Posted on Apr 21, 2000

Rudy Nydegger, associate
professor of psychology, presented a paper “Violence, Aggression, and
Passive-Aggression in the Workplace: An International Problem,” at
the International Conference on Applied Business Research in Puerto
Vallarta, Mexico.

Robert L. Fleischer, research
professor of geology, recently gave a talk, “Tracks to Innovation –
Interplay Between the Science and Technology of Etched Nuclear
Tracks,” at the Materials Science/Solid Mechanics Seminar Series at
Brown University. The talk described how nuclear particles create
radiation-damage tracks that can be made visible in solids by chemical
etching. These tracks have many uses, including radon measurements in
homes and earthquake zones, preparation of biological filters, and oil
exploration.

Grant Brown, assistant
professor of biology, and Scott Brennan '01 are authors of
“Chemical alarm signals in juvenile green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus,
Centrarchidae)” forthcoming in Copeia. Brown is also
co-author, with Jessica A. Paige '99 and Jean-Guy J. Godin, of
“Chemical predator inspection behaviour in the absence of visual cues
by a characin fish, Hemigrammus erythrozonus,” to appear in Animal
Behaviour.

Posted on Apr 21, 2000

Feeding behavior. The blood knot. The double haul.

They're all part of what may be one of the most
interdisciplinary offerings at the College: a low-key, non-credit class in
fly fishing.

Fly fishing covers a range of disciplines – biology,
physics, literature to name a few — says Prof. Peter Tobiessen, who
organized the course at the urging of students who discovered his passion
during faculty introductions last fall.

The course, which nicely fosters faculty-student
interaction outside the classroom, has been funded by the IEG.

Each week, up to a dozen students (mostly male) tie
flies, learn about insect and fish biology, and practice their casting.
Local waters, still swollen from snowmelt, are too cold for the fish to
feed. But in a few weeks, the fish – and the students – will be ready,
says Tobiessen, who with Tom Werner and other faculty has long been
visiting area fishing holes.

Even parents are getting into the act. Visiting
instructors have included Mike Newell '74 (father of Jeremy '00, Sarah
'02 and Jessica '99), who taught fly-tying. Next up is Howard
Bartholomew (father of Alex '00), who will demonstrate bamboo rod
building.

The group meets Mondays at 7 p.m. in S105, one of the
biology labs. Contact Tobiessen at tobiessp@union.edu to learn more.

Posted on Apr 21, 2000

President Roger Hull will serve as moderator for
“Forum for Change,” a discussion with local economic development
leaders aimed at stimulating growth on Tuesday, April 25, at 7 p.m. in the
Nott Memorial.

The forum, free and open to the public, will bring
together leaders responsible for economic development in Schenectady
County who will discuss their plans and perspectives and answer questions
from the audience.

“This forum is a valuable opportunity for those
concerned with and responsible for the city's and county's future to
present their ideas on how to move forward,” said Hull. “We're
at a critical point in Schenectady. We plan to host these meetings as long
as necessary as a way to monitor progress and hold people
accountable.”

Forum participants are City Council President Joseph
Allen, County Legislative Chairman Robert Farley, Golub Corp. President
and COO Neil Golub, Schenectady Mayor Albert Jurczynski, and Schenectady
Economic Development Corp. President George Robertson. Proctor's Theater
Chairman Harry Apkarian will participate in place of Metroplex Chairman
John Manning, who will be out of town.

Posted on Apr 21, 2000

Pico Iyer, whose writing has appeared in journals
ranging from the New York Times Book Review to Sports
Illustrated, will speak on “The Global Soul: The People of the
21st Century” on Thursday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the Nott
Memorial.

William Boyd has called Iyer “among the finest
travel writers of his generation.” His books include Video Night
in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk and Falling off the Map.

An essayist for Time, he has written generally on
foreign affairs, sport, religion, and history.

His latest book, The Global Soul, explores
“how borderlessness and a new sense of affiliation play out in cities
and hearts.”

Posted on Apr 21, 2000

Robert Vrooman, former head of counterintelligence
at Los Alamos National Laboratory, will speak Friday, April 21, at 8 p.m.
in the Nott Memorial on “Espionage Challenges Facing the United
States: Lessons of the Wen-ho Lee Affair” in which he details why the
much-publicized spy case at Los Alamos was textbook racial profiling.

Wen-ho Lee, a Taiwan-born nuclear physicist, was
identified by the Cox Committee as having provided nuclear weapons
technology to China. He has since been indicted for violating Los Alamos'
security regulations, and is being held in solitary confinement and
without bail until trial.