Veritas, Vol. 21, No. 08, December 9, 1980

              "'Three cheers for the University of Miami. Students who maintain "A” averages are eligible to receive tuition refunds of S100 to S2,200. So far, 228 students have been awarded a total of S214,424.”
One hundred-twenty of those Merit Award Scholars were recently recognized at a Dec. 1 luncheon in the Faculty Club. UM faculty and administrators paid tribute to them for their achievements in the classroom and for contributing to the academic prestige of the University.
Unlike most scholarships which are awarded to students before they enter the University, Merit Awards are given to students for outstanding performance while at the University. To qualify, students have
to be full-time undergraduates who earned at least 30 credits at the UM. Their grade point averages range from 3-85 to 4.
UM President Henry7 King Stanford has approved awarding the tuition waivers in the spring for those students who qualify at the end of the fall semester. Approximately $500,000 per year is needed to fund the program, and development affairs is seeking support for it from individuals, corporations and foundations.
Biologist finds new metliod for diagnosing birth defects
A method of using electrocardiographs on laboratory animals to detect functional birth defects has been developed by a University of Miami biologist.
Functional birth defects affect internal organs, such as the heart and lungs, in contrast to the highly visible anatomical disorders which may appears as cleft palate or missing or misshapen limbs.
Dr. Casimer Grabowski, professor of biology and specialist in embryology, has been looking for suitable procedures for the systematic detection and evaluation of functional disorders in experimental animals—a field which he says has not been as yet commonly investigated.
Many developmental defects in man and animals are attributed to environmental hazards, particularly chemicals. Dr. Grabowski selected the controversial chemical pesticide, Mirex—used to kill fire ants which are invading Florida—as his toxic challenging agent.
Mirex was already known to produce fetal and neonatal deaths in rats. But the mechanism of these deaths was unknown.
Dr. Grabowski’s approach is to feed small quantities of Mirex to pregnant rats and then monitor what happens to the fetuses, both during pregnant and after delivery.
He found that even in the early stages of pregnancy, the embryos showed a functional impairment in the heart as measured by the electrocardiograph. Eventually, these physiological problems led to illness and death prior to, during, or after birth because of impairment of cardiovascular and respiratory function.
The cardiograph is no different than any other, except that it is specially designed to pick up the exceedingly faint rhythms of rat embryos and then magnify them several hundred times to be recorded as electrocardiograms.
Tests on blood drawn from the rat fetuses by means of minute, needle-size pipettes revealed that the fundamental cause of the sub-normal heart/lung function was a lack of blood protein.
Use of the electrocardiograms to diagnose potential developmental problems in animals can be a highly valued research tool.
Dr. Grabowski concluded, "Newer methods such as this one are showing that functional problems of several vital organ systems can also be included by prenatal exposure to a number of noxious agents and successfully monitored.”
For the Faculty, Staff and Friends of the University of Miami
VoL 21, No. 8 December 9, 1980
From Reader's Digest. December 1980
Among those attending the Merit Award Scholar's Luncheon were Dr. Leonard Carrier, a member of the Presidential Scholarship Committee, and students Lourdes Peron and Robert Carlson. The luncheon was sponsored by three divisions—academic affairs, student affairs, and development.
UM celebrates the Xew Year at time Peach Bowl
After a Bowl famine of 13 years, the University of Miami football team, under Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger, earned an invitation to celebrate Atlanta’s famed Peach Bowl Festival in the Atlanta/ Fulton County Stadium, Friday, Jan. 2. p.m.
The opponent will be the Gobblers of Virginia Tech, who compiled an impressive record in 1980 of eight wins and three losses. The Hurricanes, enjoying their best season since 1966 (8-3), finished with a four game winning streak. Season victories included smashing wins over three Bowl-bound teams—FSU, Florida and Houston. They also captured the State Championship, defeating the Florida Gators, FSU Seminoles, and FAMU Rattlers. The 31-7 thrashing of the Gators was Miami’s widest margin of victory in the series that started in 1938, and was their third consecutive win over the Gators.
Charles Gesino, director of tickets and sales, said UM has been allocated 10,000 tickets to the game, of which some 4,000 have already been sold, "UM alumni from all over the country have been requesting tickets,” said Gasino. "We still have many good seats available near the UM band.”
PEACH BOWL FESTIVAL SPECIAL EVENTS
Tuesday, Dec. 30
PLAYERS AWARDS BANQUET Peachtree Plaza, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 31
PLAYERS & COACHES LUNCHEON Downtown Marriot, 12:30 p.m.
PEACH BOWL PRESIDENT’S BALL
Downtown Marriot, 9:00 p.m.—1:00 a.m.
4 Bands—2 Rooms—Continuous Music
Thursday, Jan. 1
PEP RALLY UM BAND OF
THE HOUR
6:00 p.m.
Peachtree Plaza Hotel Friday Jan. 2 PRE-GAME BRUNCH 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Peachtree Plaza Hotel $10.50 per person
PEACH BOWL PARADE 10:30 a.m.
Downtown Atlanta
Including UM Band of the Hour
GAME SCHEDULE
2:30 p.m. Pre-Game Mass-Bands Show
2:47 UM Band of the Hour
2:50 Va. Tech Band
3:00 Peach Bowl Classic
Half-Time Peach Bowl Spectacle
Following Game—Presentation of
Peach Bowl Trophy on the fields of the
winning team.
See page 7 for information on charter trips.