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April
19, 2001
CAMPUS BUZZ BY SANDY SMITH The mountain comes to MacDiarmid: How impressive was Chemistry Professor Alan MacDiarmid’s Nobel Prize-winning work on conducting polymers? So impressive that when the South Texas Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers, which sponsored the society’s 2001 International Award (see “Awards & Honors,” below), found out that MacDiarmid couldn’t make it to Dallas for an award luncheon, it moved the event to Philadelphia so he could be there. Now that’s respect. Hang out with the grads: Here’s a way to get in on all the fun and excitement of Alumni Weekend without having to graduate from Penn first. The Alumni Weekend organizers are looking for staff to serve as volunteers for the many social, recreational and academic events scheduled for the weekend before Commencement. If you’re interested in volunteering, drop a line to Rashida Holmes (rholmes@ben.dev.upenn.edu) to sign up or for more information. If it’s 3:30 p.m., this must be Hill House: One hundred Spanish architects descended upon Hill College House on Saturday, April 7 as part of a tour of America’s architectural landmarks. The group spent 45 minutes there, munching on Tastykakes and exploring the building, including student rooms, the faculty master’s apartment — which includes the original furniture designed by the building’s architect, Eero Saarinen — and a basement room which Faculty Master Amy Pollock said is the second-largest public bomb shelter in existence in the United States. “The architects couldn’t understand why a building like this needed a bomb shelter when we were not at war,” she said. “So this was a history lesson [about the Cold War].” Pollock added: “One of the nice things about the visit was that some of our students got to practice their Spanish. And the nicest thing was that the architects invited the students who got to speak with them to visit Spain and tour with them.” From Hill House, the group headed off to Bryn Mawr College — we presume to visit the famous Louis Kahn-designed dorm there.
Penn in ink: It appears that the senior slump has gotten longer since your Buzz correspondent was in high school. The Boston Globe reported March 27 that thanks to increased early-decision applications, more students are getting in to college based on only three years’ grades. In response, some schools are revoking admissions offers for students whose grades drop markedly in senior year. “They have to know that they can’t just relax,” said Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson. “They really should be heeding our warnings: All admission letters are contingent on the satisfactory completion of their academic performance.” …It appears that the spreading global economic slowdown is an American creation. The New York Times April 11 reported that Professor Emeritus of Economics Lawrence Klein, speaking for a panel of economic forecasters, said that the Federal Reserve had "put on the brakes" to halt inflation in the late 1990s, but "they did it too hard and too long." What's the buzz? Tell us what's happening! Call us at 215-898-1426, send e-mail to current@ pobox.upenn.edu or drop a line to the Current at 200 Sansom East/6106.
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