Olivia DrakeAugust 28, 20074min
FIELD TRIPS: Jelle Zeilinga de Boer, the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, Emeritus, took students enrolled in his Graduate Liberal Studies Program SCIE 641 Earth Resources course to the Old New Gate prison and copper mine in East Granby, Conn. July 12. Here, he points out copper sulfate in the mine ground's walls. Students walk near a malachite mineral-rich rock, inside the former copper mine, which opened in the early 1700s and later became Connecticut's first prison in 1773. De Boer uses a particle detecting instrument to locate uranium in the copper mine. His summer class studied the…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 200713min
Stephanie Elliott, Wesleyan University Press publicist, is an avid Wesleyan Adult Fitness Program participant. She is currently training to run a half-marathon Oct. 13 in Hartford to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.   Posted 08/07/07 Q: Stephanie, when did you start working at Wesleyan University Press? A: December of 2003. Q: What is the mission of WesPress? A: To have a vigorous publishing program in the fields of poetry, dance criticism, ethnomusicology, scholarly science fiction, film studies, and Connecticut history. Our books are grounded in good scholarship, and have a variety of audiences, including scholars, undergraduates, and the interested…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 20076min
Cynthia Matthew, visiting scholar in psychology, and Steven Stemler, assistant professor of psychology, are developing tools which may identify creative and effective leaders. Posted 08/07/07 The U.S. Army is looking for a few creative leaders, and two Wesleyan researches are helping in the search. Steven Stemler, assistant professor of psychology, and Cynthia Matthew, visiting scholar in psychology, are creating a basic psychological research tool that will help the Army Research Institute (ARI) to identify individuals who possess “mental flexibility,” a trait which Army officials believe is important to more creative and effective leadership. “It might seem odd that an organization…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 20075min
Pin-Fang Chen '09 examines an eukaryote at a magnification of 12,000 times using Wesleyan's new Transmission Electron Microscope. Wesleyan acquired two new high-tech microscopes. Wesleyan’s Advanced Instrumentation Center has scoped out better way to conduct infinitesimal scientific research. In the past six months, the center has acquired a new, state-of-the art scanning electron microscope (SEM) for 3-D imaging, and a transmission electron microscope for 2-D sample images. These microscopes are used by faculty, graduate and undergraduate students. “These microscopes are allowing Wesleyan scientists to conduct research at levels never done before,” says Joe Bruno, vice president for Academic Affairs and…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 20074min
Participants from the 14th Annual Wesleyan Open Golf Tournament donated $1,200 to the North End Action Team July 25. Pictured, from left, are Frank Kuan, Lou Onofrio, David Meyer, Lydia Brewster of NEAT and Sean Higgins. Posted 08/07/07 Eighty-three Wesleyan staff, faculty and friends took a swing at the game of golf recently, while helping out their local community. Participants in the 14th Annual Wesleyan Open raised $1,200 at the event and donated their earnings to the North End Action Team (NEAT). NEAT is a neighborhood organization created to develop grassroots leadership in the north end of Middletown and provide…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 200710min
Mark Bailey, director of Development Communications for University Relations, helps set the stage for fundraisers, senior staff and the president to conduct important conversations with donors.   Posted 08/07/07 Q: Mark, when did you come to Wesleyan, and why was there a need for a Development Communications director, and later a staff?A: I came to Wesleyan in March 2005 fresh from more than 20 years based in sunny Southern California. My mission as director of Development Communications is to lead development communications strategies and projects for University Relations, based on Wesleyan’s new strategic plan and increased fundraising efforts. This includes…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 20074min
A formal dedication of the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center will take place in the courtyard at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 7. Posted 08/07/07 For those of us on campus, there is no mistaking that construction is nearing completion on the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center. As is the nature of a project of this scope, the building is continuing at a rapid pace in this final month in order to complete the building for new students’ arrival on August 28. Leading up to arrival day, quite a bit of detail work is being completed. Over the next two weeks, several…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 20074min
As part of the new Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC)-sponsored apprenticeship program, Max Wu ’08 worked with Steve Stemler, assistant professor of psychology and Cynthia Matthew, visiting assistant professor of psychology, on a project titled “The Concept of Responsibility Within Organizational Structures." Posted 08/07/07 Students had the opportunity to attend daily classes, workshops and conduct research with Wesleyan faculty this summer as part of the new Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC) apprenticeship program. The 10 undergraduate students enrolled in the program took classes in the morning, usually taught by Manolis Kaparakis, director of the QAC, or by another Wesleyan faculty member. In…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 20075min
Neuroscience and Behavior major Jeff Walker ’08 speaks about his research titled “Does inhibition lead to greater spike timing precision?” during the Hughes Program in the Life Sciences Poster Session Aug. 3. Walker’s faculty mentor is Gloster Aaron, assistant professor biology, neuroscience and behavior. Posted 08/07/07 In the United States, approximately 80,000 adolescents try cigarettes for the first time each day. Psychology major Michael Raymond ’08 was curious to know why. As a fellow in the Hughes Program in the Life Sciences, Raymond had the opportunity to identify predictors of nicotine dependence onset in adolescents. He spent his summer working…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 20076min
Valerie Gillispie, assistant university archivist, holds a rare book, which was featured on PBS's History Detectives in July. The book is stamped with the name and address of a 19th century female anarchist and possibly belonged to a deceased Wesleyan alumnus. Posted 08/07/07 In June 2006, a book was discovered in the Wesleyan stacks related to the Chicago Haymarket Tragedy marked with an unusual stamp on the cover. The book, written by August Spies, was titled Auto-Biography, and appeared to be stamped with the name and address of Lucy Parsons, a 19th century bi-racial anarchist who promoted better labor conditions.…

Olivia DrakeAugust 1, 20076min
Posted 08/07/ 07 Last year, Suzanne O’Connell, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences, attended a meeting with scientists from around the world. Out of the 40 participants, she was the only female. “This was 2006, not 1973, and with an organization that had had a pretty good track record for involving women,” she recalls. “It’s amazing to me that I was the only woman.” It is this type of disparity that inspired O’Connell, pictured at left, to undertake an initiative designed to retain more women in the geosciences. With support from a recent National Science Foundation award, O’Connell co-created…