Lectures
Penn State Intercom......February
14, 2002
Effective prevention
practices to be explored
Rebecca Wells, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Administration, will give a presentation at the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development seminar from 4 to 5 p.m. Feb. 20 in 209 South Henderson Building on the University Park campus.
The title is "The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention's RADAR Network as a Strategy for Disseminating Effective Prevention Practices."
For information, call Celene Domitrovich at (814) 865-2616 or e-mail cxd130@psu.edu.
'Green Economics' is
topic of Feb. 16 lecture 
"Green Economics: An Optimistic Approach to Human Interactions with the Environment" will be featured at a free public lecture given Feb. 16 by Timothy J. Considine, professor of mineral economics and director of the Center for Economic and Environmental Risk Assessment. The lecture is the fourth in the series titled "Planet Earth: Our Role in Its Health," the topic of the 2002 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science. This series of free public lectures takes place on six consecutive Saturday mornings from 11 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. in 100 Thomas Building on the University Park campus.
Considine will describe an optimistic view of human interactions with the natural environment, focusing on the development of strategies for transforming traditional economies into closed-loop systems that use effluents from one process as raw materials for another, rather than "end-of-pipe" pollution control.
He will describe the potential impact of using scientific innovations and new technologies as part of an "industrial ecology" approach to protecting and improving Earth's environment.
Talk examines impact
of invasive plant species
Arthur Gover, research support associate in the Department of Horticulture, will present "Invasive Plant Species: A Brief Overview of Their Impacts and Initiatives to Contend With Them" from 3:35 to 4:25 p.m. Feb. 15 in 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building on the University Park campus. The Department of Crop and Soil Sciences is host for the event.
For more information, call (814) 863-1601.
'Walk through Geologic
Time' to benefit THON
Laura Guertin, assistant professor of earth and mineral sciences at Penn State Delaware County, has designed a "Walk Through Geologic Time," where she will give a presentation on the history of the Earth. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn what happened during various geologic periods and examine rock and fossil specimens that go back 2 billion years, including fossilized fish, grinding stones from the stomach of a dinosaur and dinosaur bones.
The event will be from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 18, in front of the Classroom Building at Penn State Delaware County.
Guertin has made this a fund-raising event with the campus THON committee. THON, the University's annual 48-hour Dance Marathon, will take place Feb. 22 and 23 at University Park. Money raised from the event benefits children with cancer.
Guertin is asking that attendees bring change to place along the geologic time scale. The person who donates the most change will receive his or her own trilobite fossil, which is approximately 400 million years old.
For more information, call (610) 892-1427.
Panelists will deliberate
the rise, fall of Enron
A panel discussion, "Learning from Enron," will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, in 112 Walker Building on the University Park campus.
John Bagby, professor of business law and faculty research associate in the eBRC, will be one of several panelists
discussing the rise and rapid fall of Enron Corp.
The Problem-Based Learning in Entrepreneurship Program, in cooperation with the College of Engineering and The Smeal College of Business Administration, is presenting the event.
New IST series examines
social creativity
Gerhard Fischer, professor and fellow of the Institute for Cognitive Science at the University of Colorado-Boulder, will speak at 4 p.m. Feb. 21 in 101 Thomas Building on the University Park campus.
His presentation, "Social Creativity and Meta-Design in Lifelong Learning Communities," is the second talk in a new Distinguished Lecture Series in the School of Information Sciences and Technology.
Fischer's areas of expertise are in computer-supported collaborative work and learning, artificial intelligence and cognitive science.
The IST Distinguished Lecturer Series is being coordinated by IST faculty member John Yen, University professor of information sciences and technology and professor of computer science and engineering.
VOICE Box workshops
offer teaching strategies
Two workshops are scheduled for February and March as part of the VOICE (Variations of Innovation Changes in Education) Box program on the University Park campus.
* Josephine Carubia, coordinator of student programs and service learning in the Schreyer Honors College, will facilitate a discussion and workshop on the pedagogy of academic service learning and on resources available for faculty who want to integrate service learning into a course from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Feb. 27 in the Schreyer Honors College. Bring a syllabus for a course participants would consider for a service learning project or for service learning pedagogy.
* Jill Lane, research associate and program manager of instructional design in the Schreyer Institute for Innovation in Learning, will facilitate a discussion on Problem-Based Learning from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. March 19 in 129 AB HUB-Robeson Center. Attendees should bring a copy of their syllabus to the workshop.
Both workshops include a continental breakfast beginning at 8 a.m. To register, complete the application form at http://www.inov8.psu.edu/siil/work/workshops/voicebox.asp.
For information, call Stephanie Bumgardner at (814) 865-8681 or e-mail svs8@psu.edu.
Women in science,
engineering to attend VOICES
VOICES 2002, an annual networking conference for female graduate students in science and engineering, will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, in The Nittany Lion Inn on the University Park campus.
It will begin with brunch and a keynote panel on "Women and the Changing Work Force." Panel participants are Andrea Grazzini, Exygen Research; Karen Risha, scientist, Exygen Research; and Elizabeth Corwin, assistant professor, School of Nursing.
Sessions may include: "Financial Planning in 2002," "CV/Resumé Preparation" and "Balancing Your Career and Personal Life."
VOICES will offers a special workshop for undergraduate women titled, "Graduate School: Is it Right for Me?"
Preregistration is required and includes a fee of $5 for students and $10 for nonstudents. In addition to female graduate students, the conference is open to undergraduate students, faculty and professionals to network and interact with peers and colleagues in science and engineering.
For information on the conference or to request a brochure/registration form, call Katie Rung at (814) 865-3342 or e-mail cxg1@psu.edu.
Student, community panel
tackles stereotypes
"Erasing Stereotypes" will be the focus of a panel discussion at 6 p.m. Feb. 18 at the Pennsylvania College of Technology Library.
The program, which is being sponsored by the library and the African Student Association in celebration of Black History Month, will feature discussion of stereotypes and ethnic diversity by Penn College students and community members.
The program is free to the public.
'Naked Truth' explores ad
images 
Jean Kilbourne will give a slide lecture, "The Naked Truth: Advertising's Image of Women," at 7 p.m. Feb. 20 in Alumni Hall of the HUB-Robeson Center on the University Park campus.
Kilbourne will explore the relationship of media images to actual problems in society, such as violence, the sexual abuse of children, rape and sexual harassment, pornography and censorship, teen-age pregnancy and eating disorders.
For information, call Linda LaSalle at (814) 863-0461.