Olivia DrakeAndrew Moreno, a graduate student in chemistry, teaches a lesson on probability to his peers during a Molecular Biophysics Journal Club class Feb. 7. Posted 02/16/07 Alicia Every, a graduate student in chemistry, went to class last week not only to learn, but to teach. She and the other 20 students taking the course, Molecular Biophysics Journal Club II, are expected to prepare a lesson on relevant course material and present a micro-lecture to their peers. For 20 minutes she spoke, jotting equations on the chalkboard while explaining that heat is in random motion. She drew a gas molecule inside…
Posted 02/16/07 Members of the Wesleyan Cluster Computing Committee have listed the impacts on research from the newly-installed computer cluster. The Cluster Computing Committee members are Eric Aaron, assistant professor of computer science; David Beveridge, the University Professor of the Science and Mathematics; Tsampikos Kottos, assistant professor pf physics; George Petersson, professor of chemistry; and Francis Starr, assistant professor of physics. The committee is supported by the Information Technology Services staff, who made commitments of space, personnel resources, and developed an upgrade program so that the facility does not become rapidly obsolete. ITS staff involved include Henk Meij, applications technology…
Mike Sciola, standing, director of Wesleyans Career Resource Center, speaks during an Academic (Technology) Roundtable meeting Feb. 8. Posted 02/16/07 Intellectual property issues, using visual images in the classroom and rock and roll memories are all upcoming topics for the Academic (Technology) Roundtable. The weekly roundtable meetings aim to promote conversation, cooperation, and the sharing of information and resources among Wesleyan's faculty and staff. "This is an informal way for faculty, librarians and staff members to get together and talk about technologies, academic issues and student life," explains Andy Szegedy-Maszak, director of the Center for Faculty Career Development, the Jane…
Adrian Cooke, Web administrator for University Relations, is working on content for WesNet, the alumni Electronic Portfolio. Posted 02/16/07 The first time Adrian Cooke built a Web site, he used it to share photographs with his family. As University Relations new Web administrator, Cooke now builds Web sites used by thousands of Wesleyan alumni. He oversees all nodes under http://www.wesleyan.edu/alumni/, pages for the Wesleyan Fund, and works with other departments such as ITS and the Office of Public Affairs New Media Services on special event pages for Reunion & Commencement and Homecoming/Family Weekend. WesNet, a site designed to facilitate…
Used electronics, including computers, can be placed at the Exley Science Center's loading dock on Pine Street for recycling. Posted 02/16/07 The Wesleyan Recycling Program is increasing their efforts to make Wesleyan a leader in waste reduction and environmental responsibility. "Recycling is required by law in Connecticut, and is the obligation of every member of the Wesleyan community," explains Bill Nelligan, Wesleyan recycling coordinator. Mixed paper, corrugated cardboard, glass, metal and plastic are already picked up from sites all over campus and from Wesleyan housing. Wesleyan also collects aerosol cans, batteries, CDs, DVDs, floppy disks, cell phones, motor oil, rubber-soled…
Posted 02/16/07 Nelson Polsby, renowned political scientist, died on February 6 at the age of 72. Polsby was a member of the Wesleyan faculty from 1961 through 1968, rising meteorically from the rank of assistant professor to full professor. According to Karl Scheibe, professor emeritus of psychology, Nelson left an indelible mark on Wesleyan, even though he was only here for seven years. Polsby was a prolific author of books and articles and editor of The American Political Science Review, the premier political science journal. Perspectives on Politics noted that Polsby ranked in the top ten of most frequently cited…
From left, Henk Meij, applications technology specialist; Francis Starr, assistant professor of physics; and James Taft, assistant director of technology support services, look over the newly-installed 10-terabyte computer cluster at Information Technology Services. Posted 02/16/07 It takes 10, 250-volt plugs to power up. It takes 9,000 BTUs to keep it cool. It can communicate 14 times faster than high-speed internet, and it has the potential to store more than 2.5 million MP3s. But most important, this state-of-the-art high-performance computer cluster will offer both education and research opportunities for the university on a level which has never before been available. The…
Angel Gil-Ordóñez, Wesleyan orchestra music director, directed Virgil Thomsons original soundtracks that accompany a newly-released version of The Plow that Broke the Plains and The River. Posted 02/01/07 Wesleyan Orchestra Music Director Angel Gil-Ordóñez addresses the impact of humanity on the environment and chronicles the settlement of the Great Plains through music on a newly-released DVD. His Washington D.C.-based orchestra, Post-Classical Ensemble, provides the soundtrack for director Pare Lorentzs landmark New Deal-Era Classics documentaries The Plow that Broke the Plains (1936) and The River (1938). The dual-film DVD, released Jan. 30 by classical music label Naxos, features the first…
Daniel Stern, former fellow in the Wesleyan Center for the Humanities, the Boynton Visiting Professor in Creative Writing in the College of Letters and a visiting professor in Letters and English, died on Jan. 24 at the age of 79. He was living in Houston, Texas. According to the Houston Chronicle, Stern had taught in the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program, where he was a Cullen Distinguished Professor of English since 1992. Wesleyan Professor of Letters Paul Schwaber has shared the following tribute to Professor Stern, which he wrote in 1991 when Stern was given the Cullen Professorship at…
Ben Byers '07 wants to defend his title in the 1000 freestyle at NESCACs and also win the 1650. Posted 02/01/07 Q: How did a young man from Seattle, Wash. become interested in attending Wesleyan University?A: Both my parents grew up in New York, my dad in White Plains, my mom in Brooklyn, so when I decided I wanted to come to the East Coast for college they suggested, among others, Wesleyan. Once I'd begun the application process I started talking to the swimming coach Mary Bolich and realized the program was a good fit for me.Q: What did you…
Barbara Schukoske, administrative assistant for the Office of Graduate Student Services, is a lifelong Middletown resident and remembers sledding down Foss Hill as a child. Posted 02/01/07 Q: Barbara, when did you come to Wesleyan and what led you to the Office of Graduate Student Services?A: I was hired as a department assistant on Feb. 6, 1989 to the Physical Plant Department, where I worked for nine years. I then transitioned to my current position of administrative assistant for Graduate Student Services on Sept. 28, 1998.Q: Youve been acquainted with Wesleyan for many years. Why is that?A: Wesleyan is…
Robert Boyd's Xanadu is on display in Zilhka Gallery through March 4. Posted 02/01/07 A new exhibit at the Ezra and Cecile Zilhka Gallery tweaks, condenses, and re-frames contemporary events into montages of quick cuts, representing a history of apocalyptic thought as a series of MTV-style music videos within a setting reminiscent of a discotheque. Robert Boyd's Xanadu is a synchronized four-channel video installation that probes society's self-destructive impulse and parodies avenues of popular culture such as documentaries, news media, cartoons, and pop music. Xanadu takes its title from the 1980 American pop musical starring Olivia Newton-John. One of the…