HEARD ON CAMPUS: FRANCES HESSELBEIN AT PSU FORUM
“Ten years from now may they write of you: the future called, and you responded” - Frances Hesselbein, founding president and chairman of the board of governors for the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, speaking yesterday (Sept. 25) at the Penn State Forum. The topic of Hesselbein’s discussion was “Leadership Challenges in a New World.” For video highlights from the presentation, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/stories/hesselbein/index.html.
SIMULATIONS REVEAL STRONGEST CARBON NANOTUBES
A researcher team lead by Vincent Crespi, the Downsborough Associate Professor of Physics at Penn State, has used computer simulations to discover carbon fibers with mechanical strength comparable to that of diamond. In a paper published recently in Physical Review Letters, Crespi, graduate student Dragan Stojkovic and recent Ph.D. graduate Peihong Zhang describe incredibly strong and stiff carbon tubes about 0.4 nanometers in diameter that could theoretically be made from simple starting materials. “This new fiber hasn't been synthesized yet, but several physicists and chemists are interested in making them, and they may prove very useful in nanotechnology applications,” Crespi said. The team’s discovery was made serendipitously while its members were studying unrelated features of carbon compounds. “This is one of those sideways inspirations that comes when you’re looking at one thing and you suddenly realize it has a different application,” said Crespi. For the full story, visit http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Crespi9-2001.htm
“DUNG HAPPENS” AT PENN STATE’S GREAT INSECT FAIR
Visitors at Penn State’s Great Insect Fair can enter the unglamorous--but fascinating--world of dung beetles and other arthropods that assist in decomposition. Sponsored by the College of Agricultural Science’s entomology department, the fair takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, in and around the Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, near the corner of Curtin and Shortlidge roads on the University Park campus. “If it weren’t for insects, fungi, bacteria and other organisms, we might be knee-deep in dung, detritus and other organic waste,” said Maryann Frazier, insect fair planner. “We hope to give the public an appreciation for the creatures that help break down organic matter and keep our ecosystems in balance.” Interactive events including an Insect Olympics and Soil World will take visitors of all ages into the often-overlooked world of detritivores. The fair will also feature an exotic insect zoo, an insect deli and a butterfly greenhouse tour. For more information, visit http://entscied.cas.psu.edu/ or http://www.aginfo.psu.edu/News/september01/insect.html.
INGERSOLL-RAND GIFT CREATES NEW STUDENT LOUNGE
Industrial engineering students whose studies keep them on the West Campus of University Park much of the day have a place to call their own, thanks to a new student lounge courtesy of Ingersoll-Rand. A $75,000 gift from the company allowed the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering to create a special area where students can study, meet and relax in the Leonhard Building. The new space, is “a wonderful addition for our students,” said Rick Koubek, head of the industrial engineering department. “It’s an important statement of Ingersoll-Rand’s commitment to engineering education and its relationship to Penn State.” Ingersoll-Rand recruiter Mike Marino added, “We started a partnership with the University about five years ago. Penn State is one of Ingersoll-Rand’s six key recruiting schools.” For the full story, visit http://www.engr.psu.edu/news/.
BRITNEY SPEARS BLITZES BRYCE JORDAN CENTER NOV. 8
Pop superstar Britney Spears, with special guest O-Town, hits the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale Saturday, Sept. 29, at 10 a.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center, Eisenhower Auditorium, Hetzel Union Building, selected Uni-Mart ticket outlets, Commonwealth Campus ticket outlets, or charge by phone at (800) 863-3336 or locally at (814) 865-5555, or on the internet at http://www.bjc.psu.edu. Tickets are priced at $41.50, $52 and $68.50 for reserved seating. Wristbands will be available Friday, Sept. 28 from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 29, from 8 a.m. until 9 a.m. for fans purchasing tickets at the Bryce Jordan Center only. Spears has announced that she will donate $1 per ticket sold from concerts on her North American Tour this fall to the children of the policeman and firefighters lost in the World Trade Center attack. Spears will also offer exclusive merchandise at each show with all of the proceeds being donated in an effort to raise as much as $2 million for the youngest victims of this national tragedy. For more information, visit http://www.bjc.psu.edu.