Washington University School of Medicine Digital Commons@Becker Washington University Record Washington University Publications 10-24-1996 Washington University Record, October 24, 1996 Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/record Recommended Citation "Washington University Record, October 24, 1996" (1996). Washington University Record. Book 738. http://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/record/738 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington University Publications at Digital Commons@Becker. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Record by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Becker. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS fecord Vol. 21 No. 9 Oct. 24, 1996 Washington University plays host to Society of Environmental Journalists Barbara A. Schaal, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Biology in Arts and Sciences, discusses the prairie ecosystem with award-winning author Richard Manning during a tour of the Shaw Arboretum of the Missouri Botanical Garden on Thursday, Oct. 17. Manning is the author of "Grassland." Nearly 400 members of the Society of of the Missouri Botanical Garden; Cahokia Environmental Journalists (SEJ) were Mounds near Collinsville, 111.; and dioxin-tainted treated to a helping of Midwestern hospital- Times Beach, Mo., among others. ity and a dose of Washington University faculty University faculty members played key roles in expertise last week. the conference. In addition to leading some of the The University played host to SEJ's Sixth An- tours, faculty members also conducted sessions in nual Conference from Oct. 17-20. Environmental their labs on the Hilltop and Medical campuses. journalists from around the nation and the world In terms of hospitality, SEJ members spent three Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton greets Paul Raeburn, an editor attended the conference. evenings at three different St. Louis "must-see" at Business Week magazine, at a Friday, Oct. 18, reception in On the first day of the conference, SEJ members sites: the Missouri Botanical Garden; the Gateway the Gateway Arch for the Society of Environmental Journal- embarked on full- and half-day tours of regional Arch, with tram rides to the top for a glimpse of the ists. Raeburn is the author of the book "The Last Harvest." environmental sites, including the Shaw Arboretum illuminated city; and the St. Louis Science Center. University to share ATM technology under NSF grant Washington University has re- 16 times'faster than available standard Applied Research Laboratory (ARL); World Wide Web. University researchers ceived a three-year $3 million commercial ATM systems and 40,000 and ARL colleagues have advanced the nationwide interested in receiving Wash- grant from the National Science times faster than current telephone lines. hardware and software components of ington University gigabit network kits Foundation (NSF) to share its ultra-high- One gigabit is their ATM system network as well as must write short proposals describing speed networking technology with univer- 1 billion bits. sped up the transmission rates. The work their research and explaining how the sities nationwide. Standard commer- was supported by the Defense Advanced gigabit network will assist them; the The technology is based on a family of cial ATM switches Research Projects Agency and the NSF. proposals will go through a peer-review communications standards called asyn- run at 150 mega- A fast-growing technology, ATM is process involving the NSF. Researchers chronous transfer mode (ATM), which is bits (1 million used by many institutions and utilities, chosen will come to Washington Univer- a switching and transmission technique bits) per second. including the National Aeronautics and sity for an intensive two-week training based on the idea of carrying information The new switch- Space Administration, Boeing Manufac- period next summer, and each will leave in small, fixed-sized units called cells for ing system, to- turing, Boatmen's National Bank and the with an ATM gigabit kit consisting of an the efficient transportation of multimedia gether with a new Internet. There is widespread expectation eight-port switch and six network inter- information — audio, video and data. network interface that ATM may become the vehicle of face cards that plug into computer work- During the past decade, Jonathan S. Jonathans.Turner chip, enables the choice for the Internet, which now uses stations, allowing data transmission Turner, Ph.D., the Henry Edwin Sever construction of very high-performance ATM in a number of capacities, particu- between workstations and the network. Professor of Engineering and chair of the and flexible communications networks. larly in network access points in which The kits will enable the exploration of Department of Computer Science, has Turner; Jerome R. Cox Jr., Sc.D., the different Internet service providers inter- many different applications not yet avail- pioneered ATM switching technology Harold B. and Adelaide G. Welge Profes- connect. able. and, in the past three years, has fine- sor of Computer Science; Guru M. The University in September an- The NSF grant will allow Turner and tuned a switching architecture that oper- Parulkar, Ph.D., associate professor of nounced the grant and a program to his colleagues to produce about 50 giga- ates at 2.4 gigabits per second — computer science and director of the provide gigabit network kits on the Continuedon backpage Humorist Dave Barry to keynote Founders Day banquet Nov. 9 In this issue Humorist Dave Barry will deliver the he was elected "Class Clown" of the the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He also' has keynote address at the Founders Day Class of 1965 — he went to Haverford written a number of best-selling books, Making strides 2 banquet Nov. 9 at The Ritz-Carlton in (Perm.) College, where he graduated in including "Dave Barry Turns 40," The Washington University Cancer Clayton. 1969 with a bachelor's degree in En- "Dave Barry Does Japan" and "Dave Center progresses toward National Barry will give the address at the glish. Barry then got a job with The Barry Is Not Making This Up." In Cancer Institute designation annual event that commemorates the Daily Local News in West Chester, 1988, Barry won a Pulitzer Prize for University's 1853 founding. Sponsored Penn., where he covered what he de- commentary. Studying signals 3 by the Washington University Alumni scribes as "a series of incredibly dull The Founders Day banquet will Linda J. Pike, Ph.D., has spent her Association, the evening begins with municipal meetings, some of which are feature the presentation of four Distin- career examining the bucket brigade cocktails at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at still going on." guished Faculty awards and six Distin- of messengers in cell communication 7:15 p.m. An awards program and In the late 1970s, Barry began writ- guished Alumni awards. The Barry's address will follow. ing weekly humor columns for The University's Board of Trustees also will African-American music ....6 A best-selling author and syndicated Daily Local News, and in 1983, he was present the Robert S. Brookings Award Ethnomusicplogist Portia K. humor columnist, Barry was born in hired by the Miami Herald. Barry's to two individuals "who exemplify the Maultsby, Ph.D., keynotes the 1947 in Armonk, N.Y. After graduating syndicated weekly column now appears alliance between Washington University Black Arts and Sciences Festival from Pleasantville High School — where in more than 300 newspapers, including and its Community." Continued on page 5 2 Washington University Record Medical Update Cancer Center making strides in pursuit of NCI designation One year ago, cancer research at the Since the planning grant was awarded, School of Medicine took on a new Daniel C. Hide, M.D., professor of medi- mission. cine, has been named director of the The National Cancer Institute (NCI), Cancer Center. Three associate directors a division of the National Institutes of also have been named: Jeffrey A. Norton, Health, awarded a three-year $814,000 M.D., professor of surgery, as associate planning grant to the School of Medicine director of clinical research; Stanley J. to begin preparing a grant application for Korsmeyer, M.D., professor of medicine an NCI-designated cancer center. Barnes- and of pathology, as associate director of Jewish Hospital/BJC Health System has basic research; and Edwin B. Fisher Jr., worked with the medical school in pro- Ph.D., professor of psychology in Arts viding support for the planning process and Sciences and research professor of and will be a partner in the Washington medicine, as associate director of preven- University Cancer Center. The effort may tion and control. be likened to seeking a "Good House- One broad, primary goal is to establish keeping seal of approval" or a "five-star" a cadre of core laboratories that will designation. The goal is to expand basic provide sophisticated instrumentation and science and clinical research in cancer expertise that is shared between cancer and offer the next generation of physi- researchers and clinicians. Currently, five cians and scientists in the field some of core facilities have been targeted for the most comprehensive training avail- support by the Cancer Center. They are: able in the United States. biostatistics and clinical trials, molecular Another aim of the Cancer Center is to diagnostics and cytogenetics, tumor bank, offer patients some of the finest care embryonic stem cell, and structural and possible, said William A. Peck, M.D., computational biology. These labs will executive vice chancellor for medical serve as a hub for the many facets of affairs and dean of the School of Medi- cancer research at Washington University, cine. "The need for an NCI-designated consolidating shared resources in a cost- center is undeniable. There is none in the efficient manner.