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FALL/WINTER 2003

$1 Million Grant Helps R-N ResearchersThink Small by Mike Sutton

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Imagine: Tapping the power of the largest body inour solar system – the sun – by using nanoparticlesemiconductors the size of one 10,000th thethickness of a human hair.

That’s the typical scale of nanotechnology’sproducts, which may someday significantlyimprove the efficiency of solar cells as a way togenerate electrical power. A $1 million grant fromthe National Science Foundation (NSF) receivedby an investigative team spearheaded by ElenaGaloppini, an associate professor of chemistry atRutgers-Newark, is moving science closer to thatgoal and other potential uses of nanotechnology.

Galoppini and two co-investigators are developingnew nanoparticle structures that are hybrids ofboth organic and inorganic materials. The trio is studying the electrical interaction andcompatibility between the two types of particles.

Professor Elena Galoppini displays acomputer model of a nanostructure sheis building.

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On any given weekday, about 700 ofthe people who head to the GoldenDome and the surrounding athleticcomplex at Rutgers-Newark are notlooking to go toe-to-toe with top-tieredschools such as UCLA on theuniversity’s Division I men’s volleyballteam. Nor are they training to competein the host of Division III sports that R-N offers as a member of the NewJersey Athletic Conference (NJAC).

Instead, these 700 people are faculty,staff and students with one goal inmind: staying fit.

When John Adams took the helm of theuniversity’s sports and recreationprograms in 1985, he said recently,

“We took a different approach, whichwas unusual at the time, of movingtoward a wellness program.”

And it shows. Daily classes under thewellness umbrella include aerobics,yoga, karate and tae bo. Members ofthe university community have accessto a state-of-the-art cardiovascularroom, which features stair machinesand treadmills, as well as to weightrooms and both indoor and outdoorracquet-sports facilities. Outdooractivities sponsored by the athleticsdepartment include kayaking, hiking,alpine skiing, snowboarding, canoeingand even whitewater rafting. Trainingfor CPR certification and other EMStechniques is also available.

Graduate Programsin American Studies to Begin at R-N by Carla Capizzi

The Rutgers Board of Governors approved new Rutgers-NewarkM.A. and Ph.D. degrees in American Studies Oct. 10, pavingthe way for students to enroll in the interdisciplinary graduateprogram beginning in fall 2004.

The goal of the program is to educate “knowledgeable andproductive scholars who will contribute significantly to a wide variety of academic, cultural and public institutions,” said Edward Kirby, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences-Newark.

The new program will draw on faculty in the arts, humanities,social sciences, business, criminal justice, law and nursing atR-N. Colleagues in appropriate fields on the Rutgers NewBrunswick campus and from the New Jersey Institute ofTechnology (NJIT) also will be encouraged to participate.

The program’s diverse thematic approach will encompass areasof contemporary scholarship such as race, ethnicity and modernsociety; America in a global context; and women’s and genderstudies.

An important aspect of the program will be public service.Toward that end, Rutgers-Newark will seek collaborations withthe region’s cultural and other institutions.

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Mind and Body 101 by Mike Sutton

John Adams, director of intercollegiate athletics and recreations at Rutgers-Newarksince 1985, passed away Oct. 20, shortly after giving this interview. Connectionspresents this story as a tribute to Adams and his remarkable accomplishments inreshaping and expanding Rutgers-Newark’s athletic and recreation program.

“People – faculty, staff, students – leave theathletic complex refreshed, in a better moodas they head back to work or class,” Adamssaid.

To learn more about wellness and recreation atR-N, go to www.rutgers-newark.rutgers.edu/sraiders/rec2/index.html.

IN MEMORIAM: JOHN ADAMS, 1946 – 2003To read about Adams and his career, go to

www.newark.rutgers.edu/news and select

“October 2003” in the News by Date boxes.Students, faculty and staff keep in shape on the treadmills, stairmachines and weight machines at the Golden Dome.

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Gottfredson Criminal Justice Library DedicatedThe late Don Gottfredson, who servedas founding dean of the Rutgers Schoolof Criminal Justice (SCJ) and helpedbuild the program into one of the finestof its kind in the country, was honoredby Rutgers officials, SCJ faculty,students and his family Oct. 15 atceremonies dedicating the Don M.Gottfredson Library of Criminal Justicein the Center for Law and Justice.

Gottfredson’s son, Michael, who servesas executive vice chancellor at theUniversity of California at Irvine,observed at the dedication, “Mycolleagues in academe generally regardthe library as the heart of theuniversity, and I want to express mygratitude for joining my father with theheart of this university.”

PresidentRichardMcCormick,Rutgers-NewarkProvost StevenDiner, SCJ DeanLeslie Kennedyand formercolleagues paid

tribute to Gottfredson’s resolve to applyscholarly solutions to real-worldsettings, both at the dedication and atthe symposium – titled “CriminalJustice Policy and Research: Bridgingthe Gap” – that preceded it. “Hedemonstrated the practical benefitsthat society can reap if we gather thebest minds that we can bring to bearon the study of criminal justice,” Dinersaid.

The newly named Gottfredson Libraryoffers one of the most comprehensivecollections of crime and criminaljustice materials in the world. Itincludes 80,000 monographs, 7,000dissertations, 2,500 bound periodicals,225 subscriptions to journals andperiodicals, and 20,000 documents onmicrofiche. The library acquires morethan 3,000 new titles each year.

R-N Law School Hosts Forum on‘Packing the Federal Courts’Public officials, jurists and lawyersranging from U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) to senior U.S. District Court JudgeDickinson Debevoise gathered at theCenter for Law and Justice Oct. 13 todebate the fallout from attempts bylegislators on the right and the left toload federal courts with judges whoseconservative or liberal political andsocial views mirror their own.

Titled “The Threat to Justice: Packingthe Federal Courts,” the forum wassponsored by the Rutgers School ofLaw-Newark’s Eric R. Neisser PublicInterest Program. Panels includedretired N.J. Supreme Court Justice AlanHandler, leading scholars onconstitutional structure, and litigatorsrepresenting groups such as theAmerican Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)and trial lawyers.

Professor Frank Askin, director of theConstitutional Litigation Clinic atRutgers-Newark and moderator of oneof the panels, observed that those atboth ends of the ideological spectrumagreed that conservatives and liberalsalike were scrambling to fill federalbenches with like-minded colleagues,and concurred that “at the U.S.Supreme Court level, ideology isextremely important.”

November 21-22AIRCAST Tip-Off ClassicA two-day tournament that opens the men’sbasketball season. LOCATION: Golden DomeAthletic Center, Warren Street. Nov. 21, 5:30p.m., St. Joseph’s College vs. WashingtonCollege; 7:30 p.m., Rutgers-Newark vs.Wentworth College. Nov. 22, 2 p.m.,consolation game; 4 p.m., championshipgame. INFO: http://scarletraiders.rutgers.edu.

Dec. 1World AIDS Day at Rutgers-NewarkA full day of AIDS-prevention-relatedactivities, including information booths,free HIV testing and student performances.LOCATION: Various venues throughout thecampus. Dec. 1, 8:30 a.m.– 8 p.m. INFO: Igor Alves, 201/981-8396,imalves@pegasus.rutgers.edu.

Dec. 3Special String Quartet Concert by Members ofthe New Jersey SymphonyThe musicians will be performing on the

symphony’s recently acquired “Golden AgeCollection” of Stradivarius, Guarneri andother historic instruments. LOCATION: JohnCotton Dana Library, 185 University Ave.,12:30 p.m. Free admission.

Dec. 8The Colonel Henry Rutgers CommemorativeConcer by the Rutgers University Chorus(Newark Campus)LOCATION: First Chinese Presbyterian Church,NYC, 4 p.m. INFO: John Floreen, 973/353-5119 ext. 28, jfloreen@earthlink.net.

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CALENDAR EVENTS

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Stephen (l) and Michael (r) Gottfredson,Don Gottfredson’s sons,join Provost Steven Dinerat the dedicationceremony.

www.newark.rutgers.edu/events

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When Al Koeppe looks at today’s R-N, he feels quiet satisfaction, aconfirmation that the more thingschange, the more they really do stay the same.

Certainly, the campus has been markedby dramatic expansion since Koeppe(NCAS ’69) attended R-N in the 1960s:The enrollment hit a record high thisfall – 10,465 students – and cutting-edge research and teaching facilitieshave emerged at a furious rate to keeppace.

But to Koeppe’s thinking, the importantthings haven’t changed at all.

“I’ve always looked at Rutgers-Newarkas a college community of serious-minded students,” as well as a

campus infused with a “spirit of strivingfor excellence,” he said. Another thingthat remains constant, he observed, is the campus’s interaction with the urban community.

“This was a campuswithout walls even beforethat term was popular,” henoted. “We were part ofthe community andreflected its values.”

One R-N professorhad a particularlyprofound influenceon Koeppe: Henry

Blumenthal, whom Koeppe still reveresas a mentor. Blumenthal, director of theNCAS division of social sciences andlater a dean, was the first Rutgers-Newark recipient of the RutgersUniversity Award, a medal given fordistinguished service to the universitythrough leadership and scholarlyachievement.

Koeppe said that Blumenthal taughthim that positive changes only comefrom within, and cannot be imposed on an organization or people. Koeppe

applied that lesson successfullythroughout his career, during

which he came to lead eachof New Jersey’s largest

utilities at various points: New Jersey Bell Telephone (nowVerizon) and PSE&G –

the only person to everserve as president of both

companies.

Despite Changes at R-N,Koeppe Sees Same PositiveCore Values by Carla Capizzi

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Newark is now tapping R-N alumKoeppe’s talents, naming him thenew president and chief executiveof the Newark Alliance.

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Bratton Discusses Law-Enforcementat R-N Police Institute eventSpeaking to an audience of policeexecutives and criminal justice expertsin the Center for Law and Justice Sept. 29 about “Policing in the 21stCentury,” L.A. Police Chief WilliamBratton declared that the policies he previously implemented successfullyas police chief of New York City havelowered L.A. murder rates by 25 percentduring his 11-month tenure there.

However, he cautioned, due to theadded element of powerful street gangsin Los Angeles such as the infamousBloods and Crips, L.A. would have to

double the size of its current policeforce to truly be effective.

R-N Police Institute Director GeorgeKelling, a Rutgers-Newark professor ofcriminal justice, worked with Brattonwhen he was New York’s police chief todevelop a new emphasis on communitypolicing. Bratton’s approach alsoreflected Kelling’s belief that theproactive prevention of crime – ratherthan merely reactive responses to it –should be the goal of policedepartments.

Bratton was the first of a series ofmonthly speakers at R-N’s PoliceInstitute, Who are slated to include N.J. Attorney General Peter Harvey.

On the Plaza…from page 3

RUTGERS-NEWARK: RELOADED

Burned out on sequels to The Matrix? Then check out an exciting new 10-minute-long blockbuster produced by the R-N Office of CampusCommunications, with directionand cinematography by theBlackbird Media Group. Thecampus’s new recruitment video has been garnering ravereviews since its debut in lateOctober. You can find it onRutgers-Newark’s Web site atwww.newark.rutgers.edu/video.

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Rutgers-Newark has been chosen as oneof only 19 research universitiesnationwide to receive a powerful newstate-of-the-art computer through a grantfrom Hewlett-Packard. The computer willbe used to dramatically enhancescientists’ ability to analyze brainactivity and will give them thecomputing power to develop aneducational model of a brain in action,which will be created for the NewarkMuseum.

“What we want to do is to build anunderstanding of the network ofcorrelations and transmissions betweenthe various elements of the brain as itgoes about performing tasks,” saidStephen Hanson, chairman of Rutgers-

Newark’s psychology department anddirector of the university’s RUMBA(Rutgers University Mind/Brain Activity)project.

The Hewlett-Packard Itanium IIWorkstation received through the grantto the RUMBA project will be linkedwith the Rutgers-Newark psychologydepartment’s newly acquired 28-nodeOpteron computer cluster and a fiber-channel data-storage system capable ofholding a trillion bytes of information.

As a result, analyses of the immenseamounts of raw data generated bydetailed human brain scans – between300,000 and 500,000 variables persecond – that would previously havetaken months to complete can now befinished in days, according to Hanson,freeing scientists to spend more timefocusing on why the brain is handlingtasks the way it is rather than just on how.

Rutgers-Newark will share RUMBA’s newability to crunch gigantic amounts ofdata with the University of Medicine andDentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).

SCIENCE NEWS

Grant, New Computers WillStrengthen Understanding ofBrain Activity By Mike Sutton

$1 Million Grant…from page 1

Painting the Town BlueRutgers-Newark Police Chief Marty Roddini shows offthe new mural adorning a wall in the renovatedheadquarters of the Department of Public Safety.Designed by a group of R-N visual arts majors, theblack, blue and white mural – which features some veryfamiliar University Avenue landmarks such as the clocktower that crowns the Center for Law and Justice – ismeant to emphasize the sense of community betweenthe department and the campus that it serves.

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Hanson and the psychology department’s newsupercomputing cluster

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The work is already yielding tangibleresults: One of Galoppini’s co-principalinvestigators, Gerald Meyer, a professorof chemistry at Johns Hopkins, is inthe early stages of testing prototypesolar-energy conversion cells that aremuch more effective at capturing lightand transforming it into usableelectrical energy than solar cells thatdon’t use the hybrid nanostructures.

Galoppini’s specialty, synthetic organicchemistry, allows her to design andbuild nanostructures. Piotr Piotrowiak,a professor of chemistry at Rutgers-Newark and a co-principal investigatoron the multidisciplinary team, is anexpert in ultra-fast laser spectroscopy,which permits him to measure theelectrical communication between theorganic and inorganic components ofthe new semiconductor nanostructuresthat the team is developing. Ultra-tiny “nanowires” built by Galoppiniwill link these nanostructures tomacrosized electronic devices, saidPiotrowiak. The research team isworking to create an entire range ofnanotechnological options formanufacturers of high-tech devicesthat were not available previously,Galoppini noted.

“We foresee numerous technologicalapplications of what we are learningand building,” Piotrowiak said.

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A Risk Taken,Two LivesChangedby Nivin Zaghloul, NCAS ’00

Many of us can remember having a badday in school when we were teased ortreated like an outcast. Unfortunately,for Cal (not his real name), one of themiddle-school students I teach at anelementary school in Newark, every day was bad.

Cal struggled with his course work andwas barely able to read and write. Theother students gave him a very hardtime. He was miserable. And I wasunsure how to intervene. I decided to hold a class meeting – even though I was nervous that the other childrenwould miss the point of this approach,and this action would only further isolate Cal.

I came up with an excuse to send himout of the room during the meeting. I had decided to take a backseatapproach, merely facilitating theconversation instead of leading it. I asked the students why they thought Cal – whom several classmatesdescribed as “cruel” – behaved theway he did. After some initialdefensiveness, one of the students said, “He’s tired of the way everyone has been treating him.” Another studentadded that maybe Cal would be nicer tothem if they were a little nicer to him.

I explained to the students that we allhave our strengths and weaknesses, andCal’s weakness happened to be hisacademics. I asked the students to stopand think of a time when they had failedat something and people mocked thembecause of it.

At that point, the students showed muchmore empathy, and I was taken aback byhow they took over the conversation,some of them even volunteering to helpas impromptu tutors when Cal struggledwith material.

Office of Campus CommunicationsRutgers-Newark249 University Ave.Newark, NJ 07102

www.newark.rutgers.edu

KEEP CONNECTEDConnections is published by the Office of Campus Communications, Rutgers-Newark. Your comments arewelcome. Please contact:

Helen Paxton, Senior Editor,paxton@andromeda.rutgers.eduMichael Sutton, Managing Editor,msutton@andromeda.rutgers.eduCarla Capizzi, Editor,capizzi@andromeda.rutgers.edu

Room 210, Blumenthal Hall249 University Ave., Newark, NJ 07102phone 973/353-5262 fax 973/353-1050

www.newark.rutgers.edu

The class learned a valuable lesson. But sodid I. At first I felt helpless. I was afraid totake the risk of holding a class meeting.Since then, I have learned that teaching isall about taking risks.

Some risks can change a student’s life.

FROM THE NEWARK METRO

Since its debut a year ago, The Newark Metro, Rutgers-Newark’s online student journal, has been winning accolades for intriguingarticles, photographs and poems capturing life in the city and the metro area. Connections is pleased to present an ongoing seriesfeaturing excerpts from the Metro. For the complete Newark Metro, go to www.newarkmetro.rutgers.edu.

Koeppe’s accomplishments have notgone unnoticed by his alma mater. This year, he was elected to RutgersUniversity’s Hall of DistinguishedAlumni.

Koeppe is chair of the state’s EconomicDevelopment Authority and serves on a number of boards and committees– including one that selects therecipient of R-N’s annual Blumenthalscholarship. As newly named presidentand chief executive of the NewarkAlliance, he is working to promote city schools and Newark’s downtowndevelopment.

Koeppe…from page 4

www.newarkmetro.rutgers.edu