NIU scientists part of Fermi team
published in Nature

A dozen Northern Illinois University physicists are part of a large team of scientists from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announcing a more precise measurement of the mass of the top quark, a subatomic particle discovered at the Batavia laboratory in 1995.

The team published its results in the June 10 issue of the prestigious British journal, Nature.

Using the new top-quark measurement, the researchers also have altered their best estimate for the mass of the Higgs boson, a mysterious and yet-to-be discovered particle that would help explain why objects have mass. Discovery of the Higgs is considered among the most sought-after prizes in the field of particle physics.

“The newly computed and more accurate mass of the top quark adds the latest wrinkle to the promising and exciting search for the Higgs boson at current and future particle accelerators,” said Gerald C. Blazey, an NIU physicist who is co-spokesperson of the DZero collaboration at Fermilab. Blazey is among the more than 300 DZero scientists presenting their findings in Nature.

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NIU physics professor Carol Thompson and researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have found that very thin materials can still retain an electric polarization, potentially allowing a wide range of tiny devices.

The results of their research were published last week in the prestigious journal Science.

Their discovery could help speed the development of nanoscale machines – devices smaller than the width of a human hair – by using these thin films as sensors, switches and memory storage.

The researchers found that the ferroelectric phase – the phase that has the ability to hold a switchable electric polarization – is stable even for thicknesses as small as six atoms.

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Sixteen students from the NIU School of Theatre and Dance are in Moscow this month, living and breathing the legendary teachings of Konstantin Stanislavsky – and presenting a play on a stage quite familiar to the master.

Two performances of “The Birds,” a 2,500-year-old work by Aristophanes with a modern script by NIU professor Robert Schneider, take the spotlight during the school’s second summer in Russia to the prestigious Moscow Art Theatre School that Stanislavsky helped to found a century ago.

NIU sent 15 students on the maiden voyage last June, when Professor Alex Gelman declared their visit was only the beginning.

“The hope is that it’s an annual event – with different students,” said Gelman, director of the NIU School of Theatre and Dance since 2001. “It’s for the same reason we start over every September.”

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Two NIU School of Nursing professors have won a $200,000 grant from the Retirement Research Foundation of Chicago to help undergraduate nursing students learn more about caring for the aging population.

Judith Hertz and Donna Munroe start work July 1 on their two-year project to develop six interactive learning modules that present students and fellow faculty members with “meaty and coherent” case studies involving geriatric patients and a computer-based library of resources.

Hertz, a 2002-2004 John A. Hartford Foundation Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity Post-Doctoral Scholar, and Munroe will link all the modules to specific courses in the school’s curriculum to ensure they become standard learning at NIU.

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After a 12-month makeover, the interior of the Chick Evans Field House is all but unrecognizable even to former Huskie season ticket holders who sat through decades of basketball, volleyball and wrestling in the 47-year-old facility.

The familiar Quonset hut-shaped roof remains. Beyond that, however, little is recognizable. Gone are the massive wooden stands, the scoreboards, the cramped offices and the pieces of athletic equipment stored in every nook and cranny.

The facility officially opened for business June 8 with a women’s basketball camp.

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Cuba Caravan
comes to DeKalb

The Pastors for Peace 15th Caravan to Cuba will roll into DeKalb at 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 28. The DeKalb Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice invites the public to First Congregational Church to meet the Caravanistas and hear how Pastors for Peace successfully challenges U.S. restrictions on travel and aid to Cuba.

Previous Caravans have delivered more than 2,350 tons of assistance to the Cuban people. The Caravans are a product of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization.

Caravan Coordinator Briana Harris, speaker at the June 28 program, will be accompanied by volunteers Dan Kemper and Laurie Clark, both from Corvalis, Ore.

There is no charge for the evening program, but a goodwill offering will be taken and small items of school or medical supplies will be accepted. There also will be opportunity for questions. Coffee and refreshments will be served afterward.

For more information, call Cele Meyer at (815) 758-0796.

Kishwaukee Symphony
hosts golf outing

The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s sixth annual benefit golf outing is scheduled for Friday, July 16, 2004 at the Sycamore Golf Club, 940 E. State St.

All proceeds raised from this annual event, which also features dinner, a silent auction, raffle prizes and more, benefit the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra. For more information, contact Denny Pickett at (815) 758-2777 or via e-mail at DekPickett@niu.edu.

NIU sponsors trip
to Stratford Festival

NIU and the Department of English will sponsor its annual trip to the Stratford Festival, July 26-30.

This popular trip has been an annual event since 1987. This year the group enjoys productions of “Timon of Athens,” “Cymbeline,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The Triumph of Love,” plus optional selections of “Guys and Dolls” and “Anything Goes.”

The faculty member for this popular “NIU Travel with the Professor” is Alexandra G. Bennett, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the NIU Department of English. Bennett is a native Canadian and a specialist in theater history and performance theory. She conducts a pre-trip orientation Saturday, July 17, in the Holmes Student Center.

The group size is limited to 50, and a few spots remain. Make reservations by calling NIU at (815) 753-5200 or by e-mail at LASEP@niu.edu. The fee of $995 covers housing, tickets to five performances, three meals, backstage tour of the festival theater and transportation from DeKalb. A private motorcoach will take the group from DeKalb to Stratford with a stop in Chicago to pick up Chicago participants.

Two Elderhostels still
available in July, August

NIU and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will offer two more one-week Elderhostels this summer for people 55 and older: Understanding Textiles and the Mississippi River.

To register or for more information, call (815) 753-5200, e-mail LASEP@niu.edu or go online at http://www.niu.edu/CLASEP. Elderhostellers can choose to stay on campus in NIU’s Holmes Student Center hotel guest rooms or register as commuters.

Understanding Textiles: Types, Uses and Conservation, July 18-23. The service Elderhostel is a participatory work project and a learning experience. NIU’s experts in weaving techniques and symbolic meaning in design elements share their knowledge. Participants are trained to adhere to good conservation and curatorial standards, and assist in recoding textiles and their conditions in the collection of the NIU’s Anthropology Museum.

The Mississippi River, Aug. 1-6. Join NIU’s most popular Elderhostel on a Mississippi full-day cruise and explore the river’s exciting and transforming history. Experience the geological and the cultural aspects of the Mississippi River Valley. Study the physical aspects of the river from prehistoric to modern times. Feel the vibes of the valley through the music that originated there, from jazz to blues to rock. Rediscover Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.

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Sue Willis is taking a breather from campus politics.

Willis, a professor in the Physics Department, recently completed her third consecutive term serving in the dual roles of president of the Faculty Senate and executive secretary of the University Council. Only one other person, retired Communication Professor Charlie Larson, has ever served three consecutive years in those positions.

Taking over both posts will be Paul Stoddard, an associate professor in the Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences.

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When police officers talk about new and improved vehicles, that generally translates to larger and faster. At NIU, however, that trend is making a U-turn.

The NIU Department of Public Safety is rolling out a new car this month, and this is not your father’s Oldsmobile. It’s a Toyota. The latest squad is a gas/electric hybrid Prius which uses a small gasoline engine in conjunction with an electric motor to provide power while keeping emissions and fuel consumption to a minimum.

According to NIU Police Chief Don Grady, the Prius (outfitted with radio equipment, light bars and other police essentials) is more than enough car to patrol the 1.2-square-mile NIU campus.

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The movie is based on more fiction than fact, but NIU geologist and climate-change expert Ross Powell nonetheless gives a “thumbs up” to the disaster flick, “The Day After Tomorrow.”

Powell is thrilled that Hollywood is bringing attention to the issue of global warming. “The Day After Tomorrow” ranked second at the box office over the Memorial Day weekend.

“Global warming is a very real concern,” Powell says. “But the scenario that plays out in the film – where our planet is plunged into an instant ice age – couldn’t happen.”

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NIU is gearing up for its third Fulbright American Studies Institute, a program that brings foreign scholars to campus to learn about American culture through the study of contemporary literature.

From June 21 to Aug. 1, the English Department and International Training Office will host 18 scholars from five continents and such countries as Angola, Argentina, Iraq, Egypt, Poland, Pakistan and the Philippines.

The U.S. State Department is providing $220,000 in funding for the Fulbright American Studies Institute program titled “Redefining American Spaces.”