Always
leave them thinking
The girl spotted him while searching for family and friends at UC's commencement
and shouted: "Mr. Cosby. Mr. Cosby!" The tall man turned, rolled
his eyes and mugged an exaggerated "Fat Albert" grin. She laughed
and snapped a photo.
More flashbulbs followed as veteran entertainer Bill Cosby hammed it up,
repeating his facial gymnastics and shrugging his academic-gowned shoulders.
But when he raised his cap -- a tasseled Bearcat ball cap in place of
a mortarboard -- in a salute to the sell-out crowd, Shoemaker Center exploded
in cheers.
Accepting an honorary doctorate, Cosby noted that UC had offered him the
same degree while he was working on his master's in education in the '70s,
but he declined, wanting to "earn one first," he explained.
"I called this year," he quipped, "because no one ever
called back."
photo/Dottie
Stover
Lab on a chip
In the not-so-distant future, "blood work" may not require a
visit to the doctor's office or hospital. Just strap on a wristwatch-like
device being developed by UC associate professor Chong Ahn of the electrical
and computer engineering and computer science department.
Working with micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, Ahn has
demonstrated that micro-biochips can be made from plastic and designed
to monitor blood chemistry, whether the patient is in the hospital or
on a battlefield. Only a tiny drop of blood, automatically drawn by a
painless microscopic needle, is required. Ten to 20 seconds later, the
chip produces an analysis that can be read by remote communication.
Ahn, director of UC's Microsystems and BioMEMS Lab, says the department's
novel inventions are "putting UC on the map" in the rapidly
growing field of MEMS. But he is most proud of the success of UC BioMEMS
graduates who are producing scores of professional papers, applying for
patents and being sought out by AT&T Bell Labs, Motorola, Samsung
and new biotech start-up companies.
- To the new dean
of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, Judith Smith
Koroscik. The former head of Ohio State University's College of the
Arts has taken the reins from Jay Chatterjee, who stepped down from
his post after 19 years as dean and 34 years of service to the college.
- To the new dean
of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, Karen Gould. The former
dean of Arts and Letters at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia
has a background in French and women's studies, with a particular interest
in French Canadian issues.
- To the new dean
and university librarian, Victoria A. Montavon. The former university
librarian for Wright State University hopes to continue UC's impressive
record of building outstanding research-level library collections.
- To the new chairman of the College of Medicine Department of Surgery, Dr. Jeffrey Matthews. Known as a "superstar" in the field, the gastrointestinal surgeon comes to UC from Harvard Medical School with special expertise in diseases of the pancreas, bile ducts and liver.
