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Boyce D. McDaniel, Cornell physicist who gave first atomic bomb final check before test at Trinity site in 1945, dies at 84

Boyce D. McDaniel, the Cornell University physicist and Manhattan Project scientist who gave the atomic bomb its final check before the first test at Trinity site in July 1945, died of a heart attack May 8 in Ithaca, N.Y. He was 84. McDaniel's faculty career at Cornell spanned 56 years. But his professional start was sudden and dramatic. In 1943, as a newly fledged Ph.D., McDaniel was hired, at $250 a month working 10- to 15-hour days at a secret facility in Los Alamos, N.M., to conduct nuclear physics research on a device nicknamed "the gadget." The device was the atomic bomb, and McDaniel had been hired as a protégé of Robert Bacher, one of several Cornell physicists assigned to the Manhattan Project. The young McDaniel would play a critical role on physicist Robert Wilson's cyclotron research team, which helped identify the amount of the isotope uranium-235 (U-235) needed to create the atomic fission to detonate the world's first nuclear weapon. (May 15, 2002)

Gary Stewart is named assistant director of community relations

Gary Stewart, opinion and senior editor at The Ithaca Journal, has been appointed assistant director of community relations at Cornell University, announced Director of Community Relations John Gutenberger, May 14. Stewart will assume his new position July 1. (May 15, 2002)

On your right is the Ag Quad, on your left is the bathroom: Cornell students turn hand-held computers into tour guides

Been on a tour lately? Maybe you had to wait until the next tour group was scheduled, and then found yourself being hustled from one stop to the next.

Lions and tigers and people, oh my! New text on managing humans and wildlife together is now available

Do humans help create risks of deer-car collisions, encounters with black bears and attacks from mountain lions? Following the record number of such hazardous interactions in recent years, wildlife managers, extension educators and community leaders across North America are struggling to meet the challenge of humans and wild animals living together in harmony. Now, for the first time, the many aspects of this relationship have been folded into a new textbook: Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management in North America, by Daniel J. Decker, Cornell professor of natural resources; Tommy L. Brown, leader of Cornell's Human Dimensions Research Unit in natural resources; and William F. Siemer, researcher in natural resources. (May 10, 2002)

New Cornell project looks at gender, sexuality and family law in U.S., Canada, Northern Ireland

What constitutes a family? How should children be raised and educated? Who is allowed to marry, and what are permissible grounds for divorce? A new Cornell Law School project grapples daily with thorny questions on gender, sexuality, family and the law.

First-prize business idea from Cornell competition may help reduce breast cancer deaths

An idea that may lead to more-accurate mammogram readings -- and fewer breast cancer deaths -- took first place, and an award of $10,000, in a Cornell University contest for the best business idea. Now in its second year, the annual Business Idea Competition is sponsored by the Big Red Venture Fund at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management. The contest is open to any team with a business idea and at least one member with a Cornell affiliation -- students, alumni, faculty or staff. The winners were announced at a special awards ceremony on campus Friday, April 26. (May 10, 2002)

Cornell launches largest scientific effort in university's history: $500 million Life Sciences Initiative for research, education

Cornell University has launched the largest single scientific effort in its history: the New Life Sciences Initiative, a campuswide program that will forever change the way life-science research is conducted and taught at the university. Involving investments of up to $500 million, the initiative will require the largest fund-raising campaign for a single project ever attempted by Cornell. Announcing the new initiative, Cornell President Hunter Rawlings said the effort will engage "the most broadly respected faculty in the country" in what he predicted will be "great research, great teaching and great outreach" in all aspects of the life sciences. Key to the huge program of discovery and education is the integration of life sciences with physical, engineering and computational sciences. (May 8, 2002)

Gas-price spikes could cause big losses for U.S. lodging industry

The recent rise in gasoline prices may end up causing significant losses in room sales for the U.S. lodging industry, according to a study conducted at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. The study, which was done at the Cornell Hotel School's Center for Hospitality Research, confirms that when gas prices rise, fewer people rent hotels rooms, particularly rooms at mid-market and economy hotels with suburban or highway-oriented locations. While a link between the cost of gas prices and hotel occupancy rates had long been suspected, the dramatic news is that gas price increases turn out to be far more harmful to the U.S. lodging industry than people had previously guessed. (May 8, 2002)

Oliver Sacks and mathematician Durrett named to American Academy

Cornell University mathematics professor Richard T. Durrett, an expert in probability, and Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and author, have been elected fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. They are among the 177 fellows and 30 foreign honorary members elected to join the class of 2002. The academy, founded in 1780, honors distinguished scientists, scholars and leaders in public affairs, business, administration and the arts. The two new fellows will be inducted during academy ceremonies to be held at the academy's headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., Oct. 5. (May 8, 2002)

New Cornell institute collaborates with MEDSTAT to study how worker health affects productivity and corporate profitability

How do the health and well-being of employees drive business productivity and profitability? How do depression, stress, musculoskeletal disorders, migraines, obesity and pain affect productivity, and what kinds of management practices can help? Are they cost effective? Does investing in people or technology reap larger productivity payoffs? These kinds of questions are the focus of a new research center, the Cornell University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies (IHPS), which has been established in collaboration with MEDSTAT, a health-information company headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich. (May 8, 2002)

Discovery of gene defect in Siberian huskies and Samoyeds offers dog 'model' for studying inherited human blindness, researchers report

Cornell University researchers say the discovery of the two different mutations for X-linked progressive retinal atrophy (XLPRA1 and XLPRA2) in dogs, as reported in the May 1, 2002, issue of Human Molecular Genetics (Vol. 11, No. 9).

Pew Charitable Trusts grants $2 million for White Hall renovation

The Pew Charitable Trusts have granted $2 million toward the renovation of White Hall on the Cornell University Arts Quad. Named after Andrew D. White, Cornell's first president, White Hall is a $12 million project now underway and slated for completion in the fall of 2002 and ready for occupancy in Spring 2003. It is the top capital funding priority for the College of Arts and Sciences and an important part of the university's initiative to enhance undergraduate education. (May 7, 2002)