NIU physicists played roles in discovery of elusive top quark
 They came from institutions worldwide, built the world's most powerful accelerator, smashed tiny bits of matter together at nearly the speed of light and produced something remarkable: a fundamental particle that was abundantly present at the creation of our universe but had never before existed on our planet.
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory marked the 10th anniversary of its top-quark discovery with an Oct. 21 symposium at its Batavia campus. And experimental physicists at NIU couldn't help but feel a pinch of pride knowing they played a part in finding the heaviest known elementary particle, one which exists for only a miniscule moment in time (10 -24 seconds).
Current NIU physicists David Hedin, Gerald Blazey, Dhiman Chakraborty, Suzanne Willis and Michael Fortner all were members of the DZero collaboration, one of two large collaborative experiments at Fermilab's Tevatron collider that jointly announced discovery of the top quark during the spring of 1995.
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 Six NIU initiatives, including the School of Nursing's bachelor's degree completion program for registered nurses, were heralded Tuesday in Urbana by members of the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
The board annually measures the progress of the state's public and private universities and colleges toward meeting the goals of the Illinois Commitment, an agenda approved in 1999 “for higher education in the coming decade.” Goals of the Illinois Commitment were clarified from surveys and focus groups, meetings and interviews and reading and listening to “what Illinois citizens want from higher education.”
Virginia Cassidy, vice provost for academic development and planning at NIU, said the outreach to working nurses who want to further their education has a logical correlation to the Commitment's “Access and Diversity” policy area.
“The nursing program has been out there in the region for decades, trying to meet the needs of registered nurses who want bachelor's degrees, and we are continuing to do that,” Cassidy said. “It's a strong program, and attractive to the RNs. The fact that they don't have to come to DeKalb is a big draw for them.”
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 A bibliographical history written by NIU Professor William Baker is suddenly a hot commodity in the scholarly world, thanks to a Nobel Prize.
Baker, who in 2003 was named a Presidential Research Professor at NIU, didn't win the coveted prize, but he ought to be given a medal for good timing.
In late September, the British Library published “Harold Pinter: A Bibliographical History,” by Baker and co-author John C. Ross. Two weeks later, the subject of the book – playwright, poet and author Harold Pinter – won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
“The timing is impeccable,” said Baker, who holds a joint appointment with University Libraries and the Department of English. “With scholarly books, you're lucky to sell more than 1,000 copies. Already the publishers have called for an extra press run.”
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 The Center for Tribology and Coatings, a not-for-profit entity operated as a partnership between Sugar Grove-based Falex Corp. and the NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology has received a $1.5 million grant from the Department of Defense.
The latest grant is in addition to approximately $6 million provided by the Department of Defense last year to create the ROCK project.
The current project will help the development of new testing procedures and innovative ways to reduce friction and wear in military machinery. Ultimately, work done at the center will benefit a broad range of industries, said CEET Dean Promod Vohra, who sits on the CTC board.
Tribology is the study of friction, wear and lubrication of interacting surfaces, such as in bearings and gears.
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 Moline native Michelle Garrison knew she wanted to teach school. She just didn't know how meaningful her lesson plans could become.
The NIU senior toyed with becoming an English teacher when she arrived on the DeKalb campus three years ago but switched to art education in her first semester.
She soon discovered, in one of the nation's top schools for art education, a discipline that can stir students to examine the politics and culture of their society and to express their thoughts about it.
“You can deal with issues in such a different way,” said Garrison, NIU's 2006 Student Lincoln Laureate. “Art deals with identity issues. Art is about critical thinking: making images, looking at images. Art is a product of society, open to criticism. Art relates back to society. By creating it, you're forming your opinions.”
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 Jim Atwood knows how deep-sea divers feel when they're hunting sunken fortune along the ocean's floor.
Atwood, principal timpanist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, keeps two sets of timpani drums in the basement of the New Orleans Orpheum Theater worth $40,000 combined. The orchestra has canceled the first half of its season, partly because even the main floor of the Orpheum is also flooded and partly because there is no one to perform and no one to listen.
When Atwood made his first and only trip back to the Big Easy the week of Oct. 3 to check on his house, he wanted a peek at his prized (and, fortunately, insured) instruments as well.
“They've been under 30 feet of water for three weeks,” said Atwood, who is optimistic he can refurbish the drums.
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 Marge Podewils had spent nearly two decades as a paraprofessional teacher's assistant in the Milwaukee Public Schools when her life took a turn: She was assigned to a resource room for visually impaired high school students.
“I really loved working with the kids,” says Podewils, who was completing a bachelor's degree in community education at the time and quickly realized that her future would include graduate school study.
What she didn't realize is that another turn lay ahead.
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 With an anonymous donor now promising a penny-for-penny match, University Libraries is jump-starting its Penny Challenge campaign in an effort to raise funds for a permanent endowment supporting library collections.
Donation receptacles are reappearing in Founders Memorial Library, Holmes Student Center and departments across campus. Donors aren't limited to contributing pennies; dimes, quarters, bills and even checks also are welcome.
Campaign volunteers will be out in force collecting donations during the Oct. 29 NIU-Ball State football game at Huskie Stadium. The initial drive held last spring sought to raise $20,000 to mark the acquisition of University Libraries' 2 millionth book.
“We made a good start but need one more final push,” said Mary Munroe, associate dean for collections and technical services at University Libraries.
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 Northern Illinois University Press and the DeKalb County Farm Bureau will host a public reception for History Professor Eric Mogren's new book, “Native Soil: A History of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau.”
The reception will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at the Farm Bureau, 1350 W. Prairie Drive, Sycamore. The event will feature a presentation by the author followed by a book signing. Refreshments will also be served.
“Native Soil” details the rich history of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau, one of the oldest, most innovative and most influential agricultural organizations in the United States. In this study, Mogren explains how one group of progressive farmers attempted to cope with the problems they faced as agriculture turned to mechanization and productive farming required scientific and technological advances.
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 Read good news about – and send congratulations to – Debra Hopkins and Tom Roberts.
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The NIU Campus Child Care Center will hold its annual Children's Book Fair this week.
The book fair will be open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the Campus Child Care Center. Come browse through a wide selection with multiple copies of books, early readers, parent resource materials, calendars and much more.
The center is located just off Annie Glidden Road west of Gabel Hall. The main entrance can be accessed by the circle drive in front of the white stone building in parking lot 38.
“Art of World War II,” the second installment from John Wright's collection, is on exhibition at Nehring Center Gallery through Tuesday, Nov. 15.
The exhibition features vintage government posters along with original artwork and drawings. Faculty from the NIU Department of History also will conduct lectures. Call (815) 758-6363 for dates and times or click here.
Gallery hours are 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 3 to 5 p.m. Sundays. The ADA-compliant gallery is located on the second floor of the Nehring Center at the corner of Lincoln Highway and Second Street in downtown DeKalb.
NIU Athletics is proud to host the 2005 Mid American Conference (MAC) men's and women's Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the North Forty Field, located behind Anderson Hall. The women's race begins at 11 a.m., and the men's race starts at noon.
Athletics is asking for adult volunteers to assist as marshals of the course on race day. Volunteers are needed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Anyone interested in volunteering their time should contact Sue Hansfield at (815) 753-9544 or shansfield@niu.edu.
Fans also are welcome to attend. Parking and admission are free.
Musical tricks and tasty treats for children of all ages are served up at a pair of special Halloween concerts at NIU's School of Music. The concerts are presented at 6 and 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building.
Join the NIU Philharmonic and Music Director Brett Mitchell as they play music from some of the great science fiction films of all time, including “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the original “Star Wars” trilogy.
Programmed for family audiences, performers and audience members alike are encouraged to come in costume, and the building is decorated in the Halloween spirit. There are trick-or-treating opportunities for children 30 minutes preceding each concert (from 5:30 to 6 p.m. and from 7:30 to 8 p.m.) as students and faculty distribute free candy. Face painting, bake sale, carnival and a raffle provide an extra treat this year.
The Halloween concerts are free of charge and open to the public. The building is accessible to all. For more information, contact Lynn Slater at (815) 753-1546 or lslater@niu.edu.
Lesley Rigg, an associate professor of biogeography at NIU and an associate in the Women's Studies Program, will speak from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, on “Double Standard, A Double Life, and the Double Helix: A Brief History of Women in Science.”
NIU's Presidential Commission on the Status of Women is sponsoring the luncheon.
Rigg will examine the rich history of women in science, focusing on their achievements through time and will concentrate on the most recent achievements within the past 100 years. Topics will include the inclusion and exclusion of certain women, women who have and have not won the Nobel prize, the history of women in academics and academies, and the current status of women in science.
This event takes place in the Chandelier Room of Adams Hall and costs $7.50 per person. Reservations are required by Friday, Oct. 28, at (815) 753-0320. Please make any special dietary concerns known when calling.
Call (815) 753-9614 for other questions.
The Paideia Projects, a not-for-profit educational organization, wil screen its third video presentation Monday, Nov. 7, for NIU and the greater DeKalb community. This year’s theme is the influence of ancient Greece on the American founding fathers.
The presentation begins at 7 p.m. in the Cole Hall auditorium. Produced by NIU Media Serivces, the script was written by Carl Richard, professor of intellectual and cultural history of ancient Greece and Rome. The script was based on the author’s PhD. dissertation on the classics and the founders, which was published by Harvard University Press and received positive reviews, including an award from the American Historical Society.
Stress Busters, support group for learning how to deal effectively with the stress in your life, meets from 3 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Nov. 15 at the Women's Resource Center, 105 Normal Road.
For more information, call Marianne Tomlinson or Deb Finke at (815) 753-0320.
Please join the Friends of the NIU Libraries at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, for “An Evening with Jill Thompson and Brian Azzarello.”
The event takes place in the Rare Books and Special Collections Department located on the fourth floor at Founders Memorial Library. Refreshments and an opportunity for discussion and autographs follow the ‘Q&A' session.
Thompson graduated from the American Academy of Art in Chicago and has worked as a cartoonist and illustrator since. Azzarello has become well-known for his writing for Vertigo Comics.
All are invited. Please call (815) 753-8091 or e-mail aschroeder@niu.edu for more information. -- MORE
The Christian Faculty and Staff Prayer Luncheon meets from noon to 12:50 p.m. the third Monday of each month in the East Room of the Blackhawk Cafeteria. Participants may bring a brown bag lunch or purchase a lunch there. Everyone is welcome.
Encourage students to apply for membership in one of the most distinguished active honor societies in higher education, Mortar Board Senior Honor Society.
Mortar Board is looking for students who will have senior status for the 2006-2007 school year, have at least a 3.2 GPA, and are committed to Mortar Board's ideals of scholarship, leadership and service. Founded in 1918, Mortar Board has a long history of recognizing outstanding students for their active contributions to the community.
Applications for the NIU chapter are online at www.mortarboard.niu.edu and are due Friday, Dec. 2. For more information, encourage students to attend an informational meeting at either 9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the Holmes Student Center Capital Room, or at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, at Campus Life Building Room 100.
For more information, contact mortarboard@niu.edu or danturner@niu.edu.
The Holmes Student Center advanced room requests for fall 2006 and spring 2007 have been distributed to department chairs, secretaries and other offices on campus.
These requests should be submitted to the office of Student Involvement and Leadership Development, Campus Life 150, by Monday, Nov. 21. Call Diane Nece at (815) 753-6706 with any questions.
NIUTEL's toll-free conferencing service offers an alternative to “Meet Me Conferencing.” Because it's a toll free number, callers participate without the worry of a per-minute charge. Only the sponsoring department pays for the call.
This service also offers a variety of special features not provided by “Meet Me Conferencing” that include: announcement of callers joining or leaving the call; private roll call; participant count; call recording; lock conference (no new participants may join).
To reserve a toll-free conference service, contact NIUTEL by e-mail at niutel@niu.edu or use the work order form and include the contact name, number and account to be charged.
A printable abridged version of Northern Today is available. --CLICK HERE |
