Cornell University News Service Releases

April, 1998

Index to all months

For the full text of any story, click on the filename at the end of the description. These stories are also available via anonymous FTP at cunews.cornell.edu. Electronic queries may be made to cunews@cornell.edu.

Experts often disagree about relationships
ITHACA, N.Y. -- "I want to adopt but my husband doesn't." "I want to have dinner with an old lover but don't know whether to tell my girlfriend." "My friend wants to marry a woman 25 years younger but I don't want to socialize with someone my children's age." "I'd like my wife to engage in non-abusive sexual behavior that arouses me but she doesn't want to because it doesn't arouse her. " What should I do? "Across the country, millions of people rely on talk-show relationship gurus to direct their lives with answers to questions like these," say Cornell University psychologists Wendy M. Williams and Stephen M. Ceci, authors of the book, Escaping the Advice Trap. "This book shows that quick, glib advice can be hazardous to your mental health," they add. advice.trap.ssl.html (April 30, 1998)

High school exit exams increase earnings
ITHACA, N.Y. -- A Cornell University study provides new evidence that curriculum-based external exit exams not only enhanced student achievement, but also increased the earnings of graduating seniors who took them. The study also found that students who took remedial or basic courses earned less than their peers who enrolled in more challenging courses. bishop_study.dg.html (April 30, 1998)

Cornell names Medical College in honor of Joan and Sanford I. Weill
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings today announced that the university's medical college has been named in honor of its long-time supporters Joan and Sanford I. Weill. The new name, "The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University," was approved on April 23 by the executive committee of the Cornell Board of Trustees in recognition of the Weills' many years of dedicated service to Cornell and, particularly, the medical college. CUMC.Weill.gift.hnd.html (April 30, 1998)

Dry insulin could eliminate injections
ITHACA, N.Y. -- If current clinical trials are successful, within a few years the daily insulin injection for diabetes could be a thing of the past. A new type of dry insulin-delivery system is undergoing the second phase of human clinical trials required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The technology to make the dry insulin is the result of research at Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research Inc. (BTI), an affiliate of Cornell University. BTI.Inhalant.bpf.html (April 29, 1998)

USGS and Cornell build a new relationship and building
LANSING, N.Y. -- Ground was broken today (April 29) at the Cornell Business & Technology Park for a new building that will be home to the subdistrict office of the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The 23,000-square-foot building, at 30 Brown Road next to the Tompkins County Airport, also represents a new agreement between Cornell University's Center for the Environment and the USGS to support collaborative work in the areas of hydrology and water resources. Building construction is slated for completion late this summer, with occupancy by USGS set for late September. Other tenants in the building, which includes incubator space for firms involved in technology transfer, will be announced shortly. Integrated Acquisition and Development, Inc. of Ithaca is the developer for the project. BuildingUSGS.html (April 29, 1998)

Compensation for Cornell MBA students is up 27 percent to $117,000
ITHACA, N.Y. -- They're in the money. Starting salaries, signing bonuses and other job perks have sent the total compensation package for MBA students at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management to $117,000. That's up 27 percent from last year's total of $92,000. "This has been an incredible year for students when it comes to compensation," said Stephen F. Johansson, director of career services for the Johnson School. "Competition for graduates from the top MBA programs is so fierce that corporations have to put their best offer on the table to ensure they land a particular student." mba_jobs.dg.html (April 29, 1998)

College of Human Ecology ends its social work program in 2000
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The College of Human Ecology at Cornell University has announced that its social work program will close at the conclusion of the academic year 1999-2000. "It is critical to stress, however, that our current program will continue through spring 2000, which will see all our current students through" said Dean Francille Firebaugh, who made the announcement on April 21. "After that time, the college will no longer offer this option." social.work.ssl.html (April 29, 1998)

Producers Of Cornell Memorabilia Will Be Required To Follow 'Code Of Conduct'
ITHACA, NY -- Cornell University officials say they will require manufacturers that supply products imprinted with Cornell logos, names, trademarks and artwork to follow a code of conduct that establishes safe and humane working conditions. The code is being developed by the Collegiate Licensing Co. (CLC), licensing agent for Cornell and more than 160 other colleges and universities. The code will establish standards in areas such as wages, benefits, working conditions, health and safety requirements, and child and forced labor. Critical factors such as enforcement of the code and compliance procedures still need to be refined, according to Henrik N. Dullea, vice president for university relations at Cornell. sweatshop.code.html (April 29, 1998)

Clint Sidle to direct Park Leadership Fellows Program
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Clint Sidle has been appointed director of the Park Leadership Fellows Program at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management. In that role, he will direct the school's Park Leadership Fellows program and help develop the other components of the Johnson School's leadership development offerings, including the Distinguished Speakers series, the Young Leaders series, the annual Leadership Forum and the Johnson Mentor Program. He also will work closely with the faculty members responsible for the school's academic leadership curriculum. sidle.dg.html (April 28, 1998)

Human clinical trial of edible vaccine works
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Results from the primary phase of the first-ever human clinical trial of an edible vaccine -- one that is genetically implanted inside a food -- indicate that consumption results in immunity to specific diseases. The test of the vaccine was made with servings of raw potatoes. The initial findings are published in the May 1 issue of the journal Nature Medicine. The vaccine-containing potatoes were developed at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research Inc. (BTI), an affiliate of Cornell University. The human clinical study was conducted under the direction of Dr. Carol Tacket at the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Center for Vaccine Development in Baltimore. BTI.Vaccine.bpf.html (April 22, 1998)

AT&T's Braden Allenby to talk at 1998 Bovay Lecture on April 28
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Braden Allenby, AT&T vice president, environment, health and safety and a key figure in the field of industrial ecology, will be one of the speakers at the 1998 Bovay Lecture in the history and ethics of professional engineering. The lecture will be on April 28 at 4:30 p.m. in Phillips Hall 101, Cornell University. The subject of this year's lecture is "Environmental Issues in Engineering: Industrial Ecology and Life Cycle Analysis." Bovay.lecture.deb.html (April 24, 1998)

Plantations' Arboretum is outdoor site of May 2 dance performance
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Saturday, May 2, will be "A Day of Moving Art at Plantations," when Jill Becker and Dancers Inc. present a 1 p.m. collaborative outdoor music-and-dance performance in Jackson Grove, a natural outdoor setting at Cornell Plantations' Arboretum. Plant_dance.hrs.html (April 24, 1998)

Betty Friedan at Cornell for 4-year project
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Betty Friedan will join the Cornell University faculty to direct a $1 million, four-year project at the Institute for Women and Work that will attempt to transform the feminist ideals and practices she catalyzed more than 30 years ago into a broader societal and workplace agenda for the new century. "New Paradigm: Women, Men, Work, Family and Public Policy" will be directed by Friedan, who becomes a distinguished visiting professor in Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR). Her appointment to the Cornell faculty is effective immediately. friedan.dg.html (April 22, 1998)

J. Otis Cochran named Office of Equal Opportunity director
ITHACA, N.Y. ---- J. Otis Cochran has been appointed director of Cornell University's Office of Equal Opportunity, Associate Provost Winnie Taylor has announced. The appointment of Cochran, most recently deputy city personnel director for the city of New York, was effective March 9. He replaces Valerie Hayes, who left Cornell last year to become executive director of the Office of Affirmative Action at the University of Pennsylvania. cochran.jp.html (April 21, 1998)

Kodak CEO to address Corporate Executive Forum April 28 - 29
ITHACA, N.Y. -- More than 50 executives from across the country, from such companies as General Motors, Lucent Technologies, Sun Microsystems, Pfizer and Turner Broadcasting, will participate in the Cornell University Corporate Executive Forum April 28 and 29. Highlighting the two-day forum, which will be held at the Biotechnology Building on the Cornell campus, will be presentations by George M.C. Fisher, chairman and chief executive officer of Eastman Kodak Co., and Cornell President Hunter Rawlings. corpforum98.dg.html (April 21, 1998)

Trash matchmakers create savings for industry, cities and environment
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The success of regional materials exchange programs, which link businesses that have commodities to be disposed of with buyers who can use those materials, is proving that reuse saves money for businesses and municipalities. That is the conclusion of a panel of experts, convened by the Waste Management Institute at Cornell University, to survey national trends. The advice provided by the panel to NY Wa$teMatch, a materials exchange program designed by the New York City Department of Sanitation that gives new life to the city's commercial and industrial wastes, is summarized in a new report available from Cornell and on the Internet. MatEx.hrs.html (April 21, 1998)

Anthropologist Paul Rabinow to lecture April 27
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Paul Rabinow, an anthropology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, will give a University Lecture titled "French DNA or Trouble in Purgatory" Monday, April 27, at 4:30 p.m. in the A.D. White House at Cornell University. The lecture is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by the Institute for European Studies, the University Lecture Committee and the departments of anthropology and science and technology studies at Cornell. Rabinow.pc.html (April 21, 1998)

Cornell tests freeze-concentrated milk
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The process that made "ice-filtered" beer famous will soon be giving you milkier milk chocolate, cheesier cream cheese, creamier ice cream and yummier yogurt. That's because of a device called a freeze concentration processor, which is being tested in a pilot plant at Cornell University's food science department. It is the only such processor in the country devoted entirely to milk, says Eric Hallstead, the Cornell pilot plant manager. IceMilk.bpf.html (April 20, 1998)

Cornell/NASA space day event in New York City
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University will help host "NASA in New York Day" April 25, when more than 900 New York City high school students are expected to attend an event aimed at stimulating their interest in choosing engineering or science as a college major. The NASA event, the first of its kind involving mainly 10th- and 11th-graders from all high schools in the metropolitan area, will begin at 9 a.m. in City College of New York's (CCNY) Aaron Davis Hall, 135th St. and Convent Avenue in Manhattan. nasaday.deb.html (April 20, 1998)

109 new Northeast March weather records
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Northeastern states saw 109 weather-related records smashed during March and 16 records tied, according to new statistics just released by the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. It was the warmest March on average in the Northeast since 1973, and the 14th warmest in 104 years of record-keeping. NRCC.March1998.bpf.html (April 20, 1998)

Molecular memory tunes flight or fight
ITHACA, N.Y. -- In the rat race of life, a sudden demand from the boss can trigger an adrenaline surge that quickens your pulse, raises blood pressure, kick-starts anxiety and prepares you for "fight or flight." Now Cornell University neurobiologists, studying the adrenal glands of rats, have discovered how chronic stress cranks up the intensity of this adrenaline response. The key to this so-called molecular memory resides in a donut-shaped protein on the surface of cells that secrete adrenaline, the hormone also known as epinephrine. adrenaline.hrs.html (April 17, 1998)

Cornell applauds additional state money for facilities, student financial aid
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Crediting the support of legislative leaders and vigorous lobbying by statutory deans in securing additional funding in the state's 1998-99 legislative budget, Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings early this week announced he is "extremely delighted" with initial reports of new state capital budget allocations for Cornell that should ultimately bring the five-year plan total to more than $100 million for campus facilities. "While there will undoubtedly be some adjustments to the final appropriations to reflect technical corrections and matching requirements, we should now be able to complete most of the items in our five-year statutory construction plan," said Rawlings. "This would include $22 million in work on Mann Library, $11.9 million for the repair and renovation of Bailey Hall, $6.8 million for an addition to Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, at least $22.9 million for rehabilitation of Stocking Hall, $7.7 million for the renovation of the Catherwood library, $9.6 million for the complete rehabilitation of the Garden Avenue complex of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and several greenhouse projects for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, both on the Ithaca campus and at the Geneva Experiment Station," Rawlings said. "We are especially grateful to the hard work done on our behalf by State Sen. James L. Seward, who serves on the Senate Higher Education Committee and represents Cornell's district in the state Senate." budget.lgk.html (April 17, 1998)

Fruit drink improves Third World nutrition
SAN FRANCISCO -- A fortified orange-flavored drink given to East African children for six months not only significantly improved nutritional deficiencies but also brought almost twice as much weight gain and 25 percent greater gain in height than children who did not get the drink, a Cornell University nutritionist reports. Rather than using megadoses of nutrients, vitamin pills or fortified foods to boost the diets of Tanzanian children, who are commonly deficient in many nutritional areas, the researchers tried a new approach to improve Third World diets. Their goal was to see if a simple drink, made by mixing about two tablespoons of powder in a glass of water and fortified with 10 vitamins and minerals, could reduce multiple deficiencies and improve growth, said Michael C. Latham, professor of international nutrition at Cornell. The drink supplied 30 to 120 percent of the U.S. recommended dietary allowances. drink.health.ssl.html (April 17, 1998)

Lipsky receives Groat Award from ILR
ITHACA, N.Y. -- David B. Lipsky, professor and director of the Cornell University Office of Distance Learning and former dean of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), will receive the 1998 Judge William B. Groat Award April 18 at a reception and dinner in the Richard Ramin Room of the Field House. The Groat Award, named for the New York Supreme Court justice who played a key role in the founding of the ILR School and in drafting its charter, is presented annually to an ILR graduate who has demonstrated exceptional professional accomplishment in the field of industrial and labor relations and in outstanding service to the school. groat_award98.html (April 17, 1998)

A new, better way to search the web
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The World Wide Web is an endless source of information, but with literally millions of pages posted by everyone from governments, universities and corporations to sixth-graders and conspiracy theorists, it's getting harder and harder to find precisely the right information. Now a Cornell University researcher has come up with a method of searching the web that can return a list of the most valuable sites on a given topic, as well as a list of sites that index the subject. Early tests of the method have produced highly focused lists of sites on many topics, often comparable to lists carefully compiled by web search experts. websearch.bs.html (April 17, 1998)

Fruits and vegetables protect lungs
SAN FRANCISCO -- Now add one more reason to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables: Their antioxidants seem to help protect lung function and may help prevent asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis, according to a new Cornell University study. The beneficial effects of consuming high levels of antioxidants are significant. They are comparable to the difference in the lung function between a nonsmoker and a long-term smoker, the researchers reported. Antioxidants are substances, such as beta carotene and selenium, that work in different ways to protect cells from biochemical damage. antioxidents.lungs.ssl.html (April 16, 1998)

Background on animal research at Cornell
E-mail: hrs2@cornell.edu Cornell answers animal rights critics by opening its doors on the finest in medical care of animals -- and humans CVMbackground.hrs.html (April 16, 1998)

Three graduate students win Woodrow Wilson fellowships in Women's Studies
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Three Cornell University graduate students have won dissertation grants in Women's Studies of $1,500 each from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton, N.J. There were 23 winners of grants and fellowships from the foundation out of 251 applicants this year. -- Tamara Lynn Loos, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History, won a grant for a proposed dissertation titled "Gender Adjudicated: A Social History of Siam Through Court Cases, 1860s-1930s." Loos graduated from Pomona College and is the daughter of Bonnie and LeRoy Loos of Portland, Ore. wilson_fellowships.pc.html (April 16, 1998)

Cornell University celebrates entrepreneurship April 23 - 25
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Entrepreneurs, business executives and students will gather on the Cornell University campus April 23 - 25 to honor Robert Felton, president, chairman and chief operating officer of Indus International Inc., as Cornell's 1998 Entrepreneur of the Year. Felton will receive the award at a dinner April 23, hosted by Cornell President Hunter Rawlings. Felton will deliver a public address Friday, April 24, at 2 p.m. in Bache Amphitheater of Malott Hall. The celebration is sponsored by Cornell's Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise Program (EPE), an initiative of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Johnson Graduate School of Management that brings a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of entrepreneurship. EPE_98.dg.html (April 15, 1998)

Four undergraduates win prestigious Goldwater scholarships
ITHACA, N.Y. -- For the first time all four of Cornell University's nominees to the national competition for the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship have won the prestigious award. The four winners are: David L. Kaplan, engineering '99; David Liben-Nowell, arts and sciences '99; Alexander V. Rau, arts and sciences '00; and David C. Roberts, engineering '99. Cornell has now garnered 14 Goldwater awards since 1992. In each of the past two years the university has had three Goldwater recipients. One winner went on to win a Rhodes Scholarship, and another won a Marshall Scholarship. Goldwaters.deb.html (April 15, 1998)

Latino Festival in Ithaca April 25
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Hermanos of La Unidad Latina/Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc. of Cornell University and the Latino Civic Association of Tompkins County will host a Latino Street Festival Saturday, April 25, from noon to 6 p.m. in the 300 block of West Court Street, across from Greater Ithaca Activities Center. The day's activities will include a basketball tournament for youths, ages 13 to 17, a talent show with group and individual performers from Cornell University, Ithaca College, Beverly J. Martin Elementary School and the Ithaca High School, local and regional vendors from Ithaca, Rochester and Syracuse selling typical Latino dishes, and information booths manned by local service agencies. latino_festival.dg.html (April 15, 1998)

Anita Hill to speak at Cornell April 16
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Anita Hill, whose testimony during the 1991 nomination hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas brought the issue of sexual harassment to the national spotlight, will speak at Cornell University Thursday, April 16. Her lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be at 8 p.m. in the David L. Call Alumni Auditorium of Kennedy Hall on the Cornell campus. Free tickets for the lecture are available at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office. anita_hill.adv.html (April 13, 1998)

Physicist-priest lectures on connection between science and religion
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Science and religion have been at odds for centuries, but Sir John Polkinghorne, who is both a physicist and a priest, sees them as simply two versions of one quest to comprehend humanity. "Faith seeking understanding," he writes, is very much like a scientific hypothesis being modified on account of subsequent experience." Polkinghorne will present his point of view during the Frederic C. Wood Jr. Lecture on "The Friendship of Science and Theology" Wednesday, April 22, at 4 p.m. in the auditorium of Anabel Taylor Hall on the Cornell University campus. The lecture is free and open to the public. Polkinghorne.dg.html (April 13, 1998)

Retinoic acid used in cancer treatment
ITHACA, N.Y. -- A common chemical derivative of vegetables has been used by Cornell University researchers studying leukemia to block the uncontrolled cell division that leads to cancer. The chemical is retinoic acid, a product of vitamin A, which the body manufactures from carotenes, the compounds found in a wide assortment of yellow-orange vegetables and fruits, from carrots and sweet potatoes to pumpkins and apricots. retinoic.hrs.html (April 13, 1998)

Water-reuse system is focus of fourth annual aquaculture course, June 23-27
ITHACA, N.Y. -- A one-week course covering the design, operation and management of water-reuse aquaculture systems for fin fish is scheduled June 23-27 at the Ithaca campus of Cornell University and at the Cornell Animal Science and Teaching Center in Harford, N.Y. This is the fourth annual aquaculture short course presented by members of the Cornell Aquaculture Program and led by Michael B. Timmons, professor of agricultural and biological engineering. Last year's course attracted fish farmers from as far as Chile, Taiwan and Mexico and as near as Alfred, N.Y. aquacult.hrs.html (April 10, 1998)

Collegetown cleanup by residents and students set for April 18
ITHACA, NY -- Cornell University students, including members of fraternities and sororities, and Collegetown residents will clean up the streets of Collegetown Saturday, April 18. Activities include cleaning neighborhood sidewalks, streets, utility poles and open spaces. Volunteers will gather at various times beginning at 10 a.m. in front of The Nines, 311 College Ave. From there, teams of students and year-round residents will begin their cleanup effort. Collegetown.cleanup.ds.html (April 10, 1998)

ILR will dedicate new teaching facility
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Union officials, business leaders, professional sports executives, academics, labor lawyers and government leaders will join together to celebrate the opening of a new $23 million teaching facility at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations April 16 to 18. The official building dedication ceremony will be held Friday, April 17, at 1:30 p.m. outside the new facility. Among those speaking with be AFL-CIO New York State President Edward Cleary and U.S. Department of Labor Policy Director Seth Harris, and Edward S. Nelson, chairman of the State University Construction Fund. ilr.dedication.dg.html (April 10, 1998)

'The Methods and Merits of Ken Starr' is subject of university forum April 15
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University law and government professors will examine the legal controversy surrounding President Clinton during a panel discussion on "Evaluating the Methods and Merits of Kenneth Starr's Investigation of the President," Wednesday, April 15, at 5 p.m. in 165 McGraw Hall. The event is sponsored by the Cornell Pre-Law Society with support from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations' Women's Caucus. It is free and open to the public. ken_starr.dg.html (April 10, 1998)

Historical overview of Japan-U.S. conflicts
ITHACA, N.Y. -- With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, a number of polls showed that a majority of Americans believed that Japan had become the number one international threat to the United States -- a fact that struck historian Walter LaFeber as more than a little interesting. LaFeber, Cornell University's Marie Underhill Noll Professor of American History, tried to read up on Japanese-American relations and found there was no single good book on the subject. "When I couldn't find something good to read," LaFeber says, "I thought I might try to write something." The result was LaFeber's The Clash: U.S.-Japanese Relations Throughout History, published late last year by Norton. On April 8, Columbia University announced the book had won the prestigious Bancroft Prize in American History for 1998. The Clash, according to Akira Iriye, a Harvard University historian, "will easily become the best history of U.S.-Japanese relations in any language." lafeber.book.pc.html (April 10, 1998)

Materials science marks 35th anniversary with April 17-18 conference
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Several Cornell alumni, including a NASA astronaut, will speak at the Cornell Society of Engineers Conference, April 17-18. The conference, "Living in a Materials World: Celebrating Materials Science at Cornell," focuses on researchers and industry leaders discussing the latest advances in materials science. The conference marks the 35th year of the founding of Cornell's Department of Materials Science and Engineering. engineers.deb.js.html (April 9, 1998)

Cornell trustee committee to meet in New York City
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Executive Committee of Cornell University's Board of Trustees will hold a brief open session when it meets in Manhattan Thursday, April 16, at 1:15 p.m. at the Cornell Club of New York, 6 E. 44th St. The public session, for the meeting's first 15 minutes, will include a report from President Hunter Rawlings and a discussion of the 1999-2000 capital budget request for the statutory colleges. exec.committee.jkp.html (April 9, 1998)

Kenyan prisoner of conscience and Cornell alumnus returns to Ithaca
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Koigi wa Wamwere, a former Kenyan prisoner of conscience and Cornell University alumnus, will be returning to Ithaca April 15 to thank the community that helped mobilize the efforts for his freedom. After four years in prison, Wamwere was freed in December 1996 -- due in part to the efforts of human rights activists coordinated by the Kenyan Human Rights Initiative (KHRI) at Cornell. koigi.pc.html (April 9, 1998)

Cornell Plantations welcomes visitors to its wildflower garden
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The eight-acre Mundy Wildflower Garden at Cornell Plantations is about to burst into multi-hued bloom. Like other Plantations collections, the wildflower garden is open free of charge to the public during daylight hours. This garden in the woods, one of the most comprehensive wildflower collections in upstate New York, features plants native and naturalized to the Cayuga Lake Basin. Spring and early summer bring a variety of flowers, including skunk cabbage, spring beauties, jack-in-the-pulpit, and dame's rocket. The bloom period lasts until mid-June. The garden entrance is located at the intersection of Forest Home Drive and Caldwell Road, where limited off-road parking is available. Mundy_Wildflower.hrs.html (April 9, 1998)

Equality under the law is focus of Cornell Political Forum April 14
ITHACA, N.Y. -- "Are We All Equal Under the Law?" will be the question discussed at the fifth annual civil rights symposium sponsored by the Cornell Political Forum Tuesday, April 14, at 8 p.m. in Barnes Hall Auditorium on the Cornell University campus. Free and open to the public, the symposium will feature Brenda Smith, an attorney with the National Women's Law Center; Jorge Amselle, communications director of the Center for Equal Opportunity, both in Washington, D.C.; and Anna Marie Smith, assistant professor of government at Cornell. Political_Forum.adv.html (April 9, 1998)

Cornell Political Forum wins national award for magazine
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell Political Forum's quarterly magazine earned top honors from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) for its 1996-97 academic year issues. Judged on the basis of concept, content, design and creativity, the student magazine received 926 out of 1,000 possible points, earning it a Gold Medal among college publications. The Forum also earned two All-Columbian honors for superior achievement in the design and creativity categories. Political_Forum_mag.html (April 9, 1998)

Attorney to speak on business law in Saudi Arabia April 13 at Law School
ITHACA, N.Y. -- John E. Xefos, a partner in the international law firm Baker & McKenzie, will speak on "The Road Less Traveled: Handling Modern Commercial Transactions in an Islamic Jurisdiction" Monday, April 13, at 12:45 p.m. in the Berger Atrium of Myron Taylor Hall at Cornell University. The free, public lecture is sponsored by the Cornell Law School's Berger International Legal Studies Program and the Cornell Department of Near Eastern Studies. xefos_lecture.dg.html (April 9, 1998)

A cloud of water in interstellar space
ITHACA, N.Y. -- A team of U.S. astronomers, led by Cornell University astrophysicist Martin Harwit, has discovered a massive concentration of water vapor within a cloud of interstellar gas close to the Orion nebula. The amount of water measured is so high -- enough to fill the Earth's oceans 60 times a day -- that the researchers believe it provides an important clue to the origin of water in the solar system. The amount of water vapor measured in Orion is 20 times larger than that observed in other interstellar gas clouds in our galaxy, the Milky Way. The discovery was made within the Orion molecular cloud, a giant interstellar gas cloud, a trillion miles across, composed primarily of hydrogen molecules. Orion.deb.html (April 9, 1998)

Higher prices won't stop teenage smokers
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Boosting taxes on cigarettes will have a far less dramatic effect on rates of teen-age smoking than politicians are hoping, a new Cornell University study finds. In fact, say the researchers, higher taxes will have "a statistically insignificant impact" on whether young people decide to start smoking. The Cornell researchers say that a 20-cent a pack tax increase would reduce the number of new teen-age smokers in grades 8-12 by less than one-half a percentage point. They estimate that a $1.50 a pack tax boost would reduce the number by about two percentage points. Some researchers have estimated this tax increase would reduce the number by as much as half. smoking.taxes.ssl.html (April 8, 1998)

Microchip sensor detects bacteria
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Detecting potentially deadly bacteria in food, the water supply or on the battlefield before it does damage has never been reliable or fast enough to prevent death, illness or economic loss. As just one example, last year a Columbus, Neb., beef-processing plant was forced to recall 25 million pounds of hamburger when less than a speck of bacteria was detected. But now Cornell University researchers have merged the fields of nanofabrication and biology to produce a simple but effective means to detect harmful bacteria. New biosensors can detect minute quantities of bacteria, from the slaughterhouse to the restaurant, and send up a red flag when there's a problem. E-coli.bpf.html (April 7, 1998)

Tinkertoy robot shows how humans walk
ITHACA, N.Y. -- It doesn't have a brain or a heart, and its walk is a little like the scarecrow's, but a little headless, armless, trunkless two-legged robot, developed at Cornell University, can walk, wobble, hobble, limp, stride and stagger. But it can't stand still in any position without falling over. The fact that this robot, made of plastic Tinkertoy parts and a few odds and ends, is stable in motion is giving mechanical engineers here new thoughts about how humans walk. tinkertoy.walker.ssl.html (April 7, 1998)

Walter R. Lynn named Cornell University ombudsman
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Walter R. Lynn, Cornell University professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering and of science and technology studies, has been named university ombudsman. Lynn's two-year appointment, recommended by President Hunter Rawlings, was confirmed by the University Assembly Feb. 25, effective immediately. Lynn succeeds Richard G. Warner, professor emeritus of animal science, who served as ombudsman for almost three years. ombudsman.jkp.html (April 6, 1998)

Cornell-Peace Corps cooperative degree
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University and the U.S. Peace Corps will sign a Memorandum of Cooperation later this month to mark the establishment of a new option at Cornell -- a three-year master's of professional studies degree in agriculture with a Peace Corps service option. Mark Gearan, director of the Peace Corps, will be on campus April 30 to sign the agreement with Cornell President Hunter Rawlings, Provost Don M. Randel, Walter I. Cohen, dean of the Graduate School, and Daryl Lund, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. PeaceCorps.bpf.html (April 6, 1998)

Former Israeli ambassador is Professor-at-Large April 12-25
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Itamar Rabinovich, former Israeli ambassador to the United States and the Yona and Dina Ettinger Professor of Contemporary Middle Eastern History at Tel Aviv University, will give two lectures at Cornell University, where he will be visiting as an Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large, April 12 to 25. Rabinovich will speak on "Washington, the Middle East and the Peace Process," Tuesday, April 14, at 4:30 p.m. in Goldwin Smith Hall's Kaufmann Auditorium, and on "Lessons of the Israeli-Syrian Peace Negotiations," Thursday, April 16, at 12:15 p.m. in Uris Hall G-08. The lectures are free and open to the public. Rabinovich.pc.html (April 6, 1998)

College of Veterinary Medicine community open house
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Back by popular demand is the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine's Open House, scheduled for Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Each spring, students in the Cornell Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program invite families to visit the campus to learn what veterinarians and veterinary students do. This will be the 32nd annual open house at the college. Vet_Open.hrs.html (April 6, 1998)

Test borings precede summer excavation
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Beginning April 6, drilling rig operators will make test borings in a line that includes the 400 block of Lake Street going east to University Avenue, then up University Avenue to the bottom of Libe Slope on the Cornell University campus, then up through the Arts Quad, East Avenue and Tower Road. The work is preparatory to excavating for this summer's on-campus steam pipe replacement and also will provide preliminary exploration for the Lake Source Cooling Project. Haley and Aldrich, a Rochester firm, will perform geotechnical analysis. Northstar Drilling, based in Cortland, will conduct the drilling between April 6 and 24. In all probability, the rigs will not be at any one test bore site for more than a few hours, project officials say. LSC.drilling.html (April 3, 1998)

Historian/mathematician David Pingree speaks on ancient, eclectic cult
ITHACA, N.Y. -- David Pingree, professor of history of mathematics and classics at Brown University, will speak on the subject of magic and ritual April 8 at 4:30 p.m. in Kaufmann Auditorium in Goldwin Smith Hall at Cornell University. Pingree, who has been an A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell since 1995, will give a public lecture, "Magic, Science and Neoplatonic Philosophy," which discusses the development of a cult called the Harran that existed in Syria in the eighth and ninth centuries. Pingree will delve into how and when the followers of the Harran developed their unique practice of religious planetary worship, science, astronomy and astrology. cults.pingree.js.html (April 2, 1998)

Cornell undergraduate wins activism award named for martyred alumnus
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Undergraduate Natalie Bridgeman, of Santa Cruz, Calif., has been chosen to receive the Michael Schwerner Activist Award, becoming the first Cornell University student to win the national award named for a martyred Cornell alumnus. The $1,000 award recognizes Bridgeman's citizen activism through Cornell's Public Service Center and her development of the local Food Distribution Project. The Michael Schwerner Activist Award, funded by the Gleitsman Foundation, which was established by Cornell alumnus Alan Gleistman, Class of 1951, recognizes students who in the spirit of citizen activism have taken leadership roles in efforts to solve issues and by challenging inequity and injustice are promoting positive solutions for social change. Schwerner, a 1961 alumnus and a civil rights activist and field-staff worker for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), was murdered in Philadelphia, Miss., along with fellow civil rights workers James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, in 1964. schwerner.award.cm.html (April 2, 1998)

Cornell releases Kingsbury commission finding: 'It is a pumpkin!'
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Kingsbury commission, appointed by Cornell University Provost Don M. Randel, announced today (April 2) the results of the necropsy of the unidentified object removed from Cornell's McGraw tower on March 13. In a four-word executive summary, the commission found: "It is a pumpkin!" John Kingsbury, Cornell professor emeritus of plant biology, assembled a group of faculty experts from Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to determine whether the object really was a pumpkin. From microscopic slides, videotapes and photographs, the commission formed the highly anticipated conclusion: "Due to the carefully selected composition of this panel, the microscopic details and the gross morphology can be merged into a body of evidence that leads to a single, harmonious conclusion: 'It is a pumpkin!'" PumpkinDecision.bpf.html (April 2, 1998)

President issues statement on Campus Week of Dialogue on Race
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings issued the following statement to the Cornell campus community today inviting participation in the Campus Week of Dialogue on Race established through the President's Initiative on Race: "During the week of April 6 to 9, 1998, the President's Initiative on Race will engage colleges and universities across the nation in a Campus Week of Dialogue on Race in order to 'help us become one America in the 21st century -- a place where we respect others' differences and, at the same time, embrace the values that unite us.' I am pleased to endorse the president's call for a national dialogue on this issue and to invite all members of the Cornell community to become involved. Dialogue.on.race.jp.html (April 1, 1998)

Annual Hotel School project puts students in charge at Statler for weekend
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Students at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, will take over the day-to-day operations of the Statler Hotel from April 3 to 5 to stage a extravaganza for more than 200 of the hospitality industry's top executives. For three days every April, the Statler Hotel becomes Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC), named for the university's founder. During this time students manage every facet of hotel operations, from room service and food preparation to housekeeping and concierge service. Students have replaced the professionals in every job. Managing director Jim Hisle has given over his responsibilities to Raghu Gopalan, a senior from Nairobi, Kenya, and Brian Halloran, the Statler's executive chef has turned over his chef's hat to junior Peter Karpinsky of Auburn, N.Y. HEC98.dg.html (April 1, 1998)

Cornell licenses breakthrough food technology to Wenger Manufacturing
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University and Wenger Manufacturing, Inc., of Sabetha, Kan., signed an exclusive partnership agreement today (April 1) that could have a major impact on the processed-food industry, including snack food, breakfast cereal, instant coffee, chocolate and bakery products. Thanks to a patented technology developed at Cornell University called supercritical fluid extrusion, or SCFX, consumers could have puffier puffs, faster-cooking pasta and cereal that will remain crisp longer in milk, according to Syed Rizvi, Cornell professor of food science, a co-inventor of the technology with Steven J. Mulvaney, Cornell associate professor of food science. SCFX.bpf.html (April 1, 1998)