January 12, 2006

Around Campus

Author Richard Stallman to Speak

Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Movement, the GNU Project, and the Free Software Foundation, will speak on Jan. 13 at 11 a.m. in the Campus Center, Odeum A. He is the author of many projects, including the GNU General Public License, the most widely used free software license, which pioneered the concept of copyleft.

Stallman graduated from Harvard in 1974 with a B.A. in physics. During his college years, he also worked as a staff hacker at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab, learning operating system development by doing it. He wrote the first extensible Emacs text editor there in 1975. He also developed the AI technique of dependency-directed backtracking, also known as truth maintenance. In January 1984 he resigned from MIT to start the GNU project.

The talk, sponsored by the Milestones in Computer Science Distinguished Lecture Series, is hosted by Michael Gennert, department head and professor of Computer Science, and is free and open to the public. For more information, call 508-831-5357.

STOP Program Saves Personal Property

To help prevent theft of personal property, the WPI Police Department is offering S.T.O.P. tags to all students, faculty, and staff for laptops, digital cameras, bicycles, or any other valued items on Jan. 16, 17, and 18 at the Campus Center, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Through this program, a small metal tag is glued onto an item, identifying it as registered. While the tag can be removed with pliers and a screwdriver, underneath is a tattoo that identifies the item as "stolen." WPI is the only Worcester-area institution of higher learning to offer this program, which has already proven to be successful. A WPI student who had left his laptop in the Campus Center returned to find it had been stolen and reported the loss to Campus Police. Campus Police had just received a phone call from a store owner who had received the laptop as a pawn item, noticed the STOP tag, and called the 800 phone number on the tag. The laptop was recovered and returned to the student.

WPI Introduces Girls to Engineering

On Feb. 3, the Office of Women's Programs will host Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, an annual event that encourages female high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to pursue careers in engineering. On average, about 30 girls attend each year and many are accompanied by their teachers and/or parents. The program includes a robotics demonstration; biomedical, fire protection, and civil engineering lab tours; an interactive, hands-on engineering project; an admissions panel and campus tour for the parents; a chance for the girls to socialize with members of the WPI chapter of the Society of Women Engineers; a Segway demonstration; and the opportunity for participants to present their projects to their parents and teachers.

To further their interest in engineering, math, and science, participants will also learn about WPI's WUNDERS summer program (Women Understanding New Dimensions in Engineering-related Sciences) and other opportunities at WPI.

WPI Students to Travel to Puerto Rico

The WPI Music Department will be taking a group of 38 singers and instrumentalists on a performance tour of Puerto Rico, March 3-8. They will be performing at the Cathedral of San Juan and have been invited to perform at a clinic on American folk songs and spirituals at the University of Puerto Rico. John Delorey, director of choral music and assistant instructor of music, says this "Alden Tour" will feature his arrangements of 19th century folk hymns and spirituals.

People

Hassett Assumes New Role

Tracy Hassett has been promoted to the position of associate vice president for Human Resources and will continue to serve as Special Assistant to the President. As associate vice president, she will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of and strategic planning associated with the department, including recruitment and retention, benefits, employee relations, training and development, employee and labor relations, human resource information systems, and furthering institutional equity.

Carney to Retire

After more than 15 years in the Office of Human Resources, Michael Carney, assistant vice president for Human Resources, has announced his retirement, effective April 1, 2006.

Exhibit Features Assistant Professor

A stencil entitled "It was a Very Good Year" by Joshua Rosenstock, assistant professor of Interactive Media and Game Development, Humanities and Arts, will be shown in the Paper Politics show at 5+5 Gallery, 111 Front Street Suite 210, Brooklyn, N.Y., through February 19.

Publications and Presentations

Chemical Engineering

Ginn, T. R., T. A. Camesano, T. D. Scheibe, K. E. Nelson, T. P. Clement, and B.E. Wood, "Microbial Transport in the Subsurface" (invited review), in Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences, M. G. Anderson (Ed.), Wiley, N.Y., 2005, 1603-1626.

Camesano, Terri A., "Quantifying Bacterial Interactions with Biomaterials and Host Tissue Using Atomic Force Microscopy," Boston Scientific, Natick, Mass., Dec. 2005.

Liu, Yatao*, Matthew A. Black**, Lizabeth Caron,** and Terri A. Camesano, "Role of Cranberry Juice on Molecular-Scale Surface Characteristics and Adhesion of Escherichia coli." in Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 2006, 93, 297-305.

*WPI graduate student
**WPI alum

Chemistry and Biochemistry

MacDonald, John C., "Molecular Assembly in Crystals and on Surfaces," presented at Connecticut College, New London, Conn., Oct. 4, 2005.

MacDonald, John C., "Nucleation and Growth of Polymorphs of Pharmaceuticals on Chemically Modified Surfaces," presented at the 2005 Materials Research Society Meeting, Boston, Nov. 29, 2005.

MacDonald, John C., Mehmet V. Yigit, and Kyle Mychajlonka, "Two Concomitant Polymorphs of a Supramolecular Model of the Asp-His-Ser Catalytic Triad," in Crystal Growth & Design, 2005, 5, 2248-2255.

Pavlik, J. W., J. A. Lowell, and V. Ervithayasuporn, "Synthesis of 3-Phenyl-5-(trifluromethyl) Isoxazole and 5-Phenyl-3 (trifluoromethyl)-Isoxazole," in the Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry, 2005, 42, 1253 (2005).

Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science

Bonneau, Jacklyn, "Forensics: Connecting Science Investigations with TI Data Collection Activities," presented at NSTA Institute, Dec. 3, 2005, Dallas, Texas.

New Patents

U. S. Patent 6,893,716 B2: "Non-Covalent Assembly of Multilayer Thin Film Supramolecular Structures." Inventors: W. Grant McGimpsey and John C. MacDonald. Date of Patent: May 17, 2005.

Recent Grants

Biomedical Engineering

Sotak, C., for "Development of MRI Techniques for Imaging Stroke in Animal Models," from Emory University (NIH), $15,325.

Chemical Engineering

Datta, R., for "Logistic Fuel Reforming: A Building Block Approach to Mechanistic Structure and Microkinetics," from the Office of Naval Research, $64,000.

Fire Protection Engineering

Barnett, J., for "Fire Simulator Test Plan," from Battelle (Navy), $12,368.

Gordon Library

Flanagan, P., for "LibQual+ Survey," from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, $3,000.

Mechanical Engineering

Apelian, D., for "Materials and Process Design for High-Temperature Carburizing: Integrating Processing and Performance," from the Department of Energy, $36,000.

Pryputniewicz, R., for "OELIM Support for the Development of Navigation Grade Integrated Micro Gyroscopes (NGIMG)," from the Boeing Company (Air Force), $90,000.

Rong, Y., for "Fundamental Research on Grinding Technology," from the Saint Gobain Corporation, $68,500.

Rong, Y., for "An Energy Savings Model for the Heat Treatment of Castings," from the Department of Energy, $50,000.

Total November 2005 grants and contracts: $339,193.

Music Notes

For more information, call 508-831-5696

Computer Tips

Closing Pop-up Windows

How can you safely close pop-up windows for advertisements, contests, suggestions for how to protect your computer, etc.? Pop-up windows are often embedded in Web sites that we visit. Clicking the X, or a “Close” button contained within the pop-up may actually trigger spyware and adware activity on your computer. The best way to close these windows is to use the task bar at the bottom of your screen. Right-click on the item in the task bar, then choose Close, or use the keyboard shortcut ALT+F4. If you have numerous windows open, they will be grouped by application. You can right-click on the item for your Web browser (i.e., Internet Explorer) and choose Close Group to close all windows associated with that application. (Be aware that this means you close all Web pages you were using, as well.)

Update Your Campus Directory

Human Resources has released the following updates to the 2005-06 Campus Directory. Please make a note of them in your copy.

Please change the phone number for the following department, faculty, and staff:

Please change the fax numbers for the following departments:

Please change the titles for the following:

Please make the following name and e-mail correction:

Please add the following individual to your directory:

Joan Killough-Miller
Alumni Editor
Marketing and Communications
Boynton Hall, 3rd floor
508-831-5998
jkmiller@wpi.edu

Please make the following name change:

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Last modified: February 08, 2008 16:16:34