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from the issue of January 17, 2008
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Events Jan. 28-Feb 1 to highlight environment
UNL students to 'focus the nation' at series of global-awareness events
UNL will be one of 1,300 colleges and universities participating in Focus the Nation's national "teach-in" Jan. 28-Feb. 1. Promoted by ASUN, Office of Undergraduate Studies and the Thompson Scholars, this is UNL's first involvement with the organization working to educate and act on global warming solutions for America.
UNL will have a week of events beginning Jan. 28 with a "Low Carbon Footprint" meal at Cather-Pound-Neihardt dining hall and East Campus dining. Residence hall diners from 5:30-7:30 p.m. will learn about and eat foods that contribute less carbon emissions by being grown locally or by being transported in environmentally friendly ways.
Two of the event's headliners are nationally known experts: Chelsea Sexton, marketing expert and advocate of alternative fuel vehicles, and Ken Mankoff, a computer scientist who develops climate models at the Columbia University/NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
Their lectures, and the other events, are free and open to the public, and are at the Nebraska Union Auditorium.
Sexton entered the automotive industry at age 17 after buying her first Saturn. She wanted to put herself through college by working at Saturn, and she loved the cars more than what she was studying in college. Three years later, General Motors announced the EV1 electric vehicle program, and she jumped on it. Focusing on building a market for alternate-fuel vehicles through partnerships with corporate and non-profit stakeholders, shaping public policy and incentives, developing marketing strategies, and working directly with the drivers themselves, Sexton became well-known as an advocate for clean, efficient transportation.
Mankoff's current project is converting a global climate model into something that anyone can use on their home computer. The project has wrapped a research-quality model in a graphical interface so anyone, anywhere, can re-create the climate studies heard in the news today. He has worked on various projects for NASA and the European Space Agency studying the sun, Mars and Earth. He has experience with robotics, operating spacecraft, performing mission planning, and scientific visualization. He has been trained by Al Gore to present his slides from the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" to help spread the word about global warming. Mankoff spent October, November, and December 2007 in Antarctica as part of the ANDRILL project.
A series of faculty speakers will lecture at the Nebraska Union Auditorium Jan. 29-Feb. 1. A schedule follows. The speaker series is part of the national "teach- in" promotion, becoming part of a dialogue at more than 1,000 colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, places of worship, civic organizations and businesses, and directly engaging millions of students and citizens with the nation's decision-makers.
Focus the Nation culminates across the U.S. Jan. 31 in simultaneous educational symposia held across the country.
For information about the group's goals and how to join, see www.focusthenation.org
UNL Focus the Nation Speaker Series
Union Auditorium:
Tuesday, Jan. 29:
* 10:30 a.m. Tim Wentz, Engineering
* 2:30 p.m. Sandi Zellmer, Environmental Law
* 3:30 p.m. James Swinehart, Geosciences
* 7-10 p.m. Chelsea Sexton Lecture
Wednesday, Jan. 30:
* 10:30 a.m. Carolyn Johnsen, Journalism
* 12:30 p.m. Peter Hind, Architecture
* 2:30 p.m. Ken Dewey, Natural Resources
* 3:30 p.m., Richard Perrin, Ag Economics
* 7-10 p.m. Webcast of Focus the Nation events, Auditorium, with two breakout sessions, pizza Regency suite
Thursday, Jan. 31:
* 10:30 a.m. Andy Graybill, History
* 1:30 p.m. Dennis Schulte, Biological Systems Engineering
* 2:30 p.m. John Janovy, Biology
* 3:30 p.m. David Harwood, Geosciences
* 7-9 p.m. Ken Mankoff Lecture, Auditorium
Friday, Feb. 1:
* noon, lunch with politicians and lecture professors; Regency suite
* 1 p.m. Political Roundtable, Colonial Room
GO TO: ISSUE OF JANUARY 17
NEWS HEADLINES FOR JANUARY 17
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Rev. Monroe to open MLK week events
Undergraduates to assist national DNA research project
UNL students to 'focus the nation' at series of global-awareness events
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