Cornell University News Service Releases
September 2002
Index to all months
Index to all monthsFor the full text of any story, click on the headline. Electronic queries may be made to cunews@cornell.edu.
Joint search is under way for missing Cornell student
The Tompkins County Sheriff's Office and Cornell Police are conducting a joint investigation to find a graduate student from Cornell University who has been reported missing. Ritesh S. Shetty, 24, who resides at 114 Summerhill Drive in the town of Ithaca, was reported missing to Cornell Police Sept. 26 by his housemates, after they had not seen him for several days. A native of Bombay, India, he is a graduate student in chemical engineering who has been studying at Cornell since the fall of 1999. (September 30, 2002)
Helene Dillard is appointed director of Cornell Cooperative Extension
Helene R. Dillard, Cornell University professor of plant pathology, has been appointed director of Cornell Cooperative Extension and associate dean of Cornell's New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and New York State College of Human Ecology. She succeeds D. Merrill Ewert, who took the position of president of Fresno Pacific University, Fresno, Calif., this past summer. Dillard's appointment begins Oct. 1. (September 30, 2002)
Playing 'chicken' at crosswalks? The rules of the game have changed
More than 10,000 cars and easily three times that number of pedestrians crisscross the Cornell University campus each weekday. The number of times pedestrians travel a crosswalk and contend with oncoming traffic approaches a million times per week. Now, the ground rules for this interaction have changed. On campus, pedestrians now have the right of way in all crosswalks. Motorists and cyclists must yield to pedestrians -- slowing down and stopping if necessary. Drivers racing with pedestrians to get to intersections and cyclists weaving through crosswalks will be subject to enforcement penalties issued by Cornell Police. Throughout the fall, this will be enforced as part of the rules and regulations associated with the university's Campus Code of Conduct; by January 2003, it will be enacted as state law. (September 26, 2002)
'Sex in the Stacks' symposium at Cornell University Library, Sept. 28
"Sex in the Stacks: A Zwickler Memorial Symposium on Sexuality and the Archives" will be held in Cornell University's Kroch Library Saturday, Sept. 28, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the library's Level 2B. It is free and open to the public. Phil Zwickler Memorial Research Grants, made possible by support from the Phil Zwickler Charitable and Memorial Foundation, have been awarded for the first time this year to provide financial assistance to scholars conducting research on sexuality with sources in Cornell Library's Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections. The first two Zwickler fellows -- Professor Leisa D. Meyer, College of William and Mary, and Professor William B. Turner, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee -- have done extensive research with Cornell's Human Sexuality Collection this summer. Additional funding for Meyer was provided through Cornell Law Professor Martha Fineman's Dorothea S. Clarke fund. Meyer, Turner and a panel of scholars will report on their research findings during the symposium and discuss the practicalities and theoretical considerations involved in conducting original research in human sexuality. (September 26, 2002)
Cornell will host in-service tax schools in November
Cornell University's Department of Applied Economics and Management will hold an in-service income tax school throughout November. Classes, which will review income tax reporting and management, will be offered in Binghamton, Utica, Batavia, Rochester and the Syracuse area. The school is designed for accountants, tax practitioners, consultants, lawyers and financial advisers. This year's topics include: new tax legislation, individual taxpayer problems, small business problems, opportunities and obstacles of business entities, education provisions, fringe benefits, agricultural issues, retirement and current issues to aid in planning and filing tax returns. (September 25, 2002)
Fiber-optic network could be railroad of the 21st century
Just as a network of highways was planned and built to bring goods to isolated pockets of the country, so we must act now to fund and build a national information network, says Matthew Drennan, professor of city and regional planning at Cornell University. Those places that already have invested heavily in the information economy are doing much better than those still relying on manufacturing and distribution, observes Drennan in The Information Economy and American Cities (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002). Drennan shows how information-economy expansion benefits even the urban poor, a finding disproving earlier claims. (September 25, 2002)
Edna O'Brien to deliver first Eamon McEneaney Memorial Reading Oct. 3
Edna O'Brien, one of Ireland's foremost literary figures, will give a fiction reading as the first event in the new Eamon McEneaney Memorial Reading Series Thursday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m. in Schwartz Auditorium of Rockefeller Hall on the Cornell University campus. The event is free and open to the public. Born and raised in Ireland, O'Brien is the author of more than 20 books, including Wild Decembers, Down by the River, House of Splendid Isolation and, most recently, In the Forest. An honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she now lives in London. (September 25, 2002)
Cities have 10 more hot nights a year than 40 years ago
If you think that summers are getting hotter, you could be right -- depending on where you live. Summers are heating up if you live in or near any major U.S. city. But in rural areas, temperatures have remained relatively constant. "What surprised me was the difference in the extreme temperature trends between rural and urban areas," says Arthur T. DeGaetano, Cornell associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, who reviewed temperature trends from climate-reporting stations across the United States over the past century and examined data from the last 40 years in greater detail. "I expected maybe a 25 percent increase for the urban areas compared to the rural ones. I didn't expect a 300 percent increase across the U.S." (September 25, 2002)
Paul Ginsparg named MacArthur 'genius' fellow
Paul Ginsparg, professor of physics and computing and information science at Cornell University, has been named a 2002 fellow of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He will receive a no-strings-attached grant of $500,000 over the next five years. Ginsparg is probably best-known as the creator of an online system for distributing scientific research results -- known by scientists around the world as "arXiv.org" -- which bypasses the conventional avenues of scientific publication. As a theoretical physicist, he has made substantial contributions in quantum field theory, string theory, conformal field theory and quantum gravity. (September 24, 2002)
Sixth annual Cornell Environmental Film Festival, Oct. 4-10, expands to four campuses
The Cornell Environmental Film Festival returns for its sixth year of movies and discussion with more than 30 films, ranging from documentaries to narratives and animation to comedic shorts. Oct. 4-10 screenings are scheduled at four campuses: Cornell University, Ithaca and Wells colleges and Syracuse University. The festival begins with the acclaimed new documentary about environmental artist and Cornell Professor-at-Large Andy Goldsworthy, "Rivers and Tides." Other topics covered in the festival include the Union Carbide gas tragedy in Bhopal, the effects of toxic chemicals on Native American culture, the nuclear waste depository being built in Arizona and the environmental impact of vinyl siding. (September 24, 2002)
Stephen Wolfram, revolutionary thinker, to speak Oct. 2
Revolutionary scientific thinker Stephen Wolfram, creator of Mathematica, a leading software system for technical computing and symbolic programming, and chief executive of Wolfram Research Inc., will present a lecture Wednesday, Oct. 2, on the Cornell University campus. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be in David L. Call Alumni Auditorium of Kennedy Hall at 7:30 p.m., with a question period scheduled for 8:30. (September 24, 2002)
Two anti-sweatshop leaders will speak at Cornell Oct. 1
The directors of two leading national anti-sweatshop organizations will present "Sweatshops Around the World: Reports from the Field" at Cornell University Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 8 p.m. in Barnes Hall. The program, which is free and open to the public, will feature Auret van Heerden, executive director of the Fair Labor Association (FLA), and Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC). Henrik N. Dullea, Cornell vice president for university relations, will introduce the speakers. (September 24, 2002)
Rob Ryan, founder of Ascend Communications and Entrepreneur America, will give a public lecture, Sept. 26
Rob Ryan, founder of Ascend Communications and Entrepreneur America, will be honored by Cornell University, Sept. 26 and 27, as Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year for 2002. The highlight of the weekend's Entrepreneur of the Year celebration at Cornell, during the university's Homecoming Weekend, will be an address by Ryan, free and open to the public, Friday, Sept. 27, at 4 p.m. in the Statler Auditorium. (September 24, 2002)
Birds are responding to global warming
Earlier springs with warmer temperatures over the past 30 years have prompted a ubiquitous North American bird species, tree swallows, to begin laying eggs, on average, a week or more earlier. But whether these harbingers of global warming are being adversely affected by changing weather patterns isn't clear, biologists in New York, Wisconsin and California report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). When tree swallows start earlier, they often lay more eggs, say the biologists, referring to data collected by thousands of volunteer citizen-scientists who have watched the birds' nest boxes for 40 years. (September 24, 2002)
DNA separation by entropic force offers better resolution
Cornell University researchers have demonstrated a novel method of separating DNA molecules by length. The technique might eventually be used to create chips or other microscopic devices to automate and speed up gene sequencing and DNA fingerprinting. The method, which uses a previously discovered entropic recoil force, has better resolution -- that is, better ability to distinguish different lengths -- than others tried so far, the researchers say. They separated DNA strands of two different lengths, using their own nanofabricated device, and demonstrated that modifications would make it possible to separate strands of many different lengths. (September 23, 2002)
'Education for Social Justice' program features advocates for youth development and community arts
Co-founders of El Puente, the Brooklyn-based school and community youth development organization that nurtures holistic leadership for peace and social justice, will speak on "Education for Social Justice: El Puente," Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Goldwin Smith Hall Auditorium D on the Cornell University campus. The program, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Iscol Family Program for Leadership Development in Public Service, an interdisciplinary program in Cornell's College of Human Ecology. The program is designed to inspire undergraduate students to become leaders in public service who will address the intractable problems that face society, such as hunger, poverty, ignorance, homelessness and violence. (September 19, 2002)
Ron Hoy wins $1 million Hughes science-teaching grant
When Ronald Hoy, the Cornell University recipient of a $1 million Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant, promises to "bring the fruits of research to the classroom and lab," he doesn't mean overripe bananas. Instead, the fruit fly Drosophila will make the short trip across campus, and Hoy, the Merksamer Professor in Biology in Cornell's neurobiology and behavior department, expects that favorite organism of genetics researchers will have a lot to teach college students, both in Ithaca and nationwide. The grants of $250,000 a year for four years challenge tenured and accomplished science professors at research universities to show the same ingenuity in undergraduate teaching that they have demonstrated in their scientific research. (September 19, 2002)
Computer scientist Keshav K. Pingali named associate director of Cornell Theory Center
Keshav K. Pingali, professor of computer science at Cornell University, has been named associate director of the Cornell Theory Center (CTC), Thomas F. Coleman, director of CTC, has announced. In his new role at CTC, Pingali will facilitate the center's interaction with Cornell computer and computational scientists and assist in interactions with federal funding agencies. (September 18, 2002)
'Vampire' appliances cost consumers $3 billion a year
The typical American home has 20 electrical appliances that bleed consumers of money. That's because the appliances continue to suck electricity even when they're off, says a Cornell University energy expert. His studies estimate that these so-called "vampire" appliances cost consumers $3 billion a year -- or about $200 per household. "Off doesn't mean off anymore, but standby," says Mark Pierce, a Cornell Cooperative Extension associate in the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis (DEA) in Cornell's College of Human Ecology. "As a result, we're using the equivalent of seven electrical generating plants just to supply the amount of electricity needed to support the standby power of our vampire appliances when they're off." (September 17, 2002)
Television debut for Cornell mummy is Oct. 7
Under wraps for hundreds of years, a Peruvian mummy from the Cornell University Anthropology Collections makes its television debut Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel's science program "The Mummy Road Show." The cable television episode, titled "Mummy in a Closet," repeats Oct. 7 at 11 p.m., Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. and Oct. 14 at 3 p.m. on National Geographic Channel. The episode was taped April 26-29 in Ithaca when "Mummy Road Show" co-hosts Ron Beckett and Jerry Conlogue, two professors from Quinnipiac University, examined the Peruvian mummy with radiography and endoscopy in its McGraw Hall home at Cornell, then transported the mummy to Cayuga Medical Center for CT scan imaging. The weekly program travels around the world, using advanced imaging techniques and old-fashioned detective work to reveal the history of mummies found in unexpected places. (September 17, 2002)
PCCW, Cornell alumnae group, awards seven faculty research grants
The President's Council of Cornell Women (PCCW), an alumnae group that serves as an advisory council to Cornell University's president, has awarded its 2002 research grants to seven women faculty members. Established in 1992 to help advance the careers of women in academia through support of research leading to tenure, PCCW's Affinito-Stewart Grant Program has presented more than $303,000 to 128 women at Cornell. The program is named to honor the group's founders, Lilyan Affinito, a 1953 graduate of Cornell, and Patricia Carry Stewart, a 1950 graduate. Both are trustees emerita and members of the Cornell Council. (September 16, 2002)
Mature Students Association offers seminar and recruitment event for the 24-and-over set, Sept. 22
The Cornell Mature Students Association will present "Back-2-School 2002," a seminar and recruiting event for mature students and potential mature students, in the Memorial Room of Cornell University's Willard Straight Hall from noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 22. "There has never been a better time for mature students --- those over 24 -- to come back to school," said Zoe Cohl, vice president of the campus student group that is composed of about 20 older or "nontraditional" students. The event is designed for people who are considering a variety of higher education options. "With a softened economy, enhanced educational opportunities and a stronger commitment to diversity, mature students have found this to be the perfect moment to reformulate their lives and increase their marketability through higher education." (September 16, 2002)
Homecoming forum Sept. 28 to discuss scientific 'biorevolution'
ITHACA, N.Y. ---- A forum on the new life sciences that will bring together three of Cornell University's leading scientists will be held as part of Homecoming Weekend on campus Saturday, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m. in the PepsiCo Auditorium (Room 305) of Ives Hall. The forum, "The Biorevolution: Accelerating Discovery and Improving Lives," is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the university's Office of Alumni Affairs. (September 16, 2002)
U.S. airport hotels are safest, most secure
People who worry about traveling and spending time in public places may be relieved to learn that most U.S. hotels are pretty safe places to be, a study by a Cornell University hospitality-industry expert finds. Hotels near airports offer the most safety and security features, with large hotels, luxury hotels of any size and new hotels also ranking high on the safety and security indexes devised by Cathy Enz, a professor at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, and Masako Taylor, a Ph.D. candidate at the school. (September 13, 2002)
Weill Cornell physician advises working out indoors to get away from carbon monoxide, fine particulates, and ozone
New York, NY (September 12, 2002) -- As environmentalists have pointed out, it can be as dangerous to be outdoors behind a city bus -- walking, or bicycling -- as it is to be in front of one. All the exhaust and smoke -- even when they have been reduced by "clean air technology" -- can damage a person's health. The dangers of urban air pollution are of special concern to people who exercise by running, bicycling, or skating: these people, while trying to help their bodies through exercise, should take care that they don't harm them through exposure to air pollution.Dr. Joseph T. Cooke, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College -- and Associate Director of Medical Critical Care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Weill Cornell Medical Center -- says that air pollution is definitely a problem for those who work out in the city. "The main culprits are ozone, fine particulate matter, and carbon monoxide," he says. "These pollutants irritate the lungs and respiratory system, and can exacerbate the problems of persons with underlying disease -- whether respiratory disease such as asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema, or cardiopulmonary maladies."
Examining Kenyan agriculture and poverty structure
As Kenya's population grows, the available farmland dwindles and the environment is degraded, raising many questions: Are growers irreversibly mining the soil? Can poor agricultural management practices be blamed for decreasing crop yields and the exodus of people to cities? How can the economic and environmental deterioration be reversed? To answer these and other questions about this East African country of 30.7 million people, the National Science Foundation has awarded $1.67 million to Cornell University over five years to examine the complex relationship between Kenyan small farmers, their communities and the land on which they depend for their livelihoods. (September 12, 2002)
How to remove 250 stains from clothes and textiles
Alyssa Apsel named Clare Boothe Luce professor
Veterinary students' annual dog wash is Saturday, Sept. 14, at college
Sex-pheromone link to insect evolution
Agriculture college, labor school to hold open house Oct. 5
New director of business information systems is named at Cornell Information Technologies
The Cornell Tradition celebrates 20th anniversary
Biodegradable plastics go to compost heaps, not landfills
Promoting marriage may not benefit all children
Trustees Executive Committee to meet in New York City Sept. 12
Provost Martin appoints search committee for new Arts and Sciences dean
A simple, cost-effective screening test for those at-risk for abdominal aortic aneurysms
President Rawlings issues statement on graduate student unionization
University to reallocate $20 million from nonacademic costs to academic and strategic priorities
Fulbright grant for upper atmosphere work in Greece
Latest hospitality industry research on the web
Reorganization of Cornell faculty and department will streamline computing and information science instruction
President emeritus Rhodes to give inaugural Passer Lecture
To remove a grass stain, would you use banana oil, detergent, ammonia, vinegar, alcohol or bleach? Or, would you just give up? A new publication by textile experts at Cornell University -- also available online in Adobe Acrobat format at
Alyssa B. Apsel of Cornell University has been named the Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Apsel, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering since July 1, will hold the chair for five years. It is named for the playwright, journalist, U.S. ambassador to Italy and the first woman elected to Congress from Connecticut. Luce, who died in 1987, established the chair through a bequest, administered by The Henry Luce Foundation, "to encourage women to enter, study, graduate, and teach" in the sciences (including mathematics) and engineering. Henry Luce was the founder of Time, Life and Fortune magazines. (September 11, 2002)
The Cornell Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association (SCAVMA) will hold its annual dog wash Saturday, Sept. 14. The event is open to the public and will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the courtyard in front of the Veterinary Research Tower on the Cornell University campus Proceeds from the SCAVMA dog wash help underwrite students' travel expenses to educational events, such as symposia and professional conferences. (September 10, 2002)
GENEVA, N.Y. -- Cornell University entomologists have unlocked an evolutionary secret to how insects evolve into new species. The discovery has major implications for the control of insect populations through disruption of mating, suggesting that over time current eradication methods could become ineffective, similar to the way insects develop pesticide resistance. The researchers, led by Wendell L. Roelofs, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Insect Biochemistry at Cornell, made the discovery while examining ways to keep European corn borers from mating, multiplying and then chewing up farmers' fields. They discovered the existence of a previously undetected gene, the delta-14, that can regulate the attractant chemicals produced in sex-pheromone glands of female borers. The gene can be suddenly switched on, changing the pheromone components that females use to attract males for mating. (September 10, 2002)
Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) will host an open house for prospective freshman students Saturday, Oct. 5. The open house gives high school juniors and seniors and their parents the opportunity to meet admissions staff, faculty and current Cornell students, and to obtain an overview of the university and the academic programs. Admissions and financial aid information will be available. (September 10, 2002)
After nine years away, David Koehler will return to Cornell University as director of business information systems for Cornell Information Technologies (CIT) Oct. 1. He will lead Cornell's multimillion-dollar project to modernize its administrative systems over the next five years. Koehler's last position with CIT was as director of information resources in 1993. He went on to serve as an administrative systems director at Stanford University and then at Princeton University for the last seven years. At all three universities, Koehler has been responsible for updating and integrating administrative systems using enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, among them PeopleSoft. (September 10, 2002)
This fall, the Cornell Tradition is celebrating 20 years of rewarding excellence in undergraduate service, work and scholarship. Cornell University's alumni-supported recognition program awards 600 fellowships each year to undergraduate students based on their work experience, campus and/or community service, leadership and academic achievement. In 2000, the program was recognized as a Daily Point of Light by President George W. Bush's Points of Light Foundation. (September 10, 2002)
Instead of landfills clogged with computer and car parts, packaging and a myriad of other plastic parts, a Cornell University fiber scientist has a better idea. In coming years, he says, many of these discarded items will be composted. The key to this "green" solution, says researcher Anil Netravali, is fully biodegradable composites made from soybean protein and other biodegradable plastics and plant-based fibers, developed at Cornell and elsewhere. (September 9, 2002)
Overcoming the drawbacks of growing up with a single parent, black children do as well, both academically and socially, as blacks in two-parent homes, a study by Cornell University and University of Utah researchers indicates. Research has shown that the opposite is true for white children, who seem to fare better when they live in married-couple homes. The new study finds that black children in single-parent households do just as well as they would in two-parent homes in terms of math scores and delinquency problems. (September 9, 2002)
The Cornell University Board of Trustees Executive Committee will meet in New York City Thursday, Sept. 12. The meeting will be held in the Fall Creek Room of the Cornell Club of New York, 6 E. 44th St., at 2 p.m. (September 5, 2002)
Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin announced today (Sept. 5) that she has appointed a faculty committee to begin the search for a new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Martin said the committee, which she will chair, will begin meeting this week, and its first tasks will be to develop a list of the qualifications and challenges for the next dean. (September 05, 2002)
New York, NY (September 4, 2002) - A simple, low-cost ultrasound screening of men over 60 is not only reliably accurate in detecting abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) but is cost-effective in increasing quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). That is the finding of physicians from the Division of Vascular Surgery of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical College, in an article published in the latest issue of the journal "Surgery". The authors, led by Dr. K. Craig Kent, Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, conclude that screening for AAA in men over 60 should be covered by insurance plans, including Medicare. At present, no major plan provides for such coverage.ŹNewYork-Presbyterian's Division of Vascular Surgery has played a leading role in developing the new "Quick Screen" technology, which can be applied to women as well as men.
Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings today (Sept. 4) issued a statement to the campus community about graduate student unionization: (September 5, 2002)
In a move aimed at positioning Cornell University for the future, university officials will reallocate $20 million from nonacademic costs to academic and institutional strategic priorities by fiscal year 2004-05, President Hunter Rawlings announced today (Sept. 5). "The financial health of the university remains strong," Rawlings said. "This strength has allowed us to continue to invest significant resources in our institutional and unit-specific strategic priorities. Many of the resources necessary to fund our collective priorities have come and will continue to come from gifts, grants and contract funding; however, a significant amount will need to come from reallocation of existing resources into these priority areas. As financial stewards, we must ensure that we use the available resources in the most effective and efficient manner possible to fulfill the institution's academic mission and priorities." (September 5, 2002)
Michael C. Kelley, a professor in Cornell University's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been awarded a Fulbright grant to continue his upper-atmosphere research in Greece during the 2002-2003 academic year. The grant is awarded by the U.S. Educational Foundation in Greece under the Fulbright Scholar Program, administered by the U.S. State Department. (September 4, 2002)
How have hotels responded to the industry crisis that worsened following the terrorist attacks last Sept. 11? How can airlines identify and control unruly passengers? How much debt is too much for hotel properties in crisis to take on? The answers to those, and many other questions relevant to hospitality and travel industry practitioners, can be found at
A reorganization announced July 1 by Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings and Provost Biddy Martin promises to streamline the structure of computing and information science instruction, tying the Department of Computer Science more closely to the Faculty of Computing and Information Science (FCIS). Robert Constable, dean for Computing and Information Science (CIS), and Kent Fuchs, dean of the College of Engineering, collaborated on the plan. "The Faculty of Computing and Information Science was established to develop research collaborations and educational programs for the entire university. Under the leadership of Dean Constable, the programs in Computing and Information Science have flourished and we expect they will continue to grow," Martin said. (September 4, 2002)
Frank H.T. Rhodes, the president of Cornell University from 1977 to 1995, will deliver the inaugural Moses Passer Lecture at Cornell on Monday, Sept. 9. His subject will be "Science and the Academy." The lecture, hosted by the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, will be at 4:40 p.m. in 200 Baker Laboratory. The lecture is free and is open to the public. (September 4, 2002)