Soundbites

Here is a sampling of quotations from Cornell University faculty, students and staff that have appeared recently in the national and international news media:

"If you look at the history of polar explorations where crews were isolated and confined for long times, it turns out that food is the 'quintessential habitability issue.' It's equivalent to leadership and workload management in terms of the psychological impact of the crew. So it's very important for the crew to have variety in their food, and also to be able to have some earth-made foods to remind them of home, and to use for special celebrations and special meals."

-- Jean Hunter, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, discussing NASA space cuisine research, for the BBC World Service on Jan. 22.

"In the last 10 years, there's been a revolution in decisions about the duties that managers of environment owe.... The fact that they signed [a waiver of immunity] does not create immunity. Tort law does not allow people to escape consequences of their negligence, even if people sign things that say they won't hold the party liable."

-- James Henderson Jr., professor of law, discussing the liability of a college when students on study abroad are injured, in The Washington Post, Jan. 22.

"These features are suggestive of episodic plate separation and subsequent infill of the resulting fractures by ice or water welling up from below."

-- Robert Sullivan, research associate in the Department of Astronomy, discussing features found on images of Jupiter's moon Europa by new analysis of data from the Galileo spacecraft, in a United Press International wire story, Jan. 21.

"Everyone tells you they are the best."

-- John Kuder, director of the Sloan Program in Health Administration, discussing HMO marketing strategies, in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Dec. 28.