Yale Bulletin and Calendar

May 11, 2007|Volume 35, Number 28|Two-Week Issue

In the News
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"Right now the Web is built from the bottom up. Its structure of linked sites reflects the underlying machinery: lots of servers in a dense rabbit warren of connections. ... Today's Web is indeed weblike, but it's no beautiful design of the sort talented spiders weave; it is a tangled cobweb of the type you find in broken-down shacks and haunted houses."

-- David Gelernter, professor of computer science, in his article, "The Inside-Out Web," Forbes, May 7, 2007.

"[Architect Louis] Kahn conceived of a building as a living creature; the columns and beams as bones; electric wires as nerves; water pipes as blood circulation; air ducts as breathing tubes connecting to purifying lungs in the mechanical room where air is exchanged, humidified, and heated or cooled. Kahn not only felt that the structure of a building should be clearly expressed but that its history should also be revealed, not covered up. In the concrete work [at the Yale Center for British Art] great care was taken with the forms in order to get an exceedingly smooth surface, but holes from the tie rods that held the forms in place are left open, and beads of concrete ooze out to mark the joining of the forms. Broken or chipped beads were left because they are part of the history of the building."

-- Jules Prown, the Paul Mellon Professor Emeritus of the History of Art, in his article, "Lux et Veritas; Louis Kahn's Last Creation," Apollo, April 2007.

"[Many practicing pediatricians] don't understand there is an epidemic of pesticides in the bodies of most children in this country."

-- Dr. Robert LaCamera, professor of pediatrics, on a 1997 Minnesota study that found pesticide traces in more than 90% of urine samples taken from children ages 3-13, "Activists: Children at Risk From Pesticides: Proposed Legislation Would Expand Ban on Use of Chemicals on School Fields," Hartford Courant, April 19, 2007.

"[The citizens of China] want to save every penny. In case of sickness, job loss, an auto accident or old age, they will have some way to support themselves."

-- Chen Zhiwu, professor of finance, "Cautious Consumers; The Chinese Are On a Spending Spree, Right? Not Really. In Fact, They're So Tightfisted, Beijing Is Worried," Business Week Online, April 30, 2007.

"Companies that have some recognition of the spiritual side of the human being, the soul, they tend to have employees who have greater loyalty, lower absenteeism, higher creativity. ..."

-- David Miller, executive director of the Center for Faith and Culture at the Divinity School, "Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace," "The Early Show," CBS News, April 19, 2007.

"The [Supreme Court ruling outlawing partial birth abortions because of the psychological trauma women might experience afterwards] imagines that the state knows better than women what they really want and need in matters of motherhood. ... If they regulate all women on the assumption that they don't know their own interests, that they lack the ability to make their own decisions, we're back in the 19th century."

-- Reva Siegel, the Nicholas deB Katzenbach Professor of Law, "Putting the Pater Back in Paternalism," Seattle Times, April 27, 2007.

"If liberals often cast [Supreme Court Justice Clarence] Thomas as a quisling, conservatives tend to cast him as someone who has achieved the American dream by pulling himself up by his bootstraps. Thomas, a member of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, seems to find this narrative more congenial, but it has its own bite. This storyline assumes a meritocratic America free of racial prejudice -- an assumption the justice certainly does not hold."

-- Kenji Yoshino, the Guido Calabresi Professor of Law, in his review of "Supreme Discomfort; The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas" by Kevin Merida and Michael A. Fletcher, "Doubting Thomas; The Rise of the Supreme Court's Most Controversial Justice," Washington Post, April 22, 2007.

"We can't stand the idea of having the routines of daily life torn away from us. We can be so anxious that we forget to do things. You have to break through the fear barrier to get people to prepare [for a natural disaster or other emergency] while they can before it gets too late."

-- Dr. Steven Marans, professor of child psychiatry and of psychiatry, and director of the National Center for Children Exposed to Violence, "A Call To Prepare: Residents Encouraged To Do More Emergency Planning," New Canaan News-Review, April 19, 2007.

"In Korea, mental diseases carry significant stigma. If you have a person in the family with a mental disorder, then your whole family is damned."

-- Young Shin Kim, assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry, noting that members of minority groups in the United States, such as the family of the Virginia Tech shooter, are less likely to use mental health services, "What Went Wrong?" U.S. News & World Report, April 30, 2007.

"Despite [former Egyptian president Anwar El-Sadat's] oft-stated willingness to 'go to the far corners of the world, even to Jerusalem' in pursuit of peace, nobody in Egypt, nor in Israel, nor in the West, believed he would go. To move out of the vicious cycle, a leader from the region had to take that perilous step. Sadat proved to be that leader. He took this step in knowledge of the price and risks involved in his gamble for peace. ... Sadat's legacy demonstrates that timing is crucial. In problems as complex as those in the Middle East, historical opportunities for real breakthroughs rarely happen. When they do, it is the moral responsibility of all sides to seize upon them."

-- Karim Yehia Youssef, student at the Law School, in his article, "Finishing What Sadat Started," Al-Ahram Weekly, April 26, 2007.

"These patients simply can't wait for the reform of the health care system, as critical as that is. Early intervention is fundamental, especially to diabetic retinopathy. The disease is preventable, but if it progresses because people are not covered or don't know there is treatment available, for example, at our clinic at Hill Health Center, they will go blind. ... And society pays a huge price to take care of a blind person, whereas prevention comes far more cheaply."

-- Susan Forster, chief of ophthalmology at University Health Services and director of medical studies in ophthalmology at the School of Medicine, "A Dia de Salud," New Haven Independent, April 22, 2007.

"Even if there was a cause and effect [between a drop in hormone therapy for menopause and a decline in breast cancer rates], you wouldn't expect it to show up for five or 10 years. It just doesn't fit with what we know about the basic biology of breast cancer."

-- Dr. Hugh Taylor, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, "Breast Cancer Drop Tied to Less Hormone Use," Washington Post, April 19, 2007.

"There's no question that the aluminum bat is a little less safe than the wooden bat. The problem is, there is a slippery slope to this [proposal to substitute wooden bats for aluminum ones in Little League games]. The wooden bats are dangerous too."

-- Robert Adair, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Physics and senior research scientist in physics, "Youth Coach Makes Pitch for Wooden Baseball Bats: Says Metal May Pose Greater Injury Risk to Kids," New Haven Register, April 22, 2007.

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

Co-evolution of genitalia in waterfowl reveals 'war between the sexes'

Study of Galápagos tortoises' DNA may locate mate for 'Lonesome George'

Eighteen new Yale World Fellows named

Health clinic staff among the winners of Elm-Ivy Awards

Bringing a philosophical perspective to palliative care

University breaks ground for its 'most green building'

Child Study Center recognized for leadership in autism research

Yale senior Rebekah Emanuel wins Simon Fellowship for Noble Purpose

Using molecular 'nanosyringe,' researchers demonstrate . . .

Irish writer's play about Siamese twins wins Yale Drama Series award

When it comes to grades, giving is no easier than receiving, says panel

Talents of drama students showcased in Carlotta Festival

Biophysicist Steitz honored for ribosome research with Gairdner Award

CCL renovations on schedule; lawn to be used for Commencement

Project aims to improve financial services for those living in poverty

Pastoral leadership skills are focus of Center for Faith and Culture event

MacMillan Center honors the work of three Yale faculty members

Yale has highest number of sports teams honored . . .

WORKSPACE ENHANCEMENTS AT THE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Adding some sunshine to a windowless office

Creating a tranquil space for nursing mothers

Decking the hallways with quilted artworks