THREE PROFESSORS GAIN NATIONAL ATTENTION ON ASSOCIATED PRESS NEWSWIRE

The research and writing of three Old Dominion University professors received nation-wide attention recently when the Associated Press ran articles about their work on its national wire.

Mounir Laroussi, electrical engineering research professor, and Fred Dobbs, associate professor of oceanography, were highlighted for their research on destroying harmful bacteria being spread into local waters from overseas ships. Douglas E. Ziegenfuss, associate professor of accounting, was featured as the co-author of an accounting textbook set in a mystery novel.

The AP reported that Laroussi and Dobbs believe they found a cheaper, more effective way of killing
microorganisms being spread into the Chesapeake Bay and other coastal waters by the ballast water in ships from overseas. Funded by a grant from the National Seagrant College Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) they created a reactor built around a specially designed UV lamp.

Kill rates achieved by the reactor are equal to or better than those in other known UV systems, according to
Dobbs. Tests have been performed on organisms including E.coli and hard-to-kill forms of Bacillus subtilis and
dinoflagellates, all of which perished in the UV light.

"We are tanning the bacteria to death," the article quoted Laroussi as saying.

Ziegenfuss was highlighted in a feature story about his recently published accounting textbook that combines the intensity of a murder mystery with the practical aspects of internal auditing.

Written in a novel format rather than that of a typical textbook, "The Big 'R': An Internal Auditing Adventure" is
essentially a mystery that mixes a tale of murder and baseball while applying the concepts of internal auditing.
The "R" refers to the big risk in business.

Written as a supplemental text for internal auditing classes, the book follows the story of an internal auditor for
the New York Yankees who works with the FBI to solve a string of murders associated with Major League
Baseball games. Throughout the story, elements of internal auditing, such as typical internal auditing
engagement, risk assessment, fraud detection and interpersonal skills, are explained.