Cornell University News Service Releases

March, 1999

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.

Rawlings submits comments on collegiate code of conduct and sweatshops
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell President Hunter Rawlings has submitted the university's comments on the draft collegiate code of conduct that seeks to eliminate "sweatshops" by establishing safe and humane working conditions in factories where college names and logos are applied to apparel. The draft code was developed by a task force convened by the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), an Atlanta-based business that represents more than 170 colleges and universities in the product-licensing arena. Cornell was one of 14 schools on the CLC task force. In a March 29 letter to CLC, Rawlings called on the task force to strengthen its code by requiring full public disclosure of factory locations where collegiate goods are manufactured. Rawlings also proposed other changes that he said "will strengthen the code of conduct in the area of fundamental human rights." Apparel.code.ds.html (March 30, 1999)

Cornell hosts three A.D. White Professors-at-Large in April
ITHACA, N.Y. -- David Macdonald, head of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University, will deliver a public lecture in April during his first visit to Cornell University as an Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large. Macdonald will speak on "The Ecology of Carnivore Societies," Wednesday, April 7, at 8 p.m. in 155 Olin Hall on the Cornell campus. Macdonald joins two distinguished A.D. White professors who return to campus in April: Roger Chartier and Phillip V. Tobias. April.Prof.at.Lrg.html (March 30, 1999)

'Who owns nature?' is focus of April 1-2 conference
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Experts with a wide variety of perspectives at an April 1-2 conference at Cornell University will attempt to answer the question: Who should rightfully profit from biotechnology's exploitation of the "intellectual property" of nature? The two-day conference, titled "Owning Nature: Biotechnology, Biodiversity and Bioassets," is organized by the university's Governance and Nature Working Group and is sponsored by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies; Cornell Research Foundation; Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development; Center for the Environment; and the Office of the University Provost. biotech_bioassets.hrs.html (March 30, 1999)

Bosnian journalist Kemal Kurspahic to speak Thursday, April 1
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Kemal Kurspahic, former editor in chief of the Bosnian independent daily Oslobodjenje, which published every day during the three-and-a-half year siege of Sarajevo, returns to Cornell University to deliver a public talk Thursday, April 1. Kurspahic , who first spoke at Cornell in 1996, will speak on "War Drums and Peace Talks in the Balkans: Media-made Events?" at 4:30 p.m. in 230 Rockefeller Hall. A panel discussion will follow the talk. Bosnian.Edit.Talk.html (March 30, 1999)

Cayuga Heights residents want local voice in 'nuisance deer' management, Cornell survey finds
ITHACA, N.Y. -- When it comes to managing local deer that munch foliage and crunch fenders, Cayuga Heights residents want to keep the decision-making local, according to a survey by Cornell University's natural-resources experts. Analysis of the survey, conducted last fall by the Human Dimensions Research Unit of the Cornell Department of Natural Resources among 438 property owners, found mixed opinions on the herds of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) that roam through suburban neighborhoods: CH_deer2.hrs.html (March 30, 1999)

Undergrad David Liben-Nowell receives Churchill scholarship for graduate study at Cambridge
ITHACA, N.Y. -- David Liben-Nowell, a senior in Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences, has received a 1999 Winston Churchill Foundation scholarship providing for one year of graduate study at Churchill College of Cambridge University in England. Only 11 such scholarships are awarded each year, nationwide. Liben-Nowell, who is majoring in computer science and philosophy with a concentration in cognitive studies, plans to study computer speech and language processing at Cambridge. Liben-Nowell.Churchill.bs.html (March 30, 1999)

Caltech's E. Sterl Phinney to present public lecture on black holes
ITHACA, N.Y. -- E. Sterl Phinney, professor of theoretical astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif., will present a public lecture, "The Search for Black Holes," on the Cornell University campus April 15. Phinney's talk, part of the first annual Edwin Salpeter Lectures, will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Space Sciences Building, Room 105. The lecture is free. Phinney.visit.deb.html (March 30, 1999)

Visiting chemistry professor will show how "Science Is Fun"
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Bassam Shakhashiri, professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, will present an evening of magical chemical demonstrations on the Cornell University campus April 7. Shakhashiri's presentation, "Science Is Fun," will be given at 7:30 p.m. in 200 Baker Laboratory. The public, and particularly children of all ages, are welcome to attend. The demonstration is free, but tickets, limited to two per person, are required. They can be obtained in person or by mail from Ithaca Sciencenter, 601 First Street, Ithaca, or from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, 122 Baker Laboratory, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. 14853-1301. Mailed requests should be marked "Science Is Fun Demonstration," and accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. shakhashiri.visit.deb.html (March 30, 1999)

Daniel Kleppner of MIT to give Bethe Lectures at Cornell
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Daniel Kleppner, the Lester Wolfe Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will give the 1999 Bethe Lectures in physics March 29 through April 7 on the Cornell campus. Kleppner also is the associate director of MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics. bethe.lectures.deb.html (March 26, 1999)

Anthropologist Brackette F. Williams will give Flemmie Kittrell Lecture on U.S. ethnic relations
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Anthropologist Brackette F. Williams, a 1973 Cornell University alumna and a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Award, is slated to give the College of Human Ecology's annual Flemmie Kittrell Lecture Monday, March 29, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Martha Van Rensselaer Hall Amphitheatre (MVR Hall 265) on the Cornell campus. It is free and open to the public. Williams, whose work focuses on issues of cultural production and social relationships, will speak on "Moralities of Timing, Space and Place in U.S. Ethnic Relations." The Flemmie Kittrell Lecture is in honor of the first African American in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in home economics, which was bestowed by Cornell in 1936. The lecture is dedicated to addressing emerging issues of a multicultural society. flemmie.williams.ssl.html (March 26, 1999)

United Nations expert on Iraq's biological weapons program to speak
ITHACA, N.Y. -- David Kelly, an expert on biological warfare with UNSCOM, the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq, will discuss Iraq's biological weapons program at the auditorium in the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) on the Cornell University campus Monday, March 29, at 12:15 p.m. Iraq.kelly.deb.html (March 26, 1999)

Veterinary College Open House is set for April 10
ITHACA, NY -- Back by popular demand is Open House at the College of Veterinary Medicine, scheduled this year for Saturday, April 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Cornell University. Each spring, students in Cornell's Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program invite families to visit the campus and see what veterinarians and veterinary students do. This year's event will be the 33rd annual open house at the college. vet_open99.hrs.html (March 26, 1999)

Tiny plastic balls in water study turbulence
ATLANTA -- Think of scenes from the movie "Twister." Tornado chasers load up their trucks with ping-pong-ball-sized spheres and head for a twister. The spheres are then released into the storm's vortex, resulting in the transmission of valuable scientific information on tornadoes' actions to the chaser's computers. Life imitates art: Cornell University researchers are releasing a myriad of tiny spheres, each about the size of a speck of dust, into flowing water. The information they get back explains how particles behave in a turbulent environment. flow.voth.bpf.html (March 25, 1999)

Cornell to present Native writers and storytellers conference April 2-3
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Native writers, storytellers and filmmakers from across the country will meet at Cornell University April 2-3 for the third annual Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers Conference. Hosted by Cornell's renowned American Indian Program (AIP), the conference, which is free and open to the public, will feature workshops, readings and performances. Native.writers.lgk.html (March 25, 1999)

Testing restaurant compost for greenhouses
ITHACA, N.Y. -- A recycling plan devised by Cornell University students, with assistance from community members and waste-management experts, would save restaurant scraps from the garbage can and send them to the compost pile. The resulting compost could boost community greenhouse-gardens. restaurant_compost.hrs.html (March 25, 1999)

Modeling ocean floor spreading in tub of wax
ATLANTA -- Eberhard Bodenschatz watches 100 million years of geological time pass in an hour. He sees transform faults being created, rift valleys opening and spiral structures called microplates forming. But the Cornell University physicist does not have an omnipotent view of the planet's ocean floor. Instead he is watching a model of tectonic evolution in a tub of molten wax. "These wax experiments," said Bodenschatz, "allow us to study millions of years of tectonic spreading in the laboratory. Remarkably, these phenomena appear to be similar to the Earth." APS.Eberhard.wax.deb.html (March 22, 1999)

Artificial gels could speed DNA sequencing
ATLANTA -- It could be a scene from a movie: A doctor puts a drop of blood into a small hand-held device and instantly reads out a complete DNA analysis. But it would have to be a science fiction movie, because in real life machines that analyze DNA are about the size of a refrigerator. And hundreds of them, working for the past 10 years, haven't been able to map the equivalent of one person's DNA. But Cornell University researchers are working on a "biochip" -- an "artificial gel" made of silicon -- that might be a step toward the science fiction dream. APS.biochip.bs.html (March 22, 1999)

Catalyst makes plastic polymers from CO2
ANAHEIM, CALIF. -- By mimicking nature, a Cornell University chemist has found a seemingly efficient way to create a new plastic material. It would be either biodegradable or able to react with water to convert into nontoxic materials, and it would have properties such as impact resistance. The natural system being copied is photosynthesis, nature's efficient way of extracting carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and turning it into both monomers and polymers in the form of sugars and polysaccharides. The breakthrough, part of what is being called the second plastics revolution, is tapping the same CO2 feedstock used by plants to make synthetic polymers. ACS.coates.polymer.deb.html (March 24, 1999)

Water treatment cleans pesticides on-site
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- A new Cornell University invention can clean up waste water from pesticides and textile processing on-site efficiently, inexpensively and without some of the problems of current technologies, say two Cornell University environmental chemists. This major improvement of the commonly used pesticide rinse water treatment processes was reported by David Saltmiras, a Cornell doctoral student in environmental toxicology, at the American Chemical Society's (ACS) national meeting at the Anaheim Disneyland Hotel today (March 23). His research, which won the 1999 ACS Agrochemicals Division Young Scientist Predoctoral Research Award, was conducted with water-quality expert Ann Lemley, Cornell professor in the College of Human Ecology. ACS.pesticide.cleanup.ssl.html (March 24, 1999)

Spider venom stops stroke brain damage
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- A new chemical isolated from spider venom might one day prevent human brain cells from dying after being deprived of oxygen for short periods, a Cornell University chemist believes. In a talk today (March 23) at the American Chemical Society national meeting at the Anaheim Hilton, Jerrold Meinwald, professor of chemistry biology noted that smoke-inhalation or stroke can cause overproduction of amino-acid neurotransmitters, possibly resulting in brain damage. "What this venom could do is block the effect of the overproduction of some of the neurotransmitters," he said. "In effect, we're turning off the receiver." ACS.SpiderStroke.bpf.html (March 24, 1999)

Engineered bacteria scavenge heavy metals
ANAHEIM, CALIF. -- Biotechnologists at Cornell University have engineered a strain of bacteria with two environment-saving abilities: To soak up heavy-metal pollutants, such as mercury, and then to sequester them for recycling. Now the researchers are ready to begin field trials of a system that should reduce water and soil contamination to the parts-per-trillion level. ACS_wilson.hrs.html (March 24, 1999)

Students spend Alternative Spring Break working at West Virginia domestic abuse shelter
ITHACA, N.Y. -- During Cornell University's spring break, while some students make their way to exotic vacations, a group of students will move in a different direction as part of a project called Alternative Spring Break, sponsored by the Cornell Public Service Center. A group of 13 participating Cornell students will travel to the small mining town of Welch, W.Va., during the break, leaving Saturday, March 20, and returning Sunday, March 28. The students will spend their visit working at the domestic abuse shelter Stop Abusive Family Environments (SAFE). Alternative.Break.PSC.html (March 19, 1999)

Cornell issues dragon warning
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The appearance of a large dragon on the Cornell University campus Thursday afternoon (March 18) will cause staggered road closings and delays on central campus between 1 and 3:30 p.m. The annual Dragon Day Parade, in which College of Architecture, Art and Planning students build and parade a mock dragon through campus, will begin at 1 p.m., when the dragon, with its attendants, leaves its lair in Rand Hall. dragon.1999.html (March 19, 1999)

Volunteer educators needed in May for Environmental Appreciation Days
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell students and other members of the community are needed as volunteer educators for this year's 4-H Environmental Appreciation Days, May 7, 10 and 11. Organized by Tompkins County Cooperative Extension, the Environmental Appreciation program is designed to help local fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders learn more about the natural environment and foster a sense of stewardship. This year's workshops will take place at Cornell Plantations, EcoVillage, local state parks, schools and other sites around the county. env_appreciation.hrs.html (March 19, 1999)

To be globally competitive, companies must maximize employee value, say Cornell, U.K. experts
ITHACA, N.Y. -- With the breathless pace of change in today's global economy, companies can be successful only if their work forces are both functioning efficiently and adapting quickly to shifting conditions. Managing people is much more complex now than in previous decades, yet employees are also more important than ever to business success. Many of the foremost thinkers on managing workers in today's constantly changing business climate will share their expertise at "Creating Value through People," a daylong series of discussions organized by Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management. This annual European symposium will be held Saturday, March 20, at the May Fair Inter-Continental Hotel in London. European.Symposium.2.html (March 19, 1999)

Cornell Faculty Forum is postponed
ITHACA, N.Y. -- A Cornell University Faculty Forum scheduled for Wednesday, March 17, has been postponed. The forum, co-sponsored by President Hunter Rawlings and Dean of the Faculty J. Robert Cooke, was organized to discuss the new book Cornell '69: Liberalism and the Crisis of the American University by Donald A. Downs, published by Cornell University Press. The forum will be rescheduled for a later date, Cooke said. Faculty.forum.postponed.html (March 19, 1999)

Nanofabricated 'harp' studies resonances
ATLANTA -- From the folks who brought you the world's smallest guitar, now meet the nanoharp. But while the microsopic guitar made by Cornell University researchers two years ago was just a whimsical demonstration of new nanofabrication technology, this new "stringed instrument" plays the real music of science, serving as a platform to study the physics of very small vibrating systems. APS.nanoharp.bs.html (March 22, 1999)

Nanomagnets could store computer data
ATLANTA -- Researchers at Cornell University are testing devices that could form the basis for a potential ultrasmall computer data storage system that could gather up to 100 times as much information in the same space as present-day magnetic data disks. An array of the devices that make up the system is considerably smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. Cornell postdoctoral associate Stephane Evoy and graduate students Lidija Sekaric and Dustin Carr described their work March 23 at the 1999 centennial meeting of the American Physical Society at the Georgia World Congress Center. They are part of a research group working under Harold Craighead, Cornell professor of applied and engineering physics, and Jeevak Parpia, Cornell professor of physics. nanomagnets.bs.html (March 22, 1999)

Veterinary college workshop on human-animal bond and grief set for April 3
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The human-animal bond and grief is the topic for the second in a series of workshops about pet loss and bereavement counseling, scheduled for Saturday, April 3, from 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine. grief_workshop.hrs.html (March 19, 1999)

University Library presents 'The Art of the Book' Exhibition
ITHACA, N.Y. -- An exhibition on the history of the printed book, drawn from Cornell University Library's rare book and manuscript collections, is now on display in the Exhibition Gallery of the Carl A. Kroch Library on the Cornell campus. The exhibition, titled "The Art of the Book," is open to the public through May 28. It covers 500 years of typography, book illustration and bookbinding, beginning in 1455 with Johann Gutenberg, the inventor of printing from moveable metal type. The exhibit goes on to chronicle some of the principal innovations in the history of book design through the early 20th century. rare.book.html (March 19, 1999)

Tagore Endowment in Indian Literature
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The South Asia Program at Cornell University has announced the creation of the Rabindranath Tagore Endowment in Modern Indian Literature, made possible through a generous gift by Professor Emeritus Narahari Umanath Prabhu and his wife, Suman Prabhu. "The members of the South Asia Program are thrilled by the Prabhus' generous gift," said Chris Minkowski, South Asia Program director. "It will greatly increase the visibility of South Asian studies at Cornell and will give us the chance to bring to campus some of the most interesting writers of our day." Tagore.Endow.fac.html (March 19, 1999)

Vietnamese academic administrators visit Southeast Asia Program
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell University Southeast Asia Program will host the visit of a delegation of Vietnamese academic administrators to upstate New York, March 21-23. The delegation is in the United States to explore research methodologies and trends in the social sciences and humanities. The primary focus of the delegation's visit will be the examination of issues related to the financing and management of research projects, the use of research products, library management and resources and the relationship between teaching and research in the United States. The visitors also are interested in the identification of potential international cooperative opportunities in research and training. Their upstate visit is part of a national tour of U.S. institutions coordinated by the American Council of Learned Societies and funded by the Ford Foundation. Vietnamese.delegation.html (March 19, 1999)

Interactive web site maps geology worldwide
ITHACA, N.Y. -- A vast amount of geological data, previously only available to -- and understood by -- scientists, is now accessible to everyone, from educators to young students, through an interactive site on the World Wide Web created at Cornell University. The Geographic Information System Interactive Map Server, created by the Institute for the Study of the Continents (INSTOC) at Cornell, allows users to view and print out maps showing major geographic features of a region, along with such information as the location of earthquake faults, a record of earthquake occurrences and technical data about the events. It draws on databases created at Cornell over the past six years. geology.website.bs.html (March 16, 1999)

Lincoln Brower, monarch butterfly expert, to speak April 5
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Renowned monarch butterfly expert Lincoln P. Brower will speak on "The Grand Saga of Monarch Butterfly Migration: An Endangered Biological Phenomenon" at the annual Grace C. Griswold Distinguished Lecture, Monday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Room B-45 Warren Hall on the Cornell University campus. BrowerButterfly.bpf.html (March 15, 1999)

Preserving electronic institutional records
ITHACA, N.Y. -- In studying the history of an institution, historians often look back at its administrative records. Today, more and more, those records are being created in electronic form and never even exist on paper. Funded by a $123,928 grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), archivists and computer systems specialists at Cornell University have embarked on an 18-month project to study new record-keeping technologies and recommend ways to ensure that electronic records are preserved for the future. E-records.bs.html (March 15, 1999)

Virginia's Polley Ann McClure named VP for information technologies
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Polley Ann McClure, vice president for information technology and communication and professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia, has been appointed by Provost Don M. Randel as Cornell University's new vice president for information technologies. Her nomination was approved by the Cornell's Board of Trustees March 12, following President Hunter Rawlings' endorsement. McClure.bs.html (March 15, 1999)

Students restore historic Ellis Island building
Cornell historic preservation students will rescue historic Ellis Island building -- and gain essential skills in the process Volunteer effort will stabilize Commissioner's House March 25-28 Ellis.Island.html (March 12, 1999)

Distance learning HR course spans continents
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Professor George Milkovich's global classroom is truly something new and different. Milkovich has been on the faculty of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations for 20 years and is one of the world's most-respected authorities on international human resource management -- developing strategies to help global companies hire and retain the best people. What makes this year's International HR Management course unusual for him is that of the 95 graduate HR and business students enrolled, only 20 are on Cornell's campus. The rest are in Shanghai, Caracas and Ljubljana, a major city in Slovenia. What's more, a quarter of them are not full-time students, but human resource executives at General Motors and nine other supporting companies. While Cornell is considered at the forefront of distance learning, with a major investment in cutting-edge infrastructure, 35 courses under way and another 80 in development, it is only one of many universities involved in offsite education. Milkovich's course, however, is the only one anywhere that spans four continents, links all participants synchronously -- at the same time -- and has the benefit of an executive education component. ILR.Global.Classroom.html (March 12, 1999)

Public Service Center seeks nominations of students for Community Spirit Award
ITHACA, N.Y. -- This past year, the Cornell University Public Service Center instituted the Community Spirit Award to recognize Cornell students who actively participate in off-campus community service work. The award was created to provide community agencies with a means of honoring exemplary volunteers and community work-study students. The center is again inviting agencies and Cornell faculty members with service-learning courses to provide nominations for the award, which, said RneneŽ Farkas, the center's community programs coordinator, "is a great opportunity to recognize students, and it definitely means a lot coming from the community." Community.Spirit.Award.html (March 11, 1999)

Iris Morales presentation at Cornell is canceled
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Iris Morales, former minister of information for the Young Lords Party, a New York-based Puerto Rican political/social action group, has canceled her Saturday, March 13, appearance at Cornell University due to a death in the family. The event had been scheduled for 1 p.m. in Uris Hall Auditorium. Morales.cancel.html (March 11, 1999)

Bioweapons may defeat the onion maggot
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The leading enemy of New York state's fall onion harvest is a fly with the Latin name, Delia antiqua. Onion growers just call its immature stage the onion maggot and for two decades it increasingly has been wreaking economic havoc in the state's onion fields. New York's 12,000 acres of commercial onion fields annually produce a crop with a value of between $50 million and $75 million. If a field gets infested with the maggot, between 20 percent and 90 percent of unprotected onion seedlings can be wiped out. OnionMaggots.bpf.html (March 10, 1999)

Cornell benefactor Carl A. Kroch dies in Chicago at 84
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Carl A. Kroch, a legendary bookseller who was a foremost benefactor of Cornell University, died March 6 of natural causes at his home in Chicago. He was 84. A 1935 graduate of Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences, Kroch served as a presidential councillor. In 1982 he endowed the position of Carl A. Kroch University Librarian, one of the first such endowed positions in the nation. In 1991 he provided the principal gift of $10 million for the construction of the $25 million Carl A. Kroch Library, which houses Cornell Library's renowned Asia Collections and Rare and Manuscript Collections. kroch.obit.html (March 9, 1999)

Two lectures on global agriculture in the 21st century
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell University International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development will present two lectures March 15 and 30 on the topic "Agriculture in the 21st Century: What Can We Expect?" Both lectures will be held it the David L. Call Alumni Auditorium, Kennedy Hall, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., and are free and open to the public. CIIFAD.Talks.bpf.html (March 8, 1999)

Study of earthquakes in eastern Turkey
ITHACA, N.Y. -- To understand the collision of continents and to better monitor the birth of earthquakes, Cornell University geologists have been awarded a $400,000 grant by the National Science Foundation for a three-year study in eastern Turkey. Eastern Turkey, often referred to as the Turkish plateau, is one of the most seismically active and is the youngest continent-to-continent plate boundary region on Earth. It is also one of the least studied. earthquakes.Turkey.ssl.html (March 8, 1999)

Iris Morales, former minister of information for the Young Lords Party, will speak and show film March 13
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Iris Morales, former minister of information for the Young Lords Party, a New York-based Puerto Rican political/social action group, will discuss the importance of the Young Lords philosophies and show her documentary, Palante, Siempre Palante!: The Young Lords, Saturday, March 13, at 1 p.m. in Uris Hall Auditorium at Cornell University. The event is free and open to the public. Morales now is director of Union Square Awards, a project sponsored by the city of New York to recognize the work of grassroots activists. She also is founder and president of Latino Education Network Services (LENS), a non-profit organization committed to education, social activism and community empowerment. LENS produced and distributes Morales' documentary. The non-profit agency receives all of the proceeds from the film's distribution to support organizational expenses. Iris.Morales.html (March 8, 1999)

Whitehead Institute infection expert to present genomics lectures
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Gerald R. Fink, director, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Mass., will be the Spring 1999 Messenger Lecturer at Cornell University, presenting three talks under the general title "We're Off to See the Genome." Fink is also the American Cancer Society Professor of Genetics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has a long association with Cornell, joining the faculty in 1967 as an assistant professor of genetics, serving as a professor of genetics from 1976 to 1979 and as professor of biochemistry from 1979 to 1982. His current interest is in the field of infectious disease research. messenger.fink.deb.html (March 8, 1999)

Expert on child physical abuse slated to give two talks March 16
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Joel S. Milner, director of the Center for the Study of Family Violence and Sexual Assault at Northern Illinois University, will give two presentations at Cornell University Tuesday, March 16, on better identification of children who are at risk for physical abuse and have risk factors of potential offenders. A morning session is intended for child protective and mental health professionals, and an afternoon session is for faculty and students. Milner's morning talk, "Child Physical Abuse Risk Assessment: The Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory," will focus primarily on explaining how to use the CAP Inventory index to assess children's risk for physical abuse and the index's applications and limitations. The talk will be 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Statler Hotel Amphitheater. milner.visit.ssl.html (March 8, 1999)

PCCW to focus on undergraduates at meeting March 12-14
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The President's Council of Cornell Women (PCCW) at Cornell University will focus on the undergraduate experience at its annual spring meeting on campus March 12-14. In addition to reviewing current programs to enhance undergraduate programs at Cornell, the alumnae group will discuss philanthropy by women, offer mentoring sessions to students and meet with women faculty and recipients of PCCW research grants. pccw.meeting.html (March 8, 1999)

Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark to speak March 16
ITHACA, N.Y. --The Cornell University chapter of the National Lawyers Guild is hosting a lecture by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark. Clark will speak in the Anabel Taylor Hall Auditorium on the Cornell campus Tuesday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m. The talk is free and open to the public. Co-sponsors of the event include the Cornell Law School; the Cornell Peace Studies Program; the Committee on United States/Latin American Relations; the Public Interest Law Union; the Berger International Studies Program; the Durland Alternatives Library; and the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy. Ramsey.Clark.html (March 8, 1999)

Trustees to meet in Ithaca March 11 and 12
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell University Board of Trustees will meet in Ithaca March 11 and 12. The board will meet from 9 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. and again from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, March 12, in the Trustee Meeting Room of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art on the Cornell campus. The morning session will be open to the public from 9 to 10 a.m. Topics will include a report from President Hunter Rawlings and an update on the state budget and State University of New York (SUNY) budget discussions, including proposed statutory college tuitions. Trustee.3.99.html (March 8, 1999)

Rawlings comments on draft apparel code and writes to manufacturers about sweatshops
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Colleges and universities across the nation this month are submitting comments on the draft collegiate code of conduct that seeks to eliminate "sweatshops" by establishing safe and humane working conditions in factories where college names and logos are applied to apparel. Hunter Rawlings, president of Cornell University, one of 14 schools on the task force that developed the code, endorsed the efforts of the task force, saying the document represents a good beginning, but he added that it needs to be strengthened. Code.response.ds.html (March 5, 1999)

Cornell hosts exhibit of CD-ROM art works
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The eyes have it this month as Cornell University hosts a month-long, cutting-edge exhibition of international CD-ROM art projects at electronic sites around campus, in conjunction with a two-day public workshop on the digital arts. The workshop, titled "Artistic Discourses of Digitality," begins Friday, March 12, at 12:45 p.m. in the A.D. White House on campus, with introductory remarks by Timothy Murray, acting director of the Society for the Humanities and director of graduate studies in film and video. digital.arts.fac.html (March 5, 1999)

Birds are 'teachers' in popular Spring Field Ornithology course, March 24-May 15
ITHACA, N.Y. -- When the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's popular course "Spring Field Ornithology" convenes March 24, the instructor-of-record will be the same renowned biologist, author and teacher who has attracted inquisitive bird enthusiasts for 21 years. But Stephen W. Kress doesn't take all the credit for leading the university's longest-running noncredit course. Some of his best teaching assistants, says Kress, the National Audubon Society's vice president for conservation, are up in the trees. Or on the water. Or in the air. " Spring Field Ornithology is designed to let the birds themselves be the primary teachers," says Kress of the eight-week course that offers Wednesday evening multimedia lectures and Saturday field trips. "The job of my students is simply to pay attention to what the birds are telling us through their behaviors and songs." field_ornith99.hrs.html (March 5, 1999)

Singapore ambassador cancels talk
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Due to bad weather conditions both here and in Washington, D.C., a talk by Heng-Chee Chan, the Singaporean ambassador to the United States, scheduled for today at 12:20 p.m. at Cornell's George McT. Kahin Center, has been canceled. The ambassador's planned visit, sponsored by the university's Southeast Asia Program, may be rescheduled for a later time this year. Singapore.Ambas.canceled.html (March 5, 1999)

Music in childcare center stimulates brain
ITHACA, N.Y. -- At Cornell University's Early Childhood Center (ECC), the sound of music reverberates throughout the day, all in the name of fun, creative expression and brain development. These musical sounds at the center, which emphasizes both education and research, might be teachers using chants to move children through the day, the sound of an outdoor chime, bell or jumbo drum on the playground, or maybe it is children playing authentic musical instruments in the classrooms or listening or responding to recorded music from diverse cultures. The sounds are all part of the Early Childhood Music Project at the ECC, located in the Department of Human Development at Cornell. music.childcare.ssl.html (March 3, 1999)

Singapore ambassador Heng-Chee Chan (M.A.'68), to talk at Kahin Center March 4
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Singaporean ambassador to the United States and Cornell University alumna Heng-Chee Chan will give a talk titled "Southeast Asia: Facing the Next Century" at Cornell's Southeast Asia Program's brown bag lunch series Thursday, March 4, at 12:20 p.m. in the George McT. Kahin Center, 640 Stewart Ave. During a brief visit, Chan also will meet with the approximately 150 Singaporean students currently enrolled at Cornell. Archie Dotson, Cornell emeritus professor of government, remembers Chan as "bright, feisty and fiercely Singaporean." Singapore.Ambas.fac.html (March 3, 1999)

Exploring the International Criminal Court
ITHACA, N.Y. -- A United Nations statute to establish the first permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) received overwhelmingly enthusiastic support from U.N. diplomats convening last summer in Rome and may become international law by the year 2001. An ambitious and timely symposium examining how the new court will work will be held at the Cornell Law School Friday and Saturday, March 5 and 6. Titled "The International Criminal Court: Consensus and Debate on the International Adjudication of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes and Aggression," the forum will take place in the MacDonald Moot Court Room in Myron Taylor Hall. It is being hosted by the Cornell International Law Journal, a student publication, which plans to publish the proceedings in its next issue. law.symposium.lm.html (March 1, 1999)

Shimon Peres cancels March 17 visit to Cornell
ITHACA, N.Y. ---- Former Israeli prime minister and Nobel Prize winner Shimon Peres has canceled his scheduled March 17 visit to Cornell University due to a political emergency in Israel. Peres was to be the 1999 Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels World Affairs Fellow. He was scheduled to present the Bartels Fellowship Lecture on Wednesday, March 17, at 8 p.m., in the Alice Statler Auditorium, Statler Hall. peres.cancelled.jkp.html (March 1, 1999)