ROTC parade

By Nathan Robinson Ohio State ROTC cadets line up to march in the 2002 Tri-Service Pass In Review Parade, held May 23 on the Coffey Athletic Fields. OSU military science faculty members were on hand to review the 300 cadets representing the Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC at Ohio State. As the Fourth of July nears, the University is reminded that since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 75 Ohio State faculty and staff have been called to active duty.

Women's policy initiative

Judy Fountain nominated for new assistant vice provost position

The work done by Judy Fountain as director of The Women's Place since she returned to Ohio State in December 1999 has led to her nomination as assistant vice provost for women's policy initiatives. Executive Vice President and Provost Edward J. Ray has recommended the appointment to President Brit Kirwan, and the Board of Trustees will vote on the appointment on July 12.

The new position acknowledges the level at which policy advising and advocacy for the advancement of women is taking place at the University, Ray said. "Judy is a tremendous asset to the Office of Academic Affairs and to the entire University," he said. "This title more accurately reflects the responsibilities already asked of Judy, and recognizes her numerous accomplishments."

Judy Fountain

Kirwan enthusiastically endorsed the appointment and noted that Fountain's work with The Women's Place has led to it being recognized as a model program by other universities.

Fountain will retain the title of director of The Women's Place (TWP), as well. In that role, she has been instrumental in the first year of activity undertaken by the President's Council on Women's Issues, which will issue its first status report on women in October.

Fountain is credited for her leadership of the collaborative faculty cohort project, designed to obtain feedback and create retention strategies for women faculty who joined Ohio State this academic year, and for her oversight of the Critical Difference for Women program, among numerous other achievements, said Barbara Snyder, vice provost for academic policy and human resources.

"In addition to her collaborative work on initiatives affecting the entire University, Judy is also very attentive to the concerns of individual faculty and staff members who seek her counsel. She really is exceptionally important to Ohio State," Snyder said.

Fountain said that what she sees as exceptional is Ohio State's approach to the advancement of women through a model that, though not typically seen in a university setting, is showing results and gaining wide acceptance here.

"No other university has a model like this," Fountain said. "Some have a mechanism to identify women's issues, others have offices for women that provide programmatic support for women and some have councils devoted to women's policy issues, but there's no other integrated structure like this, where the macro advises the micro and vice versa." The American Council on Education has identified Ohio State's model as a best practice in creating a supportive environment for women in higher education.

Both TWP and the council exist at Ohio State to advance the same essential mission: enhancing the capacity of the University and its individuals to more effectively deal with factors related to the recruitment and retention of women, most frequently through connecting and collaborating with existing services and resources. Fountain said the collective goal is to create processes that allow for shared responsibility across the University for improving the environment for women.

Fountain said her pending appointment carries strong implications with it. "This should be seen as a signal from the president and provost that they value the work of the council and The Women's Place and are indicating the importance of these initiatives to the University during the transition to a new administration," she said. "People here are committed to trying to work under this different model, which can be hard to understand and articulate, to advance the progress of women -- not through an association with one person, program or office, but by pursuing processes that help us assure that women and all people can move forward."

She also said that those involved in the Women's Grassroots Network and the Women's Task Force, which originally proposed establishment of The Women's Place and contributed to development of the model in place now, should feel affirmed by what the appointment represents.

"The institution clearly values the work around women's issues," Fountain said. "The University is essentially acknowledging the wisdom of those pioneering and creative women."

Kirwan echoed Fountain's assertion that an institutional commitment to the advancement of women exists at Ohio State. "This University is on a path to even greater excellence, and the effort to promote opportunities for women is a crucial factor in that pursuit. We are very fortunate to have Judy's leadership at Ohio State."

Mapping scientists to help Mars rovers navigate

Despite its name, Silver Lake, Calif., is anything but a lush, watery retreat. When Ohio State mapping scientist Ron Li ventured to that long-dry lakebed in the heart of the Mojave Desert, he might as well have stepped onto the surface of Mars.

NASA recently chose Li, professor of civil and environmental engineering and geodetic science, as a scientist for its Mars Exploration Rover (MER) 2003 mission. His team has traveled to the harsh environment of Silver Lake several times to test an innovative new mapping and localization system for two robotic rovers the space agency plans to launch in 2003. If all goes well, the six-wheeled rovers will roll out of their landing vehicle and prowl the Martian landscape in 2004.

Li's involvement with the program began in 1997, when he approached NASA with ideas for new computerized navigation techniques. Two years later, his team and collaborators at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) braved the punishing sun, sand dunes and jagged rocks of Silver Lake to test their system on the latest prototype rover.

"The only shade was inside our SUV," Li said, laughing as he recalled the field tests. "We drank a lot of bottled water."

The success of the mapping and rover localization system used at Silver Lake and later tests didn't guarantee NASA would choose Ohio State over the many competing research teams.

"We weren't the only game in town," Li said.

He and Kaichang Di, postdoctoral researcher and co-investigator on the project, feel especially honored to be chosen, considering the mapping and rover localization system is critical to the rovers' operation.

"The rovers are solar powered, so each carries solar panels on top," he said. "If they were to climb a rock mistakenly because of poor mapping and navigation and tip over, they couldn't get any energy. The whole mission would just stop."

At the same time, the new MER rovers will face more challenges than the Sojourner robot did when it explored the red planet in 1997. NASA plans to collect many more samples of the Martian surface, over a wider area. The rovers will search for evidence of water as well as signs of possible ancient life on the planet, traveling as far as a kilometer over the 90-day lifetime of the mission.

With the help of digital mapping products, the rovers will find their way to specific target locations at the landing site that were chosen by NASA scientists. The robots will take core samples from rocks and from the surface itself, analyze the samples on-site and transmit the data back to Earth.

The navigation system Li and Di are developing uses software to cross-match high and low altitude images -- taken by the rovers' landing vehicle as it descends to the surface -- with images the rovers will record once they are on the ground. Each Martian night, while the solar-powered rovers are at rest, the research team will use that day's images to incrementally map the landing site and plot the next day's path.

As one of the 28 selected participating scientists of the MER 2003 mission, Li will collaborate throughout the project with engineers at JPL in Pasadena, Calif. In particular, he will work with Larry Matthies, supervisor of JPL's machine vision group.

Li and Di will travel to Pasadena during the rover operation period in 2004, but hope that their team -- including Fengliang Xu and other research assistants -- will conduct some of the work in Columbus. Here they can be involved in an extensive outreach program with Ohio State undergraduates and local high school students.

Discovering buried treasure

Researchers find bacteria spores resistant to gold

Money certainly doesn't grow on trees, but a certain kind of bacteria can live near sources of gold.

Gold, in its soluble form, is toxic to most microorganisms. But the spores of the bacterium Bacillus cereus apparently can resist the element, as researchers found elevated spore counts of B. cereus at sites near gold deposits.

Hongmei Wang, a postdoctoral researcher in microbiology at Ohio State, studied the relationship between B. cereus spores and gold ore deposits while a graduate student at the China University of Geosciences, in Wuhan. She presented her research in May at the general meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Salt Lake City.

She and her colleagues collected soil samples from 11 gold mining regions in central China. Their analysis revealed that B. cereus spore counts surrounding gold deposits were two to three times higher than those not close to the element.

Bacterial spores can withstand harsh environments, from temperature extremes to toxic chemicals to very arid conditions. In such unrelenting circumstances, some bacteria can survive in spore form -- bacterial spores are more resistant to hardship than are bacteria going through normal growing stages. Regardless of differences in temperature, climate or geology, Wang and her colleagues found ample amounts of B. cereus anywhere there was gold.

"These bacteria can somehow resist gold's toxicity," she said. "We're not sure how they do this."

While Wang isn't currently studying B. cereus, she is working with other types of bacteria that are often used to extract gold or other elements from ore. She would eventually like to take her B. cereus research a step further, however, and study microbial exploration techniques.

Using B. cereus to scope out gold deposits may be simpler and cheaper than using geochemical methods to analyze the chemical content of soil and rocks, Wang said. "Using the bacteria holds promise for helping exploration and mining companies search for gold deposits below the surface."

$7 million gift supports library renovation

The Ohio State Libraries have received $7 million, originating from Thomas E. and Patricia A. Duke Robinson of Troy, Ohio, to support the renovation of the William Oxley Thompson Memorial (Main) Library. The Robinsons' gift of $5 million will be augmented by an additional $2 million from the Paul G. Duke Foundation, a supporting organization of The Columbus Foundation that was founded by Pat Robinson's father. The gifts were announced during a June 12 jazz reception at Ohio Stadium, sponsored by the Libraries and the Department of Athletics.

"Pat and Thom Robinson have made an extraordinary gift to the University and its libraries," said Director of Libraries Joe Branin. "Their generosity is a wonderful start, and a major step forward, in our campaign to renovate our grand Main Library at the head of the Oval. The Robinsons care deeply about the well-being and quality of education and research at The Ohio State University. They know a great university requires a great library. Their gift will help us to create a truly great, 21st century Main Library, one that will serve our students, faculty and community well for generations to come."

Renovation of the Main Library is a top priority of Ohio State's Academic Plan. The University aims to raise $100 million for this project, $30 million of which will come from the private sector. Other gifts to support the renovation include $250,000 in pledges from the Friends of the Libraries and $100,000 from a sale of memorabilia by the Department of Athletics.

The William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library is a University landmark. While its resources and services remain strong, its physical condition has deteriorated. The facility is actually composed of three structures -- the original 1913 building, the stack tower added in 1951 and the 1977 addition, the latter of which is not in harmony with the rest of the building and does not accommodate pedestrians from the west. In addition, many areas of the building are overcrowded and inaccessible.

The renovation will restore the Main Library to its original grandeur and create a facility that serves Ohio State well into the 21st century. Plans include an entrance from the west wing, to draw visitors into the library from west campus. In recognition of the Robinsons' gift, this wing will bear their name, while the new atrium will bear the name of the Duke Foundation (subject to approval by the Ohio State Board of Trustees).

The Robinsons are longtime friends of the University and avid Buckeye fans. Their previous combined gifts to Ohio State total over $1 million, including support to create the Thomas E. and Patricia A. Robinson Athletic Fund and a gift to support the College of Veterinary Medicine's Building Fund. Both serve on the Pre-Campaign Committee for the Main Library Renovation and the National Major Gift Council for Miami Valley. They are members of the Buckeye Club and are recognized by The Presidents Club. In addition, Pat Robinson is a director of The Ohio State University Foundation. Their gift, as well as the gift from the Duke Foundation, are part of Ohio State's ongoing fund-raising efforts in support of the Academic Plan.