Mann Library

Woodchucks in Watercolor: The Wild Bill Hamilton Groundhog Card Series by Jack Lambert
Mann Library, 1st floor display cases
Through March

To the cold northeastern regions of North America, the month of February can bring thick blizzards, dangerous ice storms, sudden thaws, driving rain, and bone-chilling plunges back into a deep winter freeze. No wonder, then, that this particular month also opens with Groundhog Day, that eccentric yearly attempt to create some measure of predictability out of February's weather mess. For professor emeritus Jack Lambert and the late Cornell mammalogist William J. Hamilton, this absurd American tradition offered the perfect opportunity to play up the legendary sense of humor for which Dr. Hamilton is still remembered by his old students and colleagues. A late winter exhibit at Mann Library displays a selection of groundhog cards, dating back to the 1960s, that Professor Lambert created for his friend and former teacher. Light, humorous, and informal, these Cornell gems recall a little of the life and times of a much admired and fondly remembered life sciences scholar.

Never Mind the Pussycat: The Ornithological Art of Edward Lear
Most of us know Edward Lear as the author of The Owl and the Pussycat, and the well-loved Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets. He made his living, however, as a landscape painter, and as a young man was an accomplished natural history illustrator. In April, Mann Library will celebrate National Poetry Month with an exhibit that showcases both Edward Lear's poetic wit and the ornithological lithographs he produced in the early 1830s, some when he was still in his teens. In both print and full color, the images that Lear evokes are extraordinary—meticulously accurate and brimming with personality.

Mann Library Lobby exhibit
March 15 - May 15

Student Expo Series: The Art of Horticulture
This spring exhibit in the Mann Library gallery will showcase the innovative work of students in HORT 201 taught by Marcia Eames-Sheavly. Viewers can expect creations that celebrate the beauty of the plant and animal world in a surprising variety of media.
Mann Gallery, 2nd floor
March - April 15

Poetry reading by Frank Robinson
April 10, 4:00 p.m.
Mann Library, Room 102

In celebration of National Poetry Month in April, poet and Johnson Museum director Frank Robinson will read a selection of his haiku and other poems. This reading will be held in conjunction with Mann's National Poetry Month exhibit: Never Mind the Pussycat: The Ornithological Art of Edward Lear.

Chat in the Stacks: Max Pfeffer
April 22, 4:00 p.m.
Mann Library, Room 102

Max Pfeffer, professor of development sociology, will discuss his new book, Saving Forests, Protecting People? Environmental Conservation in Central America, co-authored with John Schelhas (AltaMira Press, 2007).

Department of Education Research Colloquia

International Efforts to Develop Implementation Guidelines for Early Diagnosis, Treatment, and Healthcare Systems: Rosemary Caffarella
119 Kennedy Hall
March 14, 1:00 p.m.

Decolonizing Knowledge: Culturally Empowering Education and Research Methodologies: Huia Tomlins-Jahnke (Massey University), Linda Tuhiwai Smith (University of Auckland), and Margaret Maaka (University of Hawaii)
119 Kennedy Hall
March 31, Noon

Making a Difference in Peoples’ Lives: Formal Outreach in the Education Department: William Camp
119 Kennedy Hall
April 18, 1:00 p.m.

Lab of Ornithology

Go Wild for Spring Birds: Spring Field Ornithology course focuses on birds and habitat
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Wednesday evenings, March 26 to May 18

Take some time to set aside everyday worries. Focus instead on the lovely birds of spring and how you can help make the world a safe haven for them. This breath of fresh air comes courtesy of the annual Spring Field Ornithology course offered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and led by Steve Kress, the National Audubon Society’s vice president for bird conservation.

During these eight weeks, students learn about birds that live in the Cayuga Basin year-round and about others that are just passing through on their spring migration. This year we’re also teaching people how to landscape and garden to create bird-friendly habitat right at home.

The Spring Field Ornithology course features information-packed presentations at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, including the popular Gardening for Birds lecture. The course is sponsored in part by Cayuga Landscape this year. The garden company is renovating the Lab’s Treman Bird Feeding Garden and is in the process of removing invasive plant species from the wetlands of Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary. They’ll offer advice for students in the course and special deals on plantings that help create backyard habitat attractive to birds.

You’ll get plenty of opportunities to practice what you’re learning. Weekend field trips to birding hot spots (optional) are led by experienced guides who will open your eyes (and ears) to the winged wonders around you. Day trips include visits to Derby Hill on the southern end of Lake Ontario to do a little hawk-watching and to Braddock Bay near Rochester. Overnight field trips are planned for the always popular Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge at the north end of Cayuga Lake and the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, with other stops in the Cape May area.

The cost is $150 for lectures, $150 for the field trips, or $290 for both sections. An additional fee is required for the overnight trips. Cornell University staff and students receive a free one-year membership to the Lab. (Note: If you’ve already signed up, contact Terry Mingle at tpm2@cornell.edu to find out how to receive your free membership.) Call 607-254-2452 to sign up (outside Ithaca, 800-843-2473). You can find out more about the course schedule or sign up via the Lab’s secure server by visiting the Spring Field Ornithology website at www.birds.cornell.edu/sfo. You can also email any questions to sfoclass@cornell.edu.

Make this your year to reconnect with nature by joining the friendly, birdy people in the Spring Field Ornithology course. New birders are especially welcome. There are no tests and no homework. You’ll improve your bird identification skills and learn about bird biology, conservation, and fascinating bird behaviors, along with practical steps you can take to create a welcoming oasis for birds and for yourself.

Cornell Center for the Environment

2008 Jill and Ken Iscol Distinguished Environmental Lecture: The New "New International Economic Order
David L. Call Auditorium, Kennedy Hall 
April 17, 4:30 p.m.

This year’s Iscol Lecture will be given by Timothy E. Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund and former congressman, senator and undersecretary of state for global affairs.

Senator Wirth will explore how rapid population growth and resource consumption in the 20th century have transformed humanity's relationship with nature and profoundly affected the agenda of the 21st century. He will also explore the ways in which global climate change are magnifying and/or complicating the prospects for preserving the world's life support systems. Presented by Cornell Center for the Environment.

For more information and event details, call 607-255-7535 or go to www.environment.cornell.edu/iscol/.

Cornell Center for Materials Research

2008 POP Symposium: Polymer materials for a sustainable future
Statler Hall
May 20–21

The 2008 Aggarwal speaker will be Professor Olli Ikkala, Academy Professor of the Helsinki University of Technology. Professor Frank DiSalvo, director of the Center for a Sustainable Future, will be the keynote speaker at the banquet May 20.

This year’s program is hosted by professors Margaret Frey, Fiber Science and Apparel Design, and Uli Wiesner, Materials Science and Engineering. The program reflects an increasing interest in green materials and combines the two symposia held in 2007 by the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR): POP and Green Materials.

The symposium will include presentations covering the latest advances in polymer research at Cornell, industry presentations, and the ever-popular poster session highlighting our entire research portfolio and graduate students and postdocs.

Executives from Dupont and Procter and Gamble and from a New York startup, G3 Technology Innovations, will offer the contrasting perspectives of global and emerging companies on developing sustainable processes to produce novel materials. G3 received a JumpStart award and matching funds from NYSTAR to develop new products in collaboration with the CCMR.

Register at http://www.popsymposium.cornell.edu/.