Lectures
Penn State Intercom......March
29, 2001
Climatologist to be
guest speaker in Hazleton
Robert C. Balling Jr., a nationally recognizedclimate consultant, will be the guest speaker for Penn State Hazleton's Mylar Giri Lecture in the Natural Sciences at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, in 1 Kostos Building.
The
Mylar Giri Lecture is presented annually in honor of the late campus physics
professor Mylar Giri.
Balling is currently director of the office of climatology and a professor in the Department of Geography at Arizona State University.
Over the past decade, Balling has been involved in a variety of interrelated climatological issues. He serves as a climate consultant to the U.N. Environment Program, the World Climate Program, the World Meteorological Organization, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
He recently served as the senior climate consultant for the National Geographic Society's seventh Edition Atlas of the World.
For information, call (570) 450-3179.
Gerontology Colloquia
series resumes in April
The final three titles for the Spring 2001 Gerontology Colloquia Series have been announced.
All will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in 108 Wartik Lab on the University Park campus and telecast to Lecture Room D at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
* Charles Longino, professor in the Department of Sociology at Wake Forest University, will speak on "Myths of an Aging America" on April 4.
* John J. McArdle, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, will speak on "A Latent Difference Score Approach to Longitudinal Data Analysis" on April 11.
* Scott M. Hofer, assistant professor of human development at the University, will speak about "Change in Cognitive Functioning Associated with ApoE Genotype in a Community Sample of Older Adults" on April 18.
National honors
conference set for March 30
The Schreyer Honors College and the Schreyer Institute for Innovation in Learning will sponsor the second annual Schreyer National Conference: Innovations in Undergraduate Research and Honors Education, March 30 through April 1 at The Nittany Lion Inn on the University Park campus.
Bringing together leaders in higher education with honors educators, this conference offers a unique opportunity for dialogue and discussion with a special focus on undergraduate research at research universities. Roundtable discussions will provide an opportunity for honors educators and university administrators to talk with one another about particular issues their institutions face in improving honors education and in developing undergraduate research programs.
Each day of the conference
will feature one or two nationally known figures delivering keynote addresses
on a major theme of undergraduate research and honors education. For registration
and program information, go to
http://www.shc.psu.edu/Innovations2001/innovations_info.htm.
Professor targets race
and gender issues
Michele Foster, an expert on African-American teaching and education, will lead two public discussions on Tuesday, April 3, at Penn State Harrisburg.
Foster will make separate presentations at 2 and 6 p.m. in the Gallery Lounge of the Olmsted Building. She is professor of education studies at Claremont Graduate University and visiting scholar in the U.S. Office of Educational Research and Improvement in Washington, D.C. She received her doctorate from Harvard University.
At 2 p.m., her cultural presentation on "Researching African-American Women: From Inquiry to Understanding" will focus on the historical and geographic contexts of the experiences of African-American female teachers.
For the 6 p.m. discussion, "Race, Class and Gender in Qualitative Research: Listening Between the Lines, Seeing Beyond the Categories," Foster will discuss how race, class and gender fit into data collection in research.
The presentations are free to the public. For information, call (717) 948-6038.
Lead in the soil will be
focus of discussion
David McNear, a master of science candidate in environmental pollution control, will speak on "Speciation and Lability of Lead in Rifle Range Impacted Soils" from 3:35-4:25 p.m. March 30 in 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building on the University Park campus.
The Department of Agronomy is host for the event. For information, call (814) 863-1601.
Multicultural psychology
pioneer to speak
Derald Wing Sue, a pioneer in multicultural psychology, education and counseling, will speak on "Growing Up Asian In America: Lessons For Multicultural Education" at 2 p.m. April 11 in 352 Moore Building on the University Park campus.
A professor at California State University, Hayward, and at the California School of Professional Psychology, Sue also developed the cultural competence movement that has revolutionized the field of counseling and therapy nationwide.
He is the producer of four widely used videotapes on multicultural professional training and technical editor of the Culturally Competent Counseling series for the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues and Microtraining Associates.
LumiLeds tech officer
to present 2 lectures
M. George Craford, chief technology officer for LumiLeds Lighting, will deliver the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' 2001 Nelson W. Taylor Lectures April 4 and 5 at University Park.
A reception for Craford will be held at 3:30 p.m. April 4, followed at 4 p.m. by his lecture, "The Visible Light Emitting Diode Revolution: Trends, Emerging Applications and the Potential for Solid State Illumination." He will present a second lecture on "Visible LED Technology Issues, Recent Developments and Areas for Future Research" at 4 p.m. April 5. The reception and both lectures will be held in 189 Materials Research Lab.
The lecture series was established in 1969 to honor the memory of Nelson W. Taylor (1899-1965) who was head of the Department of Ceramics from 1933 to 1943.
All events are free to the public.
Cornell associate dean
to discuss literature
Jonathan Culler, senior associate dean of the College of Arts and Science at Cornell University, will present two lectures on Tuesday, April 3, on the University Park campus.
He will discuss "The Genius of Roland Barthes" at 12:15 p.m. at the Comparative Literature Luncheon in 102 Kern. Participants may bring their own lunch or buy something in Kern Cafeteria. For information, e-mail Kang Liu, coordinator, at kxl11@psu.edu.
Culler will discuss "The Novel and the Nation Today" at 2:30 p.m. in 306 Burrowes Building. The lecture is part of a series of speakers who are discussing globalization and academic discourses. For information, e-mail D.J. Kadir, director of the Center for Global Studies, at kadir@psu.edu.
Two e-business leaders
to speak in series
The Penn State eBusiness Research Center is welcoming two industry leaders to its Spring 2001 Distinguished Speaker Series on the University Park campus.
Karim Issa, manager of SAP's B2B Marketplaces-Business Development Group, will discuss "e-Business and Marketplaces" from 5:45 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 5, in 102 Forum Building.
Terry Madonia, AT&T Wireless Services' vice president of business marketing and e-business strategy, will discuss "Driving to Net Readiness" from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, in 104 Keller Auditorium. This presentation will address AT&T Wireless's strategic direction, priorities and current assessment of its e-business capabilities. She also will review the costs associated with executing this strategy and the projected benefits.
Both presentations are free to the public.
Symposium will cover
challenges of e-learning 
Penn State faculty and teaching assistants will have an opportunity to share ideas and learn from their colleagues at the Ninth Annual Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 7 at the Joab L. Thomas Building on the University Park campus.
Sue Legg, director of the Office of Instructional Resources at the University of Florida, will present the keynote address. Legg's address will lay the foundation for this year's theme, "Supporting E-Learning, Enriching Learning."
Symposium presenters will cover meeting the challenges of large classes, using wireless technology in the classroom, shifting the focus from lectures to active learning and using technology to visualize concepts. Lunch will be provided.
The event will close with student panels on new learning environments and demonstrations of Penn State Libraries' online resources and of the services available from the Faculty Multimedia Center at the Center for Education Technology Services.
Registration is free to faculty and teaching assistants and $75 for attendees from outside the University. To register and for information, check the Web at http://cac.psu.edu/training/tlt/.
Green Design Conference,
Fair will be April 7-8
The Center for Sustainability will hold the Green Design Conference from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 7, in Zoller Gallery on the University Park campus.
The event will showcase ecological innovation, submissions in architecture, engineering, landscape design, agriculture and art. The keynote address will be given by international artist and architect Michael Singer.
The center will hold the Next Generation Green Design Fair, a celebration of ecological innovation and environmental education for families, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 8, in 126 White Building. Submissions from middle school and high school students will be on display.
Speakers include Andy Lau, professor in architectural engineering, artist Harriet Rosenberg and local ecological builder Gary Gyekis. The keynote address will be given by students from SAVE (Students Against the Violation of the Earth), who have designed, financed and now run their own environmental demonstration home and environmental education center.
The event is free to the public.
For information, call (814) 865-2224 or visit the Web at http://www.psu.edu/dept/cs.
Civil War era expert to
discuss political history
Michael F. Holt, the Langbourne M. Williams professor of American history and chair of the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia, will speak on "Rethinking the Political History of the Civil War Era" at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 11, in 121 Sparks Building on the University Park campus .
Holt's lecture is part of the Steven and Janice Brose Distinguished Lecture Series in the Era of the Civil War.
The speaker has been a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and of the National Humanities Center, and in 1993-94, he was the Pitt professor of American History and Institutions at Cambridge University.
The lecture series was established by an endowment from Steven Brose, a graduate of Penn State in political science, and his wife, Janice, who also attended the university.
The event is free to the public.
Scholar to discuss
Dickinson's manuscripts
Marta L. Werner, textual scholar and assistant professor of English at D'Youville College, will speak on electronic textuality at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 5, in the Lawrence G. and Ellen Foster Auditorium in Pattee Library on the University Park campus.
Her talk, "'Were Seas to Cross to Come': Crossing and Crossing Out in Emily Dickinson's Manuscripts," will be the third in a series devoted to issues in electronic textuality co-sponsored by the University Libraries and the Department of English.
Werner is author of Emily Dickinson's Open Folios: Scenes of Reading, Surfaces of Writing and editor of Radical Scatters: An Electronic Archive of Emily Dickinson's Late Fragments and Related Texts. She also is a general editor, with Martha Nell Smith and Ellen Louise Hart, of the Dickinson Electronic Archives. Her most recent work focuses on cancellations in Dickinson's manuscripts.
The lecture is free to the public. For information, call Robin Schulze, associate professor of English, at (814) 865-9932;
e-mail rgs3@psu.edu.
Leading Islamic feminist
writer to speak
Dr. Nawal el Saadawi, often described as the leading feminist writer in the Islamic world, will speak on "Creativity, Politics and Women" at 4 p.m. Monday, April 9, in Heritage Hall of the HUB-Robeson Cultural Center on the University Park campus.
In addition to her talk at 4 p.m., she will speak to students in the Masterpieces of Literature from Africa course, address the Comparative Literature Luncheon and meet with graduate students.
A psychiatrist by training, el Saadawi is the author of many studies and novels dealing with the condition of women in her country, Egypt, and in the Islamic world.
Her books, both scientific and fictional, were banned in Egypt at one point for 11 years during the Sadat regime. In 1981, she was jailed for several months along with 1,000 other dissidents. Freed after the death of Sadat, she founded the Arab Women's Solidarity Association in 1982. Since then, she has taught and lectured widely on the situation of women today.
Comedienne to discuss
'finding purpose'
Bertice Berry, comedienne, talk show host and scholar, will give a talk on "Finding your Purpose" on Wednesday, April 11, in the Ballroom at The Nittany Lion Inn on the University Park campus.
Berry is best known as host of her nationally syndicated talk show, "The Bertice Berry Show," and, most recently, as the of host of "USA LIVE," a four-hour live interview and entertainment show on the USA Cable Network.
A best-selling author, Berry graduated magna cum laude from Jacksonville University and received her doctorate from Kent State, where she taught sociology and statistics.
She also is a four-time winner of the National Comedian of the Year Award.
The Penn State Forum is a lunchtime speaker series offered by the Faculty Staff Club and sponsored in part by the Penn State Bookstore. It is open to the public. Tickets are $11 for non-members and $9 for members, and include lunch. Reservations can be made by mail or by stopping by the Faculty Staff Club office at 103 HUB-Robeson Center. Tickets will be on sale at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. followed by the speech and a question-and-answer session at noon. For information call (814) 865-7590.