We're very excited today to announce the launch of our official blog, The Alumni Connection. A few times each week we'll post an item on the blog, whether it's a piece of NIU news, an update on an interesting alumnus or alumna or a link to a relevant news article. Best of all, our posts will be easy to find. You'll be able to see our newest post on the front page of www.myniu.com or you can friend us on Facebook or follow us on twitter where we'll link to each new post.

You may have noticed over the past few months that we've made some changes to our web site and redesigned our eNewsletter. Since August we've quietly been working to strenghten our online presence and The Alumni Connection is just another piece of the online puzzle. The end result will make it even easier for you to stay connected to NIU and the Alumni Association. So if there's anything you think we've missed or that you'd like to hear about, let us know by commenting on a post or sending us a message.

Since the introduction ate up some space, our first post will be brief.

A finding by NIU scientists received a lot of national and international news coverage earlier this month with their findings that young T-rexs would engage in serious battle with each other. The discovery came after a team of NIU Ph.D students found scars and puncture wounds on "Jane," a juvenile T-rex skeleton unearthed in Montana in 2001.

"When we looked at the jaw and teeth of Jane, we realized her bite would have produced a very close match to the injuries on her own face,” said Joe Peterson, an NIU Ph.D. candidate in geology and lead author of the study published in the November issue of the journal, Palaios.

A big discovery by our scientists. Nice work gentlemen.

The university press release can be found here