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| Research Spotlight: Dr. William Miller |
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Last December, Assistant Professor of Biology William Miller was one of 4 recipients of the National Science Foundation's Research at Undergraduate Institutions grant, totaling $600,000.
This grant, of which Baker will receive $171,000, will support him, his colleagues and students as they collect, describe and analyze the DNA of tardigrades, small animals "0.2-0.5 mm in length, about the size of a dot made with a 'fine' mechanical pencil." Translated, "slow walker," these widely dispersed animals, "look like miniature caterpillars with five body segments and four pairs of clawed legs."
(complete story) |
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| LIBRARY NEWS: |
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DOWNLOAD THE NEW LIBRARY TOOLBAR
LibX is a browser plugin for Firefox and Internet Explorer that provides direct access to your library's resources. Created by Annette Bailey, digital assets librarian at the Virginia Tech University Libraries, and Godmar Back, assistant professor in Virginia Tech Computer Science Department, this plugin has been customatized for Baker Library users.
With the LibX Library Toolbar Baker edition installed, users will have quick access to the Baker Library catalog, Journal Finder, Google Scholar, WorldCat and more from your Firefox or IE web browser. For installation instructions and use, go to the LIBX Baker Library edition web page. Click here for instructions. |
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BAKER READING SHELF: PROFESSOR DON HATCHER
Professor of Philosophy Don Hatcher provided us with his reading list for this edition of the Baker Reading Shelf. Thank you, Don!
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger.
I read Franny and Zooey the summer after I graduated from high school in 1965. It changed my life. It is the story of Franny Glass, bummed out by her freshman year in college, who goes home to seek a religious epiphany or enlightenment by saying the Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a miserable sinner." as if it were a mantra. The irony is, as her brother Zooey points out, she has not done her homework. How can one seek religious enlightenment with minimal understanding of religion, especially Christianity? It was the first book that made me curious about a world beyond 57 Chevies, six-pound bass, and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Through the use of tantalizing quotes, it contained what turned out to be a terrific reading list including references to many of the classics of Western literature, Eastern religion, and ancient philosophy. One of my favorites is from Issa, a Japanese Haiku poet, "O snail, Climb Mt. Fuji, slowly but slowly." Get Franny and Zooey from Baker .
(Click here for the complete reading list!) |
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FOREIGN RADIO BROADCASTS Have you ever felt like watching TV-in mandarin, or urdu? As Baker students, faculty, and staff, you now have access to newscasts in native languages, foreign programming, "insta-classes (vocabulary, quizes, and translations)," and more via the Satellite Communications for Learning (SCOLA) database. SCOLA receives and re-transmits television programming, news transcripts, cultural images and more from around the world.
To access the streaming video and archival .mp3 files of news and other world-wide programming click on the web site: SCOLA and enter the username and password provided by library staff or your instructor. To learn more see the SCOLA brochure. |
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