The Johns Hopkins Gazette: October 28, 2002
October 28, 2002
VOL. 32, NO. 9

  

In Brief

Johns Hopkins Gazette Online Edition

JHU Hillel to break ground for its first permanent home

Johns Hopkins University's Hillel will begin building a new foundation for Jewish life on the Homewood campus with a three-day celebration marking the start of construction for the new Smokler Center for Jewish Life in the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Building.

Situated at 3109 N. Charles St. adjacent to the Homewood campus, the center will be the first permanent home for Hillel. The facility is expected to open in the fall of 2003.

Among the events being held Nov. 1 to 3 are a Shabbat dinner celebrating family, a Shabbat lunch honoring alumni, several religious services, a talk by David Nirenberg, the Charlotte Bloomberg Professor of Humanities and director of the Stulman Jewish Studies Program, and a groundbreaking ceremony.

For more information, contact Johns Hopkins Hillel administrator Terri Glasser at 410-516-4196, e-mail hophill@jhu.edu or go to www.jhu.edu and click on "JH calendar of events."


Swimalong raises money for Thompson Scholarship Fund

Members of the Johns Hopkins men's and women's swimming teams raised more than $6,000 in a swimalong held in the White Athletic Center on Oct. 18. The money will be donated to the Lauren Thompson Scholarship Fund, which was established over the summer to help needy JHU students.

Thompson, a member of the Blue Jay women's swimming team in each of the last two seasons, died June 24 in an accident. A memorial service was held on campus Oct. 19.

JHU women's team members swam from 2 to 4 p.m. and the men's from 4 to 6 p.m. Each athlete swam at least 7,000 yards during the event, which was described as very upbeat. The swimmers were sponsored by students, parents, professors, other team members, friends and local merchants. The baseball and men's lacrosse teams also made contributions.

"The closeness of the team brought them through this tragedy," head coach George Kennedy said. "The swimalong was a wonderful tribute to Lauren Thompson, whose spirit continues to live within our team."


The Capitol Steps, noted satirists, to perform Friday night

The nationally acclaimed troupe known as the Capitol Steps will perform its politically charged musical satire at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1, in Homewood's Shriver Hall.

The congressional staffers-turned-comedians travel the nation lampooning the people and institutions that once employed them. The group formed in 1981, when staffers for Sen. Charles Percy created topical song parodies and skits for a Christmas party. The current cast has staffed the offices of 11 U.S. senators and seven members of the House of Representatives. The Capitol Steps have appeared on Good Morning, America, Today, 20/20, Entertainment Tonight, Nightline and CNN's Inside Politics.

The event is presented by the dean of student life, the Parents Association and the Office of Special Events. For information about ticket prices and availability, call Special Events at 410-516-7157.


CCP dedicates room to early supporter William Draper Jr.

The Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Communication Programs recently dedicated the largest conference room in its Inner Harbor headquarters to the late Gen. William H. Draper Jr. At the ceremony, CCP's founding director, Phyllis Tilson Piotrow, paid tribute to Draper, who was the first high-ranking U.S. official to recommend support for population and family planning programs. The School of Public Health established CCP in 1988 to consolidate family planning and reproductive health communication programs originating in the 1970s and early 1980s.

A former undersecretary of the U.S. Army, Draper was instrumental in the establishment and funding of the United Nations Population Fund. His son, William Draper III, and former U.S. Sen. Joseph Tydings attended the ceremony.

In 1992, CCP established the William H. Draper Jr. Fellowship Fund to provide funds for students from developing countries who wanted to learn health communication with an emphasis on population, family planning and reproductive health.


Student meal equivalency is reinstated at Levering cafeteria

With the opening of Hodson Hall, the pattern of student traffic at Homewood has changed, underscoring the need for students to have a dining option closer to the south end of campus. To address this, meal equivalency has been reinstated in Levering cafeteria from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Anticipating that the change may overwhelm the cafeteria for a short time, Susan Boswell, dean of student life, said she encourages faculty and staff to take advantage of other options around campus as well. Among them are Terrace Court Cafe, Wolman Station, MegaBytes in the AMRs, the Depot in Wolman Hall and Silk Road Express at the Mattin Center.


APL licenses portable biodetection system

APL's Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer, a portable system to detect dangerous airborne chemicals and biological agents, is the heart of a licensing agreement that creates the Lab's sixth start-up company, Matrix Instrument Co.

The small northern Virginia firm is preparing to usher the Time of Flight system through field tests and work with Lab inventors to find medical, agricultural and other uses beyond homeland defense. The license covers nearly 20 Lab-invented sensors, devices and techniques. APL's work on TOF mass spectrometry is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and internal technology transfer funds.


Correction

In last week's Cheers, Jeanine Baker's division was incorrect. She is director of financial aid for the School of Nursing.


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