November 22, 2009 9:33 PM
November 22, 2009 9:33 PM


	Online Media Toolkit Focused on Climate Change Dr. Mote Talks with Kojo About the New School Year Fall Semester Focuses on Peace UM's Economic Impact on the State


	In This Week's News -- November 14 to November 20 • Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities: New Shakespeare Archive Launched (Oxford University) • Incubator Would Bring 1,900 Jobs to Prince George's (Business Gazette) • Sapkota: Dangerous Bacteria Found in Cigarettes (Toronto Star)

Maryland Moments, March 2009

(Honors, Awards, New Programs)

The University

Mote Leads Delegation to Hill on Science Funding
University of Maryland President C.D. Mote, Jr. led a delegation of higher education, research and business leaders today on Capitol Hill to thank House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart Gordon for their longstanding support of science research funding, which culminated last month in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. "The allocations to research and science education in the stimulus package are answering the call that so many of us have been working for," Mote said. "Support for scientific research and education are critical to our economic recovery and our future as a nation." Speaking "on behalf of universities across the land," Mote went on to acknowledge the critical support of both leaders. "Speaker Pelosi's three highest priorities have been science, science and science," he said, adding that Congressman Gordon's advocacy of support for science research funding puts him "first in line at the front door to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."

Keep Me Maryland Campaign: College Students Plead for For Aid
Baltimore Sun: "The pleas for more financial aid have come pouring in to College Park and to other campuses, public and private. There's the family whose college savings have been 'depleted because we used them to pay bills during unemployment' and another whose income dropped by $50,000 in December. Suddenly, they can't live up to their obligations to pay the college tuition. Even as the need for aid has grown, the University of Maryland, College Park has less money to give because of a $1 million drop in the amount of income generated from one of its endowments. And so the university launched Keep Me Maryland, a fundraising campaign to ensure that current students as well as those just admitted will be able to attend next fall. It aims to raise at least $1 million to offset the endowment drop. But two or three times that might be needed to keep up with the need, according to Sarah Bauder, director of financial aid. The number of families asking for more financial aid has gone up by about 30 percent compared with the same time last year, she said. The university is asking alumnae to donate small or large gifts, said Brodie Remington, vice president for university relations. 'We don't anticipate that we will be able to meet the entire need, but we are absolutely committed to keep the university as accessible and affordable as possible,' Remington said. Other colleges are experiencing the same problem: an increase in need and a decline in financial aid dollars."

Keep Me Maryland Campaign: Tuition Trauma

Baltimore Sun: "Phone calls stream into the financial aid office at University of Maryland, College Park and the callers say much the same thing: A parent has lost a job or suffered a pay cut, and the family needs help paying for school. It's become such a frequent refrain that counselors this month underwent sensitivity training to ensure that they are as patient and caring the 100th time they hear a hard-luck story as they are the first time. 'When you see 90 appeals that look the same, you can get a bit desensitized,' says Dan Beaty, a financial aid counselor. Colleges in Maryland and elsewhere have seen big increases in aid applications for the current academic year. But as the recession lingers and unemployment climbs, schools brace for even greater demand for aid during the months ahead. ... At College Park, appeals for aid are up 30 percent over a year ago. Some are from higher-income families who never have filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid before and are learning to do so, says Sarah Bauder, director of financial aid. 'The face of the financial strain has taken on a new look,' Bauder says. 'It's hitting everybody.' During normal times, the College Park campus spends about $500,000 to help families that have fallen on hard times through a sudden illness, job loss or a parent's death. The college will spend about $1.5 million during the current academic year, and expects to double that for 2009-2010. To raise funds for such emergencies, the school recently launched the 'Keep Me Maryland' campaign to solicit money to keep students on the Maryland campus."

Maryland Becomes an Arboretum and Botanical Garden
The University of Maryland campus has been designated an arboretum and botanical garden by the American Public Gardens Association -- and is the first campus in Maryland to be recognized as a "Tree Campus USA" by the ArborDay Foundation. The designation is the latest step in Maryland's efforts to become one of the "greenest" institutions of higher education in the nation. It resulted from a fruitful, five-year collaboration between the Department of Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture and campus Facilities Management to create an inventory of all the trees on campus and a plan to manage and improve the landscape to showcase sustainable development. A new fundraising effort is already underway - designed to evolve the campus' green space into a laboratory for educational scientific study. A tree planting ceremony is being planned on campus from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, May 8 -- American Public Garden's Day -- to celebrate and honor UM alumni known for outstanding commitment and impact on public gardens and service to the University of Maryland."

Greener, Cheaper: UM Renovation to Save Nearly $30 Million in Energy Costs
The University of Maryland will replace failing equipment in nine campus buildings with eco-friendly technology that will save nearly $30 million in energy costs and eliminate over fifty thousand tons of carbon emissions over the next 15 years. The Maryland Board of Public Works today approved a $20 million contract to purchase and install efficient electrical, mechanical and plumbing equipment in some of the campus' oldest buildings. "These energy reductions will not only save money and, in effect, pay for the upfront costs, they'll reduce the University's carbon footprint by cutting greenhouse gas emissions - part of our long-term sustainability commitment," says Susan Corry, University of Maryland conservation manager. "This is green, smart technology that will cut energy costs in these buildings substantially, conserve water and replace old equipment that's reached the end of its useful life. This is the first time we've had the state financing available to do something on this scale." The Maryland Department of General Services in conjunction with the State Treasurer's Office has provided a financing mechanism for such projects called energy performance contracts. Johnson Controls, Inc., which is performing the work for the University, is one of five companies pre-approved by the State of Maryland to provide energy services.

UM, GMU Lead a Green Pack of Colleges (American's Greenest Campus Contest)
Huffington Post: "There's certainly been much talk about colleges going green in recent years. In today's world, schools know they need to be committed to environmental sustainability in order to attract the best students and fulfill their mission to improve the world. Now there is a way for ordinary students, faculty and alumni to support the efforts of their campus in their own lives. America's Greenest Campus is the new contest created to find our "greenest" campus community by tracking the personal carbon reductions of college students, faculty, staff and alumni, all through an innovative contest web site. Everyone who enters in the America's Greenest Campus contest will see that it is one of the most compelling and informative energy efficiency campaigns today. Participants use their ".edu" email address to sign up on AmericasGreenestCampus.com and then make specific commitments to reduce their energy use and carbon footprint. Many of these commitments are small, everyday actions that add up to a big impact. To date, contest participants have already saved 1,820 tons of CO2, equivalent to taking 350 cars off the road. (And the contest just launched!) ... I'll keep you updated on the contest -- which schools are winning, how many people across the nation have joined, and how much carbon, energy and other resources we're saving. Currently, George Mason University and University of Maryland, College Park have strong leads and are battling for first place. Think your school or alma mater can do better? Log on today, make your energy smart commitments, spread the word and help make your school become America's Greenest Campus."

UM Cleaning Up in National Recycling Competition (Recyclemania)
Gazette Newspapers: "University of Maryland may have lost in the national college basketball tournaments, but university officials are hoping to win an altogether different competition that will have a lasting effect on the campus and the planet -- recycling. UM participated in Recyclemania, a national 10-week recycling contest that measured the pounds of waste and recycled materials the campus collects. The competition began Jan. 18. Reyclemania began in 2001 when coordinators at Ohio University and Miami University in Ohio started a waste reduction movement. Taking advantage of the sporting rivalries between the two schools, the officials held a competition, which Miami University won. The program has grown to more than 510 institutions across the country. Along with the University of Maryland, Bowie State University, Howard Community College, Montgomery Community College, Johns Hopkins University and Morgan State University represented Maryland in the tournament. 'It has been a wonderful experience," said the program's sponsor at the school, Maria Lonsbury, a projects specialist in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. 'We have learned a lot about our waste reduction in our community from year to year and how we compete with other institutions.'"

Top 100 Edu Tweeters
Onlinedegreeworld.com: "Twitter is a growing tool for personal, business, and educational conversations. Not surprisingly, many schools, educators, and other educational entities have jumped on the bandwagon, and they have lots to share. Check out this list to find some of the best educational sources on Twitter today."

# @coloradodaily: You'll learn about the University of Colorado and Boulder at large from Colorado Daily.
# @UH_News: UH News is the official Twitter source for news about the University of Houston.
# @OpenUniversity: The Open University offers university education to everyone, and shares tips, news, and developments through this Twitter stream.
# @JohnsHopkins: Johns Hopkins shares news from the University, research, and beyond.
# @UofMaryland: Learn about research, university developments, and more from UofMaryland.
# @vtnews: Get campus updates, news, and information about Virginia Tech through @vtnews.
# @ESPP: ESPP reports on environmental science and policy research at Michigan State University.
# @HarvardU: Follow @HarvardU, and you'll learn the latest about Harvard University.
# @everest_college: Check out tweets from Everest College to find college updates, educational technology news, and more.
# @ClemsonTigers: Read instant news and updates from all of the top Clemson Tigers sites on this Twitter stream.

College Applications on Rise In Md.
WBAL-TV, Baltimore: "President Barack Obama has called on every American to have at least one year or more of college, and many appear to be heeding that call based on the number of new college applications. At Morgan State University, more than 7,600 students have sent applications to the northeast Baltimore school, even though only 1,500 will be accepted by the fall. ... College applications also broke records at the University of Maryland, College Park, where 28,000 students are trying to get in. The university only has space for 4,000 students. The numbers are also up at Towson University, where more than 15,000 students sent in applications for the 2,600 available spots. School officials said they're keeping a close watch on the trends behind the numbers at Towson and how they may reflect a sagging economy."

College Enrollment in Computer Science, Engineering on the Rise
USA Today: "Relief may be finally on the way for engineering-starved employers. For the first time since the dot-com bust, there is a jump in the number of undergraduate computer-science majors. New enrollment in North American computer science and engineering programs rose 8% during the 2007-08 school year from the year before, according to a report released Tuesday by the Computing Research Association, a trade group for about 200 university computing departments. It is the first increase since 2002. 'The perception that IT jobs are hard to come by is over, and the field is now considered an interesting place to be,' says Peter Harsha, director of government affairs for CRA, which also represents government research labs and research labs for tech companies such as Google, Microsoft and IBM. The allure of popular technologies such as Web 2.0, iPhone, Facebook and YouTube have drawn more teens into computer science and should boost enrollment figures next year, too, Harsha says. Adding to the surge: Many undergraduates who once considered business and finance majors are focusing instead on computing, says Jeff Hollingsworth, associate chair at the University of Maryland's computer-science department (Computer, Mathematical & Physical Sciences)."

School of Public Health: EPA to Monitor 62 Schools' Air
USA Today: UM's School of Public Health provided, in part, the scientific data used by USA Today, in its investigative series about poor air quality around many of the nation's schools. The newspaper announced that action by the EPA is being taken, spurred by the series.

Despite Glum Industry News, Journalism Students Are Still Eager
Business Gazette: "Even as journalists face a growingly uncertain future, colleges and universities continue to train the next generation to enter the industry, with the help of new curriculum and an open mind. 'I think there is a strong contingent of young people who will not be dissuaded from the idea of practicing journalism. They have a dream of working in newspapers and in TV and on magazines,' said Lee Thornton, interim dean for the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. Admissions for the college are slightly up, despite the industry's downturn, she said. 'When I talked in Journalism 100 before nearly 200 kids, we did a poll and asked how many were here for print and a smattering of hands went up, then another smattering for broadcast and almost no hands for online,' Thornton said. 'Then when we asked about magazines, a whole bunch of hands shot up.' To prepare students, the college constantly adapts its courses, ensuring graduates can work on multiple journalistic platforms, including podcasting, or syndicated Internet video or audio."

Klose, Merrill College: As Journalism Remakes Itself, Students Follow
Baltimore Sun: "The newsroom of The Diamondback, the student paper at the University of Maryland, College Park, retains the feel of an old-school city room. Framed front pages line the walls and bound volumes of yellowing issues collect dust on tables. Daily meetings are oriented toward producing the next morning's newspaper. The staff members know it might be the last newspaper they ever work for. As the industry sheds jobs by the thousands and papers close or go digital-only, there is a rethinking of journalism education. Still, a crush of students want to join in. Why? ... Journalism professors and experts who convened in Washington on Monday to discuss the 'future of journalism jobs' said that journalism will and must survive, even if newspapers don't. ... [S]tudents are rushing into the field by the thousands. Columbia graduates about 224 master's students each year, Northwestern about 320 and Maryland 59. Maryland also has 492 full-time undergraduates in journalism and Northwestern 674. ... Kevin Klose, who starts as dean of the Maryland journalism school next month, has seen how changes in audience habits affect news organizations. His grandfather was editor of the St. Louis Star-Times, an afternoon paper that no longer exists. Klose spent 25 years at The Washington Post and 10 years at National Public Radio. 'There's going to be great intellectual and creative experiments coming,' he predicted. 'And that makes the study and preparation of students of the next generation even more important than when everything was simple and straightforward."

'Grow It! Eat it!' Initiative -- Home & Garden Center: In Tight Times, More Are Choosing to Grow Their Own
Washington Post: "Since last summer, University of Maryland Cooperative Extension offices (Agriculture & Natural Resources) have been inundated with questions about starting backyard vegetable gardens. Because of the recession, gardening fruits and vegetables is making a comeback, especially for those no longer wanting to pay extra for organic food at high-end grocery stores. 'There's a real desire from people to eat locally, eat healthy and get their hands in the soil,' said Jon Traunfeld, coordinator of the university's master gardeners program. This week, the extension program is kicking off a 'Grow It! Eat it!' initiative, which aims to help Marylanders save money and eat healthier by growing vegetables, fruits, berries and herbs. Program coordinators said they hope 1 million gardeners will be producing their food in two years."

Scholarship Established to Support Active Servicemen, Veterans, Families
The University of Maryland has been awarded $100,000 by the Pat Tillman Foundation to establish Leadership Through Action Tillman Military Scholarships. The scholarships will cover study-related expenses, including tuition, fees, books, and room and board, for veteran and active servicemen and their dependents. Other needs, such as child care, are also covered by the scholarship. "Student veterans face issues beyond those of the average student. The University of Maryland has the unique capability to address their concerns and needs and to make a difference in their lives and those of their families through the Tillman Military Scholarships," said Linda Clement, vice president for student affairs. The university will begin offering the scholarship in the fall semester, but applications are currently available. ... Through its Leadership Through Action initiative, the Pat Tillman Foundation is dedicated to supporting educational opportunities for servicemen and their families and inspiring leadership in young people across the country. The foundation also sponsors programs at the University of Idaho, Mississippi State University and University of Arkansas.

New Round of Tedco Tech Transfer Funding Awards top $500,000
Baltimore Business Journal:"The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (Tedco) has awarded $513,000 to seven technology and biotech firms from the group's technology transfer fund. The fund is meant to encourage partnerships between Maryland businesses, universities and federal laboratories and bring new technologies to market. To date, 121 companies have received $7 million in funding from the transfer fund. The companies winning grants include ... SD Nanosciences Inc. in Beltsville, is working with the University of Maryland (MTech, Clark School, Chemical & Life Sciences), College Park to develop patent-pending nanomaterials, or materials made at scales less than a few billionths of an inch." From MTech: "SD Nanosciences Inc. is a spin-off of the University of Maryland with a proprietary Triad technology that has applications in vaccines, cancer diagnostics, and specialty research probes. Triad combines carbohydrates and protein on nanoparticles in a controlled and logical way. SD is developing its platform technology; the company s planned initial products include a vaccine platform, an optical fiber-based diagnostic test, and a biosensor for glycoprotein bioprocessing."

Smith School: Executive M.B.A. Programs Bulk Up Overseas
Wall Street Journal: "At the University of California-Berkeley's Haas School of Business, about one-third of the full-time M.B.A. class goes through the school's International Business Development program. In the program, small teams work on consulting projects throughout the world. 'It's gone from a nice thing to do on the sidelines, to the reason why students [say they] are coming to the school, says Sebastian Teunissen, the professor who heads the program. Students spend three weeks abroad as part of their projects. Other schools are experimenting with how to create more meaningful partnerships abroad. Organizers of the executive M.B.A. program at the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business in China (a partnership with the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing) are considering a more integrated curriculum that draws on content from both Chinese and American professors. Right now, most of the content is U.S.-centric, even the pieces taught in China. Anil Gupta, a strategy professor at the school and co-author of Getting China and India Right, says the courses in the program need to cover topics that the emerging population of Chinese managers can relate to. Mr. Gupta himself swapped a case study on Walt Disney Co. with one on a Chinese company in an executive-education course he recently taught in Shanghai."

Smith School: New M.B.A. Job Search Leads Right to the Government's Door
Wall Street Journal: "Help Wanted: Government jobs. Low pay, limited prestige, in an aching bureaucracy. But that was last year's ad -- before a string of failing businesses would require bailouts in the billions from Uncle Sam. The federal government is hiring, when hardly anyone else is. For job seekers coming out of undergraduate and M.B.A. programs, some with hefty student loans to repay, it offers a potentially secure paycheck, along with health-care benefits and pensions. 'We have an opportunity to go out and be a part of the government that's going to be making new regulations that corporations are going to function by,' said Jeanette Jordan, a 27-year-old University of Maryland M.B.A. student, who recently interviewed with the Federal Aviation Administration. By 'being a part of the government during change, I think you could just be a great valued asset to changing the direction of where corporations go.' Total employment in finance of all kinds dropped 3.6% in February from a year earlier, but overall federal employment, excluding the postal service, rose 4.3% over the same period, the latest government data show. Government hiring for business and finance-related positions is expected to continue to grow as spending from the economic-stimulus package and President Barack Obama's new budget kicks in. At the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, a government recruiting night last month drew 100 students. At a similar event last year, fewer than 10 showed up."

Students Push for Bill to Require Reporting of Early Slave Policies
Capital News Service: "Law students and civil rights activists endorsed a bill Tuesday that would require insurance companies to report pre-1865 slaveholder insurance policies in order to do business in Maryland. The legislation would require insurance companies to disclose the information, including the names of the slaves and slaveholders involved, to the state's insurance commissioner. The commissioner would then prepare a report for the public that would also be posted on a state web site. Gov. Martin O'Malley and members of the General Assembly would be provided with copies of the report. ... University of Maryland history professor Ira Berlin ... testified on behalf of the bill, saying it would help Maryland deal with its complex past. 'I think we're implicated in all kinds of ways both good and bad, and that's the way we are as people,' Berlin said. 'It's important that we know who we are,' he said."

UM First in National Competition: PSU Hosts Indian Dance Competition
The Daily Collegian, Penn State: "Nine schools from all over the country performed in the second annual Dandia on Fire National Garba/Raas Competition Saturday night -- an upbeat cultural extravaganza showcasing an Indian dance that fuses modern moves and traditional choreography. The competition, held in Eisenhower Auditorium, drew a crowd of both students and dance team supporters from the various universities. Before each dance, the audience -- full of hometown pride -- chanted spirit songs from the nine different schools. In addition to dancing, the performers wore vibrantly colored costumes with extreme bead and sequin patterns. ... The University of Maryland team won the competition, and UCLA took second place. The winners were chosen by six judges who have past experience with Indian dance. Before the competition, comedian Paul Varghese -- who's performed in different comedy festivals and on networks such as HBO and NBC -- performed a stand-up act focusing on Indian culture."

Maryland Crews Respond to Save Medevac, Fire Programs
Firehouse.com: "Fire, rescue and EMS personnel from across Maryland responded to the state capital Wednesday for a life-saving measure. They came to keep the state's world renowned EMS and Medevac system alive as well as save the fire and rescue training agency. Two controversial bills before the Maryland General Assembly -- one to create a new cabinet level agency to handle all Emergency Services and another to revamp the state's helicopter fleet -- have sent shockwaves from the shore to the mountains." The formation of a cabinet agency to handle emergencies concerns UM's Steve Edwards. "MFRI director Steve Edwards said it's imperative that his agency keep its ties with the University of Maryland as it has since the 1930s. 'There is no fire service group or state agency that supports these bills.' In the past four years, MFRI has conducted a number of firefighter safety studies funded by more than $3.2M in FIRE Act grants. Funds so vital for research projects may not be available if the agency comes under a new umbrella, he said. Keeping MFRI in the UM system also assures college credits for those who take their classes. Last year, 36,745 fire, rescue and EMS personnel were trained in the myriad of programs offered."

Thompson Collection Redefines Tradition
Washington Informer: "Seventy-two works by 67 artists from the African American art collection of Larry and Brenda Thompson are on display at the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland, College Park. The exhibition, entitled 'Tradition Redefined,' is curated by the Center's Curator-in-Residence, Dr. Adrienne L. Childs. Included in the exhibit are works by artists such as Henry O. Tanner, William T. Willams, Hale A. Woodruff, Charles E. Porter, Charles Sebree, Sam Gilliam, Evangeline J. Montgomery and Romare Bearden, spanning the time period from the 1890's to 2007. The Thompsons' collection demonstrates their ability to recognize not only the value of art done by well-known African American masters, but also works of African American artists who might not be so well known, or those who may be considered emerging."

University of Maryland Keeping Landline Phones, For Now
News Channel 8, N. Va: "The economic squeeze is taking a hold at the University of Maryland as students ditch landline phones for cell phones, but the university doesn't plan on getting rid of landline phones anytime soon. University of Maryland student Anthony Coburger says he never bothered to bring a landline phone with him when he moved into his dorm since he's mobile. 'I just use my cell phone whenever I need to call anyone.' Landline phones are becoming almost obsolete as more students choose to go wireless. ' don't own a landline phone, I don't ever use it, none of my friends do either,'said one student. Another student said, ' didn't even know we had landline phones, so I mean nobody really uses them here. We all have cell phones and that's the easiest way to contact us anyways.' "

SGA President Hopes to Put Terp Taxi on Fast Track
Gazette Newspapers: "University of Maryland, College Park officials are hopeful a new taxi service will help students get home safely after drinking. UM Student Government Association President Jonathan Sachs is in the process of finalizing Terp Taxi, a service in which students can show their student identification card, and their student account will get billed. The places where students have had the most issues of safety is at night walking alone around College Park back to where they live,' he said. 'Instead of walking they're in an automobile and get back safely.' Sachs said the UM Department of Transportation Services is currently choosing a company to operate the service and finalize contracts. He said he hopes the service is up and running by the end of his term in May. DOTS runs a service where students pay a five-dollar flat fee to get a ride home, provided they live on campus."

The 20 Most Valuable College Basketball Teams
Forbes Magazine: In an annual March Madness monetary tradition no one asked for, Forbes ranks college basketball by dollars . UM is No. 9, moving up eight spots since last year. North Carolina (No. 1) and Duke (No. 8) are the othe ACC teams in the Top Ten.

9. University of Maryland, Terrapins
Value: $16.7 million
Operating Income: $10.8 million
Head Coach: Gary Williams
Conference: ACC
Previous Value Rank: 17
Washington, D.C., Metro Population: 4,211,740

"Maryland athletics sparked a donating frenzy last year when it announced that basketball seating assignments at the Comcast Center would be reorganized based on ticket holders' contributions to the department, reaping $1.1 million above usual giving levels as a result.

UM Students Get Great Excuse for Tardiness
WRC-TV, Washington: "If there has been a rash of University of Maryland students showing up an extra four minutes late for class, they may not be at fault. The chapel bells, which many students use to gauge how late they are, have been ringing four minutes late this semester after being broken for most of the fall semester, the Diamondback reported. The company that repairs the computer system that controls the bell's chiming is short-staffed, and thus, repairs will be tardy, as well. Most students are wise to the problem, so they should have adjusted by now. School officials said they received more calls about the bells not sounding at all last semester than they have about the bells ringing late this semester."

People

Obama Team

Montgomery: Obama Says Automakers Not Moving 'Fast Enough'
Washington Post: "President Obama announced today that his administration will withhold additional federal aid to General Motors and Chrysler unless the ailing U.S. automakers submit acceptable restructuring plans, but he vowed that the American auto industry will not be allowed to 'simply vanish.' ... (GM CEO Rick) Wagoner's resignation ... reflects the skepticism of Obama and his auto task force toward GM's restructuring plan, which was submitted last month to meet the terms of the $13.4 billion federal loan it has already received. Chrysler got $4 billion at that time. A 'surgical' bankruptcy could be used to force the companies and their stakeholders to make concessions, administration officials said. Overall, the task force has concluded that saving the nation's automakers will require more from the companies, their workers and their creditors. The new requirements will be tougher than those in the first federal aid package offered by the Bush administration, officials said. In recognition of the damage that the declining U.S. auto industry is having on many of the nation's communities, the administration is creating a new initiative to revive them. Obama said today he is designating Edward Montgomery, a dean (Behavioral & Social Sciences) at the University of Maryland and a former deputy labor secretary, as 'director of recovery for auto communities and workers,' a new administration post. Exactly how much more money the government will lend to the automakers is unknown."

Ed Montgomery is the second dean to be tapped by Obama.
Public Affairs Dean Steve Fetter is currently on leave as Assistant Director in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Also on the Obama team:
Robert Groves is the nominee for Director of the Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce (Groves is a research professor, Joint Program in Survey Methodology, Behavioral & Social Sciences).
UM's Smart Growth and Education's John Frece is taking his expertise to the Obama Administration to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Smart Growth division
Vivek Kundra moved from chief technology officer of D.C. to being the first federal chief information officer, working in the White House. Kundra holds an undergraduate degree from UM in psychology and a master's of science in information technology.
John Berry, who earned a bachelor of arts in government and politics from the University of Maryland, summa cum laude, in 1980, was chosen to head the federal Office of Personnel Management.

Teacher Bound for Space

Baltimore Sun: Richard Arnold (Master's degree '92, MEES (Marine Estuarine Enviromental Sciences, Chemical & Life Sciences), becomes the fourth UM graduate to explore space as a NASA astronaut. (The space shuttle Discovery was launched on Sunday, March 15.)
"As a kid growing up in Bowie, Richard Arnold's heroes included Orioles' third baseman Brooks Robinson, undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau and the Apollo astronauts who landed on the moon. He realized quickly that he did not have the makings of a major league ball player. So he set his sights instead on science. And now, after teaching in middle and high schools for 15 years, Arnold, 45, is preparing to follow the astronauts into space. He and another former science teacher will be on board the shuttle Discovery Wednesday, ready for a scheduled 9:20 p.m. launch on a planned 14-day mission to the International Space Station."
From UM's MAC to Millennium, University Libraries (look under 'Astronauts'): "Judith Resnik, one of the astronauts who perished in the Challenger explosion, received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland in 1977; Paul Richards, a 1991 graduate of campus with a master's degree in mechanical engineering, spent March 8-21, 2001, in space on the STS-102 Discovery mission to the International Space Station. He presented University of Maryland President C. D. Mote, Jr., with a banner he took on his first mission into space at a ceremony during Maryland Day 2001. William (Willie) McCool, who died aboard the space shuttle Columbia, received his master's degree in computer science from the university in 1985. Richard 'Ricky' Arnold II (M.S., Marine Biology, UMCP, 1992) was selected as a member of the 2004 class of astronaut recruits."

Three University of Maryland Students Awarded Goldwater Scholarship
Three University of Maryland students have been awarded scholarships by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, which was established in 1986 to encourage students to pursue advanced study and careers in the sciences, engineering and mathematics. This year, Maryland is one of a handful of colleges nationwide with three or more award recipients. Maryland's three Goldwater scholars are: junior Sarah Peitzmeier, sophomore Zachary Russ and junior John Silberholz. Each scholar will receive a one or two-year scholarships that covers the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board -- up to a maximum of $7,500 per year. The scholarships are also a stepping-stone to future support for their research careers, according to the foundation.

Merrill Presidential Scholar Award: Student Remembers a Teacher Who Cared
Trenton Times: "A former student, now contemplating a career in mathematics or graduate study, has formally thanked the teacher who changed him from a whiner to a winner. Roughly 10 years ago, Gregory Ihrie was a student in Alyce Doehner's class at Upper Elementary School in Plainsboro, now Millstone River School. He was identified as gifted and talented, but his math teacher, Doehner, only saw messy papers and a refusal to explain how he derived his answers, essential to the study of higher math. She gave him failing grades or required him redo the assignments correctly, a struggle his parents remember to this day. 'They were on her side,' he said in a brief telephone interview. Doehner lost track of her student when his family moved to Maryland after his ninth-grade year. Now a senior in the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Maryland, he won a Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar Award and named Doehner as his mentor. 'That made me feel good,' she said. Doehner and Ihrie and his family got together in November at a gathering for mentors and Merrill scholars."

An Appreciation: Musician 'Allowed the Arts to Soar' by Helping to Build the University of Maryland's Arts Programs
Baltimore Sun: "Doris Patz, a musician and arts activist who assembled a statewide collection for the University of Maryland, College Park and endowed a scholarship there, died of respiratory failure March 8 at her Pikesville home. She was 96. 'She was the muse who allowed the arts to soar at the University of Maryland,' said William E. 'Brit' Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland. 'When she had an idea and made up her mind to do something, she was unstoppable. She was a remarkable person who worked out of the limelight to make a difference in a lot of lives.' Born Doris Engelman in Pittsburgh, Pa., she exhibited music ability as a child and played the viola and violin. In 1926 she attended the National High School Orchestra Camp in Interlochen, Mich., where band leader and composer John Philip Sousa conducted."

Newspaperman Led UM Journalism Dept.
Washington Post: "Reese Cleghorn, 78, a prominent journalist in Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., who became dean of the University of Maryland's journalism department and helped increase the national prominence of the school during his 19-year tenure, died March 16 at his home in Washington. He had heart disease. Mr. Cleghorn, one of the longest-sitting deans at UM, led the journalism department from 1981 to 2000. ... Mr. Cleghorn was the brainchild behind the school's successful student-operated wire service, Capital News Service, which launched in 1990 with bureaus in Washington and Annapolis. The news service stories appear in Maryland newspapers and on the McClatchy News Service, which has national distribution. He helped create the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism, which focuses on training and educating professional journalists. He recruited journalists including David Broder of the Washington Post and Gene Roberts of the New York Times as professors, persuaded the National Association of Black Journalists to relocate its headquarters to the school's College Park campus and became the publisher of the monthly magazine American Journalism Review, which the school had owned since the late 1980s." Cleghorn was also a giant among Southern journalists pushing for civil rights.

The Lessons of Camp David
Wall Street Journal: Jehan Sadat, a fellow at the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland, is the author of A Woman of Egypt (Simon and Schuster, 1987) and the new My Hope for Peace. She writes this op/ed for the Journal: " Finally, have faith. No one can take the political and personal risks required for peace in the Middle East without having a steadfast determination to enact God's will to love our enemy. For nearly 30 years, Egypt and Israel have lived side-by-side in a state of peace. The Palestinians and Israelis ought to live this way as well. The Palestinians deserve to live as free people in their own state, and the Israelis deserve to live safely and securely among millions of Arabs. My husband (Nobel Peace Prize Winner Anwar Sadat) made a difficult choice to make peace his political and personal priority. In response, I made the choice of supporting him entirely -- even though I knew I would lose him. We in the Middle East must make a choice to do all we must do for peace. Only then, future generations might slowly free themselves of the pitfalls of our history. Peace -- this word, this idea, this goal -- is the defining theme of my life.

St. Patrick's Chapel Gets Academic Treatment
Cecil Whig: Jack Scarbath, illustrious Terrapin who was runner-up for the Heisman Award as college football's best player in 1952, started the movement to refurbish an historic Catholic Church in Cecil County. UM answered his call. "More than a dozen post-graduate students from the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation spent the spring-like day measuring St. Patrick's Chapel. 'We're documenting all of the facade by doing measured drawings,' said Alice Dorman of Tacoma Park, Md. The students, armed with tape measures and a measuring rod, broke into groups and were each assigned a side of the old wooden church on Pilottown Road. Dr. Donald Linebaugh directed each group to its appointed side, noting that whoever got the rear exterior wall would thank him because it had no windows. Susan Generazio traveled to St. Patrick's from Springfield, Va., to join her classmates. Generazio's group got a side with three windows. As measurements were taken the numbers were shouted to her to be recorded on graph paper in her lap. 'The building will tell us things about its construction and what's happened to it,' she said. Linebaugh said the church -- built for Irish immigrants working on the canals along the Susquehanna Riv -- was last in regular use more than a century ago."

Smith School: For Job-Seeking MBAs, Alumni May Be the Answer
BusinessWeek: Sign of the times: job planning over wedding planning. "As for students, the writing is on the wall. Formerly casual networking events have become a little more tense -- with more industry-related introductions and swapping of business cards. At the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, Senior Alumni Affairs Director Tracey Pavlishin says she's seen more professional connections made at the school's alumni-student gatherings -- which include such things as happy hours, wine tastings, and golf outings -- even though that's rarely the core purpose of the events. ... ' 'You see a little bit of panic on everybody's faces,' said Mary Lousteau, a first-year MBA at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, who has been organizing events for students and alumni in the marketing sector. She has two potential leads on internships -- both through her work setting up alumni events. 'It's becoming more important as students realize the reality that some of those opportunities are filled up,' she says. Most students realize their networks will be more crucial this year than ever before and are preparing accordingly -- whether it be joining the business networking site LinkedIn, perfecting their golf technique, or methodically mapping out extended networks on Excel spreadsheets. Lousteau said the internship search sometimes takes precedent even over her wedding planning."

History Hits the Stage in Kennedy Center's Production
Huntington Herald Dispatch, W. Va.: "The road from the Mississippi Delta on up through Chicago normally doesn't run through Huntington, but it does on Monday. At 7 p.m. Monday at the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center, Marshall Artists Series welcomes 'Blues Journey,' a kid-friendly, multimedia musical that takes audiences through the history of the blues -- the American roots music form that's built the base and blended into every musical genre from bluegrass and jazz to hip hop, folk, funk and, of course, rock 'n' roll. ... The musical is part of the prestigious Kennedy Center for the Arts' 16th year of Theater for Young Audiences on Tour series for young people and their families. Based on a children's book by Walter Dean Myers with pictures by Christopher Myers and adapted for the stage by Jerome Hairston, the production features actors and live on-stage blues musicians. Starting the tour Jan. 10, 'Blues Journey' is making its way to 32 cities in 22 states through April 21. Director Scot Reese, who was talking by phone from Honolulu where the show was on Wednesday, said it doesn't matter where in America they travel, the blues strikes a chord with people of all ages and backgrounds. 'I was sitting there listening to him play the blues and slide guitar and it was not unlike the slack key guitar in Hawaiian music or in Appalachia where they play the blues but play differently,' said Reese, an Emmy Award winner who's also a professor at the University of Maryland (theatre, Arts & Humanites). 'Everyone says, "Yeah, I get this." ' It all comes back, and that is the storytelling of the blues. It was formed up in the Delta and from people not classically trained in music."

Professional Science Master's Programs Merit Wider Support
Science: Rita Colwell, Distinguished University Professor Emerita (Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, Computer), lobbies for change. "The United States faces growing global competition in the development of innovative products and services, a challenge much like a 'silent Sputnik' to which the nation must pay more attention. One component of the U.S. educational system that can help us meet that challenge is master's level education in the natural sciences. In most fields in the natural sciences, master's degrees have long been viewed mainly as milestones en route to a doctorate, rather than destinations in their own right. But about a decade ago, foundations and universities began experimenting with new master's programs that develop advanced scientific knowledge and professional skills such as communication, project management, and commercialization. Most of these innovative Professional Science Master's (PSM) degree programs are interdisciplinary and provide hands-on learning through internships and team projects. They are not intended to displace traditional programs. Instead, they aim to engage students with professional goals and help them become scientists uniquely suited to the 21st-century workplace, equipped with a deeper and broader scientific knowledge than that acquired with a Bachelor of Science degree and the skills to apply it."

Critics Object to 'Pseudoscience' Center
Washington Post: "The impending national discussion about broadening access to health care, improving medical practice and saving money is giving a group of scientists an opening to make a once-unthinkable proposal: Shut down the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. The notion that the world's best-known medical research agency sponsors studies of homeopathy, acupuncture, therapeutic touch and herbal medicine has always rankled many scientists. That the idea for its creation 17 years ago came from a U.S. senator newly converted to alternative medicine's promise didn't help. Although NCCAM has a comparatively minuscule budget and although it is a 'center' rather than an 'institute,' making it officially second-class in the NIH pantheon, the principle is what mattered. But as NIH's budget has flattened in recent years, better use for NCCAM's money has also become an issue. "With a new administration and President Obama's stated goal of moving science to the forefront, now is the time for scientists to start speaking up about issues that concern us," Steven Salzberg, a genome researcher and computational biologist at the University of Maryland, said last week. 'One of our concerns is that NIH is funding pseudoscience.' Salzberg suggested that NCCAM be defunded on an electronic bulletin board that the Obama transition team set up to solicit ideas after November's election. The proposal generated 218 comments, most of them in favor, before the bulletin board closed on Jan. 19."

Pulitzer Prize Winner to be Honored at Wayne State's Annual Helen Thomas Awards
AmericaJR.com: "Wayne State University's Department of Communication will honor Gene Roberts, professor at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism, with the 2008 Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity Award.: Roberts won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for history as co-author of The Race Beat: The Press, The Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation'

First Baker Artist Awards Names Winners
Baltimore Sun: John Ruppert, a sculptor and chairman of the department of art UM (Arts & Humanities), is among those winning a Baker Artist Award, which promotes Baltimore-area artists and the arts.

Congressional Gold Medal, for WWII Service, to Be Bestowed Upon Elaine Harmon, '40?
Capital News Service: The Women Airforce Service (WASP) included about 1,100 women, who during World War II trained glider pilots and ferried military equipment. "Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., with all female senators as co-sponsors, introduced a bill last week to award the WASP corps the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor they can offer civilians. 'The Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II were trailblazers and true patriots,' Mikulski said in her statement. 'They risked their lives in service to our nation, but for too long their contribution to the war effort has been undervalued or underrecognized.' Harmon and other women air corps members overcame obstacles not in place for male pilots, including obtaining her own flight training in order to qualify for the WASP. ... Elaine Harmon, 89, learned to fly at the College Park Airfield, where a museum now houses a World War II-era 'Stearman' airplane like the one she flew 60 years ago. 'To fly airplanes, that was a man's world, not for women,' said the Silver Spring, Md., woman. Harmon and other women air corps members overcame obstacles not in place for male pilots, including obtaining her own flight training in order to qualify for the WASP. In 1940, as the nation realized that it might need pilots for impending war, the civilian pilot training program ran an announcement in the University of Maryland's student newspaper, The Diamondback. The program paid for a physical exam, ground training, flight insurance and 35 hours of flight time, all for $40. 'If you were under 21, you had to have your parent's signature,' Harmon recalled. 'I couldn't send it to my home or my mother would see it.' Harmon sent the forms to her father at his office, and shortly thereafter got the signed form and $40 back in the mail, and it was never discussed again. Harmon earned her private pilot's license at the College Park Airfield. She eventually accumulated enough flight hours to apply for WASP training. Of the 20,000 applicants, 1,830 were accepted. Harmon was one of 1,074 women who completed the flight program in Sweetwater, Texas, graduating in September 1944."

Gupta Book: The New 'Chindia' Strategy
Silicon Beat: "Got a China strategy? Got an India strategy? That's old globalization. What's needed now is a 'Chindia' strategy -- China plus India. That's the message former Stanford University professor Anil Gupta has for Silicon Valley. Gupta, who just published his latest book, Getting China and India RightM/em>, recently returned to the valley to pitch his message and book. Speaking at a recent The Indus Entrepreneurs gathering, which was also sponsored by the Asia America MultiTechnology Association, Gupta presented both emerging countries as critical business battlegrounds for global companies. If current economic trajectories continue, the combined economies of India and China will surpass those of the United States, Europe and Japan combined, he said. 'We are at a strategic inflection point,' Gupta said. The University of Maryland business professor has embraced his own personal Chindia strategy. He married a Chinese woman, Haiyan Wang, who is also his co-author. The two have twins. 'The China and India strategy works very well,' he said."

AIAA Calls for Increased Commitment From U.S. Government to 'Green Aerospace'
EPICOS: Mark Lewis, professor of aerospace engineering, and former Chief Scientist, United States Air Force, joins and effort by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) to "call for an increased commitment by the United States government to support 'green' aerospace initiatives and improved aerospace workforce development."

Volunteers Travel to Mississippi Delta for Poverty Tour
WYPR Radio, Baltimore: "The recession has hit many Americans hard, but in some parts of the country, times were already tough. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the rate of poverty in Mississippi was more than 20-percent in 2007, more than two-times the rate in Maryland. And Mississippi's median household income was more than $36, 000; almost half of Maryland's. Enter a group of national volunteers, including a noted Maryland professor, who recently headed to the Mississippi Delta to help impoverished communities. WYPR's Donna Marie Owens traveled with them and filed this report. ... Dr. Ron Walters, professor of political science at the University of Maryland College Park, is part of the group. He is doing research for a book on modern day slavery. They're our people and I think we owe them something. We certainly owe more than what they have now.' "

Univ. of Maryland Jazz Program Adds to Local Scene
DCist: "Over the past ten years, the local jazz community has seen an influx of young and promising talent, largely due to the strong music programs at local universities. Because the area's academic institutions are so vital to the local music scene, this is the first in a series profiling local jazz education programs. A chief contributor to the recent resurgence is the jazz program at the University of Maryland. Names such as Matt Rippetoe, Brad Linde, Charles Ostle, Lyle Link, Lena Seikaly, Kenny Rittenhouse, and Leigh Pilzer should be familiar to those who follow DCist's jazz columns, and all of them have received degrees in College Park. 'A lot of the guys in town are all products of our music program, and they're out there playing the clubs and playing gigs,' said Chris Vadala, Director of Jazz Studies at the university. There are several factors to the Maryland jazz program's growth and success, with the first being the work of its director."

Society & Culture

Md. Emissions Bill, Considered Flawed but Ambitious, Heads to House
Washington Post: "A bill to cut Maryland's greenhouse gas emissions -- on the verge of passage in Annapolis -- would put the hardest decisions off until 2012, make smaller reductions than scientists have called for and exempt the state's entire manufacturing sector from its rules. But it's enough to make Maryland one of the most ambitious states tackling climate change, environmental experts say. The bill, which has passed the Senate, is expected to win approval in the House of Delegates next week, and Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has said it is his top environmental priority. ... Environmentalists say this year's bill is weaker but more politically palatable. And it would make Maryland one of only eight states to put into law a promise to cut emissions. 'From a climate perspective, could it or should it be more ambitious?' said Matthias Ruth, a professor of public policy at the University of Maryland. The answer is yes, Ruth said, but 'from a political perspective, this is probably as ambitious as you could be.' "

Hanna: Judge Rules Pole Dancing Is Art Qualifying for Sales Tax Exemption
ABA Journal: Judith Lynn Hanna (department of dance) aids dancers in overcoming Albany censors -- and saving the Nite Moves Club some money. "After reviewing DVDs of exotic dancers, an administrative law judge has determined that pole dancing is 'no small feat --and it's also art qualifying for a tax exemption. The judge, Catherine Bennett, ruled the Albany-area club Nite Moves was entitled to a 'dramatic arts' tax exemption and did not have to pay $129,000 in sales taxes, the New York Law Journal reports. The state of New York had contended it was owed taxes on cover charges and dancer fees paid between 2002 and 2005. Bennett ruled after hearing from a University of Maryland dance scholar and watching videos of dance routines at the club, the story said. 'The videos depicted dance routines that incorporated acrobatic pole maneuvers, splits and other patterned repetitions,' Bennett said. 'The pole maneuvers in particular are no small feat to accomplish, and attempting such a performance without the skill and a planned routine of steps could prove dangerous.' "

A Worthwhile Emotional Roller Coaster
Washington Post: "One day, some breakthrough string-theory of the heart is sure to explain why beauty and damnation can be perceived at the same moment, why grief and joy can hit you at once. Until then, David Rousseve's dance-theater work Saudade, which had its world premiere Thursday at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, offers a succinct and lyrical look at how the highs and lows of life collide. For example: You fall in love with a nasty, mangy alley cat with breath like rotten tuna and paws as soft and caressing as the kiss you're not getting from anyone else. Or: You're languishing near death in a hospital bed, clicking through reruns of I Love Lucy, ready to give up when the one person you long for walks through the door, bringing you flowers and a reason to live. ... Rousseve is one of the modern dance world's great stage personalities. Tall and lean, with a cascade of graying dreadlocks and the taut, commanding profile of a Cherokee chief, he combines a powerful physical presence with an uncanny ability to channel the experiences of the weakest and most marginalized among us. He inhabits characters with an eerily convincing depth of feeling."

EU Sees failure of Global Anti-Drug Policies After 10 Years
Agence France-Presse: "Global drug policies have failed over the past 10 years to reduce the problem in any way, according to an EU report presented Tuesday in Vienna, ahead of a UN conference on narcotics. The report, which was carried out for the European Commission by an independent group of international experts, 'found no evidence that the global drug problem has been reduced during the period from 1998 to 2007.' While increased action has been taken against producers and sellers, the report noted that prices in Western countries 'have fallen since 1998 by as much as 10 to 30 percent.' And 'there is no evidence that drugs have become more difficult to obtain,' it added. ... [T]he document, which was ordered by the EU's Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Jacques Barrot, highlights the near total failure of drug enforcement. 'The most harm comes from policies rather than from drugs,' said Peter Reuter from the University of Maryland, who led the studies for the report. 'Enforcement of drug policies has caused lots of unintended harm,' he told a press conference in Vienna. Reuter also noted: 'It's very hard to demonstrate the consequences of tougher enforcement on quantity or prices.' On the contrary, the fight against drugs contributed to corruption and crime, and increased health risks for consumers, he said."

How Addicted are Texans to Gambling?
Austin American Statesman: "Just about every legislative session, Texas lawmakers ponder whether or not to expand legal gaming, currently limited to the state lottery, horse racing and bingo. House Bill 2325, for example, would permit local governments to decide on their own whether to allow eight-liner machines in their jurisdictions. And every session, opponents contend that more gambling is bad for Texans because, among other reasons, it can be addictive. But is that really true? What if someone could measure how powerful the lure of gaming actually was? And what if they could identify how susceptible Texans were to it? Consider it done. Last month, economists Jonathan Guryan, of the University of Chicago, and Melissa Schettini Kearney, of the University of Maryland produced the succinctly titled 'Is Lottery Gambling Addictive?' for the National Bureau of Economic Research. In the paper, the two studied the behavior of Texans buying lottery tickets to see what they could learn about the powerful pull of betting. ... The results? Not surprisingly, in the week following the announcement that a large-prize lottery ticket had been sold, sales at the winning store soared. Sales also jumped, though less dramatically, in the geographic area surrounding the lucky store. The surprising part, however, is that about half of the sales spike was maintained for a full year -- indicating that lottery ticket buyers who had been attracted to the 'lucky' location continued to purchase tickets there."

Why Not Really Tax the Rich?
Kansas City InfoZine: Gar Alperovitz , professor of government and politics, is co-author of the new book Unjust Desserts: How the Rich Are Taking Our Common Inheritance and Why We Should Take It Back. "The Obama effort is positive, but it needs to be put in larger perspective to understand its limitations: The top marginal tax rate was 91 percent in the Eisenhower administration. During the Nixon administration it was about 70 percent. Now it's 35 percent and we're talking about going back to 39.6 percent. Obama also promised proactively to end the Bush tax cuts during the election. He now seems instead to be allowing them to continue until they expire in Fiscal Year 2011. Most important: In recent years the top 1 percent has seen its income grow dramatically from 9 percent to 18-20 percent of the total. The tax increases are tokens compared with this doubling of their share. If the share of the top 1 percent was maintained at a 'mere' 9 percent, the budget deficit in most years could be largely paid for."

Learning to Love Evangelicals
Moment Magazine: "One important misconception about evangelicals and Jews is that the only thing they have to talk about is Israel. This may be the case for right-wing Jews who want evangelicals to support their vision of Eretz Yisrael ha-shlema. For them it is an instrumental and intrinsically asymmetric relationship: The evangelicals want to 'love' the Jews, and the Jews hold their noses while accepting the evangelicals' 'absolute love.' The truth is that despite the Jewish community's reputation as progressive and open-minded, its perceptions of evangelicals are based largely on caricature. The vast majority of American Jews, according to University of Maryland professors Mark Uslaner (professor, government and politics) and Mark Lichbach (professor and chair, government and politics), view evangelicals in an extremely negative light. In addition to major differences on social issues, many Jews won't work with evangelicals because they worry that as devout Christians they have a religious duty to spread the 'good news,' often understood as a commandment to convert Jews."

Note from the Web: Building Microenterprise Capacity through e-Learning
MicroLinks: Margaret Richards of UM's IRIS Center authors this report. (IRIS was established to provide a vehicle for intensive research and thinking about the dynamics of economic development, and to apply these research insights in the context of real-world development challenges. It is a global program.)
"To meet the growing need for Poverty Assessment Tool (PAT) implementation trainings, USAID and IRIS have developed a cost-effective e-learning platform. Stemming from a congressional mandate that at least 50 percent of USAID microenterprise funding directly benefit the very poor, microfinance and enterprise development providers in a growing number of countries -- currently 25 -- are now required to use Poverty Assessment Tools (PATs) for USAID reporting. Since 2007, the IRIS Center at the University of Maryland has successfully conducted six regional trainings in PAT implementation, providing face-to-face training to 116 individuals from 74 organizations. With a growing number of countries covered by the PATs and a limited resource pool, IRIS created an online course to complement regional in-person training events through a FIELD LWA Innovation Pilot. The course is called Using USAID Poverty Assessment Tools and is available at http://povertytools.org/moodle. This Note from the Field provides an overview of the course and the lessons learned in its creation."

Science & Technology

Nanotech Batteries for a New Energy Future
"In order to save money and energy, many people are purchasing hybrid electric cars or installing solar panels on the roofs of their homes. But both have a problem -- the technology to store the electrical power and energy is inadequate. Battery systems that fit in cars don't hold enough energy for driving distances, yet take hours to recharge and don't give much power for acceleration. Renewable sources like solar and wind deliver significant power only part time, but devices to store their energy are expensive and too inefficient to deliver enough power for surge demand. Researchers at the Maryland NanoCenter at the University of Maryland have developed new systems for storing electrical energy derived from alternative sources that are, in some cases, 10 times more efficient than what is commercially available. The results of their research are available in the latest issue of Nature Nanotechnology. "Renewable energy sources like solar and wind provide time-varying, somewhat unpredictable energy supply, which must be captured and stored as electrical energy until demanded," said Gary Rubloff, director of the University of Maryland's NanoCenter. "Conventional devices to store and deliver electrical energy -- batteries and capacitors -- cannot achieve the needed combination of high energy density, high power, and fast recharge that are essential for our energy future."

Blue Sky Research Reveals Trends in Air Pollution, Clears Way for New Climate Change Studies
A University of Maryland-led team has compiled the first decades-long database of aerosol measurements over land and cleared the way for new research into how air pollution affects climate change. Using this new database,the researchers show that clear sky visibility over land has decreased globally over the past 30 years, indicative of an increase in aerosols,or airborne particulates, over the world's continents during that time. Their findings are published in the March 13 issue of Science . "Creation of this database is a big step forward for researching long-term changes in air pollution and correlating these with climate change," said Kaicun Wang, assistant research scientist in the University of Maryland's department of geography and lead author of the paper. "And it is the first time we have gotten global long-term aerosol information over land to go with information already available on aerosol measurements over the world's oceans." Wang,together with Shunlin Liang, a University of Maryland professor of geography, and Robert Dickinson, a professor of geological science at the University of Texas, Austin, created a database that includes visibility measurements taken from 1973 - 2007 at 3,250 meteorological stations all over the world and released by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Visibility was the distance a meteorological observer could see clearly from the measurement source. The more aerosols present in the air, the shorter the visibility distance.

Carbon- and Oxygen-rich Stardust Sheds New Light on Origin of Elements of Life
Using NASA's Spitzer Telescope, an international research team has found evidence that some stars in the center of the Milky Way galaxy have both carbon and oxygen in the dust that surrounds them, a rare combination in galactic dust. "Scientists have long expected to find carbon-rich stars in our galaxy because we know that significant quantities of carbon must be created in many such stars, but carbon had not previously shown up in the clouds of gas around these stars," said Matthew Bobrowsky, an astrophysicist in the University of Maryland's department of physics and one of the authors of a paper published in the February issue of the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. "Based on our findings, this is because medium-sized stars rich in carbon sometimes keep that carbon hidden until very near the end of their stellar lives, releasing it only with their final 'exhalations'," explained Bobrowsky, who noted that previously scientists hadn't looked for carbon around stars that were so near the end of their active lives.

Discovery of Tuberculosis Bacterium Enzyme Paves Way for New TB Drugs
A team of University of Maryland scientists has paved the way for the development of new drug therapies to combat active and asymptomatic (latent) tuberculosis infections by characterizing the unique structure and mechanism of an enzyme in M. tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes the disease. Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Barbara Gerratana, in the university's College of Chemical and Life Sciences, led the research team, which included her graduate student Melissa Resto and Assistant Professor Nicole LaRonde-LeBlanc. "The NAD+ synthetase enzyme that our study describes is absolutely essential for the survival of the tuberculosis bacteria and an important drug target. We can now use the information we have about its structure and mechanism to develop inhibitors for this enzyme," Gerratana explained. The study, titled "Regulation of active site coupling in glutamine-dependent NAD+ synthetase," was published in on March 8, 2009 in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

Pathogens in Our Pork
New York Times: Columnist Nicholas Kristof: "We don't add antibiotics to baby food and Cocoa Puffs so that children get fewer ear infections. That's because we understand that the overuse of antibiotics is already creating 'superbugs' resistant to medication. Yet we continue to allow agribusiness companies to add antibiotics to animal feed so that piglets stay healthy and don't get ear infections. Seventy percent of all antibiotics in the United States go to healthy livestock, according to a careful study by the Union of Concerned Scientists -- and that's one reason we're seeing the rise of pathogens that defy antibiotics. These dangerous pathogens are now even in our food supply. Five out of 90 samples of retail pork in Louisiana tested positive for MRSA -- an antibiotic-resistant staph infection -- according to a peer-reviewed study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology last year. And a recent study of retail meats in the Washington, D.C., area found MRSA in one pork sample, out of 300, according to Jianghong Meng (nutrition and food science, Agriculture & natural Resources), the University of Maryland scholar who conducted the study."

Eco-Bills Come Due at Bay's Beaches
Washington Post: "While the nation debates the cost of climate change -- whether the price of electricity and gasoline should increase because of their greenhouse gas emissions -- the problem already has a price tag on the Chesapeake Bay. Sea levels are rising almost twice as fast in the Chesapeake region as in most of the world, and waterside communities are spending millions to keep the water from eroding yards, marshes and sandy beaches. The area's beaches are dealing with the same bad luck: The land is dropping, climate change is altering currents and the oceans are inching up. The impact is slow, but it's real. Beachgoers won't notice it at major ocean resorts. But for small beaches on the bay, the result is often death by bulkhead. ... 'The bills are coming due' at beaches in Virginia and Maryland, said Michael Kearney, a geography professor (Behavioral & Social Sciences) at the University of Maryland. 'If some intervention is not done, they're going to die.' The region's beaches range from the busy Atlantic shores of Ocean City to thin sand crescents on the Chesapeake frequented more by diamondback terrapins than by tourists. They are a long way from disappearing altogether: Erosion moves too slowly, and the economic value of many beaches is too high."

Barlow, Martin Wind Tunnel: Unmanned, High-Speed Aircraft Tested at UM
News Channel 8, N. Va.: The Maryland Industrial Partnerships project (Clark School of Engineering) teams with Jessup-based American Dynamics Flight Systems to test their aircraft at the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel. "An unmanned, aerial vehicle that takes off vertically and flies like a high-speed plane was put to the ultimate test at the University of Maryland. The AD-150 was tested to withstand high-speed winds. So far, the results have been very positive as the computer simulations closely resemble the actual experimental data. With the information gathered so far, researches say they are one step closer to developing an aircraft that can life off from ships, which maintaining a high speed. 'It is driven by 2,000 horsepower. We control the wind tunnel speed by controlling the rate at which the fan rotates,' said Dr. Jewel Barlow, Glenn Martin Wind Tunnel director. The fan, at 19 feet in diameter, can create winds of up to 240 miles per hour, which are ideal conditions for testing a new military aircraft. 'It takes off like a helicopter and can fly at high speed -- 300 knots. Most aircrafts that take off like a helicopter or helicopter based and they can't go very fast,' said Wayne Morse, American Dynamics president."

Pollution Causing 'Global Dimming'
Associated Press: "The skies are dimming, for most of the world. Increases in airborne pollution have dimmed the skies by blocking sunlight over the past 30 years, researchers report in Friday's edition of the journal Science. While decreases in atmospheric visibility - known as global dimming - have been reported in the past, the new study compiles satellite and land-based data for a longer period than had been available. 'Creation of this database is a big step forward for researching long-term changes in air pollution and correlating these with climate change,' Kaicun Wang, assistant research scientist (geography) at the University of Maryland, said in a statement. 'And it is the first time we have gotten global long-term aerosol information over land to go with information already available on aerosol measurements over the world's oceans.' They reported that dimming is occurring everywhere except Europe, where declines in pollution have resulted in brighter skies. Changes in aerosols can affect weather and also may have an impact on climate, though past studies have been inconclusive. These pollutants can result in cooling by reflecting sunlight back into space, but they also can absorb solar energy, warming the atmosphere."

Human-Generated Sounds and Potential Impacts on Fish
Discovery Channel: "Fish and marine mammals, which use sound for their survival, don't seem to be as tolerant of noise pollution. A new study, published in the latest Integrative Zoology journal, found that anthropogenic, or human generated, sounds can affect the reproduction efforts, migration, overall well being and even the survival of certain marine species, especially fish. I was shocked to read that some fish apparently drop dead in a flash under certain noisy conditions. 'Human generated sounds in the marine environment may result in only small shifts in behavior for some animals, but immediate death in others,' said Arthur Popper (biology) of the University of Maryland. He added, 'With the vast increase in production of sound in the marine environment due to human activity such as oil exploration, shipping and construction, the effect of human-generated sounds on the aquatic life becomes a growing issue.' The study, entitled 'The effects of human-generated sound on fish,' found that some fish are going deaf due to man made noise. The report also describes some recent controlled experimental studies, while highlighting areas for future study. Marine animals use sounds to communicate and to glean information about their environment. Unlike the 'visual scene' developed by the animal's sense of sight, the 'auditory scene' derived from sounds provides marine animals with a three dimensional view of the world and extends far beyond the visual scene."

Stars at Milky Way Core 'Exhale' Carbon, Oxygen
Universe Today: "Carbon and oxygen have been spotted in the dust around stars in the center of the Milky Way galaxy, suggesting that the stars have undergone recent disruptionsof some kind -- and hinting at a new way that stars can send heavy elements -- like oxygen, carbon, and iron -- out across the universe, paving the way for life. Scientists have long expected to find carbon-rich stars in our galaxy because we know that significant quantities of carbon must be created in many such stars. But carbon had not previously shown up in the clouds of gas around these stars, said Matthew Bobrowsky, an astrophysicist at the University of Maryland and a co-author of a new study reporting the discovery. 'Based on our findings, this is because medium-sized stars rich in carbon sometimes keep that carbon hidden until very near the end of their stellar lives, releasing it only with their final "exhalations",' explained Bobrowsky. The new results appear in the February issue of the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. Bobrowsky and his team, led by J. V. Perea-Calderon at the European Space Astronomy Centre in Madrid, Spain, used the Spitzer Space Telescope to view each star and its surrounding clouds of dust and particles, called a planetary nebulae. The researchers measured the light emitted by the stars and the surrounding dust and were able to identify carbon compounds based on the wavelengths of light emitted by the stars. Looking in an area at the center of the Milky Way called the 'Galactic Bulge,' the team observed 26 stars and their planetary nebulae and found 21 with carbon 'signatures.' "

Stream Restoration a Big Piece of Bay Health Puzzle
Annapolis Capital: "Sorely needed stream restoration can help the Chesapeake Bay recover from the onslaught of pollutants being washed from its 66,000-square-mile basin, but it's only one of several efforts needed to turn the tide. That was the main thrust from three speakers at a forum on stream restoration sponsored by the Chesapeake Environmental Protection Association ... . Restoring miles of damaged waterways in Anne Arundel County is just 'one of the puzzle pieces that make up the Chesapeake watershed,' county Public Works Director Ron Bowen said. His overview of the issue, noting some 300 miles of seriously degraded streams in the county's 12 watersheds - the land surrounding and feeding major bodies of water - was the first topic of the evening. ... 'Margaret Palmer, an expert on stream restoration and director of the University of Maryland's Chesapeake Biological Laboratories, also told those gathered that stream restoration is not the only answer. In fact, some of her research indicates that most restoration work does not reduce a key bay pollutant, nitrogen. But some new techniques have shown promise, notably the Wilelinor stream restoration south of Annapolis that her lab has been studying for a few years. But, like Bowen, she stressed the urgent need to fix streams sullied before stormwater regulations were introduced. 'To improve things we have to concentrate on already developed areas,' she said. But she warned the effort to restore natural streams is off target. 'The dream of natural streams, give it up,' she said. 'Restoration should be more about maintaining ecosytem health' by whatever means work. Maintaining and restoring forested areas is vital, as is reducing impervious surfaces and getting localities and individual property owners to reduce the runoff feeding into streams, the speakers agreed. 'It is all of the above,' Bowen said."

Tiny Fungus Presents Big Threat to Delmarva Soybean Industry
Salisbury Daily Times: "It was a single reddish-brown bump on a single leaf, one of 100 collected from a soybean field one day last October. But that tiny clue was all it took to confirm the truth: After several years of waiting and worrying, soybean rust, an oddly named but potentially devastating plant disease, had come to Delmarva. Though the fungus found last fall arrived too late in the season to harm any crops, its arrival was a warning to the industry. A somewhat unsexy commodity crop, soybeans are big business on Delmarva, particularly in Sussex County. Delaware's soybean harvest of 195,000 acres was valued at $47.7 million in 2008. The worst-case scenario: An outbreak could cut crop production by a third to a half in affected areas. Farmers say the region's soybean sentinel program and forecasting efforts are critical in defending Delmarva agriculture. Rust spores spread quickly and indiscriminately, blowing on the winds and falling to Earth with the rain. ... Officials from Delaware, Maryland and Virginia keep in constant touch during soybean season to share information on Delmarva developments, said Arv Grybauskas, an associate professor plant ccience and landscape architecture at the University of Maryland and coordinator of that state's soybean rust program."

What a Dinosaur Handprint Reveals
Los Angeles Times: "In his classic 1993 film Jurassic Park, the director showed Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor and other carnivorous dinosaurs walking with their forearms hanging down like a monkey's and their palms more or less parallel to the ground -- a posture derisively referred to by paleontologists as the 'bunny position.' A growing body of evidence, however, has suggested that the creatures were physically unable to assume this position because their wrist bones would not turn in such a fashion. Now, the first unequivocal handprint of a 198-million-year-old crouching carnivore confirms the speculation, providing clear evidence that the front limb struck the ground on its side, like a karate chop, and thus would have been of little use for walking. The extremely rare handprint from the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site in Utah indicates that even early dinosaurs had forelimbs similar to those of birds, reinforcing the now widely held conclusion that birds are the only living descendant of the ancient monsters. 'What this seems to imply is that, even from fairly early in their history, dinosaurs were entirely bipedal and weren't using their forearms to support themselves in any way,' said paleontologist Tom Holtz of the University of Maryland, who was not involved in the research. 'Because of that, the hands could specialize as weapons, to grab on to a struggling animal or to fight with other dinosaurs,' he said."

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