Cornell University student Scott J. Paavola, 19, a sophomore in the College of Engineering and member of the men's swim team, died Oct. 15 of a medical condition, according to the Ithaca Police Department. Paavola died unexpectedly at 525 Stewart Ave., the house of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, where he was a member. Cornell Police and the Ithaca Police Department conducted a joint investigation. The Ithaca Police Department issued a news release Oct. 16 stating, "A forensic postmortem examination conducted at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton has found ... Scott Paavola's cause of death to be a medical condition associated with an enlarged heart." (October 16, 2002)
Cornell University's collection of 220 mechanical teaching models from the 19th century, the largest such collection in the world, soon will be available on the Internet to students and teachers. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Cornell University Library a $725,088 grant to create a digital collection of the historical machines for the National Science Digital Library (NSDL). (October 16, 2002)
Counselors at Cornell University are offering special services to groups and individual students following the death of a sophomore student Tuesday, Oct. 15. Scott J. Paavola, 19, a student in the College of Engineering and a member of the men's swim team, died unexpectedly at 525 Stewart Ave., the house of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, where he was a member. Cornell Police and the Ithaca Police Department conducted a joint investigation. The Ithaca Police Department issued a news release Oct. 16 stating, "A forensic post mortem examination conducted at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton has found ... Scott Paavola's cause of death to be a medical condition associated with an enlarged heart." (October 16, 2002)
New York, NY (October 15, 2002) -- The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital today announced plans to establish the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health at the Hospital's NewYork Weill Cornell Medical Center site. Opening in early 2004, the Center -- providing all services under one roof -- will be specifically and comprehensively dedicated to gastrointestinal health, from detection and treatment to education, prevention, and research. The Center is named in honor of Jay Monahan, the late husband of NBC "TODAY" show co-anchor Katie Couric, who died of colon cancer at age 42 in 1998. Since then, Couric has actively worked to raise awareness about colon cancer and has committed -- along with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) -- to help the Hospital raise a substantial portion of the approximately $9 million needed to create the Center.Vision for Monahan Center
Gail Collins, the editorial page editor of The New York Times, will present the 2002 Daniel W. Kops Freedom of the Press Lecture at Cornell University Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 4:30 p.m. in the Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall. The lecture, titled "How Women Got Their Voice," is free and open to the public. Before being appointed to her current position with The New York Times, Collins was a columnist for the Times' op-ed page from 1999 to 2001 and a member of the Times editorial board. Before joining the Times in 1995, she had been a columnist at New York Newsday and at the New York Daily News. She also was a financial reporter for United Press International in New York. (October 15, 2002)
The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, a federal agency, today (Oct. 14) will present Ray Wu, professor of molecular biology and genetics at Cornell University, with a $50,000 Frank Annunzio Award in science and technology. The prize honors Wu's pioneering work in genetic engineering, especially in discovering the first method of sequencing DNA and in the production of new cereal crops. The awards ceremony will take place in Washington, D.C., following the capital's 90th annual celebration in honor of Christopher Columbus. Wu is one of four recipients of the 2002 Frank Annunzio Awards, which have been presented annually by the foundation since 1998. (October 14, 2002)
Benjamin R. Barber, author of the book Jihad vs. McWorld, will examine international terrorism in the second annual Polson Lecture, "Globalizing Markets? Globalizing Terror? Or Globalizing Democracy?" at Cornell University on Nov. 1. The lecture will be at 3 p.m. in the David L. Call Alumni Auditorium in Kennedy Hall. Barber will examine how terrorism affects the United States and how "democracy rather than terrorism may become the principal victim of the battle currently being waged." His lecture, which is free and open to the public, is presented by Cornell's Polson Institute for Global Development. (October 14, 2002)
Archaeologists from the Public Archaeology Facility of Binghamton University will present a slide-illustrated lecture Oct. 21 that describes recent excavations on land that was part of the Ezra Cornell estate, located on what is, today, the West Campus of Cornell University. The event is scheduled for 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Tompkins County Museum, 401 E. State St., Ithaca. Excavations uncovered a mid-to-late-19th century site consisting of artifacts associated with the Christopher Carney family, who lived at 111 University Ave. Carney was an Irish immigrant who worked as a laborer for Ezra Cornell and his family. (October 15, 2002)
Auckland, New Zealand and New York, NY (October 11, 2002) -- In a study published today in the journal "Science," scientists from the University of Auckland and Weill Cornell Medical College report on the effectiveness of a new gene therapy approach to Parkinson's disease, and the potential for this therapy to affect the overall progression of the disease itself. Based on this study and other data, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given its approval to begin testing this therapy in a small Phase I clinical trial. This will be the first time in the world that gene therapy will be used in patients with Parkinson's disease.The "Science" publication is authored by lead investigator, Dr. Matthew J. During, Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Auckland, first author Dr. Jia Luo, and co-investigator Dr. Michael G. Kaplitt, Director of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery and Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. During and Dr. Kaplitt are also co-principal investigators on the upcoming clinical trial of this therapy.
What makes some hotel companies more profitable than others? Do strategies for investing in employees actually improve a company's bottom line and, if so, which strategies do this best? Soon hoteliers will get answers to key questions like those and others affecting their profitability thanks to a new strategic alliance between the top hotel school in the United States and PKF Consulting, a firm that manages the most comprehensive proprietary database on the financial performance of U.S. hotels. The new alliance between the Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and PKF is the only one ever made between the consulting firm and a research university. (October 10, 2002)