South Pole Telescope Team Uses New Method to Discover Clusters of Galaxies Far, Far Away
Scientists have studied the night sky for thousands of years searching for clues to help them understand the universe. The South Pole Telescope (SPT) team, including Case Western Reserve University Professor of Physics and Astronomy John Ruhl and graduate student Zachary Staniszewski, achieved a major milestone toward using a new technique to probe the most mysterious component of the universe, dark energy.
Staniszewski is the lead author on the multi-institution collaboration's paper, "Galaxy clusters discovered with a Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect survey," released today in a pre-publication posting on astro-ph, an electronic preprint archive. The paper chronicles the discovery of three galaxy clusters using a new survey technique.
The technique relies on an effect that galaxy clusters have on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) light that passes through them. The SPT team surveyed a 40-square degree patch of sky looking for galaxy clusters via this effect, called the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect. The survey resulted in finding four galaxy clusters, one previously known and three new ones. It is the first time this technique has been used to discover new clusters. Read more.
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing Dean Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing Dean May L. Wykle received the National League for Nursing's (NLN) Isabel Hampton Robb Lifetime Achievement Award during the organization's recent Education Summit 2008.
The award recognizes a lifetime of visionary work that transforms nursing education and the profession of nursing.
A renowned expert in gerontology, Wykle has been dean of the School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University since 2001. For more than two decades, she has also been director of the University Center on Aging and Health, and has overseen one of the nation's first certificate courses in gerontology. Through this position, she has mentored young faculty to follow in her footsteps as leaders in gerontology. Read more.
Campus News
The Kelvin Smith Library (KSL) is launching its Digital Library Lecture Series for 2008-09 with Melvyn Goldstein, John Reynold Harkness Professor of Anthropology and co-director for the Center for Research on Tibet. The lecture is from 12:30 to 2 p.m., Friday, October 31, in KSL's Dampeer Room. "From Basic Research to Digital Archive: The Tibet Oral History Project" also will feature David Germano from the University of Virginia, who will discuss digital transformation in research and scholarship. The lecture series is open to the campus community, as well as to local academic communities. The complete schedule, including details and presenter bios for the October, November and March 2009 events are available on the KSL NewsBlog.
The Case Western Reserve community is invited to showcase the university via the U.S. News & and World Report/YouTube "Why My School Rocks! College Video Contest" through Friday, October 31. Videos should highlight unique and memorable characteristics of campus life. The grand prize is a spring break trip for two. Complete rules are available online.
For Faculty and Staff
The Department of Human Resources' Employee Education, Training and Development Unit provides a vast array of on-campus training and educational opportunities. The next opportunity is a mini session entitled "Life Mapping with Monika Moss" from noon to 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, October 14, in Adelbert Hall's Toepfer Room. Moss is the author of Life Mapping: A Journey of Self Discovery and Path Finding and owner of MKM Management. This concept creates a road map to help make dreams come true and visions real–financial, professional, spiritual or personal. The book will be available for purchase. Register online.
Applications are due Monday, October 13, for UCITE's (University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education) spring 2009 Learning Fellows. The fellowships are for faculty members from all colleges and schools at Case Western Reserve who want to meet with other professors from the university to explore ideas on how people learn and how those ideas can be applied in the classroom . Meetings will occur once a week on Tuesdays beginning January 13 and ending April 21. Upon successfully completing the program, each faculty member will receive a grant of $2,500 to be used at their discretion for academic purposes.
For Students
Applications are being accepted for the 2009-2010 undergraduate RIBMS program (Research at the Interface of the Biological and Mathematical Sciences). Second- and third-year students interested in joining a team of other students majoring in math, statistics, biology, systems biology or biochemistry are being sought to work on research projects under the mentorship of interdisciplinary teams of faculty. Available research projects include malaria genotyping and ecology; biomechanics of soft-bodied organisms; chemotaxis and the immune system; and cognitive networks and the structure of human memory. RIBMS students will work intensively during a 10-week summer internship, followed by two semesters of research during the academic year. Go online for more details and application materials.
Registration is due today for the Engineers Without Borders Bucket Brigade relay race, taking place 2-4 p.m., Sunday, October 12, at the Village at 115 track. The relay will raise awareness about the group's initiatives. Go online to learn more about the available prizes and registration fees.
Events
The Department of Anthropology's Kassen Lecture will feature Linda C. Garro of the University of California, Los Angeles, on the topic of "Enacting Ethos, Enacting Health: Parental Commentary and Everyday Life in a California Family." The discussion is from 4-5:30 p.m., Friday, October 24, at Mather Memorial, Room 201. A reception will follow.
Evalyn Gates, who earned her Ph.D. in physics from Case Western Reserve and is now at the University of Chicago, will speak at 4:15 p.m., Monday, October 13, in DeGrace Hall, Room 312, on the topic of "Human Detectors: A Scientific Approach to Increasing the Number of Women in Science." A wine and cheese reception will follow in Hovorka Atrium. Sponsored by the Krumhansl Foundation, through the Case Alumni Association and the Department of Physics. In addition to the Monday presentation, she will discuss "Ten Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Career in Science" on Tuesday, October 14. Learn more.
Mark Bassett, a SAGES lecturer in the Department of English, is participating in a free roundtable discussion from 2-4 p.m., Saturday, October 11, at the Beck Center for the Arts, 17801 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio. The discussion, sponsored by the Cleveland Artists Foundation (CAF), will complement the current CAF traveling exhibition "Charles Lakofsky: Ohio Modernist Master," which was curated by Bassett and other artists.
The ninth annual conference on Conceptual Structure, Discourse and Language (CSDL): Meaning, Form and Body, takes place October 18-20 at Case Western Reserve University. CSDL features papers in the fields of cognitive linguistics, functional linguistics, discourse, corpus linguistics, and speech and language processing, especially among scholars exploring the interface between language and cognition. Registration and fee information is available online.
The views and opinions of those invited to speak on campus do not necessarily reflect the views of the university administration or any other segment of the university community.
Et al
Case Western Reserve University Athletic Director Dave Diles has announced the hiring of Erin O'Neill as interim softball coach for the 2008-2009 school year. O'Neill was an assistant basketball coach at Kenyon from 2005-2007. Prior to that, she was a graduate assistant softball coach at John Carroll University from 2004-2005.
Randy O'Conner, a Case Western Reserve University alumnus, was recently honored by the Professional Insurance Agents Association of Ohio with its Excellence in Leadership Award.
The Lux chapter at Case Western Reserve University was among the outstanding chapters to be honored for their excellence at the 2008 Mortar Board National Conference. The group was one of 27 chapters to take home the Golden Torch Award. Mortar Board is a national honor society that recognizes college seniors for outstanding achievement in scholarship, leadership and service. Chapter President Sarah Murphy accepted the award at the summer conference.
