IST PROFESSOR CONTRIBUTED TO HUMAN GENOME PROJECT
A large-scale database indexing method co-developed by a faculty member in the School of Information Sciences and Technology is speeding up the mapping of the human genetic code. The algorithm, created by James Wang, holder of the PNC Career Development Professorship, and his collaborators, made it possible to dramatically accelerate the search for patterns among the staggering mass of information that makes up the human genetic code, as well as the genetic codes of other living creatures. Called a Sequence Search Tree, or SST, the algorithm is believed to have quickened the pattern recognition pace twenty-fold. Wang and his team published their development in Currents in Computational Molecular Biology last year and have applied for a patent for SST. For more on this story by Charles DuBois, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/genomeist.html
PAT SHIPMAN PUBLISHES ARTICLE ON BONE FRAGMENTS
Pat Shipman, adjunct professor of anthropology and an award-winning science writer, has written a commentary, "What Can You Do With a Bone Fragment?,," in the 13 February issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The commentary concerns a recent discovery that early pre-humans who lived between 1.8 and 1.1 million years ago at two locations in South Africa apparently used bone tools regularly to collect termites--presumably to eat them as a rich source of protein and fat that was otherwise lacking in their diet of foraged vegetable foods. A decade ago, Shipman and a colleague discovered that this same collection of fossil bones had been used as tools after studying the wear patterns on their pointed tips under a scanning electron microscopeFor more on this story by Barbara Kennedy, go to http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Shipman2-2001.htm
NEW ECONOMY BRINGS PEOPLE MANAGEMENT CENTER STAGE
The new economy is changing how business is conducted, and it will change how to recruit, select, develop, retain, and compensate the knowledge workers leading corporations into the future. “The new economy is far from a fad. The most successful organizations in the decade ahead will be those that adapt and adjust to the new world, and human resources management is at the heart of the challenge,” says Albert A. Vicere, professor of business administration, specializing in strategic leadership. In the new-economy world, where organizations compete on the basis of core competencies and relationships, Vicere points out that human resources management practices will emerge as a key source of competitive advantage. Vicere’s research on “New Economy, New HR” appeared in the fall issue of Employee Relations Today. For more, go to http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/depth/feb01/neweconomy.html
BLACKLEDGE TO ADDRESS PENN STATE FORUM
Todd Blackledge, lead college football analyst for CBS sports, will give a talk on "Becoming a Difference-Maker" on Thursday, March 15, in the Ballroom at the Nittany Lion Inn. Mr. Blackledge, a seven-year veteran of the National Football League, joined CBS Sports in 1999, after spending several years broadcasting for ABC Sports, ESPN and the Big East Television Network as both a game and studio analyst. A 1983 graduate of Penn State, Blackledge was an academic All-American and earned Phi Betta Kappa status as a junior at Penn State. He was the starting quarterback for three seasons, guiding the Nittany Lions to a 31-5 record, including three New Year's Day bowl victories and a national championship in 1982. In the spring of 1997, he was elected to the Academic All-American Hall of Fame. The Penn State Forum is a lunchtime speaker series offered by the Faculty Staff Club and is sponsored in part by the Penn State Bookstore. It is open to the public. For ticket information call (814) 865-7590.For more information, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/blackledgeforum.html
PENN COLLEGE NEW MAJOR IN ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION
With “rolling blackouts,” “brownouts” and similar terms finding their way into news reports more often these days, the field of standby electric power generation has become one of the fastest-growing career areas, and Pennsylvania College of Technology is responding with a program to produce the skilled technicians the industry seeks. Beginning this fall, Penn College’s School of Natural Resources Management will offer an associate-degree major in Electric Power Generation Technology. Graduates of the program can expect to find jobs as power generation technicians, technical sales consultants, industrial maintenance workers, field service technicians, sales representatives and service managers. For more, go to http://www2.pct.edu/news/coursoff/powergeneration.htm.
SHAVER’S CREEK SETS $25,000 GOAL FOR ANNUAL BIRDATHON
In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Shaver’s Creek environmental Center planning to raise $25,000 through its annual Birding Cup, which will be held from 9 a.m. on Friday, May 4, to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 5. Proceeds from the event support the daily care and feeding of the raptors at Shaver’s Creek.. More than 20 birds representing more than a dozen species—including vultures, falcons, owls, hawks and eagles—are cared for at the Raptor Center. Funds also support the educational programs associated with the raptors. Each year, teams compete for the Birding Cup during the peak of bird-migration season. Birds are identified by both sight and sound. Team members solicit pledges from individuals and corporate sponsors based upon the number of species identified by their team. Pledges may be made for the total number of species counted or by making a flat donation. For more information about The Birding Cup, to make a pledge or to participate, please call 814-863-2000 or 814-667-3424, or e-mail ShaversCreek@outreach.psu.edu. For more on Shavers Creek, go to http://www.outreach.psu.edu/ShaversCreek/.
STATE, FEDERAL TAX FORMS ON THE WEB FROM PATTEE
2000 Pennsylvania and federal tax forms are available to the public on the University Libraries' Social Sciences Library's Web site. The tax forms can be downloaded more quickly from this site than from the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Web site, which becomes increasingly difficult to access as tax season progresses. The Web page also contains links to the IRS's Web site, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue's Web site, and other states' tax information sites. For more information, call the Social Sciences Library at (814) 865-4861. or go directly to the tax forms at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/crsweb/docs/taxes2000/taxforms.htm
PENN STATE ALTOONA PRESENTS “I AM A COSMIC RAINBOW!”
“I AM A COSMIC RAINBOW!”, is a performance that crosses the spectrum from delightful to spiritual to tragic through African and Brazilian traditions, including storytelling, dance, and music will be performed tonight, Feb. 22, through Saturday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. in Penn State Altoona’s Community Arts Center Theater. Admission is free and open to the public. Parental guidance is suggested. The show will be presented by Zen Silva, a Fulbright Scholar/Artist-in-Residence, during the current academic year. For more, go to http://www.aa.psu.edu/ur/releases/2001/02_19_01.htm