Cornell University News Service Releases

March, 2001

Index to all months

For the full text of any story, click on the headline. Electronic queries may be made to cunews@cornell.edu.

Super fly on a treadmill demonstrates directional hearing
Cornell University neuroscientists knew they had one amazing fly on their hands when they tested Ormia ochracea, a tiny insect parasite with such acute directional hearing that it has inspired a new generation of hearing aids and nanoscale listening devices. But it wasn't until the scientists ran an experiment on a fly-sized treadmill that they fully appreciated Ormia's talent for sound localization: Not only can the fly match the species thought to have the best directional hearing -- Homo sapiens -- but it does so with a fraction of the head space, a boon to miniaturization of man-made devices, Andrew C. Mason, Michael L. Oshinsky and Ron R. Hoy report in the April 5, 2001, issue of Nature. (March 29, 2001)

ILR symposium honors contributions and memory of William F. Whyte, 'the storytelling sociologist,' on April 6
The School of Industrial and Labor Relations will hold a symposium in memory of noted Cornell University sociologist William Foote Whyte, Friday, April 6, at 2 p.m. in Room 115 of Ives Hall on campus. Whyte, a Cornell faculty member from 1948 until his retirement in 1979, died July 16, 2000. The seminar is free and open to the public. (March 30, 2001)

Vet open house April 7 is showcase for veterinary medical education, technology and critters of all kinds
The students, faculty and staff of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine are inviting the public to their 35th annual open house on Saturday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. "The open house is our opportunity to share the joys of our profession with the community," says Joanne Johnson, Cornell DVM '03 and event co-chair. "Veterinary students and members of the faculty and staff host this annual event that provides a chance for those interested to get a closer look at veterinary medicine," she explains. (March 30, 2001)

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney to speak at ILR Union Days 2001
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney is the keynote speaker for Union Days 2001, a three-day event hosted by Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, April 4, 5 and 6. Sweeney's address launches the annual event April 4 at 1 p.m. in 305 Ives Hall on campus. All Union Days events are open to the public and free, except where noted below. (March 30, 2001)

Teatrotaller presents production April 13 by visiting Chicano playwright Carlos Morton
Teatrotaller, Cornell University's Spanish and Latino theatre troupe, will celebrate its 20th performance since 1993 with a production of "Johnny Tenorio," a Chicano play in Spanish by distinguished playwright Carlos Morton. The performance will be Friday, April 13, at 8 p.m. in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall on campus, and it will be followed by a "talk back" session with the playwright. In addition, Morton, a professor of theater at the University of California-Riverside, will discuss Chicano and Latino drama Thursday, April 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the Latino Living Center, Anna Comstock Hall. Morton also will give a public talk at noon, Friday, April 13, in the Latino Studies Program (LSP) office, 434 Rockefeller Hall. (March 30, 2001)

Transportation Advisory Committee and Transportation Services will host public hearing, April 4
The Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) of Cornell's University Assembly and Cornell Transportation Services invites the Cornell community to a public hearing. Transportation Services will present -- and invite feedback on -- its "program document," which outlines its accomplishments from 2000-2001 and goals for 2001-2002. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 4, from noon to 1 p.m. in room G-10 of the Biotechnology Building on campus. (March 30, 2001)

Reza Pahlavi, Son of the former Shah of Iran, to speak April 4
Reza Pahlavi, the elder son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran, will give a talk titled "Human Rights, Democratization and the Secular Movement in Iran" Wednesday, April 4, at 6 p.m. in Schwartz Auditorium of Rockefeller Hall on the Cornell University campus. The talk is sponsored by the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA) and is free and open to the public. A graduate in political science of the University of Southern California, Pahlavi left Iran in the summer of 1978 to complete his Air Force training at the former Reese Air Force base in Lubbock, Texas. He has lived in Egypt and Morocco and, since 1984, he has resided in the United States. (March 30, 2001)

Third annual Pow Wow and Smoke Dance competition April 7
The Native American Students at Cornell (NASAC) organization will host its Third Annual Pow Wow and Smoke Dance Competition Sunday, April 7, in Barton Hall on the Cornell University campus. The event begins with a "Grand Entry," similar to a formal procession or parade, at 11 a.m. and continues until 7 p.m. It is free and open to the public. The event features a variety of Native American foods, dancing and arts and crafts. Among the day's many activities will be performances of Iroquois social dancing as well as a smoke dance competition. (March 30, 2001)

Hunter Rawlings and others discuss the future of the humanities in the corporate university, April 3
Universities are undergoing rapid changes in response to dynamic and even contradictory forces that pose special challenges to the humanities and social sciences. In a candid effort to address these complex issues, the Cornell University Institute for German Cultural Studies and the Institute for European Studies, in cooperation with the Cornell administration, have organized a symposium titled "The Future of the Humanities in the Corporate University: A Report From Berlin and an Invitation to a Cornell Dialogue," Tuesday, April 3, from 4 to 6 p.m. in 155 Olin Hall. It is free and open to the public. Guest speakers at the Cornell symposium will include: President Hunter Rawlings; Provost Biddy Martin; Walter Cohen, vice provost and dean of the Graduate School; and Philip Lewis, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Conveners will be: Peter Hohendahl, the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of German and Comparative Literature and director of the Institute for German Cultural Studies; and Davydd Greenwood, Goldwin Smith Professor of Anthropology and director of the Institute for European Studies. (March 30, 2001)

Conference April 6-7 honors the late George Gibian for contributions to Russian and comparative literature
George Gibian, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Russian Literature and Comparative Literature, was still an active member of the Cornell University faculty when he died at home in October 1999. In April, former students and colleagues will honor Gibian's memory with a conference titled "Cosmopolitan Crossings: Contacts and Connections Across Cultures and Disciplines," sponsored by the departments of Russian Literature and Comparative Literature at Cornell. Events will be held April 6-7, beginning at 2 p.m. Friday, April 6, in the A.D. White House and continue there Saturday, April 7, at 10 a.m., before shifting to the Carl A. Kroch Library at 1:30 p.m. and concluding at 3:30 p.m. with a concert in Lincoln Hall. All events are free and open to the public. (March 30, 2001)

Award-winning author and scholar Juan Flores speaks on Puerto Rican and Latino identity
Juan Flores, professor of Black & Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY), is guest speaker for the Latino Studies Program's spring colloquium at Cornell University on Friday, April 6, at 4:30 p.m. in 142 Goldwin Smith Hall. The talk will focus on issues of Puerto Rican and Latino identity, and is free and open to the public. Flores serves a dual appointment in the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College and in the sociology program at the CUNY Graduate Center. He received his B.A. from Queens College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1970. His research and teaching focus on social and cultural theory, popular culture and ethnicity and race, especially Puerto Rican and Latino studies. (March 30, 2001)

Annual engineering conference to consider technology investments in 'post-bubble environment'
This year's annual conference of the Cornell Society of Engineers (CSE) will be held April 5-7, 2000 on the Cornell University campus with the theme of "Creating Successful Technology-Based Businesses." Topics to be discussed include funding of venture-backed start-ups, the end of the Internet era, and the latest view from Silicon Valley. Among the speakers will be Cabot Corp. executive Samuel W. Bodman, a Cornell graduate who has been picked by President Bush to be U.S. deputy secretary of commerce. (March 30, 2001)

Excessive weight gain in pregnancy harms breast-feeding
Normal-weight women who gain more than the 24 to 35 pounds during pregnancy recommended by the Institute of Medicine are 74 percent more likely to be unsuccessful at breast-feeding than mothers who observe these guidelines, according to a new study conducted by Cornell University/Bassett Hospital researchers. However, women who are obese before pregnancy do not further increase their already high risk of lactation failure, regardless of their weight gain after conception. (March 30, 2001)

Nobel Laureate Neher to present colloquium March 30
German scientist Erwin Neher, joint winner of the 1991 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, will present a special colloquium at Cornell University Friday, March 30. It will take place at 12:30 p.m. in Room G10 of the Biotechnology Building, and it is free and open to the public. The colloquium, jointly sponsored by Cornell's School of Applied and Engineering Physics, the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and the graduate field of biophysics, is titled "Exploring the Functional Role of Synaptic Proteins With Rapid Techniques." It will be hosted by Manfred Lindau, Cornell associate professor of applied and engineering physics. (March 27, 2001)

Human Ecology centennial celebration includes four clothing and art exhibits
Four clothing, textile and art exhibits are coinciding with the centennial celebration for Cornell University's College of Human Ecology this coming weekend, March 30-31. One exhibit, which focuses on fashions of the 20th century and their interactions with art, is paired with a show of contemporary works of art in which clothing and dress are the subject matter; both are in the university's Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. The third exhibit, featuring children's clothing, is in the Cornell Costume and Textile Collection Gallery (on the third floor of Martha Van Rensselaer Hall). All three exhibits coincide with the centennial celebration this week but will continue until June 17. (March 27, 2001)

New Kroch Library exhibit shows genesis of home economics
Experimenting with quick cake mixes, designing a dress, learning to care for babies: These stereotypical images of home economics don't tell the whole story. In fact, research is showing that home economics was a progressive field that brought science to the farm home and brought women into higher education and leadership positions in public education, academia, government and industry. In celebration of the centennial of the New York State College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, the exhibition "From Domesticity to Modernity: What Was Home Economics?" shows the intellectual history of home economics. In the university's Carl A. Kroch Library from March 30 to Aug. 17, the exhibition examines the historical roots of Cornell's College of Home Economics from 1900 to 1969, when it was renamed the College of Human Ecology. (March 27, 2001)

William Fry named senior associate dean of Ag College
Cornell University's New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has named William E. Fry, professor of plant pathology, as the college's senior associate dean. The appointment will take effect in June. Fry succeeds associate dean Brian Chabot, who will return to teaching. (March 23, 2001)

Retirement and Well-Being Study reports on findings
A new publication from the Cornell University Retirement and Well-Being Study provides an in-depth look at how the older Americans fare through the transition to -- and in -- retirement. "Our focus was on the pathways in and out of paid work and unpaid community service, as well as their implications for well-being," says Phyllis Moen, the principal investigator and a professor of sociology and human development at Cornell. She is the Ferris Family Professor of Life Course Studies at Cornell and co-director of the Cornell Gerontology Research Institute, which funded the study. (March 21, 2001)

Former IMF managing director will give 2001 Bartels Lecture
Michel Camdessus, former managing director and chairman of the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will be the 2001 Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels World Affairs Fellow at Cornell University, April 9 and 10. Camdessus will present the Bartels Fellowship Lecture Monday, April 9, at 8 p.m. in the Alice Statler Auditorium of Statler Hall on campus. (March 21, 2001)

David Lipsky named eCornell executive
David Lipsky, an early proponent of distance learning and director of the Institute on Conflict Resolution at Cornell University, has been named director of educational planning and review for eCornell. The announcement was made today (March 21) by Francis Pandolfi, president and chief executive officer of the university's distance-learning subsidiary. Lipsky will continue as a Cornell professor of industrial and labor relations and director of the Institute on Conflict Resolution, in addition to the part-time position with eCornell. (March 21, 2001)

French honor John Hsu with Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters
In April of 1961, when John Hsu gave a solo recital of 18th century French music on viola da gamba at Cornell University, he unwittingly, yet artfully, teased a musical genie from its bottle. That historical concert, the first Cornell faculty recital on a period instrument, initiated Hsu's inadvertent career as a viola da gamba virtuoso, pedagogue and leading authority on then-obscure French composers who wrote for the instrument. In February, Hsu was honored with the prestigious Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. (March 21, 2001)

College of Human Ecology celebrates centennial March 30-31
In the vanguard of higher education for the past 100 years, the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University will celebrate its centennial with a feast of lectures, panel discussions, exhibits and more at its Centennial Celebration Weekend on the Cornell campus, Friday and Saturday, March 30 and 31. The weekend's events are open to the public, but registration is required. (March 21, 2001)

Evidence of fourth spatial dimension in plant world
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Using mathematical equations, a Cornell University scientist and his colleagues have found evidence of a fourth spatial dimension in plants. In short, size matters even in the plant world, suggesting that "universal scaling laws probably exist," says Karl J. Niklas, the Liberty Hyde Bailey professor of plant biology at Cornell. (March 19, 2001)

Stephen Greenblatt to give Gottschalk Memorial Lecture
Renaissance scholar, critic and author Stephen Greenblatt of Harvard University will give the 22nd annual Gottschalk Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Cornell University Department of English, Wednesday, March 28, at 7 p.m. in Hollis Cornell Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall, on campus. His topic will be "Resisting Materialism," and the talk is free and open to the public. (March 19, 2001)

Carpets in schools don't compromise indoor air quality
Carpets in schools can help the quality of indoor air by trapping contaminants and allergens, says a Cornell University indoor environmental expert. The findings run counter to growing concerns of some doctors, parents and schools that carpeting might be affecting some children's health by compromising schools' indoor air quality (IAQ). (March 19, 2001)

Midlife crisis is less common than many believe
Although more than 25 percent of Americans over age 35 think they have had a midlife crisis, more than half of these were no more than "stressful life events," says Cornell University sociologist Elaine Wethington. And contrary to the traditional view, she says, women are just as likely as men to believe they have had a midlife crisis. (March 19, 2001)

Johnson School hosts Leadership Week, March 26-April 1
The Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell has established the Center for Leadership in Dynamic Organizations, which will host its first Leadership Week, slated for March 26 to April 1, 2001, on the Cornell campus. The week is comprised of three major events: an academic symposium, a corporate conference and a graduate student business conference. (March 16, 2001)

It's moo-licious, it's moo-tricious: time to grab a nice cold e-Moo
Got e-Moo? Taking direct aim at the youth sports drink and carbonated soft drink industry, a carbonated, milk-based beverage has been developed by food science researchers at Cornell University. It is anticipated that e-Moo, made by Mac Farms, Inc., of Burlington, Mass., will be in supermarket dairy cases within months. (March 16, 2001)

Major hospitality industry strategy conferences
Taking the lead in two major hospitality industry events here and abroad, members of the administration, faculty and staff of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration have organized two dynamic strategy conferences. The first event marks the fifth annual "Hospitality Industry Strategy Conference -- The Americas" to be held March 21-23 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. In May, the Cornell Hotel School goes to London to host the "Hospitality Industry Strategy Conference -- Europe." (March 15, 2001)

VP for Financial Affairs and Controller Yoke San Reynolds to leave for U. of Virginia post
Yoke San Reynolds, who has served as vice president for financial affairs and university controller at Cornell University for the past three years and who has brought substantial changes to the university's financial function, will leave Cornell in May to become the University of Virginia's vice president for finance. In that newly created post, she will oversee all of U.Va.'s primary financial operations. (March 14, 2001)

Cornell to continue support for program to train apparel factory monitors
Cornell University will maintain its support for a program undertaken by member universities of the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to involve locally-based organizations in monitoring working conditions in apparel factories in third-world countries. In making the announcement, Cornell President Hunter Rawlings said, "Thanks to the efforts of students at Cornell who, more than two years ago, raised our awareness of the inhumane conditions forced on many workers in the global apparel industry, Cornell has been a leader in the movement to improve working conditions for the people who produce goods that bear the name of our university. We will continue those efforts." (March 14, 2001)

Cornell issues dragon warning for Thursday, March 15
Cornell University officials, responding to reports of the impending appearance of a dragon on the campus Thursday, March 15, have issued a dragon warning and road closure alert for Thursday afternoon. From 1 p.m. to approximately 3:30 p.m., vehicular access to central campus will be restricted, and buses may be rerouted or delayed for Cornell's annual Dragon Day parade, in which College of Architecture, Art and Planning students build and parade a mock dragon through campus. (March 14, 2001)

Cornell trustees approve statutory tuition increase for 2001-2
ITHACA, N.Y. ---- The Cornell University Board of Trustees, at its regular meeting March 9, approved a tuition increase of $1,140 for undergraduate resident students in the New York state statutory colleges for the academic year 2001-02. "Cornell is committed to keeping tuition increases as low as possible, as well as to a policy of need-blind admission -- that is, to admitting students without regard to their financial resources," said President Hunter Rawlings. "At the same time, we are committed to maintaining the excellence of the institution and to ensuring its competitive position in higher education. (March 13, 2001)

Spring Field Ornithology offers chance to meet the (feathered) neighbors, March 28-May 20
Bird lovers across the region are invited to get to know their "neighbors" by signing up for the course Spring Field Ornithology (SFO) offered by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. This eight-week course is an opportunity for bird enthusiasts to learn more about many of the birds that visit their feeders in winter as well as those that have just returned to their upstate New York breeding or migratory feeding grounds after spending the winter in the tropics. The course consists of Wednesday evening lectures covering topics such as "How to identify birds and use binoculars," "Bird song and courtship" and "Neotropical songbird conservation." Participants can opt to take part in field trips to local birding "hot spots" and even to venture on an overnight birding experience to Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (formerly Brigantine) in New Jersey, one of the premier birding locales in the East. (March 13, 2001)

Three Cornell faculty members receive NSF awards
Three Cornell University researchers have been awarded Faculty Early Career Development grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). They are Edwin A. "Todd" Cowen, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering; Fernando Escobedo, assistant professor of chemical engineering; and Z. Jane Wang, assistant professor of theoretical and applied mechanics. (March 13, 2001)

Virtual reality environment for engineering design
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- NASA and the State of New York will jointly fund a three-year program at Syracuse and Cornell universities to develop a virtual learning environment that uses advanced information technologies to improve student learning, on-the-job training and the ability of engineers at geographically dispersed locations to collaborate on complex, multidisciplinary projects. As one component of the engineering course, students at the two universities will collaborate with NASA engineers on the design of future reusable space vehicles that could replace the space shuttle. NASA and New York state officials hope the program will lead to advances in both undergraduate engineering education as well as engineering collaborations necessary for supporting future space agency missions. (March 13, 2001)

Welfare reform side effect may be family violence
ITHACA, N.Y. -- One of the hidden costs of welfare reform, both at the federal and state levels, is addressed by a new study at Cornell University. It finds that the marginally employed -- people whose low pay makes them eligible for welfare payments -- are almost four times more likely to be violent with their families than workers not on welfare or even than other unemployed workers. The study also found that unemployed individuals who use alcohol to excess are at greater risk of committing family violence than the employed who abuse alcohol or nondrinkers, with the greatest risk among employed welfare recipients. (March 13, 2001)

Biologist David B. Stern named VP for research at Boyce Thompson Institute
The Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Inc. (BTI) has named plant molecular biologist David B. Stern as vice president for research. Stern succeeds Stephen H. Howell, who has accepted the directorship of the Plant Science Institute at Iowa State University. (March 7, 2001)

Nor'easter makes this second snowiest season for Syracuse
N.Y. -- Thanks to the early March nor'easter that has dumped more than 17 inches of snow on the city of salt, this has become the second snowiest season ever for Syracuse, N.Y. In fact, Syracuse is the snowiest city in the Northeast, according to climatologists at Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. With a total of 171.9 inches through 11:59 p.m., March 5, Syracuse is about 20 inches shy of breaking the old snow record, set in the winter of 1992-93. That season included the "storm of the century" on March 13 to 14, 1993, that dumped 42 inches on Syracuse. The normal winter snowfall amount in the city is 110.3 inches, according to the center. (March 6, 2001)

Novelist, visiting professor Richard Price, Author of 'Clockers', to read March 12
Novelist and visiting professor Richard Price will read from a work-in-progress Monday, March 12, at 4:30 p.m. in the A.D. White House on the Cornell University campus. The reading is free and open to the public. When Price '71, attended Cornell, Goldwin Smith Hall (where the writing faculty held court) was for him a young writer's Valhalla; the hall's old Temple of Zeus the arena where he first went public with his talents. The tranquil A.D. White House where Price will read is no Temple of Zeus of yore, but then the campus zeitgeist has changed profoundly since Price's undergraduate days, he said. (March 6, 2001)

Darwinian evolution of reproductive proteins in mammals
Chemical signals at the most critical moment for new life in mammals -- when sperm meets egg and attempts fertilization -- evolve rapidly in a process driven by positive Darwinian selection, according to a Cornell University study. New statistical studies of sequence divergence among egg-surface and oviduct proteins, reported by Willie J. Swanson, Mariana F. Wolfner and Charles F. Aquadro of Cornell University and Ziheng Yang of University College London (UCL) in the Feb. 27, 2001, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrate for the first time that natural selection drives rapid changes in these female proteins at the site of sperm-egg interaction. (March 6, 2001)

Symposium on cynicism and the regulatory state slated for March 9 and 10 at Law School
What are the strengths and weaknesses of new theoretical models of governance? How do these new models affect our assessment of administrative and structural constitutional issues? To explore these and other issues related to the appropriate roles of administrative agencies, the president and the courts, the Cornell Law Review is hosting the symposium "Getting Beyond Cynicism: New Theories of the Regulatory State," on Friday and Saturday, March 9 and 10, at the MacDonald Moot Court Room in Myron Taylor Hall at Cornell Law School. It is free and open to the public. (March 5, 2001)

Cornell trustees to meet in Ithaca March 8 and 9
The Cornell University Board of Trustees will meet in Ithaca March 8 and 9. The board will meet from 9 to 11:45 a.m. and again from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 9, in the Trustee Meeting Room of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art on the Cornell campus. The morning session will be open to the public from 9 to approximately 10 a.m. Topics will include a report from President Hunter Rawlings; a report on the Student Assembly, by assembly president Uzo Asonye, a junior; a report on the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, by assembly president Patrick Carr; and an update on the state budget, including proposed statutory college tuition. (March 2, 2001)

Student hospitalized with probable meningococcal meningitis
A Cornell University student has been hospitalized with probable meningococcal meningitis. The student, a 19-year-old male freshman, was examined March 1 by physicians at Gannett: Cornell University Health Services. He was transferred immediately to Cayuga Medical Center, where he remains in intensive care. (March 2, 2001)

High-energy physics instruments measure turbulence
Ever wonder why you don't see mosquitoes on a windy day? The answer to that question is important not only to campers but also to mathematicians who try to understand turbulence in gases and liquids, with applications in everything from weather forecasting to mixing industrial chemicals. There are standard mathematical models that describe how a particle will move in a turbulent fluid, but up to now no one has been able to check the models against real measurements at high degrees of agitation because the particles sometimes move too fast to measure. Now, Cornell University researchers, using techniques developed to observe subatomic particles, have measured turbulent flow in liquids over a wide range of velocities and have come up with some surprising results: Particles often get an extra kick that accelerates them out of proportion to the general motion of the fluid. (March 1, 2001)

Americans aren't as nice as they think they are
Most people are better judges of other people's moral character than they are of their own. Experiments conducted at Cornell University and reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 79, No. 6, pp. 861-87) found many people making an error in self-assessment. Participants in the survey consistently tended to overestimate their own generosity, but actually were quite accurate when predicting the generous behavior of others, according to Nicholas Epley, a graduate student of psychology, and David Dunning, a professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell. (March 1, 2001)

Seminar to honor planetary specialist Peter Gierasch
Peter Gierasch, the distinguished Cornell University scientist who has almost "written the book" on planetary atmospheres, will be honored at a two-day seminar March 2 and 3. The event is being held to celebrate Gierasch's 60th birthday. Gierasch has spent nearly 30 years in Cornell's astronomy department as a leading international figure in his field. "Peter is truly one of the leading people who have developed almost everything we know today about the atmospheres of planets, other than the Earth," said fellow Joseph Veverka, astronomy professor and chair of the department. (March 1, 2001)