The Lesbian, Bisexual and Gay Studies program at Cornell University will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a two-day conference Nov. 19 and 20. Titled "The Queer's English," the conference features a slate of Cornell graduate alumni working in the field of queer studies. The two-day event opens with remarks from Provost Biddy Martin on Friday, Nov. 19, at 4:45 p.m. in the Cornell English Department Lounge, Room 258 of Goldwin Smith Hall. Martin's comments will be followed by two talks and a reception. The conference reconvenes Saturday at 10 a.m. in the lounge and concludes with a roundtable discussion at 4 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. For a complete list of speakers and the title of their talks, see . (November 18, 2004)
Stephen J. Hadley, who received a bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University in 1969, has been appointed national security adviser by President George W. Bush.
Save a place at the table for Frosty the Snowman if you live in Boonville, N.Y., or Caribou, Maine, this Thanksgiving. Otherwise, most of the Northeast should be generally snow-free during the holiday, according to Keith Eggleston.
A group of chemicals in apples could protect the brain from the type of damage that triggers such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinsonism, according to two new studies from Cornell University food scientists. The studies show that the chemical quercetin, a so-called phytonutrient, appears to be largely responsible for protecting rat brain cells when assaulted by oxidative stress in laboratory tests. (November 17, 2004)
NEW YORK (November 16, 2004) -- Two new studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association, led by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center researchers, are clearing up the mystery of why some hypertensive patients continue to be at high risk for heart attack and stroke, even after drug therapy has reduced their blood pressure to safer levels.Findings from both echocardiogram and electrocardiogram (ECG) suggest that anti-hypertensive drugs that aggressively shrink enlarged heart muscle bring added benefits to patients, lowering their risk for dangerous cardiovascular events.
NEW YORK (November 16, 2004) -- Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College believe they've uncovered a molecular switch that naturally suppresses the body's immune response in situations where it's not needed.Drugs that mimic or oppose this mechanism might someday fight autoimmune disorders like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, or protect immune cells from enemies like HIV.
In a survey of life scientists at 66 academic institutions, conducted by the editors of the magazine The Scientist, Cornell University ranked fifth in the United States as one of the best academic places to work. In The Scientist's 2004 survey, The Best Places to Work in Academia, life scientists were surprisingly uniform in reporting that adequate laboratory and research facilities for themselves and their co-workers were among the most important factors. Also ranking high in importance to the scientists were working relationships with peers, adequate health-care coverage, adequate research funding, support for new faculty members, clearly defined requirements for tenure and the local standard of living. (November 17, 2004)
New York, NY (November 15, 2004) -- Recognized for his nearly 50 years of pioneering biomedical research in hematology and vascular biology, Weill Cornell Medical College physician-scientist Dr. Aaron J. Marcus has been selected by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to receive a 2004 NIH Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award. He has been continuously funded by NHLBI since 1956.The $2.8 million research grant will provide long-term support for the development of a new treatment for occlusive vascular diseases such as stroke, coronary artery disease, and peripheral vascular disease. Dr. Marcus is chief of Hematology-Oncology and director of the Thrombosis Research Lab at VANY Harbor Healthcare System. He is professor of medicine and professor of medicine in pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, and attending physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
In the lobby of Cornell University's Thurston Hall, floor-to-ceiling windows provide a sweeping view of the four-story crane bay of the George Winter Laboratory with its mysterious monolithic constructs of concrete and steel. This massive lab, one-third the size of a football field, has become the home for a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded $2.1 million project to establish the nation's premier center for large-scale earthquake simulation experiments. The completed lab will have its public debut on Nov. 15 with an NSF-sponsored live webcast of an experiment designed to study the deformation and rupturing of underground pipelines -- carrying, for example, water, natural gas, liquid fuel or telecommunications -- during an earthquake. The experiment will be described by the earthquake facility's director Harry Stewart, an associate professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). His co-investigator is Thomas O'Rourke, a CEE professor who first became interested in earthquake-pipeline research about 25 years ago while working as a research engineer digging the Metro tunnels in Washington, D.C. (November 15, 2004)
The Cornell University Board of Trustees has approved two new leadership endowments: the Austin O. Hooey Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, currently held by Donald F. Smith, and the William C. Hooey Director of the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, held by Paulette Clancy. The deanship and directorship endowments come from the estate of Austin Hooey (1922-2004), a retired Wall Street securities analyst who lived in Chatham, N.J. Her father, William C. Hooey, was a 1912 Cornell graduate in chemistry and a prominent figure in the metals business, also in New Jersey. (November 15, 2004)
NEW YORK CITY -- It's merriment, mingling and marching. It's a real Fifth Avenue parade -- even though it only lasts six blocks. As it has every other year for the past 30 years following the Cornell-Columbia football game, the Cornell Big Red Marching Band will lead "The Sy Katz '31 Parade," down Fifth Avenue from St. Patrick's Cathedral to the Cornell Club on 44th Street, on Saturday, Nov. 13, starting at 4:45 p.m. Alumni will follow, dancing and singing. Then the marching band will present a concert in front of the club. (November 12, 2004)
With the harvest coming in and Thanksgiving ahead, many are thinking about festivities and food-laden holidays. For those less fortunate, more than 100,000 pounds, or 50 tons, of fruits and vegetables are being donated by Cornell University to local food banks and food distribution centers. (November 11, 2004)
