October 24, 2005, Northern Today Abridged

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. The NIU contingent, which also included about 50 NIU students, made key contributions to the construction, testing, commissioning and operation of the DZero detector, as well as data analysis.

Fundamental particles are the building blocks of nature; they cannot be broken down into smaller pieces. In 1897, British scientist J.J. Thomson was first to identify an elementary particle, the electron. The top quark was the 16th particle to be discovered, and it also proved to be the most elusive.

Scientists believe top quarks were created in abundance at the moment of the birth of the universe, but the particles can only be produced by such enormous bursts of energy. Even then, they make only a brief appearance in time before decaying into lighter particles.

It took the work of more than 1,000 scientists, engineers and technicians at Fermilab to “reach the top” by building a one-of-a-kind collider that could accelerate protons and anti-protons to near light speed and smash them together. Part of a family of quarks that are believed to form the nuclei of atoms, the top quark was identified by measurements of particles produced by its decay.

Hedin had joined the DZero collaboration at its inception in 1982 and worked on the system that tracked the behavior of particles known as muons, or heavy electrons. Willis and Fortner later joined the team examining muons, and NIU students were enlisted to help build and operate the system.

In 1992, DZero began collecting data from millions and millions of particle collisions. In January of the following year, scientists observed one collision that seemed to have the earmarking of a top-quark event. But it was unclear whether the energy level of a muon fit the parameters.

Working in the basement of his DeKalb home, Hedin took a computerized image of the subatomic event, enlarged it by tenfold, recorded measurements with a meter stick and made key adjustments to account for a software glitch. His analysis helped scientists conclude a month later that they had almost certainly made the first detection of a top quark.

“We were all pretty much convinced,” Hedin said. “We had a workshop here at NIU, where we spent a half-day talking about the event.”

Other subsequent collisions recorded by DZero and CDF, the sister experiment at Fermilab, also would demonstrate that the laboratory's Tevatron accelerator was indeed producing top quarks. The formal announcement wasn't made until March of 1995, however. “It was a highlight of my career to be involved in the top-quark discovery,” said Blazey, who now serves as a co-spokesperson of the DZero experiment. “It was an amazing collaborative experience. Everyone had to do their job.”

Blazey, who joined DZero in 1986, helped construct and operate the uranium-liquid argon calorimeter, which measured the energies of particles. He and Fortner also served as the original DZero “triggermeisters,” the scientists who coordinated which events to record.

“The triggering system identified the collisions that were most interesting to scientists pursuing the top quark,” Blazey said. “You have to remember, there were millions of collisions each second and, at that time, we could only record two or three per second for further analysis.”

Fortner, who is now mayor of West Chicago and still a member of DZero, described the top-quark quest as the ultimate team experience.

“Aside from the discovery, the collaboration itself was a major accomplishment, with scientists worldwide working together on one fundamental goal,” he said. “We really needed the contributions of all the different parts and experts in order to be successful. The only project I can think to equate it with might be the NASA space program.”

Chakraborty, who joined the NIU faculty in 2001, began working at Fermilab a decade earlier. For his Ph.D. thesis at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he devised a way to distinguish the signal of top-quark events from background noise. Fermilab scientists used his method, among others, to detect the prized particle.

“It's quite literally like looking for a needle in the haystack,” said Chakraborty, who went on to lead DZero's top-quark physics group from 1998 to 2000. “We needed to use every means at our disposal to separate signal and background. Many processes can masquerade as signals.”

The Standard Model of particle physics – the best explanation scientists have of the nature of matter – predicted the top quark. “Our knowledge verged on certainty,” said Willis, now acting associate dean in the NIU Graduate School. “According to our understanding of the particles and their interactions, it had to be there.”

But the huge mass of the particle was a big surprise. The top quark mass is 40 times greater than the next heaviest quark and equal to the mass of a gold atom, which is made up of many particles and has a complex structure.

“Discovering the top quark was a monumental feat, but determining its mass was even more important,” Hedin said. “With our calculations for the mass of the top quark, we have a better idea of where to look for an even bigger prize, the Higgs boson.”

The Higgs boson is a mysterious and yet-to-be discovered particle that would help explain why subatomic particles have any mass at all. Discovery of the Higgs is considered among the most sought-after prizes in the field of particle physics.

Detection of the Higgs boson (through DZero and CDF at Fermilab or at a more powerful collider now under construction in Europe) would confirm the existence of the Higgs field, which is thought to permeate the universe. Scientists believe that when particles interact with this field, they gain mass. Without mass, all particles would travel at the speed of light, never sticking together, and only these tiny massless particles would populate a structureless universe.

State board cites NIU Nursing outreach,
high-speed network among Illinois' best practices

NIU School of Nursing's outreach to working nurses expected
to expand next fall to Alexian Brothers in Elk Grove Village

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.”

Effective practices are acknowledged for their connection to the six goals:

• Economic Growth: Higher education will help Illinois business and industry sustain strong economic growth.
• P-20 Partnerships: Higher education will join elementary and secondary education to improve teaching and learning at all levels.
• Affordability: No Illinois citizen will be denied an opportunity for a college education because of financial need.
• Access and Diversity: Illinois will increase the number and diversity of citizens completing training and education programs.
• High Quality: Illinois colleges and universities will hold students to even higher expectations for learning and will be accountable for the quality of academic programs and the assessment of learning.
• Accountability and Productivity: Illinois colleges and universities will continually improve productivity, cost-effectiveness and accountability.

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.”

“These are very busy people, and we have a huge nursing shortage. They're working many, many hours, and it's hard work. It's just more convenient for them to have local access for degree completion,” agreed Brigid Lusk, acting chair of the NIU School of Nursing. “It works well for us because it's what we're quite good at: instilling critical thinking and problem-solving in addition to enhanced nursing knowledge. We're changing their way of thinking. This makes for very expert, and very safe, nurses.”

One hundred and thirty-three RNs currently are taking courses toward an NIU bachelor's degree in science with a major in nursing in Aurora (at the Dreyer Medical Clinic), Barrington (at Good Shepherd Hospita ), Malta (at Kishwaukee Community College) and online.

A cohort of nurses at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village is expected to begin the program next fall. “They are very interested,” Lusk said. “We spent a day there and met 20 to 25 RNs who are interested, and we know of more.”

Meanwhile, she said, the NIU School of Nursing will offer a face-to-face course this spring at Elgin and Waubonsee community colleges and NIU-Rockford that introduces students to the mainly online RN-to-BS completion program.

“We're working with the community colleges and saying, ‘We want all your people, and we can take all your people.' It's less faculty-time consuming than the four-year generic program because we don't have to do the many clinicals,” Lusk said.

Designed with respect for knowledge already attained and understanding of the real world of working RNs, the NIU School of Nursing's RN-to-BS completion program prepares professional nurses for leadership roles in patient care across the spectrum of health care agencies and settings.

NIU graduates are skilled in applying knowledge of the physical and social sciences as integral aspects of nursing, and are ready to enter master's degree programs.

Classes in Aurora and Barrington began Aug. 22. NIU brings its program to where the nurses work: two classes are taught back-to-back one night a week “down the hall” just after their shifts end. More information is available at www.niunurse.niu.edu.

Earlier in the summer, NIU and Kishwaukee College invited newly minted two-year nursing graduates and other registered nurses across the region who want to earn bachelor's degrees to a new partnership between the two schools.

The 18-month curriculum will provide all necessary courses, including some additional general education credits, for an NIU bachelor's of science degree with a major in nursing.

Students will complete the courses held on the Kishwaukee campus by the end the fall semester in 2006, and will take the remainder of classes during the final two semesters at Kishwaukee Community Hospital.

“We're running a very solid program. Our regular faculty members – our tenured and our tenure track – are going out there and teaching,” Lusk said. “It's clearly identified that we have to have more baccalaureate nurses, and the level of care that folks are getting is thus safer if you get people who know how to add critical thinking into the care.”

Other NIU programs recognized today in Urbana include:

• NIUNet (Economic Growth): NIUNet is a 175-mile fiber optic network connecting major research institutions to the world's fastest computing network. The network connects suburban Chicagoland to massive databases and previously inaccessible research networks via the information superhighway. When completed, NIUNet will comprise a redundant loop encompassing much of the northern Illinois region. Extending from DeKalb east through Batavia, Naperville, and Chicago , NIUNet will loop along I-90 to include Hoffman Estates and other northwest suburbs before reaching Rockford and extend south to connect with Rochelle and reconnect with DeKalb. NIUNet also will connect with many other self-contained municipal fiber “loops,” such as the ones currently in place in DeKalb, Naperville and Rochelle and another under development in Rockford.
• Preparing Teachers to Serve English Language Learners (P-20 Partnerships): Working in collaboration with K-12 school districts, community colleges, private universities, and non-profit and other organizations, NIU's College of Education has provided programming for certification requirements and the professional development needs of classroom teachers who can serve students who are English language learners. Through a number of individual initiatives, individuals who hold bachelor's degrees in areas other than education and/or have degrees from other countries are taking course work to become fully certified in elementary education with an ELS/bilingual approval. Teachers who are certified are taking course work or workshops to receive ELS/bilingual approvals. NIU's partners in these efforts include school districts in Carpentersville, Chicago, Cicero, DeKalb, East Aurora, Elgin, Palatine, Schaumberg, Waukegan and West Aurora. Other partners are Aurora University, Elgin Community College, Waubonsee Community College, the Illinois Resource Center and the Stephenson County Regional Office of Education.
• Just-in-Time Seating (Affordability): Just-in-Time Seating was designed to provide a full schedule of classes for new freshmen and transfer students who enter NIU without an associate's degree. The program was first launched by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in the fall of 1997 and was initially restricted to core competency courses. Beginning in the fall of 1999, Just-in-Time Seating was expanded to include 10 general education courses that are among those that typically enroll the most students. In 2001, the program was expanded again to include seven more general education courses with high enrollments.
• Collaborative Integration and Support of Online Technologies (High Quality): Since 2001, NIU has been integrating online technologies into teaching, service and research activities at various levels of the university through collaborative, interdisciplinary support. The practice includes the implementation, support and training for the use of Blackboard Web course management system and helping campus units accomplish this in a collaborative and cost-effective manner. Blackboard is now used in all colleges at NIU for teaching and learning, and also is used for building learning and service communities outside the classroom. The success of online teaching and learning is evident from the growth in the use of Blackboard during the past four years, the diversity of its users and the range of teaching, service and research activities for which NIU uses Blackboard.
• Tracker, A Computerized Inventory Control System (Accountability and Productivity): NIU began the implementation of a computerized materials tracking system, Materials Tracker, in September of 2003. This system improves the cost effectiveness of the university's materials management operations because it allows for real-time information related to item maintenance, vendor maintenance, order processing, stock replenishment and invoicing. Inventory tracking at NIU previously was conducted through a manual card system that was not only cumbersome but also inaccurate.

Pinter's Nobel Prize shines light on work of NIU researcher

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.”

Pinter is among the most prolific British authors alive today, with a writing career that spans nearly six decades. His screenplay for the 1981 film, “The French Lieutenant's Woman,” was nominated for an Academy Award, but he is best known for his more than two dozen plays, including “The Caretaker,” “The Homecoming” and “The Birthday Party.”

Pinter's career also includes a novel, short stories, non-fiction writing, a significant body of poetry, acting and directing credits and texts created for radio and television.

Baker's bibliographical history provides a comprehensive account of the published writings and also texts in other media that Pinter wholly or partly authored. No author had previously consolidated Pinter's body of work into a comprehensive text for libraries, archives and Pinter enthusiasts. Baker's book also chronicles interviews, recorded in print and other media, and interview-based articles, generated from Pinter's wide-ranging interest in literary projects, human rights and political causes.

A Nobel Prize will work wonders in publicity circles. According to Oak Knoll Press, which published Baker's book in North America : “The sleepy little bibliography obtained an instant, world-wide status as libraries, distributors and collectors from around the world ordered copies.”

Baker and co-author Ross collaborated for more than seven years on the bibliographical history, but the NIU professor's interest in Pinter started decades ago. In 1973, Baker authored a scholarly monograph exploring Pinter's ethnic background and his art, making use of previously unpublished letters and biographical information.

“I began collecting his works as a schoolboy in the 1960s after going to see his plays in Brighton (England) and hearing his work over the radio,” said Baker, a British native. “He left a profound impression on me.”

Baker himself has published more than two dozen books and in excess of 130 refereed articles. He is considered the foremost biographer and a leading scholar on the works of George Eliot, the pen name for Victorian writer Mary Ann Evans. She was among the most important British novelists of the 19th century.

“The book on Pinter was much more difficult than the bibliographical history of George Eliot,” Baker said. “With Eliot, you had the publishers' records of volumes produced. With Pinter, whose career began in the 1940s, we were dealing with the pre-electronic age. Publishers' archives, especially in this country, have disappeared because of the changes in technology. Ours is the age of tragically disappearing information, often deleted in technological transformations.

“There were other challenges as well,” Baker added. “Early in his career, Pinter published plays, poems, fiction and non-fiction in small magazines that no longer exist.”

Despite the challenges, Baker and Ross appear to have succeeded by all accounts, including that of Harold Pinter.

“What a piece of work! I'm staggered,” Pinter wrote in a letter to Baker dated Aug. 23. “Apart from anything else, it gives shape to my own life.”

Center for Tribology and Coatings receives
federal grant from Department of Defense

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. The primary focus of the center is to create new testing protocols and machinery to evaluate new machine part coatings that are too hard to be effectively and efficiently evaluated by existing methods.

The center also will devise ways to test the behavior of coatings in micro-electromechanical systems and in nano-scale devices in which the machinery is so miniscule that lubricants often lose their lubricating properties.

Participating in research at the center are three members of the NIU engineering faculty: Michael Haji-Sheikh, who is working in the area of embedded sensors; Milivoje Kostic, who is studying on nano-fluids; and Ibrahim Abdel-Motaleb, who is working in the field of diamond coatings.

“I am delighted to see our faculty get the opportunity to participate in this type of applied research and to work with a company like Falex, which is considered the industry leader in this field,” Vohra said. “Ultimately, it will benefit our students because the cutting-edge work being done at this center will find its way into the classroom.”

The center eventually will work alongside coating developers such as Argonne National Laboratory and commercial manufacturing companies that will develop and apply the technology to products rapidly.

Art ed major Michelle Garrison named
2006 NIU Student Lincoln Laureate

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.”

The Student Lincoln Laureate is an annual honor reserved for the top senior from each of the state's public and private four-year colleges and universities. The award recognizes excellence in both curricular and extracurricular activities.

Garrison and her fellow Lincoln Laureates will gather Saturday, Oct. 22, in Springfield for a recognition ceremony in the House of Representatives of the Old State Capitol.

“It means a lot to me to get recognized. I know there are a lot of other people who are qualified,” said Garrison, 21. “I'm kind of shy when people congratulate me. I get kind of tongue-tied.”

Her professors find words of praise come easy.

“She is conscientious, always organized, prepared and pays attention to detail. In the classroom, she is an active and eager participant, continually leading discussions and asking thought-provoking questions,” wrote Larry Gregory, assistant director of the School of Art, and Loretta Swanson, the school's undergraduate coordinator.

“Ms. Garrison is well-grounded in the practice of the arts and the discipline of education, as well as being widely experienced in community service activities as a student and effective colleague in professional roles,” they continued. “The same qualities of intelligence, discipline, management, humor and rigor that qualify her for the classroom make her collegial participation effective and vital.”

The daughter of Doug and Lynn Garrison is a 2002 alumna of Moline High School. Her brother, Kirk, is a first-year student at Blackhawk Community College. She hopes to return to her hometown to launch her career, which could encompass K-12 teaching or community-based art education and administration.

Garrison won the NIU University Scholar Award, the most distinguished academic award available to outstanding new freshmen, providing a full scholarship to the university for four years.

Since then, she has earned Dean's List honors in the NIU College of Visual and Performing Arts every semester, participated in the NIU Honors Program and received the Roger Kornder Visual Arts Memorial Scholarship and the James P. Bates Memorial Scholarship.

Last fall, Garrison became a Sally Stevens Scholar, an annual award given to only one exceptional student in the School of Art.

Her leadership abilities made her a peer adviser, guiding tours of the Art Building, talking with prospective students at open houses, greeting new students and helping fellow students schedule classes. She became the senior peer adviser last year, responsible for training junior peer advisers and managing their office.

Garrison's extracurricular activities have included writing and receiving an Undergraduate Special Opportunities in Artistry and Research grant through NIU to develop and run a six-session art class for East Moline-area fourth- through seventh-graders. The curriculum's theme was heroes, and the program was presented free of cost while allowing the students to keep all left-over materials.

She also designed and painted a Habitat for Humanity ReStore storefront mural in Davenport, Iowa, as well as entrance and stairwell murals in the Lincoln Hall residential building on the NIU campus. In 2004, she created a series of woodcut prints for the Scott Community College library in Bettendorf, Iowa.

“People ask if I ever sleep or get stressed. If you really like what you're doing, you won't get worn down. My involvement is authentic,” she said. “Do what you want. Do what interests you. Don't do things or join things for your résumé. When you get out and start interviewing for jobs, people know what you cared about.”

Other finalists for the Lincoln Laureate were:

• Douglas Reisinger, political science, Mentor, Ohio (first finalist)
• Brandie Carwile, history/secondary teacher certification, Plainfield, Ill.
• Adam Dye, mechanical engineering, Brimfield, Ill.
• Matthew Konfirst, geology & environmental geosciences, West Chicago, Ill.
• Christina Majerowicz, geology, Antioch, Ill.
• Cassie Reuter, elementary education, Freeport, Ill.
• Kara Schuur, organizational/corporate communications, journalism, Muscatine, Iowa
• Daniel Sotiroff, mechanical engineering, Woodstock, Ill.

New Orleans timpanist offers tips to NIU School of Music students

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. “I went down there with a flashlight. It looked like an undersea treasure expedition, everything covered with mud and mire. I opened a storage room door and saw a jumble of cases. You learn that, in a flood, everything floats that's not nailed down.”

Atwood spent Thursday, Oct. 13, at the NIU School of Music.

The percussion teacher at Loyola University taught a timpani performance master class in the morning and led another session on timpani maintenance and repair in the afternoon.

Robert Chappell, Presidential Teaching Professor in the School of Music, said it's important for orchestral students to hear and see professional players “from outside” the ranks of the familiar faculty.

“For our students to gain that kind of insight, from somebody who does it full-time, is invaluable,” Chappell said. “Jim also showed us some real good tricks about the care and repair of the instruments.”

Atwood is living in Chicago until it's safe for everyone to return to New Orleans, where he has lived and performed for more than 15 years. His home, a century-old classic Victorian in the Garden District, is dry and undamaged. It sits on high ground across the street from a cemetery, he said. “We're shooting for Thanksgiving,” he said.

In the meantime, Atwood is living rent-free for two months in a 44 th floor apartment in Chicago. A friend of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra donated the space, which overlooks Lake Michigan.

Five other LPO members, including Atwood's wife, flutist and piccoloist Patti Adams, are in Chicago. The rest are scattered across the country.

Atwood and Adams actually missed the Hurricane while spending time at their Colorado cabin. “We watched it all unfold on a battery-powered TV,” he said. “It was like looking at pictures in a magazine. It had a certain abstract quality about it. The word ‘surreal' kept coming up.”

The orchestra members recently came together in Nashville to play a benefit concert for their own organization. American Airlines donated airfare, and a local formalwear shop provided tuxedoes and gowns.

“It was a very emotional experience seeing everyone again. A symphony is very much a family,” he said. “People have been amazingly nice to me and my colleagues.”

A second benefit concert is planned in New York for the end of the month.

Non-traditional student finds new life in NIU's Programs in Vision

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.

The Milwaukee high school's orientation and mobility instructor, an NIU alumna, pointed Podewils to Gaylen Kapperman, coordinator of NIU's Programs in Vision, housed in the College of Education's Department of Teaching and Learning.

Podewils and Kapperman spoke of the possibility of a distance learning program that would allow the Wisconsin native to earn her master's degree from home. She took the Graduate Record Examination, filled out the paperwork and made plans to study at NIU even if the online opportunity never materialized.

Then her husband, Dale, was diagnosed with cancer.

Podewils deferred her acceptance one year, and then a second year. Finally, in the spring of 2004, when it seemed like Dale might beat the disease, the couple drove to DeKalb to look for and deposit money on an apartment: Marge would go to school Monday through Friday and spend her weekends at home.

When they returned to Milwaukee, however, Dale's cancer gained the upper hand. He died last September.

“She called me sometime later and asked whether her admission was still open, and I said, ‘Absolutely.' I thought that really showed a lot of intestinal fortitude and ability to bounce back from some very hard times,” Kapperman says. “She just decided she was going to change her life, and I'm glad she's able to do what she wants to do in following a career. It's all working out for her, although she's overcoming some really severe odds.”

After deferring graduate school another year, Podewils started the process of moving on.

She sold her house in Milwaukee, bought a home in Rochelle and started classes at NIU this fall despite her worries that she could no longer afford to study full-time without a job. Kapperman came to the rescue with a grant that pays her tuition.

“I knew he would be there for me,” she says.

“Marge is, from my perspective, a very nervy, gutsy gal. It isn't like she's just going down the block to go to school. She's pulled up stakes, sold her house in Milwaukee, moved here to our area, bought a house and has really made a commitment to working with blind adults,” Kapperman says. “We're extremely fortunate to have her in the program.”

Kapperman's course of study is among the country's best and largest programs in blindness and visual impairment, preparing students to become teachers of visually impaired children, rehabilitation specialists for newly blinded adults and instructors of orientation and mobility.

Podewils is learning to become a rehabilitation instructor. She will work with newly blinded adults as they learn to live with their visual impairments. The job includes teaching Braille and reacquainting her clients with daily living skills.

“I'll be going to their homes, helping them with cooking and vacuuming, money management, medicine management – things we used to do with sight and now we have to do blind,” she says. “My reward is being able to help someone function in their life, going in and giving them that one tool that really makes them feel more independence and quality of life. I'm a people person.”

“She's going to make a terrific contribution in helping adults who have lost their sight to regain the independence as much as they can and learn to live as blind persons,” Kapperman says.

“When you have had sight, and then you lose it, it takes a major, major adjustment in the way you do things, the way you live your life. It's something that doesn't just come naturally. You have to have a trained professional help you make that transition,” he adds. “That person has to have a really great personality as well as dedication as well as being well-trained. Marge has all of those.”

Unfortunately, the need is great for more of those trained professionals.

“The Baby Boomers are coming,” says Podewils, who at 41 is among the youngest of that generation, “and people are living longer.”

For now, Podewils is wrestling with whether to complete her master's degree in rehabilitation instruction next August or to add a second emphasis as a teacher of programs in vision that would require a second year.

The non-traditional student seems destined to choose the one-year option, however.

“I was in schools for 18 years,” she says. “I really want to see what it's like working with adults.”

With matching donor in the wings, University Libraries resumes drive

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. “The good news is that we have recently received a generous challenge grant from a donor who will match up to $10,000. We hope that all of these efforts will bear fruit, and that we will soon have the funds to create a permanent library endowment to enhance future collections.”

About $7,500 needs to be raised to take full advantage of the challenge grant and meet the fundraising goal. See www.niulib.niu.edu for more information on the library's penny drive, including a list of locations where people can donate.

History professor will hold signing
for new book on local farm bureau

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. “Native Soil” will be of interest to DeKalb County residents, farmers and those concerned with America's agricultural past.

The DeKalb County Farm Bureau worked closely with Mogren and NIU Press to provide historical data and documents. The book features 55 photos from the early 1900s to the present. “We've never had one single source that provided such a thorough presentation of our organization's history,” said Doug Dashner, manager of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau. “ ‘Native Soil' will be a great facilitator in spreading the story of our rich heritage and accomplishments.”

The DeKalb County Farm Bureau Foundation partnered with the late Charlie Roberts to commission the development of this important literary work.

“NIU Press is delighted to publish a local-interest book which helps strengthen our ties with the community,” said Mary Lincoln, director of NIU Press. Besides publishing on a variety of topics in the humanities, arts and sciences, NIU Press also focuses on the history of Chicago and the Midwest.

The author is associate professor of history at NIU and author of “Warm Sands,” another book on environmental history.

“Native Soil” will be available for purchase at the reception for $24.95. Cash, check, Visa and Mastercard will be accepted. Please call NIU Press at (815) 753-1826 or the Farm Bureau at (815) 756-6361 with any questions.

Those unable to attend the reception can purchase the book directly through NIU Press at (815) 753-1075, at a local bookstore or online at www.niupress.niu.edu.

Kudos

Debra Hopkins, director of the CPA Review in the Department of Accountancy, recently was named as a recipient of the Illinois “Women to Watch” Awards by the Illinois CPA Society. This is the first year that these awards have been presented.

The purpose of these awards is to recognize and celebrate women who have made notable contributions to the accounting profession, their organizations and to the development of women as leaders. The recipients are accomplished women who have promoted a work environment that provides opportunities for the successful integration of their personal and professional life and the advancement of women to positions of leadership.

Other award winners include partners from PricewaterhouseCoopers, RSM McGladrey, and American Express Tax & Business Services.

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Tom Roberts, a professor of educational psychology in the NIU Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations, is among the speakers at a Wednesday, Nov. 2, presentation in Chicago on entheogenic plants and chemicals.

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Columbia College Chicago will host “From Visionary Experience to Spiritual Life: Entheogenic Plants and Chemicals” at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. The free event begins at 6 p.m.

Roberts and the other speakers will discuss entheogens (psychoactive plants and chemicals taken to occasion primary religious experiences) and their role in the spiritual quest. What is it about these substances and practices that contain the possibility of bringing insights, grace and joy to individuals and to their communities? What about some of the forces working against the realization of such a possibility?

Roberts will draw from his forthcoming chapter, “Chemical Input, Religious Output – Entheogens: A Pharmatheology Sampler.”

For more information, call (312) 744-6630 or visit www.chicagoculturalcenter.org.

Nehring Center Gallery hosts WWII exhibition

“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 visit http://www.jessicawitte.com/Nehring.htm.

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.

Race marshals needed for MAC C.C. championships

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.

Halloween hijinks return to Music's ‘Boo-Tell' Hall

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.

PCSW sponsors talk on women in science

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.

Friends of NIU Libraries hosts comic book writer, illustrator

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. An opportunity for discussion and autographs will follow the ‘Q&A' session. Refreshments will be served.

Thompson graduated from the American Academy of Art in Chicago and has been working as a cartoonist and illustrator ever since. She has garnered acclaim for her work on “Wonder Woman,” “Swamp Thing,” “Black Orchid” and the award-winning title “Sandman” with Neil Gaiman. She has co-created and illustrated the dark-satire “Finals” and recently finished writing and illustrating a manga-style book for DC Comics called “At Death's Door.”

Her first children's book, “The Scary Godmother,” was released to critical acclaim. Subsequent books in the series include “Scary Godmother – The Revenge of Jimmy,” “Scary Godmother – The Mystery Date” and “Scary Godmother – The Boo Flu.” There also are a series of “Scary Godmother” comic book tales published by Sirius Entertainment.

For more information, visit www.jillthompsonart.com.

Azzarello has become well-known for his writing for Vertigo Comics. His noir-style writing, exploring the reactions of everyday people given the opportunity to get away with murder in “100 Bullets,” has struck a chord with readers, who continue to ask, “Who is Agent Graves?” Azzarello was the first American writer on “Hellblazer,” and has also penned runs of “Superman” and “Batman.”

All are invited. Please call (815) 753-8091 or e-mail aschroeder@niu.edu for more information.

Christian prayer luncheons scheduled for faculty, staff

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.

Mortar Board society looking for members

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.

Deadline approaching for HSC room requests

The Holmes Student Center advanced room requests (schedules 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 offers conferencing through toll-free numbers

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.

10-24-05