Annual Johns Hopkins picnic to be held this year in June

The annual Johns Hopkins picnic will be held a month early this year, on Thursday, June 26, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. in the Evergreen Meadow. All faculty, staff, retirees, students and alumni are invited to attend, accompanied by their families and friends. An invitation and ticket order form will be sent via campus mail to all faculty and staff in late May.

Picnic tickets, which may be purchased in advance or at the gate, include all-you-can-eat food and beverages, games and special attractions, a dance floor and DJ, supervised children's activities, prizes and gifts. If you do not receive a ticket order form, you can purchase tickets by contacting the representative in your area. To find the appropriate contact person, go to www.jhu.edu/~hr1/fsrp/hop_pic.html.

Marketplace at Levering has closed for summer renovation

The Marketplace at Levering is now closed for a summerlong makeover. When it reopens at the start of the new academic year, it will have a new look and be home to five dining destinations: Pete's Arena Pizza, Sky Ranch Grill, Salsa Rico, Sub Connections and Jazzman's Cafe. Jazzman's Cafe, a coffee shop, will remain open until 6 p.m.

Information security programs are recognized by NSA

The National Security Agency has designated Johns Hopkins University a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance, recognizing the university's curriculum for its excellence in teaching information and security assurance.

The designation, for the academic years 2003 to 2006, opens Hopkins up to a wide range of grants for research and programs in information security.

"It's more than just an award. It's a requirement that carries significant weight regarding opportunities for funding for both educational programs and research programs," said Gerald M. Masson, a computer science professor who serves as director of the Information Security Institute at Johns Hopkins. "For government agencies in the Baltimore, Washington, Northern Virginia area, this is highly important."

The NSA also reviewed the course program for the new Johns Hopkins master of science degree in security informatics, and certified several programs with national training standards: information systems security professionals, designated approving authority, system administrators, information systems security officers and system security certifiers.

"Only a handful of [college] academic programs in information security and assurance have both the center of excellence designation and have been evaluated as satisfying the entire suite of standards," Masson said.

William Schwarz Lectures at WSE set for May 19 and 20

The Whiting School of Engineering's Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department is hosting this week the William H. Schwarz Lectures, which are made possible by the generous support of Ronald J. Whittier.

The featured speaker is Jay D. Keasling, who holds a professorship in Chemical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley.

On Monday, May 19, a coffee reception will be held from 10 to 10:30 a.m. in 109 Maryland Hall, Homewood campus. A tribute will honor William H. Schwarz at 10:30 a.m. in 110 Maryland Hall, followed at 11 a.m. by Keasling's talk. His topic is "Designer Cells for a Genomic Age."

Keasling will speak again at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 20, in 110 Maryland Hall. His topic is "Eau-de-E.coli: Production of Flavor and Fragrance Terpenes in Escherichia Coli." Refreshments will be served at 10:45 a.m.

Video project to give voice to sexual minorities at JHU

Homewood's Office of Multicultural Student Affairs this summer will produce a video, In Their Own Words, about what it is like to be a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered student at Johns Hopkins. The video will be used during freshmen orientation as a training tool for student leaders and within departments to initiate a dialog about the issue.

The office is currently seeking gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students, faculty and staff who wish to be interviewed for the project.

To participate, or offer suggestions, contact Su-Sun Wang, program coordinator for the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, at swang@jhu.edu or at 410-516-2224.

Archaeological Collection to hold grand reopening today

The Johns Hopkins University Archaeological Collection is holding a grand reopening of its collection room from 5 to 7 p.m. today, May 19, for the entire Johns Hopkins community. The collection is located in 129/131 Gilman Hall on the Homewood campus.

The celebration will present the completed redesign of the Egyptian and Greek/Roman galleries, which showcase a large range of objects, from an Egyptian mummy to a number of Greek vases. The collection room is open to visitors during limited hours Monday through Friday. For more information, call 410-516-7561 or visit www.jhu.edu/~archaeo.