Spectrum - Volume 18 Issue 07 October 5, 1995 - Calendar

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Calendar

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 07 - October 5, 1995

Events

Thursday, 5

HIDM Exhibit,

Wallace Hall Gallery: "America's 20th Century Design Team ," designs by Charles and Ray Eames. Through 10-20.

YMCA Slide Show,

noon, Cranwell International Center: "Travels in Turkey and Greece," by the Hammonds, Michelsens, and Pienkowskis.

OSI Club Meeting, 7 p.m., 147 Squires.

HIDM/IDEC Conference Keynote Speech , 7 p.m., Squires Colonial: "Ecological Design Intelligence," by William McDonough, UVa.

TAUT Production, 8 p.m., Studio Theatre: "Dancing at Lughnasa." Through 10-7.

Friday, 6

TAUT Production, 8 p.m., Studio Theatre: "Dancing at Lughnasa." Through 10-7.

Saturday, 7

Football at Navy,

1:30 p.m.

VMNH Field Trip.

Call 1-3001 for information.

CSI Counseling Professional Organization Workshop, 8:30 a.m., DBHCC: Counseling ADHD-Adults, by Dave Wiggins and Hildy Getz.

Chamber Music Series, 8 p.m., Squires Recital Salon: "Audubon Quartet." Through 10-8.

TAUT Production, 8 p.m., Studio Theatre: "Dancing at Lughnasa."

International Folk Dance, 8 p.m., PAB.

Sunday 8

YMCA Hike,

1:30 p.m., meet at Y Parking Lot, 403 Washington St.: Dragon's Tooth, led by Bill and Lynda Hohenboken.

Chamber Music Series, 3 p.m., Squires Recital Salon: "Audubon Quartet."

Monday, 9

Columbus Day Holiday for Staff.

University Leadership Development Program,

9 a.m.-4 p.m., Holiday Inn. Through 10-12.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month Film Series, noon, Women's Center, Price House: "Broken Vows."

"Soup and Substance,"

noon, 116 Squires: "Prejudice: Is it Necessary, Even Constructive?", panel discussion.

"With Good Reason,"

7:30 p.m., WVTF 89.1: "A Nation of Victims: The Demise of Personal Responsibility," with Joe Broadus, GMU, and Paul Lombardo, UVa.

TAUT Workshop Production,

8 p.m., 204 PAB: "Lone Star." Through 10-11.

Tuesday, 10

University Leadership Development Program,

9 a.m.-4 p.m., Holiday Inn. Through 10-12.

Art Exhibit Opening, Perspective Gallery: Cuba: Politics Aside.

TAUT Workshop Production,

8 p.m., 204 PAB: "Lone Star." Through 10-11.

Wednesday, 11

Women's Center Open House,

8:30-10:30 a.m., Women's Center, Price House.

University Leadership Development Program,

9 a.m.-4 p.m., Holiday Inn. Through 10-12.

GSA Graduate and Professional Day,

10 a.m.-3 p.m., Squires Commonwealth Ballroom.

Gerontology Forum, noon, Wallace Atrium: "Media Portrayal of Older Adults," by Phyllis Greenberg and Pamela Teaster.

Staff Commission Meeting, 1:30 p.m., 400D Burruss.

TAUT Workshop Production,

8 p.m., 204 PAB: "Lone Star."

Thursday 12

Art Exhibit Opening,

Armory Art Gallery: "Painted Constructions," by Carol Burch-Brown. Through 11-11.

University Leadership Development Program,

9 a.m.-4 p.m., Holiday Inn.

YMCA Slide Show,

noon, Cranwell International Center: "Grand Canyon-Seasonal Changes in Spring and Fall," by Beth Thomas.

Gerontology/Aging Honor Society Meeting, 3:30 p.m., 300 Wallace.

OSI Club meeting, 7 p.m., 145 Squires.

Global Issues Forum,

7:30 p.m., Squires Colonial Hall: "Africa in Crisis: The Passions, the Problems, and the Prospects," by Ali Mazrui.

Thursday, 5

Science Study Center,

12:30 p.m., 427 Major Williams: Open Discussion.

INFORMS,

12:30 p.m., 216 Randolph: "A Mathematical Model for Assessing the Temporal Association Between Health Disorders and Medical Treatments," by Sheldon Jacobson.

Physics, 3:30 p.m., 2030 Pamplin: "Pion Spin Physics," by Ed Boschitz, Karlsruhe and PSI.

Biology, 3:45 p.m., Fralin Auditorium: "Baculoviruses: Applications to Agriculture and Medicine," by Robert Granados, Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell.

Statistics, 3:45 p.m., 409 Hutcheson: "Internal Pilot Studies in Clinical Trials," by Janet Wittes, Statistics Collaborative Inc., Washington, D.C.

Geological Sciences, 4 p.m., 2044 Derring: "A Kill Mechanism for the Permian Extinction," by Richard Bambach.

Friday, 6

Statistics,

11 a.m., 232 Smyth: "How I Learned to Live Without Malpractice Insurance," by Janet Wittes, Statistics Collaborative Inc., Washington, D.C.

MCBB,

noon, 102 Fralin: "Flourescent and Bioluminescent Biosensors for Analysis of Microbial Activities," by Robert S. Burlage, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Botany/MCBB,

4 p.m., Fralin Auditorium: "Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates, a Family of Biodegradable Plastics, in Plants," by Christiane Nawrath, Universite de Fribourg, Institut de Biologie Vegetals , Switzerland.

Signals and Systems,

4 p.m., 457 Whittemore: "Applications of AI Techniques to Automated Highway Systems," by Cem Ünsal.

Monday, 9

MCBB,

2 p.m., 102 Fralin: "Transgenic Models of Genetic Disease and of Gene Therapy," by John Gordon, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York.

Biochemistry/Anaerobic Microbiology, 4 p.m., 223 Engel: TBA.

CSES,

4 p.m., 331 Smyth: "Overview of the Waste Policy Institute," by A. Walker.

Horticulture, 4 p.m., 102 Saunders: "Virginia Tech's Agricultural Technology Program," by Kevin Grueber.

Mechanical Engineering,

4 p.m., 110 Randolph: "Counter Flow Diffusion Flame Experiments and Modeling," by Paul Pappas, Naval Research Lab.

Wednesday, 11

Science Studies, 4 p.m., 321 McBryde: "Psychology's Devious Doubles and Where Does a Study of Boundary Work Leave the STS'er?" by Maarten Derksen, University of Groningen.

Thursday, 12

Science Study Center, 12:30 p.m., 427 Major Williams: "Faculty Pay Raises Ought to be Allocated on an Absolute Dollar Basis Rather Than on a Relative Percentage Basis," by Golde Holtzman.

Geological Sciences, 4 p.m., 2044 Derring: "Gold," by Jim Craig.

Science Study Center/Center for Textual and Editorial Sciences, 4 p.m., 334 Major Williams: "The Space of Time: Temporal Representation and the Historical Sciences," by Robert O'Hara, UNC Greensboro.

Women's Month 1996 planning committee now forming

The Women's Month planning committee will meet the first and third Wednesday of each month through March. Meetings are held in the Price House at 5:30 pm. Meetings are open to everyone interested. New members encouraged. For more information, call the Women's Center at 1-7806. The next meeting is October 4..

Free baby-sitting offered to faculty, staff members

The Panhellenic Council of Virginia Tech is hosting a night of free baby-sitting for faculty and staff members' children ages 3-10 on Friday, Oct. 20, from 5-10 p.m. The council will keep the children in 236 Squires and will provide pizza, snacks, games, movies, and other activities.

Admission will be a non-perishable food item to be donated to the Montgomery County Christmas Store.

To sign up, call Dara Boyd at 953-0872 by October 17.

Group offered for women in abusive relationships

The Psychological Services Center is offering a treatment group for women who are in highly conflictual relationships. The group is targeted toward women who feels as though they are powerless in their relationships and whose partners exert a significant amount of control over them.

Women in these types of relationships often find that the problems in their relationships are causing them difficulties in other areas of their lives. The group is designed to provide support and teach women new coping and communication skills to use in their relationships.

The group is scheduled to begin Wednesday, Oct. 11, and will meet each Wednesday from 7-8:30 p.m.

The group is designed to be self-sustaining; therefore, there will be a $2 fee for each group meeting. Women who are interested in joining the group or desire additional information should contact the Psychological Services Center at 1-6914.

Top ecological architect to speak at Squires

William McDonough, currently an advisor to President Bill Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development, speaks on "Ecological Design Intelligence" on Thursday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m. in Squires Colonial Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.

McDonough was appointed dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture in 1994. In 1992, he and his firm, William McDonough Architects, wrote the Hannover Principles, a declaration for environmentally conscious building and design, which was commissioned by the City of Hannover, Germany, as the official guide for all design at the World's Fair in 2000. He is also renowned for the Centennial Sermon, "Ecological Ethics for the Next Century," that he gave at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.

The McDonough presentation is sponsored by Interface Inc. of Atlanta, Ga., and hosted by the Department of Housing, Interior Design, and Resource Management in the College of Human Resources. It is the keynote speech of the 1995 Southeast Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) Regional Conference taking place on campus October 4 through 6.

Exhibit of Eames' designs opens in Wallace Hall Gallery

"America's 20th Century Design Team," an exhibit of designs by Charles and Ray Eames, is on display in the Wallace Hall Gallery through Oct. 20. "Charles and Ray Eames left an indelible mark on the history of the 20th century with their furniture designs," says co-curator Jeanette Bowker, head of the Department of Housing, Interior Design, and Resource Management. "The Eameses accomplished what designers had attempted since the turn of the century: an integration of art and technology in the production of affordable, well-designed, well-made furnishings. Their new forms and innovative use of materials, as well as the technology they developed changed the mass-production of contemporary furniture."

The exhibit is sponsored by the Herman Miller company with assistance from its market manager Herb Pulliam. Herman Miller has been producing Eames design furniture since 1946. Anna Marshall-Baker, an assistant professor in housing, interior design, and resource management, is the co-curator of the exhibit.

Visiting professor to speak on environmental ethics

The College of Forestry will host a visiting scholar, Max Oelschlaeger, who will speak on "Environmental Ethics for a Sustainable Future: Daydream, Nightmare, or Realistic Solution," on October 11 at 4 p.m. in the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center Auditorium. The general public is invited. Oelschlaeger, who has written numerous books on culture and natural resources management, is a professor of philosophy and religion studies at the University of North Texas.

One of his books , The Idea of Wilderness: From Prehistory to the Age of Ecology , was awarded the best book of nonfiction by the Texas Institute of Letters and nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

While on campus, Oelschlaeger will also talk on "The National Wilderness Protection System-Help or Hindrance in Meeting Henry David Thoreau's Dictum: `In Wildness is the Preservation of the World,'" at 10 a.m., October 11, 315 Cheatham.

On October 12, at 3 p.m., he will discuss "From Modern to Postmodern Natural Resources Management: Science, Ethics, and Evolving Paradigms," in 315 Cheatham. The lectures are open to all. Call 1-7418 for more information.

"With Good Reason" goes statewide

"With Good Reason," a weekly half-hour radio program featuring faculty members at Virginia's public colleges and universities, has added WAMU public radio in Washington, D.C., to its list of affiliated stations, effective October 1. The addition brings total potential listenership for the program up to 1,300,000 people.

"With Good Reason" is produced by the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium, comprising the state's public higher-education institutions.

Two dozen Virginia Tech faculty members have been guests on the program in its three years of production, discussing topics ranging from the health of the Chesapeake Bay, to the Civil War, poetry, and the Middle East.

Nine public radio stations in Virginia now carry the program. It airs Monday evenings at 7:30 on WVTF in Roanoke.

Higher ed director opens "Blue Ridge Nightline" season

Gordon Davies, director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, will open the 29th season of "Blue Ridge Nightline" on Blue Ridge Public Television, WBRA-TV, in Roanoke.

Davies will discuss higher education in Virginia today, focusing on recent budget cuts and Virginia's standing in relation to other states. Tuition, enrollment projections, and new sources of higher education revenue are also among the topics.

"Blue Ridge Nightline" opens its season October 15 at 3:30 p.m.

Service-Learning Center preparing list of spring courses

The Service-Learning Center is preparing a roster of service-learning courses for Spring 1996. Service-learning courses integrate a structured community-service component into traditional course work.

The service component typically constitutes approximately 25-40 percent of the final grade, and is supported by reflective and critical writing assignments. Frequently, the community-service component is presented as an option for fulfilling course requirements.

Faculty members planning to integrate community service into coursework during the spring semester, or wanting to explore the service-learning option, should contact Michele James-Deramo at 1-6947, or deramo@vt.edu .

Women's Center to host open house

The Women's Center at Virginia Tech will host an open house in its new location in Price House, behind McBryde Hall. Members of the Virginia Tech community are invited to visit the Women's Center Wednesday, Oct. 11, from 8:30-10:30 a.m.

Coffee, tea, and light refreshments will be served. Live music-including a few surprises-will be provided. Visitors will have a chance to see the new facilities and learn more about on-going activities, including information and referral, organizations and support groups, and volunteer opportunities.

Come find out what's going on at the center, including the upcoming "literary lunches." Learn more about the Sexual Assault Awareness Month events planned for October, including a film series, an original theatre production, a day with "The Clothesline Project," participation in the "White Ribbon Campaign," crime prevention and self-defense, and other programs.

For more information about the open house, or if you have a disability and need assistance, call 1-7806. For more information about the "White Ribbon Campaign," call Gary Bennett or Robert Miller at 1-6557.

Women in Mathematics celebration planned for October 16-20

In celebration of its centennial, the Mathematics Department at Virginia Tech has dedicated the week of October 16-20 to Women in Mathematics at Virginia Tech: Past, Present, and Future. The program for the week includes lectures by and about internationally acclaimed women mathematicians, and a day devoted to on-campus mathematical activities for approximately 100 young women from Montgomery County middle and high schools.

The opening day, Monday, Oct. 16, is dedicated to the memory of our colleague Rosa Huang, who was an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics when she met her untimely death in January of this year.

Neil White (University of Florida), a leader in matroid and invariant theory and one of Huang's collaborators, will begin the week's events with a presentation at 2 p.m. in 216 Randolph on "Rosa Huang's Work in Combinatorial Invariant Theory." A reception will follow at 3 p.m. at the Women's Center in the Price House. Michelle Wachs (University of Miami), a premier researcher in algebraic combinatorics, will speak at 4 p.m. in 209 McBryde on "Homology of Partially Ordered Sets of Partitions."

On Tuesday evening, Mary Gray of American University will give the week's keynote address. Gray has had a long and distinguished career as a mathematician, statistician, attorney, and activist for international human rights. She was the founding president of the Association for Women in Mathematics, and is currently the chair of the Board of Directors of Amnesty International USA. She has held leadership positions in many other national and international organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Association of University Professors, and the American Mathematical Society. Most recently, she was awarded the 1994 AAAS Mentor Award for her work toward increasing the participation of women and minorities in mathematics, and for her advocacy for the rights of women and minorities in academe.

Gray's talk, titled "Women in Mathematics-From Dido to Today," will be accessible to a general audience and will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Squires Colonial Hall. She will present an overview of the achievements of women in mathematics throughout history, despite the considerable obstacles they have faced, and she will consider, from an international perspective, the question of why there are still relatively few women at the top ranks of the mathematical community. What must change before women's representation in mathematics is proportional to their representation in society? Is it the women, the system, or mathematics itself that needs to change?

This event is co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Students and Womanspace, the Women's Undergraduate Network. A reception will follow in Squires Williamsburg Room.

On Wednesday, university faculty, students, and alumnae will join with approximately 100 young women from Montgomery County middle and high schools for an intergenerational, multimedia, mathematical celebration. The festivities will begin with a welcome session from 1:30 to 2 p.m. in 136 Norris. From 2-5 p.m., students will participate in hour-long sessions, including computer investigations in mathematics with Tech faculty member Terri Bourdon; an Internet scavenger hunt with Pam Newberry, Wythe County teacher and presidential award winner; and a panel discussion with six prominent Tech alumnae on educational and career options in mathematics. The day's activities are co-sponsored by the Women's Center at Virginia Tech. T-shirts will be provided to participating county school students through the assistance of Tech Bookstore.

Thursday is devoted to three talks and is co-sponsored with Virginia Tech's Interdisciplinary Center for Applied Mathematics (ICAM). The first two speakers are distinguished women faculty at Virginia Tech, who will give short presentations on their research in 216 McBryde. Yuriko Renardy, an expert in the field of fluid dynamics, will speak at 2 p.m. The mathematics department's newest faculty member, Christine McMillan, will speak on the subject of control theory at 2:30 p.m. These two talks will be followed by a reception at the Women's Center in the Price House at 3 p.m.

The concluding event of the week will be a talk by Jean Taylor (Rutgers University) at 4 p.m. Thursday in 136 Norris. Her talk is titled "Computation and Proof in Soap-Bubble-Related Mathematics." In addition to her research on the geometry of soap bubbles, crystals, and other materials, Taylor is an advocate for scientific and mathematical literacy. She has made guest appearances on the PBS show 3-2-1 Contact and has been an advisor for the show One, Two, Three...Infinity.

General funding for the events of this week has also been provided by the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information, call Susan Anderson at 1-8041, Margaret Murray at 1-8261, or John Rossi at 1-8272.