Cornell University News Service Releases
April, 2004
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.
Newyork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell researchers discover non-protease inhibitor drug combo better for HIV
New York, NY (April 27, 2004) -- A certain combination of AIDS drugs is superior to others when it comes to the initial treatment of HIV patients, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center researchers report in this week's (April 29) New England Journal of Medicine.Roy Gulick, M.D., M.P.H., and a multicenter team of researchers specifically looked for a treatment that was relatively easy to take and that did not include protease inhibitors, highly effective AIDS-fighting drugs that can sometimes have undesirable side effects.
Centennial parade on May 12 kicks off yearlong celebration for College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
On May 12, 1904, six black bulls, a cadet band, an entomology float and more than 2,000 students marched in a parade celebrating Cornell University's designation as the official New York State College of Agriculture. A re-enactment of that parade May 12, 2004 at 2:30 p.m., will celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the event. Black Angus heifers will lead the centennial parade, followed by horse-drawn carriages, antique cars, floats, the Cornell men's and women's polo teams, miniature ponies, the Big Red Marching Band, Liberty Hyde Bailey and his original plow, and lots of student groups. (April 29, 2004)
Documentary on Cornell Lab of Ornithology team in World Series of Birding to air on WSKG-TV and WCNY-TV
"Band of Birders," a 26-minute documentary about the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Sapsuckers' dash to victory in the World Series of Birding, on May 10, 2003, will be broadcast locally by WSKG-TV (Channel 6 on Time-Warner Cable in the Ithaca area) on Thursday, May 6, 2004, at 8 p.m., and by WCNY-TV (Channel 4) on Sunday, May 9 at 4 p.m. Often referred to as the "Big Day" in the birding community, the World Series of Birding is a 24-hour marathon with more than 70 teams from around the world competing to identify as many species as possible in New Jersey during spring migration. (April 28, 2004)
Weill Cornell Medical College to receive $3.6 Million for CT screening research
New York, NY (April 26, 2004) -- A new screening technology that could detect lung cancer much earlier than ever before was funded today through matching grants of $1.8 million respectively from the American Legacy Foundation and the UK's Medicsight Foundation. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, an international leader in CT screening for lung cancer detection, will conduct the research.The donation will support a 4,000-patient study whose goal is to demonstrate that CT screening for lung cancer can be effectively linked to smoking-cessation programs to enhance the motivation for people to stop smoking. The study, which will begin in June, will use unique advanced image analysis software.
Betsy Fuller, Cornell law clinician and tenacious lawyer who helped change state prison practices, died April 21
Sarah Betsy Fuller died April 21 at Cayuga Medical Center following a long battle with breast cancer. She was 58. Fuller was the lead attorney in a federal case that established the right of Native Americans to practice their religion freely in New York state prisons. She also was active in bringing to light the barbaric punishment in New York state of giving some prisoners only bread and water and in eliminating some humiliating strip search practices. A longtime lawyer with Prisoners Legal Services of New York, Fuller was a faculty member at Cornell University Law School's Legal Aid Clinic starting in 1978 and taught courses in trial advocacy and other subjects for many years, most recently this past fall. She directed Syracuse University College of Law's public interest law clinic in the 1990s. She was a Fulbright scholar at the Technical University of El Salvador in 2000-01, where she developed a clinical legal program for the university's law school and organized the first Central American conference of clinical law teachers. (April 26, 2004)
Open house on organizational leadership and teambuilding June 9 at outdoor challenge course
What can managers learn from Gandhi? What leadership lessons lurk behind Tarzan? Answers to those questions and more are found in Cornell Teambuilding's "Tarzan Meets Gandhi," a new program for corporate clients at Cornell University's world-class Hoffman Challenge Course. The program, intended for businesses, focuses on courage, ethics, self-awareness and vision, while promoting leadership through the use of physical challenges. To get a taste of "Tarzan" and other Cornell teambuilding programs available to corporate clients, Cornell Outdoor Education will host a free open house at the Hoffman Challenge Course, one of the nation's top challenge course facilities, Wednesday, June 9 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Trainers and facilitators will be on hand to give a tour and help visitors sample "the magic of active learning, Cornell style," says Karl Johnson, director of Cornell Teambuilding. (April 22, 2004)
NSF grant to preserve electronically published research
As more researchers are publishing their findings in electronic journals, libraries today are faced with the complex question of how to archive and preserve that digital literature for future generations. To begin addressing this issue, the National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded Cornell University Library a $450,000 grant to create a system for the long-term preservation and dissemination of digital mathematics and statistics journals. Libraries preserve the printed serial publications in their collections by binding journal volumes and providing conservation treatment as needed over time. Traditionally, journal publishers haven't provided financial support for these efforts. Over the past five years, the number of electronically available journals has skyrocketed. Although scholars, teachers and students appreciate having 24/7 access to e-research literature, this new publishing model has created a major challenge for librarians. Now libraries no longer own copies of the journals to which they provide electronic access -- they only have licensed access to the digital literature, and that access is limited to the period of time covered in their contract with the publisher. Librarians question whether they should rely on the publishers to maintain long-term access to those e-journals or if they should collaborate with each other, and with publishers, to develop digital archives. (April 22, 2004)
Challenges facing a changing rural America
The 2000 census showed that 56 million people live in rural America, accounting for about 20 percent of the U.S. population. Rural America is going through substantial change. A new book, Challenges for Rural America in the 21st Century, examines rural people and communities and the disadvantages they suffer in quality-of-life measures. Rural people have a higher likelihood of being poor, and their communities are likely to be chronically economically depressed. (April 22, 2004)
Cornell's national farm medic training program is saving farm workers and firefighters in silos, barns and fields
Two years ago a 14-year-old boy in Genoa, N.Y., stood atop a mound of corn while unloading a tractor-trailer on the family farm. Suddenly the truck's unloading trough opened and he was engulfed by grain, and sank as if in quicksand. John Ducey, chief of the Genoa Fire Department, recalls that the boy "had swallowed and breathed in corn" and it appeared that "his time was about done." But Ducey's fire department had received specialized agricultural rescue training twice from Cornell University's Farmedic program, part of the Agricultural Health and Safety program in the university's College of Veterinary Medicine. It is the only training course designed for agricultural rescue in the country. (April 21, 2004)
Citizens asked to monitor impact of invasive bird species
Scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology are asking the public to help monitor the impact on native birds of invasive species, such as the house sparrow, by participating in a citizen-science project called The Birdhouse Network (TBN). In the mid-1800s, the little brown house sparrows were introduced into the United States from Europe to alleviate homesickness for the Old World and because they were believed to control insect pests. Since then, these adaptable birds have made themselves quite comfortable here -- spreading their wings across all of North America in vast numbers, according to TBN project leader Tina Phillips. She says surging populations of house sparrows have resulted in fierce competition with native birds for nesting sites. According to 2003 data collected by TBN, house sparrows account for 43 percent of all competitor species (species that take over nest boxes intended for native birds). And although most nest-box (or bird-house) enthusiasts discourage nesting by house sparrows, the birds still comprise 10 percent of all reported nesting attempts when at least one egg is laid. (April 21, 2004)
Government-run firms and services hurt the economy
The U.S. government is causing economic harm through its ownership or support of firms and services that compete with private enterprise, such as the U.S. Post Office, Fannie Mae and Amtrak, says a new book edited by a Cornell University professor. The government-affiliated and quasi-government services benefit from competitive advantages over private firms that foster a wide range of potentially harmful effects to the economy and taxpayers, says the book, Competing with the Government: Anticompetitive Behavior and Public Enterprises (Hoover Institution Press, 2004). The editor and author of two of the four chapters is R. Richard Geddes, an associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell. The other chapter authors are David E. M. Sappington of the University of Florida and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and J. Gregory Sidak and Peter J. Wallison, both of the American Enterprise Institute. (April 21, 2004)
Arecibo radiotelescope made incredibly more sensitive
ARECIBO, P.R.. -- The Arecibo Observatory telescope, the largest and most sensitive single dish radio telescope in the world, is about to get a good deal more sensitive. Today (Wednesday, April 21) the telescope got a new "eye on the sky" that will turn the huge dish, operated by Cornell University for the National Science Foundation, into the equivalent of a seven-pixel radio camera. (April 21, 2004)
136th Commencement May 30 with commencement address by President Jeffrey S. Lehman, convocation speaker Bill Clinton
Cornell University will celebrate its 136th Commencement on Sunday, May 30, with approximately 5,200 graduates receiving degrees at a ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. on Schoellkopf Field. President Jeffrey S. Lehman, Cornell's first alumnus president (Class of 1977), will present his first commencement address. Lehman, who assumed the presidency July 1, 2003, was inaugurated in October in events spanning the globe at Cornell's medical school in Doha, Qatar, and at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. At his formal installation on the Ithaca campus, he presented a vision of "The University for the 21st Century" in which he challenged higher education -- and Cornellians -- to provide fresh leadership in areas that are critical to the well-being of all humanity. (April 21, 2004)
Conference looks at affirmative action in higher education in the wake of recent Supreme Court rulings
A conference titled "Affirmative Action and Higher Education in 2004 and Beyond" will take place Friday, April 23, at Cornell University. Legal scholars, sociologists and lawyers from Cornell and other universities will look at such issues as what the Supreme Court meant in its rulings last summer when it disallowed allotting points for race in a University of Michigan undergraduate admissions case, but seemed to permit considering race as a factor in a graduate admissions case at Michigan. Since that time, admissions offices across the country have been working to comply with the law, while still pursuing racial equality and diversity in the classes they admit. The conference seeks to share some of their strategies and answer questions that have arisen since the ruling. (April 20, 2004)
Three Cornell faculty members awarded 2004 Guggenheim Fellowships
Three Cornell University faculty members are winners of prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship awards for 2004. They are among 185 artists, scholars and scientists from the United States and Canada selected from more than 3,200 applicants for this year's 80th annual competition totaling $6,912,000. The winners from Cornell in include two members of the Department of English and a member of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. They are Edwin A. (Todd) Cowen, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering; Roger Gilbert, professor of English; and Douglas Mao, associate professor of English. (April 20, 2004)
New word for on-the-job health problem: 'presenteeism'
Industry's productivity losses from employee absenteeism due to illness have been well and frequently documented. Now researchers have documented another productivity headache increasingly affecting employers: on-the-job slowdowns by workers with a variety of medical complaints, from hypertension to arthritis. Economists have coined a new word to describe the productivity-loss problem: presenteeism. (April 20, 2004)
April 23 exhibition brings the concept of beneficial labyrinths to the campus
A labyrinth is not a maze but a spiral-like, purposeful path that meanders to a center and provides personal and spiritual benefits, advocates say. This spring, the Cornell University community will be introduced to the concept of labyrinths and their use for walking meditations. A special exhibit, "Labyrinths for Peace," will open Friday, April 23, in Room 3330 of the Carol Tatkon Center in Balch Hall, with an opening reception and refreshments at 3:30 p.m. and presentations beginning at 4 p.m. Speakers at the event will include: David Gallagher, the executive director of the national Labyrinth Society, founded in 1998, who will discuss the origins and history of labyrinths around the world; Janet Shortall, associate director of Cornell United Religious Work (CURW), who will recount her experience with the labyrinth concept; and Wai-Kwong Wong, a psychotherapist at Gannett: University Health Services, who will discuss the psychological and health benefits of walking a labyrinth. The Tatkon Center exhibition will be in place through May 22. (April 19, 2004)
Anu Rangarajan named director of Small Farms Program; R. David Smith is interim director of N.Y. Farm Viability Institute
Anu Rangarajan, Cornell University associate professor of horticulture, has been named director of the university's Small Farms Program. She succeeds R. David Smith, Cornell associate professor of animal science, who has been appointed interim director of the New York Farm Viability Institute. The Small Farms Program helps New York farmers and small-farm organizations through research, education and extension. It provides workshops in professional development, a reference Web site and a Cornell Cooperative Extension grant program for innovative small-farm projects. In 2003 the program launched the Small Farm Quarterly, which now reaches 63,000 farm and rural families across the Northeast. (April 19, 2004)
Renowned physicist-priest Rev. John Polkinghorne to lecture on 'The Interaction of Science and Theology,' April 26
The Rev. John Polkinghorne, one of the foremost thinkers and writers on the correlation of science and religion, returns to Cornell University to deliver a Templeton-American Scientific Affiliation (ASA) Lecture titled "The Interaction of Science and Theology," Monday, April 26, at 8 p.m. in 200 Baker Laboratory. The lecture is free and open to the public. Polkinghorne last spoke at Cornell in 1998 on "The Friendship of Science and Theology." (April 19, 2004)
Lucasfilm/Pixar animation pioneers to 'star' on campus, April 19-22
Top executives from Pixar, the animation studio that created "Finding Nemo" and "Monsters, Inc.," and other animation experts who, collectively, have won six Oscars, will be on the Cornell University campus, April 19-22, to meet with students interested in the digital arts. They will give four free public talks, one each day, as well as take part in small-group sessions with students in Professor Donald Greenberg's classes on art, animation and technology. The visit and talks are part of Digital Arts Graphics Week at Cornell and the prestigious Preston H. Thomas Memorial Lecture Series at the College of Architecture, Art and Planning's Department of Architecture. Co-sponsors at Cornell are the Program of Computer Graphics, the Faculty of Computing and Information Science and the Department of Architecture. (April 16, 2004)
Conference seeks lessons from past attempts to export democracy to underdeveloped regions
Are there lessons to be learned when exported U.S.-style democracy fails to take root in the world's less-developed regions? The organizers of a conference at Cornell University on law and development think so. The conference, which takes place on Cornell's campus Sunday through Tuesday, April 18-20, will examine such rocky terrain as U.S. nation-building efforts in Iraq and elsewhere and will seek to learn from past failures and successes. (April 16, 2004)
Cornell economist Richard Geddes tapped to serve with the Council of Economic Advisers under President Bush
R. Richard Geddes, associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University since 2002, will be heading to Washington, D.C., for a one-year term beginning Aug. 1 to serve as a senior staff economist with President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Geddes, who was appointed in mid-March by the council members, will be one of 10 senior economists working with the three-member CEA, which analyzes and interprets economic developments, appraises the programs and activities of the government and advises the president on national economic policy. (April 15, 2004)
Cornell council addresses issues related to mental health of students
Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin and Vice President for Student and Academic Services Susan Murphy have established a campuswide Council on Mental Health and Welfare, an initiative aimed at bringing broad-based and sustained attention to the mental health of Cornell students. "Information from a variety of sources, nationally and here at Cornell, indicates that the number of students experiencing mental health problems has increased significantly over the past decade," says Murphy, who chairs the council. "We are concerned by this trend and are committed to being proactive at Cornell in our efforts to understand and address it." (April 15, 2004)
London-based architect and educator Mohsen Mostafavi named dean of Architecture, Art and Planning
ITHACA, N.Y. (April 14, 2004) -- Mohsen Mostafavi has been named dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Cornell University President Jeffrey Lehman announced today. Mostafavi, a U.S. citizen who studied at London's Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) and at the University of Cambridge, has served as chairman (equivalent to dean) of the AA since 1995. His Cornell appointment will begin July 1, 2004. Lehman said: "Mohsen Mostafavi is a true intellectual and a talented academic leader. He brings to Cornell an international reputation built upon an impressive track record of success on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as the respect of some of the world's most renowned architectural practitioners and theorists. I am delighted he is joining Cornell's academic leadership." (April 14, 2004)
Cornell Police will crack down on seat belt violators, April 18-24
Cornell University Police will be joining the second annual wave of the national "Click It or Ticket" mobilization, starting Sunday, April 18, and running through Saturday, April 24. "Failure to wear a seat belt is against the law in this state. We enforce this law because it's the best proven way to save lives. If you won't buckle up to save your life, then buckle up to save yourself a ticket," said Sgt. Chuck Howard, traffic enforcement coordinator for Cornell University Police. (April 14, 2004)
Cornell Police hold 'Child Safety Seat Check' April 24
On Saturday, April 24, Cornell University Police will hold a "Child Safety Seat Check" event at the Cornell Grounds Department shops at 307 Palm Road. (The shops are located off state Route 366, by the Cornell Orchards.) The event will be from 9 a.m. to noon, and the public is encouraged to attend. Child safety seat experts will be on hand to check safety seats for proper installation, damage or recall. A limited number of free safety seats also will be available at the event. For more information, contact the Cornell Crime Prevention Unit at G-2 Barton Hall, (607) 255-7404. (April 14, 2004)
Students in solar house contest holding Earth Day Celebration April 22
Cornell University students taking part in an international competition to build a state-of-the-art solar-powered house will hold an Earth Day Celebration in the Sage Hall atrium, April 22, from 6 to 8 p.m. The celebration is free and open to the public. Booths and posters will provide a sneak preview of the Cornell entry in the fall 2005 competition, the National Solar Decathlon. During the Earth Day event, Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson and New York State Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D-125th) will comment on environmental policies. (April 13, 2004)
Haitian revolution conference features Edwidge Danticat reading
Noted Haitian novelist Edwidge Danticat will be reading from her latest book, The Dew Breaker, Friday, April 16 , at 7 p.m. in Kaufmann Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall at Cornell University. Danticat's reading is part of a two-day conference on campus titled "The Haitian Revolution in Global Context: A Bicentennial Commemoration," April 16 and 17. In addition to being a featured reader during the conference, Dandicat also is the final guest in the Black Authors/New Books Series sponsored by Cornell's Africana Studies and Research Center. The reading is free and open to the public, and a book signing and reception will follow. (April 13, 2004)
More than 500 Native American singers and dancers to perform at the Sixth Annual Cornell Powwow, April 17-18
Rand Corp. executive to speak on al Qaeda and terrorism, April 19
Northwestern's Kellogg and Cornell's Johnson School take top two honors at MBA Stock Pitch Challenge
Sustainability is topic for Peter Raven during April 29 Iscol Lecture
Cornell junior Mark Polking receives Goldwater scholarship
Environmental inequities cluster to harm poor children
Political humorist Jim Hightower and labor leader John Wilhelm lead off Union Days April 13-16
Cornell conference to discuss sustainable energy
New Orleans native at Cornell receives a national Truman Scholarship
Business leaders' summit marks 20th anniversary of Sam Johnson's endowment gift to Cornell's Johnson School
GE's Jeffrey Immelt will give '04 Hatfield address April 15
University of Chicago cosmologist to discuss big bang and evolution of universe in Bethe lectures
Expert on black identity to give Flemmie Kittrell lecture April 12
Troubling trend in marine-organism disease seen by Cornell and USGS scientists in ocean ecosystem study
Computer modeling fibrillation in the canine heart
Hotels aren't prepared for a future blackout
Cornell Police helps celebrate World Health Day, April 7, with a traffic and pedestrian safety initiative
Scars of 9/11 linger with NYC firefighters
Building a scale sensitive enough to weigh a virus
Cornell files legal challenge to landmark commission's parking lot decision
Former French prime minister to speak at Cornell April 8
Cornell trustee committee to meet in New York City, April 8
Teachers are students, too, at CU-UNH Shoals Marine Lab learning island
New York state Sen. Nozzolio, NHL Commissioner Bettman to receive ILR School awards
Discovery of water would make lunar base possible
National Poetry Slam champion Taylor Mali free show April 12
38th Veterinary Open House on April 17 is still a student-run event
Student members of the Cornell University Powwow Committee will host the biggest powwow and smoke dance to date at the university in Barton Hall Saturday and Sunday, April 17 and 18, beginning at 10 a.m. on both days. The Sixth Annual Cornell Powwow and Smoke Dance competition is free and open to the public. Parking also is free, and visitors are encouraged to use the parking garage next to Schoellkopf Field. For more directions, parking and powwow information, visit this Web site:
Bruce Hoffman, an internationally recognized expert on terrorism and a prolific author on the subject, will visit Cornell University Monday, April 19, to speak on "The Continuing Threat of al Qaeda and the Future of Terrorism." The talk, at 7:30 p.m. in G10 Biotechnology Building on campus, is free and open to the public. (April 12, 2004)
A student team from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management was the first-place winner April 2 in the second MBA Stock Pitch Challenge. The team from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management, which hosted the competition, came in second. The two winning teams competed for two days against teams from nine other top U.S. business schools and were judged by a blue-ribbon panel of Wall Street stock analysis experts on the buy and sell sides. The Kellogg team won a cash prize of $3,000, and the Johnson School team won $1,500. (April 9, 2004)
"Biodiversity, Sustainability and Cornell" is the topic for Missouri Botanical Garden Director Peter H. Raven in the 2004 Jill and Ken Iscol Distinguished Environmental Lecture on Thursday, April 29, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Call Alumni Auditorium of Kennedy Hall at Cornell University. Also open to the public at no charge is the seminar titled "How Many Species Will Survive the 21st Century?" April 30, from 4 to 5 p.m. in Bache Auditorium of Malott Hall. The seminar is offered in conjunction with the Biogeochemistry and Environmental Biocomplexity (BEB) Seminar Series. (April 9, 2004)
Mark Polking, a junior in the College of Engineering at Cornell University, has received a 2004 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, considered the premier undergraduate award in mathematics, science and engineering. Polking grew up in Boone, Iowa, and graduated from nearby Ames High School. He is majoring in materials science and engineering, a field that draws on chemistry, physics and other disciplines to create better metals, plastics, ceramics, semiconductors, and composites and other materials used to build everything from microchips to aircraft to artificial body parts. (April 9, 2004)
At least two dozen physical and psychosocial environmental risk factors can profoundly compromise the health and welfare of children in low-income families in the United States and could affect a child's life as an adult, says a noted Cornell University environmental and developmental psychologist. "Low-income children are disproportionately exposed to a daunting array of adverse social and physical environmental conditions," says Gary Evans, a professor of design and environmental analysis and of human development in Cornell's College of Human Ecology. "The fact that so many environmental risk factors cluster in the environments of low-income children exacerbates their effects and most likely have debilitating long-term effects on the physical, socio-emotional and cognitive development of children living in poverty." (April 9, 2004)
"Labor and Election-Year Politics" is the title and theme of this year's Union Days at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), April 13-16. Most events are free and open to the public. "The annual Union Days program is designed to raise awareness among students and others about the struggles of working people to better their lives and their communities," said Jefferson Cowie, assistant professor of collective bargaining, labor law and labor history at the ILR School and the event's organizer. "This year the focus will be on the central role that labor plays in electoral politics, making the week's events of interest to anyone concerned with justice in the workplace or the fate of the 2004 presidential elections." (April 8, 2004)
As pump prices for gasoline set record highs in the United States and crude oil becomes more expensive than it has been almost at any time since the 1991 Gulf War, Cornell University is hosting an engineering conference April 15-17 on Energy Demand and Sustainable Development. The conference will feature talks on the applications and business potential of new technologies in energy and sustainable development by Cornell alumni who are leading energy industry figures and faculty members who are leading the research at the Cornell campus. They will discuss a range of issues involved in formulating national energy policy, including the role of advanced technologies, providing low-cost electricity and the use of ethanol as a fuel. The conference also includes a research poster session by students. (April 8, 2004)
New Orleans native Lauren Jacobs, a junior psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University, is one of 77 students selected from a national pool of 609 candidates to win a prestigious Truman Scholarship. Jacobs is the 17th Cornell student to win the scholarship award since the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation was established in 1975. A merit-based award for college juniors with outstanding leadership potential, the Truman scholarship provides $26,000 for graduate study as preparation for a career in government or public service. (April 8, 2004)
Top business leaders will convene for a summit on the transformation of business at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management Wednesday, April 14, and Thursday, April 15. The summit marks the 20th anniversary of the $20 million endowment gift to the school from university alumni Samuel C. Johnson '50, Imogene Powers Johnson '52 and the Johnson family. The school, which was founded in 1946, added "Samuel Curtis Johnson" to its name in 1984 to recognize the extraordinary generosity of the Johnson family. Sam Johnson is now chairman emeritus of the Johnson Family of Companies, familiarly known as Johnson Wax. The school's name honors Johnson's great-grandfather, namesake and the founder of the company. (April 8, 2004)
Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman of the board and CEO of General Electric Co., the world's most profitable industrial company, will give the 2004 Hatfield address, April 15 at 4:30 p.m. in Call Alumni Auditorium of Kennedy Hall on the Cornell University campus. There will be overflow seating, and closed-circuit television viewing of the talk, in PepsiCo Auditorium, 305 Ives Hall. The talk is free and open to the public. (April 8, 2004)
Bruce Winstein, the Samuel K. Allison Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, will discuss anti-matter and radiation left over from the big bang when he delivers three Hans A. Bethe lectures at Cornell University April 12, 14 and 19. All three talks will be in Schwartz Auditorium of Rockefeller Hall on campus and will be open to the public without charge. (April 8, 2004)
Psychologist William E. Cross Jr. of the City University of New York's Graduate Center, a former associate professor in the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University, will give the Cornell College of Human Ecology's annual Flemmie Kittrell lecture Monday, April 12, at 4 p.m. in G73 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall (MVR) on the Cornell campus. The lecture is free and open to the public. Cross, whose work focuses on the study of African-American identity, will speak on the topic "Theory and Research on Black Identity Before and After the 1954 Brown Decision on School Desegregation." (April 7, 2004)
Disease is increasing among most kinds of marine organisms, according to a long-term study by Jessica Ward of Cornell University and Kevin Lafferty of the U.S. Geological Survey. The study, conducted at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara, Calif., found that fish are no exception to the troubling trend, despite fewer reports of fish disease over the years. An analysis by Ward and Lafferty of hundreds of previous studies of marine-ecosystem disease is published this month in the journal Public Library of Science Biology . The report finds the rate of disease increasing in some taxa, such as in turtles, mammals, mollusks and urchins, but declining in fish.
The heart of mankind's best friend, the dog, holds secrets that could improve the health of humans, according to researchers who hope to produce the first computer model of catastrophic rhythm disturbances in the heart, known as ventricular fibrillation. The condition can result in sudden cardiac failure. Cornell University, Gene Network Sciences Inc. (GNS) and the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) have been selected by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to receive a $2 million, four-year bioengineering research grant. The award will be used to develop a 3-D computer model of the canine heart. (April 6, 2004)
A new Cornell University study found that while hotel managers and staff provided extraordinary personal service during the massive blackout of August 2003, many properties experienced significant operating failures after the lights went out -- and are not well- prepared for a future blackout. The study, by Robert Kwortnik, an assistant professor at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration, looked at 93 hotels, from economy to luxury properties, that lost power when the outage struck the northeastern United States and Canada last summer. The affected hotels were without electricity for 16 hours on average and for as long as two days in some instances. One-quarter of the hoteliers surveyed had standby power to operate wide sections of their hotels, but those auxiliary systems failed for some properties. In many hotels, backup power to critical emergency systems failed after several hours. (April 05, 2004)
Cornell University Police is joining the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other traffic safety partners across the country to celebrate the launch of World Health Day 2004, April 7, with a new traffic and pedestrian safety initiative. The CDC's public health theme for this year's World Health Day observance is "Family Road Safety: Protect the Ones You Love." Each year, WHO recognizes a World Health Day to address a critical global public health issue. This year marks the first time that worldwide road safety and accident prevention efforts will be highlighted. In an effort to increase awareness of road safety issues on the Cornell campus and to improve road safety at the university, Cornell Police will institute its new "Courtesy Promotes Traffic Safety" program beginning April 7. "It is our firm belief that courtesy helps create an environment in which motor vehicle crashes are less likely to happen," said Cornell Police Sgt. Chuck Howard. (April 5, 2004)
NEW YORK -- New York City firefighters are able to create self-managing, tightly coordinated teams that enable them to do their jobs more quickly and effectively than other work groups, a new Cornell University study shows. However, the trauma of the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center terrorist attacks continues to take its toll, with more depression, anxiety and stress still experienced by those who were there when the Twin Towers fell. In November 2002, the Smithers Institute at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) announced that it would undertake an independent study proposed by the UFA Health and Safety office, led by Philip McArdle. To ensure the independence of the study, it was fully funded by the Smithers Institute. The study focused on the working conditions and emotional health of New York City firefighters after Sept. 11. Researchers surveyed more than 2,000 firefighters and fire officers on such workplace issues as supervision, decision making, communications, job hazards, involvement in rescue efforts following the Sept. 11 attacks, post-traumatic stress, drinking, anxiety and depression. (April 2, 2004)
Cornell University researchers already have been able to detect the mass of a single cell using submicroscopic devices. Now they're zeroing in on viruses. And the scale of their work is becoming so indescribably small that they have moved beyond the prefixes "nano" "pico" and "femto" to "atto." And just in sight is "zepto." Members of the Cornell research group headed by engineering professor Harold Craighead report they have used tiny oscillating cantilevers to detect masses as small as 6 attograms by noting the change an added mass produces in the frequency of vibration. (April 02, 2004)
Cornell University officials today (April 2) filed a legal challenge to a decision by the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission (ILPC) last December that denied the university's application for a "Certificate of Appropriateness" for a parking lot designed as part of its West Campus Residential Initiative. The university filed papers with the New York State Supreme Court for Tompkins County, pursuant to Article 78 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules. The university's lawsuit states the ILPC's denial of Cornell's application on Dec. 18, 2003, was arbitrary and capricious because it was made without regard to the facts in the record and did not contain a reasoned elaboration for its conclusions as required by New York law. (April 02, 2004)
Lionel Jospin, former prime minister of France (1997--2002), will deliver the keynote address for a three-day conference at Cornell University titled "Critical Anatomy of the New American Empire," co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Economy and Society (CSES) and the Society for the Humanities at Cornell (SHC). The conference runs Thursday, April 8, through Saturday, April 10. Jospin's talk, titled "The United States: Empire or Super Nation-State?" will be Thursday, April 8, at 4:30 p.m. in 200 Baker Hall. The talk and all conference events are free and open to the public. (April 02, 2004)
The Executive Committee of the Cornell University Board of Trustees will hold a brief open session when it meets in Manhattan Thursday, April 8, at 12:30 p.m. at the Cornell Club of New York, 6 E. 44th St. The public session will include a report from President Jeffrey Lehman and an update on the state budget. (April 02, 2004)
Summer noncredit courses for adults and families -- everything from island bird study, painting and nature photography to marine-mammal study, gardening and kayaking -- lure visitors off the Maine-New Hampshire coast to Appledore Island, the Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML) base that has become a learning island for students of all ages. Even teachers. Established more than 35 years ago as a seasonal field station for undergraduates studying marine sciences, the Cornell University-University of New Hampshire program soon expanded to share the island's resources with the general public and alumni who wanted to learn about sea life in a stimulating environment. In 2003 SML added family-oriented programs, such as "Kids Ahoy! Discovering Marine Science for the Whole Family," as well as marine-science programs for schoolteachers who refused to nap through their summer vacations. New this summer at Shoals Marine Laboratory is a special, one-week session of Cornell's Institute for Biology Teachers (CIBT). (April 2, 2004)
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- New York state Sen. Michael Nozzolio (R-54th Dist.) will be honored by Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations when he is presented with the Jerome Alpern Distinguished Alumni Award Thursday, April 1, at a special ceremony at the Roosevelt Hotel, 45 E. 45th St., New York City. The annual award recognizes extraordinary service and support to the ILR School by alumni whose professions are primarily outside the field of industrial and labor relations. The ceremony, which is part of Celebration ILR 2004, will take place during dinner, which begins at 6:45 p.m., following a 5:45 p.m. reception. (April 1, 2004)
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The discovery of accessible deposits of water on the moon would "profoundly" affect the economics and viability of a lunar base, Cornell University astronomer Donald Campbell told a House of Representatives subcommittee today, April 1. Unfortunately, he said, recovering water deposits will not be an easy task, since they are likely to exist in the bottoms of very cold, permanently dark craters at the moon's poles. "For a permanent or reusable base, a local supply would be invaluable both for human needs in the form of water and oxygen and for production of rocket fuel," Campbell told the House subcommittee on space at a hearing on "Lunar Science and Resources" in the Rayburn House Office Building. (April 01, 2004)
Four-time National Poetry Slam champion Taylor Mali will be the featured artist for the Lauren Pickard '90 Emerging Artist Series Monday, April 12, at Cornell University. His performance is free and open to the public. A noted poet, playwright and former sixth-grade teacher who has appeared in two seasons of HBO's "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry," Mali will bring his humorous, provocative, full-body poetry assault to the Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room beginning at 7:30 p.m. (April 1, 2004)
Pets, farm animals and exotic creatures will be in top form -- and so will the students who are learning to care for them -- when the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine welcomes the public to its annual open house. This year's edition, the 38th, is scheduled for Saturday, April 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The family-oriented event, with free admission and parking, features attractions for animal lovers of all ages and education information for those considering careers in veterinary medicine. (April 1, 2004)