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December 5, 2006

This Month in Research Update:

OVPRANL News

A Message from Thomas Rosenbaum, Vice President for Research and for National Laboratories
This is the last Research Update that I will have the pleasure of sending to you (although the newsletter will continue unabated!). As you know, I start as Provost of the University on January 1, 2007. My 4 and 1/2 years as VP for Research and for Argonne have been a profound experience for me because of the quality and dedication of you, the Argonne scientists and engineers, operations experts and support personnel, that make this Laboratory the pride of the nation.

The opportunity to grapple with the most important problems our nation confronts and, together with DOE, to deliver the world-leading research that impacts the directions of society, can be both a heady and a scary experience. As Provost, I will be committed to deepening and strengthening the ties between our institutions, and pursuing to the fullest extent our academic and commercial partnerships, so that we can compete most effectively on the world stage. Closer to home, I look forward to continuing scientific collaborations with Argonne colleagues and friends.

Thank you for your help, dedication and support. The coming years will be good and exciting ones for the Laboratory and the University.

University of Chicago tech-transfer office expands name to match recent growth
The University of Chicago’s technology transfer operation will enter its sixth year of steady growth by changing its name to UChicagoTech, part of an outreach effort aimed at expanding its network both within the university and off campus.

The new name was announced today by Raphael Lee, Chair of the UChicagoTech Faculty Advisory Committee; Alan Thomas, Director of UChicagoTech; and Thomas Rosenbaum, Vice President for Research and for National Laboratories.

“Under the surface, this reflects some important dynamics,” the trio noted in a Nov. 16 memorandum announcing the name change. “Our office has grown substantially.” Since the organization’s inception as UCTech in 2001, invention disclosure rates have doubled, to 142 in fiscal year 2006; royalties have more than tripled, to more than $8 million in FY 2006, and UChicagoTech is now returning more than $5 million a year to inventors, laboratories, departments and divisions.

The new name reinforces the office’s University of Chicago identity as its activities become more tightly interwoven with those of the faculty, wrote the University officials. More effective faculty recruitment, competition for research grants, and contributions to the region’s economic development are all at stake, they said.

“A key capability we can offer is to foster valuable, creative connections to resources, inside and out, but in this regard many of these potential connections in the University community remain untapped. Our hope is we can be of ever more assistance in creating, engaging and aligning such resources in the cause of the University’s intellectual mission and the consequent dissemination of its discoveries.”

UChicagoTech works with researchers — faculty, students, or staff — to assess the commercial potential of new ideas. UChicagoTech’s goals are to disseminate new ideas so the public can benefit from discoveries, and to generate revenues for research and education.

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Events

University December Event Highlights

David Schloen, Associate Professor in the Oriental Institute and the College, will give a lecture on the Oriental Institute’s recent excavations at the site of Zincirli in southeast Turkey. Zincirli is a 40-hectare Bronze- and Iron-age urban center located immediately to the east of the Amanus mountain range in Gaziantep province of southeast Turkey. Early excavations from 1888 to 1902, conducted at the site by the German Oriental Society, revealed ceramics that indicate a long sequence of occupation in the Bronze Age. After the collapse of the Hittite Empire, Zincirli flourished as the center of an Iron Age city-state ruled by Luwian and Aramean kings. It was later incorporated into the Assyrian Empire and ultimately destroyed and abandoned in the seventh century B.C. The site is notable for its enormous double fortification wall with three gates and 100 bastions enclosing the as-yet-unexcavated lower town. Schloen’s lecture will present the first finds from this new project, which began in August. This event is free.

Six panels of the quilt will be on display in the east transept. Free. For more information, call 773-702-7059.

In 1973, Adrian Piper created an alter-ego, the Mythic Being, who became the basis of a pioneering series of performances and photo-based works. Piper — a light-skinned woman of mixed racial heritage — transformed herself into the Mythic Being by donning an Afro wig, sunglasses, and mustache and adopting behavior conventionally identified as masculine. She then explored how she and others responded to the Mythic Being. In the process, she transformed the conceptual art practices common in the period, infusing them with strong personal and political content. This exhibition gathers together works from all facets of the Mythic Being project, including major work from the Smart Museum's collection and selections from the Adrian Piper Research Archive, some of which document private performances of the Mythic Being never before publicly presented.

“Adrian Piper: The Mythic Being” is curated by Stephanie Smith, Smart Museum Curator of Contemporary Art, and is presented in the Joel and Carole Bernstein Gallery for Works on Paper.

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Research in the News

New Masters of Science in Threat and Response Management program offered at the University of Chicago
The University of Chicago Graham School of General Studies recently introduced an innovative new degree program called the Masters of Science in Threat and Response Management (MScTRM) that combines education and advanced hands-on training in science and administration to effectively respond to emerging threats to the public’s health. The curriculum is offered in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory and the Great Lakes Regional Center of Excellence (GLRCE) for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research.

The MScTRM is a part-time cohort program designed for busy, working professionals from across the nation. Extended weekend sessions convene once monthly in Chicago and the program will use distance learning technologies extensively.

Ideal candidates include:

For more information about the program, visit http://grahamschool.uchicago.edu/youwill or call Marsha Hawk, program director at 773-702-0460. Courses begin Autumn 2007.

Professor Emeritus Milton Friedman dies at 94
Milton Friedman, retired professor of economics at the University of Chicago and one of the world’s leading proponents of the importance of the free market, died Thursday, Nov. 16, in San Francisco, where he lived with his wife and fellow economist, Rose Friedman. He was the premier spokesman for the monetarist school of economics and a pioneer in promoting the value of free market economics when the position was not popular. Full story.

Genetic study of Neanderthal DNA reveals early split between humans and Neanderthals
In the most thorough study to date of the Neanderthal genome, scientists suggest an early human-Neanderthal split. The two species have a common ancestry, say the authors, but do not share much else after evolving their separate ways. The study, published in this week's issue of Science, also finds no evidence of genetic admixture between Neanderthals and humans. Full story.

Ludwig Fund donates $20 million to University of Chicago for Cancer Research
Six leading U.S. centers to share $120 million initial gift plus annual support
The Virginia & D.K. Ludwig Fund for Cancer Research, created by American billionaire Daniel K. Ludwig, today announced that it has donated $20 million to each of six leading cancer research institutions — including the University of Chicago — to create Ludwig Centers for cancer research. This $120 million donation will provide an immediate boost to cancer research. Subsequent distributions from the Ludwig Fund over the next seven years should enable each Ludwig Center to build a self-sustaining endowment. Full story.

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