Vol. 17, No. 21Feb. 26, 1998

A selection of items in the national and local media about the University-its faculty, staff and students:

North Adams, Mass., Transcript, Nov. 17/Cape Cod Times, Nov. 17/Northhampton, Mass., Daily Hampshire Gazette, Nov. 17/New Bedford, Mass, Standard-Times, Nov. 17/ Framingham, Mass., Middlesex News, Nov. 17. Will success of O.J. and Louise spoil jury system? Associated Press wire story. " Not since O.J. Simpson's murder trial has there been a trial as hotly debated as Louise Woodward's. Both cases were followed closely around the world. And after both trials, a large percentage of the public thought the juries got it wrong, fueling a backlash against the jury system that has been under way for some time.... There is a surprising amount of support for juries even though the public disagrees with individual verdicts, said one jury expert who has researched attitudes toward juries. 'They might think they're stupid, emotional and reached the wrong decision,' said Valerie Hans, professor of criminal justice at the University of Delaware. 'but, in general, people do throw their support to the institution.'"

Lombard, Ill., Chicago Bowler, Nov. 17. Classic organic chemistry reaction usefully modifies silicon surfaces. "Theoreticians in Delaware predicted it; experimentalists in New York proved it. 'It' refers to the ability of pairs of silicon atoms on a solid silicon surface to react with butadiene or other dienes in organic chemistry's classic Diels-Alder reaction. This type of reaction might be used to prepare microelectronics devices or to synthesize materials with customized nonlinear optical properties. Using first-principles-type calculations, researchers at the University of Delaware, Newark, showed that the Diels-Alder [4+2] cycloaddition reaction-long associated with solution-phase chemistry-could be applied to the reaction of gas-phase 1,3-diene molecules with a surface of silicon capped with silicon dimers to form stable six-membered rings."

Philadelphia Tribune, Nov. 18. Forum designed for prospective MBA's. "The MBA Forum gives prospective business students a chance to explore many different schools and learn about innovative programs that will suit their particular career interests.... Alex Brown, admissions director for the University of Delaware's MBA Program, said, 'The combination of the Destination MBA and the MBA Forum allows prospective management students to gain not only real-world information about admissions and financial aid, but to meet in person with an extraordinary range of MBA Program representatives.'"

Oxford, Pa., Chester County Press, Nov., 19. University of Delaware Research Center involved in earthquake study. "The National Science Foundation announced Wednesday that the University of Delaware's Disaster Research Center (DRC) will participate in a $30 million dollar, five year effort to minimize earthquake-related losses nationwide.... At UD, Kathleen J. Tierney and Joanna M. Nigg are co-directors of the DRC. Tierney will act as a co-principal investigator and Nigg will serve on the consortium's research committee. Tierney and Nigg will take a lead role in the social science research component that helps determine what impact new and emerging technologies like high-performance computing, remote sensing, and newly developed methods of simulating real-time earthquake losses will have on reducing loss of life and property damage."

Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 21. Universities Struggle to Eradicate the 'Millennium Bug' From Computers. "The year-2000 software crunch comes at a time when universities are already dealing with a severe shortage of computer-staff members. A shortage caused in part by the private sector's raiding university computing offices for skilled workers capable of working on the millennium bug. The shortage makes many institutions wary of attempting a year-2000 fix themselves. Indeed, many colleges are treating the year-2000 problem as a good excuse to buy systems with the latest features. They argue that fixing date codes in an old program costs a lot of money but adds no value. For many institutions, such a purchase is 'just a timing issue, because they would have bought new software eventually,' says Susan J. Foster, vice president for information technologies at the University of Delaware and chairwoman of CAUSE, an organization of colleges and universities that are heavy users of technology. Some institutions, she says, 'are finding it's not worth the time and effort to go back, find, and fix the problem, because they're not getting a better system out of it.'"

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nov. 21. Victims were vulnerable, expert says. "Prostitutes make easy targets because they are so vulnerable.... Often, the crimes go unnoticed for a long time because the victims tend to be loners, cut off from their families, he said. This is particularly true of women who sell sex for drugs, as some of the Milwaukee victims were known to have done. 'Crack prostitutes are considered the lowest of the low because they are very desperate people,' said James Inciardi, director of the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies at the University of Delaware, who has written books about women and crack cocaine. 'Many prostitutes have said crack prostitutes give prostitution a bad name because they will do anything for a hit from a crack pipe,' Inciardi said. 'The crack house is the new whore house.'"

Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 23. Talking with Ben Yagoda and Kevin Kerrane. "Kevin Kerrane and Ben Yagoda were frustrated. They were teaching literary journalism at the University of Delaware, but the material they wanted their students to read was difficult to keep getting rights to photocopy. So Kerrane and Yagoda decided to get permission for all the material at once and publish it as a book. The results is The Art of Fact: A Historical Anthology of Literary Journalism (Scribner, $35). 'We finally decided to take matters into our own hands,' Yagoda writes in the preface. 'You are holding the results in yours.'"

Morristown, N.J., Daily Record, Nov. 23. Top honors for trio of area skaters. "It took Hilary Reuben 12 years. Erin Murdoch did it in 10. And for Kelly Hodge, it was a nine-year struggle. Their reward? Their big prize for all this work? A gold medal in senior ladies freeskating, one of the highest awards an ice skater can earn.... Kelly, a 20-year old junior at the University of Delaware and a 1995 graduate of Mount Olive High School, was a 'late starter' at the age of 11. She worked five days a week for the past seven years to earn her gold medal."

Delmarva Farmer, Nov. 25. Poultry Patter. "Let me take this opportunity to introduce myself-George 'Bud' Malone, I have been involved in poultry research at the University of Delaware since 1975. In June, when Dan Palmer retired after 17 years of dedicated service as the University's poultry extension specialist, I assumed the position. We are indebted to Dan's many contributions to the poultry industry and youth programs."

Delmarva Farmer, Nov. 25 Video how-to shows carcass composting. "Following catastrophic flock deaths due to such events as power failure, disease or extended periods of hot weather, carcass disposal may be a daunting problem. On-Farm Large-scale Chicken Carcass Composting, NRAES-110, is a videotape exploring the option of on-farm carcass disposal using windrow composting. ... This video was produced as a collaborative effort by the University of Delaware and Maryland, Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc. And the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control."

-Compiled by Barbara Garrison