CAL POLY REPORT, DECEMBER 5, 2001 Physics prof Frankel ••• Position Vacancies Riders in the Sky to give Continued from page 1 STATE: The official listing of staff and man­ holiday show Dec. 20 Califo rni a Polytechnic State Un iversity agement vacancies is posted at least two San Lu is Obispo, CA 93407 shape of such small crystals has become weeks prior to closing dates on Cal Poly's Riders in the Sky, known for its comical Vol. 56, No. 13 • December 5, 2001 Web site at www.calpoly.edu. (Select "Employ­ Western musical entertainment, will per­ ort available only in the last few years," Published by Public Affairs • www.calpoly.edu/-communic/CPR/report.htm Frankel said. The magnetite crystals in the ment" from the Cal Poly Jinks drop-down form "Christmas the Cowboy Way," a Martian meteorite have not yet been sub­ box.) As a courtesy to our on-campus employ­ holiday show at 7 p.m. Dec. 20 in Harman jected to the new viewing techniques. ees, job vacancies also are published in the Hall in the Christopher Cohan Center. Cal Poly Report. Positions marked with an According to Frankel, "It's still too Cal Poly Arts presents the "darlings of asterisk indicate that qualified on-campus public radio" in a concert fi lled with clas­ early to say for sure what the exact shapes applicants in bargaining units 2, 5, 7 and 9 DATELIIIE Dreamin' of a Western Christmas of the meteoritic crystals are, let alone will be give first consideration. Job applica­ sic and original Western folk songs, smooth harmonies and slapstick comedy. whether they match those in bacteria." tions must be received in Human Resources, ($)-Admission charged The only microscope powerful enough Adm. 110, by 5 p.m. on the closing date. Combining comedy with sharp acousti­ to produce clear images of the magnetite cal music in a wide musical repertoire, Exhibits crystals found in the, meteorite is a rela­ #223-Facility Worker II, Facility Ser­ the group has entertained audiences for vices, open to Cal Poly employees only, tively new piece of equipment called a almost three decades. University Art Gallery (Dexter): $3,446-$4,188. Closing date: Dec. 14. Riders in the Sky has logged more than "Driven," photo retrospective by Jesse transmission electron microscope (TEM), #224-Equipment Technician (Equipment 4,000 shows, 200 national television ap­ Alex,ander. Through Friday (Dec. 7). which allows researchers to see objects Technician III-Specialized Equipment)*, Hours: II a.m.-4 p.m. daily plus pearances, 200 public radio shows, smaller than one billionth of a meter Materials Engineering, College of Engi­ 7-9 p.m. Wednesday. wide, but only in two dimensions. three television series, dozens of albums neering, half-time, $1724.50-$2,286. Closing Wednesday, December 5 Recently, scientists have coupled TEM date: Dec. 14. and 2.3 million miles on the road. technology with computer imaging to #225-Associate Director, Alumni Rela­ In 1999, the group's rendition of ASI Craft Fair: Crafts by student artists for sale, UU Ill , I0 a.m.-4 p.m. make experiments more precise. tions (Administrator 1), Alumni Relations, "Woody's Roundup" was recorded for Walt University Advancement, $40,000-$55,000. Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story 2." A companion Also Dec. 6. Frankel and his co-authors used it to Music: Guy Budd, BackStage Pizza, reexamine the evidence in the NASA Closing date: Open until filled; review of album, "Woody's Roundup, Featuring Rid­ applications begins Jan. 11. II a.m. study and contrast it with biological mag­ ers in the Sky," won a 2001 Grammy Award Exhibit: Industrial Technology Metals #226-Nurse Practitioner*, Health Ser­ for Best Children's Album. netite crystals from Earth. vices, $4,694-$6,221, temporary to June 30. Production Exhibit, Engineering West Tickets range from $22 to $34, with Their results call into question whether Clos.ing date: Dec. 14. 135 , 2-6:30 p.m. the shapes of all crystals originating in the #227-Admissions Officer (Student Ser­ student discounts available. 0 Music: Cal Poly Guitar Ensemble and Martian meteorite found in Antarctica are vices Professional 1-B), Admissions and SLO Guitar Trio, Davidson Music Center 218,7 p.m. ­ accurately known. In their research, Frankel Recruitment, $2,769-$3,716, temporary to Riders in the Sky will perform 'Christmas the Cowboy Way' in the Christopher and his team demonstrate that the shapes of Sept. 30, 2004. Closing date: Dec. 14. Thursday, December 6 Cohan Center's Harman Hall on Dec. 20. See story 011 page 4. bacterial magnetite grains found on Earth #229-Locksmith, Facility Services, ncket information ASI Craft Fair: Crafts by student vary more than previously thought. Accord­ $3,949-4,739. Closing date: Dec. 14. artists for sale, UU 111, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tickets to the performances ing to their research, the shapes and sizes #230-Transfer Credit Coordinator (Ad­ Music: Music Department ·student Physics professor Frankel says life on ltars still unproven ministrative Support Coordinator II)*, listed in today's Cal Poly Report differ among bacterial strains, and even recital , Davidson Music Center 218, Academic Records, $2,694-$4,045. Closing are on sale at the Performing Arts Life on Mars still remains in the realm to certain Earth bacteria, and different within individual bacteria. That expanded 11 a. m. of science fiction, not solid science, ac­ from any of those produced by any inor­ date : Dec. 21. · Ticket Office 10 a.m.-6 p.m. week­ Employee Assistance Program variety makes it more likely that bacterial cording to Physics Professor Richard ganic forces. days and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays. Learn-at-Lunch: "Handling Holiday and meteoritic magnetite grains could FACULTY Candidates are asked to contact Call ext. 6-2787, or fax your order Stress," UU 220, noon. Frankel and his co-authors in an article In their paper, "Magnetite Morphology match by simple chance, Frankel's team the appropriate department office at the published recently in The Proceedings of and Life on Mars," Frankel and co-authors to ext. 6-6088. 0 Friday, December 7 concluded. ~hone number listed for more information the National Academy of Sciences. Peter Busek and Martha McCartney, Ari­ or to request an application. Additional However, the team did not eliminate Music: Jill Cohn, BackStage Pizza, zona State University; Rafal Dunin­ information and qualifications for each Frankel and other members of his re­ the possibility that the Martian crystals II a. m. position may also be obtained online at search team challenge NASA scientists' Borkowski, Paul Midgley and Matthew could have a biological origin. With the Brown Bag Technology Seminar: http://www.academic-personnel.calpoly.edu. Dateline •• • Susan Stewart (Student Academic much-publicized announcement in 1996 Weyland, Cambridge University; Bertrand · advanced TEM technology now on hand, Please submit all application materials to Continued from page 1 Services) and Luanne Fose (ITS that a Martian meteorite found in Antarc­ Devouard, Blaise Pascal University in Frankel and his team plan more conclu­ the department head/chair unless otherwise tica contains evidence of fossil bacteria­ France; and Mihalay Posfai of the Univer­ Friday, December 14 Integrated Media Services), "Making sive studies of the magnetite crystals from specified in the ad. Rank and salary are Your Web Pages Accessible and ADA­ and thus life on Mars at some point in the sity of Veszprem, Hungary, argue that the the Martian meteor and several more commensurate with qualifications and ex­ Brown Bag Technology Seminar: James Compliant," English Building 219, planet's history. evidence for bacterial magnetite crystals on strains of terrestrial bacteria. 0 perience (and time base where applicable), Feld (ITS Network Administration), noon. The announcement brought a storm of the Martian meteorite is at best ambiguous "Internet 2: Advanced Applications for unless otherwise stated. Cultural Awareness Brown-Bag excitement, publicity and controversy. In and, at worst, mistaken. They used compari­ Research and Development," Kennedy #3965: Tenure-Track Assistant/Associate Discussion: "Whose Holiday Is It?," the five years since, other scientists have sons with bacterial magnetite crystals from Library 510, noon. Erhart Agriculture 241, noon. Professor (Nutrition), Food Science and Women's Basketball: Fresno Pacific, Mott shown that nonbacterial contamination Morro Bay to help explain why. Nutrition Department (ext. 6-2565). Closing Student projects displayed Gym, 7 p.m. ($) Saturday, December 8 could explain many of the "bacterium­ The magnetite crystals in the NASA date: March I. Music: Cal Poly Choirs' "A Christmas shaped objects" and supposedly organic Martian meteorite are tiny, even by the today in IT ltetals Lab Saturday, December 15 #3966: Tenure-Track Assistant/Associate Celebration," Christopher Cohan chemicals found in the meteorite and standards of an electron microscope, Professor (Food Science), Food Science and Commencement: The colleges of Business The campus community is invited to Center's Harman Hall , 8 p.m. ($) cited by NASA as evidence for life. Frankel explains. They are only 40 to I 00 see the Fall 2001 Industrial Technology Nutrition Department (ext. 6-2852). Closing and Engineering, 9 a.m.; Architecture and date: March I. Environmental Design and Liberal Arts, ftonday, December 10 Now Frankel and the other members of billionths of a meter wide. Metals Production Exhibit of student #3997: EA P Counselor (SSP AR I/11), I p.m.; Agriculture, Science and Mathemat­ Final Exam Period: Through Dec. 14. his research team have assailed the final "The technology necessary to accu­ projects 2-6:30 p.m. today (Dec. 5) in half-time, temporary, Office of Campus ics and the University Center for Teacher NASA contention: that the magnetite rately describe the three-dimensional the IT Metals Lab, Room 135 in Engi­ Relations (ext.