HEARD ON CAMPUS — MARTINA NAVRATILOVA
"Basketball player Charles Barkley said a few years ago that he doesn’t want to be a role model. Well, athletes are certainly getting paid enough to be role models. No, we don’t raise kids directly — that’s a parent’s job — but we do owe them a certain level of behavior. Our private lives are not private by any means, so we have to take more responsibility for our actions."
— Tennis legend Martina Navratilova speaking last night at Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus as part of Penn State’s final Distinguished Speaker Series presentation of the academic year. By the time of her retirement, Navratilova had acquired more tournament titles than any man or woman in tennis history, winning at least one professional tour event for 21 consecutive years and dominating the tennis scene through the 1980s. Also heard on campus recently as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series have been notables such as Danny Glover, Christopher Reeve, John Walsh, William F. Buckley, and Charlton Heston. 

"SMART" METER CAN MEASURE CONCRETE READINESS
Penn State engineers have developed a "smart" maturity meter to estimate and to signal by phone when newly poured concrete bridge supports, pavements, and highway surfaces have reached the correct hardness and strength to be opened to traffic or the next phase of construction. "This method of estimating the strength of concrete can save taxpayer money in reduced cost of quality control and assurance testing," says Dr. Paul Tikalsky, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and a developer of the prototype. "In addition, the meter provides information on the status of the actual structure rather than on representative concrete samples, the method most often used today to estimate concrete strength." The meter prototype and accessory technology were developed by Tikalsky and David G. Tepke, a doctoral student, as part of Tepke’s master’s degree research. For the complete story by Barbara Hale, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/concretemeter.html. 

SAINT PATRICK’S DAY PARTYING IS UNIQUELY AMERICAN
Saint Patrick’s Day on Mar. 17 is celebrated in both Ireland and the United States, but how they celebrate differs considerably, says Penn State Abington English Professor Tramble T. Turner. A specialist in Irish literature, Turner says the lavish, alcohol-laden celebrations that occur in the U.S. are a far cry from the more serious religious observations that dominate overseas. "The tradition in Ireland is the same as it is for any saint’s day — you visit church and focus on the life of the saint," he says. However, that may be changing. "There is a parade now in Dublin, and some parts of Ireland have adopted more American celebrations in order to attract tourists." He also says that most of the large-scale Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations were originally held in big port cities with large numbers of Irish immigrants, such as Chicago, Boston, New York and San Francisco. Irish settlers wanted to maintain their heritage by bringing Saint Patrick’s Day to America with them, but they also wanted to adapt it into an American traditions.

This is one of a series of story ideas for media from Dave Jwainer, coordinator of news for the Philadelphia area campuses. For other news from Abington, go to http://www.abington.psu.edu/. 

SAT. SCIENCE — CHALLENGE, SUCCESS IN HUMAN GENOMICS
Ken Weiss, Evan Pugh Professor of Anthropology and Genetics, will present a lecture titled "Reflections on a Golden Age: Challenge Amid Success in Human Genomics" at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, in 100 Thomas. His lecture is the fifth of six programs in the Lectures on the Frontiers of Science series, organized under the theme of "Decoding Life’s Instruction Book: Genetics and Genomics." While many scientists view the human genome as the blueprint from which reliable predictions can be made about our health and other aspects of our lives, biological complexities make such predictions a difficult and frustrating task. With his lecture, Weiss plans to outline the reasons for those difficulties and to address the challenges scientists face in making predictions from genes.

For more on this story, go to http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/frontiers/Weiss2-2001.htm. 

NEW ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
The Smeal College of Business Administration has named Dr. Christopher von Schirach-Szmigiel as associate dean for executive education, effective Mar. 1. His responsibilities include creating and delivering new customized executive education programs, and promoting the portfolio for educational programs to customers. He will identify corporate opportunities that lead to research partnerships and work with the college research center directors, faculty and staff to generate and respond to business opportunities in the areas of executive and management development and education. Schirach-Szmigiel is currently director of the Ericsson Corporation Management Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, where he has developed and directed such programs as The Ericsson Executive in Global Perspective Program; The Advanced Ericsson Strategy Program; The Business Intelligence Program; and the Ericsson Partnership Program.

For more on this story by Steve Infanti, go to http://www.smeal.psu.edu./news/depth/feb01/leader.html. 

SOCIAL SCIENCE LIBRARY PLANS BLACK HISTORY EVENT
The Social Sciences Library will hold an open house, "A Focus on Black History Month," on Monday, Feb. 19, at 4 p.m., in the Candace and Patrick E. Malloy III Diversity Studies Room, 109 Pattee Library. Featured speaker Howard Rambsy III, a doctoral candidate in English, will talk about his current exhibit, "Just Beyond the Tip of the Tongue: A Literary and Extra-Literary Exhibit on Richard Wright.".Presentations will begin at 4:30 p.m. Immediately following, University Libraries faculty and staff will demonstrate databases, such as Ethnic NewsWatch, and be available for questions. Attendees are also urged to view the exhibit, "Martin Luther King and the Legacy of Nonviolent Social Protest," on display through Mar. 30, in 201 Paterno Library.

For more information, contact the Social Sciences Library at (814) 865-4861, or visit its Web site at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/crsweb/docs/ssmain.htm. 

PENN STATE CHEERLEADERS EARN NATIONAL PLACING
The Penn State cheerleading squad earned a pair of significant national honors at the recent Universal Cheerleading Association college championships conducted at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. The Penn State women entered in the all-female division finished second overall, while the team’s entry in the four-woman stunt group captured the national championship in the partner stunt category. "This is one of the best showings we’ve had in the UCA national competition since we won the small co-ed division title in 1997," cheerleading coach Curtis White said. More than 142 teams from throughout the country participated in the UCA event. The competition will be telecast by either ESPN or espn2 on Sunday, Feb. 25. Fans should check local listings for time and channel in their market. For more information on Penn State sports, go to http://www.www.GoPSUsports.com.