University of Missouri-Columbia The College of Arts andmosaicsmosaics Science Winter 2004 meet the future dean’s letter montage FEATURES ARTS OF A REAT TORY research is funded in part by the National Meet the Future.................................16 P G S By Dean Richard B. Schwartz Science Foundation. Super Scholar....................................18 The study began in 2001 and was Black Holes, Bright Future ................20 Each year we review the accomplishments of our students, faculty and repeated in 2003. “In 2003, we’re finding Discovered!......................................22 alumni with pride. While we are mindful of the aphorist Mason a lower lead content,” Robertson says. “It Bessie’s Beautician............................24 Cooley’s injunction to “Boast quietly, with decorum,” it is not always appears that the industry is doing a pretty Knowing the Score ...........................26 easy to be quiet about the impressive achievements of the members of the College family. good job of policing itself. As researchers, It’s the Challenge..............................28 As the principal college in a great university we carry many responsibilities: for the we’re happy to see that.” Love the Logic..................................30 development of new knowledge, for the education of students who participate directly in Balkin, who is a licensed pharmacy Whiz Kids ........................................32 the development of new knowledge, and for service and outreach to our community, technician, was a perfect choice to do the Zoo CEO..........................................34 country and world. research. He served as a volunteer in a Murder and Mayhem..........................37 Mosaics chronicles our successes in meeting those responsibilities, and this year’s suc- hospital pharmacy as early as age 14 and A Gift for Other People’s Children .......38 cesses are truly exceptional. Our only regret is our constant regret — namely, that we now works in a local pharmacy. That For All We Call Mizzou.......................39 are constrained by page space and cannot record every event and every accomplishment background helped him interpret the A Life’s Work for the Birds..................40 that has marked the most recent year in our long history. What you read in these pages is labels and locate a variety of producers. Lively Class About Death ....................42 indicative of the activities of the College; we cannot begin to recount all of the events of It’s interesting that neither Robertson Designer for the Stars .........................43 2002-03: another record year for external research support, another year in which the nor Balkin takes dietary supplements. “I College’s faculty garnered the tiger’s share of campus and system awards, including the don’t take them because I’m concerned highly coveted Kemper teaching awards, and another record-setting year in development about contamination,” Robertson says. The College gratefully thanks the A&S Alumni support received from our family and friends. “I’m concerned about their efficacy.” Organization for financial assistance with the In assessing our progress in securing external grant support, we measure ourselves There are other studies on neutraceuti- production of Mosaics magazine. against our colleagues, public universities in the Association of American Universities, cals in progress at MU, some led by Dennis the most distinguished group of educational institutions in the country. Our support has Lubahn in molecular biology. Robertson grown at nothing less than double the AAU-Publics’ average. In measuring the success of PHOTO BY CHRIS DETRICK experienced a “senior moment” as he On the Cover: Pictured from the top, left to our faculty — which regularly secures one-half or more of the MU and UM System OOD OR HOUGHT Professor Dave Robertson and biology student struggled to think of Lubahn’s name. F F T Ethan Balkin conducted tests on 92 brands of the right, are Anne Holden, Ken Segelhorst, Kyle awards for teaching, research and advising — we remind ourselves that we have only “Maybe I need some St. Gustafson, Holly Huelskamp, Alicia Miles, Laura 20 most popular dietary supplements. The results O YOU TAKE DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS John’s wort,” he Jennings and Justin McCurry. As they make a place slightly more than one-fourth of the campus faculty. As we look at our successes in devel- convinced these researchers to avoid taking the for themselves in the real world, these national opment we remind ourselves that the first year in which the College received more than to improve your memory or neutraceuticals. joked. achievers are making the world a better place. $1 million in support was 1997-98. In 2002-03 we received slightly more than $8 million reduce the risk of catching a cold? Page 16. Cover photos by Rob Hill, Chris Detrick, in cash and expectancies. DAn MU nuclear chemist and his under- the most popular supplements with a high Dan Glover and Don Guillot. Mosaics provides the reasons behind these successes, the accounts of the students, graduate research assistant have found lead content,” Balkin says. He expected to WAY KOOL faculty, alumni and friends who make all of these exciting statistics both possible and that in addition to your herbal remedy, find five to 10 contaminated samples, but UDITH real. We are delighted to share them with you and invite you to join us in our pride in the you could be ingesting something unex- instead the research produced 35. Wangelin contributions and accomplishments of the members of the College’s extended family. pected. Lead. The researchers ground several samples Scott and Joe Thus we send along parts of a great story. Enjoy them all and stay tuned for next Research led by Professor Dave of each product into powder, shaped it into JScott of year’s, when we open our new Life Sciences Center, a collaborative project in which we Robertson and conducted by senior biol- a large pellet and subjected it to X-rays at Poplar Bluff, Mo., join with our sister schools and colleges to create the space in which we will accelerate ogy major Ethan Balkin discovered that MU’s Research Reactor to determine love Mizzou — so much our efforts to help feed the world, cure disease and protect our environment. All the best. some such products contain lead at levels what elements were present. They were that they pay the fees to especially dangerous to children and preg- looking for 72 elements, including lead, have MU football and bas- nant women. nickel, mercury, copper and arsenic. Only ketball games broadcast on Balkin tested the 20 most popular lead exceeded the federal safety standard. their home radio station, dietary supplements — such as St. John’s “Our hypothesis is that the lead conta- KOOL, 96.7. wort, ginkgo biloba and echinacea — in mination we’re observing is not coming The Scotts used to drive mosaics is published annually for alumni and friends of the College of Arts and Science at their raw form and in processed forms from the active ingredient but from the to Columbia for the games the University of Missouri-Columbia. Working for a living doesn’t get much better than available as 92 product brands. He pur- binders that hold the ingredients together — nine hours round trip EDITOR Nancy Moen, 317 Lowry Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, (573) 882-2209. serving as the CEO of a nationally known zoo. E-mail: [email protected] chased as many different brands as possi- as a pill,” Robertson says. — but then decided to Alumnus Jeffrey Bonner enjoys interacting with the PHOTOGRAPHERS Rob Hill, Chris Detrick, Dan Glover ble in the Columbia, Mo., retail market. Product names will be released when share the experi- KOOL critters he oversees. Page 34. ART DIRECTOR Blake Dinsdale “We were surprised at the number of the research is published in late 2003. The ence with Mizzou 2 ARTS & SCIENCE WINTER 2004 WINTER 2004 ARTS & SCIENCE 3 montage montage fans in Poplar Bluff, Sikeston, Dexter, 2001 recipient of an A&S Distinguished ture of Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, the highest University of Missouri System Doniphan, Kennett, New Madrid and Alumni Award, which she calls her “most Equatorial Guinea, Columbia, Venezuela, designation for research achievements. other points in southeastern Missouri. meaningful award.” the Dominican Republic and Haiti. A Specializing in modern German history, With several businesses, the Scotts pur- Y’all go to Mizzou now. reviewer praised one of his books, on Afro- Sperber has published six books on 19th chase airtime and donate the commercial Hispanic poetry, for recognizing “what and early 20th century Germany and has minutes to MU to promote academics. has been neglected and undervalued.” won three prestigious prizes for his work. “Because we couldn’t get the games ROBES, REGALIA The University of Caen preserves the His research attracts support from such down here, it was either pay or drive,” AND RED CARPETS prestige of the honor by awarding the agencies as the Guggenheim Foundation Judith says. “It’s fun to go up to Columbia N EUROPE WHEN HONORARY DEGREES honorary degrees once every seven years. and the National Endowment for the once in a while, and when our son was in are conferred upon distinguished Only four other scholars, from the United Humanities. law school, it was a good excuse to go. But scholars, the whole town States, Norway and Hungary, received the Associate Professor Ian Worthington, it’s an outrageously long drive.” Icelebrates. Two A&S professors who expe- 2003 titles. who teaches ancient Greek history, pub- Radio is the answer. Listeners tell the rienced the formality of receiving hon- lished Alexander the Great: A Reader. On Scotts that they are “thrilled” to receive orary doctorates in the spring returned that topic, Terry Jones, host of the BBC the broadcasts, and the College of Arts and with unusual stories to tell. TAKE NOTE Radio 4 program Heroes and Villains, Science enjoys the bonus of the free on-air The University of Helsinki in Finland AND TAKE NOTES interviewed Worthington for a show that commercials.