Cornell University News Service Releases
March, 2003
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.
Woodstock's historic Byrdcliffe Arts Colony to get help from Cornell preservation students, experts April 3-6
WOODSTOCK, N.Y.-- A historic arts colony here that has been home to some of the most celebrated American artists will get a helping hand from Cornell University preservation students, scholars and practitioners this Thursday through Sunday, April 3-6. In celebration of the centennial anniversary of the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in Woodstock, N.Y., the Cornell group, helped by Woodstock community members, will participate in a weekend of stabilizing deteriorating structures at the site, which is on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places. (March 31, 2003)
'Union Days' April 2-4 looks at common issues for students, workers
"Social Justice and Campus Activism" is the theme of Union Days, April 2-4, at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Ives Hall. The events, which are free and open to the public, look at how labor and students intersect today on such issues as the war in Iraq, the anti-sweatshop campaign and organizing campus workers. (March 28, 2003)
Volunteers sought to scout for destructive NY beetle
Viburnum leaf beetles are chewing susceptible bushes into skeletal remains in central, western and northern New York state. The beetles, which face few predators, now appear to be taking aim at western New England and parts of Pennsylvania, and they are poised to move into the Hudson Valley, the New York City metropolitan area and Long Island. To locate the beetles, Cornell University researchers have started the Viburnum Leaf Beetle Citizen-Scientist Project. They are asking home gardeners, landscapers, 4-H groups and schoolchildren to become volunteer "citizen scientists" to scout for the invasive pest beginning in late April. (March 28, 2003)
Non-toxic anti-fouling coating for ships
NEW ORLEANS -- The fouling of ships' hulls, whether by barnacles and seaweed or by slime-creating bacteria, is a major problem for shipping worldwide, and particularly for navies. It has been estimated, for example, that fouling of hulls can create such turbulence as a ship moves through the water that fuel consumption is increased by as much as 30 percent. Traditionally major users of ships, like the U.S. Navy, have attempted to resist fouling by painting hulls with paints containing copper or triorganotin, a tin-based compound. But these paints are highly toxic and can leach into the water, killing marine life. That's why their use increasingly is being prohibited. But help is at hand: A research group at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., led by Christopher Ober, has developed two types of non-toxic paint, one hydrophilic and one hydrophobic, that effectively prevent fouling, whether by bacteria or barnacles. The paints act not only by minimizing adhesion by organisms but also by enabling hulls to become self-cleaning: As a ship moves through the water at 10 to 15 knots, the turbulence created removes the clinging barnacle or seaweed. (March 21, 2003)
NYSE sponsors first MBA Stock Pitch Competition
Students from the top U.S. business schools will compete in the first-ever MBA Stock Pitch Competition this April 3 and 4 at Cornell. The competition for future stock analysts is sponsored by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell. It takes place at the Johnson School's Parker Center for Investment Research in Sage Hall in the center of campus. The competition will provide a platform for students to showcase their stock picking and presentation skills, considered an important part of an analyst's job in the investment industry. The first-place team will receive a $3,000 award and the second-place team, an award of $1,500. (March 27, 2003)
Three Cornell researchers win Sloan Foundation awards
Three members of Cornell University's faculty, two from the Ithaca campus and one from the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, have been named Alfred P. Sloan Foundation fellows. They are among 117 outstanding young researchers from 50 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada to receive awards of $40,000 over two years. The three fellows are Johannes Gehrke, assistant professor of computer science, and David Lin, assistant professor of biomedical sciences, both on the Ithaca campus, and Diana Murray, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology and director of the Computational Genomics Core Facility at Weill Cornell. (March 27, 2003)
Four Cornell research projects receive Defense Department awards
Four research projects at Cornell University have been selected to receive a total of $1.1 million in Department of Defense (DoD) grants under the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program and the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP). The research project leaders are Kenneth Birman, professor of computer science; Lang Tong, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Matthew Miller, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; and Stephen Pope, the Sibley College Professor of Mechanical Engineering. (March 27, 2003)
Much oil remains to be tapped below Gulf of Mexico
NEW ORLEANS -- U.S. reliance on foreign oil production could be reduced by chemically mapping the subsurface streams of hydrocarbons, amounting to tens of billions of barrels, hidden well below the Gulf of Mexico, says a Cornell University geologist. These untapped oil and gas reserves can be found by matching hydrocarbon chemical signatures with geologic models for stratigraphic layers under the sea floor, says Lawrence M. Cathles, a professor of chemical geology at Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y. (March 21, 2003)
Health and medical journalist speaks on weight control, March 31
Anne M. Fletcher, an award-winning health and medical journalist and Cornell alumna, will be speaking on campus in the Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall, March 31, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The tile of her talk, free and open to the public, is "Winning at Weight Control: What We Can Learn From Maintainers," and it will be followed by a question-and-answer period and book signing. It is sponsored by Cornell Fitness Centers, Gannett: Cornell Health Services, and the Health Nuts. (March 26, 2003)
Wall Street legend Sandy Weill is Hatfield speaker April 2
Sanford I. Weill, chairman and CEO of Citigroup, whose Wall Street triumphs are the stuff of legend, will give this year's Hatfield address at Cornell University Wednesday, April 2, at 4:30 p.m. in the Schwartz Auditorium of Rockefeller Hall. Weill, a member of the Cornell Class of 1955, will speak as the 2003 Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, the highest honor the university bestows on outstanding individuals from the corporate sector. His talk is free and open to the public. (March 25, 2003)
"Breaking the Size Barrier" CSE conference is April 3-5
The 20th annual Cornell Society of Engineers (CSE) conference will be held on the Cornell University campus, April 3-5. The conference, also sponsored by Cornell's College of Engineering, has as its theme, "Breaking the Size Barrier: Engineering at the Smallest Dimensions." The conference will provide an overview of current research and applications of nanoscience, or engineering at the molecular level. The public is invited to attend all sessions at no charge, but advance registration is required. (March 25, 2003)
John Cleese returns as A.D. White Professor-at-Large with a public lecture on W.C. Fields
We could all use a little comic relief, and who better than John Cleese and company to provide it? And what better date than April Fools' Day? Cleese returns to Cornell University in his role as an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large to celebrate the life and works of W.C. Fields -- the clown prince of 20th century American comedy who Cleese says has been neglected and forgotten. Cleese's accomplice for this, his fourth visit as an A.D. White professor, is James Curtis, author of a new biography of Fields, simply titled W.C. Fields: A Biography (Knopf, 2003). (March 25, 2003)
Bill Nye 'The Science Guy' visits campus and will give a free presentation for kids at Sciencenter, April 1
This one's for the kids. Bill Nye "The Science Guy" will visit Cornell University in his role as a Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 University Professor and give a free public show for children at the Ithaca Sciencenter, Tuesday, April 1. Cornell alumnus and television personality Nye will give a public talk, "Where There's Just a Little Air," Tuesday, April 1, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Sciencenter, 601 First St. in Ithaca. Intended for elementary- and middle-school audiences, Nye's talk will describe the work of the late Cornell astronomer and professor Carl Sagan, the atmosphere on Mars, and it will be accompanied by demonstrations from Nye's book, The Truth About Dinosaurs. (March 25, 2003)
Porous ceramic can sort proteins magnetically
NEW ORLEANS -- In recent years chemists and materials scientists have enthusiastically searched for ways to make materials with nanoscale pores -- channels comparable in size to organic molecules -- that could be used, among other things, to separate proteins by size. Recently Cornell University researchers developed a method to "self-assemble" such structures by using organic polymers to guide the formation of ceramic structures. Now they have advanced another step by incorporating tiny magnetic particles of iron oxide into the walls of porous ceramic structures in a simple "one-pot" self-assembly. Such materials could be used to separate proteins tagged with magnetic materials, or in catalytic processes. (March 21, 2003)
Biodegradable plastic that imitates bacteria
NEW ORLEANS -- Finding an economical way to make a polyester commonly found in many types of bacteria into a plastic with uses ranging from packaging to biomedical devices is a long-held scientific goal. Such a polymer would be a "green" plastic, in that it would be biodegradable. Geoffrey Coates, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., has partially achieved this goal by discovering a highly efficient chemical route for the synthesis of the polymer, known as poly(beta-hydroxybutyrate) or PHB. The thermoplastic polyester is widely found in nature, particularly in some bacteria, where it is formed as intracellular deposits and used as a storage form of carbon and energy. And yet it shares many of the physical and mechanical properties of petroleum-based polypropylene, with the added benefit of being biodegradable. (March 21, 2003)
Hoffmann named Cornell Cooperative Extension associate director
Michael P. Hoffmann, associate professor of entomology at Cornell University, has been appointed associate director for agriculture and food systems for Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE). Hoffmann will continue as director of the New York State Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, a position he has held since 1999. Announcing Hoffmann's appointment, Susan A. Henry, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), said Hoffmann, "has done an outstanding job directing the IPM program for the college and the state of New York, and I am delighted that he will be bringing his excellent leadership skills to Cornell Cooperative Extension." (March 21, 2003)
April 5 Open House at College of Veterinary Medicine showcases animals and student-doctors
For the 37th year -- on Saturday, April 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- students, faculty and staff of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine will show off animals of all kinds, the latest medical techniques own healing skills in the popular family event, the Veterinary Open House. Each year, self-guided tours take thousands of visitors through exhibits and demonstrations in the teaching hospital and classrooms of the nation's top-rated veterinary college. While the exotic, companion and farm animals are always a big draw, many high school students and their parents are interested in the career and education information. (March 19, 2003)
Surgical sterilization snips away at deer overpopulation
If deer have fetal memories from the womb, the fawn born to Doe 106 later this spring will have quite a story to tell about events the morning of March 8, 2003. The unborn fawn's mother was the subject of "TNR," in the jargon of biologists who deal with animal overpopulation issues: She was trapped (unharmed, in a suburban neighborhood with too many white-tailed deer to suit some people), neutered (by tubal ligation in a procedure that spared the developing fetus) and returned (wearing numbered I.D. tags, radio collar and a slightly dazed expression). Inquiring scientists, as well as 3,300 residents of the village and federal and state regulators, want to know: Will this experiment to reduce deer populations have a long-term effect, and should the Cayuga Heights model be copied nationwide?(March 19, 2003)
Cornell University Police recruits garner several awards at police academy
The Southern Tier Law Enforcement Academy at Corning Community College graduated its 17th session of police recruits from the New York State Basic Course for Police Officers, March 10, and Cornell University Police recruits who attended earned several awards. Police officer candidates enrolled in the police academy Oct. 7, 2002, and completed the course Feb. 11. Twenty officers representing police departments in Tompkins, Schuyler, Chemung, Otsego, Tioga and Steuben counties successfully completed the rigors of the academy. Four Cornell Police officers who attended received awards: (March 18, 2003)
How parents can talk to their children about war
James Garbarino, professor of human development and co-director of the Family Life Development Center at Cornell University, offers advice to parents on how they can help their children cope with violent images of war and with increased fears of terrorism. Garbarino is an expert on child development and youth violence whose books include No Place to Be a Child: Growing Up in a War Zone (Lexington Books, 1991) and Parents Under Siege: Why You Are the Solution, Not the Problem, in Your Child's Life (The Free Press, 2001). (March 18, 2003)
Weill Cornell scientists discover a "traffic warden" to direct white blood cells to infection sites
New York, NY (March 17, 2003) -- Under normal conditions white blood cells, or leukocytes, circulate in the blood stream waiting to be called by damaged tissue to the site of injury or infection. Movement of the leukocytes into the damaged tissue from the blood requires the cells to squeeze between the endothelial cells that line the blood vessel walls. This rapid process is called Trans-Endothelial cell Migration (TEM), or diapedesis, and leads to the normal inflammation of the tissue. However, the white blood cell must migrate through the endothelial cells of the vessel wall without jeopardizing the integrity of the blood vessel. Just how this is accomplished has long been a source of debate among biologists and immunologists.Now, a paper in Nature by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College, led by Dr. William A. Muller, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, makes great strides towards understanding how the white blood cell moves through the endothelial cells into the damaged tissue. In their process of exploration, the Muller team has made three significant discoveries. First, they have discovered a new internal membrane structure in the endothelial cells, called the endothelial surface-connected compartment, which lies just below the cell surface (the regular outer cell membrane). Second, they have observed that in normal endothelial cells, parts of this membrane shuttle in a wave-like manner between this compartment and the cell surface. Lastly, they have found a new role and function for the adhesion molecule PECAM (Platelet/Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule), which Dr. Muller's laboratory previously discovered. PECAM, which is essential for TEM, is found in abundance within this intracellular membrane and could serve as a "traffic warden" during diapedesis. These findings are crucial because they may provide new targets for anti-inflammatory therapy and lead to more focused treatments.
National cancer prevention newsletter and web site debut
NEW YORK, NY (March 17, 2003) -- While the three decades since the start of the
American "War on Cancer" have witnessed many innovative offensive strategies to treat the disease, a new key battle that may well be the turning point has emerged -- the battle of prevention. As part of this attempt to keep the enemy from even entering the field, the Cancer Prevention Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has launched a national newsletter and Web site to keep both consumers and health professionals abreast of the latest developments in this new field of cancer prevention.Cancer Prevention, a joint effort of the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center -- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's two major centers -- aims to cast cancer in a new light -- to change its perception as a life-threatening disease that can only be treated to a disease that can, in many instances, be prevented. The newsletter and Web site (www.nypcancerprevention.org) will provide a forum in which the most recent cancer prevention innovations -- from the laboratory to the clinic to the public at large -- will be presented. They will feature articles by scientists and public health personnel from around the world on the very latest topics of interest in this new field of cancer prevention.
Which restaurant table configurations make most money
If you're opening a restaurant or renovating an existing one, a new study from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration could help you increase revenues simply by purchasing and arranging the right tables. The study, by Professor Gary Thompson, reveals, surprisingly, that midsize (about 200-seat) restaurants, particularly those affiliated with chains that serve large parties of walk-in customers, produce the most revenues with dedicated tables. Such tables are built for a variety of specific party sizes rather than made up of flexible two-seaters pushed together to form larger tables. (March 17, 2003)
Legendary Fisk Jubilee Singers on campus March 29
There will be a weekend of celebration, March 28 and 29 -- including a free public lecture, workshop and an open concert -- as Cornell University welcomes the legendary Fisk Jubilee Singers to Ithaca. The weekend culminates with a free public performance by the 18-voice Fisk Jubilee Singers Saturday, March 29, at 8 p.m. in Alice Statler Auditorium on the Cornell campus. Although all of the events during the weekend are free and open to the public, tickets are required for the Jubilee Singers' Saturday night concert. Those tickets are available at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office, on campus, and at the Clinton House box office, 116 N. Cayuga St., in downtown Ithaca. The weekend of programs marks the inaugural David R. and Patricia D. Atkinson Forum in American Studies at Cornell. (March 17, 2003)
Conference on New York communities in times of financial crisis in Syracuse, May 15 and 16
"Sustaining New York Communities in Times of Financial Crisis," a conference sponsored by Cornell University's Community and Rural Development Institute, will be held at the Wyndham Syracuse Hotel, East Syracuse, N.Y., May 15 and 16. The conference will highlight some of the best practices for sustaining communities during times of financial stress. (March 17, 2003)
Research at Weill Cornell reveals connection between estrogen and memory
New York, NY (March 14, 2003)-- In the current issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, Dr. Teresa Milner, Professor of Neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical College, presents new evidence supporting the importance of estrogen in brain function. In close collaboration with Drs. Keith Akama and Bruce McEwen at The Rockefeller University, Dr. Milner elucidates how estrogen is regulating the ability of the brain to learn and encode memories. The research suggests that some form of estrogen replacement therapy might counteract the effects of aging and delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease."My colleagues and I are telling two stories in parallel, using two different approaches," says Dr. Milner, a member of the Division of Neurobiology at Weill Cornell. "We conducted these studies simultaneously but independently, to serve as sort of 'blind controls' in support of each other. Drs. Akama and McEwen were looking at isolated neurons while my lab was looking at animal tissue to explore the same idea -- namely, how does estrogen signaling affect the condition of a neuron?"
Weill Cornell scientists discover major new source of neural stem cells in the adult human brain
New York, NY (March 13, 2003) -- In the latest issue of Nature Medicine, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College report the discovery of a new source of neural stem cells in the adult human brain. Dr. Steve Goldman and his group made the startling discovery that glial progenitor cells of the white matter, a common population of support cells first isolated by this group three years ago, are capable of giving rise to neurons as well as to glial cells. The cells can also be grown and expanded in culture, where they continue to produce new neurons and glia together. The cells may therefore be considered multipotential progenitor cells, a form of brain stem cell. Strikingly, these cells may comprise as many as three percent of the cells in the adult human brain's white matter, making them incredibly abundant.
Dr. Goldman -- the Nathan Cummings Professor of Neurology at Weill Cornell -- and his colleague, Dr. Neeta Roy, an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, had first isolated what was initially thought to be a distinct glial progenitor cell from the adult white matter three years ago. But they had noticed occasional neurons in cultures of glial progenitor cells, which led them to ask whether these cells might actually be multipotential stem cells, rather than committed glial progenitors. Their experiments, done with Marta Nunes, a visiting graduate student from the University of Lisbon, revealed that the glial progenitor cells of the human white matter were actually brain stem cells. In other words, the cells were able to divide continuously, while giving rise to many different types of neurons, as well as to the major glial cell types, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes.Goldman's group also established that the white matter progenitor cells did not need to be specifically reprogrammed in any way to produce neurons. Rather, the cells were capable of producing neurons directly after their isolation, without the need of any manipulation. In fact, when the scientists introduced adult human glial progenitor cells into the brain of a developing rat, they found that the cells developed into different types of neurons and glia, depending on when and where they were introduced.
Space infrared telescope arrives at Cape Canaveral
All ready to begin its search for the earliest, coldest and dirtiest parts of the cosmos, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) arrived March 6 at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla. It is scheduled for launch Tuesday, April 15, at 4:34:07 a.m. aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. One of the three instruments carried by the observatory is an infrared spectrograph (IRS) designed by Cornell University researchers and built by Ball Aerospace. (March 13, 2003)
Crimefighters at Weill Cornell identify viral gene responsible for oncogenesis in Kaposi's sarcoma
New York, NY (March 13, 2003) -- The guilty gene responsible for initiating oncogenesis in Kaposi's Sarcoma has been identified -- at last -- by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College. As reported in the latest issue of Cancer Cell, Kaposi's Sarcoma associated Herpes Virus (KSHV), which is consistently detected within this highly vascularized cancer, carries the gene, vGPCR. The vGPCR (viral G-Protein Coupled Receptor) gene has been a suspect for a long time. However, scientists have been faced with the conundrum that vGPCR is not expressed either long enough or in enough of the cells within the KS tumor to be "pinned"down.Now, Dr. Enrique Mesri of Weill Cornell and colleagues propose a new scenario and a new mechanism -- namely, a "hit and run" type of crime, where vGPCR is expressed just long enough to cause the initial damage, but then retreats so as not to be caught. These findings, generally, reveal a new way to look at the role of viruses in disease and to determine which genes may be important targets for treatments. Specifically, this research offers the promise for alternative treatments of Kaposi's Sarcoma by blocking the actions of the vGPCR protein itself.
Book discusses reform of U.S. Postal Service
The U.S. Postal Service -- America's largest public enterprise -- is in need of reform and should be transformed from a government-owned entity into a privately owned firm, says an expert at Cornell University. In a new book, Saving the Mail: How to Solve the Problems of the U.S. Postal Service (American Enterprise Institute Press), assistant professor of policy analysis and management Rick Geddes argues that the postal service should become a completely demonopolized company that offers publicly traded shares. Germany and Holland have successfully privatized their postal services. (March 12, 2003)
Athena Mars package arrives at Cape Canaveral
Culminating a six-year development and building process led by Cornell University's Steven Squyres, the second of two Mars-bound clusters of scientific instruments, called the Athena payload, arrived March 11 at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla. The instruments will ride aboard NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers, scheduled for separate launches beginning May 30 and June 25. (March 12, 2003)
Senior Yolanda Tseng wins 2003 Churchill Scholarship for graduate study at Cambridge University
Yolanda Tseng, a senior in the College of Engineering at Cornell University, has been awarded a 2003 Winston Churchill Scholarship for a year of graduate study at Cambridge University in England. The scholarships, funded by the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States, provide for a year of graduate study in engineering, mathematics or the sciences for students with exceptional academic records and research proposals that can be carried out at Cambridge. Only 11 of the scholarships are awarded each year; and this year's competition included candidates from more than 50 institutions. (March 11, 2003)
$124 million for Cornell accelerator research
Cornell University will be awarded up to $124 million over the next five years by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support research at the Laboratory for Elementary-Particle Physics (LEPP) and the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), a national user facility. Of the award, approximately $99 million already approved by the National Science Board, the NSF's policy body, would go to LEPP. Up to $25 million, recommended by NSF program managers, would go to CHESS, with $2.44 million of this amount funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute for General Medical Sciences. Both research facilities share use of the Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR), the university's high-energy particle accelerator. (March 11, 2003)
Book studies dual-career couples, employer policies
Two-career couples in the United States continue to struggle in managing conflicting family and work demands. Increasingly outdated workplace and work-hour policies based on the one-career-per-family model, they find, have little regard for the needs of workers, their spouses or their families, according to a Cornell University sociologist. A new book, It's About Time: Couples and Careers (Cornell University Press), edited by Phyllis Moen, the Ferris Family Professor of Life Course Studies at Cornell and director of the Cornell Careers Institute, says that U.S. employers need to create new career paths that support dual-career couples. These options should have innovative flexibility, such as reduced work hours for new parents and semiretired workers whose benefits and future career options would be protected. (March 11, 2003)
$1.6 Million grant awarded to Weill Cornell medical college to study benefits of information technology for HIV care
New York, ny (march 10, 2003) -- Weill Cornell medical college's department of public health has been awarded an impressive $1.6-Million ryan white grant to study the benefits of information technology for those with hiv. The study intends to enroll patients, in part, through newyork-presbyterian healthcare system's new hiv special needs plan, known as newyork-presbyterian system select health. Select health is expected to begin operations shortly upon licensure from New York state's department of health.
"Medical information management is critical to HIV care. Prescription indications, lab results, side effects, referrals, and more -- all can be dauntingly complex," said Dr. Bruce Schackman, Assistant Professor of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College and the study's Principal Investigator. "This grant allows us to study how, by using a customized computer, patients and doctors may improve the delivery, quality, and cost-effectiveness of HIV care."The four-year study will investigate HIV patients' use of a computer kiosk that is designed to identify problems that require a referral and monitor adherence to treatment. "If the technology is demonstrated to be effective, it will be adopted by Select Health and be available to members throughout the Plan's primary care provider network of hospitals and community health centers. Furthermore, the technology may serve as a model for managed care programs nationally -- for HIV primary care, as well as other treatment areas," added Eli Camhi, Executive Director of Select Health.
Marine lab invites children, teens to summer courses
Shoals Marine Laboratory, which began as an island-based marine sciences field station in the Gulf of Maine for college undergraduates, then expanded with noncredit courses for adults, now extends the welcoming gangplank for children and teenagers, ages 5 and above. The new addition to the laboratory's roster of program offerings is called Kids Ahoy! Discovering Marine Science for the Whole Family. It is scheduled for Aug. 25-27, at a cost of $300, room and board and all activities included. (March 11, 2003)
Cold weather not expected to deter Cornell dragon's annual visit
Cornell University officials, advised by experts that predicted cold temperatures and possible snow flurries will not deter determined dragons, have issued a dragon-warning and road-closure alert for the campus for Thursday, March 13. Vehicular access to central campus will be restricted from 1 p.m. to approximately 3:30 p.m., and buses could be rerouted or delayed for the annual emergence of the dragon. This will be the university's 102nd Dragon Day, in which first-year students in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning build and parade a dragon through campus. (March 11, 2003)
Annual Korean American Students Conference comes to Cornell, March 13-16
The 17th annual Korean American Students Conference (KASCON) will be hosted at Cornell University, March 13-16. For three days, students from across the country and around the world will gather on the Cornell campus, joining with political leaders, community activists and successful professionals to discuss issues pertaining to government, human rights, business, academia, the fine arts and the media. (March 11, 2003)
Seeing order: a scientific revolution long in the making
Cornell University mathematician Steven Strogatz views the human mind as tending to see order as the work of intelligence. The poet Robert Frost, upon encountering the eerie tableau of a white spider on a white flower devouring a white moth, imagined that a sinister hand had arranged them. Perhaps, says Strogatz, this is why scientists -- always on guard against the seduction of a mystical explanation -- have sometimes neglected to find order in the universe, even where it is powerfully present. But science, which has long considered order and synchrony the exception rather than the rule in a chaotic universe, is beginning to come around. In his new book, Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order (Hyperion, 2003), Strogatz, who is professor of applied mathematics at Cornell, describes the new science that is making sense of the synchronal flashing of fireflies and Belousov's discovery of the oscillating chemical reaction. (March 7, 2003)
Cornell trustees approve contract college tuition increase for 2003-4
Recognizing the seriousness of the proposed $183.5 million reduction in tax dollar support for the 34 state-operated campuses of the State University of New York (SUNY), including the contract colleges at Cornell, the university's Board of Trustees, at its regular meeting March 7, approved a tuition increase of $1,360 for undergraduate resident students in the contract colleges for the 2003-04 academic year. Last year Cornell's four contract colleges -- the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Human Ecology, the School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the College of Veterinary Medicine -- received $131.5 million from the state for their operations. While SUNY has yet to advise campuses of their specific allocations under the proposed budget, past practice suggests that the proposed cut potentially translates to a $20 million to $26 million reduction for Cornell. (March 7, 2003)
Spring Field Ornithology class, March 26-May 18, inaugurates Cornell's newest building
Participants in the 2003 session of the perennially popular class, Spring Field Ornithology, will have a bird's-eye view of Cornell University's newest building. The class, with Wednesday evening lectures and weekend field trips between March 26 and May 18, will be the first public use of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's new Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity, located off campus on Sapsucker Woods Road between Route 13 and Hanshaw Road. (March 7, 2003)
Women's History Month events continue with public lectures
Professor Max Pfeffer named associate director of Agricultural Experiment Station in Ithaca
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will give Kaplan Family Lecture in Public Service, April 23
Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi is Cornell Tradition speaker, March 7
Fungus-resistant trefoil for New York farm forage
Cornell alumnae conference explores women in life sciences, March 6-9
New York's NYSTAR program awards nearly $1 million to biomedical engineering research and training at Cornell
Robot-assisted gallbladder surgery debuts at New York-Presbyterian Hospital
Pill-like device with tiny camera gives physicians a "fantastic voyage" through digestive system
Cornell trustees to meet in Ithaca March 6 and 7
Nominations/applications sought for Cornell's Kaplan Distinguished Faculty Fellowship in Service-Learning
$1.4 million NSF grant to study turbulent flows
The Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies (FGSS) program at Cornell University continues to offer a slate of free public lectures for the entire community during Women's History Month and into April. Below are the FGSS events planned during this period. For related events, visit
Max J. Pfeffer, professor of rural sociology at Cornell University, has been named associate director of the university's Agricultural Experiment Station in Ithaca. His appointment became effective Feb. 16. Pfeffer will work with Daniel J. Decker, director of the experiment station, and colleagues in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), the College of Human Ecology and the College of Veterinary Medicine, in supervising research. This research includes agriculture and food systems, rural community and economic development, and natural resources and the environment. Also, Pfeffer will work closely with leadership of Cornell Cooperative Extension, where a prime responsibility will include the development of applied research as it pertains to the university's land-grant mission. (March 6, 2003)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., environmental activist, author, chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, will give the Kaplan Family Distinguished Lecture in Public Service, April 23, at Cornell University. Kennedy's talk, titled "Our Environmental Destiny," will focus on the link between environmental and social activism and the role the academic community can play in educating citizens on the skills, knowledge and civic ethos needed to work actively for an equitable and sustainable society. The lecture is scheduled for 5 p.m. in the David L. Call Alumni Auditorium of Kennedy Hall, and it is free and open to the public. However, tickets are required. They will be available in early April at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office, on campus. (March 6, 2003)
Arun Gandhi, grandson of India's legendary activist Mohandas K. "Mahatma" Gandhi and founder of the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, will be the keynote speaker at the eighth annual Cornell Tradition Convocation, March 7, on the Cornell campus. Gandhi's address, "Lessons from Grandfather," will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Statler Auditorium, with a reception to follow. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and can be obtained at the Cornell Public Service Center, 200 Barnes Hall, or by contacting the Cornell Tradition office, 107 Day Hall, at (607) 255-8595 or
Many New York state dairy farmers, who have suffered for two decades without affordable, disease-resistant forage to supplement grass for their animals, are getting their fields of dreams: Cornell University agricultural scientists and Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) researchers have developed a birdsfoot trefoil that fends off the devastating fungus, fusarium wilt. Seeds of the new legume variety, Pardee birdsfoot trefoil, will be available this growing season on a large scale for cattle, sheep, goats and horses. The seed pods on the Pardee trefoil are shaped like a bird's foot, hence the name. (March 4, 2003)
Women in life sciences will be the focus of the President's Council of Cornell Women (PCCW) during its spring conference at Cornell University, March 6-9. Presenters include Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to fly in space and a 1981 graduate of Weill Cornell Medical College, who will address Cornell students at a luncheon hosted by PCCW Saturday, March 8, and participate in a panel discussing how research in life sciences affects women's lives. (March 4, 2003)
The director of a Cornell University program that integrates life sciences into engineering education, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, has been awarded $999,000 by a New York state research-funding agency, partly to help develop the program. He is Michael Shuler, the Samuel B. Eckert Professor of Chemical Engineering at Cornell and director of the cross-campus program in biomedical engineering (BME). The BME program provides students with classroom and laboratory experience in drug delivery, nanobiotechnology and bio-MEMS (bio-micro-electromechanical systems), as well as other BME topics. The funding, from the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR) Faculty Development Program, will be used to support development of BME and to establish a program in drug delivery. In particular, a NYSTAR laboratory for drug delivery to support Shuler's research will be opened and a course in drug delivery is planned. The funding also will be used to attract new faculty to the BME program. (March 4, 2003)
New York, NY (March 3, 2003)--Bringing the future into the present, surgeons at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital have pioneered the use of robotic surgery for gallbladder removal. This marriage of minimally invasive surgery and traditional "open" surgery by way of robot technology permits optimal viewing of the surgical field through small incisions and results in less pain and faster recovery time for patients."This new technology allows us to offer patients the best of both surgical worlds--traditional and minimally invasive--which translates into many patient benefits," explains Emina Hui-na Huang, M.D., assistant attending surgeon at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and assistant professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. "The increased flexibility, safety, precision, and ease that we experience with robotic surgery results in reduced trauma to the body, and thus, a faster recovery time, less postoperative pain and discomfort, and a shorter hospital stay, as well as less anesthesia, less scarring."
New York, NY (February 25, 2003) -- Like the film "Fantastic Voyage," physicians at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center can now take a journey through a patient's body. They aren't inside a miniaturized submarine but rather watching images taken by a tiny camera inside a pill-like device that is swallowed by the patient. The procedure, called capsule endoscopy, has proven to be effective in aiding diagnosis of previously undetectable abnormalities in the small intestine that commonly result in gastrointestinal bleeding."Unexplained abdominal pain or bleeding, if left untreated, may be life-threatening and require hospitalization," said Dr. Felice Schnoll-Sussman, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and Assistant Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell. "In the past, diagnosis of a patient's small intestine was only possible with traditional endoscopy, small bowel x-rays, or open surgery. Capsule endoscopy is a much improved technique, allowing us to literally shed light on previously hidden areas of anatomy -- and it is exceptionally safe and convenient for the patient."
The Cornell University Board of Trustees will meet in Ithaca, March 6 -7. The board will meet from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 7, in the Trustee Meeting Room of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art on the Cornell campus. Approximately the first 50 minutes of the meeting will be open to the public. Topics will include a report from President Hunter Rawlings; a report on the Student Assembly by its president, senior Noah A. Doyle; a report on the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly by the assembly's president, Joan Yasmine Moriarty; and an update on the state budget, including proposed contract college tuition. (March 3, 2003)
Nominations and applications are being sought for Cornell University's Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowship in Service-Learning. The deadline for submissions is March 31. The fellowship was created by Cornell alumni Barbara Kaplan '59, her husband, Leslie Kaplan, son Douglas Kaplan '88 and daughter Emily Kaplan '91 in recognition of the importance of the national movement in higher education for greater involvement in civic engagement. Two $5,000 awards will be given to Cornell faculty members seeking to establish or expand innovative service-learning projects that actively involve Cornell students in community-based action research, teaching and outreach efforts that address important community-identified policy issues. (March 3, 2003)
Under a black cloth in a small cylinder in the basement of a Cornell University building, a storm is raging. The cloth is there to protect the unwary from the centerpiece of the laboratory, an instrument equipped with a laser beam powerful enough to harm the retina of the eye in a fraction of a second. A judicious peek beneath the cloth reveals the tempest: the laser's green light illuminating a clear cylinder filled with whirling "snowflakes" suspended in water. What looks like a high-tech snow globe is actually an apparatus designed to answer one of the great unanswered questions of physics: How do particles behave in turbulence? At Cornell's Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics and Laboratory of Elementary Particle Physics, researchers have been tracking the paths of the tiny polystyrene "snowflakes" in the cylinder in an effort to shed light on the behavior of turbulent flows. But current technology only allows observers to follow a few particles at a time, making it nearly impossible to gather enough data to accomplish the task. Now, with a $1.4 million, three-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), a group of Cornell physicists and engineers are developing an instrument that will allow them to track hundreds of particles simultaneously. (March 3, 2003)