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Maryland Moments, December, 2002 University Initiatives (University News, Awards, New Programs, Appointments)
James Yorke, distinguished university professor of physics and mathematics, shared this year's Japan Prize, bestowed for his contributions to the advancement of science by the Science and Technology Foundation of Japan. Yorke and Yale University's Benoit Mandelbrot won in the category of Science and Technology of Complexity for "discovering the universal concepts behind complex geometrical shapes and behind patterns of behavior in dynamic phenomena. Yorke, known for his work on "chaos theory,: planned to ask the Japan Prize foundation to give a third of his share of the ($412,000) cash prize to the university to seed further research. (In the rankings of chaos theory departments on the graduate level, U.S. News & World Report places Maryland at No. 1.)
The university asked its community of friends to aid in the upcoming state budget battles that could afflict significant losses on higher education in the state. Brodie Remington, vice president of university relations, said the university's objective was to encourage as many as possible alumni, parents and students to speak on behalf of all of higher education in person before their delegates and senators. Maryland's newspapers endorsed the university in editorials for its proactive stance.
President C.D. Mote Jr. addressed a Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development Award program, and warned about the future of the state's technology sector, "The state of Maryland needs to get in the game before the game is over." His speech came in conjunction with the annual Technology Showcase, a state-sponsored event at the Baltimore Convention Center.
The nation of China opened an office in near-by Hysttsville, in conjunction with the university, to develop scientific research and development in areas of the environment, biology and agriculture. Brian Darmody, assistant vice president for research and development, compared the China-Maryland partnership to the German Fraunhoffer Center for Software Engineering at Maryland. The university hopes the office will attract Chinese businesses to the area, including a planned research park on 72 acres of land in College Park and Riverdale Park.
State Transportation Secretary John Porcari was named vice president for administrative affairs, succeeding Chuck Sturtz, who served the university for 20 years. As transportation secretary, Porcari oversaw a department with 9,700 employees and a $2.2 billion budget. Under him, the department focused on building the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge across the Potomac River, planning a passenger rail plan for the Baltimore region and expanding Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
The Merrill College of Journalism launched a journalism center designed to help news organizations use innovative computer technologies to develop ways for people to engage in critical public policy issues. "J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism" provides seed money to news organizations that propose interactive news ideas, and team them with computer scientists to help build software and easy-to-navigate news experiences.
Civil rights leader Dorothy Irene Height told midyear graduates she knew they didn't 'need another assignment.' But the 90-year-old commencement speaker gave them one anyway--to fight racial discrimination as they leave their college days behind. University president C. D. Mote Jr.: "She has been a beacon for others attacking social problems of our time."
Teachers and students from the university tutored first- through third-graders at the Langley Park-McCormick Elementary school's four-day after-school program that the school's principal envisions as a "second academy." Located in the center of a largely immigrant neighborhood, the after-school program started in October to help children struggling with their homework. In a fall testing, 100 percent of the school's second graders read below grade level.
The light rail Purple Line, a proposed transportation project to be built inside the Beltway, was approved by county councils in Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The $1.4 Metrorail project is an above-ground, light rail line that would connect New Carrollton, Langley Park, Silver Spring and Bethesda with two new stops on the University of Maryland campus. Society & Culture
Drug and alcohol overdose deaths rose sharply in Maryland over the past several years, according to a study by UM's Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR). Between 1997 and 2001, the number of overdose deaths increased 16 percent. In 2001 alone, overdoses killed 559 people.
Margaret Pearson, professor of government and politics, completed a Fulbright research fellowship in Beijing, and the New York Times immediately relied on her to explain to its readers the status of China's entrance into the world Trade Organization after one year. She answered questions via a Q&A format.
Thomas Tuttle, director of the University of Maryland Center for Quality and Productivity, traveled to Hong Kong to advise on applications for aid from the city's Productivity Council. Due to the admission of China to the World Trade Organization, more trading companies entered the competition for funding.
The Center for American Politics and Citizenship conducted a survey of voters who used new computerized voting systems in Montgomery and Prince George's counties in the recent elections. Almost three percent of respondents reported mechanical problems and 17 percent needed help from election judges to cast their ballots. Paul Herrnson, director of the center: "For a rollout performance, it's not bad, but not good enough when the credibility of elections is on the line."
Business Week featured an American Academy of Arts & Sciences group of distinguished scholars who have attempted to determine the monetary value of an Iraqi war with its report, War with Iraq: Costs, Consequences and Alternatives. The panel: John Steinbruner, director of the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (Public Affairs); Carl Kaysen, professor of political economy, MIT; Steven Miller, director of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences; Martin Malin, director of the international security program at Harvard University; and William Nordhaus, economist at Yale University. December 13
Charles Butterworth, professor of government and politics, and the University of Chicago's McGuire Gibson were asked by the U.S. to catalogue information about historical and archaeological sites scattered across Iraqi territory and to pass the information along to the Pentagon. "They contacted us because they recognize our expertise in this field," said Butterworth, who qualified Iraq's treasures as being of "incalculable historical value."
Isabelle Gournay, associate professor in the School of Architecture, and Mary Corbin Sies, associate professor in the department of American studies, are writing a book Modern Movement in Maryland about modern American architecture. Their explorations included travel to Cumberland where they discovered an outstanding example of the work of architect Norman Mansell, St. Luke's Lutheran Church. (MOMoMa will cover architecture from 1930 to 1970 and is being funded by the Maryland Historic Trust.)
Karen Bradley, visiting associate professor of dance and certified movement analyst, got the attention of an audience at a Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership forum by declaring, "The (political) candidate that has the most shaping ability wins every time. Political party doesn't matter." Her theory merited wide media attention. Science & Technology
University researchers observed for the first time how some proteins, the chains of amino acids that control every function in living cells, come together in a stepwise manner. What they saw may totally change the way scientists look at proteins. As reported in the journal Science, the Maryland team saw a protein take shape, a process called folding, in a series of steps, not one sudden motion, as had long been assumed.
James Farquahr and Boswell Wing of the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center are two of the scientists contributing to a report in the journal Science that stated "Diamonds can be natural time capsules, preserving information about cycling of sulfur between Earth's crust, atmosphere and mantle some 3 billion years ago.
Russell Dickerson, chair of the department of meteorology, and Richard Kohn, associate professor of animal and avian sciences, were on a National Research Council committee that recommended a "new method for determining the amount of ammonia, nitrous oxide, methane, particulate matter and other pollutants emitted at livestock farms, and for determining how these emissions are dispersed in the atmosphere."
P.K. Kannan, Safeway Fellow and associate professor of marketing, and Ai-Mei Chang of the National Defense University issued a report that urged the federal government to use wireless technologies in a broad array of devices, but government must express a "willingness to embrace wireless technology."
The Terrapin Nesting Sanctuary at James Island State Park was dedicated with hoopla as the movement to preserve Maryland's most admired animal moved into high gear. (Some proceeds from the sale of Terrapin athletics merchandise are being donated to the Terrapin protection program, which is also seeking sanctuaries on privateland.) Marguerite Whilden, Department of Natural Resources official and ardent supporter of terrapins of all sorts, brought to the ceremonies 'Magic Mote,' a 4-year-old male diamonback terrapin named for the university president C.D. Mote Jr.
The university awarded a Mt. Airy greenhouse owner am $8,900 grant to raise fresh vegetables year-around--by planting in aluminum rain gutters. Tiers of gutters were constructed that allow for an ergonomically correct 'comfort zone' between a person's waist and chest, with different vegetables growing at different levels. More Maryland Moments in December
Clifford Kendall--university alumnus, founder of Computer Data Systems, Inc. and member of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents--accepted the nomination to be the new chairman of the Regents.
University benefactor Philip Merrill was sworn in by Vice President Dick Cheney as president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Merrill, the publisher of the Annapolis Capital and Washingtonian magazine has the Merrill School of Journalism is named for him.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) awarded its highest honor to 14 civil engineers who have made lifetime contributions to their profession and the global community. Among the recipients was James Clark, an alumnus for whom the Clark School of Engineering is named. The Terrapin Nesting Sanctuary at James Island State Park was dedicated with hoopla as the movement to preserve Maryland's most admired animal moved into high gear. (Some proceeds from the sale of Terrapin athletics merchandise are being donated to the Terrapin protection program, which is also seeking sanctuaries on privateland.) Marguerite Whilden, Department of Natural Resources official and ardent supporter of terrapins of all sorts, brought to the ceremonies 'Magic Mote,' a 4-year-old male diamonback terrapin named for the university president C.D. Mote Jr.
As the latest installment of The Lord of the Rings hits the movie multiplexes, the rush for tidbits on author J.R.R. Tolkien frequently leads to the door of English professor Verlyn Flieger. She wrote the renowned 1983 book, Splinterd Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World and A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien's Road to Faerie.
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 Information provided by the Office of University CommunicationsEmail University Communications at emailum@umd.edu |
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