Brody appointed to state technology commission

Gov. Robert Ehrlich last week named President William R. Brody to his newly created Commission on the Development of Advanced Technology Business.

The 20-member group of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and academics is charged with charting a framework for the revival of the high-tech economy in Maryland, ending its days as a "pass-though" state to Virginia and Pennsylvania.

The group will identify the strengths and weaknesses of the state's business climate, assess successful initiatives in other pro-business states and submit recommendations for further growth in Maryland's high-tech economy. Recommendations are due in the fall.

SAIS professor appointed special assistant to Bush

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice announced last week that Ambassador Shirin R. Tahir-Kheli, a research professor at SAIS, has been appointed special assistant to the president and senior director for democracy, human rights and international operations, effective immediately.

Tahir-Kheli was the founding director of the South Asia Program at SAIS' Foreign Policy Institute. She served from 1990 to 1993 as alternate U.S. representative to the United Nations for special political affairs and from 1984 to 1989 as director of political military affairs and then as director of Near East and South Asian affairs with the National Security Council. Prior to that, she was a member of the policy planning staff at the Department of State.

Tahir-Kheli was head of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 2001, was appointed by President Bush to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and served on the Presidential Commission on Public Service from 1992 to 1993.

She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Land Institute head to give Center for Livable Future talk

Wes Jackson, president of the Land Institute, will give the Center for a Livable Future's fifth annual Edward & Nancy Dodge Lecture from 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Widely recognized as a leader in thinking about sustainable architecture, Jackson was born on a farm, has a doctorate in genetics and established the Environmental Studies Program at California State University, Sacramento. An author of both books and papers, he is a recipient of the Pew Conservation Scholars award, a MacArthur Fellowship and a Right Livelihood Award.

His talk is titled "A False Hypothesis? Implications for Agriculture and Society If It's True."

Child neurologist at NIH to speak on cerebral palsy

Karin Nelson, a child neurologist at the NIH who has done studies of causes of cerebral palsy, will be giving a talk on cerebral palsy in infants and young children from 9:40 to 10:20 a.m. today, March 31, in the Turner Auditorium, East Baltimore campus. The topic will cover medical-legal implications. The symposium is sponsored by the School of Medicine's Division of Child Development.

Tenor Issachah Savage to perform in Wed. Noon Series

In a Wednesday Noon Series performance called "A Journey in Song," tenor Issachah Savage will sing music capturing a variety of styles from the baroque period to the 20th century. The April 2 performance begins at noon in Homewood's Shriver Hall.

The program includes works by Gluck, Handel, Schumann, Schubert, Ravel, Tosti and Verdi, as well as more popular and spiritual songs by Lehar, Charles, Dungan and Bonds.

Savage was a featured artist in the world premiere concert and recording of Wynton Marsalis' All Rise with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lincoln Center Jazz Band and recently returned from France, where he participated in two performances of All Rise. Savage has performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Peabody Chamber Ensemble and the Philadelphia Opera Company.

This performance is presented by the Office of Special Events and co-sponsored by the Peggy and Yale Gordon Trust. For more information, call 410-516-7157.

French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte to speak at SAIS

Jean-David Levitte, ambassador of France to the United States, will speak on the topic "Current World Politics: A French View" at the School of Advanced International Studies on Tuesday, April 1. The event will be held at 6 p.m. in the Kenney Auditorium of the Nitze Building.

City closes 29th Street ramp to southbound JFX starting today

Beginning today, the 29th Street on-ramp to the southbound Jones Falls Expressway will be closed for a period that may be as long as two years.

The entrance is used frequently by Homewood employees and visitors to the campus who are going downtown, a trip that normally takes five minutes.

City traffic engineers said they are closing the ramp during reconstruction of the JFX in order to ease congestion and improve safety.