Cornell University

2010-05-15T11:30:00.001-07:00

Public Service Announcement

This is a public service announcement sponsored and supported by Ithaca Night Life ( NightLife ), NU OnLine Publications.link

Tara Donavan @ Cornell till June 14, 2009

2009-04-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

New Drawings

April 10, 2009—May 2, 2009

PaceWildenstein is pleased to present its third solo exhibition of new work by Tara Donovan, who joined the gallery in 2005. Tara Donovan: New Drawings features two series of large-scale ink on paper drawings created in 2008-2009. The exhibition will be on view from April 10 through May 2, 2009 at 32 East 57th Street, New York City.The artist will attend an opening reception on Thursday, April 9th from 6-8 p.m.

Tara Donovan, who was recently awarded the 2008 MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Award, is also the subject of a traveling survey exhibition currently on view at the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati through May 11, 2009. The exhibition, organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, subsequently travels to the Des Moines Art Center, Iowa (June 19–September 14, 2009) and Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, California (October 10, 2009–January 16, 2010). The Monacelli Press published the artist’s first monograph in September 2008 to accompany the traveling exhibition.

Tara Donovan has stated that in her work the material itself dictates the final form of the objects or installations even though certain decisions are made about the way a particular material should be accumulated. But even then, she says, these decisions are based on experimentation with the physical properties of the material being used. She activates the inherent potential of a singular material by assigning predetermined rules for construction that allow the work to grow through repetitive labor.

Tara Donovan: New Drawings includes twenty-nine unique black and white drawings created from tempered glass, plate glass, and thread, and each measuring approximately 51 x 42". Donovan has employed both types of glass in previous work, most notably in her Untitled (Glass) cube sculptures which require hundreds of sheets of tempered glass.This variety, as she discovered during experimentation, is prone to shattering into thousands of crystalline pieces whereas the plate glass she used to create Untitled (Broken Glass), 2006, is more susceptible to clean-line fractures.

Donovan uses axiomatic systems to determine the genesis of a work, outlining conditions or rules to provide a “constant” so that the material—in this case two variations of the same medium—is allowed to dominate the form or composition. Using thread Tara Donovan exposes its innumerable compositional possibilities while preserving the integrity of the material itself. The thread cuts a delicate and dizzying line across the paper, in sharp contrast to the kinetic, almost violent energy captured in the glass drawings. Four works from this series will be on view.

The Lever House at 390 Park Avenue at 54th Street in New York City will feature Donovan’s Untitled (2009), an installation of loosely folded sheets of clear polyester film set within a wall that engages natural and artificial light and the surrounding architecture, from May to September 2009.

Tara Donovan’s work is also included in two group exhibitions: Unfolding Process: Conceptual and Material Practice on Paper, currently on view at The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, through June 14, 2009, and Because I Say So: Sculpture from the Collection of Dennis and Debra Scholl, opening next month at The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, Florida International University, Miami (April 17–August 15, 2009.)

Tara Donovan was born in 1969 in Queens, New York, and grew up further north in Nyack. She attended the School of Visual Arts, New York, from 1987-88 before earning her B.F.A. from the Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, D.C. in 1991.Donovan received her M.F.A. in sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond in 1999. Since then, she has been the subject of numerous gallery and museum exhibitions nationwide, including solo shows at the Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri (2006), Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (2004-05), UCLA Hammer Museum (2004), Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland (2003-2004) and Hemicycle Gallery, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (1999-2000).

Donovan also took part in the 2000 Biennial Exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.In the fall of 2007, The Metropolitan Museum of Art presented Tara Donovan at the Met, which featured a new large-scale wall installation created from silver Mylar tape and designed specifically for the museum’s Gioconda and Joseph King Gallery. Donovan’s installation, the fourth in the Met’s series of solo exhibitions dedicated to contemporary artists, was extended by popular demand and remained on view for nearly one year.In 2005,

Donovan was awarded the first annual Calder Prize by the Alexander Calder Foundation. That same year she participated in an artist’s residency at the Atelier Calder in Saché, France. Among her other awards and distinctions are the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Willard L. Metcalf Award (2004), National Academy Museum, Helen Foster Barnett Prize (2004), Women’s Caucus for Art, Presidential Award (2004), New York Foundation for the Arts grant recipient (2003), Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant recipient (2003), Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Competition (2001) and Joan Mitchell Foundation grant recipient (1999).

Her work is part of numerous museum collections throughout the United States, including the Dallas Museum of Art, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, St. Louis Art Museum, and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Tara Donovan lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Additional information for Tara Donovan: New Drawings is available upon request by contacting Jennifer Benz Joy at jjoy@pacewildenstein.com or Lauren Staub at lstaub@pacewildenstein.com or call 212.421.3292.

Economic News - Cornell Public Press Releases 2009

2009-04-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

Cornell University is a 'stable generator of economic activity' in a tough economy, report shows
ITHACA, N.Y. – The overall stability of Cornell University’s annual $3 billion in economic activity throughout New York state is highlighted in an economic impact report newly released by the university.

The report is an update of a previous economic impact study, released in early 2007, that showed in fiscal year 2005 Cornell generated $3.070 billion throughout the state, including $561 million in research spending at its Ithaca campus and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.

In fiscal 2007, according to the current economic impact update, Cornell generated $3.317 billion statewide, an increase of 8 percent over two years. Cornell again led universities in the state in research expenditures, totaling $659 million.

While the updated report does not reflect the severe economic downturn that began in late 2008 or the actions the university has taken to reduce expenditures in the current fiscal year, Cornell's budget is highly diversified and the university projects it will sustain revenues at or near their historical levels for the foreseeable future.

"As one of the state's leading entrepreneurial universities with a $2.8 billion budget, Cornell is a critical resource in this period of economic upheaval to help the state to financial recovery," Cornell President David J. Skorton said. "Even while we're making fiscal adjustments to deal with the current economic situation, Cornell is the economic engine that supports our community as we continue to be a leading economic engine for the state. The actions we are taking now will sustain the university's financial strength over the long term."

Cornell has instituted hiring and construction pauses through June 2009 and is experiencing staff layoffs in some areas. Endowment spending will be reduced by 15 percent for the coming fiscal year. The university is cutting its base budget by $60 million for fiscal year 2010, with an additional $50 million budget correction planned for 2011.

At the same time, the upcoming Class of 2013 will have an additional 100 students and there will be increased charges for tuition, room and board. Trustees also allocated $35 million from the endowment for student financial aid.

“While we must take time to evaluate our current financial position, Cornell continues to operate as a community of more than 30,000 students, faculty and staff, undertaking cutting-edge research and providing vital services to the people of the state of New York. It is an outstanding area employer," said Stephen T. Golding, executive vice president for finance and administration. "While some of the multimillion-dollar construction projects that have generated intense economic activity on the Ithaca and New York City campuses have been put on hold, the need for them has not gone away and many of them will continue when financial conditions improve."

For the economic impact study, faculty and researchers in Cornell's Department of City and Regional Planning used a social accounting matrix and IMPLAN software to measure the multiplier effects of Cornell's direct and indirect spending.

Highlights from the March 2009 Cornell economic impact report are:

-- Of the $3.317 billion in economic activity Cornell generated throughout the state in fiscal 2007, $1.654 billion was in Central New York, $1.319 billion was in New York City and $344 million was in other areas of the state.

-- Cornell is the primary economic engine in its home, Tompkins County, adding more than 16,000 jobs and $1.1 billion in wages to the local economy through direct and indirect spending.

-- Cornell directly and indirectly generated $61.2 million in tax revenues for New York state and $32.2 million for local government in Tompkins County. Weill Cornell Medical College generated $44.2 million in tax payments to the state and $10.9 million to New York City government.

-- Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) is critical to the fulfillment of Cornell's land-grant mission, contributing more than $92 million in programs throughout the state in fiscal 2007. Its total economic impact on the state that year was $158 million. CCE volunteers gave more than 1.14 million hours of service to important community efforts statewide.

-- Cornell is also a national leader in sustainability. The report cites its research in green technology and CCE programs for local foods and sustainable agriculture that has an impact throughout the state.

-- During fiscal 2007, 10 existing New York state businesses licensed 22 Cornell technologies, allowing them to stay competitive and grow.

-- More than 170,000 visitors to the Ithaca campus spent approximately $47 million locally and directly supported 778 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in the county.

-- The Ithaca campus purchased $533 million in goods and services in fiscal 2007. A quarter of that, or $128 million, was spent in Tompkins County, and an additional $55 million was spent in surrounding counties in Central New York. Weill Cornell made $202 million in purchases in New York City.

-- In fiscal 2007, Cornell spent a total of $291 million with primary construction contractors: $179 million on projects for the Ithaca campus and $112 million on New York City projects. The construction projects generated 726 FTE jobs in Tompkins County. Weill Cornell construction created 888 jobs in New York City and an additional 77 FTE jobs elsewhere in the state.
"Cornell's updated fiscal 2007 economic impact study reaffirms the many ways Cornell's faculty, staff and students contribute to the quality of life for the citizens of New York state," said Joanne DeStefano, Cornell vice president for finance and CFO. "The study is intended to fulfill President Skorton's prior commitment to regularly report back to the citizens of New York state on how the university is using the resources it is provided to advance the public good."

National Modeling Registy Created

2009-04-08T09:21:00.001-07:00

Find more photos like this on National Modeling Registry

Art Shows

2009-04-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

Classical Sculptures Slide Show.

Find more photos like this on World Wide Classical Sculptures.

Onward to the moon:

2008-10-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

Jeff Taylor, University of Hawaii astronomy professor and science communicator, will give a free, family-friendly, public lecture on "Lunar Settlements, Lunar Science," Sunday, Oct. 12, at Cornell University's Bailey Hall at 7:30 p.m. Bill Nye (Cornell Engineering '77) The Science Guy will host the evening.

Taylor's lecture is part of the 40th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences conference in Ithaca, Oct. 10-15.

Why do scientists and explorers want to return to the Moon and settle it? Taylor says that lunar settlements will pave the way for a broad human presence on other planetary bodies. In many ways, the Moon is the eighth continent, he explains.

Taylor is the winner of the 2008 Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science. He has communicated science through children's books, a novel and a series of educational videos. In 1996, he collaborated on a Web site called Planetary Science Research Discoveries - PSRD (http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/) - and in 12 years, he has written 73 articles for PSRD about discoveries on the Moon, planets, planetary satellites, asteroids, comets and astrobiology. The site now gets 80,000 hits a month and its subscriber list includes people from 44 countries.

Contact: Blaine FriedlanderPhone: (607) 254-8093Cell: (607) 351-2610 bpf2@cornell.edu

National Security Higher Education Advisory Board Concludes February Meeting

2008-03-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

National Security Higher Education Advisory Board Concludes February Meeting

The National Security Higher Education Advisory Board (NSHEAB), comprised of 20 university presidents and chancellors, met on February 5, 2008 at FBI Headquarters. The NSHEAB, which was created in 2005 by FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, meets regularly to discuss national security matters that intersect with higher education. Chaired by Graham Spanier, president of The Pennsylvania State University, the NSHEAB provides a forum for open, direct dialogue between the FBI, other government agencies, and higher education.

In a recently published editorial, Spanier cited a key concern for academia as "the denial of visas to scholars who wish to visit the U.S., especially when the denial is political rather than security-related." In order to address this concern, representatives from the Department of State briefed the members on the visa issuance process. Additionally, representatives from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement provided an update on the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System and anticipated expansion of government services to universities and international students.

The FBI's Cyber Division also briefed the NSHEAB on cyber intrusion trends. The FBI expressed the need for academia participation in discussions of risk management and the fundamental issues of privacy in the cyber age. During the meeting, members also discussed relationships between the United States and other nations, focusing on those with growing relevance to U.S. higher education.

The FBI is extremely pleased with the active engagement of the Board's members to include Cornell University's President David J. Skorton, who commented at the meeting's conclusion, "I am grateful to the leadership of the FBI and other agencies for their willingness to engage in a meaningful and candid way with research university leaders. Concerted dialogue about issues that affect the higher education community is essential to achieving a balance in areas of critical national concern."

The Board is scheduled to meet again in June 2008.

Three Prominent Scholars to join the Faculty of Africana Studies and Research Center

2008-01-27T14:31:00.000-08:00

The Africana Studies and Research Center (ASRC) at Cornell University conducted a very successful search for three senior faculty positions during the academic year 2006-2007. ASRC Director, Salah M. Hassan, is pleased to announce the appointment of three prominent senior scholars: Carole Boyce Davies Professor of African and African Diaspora Literature, Judith Byfield, Associate Professor of African History, and Grant Farred, Professor of African American Literature and Cultural Studies. These exciting appointments (with two more expected this academic year) are envisioned as part of a five-year plan and self-study by the faculty of ASRC, which include major revitalization of its undergraduate and graduate curricula as a step toward instituting a doctoral program in Africana studies at Cornell. The plan also include strengthening teaching of African languages, and building of study abroad and exchange programs in Ghana, Ethiopia and South Africa.

Dr. Carole Boyce Davies will join Cornell from the English and African-New World Studies at Florida International University (FIU). Recruited to build the African-New World Studies Program at FIU, she served as its director for three successful three-year appointments, which moved the program to international recognition. Boyce-Davies has degrees from the University of Maryland (BA, 1972); Howard University (M.A., 1974) and (University of Ibadan, Nigeria (Ph.D., 1978). She held distinguished professorships at a number of institutions, including the Herskovits Professor of African Studies and Professor of Comparative Literary Studies and African American Studies at Northwestern University. She is the author of Black Women, Writing and Identity: Migrations of the Subject (Routledge, 1994) and Left of Karl Marx. Claudia Jones, Black/Communist/Woman (Duke University Press, forthcoming, 2007). In addition to numerous scholarly articles, Boyce-Davies has also published the following critical anthologies: Ngambika: Studies of Women in African Literature (Africa World Press, 1986); Out of the Kumbla. Caribbean Women and Literature (Africa World Press, 1990); and a two-volume collection of critical and creative writing entitled Moving Beyond Boundaries (New York University Press, 1995): International Dimensions of Black Women's Writing (volume 1), and Black Women's Diasporas (volume 2). She is co-editor with Ali Mazrui and Isidore Okpewho of The African Diaspora: African Origins and New World Identities (Indiana University Press, 1999) and Decolonizing the Academy. African Diaspora Studies (Africa World Press, 2003). She is general editor of The Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora (Oxford: ABC-CLIO, forthcoming, 2007), a two-volume encyclopedia. Currently, Dr. Boyce Davies is writing a series of personal reflections called Caribbean Spaces. Between the Twilight Zone and the Underground Railroad, dealing with the issue of transnational Caribbean/American black identity, and is preparing an edition of the writings of Claudia Jones entitled Beyond Containment: Claudia Jones, Activism, Clarity and Vision. Dr. Boyce Davies will be joining Cornell in Fall 2008.

Grant Farred comes to Cornell from the Literature Program at Duke University, where he taught courses in African and African and African American literature and cultural studies. Farred earned his PhD. from Princeton University in 1997, and an MA from Columbia University in 1990 after a BA from University of the Western Cape, in Cape Town, South Africa in 1988. He also taught at Williams College and Michigan University. He has served as General Editor of the prestigious journal of critical cultural studies, South Atlantic Quarterly (SAQ) since 2002. He has published in a range of areas, including postcolonial theory, race, formation of intellectuals, sport's theory, and cultural studies and literary studies. His books include Midfielder's Moment: Coloured Literature and Culture in Contemporary South Africa (Westview Press, 1999), What's My Name? Black Vernacular Intellectuals (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2003), Phantom Calls: Race and the Globalization of the NBA (2006), and his most recent Long Distance Love: A Passion for Football, (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, forthcoming 2007). He is completing a fourth book manuscript entitled, Bodies in Motion, Bodies at Rest (forthcoming in from University of Minnesota Press 2008, dedicated to thinking the limitations of citizenship for raced subjects. Farred also edited a volume entitled Rethinking CLR James (London: Blackwell Publishers, 1996) a collection of essays on the Caribbean intellectual written by major scholars in the field of history, literary criticism and cultural studies. He also edited a special issue of SAQ (2004) entitled After the Thrill Is Gone: A Decade of Post-Apartheid South Africa, a serious appraisal of South African democracy, its failure and its successes, in the Post-Apartheid era. Farred joined the Africana Center this fall 2007, and is currently teaching two courses cross-listed with English: “Writing the African Diaspora,” and “African-American Cultural Theory.”

AFRICANA STUDIES & RESEARCH CENTER310 Triphammer Rd.Ithaca, NY 14850
Tel: (607) 255 4625Fax: (607) 255 0784email: mailto:spt1@cornell.edu

Entrepreneurship @ Cornell

2008-01-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

Since the study of entrepreneurship is not complete without true practical experience, Entrepreneurship@Cornell conducts an active summer internship program for students with an interest in small to mid-sized business management.

Students from any of the nine participating schools and colleges at Cornell are placed throughout the U.S. and abroad. These paid internships provide practical experience in the world of business for more than 40 students each year, and help prepare our next generation of Cornell business leaders, innovators, creators, and entrepreneurs.

Companies benefit from the enthusiasm of a student who will bring the latest in entrepreneurial thinking from their classroom and apply it to their assignment. They can be the answer to that short-term project that never gets attention, lab experiments that eat up staff time or a marketing campaign that needs a fresh perspective. So, be an inspiration and host a Cornell student this summer!

If you are a company in

terested in learning more about the program or applying to host an intern, click here.
If you are a student who is interested in finding out more about the program or applying for an internship, click here.

The third annual E@C Celebration:

2007-12-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

The third annual E@C Celebration.

April 10-11, 2008 in Ithaca, NY

The third annual E@C Celebration will be held here in Ithaca on April 10-11, 2008. Highlights will include: Keynote address from the 2008 Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year; a gala dinner hosted by President Skorton; a resource and technology expo; symposia on the topics of entrepreneurship in hospitality, real estate, health, agriculture, food and life sciences, venture capital and sustainability; and a Cornell Entrepreneur Network (CEN event).

For more information or to be added to our mailing list to receive an invitation and registration information, visit the Celebration '08 web site at http://eship.cornell.edu/events/celebration08/.

2007-12-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

New York, NY & Ithaca, NY, 23 October 2007-Millions of novice and accomplished bird watchers can make their fascination with nature add up for science and for the future during the 11th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, led by Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. During "Presidents' Day" weekend, February 15-18, 2008, anyone can count birds from wherever they are and enter their tallies online at http://www.birdcount.org/. These reports create an exciting real-time picture of where the birds are across the continent and contribute valuable information for science and conservation.

"These volunteers are counting not only for fun but for the future," said Tom Bancroft, Chief Science Officer for Audubon. "It's fun to see how many different kinds of birds can be seen and counted right in your backyard or neighborhood park. Each tally helps us learn more about how our North American birds are doing, and what that says about the health and the future of our environment."

"The GBBC is a great way to engage friends, family, and children in observing nature in their own backyard, where they will discover that the outdoors is full of color, behavior, flight, sounds, and mystery," said Janis Dickinson, Director of Citizen Science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
People of all ages and experience levels are invited to take part wherever they are-at home, in schoolyards, at local parks or wildlife refuges, even counting birds on a balcony. Observers count the highest number of each species they see during at least 15 minutes on one or more of the count days. Then they enter their tallies on the Great Backyard Bird Count web site http://www.birdcount.org/.

The web site provides helpful hints for identifying birds. Participants can compare results from their town or region with others, as checklists pour in from throughout the U.S. and Canada. They can also view bird photos taken by participants during the count and send in their own digital images for the online photo gallery and contest.

In 2007, Great Backyard Bird Count participants made history, breaking records for the number of birds reported, and the number of checklists. Participants sent in 81,203 checklists tallying 11,082,387 birds of 613 species.

"Literally, there has never been a more detailed snapshot of a continental bird-distribution profile in history," said John Fitzpatrick, Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Imagine scientists 250 years from now being able to compare these data with their own!"
Already, the count results show how the numbers of some birds species have changed in recent years, such as a decline in Northern Pintails and an increase in Hooded Mergansers, consistent with trends from the Christmas Bird Count and Breeding Bird Survey.

"People who take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count see the results of their efforts in the news and in bird conservation work taking place across the country, said Audubon Education VP, Judy Braus. "Whether the counts occur at home, at schools or nature centers, they're more than engaging and educational science activities for young people and adults, they're a way to contribute to the conservation of birds and habitat nationwide."

Lt. Daniel Britt, who served in Iraq 16 months, is glad to be back home in Zimmerman, MN, where he and his sons plan to join the GBBC. "We get a bunch of birds in our backyard," Britt said, "but my oldest son, Daniel, and I may cross country ski into the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge to count birds there."

For more information on how to participate, including identification tips, photos, bird sounds, maps, and information on over 500 bird species, visit http://www.birdcount.org/.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is sponsored in part by Wild Birds Unlimited.

Comments;

2007-12-06T15:03:00.000-08:00

Comments from last year's participants:

"I was thrilled to be part of something that would help shed light on the environment and the impact that humans have on this earth. It was a chance to use my hobby for a greater good." - Lauren, North Carolina

"My 4 1/2 year old grandson is very excited about it; he can already identify Northern Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, and woodpeckers in general. We're working on identifying Red-bellied and Downy woodpeckers. It's very rewarding for me, and it makes him very proud of himself." - John, Maryland

"I am eight years old and have loved birds since I was a baby. Birds are very beautiful and the backyard bird count is a lot of fun." - Breanna, Ohio

"I had great fun participating. It is a quiet and peaceful project. In today's busy and exhausting lifestyle, everyone should sit still and observe birds." - Helen, Massachusetts

"I always feel honored that we citizens can contribute to science with our home observations." - Linda, Alaska

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a nonprofit membership institution interpreting and conserving the earth's biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds.

Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in conservation. http://www.audubon.org/

The World's Smallest Trophy to be Awarded in NanoBowl Video Contest

2007-10-21T17:45:00.000-07:00

A nano cancer that attacks cancer cells:

The American Physical Society is offering the smallest trophy ever made, and $1000 of (normal sized) cash, to the winner of the Physics Central Nano Bowl Video Contest.

To enter the NanoBowl video contest, make a video that demonstrates some aspect of physics in football. Upload the video to YouTube with the tag “nanobowl.” The deadline is January 15th.

Representatives of the APS will choose a winner, and award the trophy and prize money on Super Bowl Sunday, February 3, 2008.

The possibilities are endless. You could talk about air pressure inside the ball, the rotation of a spiral, the impact of a tackle, acceleration in a breakaway touchdown run, or anything else you can imagine.

A nanoscale trophy will be created in silicon and metal, which will be visible only under super high magnification electron or scanning microscopes. At such minuscule dimensions, the width of the features will be about a thousand times thinner than a strand of human hair.

The trophy is being made right now by physicists of the Craighead research group at Cornell University in Ithaca , NY.

Video Contest Rules:

- We recommend that the videos be two minutes or shorter. But if you feel you really need some extra time, go for it.

- All videos must be received by January 15, 2008.- Submitted videos may be used by the American Physical Society in its activities, including posting videos on the Internet.

- Please submit your video via YouTube.com

- Tag your YouTube video with the term ‘nanbowl’ and send an email to physicscentral@aps.org with 'nanobowl' in the subject line to alert us to your video's existence.

About Physics Central

PhysicsCentral.com communicates the excitement and importance of physics to everyone. hey invite you to visit their site every week to find out how physics is part of your world.

About APSThe American Physical Society is the world's leading professional body of physicists, representing over 46,000 physicists in academia and industry in the US and internationally. It has offices in College Park, MD, Ridge, NY, and Washington, DC.

American Physical SocietyJames mailto:Riordon301-209-3238riordon@aps.org http://www.aps.org/

New York City Housing Bubble - 'The BIG Picture': Danger Will Robinson: Apply Goop To Breach In Spaceship Housing Debt#links

2007 Solar Decathlon

2007-08-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

Energy Department Announces 2007 Solar Decathlon Teams Each of the 20 Schools to Receive $100,000 in Funding

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Energy today announced that 20 teams have been selected to compete in the 2007 Solar Decathlon. The 20 teams selected for the competition will be awarded $100,000 over two years to support the Solar Decathlon’s research goal of reducing the cost of solar-powered homes and advancing solar technology.

“The next generation of leaders will have an opportunity to shine as they compete in the 2007 Solar Decathlon,” said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. “Supplying enough clean, affordable energy to fuel the world’s growing economies is one of the great challenges we will face over the coming years. By helping expand the use of solar energy technologies, the participants will help meet that challenge.”

The following teams have been selected to compete through a proposal system:

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MI
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY
*Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
Team Montreal (École de Technologie Supérieure, Université de
Montréal, McGill University), Montreal, CANADA
Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, GERMANY
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras and Mayagüez, PR
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, SPAIN
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (Winner 2005)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, MO
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

*Santa Clara University added as a participant; California Polytechnic State University withdrew from the competition.

The Solar Decathlon is an international competition that brings student teams from universities across the United States, Europe and Canada to compete in designing, building and operating highly energy-efficient, completely solar-powered houses. The teams will assemble their homes on the Mall and will be open to the public. Contest rules require that each house generate enough energy from the sun to operate a household, a home-based business and related transportation needs.

Teams are judged in ten different categories, seven of which focus on energy efficiency; others include design and comfort of the house. The team with the most points – the most energy-efficient and innovatively designed house – wins.

The Solar Decathlon takes place every other year; the 2005 winner was the University of Colorado.

For more information please visit http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar_decathlon/.
Santa Clara University added as a participant; California Polytechnic State University withdrew from the competition
Media contact(s):Tom Welch, 202/586-5806

The Birdhouse Network

2007-08-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

The Birdhouse Network: A Decade of Dedication
Citizen scientists keep tabs on the lives of nesting birds

Ithaca, NY—For 10 years, a network of dedicated birders has made it their mission to help birds by providing nest boxes where birds can raise their families—and by recording information for scientists. Together, they’ve kept a decade of meticulous records about when the birds build their nests, how many eggs they lay, and when the gawky fledglings take their first flights. Combined, they have sent nearly 70,000 nest records to The Birdhouse Network, a citizen-science project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. These efforts have helped expand scientific knowledge about bluebirds, Tree Swallows, House Wrens, and other cavity-nesting birds for whom the motto may be rephrased, “Hole Sweet Home.”

Getting Oriented: Using records from participants, scientists have examined factors that affect the success of nesting birds across time and space. They have found, for example, that in northern latitudes, nest boxes facing east or northeast produce more fledglings. The hypothesis is that cavity entrances facing toward the sunrise remain warmer on cold spring mornings, increasing survival rates. In contrast, the orientation of the nest box has no effect in southern latitudes.

Some Don’t Like it Hot: A significantly higher number of eggs fail to hatch in the South than in the North. Researchers are investigating whether prolonged warm temperatures cause some of the eggs to start developing before the female begins incubating, leading to abnormal development. Birds in warmer climates tend to produce more broods—perhaps to balance the loss. Scientists will be keeping close tabs on rates of hatching in the face of global climate change.
The Birdhouse Network also invites participants to help in a special study called Personality Profiles. Participants follow an experimental protocol and observe how birds react to harmless novel objects placed near nest boxes. Scientists use the information to learn more about birds, such as why some species fare better in cities or around people. They invite anyone interested in animal behavior to help by joining the study.

People of all ages and skill levels can be part of The Birdhouse Network. “Without the data sent in by participants, we would not be able to track large-scale trends in the reproductive cycles of these birds,” says project leader Tina Phillips. “Whether they monitor one box or 100, our participants are so dedicated to the birds, and the data they provide us year after year are incredibly powerful.”

To sign up or find out more about The Birdhouse Network, visit www.birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse, or call (800) 843-2473. The project fee is $15 ($12 for Lab members). Join in this spring to “keep your eye on the birdy” and help scientists develop a clearer picture of the intricate and fascinating

NASA'S Mars Rover Finds Evidence of Ancient Volcanic Explosion

2007-08-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

The lower coarse-grained unit shows granular textures toward the bottom of the image and massive textures. Also shown in this false-color view is a feature interpreted to be a "bomb sag," which is 4 centimeters across. Related Images

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has discovered evidence of an ancient volcanic explosion at "Home Plate," a plateau of layered bedrock approximately 2 meters (6 feet) high within the "Inner Basin" of Columbia Hills, at the rover's landing site in Gusev Crater.

This is the first explosive volcanic deposit identified with a high degree of confidence by Spirit or its twin, Opportunity. There is strong evidence that those layers are from a volcanic explosion, said Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Squyres is principal investigator for the rovers' science instruments.

The findings about volcanic activity are reported in a paper published in the May 4 issue of the journal Science. Evidence shows the area near Home Plate is dominated by basaltic rocks. "When basalt erupts, it often does so as very fluid lava, rather than erupting explosively," Squyres said. "One way for basaltic lava to cause an explosion is for it to come into contact with water it's the pressure from the steam that causes it to go boom."

Scientists suspect that the explosion that formed Home Plate may have been caused by an interaction of basaltic lava and water. "When you look at composition of the rocks in detail, there are hints that water may have been involved," Squyres said. One example is the high chlorine content of the rocks, which might indicate that basalt had come into contact with a brine. One of the strongest pieces of evidence for an explosive origin for Home Plate is a "bomb sag" preserved in layered rocks on the lower slopes of the plateau. Bomb sags form in volcanic explosions on Earth when rocks ejected skyward by the explosion fall into soft deposits, deforming them as they land. Spirit arrived at Home Plate in February 2006 and spent several months exploring it in detail before driving to "Low Ridge" to pass the Martian winter.

Spirit has now returned to Home Plate to continue exploration there. "We decided to go back to Home Plate, once the Martian winter ended, because it is one of the most interesting places that we've found on Gusev Crater," Squyres said. "Last year we primarily explored the northern and eastern sides of it. This time we're hoping to get to the southern and western sides." Spirit's continued exploration of Home Plate will focus largely on testing the idea that water was involved in its formation process.

Spirit and Opportunity are in their fourth year of exploring Mars. They successfully completed their three-month prime missions in April 2004, and the missions have been extended four times. As of April 26, Spirit had spent 1,177 sols, or Martian days, on the surface of Mars and had driven 7,095 meters (4.4 miles), and Opportunity had spent 1,157 sols and driven 10,509 meters (6.5 miles)."

Considering their age, both rovers are in good health. All science instruments are functioning and continuing to return superb science data," said John Callas, project manager of the Mars Exploration Rover mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif

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Guy Webster/Natalie Godwin 818-354-6278/0850Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CaliforniaDwayne Brown 202-358-1726NASA Headquarters, Washington D.C.

2007-07-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

Cornell University to host inaugural Career Fair, Aug. 8

Registration for participants is required by July 25

WHAT: Inaugural Career Fair at Cornell
WHEN: Wednesday, Aug. 8, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
WHERE: Robert Purcell Community Center on Cornell University's North Campus

NOTE: Reporters who are interested in attending the fair must contact Joe Schwartz in the Press Relations Office at (607) 254-6235.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Office of Human Resources Recruitment and Employment Center at Cornell University will host its first-ever Career Fair Wednesday, Aug. 8, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Robert Purcell Community Center on campus. Open to the public, this university-wide event provides an excellent opportunity for anyone - including current employees - interested in learning more about career opportunities at Cornell.

Special Career Fair features include: free admission; free Career Fair packets and materials; free employment "overview" sessions; free on-site "general employment" sessions; free transportation to and from the fair; and an opportunity to meet with Cornell employers to explore available career opportunities.

The event is wheelchair accessible and interpreters are available on a first-come, first served basis.

Registration for the fair and for the overview sessions is required by July 25. Late registrations will not be accepted, so be sure to register soon. Attendees should come with their resumes and wearing business-casual dress. For more details, call the Recruitment and Employment Center at Cornell at (607) 254-8370 or visit http://www.ohr.cornell.edu/jobs.
Contact: Deb BillupsPhone: (607) 254-8239dav5@cornell.edu

2007-07-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

New Cornell study suggests that mental processing is continuous, not like a computer.
By Susan S. Lang

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The theory that the mind works like a computer, in a series of distinct stages, was an important steppingstone in cognitive science, but it has outlived its usefulness, concludes a new Cornell University study. Instead, the mind should be thought of more as working the way biological organisms do: as a dynamic continuum, cascading through shades of grey.

In a new study published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (June 27-July 1), Michael Spivey, a psycholinguist and associate professor of psychology at Cornell, tracked the mouse movements of undergraduate students while working at a computer. The findings provide compelling evidence that language comprehension is a continuous process.
"For decades, the cognitive and neural sciences have treated mental processes as though they involved passing discrete packets of information in a strictly feed-forward fashion from one cognitive module to the next or in a string of individuated binary symbols -- like a digital computer," said Spivey. "More recently, however, a growing number of studies, such as ours, support dynamical-systems approaches to the mind. In this model, perception and cognition are mathematically described as a continuous trajectory through a high-dimensional mental space; the neural activation patterns flow back and forth to produce nonlinear, self-organized, emergent properties -- like a biological organism."

In his study, 42 students listened to instructions to click on pictures of different objects on a computer screen. When the students heard a word, such as "candle," and were presented with two pictures whose names did not sound alike, such as a candle and a jacket, the trajectories of their mouse movements were quite straight and directly to the candle. But when the students heard "candle" and were presented with two pictures with similar sounding names, such as candle and candy, they were slower to click on the correct object, and their mouse trajectories were much more curved. Spivey said that the listeners started processing what they heard even before the entire word was spoken.

"When there was ambiguity, the participants briefly didn't know which picture was correct and so for several dozen milliseconds, they were in multiple states at once. They didn't move all the way to one picture and then correct their movement if they realized they were wrong, but instead they traveled through an intermediate gray area," explained Spivey. "The degree of curvature of the trajectory shows how much the other object is competing for their interpretation; the curve shows continuous competition. They sort of partially heard the word both ways, and their resolution of the ambiguity was gradual rather than discrete; it's a dynamical system."

The computer metaphor describes cognition as being in a particular discrete state, for example, "on or off" or in values of either zero or one, and in a static state until moving on. If there was ambiguity, the model assumed that the mind jumps the gun to one state or the other, and if it realizes it is wrong, it then makes a correction.

"In thinking of cognition as working as a biological organism does, on the other hand, you do not have to be in one state or another like a computer, but can have values in between -- you can be partially in one state and another, and then eventually gravitate to a unique interpretation, as in finally recognizing a spoken word," Spivey said.

Whereas the older models of language processing theorized that neural systems process words in a series of discrete stages, the alternative model suggests that sensory input is processed continuously so that even partial linguistic input can start "the dynamic competition between simultaneously active representations."

Spivey's co-authors are Marc Grosjean of the University of Dortmund, Germany, and Günther Knoblich of Rutgers University.

A Cornell Fsih Story, and a good one too !

2007-03-03T14:01:00.000-08:00

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell researchers are fine-tuning a new technique they developed to rapidly detect a deadly fish virus that has increasingly appeared in the Great Lakes and neighboring waterways. Current tests take a month, while the new technique, which measures viral genetic material, takes only 24 hours to identify the virus.

The Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) virus has been isolated in a wide variety of dead fish from the St. Lawrence River, the Niagara River, Lake St. Claire, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and now Lake Huron. The virus detected in Lake Huron was only 22 miles from Lake Michigan. VHS is a rhabdovirus, a pathogen that has caused large fish kills in these areas and has been detected in muskellunge, New York's number two sport fish. Unreported in North America until 1988, the first case of VHS virus in New York state was detected from a massive fish kill of round gobies in the St. Lawrence River in May 2006.

New York Sea Grant has awarded Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine a two-year, $178,000 grant to develop the genetics-based test to spot the virus in both tissue and water samples. The grant will also be used to study optimal ways of handling specimens to be sent for testing.

"The virus is very unstable," said Paul Bowser, Cornell professor of aquatic animal medicine and one of the grant's lead investigators. "If fish are collected by a field biologist in a remote location, and they are not properly refrigerated, the virus will decompose by the time it reaches the lab."
The researchers will also investigate the virus' stability in fresh and turbid water to see how these conditions impact detection.

The grant will specifically focus on muskellunge fisheries in the St. Lawrence River, Chautauqua Lake and the Niagara River to determine the virus' prevalence in these populations and at different times of year.

Cornell received more than 1,300 fish samples between May and December last year, and researchers have tested all of them using the new technique. They are about two-thirds of the way through testing the same samples using the classic technique, which relies on cell cultures, to compare results.

The researchers hope to have the technique validated by the end of 2007 and the fieldwork completed by the end of 2008.

"Once this technique is accepted by national and international organizations, it will be adopted as the standard test," said Geoffrey Groocock, a postdoctoral associate at Cornell's Aquatic Animal Health Program. "Then, people can send samples to us or other programs to quickly and accurately diagnose the emergence of this disease."
There remains no way to vaccinate fish against this disease, and any measures to control its spread requires people to "apply procedures that existed prior to the discovery of vaccines, such as monitoring outbreaks and trying to isolate fish so they don't spread the disease," said Jim Casey, Cornell associate professor of veterinary microbiology and immunology and one of the grant's lead researchers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued an order to prevent movement of 37 fish species throughout the Great Lakes, with the exception of fish that have already been tested.
All cases of VHS virus must be reported to the World Organization of Animal Health. The international agency usually imposes restrictions on any host country with VHS virus to prevent fish from being moved to other areas and countries.

The New York State Sea Grant program is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the State University of New York and Cornell.
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Cornell's Economic Impact reports

2007-02-18T14:32:00.000-08:00

Cornell University issues its first economic self study
Impact of New York's top research university exceeds $3 billion

Contact: Simeon MossPhone: (607)255-2281Cell: (607)227-0739 sfm4@cornell.edu

FOR RELEASE: Feb. 8, 2007

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University, the land-grant institution for the State of New York, has released its first-ever economic impact study. The report provides an in-depth portrait of a robust educational and research institution, which, in carrying out its missions, accounts for $3.3 billion in economic activity in the state - including $1.8 billion in Central New York and $1.06 billion in New York City alone.
"This report constitutes a new and important data point in our effort to understand the additional effects of our institution's far-reaching educational and research activities on the life of our region and the well being of our communities," said Cornell President David Skorton. "It helps underscore the fact that Cornell's contributions to the state's economy are the product of decades of investment in the institution - both public and private, both intellectual and financial."
Commenting on the 114-page report, which details Cornell's statewide economic impact in terms of human capital, research, technology transfer, business development and extension, Cornell Provost Biddy Martin stated that, "Too few people appreciate the broader economic and social impact of the world's leading research universities. These effects are a byproduct of our core commitments to research - basic and applied - teaching and the extension of both into a larger public sphere. The only way to ensure a positive social and economic impact is to protect and foster the best possible research and teaching.
"While Cornell's economic data illustrate the impact the university has on New York State's economy," Martin added, "this report also shows that the university's greatest contributions are directly related to the quality and dedication of its faculty, staff, and students, whose many accomplishments and contributions we have attempted to highlight."
Cornell is one of New York's largest nongovernmental employers, the report confirms, accounting for more than 36,000 jobs in 2005. The university purchased nearly
$425 million in goods and services from suppliers in New York State, and capital investments totaled almost $200 million, with nine out of every 10 construction dollars being paid to in-state contractors. And with $561 million in research spending in 2004-2005, Cornell is the state's leading research university, and it ranks 11th nationwide.
Cornell's statewide impact on jobs, innovation, and economic development is significant. Working in partnership with hundreds of New York businesses, both large and small, its researchers contribute regularly to the vitality of industries throughout the state - from apple growers, food processors, and wineries to software developers, investment companies, and biotech firms. And Cornell ranks first among New York's research universities in patents issued, first in commercial license agreements executed, and second in formation of start-up companies.
"Cornell's first Economic Impact Statement offers a wonderful look into the university's teaching, research and service contributions to the citizens of New York State," said Cornell Executive Vice President for Business and Finance Stephen Golding, under whose direction the economic study was performed. "It illustrates Cornell's $3.3 billion statewide economic activity; the breadth of services it provides through its cooperative extension programs; and the numerous ways Cornell's faculty contribute to teaching New York residents, conducting cutting edge research and fostering the commercialization of their technology."
Cornell has been critical in helping New York State develop and maintain the educated and talented workforce the state needs to be competitive in a global economy. In fall of 2004, more than 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students were enrolled at Cornell, of whom more than 8,500 were from New York State. And of the 202,000 Cornell alumni whose addresses are known, 28 percent are living and working in New York State.
In carrying out its land grant mission, Cornell provides a wide array of services to New Yorkers, their businesses and their communities - through outreach programs offered by all of the university's colleges, and especially through services provided by Cornell Cooperative Extension and its 54 county offices. An estimated 535,000 families, professionals, individuals, school children, small businesses, farmers, and community agencies throughout the state were direct beneficiaries of these services in 2005.
Cornell's impact on the upstate region from its Ithaca campus is also described in the report. The university's manifold operations in Ithaca, Tompkins County, and the surrounding upstate region make it one of Central New York's largest employers. In the spring of 2005, Cornell's Ithaca-based colleges and programs employed a total of 13,000 regular full- and part-time employees and 8,000 students who worked part-time. The Cornell in Ithaca payroll that year totaled $636 million. And between 2000 and 2005, Cornell increased the size of its work force by more than 10 percent, making it one of the fastest-growing major employers in Central New York. The Cornell campus in Ithaca spent $276 million on goods and services in New York State in 2005, supporting 2,300 full-time equivalent jobs. Some $98.9 million of that was paid to businesses in Ithaca and elsewhere in Tompkins County, generating 800 full-time equivalent jobs.
Weill Cornell Medical College and Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences benefit the New York City region's health through world-class programs of education, research, and patient care. And through its spending on payroll, purchasing, and construction, Cornell also has a significant impact on New York City's economic health. Weill Cornell, regional offices of Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and other Cornell programs based in the city employed 5,184 people in 2005, with a total payroll of $415 million. Payments to New York City-based suppliers and contractors supported 1,780 jobs in the city.
"By creating this report, the university seeks to demonstrate its stewardship of the assets provided to the institution and how that stewardship manifests itself in educational opportunities, new discoveries, commercial applications, and services to individuals, businesses, and communities throughout the state," Golding said.
The report, titled "Cornell University Economic Impact on New York State," was developed by Appleseed Inc., a leading economic development consultant based in New York City, and by staff and faculty at Cornell. The full report can be accessed online at this site:

The Full Report Study Here.

Cornell University Welcome Sign of Realities

2007-01-27T11:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome Students and Scholars of Cornell University to Ithaca, New York.

The web site you are now examining are for those individual students, staff and faculty who desire an additional focus of campus life- mainly off - campus, in which to pursue a more realistic examination of your own social and cultural developments.

Campus life has a special protect " IVY ' of academic freedom in which even the most abstractural social, cultural and behavioral expressions are viewed as objective realities.

Nonetheless, once you go off campus and try to extend these expressions you will notice their irrelavancies and predelections of being some what absurb. Here, this site is an attempt to allow a transitional focus, which is supportive in terms of social - cultural - and at times - spirtual stage of development, in order for you as an individual successful life experience, and that it should, in the meantime of your education and its future impact of discovering a career, should be likewise pursued with youthful vigor.

Thus, and with deliberate and very mindful considerations, and indeed they all were intrinsically idealogical deep, this will have very little connections to the formal institutions of Cornell University iteslf. The primre factor, in which everyone should be aware, that in the legal circumstance, though some of the student sponsored events are estranged, the aupicies and agencies of Cornell University, very much like most repsonsiable institutions of higher education, have several internal and external self - impossed restrictions. Off campus activities are extremely garded within the legal circumstances of these restrictions.

Crux

Thus the nature of this site is to allow a larger opportunity window, in as much as when you are in to your Junior year, the social, cultural, and futuritive planning stages will need independent access and self-demonstrations of who you are, which can only be found off campus; though the strings to Cornell University, nonetheless, are important too

Cornell in Competition for Energy Grant

2007-01-24T12:44:00.000-08:00

January 10, 2006Energy Department Announces 2007 Solar Decathlon Teams Each of the 20 Schools to Receive $100,000 in Funding

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Energy today announced that 20 teams have been selected to compete in the 2007 Solar Decathlon. The 20 teams selected for the competition will be awarded $100,000 over two years to support the Solar Decathlon’s research goal of reducing the cost of solar-powered homes and advancing solar technology.

“The next generation of leaders will have an opportunity to shine as they compete in the 2007 Solar Decathlon,” said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. “Supplying enough clean, affordable energy to fuel the world’s growing economies is one of the great challenges we will face over the coming years. By helping expand the use of solar energy technologies, the participants will help meet that challenge.”

The following teams have been selected to compete through a proposal system:

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MI
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY
*Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
Team Montreal (École de Technologie Supérieure, Université de
Montréal, McGill University), Montreal, CANADA
Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, GERMANY
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras and Mayagüez, PR
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, SPAIN
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (Winner 2005)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, MO
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

*Santa Clara University added as a participant; California Polytechnic State University withdrew from the competition.

The Solar Decathlon is an international competition that brings student teams from universities across the United States, Europe and Canada to compete in designing, building and operating highly energy-efficient, completely solar-powered houses. The teams will assemble their homes on the Mall and will be open to the public. Contest rules require that each house generate enough energy from the sun to operate a household, a home-based business and related transportation needs.

Teams are judged in ten different categories, seven of which focus on energy efficiency; others include design and comfort of the house. The team with the most points – the most energy-efficient and innovatively designed house – wins.

The Solar Decathlon takes place every other year; the 2005 winner was the University of Colorado.

For more information please visit http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar_decathlon/.
Santa Clara University added as a participant; California Polytechnic State University withdrew from the competition
Media contact(s):Tom Welch, 202/586-5806

National Science Foundation Newest Grants - Alert - 1/2007

2007-01-14T13:49:00.000-08:00

This is an alert to inform both the students / scholars grads at both Cornell University and Ithaca College of what is most recent in world wide grants, such as the National Science Foundation - so they along with their faculty advisors can advise of future research proposals - who will likewsie take advantage of this information - of what and when to apply, and for future use.

January 9, 2007

Scientists will find improved ways of studying the structure, function and evolution of the genomes of economically important plants, thanks to $14 million in new awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Resources to be developed include genomic sequences, genetic markers, maps and expressed sequence collections. These are much-needed tools for researchers working in areas as diverse as genome evolution and plant breeding.

Awardees will address scientific questions including the role of polyploidy in genome evolution, the genomic basis of speciation, and the relationships between cultivated plants and their weedy relatives.

"If the Plant Genome Research Program has been making the bricks that build a conceptual framework for the genomes of economically important crop plants, these projects will provide the mortar," said James Collins, NSF assistant director for biological sciences. "The impact of genomics in evolutionary, ecological and population studies of crop plants will be far-reaching."
Many crop plants have large, complex genomes that in some cases are "polyploid" - containing multiple genomes. Polyploidy is widespread in plants and animals, and can lead to dramatic changes in gene content and genome organization that are only just beginning to be understood.
A project led by researchers at Iowa State University will develop sequence and map resources to study polyploidy in cotton, while researchers at the University of Missouri will look at the impact of polyploidy on plant form in Brassica species, which includes plants such as canola and Brussels sprouts. Other projects at the University of Georgia and the University of Arizona will develop sequence resources to study genome organization in wheat and rice.

The outcomes from these projects will allow researchers to understand how extra copies of genes function in these plants, and how genomes from different sources can work together in a single plant.

The ever-growing collection of genome sequences is shedding light on the variation between individuals within a species. For example, in a forest of trees or a field of corn, there may be many versions of a particular gene, each with minor sequence differences. These sequence differences can sometimes have dramatic effects on growth and development.

Projects based at the University of California at Davis and Cornell University will catalog variants in pine trees and in maize, respectively, to allow researchers to link genetic variation with changes in gene function. This information could have applications in plant breeding.
More than half of the world's most cultivated crops have relatives that are invasive weeds, competing with the crop for nutrients and water and leading to reduced yields.

One example is red rice, a weedy form of rice that reduces the yields of cultivated rice by as much as 80 percent and contaminating harvests with its small red-coated grains. A project led by researchers at Washington University St. Louis will examine the regions of the red rice genome associated with weediness to find out whether it originated from the domesticated crop or if it was introduced as a weed from Asia.

A related project led by investigators at Michigan State University will investigate differences in gene expression in weedy and cultivated radishes to uncover which genes are associated with invasiveness.The outcomes of these projects could lead to a great understanding of how plants become weedy and invasive, and yield possible avenues for better selective control of weeds, scientists believe.

"The outcomes of this new program will tie together studies of the evolution of gene structure, function and regulation across the whole plant kingdom," said Collins.

-NSF-
Media ContactsCheryl Dybas, NSF (703) 292-7734 cdybas@nsf.gov
Related WebsitesNSF Plant Genome Comparative Sequencing Program Awards: http://www.nsf.gov/bio/pubs/awards/pgcsp.htm

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $5.58 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 1,700 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 40,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes nearly 10,000 new funding awards. The NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

Receive official NSF news electronically through the e-mail delivery and notification system, MyNSF (formerly the Custom News Service). To subscribe, visit www.nsf.gov/mynsf/ and fill in the information under "new users".

Useful NSF Web Sites:NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov/NSF News: http://www.nsf.gov/news/For the News Media: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jspScience and Engineering Statistics: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/Awards Searches: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/

CU Library Global Access is " now " World Class

2006-12-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

Press Release:

Cornell University Library announces partnership with Microsoft that will allow global access to its world-class resources

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University Library will soon be able to offer more of its exceptional resources to scholars worldwide, thanks to a long-term partnership with Microsoft to digitize a significant number of its books and to put the volumes online using Live Book Search service.
The initiative will focus on works already in the public domain and allow students, researchers, and scholars to use Live Book Search to locate and read books from Cornell University Library's outstanding collections regardless of where they reside in the world. It supports both the library's long-standing commitment to make its collections broadly available and Cornell President David Skorton's goal to increase the impact of the university beyond campus boundaries.

Cornell and Microsoft will be teaming with Kirtas Technologies in Victor, N.Y. to digitize the materials for Live Book Search. Kirtas is a recognized pioneer of revolutionary solutions that enable high-quality, non-destructive bound document digitization at up to 2,400 pages per hour.
"We are happy to be working with Kirtas Technologies on this very important initiative for the university," said Skorton. "They are a very good choice for this endeavor because of the quality of their work and the opportunity to showcase New York State talent."

"This is a best-of-breed partnership," said Lotfi Belkhir, CEO and founder of Kirtas. "We're very proud to contribute our technology and know-how in digitization to this unique and world-changing initiative."

Cornell University Library is playing a key role in book selection and in setting quality standards for the digitized materials. This will ensure that scholarly materials that support Cornell"s academic programs are available in digital form on the Web over time. Some of the subject areas to be digitized include agriculture, American history, English literature, astronomy, food and wine, general engineering, the history of science, home economics, hospitality and travel, human sexuality, labor relations, Native American materials, ornithology, veterinary medicine, and women's studies.

"When surveyed about their needs, the Library's users rate access to full-text online as one of their highest priorities so this partnership will enable us to respond to student and faculty expectations," said Cornell University Librarian Sarah E. Thomas. "We are just beginning to experience the transformative effects of ready access to the cultural record of our civilization.Ý The years ahead will be exciting for us all."

"Our alliance with Cornell University underscores the importance and value of Live Book Search to provide free access to out-of-copyright content to everyone with access to the Internet," said Danielle Tiedt, general manager of the Live Search Selection Team at Microsoft Corp. "Participation by Cornell University in Live Book Search will help us to achieve our goal of transforming Web search into information search through the creation of the world's most trusted index of authoritative content. This will enable customers to have the best possible experience finding answers to their questions, accomplishing their tasks, and discovering new information."

Microsoft will give the Library high-quality digital images of all the materials, allowing the Library to provide worldwide access through its own digital library and to share the content with non-commercial academic initiatives and non-profit organizations.

About Cornell University LibraryOne of the leading academic research libraries in the United States, Cornell University Library is a highly valued partner in teaching, research, and learning at the university, offering cutting edge services and a full spectrum of library resources, from rare books and manuscripts to a rapidly expanding network of digital resources. Through such initiatives as the life sciences portal, the installation of a pioneering high-end mobile and flexible computer laboratory designed specifically for collaborative use, and innovative scholarly publishing support, the Library is an integral component of the many educational programs and research projects under way at Cornell. To learn more about Cornell University Library, visit www.library.cornell.edu.

About MSN and Windows LiveMSN attracts more than 465 million unique users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally in 42 markets and 21 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering compelling programmed content experiences to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide. Windows Live, a new set of personal Internet services and software, is designed to bring together in one place all the relationships, information and interests people care about most, with enhanced safety and security features across their PC, devices and the Web. MSN and Windows Live will be offered alongside each other as complementary services. Some Windows Live services entered an early beta phase on Nov. 1, 2005; these and future beta updates can be found at http://ideas.live.com/. Windows Live is available at http://www.live.com/. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com/. MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx.

About Kirtas TechnologiesKirtas Technologies was founded in 2001 with the vision of bringing to the digital realm the massive knowledge sitting on library shelves, government archives and corporate storerooms. Today, the company's revolutionary technology redefines digitization of all bound documents, delivering gentler handling and higher image quality faster, with fewer errors, and at a lower cost than any other solution in the marketplace. For more information, visit www.kirtastech.com.

The names of actual products, services and businesses mentioned herein may be the trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners.

Contact: Nicola PytellPhone: (607)254-6236Cell: (607)351-3548 nwp2@cornell.eduFOR RELEASE: Oct. 17, 2006-30-

Cornell in Rome

2006-12-27T12:26:00.000-08:00

Cornell in Rome is a study abroad program of Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning. It has hosted students in Italy since 1986. The program draws upon the historical and cultural resources of Rome, its museums, art and architecture, and the city’s beauty and complexity as an ancient as well as dynamic modern European city.

A semester in Rome provides a transformative experience for young, developing artists, architects, urbanists and scholars.Cornell University faculty are joined by internationally known scholars, critics, architects and artists in utilizing the city as a resource for instruction and inspiration. Courses are offered in architecture, art, urban studies, architecture history, art history, drawing, photography, architecture theory, contemporary Italian culture, European politics and Italian language.An extensive field trip program takes students and faculty to many regions of Italy beyond Rome for a total of about 20 days during the course of the semester.

The program is based at Palazzo Lazzaroni, a seventeenth century building in the historic center of Rome. It is equipped with architecture and art studios, classrooms, and library and computer facilities. Exceptional staff, fluent in Italian and English, ensure a smooth transition into Italian culture. Students live nearby in completely furnished apartments provided by the program, and enjoy daily contact with the urban life of a major, European city.

Late applications for spring 2007 will be considered through October 1, 2006. Late applications for fall 2007 will be considered through April 1, 2007.

Rome Academia WebPage .

Charles Isherwood wins the Nathan Award

2006-12-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

Charles Isherwood wins the Nathan Award

Drama critic Charles Isherwood wins the Nathan Award, administered by Cornell University

ITHACA, N.Y. -- New York Times drama critic Charles Isherwood has been named the winner of the Nathan Award for the theater year 2005-06. The award was endowed by the great theater critic George Jean Nathan (1882-1958), who wrote for and co-edited with H.L. Mencken the magazines Smart Set and The American Mercury. Because Nathan was an alumnus of Cornell University, the Cornell Department of English administers the prize. Nathan's will mandated that the winner be chosen "by a majority vote of the & heads of the English departments of Cornell, Princeton and Yale Universities."

Isherwood has been writing for the Times since 2004. A Stanford graduate, he began his career at L.A. Style but soon went to Variety and Daily Variety, where he was senior editor and Los Angeles theater critic, before moving to New York, where he was Variety's chief theater critic. He was also a contributing editor for the Advocate magazine from 1993-1998 and has written about Broadway for the London Times.

The Nathan committee was particularly impressed with Isherwood's willingness to voice strong opinions and take sometimes unpopular stands during the last theater season. For instance, he wrote of the Sydney Theater Company's production of Hedda Gabler with Cate Blanchette, which had been a popular success (and applauded by the Times' other drama reviewer), that the "audience & didn't seem to notice (or care) that a classic play was being publicly kneecapped." The committee also applauded Isherwood's range of knowledge and willingness to educate theater-goers, as when in a review of a performance of classic commedia dell'arte he noted a range of "comic archetypes whose influence cannot be overstated, stretching as they do from Shakespeare to Homer Simpson." And they admired his sense of New York theatrical trends, as in the summer review where he plaintively raised the "burning question," "Who's afraid of 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'"

The award consists of $10,000 and a statuette, which will be presented to Isherwood by Molly Hite, chair of the Cornell Department of English, in a February party at the Players' Club. More information about the Nathan Award, including a list of previous winners, can be found online at

http://www.arts.cornell.edu/english/nathan/.

For additional information Contact: Nicola PytellPhone: (607)254-6236Cell: (607)351-3548 nwp2@cornell.edu

Wildlife Conservation at Cornell University:

2006-12-17T12:34:00.000-08:00

Cornell and the Wildlife Conservation Society join forces in veterinary training

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine have expanded their collaborative relationship, creating a new training initiative that combines the academic rigor of a premiere Ivy League university with critical hands-on experience with a diversity of wild animals at the Bronx Zoo and other WCS facilities.
Cornell veterinary students in the initiative's two recently created residencies - wildlife medicine and wildlife pathology - will divide their three-year terms between Cornell, in Ithaca, N.Y., and WCS facilities in New York City, while gaining a truly comprehensive understanding of animal health issues and the skill sets to address the challenges of those disciplines at home and around the world.

The joint residencies are two of several collaborative programs in the new WCS-Cornell partnership, which also includes increasing animal disease surveillance around the world, boosting veterinary expertise in other nations, and developing a collaborative Global Center for Wildlife and Domestic Animal Health, to be located on the grounds of the Bronx Zoo. WCS and Cornell, with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development and the government of Zambia, also have launched a project to develop models for balancing socio-economic development with biodiversity conservation in southern Africa.

"This collaboration provides a unique combination of scientific rigor and higher quality of professional practice," said Dr. Donald F. Smith, the Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell.

Dr. Robert Cook, chief veterinarian and vice president of WCS Wildlife Health Sciences, added, "The WCS 'One World, One Health,' model will give the world's health organizations and agencies multi-disciplinary practitioners who can really make a difference not only to wildlife but to the future health of domestic animals and people."

Residents in the wildlife medicine program will begin their training at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine, where they will study internal medicine, surgery dermatology, epidemiology and other relevant topics. After completing the first part of the program, residents will continue their training at WCS's Wildlife Health Center, the primary care facility for some 20,000 animals in the Bronx Zoo, the New York Aquarium, and the Central Park, Prospect Park and Queens zoos. Medical challenges for residents may include experiences such as performing root canal surgery on a tiger, treating a shell wound on a sea turtle, vaccinating a rare bird species to protect it from West Nile Virus, or taking a radiograph of a red-tailed hawk's broken wing. Residents may also have opportunities to work with field veterinarians and biologists, applying what they have learned in the society s zoos and aquariums to wildlife health issues around the world.

In the pathology residency, students will spend two years studying comparative anatomy and the diseases of domestic and wild animals at Cornell, developing the ability to diagnose pathogens in a variety of species and settings. Residents will then hone their skills in disease identification during their third year at the Bronx Zoo and other WCS facilities. In addition to learning to apply course work on a wide range of species, pathologists in the program can help document poorly understood diseases through in-depth study and devise strategies to mitigate the threats of emerging infectious diseases, such as West Nile virus or avian influenza.
"The partnership between WCS and Cornell offers both organizations a means of maximizing our complementary expertise and giving veterinarians the most comprehensive training to date," said Cook. "As we increase our understanding of how health issues move across animal and human divides, we realize that collaborative programs such as these are critical in ensuring the health of wildlife, domestic animals and humankind."

Additional details Contact: Sabina LeePhone: (607)255-3024Cell: (607)227-3341

"Japan Now "

2006-12-15T05:32:00.000-08:00

Ithaca/NYC Conference Spotlights Contemporary Japanese Architecture

Robert Stuart Taira Nishizawa at the Ithaca conference
Robert Stuart Hiromi Hosoya and Toyo Ito confer before their presentations.
The celebrated Toyo Ito and other well-known Japanese architects came to Ithaca and New York City this fall for a double conference sponsored by the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University. “Japan Now: Country Positions in Architecture and Urbanism” addressed ways in which the newest generation of Japanese architects must address global issues and opportunities while finding answers to topics unique to each locality.

Ito, who received the 2006 Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects, delivered the keynote address at the conferences. He is best known for the influential Sendai Mediatheque, built in 2001 in Sendai, Japan; the building uses a unique structure to compose fluid spaces with hardly any walls.“Japan Now” is the second in a series of conferences and exhibitions curated by AAP, designed to reveal some of the most intriguing currents in contemporary architecture, landscape architecture, art, and urbanism in different parts of the globe.A related exhibition, held in AAP’s Hartell Gallery from October 29 to November 11, included work from each of the participants: Hiromi Hosoya (Hosoya Schaefer Architects), Momoyo Kaijima (Atelier Bow-Wow), Mitsuhiro Kanada (ARUP), Taira Nishizawa (Taira Nishizawa Architects), and Toyo Ito (Toyo Ito & Associates Architects). The exhibition was organized by Yasufumi Nakamori in cooperation with a group of Cornell architecture students.The New York City conference was produced in collaboration with the Japan Society.

"Japan Now" conference in Ithaca and New York City

2006-12-15T05:18:00.000-08:00

Cornell College of Architecture, Art and Planning hosts "Japan Now" conference in Ithaca and New York City

Contact:
Nicola PytellPhone: (607)254-6236Cell: (607)351-3548 nwp2@cornell.edu

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell College of Architecture, Art and Planning will host "Japan Now: Country Positions in Architecture and Urbanism," the second in a series of conferences and exhibitions designed to reveal some of the most intriguing currents in contemporary architecture, landscape architecture, art and urbanism in different parts of the globe.Ý The conference will be held from 4:30 to 8 p.m., Oct. 31 in Lewis Auditorium on the Ithaca campus, and again Nov. 1 at the Japan Society at 333 E. 47th St. in New York City. The events are open to the public and there will be a reception following the event in New York City, beginning at 8:00 p.m.

The program, presented in collaboration with the Japan Society, will examine the nuances, intricacies and innovations in contemporary Japanese architecture that are also influenced by local political, economic and social realities.Ý The newest generation of Japanese architects seeks to develop strategies to address global issues and opportunities while finding answers to topics unique to each locality.

Participants in the conference include Hiromi Hosoya (Hosoya Schaefer Architects), Momoyo Kaijima (Atelier Bow-Wow), Mitsuhiro Kanada (ARUP), Taira Nishizawa (Taira Nishizawa Architects) and Toyo Ito (Toyo Ito & Associates Architects). In Ithaca, Mohsen Mostafavi, dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, and Brett de Bary, director of the Society for the Humanities at Cornell, will serve as co-moderators for the conference. Sanford Kwinter, an architectural writer, theorist and educator whose scholarship and teaching encompass contemporary technological, cultural and intellectual issues in design, will moderate the New York City portion of the conference.

The event in Ithaca is free, but seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.
The agenda for both events is as follows:Session I4:30 p.m. - Momoyo Kaijima4:55 p.m. - Taira Nishizawa5:20 p.m. - Mitsuhiro Kanada5:45 p.m. - Hiromi HosoyaSession II6:30 p.m. - Keynote speech by Toyo Ito7:15 p.m. - Discussion/Q&A8:00 p.m. - Reception
For the New York City event, tickets cost $15 for both sessions ($12 for Japan Society members and Cornell alumni and faculty; $10 for seniors and students). Tickets are $10 for one session ($8 for Japan Society members and Cornell alumni and faculty; $5 for seniors and students). Tickets for the New York City event can be purchased at or by phone (212) 715-1258. The Japan Society is located at 333 E. 47th Street, between First and Second Avenues (accessible by the 4, 5, or 6 train at 42nd Street Grand Central Station or the E or V train at Lexington Avenue and 53rd St.)Ý

For more information, contact Beth Kunz at (607)255-7324 or egk7@cornell.edu

Cornell Medical Press Release: Oct. 2006

2006-12-15T05:10:00.000-08:00

Cornell University and its Weill Cornell Medical College launchthe largest capital campaign for New York's land grant university

Mayor Michael Bloomberg on hand for announcement A key priority: Enhance research connectivity between Ithaca and Manhattan

Contact:
Simeon MossCornell University Press RelationsPhone: (607)255-2281Cell: (607)227-0739 sfm4@cornell.edu

Contact:
Jonathan WeilWeill Cornell Medical College Public AffairsPhone: (212)821-0560jweil@med.cornell.edu

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- In the presence of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Peter C. Meinig, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cornell University, and Sanford I. Weill, chairman of the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University President David J. Skorton announced today that the university and its Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) are launching a $4 billion capital campaign - the largest for Cornell, New York's land grant university, and the second largest goal in the history of higher education - to advance education, discovery, public service, and to make transformative contributions in areas of critical social importance.
In announcing the university's largest campaign ever, Skorton summed up its purpose, stating, "Cornellians view the challenges we face in our communities - here in New York City, throughout the state or around the world - as opportunities to take bold and dramatic action. This is about responding to people's needs by pushing back the boundaries of education discovery and service, and fully realizing a role we have already begun to play: land grant institution to the world." Skorton added, "With today's announcement and over $1 billion ($1,030 million) in gifts and pledges already committed, we are well on our way to realizing this bright vision."

Commenting on the prospects of the new campaign, Peter C. Meinig, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cornell University said, "This campaign represents one of the most ambitious initiatives in the history of academia." Meinig added, "With the continued encouragement of our friends, the guidance of our campaign co-chairs, and the generosity of Cornell's remarkable alumni, we will continue to make Cornell an exemplary academic citizen in an interconnected world."
The comprehensive campaign will raise in excess of $4 billion to support under-graduate and graduate students, with a focus on increasing scholarship support and financial aid; recruiting the next generation of faculty, scientists, and scholars; and by renewing and building state-of-the-art facilities best suited for 21st century teaching, learning, and research, across the university's campuses.

"With leadership from Cornell and Weill Cornell, New York City will continue to emerge as a top center for biomedical research," stated New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "Soon, this Biomedical Research Building will house the minds that will unlock scientific breakthroughs that will transform the way that patients are treated, both here in New York and around the globe."
"The impact of this campaign on higher education and research will be felt across the State of New York and across the world" said Sanford I. Weill, chairman of the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medical College. "It is my belief that one day, the translational research conducted by doctors at Weill Cornell and Cornell scientists in Ithaca will help to eradicate some of the world's most daunting and debilitating health threats while improving the quality of life for all. Our goal is to speed research discoveries from the bench to the bedside, where they can improve the quality of care and the quality of life for patients here in the city, across the nation, and around the world. These efforts will further establish New York City as a center for leading-edge biomedical research."

With the campaign announcement, beginning at Weill Cornell Medical College, the launch spotlights the expanding collaboration between Cornell's Ithaca and New York City campuses, which encompasses areas such as biomedical engineering; cancer-related cell biology; nano-medicine; chemical biology and experimental therapeutics; and global health and infectious diseases - all in the service of improving health and saving lives. In fact, a shared pool of campaign funding will be earmarked specifically for these upstate/downstate, cross-disciplinary collaborations.

One example of an early collaborative success between the two campuses was on display today: the partnership to create a biodegradable artificial skin that promotes healing for burn victims. Dr. Suzanne Schwartz, assistant professor of research in surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, and Hua Song, a Ph.D. candidate in Cornell University's Fiber/Polymer Science Program, were on hand to help to demonstrate the results of the research in fibers used to create a synthetic dressing made from amino acids. Fireman Stephen Halliday, a former patient at the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Hearst Burn Center, was also available to offer testimony on how this research could benefit future burn victims.

"Ultimately, this campaign will enhance all the elements that have always distinguished Cornell: the quality of our faculty and students, a unique combination of basic and applied research and teaching, a culture of collaboration, and a beautiful and exciting campus," said Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin. "Buoyed by the optimism and imagination a successful campaign will inspire, Cornell will become an even more outstanding institution, enhancing the education we provide for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, and conducting world-class research at the cutting edge, but also at the heart of every field."

"One of the most important aspects of this campaign is the commitment to expand collaborative research across disciplines and across campuses to produce life-saving advances in science and medicine," said Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College and Provost of Medical Affairs of Cornell University. "By bridging the distance between Ithaca and Manhattan and bringing our best research minds together to develop solutions for the most daunting health issues of our time, I am confident we will unlock scientific and medical discoveries that can improve lives around the globe."

In a letter addressed to Cornell President David J. Skorton, Governor George Pataki voiced his encouragement for Cornell, stating that - led by outstanding institutions like Cornell University, the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College, Cornell's Ithaca campus colleges . . . New York has firmly established itself as a dynamic leader in the fields of bio-medicine and biotechnology. I have every confidence that the Empire State will remain in the forefront of the worldwide academic and scientific revolution that is taking place in these exciting fields for many years to come . . . As you know, I have been a strong supporter of our land grant university, Cornell, for many years, and for good reason . . ."

"We have work to do," said Skorton. "By securing Cornell's place as a world-class institution of higher education, discovery, and outreach, we will remain a vibrant member of the community at home in Tompkins County, in New York City, and throughout the state. In the long run, I am convinced that is the best way we can contribute to the viability of our communities."
Over all, the success of the collaborative $4 billion campaign will support advancements impacting all aspects of the Cornell community, providing for:

Support for Students: $640 million Undergraduate financial aid International scholarship funds Graduate fellowships Financial aid for students in the professional schools Funds to enhance the living-learning experience

Faculty and Program Support: $1,885 million Endowed faculty positions Endowed academic support positions Research and program enhancement

State of the Art Facilities: $1,175 million Weill Medical College Biomedical Research Building Life Sciences Technology Building West Campus Residential Initiative Physical Sciences Building Gates Hall (for Computing and Information Sciences) Helen Newman Hall Milstein Hall (for Architecture, Art and Planning) Johnson Art Museum expansion and renovation Plaza outside Bailey Hall Lynah Rink expansion

Unrestricted support: $300 million Cornell Annual Fund Program support
At Weill Cornell in New York City, the campaign will fund programs such as:
Construction of a new $650 million, 350,000 square foot Biomedical Research Building on East 69th Street. This new facility will double Weill Cornell's existing research space, accommodating more laboratories and scientists to accelerate biomedical discoveries. The building will be designed with laboratories in an open layout to foster communication and collaboration among scientists. The location, adjacent to Weill Cornell's new Ambulatory Care and Medical Education Building, will create synergies to foster translational research. This will be the first new research facility built on campus in two decades and will keep New York City at the forefront as a center for biomedical research.

New translational and clinical research programs will be focused on metabolic, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, reproduction and fertility, solid organ transplantation, and immunological and inflammatory diseases. The goal is to translate the benefits of research advances immediately to patients, supporting Weill Cornell's mission to provide the highest standards of patient care. Patients will reap the benefits of research through less invasive procedures, reduced morbidity, shorter hospital stays and speedier recovery times

Happy Holidays

2006-12-10T11:49:00.000-08:00

I wish you all happiness in the approaching Holidays.

Mr. Roger M. Christain

Science, Technologies, Public Policy and Ethics

2006-12-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

Mission:Science, Technologies, Public Policy and Ethics:

Abstract:Ithaca, New York:

After several seminars at the University of Buffalo a critical central issue public access to public policy considerations caused by advance sceince and their advancing technologies surfaced in which several similar issues gave clear indication for immediate communication, education, and ethical review. As a result of these discussions the following... Most important, from Night Life ( NightLife ), RMC Internet Network Editor, Mr. Roger M. Christian strictly reports both each central issue and its various segments which all have been cleaned of political rethoric and spin. There are several state and national legislative bills which are being considered in various committees nation wide, and thus the imperative and important emphasis on just providing the facts assume their priorities in the publication of this site.

Nuclear proliferation, the problematic security twists involved from the emering nanotechnologies, why we are getting warmer, stem cell research, and the expansion of the internet posses several new challenges to both stable and emerging democracies. Thus in Scince, Technologies, Public Policy and Ethics [ http://salsadanza.tripod.com/science ]an attempt is being made to show how each of these components interrelate; and where from new ethical consciuousnes is likewise needed-the new emrging avant garde of science.What is also clear, is that in the development of advance science, and the necessity to develop internal education systems of academia's newer challenges and academic programs to its pedagogy.

Thus in this one example: The know how of how to develop a nuclear weapon is only a mild stepping stone to fully reviewing, knowing, and teaching quantum physics, as well as developing national clean nuclear energy systems. Thus in the example of Iran, there is great anxieties, as they know result of developing nuclear weapons will bring them a step closer to being technologically self-dependent, as this know how is a crucial steps in developing realiable nuclear energy systems, and at low costs too! There are similar twist and technolgocial turns with repects to nanotechnologies, as well as advancing industrial development while not disturbing environmental balance world wide.

These bring to fore the responses various leagislator within the US, both state and national, about control, the threat of terrorist exploitation of new technological advances, and the often confusing political power posturing state / national sociocultural ethos-which at times avoids the necessary science and comprehension of the technologies involve by the legislator themselves.Thus the facts involve must be made clear, and this likewise means the removal of any political lense which may defuse the importance of essentail details in each technology under public policy review; this the cornerstone of responsiable editorial'ship.

Cornell University Site # 1

2006-11-28T05:12:00.000-08:00

Site # 1

Comments.

Leading the academic community of Ithaca, New York is Cornell University. Its impact upon this college town was not fully felt until the mid 1970s which saw a flight of several industries out of Tompkins county. A sort of time and sociocultural shift has been developing ever since. The best words comes to mind are:

A dream world.

Unrealities.

Idealistic community.

Super progressive.

New York State's # 1 community.

15 square miles surrounded by reality. This is possibly the most agreed keywords used by the witnessing inhabitants of this upscale community.

Also, it is a community in which tenured faculty have achieve a patrician community class status. This was probably deliberate, as ideas which are connected to Phds are hard to compete with when you do not have equal qualifications-or though it seems.

Thus you have start in which this small introduction gives the necessary perspective in which to understand to following posts.

Mr. Roger M. Christian