David E. Apter, the Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Comparative Political and Social Development and chair of the department of sociology and the Council on African studies, will discuss Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible" for the next "Books Sandwiched In," a series of lunchtime book discussions sponsored by the Friends of the New Haven Free Public Library. His talk will be on Thursday, Feb. 25, 12:10-12:50 p.m. at the United Church on the Green, corner of Temple and Elm streets. Participants are invited to bring their own lunch; coffee, tea and cookies will be available for purchase in the basement of the church 11:20 a.m.-12:10 p.m. The discussions are free and open to the public.

"Chicago's Auditorium Building: Opera or Anarchism?" will be the topic of a talk on Thursday, Feb. 25, sponsored by the Yale-affiliated Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. The talk will be delivered by Joseph Siry, professor of art history at Wesleyan University, at 8 p.m. in the Zilkha Gallery (Rm. 106) at Wesleyan, which is located in Middletown, Connecticut. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 432-3113, ext. 2.

The American Philosophical Society has presented the Henry Allen Moe Prize in the Humanities to Gerhard Böwering, professor and director of undergraduate studies in religious studies, for his paper "The Concept of Time in Islam." The prize, named for the longtime head of the Guggenheim Foundation and a former president of the American Philosophical Society, is awarded annually to the author of a paper in the humanities read at a meeting of the society. Böwering was presented the award by Helen North, chair of the Henry Allen Moe Prize Committee, who stated, "Dr. Böwering's paper handles with impressive skill a tremendously complicated historical and conceptual problem." A specialist on Islam, Böwering is the author of "The Mystical Vision of Existence in Classical Islam" and numerous other publications.

Also honored recently was Daniel C. Esty, associate professor of environmental law and policy at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (F&ES) and a clinical professor at the Law School, who has been named a 1999 World Economic Forum "Global Leader for Tomorrow." Esty, who is also associate dean at F&ES, is among 100 individuals selected worldwide to be honored at the recent World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The winners, who are all under the age of 43, were chosen by a committee and were selected for their influence, their global perspectives and their commitment to public affairs, among other qualities. In making the announcement of Esty's selection, World Economic Forum president Klaus Schwab remarked, "Dan Esty is already an important environmental leader -- and we expect more from him in years to come. His thinking and writing about how to integrate pollution control and resource management concerns into international trade policymaking in a manner that promotes both open markets and enhanced environmental quality represent the cutting edge of debate on these issues."

Benjamin Harshav and his wife, Barbara Harshav, were recently awarded a silver medal from the University of Rome Tor Vergata for their achievement in scholarship and translation. Benjamin Harshav, the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Professor of Hebrew Languages & Literatures, was recognized for decades of scholarly work, beginning with his launching of the "Tel Aviv School of Poetics" and building an institute for the study of poetics and semiotics at Tel Aviv University in the 1960s. He also founded and edited the international journals Poetics and Theory of Literature and Poetics Today, as well as the Hebrew academic quarterly HaSifrut!/ Literature. Since coming to Yale in 1987, he has published several books in English on Jewish literature and culture. With his wife, he translated a comprehensive collection of poems by Yehuda Amichai and a volume of American Yiddish poetry. Barbara Harshav was recognized for her translations into English of some 20 books of fiction and nonfiction in French, German, Hebrew and Yiddish.

Serge Lang, the Erastus L. DeForest Professor of Mathematics, has been awarded the Leroy P. Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition from the American Mathematical Society. The award recognizes the impact of his many books on mathematics (he has written 34), ranging from elementary books such as "Math! Encounters with High Schools Student" to such textbooks for advanced students as "Introduction to Arakelov Theory." "Perhaps no other author has done as much for mathematical exposition at the graduate and research levels, both through timely expositions of developing research topics (e.g., Arakelov theory, complex hyperbolic geometry and diophantine geometry) and through texts with an excellent selection of topics," Lang's award citation reads. The citation also noted that Lang's most famous texts, "Algebra" and "Algebraic Number Theory," have "changed the way graduate-level algebra is taught." Lang, a member of the Yale faculty since 1972, has also written three political books.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Applications to Yale College reach record high
New Medical School facility will provide needed laboratory space
Lieberman to discuss 'Public Life in the Age of Scandal'
Bollingen Prize in poetry awarded to Robert White Creeley
Graduate students providing free services to local biotechnology firms
International experts leading Yale-Stimson seminar
Dramatic reading to highlight symposium on legacy of Austrian writer's work
'Unburying' bones is all in a day's work for museum preparator
Fossil dig, talks by student paleontologists will highlight 'Dinosaur Days'
Exhibit documents the 'life and death' of a North Carolina furniture factory
Evening of dance by campus troupes will benefit New Haven charities
Hoch will demonstrate his 'super-chameleon' talents in one-man show
YCIAS announces array of available fellowship and grant opportunities
CAMPUS NOTES