices, demonstration of business fundamentals, degree of talent exhibited by the founder, potential for overall impact and financial performance. Tabar, winner of the “Huge Upside Potential” group for Bizooki.com, said, “I realized the importance of talent not only locally but globally and how the economy is shifting that way.” His business-networking site aims to connect people around the world on projects. Click here to read the full StartupNation article.
Chemistry Society Chapter Receives Award
The American Chemical Society (ACS) Student Affiliates chapter at Belmont University has been selected to receive a Commendable Award for its activities conducted during the 2007-08 academic year. For the 2007-08 academic year, more than 330 reports were submitted and The Society Committee on Education presented 40 Outstanding, 71 Commendable and 96 Honorable Mention awards. Lists of award winning chapters will be published in Chemical & Engineering News and in Chemistry, the Student Affiliates magazine. The award-winning chapters will also be honored at the 237th ACS National Meeting in Salt Lake City on March 22, 2009. Assistant Professors of Chemistry Alison Moore and Rachel Rigsby deserve special commendation as they serve as faculty advisors for the chapter.
Belmont Debaters Land Significant Tournament Titles
This past weekend the Belmont Speech and Debate team traveled across town to TSU for an annual speech/debate tournament. With only three debaters competing , Belmont still secured the title of second place university in the overall debate division. Sophomores Tim Smith and Tyler Kimbro (their first tournament) qualified for quarterfinals. George Shifflett, who partnered with a debater from Carson-Newman College, was the second place team at the tournament (and was undefeated until the final round, leaving them an 8-1 record). Also, George was declared the first place individual debater out of the 52 competing. Thus, out of the 26 teams in attendance both Belmont teams ranked in the top eight.
Celebration Held for Scholar Communities Summer Research Program
On Sept. 6, a Celebration Dinner was held in the Massey Boardroom for the Scholar Communities Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Presentations were given by 24 students from seven research teams, the largest program to date, representing the disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Sociology. This is Scholar Communities’ sixth year during which students and faculty in the areas of Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, Biology, Psychology, Sociology, History, Journalism and English have participated throughout the summer in collaborative research experiences. In addition to their research projects, the participants enter into an ongoing dialogue about what it means to do research in the various disciplines represented.
Voight Presents at Two Major Conferences
Dr. Mike Voight, professor of physical therapy, offered the keynote lecture this summer for the International Federation for Sports Physiotherapy Symposium (IFSP) in Zurich, Switzerland. He presented on analyzing biomechanical performance in golf and developing a fitness program around the findings. He also presented on the anatomy and clinical examination of the hip as a part of a symposium on hip pathology at the National Athletic Training Association Annual Conference held in St. Louis. This is the largest meeting of the year for athletic trainers with more than 8,000 attending the conference. Once all invited programs were submitted, the conference committee selects the best program and gives it the designation of being the Johnson and Johnson Distinguished Keynote Lecture Symposium and does not schedule any other programming opposite this presentation. Voight’s Hip Symposium was selected this year for that honor and more than 4,500 people were attendance at the lecture. Finally, he was also recently published in the North American Journal of Sports Physical Therapy for an article he co-wrote titled “The Chop and Lift Reconsidered: Integrating Neuromuscular Principles into Orthopedic and Sports Rehabilitation.”