Jul - Aug 2005 Issue

 Inclusive

 "Stones, Bricks, and Faces," Duke Magazine, November-December 1994

 

"Fishing is itself a pause for breath"--John D. Robins, poet

 

Closing the gap: generations apart but not so different. Les Todd

 

 Vaccines against HIV have not been notably effective, and Duke Medical Center's Barton Haynes and his colleagues may have discovered one reason why. The researchers have reported evidence that some HIV vaccines may have failed because they induce a class of antibodies that a patient's own immune system is programmed to destroy.

One might say there's more than one way to save a tree. You can save it in the traditional way--while it's still in the ground.

 

 

 Officials from Duke Medical Center and the National University of Singapore entered into a partnership in April to establish a new medical school in Singapore. The Singapore government will provide $310 million over seven years to establish the new school, as part of a national strategy to become a leading center for medical research and education. The school's curriculum will be patterned after Duke's.

Huntington Willard, it could be said, is a true X-man. In algebra, X denotes the archetypal unknown quantity. The aptly nicknamed "Hunt" Willard confesses to an inordinate fondness for the unknown. He revels in tackling profound genomic mysteries that confound other researchers and could lead to astonishing new scientific insights--or simply to more mysteries.

I have read any number of books about the East End of Long Island--some good, some bad, most plain dreadful--but I thought there was something left still unsaid. I found myself looking for that story, a Californian, arriving at the doorstep of the august East Hampton Library with a laptop, cell phone, and decaf latte in hand.

In this centennial year of Albert Einstein's revolutionary theories of space, time, and gravity, humanities scholars say that his influence extended far beyond science.Time is a nebulous thing, except maybe for lunchtime. That's a lesson from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the science-fiction romp by Douglas Adams that was thrown into Hollywood's Infinite Improba bility Drive and emerged as an early-summer movie hit.

Half a century ago, the view from the offices of the Union Assurance Company of Canton, on the west bank of the Huangpu River in downtown Shanghai, might have resembled the landscape captured on the Ming Dynasty screen that decorates the west wall of the Thomas Reading Room in Duke's Lilly Library: a pastoral scene, dotted with trees and flowers.

Many moments of my five-year, post-Duke lifecould be characterized as impassioned, idyllic, or inspired. This, how-ever, was no such moment. I was running through the deserted early morning streets of lower Manhattan. I was alone, mostly, except for the camera crew, sound technician, and producer strewn out on the street behind me.

 Strategies for addressing terrorism and homeland security will be the focus of a new center that Duke is establishing with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and RTI International, a research institute based in Research Triangle Park.

 Every year, Trinity College and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Writing present awards to recognize excellence in teaching undergraduates. This year's winners are:

 

 

 

 Lynn Saville

    Payne: confronting mortality Jim Wallace  

 Fredrick Burroughs

 

 New Duke Graduates.Chris Hildreth

 Les Todd

 Grain, sand, coal, and other granular materials can "freeze" and "melt" just like other materials, according to physicists at Duke. This "phase change" isn't caused by temperature change, the researchers found, but by shaking or vibrating the material in a particular way.

   Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX By Karen Blumenthal '81. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2005. 160 pages. $17.95.

 Duke will become a major sponsor of the nationally recognized Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Now in its eighth year, the annual four-day event in Durham features more than 100 films from around the world as well as panel discussions, question-and-answer sessions, and seminars. This year's festival, which took place in early April, included appearances by directors Martin Scorsese, Ken Burns, and Ric Burns.

 

 I have been laid off from my mid-level management position and have been offered outplacement assistance or an extra month of salary. Which should I take?

As we were editing the account of a young alumnus' Bachelorette pursuits, reality--or reality TV--struck again. Word came that Andrew Schuler, assistant professor of civil engineering in Duke's Pratt School of Engineering, had been cast as "The Professor" for a new reality show, The Real Gilligan's Island. The show started in June. "Like a lot of people in my generation, I grew up watching too many bad sitcoms," he says.

 The Pratt School of Engineering's alumni association honored graduates and professors at its annual awards banquet in April for distinguished service and excellence in teaching, research, and mentoring. Capers McDonald B.S.E. '74 received the Distinguished Alumnus Award, and Edward L. Trimble B.S.E. '90 received the Distinguished Young Alumnus Award.