Almost Good As New

Renowned Scientist James Watson to Speak at Beadle Dedication Sept. 22

A speech by Nobel Prize-winning geneticist James Watson will launch dedication ceremonies for the George W. Beadle Center for Genetics and Biomaterials Research at UNL Sept. 22.

Watson, who won the Nobel Prize in 1962 for discovering the structure of DNA, will deliver the keynote address at 2 p.m. in the Lied Center for Performing Arts as part of the Lewis E. Harris Lecture on Public Policy.

The official dedication of the Beadle Center will be in the Beadle Center atrium at 19th and Vine streets immediately following Watson's speech. Parking will be available in the lots west and south of the building. Shuttle buses will run from the Lied Center to the Beadle Center after Watson's speech, and back to the Lied Center after the dedication ceremony.

Watson will offer his insights into the world of research and discovery when he gives the Beadle Center dedication keynote address. After receiving the Nobel Prize, he continued his groundbreaking work in cell biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y., where he became the director in 1968. Under his leadership, the laboratory focused on the field of tumor virology, leading to breakthroughs in cancer research, plant molecular biology, cell biochemistry and neuroscience. In 1989, he was appointed director of the National Center for Human Genome Research where he successfully launched a worldwide effort to map and sequence the human genome. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and was named president of Cold Spring Harbor in 1994.

The Beadle Center will offer tours and open house activities from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 23 and from 1-3 p.m. Sept. 24. All dedication activities are free and open to the public.

The Beadle Center is the new home for UNL professors, students and researchers in the departments of biochemistry, biological sciences, chemical engineering, and the Center for Biotechnology. Construction costs of $31.6 million were met by a combination of funding from the State of Nebraska, the federal government, UNL, corporations, foundations and individuals.

The most technically demanding building in the history of the university, the building was designed by Davis Design of Lincoln. Facilities include a $2.9 million greenhouse, four state-of-the-art core research facilities, multimedia classrooms and auditorium, a computer laboratory, and over $2 million in new scientific equipment.

Although much research will take place in the building, teaching is also key to the center's mission. Part of students' educational experiences involve learning and doing, Beadle Center officials say. In the Beadle Center, students will be able to perform scientific research, using state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.

"The Beadle Center represents an important bridge between departments, faculty and students from both UNL campuses, and between teachers and students in the university and in kindergarten through 12th grade," said Don Weeks, director of the Center for Biotechnology.

"The Beadle Center is also a bridge for university scientists who wish to work with private industry to bring their discoveries in basic research to the marketplace."

Editor's note: Watson's lecture will be transmitted live via Closed Circuit Campus Channel 8 and repeated at 3:30 p.m. on Campus Channel 8 and NEB*SAT Space Net 3 Channel 4.

A Palette of Sights and Sounds at the 'A' Festival Sept. 29-30

The world of architecture and the fine and performing arts will offer up a dramatic blend of sights and sounds at the first annual 'A' Festival Sept. 29-30 in UNL's arts quadrangle, located in the southwest corner of city campus.

This large, outdoor festival of arts and architecture begins at noon Sept. 29 and continues to noon the following day. A combination of fun activities and information about the arts and architecture, the 'A' Festival is for all ages and offers a variety of food, entertainment, demonstrations, tours of the arts and architecture facilities, and sales of photographs, prints, ceramics, CDs and books. Children's activities will include face painting, sidewalk art and a juggler.

The festival will be situated in the UNL arts quandrangle, which is an area on the southwest corner of campus that includes Architecture Hall, the School of Music, the Lied Center and Kimball Hall, the Temple Building, the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, and the Woods and Richards Hall art buildings. Most musical performances will take place in the heart of the festival - the sculpture garden area west of Sheldon Gallery.

All events are free except for the regularly scheduled performances at the Lied Center and the Studio Theatre. For more information call the College of Fine and Performing Arts at 472-9339 or the College of Architecture at 472-9212.

The event is sponsored by the alumni of UNL's College of Architecture and the College of Fine and Performing Arts in conjunction with the UNL Alumni Association.

When it Comes to Hazardous Waste, Zero is a Great Score

In this year of triumphs and champions, folks who work with hazardous waste at UNL were celebrating a sweet victory of their ownÊ-Êan Aug. 23 inspection of East Campus by the Environmental Protection Agency that revealed absolutely no violations.

"It is very rare for an inspector not to find a violation," said Daniel Olsen, UNL hazardous materials specialist and a former environmental inspector. "You always expect them to find one or two things - not things that necessarily lead to fines - but things that need improving. In our case she (the inspector) didn't find anything."

That's good news for UNL. After an inspection in 1990 revealed violations, UNL paid a negotiated fine of $36,000. A 1992 inspection revealed 17 violations. The resulting fine, shared with the NU Medical Center in Omaha, was about $380,000. That fine, however, has not yet been paid because, according to Olsen, the EPA continues to lower the fine as both UNL and the Medical Center take action to correct problems.

Olsen said the 1992 violations were mostly concerned with deficiencies in record keeping, staffing and training.

That same year UNL administrators took strong action and began to put more resources into the hazardous materials program, including the construction of the East Campus Hazardous Materials Center, located in Ag Warehouse 1. Jim Main, assistant vice chancellor for business and finance, worked with administrators in getting more resources for waste disposal, and Jim Rhone, director of the hazardous materials program, oversaw its implementation.

During the inspection last month, EPA inspector Diedrel Newsome examined 17 different locations on East Campus, including laboratories, the power plant and the hazardous materials center, looking for such things as proper disposal of wastes (materials that are flammable, corrosive, reactive or toxic), proper labeling, closed containers and records that deal with the accumulation, transport and disposal of wastes.

"She has been here a number of times, and had scheduled two days for her inspection - if anyone could find problems, she could," said Olsen. "Since she found no violations, her inspection took less than a day. That shows how much work the campus has done - we could not have achieved zero (violations) without the folks at UNL working very hard to get things right. They took everything very seriously and did an excellent job."

For questions regarding these Scarlet pages, contact:
dtaurins@unlinfo.unl.edu
(402) 472-8518, Fax: (402) 472-7825