Sanford I. Weill, chairman and CEO of Citigroup, whose Wall Street triumphs are the stuff of legend, will give this year's Hatfield address at Cornell University Wednesday, April 2, at 4:30 p.m. in the Schwartz Auditorium of Rockefeller Hall. Weill, a member of the Cornell Class of 1955, will speak as the 2003 Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, the highest honor the university bestows on outstanding individuals from the corporate sector. His talk is free and open to the public. (March 25, 2003)
The 20th annual Cornell Society of Engineers (CSE) conference will be held on the Cornell University campus, April 3-5. The conference, also sponsored by Cornell's College of Engineering, has as its theme, "Breaking the Size Barrier: Engineering at the Smallest Dimensions." The conference will provide an overview of current research and applications of nanoscience, or engineering at the molecular level. The public is invited to attend all sessions at no charge, but advance registration is required. (March 25, 2003)
We could all use a little comic relief, and who better than John Cleese and company to provide it? And what better date than April Fools' Day? Cleese returns to Cornell University in his role as an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large to celebrate the life and works of W.C. Fields -- the clown prince of 20th century American comedy who Cleese says has been neglected and forgotten. Cleese's accomplice for this, his fourth visit as an A.D. White professor, is James Curtis, author of a new biography of Fields, simply titled W.C. Fields: A Biography (Knopf, 2003). (March 25, 2003)
This one's for the kids. Bill Nye "The Science Guy" will visit Cornell University in his role as a Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 University Professor and give a free public show for children at the Ithaca Sciencenter, Tuesday, April 1. Cornell alumnus and television personality Nye will give a public talk, "Where There's Just a Little Air," Tuesday, April 1, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Sciencenter, 601 First St. in Ithaca. Intended for elementary- and middle-school audiences, Nye's talk will describe the work of the late Cornell astronomer and professor Carl Sagan, the atmosphere on Mars, and it will be accompanied by demonstrations from Nye's book, The Truth About Dinosaurs. (March 25, 2003)
NEW ORLEANS -- U.S. reliance on foreign oil production could be reduced by chemically mapping the subsurface streams of hydrocarbons, amounting to tens of billions of barrels, hidden well below the Gulf of Mexico, says a Cornell University geologist. These untapped oil and gas reserves can be found by matching hydrocarbon chemical signatures with geologic models for stratigraphic layers under the sea floor, says Lawrence M. Cathles, a professor of chemical geology at Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y. (March 21, 2003)
NEW ORLEANS -- In recent years chemists and materials scientists have enthusiastically searched for ways to make materials with nanoscale pores -- channels comparable in size to organic molecules -- that could be used, among other things, to separate proteins by size. Recently Cornell University researchers developed a method to "self-assemble" such structures by using organic polymers to guide the formation of ceramic structures. Now they have advanced another step by incorporating tiny magnetic particles of iron oxide into the walls of porous ceramic structures in a simple "one-pot" self-assembly. Such materials could be used to separate proteins tagged with magnetic materials, or in catalytic processes. (March 21, 2003)
NEW ORLEANS -- Finding an economical way to make a polyester commonly found in many types of bacteria into a plastic with uses ranging from packaging to biomedical devices is a long-held scientific goal. Such a polymer would be a "green" plastic, in that it would be biodegradable. Geoffrey Coates, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., has partially achieved this goal by discovering a highly efficient chemical route for the synthesis of the polymer, known as poly(beta-hydroxybutyrate) or PHB. The thermoplastic polyester is widely found in nature, particularly in some bacteria, where it is formed as intracellular deposits and used as a storage form of carbon and energy. And yet it shares many of the physical and mechanical properties of petroleum-based polypropylene, with the added benefit of being biodegradable. (March 21, 2003)
Michael P. Hoffmann, associate professor of entomology at Cornell University, has been appointed associate director for agriculture and food systems for Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE). Hoffmann will continue as director of the New York State Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, a position he has held since 1999. Announcing Hoffmann's appointment, Susan A. Henry, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), said Hoffmann, "has done an outstanding job directing the IPM program for the college and the state of New York, and I am delighted that he will be bringing his excellent leadership skills to Cornell Cooperative Extension." (March 21, 2003)
For the 37th year -- on Saturday, April 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- students, faculty and staff of the Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine will show off animals of all kinds.
If deer have fetal memories from the womb, the fawn born to Doe 106 later this spring will have quite a story to tell about events the morning of March 8, 2003.
The Southern Tier Law Enforcement Academy at Corning Community College graduated its 17th session of police recruits from the New York State Basic Course for Police Officers, March 10, and Cornell University Police recruits who attended earned several awards.
James Garbarino, professor of human development and co-director of the Family Life Development Center at Cornell University, offers advice to parents on how they can help their children cope with violent images of war and with increased fears of terrorism. Garbarino is an expert on child development and youth violence whose books include No Place to Be a Child: Growing Up in a War Zone (Lexington Books, 1991) and Parents Under Siege: Why You Are the Solution, Not the Problem, in Your Child's Life (The Free Press, 2001). (March 18, 2003)