Glenn Institute lecture series

By Nathan Robinson President Brit Kirwan and former Sen. John Glenn flank former Ohio Gov. Richard Celeste during his campus visit Nov. 5 to deliver the inaugural lecture in the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy series "Affirming Freedom: One World Against Terrorism." Celeste, who served as U.S. ambassador to India from 1997 to 2001, spoke on "South Asia: Uneasy Allies in the Struggle Against Terrorism."

AAAS taps three OSU faculty in this year's round of Fellows

Three Ohio State faculty have been awarded the rank of Fellow from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Richard Boyd, professor of physics and astronomy; Leonard Brillson, professor of physics and electrical engineering; and Audeen Fentiman, chair of the nuclear engineering program and associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and geodetic science, were among the 288 AAAS members to be elected Fellows this year.

Boyd earned this honor through his "distinguished contributions to the fields of nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics, especially to experimental applications of radioactive nuclear beams to issues in nuclear astrophysics."

To better understand the nuclear reactions that take place inside stars, Boyd used radioactive beams to create similar reactions in the laboratory. He has also devised innovative ways to search for evidence of subatomic particles produced by stars that end their lives in cataclysmic supernova explosions.

Brillson won the rank of Fellow for his "distinguished contributions to the understanding and control of semiconductor interfaces and to the development of nanometer scale analytical techniques."

Industry's desire to produce ever-smaller, faster and more robust electronics is driving a need for new electronic materials, and Brillson is at the forefront of controlling the properties of such materials.

Fentiman merited this distinction because of her "research contributions to environmental and waste management applications and for her role in educating engineering students and members of the public."

Her work encompasses the many steps involved in converting uranium into fuel for nuclear power. While Fentiman's research emphasizes waste management and the safe handling of radioactive materials, she also focuses on education.

With the addition of these three, Ohio State now has 54 AAAS Fellows among its faculty.

AAAS members are elevated to the rank of Fellow because of their efforts toward advancing science or fostering applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished. AAAS represents the world's largest federation of scientists and works to advance science for human well-being through its projects, programs and publications. It conducts programs in the areas of science policy, science education and international scientific cooperation.

Fellows' names will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Science, and new Fellows will be honored in Boston in February 2002, during the AAAS Annual Meeting.

Access awards

Five honored for Web design, enhancing environment

Four Ohio State Web designers have been honored for their attention to access in creating University Web sites, and one OSU administrator is credited with providing overall support to creation of a more accessible campus environment.

The five were hailed at the first Web Access Awards Reception Oct. 31, during which a number of University units responsible for enhancing work and academic life for those with disabilities gathered to praise others contributing to that effort.

Those awarded for excellence in accessible Web design for people with disabilities were:

• Robert Arnold, professor of art education, for a course Web site www.accad.ohio-state.edu/~rarnold/index.html);

• Ted Hattemer, director of new media in the Office of University Relations, for the University homepage (www.osu.edu);

• Nancy O'Hanlon, associate professor in University Libraries, for a distance-learning course site (http://gateway.lib.ohio-state.edu/tutor/120/); and

• Diane Welch, Webmaster for UNITS, for a departmental page describing the range of services available (www.units.ohio-state.edu/).

In addition, Steve Acker, director of Technology Enhanced Learning and Research (TELR), received a surprise award in appreciation of TELR's ongoing service and support in creating a more accessible environment (www.telr.ohio-state.edu).

All awardees received a plaque and a copy of the book Planet of the Blind by Stephen Kuusisto, assistant professor of English in Ohio State's Creative Writing Program.

The awards event was coordinated by the OSU Partnership Grant, a collaborative of numerous Ohio State units that focuses on influencing faculty knowledge and attitudes by increasing awareness of a number of issues related to students with disabilities. Grant partners are the Office for Disability Services, TELR, Faculty and TA Development, the Nisonger Center and the Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator's Office.

"As the University's ADA compliance officer, I have been working with CIO Ilee Rhimes and OIT's Web Policy Committee to develop a University policy on accessible Web design," said L. Scott Lissner, ADA coordinator at Ohio State. "The Americans With Disabilities Act calls for Ôeffective communication'; the award winners have helped to shape that policy by demonstrating how much can be done by simply being aware of access as you build a Web page. In the next few weeks, we will be releasing a new policy and standard to guide the University's expanding presence on the Internet."

A major partnership initiative is to help faculty design accessible syllabi and include accessibility as a dimension in curriculum. The grant initially funded the University's Web Accessibility Center (www.wac.ohio-state.edu/), which offers assistance to faculty, staff and TAs in designing distance education courses and online components of other Ohio State courses.

The grant has made a difference in the lives of students with disabilities on campus, which in turn offers benefits to others, said Ann Yurcisin, director of the Office for Disability Services.

"When you enhance teaching and learning," she said, "everyone benefits."

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