1- 1- u. 1- The campus community biweekly April 4, 2002, vol. 2, no. 7 Sally and the future scientists Get ready to take A new look at your kids to work Caltech student affairs If you've ever had trouble explaining to your kids what you do all day at work, here's a chance to let them see for them­ As Caltech continues the process of find­ selves. ing a new vice president for student af­ Caltech employees are invited to bring fairs, following Christopher Brennen's their children in the 4th through 12th stepping down, the administration has grades to this year's Take Our Children to also taken the opportunity to reevaluate Work Day, on Thursday, April 25, from 10 its overall approach to student affairs. a.m . to 2 p.m. "The intent of the program A search committee for the position is to introduce our children to the various was formed, which received input from career opportunities that are available an external advisory committee. The here at Caltech," says Diana Alvarez, the search committee, chaired by Vice Pro­ program's coordinator. vost David Goodstein, includes profes­ Interested parents should fill out a sors Roger Blandford, Kim Border, Paul registration form and medical release Jennings, Henry Lester, and Kerry Sieh; and mail it to Alvarez at Employee staff members Kevin Austin, Carolyn Services, mail code 153-84, by Thursday, Merkel, and Sharon Patterson; faculty April 18. Registration forms can be and staff member Miriam Feldblum; and found online at http://cit.hr.caltech.edu/ undergraduate Martha-Helene Stapleton HRForms/HumanResourcesforms.htm, and graduate student Chip Sumner. and are also available in the Human Re­ The external committee, comprising sources Employee Services office at 399 stude.nt affairs professioo_als from other S. Holliston Ave. If you have more than institutions and led by Tom Anderson, a one child, a medical release form must former Caltech vice president for institute .g be completed for each one. "The program relations, was charged with providing feedback both on the position and on ~ is limited to 200 children and is on a first­ Caltech student affairs overall. After ~ come, first-served basis," Alvarez empha­ sizes, "so be sure to register before the meeting with Caltech community mem­ deadline." bers in February, the committee issued Crowds of middle-school girls flocked to Sally Ride's Science Festival for Girls, held by the Caltech its findings in a 15-page report. see Take Our Children, page 6 trustee and former astronaut on campus March 23. President David Baltimore has released the report to the Caltech community with the understanding that, viewed as an opin­ Widnall champions ion and not a planning document, the Prep begins for Oracle upgrade report can be valuable in ongoing student female engineers affairs discussions. While he believes the Beth Moore and David Werntz Eventually, vendors eliminate support for report is limited in its consideration of the older versions of their software; Caltech Over the last two and a half years, the role of students-" student self-governance What are the factors that can encourage reaches that point with our current Oracle Administrative Technology Center (ATC), is a great Caltech tradition and was not, to more women to succeed in the engineer­ software at the end of 2002. Oracle ver­ the Office of Financial Services, Human my mind, fully appreciated by the visitors ing fields? Sheila Widnall can give you a sion 10 is now more than five years old. Resources, and many other departments see Student affairs, page 6 list of 10. In fact, she can give you several As with any software upgrade, some at Caltech have worked to stabilize and top-10 lists, from the reasons women improvements in the usability of the soft­ enhance the Oracle applications and belong in engineering to ways to im­ ware are anticipated. The upgrade to 11 i associated business processes. For the prove engineering education for men and may enable Caltech to eventually take next six months, focus will shift to up­ Students, faculty to women. advantage of new features after the up· grading Oracle to a new version, 11 i. On Tuesday, April 16, Widnall, Institute grade, such as workflow and additional discuss quality of life This effort should culminate in the mid­ Professor and professor of aeronautics Web-based capabilities. and astronautics at MIT, will present a August implementation of the upgrade. In preparation for the upgrade, work is The quality of life of the average under­ lecture called "Digits of Pi: Barriers and According to David Werntz, director of focused in three areas: testing, code graduate at Caltech will be among the Enablers for Women in Engineering." ATC, regular upgrades were one of the remediation, and transition preparation. issues under discussion at this year's The lecture will begin at 4 p.m. in Ramo key reasons for choosing Oracle for The testing effort will, over the coming Student-Faculty Conference. In the spirit Auditorium. Caltech's business system. "Upgrades can months, exercise every key function of the of a frank and open discussion, few As a woman who received her doctor­ add functionality, eliminate bugs, and see Oracle, page 6 things will be taken for granted; even the ate from MIT almost 30 years ago, bring us up to date with newer technol­ ogy. While this upgrade is not anticipated Honor Code-Caltech's vaunted principle Widnall was a pioneer in an exclusive ~ • • w >j,n~ ~ IYJI" ~ f'•fl'•• ~ of student conduct-and the academic world dominated by men. As a civilian to have nearly the impact of the original •. ". ~ ''"'· IC:IlCII ••• m ~ core curriculum will be examined. appointed Secretary of the Air Force, she implementation, we want the campus to ,_,~ ~ ... ~_.:.,· _]<,:. ~ -l 1. 1 These conferences normally take place oversaw all of the organization's affairs, be aware of our plans and potential im­ every two or three years. But the one including the issuing of its long-range pacts. It is also important to note that this scheduled for April 29 will be the first vision statement. Widnall is internation­ upgrade is being performed within exist· held in five years, a fact that may help ally known for her work in the fluid ing operating budgets," says Werntz. explain the number of topics that under­ dynamics of aircraft turbulence and !here are several reasons an upgrade graduates wish to discuss with faculty. spiraling airflows. She received the is now being planned. By August, more Students want to clarify the curricu­ Distinguished Service Award from the than three years will have passed since lum goal of the core curriculum, deter­ National Academy of Engineering in the original implementation of the Oracle mine which topics should be taught, and 1993, and was inducted into the Women system. Three years is a typical life cycle Oracle 11 i changes include a new interface with learn what options exist for students in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame in 1996. for software (think of the time between an attached toolbar. A tab feature replaces Windows 95 and 98, or OS 9 and OS 10). alternative regions for easier access to pursuing a nonscience career. see Widna/1, page 6 underlying information. see Conference, page 6 2 Caltech 336, April 4, 2002 NewsBriefs Honors and awards Robert Grubbs, Atkins Professor of Chemistry, has been selected by the American Chemical Society to receive the 2002 Arthur C. Cope Award, which is sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund. Richard Ellis has been named the Steele Family Professor of Astronomy; this title replaces that of Lyman Bonner with students, circa 1969. professor of astronomy. A Fellow of the Royal Society, Ellis has been a professor at Caltech since 1999 and the director of Palomar Observa­ tory since 2000. Bonner passes away Mary Kennedy has been named the Allen and Lena belle Davis Professor of Biology; this title Lyman Bonner, a rocket propellant expert replaces that of professor of biology. Kennedy and Caltech administrator, died Friday, has been a member of Caltech's faculty since March 22. He was 89. 1981, when she joined the Institute as an assis­ Born in Kingston, Ontario, he was the tant professor. second of seven children, four of whom Shrinivas Kulkarni, MacArthur Professor of would receive their PhDs from Caltech. Astronomy and Planetary Science, will deliver the After earning a BA in chemistry at the 2003 Sal peter Lecture at Cornell University. The University of Utah in 1932, he entered lectureship series was established in 1998 to Caltech's 10th annual Outreach Program for High School Youth the Institute as a graduate student and honor Professor Edwin Sal peter. brought more than 100 students to campus in March. The program received his PhD in chemistry in 1935. was sponsored by CSEM and CNSE; the National Science Foundation; Andrew Lange, Goldberger Professor of Phys­ Bonner was a National Research t he James Irvine Foundation; and Minority Student Affairs. ics, has been chosen by the Manne Siegbahn Council fellow at Princeton University Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, to deliver its from 1935 to 1937, an instructor and annual Manne Siegbahn Memorial Lecture. Personals assistant professor at Duke University David MacMillan, associate professor of chem­ from 1937 to 1945, and an administrator istry, was selected by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuti­ at Hercules Inc. from 1945 to 1965. Welcome to Caltech Evelyn Cederbaum has joined the Provost's Office as special assistant for facilities, effective cals as a recipient of the 2001 AstraZeneca He was an expert in rocket-propellant April 1. Replacing Jerry Burk, who retired on Excellence in Chemistry Award.