Three symposia featuring distinguished speakers in the arts and sciences will take place concurrently Thursday, Oct. 16, at 10 a.m. on the Cornell University campus in honor of the inauguration of President Jeffrey S. Lehman. The public is invited to attend. o Richard Meier, one of the world's most influential architects, will speak on "The New Architecture of Optimism," in the Statler Hotel Auditorium. (October 07, 2003)
Cornell University President Jeffrey S. Lehman's Inauguration Day Oct. 16 in Ithaca will begin with a trip to the Tompkins County Public Library. The visit by Cornell's 11th president to the library in the heart of the city will highlight the historical and continuing connection between the university and the greater Ithaca community. Cornell University founder Ezra Cornell, in what was the first of his many philanthropic enterprises, incorporated Ithaca's first free public library in 1864. Originally called the Cornell Library, the spacious atheneum was located on the corner of Seneca and Tioga streets and opened its doors to the public Dec. 20, 1866. The library served as the site of the university's first Inauguration Day, for President Andrew Dickson White, in a ceremony that also marked the formal dedication of the university on Oct. 7, 1868. (October 7, 2003)
In honor of the inauguration of the 11th president of Cornell University, Jeffrey S. Lehman, Cornell University Library will feature three special exhibits on campus, together titled "Legacy of Leadership: Cornell's Eleven Presidents." The exhibits, on display in the university's Olin, Kroch and Uris libraries from Oct. 13 through the end of the fall semester, will highlight the achievements of each of Cornell's presidents, through historical letters, documents and photographs. The displays also will include short histories of each Cornell inauguration ceremony. (October 7, 2003)
Over the next 100 years, the eastern United States will see more winter precipitation because atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are increasing. But more precipitation does not necessarily mean more snow, according to Arthur T. DeGaetano, a Cornell climatologist who is one of several speakers at the symposium, Impacts of Climate Change on Horticulture, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence. This symposium will focus on implications of climate change and increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide for the important fruit, vegetable and ornamental horticulture industries, says David Wolfe, Cornell professor of horticulture and one of the symposium's organizers. The meeting will bring together climate scientists, horticultural researchers, extension educators, horticultural businesses, environmental and gardening groups, and representatives from public gardens. (October 03, 2003)
A $6.6 million contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will establish a new program at Cornell University's colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture and Life Sciences to study food- and waterborne diseases common to animals and humans. The new program is called the Zoonoses (pronounced "zoh-ah NO-sees") Research Unit. Scientists in the Cornell veterinary college's Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences department and the Cornell-based New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory will collaborate with researchers in several agriculture college sections, including the departments of Food Science and Biological and Environmental Engineering. (October 2, 2003)
ARECIBO, P.R. -- The smog-shrouded atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, has been parted by Earth-based radar to reveal the first evidence of liquid hydrocarbon lakes on its surface. The observations are reported by a Cornell University-led astronomy team working with the world's largest radio/radar telescope at the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Arecibo Observatory. The radar observations, reported in the journal Science on its Science Express Web site (Oct. 2, 2003), detected specular -- or mirrorlike -- glints from Titan with properties that are consistent with liquid hydrocarbon surfaces. Cornell astronomer Donald Campbell, who led the observation team, does not rule out that the reflections could be from very smooth solid surfaces. "The surface of Titan is one of the last unstudied parcels of real estate in the solar system, and we really know very little about it," he says. (October 1, 2003)
Drug policy reform advocate and former Princeton University professor Ethan Nadelmann will present a University Lecture titled "Building a Political Movement to End the War on Drugs," Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 4:30 p.m. in 165 McGraw Hall on the Cornell University campus. The talk is free and open to the public. Nadelmann, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance, based in New York City, is widely regarded as one of the outstanding proponents of drug policy reform, both in the United States and abroad. The Drug Policy Alliance works to broaden the public debate on drug policy and to promote realistic alternatives to the war on drugs. (September 30, 2003)
James C. Morgan, chairman of Applied Materials Inc., will give this academic year's Hatfield address Thursday, Oct. 2, at 4:30 p.m. in the Schwartz Auditorium of Rockefeller Hall. Morgan's company is the world's largest producer of semiconductor equipment -- the systems used to manufacture virtually every new microchip in the world. Morgan, who holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering (1960) and an MBA (1963) from Cornell, will deliver a talk titled "The Networked, High-Tech Economy: New Systems Require New Thinking." He will speak as the 24th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, the highest honor the university bestows on outstanding individuals from the corporate sector, and he will be introduced by Cornell President Jeffrey Lehman. The talk is free and open to the public. (September 30, 2003)
Jeffrey S. Lehman will be inaugurated as president of Cornell University in ceremonies on three Cornell campuses around the globe, Oct. 12-16. The events will feature remarks and lectures by the Sheikha of Qatar, national AIDS research leader Anthony Fauci, prize-winning architect Richard Meier and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. "Cornell Celebrates a New Beginning" is the theme of the inauguration, in which Lehman, 47, will challenge higher education to provide fresh leadership in areas that are critical to the well-being of all humanity. (September 30, 2003)