Notables

Charles J. Arntzen, president emeritus of the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) for Plant Research Inc. on the Cornell campus was named Dec. 13 to President George W. Bush's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Arntzen, who currently is a professor at Arizona State University, will serve on the council with 23 other scientists for a two-year term. The council was founded Sept. 30 to advise the president on matters involving science and technology policy. Arntzen is best known for his research into edible vaccines. He and his collaborators at BTI have conducted pioneering human clinical trials in which volunteers ate uncooked potatoes to gain an immune response. His research group also is attempting to alter bananas genetically to contain vaccines, with a special interest in providing oral vaccination for children and adults in the developing worlds. The council will be reviewing federal funding of those areas of science with strategic economic or military importance.

Leslyn McBean, recently elected representative from District 2 -- in the city of Ithaca -- on the Tompkins County Board of Representatives, has joined the Cornell-Ithaca Partnership (C-IP) as assistant director for programs after nearly five years as a mediation trainer and administrator at Ithaca's Community Dispute Resolution Center. McBean is a mediation skills trainer for the New York State Dispute Resolution Program and offers diversity, communication and empowerment trainings throughout the state. The C-IP is a federally funded program addressing the concerns of neighborhoods and enhancing the quality of life in the city in Ithaca.