Edgecombe on the Rise
VJ Edgecombe has made Baylor men’s basketball history during the NBA Draft. Standing tall at just 6-foot-4, Edgecombe was No. 3 overall in the draft for the Philadelphia 76ers, which makes him the highest pick for the Baylor Bears. We will be the only program in the past five years to have a Bear be in the top 19 picks for the NBA draft: notably our star player from last season, Ja’Kobe Walter was picked at No. 19 overall to Toronto. Even though we only have one national championship under our belt, Scott Drew has been able to create a community for the Bears to thrive.
This is Sealiously Cool
Baylor researchers get the seal of approval for this one. A new study reveals that leopard seals are strict with their feeding behavior and are responsible for dramatic decline in key prey species. The University’s release references a statement from the journal Ecology and Evolution: “The research team found that while the species as a whole feeds on a broad range of prey, nearly 60% of individual seals consistently target specific types of prey—sometimes for years at a time—specializing at different trophic levels within the food web.” One of the coolest parts of this research was the whisker analysis–which was a key tool for studying the foraging behavior of marine predators. The team was able to track the different diets and identify how seal feeding strategies might’ve changed over time. Why is this important to research? It helps to highlight how predators in different environments change, especially with the rapid global climate.
The Career of Mike L. Stricklin
Long-serving journalism professor Mike L. Stricklin (‘66) was an outstanding figure in the world of journalism. During his time at Baylor, Stricklin was a lab assistant from 1968 to 1969, worked for The Lariat, and was mentored by legendary professor David McHam. McHam said in an obituary from the University of Nebraska, “When Mike was an undergraduate, I began to see that he would make a great teacher, and he was. But as great as he was, he was an even better friend.”
During his time as a professor, Stricklin taught over 10,000 journalism across five decades and was known for nurturing creative and critical thinkers. He’s also known for his work at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Daily Iowan, and for being a Fulbright scholar/lecturer at the Federal University of Piaui in Brazil. He was also an expert in Q methodology–a research method that reveals how people think about complex topics.
How Could We Forget?
According to a recent Baylor Proud blog post, Dr. Michael Scullin’s research on ‘Digital Dementia’ has drawn international attention. An associate professor of psychology and neuroscience, Dr. Scullin and researchers at UT’s Dell Medical School set out to find if regular use of digital technology impacts brain health in older adults. To much surprise, they found that increased technology usage actually could reduce cognitive decline. No wonder Baylor prides itself on its “R1” status.
On another note, Dr. Scullin’s research on sleep was recently featured in one of The Baylor Line’s newest articles. Try saying polysomnography 10 times fast!
