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UW-Eau Claire's Materials Science Center serving Wisconsin businesses

New equipment in geology department to benefit undergraduate researchers, area businesses

UW-Eau Claire graduate accepted into Teach For America program

Flutist Peter Phippen to perform free outdoor concert Monday

Chancellor search Web site goes live

UW-Eau Claire's Materials Science Center serving Wisconsin businesses

Matt Evans, associate professor of physics and astronomy, looks into the viewport of the preparation chamber of the X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy System in UW-Eau Claire's Materials Science Center. (Photo by Rick Mickelson, TLTDC)

Before connecting with scientists at UW-Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls-based Northern Crossarm Co. was spending significant dollars to get its wood products weather tested.

The weather testing helps determine if the innovative, environmentally-safe preservative Envirosafe PlusT that the 83-year-old pressure treatment lumber company uses penetrates the wood deeply enough, an analysis that is necessary for its products to be certified.

"The analysis was costing the company a lot of money because it had to send samples to a testing facility in the state of Washington," said Dr. Kim Pierson, professor of physics and astronomy. "By using state-of-the-art equipment in the Materials Science Center and faculty consultants, Northern Crossarm is doing the analysis for a fraction of the cost."

The project with Northern Crossarm is an example of the kind of connections UW-Eau Claire has made with regional industries in the year since it opened its Materials Science Center. Full story.

New equipment in geology department to benefit undergraduate researchers, area businesses
Students at UW-Eau Claire and regional businesses will soon have access to a new piece of state-of-the-art, high-powered equipment capable of measuring elemental concentrations to the parts-per-quadrillion level. UW-Eau Claire's newly acquired High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer — funded by a $425,000 U.S. Department of Education grant — will be available to students and local industry beginning in the fall, said J. Brian Mahoney, one of three geology faculty members who are getting the new equipment up and running this summer. Experience with this kind of technology will open doors for graduates, Mahoney said. "When it comes to using this kind of analytical equipment, our undergraduate students will have more hands-on experience than master's students at big research institutions." Full story.

UW-Eau Claire graduate accepted into Teach For America program
Zachary Verriden is the first UW-Eau Claire graduate accepted into Teach For America, a highly selective program that only accepts about 15 percent of the graduating seniors and recent college graduates who apply. More than 17,000 men and women from across the country applied this year, and according to Teach For America, 93 percent of those accepted held leadership positions on their campuses and in their communities, earning average GPAs of 3.5.

Verriden, who graduated in December 2004 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science, plans to attend law school some day. For now though, he is excited about his assignment to teach high school social studies at the LEAP Academy University Charter School , a privately run, publicly funded high school in Camden, N.J. Full story.

Flutist Peter Phippen to perform free outdoor concert Monday
Ethnic flutist Peter Phippen will present a free outdoor concert on the UW-Eau Claire Campus Mall at 7 p.m. Monday, July 11.

A professional musician for the past 25 years, Phippen spent his early career days as a bass guitarist and recording artist. But in 1987 his first flute — a 25-cent bamboo whistle — found its way into his hands, and wooden flutes became his solo instrument of choice.

Audience members can expect to relax (don't forget a blanket and/or lawn chair) to Phippen's haunting tones of the Native American flute, bamboo flute, Japanese shakuhachi and other ethnic flutes from around the world. Refreshments will be sold. Full story.

Also plan to attend "The Lost Boys" (1987), one of the better vampire films, playing Monday through Thursday at 7 p.m. in Davies Theatre.

Summer Session Programs continue through Aug. 4. A complete schedule of events is available online.

Chancellor search site goes live
A new Web site providing information about UW-Eau Claire's search for a new chancellor is now online. The chancellor search site is accessible via the UW-Eau Claire home page (under the weather icon on the right side). The site includes information about the campus, community and position for prospective candidates to review. It also includes information to keep the campus community informed of the search and screen process, including a detailed timeline and link to information about the search consultant. The site will be updated as needed and will remain active throughout the search and screen process.

Summer Bulletin
Published weekly during the summer session by the UW-Eau Claire News Bureau. News items and notices should be sent to the News Bureau, Schofield 201, by 10 a.m. Monday for publication in the following week’s issue. E-mail submissions to Julie Poquette at poquetjm@uwec.edu are encouraged. Faculty/staff news items are published on a space-available basis.