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Current Issue
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March 21, 2002
1. U professor makes 'wired women' top 10 list
2. Wanted: Future female scientists
3. U Medical School ranked 26th in NIH funding
4. UMD gets repeat performance at Kennedy Center
5. 25 years of Master Gardening
6. 'Social' scientist
7. U of M Happenings
8. Links
U IN THE NEWS
U professor makes 'wired women' top 10 list
When it comes to the Internet, a University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communications professor is plugged into maximizing its potential. Nora Paul, director of the Institute for New Media Studies, was recently named one of the top 10 Wired Women in the world by ABC News technology columnist Dianne Lynch.
The list includes influential women who have "created the technologies, the business innovations, the learning environments, the artistic and media messages, and the opportunities for public access and public science that make our technology-driven world the amazing place it has become."
"It's a great honor to be named among the top 10 in anything, much less to have the category reflect my life's work and passion," said Paul.
According to Lynch, Paul's ability to bring diverse people and ideas together with a common goal of maximizing the new media is what makes her influential. "Nora Paul, the founding director of the Institute for New Media Studies at the University of Minnesota, is the guru of making connections—between ideas, between projects, between people," wrote Lynch.
Since coming to the University from the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, Paul has initiated programming that brings media professionals—video game designers, journalists and digital artists for example—together to see where their interests and ideas meet. The goal is to leverage the Internet as an effective communications tool by incorporating all of their skills. Lynch wrote that Paul is to be lauded for her ability to look at traditional subjects from new angles. "It's about getting people to talk to each other. It's about synergy. And because of Paul, it's happening at the University of Minnesota," wrote Lynch.
To read the story go to: abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/WiredWomen/wiredwomen.html.
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Wanted: Future female scientists
The U's Program for Women in Technology is looking for girls who want to become rocket scientists. Girls entering 10th or 11th grade are invited to attend the free, week-long Science, Technology, and Engineering Preview summer camps, which aim to stimulate an interest in engineering.
Susan Marino, camp director and director of programs for women in the Institute of Technology, says the focus will be on fun. "We stimulate an interest in engineering," she says. "We show girls how much fun engineering is and that it's not just for men."
Organizers say the camps are sure to end with a blast. For the final project, students will build a six-foot-tall rocket and launch it thousands of feet into the air. In fact, the rocket will be so powerful that FAA regulations require the launch site to be moved out of the metro area so that it will not interfere with commercial airliners.
Four camps, each open to 40 girls, are scheduled for June 16-21, June 23-28, July 7-12, and July 14-19. While at camp, the girls will stay in a residence hall on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.
Applications are available by e-mailing Marino at marin007@umn.edu or calling 612-624-1317. Applications are due by May 15.
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U Medical School ranked 26th in NIH funding
The National Instititutes of Health has ranked the University of Minnesota Medical School 26th among 122 medical schools, based on the number of dollars awarded by NIH. "Clearly, this shows the dedication of our faculty to pursuing exciting areas of research," said Alfred Michael, M.D., dean of the Medical School. "Combined with our efforts to recruit top physician scientists in key areas, it's clear to me that the medical school is poised for greatness."
Among public universities in the 2001 rankings, the University of Minnesota Medical School placed 11th. Total NIH awards to the Medical School amounted to $115,725,523, which is about $35 million more than three years ago, and $20,114,050 more than in 2000. NIH awards fund all kinds of health research, from diseases of the heart to curing the common cold.
The University's Department of Medicine has also moved up the NIH scale, from 36th to 30th of 114 departments ranked. The department's total NIH funding increased by 33 percent in one year, from $21.64 million in fiscal year 2000 to $28.73 million last year.
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UMD gets repeat performance at Kennedy Center
UMD's Department of Theatre has been awarded the highest honor a college theater program can accept: an invitation to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. as a part of the National Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival.
UMD theatre's production of The Movie Game, an original comedy written by recent UMD graduate Adam Hummel, will be presented April 17-18, in the Terrace Theatre at the Kennedy Center. The production is one of only four full-length plays selected from over 600 productions nationwide to perform at the festival. This is UMD theatre’s fifth time to take part in the festival.
Three UMD students will also compete for national honors at the festival: Andrew Bennett was chosen as one of 16 actors, selected from over 350 students nationwide, as a finalist for the Irene Ryan Acting Award. Brook Carl is one of eight finalists for honors in the makeup design category. And Jeffrey Peterson is one of eight finalist for the scenic design award.
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25 years of Master Gardening
The University of Minnesota Extension Service's Master Gardeners program has been helping Minnesotans grow healthier, more bountiful, beautiful gardens for a quarter century. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the program. Master Gardeners are professionally trained volunteers who provide gardening information and education to their communities through classes, booths at fairs and garden centers, telephone answer lines, e-mail and electronic bulletin boards, school gardening projects, and work with hospitals and nursing homes.
Master Gardeners is just one part of the University's effort to be on the leading edge of horticulture. Midwestern gardens and landscapes are richer and more productive because of the research done on the St. Paul campus and at the University's Horticulture Research Center, which is part of the University's Landscape Arboretum.
For answers to gardening or tree care questions, contact a Master Gardener in your county through the University of Minnesota Extension Service. Other University information sources include the Yard and Garden Line at 612-624-4771 or 888-624-4771 and Info-U, a free 24-hour tape and faxed-back information service at 800-525-8636. The University of Minnesota Extension Service Web site also provides helpful lawn and garden information.
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'Social' scientist
If you had met Adrienne Kari at her sixth-grade science fair, you might have predicted her future. Assigned to create three-dimensional models of viruses, most of Kari's classmates built simple examples that looked like diamond-shaped lollipops. But Kari constructed an elaborate spherical model of cytomegalovirus that cracked open to reveal spiraling DNA inside.
Today, Kari brings the same kind of enthusiasm to her work as a University student and president of the Biological Sciences Student Association.
"I've always been interested in science," says Kari. "There's a lot of room to move and always something new to discover."
But for Kari, there is a lot more to her College of Biological Sciences (CBS) experience than she finds in classrooms and labs. She is also vitally interested in discovering new friends and supporting the social life of the college, from networking with students to keeping alumni in the loop.
Now a senior majoring in biochemistry, Kari joined the Biological Sciences Student Association as a sophomore, hoping to meet people and find study partners. "It's been a really good way to turn friends from classes into social friends," she says. "And I've gotten a lot of good advice on selecting classes because students in every major belong to the association."
This year, Kari has expanded her role by serving as student representative on the college's alumni board. "I'm a resource for alumni who would like to understand what CBS is like today," she says. "Alumni who graduated 20 or 30 years ago are surprised to find out how dramatically things have changed. For example, the college now admits students as freshmen, there are new buildings and labs, and even studying is different because of the Internet."
Many alumni, she says, are curious about today's student experience. "They'd like to know if students are getting to know each other better, and if CBS has a small-college feel," Kari says. To meet alumni, Kari also volunteers at events such as the homecoming picnic and reunions.
As she prepares to graduate, Kari also realizes the importance of preparing today's students to be tomorrow's alumni. "Now that we are together for four years, we're forming stronger relationships with each other and the college," she says. "Because of this, I think we'll be more inclined to come back to a reunion or to stay in touch after graduation."
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U OF M HAPPENINGS
The Chicago Children's Choir, a group of 50 extraordinary children, will perform a concert with pieces that range from Bach and Mozart to Benjamin Britten and Leonard Bernstein on Saturday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Edson Auditorium at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Tickets are $12, $7.50 for senior citizens and children under 18, and $4.50 for UMM students with ID. For more information, call 320-589-6080.
The Great Conversations Series continues. On Tuesday, March 26, 7:30 p.m. in the Ted Mann Concert Hall on the West Bank, Catherine Verfaillie, researcher and director of the University of Minnesota's Stem Cell Institute, will be joined by Austin Smith, director of the Centre of Genome Research at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. The two will explain how their stem cell research and technology has the potential to affect medical advances worldwide. On April 2, 7:30 p.m. in the Ted Mann Concert Hall on the West Bank, Jane Kirtley, director of the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication's Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law, and Brian Lamb, CEO and creator and of C-SPAN, will discuss the ethical responsibilities and legal rights of the mass media in a democratic society. Tickets are $25. Discounts are available for faculty, staff, students, and alumni association members. For more information, call 612-624-2345.
Sheila Wellstone, working partner and wife of U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, will speak on "Confronting Contemporary Slavery: International Trafficking of Women and Girls," Tuesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. in the Kirby Student Center Ballroom at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The lecture is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.
Tune in to WCCO 830 on Tuesday, April 2, at 1 p.m. for "Beyond the U," a monthly radio call-in show hosted by University President Mark Yudof and his wife Judy. This month, Mary Meyer, from the University's Department of Horticulture, will join the Yudofs to discuss the 25th anniversary of the Master Gardeners program.
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LINKS
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