Johns Hopkins Gazette: March 25 1996


In Brief...


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Mathematicians to hold conference at Hopkins

     Mathematicians from around the world will meet at Homewood
on Thursday, April 11, at the start of a four-day conference on
birational geometry.

     The annual conference is co-sponsored by the Mathematics
Department and the Japan-U.S. Mathematics Institute, an exchange
program that allows Japanese mathematicians to come to Hopkins to
do research and become acquainted with math professors here. 
This year the conference is dedicated to the memory of Wei-Liang
Chow, who was a leading figure in algebraic geometry and spent
most of his career at Johns Hopkins. Chow died last year at 83.

     The program will focus on birational geometry and
classification of higher dimensional algebraic varieties. It will
be preceded by a workshop dealing with birational geometry on
Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9 and 10, with the actual conference
beginning on Thursday and continuing through Sunday.

     The program, which began in 1988, is intended to foster
friendly relations between Japan and the United States and to
strengthen the long-standing relationship between the Mathematics
Department and the Japanese mathematics community. For more
information contact the Math Department at (410) 516-4178, by
e-mail:  or visit our Web site at:
.
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Engineering, Medicine awarded state grants 

     Three of four state grants awarded recently to promote
partnerships between private industry and universities will go to
Hopkins-based researcher projects.

     The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
said these Maryland Industrial Partnerships Extended Grants will
help emerging technology companies develop their products.
Although the program has existed for almost a decade, this is the
first year in which funds are being given to partnerships between
Maryland companies and schools outside the University of Maryland
system, state officials said.

     The grants, involving researchers from the Whiting School of
Engineering and the School of Medicine, were:

ù    $70,000 to Curt Civin, a professor of oncology and
pediatrics, and Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. of Baltimore to
determine if transplantation of stem cells in mice will alleviate
harmful blood disorders;

ù    $65,396 to Michael Ehrlich, a postdoctoral researcher in the
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Refractory
Composites, Inc. of Glen Burnie for the development of fiber
optic-based sensors.

ù    $35,000 to Theodore Poehler, a professor of electrical
engineering and materials science, and Brimrose Corp. of White
Marsh for the development of long wavelength infrared detectors.
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Symposium to tackle issues of race, sexuality

     A one-day symposium titled "Race and Sexuality in the
Americas" will be held Friday, March 29, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in
the Garrett Room of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library on the
Homewood campus. Admission is free and open to the public.

     A distinguished panel of educators from universities around
the country will conduct a variety of discussions followed by
question and answer periods.

     "There is an unspoken reluctance to link race and
sexuality," said history professor Herman Bennett, one of the
organizers of the symposium. "Yet race and sexuality have
operated together to define the experiences, lives and
interactions of all communities in the Atlantic world."

     The event represents the cooperation of several departments
and disciplines at Hopkins. Professors Eduardo Gonzalez, of the
Hispanic and Italian Studies Department, and Walter Benn
Michaels, of the English Department, will lead the discussions, 
which organizers hope will challenge current scholarly thinking
and prompt debate. 

     The schedule is listed in The Gazette's calendar this week,
page 6. 
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Student employees earn week of appreciation

     The Office of Student Employment and Payroll celebrates
National Student Employee Appreciation Week April 1 through 7
with special events, including the naming of the student employee
of the year at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, in the Garrett Room of
the Milton S. Eisenhower Library. 

     More than 3,200 full-time students, enrolled in the schools
of Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Continuing Studies, work in
laboratories and academic and administrative offices across the
university. Students nominated for this year's award are
Angelique Budaya (Homewood House Museum), Christopher Chin
(Library Preservation), Jeffrey Doshna (Student Financial
Services), Jessica Fennefrock (Mathematical Sciences), Louis
Gonzalez (Dean of Students), Stephen Hwang (Homewood Academic
Computing), Jesslyn Ingram (Multicultural Student Affairs),
Chong-Lim Lee (English), Joseph McKelvey (Counseling Center),
Brian Milch (Materials Science and Engineering), Janis Regina Tan
(Homewood Academic Computing), Joan Tarbert (Student Activities)
and Ivy Wong (Hopkins Symphony Orchestra).

     The 12 students working on direct mail in the Annual Fund
office also will be recognized at the ceremony.
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