Cornell University News Service Releases

November, 2002

Index to all months

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

Sugar gene helps rice tolerate drought, salt, cold
A new strategy to genetically engineer rice and other crops to make them more tolerant of drought, salt and temperature stresses, while improving their yields, is being reported by molecular biologists at Cornell University. In releasing their research, the biologists emphasize that the technique, which involves adding genes to synthesize a naturally occurring sugar called trehalose, should satisfy critics of genetically modified foods because the chemical composition of edible parts of plants, such as rice grains, remains unchanged. (November 21, 2002)

Weill Cornell computer simulation helps remedy possible gap in bioterrorism preparedness
New York, NY (November 22, 2002) -- An innovative and sophisticated computer simulation model can help public health officials and emergency planners to prepare a public health response in case of bioterrorist attack, a study by scientists in the Department of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College has demonstrated. The simulation model, which predicts staffing requirements for antibiotic or vaccine dispensing centers, should help remedy a potential gap in current local, state, and national bioterrorism preparedness.The study, authored by Dr. Nathaniel Hupert, Dr. Alvin I. Mushlin and Dr. Mark A. Callahan, first appeared in the current issue of the journal "Medical Decision Making."

Tests for chronic wasting disease in deer and elk begin at state Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory
Testing for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in tissues from deer and elk has begun in a specially outfitted facility in the New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. The tests are part of a nationwide surveillance effort by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to track the spread of the nervous system disease, which has infected deer and elk in several states but has yet to reach New York state. The Cornell lab is one of about a dozen nationwide to be designated by the USDA. Tissue samples are sent from a USDA center in Ames, Iowa, to regional laboratories where board-certified veterinary anatomical pathologists examine the samples for evidence of CWD and report results back to the agency. (November 22, 2002)

Cornell program adopts the Gratefulness Project for character education
As pollution, terrorism, hunger, cruelty and poverty continue to challenge our world, a new initiative at Cornell University offers a simple strategy to buoy the spirit of the campus community and simultaneously to foster change in a troubled world. It is called the Gratefulness Project. When the Cornell-affiliated Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy (CRESP) officially adopted the Gratefulness Project earlier this month, the university became the first campus to embrace the international nondenominational, apolitical, nonprofit program in character development. (November 22, 2002)

Wilfried Brutsaert wins two major awards in field of Earth's resources
Wilfried Brutsaert, the W.L. Lewis Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, has been named winner of two major awards for his decades-long research into the Earth's resources, both in atmospheric sciences and hydrology. Most recently he has been selected to receive the 2003 Jule G. Charney Award from the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The award recognizes "highly signiÞcant research or development achievement in the atmospheric or hydrologic sciences." (November 22, 2002)

Promoting may be better than hiring top-notch outsider
Which is a better choice -- the external job candidate who scored exceptionally high on an interview or the internal candidate who has an above-average, but not exceptional, past-performance record? While it may be tempting to hire the freshest face with the glowing interview, the best choice, time and again, is the above-average employee in the organization who has consistently been rated well in the past, according to a new study by a Cornell University researcher and his colleagues. The researchers provide estimates of the strength of the relationship between past and future performance that supervisors can use in the hiring process. (November 21, 2002)

Weill Cornell's new, less invasive diagnostic MRA technology equals traditional method for planning treatment of peripheral vascular disease
New York, NY (November 18, 2002) -- A new study by doctors at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center shows that the Center's unique diagnostic technology of magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is the equal of the traditional technique of x-ray angiography in helping physicians plan treatment for patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD). MRA, which is much less invasive than x-ray angiography, can now be considered as the appropriate and standard diagnostic technique not only for mild forms of PVD but for severe forms as well.The new study, recently published in the journal "Radiology," is the first to show that MRA is useful in guiding the planning of treatment for severe as well as mild PVD. PVD, which afflicts many elderly people, involves a narrowing or obstruction of arteries in the lower body, particularly the legs or feet. In its mildest form, it can lead to pain in walking and is called claudication. In its more severe form, it can lead to pain in the feet at rest as well as foot gangrene and ulcerations.

New Weill Cornell book on airborne allergies distinguishes fact from fiction
New York, NY (November 21, 2002) -- More than 60-million Americans suffer from allergies, and as many as 40 million suffer from airborne allergies. Yet, despite their prevalence and the ever-increasing numbers of allergy sufferers, there is still widespread misunderstanding about allergies. Now, a new book by a leading Weill Cornell allergist clears the air about allergies and distinguishes the fact from the fiction.The book, entitled "What's In the Air? The Complete Guide to Seasonal and Year-Round Airborne Allergies," is authored by Dr. Gillian Shepherd, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, and Marian Betancourt. It is available in paperback and published by Pocket Books.

$750,000 NYSTAR grant for biosensor development
Engineer and physicist Harold Craighead of Cornell University has been awarded $750,000 by a New York state research agency to develop a chip-based analytical system for rapid analysis of chemical and biological compounds. Craighead, the C.W. Lake Jr. Professor of Engineering and professor of applied and engineering physics at Cornell, received the award through the New York State OfÞce of Science, Technology and Academic Research's (NYSTAR) Faculty Development Program. The funds are designed to assist universities in the recruitment and retention of leading research faculty in science and technology Þelds with strong commercial potential. (November 20, 2002)

Member of Canadian Parliament to speak on Canada-U.S. relations Nov. 22
The Hon. Art Eggleton, a member of the Parliament of Canada, will visit Cornell University Friday, Nov. 22, to give a talk on "Canada-U.S. Relations in the Post-9/11 Era." The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be in the Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall from 2:30 to 4 p.m. (November 20, 2002)

ACS grant to study estrogen's role in breast cancer
A four-year, $650,000 Research Scholar Grant from the American Cancer Society (ACS) will help Cornell University biologist W. Lee Kraus, assistant professor of molecular biology and genetics, and his laboratory group learn more about how the hormone estrogen regulates the growth of cells in the human body -- including cells that develop into breast cancers. Kraus credits a graduate student in his Cornell laboratory, Mi Young Kim, with the discovery of two enzymes that apparently act on the hormone-binding proteins that bind estrogens inside cells. The Cornell researchers now hope to learn how these estrogen receptor-modifying enzymes, called an acetylase and a deacetylase, alternately add or remove acetyl groups at the receptor. They also hope to learn what effect these modifications have on the activity of the receptors in normal and cancerous human mammary cells. (November 19, 2002)

Will the northeast have a white Thanksgiving?
N.Y. -- If you plan to go over the river or through the woods this Thanksgiving, consider snow tires. The holiday falls on Nov. 28 this year, and for the northern parts of the northeast United States, that means a good chance of snow. Cornell University's Northeast Regional Climate Center predicts a 67 percent likelihood of an inch of snow on the ground in Caribou, Maine, on Thanksgiving morning, and a 34 percent possibility in Burlington, Vt. Not far behind is Concord, N.H., with a 29 percent chance. Keith Eggleston, senior climatologist at the center, based his predictions on a 30-year average of Northeast snowfall, from 1971 to 2000. (November 19, 2002)

Cornell Police wants students to 'Buckle Up' for safe holiday trips
During the Thanksgiving holiday season from Nov. 18 to Dec. 1, Cornell University Police will join police agencies throughout New York state in a wave of "zero tolerance" enforcement of the seat belt laws. "Many students will be driving home for the Thanksgiving holiday, and we want to help ensure a safe trip home and back for them," said Sgt. Charles Howard, coordinator of traffic enforcement activities for Cornell Police. (November 18, 2002)

Environmental sculptor Andy Goldsworthy to give public talk, Dec. 4
Environmental sculptor Andy Goldsworthy will present a public lecture "Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time," Wednesday, Dec. 4 , at 7:30 p.m. in the David Call Alumni Auditorium of Kennedy Hall on the Cornell University campus. The lecture will include a screening of Goldsworthy's film by the same name, and a question and answer session with audience members will follow. The event is free and open to the public. However, tickets are required with a limit of two per person. Tickets will be available starting Monday, Dec. 2, at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office, on campus, and at the Clinton House box office in downtown Ithaca. (November 18, 2002)

Personalized vaccine for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma being tested at New York Weill Cornell
New York, NY -- NewYork Weill Cornell Medical Center of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is currently seeking patients for a nationwide, multicenter clinical research trial to explore the benefits of a unique vaccine to treat low-grade follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). This randomized Phase 3 study will test a personalized immunotherapy vaccine created from a patient's own tumor cells to potentially combat the cancer and interfere with disease progression. NewYork Weill Cornell is the only site in New York State participating in this trial.Ê"This study is for patients with previously untreated, advanced stage low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who want to use their own immune system as a first line of defense to fight the disease," said John P. Leonard, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Medical Director, Oncology Services, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, and investigator on the trial. "Low-grade NHL is a cancer with no readily available cure, and conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation have been shown to lose efficacy and cause side effects as the disease progresses. We are hopeful that this technique for stimulating the immune system to recognize and then attack the cancer will result in longer-term remissions."

New architectural firm chosen to design Milstein Hall
A new architectural firm has been chosen to design Milstein Hall, the future home of Cornell University's Department of Architecture. Barkow Leibinger Architects (BLA) was the unanimous choice of the Cornell committee that made the decision. One of BLA's principals, Frank Barkow, is a Kansas-born architect who was a visiting critic for Cornell's Department of Architecture in 1990-92. (November 14, 2002)

Poet Alice Fulton is awarded the Bobbitt National Prize
Great poetry still matters even in these most bellicose of times. To wit: Alice Fulton, professor of English at Cornell University, has been awarded the 2002 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry for her 2001 book of poetry, Felt. The prestigious $10,000 biennial prize, sponsored by the Library of Congress, will be presented to Fulton on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 8 p.m. in the Mumford Room of the James Madison Building in Washington, D.C. Fulton will read from her works, and a public reception will follow. The Bobbitt prize recognizes the most distinguished book of poetry written by an American and published during the previous two years. Fulton was chosen by a three-member jury of American poets appointed in July by a selection committee composed of the librarian of Congress, the poet laureate consultant in poetry, a publisher named by the Academy of American Poets and a literary critic nominated by the Bobbitt family. (November 14, 2002)

Study of stress, trauma faced by NYC firefighters
An institute for workplace studies at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) is undertaking a major study examining the work, well-being and quality of life of New York City firefighters. The study is being directed by ILR Professor Samuel Bacharach, in cooperation with the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) of Greater New York. It will focus on numerous issues of concern about firefighters, including stress, trauma, communication, relations at work, peer support, retirement, workplace culture, work-family conflict and substance abuse. (November 14, 2002)

Wanted: Used, working computers for Ithaca schoolchildren
Thousands of people in the Ithaca area have computers, and some have two or three between work and home. The Cornell-Ithaca Partnership (C-IP) is hoping that as these users upgrade their equipment, many will choose to donate their still-functional computers to local schoolchildren from low-income families. "When we recently assessed how many students at the Beverly J. Martin Elementary School [BJM] do not have access to computers at home, we discovered a resounding 57 kids. In today's educational landscape, a child without a computer is a child who may not succeed," says Tish A. Pearlman, program coordinator of C-IP. (November 14, 2002)

Older moms ambivalent about underachieving chidren
Of course mothers love their children. But as moms get older, more than half report some conflicted or ambivalent feelings about their adult children. And, according to a recent study at Cornell University and Louisiana State University, the older mom gets, the more mixed are her feelings about her children. "Older mothers tend to be most ambivalent toward children who never completed college or aren't married," says Karl Pillemer, an associate professor of human development at Cornell and co-director of the Cornell Applied Gerontology Research Institute. "Mothers are also more ambivalent toward children that still need financial support from them." (November 14, 2002)

Cornell alumnus to help fund "ambitious program" to build infrared telescope in the high Chilean Andes
Cornell University alumnus Fred Young, a retired Racine, Wis., businessman and longtime follower of astronomy, has given $250,000 for the study phase of a proposed infrared telescope, planned for the Atacama desert in the high Andes of northern Chile. Young said he will provide a further $250,000 for the Atacama project if by next year substantial progress has been made toward establishing a firm partnership that will lead to the construction of the telescope within a decade. The telescope, estimated to cost more than $100 million, would be built entirely with private funds from Cornell and other sources, although it is expected that its operation will involve federal funds. (November 13, 2002)

Square Kilometer Array gets NSF design grant
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $1.5 million over three years to help support early development of a massive new radio telescope by a Cornell University-led U.S. consortium of 10 universities and institutions. The proposed telescope would have 100 times the sensitivity of today's best radio telescopes, enabling it to "see" back to a primeval epoch by detecting galaxies in the early universe and hydrogen gas before it formed in the galaxies. The telescope, the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), would cost in the area of $1 billion and would be among the largest scientific instruments ever assembled. Eight national consortia from around the world are competing for the winning design and the site, which are not likely to be chosen until about 2007. (November 12, 2002)

Cornell Agribusiness Economic Outlook Conference set for Dec. 10
ITHACA, N.Y. --Cornell University's annual Agribusiness Economic Outlook Conference will be held Tuesday, Dec. 10, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. On-site registration will begin at 9 a.m. in the foyer of the David L. Call Alumni Auditorium, Kennedy Hall. The morning session will begin with a welcome by Andrew Novakovic, chairman of Applied Economics and Management (AEM) department; Steven Kyle, associate professor of AEM, will provide the national perspective on the economy and agriculture; Charles Nicholson, senior research associate in AEM, will discuss New York dairy plants; Brian Henehan, senior extension associate in AEM, will address agricultural strategic marketing; and Bruce Anderson, associate professor of AEM, will focus on agribusiness trends and developments. (November 12, 2002)

Interim CEO named at eCornell
John Neuman, a Cornell University alumnus and president and chief executive officer of 1492 Consulting Group, has been named interim CEO of eCornell, the university's for-profit distance-learning subsidiary, it was announced today, Nov. 11, by the eCornell office. Neuman succeeds Francis P. Pandolfi, who joined eCornell as its first CEO in September 2000. Pandolfi resigned recently for health reasons. (November 11, 2002)

Whale lecture by Roger Payne, with actress Lisa Harrow, and insect lecture by May Berenbaum are open to public
Two lectures at Cornell University, the first by noted whale biologist Roger Payne, accompanied by his wife, the actress Lisa Harrow, and the second by entomologist May Berenbaum, will be open to the public, free of charge. The lectures are part of the Cornell class, The Naturalist's Way. (November 8, 2002)

First pollin prize in pediatric research for development of oral rehydration therapy awarded
The First Pollin Prize for Pediatric Research, administered by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, is awarded to four scientists who made revolutionary contributions to the discovery and implementation of Oral Rehydration and Maintenance Therapy (ORT) in the 1960s and early 1970s in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) and India. Recipients are Dilip Mahalanabis, MBBS, Norbert Hirschhorn, M.D, Nathaniel F. Pierce, III, M.D, David Nalin M.D (see attached biographies)The prize will be presented Friday, November 15, 2002, at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Milstein Hospital Building, following a Symposium on "History of Oral Rehydration Therapy."

Book reveals Islamic law's rational roots
A new book by a Cornell authority on early Islamic law shows that Muslim societies today have grown out of a rational, balanced legal tradition dating back at least to the 14th century. The book, Law, Society and Culture in the Maghrib, 1300-1500, by David Powers, professor of Arabic and Islamic studies in Cornell's Department of Near Eastern Studies, has just been published by Cambridge University Press as part of that publisher's series on Islamic civilization. Powers' book suggests that Islamic law as it was applied in the 14th and 15th century involved reasoned thought and argument by Muslim judges and jurists, who were highly sensitive to society and culture and how the law shaped, and was shaped by both. That finding refutes claims by an earlier generation of Western scholars who asserted that Islamic law lacked a body of legal doctrine and was, therefore, irrational. It also calls into question the popular assumption that Islamic legal practice can only be extremist. (November 08, 2002)

Mole-rat Methuselahs push evolutionary theory of aging
Virtually hairless, venerably wrinkled and very nearly blind, naked mole-rats -- those homely rodents from underground Africa -- remind some zoo-goers of little old men. The resemblance is more than coincidence. They really are really old males -- and females, too -- biologists report in an article scheduled for November publication in the Journal of Zoology (Vol. 258, Part 3). Many naked mole-rats (Heterocephalis glaber) in laboratory colonies in the United States and South Africa have lived more than 20 years, and some are at least 26 years old, making them by far the oldest small rodents in captivity. (November 06, 2002)

Cornell/Ludwig partnership for production of anti-cancer agents will open doors to public Nov. 13
The public will get its first look Nov. 13 at a new facility that will produce test amounts of therapeutic anti-cancer agents for clinical trials. The facility was developed through a partnership between Cornell University and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. There will be a reception at 204 Stocking Hall at 9 a.m., followed by remarks from Cornell President Hunter Rawlings; Lloyd J. Old, director of the Ludwig Institute; and Carl A. Batt, director of the new facility. A ribbon-cutting at 301 Stocking Hall will take place at 10:30 a.m. Between 11 a.m. and noon, visitors will be able to hear a description of the facility and view its production area from an adjoining classroom. Production in the unit will not begin for at least six months. (November 6, 2002)

Kids Growing Food program accepting grant applications from New York teachers through Dec. 2
ITHACA, N.Y. ---- Cornell University's Kids Growing Food program is accepting grant applications from elementary and secondary schoolteachers in New York state. The grants will help teachers establish or maintain a food garden on school grounds. The application deadline is Dec. 2. The goal of the program is to help students appreciate and understand how vegetables get from the farm to the kitchen. The program is funded by a $50,000 grant from New York state. (November 5, 2002)

Nov. 8 conference to examine 'Achieving Sustainable Communities in a Global Economy'
A conference, "Achieving Sustainable Communities in a Global Economy," will be held Friday, Nov. 8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in 401 Warren Hall, Cornell University. Sponsored by Cornell's Emerging Markets program and the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development program (CIIFAD), the conference is free and open to the public. Organizer Ralph Christy, the J.T. Clark Professor of Applied Economics and Management, says the goals are to consider the key processes by which globalization is affecting the agricultural and rural sectors and to propose policies and alternative strategies. (November 4, 2002)

N.Y. Senate majority leaders announce $25 million grant for Cornell life sciences facility
New York State Senate members John R. (Randy) Kuhl Jr. (R-C, 52nd Dist.), James L. Seward (R-C, 50th Dist.) and Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno (R-C, 43rd Dist.) today (Nov. 1) announced that Cornell University will receive $25 million from the state's Gen*NY*sis biotechnology economic development program as a major share of the cost of constructing the university's Life Science Technology Building. The announcement was made at the October meeting of the Cornell University Board of Trustees in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art on the Cornell campus. (November 1, 2002)

Blackwell-Tapia Prize for minority mathematicians
Arlie O. Petters, a mathematician at Duke University, is the first recipient of the Blackwell-Tapia Prize, an award that specifically honors a mathematical scientist from underrepresented minority groups, including African Americans and Hispanics. The award is supported by funding from Cornell University and the University of California-Berkeley The $3,000 award is being presented at a conference being held today, Nov. 1, and Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), UC-Berkeley. The conference, which builds on a lecture series established at Cornell in May 2000, is sponsored by Cornell, MSRI and the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics, UC-Los Angeles. (November 1, 2002)

Cornell Life Science Building part of ambitious, cross-discipline program
The proposed Life Science Technology Building on the campus of Cornell University is an integral part of the university's much larger program of cross-disciplinary research in the life and related sciences. The New Life Sciences Initiative (NLSI) was announced by President Hunter Rawlings and Provost Biddy Martin in May of this year. Their announcement has initiated the largest single scientiÞc effort in the history of Cornell, a campuswide program involving investments of up to $500 million. Details on NLSI can be found at . (November 1, 2002)