Cornell University News Service Releases

February, 2004

Index to all months

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

2004 veterinary open house is Saturday, April 17
The 38th annual open house at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine will be Saturday, April 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring self-guided tours through the college's medical facilities, exhibits and demonstrations of the latest in veterinary care for domestic and exotic animals. Presented by students who are working toward the four-year doctor of veterinary medicine degree, the free, family-oriented event features attractions for animal lovers of all ages and education information for those considering careers in the veterinary professions. (February 27, 2004)

Surprising findings on death row, race and states
A new study by three Cornell University faculty members that is the first to compare death row demographics with murder statistics produced some findings that are just as likely to surprise both sides of the political spectrum as they are to confirm popularly held beliefs. For example, Texas, which in the public's mind tops the most-likely-to-execute list, has plenty of competition from other states when it comes to percentage of murderers on death row and sentencing rates. (February 27, 2004)

World's first databank for all living systems
N.Y. -- On March 9, Cornell University will participate in a groundbreaking ceremony 50 miles south of the Dead Sea, on the border between Israel and Jordan. Land donated by each country will be joined to form a 150-acre site for a research facility, the Bridging the Rift (BTR) Center, which will include the world's first databank of information about all living systems. The databank will be the core of the facility's centerpiece, the Library of Life, led by Cornell and Stanford University scientists who will gather, organize and model information to quantify and characterize all living systems. The library will be a research and education center operating a databank, yet to be developed, that will assemble information on living systems, from microbes to plants to animals, using digital images and global positioning data. Information also will flow from ecological and environmental investigations, molecular research and DNA sequencing. (February 26, 2004)

Weill Cornell researchers discover key triggers in nerve cell damage
New York, NY (February 25, 2004) -- Within minutes of a stroke or other brain injury, neurons begin to die, a process that is followed by a cascade of further cell death, due in part to proteins released from injured cells. These proteins tell surrounding, healthy cells to die, a process termed apoptosis. These events occur over several days and may be more devastating than the original injury.Now, Weill Cornell Medical College researchers, working together with a team of researchers from Europe, have shed light on the proteins in healthy neurons that receive the apoptotic messages. In a study published in the journal Nature, they report the discovery that Sortilin, a protein whose function has been incompletely understood, plays a key role in conveying the message of apoptosis. Sortilin is a cell surface receptor, a protein that receives signals from outside the cell to modify the cell's behavior.

Cornell Law Review symposium Feb. 28 revisits Brown v. Board of Education
A symposium at Cornell Law School Saturday, Feb. 28, revisits Brown v. Board of Education on the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision. On May 17, 1954, the court unanimously declared that separate education facilities for black and white students are "inherently unequal" and, as such, violate the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees all citizens "equal protection of the laws." The ruling paved the way for racial integration in education throughout the United States. (February 26, 2004)

Student-managed hedge fund thrived in 2003
A new investment strategy for the Cayuga MBA Fund at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management has paid off after only its first year. A long/short equity hedge fund managed by 24 MBA students at the Johnson School, the Cayuga MBA Fund is one of the largest student-managed funds of its kind in the world. Begun in 1998, the fund changed its investment strategy in October 2002. It started to employ a market-neutral approach for investing the nearly $3 million it has under management, replacing an earlier, index-tilted approach that relied on the performance of the Standard & Poor's 500 index. (February 25, 2004)

Using a three-dimensional virtual world to cure patient's fears
New York, NY (February 25, 2004) -- Dr. JoAnn Difede, a psychologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and an expert in the treatment of trauma, is using virtual reality exposure therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in victims of the WTC attacks, as well as to treat a number of phobias in the general public such as fear of heights, fear of flying, and fear of public speaking. This was the first clinical program in the Northeast to use virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And, it is one of the few VR treatment facilities in the nation.The PTSD system, which depicts the WTC on September 11, was co-developed by Dr. Difede and Dr. Hunter Hoffman, a researcher at the University of Washington.

Cornell to host 'Research and Development of New and Emerging Food Processes and Products' symposium, May 3-4
Cornell University's Institute of Food Science will host a symposium, "Research and Development of New and Emerging Food Processes and Products," May 3-4 on the Ithaca campus. The symposium will provide the latest information on scientific and technological breakthroughs on food products and processes. Topics include: the commercialization of high-pressure food processing, online monitoring and ultrasonic process analysis, developments in extrusion, creating fruit-based functional foods, and new insight into whey proteins and peptides. (February 23, 2004)

'China Culture Week' activities on campus are open to the public
The Chinese Students and Scholars Association at Cornell University has organized and is sponsoring its first "China Culture Week," beginning this week and running through the first weeks of March. There are a variety of on-campus activities planned -- including Chinese movies, a lecture, a photo exhibition and a food tasting -- and all are open to the Cornell community and the general public. The goal, organizers say, is "to reveal a real China to people here in and around Cornell." (February 23, 2004)

Nominations of students sought for the annual Community Spirit Awards
The Cornell Public Service Center and the Office of the Cornell Commitment are seeking nominations for the seventh annual Community Spirit Awards Program, which honors Cornell University students for exemplary community volunteering. This awards program was developed in the spring of 1998 at the request of the Cornell Public Service Center's community partners as a means to recognize outstanding students volunteering in the local community. (February 23, 2004)

Vasectomy reversal highly effective, even after 15 years
New York, NY (February 19, 2004) -- Debunking a popular myth about vasectomy, a new study by physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center finds that vasectomy reversal is highly effective, even 15 years or more after the vas deferens, the tube that carries sperm, is blocked. The study, published in the January Journal of Urology, documents the highest pregnancy rates following vasectomy of any study to date.Whether a man had a vasectomy this year or 15 years ago, there was no difference in the pregnancy rate achieved following a vasectomy reversal, with an average 84-percent likelihood of pregnancy over two years, the study finds. (Comparatively, healthy men without vasectomy can expect a pregnancy rate of 90 percent.) Previous studies have demonstrated pregnancy rates following vasectomy reversal of only 50-60 percent, a difference that can be attributed to advances in vasectomy-reversal techniques. The study also finds that at intervals of greater than 15 years, the pregnancy rate dropped to 44 percent.

President Lehman discusses Supreme Court affirmative action decisions March 5
Cornell University President Jeffrey S. Lehman will present his first campuswide open lecture on campus regarding affirmative action in higher education Friday, March 5, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in 401 Warren Hall; a reception will follow. In his talk, titled "From Bakke to Grutter: Lessons Learned," Lehman will discuss why affirmative action in higher education has been such a challenging concept for Americans to understand, and he will draw on his experience as dean of the University of Michigan Law School during the five and one-half years that Grutter v. Bollinger was making its way through the courts. The U.S. Supreme Court definitively upheld the Michigan Law School's use of affirmative action in its admission policy in an opinion issued in June 2003. (February 23, 2004)

eCornell restructures its organization
eCornell, a developer and marketer of online professional education courses from Cornell University, is being restructured to bring the size of its organization in line with the revenue growth pattern. The company is consolidating talent and skills to focus primarily on selling its existing catalog of courses. eCornell will continue to serve its current and future individual and corporate customers worldwide. The company will maintain a core development team to continue its innovations, in conjunction with Cornell faculty, in collaborative, online learning, and to develop new programs in 2004. (February 20, 2004)

For the first time in decades, beer from New York hops
For perhaps the first time in more half a century, a brewer has made a beer from hops grown entirely in New York state. The new venture has been achieved with help from Cornell University agricultural researchers working with the Northeast Hops Alliance. Hops, once a leading specialty crop in New York state, suffered from plant disease and insect pests. Prohibition in the 1930s also helped spell the crop's demise, and 50 years ago, production ceased. Now Cornell researchers are helping growers and brewers bring hops back to the state. (February 19, 2004)

'Child soldiers' is the topic of a Law School symposium, Feb. 20-21
Photographs and news stories of young boys in uniform waving real guns may shock and dismay the world community but don't always lead to a deeper understanding or preventive actions. Now a symposium at Cornell Law School offers an opportunity to find out more about what can be done to halt the heinous practice of using children as soldiers. "International Peacekeeping in Countries Utilizing Child Soldiers: Unique Problems of Security and Rebuilding" will take place at the Law School Feb. 20 and 21, The keynote address and panel discussions are in Myron Taylor Hall's MacDonald Moot Court Room and are free and open to the public. The symposium is sponsored by The Cornell International Law Journal, a journal produced by Cornell University law students. For further details, see this Web site: . (February 19, 2004)

Same-sex couples plan differently for retirement
Compared with their husbands, women tend to put less effort into planning for retirement, studies show. But lesbians tend to plan even less than other women, according to one of the first studies to look at the retirement plans of gay and lesbian couples. A significant factor influencing same-sex couples' retirement planning is, put simply, satisfaction with their relationship, according to Cornell University experts on gender issues. (February 18, 2004)

New method for converting nitrogen to ammonia
A research team at Cornell University has succeeded in converting nitrogen into ammonia using a long-predicted process that has challenged scientists for decades. The achievement involves using a zirconium metal complex to add hydrogen atoms to the nitrogen molecule and convert it to ammonia, without the need for high temperatures or high pressure. (February 18, 2004)

Phone fibbing is the most common method for untruths
People lie, research has shown, in one-fourth of their daily, social interactions. But according to Cornell University communications researchers, people are most likely to lie on the telephone. In fact, the researchers say, phone fibbing is even more likely than when people use e-mail, instant messaging or even speak face-to-face. (February 18, 2004)

Israeli novelist Ronit Matalon reads from her work, talks about writing and the Middle East
Acclaimed contemporary Israeli novelist Ronit Matalon will read from her work Sunday, Feb. 22, at Tompkins County Library and will be at Cornell University Monday, Feb. 23, to deliver a talk, "Writing, Desire and Two Billion Hungry People." Both events are free and open to the public. The Feb. 22 reading is at 2:30 p.m. in the library's Borg Warner Room. The Feb. 23 talk at Cornell is at 4:30 p.m. in White Hall, Room 106. "Ronit's visit offers the Cornell community a window onto the vibrancy of Israeli literature and culture," said Deborah Starr, an assistant professor in Near Eastern studies. "Her talk will also offer insights into the role of public intellectuals in Israeli society." (February 17, 2004)

Thomas W. Simons, former U.S. ambassador to Poland and Pakistan, speaks on, 'Islam, 9/11 and Iraq' Feb. 24
When Thomas W. Simons Jr. participated in a Peace Studies Program seminar at Cornell University in 2002, he made such a powerful impression on students and faculty that it was only natural to invite him back to campus again as soon as possible. Now Simons, former United States Ambassador to Poland and Pakistan, has returned for a two-week visit as the first Provost's Visiting Professor at Cornell, and he will deliver a lecture titled "Islam, 9/11 and Iraq" Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 5 p.m. in Alice Statler Auditorium of Statler Hall on campus. The talk is free and open to the public. (February 17, 2004)

Weill Cornell and Ithaca faculty have discuss 'Humanism at the Cross-Roads,' Feb. 19
Dr. Joseph Fins, professor of medicine in psychiatry and chief of the Medical Ethics Division at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, will deliver a talk titled "Back to the Future: Cultures of Death and Dying in America," Thursday, Feb. 19, at 4 p.m. in the Guerlac Room. of the Andrew Dickson White House on the Cornell campus. The keynote presentation inaugurates the Society for the Humanities at Cornell's inter-disciplinary colloquium, "Humanism at the Cross-Roads," a collaboration among faculty members at Cornell's Ithaca campus and the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. (February 17, 2004)

Where to start to launch the 'butterfly effect'
SEATTLE -- "Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?" Meteorologist Edward Lorenz once asked in postulating the "butterfly effect," the idea that the flapping of fragile wings could start a chain reaction in the atmosphere. In today's world of the Internet the question might be rephrased: Can a single e-mail from Brazil set off a torrent of action in Texas? Sociologists postulate that what a few influential leaders think and say can spread and grow and bring about big changes in the thinking of large numbers of people. The Internet offers a compelling new place to look for this phenomenon by studying very large groups and especially, seeing how groups change over time. (February 11, 2004)

New X-ray sources speed protein crystallography
SEATTLE -- Thirty years ago the determination of a protein structure required years of effort and typically was sufficient for a Ph.D. thesis. Today, due to advances in synchrotron X-ray sources and detectors, protein crystal structures can be calculated in just hours, "enabling many types of studies that were previously inconceivable," according to a leading researcher at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Sol Gruner, a Cornell physics professor and an expert in designing and building fast, large-area X-ray imaging detectors, says that high-powered synchrotron X-ray sources and advanced detectors have been largely responsible for the progress in calculating protein structures. "The biotechnological revolution of the last two decades is built upon the twin pillars of protein structure determination and genetic engineering," he says. (February 11, 2004)

Manning Marable delivers Sage Chapel sermon and Martin Luther King Jr. lecture Feb. 22 and 23
Columbia University Professor Manning Marable, an eminent historian and one of the most influential interpreters of the black experience in America, will be visiting the Cornell University campus to deliver the 2004 Martin Luther King Jr. guest lecture as well as a Sage Chapel sermon. Marable's talks, listed here, are free and open to the public. Sunday, Feb. 22, 11 a.m., Sage Chapel: "When the Spirit Moves: Black Faith and the Struggle for Freedom." Monday, Feb. 23, 4:45 p.m., Sage Chapel: Martin Luther King Jr. speaker, "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Dream Deferred." (February 16, 2004)

Nobel Peace Prize winner Jody Williams, founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, will give a public talk, March 5
The ninth annual convocation of the Cornell Commitment, March 5, on the Cornell University campus will feature a public talk by Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). Williams will give an address titled "The Power of One: An Individual's Impact on Social and Political Change," during the convocation, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in the David L. Call Alumni Auditorium of Kennedy Hall. (February 16, 2004)

"Camera pill" may be useful in diagnosing conditions in the esophagus
New York, NY (February 11, 2004) -- Capsule endoscopy, the "camera pill" device already shown to be effective in diagnosing conditions of the small intestine, may now be an effective non-invasive alternative for diagnosing conditions of the esophagus such as Barrett's esophagus, a common result of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The paper, authored by Dr. Felice Schnoll-Sussman, a gastroenterologist at the Jay Monahan center for Gastrointestinal Health at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, was recently presented at the meeting of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Growth factor boosts heart cell production in damaged hearts
New York, NY (February 12, 2004) -- Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have discovered that injecting a growth factor called PDGF-AB along with bone marrow cells into the heart can cause new heart cells to grow in scar tissue. The research, conducted in an animal model, has just been published in the "Online First" section of Circulation Research (March 19 print and online issue).The finding may one day lead to better treatments for heart attack, which can cause portions of the heart to die and form scar tissue. Many researchers are trying to use stem cells -- which are immature cells found in bone marrow -- to replace cells that are dead or damaged after a heart attack.

Electrocardiogram abnormalities could be potentially deadly sign for diabetics
New York, NY (February 9, 2004) -- Diabetics who have certain abnormalities on an electrocardiogram (ECG) -- a measure of the heart's electrical activity -- are much more likely to die in a five-year period than their peers who have normal ECG results, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center physician-scientists report in the February issue of the journal Diabetes.Electrocardiograms, which are performed by attaching electrodes to the chest, are one of the easiest and most common heart tests given to patients.

Festival of Black Gospel, Feb. 20-22, features Keith 'Wonderboy' Johnson and the Spiritual Voices
Keith "Wonderboy" Johnson and the Spiritual Voices out of New York City will headline the 28th annual Festival of Black Gospel at Cornell University, Saturday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. in Anabel Taylor Hall on campus. Admission for the performance is $4. Saturday's concert is just one of the features of this year's festival -- Friday, Feb. 20, to Sunday, Feb. 22 -- which include a three-on-three basketball tournament, the concert by the featured artists, the annual Mass Choir and a Sunday service. (February 16, 2004)

Traditional Iroquois methods work for today's farmers
SEATTLE -- Most agronomists look to their laboratories, greenhouses or research farms for innovative new cropping techniques. But Jane Mt. Pleasant, professor of horticulture and director of the American Indian Program at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., has taken a different path, mining her Iroquois heritage for planting and cultivation methods that work for today's farmers. Mt. Pleasant studies what traditionally are known as the "three sisters": beans, corn and squash. These staples of Iroquois cropping are traditionally grown together on a single plot, mimicking natural systems in what agronomists call a polyculture. Though the Iroquois technique was not developed scientifically, Mt. Pleasant notes that it is "agronomically sound." The three sisters cropping system embodies all the things needed to make crops grow in the Northeast, she says. (February 11, 2004)

Tools to guide and switch light for photonic microchips
SEATTLE -- A Cornell University researcher is developing techniques for making photonic microchips -- in which streams of electrons are replaced by beams of light -- including ways to guide and bend light in air or a vacuum, to switch a beam of light on and off and to connect nanophotonic chips to optical fiber. Michal Lipson, an assistant professor at Cornell, in Ithaca, N.Y., described recent research by the Nanophotonics Group in Cornell's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Seattle on Sunday, Feb. 15. Her talk was part of a symposium on "21st Century Photonics." (February 11, 2004)

Small resource changes might reduce Kenya poverty
SEATTLE -- Madzuu is a village in Kenya's western highlands and Lake Victoria basin where the rainfall is abundant, and there is some access to urban markets. And yet about 61 percent of the village population earned less than 50 cents a day in real terms in both 1989 and 2002. Many people there are trapped in chronic poverty from which escape is difficult. Alice Pell, professor of animal science at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., is the principal investigator on a five-year, multidisciplinary research effort to study how small changes in natural resources could have profound effects on people's lives. In Madzuu's case, restoring the land's natural productivity could alter the economic situation of the farmers. (February 11, 2004)

Nobel laureate discusses muse for Lavoisier
SEATTLE-- Oxygen was discovered more than 230 years ago, seized center stage in the 18th century chemical revolution and is still catching fire today. Oxygen has been the subject of space missions, environmental and biological sciences and of drama. It was also the subject of an unusual symposium, "It's All About Oxygen," today (Feb. 14) at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Seattle. Participants approached the subject from historical, theatrical and strictly scientific perspectives, including a presentation on the recent remarkable discovery of the presence of ozone in living cells, its production catalyzed by antibodies. (Ozone is a form of oxygen in which the molecule contains three atoms instead of the normal two.) (February 11, 2004)

Optically recording millisecond brain nerve impulses
Combining the bright laser light of multiphoton microscopy with specially developed dyes and a phenomenon called second-harmonic generation, biophysicists at Cornell University and Université de Rennes, France, have made high-resolution images of millisecond-by-millisecond signaling through nerve cells. The first demonstration of the new technique, reported as the cover story in the Jan. 28, 2004, issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, was in neurons of the lowly sea slug, Aplysia. But the Cornell researchers anticipate that eventually the technique will be used in brain tissues of higher animals and could help decipher the wiring of the brain and possibly explain consequences of degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's. (February 13, 2004)

Malnutrition and misery will be 'unimaginable' by 2054
SEATTLE -- If today's global statistics of more than 3 billion malnourished people are worrisome, try projecting 50 years into the future, when Earth's population could exceed 12 billion and there could be even less water and land, per capita, to grow food. The current level of malnutrition among nearly half the world's population of 6.3 billion is unprecedented in human history, says agricultural ecologist David Pimentel of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. "Every trend -- from decreasing per-capita availability of food and cropland to population growth -- shows the predicament becoming even more dire," Pimentel says. (February 11, 2004)

Musician Yair Dalal offers musical bridge between Arabs and Jews
On Saturday evening, Feb. 21, internationally renowned musician Yair Dalal will return to Ithaca for a performance of his unique style of Middle Eastern music. The concert, "Iraqi-Jewish Desert Music From Israel," features Dalal, accompanied by top Israeli percussionist Avi Agababa, with guest appearances by members of the Cornell Middle Eastern Music Ensemble. It takes place at 8 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Ithaca. Nominated for a BBC Radio 3 World Music Award as Best Artist from the Middle East, Dalal has mesmerized audiences with his oud and violin playing at festivals and concert halls around the world (the oud is a short-necked, pear-shaped lute). While in Ithaca, Dalal also will offer a master class with the Cornell Middle Eastern Music Ensemble Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. in 124 Lincoln Hall on Cornell University's campus. The class, which is co-sponsored by Cornell's Department of Near Eastern Studies, is free and open to anyone who wants to observe. (February 11, 2004)

Two Cornell engineering professors receive prestigious Lockheed awards
Two professors in the Cornell University College of Engineering have received prestigious $50,000 awards from the 2004 Lockheed Martin University Research Grants Program. The two recipients are Alyssa B. Apsel, the Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mark Campbell, assistant professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. (February 11, 2004)

Free "3-D" glasses on campus for online viewing of images from Mars
Tickets for the Newport Jazz Festival at Ithaca's State Theater, $17. Admission to the Valentine's Day Dance on the Cornell University campus, $5. Seeing the Martian landscape in stereo, priceless. The "3-D" glasses are free, while the supply lasts. Cornell Provost Biddy Martin has purchased 1,000 red-blue filtered, stereo glasses from American Paper Optics, Bartlett, Tenn., for distribution to Cornell students to view online images of Mars. The glasses are available at the information desk at Cornell's student union, Willard Straight Hall, says Dave Cameron, the provost's special projects assistant who organized the distribution. (February 10, 2004)

Educator Harold Levy, Times Pulitzer winner Sheryl WuDunn, stellar Cornell faculty tackle key issues at New York City speaker series
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- One issue that provokes opposing views in this year's election battles is how to improve U.S. public schools. On Feb. 12, Harold O. Levy, former New York City schools chancellor, will tackle the controversial subjects of testing, performance and school attendance in "Helping our Children Learn: Critical Issues in Public Education", a talk in New York City. Levy, who holds undergraduate and law degrees from Cornell University (B.S '74, J.D. '79), headlines the first of four Cornell lectures in the city. Sponsored by the university's School of Industrial and Labor Relations' Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS), the Workplace Colloquium series takes place at the Cornell Club, 6 E. 44th Street (between Madison and Fifth avenues). (February 10, 2004)

Bulgarian ambassador to visit campus and deliver public talks, Feb. 10-12
The Honorable Elena Poptodorova, the ambassador from the Republic of Bulgaria to the United States, is visiting the Cornell University campus, Feb. 10-12, to deliver public lectures and meet with community members, university students, faculty members and administrators. On Wednesday, Feb. 11, the Bulgarian ambassador will give a Berger International Speaker Series lecture, titled "The Rule of Law in Bulgaria -- An Emerging Democracy: New Concepts, New Legal Instruments and New Practices," in Room G85 of Cornell Law School's Myron Taylor Hall at 6 p.m. On Thursday, Feb. 12, she will address the topic "A View From the 'New Europe'" at the Peace Studies Seminar of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies in G08 Uris Hall at 12:15 p.m. The ambassador also will speak in visiting lecturer Elena Iankova's International Political Risk Management class at the Johnson Graduate School of Management in Sage Hall's Ramin Parlor, Feb. 12 at 2:55 p.m. All of these talks are free and open to the public. The Law School and the Einaudi Center are the principal sponsors of Poptodorova's visit to Cornell. (February 9, 2004)

Slicing the onion's sexual barrier to breed disease resistance.
For onion growers battling botrytis leaf blight, a crop-decimating disease, relief is on the way. Cornell University plant scientists have breached the plant's tough sexual barrier to cross two species and develop a first draft of a botrytis-resistant onion. The way is now paved for scientists to bring the onion to commercial quality and, perhaps, make it resistant to other diseases as well. Martha Mutschler, Cornell professor of plant breeding, will unveil her research team's results Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. at the 2004 Empire State Fruit and Vegetable Expo in the Riverside Convention Center's Bausch Room, Rochester, N.Y. Her research collaborators were Jim Lorbeer, Cornell professor of plant pathology; research associate Edward Cobb; and graduate student Pablo A. Goldschmied. (February 9, 2004)

Nominations/applications sought for Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowship in Service-Learning
Nominations and applications are being sought for Cornell University's Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowship in Service-Learning. The deadline for submissions is March 29. The fellowship was created by Cornell alumna 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 learning, research and outreach efforts that address important community-identified policy issues. (February 9, 2004)

Great Backyard Bird Count to create snapshot of diversity
Families, school children and community groups throughout North America are expected to participate in the seventh annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), Feb. 13-16, to document the numbers and kinds of birds they see. The event will create a continentwide "snapshot" of which bird species are where and in what numbers -- information critical to monitoring the health of populations, according to scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The annual count was developed and is managed by the Cornell University laboratory and by the National Audubon Society. The count is sponsored, in part, by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and by the retail-store franchise Wild Birds Unlimited. (February 6, 2004)

Robert Constable renamed dean of the Faculty of Computing and Information Science
Robert L. Constable has been reappointed for a second five-year term as dean of the Faculty of Computing and Information Science at Cornell University. Constable became the first dean of the new faculty unit when it was created in the fall of 1999. Previously he had been chair of the Department of Computer Science. "Under Dean Constable, the Faculty of Computing and Information Science has more than fulfilled its original mission of making computation and information sciences available to every discipline on campus," said Cornell Provost Biddy Martin in announcing the reappointment. "Bob's intellectual curiosity and collaborative spirit have made a mark across the campus. The faculty's imagination and expertise have combined to create new research tools and opportunities and to encourage previously unforeseen uses of computing, especially in the humanities and social sciences. We look forward to the continued success of the faculty under Bob's leadership." (February 6, 2004)

Cornell junior Natalie Gulyas on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' Feb. 9
Who wants to be a millionaire? Cornell University junior Natalie Gulyas does. Gulyas, who is from Denver, gets her turn to phone a friend, poll the audience and request a 50-50. She will face TV host Meredith Viera while sitting on the hot seat of the television quiz show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Monday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. Locally, the show airs on WIXT-TV (Channel 9 on Time-Warner Cable). (February 5, 2004)

Cornell Police arrest Cortland man in equipment theft
Cornell University Police, with the assistance of the Cortland Police Department, ended a three-month investigation into stolen computer and audio equipment with the arrest of a Cortland man. Daniel P. Roberson, 22, of 160-1/2 Central Ave., Cortland, was charged Feb. 3 with one count of grand larceny in the 4th degree, a Class E felony. He is scheduled to appear in Ithaca City Court on Feb. 11 at 9:30 a.m. (February 5, 2004)

Weill Cornell cardiology division named for benefactors Maurice R. And Corinne P. Greenberg
New York, NY (February 3, 2004) -- the Division of Cardiology at Weill Cornell medical college has been named for Maurice R. And Corinne P. Greenberg, generous and longtime benefactors of the medical college and newyork-presbyterian hospital in many areas, including cardiovascular research and patient care. The new name -- the Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Division of Cardiology at Weill Cornell Medical College -- became effective on December 1, 2003. The official dedication ceremony took place on February 2."The Greenberg family and the Starr Foundation have continually demonstrated their steadfast leadership in support of cardiology," said Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College. "Without their forward-thinking and generosity, the scope and success of our cardiology program would not have been possible."

WSKG-TV to broadcast videotaped performance of Cornell theatre's 'Antigone' on Feb. 11
Antigone goes prime time: WSKG-TV will broadcast a full-length performance of the Cornell University Department of Theatre, Film and Dance's fall 2003 production of Sophocles' Antigone Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 9 p.m. Ithaca-area viewers can catch the show on Time Warner Cable Channel 6; regional viewers can catch it on Channel 46. The video, soon to be available on DVD as well as VHS, was produced, taped and edited by Education Television Center staff at Cornell Information Technologies, under the direction of Daniel Booth, television services manager. The entire project, including the DVD, received support from the Cornell Provost's Office, the Department of Classics, the Society for the Humanities at Cornell, the John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines, and the dean's office in the College of Arts and Sciences. (February 04, 2004)

Coldest January in 50 years in New England
Toss another log on the Yankee fire. This was the coldest January for Bridgeport, Conn., and Boston in a half century, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. Boston's average temperature for the month was 20.7 degrees Fahrenheit and for Bridgeport it was 21.7 degrees, says Keith Eggleston, a senior climatologist at the center. The normal average January temperature for Boston is 29.3 degrees and for Bridgeport it is 29.9 degrees. (February 03, 2004)

Distance to hospital affects heart attack survival
Heart attack victims who make it to the hospital in time to receive medical attention are four to five times more likely to survive compared with those who don't make it to a hospital promptly, according to a new Cornell University study. The research also finds that for each five-minute increase in distance from a hospital, a person's probability of getting to the hospital in time falls by 1.25 percent. "With prompt medical attention, a person's blockage to the heart, which causes a heart attack, can often be dissolved. That reduces damage to the heart and greatly lowers morbidity and mortality," says Liam O'Neill, assistant professor of policy analysis and management in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell. (February 03, 2004)

Weill Medical College receives $500,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb HIV/AIDS research grant
NEW YORK, NY, Jan. 30, 2004 -- Bristol-Myers Squibb has awarded a five-year $500,000 'Freedom to Discover' Unrestricted Infectious Diseases Research Grant to Weill Medical College of Cornell University for HIV/AIDS research focusing on the HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins and their functions during virus entry. John P. Moore, Ph.D., will supervise and serve as principal investigator of the grant. Dr. Moore is a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City.Richard Colonno, Ph.D., vice president of Infectious Diseases Drug Discovery at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute in Wallingford, Connecticut, presented a commemorative plaque and a symbolic check for $500,000 to Dr. Moore at a reception on January 30 at Weill Cornell Medical College. Guests included Weill Cornell leadership, faculty and staff of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Bristol-Myers Squibb executives.

First successful embryo biopsy for deadly genetic cancer -- retinoblastoma
New York, NY (January 28, 2004) -- In a significant scientific achievement, physicians and scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have successfully employed preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for retinoblastoma, resulting in the world's first babies born free of the deadly eye cancer. The news appears in this month's issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.Preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or embryo biopsy, is a diagnostic technique used with in vitro fertilization (IVF) to determine the genetic status of embryos before implantation. The technique allows parents to know with reasonable certainty that their child will be normal before the mother is even carrying the child. Moreover, PGD can virtually eliminate the risk of passing on a genetic trait from parent to offspring, and forever end a family's history of dealing with a deadly disease.

Internet-First publishing offers new books free online
Just when the recording, music and publishing industries are going all-out to stop people from making their products available on the Internet, a new publishing venture at Cornell University is challenging traditional scholarly publishing by taking the opposite approach: Make the full text of a new book freely available on the Internet, and give readers the option to buy the printed book. The new "open access" publisher, known as Internet-First University Press, launched recently with a catalog announcing four original manuscripts and several titles that have been out of print. Soon to be added are monographs, Cornell graduate student theses and, eventually, an online scholarly journal. The project also is publishing multimedia materials, including videos and collections of photographs. (February 03, 2004)

'Development and Social Change' examines globalization
The athletic shoes on your feet came from around the world: the American cowhide was tanned in South Korea, the Taiwanese synthetic rubber was derived from Saudi Arabian petroleum, the shoe box was made in the United States and Indonesian rainforest trees provided the tissue paper inside the box. To understand this growing global-market network, Philip McMichael, Cornell University professor and chair of development sociology, has updated his textbook, Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective, in a third edition recently published by Pine Forge Press/Sage. McMichael donates royalties earned from use of the book in his international development class to nonprofit development organizations. (February 3, 2004)