REINDEER RANT: A news release about anthropology Professor Donald Grayson鈥檚 research on the environmental threat posed to reindeer by continued global warming brought out the worst punning instincts in some headline writers. The San Diego Union-Tribune headlined its story 鈥淩udolph the dead-nosed reindeer鈥� while London鈥檚 Daily Express carried a headline of 鈥淪lay time for the red hot reindeer.鈥�
MLK BOOK DAY: Switching holidays quickly 鈥� if you need something to read over the upcoming Martin Luther King Day, why not try King: The Photobiography of Martin Luther King, a new book of photos with comments by the UW鈥檚 own Charles Johnson, professor of English. Johnson is, of course, also the author of a novel, Dreamer, focusing on a fictional MLK double.
CLASSY COMMUNICATION: The Engineering Communication Program in the UW鈥檚 Department of Technical Communication is one of 11 programs nationwide to win a certificate of excellence from one of the nation鈥檚 most prestigious writing organizations. The Conference on College Composition and Communication, or CCCC, gave the UW group a Writing Program Certificate of Excellence for fall 2004 for 鈥渋ts exemplary ongoing professional development for faculty; its strategic alliances with campus units and initiatives; and its modeling of diversity and service to diverse communities.鈥�
STAR STRUCK: Public nights at the Jacobsen Observatory are closed until March 2. However, if you and 19 of your closest friends would like to stargaze, you can arrange that (on clear nights only) by contacting Astronomy lecturer Ana Larson, larson@astro.washington.edu, or 206-685-7856. Special group viewings include hands-on instructions on how to use the telescope, a talk on an astronomical topic and hot tea or cider. A donation of $5 per person is requested.
INTERNATIONAL STAR: Mary Fetterly, international counseling services coordinator in the Office of Graduate Admissions, was honored at the regional conference and awarded the 鈥淣AFSAN of the Year Award鈥� from the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs. The award honors association members who have been active for a number of years, have served in regional and national leadership roles and as mentors to colleagues and have demonstrated leadership and service to the field of international education.
FAST BREAK: A published paper co-authored by UW faculty has been selected by International Science Indicators as a 鈥淔ast Breaking Paper鈥� in the field of Materials Science & Engineering. The ISI selected one paper for each of 14 fields out of all the scientific articles in more than 6,500 journals published in 2003. The paper is 鈥淢olecular Biomimetics: Nanotechnology through Biology,鈥� by Mehmet Sarikaya, Alex K-Y Jen and Francois Baneyx. Two other contributors are from other universities. For further information, see
NON-BOSTON PATRIOT: Mike Allen, liberal studies professor at UWT, received the Laissez Faire Books Lysander Spooner Award for Advancing the Literature of Liberty for his co-authored book, A Patriot鈥檚 History of the United States. According to Allen, Spooner was an antebellum abolitionist who went on to become the most important 19th century anarchist thinker in the US.
KUDOS: Louis Fox, vice provost for educational partnerships and learning technologies, has been elected to the board of the Pacific Telecommunications Council, representing North American non-profit institutions . . . Sandra Madrid, assistant dean for students and community development in the School of Law, is the newly elected chair of the National Hispana Leadership Institute . . . Joyce Ogburn, associate director of libraries for resources and collection management services, has been elected to the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) Steering Committee. SPARC is an alliance of universities, research libraries, and organizations.
Do you know someone who deserves kudos for an outstanding achievement, award, appointment or book publication? If so, send that person鈥檚 name, title and achievement to uweek@u.washington.edu.