Daily Debriefing
By Maria Fillas And Lia Grigg
Published on Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Simbex LLC, a New Hampshire research and development company, was granted $3.6 million this September to partner with Dartmouth and Dartmouth Medical School, among four other hospitals and universities, to further develop its Head Impact Telemetry System by The National Institute of Health. According to the Associated Press, the HIT system is a high-tech device designed to detect and prevent head injuries. It is comprised of a helmet, data transmitter and control panel. The device has been tested on football players across the country since 2004. By recording and analyzing helmet impacts, the HIT system could potentially help football teams and the military by determining what types of impacts cause head injuries and with what frequency.
As the numbers of college applicants to top universities reaches record highs, some of these institutions are considering expanding, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported last week. Stanford, Yale and Princeton Universities are examining the possibility of gradually increasing the size of their student bodies. The result of turning down large numbers of "exceptional and deserving students," Stanford University President John Hennessey wrote in the college's alumni magazine, is that the university must "come to terms with the fact that we are denying Stanford the benefit of talent that could contribute to the university and society at large in a significant way." Harvard University and Dartmouth said that, while they would like to increase enrollment, space constraints on their campuses make it impossible for now.
Former University of Pennsylvania economics professor Rafael Robb, 57, pleaded guilty on Monday to killing his wife Ellen Robb in their home outside of Philadelphia, Fox News reported. Robb said that he "just lost it" when his wife pushed him during an argument. According to Art and Gary Gregory, brothers of the victim, Robb had verbally abused his wife throughout their marriage. Robb's wife, a stay-at-home mom, reportedly remained in the marriage for the sake of the couple's 13-year-old daughter. Robb is being held without bail and will be sentenced in the coming months. He is likely to receive a sentence of 4 1-2 to seven years but, according to Montogomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, Robb can receive anything from probation to a 10- to 20-year prison term.