[Vision2020] The UI Friday Letter from UI President White (June 17, 2005)

[Tom Hansen]

Copied and pasted below is today's (June 17, 2005) UI Friday Letter from UI
President White.

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University of Idaho
Office of the President
Moscow, Idaho 83844-3151
Phone: 208-885-6365
Fax: 208-885-6558

The Friday Letter
A Newsletter for University of Idaho Alumni and Friends June 17, 2005

Dear Friends,

I want to share with you a wonderful story out of the Department of Physics.
Professor David McIlroy and four former students, along with scientists from
Clemson University and the Ames National Laboratory, have solved a
25-year-old physics riddle. They discovered why the compound zirconium
telluride generates electricity when one side is colder than the other. It
turns out that the metal behaves more like a semi-conductor, like silicon,
which is the basis for computer chips. 
Their paper has created a buzz in physics circles; it has been called one of
the most influential - and most downloaded - physics papers of 2004.

The four former students who co-authored the paper are Sam Moore, Daqing
Zhang, Jayson Wharton and Bradley Kempton. Moore now works for Micron at
Boise; Kempton for HP at Boise and Wharton works for the Idaho National
Laboratory in Idaho Falls. Zhang is now an assistant professor of physics at
California State University at Fresno. It is inspiring to see three of our
former students pursuing science and technology careers in Idaho. As you
know, promoting science and technology is one of the strategic themes in the
University's Plan for Renewal of People, Programs and Place.

I serve on the Governor's Science and Technology Advisory Council which met
in Moscow this week. One of the agenda items was the announcement of a $9
million federally funded research program that will bolster Idaho's ability
to study critical water and aquaculture issues. The grant is awarded to the
Idaho Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research and will build
on existing water research strengths at the University of Idaho, Boise State
University and Idaho State University. It is another example of the state's
desire to support a growing high-tech industry and Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's
desire to expand Idaho universities' scientific expertise in select areas.
      
Tim White
President

Here's the latest news from the University of Idaho:

~ Two UI track and field athletes earned All-American honors at the 2005
NCAA National Championships. Manuela Kurrat earned a fourth place finish in
the heptathlon. She finished with a personal best 5,714 points. 
Sophomore Russ Winger placed fifth in the shot put with a throw of 62-feet,
5 1/4-inches. "It feels pretty great to be an All-American," 
Winger said.  "Now I'm just going to relax over the summer, maybe train a
little bit."

~ Future Idaho Vandals graduating from high school in Troy and pursuing a
major in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences will be eligible to
receive a scholarship - thanks to the generosity of Edna Kelly. The Douglas
and Edna Kelly Scholarship Endowment was recently established through a
bequest from the estate of Edna Kelly. Douglas graduated from the UI in
1941, and he and Edna were longtime residents of Troy and loyal supporters
of the UI. "We look forward to working with the students and educators at
Troy High School to ensure that the full potential of this outstanding gift
is realized," said John Foltz, associate dean of Academic Programs. Dean
John Hammel added, "Gifts such as the scholarship endowment named for
Douglas and Edna Kelly provide perpetual opportunities for Idaho's youth to
pursue higher education." To learn how you can help the University of Idaho,
contact the Office of Development at (208) 885-7069 or make your gift online
www.uidaho.edu/givetoidaho.

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Take care, Moscow.

Tom Hansen

"What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that they
are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say
about their cause, but what they say about their opponents."

-- Robert F. Kennedy