News Releases
October 2004
Index to all monthsFor the full text of any story, click on the headline. Electronic queries may be made to cunews@cornell.edu.
Henry reappointed dean of agriculture and life sciences
Cornell Provost Biddy Martin has announced the reappointment of Susan A. Henry as the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), for a five-year term, beginning July 1, 2005. "Dean Henry has made significant contributions to the vitality and the academic quality of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and is a valued member of the university's academic leadership," Martin said. "As an accomplished scientist and an able administrator, she has set high standards for research, teaching and outreach, and has successfully built strong support for her academic programs. I appreciate her intelligence, dedication and humor." (October 27, 2004)
Hotel School's Beck Center teaching facility formally opens Oct. 28
About 500 people -- alumni, friends, students and faculty at the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University -- are taking part in the official grand opening of the Robert A. and Jan M. Beck Center addition to Statler Hall Thursday, Oct. 28. Under construction since January 2003, the teaching addition to Statler Hall provides 35,000 square feet of new classrooms, meeting rooms and other learning space. (October 27, 2004)
One light beam switches another for photonic chips
Cornell University researchers have demonstrated for the first time a device that allows one low-powered beam of light to switch another on and off on silicon, a key component for future "photonic" microchips in which light replaces electrons. Photonics on silicon has been suggested since the 1970s, and previous light-beam switching devices on silicon have been demonstrated, but they were excessively large (by microchip standards) or have required that the beam of light that does the switching be very high-powered. The approach developed by Michal Lipson, Cornell assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, confines the beam to be switched in a circular resonator, greatly reducing the space required and allowing a very small change in refractive index to shift the material from transparent to opaque. (October 22, 2004)
'Johnny Appleseed's' nut grove, languishing for 7 decades, buds forth into classroom and model forest farm
In the 1930s, Cornell University had a Johnny Appleseed of nuts. Horticulturist Lawrence H. MacDaniels, known as "Dr. Mac," planted or grafted hundreds of nut trees, including hickory, walnut, chestnut, pecan and filbert, in a remote corner of the Cornell campus. For some 70 years, the six-acre spread just east of Cornell Orchards along Cascadilla Creek, between Game Farm and Judd Falls roads, lay dormant and became shrouded by a thick growth of honeysuckle. Today, the once-inaccessible woodlot not only has a name -- the MacDaniels Nut Grove -- but new paths and purposes: It's an outdoor classroom, research site, model forest farm and a resource for community education and outreach. It's also an heirloom nut grove and repository for temperate nut tree cultivars from which farmers and other kinds of growers can obtain scions, or cuttings, to graft onto root stocks. The grove is within a Cornell Plantations natural area called Upper Cascadilla, on the north side of Cascadilla Creek. (October 27, 2004)
Exploratory Grant program helps New York state companies find Cornell technology
Somewhere at major research institutions like Cornell University is precisely the technology resource that small, innovative companies might need to jump-start new projects. Now the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR), in cooperation with statewide Regional Technology Development Centers (RTDCs) and funded by the New York State Office for Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR), is offering a "magnet" to help companies find their technology "needle" in the university's research-resources "haystack." (October 27, 2004)
Forum on voting marks arrival of Voting Technology Archive to Cornell library, Oct. 28
Between the voter and the candidate stands the machine. The voting machine, that is. In a presidential race where every vote counts, how those votes are getting counted is the subject of increasing public scrutiny. In a free public forum titled, "Representation, Democracy and Electoral Machinery: Four Years After the Florida Vote," three experts in the political and social sciences will discuss a variety of issues surrounding voting technology on Thursday, Oct. 28, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Kroch Library, Level 2B on the Cornell University campus. (October 26, 2004)
Cornell trustees and council to meet in Ithaca Oct. 28-30
Members of Cornell University's Board of Trustees and University Council will hold their annual meeting on the Ithaca campus Oct. 28 to 30. A highlight of the meeting will be President Jeffrey Lehman's State of the University address Friday, Oct. 29, at 9 a.m. in Alice Statler Auditorium. Lehman will discuss his reflections on his inaugural Call to Engagement and will present his vision of Cornell as a transnational university. (October 26, 2004)
Artist Andy Goldsworthy to discuss his works Nov. 4
Environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy will take part in a lecture-presentation titled "Documenting Andy Goldsworthy's Early Ephemeral Work: An Interview with Andy Goldsworthy," on Thursday, Nov. 4, at 4:30 p.m. in the Statler Auditorium on the Cornell University campus. The lecture is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets, limited to two per person, will be distributed starting Thursday, Oct. 28, at the Willard Straight Hall box office. Goldsworthy, an Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large, will be joined by Tina Fiske, currently the Andy Goldsworthy Research Fellow, who is based in the History of Art Department at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, where she teaches. Fiske is compiling a comprehensive digital catalogue of Goldsworthy's ephemeral outdoor work from 1976 to 1989. Goldsworthy works with stone, leaves, grass, branches, snow, ice and other natural materials to craft his singular creations. He is the author of several books: Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration With Nature; Hand to Earth; Stone; Wood; Arch; Wall; and Time, which includes his work at Cornell University in Oct. 1999 and March 2000, sponsored by the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. He is the subject of a 2001 film documentary, Andy Goldsworthy's Rivers and Tides, and a new book, Passage, is forthcoming. (October 25, 2004)
'Emerging Leader in Congress' Mark Kirk '81 will speak Nov. 8 on 'The Rise of China'
Illinois Congressman Mark Kirk, an alumnus of Cornell University who was named by Congressional Quarterly as one of the "28 Emerging Leaders in Congress," will lecture on campus Nov. 8 on "The Rise of China." The expert on national defense and foreign policy issues has a special interest in China and its relations with the United States. Kirk's lecture is free and open to the public and will be in the Statler Auditorium of Statler Hall at 2 p.m. The lecture is sponsored by the Walter LaFeber and Joel Silbey Fund in American History at Cornell. Kirk's visit to campus over two days also is sponsored by the fund and will include meetings with students and faculty. (October 25, 2004)
'A Tribute to Leo Frank,' Cornell alum kidnapped from jail and lynched by a Georgia mob in 1915, to be held Oct. 28
Cornell University will honor the memory of alumnus Leo Frank, Class of 1906, with an art opening, a talk and a movie on Monday, Oct. 25, Thursday, Oct. 28, and Monday, Nov. 1, respectively. All events are free and open to the public. A reception for a touring exhibit of the Leo Frank Collection will be held Monday, Oct. 25, at 5:30 p.m. in the Willard Straight Hall Art Gallery. The exhibit, part of the holdings of the Breman Museum in Atlanta, runs until Nov. 5. (October 22, 2004)
Cornell students put together health kits covering sexual-health needs and problems for women going abroad
When a Cornell University student tried to get help for a vaginal yeast infection in Spain last year, the pharmacist kept thinking she was referring to a foot fungus. Another Cornell student in Poland who feared she was pregnant couldn't understand the Polish instructions for the pregnancy test. Yet another had unprotected sex in Belgium and for five months endured "unbearable stress" not knowing where, or how, to get an HIV test. "When we got back to Cornell, we realized that so many women who went abroad had health problems that would have been easily treatable in the United States but were problematic for them abroad," says Rachel Margolis, a 2004 Cornell graduate from Philadelphia who is now in a master's program at the London School of Economics. (October 22, 2004)
Leading Africana scholar Mahmood Mamdani to deliver talk on the roots of terror Oct. 28
Mahmood Mamdani, the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government at Columbia University, will deliver a free public lecture titled "Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War and the Roots of Terror," on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 4:30 p.m. in the lecture gallery of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art on the Cornell University campus. A book signing and reception will follow in the A.D. White House. Mamdani's reputation as an expert in African history, politics and international relations has made him an important voice in contemporary debates about the changing role of Africa in a global context. His book Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism (Princeton University Press, 1996) has been hailed as one of the best scholarly works on Africa published in English, and it won the prestigious Herskovits Award of the African Studies Association of the USA (1998). (October 22, 2004)
Cornell Mock Election results: Kerry beats Bush, 70 to 22 percent
After a semester-long series of election-season lectures and debates, more than 6000 Cornell University students cast their votes on the U.S. Presidential race in a student-sponsored "mock election." Democratic challenger John Kerry defeated George W. Bush, 4264 votes, or 70 percent, to 1327 votes, or 22 percent for the incumbent president. Among female voters, Kerry received 2279 votes (78 percent) to Bush's 515 votes (18 percent.) Male students gave Kerry 1936 votes (63 percent) to Bush's 791 votes (26 percent.) Undergraduate and graduate students were all eligible to vote online between Oct. 18 and Oct. 21, 2004. In total there were 6067 votes cast. (October 22, 2004)
Juan González, New York Daily News columnist and author, to deliver Kops Freedom of the Press lecture, Oct. 26
Juan González, street-smart scholar and columnist for the New York Daily News, will deliver the Daniel W. Kops Freedom of the Press lecture Tuesday, Oct. 26, at 4:30 p.m. in the Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall at Cornell University. The talk, free and open to the public, is titled "How Long Must We Wait? The Struggle for Racial and Ethnic Equality Within the American News Media." (October 21, 2004)
Synapse yields up more secrets, as Weill Cornell team sheds light on role of key protein
New York, NY (October 20, 2004) -- Billions of times per day, neurons in the brain use microscopic packets of neurotransmitter chemicals to pass information across the synapse -- the gaps separating individual cells.And because almost every neurological disease, addiction, and drug aimed at brain function relies on synaptic activity, advances in understanding how this messenger system works is of great importance to medical research.
Bold new initiatives are needed to address the crisis of antibiotic resistance, according to Weill Cornell expert
New York, NY (October 18, 2004) -- The looming threat of bacterial infections resistant to available antibiotics can be averted if industry, regulators, and academics work together in creative new ways, writes Weill Cornell Medical College expert Dr. Carl Nathan in a commentary in the October 21 Nature."Despite growing bacterial resistance to existing drugs, antibiotic development in the pharmaceutical industry is steeply declining," warns Dr. Nathan, Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College and Co-Chair of the Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis Program at the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences in New York City.
'Shape-shifting' computer lab encourages collaboration
Student computer facilities on university campuses tend to be pretty boring: long rows of computers side-by-side. But an experimental computer lab in Cornell University's Uris Library breaks up the monotony to enable groups of students to collaborate without a lot of pushing and shoving to find a place in front of a screen. Appropriately, it's called a "shape-shifting" lab. Each of the nine computers in the Cornell Collaborative Learning Computer Lab -- CL3 for short -- is mounted on a curved table about six feet wide, with two side-by-side displays and two keyboards. The tables are on wheels and can be rearranged to accommodate groups of 2, 4, 6 or 8 who can see each other's screens. The computers' Internet connections are wireless, so that as the tables are moved around, the only cables to worry about are the power cords which can be plugged into any of several floor outlets. (October 20, 2004)
Incentives for U.S. farmers reduce water waste
In a world plagued by shortages of water, three facts stand out in an analysis by Cornell University ecologists: Less than 1 percent of water on the planet is fresh water; agriculture in the United States consumes 80 percent of the available fresh water each year; and 60 percent of U.S. water intended for crop irrigation never reaches the crops. Their report in the October 2004 journal BioScience (Vol. 54, No. 10, "Water Resources: Agricultural and Environmental Issues") names farmers as "the prime target for incentives to conserve water." The report is particularly critical of irrigation practices in the United States, where subsidized "cheap water" offers scant incentive for conservation. (October 20, 2004)
Study links warm offices to fewer typing errors and higher productivity
Warm workers work better, an ergonomics study at Cornell University finds. Chilly workers not only make more errors but cooler temperatures could increase a worker's hourly labor cost by 10 percent, estimates Alan Hedge, professor of design and environmental analysis and director of Cornell's Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory. (October 20, 2004)
Abducted and released Iraq reporter Jeffrey Gettleman to speak Oct. 25
Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times Iraq war correspondent and television news commentator, will deliver a free public lecture on Monday, Oct. 25, at 4:45 p.m. in the David L. Call Alumni Auditorium, Kennedy Hall at Cornell University. Gettleman's lecture, titled "From Ithaca to Baghdad," will trace his career as a journalist focusing primarily on his recent experiences in Iraq. Initially embedded with the U.S. Army during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Gettleman, a 1994 graduate of Cornell, has provided ongoing coverage of the war as part of the New York Times Iraq team and as a commentator for CNN, PBS, NPR and ABC. In April of this year, Gettleman and a freelance photographer were abducted by armed gunmen near Fallujah and held hostage for several hours before being released. He provided continuing coverage of the growing Iraqi resistance to the U.S.-led invasion. (October 20, 2004)
Seats still available for Sandy Berger speech, Oct. 21, in Mock Election 2004 series
Seats are still available for a public speech by Sandy Berger, President Bill Clinton's former national security adviser, Thursday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. in Cornell's Statler Auditorium. The final event in the Mock Election 2004 series, the speech, titled "The Politics of National Security," marks Berger's first public appearance at Cornell since he delivered the 2003 Olin Lecture. (October 20, 2004)
Mining census data without violating privacy
With modern computing power, data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Internal Revenue Service, law enforcement agencies and other sources can be combined to answer important public policy questions. The trick is to do this without violating people's privacy. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has previously provided funding for Cornell University economist John Abowd and colleagues to develop techniques that enable social scientists to use such data while maintaining the confidentiality that both law and ethics demand. (October 20, 2004)
Why thin, flat things rise and glide on the way down
Exactly what governs the motions of falling paper? While college students suspect the answer is known to lazy professors -- the ones who allegedly grade essays by throwing them down stairwells to see which sails the farthest -- the so-called falling paper problem has long intrigued scientists. (October 19, 2004)
Susan George, author and social justice advocate, to lecture Oct. 29
Susan George, author of a dozen books, associate director of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam and a driving intellectual force in the social justice movement, will give a free public lecture Friday, Oct. 29, at 3:30 p.m. in Kaufmann Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall, on the Cornell University campus. The Transnational Institute is a decentralized fellowship of scholars throughout the world who contribute to social justice and are active in social issues in their own countries. (October 18, 2004)
Adjustable tables let workers stand, boost productivity
Four out of five workers prefer to work at electrically adjustable tables that allow them to stand at their computers part of the day, according to a new Cornell University study. The study also found that people with access to such computer stations choose to work while standing about 20 percent of the day. (October 18, 2004)
Online liars' noses don't grow, but their wordiness does
How to spot an online fibber: They talk too much, use more pronouns about others and use more terms about the senses, such as "see," "hear" and "feel," than people telling the truth, according to a new study by Cornell University communication experts. "Our study suggests that people who are lying to another person in a chat room or in instant messaging use approximately one-third more words, probably in their attempt to construct a more cohesive and detailed story in order to seem believable," says Jeff Hancock, assistant professor of communication in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell. (October 18, 2004)
Botanical drawing demonstration, book-signing by Bente King is Oct. 23 at Cornell Plantations
Author and illustrator Bente Starcke King will demonstrate botanical drawing and watercolor techniques and sign copies of her new book, Beautiful Botanicals, Saturday, Oct. 23, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Cornell Plantations Garden Gift Shop on the Cornell University campus. Beautiful Botanicals: Painting and Drawing Flowers and Plants (North Light Books) contains step-by-step instructions for a variety of techniques, including graphite pencil, pen and ink, ink wash, transparent color and mixed media. (October 15, 2004)
John Pilger, award-winning documentarist, to screen three films and speak with audiences, Oct. 18, 20 and 21
John Pilger, investigative journalist, author and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, will make his first campus visit as a Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 University Professor at Cornell University this month. During his stay, Pilger will present three free public screenings of his films as well as take questions from the audience: (October 15, 2004)
U.S. jobs lost to outsourcing underestimated
A just-released report to a bipartisan Congressional commission documented 48,417 U.S. jobs outsourced to other countries or publicly announced as being scheduled for outsourcing, from January through March 2004. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics had reported that only 4,633 private-sector jobs in companies with more than 50 employees were lost during that time period, a gross underestimation, warn the report's authors. The new report is from two labor experts at Cornell University and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, who obtained their information through online tracking of media reports, corporate research and the creation of a database of information on all production shifts announced or confirmed in the media. Their report was commissioned by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which sought the information because there is no government-mandated reporting system to track production shifts from the United States to other countries. (October 15, 2004)
Scientists solve mystery of long-term memory formation
New York, NY (October 13, 2004) -- In the October 15 issue of Science, Dr. Bai Lu of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Dr. Barbara Hempstead of Weill Medical College of Cornell University have teamed up to solve one of the fundamental mysteries of human memory. They have identified the key events and proteins involved in long-term memory. Their findings provide insight into the biochemical basis of memory, and may help in the development of drugs to ameliorate memory disorders.What is memory, on a biochemical and cellular level? The brain is filled with special cells called neurons -- billions of them -- and each neuron is connected to literally thousands of other neurons. The connections between neurons are "synapses" -- tiny gaps, on one side of which is a "pre-synaptic" neuron and on the other side of which is a "post-synaptic" neuron. At a synapse, the pre-synaptic neuron relays information by releasing chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) to activate the post-synaptic neuron, which can then, in turn, relay signals to any of the thousands of neurons to which it is connected.
Weill Cornell scientists challenge standard view on cellular ion channel functioning
New York,--NY (October 13, 2004) -- In any academic arena, it's tough to convincingly challenge a scientific maxim that's so accepted it's been included in textbooks for decades.But that's what a team of Weill Cornell Medical College biochemists believes they have just done, in a report published in the October 14 issue of Nature.Every living cell contains microscopic ion channels, tiny portals that allow select molecules to pass through the cell's otherwise impermeable, protective outer membrane. Since the 1970s, experts have believed the physical structure of these channels dictates which ions -- potassium, sodium, calcium, and others -- are admitted, and which are not. But now, using a computational model, experts led by Weill Cornell's Dr. Benoit Roux say they have proven this long-accepted view wrong.
Renovated ILR complex to celebrate grand opening Friday, Oct. 15
Cornell University President Jeffrey Lehman will cut the red ribbon that marks the official grand reopening of the renovated School of Industrial and Labor Relations' (ILR) Conference Center, Research and Extension Buildings Friday, Oct. 15, at 4:45 p.m. He will be joined by ILR Dean Edward Lawler at the ceremony, which is part of two days of celebratory events at the ILR School. About three years in the making, the $21.7 million renovation project was funded by the State University of New York Construction Fund and gifts from alumni and friends. The east wing of Catherwood Library, which also was part of the project, opened in 2002. (October 14, 2004)
Study of NYC primary care doctors' response to 2001 anthrax attacks shows prudent care
New York, NY (October 12, 2004) -- Primary care physicians -- working only blocks away from the New York City anthrax attacks of October 2001 -- acted responsibly and rationally in the midst of the crisis, according to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center researchers."This is the first study to document patterns of primary-care visits and prescribing during the only lethal bioterror attack in the country's history," said lead researcher Dr. Nathaniel Hupert, assistant professor of public health and medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and assistant attending physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell in New York City.
Go 'buggy' at Cornell's first entomology open house Oct. 16
An insect zoo, roach races, insect tattoos, insect art projects, a tour of the world-class Insect Collection with more than 5 million specimens and the opportunity to talk with scientists about their research. These are just a few of the activities slated for Cornell University's first entomology open house, "Explore Entomology," from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 16 in Comstock Hall. It is free and open to the public. "We live on the planet of the arthropods," says Linda Rayor, assistant professor of arthropod behavior at Cornell and one of the organizers of the open house. "Of the more than 2 million described species of animals and plants, insects make up over 1.1 million. We want to give the public an opportunity to enter the wonderful, diverse and weird world of insects and other arthropods." (October 12, 2004)
Shoals Marine Laboratory names William E. Bemis director of Cornell-UNH undergraduate field station in Maine
William E. Bemis, professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, has been selected as the Kingsbury Director of the Shoals Marine Laboratory. Bemis succeeds James G. Morin, who has held the post for seven years and will take a one-year sabbatical leave before returning to teaching at Cornell, full time, in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in 2006. Bemis also will serve as a professor in that department. The Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML) on Appledore Island in the Gulf of Maine is operated by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University in cooperation with the University of New Hampshire in Durham. It has built an international reputation for excellence in providing rigorous, hands-on marine science field experience for undergraduates. Bemis' appointment will be effective June 1, 2005. (October 12, 2004)
eCornell implements new strategic plan
ITHACA, N.Y. --eCornell has decided that its future success requires a smaller, focused organization to specialize in sales and service to corporations and individuals seeking online professional training from Cornell University. Christopher Proulx, current chief operating officer and a veteran of the corporate learning industry, will lead the new strategic plan as chief executive officer. Current CEO John Neuman will continue to serve as senior advisor to assist the company in developing its corporate professional services and relationships. (October 9, 2004)
Cornell to hold Oct. 19 debate among Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer, Republican Howard Mills and Conservative Dr. Marilyn O'Grady
U.S. Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer will debate Republican challenger Howard Mills and Conservative Party candidate Dr. Marilyn F. O'Grady on Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 8 p.m. on the Cornell University campus. The exact location and the free ticket policy of the debate, which is co-sponsored by the Cornell Mock Election 2004 student group and the League of Women Voters of New York State, will be announced next week. (October 07, 2004)
Some onions have excellent anti-cancer benefits
Many onions are chock full of anti-cancer chemicals. However, certain varieties are particularly high in these compounds as well as more effective in inhibiting liver and colon cancer cell growth. According to a new study by Cornell University food scientists, led by Rui Hai Liu, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of food science, shallots, Western Yellow, pungent yellow and Northern Red onions are higher in anti-cancer chemicals than other varieties tested. Furthermore, Liu found that shallots and Western Yellow and pungent yellow onion varieties are particularly effective against liver cancer cells, while pungent yellow and Western Yellow varieties have the greatest effect on colon cancer cells. (October 07, 2004)
'Tool kit' to help hoteliers prepare for disasters
A new management "tool kit" from an expert at Cornell University may help hoteliers everywhere be better prepared the next time disaster strikes and the lights go out or the water stops running. "Many hotels have faced challenges in recent years due to storms, human error and terrorism," said Robert Kwortnik, an assistant professor at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration and an affiliate of the Hotel School's Center for Hospitality Research (CHR). Kwortnik, who developed the tool kit from his research on hotel service failures and recovery efforts during the northeastern U.S. blackout of August 2003, noted: "The hotel industry is still not prepared for unexpected events such as a protracted power failure. The lesson of recent natural and human-made disasters is that almost any hotel needs to plan for the reality that it will have to operate without its utilities, including electricity and running water." (October 06, 2004)
Alcohol education begins at home for new students at Cornell
This academic year for the first time, incoming first-year and transfer undergraduates at Cornell University completed an on-line alcohol education course before arriving on campus for orientation. AlcoholEdu is a commercial program designed to assist students in making healthy decisions regarding alcohol use in college. The web-based program takes two to three hours to complete and includes information on: o how expectations influence behavior; (October 06, 2004)
Seeking seniors to share what they've learned from life
Calling all seniors: Cornell University gerontologists are looking for people 60 years of age or older who are willing to share what life has taught them. "We're looking for people from across the country who will describe things they feel they have learned over the course of their lives," says Karl Pillemer, director of the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging (CITRA). Pillemer and Myra Sabir, a post-doctoral associate at Cornell, have established a Web site on which people 60 and older can pass on the wisdom they've gained over the years. (October 5, 2004)
New guide helps communities prepare for vaccine and drug dispensing
New York, NY--(September 29, 2004) -- Physician-scientists in the Department of Public Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have created the first nationwide planning guide for community-based response to bioterrorism and other infectious disease outbreaks since the 2001 anthrax attacks. The document and accompanying computer planning model will help communities ensure that all Americans have needed drugs and vaccines in the event of a natural epidemic or bioterrorist attack.The effort, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), is written to explain the formation of community-wide mass prophylaxis plans to a wide range of audiences, including public health and emergency management planners, community organizations, and the media.
Internet data-mining of natural history
Leading-edge computer technologies for organizing, analyzing and disseminating large natural history data sets will be developed at Cornell University, with a $2.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, in partnership with the university's Department of Computer Science. The four-year project is expected to produce new techniques for interactive exploration and analysis of massive, spatio-temporal data collections. Natural history collections represent one of the largest, longest-running -- and virtually untapped -- data sets in existence. (October 4, 2004)
Terrorist warnings boost Bush's approval ratings
When the federal government issues a terrorist warning, presidential approval ratings jump, a Cornell University sociologist finds. Interestingly, terrorist warnings also boost support for the president on issues that are largely irrelevant to terrorism, such as his handling of the economy. Robb Willer, assistant director of the Sociology and Small Groups Laboratory at Cornell and a doctoral candidate in sociology who expects his Ph.D. in May 2005, tracked the 26 times that a federal government agency reported an increased threat of terrorist activity in the United States between February 2001 and May 2004. He also tracked the 131 Gallup Polls that were conducted during the same period. He then conducted several time-series and regression analyses on the relationship between government-issued terror warnings and Gallup Poll data on approval ratings of President George W. Bush. (October 4, 2004)
Labor leader and business advocate to debate offshoring of U.S. jobs Oct. 15
A pre-election debate at Cornell University Oct. 15 between labor leader Richard Trumka and business advocate Tom Donohue will help college-age voters decide if outsourcing of skilled jobs is good for most working Americans or bad for them. The event, which is free and open to the public, takes place at 11 a.m. in 305 Ives Hall on Cornell's campus. (October 4, 2004)
The more you have on your plate, the more you overeat
A study by Cornell University researchers finds that when young adults are served larger portions from one week to the next they overeat by almost 40 percent. Eating larger portions over time could account for the growth of the American girth over the past 20 years, the researchers say. "The more food we served to the college-student volunteers in our eating study, the more they ate," says David Levitsky, professor of nutritional sciences and of psychology at Cornell. "Since we know that restaurants are serving larger and larger food portions, we think that larger portions could be a major factor responsible for the increase in overweight and obesity that is so evident today." (October 01, 2004)
Pentagon Papers whistle blower Daniel Ellsberg speaks Oct. 6
Daniel Ellsberg, the Cold War hardliner turned antiwar activist who brought the Pentagon Papers to the nation's attention, will deliver a free public talk titled "Abu Ghraib, Vietnam and Empire" on Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Barnes Hall Auditorium on the Cornell University campus. Ellsberg also will take part in a Cornell Peace Studies Program seminar Thursday, Oct. 7, at 12:15 p.m. in G08 Uris Hall. The seminar is free and open to the public, as well. Ellsberg was born in Detroit in 1931. A Harvard University-educated ex-Marine commander, he became a strategic analyst at the RAND Corp. (1959) and consultant to the Department of Defense and the White House, specializing in problems of the command and control of nuclear weapons, nuclear war plans and crisis decision-making. (October 01, 2004)
John Cleese returns to Cornell to speak on Oct. 22
Comedian, actor and author John Cleese returns to Cornell University in his role as A.D. White Professor-at-Large to deliver a public lecture titled "What is Religion? Musings on the 'Life of Brian,'" Friday, Oct. 22, at 8 p.m. in Barton Hall. The talk is free and open to the public but tickets are required. (October 01, 2004)
Elder abuse is pervasive and requires urgent response
A substantial number of older persons -- from 2 to 10 percent of the elderly population -- are physically or mentally abused, and mistreated seniors are three times more likely to die within three years than those who are not abused, report two Cornell University gerontologists in this week's issue of the medical journal The Lancet. Reviewing more than 50 articles, Karl Pillemer, professor of human development in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell, has collaborated with Dr. Mark S. Lachs, co-chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, on a detailed review in The Lancet (Vol. 364, Oct. 2: pp. 1192-1263) on the risk factors, screening, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment of elder abuse. (October 01, 2004)