CAS Alumni & Development Cascade Spring 2007 Cascade, the biannual publication of the College of Arts & Sciences, features recent activities and ground-breaking research by faculty members and demonstrates the many ways students and graduates benefit from their UO education. Cover Story Publish or Perish [online] This spring fewer journals will reside on the University of Oregon libraries? shelves than ever before. A steady progression away from print is leaving professors in flux over how to publish scholarly work. Some have embraced electronic media while others are wondering ? Is going virtual inevitable? News Briefs The Dean?s Letter: Tenure?s Pressing Questions Technology Enhances Language Study Watching with Intent to Repeat Ignites Key Learning Area of Brain Nanotechnology Forum Explores Benefits, Risks Learning a New Language Can Make Us Forget Vocabulary in Mother Tongue UO Theater Designers to Compete Internationally UO Physicist Lands Sloan Fellowship Laurels for UO Poet http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/index.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:57:19 AM CAS Alumni & Development UO Graduate Named 2007 Rhodes Scholar Jurassic Crocodile Unearthed in Eastern Oregon Social Science Professor Tracks Environmental Treaties Natural Science Chatting Becomes Big Business The Zebrafish Story: Faculty, graduates, and post- docs demonstrate common UO traits Humanities Chaos & Calm, Spotlight Offstage University Theatre Begins Expansion Alumni 2006-07 Alumni Fellows: Celebrating the Careers of Our Distinguished Alumni Margie McBride Lehrman: Lifelong Learning Starts at UO Luis Ernesto Derbez: From UO to UN Gurdeep Singh Pall: A Top Duck at Microsoft Ducks Using Tech to Stay Connected Search Class Notes Online 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/index.html (2 of 2)6/19/2007 9:57:19 AM CAS Alumni & Development PUBLISH or PERISH [online] The Knight Library stacks that house the academic journals of the University of Oregon are quieter than they used to be. UO English professor George Rowe is editor of Comparative Literature, which has maintained its print format. Not long ago professors and students would stroll the aisles, pulling issues off the shelf and flipping through the pages. The bindings used to be creased, cracked and frayed from use. Now they rest almost untouched, bearing little evidence of handling. Steadily over the past decade, they?ve begun to disappear. Open gaps are left on the shelves above blank plastic labels. Where have the journals gone? They?ve gone virtual. A not-so-obvious revolution is taking place in academia globally as electronic media displaces the printed word. The transition has created widespread implications that are changing the way professors circulate and share their http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/publish.html (1 of 6)6/19/2007 9:57:28 AM CAS Alumni & Development scholarly work, the way students gather research, the way librarians archive and the way journal editors publish. ?We?re moving into this online, completely digital age,? said professor Mark Watson, UO associate university librarian for collections and access. ?We?re being propelled by forces we can?t ignore. We have to deal with them.? Over the past few decades, Watson has watched these forces build. The nature of modern scholarship has led to increasing specialization, dividing disciplines into myriad subgenres. Fifty years ago, nanotechnology didn?t exist. Today there are half a dozen journals on the topic. But not as many people are interested in journals or scholarly monographs with such narrow focus. At the same time subscriptions declined, the cost of paper and mailing rose. To counteract the losses, publishers pursued alternatives. ?Through the ?90s we watched the price for the academic publication skyrocket,? Watson said. A study conducted by the Association of Research Libraries found that from 1986 to 1997, the unit cost of serials rose 169 percent. Facing archiving space concerns and budgetary pressures, university libraries couldn?t meet the higher subscription costs or buy as many scholarly books. The stress has been building for both publishers and libraries, with unavoidable pressures and imperfect solutions. HOLDING ON TO PRINT Atop a bookshelf on the third floor of the UO?s 120-year-old Villard Hall rests a dusty 1949 copy of the Comparative Literature journal. The hand-lettered, grayscale cover with a rich textured finish reads: volume 1, issue 2. This lone copy is historical in more than one way. Comparative Literature is the oldest in its field and has garnered international renown thanks to a prestigious editorial board. Since journal editor and UO English professor George Rowe inherited the production duties eleven years ago, he has maintained the journal?s established tradition. Today?s tomes remain the same oblong shape, with the standard 96 pages and 550 words per page. The price remains affordable at $60 per year, significantly lower than most print journals. But the days of print-only publication are numbered, said Rowe: ?We have no choice but to change.? The choice they do have is whether to stay independent or join an online database such as Project MUSE, which sells electronic subscriptions of more than 200 journals. The price can be as high as $24,000 for the premium package and Rowe worries that while the journal could reach more readers, its 650 international subscribers could be priced out. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/publish.html (2 of 6)6/19/2007 9:57:28 AM CAS Alumni & Development Rowe admits there are upsides to going electronic, something with which he has first-hand experience since the back issues of the journal, years 1949 to 2003, have been uploaded to an online journal archive. Now with a few mouse clicks Rowe can bring articles up on the screen from the same 1949 issue that sits on the shelf. ?It?s readable. It?s searchable,? he said. ?It really is amazing.? But it?s unlikely Comparative Literature will ever give up hard copies completely. The print format not only commands a greater respect in the field, it provides a measure of control for copyright issues, along with a steady revenue stream. ?Keeping print is not simply a matter of nostalgia; it?s a necessity,? said Rowe. As the official journal of the American Comparative Literature Association, it?s critical that they provide their members with a way to subscribe individually, which becomes more complicated and, surprisingly, more expensive to do in electronic format. It?s a complex decision for publishers like Rowe, but many have avidly adopted the electronic format, claiming it allows their journals to take on added dimensions. A WIDER BANDWIDTH Movie frames and audio clips have complemented the essays of Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media since it became an all-electronic publication in 2001. The nonprofit journal also now publishes a greater abundance of articles since it?s not limited by print space, said UO English professor emerita Julia Lesage, who in 1974 co-founded the journal, which publishes material on film, television, video and related media and cultural analysis. The publication has retained its editorial board of scholars who review submissions to the journal. What makes it unusual is that it?s both online and free, which allows the journal to reach a much wider audience. As a print publication they had 4,000 subscribers each year. Now 3,000 people each month read the journal online. ?We?ve always thought that the function of the Internet was to fulfill its promise of making intellectual life available to the public,? Lesage said. ?There?s no reason to have a narrow funnel for intellectual information to trickle out to people at institutions who can afford to subscribe.? Lesage realizes her enthusiasm about the transition to electronic format is somewhat unique in academia, but says it won?t be for long. ?Resistance will pass with the passing of this generation. There?s no sense in fighting it,? she said. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/publish.html (3 of 6)6/19/2007 9:57:28 AM CAS Alumni & Development SCIENTISTS: THE EARLY ADOPTERS Every morning UO physics professor Dietrich Belitz checks his RSS feeds. These daily notifications alert him to new research papers in his field, uploaded to servers such as arXiv.org, an open access archive of more than 400,000 preprint scientific papers. ?This is where people really put their stuff when they?re done,? said Belitz. By the time articles are published in journals, the findings are old news; they?ve been circulating electronically for years. ?Academic journals are an afterthought,? Belitz said. ?I never read articles in bound journals anymore.? But unlike academic journals, preprint servers aren?t controlled for quality. There?s no editorial board deciding what is published. Without the peer-review of editorial boards, the work printed in them generally doesn?t ?count? toward tenure requirements. But these servers still act as a tool for sharing the latest research in a less rigid way. HOW THE HUMANITIES DIFFER Humanities scholars aren?t pressured in the same way as scientists to disseminate research in a timely manner. ?In humanities we don?t publish ?works in progress,?? said Scott Pratt, UO philosophy professor and acting associate dean of humanities. ?We publish finished work.? Also, certain disciplines are just slower to change, said Ellen Herman, UO history professor. ?In history we study the past. We?re devoted to the sorts of materials that existed in the past, like manuscripts and documents.? This appreciation for traditional media has made some scholars more resistant to publishing work electronically. But they?re taking small steps. The UO?s departments of history, English and philosophy have recently revised their tenure requirements to allow for electronic formats. The transition is necessary, Pratt admitted, because in book-centric disciplines like the humanities there?s even more pressure to publish printed work ? even as there are fewer and fewer publishers. ?Electronic publication has the potential to offset the problem of fewer (publishing) venues,? Pratt said. ?We?re not there yet . . . but that?s where http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/publish.html (4 of 6)6/19/2007 9:57:28 AM CAS Alumni & Development we?re headed.? SELF-PUBLISHING ONLINE UO professor Steve Hsu often posts his scholarly work on his blog. Herman?s recent work is an example of where scholarly work may be headed. She created a website, The Adoption History Project, which both shares her research and serves as a public reserve of accessible documentary sources. ?I would be delighted if students and scholars find my website useful, but I still think of it very much as a kind of public service,? she said. Despite its scholarly content, she can?t advise faculty without tenure to do work like hers. ?Until you get tenure, you?d be foolish to focus on work that?s published only in electronic format,? she said. UO professor Steve Hsu agrees, but finds that publishing online has been a good complement to more traditional academic publishing venues. The physicist has been posting his academic research on his blog since 2004. Though he didn?t start blogging for academic purposes, he?s found that its nature as a forum for discussion allows for exchanging ideas in a relaxed manner. ?In physics we publish research papers. The style is formal and you have to sit down and block out time to read them. If you have casual questions for the author, say about background, you can?t just ask,? Hsu said. Another useful aspect of blogging is that it connects academics to each other around the world and to people who aren?t part of the academic community, said UO economics professor Mark Thoma, who started blogging two years ago. People have visited his site more than 1.6 million times and his daily average readership is about 7,000. In popular economics, Thoma?s blog has made him an internationally known figure, but it doesn?t directly affect his position in academia. ?I?m not sure that the academic community quite knows how to treat blogs,? Thoma said. ?People aren?t quite sure what we?re doing. You?re not going to get a lot of credit for blogging as an academic endeavor.? GETTING CREDIT http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/publish.html (5 of 6)6/19/2007 9:57:28 AM CAS Alumni & Development Two heavy boxes sit in the floor of Russell Tomlin?s office. Tomlin, UO vice provost for academic affairs, oversees the promotion and tenure decisions university-wide. The boxes are jammed full of printed materials; it?s the case file for a tenure candidate. Though most of the materials brought forth for tenure are still printed, Tomlin said, ?We?re not concerned about the format, whether it?s print or electronic.? The main concern is whether the research is original, whether it?s significant nationally or internationally and whether it?s been reviewed by an independent group of scholars from the same field. ?UO doesn?t prohibit electronic publication, but the burden of proof lies with the faculty member to show that it?s been reviewed,? Tomlin said. ?If there is a prejudice, it?s in the peer review. That?s the nature of American higher education. The quality is grounded in peer review. It has nothing to do with popularity.? ?-KC 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/publish.html (6 of 6)6/19/2007 9:57:28 AM CAS Alumni & Development The Dean's Letter Tenure?s Pressing Questions Wendy Larson, Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences Professors at a research university divide their lives into 6-year segments. From their first job as an assistant professor to their tenure and promotion to associate professor is a 6-year block. Because it is up or out or, as we often say, publish or perish, that initial period is crucial for the fledgling professors. During this short window they must prove to their colleagues that their ideas are original and interesting enough to survive peer-review and result in publication. This is, of course, the same time when assistant professors are developing new courses and fine-tuning their teaching skills, which are as important to their future as are their research results. After passing that preliminary bar of tenure and promotion, professors need to start thinking about the next book or set of articles that will be evaluated after yet another 6-year segment. If all goes well, they should become full professors at that point. If not, at least they still have a job, although their self-respect may have taken a blow. Good research, like good teaching, is not always easy to identify or define. What about the new Internet-based publication opportunities ? are they the same as text-based articles or books? Is peer review enough, or will the relative lack of expense in publishing digitally eventually lower quality? Does the fact that someone has to pay in itself guarantee a higher bar? In an era when university presses are under pressure to publish only books that will at least break even, is there excellent, paradigm-changing research that is never seeing the light of day? The faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences have set a high standard for themselves in teaching and in research. No one, we believe, is better qualified to guide our students into the new knowledge of the future than those who themselves are producing such knowledge in their articles, http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/dean.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:57:34 AM CAS Alumni & Development books, blogs, and public presentations. The accomplishments of our honored alumni speak eloquently to the success of this approach. Margaret Lehrman (?66, English) has excelled in her position at NBC News; Luis Ernesto Derbez (?74, Economics) is a politician who teaches at the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico City, and Gurdeep Singh Pall (?89, Computer and Information Science) plays an important role at Microsoft. These and many other alumni continue to show us how a liberal education can prepare you for almost any job. We are justly proud of these high-achieving alumni, and of all our faculty who are committed to bringing new ideas to light. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/dean.html (2 of 2)6/19/2007 9:57:34 AM CAS Alumni & Development Technology Enhances Language Study Imagine learning Arabic by speaking face to face with fellow students and instructors ? not in person or in a typical classroom, but over the computer. This type of foreign language learning is the newest way the University of Oregon?s Yamada Language Center is increasing communication practice options for self-study language students. ?Technology allows the classroom to be extended,? said Jeff Magoto, director of the center. Language instruction is now moving into a new realm, a virtual realm. In the center?s Virtual Language Lab, students can access communication-focused computer programs to complement their classroom instruction. Students can use tools such as online listening comprehension activities and cultural videos, visit live Internet chat rooms, or send instant voice messages to native speakers, tutors and other students across campus and beyond. Technological advances such as these are changing the way languages are being taught and learned, making it possible to teach languages which usually have few instructional materials. In 1999, the YLC was one of the first language centers in the country to gather all the audio and video materials available for a language and package them together online. Since then, with help from grants from the university?s Ed-Tech Committee, the center has continued to develop new digital tools for the latest methods of language instruction. With access to a host of resources, the YLC can teach an increasingly broad http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/languagetech.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:57:38 AM CAS Alumni & Development array of languages to a growing number of students. This fall alone, the center offered courses in ten different languages such as Arabic, Hindi, Modern Greek, Catalan, and Turkish. In the Persian language class, instructor Zahra Foroughifar and her students designate times to ?meet? outside their normal classes, visiting with each other in online chat rooms where they practice speaking what they study in class. Using the computer, webcams and microphones, small groups of students view each other and the instructor on their screens and practice speaking through a computer program called Amiga LiveChat. The center has become a hub for these languages and the demand has grown so much that Arabic, Swahili, Portuguese, and Korean, are now being offered as full-fledged, three-year programs through the UO?s new World Languages Academy. The significance can be seen in the numbers. In 1997, the UO had only two students studying Arabic. Now there are 69 in the World Languages Academy and 15 in the self-study program. - ?KN 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/languagetech.html (2 of 2)6/19/2007 9:57:38 AM CAS Alumni & Development Watching with Intent to Repeat Ignites Key Learning Area of Brain By harnessing the brain?s ability to reorganize itself to compensate for lost functions or to control devices outside the body, Scott Frey?s research is helping guide development of a new generation of prosthetic and assistive devices. Watch and learn. Experience says it works, but how? Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), UO neuroscientists have found that when a person watches someone else perform a task with the intention of later replicating the observed performance, motor areas of the brain are activated in a fashion similar to that which accompanies actual movement (Journal of Neuroscience, Dec. 06). Principal investigator Scott H. Frey, professor of psychology and director of the Lewis Center for Neuroimaging at the University of Oregon, says his research aims to improve rehabilitation for individuals suffering brain or bodily injury. ?Teaching a physical skill often involves someone demonstrating the essential action components after which the learner tries to reproduce what has been observed,? said Frey, whose test subjects watched a series of digital videos of another person putting together or disassembling objects. ?This is true for behaviors ranging from learning to eat with utensils, playing an instrument or performing surgery. We wanted to know how the brain takes what is seen and translates it into a motor program for guiding skilled movements.? The subjects? motor systems were engaged and stimulated even in the absence of overt movements. In fact, the activity in intraparietal cortex may act as a thermometer that shows how well a person is translating what they are observing into a motor program for later performance. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/brain.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:57:42 AM CAS Alumni & Development ?This could prove important as a means of facilitating rehabilitation of individuals with movement impairments or paralyses,? said Frey. The National Institutes of Health and the James S. McDonnell Foundation funded the research. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/brain.html (2 of 2)6/19/2007 9:57:42 AM CAS Alumni & Development Nanotechnology Forum Explores Benefits, Risks A panel of experts, including Vicki Colvin, Paul Anastas and Jim Hutchison, provided an overview of nanotechnology to the public last March, looking specifically at the potential societal benefits and risks. Participants examined the development and use of nanoparticle-based solar cells as an example of this technology. ?I saw the reality that nanotech and its applications will be ubiquitous. The breadth of it is much bigger than perhaps I had thought,? said Eleanor Hein, a Eugene resident and forum participant. Colvin is a professor of chemistry and chemical engineering at Rice University; Anastas is a professor of green chemistry at Yale University; and Hutchison is a UO professor of chemistry and director of the UO Materials Science Institute. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the University of Oregon, the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) and ONAMI?s Safer Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Initiative sponsored the forum. Hutchison directs the ONAMI initiative. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/nanotech.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:57:47 AM CAS Alumni & Development Learning a New Language Can Make Us Forget Vocabulary in Mother Tongue A University of Oregon study found that repeatedly producing words in a new language inhibits the ability to produce corresponding words in the native language. That finding provides a mechanism for understanding how a person temporarily loses words from their first language, said Michael C. Anderson, professor of psychology. Benjamin J. Levy, a UO doctoral student, was lead author of the study. Nathan D. McVeigh, an honors undergraduate student, and Alejandra Marful of the University of Salamanca in Spain, were co-authors. The researchers drew their conclusions after conducting two experiments with about 100 English-speaking undergraduates who had completed at least one year of college-level Spanish. Less-fluent Spanish speakers showed clear phonological inhibition. They were 13 percent less likely to produce the English word if they had named a drawing in Spanish 10 times than if they had never named the drawing in Spanish. ?When you are trying to speak a second language, it is extraordinarily difficult to express concepts when you don?t know the words to best represent yourself,? Anderson said. ?What you have to do is actively inhibit the native-language words to successfully recall second-language words, and that actually helps you speak more fluently.? Levy and Anderson said the findings of their study have implications for the growing number of study-abroad programs offered at U.S. universities that immerse students in a new language. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/mothertongue.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:57:51 AM CAS Alumni & Development UO Theater Designers to Compete Internationally Student designer Sarah Gahagan This June, UO theater designers will be featured at the Prague Quadrennial. Held every four years in the Czech Republic and featuring thousands of theater designs from more than sixty participating countries, the competition is often considered to be the ?Olympics for theater design.? In addition to being one of sixteen programs to be selected for representation in the U.S. Schools of Scenography exhibit, the department is also sending designers at the faculty, graduate and undergraduate levels. Professor Alexandra Bonds? designs from the University Theatre?s production of ?Kafka?s Parables? will be featured in the national exhibit, which aims to represent each country?s best in professional and academic theater. MFA student Annelie Thurin was selected by a national panel of professionals for a scholarship from the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology. Undergraduate Sarah Gahagan also received special funding from the Tobin Theatre Arts Fund to exhibit her stop-action animated film ?tailleur.? http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/theater.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:57:58 AM CAS Alumni & Development UO Physicist Lands Sloan Fellowship University of Oregon physicist Raghuveer Parthasarathy was among 118 researchers at 52 universities named to receive a 2007 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship. The Sloan Foundation, based in New York, established the fellowships in 1955 ?to stimulate fundamental research by early career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise.? The highly competitive award provides $45,000 over two years to each winner. Parthasarathy joined the UO faculty last summer. He was one of 23 young physics professors to be honored. The fellowships also fund research in chemistry, math, neuroscience, computer science, molecular biology and economics. Parthasarathy, who earned his doctorate in physics from the University of Chicago in 2002, said he primarily will use the Sloan funds to support the students who work in his lab, where they use a diverse range of chemical, physical and optical techniques to understand membranes that enclose biological cells. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/sloan.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:58:14 AM CAS Alumni & Development Laurels for UO Poet Professor Dorianne Laux At the 20th Annual Oregon Book Awards ceremony December 1, University of Oregon creative writing professor, Dorianne Laux received The Stafford/Hall Award for Poetry for her collection of poetry called Facts About the Moon. Judge Ai praised Laux?s work, calling it ?enchanting poems that make one feel the ?lunar strength and brutal pull? of love that exists in spite of our human frailty.? The event, which took place at the Portland Art Museum, celebrated the state?s finest authors and nearly 500 people attended. Barry Lopez, who attended the UO in the late 1960s, served as master of ceremonies. Brian Booth (?58 Economics) and Gwyneth Gamble Booth were honored as founders of the Oregon Book Awards and they awarded Ursula K. Le Guin with the C.E.S. Wood Distinguished Writer Award for her contributions to Oregon literature. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/poet.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:58:18 AM CAS Alumni & Development UO Graduate Named 2007 Rhodes Scholar A recent University of Oregon graduate, whose research may help unravel the dynamics leading to conflict between groups and develop better cooperation in multicultural societies, was named a 2007 Rhodes Scholar. Andrew Shipley, who was also a Rhodes finalist in 2005, is one of 32 Americans to receive a Rhodes Scholarship this year and the first UO graduate in more than a dozen years. ?I?m really thrilled,? Shipley said. ?This is an incredible honor and I could not have done this without the mentors and friends I made at the University of Oregon.? Shipley received bachelor?s degrees in political science and psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences and, with the Rhodes scholarship, will begin a three-year doctoral program next fall at the University of Oxford in England. He is involved in a research project, funded by a Fulbright fellowship, which studies national identity and ethnic attitudes amongst Maori and European New Zealander youth. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/rhodes.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:58:32 AM CAS Alumni & Development Jurassic Croc After a Jurassic crocodile was unearthed from the Blue Mountains in eastern Oregon last March, retired UO geologist and director of the Thomas Condon State Museum of Fossils, was called in to examine the find. William Orr and collaborators from North American Research Group estimate that the newly found fossil is between 150 to 180 million years old. While such dinosaur fossils are rare in North America, Orr said the discovery suggests that more ?must be out there somewhere.? 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/crocodile.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:58:39 AM CAS Alumni & Development Professor Tracks Environmental Treaties UO political science professor Ronald Mitchell has created an online searchable database of the world?s environmental treaties. Professor Ronald Mitchell is searching for the ingredients to successful environmental treaties. In time, his efforts could help shape such important accords as the Kyoto Protocol. ?There are a lot of theories out there about which treaties worked and which didn?t, but we still don?t have a good handle on what it was that made a particular treaty successful,? Mitchell said. ?We want to know what the active ingredients are.? With the help of a grant from the National Science Foundation, Mitchell is attempting to do just that. The project began in 1999 with a question: Why do some environmental treaties perform so much better than others? To answer it, Mitchell began building a comprehensive database of international environmental treaties, something that to date did not exist. Compiling data on the treaties was a daunting undertaking. Numerous graduate students from both the University of Oregon and Stanford University have assisted Mitchell, laboring for long hours on the project. Mitchell?s doctoral research, which studied the effectiveness of one treaty, provided a springboard for the current project. ?(The dissertation) was an interesting project, but the field and my own thinking about it have changed. Now we?re at a stage in the collective research enterprise that we can ask, ?Which one worked better and why?? By comparing a number of treaties we can see what particular aspect worked,? said Mitchell, who has a doctorate in public policy from Harvard. With more than 800 multilateral environmental agreements cataloged, Mitchell said he believes his database is one of the most comprehensive in the world. The database, which is publicly accessible, allows researchers http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/treaties.html (1 of 3)6/19/2007 9:58:44 AM CAS Alumni & Development access to the full text of more than 700 of those treaties. Mitchell said he hopes to provide even more information in the near future, including data showing relevant environmental changes over time and a breakdown of each treaty?s specific elements. ?It?s going to be a clearinghouse for existing, difficult-to-find data,? he said. Among the litany of elements, which could potentially affect the efficacy of an environmental treaty are: the use of sanctions versus rewards; the use of specific versus vague language; whether a treaty bans particular actions or limits them; and whether a treaty requires monitoring or self reporting. ?There is little empirical evidence to show which elements are most effective,? Mitchell said. ?Hopefully the database will help provide some of the answers.? One of the greatest obstacles to finding these answers is the dearth of available data about the actual environmental changes that occur after a treaty has been enacted. ?There could be a wetlands treaty, for example, but regardless of what the treaty says we don?t have any good data on what is happening to wetlands,? Mitchell explained. ?So how can we measure its effectiveness?? When changes in the environment have actually been measured, another challenge presents itself: knowing whether those changes are actually the product of the treaty or some other environmental variable. Researchers will have to puzzle that out as they work through the data. Some academics are already attempting to do just that. Researchers from around the United States as well as others from as far away as Chile, Sri Lanka and Britain have utilized Mitchell?s data for their research. Although some academic research in political science is viewed as esoteric and irrelevant by policy makers and politicians, Mitchell said he hopes his database can actually influence policy and affect a measure of change in the real world of international politics. ?We?re trying to address the questions policy makers are asking. They don?t ask ?Should I do this treaty?? They?re saying, ?I want to do this treaty, how should I do it?? That?s what we?re trying to answer.? Addressing this question could have far ranging impacts, including helping the drafters of the next Kyoto Protocol create the most effective agreement. But Mitchell says his project has other important uses right here on campus, first and foremost as an instructional tool to teach students critical thinking and analytical skills. ?Too often people think faculty only does research. They ask, ?When are they going to teach my kids??? Mitchell said. ?But good teaching requires good research and good research requires good teaching.? http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/treaties.html (2 of 3)6/19/2007 9:58:44 AM CAS Alumni & Development ?He was definitely trying to get us to think about the entire research process and to use precise data to determine our conclusions,? said Alaina Pomeroy, a senior majoring in environmental studies and Spanish, who used the database for a class project. ?His (international environmental politics) class was the first time I had been challenged like that in a class. That was why I ended up going to him and asking him to be my advisor for my honors thesis.? ?MW Visit Mitchell?s online database at http://iea.uoregon.edu 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/treaties.html (3 of 3)6/19/2007 9:58:44 AM CAS Alumni & Development Chatting Becomes Big Business Nate Thelen ?98 (Computer Science) In the mid ?80s, Nate Thelen (?98 Computer Science) got hooked on computers after playing text-based games on his dad?s Kaypro, an early portable computer. Today, at 31, Thelen serves as the chief technical officer for Userplane, an Internet services company that lets people chat online using audio and video tools. Userplane now licenses its technology to more than 140,000 online social networking communities. ?Instant messaging can be better than phones for multi-tasking and quick notes,? Thelen said. ?It definitely has a place in the world.? And that place is growing, with Thelen and his Userplane colleagues leading this technological trend. Thelen began the company with fellow UO students Javier Hall and Mike Jones in 2001. Now Userplane has millions of live users in more than 15 countries. In just over a year and half, Userplane evolved from a small, Internet consulting company to the premier provider of communication software. In 1999, Jones convinced Thelen to come to Los Angeles to do technology development for his growing web consulting firm. Hall joined the company as well and, shortly thereafter, the three used their diverse skills to branch out and form Userplane. With the growing popularity of their instant messaging products, they received an offer they couldn?t refuse: a deal with AOL. The sale has allowed them to hire more people and focus on new business ventures and innovations. The Oregon team has remained relatively self-sufficient ? but with the power and budget of a major company. Thelen said, ?We?re really able to bite off bigger projects that we?d always http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/chatting.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:58:49 AM CAS Alumni & Development dreamed of doing.? ?KN 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/chatting.html (2 of 2)6/19/2007 9:58:49 AM CAS Alumni & Development The Zebrafish Story Faculty, Graduates, and Post-Docs Demonstrate Common UO Traits The zebrafish story celebrates the transformation that can happen at a university ? a transformation replete with innovative new ideas replicated in the minds and lives of other people ? the dogged persistence in pursuit of an understanding of life ? the unselfish mentorship of students and fellow colleagues ? and the raw excitement in the joy of discovery.? ?President Dave Frohnmayer Prior to the 1970s, zebrafish were simply just another popular aquarium fish. Since then, University of Oregon researchers have introduced these small vertebrates as important model organisms in biomedical research. With the capability to regenerate fins, skin, and heart, zebrafish are prime subjects to test for mutations, which underlie genetic diseases that are common to both zebrafish and humans. The chart below, inspired by the structure of a genetic linkage map, reflects this powerful network of UO faculty and alumni. Then Now In the early seventies, George Streisinger buys a zebrafish in a Portland pet store and is the first to use this tropical fish as a model system. With 4,000 tanks and a staff of more than twenty, the UO zebrafish facility is home to more than 80,000 fish. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/zebrafish.html (1 of 5)6/19/2007 9:58:58 AM CAS Alumni & Development In 1981, Streisinger clones a zebrafish, leading to his seminal publication in Nature. More than 9,000 scientific articles have been published to date using zebrafish as models in developmental and genetics research. Research has potential applications for everything from birth defects to leukemia, autism to cancer, or potentially any genetic disease, says Judith Eisen, director of the UO Institute of Neuroscience. In 1992, UO researcher Monte Westerfield creates the Zebrafish Information Network (ZFIN), an online database that disseminates information about zebrafish biology to researchers. In 1997, the National Institute of Health establishes a special funding program to promote the use of zebrafish for the study of vertebrate development and disease throughout the nation. In 1998, Westerfield and others begin to develop a central repository of wild-type and mutant strains of zebrafish at the Zebrafish International Resource Center. Zebrafish are distributed for use in more than 500 developmental and genetics labs in thirty countries around the world. In 1990, the UO hosts the first international conference on zebrafish to appraise the potential of research with this organism. In 2006, UO alum Christine Beattie, a former postdoctoral fellow in Judith Eisen?s lab, serves as the main organizer for the 7th International Meeting on Zebrafish, where 915 participants from all over the world share their research. In 1994, John Postlethwait, professor in the Department of Biology, establishes the first map of the zebrafish genome, which helps researchers understand the functions of the tens of thousands of genes in the human genome. The Wellcome Trust?s Sanger Center in the United Kingdom is using zebrafish from the UO to sequence the entire genome, a required step for understanding human biology and disease, says Westerfield: ?Genetic model organisms, including zebrafish, play a critical role in this discovery process.? The Zebrafish Network To add your own notes to this extended network http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/zebrafish.html (2 of 5)6/19/2007 9:58:58 AM CAS Alumni & Development of UO ?zebrafish alumni,? email cascade@cas.uoregon.edu Judith Eisen Lab Bruce Appel is now an associate professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt and a Kennedy Center Investigator. Appel and a group of Vanderbilt researchers has successfully produced movies that provide the first direct view of the initial stage of the formation of myelin sheaths, which should aid in the design of new therapies to promote the repair of this protective layer following disease or injury. Christine Beattie, assistant professor at Ohio State University, developed a zebrafish facility at OSU in early 1998 with fellow UO alumnus Paul Henion, and now uses zebrafish in her lab to model human motoneuron diseases such as Lou Gehrig?s disease. Beattie served as the main organizer for the 7th International Meeting on Zebrafish in 2006, where 915 participants from all over the world share their research. Sarah Cheesman is currently a postdoctoral fellow in UO Assistant Professor Karen Guillemin?s lab, working on understanding the role of indigenous microbes in the formation and function of the gastrointestinal tract in zebrafish. Robert Cornell received tenure at the University of Iowa, where his lab works to improve the ability of clinicians to diagnose and treat developmental disorders. Sarah Hutchinson is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Trede Lab in Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, where she studies how defects in the development of T cells and the thymus leads to diseases such as leukemia, autoimmunity and immunodeficiency. Robert Kelsh, professor in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Bath is interested in fundamental questions in developmental biology concerning zebrafish neural crest development, which has important medical implications for certain human syndromes, including Waardenburg-Shah syndrome and Hirschsprung?s disease. Katharine Lewis, research fellow in the department of physiology, development and neuroscience at the University of Cambridge is interested in investigating which regulatory genes are expressed by specific interneurons and what the roles of these regulatory genes are in determining different neuronal characteristics, using zebrafish as a model system. David Raible is now an associate professor at the University of Washington, where his lab continues to use zebrafish to study the development of the nervous system. In addition, his lab is looking at the genetic basis underlying http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/zebrafish.html (3 of 5)6/19/2007 9:58:58 AM CAS Alumni & Development loss of mechanosensory hair cells, the leading cause of human hearing and balance disorders. Charles Kimmel Lab Cecilia Moens, an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and associate member of the Division of Basic Sciences at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, researches the genetic basis of development of zebrafish in her lab and how genes control the early development of the brain. For complete list of Kimmel Lab alumni, please visit http://www.neuro. uoregon.edu/kimmel/rogues.html John Postlethwait Lab Bernard and Christine Thisse, internationally renowned for their work in embryonic research and genetics, use zebrafish to examine regenerative medicine and stem cell biology, which has potential applications for the prevention and treatment of birth defects and cancer. The couple built a research program at the Institute of Genetic and Molecular Cell Biology in France and will join the University of Virginia School of Medicine faculty in August 2007. Monte Westerfield Lab Adam Felsenfeld now serves as an extramural program director for the National Human Genome Research Institute, has participated in the trans- NIH initiative for genomic tools for the zebrafish, and has worked to develop large-scale genome sequencing centers, which have contributed the US component of the International Human Genome Project. Robert Ho, associate professor in the department of organismal biology and anatomy at the University of Chicago addresses classical problems of vertebrate embryogenesis using modern techniques in the zebrafish embryo with the general goal to gain insights into the cellular, molecular and genetic mechanisms leading to the assignment of cell fate and, ultimately, to the formation of a complex vertebrate body plan. Dennis Liu, senior program officer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, administers pre-college science education initiatives, which fund outreach programs at museums and medical schools aimed at reaching teachers, students and families. Liu also developed and manages an educational website that features animations and virtual labs on biomedical science to a general audience. Stephan Neuhauss, professor in the department of biology and brain http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/zebrafish.html (4 of 5)6/19/2007 9:58:58 AM CAS Alumni & Development research institute at the University of Zurich, created a complete zebrafish genetic linkage map in 1988 with fellow researchers. The markers provide an initial infrastructure for the positional cloning of the nearly 600 zebrafish genes identified as crucial to vertebrate development, and will become the anchor for the physical map of the zebrafish genome. For a complete list of Westerfield lab alumni please visit http://www.neuro. uoregon.edu/westerf/alumni.html James Weston Lab Paul Henion, associate professor in the Center for Molecular Neurobiology at Ohio State University, developed a zebrafish facility there in early 1998 with fellow UO alum Christine Beattie. Henion?s lab focuses on developmental biology, with implications for novel diagnostic and treatment strategies for relatively common birth defects and diseases in humans. Steve Johnson, associate professor in the department of genetics at Washington University in St. Louis, now serves on the UO?s ZFIN advisory board. Johnson was responsible for working out the first mapping protocols and his lab is interested in how animals grow, maintain and generate their form or the diseases consequent to abnormal growth control such as cancer using zebrafish. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/zebrafish.html (5 of 5)6/19/2007 9:58:58 AM CAS Alumni & Development Chaos & Calm Spotlight Offstage A photo essay by Caitlin McNamara provides backstage glimpses from ?A Midsummer Night?s Dream,? which Claire Dyrud worked with director John Schmor to produce. The play hadn?t even started yet, and already Claire Dyrud was scrambling. It was opening night of the University Theatre?s production of ?The Big Knife.? As the stage manager, Dyrud was responsible for managing every sound, lighting and set change from the dimming of the houselights to the closing of the final curtain. The senior theater major from Klamath Falls wanted everything to be exactly right. ?There?s no perfect show,? Dyrud said. ?But I couldn?t get it out of my head that night. Everything had to be perfect.? Dyrud, 22, donned a headset and called for the houselights to dim ? the first cue of the night, starting the play. Seated next to her, light board operator Evan http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/ut.html (1 of 4)6/19/2007 9:59:06 AM CAS Alumni & Development Ruth Ames Howells pushed a button to bring down the lights. But nothing happened. Howells tried again. Still, nothing. The clock was ticking. The actors were ready. A packed house waited. Dyrud and Howells scanned the 20-year- old light board for anything out of place. ?You can never show any panic or fear,? Dyrud said. ?That?s a sign of weakness. No matter what happens, you have to pick up and move on. Nothing can stop you.? Dyrud?s calm exterior has helped make her the latest in a line of UO students whose strengths lie not in acting, but in the technical aspects of theater, such as lighting, set, costume and sound design, as well as stage managing. Several College of Arts & Sciences graduates have moved on to prestigious backstage positions in New York, Orlando, Fla., Palo Alto, Calif., Seattle and Portland. Dyrud, who has applied to at least one esteemed graduate program, dreams of someday working on traveling productions before landing a permanent job at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. ?A lot of people in design and technical theater in our program find jobs after graduation faster than our actors. Claire?s going to work in this business,? said theater arts professor John Schmor, who worked with Dyrud on a production of ?A Midsummer Night?s Dream.? Caitlin Anderson and Lilli Turner Quick problem-solving skills in the face of pressure are what employers ? not just in theater ? so value, said Janet Rose, a senior theater instructor who has known Dyrud since she was a freshman. ?Great stage managers like Claire have a real passion for theater,? Rose said. ?Otherwise, they could be running IBM. That?s the kind of intelligence and leadership the job takes.? A good stage manager can pull everything together, allowing actors, designers and stage hands to do their best work, Rose said. It can sometimes be a thankless job that nobody notices until something goes wrong. ?There?s no Tony Award for stage managing,? Rose said. ?But when people win http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/ut.html (2 of 4)6/19/2007 9:59:06 AM CAS Alumni & Development Tony Awards, they always thank the stage manager.? Claire Dyrud A Tony Award was the last thing on Dyrud?s mind on opening night of ?The Big Knife.? That night, she had a light board to fix and a play to manage. Howells eventually punched a series of buttons, which dimmed the lights, allowing the play to finally start. But that didn?t solve the entire problem. Throughout the play?s first half, Howells had to enter lighting commands manually, instead of pressing a single button to set in motion a pre- programmed lighting sequence. ?It was like a math equation,? Dyrud said. ?Sometimes you have to step away from a problem to solve it.? The light board problem continued to eat at Dyrud, even as lighting, costuming and sound all came together. Then, during intermission, Dyrud and Howells noticed that a single button on the aging light board hadn?t been pushed, making it impossible to use the automated system. With that taken care of, the play?s second half came off smoothly. Dyrud?s ability to stay cool prevented a minor glitch from turning into major one. ?You never quite know what?s going to go wrong,? Dyrud said. ?But with every play it gets easier. You can focus and trust yourself more every time, until you just know that everything will work out. That?s what makes it so special.? ?ZB 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/ut.html (3 of 4)6/19/2007 9:59:06 AM CAS Alumni & Development University Theatre Begins Expansion Thanks to critical donations from Dave and Nancy Petrone, Gwendolyn Lillis, and the visionary legacy of Portland arts philanthropist James F. Miller, the University Theatre has announced that it will break ground on its $7.9 million expansion project this spring. The groundbreaking ceremony, slated for Friday, May 11, will give supporters, community members and students the opportunity to explore the vision for the new space. During construction, the University Theatre will produce their mainstage season jointly with three local theater companies. ?It?s a win-win,? said department head John Schmor. ?Our students get to try new theatrical collaborations, play to new audiences, build bridges with local artists, and then come back to a new facility with what they have learned.? Donors Dave and Nancy Petrone believe that the theater arts add tremendous value to the educational enterprise at large: ?This is not just about providing much-needed resources to theater majors. It?s also about providing a new venue for creative expression on campus, one that a broader group of students will access and the community will treasure for generations to come.? 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/2007spring/utexpansion.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:59:11 AM CAS Alumni & Development Alumni Fellows Margie McBride Lehrman ? Luis Ernesto Derbez ? Gurdeep Singh Pall Nomination Form Previous Alumni Fellows The College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the 2006-2007 Alumni Fellow Awards. The following recipients will be honored the weekend of May 11, 2007, and will connect with students in an informal seminar while on campus to discuss their career paths and offer advice relevant to emerging graduates. Margie McBride Lehrman: Lifelong Learning Starts at UO When Margie McBride Lehrman ?66 (English) graduated from the University of Oregon she left with more than a diploma. ?What came out of my time at UO was a love of learning,? she said. At the UO she packed her terms, signing up for an array of courses: literature, writing, math, science, Spanish, political science, trampoline and swimming. All students had to swim to graduate. The other option was literally to sink. Lehrman rose to the occasion. And she?s been excelling ever since. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/alumni/2007spring/fellows.html (1 of 5)6/19/2007 9:59:19 AM CAS Alumni & Development Lehrman is now an Emmy-winning producer for NBC News in Washington, D.C. She?s known for her work with the TODAY Show, for her position as Washington Bureau Chief number two to Tim Russert and for hiring a young reporter the world has come to adore, Katie Couric. Her path to the upper echelons of TV journalism began at age 14 when Lehrman started writing. By tenth grade she was invited to join the school newspaper in Madras, an award-winning publication. The experience proved formative. Looking back on her college years, Lehrman says, ?The thing that had the greatest impact was the opportunity to study abroad in Europe. The trip opened up the world to me.? By the end, Lehrman vowed she would return. In her 30-plus years as a journalist, Lehrman rode elephants in Nepal, visited the Taj Mahal with Hillary and Chelsea Clinton and attended economic summits in Tokyo and Venice. Journalism became her ticket to the world and a way to feed her lifelong love of learning. ?With journalism, you?re learning all the time. You get to meet and talk to interesting people,? she said. ?For me, journalism became a way to help educate people and help them appreciate the world around them.? ?KC Luis Ernesto Derbez: From the UO to the UN Luis Ernesto Derbez ?74 M.A. (Economics) didn?t always have his sights set on world politics. But as Mexico?s former minister of economy and minister of foreign affairs, he is credited with increasing the country?s role in global economic and political affairs. ?It was not until the past 12 years that ? I realized we have to be good citizens of our countries and get involved in what?s going on,? Derbez said. Derbez?s time at the University of Oregon, as a Fulbright-Haynes scholar in the 1970s, was the first of his international experiences. He credits his UO professors Gerald Bierwag, in econometrics, and Robert Smith, in industrial http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/alumni/2007spring/fellows.html (2 of 5)6/19/2007 9:59:19 AM CAS Alumni & Development organization, with shaping his career. ?I ended up studying the fields of these two professors.? In a United Nations meeting, Derbez represented Mexico in what he claims was one of the toughest situations of his international career. Reflecting, Derbez said his UO experience helped him face the challenge of resisting U. S. pressure to support the invasion of Iraq. ?The courses I took with Bob Smith and Henry Goldstein, which looked at international relations, without any doubt helped me make the tough decision 25 years later.? Derbez hopes to inspire Mexico?s next generation of leaders. In addition to serving as Mexico?s Secretary for International Affairs, Derbez now directs the Centre for Globalization, Competitiveness and Democracy at the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico City. ?All the experiences I?ve accumulated will help my students understand what they need to do to shape the future of Mexico,? he said. ?KN Gurdeep Singh Pall: A Top Duck at Microsoft When Gurdeep Singh Pall ?89 (M.S. Computer Science) came to the University of Oregon in 1987 it was clear, there was something extraordinary about him. ?He was very, very creative, intelligent and self-motivated,? remembers Associate Professor Ginnie Lo, Pall?s mentor in the Computer and Information Science Department. But Lo isn?t the only one who saw Pall?s potential. Less than a year after he graduated from UO, Pall was hired by the multinational computer technology corporation, Microsoft Corp. where he has worked ever since. He began as a software design engineer, but during his tenure with Microsoft, Pall has led the design and implementation of award-winning technologies and holds several patents in networking, compression and collaboration. And, in 2005, Pall was named Microsoft?s corporate vice-president of the http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/alumni/2007spring/fellows.html (3 of 5)6/19/2007 9:59:19 AM CAS Alumni & Development Unified Collaboration Group, where he leads teams responsible for such innovative products as VoIP, or voice over Internet protocol, the routing of voice conversations over the Internet. Pall?s UO graduate studies fortified his foundation in software engineering and set him squarely on the path to success, he said. ?Most of the courses I took [at UO] have stayed with me over the years,? Pall said. Pall fondly remembers courses in advanced data structures and computer functions, especially professors Arthur Farley?s and Stephen Ficka?s courses in artificial intelligence. But it?s Professor Lo who Pall especially credits with having the most impact on his graduate education and subsequent career path. ?Without her coaching, encouragement and support,? Pall said. ?I wouldn?t be here today.? ?KC The nominations of your distinguished classmates are welcome! Please send your notes of support to alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu, or forward materials to the Development Office, UO College of Arts and Sciences, 1245 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1245. Previous Alumni Fellows 2004-2005: Pam Coats ? Robert Miller ? Jack Borsting 2003-2004: Brian G. Booth 2002-2003: Joel Schneider ? Yoko McClain ? Victor L. Tomseth 2001-2002: Gail J. Fullerton ? Lyle Hohnke ? William Sullivan 2000-2001: Paula Gunn Allen ? George N. Fugelsang ? Barclay Slocum 1999-2000: Ollie Chambers ? Frederick Fraunfelder ? Nora Terwilliger 1998-1999: Larry Ferguson ? Marcia Smith ? Prapon Wilairat http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/alumni/2007spring/fellows.html (4 of 5)6/19/2007 9:59:19 AM CAS Alumni & Development 1997-1998: Helen J. Frye ? Douglas R. Hofstadter ? Luther "Lute" Jerstad 1996-1997: Beatrice Aitchison ? Kenny Moore ? Kathleen Weaver 1995-1996: Emery O. Barnes ? Vicki Hanson ? John Mitchell 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2007 University of Oregon Updated April 27, 2007 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/alumni/2007spring/fellows.html (5 of 5)6/19/2007 9:59:19 AM CAS Alumni & Development Ducks Using Tech to Stay Connected More than 7,600 UO alumni have registered for the alumni association?s online social and professional networking tool, The Duck Pond. It?s a way to keep in touch with former classmates, meet alumni in your area, browse for jobs, share photos and tell other alumni about your career, family and hobbies. Go to https://incircle.uoalumni.com/ and use your alumni ID number to jump in! Featured Duck Pond Member Paul ?PZ? Myers, ?85 Ph.D. (Biology), associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Myers joined The Duck Pond and linked it to his blog, Pharyngula, which Nature called the top-ranked blog written by a scientist. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/alumni/2007spring/tech.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:59:43 AM CAS Alumni & Development Looking for an old friend? Search our Cascade archive of Class Notes Every year in Cascade we print Class Notes from alumni of the UO College of Arts and Sciences. From this page you can search our archive for recent submissions. What's new in your life? Submit a Class Note with our online form. Simple Search Find names in the Class Notes archives Enter Name Advanced Search Select only the fields you need Name Major http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/alumni/search.html (1 of 2)6/19/2007 9:59:48 AM CAS Alumni & Development Class Year (by decade) Cascade Issue 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? University of Oregon UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/alumni/search.html (2 of 2)6/19/2007 9:59:48 AM