The Johns Hopkins Gazette: August 14, 2000
August 14, 2000
VOL. 29, NO. 43

  

Briefs

Johns Hopkins Gazette Online Edition

Exact copies of rare books on display at Eisenhower Library

An exhibit of modern exact copies of centuries-old rare and valuable books is on display through September at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library located on the Homewood campus.

Facsimile and Fakes showcases 13 of the finest book facsimiles held in the library's special collections, all created within the past 31 years. They range from a facsimile of the huge and ornately bound San Paolo Bible, originally produced between 870 and 875 A.D., to a small and elegant edition of Petrarch's poems, which recreates an early printed book from one of the Renaissance's finest printers, Aldus Manutius. The double-sided, screenfolded Codice Azoyú contains drawings of historical episodes, genealogical material and maps and is thought to cover the period from 1300 to 1565.

The word facsimile comes from the Latin fac simile or "make it the same." The facsimiles in the exhibit were all created for scholarly use and were made by using the latest technologies in reproduction and by employing highly skilled artisans who can recreate the present-day condition of the original. Even the irregular edges of the individual pages, smudges, holes and other imperfections match the original perfectly.

The exhibit, located on M-level, is free and open to the public during library hours. For information, call 410-516-5571.


University seeking employees involved with United Way

Are you currently volunteering or receiving services at a United Way agency, or know someone at Hopkins who is? If so, would you be willing to share some of this information with your colleagues so that many can better understand the importance of the United Way in our community? Local agencies including Baltimore Reads, the Center for Family Services (formerly Villa Louise) and St. Jerome's Head Start, are praiseworthy examples of your campaign contributions at work. To participate, contact Judy Peregoff at 410-516-6060 or jperegoff@jhu.edu.


British fertility expert to address new reproductive technologies

With advances in reproductive medicine and gene therapy, will we still be human at the end of the 21st century? The director of the United Kingdom's largest reproductive medicine department will address this topic in a lecture on Tuesday, Sept. 5., on the East Baltimore campus.

Robert Maurice Lipson Winston, professor of fertility studies at the Imperial College School of Medicine and an obstetrician/ gynecologist consultant for Hammersmith Hospital, will speak at 4 p.m. in the Woodruff Lecture Hall of the Phipps Building.

Winston is known for performing in 1974 the first successful experimental tubal and ovarian transplant. His laboratory research led to the first successful diagnosis of genetic disease in the human embryo.

The talk is sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development as this year's Griff T. Ross, M.D., Memorial Lecture in Reproductive Endocrinology. It is co-sponsored by Hopkins' Division of Reproductive Endocrinology, part of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics.


Wilmer is designated as Eye Trauma Center for the state

The Wilmer Eye Institute has been designated an Eye Trauma Center for the state by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems. This designation is effective for up to five years.

MIEMSS recognized Wilmer's many resources, including its location within The Johns Hopkins Hospital, a level 1 trauma center for both adults and children; state-of-the-art equipment and technology; high retention among nurses; experienced staff; and its 75-year history of offering specialized eye care to the public. Also cited was Wilmer's dedication to the development and implementation of public education and prevention programs concerning eye injuries.

"We are honored to receive such recognition from the state of Maryland during our 75th anniversary year," said Wilmer director Morton F. Goldberg.

In addition to its three buildings on the East Baltimore campus, Wilmer has 10 satellite locations throughout Maryland, with another scheduled to open in White Marsh this month.


APL licenses secure Internet technologies to Baltimore firm

The Applied Physics Laboratory is teaming up with the Sphere Corporation, a Baltimore-based information technology firm, to make the Internet a safer and more secure place to conduct business.

APL technology is forming the foundation of GuardedProfile Corporation, a new, wholly owned Sphere subsidiary created to provide secure e-commerce vehicles for corporate and individual Web users. Under a nonexclusive licensing agreement, the partners will tailor for GuardedProfile's use APL-designed structures for protecting networks and databases, retrieving data and organizing electronic information. The agreement also includes up-front licensing fees, milestone payments, royalties on product sales and an equity position for JHU/APL in the Sphere Corporation.

GuardedProfile will offer customers a private and secure way to store and send personal electronic information, ranging from names and addresses to site-registration passwords and credit card numbers. The system features a data storehouse from which people can transact e-business away from the prying keys of computer hackers.


Latest orbit looks familiar to NEAR Shoemaker

APL-controlled NEAR Shoemaker returned to familiar territory on July 31, after a minute-long engine burn settled the spacecraft in a circular orbit 31 miles from asteroid Eros.

The burn wrapped up a busy month for the NEAR mission team--four maneuvers in all, dipping the spacecraft to an orbit 22 miles from the asteroid's center before pulling it back to its latest position.

Since meeting up with Eros on Feb. 14, NEAR Shoemaker has spent more time at 31 miles--the ideal altitude for the spacecraft's scientific instruments--than any other distance.

Higher orbits over the next three months will allow the spacecraft to gather images and data on sections of the asteroid hidden in shadows during the early months of the mission.


GO TO AUGUST 14, 2000 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
GO TO THE GAZETTE HOME PAGE.