More than 4,300 new students are arriving at Cornell starting this Friday, Aug. 20, when campus residence halls open their doors at 8 a.m. This year Cornell expects to enroll roughly 3,100 freshmen, 564 new undergraduate transfer students and 610 new graduate and professional students.
The American Chemical Society has paid tribute to the scientific accomplishments of Jack H. Freed, professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, by dedicating the July 8 issue of The Journal of Physical Chemistry B to the internationally respected scientist. The issue is titled the "Jack H. Freed Festschrift." The German term (literally, "feast writing") is commonly used to celebrate a senior scholar's birthday with a special edition of original papers on topics relevant to the honoree's research. The volume celebrates Freed's 65th birthday and relates to his groundbreaking contributions to electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, a state-of-the-art technology for studying the molecular properties of fluids and of biological materials, including the structure and complex dynamics of membranes and proteins. (August 17, 2004)
On Saturday, Oct. 2, Cornell University will host an open house on campus for prospective freshman students at two of its state-supported colleges -- the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR). Students interested in learning about admission to those colleges are encouraged to attend. The open house provides high school juniors, seniors and their parents the opportunity to visit CALS and the ILR School. Visitors will receive an overview of the university and the academic programs in these colleges and meet admissions staff, faculty and current Cornell students. The program will include admissions and financial aid information. (August 16, 2004)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $1.8 million to Main Street Science, the education program of Cornell University's Nanobiotechnology Center (NBTC), the Sciencenter in Ithaca and Painted Universe, a design/fabrication firm in Lansing, N.Y., to explain a tiny world to young minds. The funding will enable the group to design and fabricate a 3,500-square-foot exhibition, "Too Small to See," that will take museum visitors on a journey through nanoscale science and engineering. Children and adults will be immersed in experiences, images and models representing the structures and processes of nano dimensions, no more than a millionth of a millimeter. (August 11, 2004)
Lee Dyer, professor in Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations and chair of its Department of Human Resource Studies, received a key award in his field -- the 2004 Michael R. Losey Human Resource Research Award from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The annual award, which includes a $50,000 prize to be used for human resource (HR) research, was presented June 29 in New Orleans during SHRM's annual meeting. In presenting the award, David Hutchins, SHRM board chair, called Dyer "an academic and HR superstar." (August 11, 2004)
Ten minutes into the blockbuster movie 'Spider-Man 2,' nerdy physics student Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire) - whose alter ego is the superhero Spider-Man - trips and spills his armful of books while racing to class at Columbia University. As he bends to pick them up amid an onslaught of passing book bags, the camera zooms in on the maroon cover of the book atop the stack: Introductory Quantum Mechanics, fourth edition by Richard L. Liboff of Cornell University. (August 11, 2004)
If brain size is proportional to body size in virtually all vertebrate animals, Cornell University biologists reasoned, shouldn't eye size and body size scale the same way? While they failed to find a one-size-fits-all rule for eyes, what they learned about the 300 vertebrates they studied helps to explain how animals evolved precisely the orbs they need for everyday life. The biologists reported their findings in the journal Vision Research (August 2004, "The allometry and scaling of the size of vertebrate eyes"). Howard C. Howland, Stacey Merola and Jennifer R. Basarab say they did find a logarithmic relationship between animals' body weight and eye size for all vertebrates, in general: Bigger animals do tend to have bigger eyes, on average. (August 6, 2004)
David B. Stern, a molecular biologist who studies photosynthesis and the molecular genetics of intracellular communication in plants, has been named president of the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research Inc.
Cornell University is announcing its ninth annual Pre-Orientation Service Trips (POST) program for new Cornell students. POST, a program of the Cornell Public Service Center, provides a group of first-year and transfer students with opportunities, before the start of the school year, to perform community service projects for a number of local agencies. Students also get a head start on making friends and become familiar with the Ithaca community, which will be their home during their time at Cornell. Beginning Sunday, Aug. 15, and ending the morning of Friday, Aug. 20, some 65 incoming Cornell students and 16 upper-level students who are team leaders will spend five days and nights serving the Ithaca community through public service projects.
Previous attempts in mice to correct a rare inherited immune disorder, called Hyper IgM X-linked immunodeficiency, have failed because standard gene therapy raised risks for cancer. Now Weill Cornell Medical College researchers believe they've found a way around that problem.
The 2004 Community Service Award was presented to The CBORD Group Inc. July 23 at the annual "Party by the Pond" held for tenants and friends of the Cornell Business and Technology Park in the village of Lansing. The annual award is sponsored by the Real Estate Department of Cornell University. It recognizes volunteer and community service efforts made by companies, and employees of companies, located at the Cornell Business and Technology Park. This year's award recognizes CBORD's strong commitment to community service through a variety of direct financial support and in-kind and volunteer support to a broad range of agencies and institutions in Tompkins County, including the Ithaca Montessori School, Family and Children's Services, the Sciencenter and the Hangar Theatre.
The eyes aboard the Mars rover Spirit are delivering ground truth. After more than six months of examining the photographic and spectral data from the rover, Mars mission scientists confirm that the albedo -- which is the percentage of sunlight reflected on the red planet's dusty surface -- indicates important variations in mineral and dust composition. (August 02, 2004)
