[Vision2020] The UI Friday Letter for February 29, 2008

[Tom Hansen]

Copied and pasted below is the UI Friday Letter for February 29, 2008.

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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
February 29, 2008

Dear Friends,

Physics professor Ruprecht Machleidt teaches us a lot about dedication and a 
passion for discovery. For his entire professional career, he has pursued 
the solution to the mystery of how carbon dating works. Carbon dating, a 
method used primarily to discover the age of fossils, relies on the slow 
transition of carbon into nitrogen to give a fossil a timeline, thus 
narrowing down the origin of the life form that eventually became 
fossilized. It is a mystery that has dogged scientists for 50 years.

Machleidt's research revealed the reason why the carbon-14 atom has a 
half-life of 5,730 years, while other carbon atoms decay much more quickly. 
Machleidt worked with an international research team that converted the 
theory into fact. The results finally proved how specific forces within 
carbon-14's nucleus slow down its transition into nitrogen. You can read 
Machleidt's published research paper on carbon-14 online at the American 
Physical Society's Web site: prl.aps.org.

>From physics in the lab and classroom to physics on the field of 
competition....The Idaho men's and women's indoor track and field teams are 
competing today and tomorrow at the Western Athletic Conference 
championships, on the Jackson Indoor Track in the Idaho Center in Nampa. 
Both teams feature speed and strength, and five individuals already have met 
qualifying marks for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships March 
14-15 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

* Senior Russ Winger currently ranks second in the NCAA in the shot put, and 
is automatically qualified for the NCAA meet. His season best of 66-6.5 is 
the best in the Western Athletic Conference by more than 11 feet. He's been 
named WAC Athlete of the Week three times this season.

* Junior David Holmon currently ranks 22nd in the NCAA in the triple jump, 
and met the NCAA Provisionally-qualifying jump of 50-10.

* Pole vaulter K.C. Dahlgren leads the women's team with a vault of 13-3.75, 
the best mark in the WAC this year.

* Sophomore Mykael Bothum broke the school record in the women's shot put 
last weekend with a throw of 50-4 at the Washington State University Open. 
She is the first athlete in Idaho women's indoor track and field history to 
break the 50-foot barrier in the shot put.

* Junior Matt Wauters currently ranks eighth in the NCAA in the 35-lb. 
weight throw, and teamed with Russ Winger, gives Idaho two nationally ranked 
competitors in the event.

Idaho's indoor track and field program has an impressive streak of 12 
straight seasons with an NCAA qualifier; with Russ Winger's automatic 
qualification, the streak is now 13 seasons. Go Vandals!

Tim White
President

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

There really is something to the phrase "mind over matter." Just ask Dr. 
Todd Kuiken, researcher from Northwestern University, whose work gives hope 
to amputees. Thought-controlled prosthetic devices have been an exciting 
development in the effort to provide mobility to wounded veterans and other 
victims of limb loss. Kuiken, who also works for the Rehabilitation 
Institute of Chicago, will talk about the "Development of a Neural-Machine 
Connection for Improved Function of Artificial Limbs" on Friday, March 7, at 
3:30 p.m. in the Whitewater Room of the Idaho Commons. The lecture is part 
of the University of Idaho's Robert and Floretta Austin Distinguished 
Lecture in Science. Simply put, Kuiken will describe how bioengineers and 
doctors are advancing the technology that allows amputees to move artificial 
limbs with their minds, via nerve transfers and sensors on the skin. Kuiken 
got his start at the University of Idaho in 1978, where he studied 
electrical engineering as an undergraduate. He will be inducted into the 
Alumni Hall of Fame in May.

The Alumni Association is conducting a survey to gather opinions on what 
services and facilities a proposed Alumni Center on the Moscow campus might 
provide. Many alumni soon will receive the survey via e-mail. Your input is 
very important to the Alumni Center feasibility project. All personal 
information will be kept completely confidential.

Dale Carlisle '57, recently made a gift from his IRA to establish and endow 
The Carlisle Family College of Business and Economics Scholarship. "A 
tuition scholarship played a big part in my attending and remaining at the 
University of Idaho, and hopefully the same can be true of the Carlisle CBE 
Scholarship for current students," says Dale. He graduated in business with 
honors from Idaho and then earned his law degree from George Washington 
University School of Law in 1960. He served three years as a judge advocate 
in the U.S. Air Force. Dale currently is of counsel to the Tacoma, Wash., 
law firm of Gordon Thomas PLLC where he has practiced since 1965, and served 
as managing partner for 10 years.   He also served as president of the 
Washington State Bar and was recognized in 2007 with the Lifetime Service 
Award - one of the highest honors given to a member of that bar. Dale is 
married to Doris and they have two grown children, Dana and Todd. For 
information on giving to the College of Business and Economics, contact 
Chandra Zenner Ford, assistant dean for Development, at (208) 364-9908 or 
chandra at uidaho.edu.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

Came a tribe from the north brave and bold . . .

"Here We Have Idaho"
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