Cornell University News Service Releases

October, 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.

Nominations sought for Tompkins County's 'Big Trees'
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell Plantations and other tree-friendly groups in Tompkins County are gearing up for the fourth annual Big Tree Search, a contest that aims for year-round tree appreciation. Nominations for trees that may be the largest of their species in Tompkins County will be accepted throughout November. In the past three years, Big Tree certificates were awarded to the nominators of 85 different tree species, but "many common species remain to be nominated," according to Ithaca's city forester, Andy Hillman. Duncan Hilchey of Cornell's Farming Alternatives Program, who came up with the idea for the Tompkins County tree search, said, "We were especially excited about the range of participants." big_tree98.hrs.html (October 30, 1998)

National community-service education and empowerment group meets Nov. 6-8
ITHACA, N.Y. -- As part of the Campus Outreach Opportunity League's (COOL) goal to have a greater presence on campuses nationwide, the organization has announced its 1998 Northeast Regional Meeting will take place at Cornell University, Nov. 6-8. Founded in 1984, COOL is a national, non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to the education and empowerment of college students for community-service efforts. Through its programs, such as Into the Streets, it helps students and communities develop student-run, inclusive, high-quality service programs. COOL.meeting.html (October 30, 1998)

New book has nature activities for children
ITHACA, N.Y. -- How to make a bug pit, play with mealworms, examine snowflakes, make a spore print and preserve a spider web are just a few of the nature activities described in a new book for children. Written by Susan S. Lang, Cornell University senior science writer, with the staff of the Cayuga Nature Center of Ithaca, N.Y., More Nature in Your Backyard: Simple Activities for Children (Millbrook Press, 1998) is intended for second- to fourth-grade readers. nature.book.ssl.html (October 30, 1998)

City's residential-permit parking system goes into effect near campus
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University employees and commuting students who park on city streets adjacent to campus are being reminded that new city parking regulations will go into effect over the next several months. The regulations -- which will vary from block to block -- may limit daytime on-street parking to a specific period of time or side of the street, or restrict on-street parking to neighborhood residents who purchase a permit. The concept of a residential-permit parking system in the city of Ithaca received state authorization in 1996 and was given local approval by the city's Common Council in May. The new regulations do not affect streets with metered parking spaces. parking.permits.html (October 30, 1998)

Alcohol is prime-time TV's favorite beverage
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Alcohol is shown on prime-time TV programs far more than any other drink or food, and actors, including those portraying adolescents, are shown consuming alcohol on more than 40 percent of network shows, according to a new Cornell University study. "Particularly disturbing, however, is that when a character is actually shown with alcohol, an adolescent character is almost twice as likely to drink it compared with older characters," says Alan Mathios, associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell and an expert on food advertising and labels. "However, one encouraging finding is that although characters who are portrayed consuming alcohol have, on average, positive personality characteristics (such as smart, admirable and powerful), adolescents on prime-time TV who drink tend to have negative personality traits (such as despicable, stupid or powerless)." alcohol.primetime.ssl.html (October 29, 1998)

Researchers to study electricity deregulation
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a group of Cornell University economists and engineers a multidisciplinary grant to study the effects of competitive markets on the reliable operation of the electricity supply system. The award, totaling $282,655, comes from the NSF's divisions of Electrical and Communications Systems and of Social, Behavioral and Economic Research. elec.dereg.deb.html (October 29, 1998)

Future workers will receive MSAs
ITHACA, N.Y. -- In less than 10 years, many employers will no longer offer regular health insurance but, instead, will offer employees medical allowances. Whatever is not spent on health care will be saved by employees for retirement, predict two Cornell University heath-care experts. These so-called medical savings accounts (MSAs), they claim, not only would save employees, employers and society billions of dollars each year but also would provide employees with more freedom and control over health-care choices, as well as incentives to stay healthy and keep medical expenses down. At the same time, they would give employers a way to offer a benefit plan in which they no longer bear most of the risk of rising premium costs, providing better budget control and a relief from fast-growing administrative and legal burdens. medical.accounts.ssl.html (October 29, 1998)

Community Partnerships conference
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell University Public Service Center has announced its first University-Community Partnership Conference to be held Friday, Oct. 30, in 401 Warren Hall on the Cornell campus. The conference will involve discussions between Cornell students, staff and faculty involved in service learning and members of Ithaca-area community service agencies that have partnered with Cornell, through the Public Service Center, on work-study and volunteer programs. Organizers say the conference, which was developed as a result of community round-table discussions, will be an annual event. Community.partnerships.html (October 27, 1998)

Cornell to study power grid breakdowns
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell Theory Center (CTC) announced today, Oct. 26, that the Power Systems Engineering Research Center (PSERC), a consortium of universities led by Cornell University, has received $10 million for research on minimizing failures in complex networked systems, such as electrical, communications and distribution systems. The award is from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a power industry research group, and the Army Research Office under the two organizations' Complex Interactive Network/Systems Initiative. ctc.power.lc.html (October 26, 1998)

Elderly bath help: bars, diet, a few drinks
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Although bathing gets more difficult with age and declining health, the elderly can largely compensate for their loss of function with grab bars and other bathroom devices, according to a new Cornell University study. They also can make bathing easier with a good diet and, surprisingly, a few alcoholic drinks a day. elderly.bath.ssl.html (October 26, 1998)

What is men's role in changing work and family life patterns?
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Are men really taking on more responsibilities in the home, as some recent surveys have indicated? If so, will women and men inevitably strike life balance between home and work? If not, what new practices and public policies can transform corporate America and society toward greater gender equity and balance at work and home? The Ford Foundation and the Institute for Women and Work in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University are sponsoring a symposium to address that topic Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Endowment Center for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. friedan.men.advance.html (October 26, 1998)

Undergraduate Caroline Klivans wins national math prize
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Caroline Klivans, an undergraduate mathematics major at Cornell University, has been awarded the ninth annual Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize by the Association for Women in Mathematics. The single winner of the $1000 prize is chosen from nominees submitted by members of the mathematics community, based on performance in mathematics courses and competitions, interest in the field and ability to do independent research work. Klivans.mathprize.bs.html (October 26, 1998)

'Wild Bill' Donovan Nuremberg papers at CU
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Many of the personal papers and records kept by Gen. William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan during the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals are now housed in the Cornell University Law Library, where they will be accessible to researchers, thanks to the efforts of New York lawyer and Cornell alumnus Henry Korn. The legendary Donovan, who President Eisenhower called "the last hero" when he died in 1959, founded and directed America's first intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. In Nuremberg, he served as special assistant to the U.S. Chief Prosecutor, Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson. The OSS was designated as the U.S. investigatory unit for the International Military Tribunal (IMT). nuremberg.transcripts.korn.html (October 26, 1998)

Five professors named AAAS fellows
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Five members of the Cornell University faculty have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). They are among the 283 researchers chosen to receive the prestigious award this year. The five are Barbara L. Finlay, professor of psychology; Donald H. Beermann, professor of animal science; Joseph A. Burns, professor of astronomy and the Irving Porter Church Professor of Engineering; Mark E. Sorrells, professor of plant breeding; and Richard G. Harrison, professor of ecology and systematics. aaas.fellows.deb.html (October 23, 1998)

President Rawlings announces $400 million undergraduate education and research initiative
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings announced today (Oct. 23, 1998) that he will ask the Cornell Board of Trustees to approve the investment of more than $400 million over the next 10 years in a bold new program to transform undergraduate education on campus. Half of that $400 million investment will be for the creation of new scholarship endowments to ensure that Cornell can perpetuate its historic mandate to provide financial aid to those who need it. The remainder will be "to enhance the living and learning environment for undergraduates," Rawlings said in his annual State of the University message today. Rawlings.state.98.lgk.html (October 23, 1998)

Tanksley wins 1998 Humboldt Award
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Steven D. Tanksley, Cornell University's Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Plant Breeding, has been named the 1998 recipient of the prestigious $15,000 Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Award for making the "most significant contribution to American agriculture over the previous five years." The award ceremony will be Oct. 28 at 12:20 p.m. in Room G-10 of the Cornell Biotechnology Building. During the award ceremony, Tanksley will present a seminar, "Maps, Markers and Mysteries in Plant Breeding." TanksleyHumboldt.bpf.html (October 23, 1998)

Three professors named Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellows
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell President Hunter Rawlings has named the university's 1998 Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellows, honoring effective, inspiring and distinguished teaching of undergraduate students. The winners, to be honored at a dinner on campus Thursday, Oct. 22, are: Ali S. Hadi, professor and chair of the Department of Social Statistics; Michael C. Kelley, professor in the School of Electrical Engineering; and Isaac Kramnick, the Richard J. Schwartz Professor and chair of the Department of Government. Weiss.Fellows.sm.html (October 23, 1998)

Manual helps prevent youth violence
ITHACA, N.Y. -- With more than one-quarter million guns going to school every day and media images bombarding our children with violence-related images, it's little wonder that thousands of American youths are arrested each year for violent crimes. Though the problem is complex with no one cause, Cornell Cooperative Extension has published a new manual, Prevention of Youth Violence, which includes the latest word on preventing violence among youth. Youth.Violence.ssl.html (October 23, 1998)

Toni Morrison to give two public talks at Cornell
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Professor-at-Large Toni Morrison, Cornell MFA '55, the 1993 Nobel laureate in literature and the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Beloved, will present a free and open lecture on literature and public life Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Bailey Hall on the Cornell University campus. Free tickets for the lecture will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office beginning Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 10 a.m., with a limit of two per person. Toni.Morrison.ssl.html (October 22, 1998)

A.R. Ammons wins 1998 Tanning Prize
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Add another jewel to the literary crown of acclaimed poet A.R. Ammons, Cornell University's Goldwin Smith Professor Emeritus of Poetry, who has been selected to receive the 1998 Tanning Prize, a $100,000 award for "outstanding and proven mastery in the art of poetry." It's also the story of a poet who won a prize and didn't know it. The announcement, made by the Academy of American Poets, was a complete surprise to the recently retired Cornell professor of poetry. Ammons.release.fc.html (October 21, 1998)

Campus activities mark National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week
ITHACA, N.Y -- This year Cornell University again joins more than 3,000 colleges and universities nationwide participating in National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, Oct. 18-24. The event was recognized last year at Cornell with a series of events planned by the West Campus Community development staff to heighten awareness about alcohol abuse and use. Every day during the week, a different program was featured, including the display of a car crashed by a drunken driver and a demonstration of the effects of the consumption of alcohol on two different individuals of different genders and body types. alcohol.education.html (October 20, 1998)

Students to hold national conference on investing at Cornell Oct. 23-25
ITHACA, N.Y. -- College students from as far away as Colorado and Wisconsin will meet at Cornell University Oct. 23 to 25 to discuss socially responsible investing. Sponsored by the New York Student Environmental Action Coalition and the Cornell Greens, the conference will include 16 workshops on topics ranging from researching investment portfolios to divestment to anti-tobacco campaigns, as well as planning sessions and a town meeting. investing.confer.adv.html (October 20, 1998)

Kops Freedom of the Press Lecture Oct. 26 on Advocacy advertising and the First Amendment
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Are paid advertisements really free speech? "Advocacy Advertising and the First Amendment" will be the topic of a lecture at Cornell University by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the Walter H. Annenberg Dean of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, Monday, Oct. 26, at 5 p.m. Kops.lecture.advance.html (October 20, 1998)

Modeling material defects from atoms up
ITHACA, N.Y. -- A tiny, invisible crack in the aluminum-alloy skin of an airplane can sometimes grow into a major crack that causes the skin to tear open in flight. A new research program at Cornell University aims to understand how this happens, starting at the level of atoms and working up. Eventually this understanding could lead to improved alloys and designs to prevent cracking and failure in many materials. The National Science Foundation's Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence Initiative has announced a $1.5 million, three-year grant to the Cornell Theory Center (CTC) to support part of this research. The project being funded, called Multiscale Modeling of Defects in Solids, will enable researchers to create computer simulations that show how defects at the atomic level can lead to changes at increasingly larger scales, up to the visible cracks we can see and measure in the everyday world. CTC is Cornell's high-performance computing and communications arm. TC.multiscale.bs.html (October 19, 1998)

Trustees and Council members gather at Cornell Oct. 22-24
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Members of the Cornell University Board of Trustees and University Council will arrive on campus Thursday, Oct. 22, for Cornell's annual Trustee/Council Weekend. The annual meeting of the 440-member council and a quarterly meeting of the trustees are scheduled on campus every fall so that the groups may attend joint meetings and hear President Hunter Rawlings' State of the University Address. trust.council.html (October 19, 1998)

Cornell continues to aid Arecibo families
ARECIBO, Puerto Rico -- Cornell University is continuing to rally to the needs of the families of Arecibo Observatory employees in the aftermath of Hurricane Georges with loans, donations and electric power. Distribution of 53 2,500-watt Honda generators has been completed. The generators will provide enough electricity for refrigeration and lighting until power is restored. About 95 percent of Puerto Rico's power lines were destroyed by the hurricane's sweep through the island Sept. 21, and the Puerto Rico Power Authority has estimated that it could be two months before power is fully restored to Arecibo. arecibo.relief.deb.html (October 16, 1998)

Healthy increase in Graduate School enrollment
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Thanks in part to an aggressive new fellowship program, Cornell University's Graduate School enrollment shows a healthy increase this fall, boosted primarily by a big jump in doctoral students in the physical sciences and engineering. While overall total Graduate School enrollment increased just 1.8 percent, from 3,938 in fall 1997 to 4,010 this fall, the entering class enrollment rose 14.7 percent, from 1,164 to 1,335. The increase overall this year reverses a trend of decreasing Graduate School enrollments that began in 1992, said Walter I. Cohen, vice provost and dean of the Graduate School. Graduate.School.html (October 15, 1998)

1998 may be warmest year on record
ITHACA, N.Y. -- To date, 1998 is running ahead of 1953, the Northeast's warmest year on record, according to the climatologists at the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. If warm temperatures continue in the current pattern through the rest of the year, 1998 may surpass 1953 as the warmest year, says Keith Eggleston, senior climatologist at the center. Eggleston says that the temperature for the Northeast needs to average 1.5 degrees above normal for October, November and December in order to beat the old high-temperature mark of 49.5 degrees Fahrenheit for the year. NRCC.Sept1998.bpf.html (October 15, 1998)

Two faculty members awarded Packard Fellowships for young researchers
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Two Cornell University assistant professors have been awarded David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowships for Science and Engineering, designed to support young researchers. Yuri Suzuki, assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Rey-Huei Chen, assistant professor in the Section of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology in the Division of Biological Sciences, each will receive research grants of $125,000 a year for five years. packardgrant.bs.html (October 15, 1998)

Cornell Plantations trees put on brilliant Fall show
ITHACA, N.Y.-- Cornell Plantations staff members invite the Ithaca community and visitors from far and near to visit the campus gardens and natural areas to enjoy a colorful, dynamic landscape as it changes to its autum wardrobe. "As the days shorten, the production of chlorophyll, which is responsible for the green color in leaves, slows down. This allows the carotenoids (the yellow and orange pigments), which had been masked by the green, to be revealed," explains Donald Rakow, director of Cornell Plantations. "Few trees display this better than our native sugar maples." Fall_Color.hrs.html (October 14, 1998)

Two lectures on women in French politics, Oct. 21-22
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Fran¨oise Gaspard, professor of sociology at the famed Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (School of Higher Education in Social Sciences) in Paris, will give two free and open lectures Oct. 21-22 at Cornell University on women in politics in France. Gaspard will lecture on "Parity Men/Women in Public Life: A New Feminist Movement?" in English on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 4:30 p.m. in Kaufmann Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall. gaspard.lecture.ssl.html (October 14, 1998)

Project Feederwatch lists 1998 Top 10 birds
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The much-maligned El Ni–o of 1997-98 can't be blamed for bird shortages, bird surpluses or other avian population perturbations -- at least not yet -- say Cornell University ornithologists who are analyzing reports from 13,000 North American citizen-scientists in Project FeederWatch. Continentwide, the Top 10 List of Feeder Birds for Winter 1997-98 looks a lot like the 1996-97 list, according to the number-crunchers at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. 10birds98.hrs.html (October 12, 1998)

Conflict Resolution lecture
ITHACA, N.Y. -- To launch the new Anne Evans Estabrook Distinguished Lectureship in Conflict Resolution at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), Associate Professor Elizabeth Mannix of Columbia University's Graduate School of Business will give a talk Thursday, Oct. 22, at 3:30 p.m. in room 115 of the new ILR Classroom Building. The lecture, "The Dynamic Nature of Conflict: A Longitudinal Study of Taskgroups," is co-sponsored by the Institute for Conflict Resolution at Cornell. estabrook.lecture.ssl.html (October 9, 1998)

Student reports early morning strong-arm robbery
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell Police reports that a 24-year-old, female Cornell University student was the victim of a strong-arm robbery early this morning on a footbridge leading from the campus to Collegetown. Police said the female student called them from a Blue Light emergency telephone in front of Cornell's Center for Theatre Arts on College Avenue at 3:29 this morning. She said she had been returning to her Collegetown residence after studying with a friend on campus and was crossing the footbridge over Cascadilla Creek leading from the Engineering Quad to Oak Avenue when she was approached from the rear by a white male who demanded money. When she tried to take her wallet out of her backpack, the assailant grabbed the backpack and ran off the bridge, heading north on to campus. Student.robbed.html (October 9, 1998)

Arecibo helps employees and neighbors in aftermath of hurricane Georges
ARECIBO, Puerto Rico -- As the Arecibo Observatory is used to scan the cosmos for extraterrestrial life, the observatory itself has become a source of life sustenance in the aftermath of Hurricane Georges. Following Hurricane Georges' sweep through the island Sept. 21, about 20 homes of observatory employees sustained damage, and five of those homes were destroyed, said Rey Medina, director of human resources for the observatory. The National Astronomy Ionospheric Center (NAIC) at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., manages the observatory for the National Science Foundation (NSF). AreciboAftermath.bpf.html (October 8, 1998)

Olmec village ran 3000 years on chocolate?
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Digging through history to a time before agriculture, archaeologists from Cornell University and the University of California at Berkeley have found evidence of a village that was continuously occupied from 2000 B.C. to A.D. 1000 as well as hints to the secret of the community's remarkable longevity. "My guess is, it all comes down to chocolate," says John S. Henderson, professor of anthropology at Cornell and co-director, together with Rosemary Joyce of Berkeley, of the archaeological dig at Puerto Escondido, Honduras. The type of ceremonial pottery uncovered by the archaeologists points to that region of Mesoamerica as a possible "Cradle of Chocolate." chocolate.cacao.hrs.html (October 8, 1998)

Chemist Richard Ernst lectures Oct. 14-29
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Richard Ernst, 1991 Nobel laureate in chemistry and professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, will visit Cornell University Oct. 14-29 as an A.D. White Professor-at-Large. During his visit, Ernst will give six public lectures: "The Fascination of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Medicine," Wednesday, Oct. 14, 4:40 p.m. in 200 Baker Laboratory; "The Potential of Multi-Dimensional NMR," Thursday, Oct. 15, 4:40 p.m. in 119 Baker; "Intramolecular Dynamics Studied by NMR," Tuesday, Oct. 20, 4:40 p.m. in 119 Baker; "Looking Inside Solids by NMR," Thursday, Oct. 22, 4:40 p.m. in 119 Baker; "Exploring Polymers by Spin Diffusion and Polarization Transfer," Tuesday, Oct. 27, 4:40 p.m. in 119 Baker; and "Hydrogen Dynamics in Liquids and Solids Explored by NMR," Thursday, Oct. 29, 4:40 p.m. in 119 Baker. ernst.ADWhite.ssl.html (October 8, 1998)

UAW Social Justice Award to Jean McKelvey
ITHACA, N.Y. -- To honor the late Jean McKelvey, one of two founding faculty members of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the first woman to serve as president of the National Academy of Arbitrators, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union awarded McKelvey, posthumously, the UAW Social Justice Award at its convention in June. In the past the award has been given to such prestigious national and international figures as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. mckelvey.award.ssl.html (October 8, 1998)

Why low-fat cheese turns translucent
ITHACA, N.Y. -- A Cornell University food science student has answered an age-old question that has puzzled collegians through the years: Dude, why is the cheese on this cold pizza translucent? As those who save leftovers for next-day snacks know, low-fat mozzarella cheese turns almost clear after it has been baked on a pizza and then cooled. It gives leftover pizza an aged, unappetizing look. Lloyd E. Metzger, a Cornell doctoral candidate in food science, from Lester, Iowa, has discovered that it is the serum -- the water content in the mozzarella cheese -- that causes the translucency. PizzaCheese.bpf.html (October 7, 1998)

Public Service Center seeks social-change leaders for fellowships
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University, through the Public Service Center, is seeking applicants for participation in the echoing green foundation's 1999 fellowship program. Echoing green, a non-profit foundation based in New York City, offers fellowships to individuals committed to social change from over 135 participating institutions for developing or establishing projects or organizations that will address specific social needs in their communities. Echoing.Green.html (October 5, 1998)

Students organize hurricane relief efforts
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Responding to the mass destruction in the Dominican Republic from Hurricane Georges, members of student groups and departments at Cornell University met this week to formalize relief efforts for the damaged country. The student, faculty and staff alliance has formed the Cornell Hurricane Relief Group, and it is working quickly to provide monetary assistance to the Dominican victims of the hurricane. Hurricane Georges ripped through the Dominican Republic Sept. 22 causing more than 1,000 casualties and leaving about 300,000 people homeless and hungry. According to the Dominican Red Cross, the country never has seen such mass destruction. It is estimated that about 90 percent of the country's agriculture was destroyed, resulting in a $200 million loss. Dominican.PSC.html (October 2, 1998)

Neutron stars and pulsars are subjects of Thomas Gold Lecture Series
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell University Department of Astronomy will present a public lecture next week by Columbia University astrophysicist Malvin A. Ruderman, this year's Thomas Gold Lecturer. As part of the Thomas Gold Lecture Series, Ruderman, the Centennial Professor of Physics at Columbia, will speak on "Neutron Stars," Thursday, Oct. 8, at 4:30 p.m. in Schwartz Auditorium of Rockefeller Hall. The public is invited. gold.lectures.deb.html (October 2, 1998)

$2.25 million NSF grant for nonlinear systems graduate students
ITHACA, N.Y. -- A $2,245,997 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will provide fellowships for 12 Cornell graduate students each year over the next five years in a new interdisciplinary program on nonlinear systems. The first students will enroll in the fall of 1999. Steven Strogatz, Cornell professor of theoretical and applied mechanics, is the principal investigator for the program, but the students will pursue doctorates in a wide variety of disciplines tied together by the fact that all involve the same type of mathematical analysis. At least 40 faculty members will be involved, ranging over four Cornell colleges and several other institutions. igert.bs.html (October 2, 1998)

Scholarship honors retiring Dean Francille Firebaugh
ITHACA, N.Y. -- To acknowledge the contributions of Francille M. Firebaugh, retiring dean of Cornell University's College of Human Ecology, alumni, colleagues and friends have endowed a student scholarship of more than $220,000 named in her honor. The scholarship was announced at a reception honoring Firebaugh on Sept. 25. More than 425 alumni, friends and colleagues celebrated Firebaugh's achievements while serving as dean since 1988. firebaugh.scholarship.ssl.html (October 1, 1998)