Here We Have Idaho | Spring 2003

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UI research moves into the fast lane

2003

HERE WE HAVE

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We’re going digital!

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ngineering Outreach is evolving into the digital age through its course delivery conversion from videotape to DVD technology.

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

Each DVD includes: • High quality graphics, audio, video and PowerPoint lecture notes.

• A compact format resulting in higher resolution courseware, enhanced scanning capabilities and the ability to place three hours of lecture on a single disc.

• Internet supported components that are highly interactive.

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Engineering Outreach delivers the classroom directly to your home or workstation via DVD, CD, the Internet, high-quality video, and interactive videoconferencing. Now you can take classes wherever and whenever it’s convenient for you!

• Pursue or complete a graduate degree • Enhance your professional opportunities • More than 80 courses offered each semester

Complete Distance-Delivered Graduate Degree Programs Computer Science Mechanical Engineering Teaching Mathematics Electrical Engineering Engineering Management Psychology (Human Factors) Biological and Agricultural Engineering Geological Engineering Civil Engineering Computer Engineering

Certificate and Short Course Programs Available, too!

www.uidaho.edu/eo • 1-800-824-2889 outreach@uidaho.edu

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SPRING 2003 • VOLUME 20, NUMBER 2

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M A G A Z I N E

Features 8

Lionel Hampton Center The dream is becoming a reality

Alumni Association President Jan Selberg University of Idaho Foundation President J. Patrick McMurray

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President’s Annual Report 2002 — the year in review

Editor Jeff Olson Magazine Design Julene Ewert Illustrations Nathan Nielson Julene Ewert

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Research University UI moves into the fast lane

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Class Notes Editor Angela Helmke Writers and Contributors Hugh Cooke Kathy Barnard Leslie Einhaus Karma Metzler Fitzgerald Nancy Hilliard Dan Hunt Judy LaLonde Greg M. Laragan Bill Loftus Julie Pipal

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University Acting President Brian Pitcher

Director of University Communications and Marketing Bob Hieronymus

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University President Robert A. Hoover

Vice President for University Advancement Joanne Carr

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HERE WE HAVE

Here We Have Idaho The University of Idaho Magazine

U N I V E R S I T Y

Transportation research that moves you

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Slinging Hash The history of hashers

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UI in Boise All in the family

Photographs as credited

The University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/ affirmative action employer and educational institution. © 2003, University of Idaho Here We Have Idaho magazine is supported by private funds from the University of Idaho Foundation, Inc. Published three times a year in January, April and August, the magazine is free to alumni and friends of the university. ❚ Send address changes to: PO Box 443147, Moscow, ID 83844-3147. ❚ Send information, Class Notes and correspondence regarding alumni activities to: Angela Helmke, Alumni Office, University of Idaho, PO Box 443232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232. ❚ Send editorial correspondence to: University Communications and Marketing, University of Idaho, PO Box 443221, Moscow, ID 83844-3221; phone (208) 885-6291; fax (208) 885-5841; e-mail uinews@uidaho.edu .

Departments 5

Calendar of Events

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Campus News

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Quest

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Class Notes

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Vandal Sports

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To Be Considered

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38 On the Cover: Illustration by Nathan Nielson

SPRING

We welcome letters to the editor. Correspondence should include the writer’s full name, address and daytime phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for purposes of clarity or space.

2003

Letter Policy

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IDAHO HERE WE HAVE

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‘Vandal Spirit’ is a tall bearded iris developed by hybridizer Robert Schreiner of Salem, Ore. Schreiner named the iris for its black and gold colors and released it for sale in 1988 to honor the University of Idaho Centennial. It is no longer commercially available. However, the iris can be seen on campus in front of the Administration Building when it blooms in mid to late May. This watercolor painting is by Marie H. Whitesel ’38. Her watercolor paintings depicting Idaho landscapes have been shown at the New York World’s Fair and the Denver Art Museum, as well as many shows at the UI Student Union Building and Idaho Commons. She also is an active UI supporter, and serves on several university and college advisory boards.

From the President

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July - August

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Commencements May 8 UI-Idaho Falls May 10 UI-Boise May 12 UI-Coeur d’Alene May 17 UI-Moscow June 3-6 — FFA Career Development Event June13-14 — McCall alumni gathering with Vandal/Bronco Golf Challenge June 19 — Seattle alumni gathering with Seattle Mariners vs Anaheim Angels at Safeco Field June 20-July 27 — Idaho Repertory Theater June 23-28 — State 4-H Convention June 23-July 11 — 50th Public Utilities Executives Course July 28 — Buhl Pig Out Aug. 25 — Fall semester begins Aug. 30 — Seattle alumni gathering with Seattle Mariners vs Baltimore Orioles at Safeco Field, 1:05 p.m.

Aug. 30 — Football - UI vs. Washington State University at Seattle

Sept. 5-6 — Dads’ Weekend Oct. 11 — Homecoming

September - October

2003

Brian Pitcher Acting President

COMING EVENTS

SPRING

From its inception as Idaho’s land-grant institution, the University of Idaho has been charged with the development and dissemination of new knowledge. For more than a century, UI faculty members and students have spent a portion of their time conducting research in every academic area — agriculture and engineering, education and the social sciences, business and law, and the arts and humanities.

Today, UI is ranked among the top research institutions in the country. In most cases, that research is not supported with state dollars, but with grant and contract dollars UI faculty have competed for and won. In fact, we anticipate topping $100 million in competitive external grants and contracts this fiscal year.

This issue of “Here We Have Idaho” celebrates those research accomplishments. UI research is one of the state’s larger economic enterprises. It is the equivalent of a $100-million business that impacts every major industry in the state. It employs more than 3,500 people at locations throughout Idaho. It is key to the economic development of the state, and it enriches the education of students, both undergraduate and graduate.

A primary goal of the UI’s Strategic Plan is to be “globally competitive in selected areas of research.” Thanks to the support of our faculty, staff and students we are making measurable progress toward accomplishing that goal.

I also want to recognize another segment of our UI community; the men and women serving in the armed forces who have been called to action in the war in Iraq.

Their commitment to our country and our freedoms is immeasurable, and our thoughts are with them and their families.

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CAMPUS NEWS

TODAY@IDAHO For daily UI news stories, go to www.today.uidaho.edu

The College of Education has been awarded $3 million in federal Department of Education grants to help adults in Idaho and 10 Northwest Nations achieve their higher-education dreams.

Counselors in Coeur d’Alene, Moscow and Boise will assist eligible participants with career advice, financial aid information, and assistance to apply for college.

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

The first building of the University Place project in Boise now is under construction. With the slowing economy and questions over the project’s financing, UI is considering ways of phasing the proposed six-building, $135 million complex over a longer period of time. The State Board of Education has commissioned an independent review of the financing and management of the project.

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The Spokane Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested a UI graduate student in late February. Sami Omar AlHussayen, a 33-year-old Ph.D. student in computer science, was charged with seven counts of visa fraud and four counts of making false statements regarding his role with the Detroit, Michigan-based Islamic Assembly of North America. A federal court trial in Boise is pending.

Nathan Fox with his chair of spikes.

Amy Jacobsen designed a curvy, white vinyl sculptured chair.

Chair Affair winners are sitting pretty Two architecture students designed their way to top awards at the 2002 Chair Affair competition in Boise.

Nathan Fox of Spokane, Wash., received the “Best Creative Design” Award. Amy Jacobsen of Oregon City, Ore., won the “Best Sculptural Design” Award. The chairs were created in a furniture design class taught by Steve Thurston.

Fox designed a chair with a mahogany frame supported by a seat of nails featuring a grid panel with long, steel spikes penetrating upward on one-inch centers. “The result is a paradoxical statement of perceptual discomfort and spiritual endurance,” Thurston said. “It also is a legitimate scientific study of pressure points, delivering true and elegant comfort.”

Jacobsen designed a chair with four elfin, aluminum legs that stretch out and grip the floor while supporting a delicately rotund, white vinyl body.

The Chair Affair is an annual design competition hosted by the Interior Designers of Idaho. Each year, a small jury of design industry professionals decide the winners.

Submissions are received from design students and professionals from throughout the Northwest.

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College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean Larry Branen has stepped down. He has begun a new role as a research faculty member in UI’s Center for Advanced Microelectronics and Biomolecular Research (CAMBRE) at Coeur d’Alene. Branen also will continue as an associate vice president for research and outreach.

Michael Weiss is serving as acting dean while the college conducts a search for a new dean.

UI Photo Services

University of Idaho alumnae and students gathered in February to celebrate and reminisce 50 years of life in the Ethel Steel House, Idaho’s only remaining “cooperative” residence hall.

Steel House opened in 1953 and was patterned after the earlier men’s engineering cooperative that began during the Depression.

More students — quality students Enrollment for spring semester is up by approximately 4.2 percent, and the majority of that growth is in areas where the UI has the most capacity — upper division and graduate courses. Statewide enrollment grew from 11,949 last spring to 12,446 this spring. It is the first time spring enrollment at the institution has topped the 12,000 mark.

UI also enrolled eight new National Merit Scholarship recipients this year. That is the third highest enrollment of these high-achieving students at public universities in the Pacific Northwest.

It brings the total of National Merit Scholars enrolled at UI to 31.

CAMPUS NEWS

Survey says “UI has quality education” According to a recent survey, 96 percent of graduating seniors at the University of Idaho are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the quality of education they received at the University of Idaho.

This year, 92 percent of the 1,487 eligible seniors applying for a degree from August or December 2001 and May 2002 completed the survey. The university has conducted the Graduating Senior Survey since 1992.

Student loans, summer job earnings and parents/guardians continued to be the primary source of funding for students pursuing an education. Even so, the number of students receiving scholarships continues to rise. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed received scholarships. Eighty-three percent of graduating seniors polled were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with costs associated with attending the university.

Additionally, the students were asked about their post-graduation plans. The survey showed that 54 percent reported they expect to be “employed full-time in their major field,” while 27 percent will continue their education at the graduate level or pursue certificates.

Four commencement ceremonies are planned around the state to honor students receiving degrees at the end of spring semester.

May 8 - UI Idaho Falls, 7:30 p.m., Colonial Theater at the Willard Arts Center. Speaker: Blake Hall, president of the State Board of Education. President’s Medallion recipient: Idaho Falls Mayor Linda Milam May 10 - UI Boise, 3 p.m., Boise Center on the Grove.

President’s Medallion recipient: Esther Simplot May 12 - UI Coeur d’Alene, 7:30 p.m. NIC Schuler Auditorium in Boswell Hall. Speaker: Coeur d’Alene Mayor Sandy Bloem. President’s Medallion recipient: Father Tom Connelly May 17 - UI Moscow, 9:30 a.m., Kibbie-ASUI Activity Center. Speaker: Peggy Phillips, adviser to Amgen and former vice president of Immunex.

Honorary degree recipients: Don Jacklin, Doyle Jacklin, Duane Jacklin, Gary Michael and Sam Penney.

SPRING

UI celebrates 2003 May Commencements

President George W. Bush has appointed Jean’ne M. Shreeve, a UI professor of chemistry, to serve as chairman of the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science through 2004.

The committee nominates recipients of the nation’s highest honor for scientists. Shreeve, a 42year member of the UI faculty, presided over the university’s research endeavors for 12 years until 2000 when she stepped down as vice president for research and graduate studies to return to the laboratory.

The University Research Foundation recently licensed the use of a patented process developed by Shreeve and colleagues to manufacture reagents useful in the manufacture of chemicals, agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Her accomplishments in fluorine chemistry have led to more than 340 refereed technical publications, and several national and international awards for teaching and research.

2003

Shreeve appointed to chair President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science

UI is economic powerhouse in Latah County The University of Idaho is the leading industry in Latah County, contributing 49 percent — nearly $500 million a year — in sales, according to an ecomomic impact study.

Commissioned by UI, the study was conducted by Steven Peterson, research economist for agricultural economics at UI and lecturer for the Department of Business, and economics Professor Michael DiNoto, also in the Department of Business.

“The University of Idaho was the largest component of the economic base of Latah County,” the study reads.

“Contributing 49 percent of all sales in Latah County ($499 million), 54 percent of value-added output ($348 million), 54 percent of the employment (10,288 jobs), 55 percent of all earnings ($261 million) and 47 percent of indirect business taxes ($18.5 million).”

Overall, the researchers say higher education — including UI, Washington State University and Lewis-Clark State College — is a “billion dollar business” in Latah, Whitman, Nez Perce and Asotin counties. “When the economic impacts of all the major colleges and universities of the Quad County region were totaled, they produced $1.131 billion in sales; $279 million in value added; $585 million in earnings, and 24,097 jobs.”

Jean’ne M. Shreeve

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CAMPUS NEWS

Watercolor renderings by F. M. Costantino

UI Joins Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

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esar Pelli & Associates of New Haven, Conn., will oversee the planning, design and construction of the $40 million Lionel Hampton Center Education and Performance Facility. The building will support the UI’s Lionel Hampton School of Music, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival and International Jazz Collections.

The architects delivered a pre-design concept of the new building and made campus presentations in January and numerous presentations during the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.

The pre-design of the facility includes: • 70,000 square feet of space, • classroom and rehearsal spaces, • an interactive music library, • archival space for the International Jazz Collections, • Jazz Festival administrative offices, • a jazz café, • a Jazz Alley central hallway, • an education and performance hall with flexible seating for up to 800.

The building will be located adjacent to the current Lionel Hampton School of Music Building. An entrance on Blake Avenue will tie the academic programs to campus. The performance hall will face Sweet Avenue, and provide a connection to the community. The hall will become the primary venue for Lionel Hampton School of Music student, faculty and guest artist concerts.

In February, the Lionel Hampton Center received a $1.6 million federal appropriation from the U. S. Congress. Planning of the facility now will proceed to the schematic design and design development phases, where design concepts will be refined, materials selected, and the building will begin to take final shape and form.

The University of Idaho’s Lionel Hampton Center and College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences have been accepted into the Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program. Representatives from UI and the Smithsonian made the announcement during the UI’s Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.

As an affiliate, UI will receive access to the more than 142 million objects in the Smithsonian’s collections, which includes items in the Jazz History Collection housed in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The program allows affiliates to incorporate Smithsonian collections into their exhibition, educational and research efforts.

UI also can utilize Smithsonian outreach initiatives, such as curriculum development for local schools, traveling exhibitions, workshops and lectures given by Smithsonian scholars and scientists. In addition, the Smithsonian can provide expertise in areas of conservation, collections care and exhibition development.

The College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences will be able to take advantage of student internships and faculty research opportunities. The International Jazz Collections also will benefit from the affiliation.

“Given the significant collection of jazz ephemera at the Smithsonian, as well as here at the International Jazz Collections, and the great scope of the humanities, history and arts represented in both institutions, we are tremendously excited about the partnership opportunities that can occur as a result of our affiliate status,” said Lewis Ricci, director of the International Jazz Collections.

UI is the first Smithsonian affiliate in Idaho, and regionally it joins the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, Wash., in the program. I

QUEST Universit y of Idaho research news

Fire and rain

UI glaciologist Vladimir Aizen ventured where few glaciologists have gone before in his quest to understand climate change: the eastern Himalayas in southern Tibet.

The six-week expedition in late 2002 took Aizen, UI grad student Daniel Joswiak and other scientists where Tibet, Myanmar and China intersect. The area is influenced by the Pacific and Indian oceans, making its massive ice cap a particularly sensitive record of climate change.

The region’s fate affects a large share of the world’s population because the glaciers feed the headwaters of some of Asia’s greatest rivers — India’s Brahmaputra, China’s Yangtze and Myanmar’s Mekong.

Southern Tibet contains some of the most extensive glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere, Aizen said. The difficulty of reaching the area and contested political boundaries deflected earlier exploration.

Illustrations by Nathan Nielson

2003

Farming in space will take more than a green thumb. For one thing, potting soil is out.

UI soil physicist Markus Tuller is digging into the problem as part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Utah State, Kansas State and Case Western Reserve universities, the University of Connecticut and NASA. Tuller joined other team members at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston this winter to begin testing synthetic materials that might mimic future materials useful for growing plants in space.

Past problems for microgravity farming stemmed from air pockets around roots, which need contact with water and nutrients.

The team started testing aboard NASA’s “Vomit Comet,” a jet aircraft flying steep parabolic arcs, capitalizing on 25 seconds of near weightlessness during each diving descent.

Once the $1.5 million study of how pore sizes affect fluid flow and similar issues bears fruit, the team has a loftier goal: building a rooting module to test aboard the International Space Station.

Even ice caps have a climate

SPRING

Space sprouts

Elemental conflicts such as fire management and water use in Western states reflect one basic fact: the collision between people’s desires and environmental realities. Those collisions will shape the region’s future, notes Gary Machlis, UI professor of forest resources and National Park Service visiting senior scientist.

In February, Machlis led a symposium he organized for this year’s annual meeting of the American Association for Advancement of Science, which drew 6,000 researchers to Denver in February.

UI forest ecologist Penelope Morgan, a member of the symposium panel, said people’s actions and climate shifts have changed the effects of forest fires and the region’s ecosystems.

The West always has been and will remain a fire environment, Morgan said.

People’s response should reflect both that reality and that the region’s ecosystem has been altered.

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2002 in Review President’s Annual Report

“Thanks to the hard work “We can be proud of the

of dedicated students,

progress we’ve made in

faculty, staff, alumni and

the context of these

other friends, we are Vandal Trolley

making steady progress on

difficult times.”

Jazz artist Russell Malone

accomplishing the goals of the UI Strategic Plan.”

— Bob Hoover

Benny and Mary Anne Blick

January

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

A state holdback for fiscal year 2002-03 resulted in colleges and divisions cutting their budgets by between 5.5 and 10 percent.

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The Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences celebrates its centennial year.

Benny and Mary Anne Blick of Castleford receive the Alumni Association’s Jim Lyle Award for their dedication and service to UI.

February The Center for Advanced Microelectronics Biomolecular Research Center, led by Gary Maki, returns to UI, housed at the UI Research Park in Post Falls. The center will focus on electronic biomolecular technology research.

The Lionel Hampton Center receives a $1million federal appropriation to begin predesign work on the planned Lionel Hampton Center Education and Performance Facility.

The Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival is listed in the Chicago Tribune in the column “Lots to do in 2002.”

An economic impact study on the jazz festival shows the fourday event pumps more than $4 million into the regional economy each year.

Student musicians from more than 180 schools across the U.S. attend the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.

Lionel Hampton makes his final appearance on stage.

March

— Bob Hoover

The Center for Research on Processes in Evolution is created through a $10.2 National Institutes for Health grant.

Steven B. Daley Laursen returns to his alma mater as dean of the College of Natural Resources.

UI doctoral student David Alexander is one of 33 students in the nation honored as Outstanding Students of the Year by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

A continuing budget shortfall results in university reorganization. A College of Science is created by incorporating the College of Mines and Earth Resources with science departments from the College of Letters and Science.

Humanities programs in the College of Letters and Science join with the College of Art and Architecture to become the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences.

The Vandal Trolley debuts on campus. It’s a 30-seat shuttle bus that runs on biodiesel fuel.

Helen Ruguru Muchira

April More than 150 faculty and staff opt for an early retirement program created to meet ongoing budget problems.

Former ASUI Vice President Buck Samuel is included in USA Today’s annual “All-USA College Academic” team, the newpaper’s student recognition program.

Helen Ruguru Muchira of Moscow is named UI Mom of the Year.

Three students in the College of Natural Resources receive national Morris K. Udall Foundation scholarships.

Y

ou no doubt have read felt the downturn in the

national economy and heard of its impact on higher education. Those same conditions

impacted Idaho and the University of Idaho in 2002. It was a year of dramatic funding challenges for all of state government, including higher education. UI dealt with a 10 percent budget cut and continues to struggle with ongoing funding issues.

In spite of those challenges, however, I am very pleased to share with you a list of some very significant accomplishments of 2002. Thanks to the hard work of dedicated students, faculty, staff, alumni and other friends, we are making steady

Bob Hoover

progress on accomplishing the goals of the UI Strategic Plan — to become a residential campus of choice, to become globally competitive in selected areas of research and to expand our outreach in both capacity and content.

Lionel Hampton

August Private giving to UI reached a record high for fiscal year 2002 — $32.7 million.

May

June

UI Coeur d’Alene

A. Larry Branen, UI vice president for outreach, and Maurice E. Johnson, extension professor of agriculture emeritus, are initial inductees of the National 4-H Hall of Fame.

Jan Selberg of San Diego, Calif., is elected president of the UI Alumni Association.

July

More than 1,500 students receive degrees at May commencement ceremonies statewide. Including degrees awarded at December commencement ceremonies, the number of degrees for the year is more than 2,460.

UI Athletic Department launches the Vandal Victory campaign to build a financial foundation to guarantee long-term Division 1-A viability and success.

Donald L. Burnett, Jr. becomes dean of the College of Law. National Jurist Magazine lists the UI College of Law among its Top 10 “Best Schools for Your Money.”

President Bob Hoover announces he will leave the institution within the next year. A week later, flanked by Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, legislative leaders and members of the Idaho Board of Education, Hoover says he’ll remain in his position.

UI Coeur d’Alene moves into new facilities in the Harbor Center Building.

Renovation of the University Classroom Center is put on hold because of the state budget situation. The poor physical condition of the facility forces it to go off line.

UI soil scientist Daniel Strawn receives the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President George W. Bush.

Fall enrollment is a record — 12,423 students statewide.

Namesake for the UI’s School of Music and Jazz Festival, Lionel Hampton, passes away at age 94 in New York City.

2003

College of Law earns top ranking

SPRING

Commencement

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For me, the crowning achievement of 2002 was being named among the Top 50 public universities in the country by Kiplinger Magazine. UI was ranked 48th in the nation based on quality and value. Breaking into the Top 50 reflects the ongoing growth and improvement the university continues to make.

We can be proud of the progress we’ve made in the context of these difficult times. It has J. A. Albertson Building dedication

October

been a team effort that positions us well as the future unfolds.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranks UI as one of America’s Top 50 universities based on quality and value.

Sincerely,

English professors Kim Barnes and Mary Clearman Blew attend a White House symposium on “Women of the West,” organized by First Lady Laura Bush.

Bob Hoover

UI’s fight song is ranked the No. 1 college fight song in the country by a Portland Oregonian columnist.

Jacklin Science and Technology Building in Post Falls

September

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

The Jacklin Science and Technology Building at the UI Research Park in Post Falls is dedicated.

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UI alumnus Dale N. Bosworth, chief of the U.S. Forest Service, delivers the James A. McClure Lecture on Science and Public Policy.

U.S. News & World Report lists UI among the top national, doctoral-granting universities in the country.

A ceremony is held marking the beginning of construction of the Living and Learning Community, a new campus residential facility that will house as many as 600 students.

Jenny Brooks, an interior architecture student from Helena, Mont., is chosen Homecoming Queen. Josh King, an economics major from Spokane, Wash., is Homecoming King.

The J.A. Albertson Building, home to the College of Business and Economics, is dedicated. It is the first campus building to be financed entirely through private and corporate donations.

Bob and Jeanne Hoover Cesar Pelli

December

November UI receives a $4 million gift from Idaho rancher Harry Bettis and the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation. It is the year’s largest contribution to UI.

UI alumnus J. Richard Rock, who was instrumental in developing the e-commerce website “eBay,” is the December Commencement speaker. More than 650 students are awarded degrees.

Internationally recognized architect Cesar Pelli is selected to design the Lionel Hampton Center Education and Performance Facility.

The Campaign for Idaho celebrates raising more than $128 million in four-and-onehalf years. The original goal was $100 million in six years.

UI research moves into the fast lane

T

By Bill Loftus

he stars are aligned to guide the University of Idaho’s scientific and scholarly enterprise across a significant threshold this fiscal year: $100 million in research funding.

SPRING

2003

That’s nearly $2 million a week flowing through the university to destinations throughout Idaho. The projects range from basic research that enhances our fundamental understanding of the world to applied research to answer specific problems.

Charles R. Hatch, UI vice president for research, expects the trend will hold through June, the end of the university’s fiscal year.

“I’m pretty confident that we’ll make $100 million,” he said. “The likelihood of us staying on target is pretty good.”

That target was chosen five years ago when the university adopted its strategic plan, which set a goal for Idaho to join the nation’s top research universities. “If you look at the list of the top 100 research universities,” Hatch said, “you have to be in excess of $100 million to get into that group.”

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Phil Schofield

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

Barbara Williams, professor of biological and agricultural engineering, and Becky Rule, biological systems engineering undergraduate student, analyze nanoparticles to answer questions about how contaminants or bacteria move through the groundwater.

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That strategic goal was set when the UI’s research enterprise generated $30 to $40 million a year in grants and contracts. Hatch’s analysis of this year’s funding so far shows the university will win some $80 to $85 million in competitive research funding by the fiscal year’s end.

The addition of some $25 million in appropriated funding from state and federal sources brings the $100 million target well within reach.

The signs that this would be a banner fiscal year started early. In July 2002, the University Research Office booked $11,260,380 in grant awards, the first time UI posted a $10 million-plus month. October produced another.

Then January rolled in at more than $9 million, itself a record month in any year previous. Every month this year, in fact, was a record setter. With nearly twothirds of the year gone, Hatch began to feel comfortable making his prediction.

The $100 million threshold, although clearly important and substantial financially, is less important than the story behind it, Hatch believes.

Major grants during the year included $1.65 million to provide employee education at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental

Laboratory in eastern Idaho. A $925,000 federal grant will support construction of the new UI Center for Science and Technology there.

Other major projects include a $750,000 federal grant to establish the International Jazz Collections. Faculty in the social sciences, business, arts and law also bring significant grants to campus to fund their scholarly work.

More than $1 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will fund the search for a fix to environmental selenium contamination.

The results resemble more a powerful engine than a jackpot win. Still, good fortune rewarded diligent work. There are large projects that dramatically raised the total. Four major projects from the National Institutes of Health Institutional Development Award program will contribute nearly $30 million over the five-year span that began in 2000.

The NIH grants focus on research as diverse as infectious diseases and bioinformatics, the blending of computer science and biology. Another project focuses on improving the statewide biomedical research network through cooperative efforts by UI, Idaho State University and Boise State University.

The grants also reflect the success of the statewide National Science Foundation-funded Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), which builds Idaho’s research capability and boosts the competitiveness of its researchers. NIH’s IDeA program is that agency’s version of EPSCoR. Last year, Idaho EPSCoR yielded $9 million to support researchers statewide focused on nanotechnology, neuro-fuzzy soft computing and biocomplexity in extreme environments.

Hatch notes prospects are good that NSF’s budget will double during the next five years. That could help UI continue its growth, much as Congress’ decision four years ago to begin a five-year doubling of the National Institutes of Health budget.

Students statewide benefit from the NIH projects through paid research fellowships to work with researchers in the university laboratories for the summer. Twenty-eight students participated last summer, earning stipends of $5,000 for their 10-week research experiences. The payback may be more tangible and immediate than one might expect.

UI graduate student Patricia Gardner

dance and the idea of working with the physiology of the body, and being able to do some mechanical engineering work appealed to me,” Gardner said. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biological systems engineering from UI last year.

Patents flow from the UI research routinely. During the last decade, 54 patents have been issued for UI inventions to the Idaho Research Foundation, a non-profit entity formed to oversee technological transfer of inventions by UI faculty, staff and students.

UI research has produced inventions ranging from bacterial cultures that can be used as a biological pesticide to a simpler process for producing fluorinebased reagents that are expected to make the production of agrochemical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical chemicals more efficient.

Among the most prolific UI inventors

UI Patents Since 1976, research efforts of UI faculty and staff have resulted in nearly 80 patents, 54 of those In the last 10 years. Some examples include: 4,554,256 Antigen associated with early detection of mammalian pregnancy, to R. Garth Sasser and William C. Hamilton, 1983 4,839,851 Programmable data path device to Gary K. Maki, 1987 5,225,173 Methods and devices for the separation of radioactive rare earth metal isotopes from their alkaline earth metal precursors to Chien M. Wai, 1991 5,785,246 Variable flow sprinkler head to Bradley A. King, Gary L. Foster, Dennis C. Kincaid and Rodney B. Wood, 1996 6,136,706 Process for making titanium to Vadim J. Jabotinski and Francis H. Froes, 1999 6,348,639 Biological system for degrading nitroaromatics in water and soil to Donald L. Crawford, Todd O. Stevens and Ronald L. Crawford, 2000

2003

Patricia Gardner, Norma Bishop, Dr. Wayne Ruby and Bob Stephens are co-inventors of patentpending infant restraint device that promises to make the youngest patients more comfortable.

have been Ron and Don Crawford, twin microbiologists who have received the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s highest honor for their career achievements.

Their joint work to develop a new process for cleaning up hazardous waste sites contaminated with TNT residues, mostly military testing ranges, yielded an industrial-strength side benefit.

A major manufacturer of explosives used for seismic exploration licensed the Crawford’s invention to produce biodegradeable charges called Green Energetics. The charges literally clean up after themselves once they detonate.

Charges that fail to explode automatically decompose to harmless materials.

The university’s patents underscore the ability and determination of UI researchers to address real-world problems. Bringing the products to market through licensing the inventions is the foundation’s goal, said Gene Merrell, UI assistant vice president for research and chief technology transfer officer.

The foundation, the inventors and the inventors’ colleges split the revenues with 60 percent remaining with the foundation and the college. Last year, the licensing generated nearly $200,000 that was used to fund additional research and technology transfer.

Merrell expects licensing revenues to show substantial growth in coming years.

One key is expected to be a new bovine pregnancy test that relies partly on technology patented by animal science professor Troy Ott. It is expected to appeal to dairy producers worldwide.

For Hatch, the diverse nature of the university’s research portfolio bodes well.

Last year, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences researchers won $17.2 million in competitive grants.

The College of Natural Resources brought in nearly $9.3 million. The rechristened College of Science, the College of Education and College of Engineering each topped $6 million.

The university’s researchers work hard to win the research funding. In each of the past three years, scientists and administrators throughout the state submitted more than 900 proposals annually. Two-thirds were funded, a major league batting average over .600, and the makings of a championship season. I

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UI Photo Services

is co-inventor of a patent-pending infant restraint device that promises to make the youngest patients more comfortable.

She was among the first crop of undergraduates who worked in university labs last summer in the NIH Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network project.

She was supervised on her project by UI mechanical engineering professor Bob Stephens, and collaborated with Dr. Wayne Ruby and nurse Norma Bishop.

“This was a unique project for me.

Most of my work has been in bioremediation and working with microbes. But I have a background in

15

Research that moves you World-class Transportation Center Puts UI on the Map

HERE WE HAVE IDAHO

By Nancy Hilliard

16

“Idaho’s significant growth places heavy traffic loads on urban streets and adjacent rural highways and communities. These corridors must constantly be monitored, assessed and managed to increase trade, tourism, travel and communication.”

Idaho Transportation Department Strategic Plan

On a heavy traffic day in Idaho, as many as 100,000 vehicles pound the pavement on I-84 between Meridian and Boise, yet as few as 10 vehicles might be traveling on a country road. Collectively, vehicles using Idaho’s 46,310 miles of roads drive millions of miles a day on city streets, rural roads, and state, U.S. and interstate highways.

An army of agencies is called upon to keep them moving. Many turn to UI’s National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology to help solve some of the toughest snarls and management issues.

UI’s NIATT, one of 33 university transportation centers in the U.S., is an institute that provides $2 million in annual research, development and education on traffic control, road improvements and clean vehicle

technology. The institute helps train state personnel, researches solutions and develops new technology to make the going smoother.

Some of its projects already at work are Ada County’s intelligent transportation system, Moscow’s integrated traffic signal system, tools to help redesign two-lane rural highways, improvements on roadside erosion, pavements, hazard control and bridge reconstruction on the “Time Zone Bridge” near Riggins.

The institute also focuses on alternative fuels and vehicles to save energy and reduce air pollution. The Clean Snowmobile, FutureTruck, Formula Car, Hybrid Electric Vehicles, BioBug and non-fossil fuels and technologies have captured the attention of industry and government. One of their most enthusiastic advocates is Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, who

NIATT’s Driving Force — Mike Kyte

internships, expand its traffic-signal workshops and support more student involvement in clean-vehicle technology.

They will increase efforts in diversity recruitment, research on Homeland Security issues that apply to transportation, and support regional efforts to identify training and education the needs for the next-generation of traffic operations.

“Mike’s a great partner,” says Jim Ross, ITD acting director. “He keeps in touch with all of us in the industry and genuinely wants to make a better world with cleaner air and transportation efficiencies.”

Lance Johnson, ITD’s state traffic engineer, says Kyte “goes out of his way to help us train district staff and provide materials for designers. Traffic Signal Summer Workshop is a superior hands-on learning experience for our personnel.

“The best example of Mike’s dedication is that on his sabbatical next year, he plans to travel to various agencies to learn more about the ‘big-picture’ of transportation problems,” Johnson said.

Meanwhile the director quietly builds alliances with other states, universities, industries and government. He juggles several meetings a day, seeks grants, teaches and advises graduate students, cochairs the Road Builders Clinic and the alliance of all 33 University Transportation Center directors.

While Kyte’s work isn’t high profile, it gratifies the systems engineer, whose passion is moving things toward their destination safely and efficiently. His legacy to his three grandchildren will be ensuring they can breathe cleaner air and travel safer roads.

Not inconsequential gifts.

2003

Michael Kyte

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enjoys test-driving the cars and spreading the word about them at government gatherings.

NIATT’s outreach arm, the Idaho Technology Transfer (T2) Center with staff in Boise and Moscow, assists and trains local and state transportation agencies and workers.

The latest technologies and procedures are shared at workshops and through a library of publications about such topics as culvert repair, flagging, surveying, road building and grading, asphalt innovations and more.

“The best part of our work is providing students with real-world engineering experience while they work on new technology for government and industry,” says Michael Kyte, NIATT director. He particularly enjoys watching NIATT students take their places in the industry workforce.

“NIATT and its director have significantly contributed to the transportation industry in research and development of high-tech products, projects and problems,” says Jim Ross, acting director of the Idaho Transportation Department.

“Idaho transportation is better off because of them. We’re more efficient using their computer-aided design materials; traffic moves quicker because of their automated signal controls; and their electric vehicle research lessens the nation’s dependency on fossil fuels.” I

As a youth, Michael Kyte spent much of his spare time watching airplanes take off and land at Los Angeles International Airport. He says it was the choreography that mesmerized him — the “large-scale movement of the transportation system.”

Growing up in that car and freeway capital and spending another decade of service with Portland, Oregon’s public transit system, ultimately landed him at the helm of one of the nation’s 33 university transportation research centers.

Today, Kyte directs the dynamics of 158 faculty, staff and students associated with UI’s National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology as its 50 projects take off and land. As the research center’s leader for the past nine years, he and the NIATT team work with industry and government to address transportation problems.

“Even smaller communities like Moscow don’t run out of challenges,” he says of their traffic snarls, road and vehicle needs. He contends that traffic controls and routing, bridge repairs, hazard control, terrorism safeguards, emissions and road stress testing, pavement innovation and vehicle efficiency are needed everywhere.

Kyte’s mileposts in the past 12 years include helping license an automated traffic controller device — NIATT’s first commercial product, shepherding research and development in clean vehicles and fuels, seeing research transform into solutions and helping prepare new leaders of the transportation industry.

He realized the university was on the national radar screen “when I received the phone call from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1992, notifying us that we had been selected to lead a national study of unsignalized intersections after an intense national competition.” The work on traffic flow at unsignalized intersections also was included in the Highway Capacity Manual, a primary guidebook for transportation engineers throughout the world.

His latest thrill came last May, when the U.S. DOT informed Kyte that NIATT had won another national competition to continue its work in clean vehicle technology and traffic control. The payoff was $2 million in new funding.

With this money, Kyte and his team will double the number of student

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Moving HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

NIATT Helps KeepMotors Running, Traffic Moving

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By Nancy Hilliard

B

y the time roads and bridges are built today, they often are already at capacity, says NIATT director Michael Kyte. “So our research must come up with strategies to improve their flow, get through lights faster and devise emergency access solutions.”

“We also seek ways to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by research and testing of bio-fuels, hybrid electric technologies and other alternative power sources and technologies.”

Toward those ends, NIATT works on a number of innovative transportation projects.

Intelligent Transportation Systems Led by civil engineer Ahmed Abdel-Rahim, research is underway on Ada County’s I-84 corridor to identify areas where crashes most often occur, to test traffic signal control strategies to improve traffic flow, and evaluate emergency vehicle response time so traffic can get moving more quickly again. Similarly, a $3 million project with Moscow’s traffic signal systems enables NIATT to update its laboratories and replicate Moscow’s 15 traffic signals and test new strategies in a lab environment rather than on the road.

The centerpiece of this traffic control research is the NIATT/McCain Controller Interface Device, NIATT’s first commercial product developed by electrical and computer engineer Brian Johnson and 25 other NIATT faculty members and students. It resembles a flight simulator for road traffic signal systems. It allows traffic engineers to finetune and synchronize traffic controls under actual intersection conditions without risking traffic disruptions.

Fifteen of these CIDs and other equipment have expanded the capacity of NIATT’s traffic controller lab, “making it the best facility of its kind in the world,” said Kyte. The CIDs are used for the annual week-long Traffic Signal Summer Workshop for 12 top traffic engineering students from across the country.

Beneath the Surface Beyond the traffic lie management challenges for roads and underlying structures. Roadsides need to be stabilized, pavements improved, hazards controlled, forecasts devised, heavy loads managed and more. Such projects are on NIATT’s Center for Transportation Infrastructure agenda.

A roadside vegetation management plan was developed by James Kingery, natural resources, to stabilize soil, erosion and slope maintenance. Diverse native perennials are being “nursed” to determine which combat weeds and hold soil to avoid costly and dangerous slides.

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Forecasting future road usage and flow is the purview of Mike Dixon, civil engineering, who licensed a transportation planning software tool, TRANSIMS. It was developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and UI is one of its first users for education and research.

BONNER Ponderay Hope

Sandpoint

Clark Fork

Priest River

Pend Oreille Lake

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Athol KOOTENAI

Hayden

Coeur d' Alene Kellogg

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St. Maries

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Bridge research and design are the realms of Edwin Schmeckpeper and Richard Nielsen, civil engineering. They find causes of concrete bridge deck cracking, monitor stresses in the Goff (Time Zone) Bridge, contribute to a joint bridge management system called PONTIS (Latin for bridge), and help upgrade the ITD pre-stressed bridge girder design program.

Potlatch LATAH

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Elk River

CLEARWATER

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Boise

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Right-of-way proximity damage, costs for land acquisition, impacts of tax structures regarding heavy vehicle user fees are part of the work done by agricultural economists Jim Nelson and James Jones.

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Rockfall hazard prevention is the focus of Stanley Miller, geological engineering. A recent survey identified stretches of Idaho highway with the worst problems for motorists.

They are Hwy 12 from Lewiston through Lolo Pass, Hwy 95/55 from Grangeville to Boise, Hwy 75 from Stanley to Challis, and Hwy 93 by Salmon. ITD now has the data for roadway planning to reduce rockfall hazards.

LEMHI

Montpelier BEAR LAKE

Preston

St. Charles

FRANKLIN

Pavement design software and new mix design procedures are developed by pavement researchers under Fouad Bayomy, civil engineering. They help Idaho engineers with state-of-the-art pavement practices.

2003

Rathdrum

Post Falls

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Managing weight limits of heavy trucks on highways is addressed by James Frenzel, in electrical and computer engineering.

He developed a prototype process for truckers to enforce their own limits.

Digital cameras could image trucks along the road, and farther down the highway a roadside screen would remind drivers of the weight limit, according to axle size.

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Ve h i c l e s , f u e l s w i t h a f u t u r e

A

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle has become the newest symbol for UI’s efforts in biodiesel research. The BioBug first appeared on campus in 2001. “We wanted to demonstrate that common passenger cars can operate on biodiesel in an efficient manner,” says Charles Peterson, professor of agricultural engineering. The vehicle runs on 100 percent biodiesel with no modifications to the engine. The research, in cooperation with Jack Brown, UI plant breeder, shows how products from a tiny mustard seed can fuel the cars of tomorrow.

NIATT’s Center for Clean Vehicle Technology, directed by Don Blackketter, oversees a number of student transportation projects that include a campus trolley and improved-performance snowmobiles.

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UI Photo Services

Todd Freeman steers the UI Clean Snowmobile to a big win at the Clean Snowmobile Challenge.

2003

The UI Clean Snowmobile is a re-engineered sled with improved emissions, performance and noise control features. UI’s team captured first place for two years running at the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge, competing against 12 other university teams. At the 2003 competition in Houghton, Mich., the NIATT team took the top awards for best fuel economy, quietest snowmobile, best performance, lowest emissions and best value in addition to earning first place overall. A re-engineered BMW K75RT four-stroke motorcycle engine powers the Arctic Cat sled.

Team adviser Karen DenBraven also researches alternative power sources for snowmobiles.

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FutureTruck, a converted Ford Explorer with triple power sources, will compete at Ford’s Michigan Proving Grounds June 2-12; the student team optimizes a conventional truck into a loweremissions vehicle with at least 25 percent higher fuel economy, without sacrificing performance, utility, safety and affordability. This year’s model uses both electric and hydraulic assists to power the engine. Student innovators entered the fouryear challenge to address world energy and air pollution problems. The innovators enjoy showing “how amazing it feels to pull up to a stop light in an electric car and not hear a sound, or to blast away from the green light with just the faint hum of the electric motor.”

Michigan Tech Photo

Part of the FutureTruck team. Left to right, Andy Rajala, Fahad Khalid, adviser Frank Albrecht, Khurram Kemal, Nicholas Cunningham and Tamara Cougar.

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Other university vehicle and fuels research projects include the Vandal Trolley — a 30-seat San Francisco-like shuttle. Its engine burns 20 percent biodiesel fuel, thereby adding to its environmental appeal.

It has become a demonstration project to document the efficiency and long-term effects of this alternative fuel on stop-andstart drives.

It started as an experiment in Yellowstone National Park. The National Park Service, Montana Department of Environmental Quality and University of Idaho tested a fleet of vehicles on the feasibility of biodiesel use. Now, 22 national parks from Florida’s Everglades to California’s Channel Islands operate trucks, buses and boats on biodiesel.

UI biodiesel experimental vehicles also include a Kenworth T800 truck operated

by Simplot Transportation and a UI-owned 1994 Dodge truck that has travelled more than 100,000 miles powered by 100 percent rapeseed ethyl ester. I

HERE WE HAVE IDAHO

SAE Formula Car, UI engineering students designed and fabricated a small formula-style race car, souped up and ready for competition May 14-18 in Pontiac, Mich. The “Dark Horse” will weigh in at around 457 pounds.

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UI Photo Services

Mechanical engineering graduate students Jeff Williams, Dan Cordon and Matt Walker have helped research and develop the use of Aquanol as an alternative fuel. The research has been ignited by the development of the SmartPlug©, above.

Aquanol

in Your Tank An All-Idaho Team Ignites a Smarter, Better Fuel

By Karma Metzler Fitzgerald

new development — UI and Automotive Resources now are working with the United States military to find a way to achieve a “one-fuel” military.

The partnership between Automotive Resources and the university began formally 1998, although an informal arrangement had started a few years earlier. Since then, UI scientists, graduate students and Cherry’s company have worked together to research, develop and market SmartPlug©.

“We’re in the business of education,” Steciak said. “Students have the front row seats from research to technology, the modeling and the educational opportunity of seeing real products get produced.”

Steciak and Cherry say they hope the partnership continues. Together, they can develop grants and research projects that not only benefit a small, Idaho-based business, but also provide UI students with a valuable educational experience.

“Our university-industry partnership bridges the gap between dusty archives and engineering real products,” Steciak said. I 2003

Enter inventor Mark Cherry. His Sandpoint-based business, Automotive Resources Inc., has developed an item called the SmartPlug©. It is a Catalytic Plasma Torch — a self-contained ignition system that replaces spark plugs in gasoline engines or glow plugs in diesel engines. It works with the high water content fuel because it drastically lowers the ignition temperature of water-based fuels.

“We have not found anyone burning fuels with this much water,” Steciak said.

The advantage is fuels like Aquanol significantly reduce nitrogen oxide — a culprit in acid rain, smog and haze formation, and stratospheric ozone depletion.

Even better, according to Steciak, is that unlike other alternative fuels sources, Aquanol, when combined with the SmartPlug© ignition system, provides a power boost not seen in other fuel tests. That means everything from motorcycles to SUVs to public transportation buses can use the technology without losing any needed power.

The SmartPlug© also permits combustion of kerosene and diesel in small gasoline engines. That has led to a

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U

niversity of Idaho researchers, along with a Sandpoint inventor, are using a potato by-product produced in Caldwell to develop a cleaner-burning, more efficient fuel. What makes this technology work is the university-industry partnership that drives it.

A team of UI scientists, headed by Steven Beyerlein in Moscow and Judi Steciak in Boise, is working with an ethanol and water fuel called Aquanol to find a way to run over-the-road vehicles with lower emissions and higher engine efficiency.

Aquanol is 70 percent ethanol and 30 percent water. It’s a natural for a “Made in Idaho” label. Ethanol is an easily and affordably produced biofuel made from straw, corn or in this case, Idaho potatoes at a Caldwell ethanol plant.

Water also is readily available. The problem is the high water content in the fuel stymies conventional ignition systems.

Steciak said they’ve always known water-based fuels have the potential to burn stronger and cleaner, but past trials have been unsuccessful because it is too difficult to initiate and maintain combustion.

23

Through the Kitchen Door Slinging Hash at UI “The recipe that is not shared with others will soon be forgotten, but when it is shared, it will be enjoyed by future generations.”

–Unknown

By Leslie Einhaus

HERE WE HAVE IDAHO

24

UI Alumni

I

n the early half of the 20th century, young men took to the kitchens across the University of Idaho campus to serve sorority ladies breakfast, lunch and dinner. It wasn’t part of a weekend retreat or even a rolereversal experiment; “slinging hash” was an honest way for many male students to earn a living, and it continues today.

“In the beginning, hashers were instructed not to chat with the young ladies and not to even wiggle their ears,” says Jan Hinrichs, house director at Gamma Phi Beta. “It was a time of gracious living.”

Dressed in white dinner jackets and black ties, these men set out silverware and centerpieces; served appetizers, entrees and desserts; and assisted with cleanup in the kitchen. Hashers learned proper meal etiquette while stealing glances at girls as they worked their shifts.

“Being around the women — that was the best part,” remarks Bill Taylor ’53. As head hasher, Taylor had to handle jobs quickly and efficiently — no other way would suffice. “You must be motivated or you don’t stay around,” he says.

Today, 72 women live at the Gamma Phi Beta House on the corner of Elm and Seventh Streets. Those six dozen smiling, hungry faces attract many Vandal men, eager to serve.

The respect factor must be there, according to Hinrichs. It is about credibility, ethics and responsibility.

Hashers in the late 1920s prepare for the next meal.

Rule Book for Hashers at Gamma Phi Beta “A hasher is a special kind of person,” she says.

UI sophomore Dave Spinazza of Boise admits being a hasher is easy, and it provides a sneak-peek into how the other half lives. At dinnertime, “they can be as messy as us. It’s incredible.”

Fellow hasher Jeremy Baker, a senior from Boise, says the job definitely has its memorable moments like the Hasher Appreciation Dinner and the occasional kitchen blooper — a five-second food fight, a fork in the disposal or a broken goblet.

Baker says being a hasher is rewarding — even without the free-for-all food fights. “The hours are good and there’s free food,” he adds. “What more could I want?”

Taylor remembers being treated as a special guest at Hasher Appreciation Dinners. When sorority women became servers, it was a fun evening, he recalls.

“The girls tried to emulate us. But they just couldn’t do it,” he admits. “We were the professionals.”

The way it was then (in the ’40s-’50s)…

1. You are not allowed to date the girls.

2. You must wear a black tie and white jacket in the dining room at all times.

3. Be extra careful with the china, crystal and silver dinnerware during special meals.

4. An average meal served included: meat, potatoes, a vegetable serving, dessert and coffee.

5. Paycheck was $5 per month and all the food you could eat.

6. The house mother is escorted by the sorority girls to the dining room for dinner. She sits at the head of the table. The hashers cannot begin serving the meal until the house mother rings the bell.

Leslie Einhaus

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”

—Virginia Woolf

1. You can date the girls, although you cannot fraternize with the ladies during work hours.

2. Do not wear hats in the dining room.

3. Paycheck is $50-$100 per month and all the food you can eat.

Jan Hinrichs, center, house director at Gamma Phi Beta sorority.

Becoming a hasher — ’50s style Like with many jobs, it was who you knew. To become a hasher, you had to befriend a current hasher. “That was the only way to do it,” says Bill Taylor ’53. “Hashing jobs were passed on person-to-person.”

There were four levels of hashing, he says.

• Level one — Duties include taking ashes out of the furnace on a regular basis and cleaning up after breakfast.

• Level two — He eats first, then washes all pots and pans.

• Level three — Duties include setting out silverware and serving food.

• Level four was “the most regarded and revered post.” Head hashers arrive just in time to serve dinner (and wink at the girls).

2003

5. The dining room is made up of numerous small tables. The house director, formerly called the house mother, is escorted to the dining room for dinner, and she is seated first.

Leslie Einhaus

4. The average meal is a buffet with menu items such as chicken strips, sandwiches, fresh fruits and pasta.

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And now …

White jackets and long aprons are not part of the job for hashers today. Hashers Nate Heitzman, Jeremy Baker and Joel Johnson join cook Margot Peterson in the Gamma Phi Beta kitchen.

When hashing reached its height in popularity in the ’40s and ’50s, university classes were geared around mealtimes.

Most dinners were formal, sit-down affairs, Taylor remembers.

Nowadays classes begin earlier, run through lunchtime and continue through the evening hours. The girls grab their meals on-the-go in buffet style.

It may be more informal, but some strict rules still apply. Hinrichs has one rule she makes sure everyone minds — visitors and hashers included. After all, the dining room is her domain. “No hats,” she exclaims. “Not even Vandal hats.”

In the kitchen, the rules are few, but hashers must obey them at every meal.

“These boys have to treat this job like they are getting paid $25 an hour, and they can’t complain,” says Margo Peterson, Gamma Phi Beta cook. “They have to function well, so I can.”

Menu favorites include Margo’s freshbaked bread. Salad fixings and fruit are a top request among the sorority sisters.

“The girls like the fresh stuff. They feel like they are getting something good for them,” says Peterson, who makes sure each lunch plate includes fresh fruit – every day.

During each meal, the cook and the hashers depend on each other for everything. “The better the cook, the better the hasher,” Hinrichs says.

To be a hasher, you have to work well with others, she notes. “It’s a lesson in giving, and nothing you give is wasted.” I

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Photos courtesy of AP/USPS

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Boise alumni stay close to home

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

By Leslie Einhaus

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Peggy’65 and Wayne’65 Theissen

Frances Ellsworth ’71

Tom ’59 and Diana ’62 Nicholson

“There’s a root attachment to UI,” says Nate Calvin ’93. “I didn’t quite expect it.”

Many of his fellow Vandals feel the same way. “After living in the Figi house for four years, you get to know people well,” says Tom Nicholson ’59. “There’s a closeness that is formed. You are with them 24-7. It creates a special bond — for a lifetime.”

Wayne ’65 and Peggy Theissen ’65 will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this summer. “My wife has perseverance,” says Wayne, a retired general manager of Ore-Ida Foods, Inc. The two advised a men’s dormitory during their tenure on the Moscow campus. “I remember the boys putting plastic spiders in the salad during one meal,” she smiles. Despite their

tomfoolery, the boys truly enjoyed Peggy’s presence. “They would have protected me from anything. They really meant well.”

Frances Ellsworth ’71 is a big believer in the silver-and-gold. “The Vandal connection brings people together all over the United States.”

At a UI Scholars reception a few years ago, Ellsworth spoke with sincerity to a group of soon-to-be UI students and their families. “I am so jealous you get to experience the beautiful fall days in Moscow,” she told them. “I am jealous I won’t hear the carillon playing at nightfall and the chance to make so many lifelong friends. It’s a wonderful place.”

Time well spent …

UI alumni in Boise cherish time spent with family and friends. They also cherish being out-and-about — not necessarily among the masses. “I can’t imagine living on asphalt all my life,” says Nicholson.

In the evening hours at home, Tom and his wife, Diana, often enjoy battles of gin rummy. Winner pays for a night on the town. “We run in streaks,” says Diana ’62. “I’ve been winning lately,”

she smiles.

Time well spent also means going away for a few days, spending time with a favorite four-legged friend or adding up trail miles in the backcountry. For example, Karen Gowland ’84 enjoys backpacking in the Sawtooth Mountains with her son, Riley. Pat McMurray’s ’70 favorite pastimes are mountain biking and alpine skiing in the Wood River Valley.

When Alan ’75 and Patti ’76 Head decide to dine away from home, they take it seriously. The couple journeyed with friends to New Orleans’ French Quarter, indulging their taste buds with spicy Cajun cuisine.

At their downtown Boise restaurant, Saffron, featuring Pan-American entrees, Alan’s favorite menu item is Emerald fire poki, Ahi tuna with wasabi, lemon, sweet soy, chili sauce and tobiko. Other tempting items include: Thai shrimp purses, duck potstickers and Japanese braised clams.

Besides Saffron, the couple owns Goldie’s Breakfast Bistro and Little Richard’s, a coffeehouse and bar. With their trio of restaurants, the UI pair has every meal of the day covered — including those tiny indulgences like martinis with

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I

t is true, many University of Idaho alumni in Boise do remain close to home. Home being the spot they first opened a lemonade stand and drove their first car. There also is another place they call “home” — the University of Idaho.

Being a Vandal is more than four years of classes and camaraderie. It is a lifetime commitment for Boise residents.

2003

Patti ’76 and Alan ’75 Head

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Karen Gowland ’84 Bekki Madron ’90 Kali Kurdy ’73

extra olives or a cappuccino with extra foam.

It’s the little touches that count, according to Alan. “It’s fun to suggest a different wine that goes well with a customer’s chosen main course. When they say how delicious it is, that’s most rewarding.”

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

“A Few of My Favorite Things”

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The tiny ball of string and the plastic play toy here-and-there are subtle clues that Frances Ellsworth is a bone-fide cat lover. Taking a closer look, the visitor will see cat décor in the kitchen, garden and living area. Then you hear it: “Meow.” It’s one of Ellsworth’s five cats offering a warm greeting.

“Cats don’t spend all their time with you. So when they do decide to cuddle, it means a lot,” she says. “They can offer so much.”

Ellsworth offers her own blend of talents to the community. She is a member of the UI Foundation Board and is the chairperson for Saint Alphonsus’ Festival of Trees gala. She also is a board member of the Idaho Humane Society in Boise, hosting a lawn party fund-raiser at her home every summer. “Children and animals — they need our help,” she says.

Ellsworth is quite modest, insisting she hasn’t made a lasting impression in the Boise community. But that is not true.

One of Winston Churchill’s famous adages suits her nicely. It is one she lives by daily. “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”

A-B-C’s of I-D-A-H-O “Take initiative.”

This is a lesson Kali Kurdy’s students at Borah High School know all too well – they see it in action every day as Mrs. Kurdy teaches, advises, mentors and motivates. Another one of her famous one-liners is: “Can’t is not a choice.”

Seniors at Borah High School have the choice of taking Kurdy’s Discover Idaho course, which highlights the history and culture of Idaho. Each year, the students take a five-day road trip throughout Idaho learning about the state’s geology, prison system, the industries that make up Idaho and higher education opportunities.

One of the highlights, Kurdy ’73 says, is staying overnight at the University of Idaho. Students slumber at sororities and fraternities, and the next morning take a tour of campus. The trek usually takes place during the annual Moscow Renaissance Fair. “It’s always a highlight,” she says. “The kids are wideeyed.”

Kurdy has taught at Borah High School for more than three decades. She is a recipient of the national NASDAQ Teacher Award for Teaching Excellence.

She also is a member of the UI College of Education Advisory Board.

Educating teen-agers about Idaho’s past, present and future is rewarding.

“I get to watch these students grow into little human beings. I like seeing it all unfold.”

“UI is like the mob; you can’t get out.”

— Alan Head ’75

‘One of the best decisions of my life’ Originally from North Dakota, Karen Gowland ’84 attended UI to be with her boyfriend. “I came to the university for all the wrong reasons, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life,” she said.

Gowland is the associate general counsel and corporate secretary for Boise Cascade. She has worked there since graduating from UI in the mid-80s. She notes that UI is a great starting point. “It is a great place to network.”

The university also has “great” parttime jobs. Gowland remembers fondly working as the student manager of the Student Union Building. “I would cash checks and sell candy,” she says. “I remember meeting so many people working there.”

Gowland is content with her current working environment as a securities lawyer. “I always say, ‘Do what you love; pursue your passion.’”

She certainly has.

continued on page 30

Most Likely to Become Governor — Dirk Kempthorne, Class of ’75

strength of his fellow alumni.

“When guests attend UI functions, they are always amazed that we can all sing the words to our alma mater and fight song — and we can sing them with gusto,” says Kempthorne. “‘We don’t have anything like that,’ they tell me.”

Kempthorne readily admits — to students and alumni alike — that his days at the UI were some of the best days of his life. “And I knew it.”

Today he encourages alums to make that trip back to campus and walk the sidewalks and hallways with the students; to feel the pride that courses through this vibrant university; and to make the commitment to give something back.

“Special things are happening on the Palouse — they have been happening there for more than 100 years, and they will continue to happen for the next 100 years, and beyond,” says Kempthorne. I

2003

Dirk Kempthorne is living the dream that he recently relayed to a group of UI agricultural economics students in his office in Boise. He told them that from the UI they could do anything they wanted; go anywhere they wanted.

“The University of Idaho is one of the most dynamic universities of its size in this country,” says the 1975 UI graduate who started his political career as the president of his dorm. “It offers the total campus experience and provides wellrounded academic and extra-curricular programs, and UI graduates can compete with anyone in the world. Look at our alumni and where they are now — CEOs, bank presidents, teachers, doctors, attorneys, musicians, engineers, astronauts, researchers, farmers and ranchers.”

Not to mention a former mayor of Boise and U.S. senator and Idaho’s current governor.

Now serving his second term in the governor’s office, the former UI student body president remembers well what it was like to make presentations before the Board of Regents. Now he is appointing them.

“I never dreamed back then that I would be doing what I am now,” says Kempthorne. “The UI helped prepare me for the career path I chose, and it continues to prepare students from Idaho and around the world for the career paths they will choose.”

In these tough economic times, the governor regularly withstands criticism for his unwavering support of Idaho’s education system. He believes in Idaho’s youth, and he believes in the opportunities that are available to them at the UI, giving a lot of credit to the

SPRING

By Julie Pipal

Gov. Kempthorne visits with members of the Vandal Marching Band. “...We can all sing the words to our alma mater and fight song — and we can sing them with gusto,” says Kempthorne.

29

Pat McMurray ’70 D. John Thornton ’73

Gary Michael ’62 Nate Calvin ’93

Vandals in the Boise area are passionate about their work, their family, their friends … and of course, their alma mater. Alan Head puts it well. Grinning, he says, “UI is like the mob; you can’t get out.”

Not too many Vandals want out of the loop anyway. In fact they want to be closer than ever before. It’s like a family.

There is an intricate network of faithful, eager and enthusiastic alumni that would do anything — day or night — to help a fellow Vandal in need, no questions asked. Bekki Madron ’90 speaks for many of her peers when she says, “I think of the University of Idaho as home.”

Vandal pride in the Treasure Valley

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

Bekki Madron ’90 enjoys being crafty — rubber stamping, scrapbooking, decorating cakes and making gift baskets for birthdays, baby showers and Vandal events. One of her specialities, as owner of Bubbles, Inc., is designing Vandal sport cookie bouquets, complete with Joe Vandal’s profile. “In Boise, I have loyal Vandal customers whose kids request ‘Bekki cakes’ for their birthday,” she says.

The Vandal connection is strong in Boise

30

with more than 10,000 alumni calling Boise home, according to Madron. “The contacts and friends I have met at UI are some of the best people in the world,” she says. “The bond with them is indescribable. All you have to say is ‘I went to UI,’ and you have a connection.”

In January, well-known Boise attorney and UI Foundation board member D. John Thornton ’73 played golf alongside some of the best — Alex Cejka and Hal Sutton — at the Bob Hope Golf Tournament at Palm Springs, Calif.

When Thornton travels, whether it is to California, Oregon or the East Coast, he runs into fellow Vandals. “I have friends from UI all over the country. Vandals really care about one another,” according to Thornton. To current UI students, he advises: “Be independent thinkers. Play by the rules, but think outside the box.

And don’t let anyone set limits for you.”

Pat McMurray ’70 is president of the UI Foundation and CEO and president of Wells Fargo Bank’s Idaho Region.

Being born and raised in Idaho, McMurray notes there’s a special spirit in Boise. “There’s a seemingly inherent attitude about being engaged in the community. People are passionate about improving the quality of life here in Boise.” McMurray remembers his quality

“The contacts and friends I have met at UI are some of the best people in the world, the bond with them is indescribable. All you have to say is ‘I went to UI,’ and you have a connection.” — Bekki Madron ’90

of life at UI always reaching new heights.

“I looked forward to coming back to campus every fall. It truly felt like home.”

Gary Michael ’62 is an avid basketball fan. He’s always up for watching Boise’s Idaho Stampede on the hardwood. “My wife says I would go to Catholic grade school games if I had to,” he laughs.

When he was at UI, Michael ran the halfmile for the Vandal track team. He also was a hasher and active in student government. Advice to UI freshman: “Step out and try new things. UI has tremendous opportunities awaiting students,” he says. Advice to alumni: “Be inquisitive and stay active,” says the retired CEO of Albertson’s, Inc. Nate Calvin ’93 lives in Boise with his wife, Susan, and their two-year-old daughter, Hannah. Rule he lives by: Follow your inclinations to realize your aspirations. In his business career as cofounder of Sierra Flight Systems, he’s done just that. After six years of research, development and testing, Calvin and two business partners received FAA approval in January for the world’s first syntheticvision system approved as a Primary Flight Display (PFD). A computerized screen replaces the conventional gauges allowing pilots do their job with more precision and ease. The product is now available for use in 12-seat commuter aircraft. It will be available in commercial-sized aircraft within two years. “The end result will be safer flying for pilots. The technology will save lives for many years to come,” he says. I

To be profiled, please mail information, including graduation year, to Angela Helmke, Alumni Office, PO Box 443232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or e-mail information to angela@idahovandals.com (photos can be e-mailed in a jpg format). In the interest of accuracy and privacy, we will list only items submitted by an alumnus or their family. Submission deadline for the fall issue is June 10, 2003.

50s JoAnne Roulston Nixon ’53 had her painting published on the cover of an issue of the P.E.O. Record, the official publication of the International P.E.O. Sisterhood. She achieved the Silver Recognition status in the San Diego International Watercolor Society last year.

Arden L. Bement Jr. ’59 is the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md. He is working on some 120 projects that are related to improving homeland security.

60s Keith W. Renfrew ’63, ’64, ’76 was honored as an Outstanding Citizen in Renton, Wash. He is retired from the Renton School District after 30 years of service.

Gary Crandall ’65, ’87 is the federal programs director with the Lower Yukon School District in Alaska. He supervises remote schools in the Alaskan bush.

Patricia Cobb Pierose ’66 retired in June 2002 from a 34year career teaching English.

Most recently, she taught at Borah High School in Boise.

Peggy Orton ’68 recently had two of her historical novels published. “Shining Mountains, Western Sea” is about two crewmen on the Lewis and Clark Expedition and “Mission” tells of the Kumeyaay Indians of Southern California and the Spanish in 1769.

Gary Grove ’69 is currently living in Knoxville, Tenn.

Daniel S. Looney ’68 is the newly appointed vice president of trust development for Farmers & Merchants Bank in Boise. He and his wife operate Looney’s Landing Gallery in McCall. A book of his paintings titled “Artworks” was published in 2000.

Wade Rumney ’69 has retired as postmaster in Gunnison, Colo., after more than 18 years of service.

Ilone Macduff ’76 was listed in the 2002-03 edition of Who’s Who in American Women. She had been a music educator in Olympia, Wash. for 38 years. She will be the president of the Olympia Music Teachers Association for 2003-04.

Edward Sanman III ’69 has been appointed manager of technology and capacity planning for The Regence Group. He is located in Lewiston and has been with The Regence Group and Regence BlueShield of Idaho for 29 years.

Mark M. Petzinger ’76 is the assistant general counsel – complex litigation for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and has relocated to Bentonville, Ark.

Oregon Substitute Teachers Association selected Cherill Tate Tannehill ’69 as Oregon Substitute Teacher of the Year for 2003.

This is her twelfth year as a substitute teacher in Myrtle Creek, Ore.

Sherry Bijan ’77 is an investment adviser in Palo Alto, Calif.

70s

Tom Kiblen ’79 received the Founder’s Club Award at Dale Carnegie Training’s International Convention in Washington, D.C. The award is based on sales and instruction excellence. Kiblen is the president of Thomas J. Kiblen & Associates, Inc., of Long Beach, Calif.

John D. White ’72 is the chair of the philosophy department at Talladega College in Alabama.

Richard Glaub ’73 joined the staff of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs as country director, Uzbekistan.

He will be moving to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where he will be in charge of civic and political training programs designed to advance democracy in that republic.

Jim Gebhardt ’74 retired from the U.S. Army in 1992 and currently works for Northrop Grumman and travels to Africa to teach peacekeeping to African military personnel. His most recent published work, translated from Russian, is “Attack of the Airacobras” (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2001).

Steve Verby ’76 was recently elected First District judge in Bonner County.

Dan Krahn ’78 received the Idaho Hospital Association’s Citation for Meritorious Service Award for his quality leadership and deep commitment to the McCall Memorial Hospital and the McCall community. He has been a member of the hospital’s board for the past 20 years, with 18 as board chairman.

80s Tamara Degitz ’80 was appointed executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Idaho.

James Wright ’80, an assistant metro editor who oversees military coverage for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, is the president and co-founder of MRE, a military reporters organization. The organization’s purpose ranges from forming a united front to fight the Pentagon for better access to providing advice to new reporters assigned to the military affairs beat.

Two couples pose at the 1964 Upham Hall Formal.

Jeffrey A. Thomson ’81, ’85 has been elected to a fiveyear term as managing director of the law firm of Elam & Burke, P.A., in Boise. In addition to his role in managing the firm, he will continue an active litigation practice.

Walt Tribley ’85, ’88, ’98 and Jenny Kleffner Tribley ’82, ’85 are living in Wenatchee, Wash., where he is director of Allied Heath and Safety for Wenatchee Valley College. For three years, he was director of research at a Rio Tech research firm in Irvine, Calif.

Elizabeth Goebel Mosher ’85 has been a family and consumer science teacher in New York for the last 17 years. She and her husband, Jeff, have two children, Philip and Abigail.

Lisa Steele Overstreet ’86 is a realtor with Windermere Real Estate in Boise specializing in residential real estate.

Robert Overstreet ’86 joined the accounting and tax firm of Hooper Cornell PLLC in Boise as a senior manager.

2003

Compiled by Angela Helmke, UI Alumni Office

SPRING

CLASS NOTES

Jane Eide Janssen ’75 received the 2002 Outstanding Science Teacher Award for Physical Sciences at the elementary level by the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Vacuum Society. She teaches fourth grade at West Grand Elementary in Kremmling, Colo.

Gem of the Mountains 1964

CLASS NOTES

31

CLASS NOTES

R. Everton Wanliss ’87 is a senior real estate acquisition specialist for Broward County, Fla. Brad Boudreau ’89 won the Golden Apple Award that recognizes excellence in education in public and private schools across the state of Washington. Boudreau is the principal of Roosevelt Middle School in Port Angeles, Wash.

David Young ’89, ’99 is a licensed fire protection engineer with Science Applications International Corp. in Idaho Falls.

90s Gina Bringman ’91 lives in Anchorage, Alaska and is the production manager for Alaska Stock, a photo agency specializing in professional photography for advertising, editorial and commercial applications.

Capt. Jesse R. Basher ’92 is currently working in Saudi Arabia at Prince Sultan Air Base in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Brian P. Oswald ’92 was awarded the 2002 Carl A. Schenck Award by the Society of American Foresters for outstanding forestry education.

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

Samuel Couch ’93 was selected as an Educational Fellow on the Earthwatch archaeological expedition, Ancient Nomads of Mongolia by the Raymond Cash Foundation of Atlanta. Couch and 15 other scholars and volunteers will excavate Bronze Age nomadic sacred sites and cemeteries in western Mongolia during the summer of 2003.

Couch is a professor of humanities and social sciences and director of Irish studies at Young Harris College.

32

Henry Mike Gibson ’93 retired from the University of Idaho after more than 34 years of service.

Sandra Holmes ’93 was promoted to associate professor of education and natural sciences, co-leader of the Crater Phenomena Group on the Iturralde Crater Expedition at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Frank Vieira ’93, ’95 received the IACRAO North Idaho Counselor of the Year award this past fall for his service and support of students and postsecondary institutions in Idaho.

He is a school counselor at Lakeland High School in Rathdrum.

David Morasch ’95 was elected to the board of directors of the American Powder Metallurgy Industry, based in Princeton, N.J. He is the press operations manager at Western Sintering Co., Inc., a specialty powder metal parts manufacturer in Richland, Wash.

Chad Collins ’96 is a group sales account manager for Maloof Sports and Entertainment in Sacramento, Calif. His duties include event sales for the Sacramento Kings, Monarchs and ARCO Arena events.

Charlie Mandis ’96 spent the past summer in Columbia, Md. working on the specifications and drawings for the design of the High Level and Low Level Waste Smelters that will be implemented at Hanford’s new Vitrification Plant.

Sayed Shah ’96 recently finished his MBA degree.

Garry Skinner ’96 works for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as a senior territory representative.

Heidi J. Bruns ’97 was selected as an Academic Chair for Teaching Excellence for her dedication, innovative classroom activities and willingness to expand her teaching skills. She is a fourth-grade teacher at Hubbard Heights Elementary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Kathryn “KayT” Jones Garrett ’97 is an assistant attorney general in the family law section of the Oregon Department of Justice.

Bret Nedrow ’97 was promoted to Washington field operations

Gem of the Mountains 1983 — S. Spiker

James A. Hill ’87, ’90, ’93 presented a paper at the North Sea Flow Measurement Workshop in St. Andrews, Scotland, in October 2002.

The computer craze in the 1980’s. Curtis Stein work late to complete a computer assignment. The UI more than 100 computers in 1983. Today, UI has 8,800 PC/data devices.

manager for the J. R. Simplot Co. Food Group Potato Division.

Misha Byxbee Smith ’97 received her master’s of science degree in interdisciplinary studies from Boise State University in August 2002. She is a sixth-grade teacher in Boise.

Eric Swenson ’97 was named the Montana Association for Career and Technical Education’s New Career and Technical Teacher of the Year in October 2002. He was recently elected to a second term as president of Montana Business and Information Technology Educators. He is the business education instructor at Denton High School in Denton, Mont.

Capt. Cindiemarie Blair ’98 received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for three years of faithful service at 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Okinawa, Japan.

Ryan Donahue ’98 is a senior designer at Oliver Russell, an integrated marketing services firm in Boise.

Michelle Yates Mandis ’98 has joined Portage Environmental Inc. as a specialist engineer. She recently completed her master’s degree in environmental engineering at Washington State University, TriCities, and spent the summer in Okinawa, Japan, completing hazardous materials assessments at Kadena Air Base and several surrounding Marine camps.

Scott Mizee ’98 accepted a new job with the architecture firm Mulvanny G2 in Portland, Ore. He will work as a job captain on the Target design team.

00s Army Spc. Merinda Jones ’00 recently graduated from the Communications Signals Collection and Processing Course at Naval Technical Training Center Corry Station, Pensacola, Fla. Kal Poole ’00 is returning for his third season at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.

This season, he has been cast as Balthasar, Ensemble in Romeo and Juliet, Bagot, Ensemble in Richard II and Sim in Wild Oats.

Rachel Meigs Manwaring ’01 is in her second year of teaching a multi-age first, second and third grade class at Sunnyside Elementary School in Idaho Falls.

Toby Robin ’01 was promoted to lead designer at Oliver Russell, an integrated marketing services firm in Boise.

CLASS NOTES

FUTURE VANDALS

Havana Mills to KayT Jones Garrett ’97 and Jeff Garrett

Lily Kathleen to Jill Birch and Barton Jay Birch ’01

Adam Drake to Wendy Zerza ’94 and Steve Zerza ’93

Ryan John to David Mansisidor ’94 and Patrece Mansisidor

Thomas Crandell to Andrea Groat Dittman ’99 and Drew Dittman ’99

Holley Anne to Timothy Dennis ’93 and Christine Dennis

Mikayla Kay to Lisa McDonald Rimsa ’83 and Joe Rimsa ’83

Estella Maria to Jesse R. Basher ’92 and Brook A. Basher

Lexi and Emma to Karla Nearing Horton ’92 and Patrick Horton

Kayla Jeen Taylor to Katrina K. Taylor ’98 and Jason A. Kruger

Cameron Joseph and Delaney Lynn to David Young ’89, ’99 and Laura Young ’00

A. River Gewehr to Tammy Jo Adams-Gewehr ’98 and Aubrey C. Gewehr

Hayden Jarrad to Wendy Kellogg Thompson ’97 and Bryan Thompson

Solomon Thomas to Talitha Corsetti Bandy ’97 and Kimiko Bandy ’97

Samuel Hawk to Kim KlecknerMiller ’01 and Jason Miller

Allyson Rachel to Rachel Meigs Manwaring ’01 and Jonathan Manwaring

Trayton Dane to Garry ’96 and Kimberly Skinner

Dillon, Austin, Sydney and Chynna, children of Jeannette Nuxoll Wilcox ’94 and John Wilcox ’95

Kati (left) daughter of Kris Wilkins ’98 and Bryan Wilkins ’94 and Emma Lee (right) daughter of Patty Carscallen ’96 and Wes Carscallen

IN MEMORY 20s

30s

Raymond Harsch ’22, Seattle, Wash., Feb. 5, 2002

Jess Egurrola ’30, Boise, Aug. 30, 2002

Ralph L. Erickson ’27, Chandler, Ariz., June 27, 2002

Marcella E. Parsell ’30, ’55, Kooskia, Aug. 23, 2002

Elva Reid Roberge ’28

Myrtle I. Rach ’30, Moscow, March 9, 2002

Beverly Cordes ’74 to Stuart Denny ’75

Kristin M. Korsch ’97 to Shawn J. Tanata

Charles Diede ’80 to Martha Kalnin

Mark T. Mills ’99 to Jessica L. Peterson

Susan C. Elzenga ’91 to William A. Lendvay

Chad Murray ’99 to Colette McGuire

Andrea Vogt ’93 to Marco Bittelli

Aaron C. Schab ’99 to Melinda C. Fenton ’94

Herbert J. Wunderlich ’28, St. Maries, Nov. 1, 2002

Neil P. Cox ’94 to Anna L. Steiger

Brian J. Casey ’00 to Barbara L. Simpson

Virginia C. Gittins ’29, Pocatello, Nov. 27, 2002

Jason Schuknecht ’95 to Maureen Orchard

Gina M. Hulsizer ’01, ’02 to Rob Strobel ’01

Orland C. Mayer ’29, Boise, Nov. 14, 2002 Louise E. Roden ’29, Hamilton, Ohio, Oct. 29, 2001

Alfred W. Jackson ’31, ’32, Chico, Calif., Aug. 20, 2002 George Jemison ’31, Dec. 8, 2002 Hazel Lawton ’31, York, Nebr., March 21, 2002 Thomas J. Kurdy ’32, Boise, Aug. 23, 2002 Joseph F. Pechanec ’32, Boise, Dec. 14, 2001

2003

MARRIAGES

SPRING

Benjamin James, Linnea Joy and Fern Elizabeth, children of Rhonda Cordray Ristow ’94 and Rod Ristow ’94

33

CLASS NOTES In Memory continued

Howard W. “Bubs” Russell ’37, Harrison, March 12, 2002

Wayne K. Yenni ’39, Lewiston, Jan. 10, 2003

John F. Neraas ’47, Spokane, Wash., Dec. 28, 2001

Gertrude M. Pomada ’32, Pasco, Wash., Dec. 4, 2002

Irene W. Schroeder ’37, Hayden, Nov. 10, 2001

40s

Peter P. Rowell ’47, Salem, Ore., Nov. 7, 2002

George F. Rieger ’32, Boise, April 24, 2002

Karsten S. Skaar ’37, ’39, Scottsdale, Ariz., March 30, 2002

Maude Craven ’33, Wenatchee, Wash., Dec. 20, 2001 Merlin L. “Mert” Geddes ’33, Lewiston, Jan. 6, 2003 Ethelyn C. Gibbs ’33, Spokane, Wash., Aug. 24, 2002 Melvin F. Stewart ’33, Eugene, Ore., Dec. 8, 2002 Mildred E. Trezona ’34, ’35, Spokane, Wash., May 26, 2002 Elden S. Bodily ’35, Phoenix, Ariz., Dec. 1, 2001 Rodney A. Pearson ’35, Moore, Sept. 6, 2001 Edward C. Lownik ’36, Lebanon, Ore., June 17, 2002

Clayton J. Campbell ’40, Richland, Wash., Nov. 17, 2002 W. Oleen Dummer ’40, Burley, Aug. 18, 2002

Clinton E. Alsop ’38, Jan. 25, 2002 William F. Gratton ’38, Boise, May 19, 2002 Noble E. Palmer ’38, Chapel Hill, N.C., Sept. 25, 2001 S. Stan Pavkov ’38, ’56, Modesto, Calif., Feb. 8, 2002

Walter G. Hegg ’48, Nov. 15, 2002

Wilma L. Johnson ’40, Aug. 17, 2002

George H. Unternahrer ’48, Pendleton, Ore., Oct. 8, 2002

Lois Loacker ’40, Portland, Ore., Oct. 13, 2002

50s

Morton R. Brigham ’39, Lewiston, Dec. 17, 2001

Robert Bonnett Jr. ’41, Mountain Home, Ark., July 20, 2002

LaRele “Joe” Stephens ’39, Spokane, Wash., Dec. 1, 2002

Hulda E. Braden ’41, Payette, May 8, 2002 Lynn M. Dewey ’41, St. George, Utah, July 29, 2001 Nolan Probst ’41, Silver City, N.M., Sept. 20, 2002 John W. Rowe ’41, Ritzville, Wash., Jan. 26, 2002 John Kantjas ’42, Corvallis, Mont., Nov. 18, 2002 Frances M. Omberg ’42, Silverdale, Wash., Nov. 23, 2002 M. Marie Eskeldson Gilyard Spilver ’42, Boise, Aug. 25, 2002 Llewelyn B. Stearns ’42, Pico Rivera, Calif., Nov. 12, 2002 Virginia W. Stuiber ’42, Altadena, Calif., Oct. 31, 2001 Joy Kerestesi ’44, Las Vegas, Nev., Oct. 14, 2001 Carl S. Minden ’44, Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov. 27, 2001 Merrie L. Newell ’44, Wichita, Kans., Feb. 25, 2002

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

Gem of the Mountains 1995 — Bart Stageberg

Billie M. Chamberlin Jensen ’45, Boise, Dec. 27, 2002

34

Remember when a good movie or a comedy show was just a buck?

1995 graduate Kelvin Falen performs to Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild” at the “Fun Flicks.”

John E. Hamm ’48, Boise, Nov. 30, 2002

M. Jean Corneil Johnson ’40, Lynnwood, Wash., Nov. 20, 2002

Robert P. Schroeder ’40, Coeur d’Alene, May 31, 2002

Kenneth L. Preston ’38, Pinehurst, Nov. 27, 2002

Shirley R. Williams Stafford ’47, Mohler, Wash., May 29, 2002

Daniel G. Gardner ’50, Coeur d’Alene, Jan. 12, 2003 Philip A. Johnson ’50, Lewiston, Oct. 26, 2002 Calvin G. Jones ’50, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 13, 2001 Roger F. Maxwell ’50, Olympia, Wash., Nov. 25, 2002 M. Jean C. O’Connor ’50, Boise, Nov. 27, 2002 Jacqueline I. Yenor Ruggenberg ’50, Spokane, Wash., Aug. 20, 2002 George Skinner ’50, San Diego, Calif., June 30, 2002 Joanne M. Flores ’51, Lewiston, Nov. 13, 2002 James P. Jennings ’51, ’55, Lewiston, Oct. 8, 2002 Roland F. Olson ’51, Coeur d’Alene, March 8, 2002 Vance A. Wilburn ’51, Kamiah, Jan. 5, 2003 James H. Aston ’52, ’55, Spokane, Wash., Nov. 12, 2002 Donald M. Jensen ’52, Sept. 8, 2002 John Koster ’52, Sept. 15, 2002 Irene McConaughey Brucks ’53, Meridian, April 30, 2002 James H. Ballantyne ’54, Boise, Oct. 2, 2002

Muriel B. Axtell Smedley ’45, Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov. 12, 2002

Giles G. Godfrey ’54, Bend, Ore., March 2, 2001

Shirley R. Hoffmaster ’46, Boise, Nov. 9, 2002

Robert R. Lee ’54, Rexburg, Sept. 27, 2002

Henry J. Crowley ’47, Ellensburg, Wash., Aug. 12, 2002

Louis Mendiola Jr. ’55, Meridian, Oct. 4, 2002

Wayne E. Harryman ’47, Lewiston, Nov. 20, 2002 James H. Meyer ’47, Davis, Calif., Oct. 12, 2002

Cecil L. Morris ’54, Bonners Ferry, June 23, 2002 Robert L. Ackaret ’55, Houston, Texas, Nov. 30, 2002

CLASS NOTES John M. “Jack” Hooks ’56, Calgary, Alberta, Nov. 3, 2002

Norah S. Tisdale ’60, Oct. 28, 2002

Joan E. Lingenfelter ’57, Dearborn Heights, Mich., July 6, 2001

A. H. Parisot Jr. ’63, Coeur d’Alene, Sept. 7, 2002

Valerie Lunstrum ’58, Longmont, Colo., April 5, 2002

Thomas O. May ‘65, Oct. 12, 2002 Cecil D. Meiser ’66, Portland, Ore., Feb. 10, 2002

Dorothy Purser ’59, Ellensburg, Wash., July 28, 2002

Ronald P. Elsberry ’67, McMinnville, Ore., Dec. 19, 2001

Rodney “Buzz” Storey ’59, Lewiston, Oct. 14, 2002

Bruce F. Scott ’67, Winslow, Ariz., Aug. 19, 2002

60s

Yvonne K. Stickler ’68, Lewiston, Sept. 28, 2002

Charles W. Blackhart ’60, Chattaroy, Wash., July 31, 2001

Mariner Photos courtesy of AP

Marie J. Scott ’60, Edwards, Colo., Nov. 24, 2002

Eileen Harris ’69, Post Falls, March 4, 2002 Iris L. Montgomery ’69, ’79, Nov. 24, 2002

Mary B. Vanderwall ’74, Grangeville, Jan. 6, 2003 Kirk R. Miller ’75, Coeur d’Alene, Oct. 22, 2002 Penny M. Wikoff ’76, ’79, Feb. 23, 2002

80s Rick Hayes ’80, Gresham, Ore., May 31, 2002 James R. Vogel ’81, Troy, June 23, 2002

Barbara Rich ’84, Nov. 13, 2002

90s Bradley A. Jarrett ’92, Moscow, Oct. 4, 2002 Brian T. Ellis ’97, Boise, Nov. 24, 2002 A. Stephen Williams ’98, Boise, Oct. 20, 2002

00s Kamara S. “Kami” Schnuerle ’02, Bonners Ferry, Jan. 11, 2003

UI Alumni Association National Officers 2003-2004 President: Scott Green ’84, Glen Head, New York Vice President: Brian Hill ’65, Woodbury, Minnesota Treasurer: Peter Soeth ’93, Westminster, Colorado

Meet us in Seattle

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oin the UI Alumni Association at Safeco Field for Seattle Mariners baseball on June 19 (Deadline to order tickets, May 15) and August 30 (Deadline to order tickets, July 25).

Meet fellow UI alums and friends, and enjoy major league baseball while celebrating the Silver and Gold. For tickets or more information contact UI Ticket Office at (208) 885-6466, 1-88-88-UIDAHO or https://marketplace.uidaho.edu On Saturday August 30, enjoy an exciting day in Seattle with the Mariners vs Orioles at Safeco Field, followed by Idaho Vandals vs WSU Cougars football at Seahawk Stadium that evening — a complete Vandal Experience!

To learn about these or other UI Alumni Association activities, check the calendar at http://www.uidaho.edu/alumni/calendar.html 2003

Charles O. Brackett ’58, Reubens, May 13, 2002

Ronald J. Cash ’74, Nezperce, June 21, 2002

Guy T. Curtis ’84, Potlatch, Dec. 6, 2002

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Arlen L. Lobnitz ’57, Aurora, Colo., Dec. 4, 2002

Walter W. Pierson ’63, Ivins, Utah, Aug. 27, 2002

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VANDAL SPORTS

Little Angela — Track’s Team Player

By Dan Hunt

HERE WE HAVE

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daho Track will not forget Angela Whyte. It can’t, even though her records may someday, somehow, fall, as tends to happen in the sport.

Even then, nobody could be so foolish as to forget her. It won’t happen because Idaho track will never be blessed with another Angela Whyte.

She is her own figure, incredibly unique in personality and stature.

World class at 5-foot 6-inches? Can’t be. She is so small. Coach Wayne Phipps calls her “Little Angela,” and insists that her legend has already outgrown her frame.

That’s a common theme that flows from Whyte: a casual meeting does not result in the realization that she is a national champion hurdler. She’s too approachable — “down to earth,” as her coaches say.

“She treats you the same whether you’re a national champ or the last place runner on your team,” Phipps said.

“That’s what she’s about.”

Whyte thinks about and might work endlessly towards success. But she won’t let it beat her. Even when those around her mention, opine, or realize she’s great, she stays low.

“I think a lot of the time people make a big deal out of winning,” Whyte said.

“But I’ve always been brought up to be humble, so I try to not think of it.”

Whyte is a winner, though. She can outrun even success itself.

“I always want to be the same crazy, have fun and laugh kind of person,” Whyte said. “I don’t want success to change that.”

Whyte, the laugh-a-day worker, continues to win at these goals. Her coaches may have to thank her forever

Angela Whyte is one of the most versatile athletes in UI track history.

for that. Whyte is so devoted to helping the Vandals — so team-oriented — she will compete in multiple events at the Big West, even at the risk of her personal success.

“She puts herself second to the team, which is truly amazing,” coach Yogi Teevens said. “You just don’t see that.

Most athletes at her level are only in it for themselves.”

Whyte will enter in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, the long jump and two relays. Everybody expects Whyte to dominate in these events, as she has done all season.

She’s that kind of athlete. Her coaches are even considering Whyte for the heptathlon, which requires throwing the javelin and shot put. Whyte should score so far ahead in the speed events, though, the heavier events don’t figure to matter.

“She’s one of the most versatile athletes in the world,” Teevens said.

Jennifer Walsh, Angela Whyte, Heather Hoeck and Heather Dennis celebrate winning the women's 4x100 relay at the 2001 Big West Championship. Whyte also won the 60-meter hurdles and the long jump to help UI women win the conference championship.

“It’s so obvious. She’ll pick up anything and do it extremely well. She could take up heptathlon and be top three in the nation.”

Obviously, when Whyte graduates from Idaho this spring in criminal justice, she will take this athleticism with her — on to the world stage, where she expects to compete for Canada in the Olympics.

“I’ve decided to put a hold on the LSAT and do this,” Whyte said.

Phipps believes Whyte can win an Olympic medal.

As Whyte steps into her world class acclaim, she undoubtedly will be missed by the Vandals. She probably will continue helping them win, though.

“She is the biggest reason this program has risen to a national level,” Phipps said. “I don’t think we’ll ever get another Angela.” I

Whyte, Stewart earn All-American honors Simon Stewart and Angela Whyte were honored as AllAmericans after their performances at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March.

Whyte qualified for the 60meter hurdles with the second fastest time in the country at 8.01 seconds.

At the championships, Whyte finished in eighth with a time of 8.18, earning an AllAmerican designation.

Stewart placed eighth in the weight throw with a mark of 67 feet, 10 1/4 inches. He followed that effort with another eighthplace finish in the shot put with a throw of 61 feet, 10 inches.

He earned All-American honors in both events.

VANDAL SPORTS

UI Photo Services

Lessons From the Training Room -It’s a Tale of the Tape Assistant athletic trainer Jackie Williams and student athletic trainers. Above right: Student athletic trainer Brian Giacomino takes his turn taping an ankle.

athletic training staff guides the students in developing their skills.

“When you get proficient in ankle injuries and ankle taping, then you move on to other areas,” said Williams. Those other areas include ultrasound treatments, electrical stimulation, cryotherapy and thermal therapy.

Students also have to learn the limitations imposed on them. “We recognize and refer injuries,” said Williams. “That’s what we do. All certified athletic trainers work under the auspices of a physician.”

Simonne MacDonald is a second-year athletic trainer student from Cape Town, South Africa.

Vandal Scholarship Fund Events May 1 May 9 May 10 June 5 June 6 June 7 June13 June 13-14

Spring Sports Awards Banquet, Kibbie Dome Ada County Vandal Scramble Auction, Holiday Inn, Boise Ada County Vandal Scramble Quail Hollow Golf Course, Boise Ada County Picnic, Boise Burley/Rupert Vandal Golf Scramble Elmore County Chorizo Challenge, Mountain Home Colfax Vandal Golf Scramble, Colfax, Wash.

Vandal-Bronco Golf Challenge, Meadow Creek Golf Course, McCall

July 18-19 July 18 July 19 July 25 July 26 July 28 August 7

National Vandal Booster Board Meeting, Moscow VSF “A Team” Membership Campaign Kickoff Meeting, Moscow Vandal Volunteer Social and BBQ, UI Golf Course Canyon County Scramble, Purple Sage Golf Course, Caldwell Western Treasure Valley Scramble, Scotch Pines Golf Course, Payette Buhl Pig Out, Clearlakes Country Club, Buhl Governor’s Gala, Boise Centre on the Grove, Boise

2003

hree o’clock in the afternoon is crunch time in the Kibbie Dome training room. Student athletes line up for their daily taping — ankles, elbows, arches, wrists, hands and toes. It’s a staccato hiss of noise as miles of adhesive tape is pulled, wrapped and ripped in quick repetitions.

Handling the rolls of tape are a corps of athletic trainer students, and the training room is their classroom. It is where they get hands-on experience in preventing injuries and assisting in the rehabilitation of athletes who are healing from injuries.

UI’s athletic trainer major first was offered in 1999. Assistant athletic trainer Jackie Williams upgraded the program, which had been offered as an academic minor, to meet national standards. She continues to oversee the program.

“The athletic trainer major attracts students who have an interest in sports and medicine,” said Williams.

Students quickly learn the basics of anatomy, physiology and nutrition.

Specialized courses are offered on the care and prevention of injuries, injury evaluation and therapeutic rehabilitation. There even is a class that deals with liability and working with insurance companies.

Students start their clinical work in the training room their second year. The athletic department’s three-person

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“I was an athlete in high school,” she said. “I wanted to continue with athletics, but also was interested in medicine.”

The program has provided her with surprising rewards in helping student athletes and their injuries.

“We share in their success,” said MacDonald. “We see them work through their rehabilitation and get back to competition.”

What are the career goals of these students?

Some want to work with professional or college sports teams. Others seek jobs with sports medicine and physical therapy clinics or hospitals.

“The big demand right now is at the high school level where a person is a certified teacher and a certified athletic trainer,” said Williams. “They are a classroom teacher during the day and then serve as the certified athletic trainer for the school’s sports teams.”

Whatever their goals, UI’s athletic trainer program has sent students out into the world prepared. “Everyone who has gone through our program has gotten a job,” said Williams. “They are working all across the country.” I

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TO BE CONSIDERED

Joining Efforts for Better Transportation

By Greg M. Laragan

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HERE WE HAVE

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Julene Ewert

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he Idaho Transportation Department and the University of Idaho have had a longstanding collaborative relationship.

Back in the days when the Transportation Department was known as the Department of Highways, prior to 1976, the DOH had a highway materials laboratory located at the university. UI students and professors benefited by having access to the latest testing equipment and exposure to highway professionals with many years of practical experience. The DOH benefited from the lab space and the steady flow of students who, by working in the lab, gained experience, became knowledgeable about materials used for highway construction, and graduated to become valued employees of the department. Both groups benefited from joint research efforts.

The Idaho Department of Highways has evolved into the Idaho Transportation Department, and the University of Idaho has spawned the National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology (NIATT). ITD no longer houses a materials laboratory at the university. Instead, traffic signal controllers and Computer Assisted Drafting and Design (CADD) workstations are provided. In return, NIATT provides training to ITD engineers and technicians. Although times have changed, the collaboration continues. One constant has been the joint research.

Since its creation, NIATT has enhanced the university’s role in meeting the research needs of the Idaho Transportation Department and other transportation providers. Through its ability to draw research team members from a variety of disciplines within the university, NIATT is able to tackle problems in many diverse areas of

transportation. Examples of this diversity can be seen from the descriptions of some of the completed projects: “Evaluation of the Impacts of Increasing Truck Weights on Two Pilot Project Routes in Idaho;” “Development of Controller Interface Device for Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation;” and “Biodiesel Fuel from Yellow Mustard Oil.” Applied research — research that can be directly put into practical use — is of the greatest interest to ITD. Development of the Controller Interface Device (CID) is probably one of the greatest success stories of applied research. The CID provides a real-time link between a traffic signal controller and a computer model used to simulate traffic flow. This allows for traffic signal timing plans to be tested before they are implemented in the field, thus avoiding potential disruptions to traffic causing delay and frustration. The value of this device is demonstrated by the fact that it has been licensed and is available commercially.

NIATT’s investigation of various means for stabilizing erodible slopes created from highway projects is another example of applied research important to ITD. By evaluating different vegetation, mulch and fertilizer combinations on different soil and slope characteristics, NIATT has been able to help ITD determine what works best for erosion control and also what doesn’t work.

With tight budgets and limited resources, ITD will rely even more heavily on outside research efforts. The continuing collaboration with NIATT will be a major part of this and will be important to the future of transportation in Idaho. I Laragan is the assistant chief engineer – operations, for the Idaho Transportation Department.

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The University of Idaho and the College of Law Announce a

The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg became an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1993, following service as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia from 1980 to 1993. She served as professor of law at both Rutgers and Columbia and during her career in legal education became known for her work to promote gender equality and civil rights. She assisted personally in the landmark Idaho case of Reed v Reed (1971), in which the U. S. Supreme Court held that gender-based discrimination violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In 1999 Justice Ginsburg received the American Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award for her significant contributions to the advancement of gender equality and civil rights.

Thursday, September 18, 2003 Featuring U. S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Student Union Ballroom University of Idaho Moscow, Idaho

Past Bellwood Lecturers Charles F. Wilkinson, Sandra Day O’Connor, David Halberstam, Martha Nussbaum, Antonin Scalia, Janet Reno, Bryan Stevenson

NON-PROFIT ORG.

Moscow ID 83844-3232

US POSTAGE PAID

HERE WE HAVE

IDAHO

Change Service Requested

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UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO