'Gazette' will resume weekly publication on Jan. 7

The Gazette will not be published on Dec. 24 or Jan. 31, due to the holidays. The weekly schedule will resume on Jan. 7, 2002. News breaking during those two weeks will be posted online by the Office of Communications and Public Affairs at today@jhu, which is accessible from the home page, www.jhu.edu.

Wilmer again takes top ranking in magazine survey

For the sixth year running, the Wilmer Eye Institute has been named the top overall program in the Ophthalmology Times' annual survey ranking the nation's top ophthalmic programs. The publication comes up with its rankings by polling ophthalmology department chairmen and directors of residency programs across the United States. Wilmer also was ranked best research program and best residency program, finishing No. 1 in three of the four categories.

Applications available for SOM Young Investigators awards

For 25 years, the School of Medicine has awarded a select group of budding researchers both its praise and an honorarium--all part of its annual Young Investigators Day held every spring. This year, graduate degree candidates and postdoctoral fellows will compete for 21 awards.

Applicants may enter laboratory research, either with or without direct clinical relevance. Clinical research with an active or historical patient involvement is also eligible.

Application cover sheets and instructions are available from the Registrar's Office or from bulletin board displays posted throughout JHMI. Applications must be submitted between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Jan. 10 at 526 Osler. For more information, call 443-287-5825.

Near Eastern Studies Web site was a hit, returns next month

Ancient Egypt welcomed an extra 17,000 "site"-seers last January, thanks to the Near Eastern Studies Department. The visitors never set foot near the Sphinx, but they did generate 17,000 hits on the department's Web site, which chronicled the daily discoveries of a Hopkins-coordinated archaeological endeavor in Luxor, Egypt.

For the second year, the department will invite the Hopkins community and the rest of cyberspace to tag along on the group's monthlong excavation of the Temple of Karnak. The vicarious vacation will begin Jan. 4 or 5, when the first digital images and text are likely to appear at www.jhu.edu/~neareast/egypttoday.html.

The page will include daily photos of the excavation work, letters from the field, an aerial view of the site, a reference map and background on the Early New Kingdom time period.

The excavation work spans a 10-acre site and is a collaboration of Hopkins and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Betsy Bryan, chair of Near Eastern Studies, is heading up the dig and will be assisted by 10 Hopkins graduate students. Bryan has been making winter field trips to Egypt since 1994, though this is only the second year at the Temple of Karnak.

Bryan said the goal of the excavation is to deconstruct the main temple to determine its original form as it stood during between 1500 B.C. and 1200 B.C. The group will continue to explore the temple's gateway while searching for clues to ancient domestic habitation.

The expedition will be documented in Egypt by Jay Van Rensselaer of Homewood Photographic Services and the daily reports put online in Baltimore by his wife, Macie Hall, senior information technology specialist for the School of Arts and Sciences.

Hopkins choir participates in AIDS benefit album

The Hopkins ECCO Choir has contributed its time to a CD that benefits Baltimore's AIDS Interfaith Residential Services. "A Winter's Night III: In the Hands of Angels" features traditional music of the season and is the third in a series of albums. The choir performs three selections, including an original arrangement by choir director Mark Hardy. The album's producer, Ed Bunker, is the coordinator for the master of public health program at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The CD is available in the MPH program office, W1015 Public Health, East Baltimore campus, or through AIRS at 410-576-5070, ext. 33, or http://www.airshome.org. A $10 to $15 donation is requested for each CD.

SAIS to host forum looking at Europe after Sept. 11

"Europe After Sept. 11" is the title of a SAIS forum scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 10 a.m. Hosted by the Center for Transatlantic Relations at SAIS, the forum coincides with the release of a report prepared by the Centre for European Reform in London.

The report's authors from the center, Charles Grant, director; Edward Bannerman, head of the economics and business unit; and Steven Everts, senior research fellow, will discuss their recommendations for ways that Europeans--and the European Union in particular--can work with the United States and others to confront the common challenge of terrorism.

The event, open to the public, will be held in the school's Rome Building. Non-SAIS affiliates should R.S.V.P. to 202-663-5880 or transatlantic@jhu.edu. For more information, call 202-663-5626.