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(12/08/06 2:53am)
The Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington is hosting a benefit auction today to help pay for the recovery of associate chef Fred Newell. \nNewell, who began working for Upland over the summer, was hit Nov. 2 by a drunk driver whose blood-alcohol level was 0.24 at the scene. Newell sustained numerous injuries, including two skull fractures, hemorrhaging of the brain and a broken collarbone, according to the company's Web site.\nAfter being rushed to the Bloomington Hospital, where he remained in the critical-care ward for more than two weeks, he was released to go home. \nNewell is still unable to walk on his own and must use a wheelchair to get around, restaurant manager Ryan Harvey said.\nHarvey hopes the auction will raise money to help cover the cost of Newell's living expenses.\n"His medical bills will be covered by insurance, but living expenses really add up," Harvey said. "He does live alone, so it can be really expensive to hire nurses."\nThe auction will feature items such as restaurant gift certificates, which were donated by local businesses, tickets to shows at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, and a set of Pacers tickets, said Laura Cullison, administrative assistant for the brewery.\nWhile Cullison doesn't know how much money the auction will raise, she said she expects a decent turnout. To publicize the event, the company sent e-mails to regular customers and local businesses. \nUpland is not only relying on the auction to bring in money for Newell. Along with Irwin National Bank, the company created a charitable fund in Newell's name and agreed to match 100 percent of all donations received, according to a press release. So far, more than $1,400 has been donated by various individuals and businesses within the community.\nThe Upland Brewing Company also donates a portion of its restaurant sales it takes in Thursdays between 6 and 8 p.m. to the Fred Newell Fund.\nA longtime Bloomington resident, Newell has been in the restaurant business for more than 30 years. According to Upland's Web site, www.uplandbeer.com, Newell has worked at several restaurants in Bloomington, including the Limestone Grill, Puccini's and the American Legion.\nIn his spare time, Newell volunteered regularly at Community Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that provides food for the less fortunate.\nWhen Newell found out what Upland Brewery was doing for him, he was surprised and happy, Harvey said.\n"He was really overwhelmed when he heard about it," Harvey said. "He told me no one's ever done anything like this for him before."\nThe benefit auction is today at 7:30 p.m. at the Upland Brewing Company, 350 W. 11th St.
(12/05/06 5:25am)
When Mary Goetze wants to share new music with her students, she doesn't go to the books. She goes directly to the source.\nGoetze is a Jacobs School of Music professor who travels the world to bring international music to IU students.\nShe videotapes people performing songs in their native countries and asks them what the world should know about their music. Then she invites them to Bloomington to share with her students how the pieces should be performed.\nGoetze founded the International Vocal Ensemble in 1995 knowing it would be a group committed to a unique purpose -- exposing the West to international music that comes directly from the artists.\nThat purpose, which stemmed from her thinking that the Western world largely ignores 90 percent of music from around the globe, has not changed. The ensemble, which had its fall concert Sunday, sang pieces from countries as diverse as Kyrgyzstan and Jamaica, with dub poet Jean "Binta" Breeze as the guest artist. \nBreeze had the students perform pieces that were sung by slaves, and she said she was impressed with their ability to evoke the spirit of each song. Each piece was sung in its native language and original arrangement. \nFor Goetze, this remains the key to providing both the students and the public with authentic music. When she first explored the music within other countries, she came at it from a Western tradition, she said. But soon she realized this technique wasn't completely true to where the music was coming from.\n"I began to recognize my own Eurocentrism," Goetze said, "and I realized I needed to try and honor other approaches to these pieces of music."\nOne approach was to videotape the performers.\n"Their songs embody their culture, history and lives, and I feel that the students can really learn more about these people from the inside out, whether from watching them on video or seeing them in person," Goetze said.\nThe students in the International Vocal Ensemble often don't use sheet music to learn the pieces, which is one way the ensemble differs from other groups within the vocal department. Goetze, instead, has the students listen to clips of the songs while displaying the words on a projector.\nShe said she thinks students benefit as musicians by learning the pieces by ear because they not only enhance their oral memories, but also get in touch with each piece's emotional core.\n"Many musicians first engage the left side of their brain when learning a piece, which is the intellectual process of music. But most of the emotional information is in the right hemisphere," Goetze said.\nGoetze said her theory is that if students can disengage the left side of their brains when learning music, they will be able to sense the emotional side. \n"The analytical brain is trained to jump in, but that isn't the case for many other cultures," Goetze said. "We're trying to honor that."\nOnce the ensemble is familiar with a piece, she brings in the guest artists, or \n"informants," as she calls them. \nSenior Kristin Kolodziej, who joined the ensemble in fall 2002, said she thinks that working with the informants gives her a new perspective.\n"Because you're working directly with the source of the music, you get a stronger connection to it. These people show real spirit when they're performing, which makes it come alive," she said. \nThat spirit, Kolodziej said, is also true of Goetze, who always takes part in concerts by dancing and singing right alongside the students the whole way through.\n"Mary has this passion for music that is unbelievable," Kolodziej said. "Her energy is contagious."\nAdjunct professor Kat Domingo, who was the associate instructor for the ensemble eight years ago, has continued to sing with the group long after it was required for the graduate program. She credits this to Goetze's passion to her philosophy of viewing no culture as better than the next.\n"This is her effort to bring peace on the planet," Domingo said. "This music is a way for people to understand the world better socially and politically."\nBoth Domingo and Kolodziej agreed that Goetze's work is pioneering and has expanded the boundaries within the choral department. Kolodziej said she doesn't know anyone else who has made these different cultures so accessible. \nAfter her retirement in April 2007, Goetze plans to continue her work. Aside from teaching at the University, she has an ongoing series of DVDs and CD-ROMs she created that feature the translations, pronunciations and cultural information of the music she encounters. They are used by students all over the world, according to the International Vocal Ensemble Web site.\nAnd as for leaving the International Vocal Ensemble behind, she said she won't ever be far.\n"I will become sort of a grandmother figure when I leave the group," Goetze said. "I'll serve the new directors any way that I can. I'll always be a strong supporter"
(12/01/06 3:54am)
For the 13 students in the Bachelor of Fine Arts photography program, "Off the Map," the ninth installment of the annual Alternative Show, is more than just a chance to showcase pieces they've been working on throughout the \nsemester.\nThe exhibition, which opens at 7 p.m. at 125 N. College Ave., was organized and produced solely by the students, whose tasks included everything from securing the venue to promoting the show to hanging each individual piece.\nFaculty members devised the show to give students an opportunity to organize an exhibit themselves. The professors in the program provide guidance and advice along the way, but it's ultimately up to the students to assemble the show, junior Mia Beach said.\nBeach, participating in her first alternative show, said she thinks the student-run concept is beneficial. She said that although she makes the art, oftentimes someone else decides where and how to display it. \n"It's very different to make the art and then install the show yourself," Beach said. \nThe show will include both individual photography and a group project. For the project, the students wanted to do something community-oriented, so they sectioned off a map of Bloomington and each person took a different area of the city to photograph, said Asia Harman, a senior in the program. The only part of the city they didn't include was the IU campus.\n"Everyone had to photograph things relating to their area," Harman said. "People took very different approaches, and it really shows the different sides to Bloomington."\nAs for what each student will show, Harman said it's "whatever inspires them at the time." She plans to show six pieces, which showcase different community organizations in Bloomington. \nBeach plans to show pieces that represent the idea of constraint, something she finds interesting. She also decided to branch out by altering children's books and putting her own pictures on the pages, she said. Those, too, will be displayed during the show.\nBoth Beach and Harman agree that although organizing the show can be stressful, it's worth it.\n"Pressure is good. When you're down to the wire, you get it done," Harman said.\nShe said she expects about 200 people to filter into the exhibit throughout the evening. \n"Because the show has been around for awhile, people seem to know to expect it, even those not affiliated with the University," Harman said. "It's a really big show for us."\nThe show is free and open to the public.
(11/10/06 4:26am)
The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra will give a free performance at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Musical Arts Center. The show will feature Jacobs School of Music faculty members Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson.\nViolinist Loredo and cellist Robinson, who joined the faculty in 2005 and are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary this year, will perform Johannes Brahms' "Double Concerto in A Minor," a piece for violin, cello and orchestra. The concert will also include pieces by Giuseppe Verdi and Jean Sibelius, according to the event press release from the Jacobs School of Music.\nLaredo, a chaired violin professor at IU, made his orchestral debut with the San Francisco Symphony at the age of 11. Since then, he has performed with more than 100 international orchestras as a soloist, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. He has also performed with the National Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. \nRobinson has appeared on Lincoln Center's "Great Performers" series and has made many other television appearances, including "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and the annual "Kennedy Center Honors" program. \nIn 1976, Laredo and Robinson formed the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio with pianist Joseph Kalichstein. The Trio made its debut at the White House at President Jimmy Carter's inauguration in 1977 and was named Musical America's "Ensemble of the Year" in 2002. In 2003, the trio served for its first time as the Chamber Ensemble in Residence at the Kennedy Center during the Center's 2003-04 season.\n"Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson, both collectively and individually, are a significant and invaluable force in the international world of music," said Gwyn Richards, dean of the Jacobs School of Music, according to a press release from April 2005, when the school announced the two would join the faculty.\nSunday's performance will be conducted by Mario Venzago, who is in his fourth season as the music director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. This is the first time Laredo and Robinson have worked with him.\n"When working with an orchestra, there are often so many variables that go into it. Sometimes you've never met the conductor or it's a new piece that has never been performed before." Robinson said. "You have to know every part that is played within the piece and hear the dialogue between instruments."\nRobinson and Laredo will premiere the concertos Friday in Indianapolis with the ISO and will perform again Saturday before coming to Bloomington.\n"Premieres of works are always very satisfying, but I like when the pieces are settled -- usually after two or three performances," Robinson said. "By the time we get to Bloomington, the show should be great."\nThe show is presented by the Jacobs School of Music and is open to the public. Although admission is free, tickets are required and can be secured in advance at the MAC Box Office or by phone at 855-7433.
(11/07/06 3:32am)
For Violette Verdy, a distinguished professor of ballet at IU, this past Saturday's master class was a chance to share something unique -- a personal insight into the works of George Balanchine. The solos the students danced were those Verdy herself began performing more than 40 years ago.\nThe master class, which was open to the public and filmed by WTIU, was part of a larger project Verdy undertook to categorize and digitalize original ballet pieces choreographed for her by Balanchine. The pieces will later be archived and made available to the public. \nA grant from IU's "New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities" program funds the project.\nVerdy, who is originally from France, began dancing at the New York City Ballet in 1958 after Balanchine recommended her for the part of Juliet in his ballet "Romeo and Juliet." She ended up staying with the company for 19 years as a principal dancer. During that time, Balanchine choreographed a countless number of roles specifically for her to perform. \n"His solos were always very French and needed a lot of style, a lot of dreaming," Verdy said. "They would range from the platonic side of the French, to the ideal, and then to the lighter side, which was fresh and fun."\nBefore joining the faculty of the IU Ballet Theater, Verdy was the director of the Paris Opera Ballet and the Boston Ballet.\nVerdy said the master class was a way to show the public the work she was doing. She first taught the solos to everyone within the ballet program but then narrowed it down to just a few dancers. Students rehearsed almost every day for a month in preparation for the performance.\n"What was so great about working with Violette was that she would constantly bring up things that Balanchine had told her when she was learning the solo," said senior Stephanie Lampe. "It was as if we had a direct line back to Balanchine." \nSenior Lauren Fadeley echoed that sentiment.\n"In ballet, things tend to get lost and people don't always know how things are. Actually learning the pieces from her was so great because she had performed them many times and knew exactly how they should be," Fadeley said. \nDuring Saturday's master class, Verdy introduced each dance and showed a video of her performing the solo. After the video, dancers from IU Ballet Theater came to the floor to perform.\nFor the audience, it was a chance to see the work that goes into learning and performing a solo. It was also a chance to eliminate the invisible barrier between the audience and the performers, as the dancers were just a few short feet away from the spectators. \nAlthough the project is far from over, Verdy said she is happy she was able to give the public a little taste of her most recent undertaking.\n"The master class was a way to celebrate the grant and to continue dance education," Verdy said, "and, of course, a great way to preserve Balanchine's legacy"
(11/06/06 3:38am)
The Jacobs School of Music recently appointed the Orion String Quartet as its first quartet-in-residence for the 2006-07 season. The Orion Quartet, which has made many guest appearances at IU during the last two years, will perform concerts and lead master classes for students twice a semester. They will also work closely with chamber groups and quartets within the school.\nThe term "quartet-in-residence" only makes official what the quartet is already doing at the school, said Atar Arad, a viola professor who has acted as the liaison between the quartet and the school.\n"We invited them a few years ago to play, and it was an enormous success," Arad said. "They were so huge an inspiration that they've come back every year since. They bring chamber music to a new level."\nAlong with the residency at IU, the quartet -- which is made up of two violinists, a violist and a cellist -- is the quartet-in-residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Mannes College of Music, both in New York City.\nThe quartet, which formed in 1987, picked its name from the Orion constellation as a metaphor for the unique personality each musician brings to the group, according to the group's Web site. The members had experience playing together at various festivals and symposiums before the quartet was actually formed, said Steven Tenenbom, violist for the group. \nTenenbom said the quartet is excited to be at IU for the opportunity to pass on to students the important things they have learned as a quartet and musicians themselves.\n"What I've found is that music is limitless in its possibilities, and I want to inspire future generations to see that same thing," Tenenbom said. \nDuring the master classes, students will get a chance to get to know the quartet and appreciate what it takes to play chamber music at a very high level, Arad said. The quartet will also conduct readings of various pieces of music with the students. This gives the students and the quartet even more of a chance to interact with each other.\nAs for the concerts, a different Jacobs School faculty member will play with the quartet at each performance. This is to foster more interaction between the quartet and the faculty, Arad said. He played with the quartet during its concert last year.\n"It was an enriching experience to play with the Orion Quartet," Arad said. "Everyone in the group has their own individual style, and when the guest members play, they too get to adopt and contribute a style. It's a wonderful opportunity." \nBoth Arad and Tenenbom said they hope the quartet-in-residency carries on after this year.\n"We're going to play it as it comes and see the reaction from the students and the faculty," Arad said. "But we hope to have a quartet-in-residence every year. We want this to be an ongoing thing."\nThe Orion Quartet will offer master classes today and Tuesday from noon to 3 p.m. in Ford-Crawford Hall. Additional performances will be Dec. 5, Feb. 25 and March 25, with master classes the day after each concert.
(11/02/06 4:58am)
Before the Monroe County Civic Theater decided to include the stage version of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" as part of its 2006 season, the show had only been performed once before in its original form. That was in 1897, when Stoker cut out passages of his novel, added stage directions when necessary and premiered his work to a live audience in order to retain stage copyrights to his story.\nThe Monroe County Civic Theater opened "Dracula" Tuesday at the Irish Lion, a local restaurant, and while it cut out many parts of the four-hour show, the remaining script lacks clarity and is still far too long, clocking in at a little less than three hours.\nThe show begins with lawyer Jonathan Harker, played by Nick Kidwell, arriving at the castle of Count Dracula, played by Roy Sillings, to finalize a real estate deal. Jonathan instantly feels uneasy being around Dracula, and while Kidwell portrays this well, the dialogue between him and Sillings, who wears fangs in his mouth for the entirety of the show, was often muffled and hard to hear. \nIf those in the audience are not previously familiar with the story of "Dracula," they will already feel lost.\nWhile the early scenes draw out tediously, the play picks up at the introduction of Lucy Westenra, played by Jessica Christine Ciucci, and Mina Murray, played by Lauren Pope. \nWhile Ciucci is one of the strongest actors in the cast, commanding attention the instant she comes on stage, the explanations of the scenes take too long. We hear Lucy speaking of her many suitors, but the audience does not know who these men are or their importance to the play until more than halfway into the first act.\nThe turning point happens when Dracula bites Lucy. The audience finally has a story to focus on and the play begins to move in an actual direction. Dr. John Seward tends to Lucy. The doctor is played by Alex Gulck and Abraham Van Helsing, the doctor's former teacher, is played by Chris Aruffo.\nAruffo, who was the dialect coach for the show, is by far the strongest actor, speaking with such diction and clarity throughout that the audience can't help but perk up when he enters the stage.\nBut one character cannot save a whole production. There are too many flaws to make this a coherent show. Intermission does not occur until two hours into the show, and by that point, the audience just needs a break. \nThe second act begins awkwardly, with the actors beginning their dialogues while the audience was still standing. However, good moments do transpire as the play continues. One such moment is when Van Helsing rallies the men to kill Dracula. Aruffo brings a sense of honesty to these lines, and he convinces the audience that he really believes in fighting for justice. \nAt about 10:45 p.m., during yet another set change, a woman yelled from her seat: "This play will never end!" When snickers were heard all around, I knew we were all thinking the same thing.\nWhen the play finally reaches its anticlimactic ending, I felt deflated. I found myself asking: "Did I really wait three hours for the play to end like that?" Sadly, I knew the answer was yes. \nThat said, the root of the problem is really the script itself. While it is commendable that director Russell McGee was true to the original lines, "Dracula" reads exactly how it was constructed -- passages cut from the original book and thrown on the page in a script form. Because of this, the audience neither has the patience nor the justification to care about the characters and the play itself.\nMonroe County Civic Theater's "Dracula" will run at 8 p.m. Nov. 6-8 and Nov. 13-15 at the Irish Lion. All shows are free.
(10/30/06 3:38am)
When poet Richard Newman set out to write a sonnet about a monster, he had no idea the subject would become addictive. One monster sonnet turned into many more until Newman realized he needed to write about something else.\n"I actually had to make myself stop writing monster sonnets," Newman said.\nNewman will give a free poetry reading at 8 p.m. tonight in room A201 of the Lee Norvelle Theatre & Drama Center. He will read from his books, "Monster Gallery: 19 Terrifying and Amazing Monster Sonnets!" and "Borrowed Towns," as well as introduce new poems.\nFor Newman, who grew up in Evansville, anything can be subject matter. While many of his poems are reflective of his childhood spent in southern Indiana, he writes of things as varied as spare change in the pocket or his backyard. \n"If you have a little bit of imagination and a love for the things that surround you, you'll find that poetry is all around," Newman said.\nWhen Newman first got to college, his plan was to become a fiction writer. But after a professor told him he was terrible at it, he decided to try something else and turned to poetry. He said he liked that he could begin a story and have it end just 14 lines later.\n"Poetry is much shorter. It fits with my attention span," Newman said. \nMuch of Newman's work is humorous with an underlying layer of sadness. He aims to walk that line between humor and sorrow when writing his poems, he said.\nRichard Cecil, a professor in the creative writing department at IU, is one of Newman's former teachers.\n"When I got ("Borrowed Towns") in my hands, it was the best book of poems I'd read all year," Cecil said. "Yes, it's funny, but it's also deeply sad. But it's the kind of sadness you're forced to grin at."\nCecil calls Newman "a formal, funny, Phillip Larkin/Robert Frost-loving, aesthetically eye-to-eye friend in the art."\nSenior Lena Rae Burkett read "Borrowed Towns" in her poetry class. What she liked best about the book was how honest it was, she said. \n"He uses formal forms to write about informal topics and uses humor to bring in more serious topics," Burkett said. "He has this great control over language."\nNewman is the editor of River Styx, an award-winning magazine that publishes poetry, fiction and essays. His poems have been featured by poet Ted Kooser in his nationally syndicated poetry column, "American Life in Poetry," and selected by former Poet Laureate Billy Collins for "The Best American Poetry 2006." Newman also teaches creative writing at Washington University in St. Louis.\nAt tonight's reading, Newman said he hopes to hear laughter from the audience.\n"I hope that people will find my poems humorous," he said. "But then I also hope to open someone's world up and show them that they can write about anything. Even the most ordinary things can become poetry"
(10/19/06 2:58am)
For Max Kauffman, making art is the easy part. It's the business side of it all that gets to him. \nA few months ago, Kauffman, a former IU student, decided to take his art on tour. He began calling venues in different cities across the country to convince them to show his art.\nThis was no easy task.\nFrom convincing galleries showing his artwork was worth their time to finding new venues when others fell through at the last minute, Kauffman said he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed when setting up the logistics of the tour.\nIn the end, his dedication paid off.\nThe 24-year-old embarks on an art tour across the country, spanning 10 cities and 14 venues in just 16 days. His first stop will be at 7 p.m. today at a residence at 321 E. Wylie St.\nThe Robot Co. Skate Agency Art Tour is no ordinary art show. Instead of just presenting his work, Kauffman, who graduated from Arizona State University in 2004 and spent his final semester at IU as a guest student in the School of Fine Arts, lined up several local bands in each city to play music while he paints murals at the art galleries, skate shops and bars he visits. \nWhile he will still showcase about 25 pieces of his work, the main focus of his tour is on his murals and the ways in which art and music can complement each other.\n"His style is totally different, and in order to make art progress, you have to challenge things and go against the fray. He's doing just that," said South Bend resident Nick Schmidt, who has been friends with Kauffman for 10 years and is handling public relations for the tour.\nKauffman said he was an avid skateboarder as a teenager in his hometown of South Bend. While he doesn't get to skateboard as often these days, he still keeps the sport close to him. He describes his artwork as "skateboard-oriented," and when scheduling the tour, he knew right away he wanted to have shows at both traditional galleries and skate shops. \n"The people who work at skate shops tend to be really understanding and relaxed," he said. "Because of that, I wanted to have a mix of galleries but also venues where everyone is just having fun and hanging out."\nSince Kauffman will have less than two hours to complete each mural, he will use acrylic paint to fill the canvas. He explained that acrylic is slow to dry, making it easier to move the paint around. While he enjoys using watercolors for "the flow and color you get while blending," acrylic paint is more conducive for painting large murals in a short amount of time, he said. Most of his murals will be abstract art, he added.\n"To capture reality is boring to me; I would rather mess with it a little," Kauffman wrote on his Web site. \nKauffman knew he wanted to begin the tour in Bloomington because he said it is the spot in Indiana that has the most cultural awareness in regards to music and art.\nLocal band Men of Many Vices will play during tonight's show.\nFor Kauffman, the time he spent at IU was more artistically rewarding than any of his previous semesters. He made more art pieces during his stay at IU than the whole time he was at Arizona State, he said.\n"When I was at IU, I was really pushed by my professors. I didn't have as many distractions, so I really could focus on my artwork," he said. "I could go to the ceramics school until 4 in the morning, and that would be OK." Early on, Kauffman had his doubts about the tour coming together. Now that it's actually here, he's happy he pulled it off. \n"I had to do some good convincing to get them to show the work of an artist they had never heard of," he said. "But when they accepted, it gave me a good boost."\nFor more information on Kauffman's work, visit his Web site at .
(10/18/06 10:28pm)
Two former U.S. poets laureates Robert Pinsky and W. S. Merwin will come to campus as part of a series sponsored by the College Arts and Humanities Institute and the Institute for Advanced Study.\nPinsky and Merwin will each give a reading and presentation on the topic of "Solitude," beginning with Pinksy's presentation at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Whittenberger Auditorium.\nTemple Grandin , a noted animal behavior scientist and author who is autistic, will also give a presentation as part of the series. All presentations are free and open to the public.\nAndrea Ciccarelli , director of the CAHI, and Alfred Aman, IU law professor and director of the Institute for Advanced Study, chose "Solitude" as a theme for the series because of its wide range of meaning.\n"We knew we wanted to have a common thread running through the speakers," Aman said. "People define solitude differently, from loneliness to privacy. We wanted to explore that."\nBoth Aman and Ciccarelli were keen on making poets part of the series because of their "unique insight into the idea and state of solitude," Aman said.\n"Poets in part have a way of going deeper, shutting off the background noise and seeing what the essence of solitude can mean," he said.\nMatt Colglazier, a third-year master of fine arts student in the creative writing department, stresses that writing poetry is a uniquely solitary act.\n"The majority of poetry is written in solitude. It's not a cooperative art form like making a movie," said Colglazier. "A poet might, by virtue of writing itself, be brought closer to the subject and have something meaningful to say."\nColglazier said he thinks poetry readings are important because hearing a poet read his or her own work can improve the listener's understanding of a piece of poetry.\n"I guess for me, poetry is one of those subjects that is also pleasurable when you hear it out loud. Robert Pinksy talks of this, in terms of a poem not being complete until you hear someone read it," he said.\nAlong with the readings and presentations, the speakers will host two small seminars, each with about 20 undergraduate and graduate students. Faculty members will decide who gets to participate in these workshops, Ciccarelli said.\nCiccarelli and Aman said they hope to continue with the theme of solitude next year.\n"The topic has many very deep angles that we would like to keep exploring," Aman said. "If we use it for a couple of years, it may gain momentum and develop a bit of a following. And then we'll come up with a new topic." For more information on the series,\nvisit www.indiana.edu/~cahi .
(04/14/06 5:31am)
When Dennis Friesel first came to IU in 1970, he expected to stay just 18 months. A post-doctorate physicist straight from the University of Notre Dame, Friesel had been enlisted to be part of a four-member team building a new cyclotron facility.\nThe IU Cyclotron was to be the first of its kind in the United States.\nBut 18 months quickly turned into a five-year stay when the cyclotron was completed. Now, with retirement set for this summer, 35 years have passed for Friesel. \n"Every time I would start to get bored, a new project would come along which would keep my attention for a few years," he said. "And then I'd take a break, consider changing jobs and something else would be brought to me." \nThe building is not the only thing that has changed in 35 years. A staff of 25 has grown to 130, and the cyclotron, once strictly used for nuclear physics research, is now also a practical research center. It houses a two-room Proton Therapy Treatment Center that is used to treat cancer patients all day, every day, with a third room under construction. \nA cyclotron accelerates charged particles at a high voltage. Inventor Ernest Lawrence originally used the machine to conduct experiments that needed particles with energy. The \ncyclotron also produces spectrally pure ultraviolet and low-frequency X-rays, which are used for numerous purposes, including cancer treatment.\nBut for Friesel, the biggest change has been the way in which he and his colleagues are able to conduct research and business at the facility. It once took five years to build a new part for the cyclotron, and scientists had to pray their hypothesis was correct when conducting new experiments. Computers have changed all of that. \n"Now instead of using a hand calculator, you can type into the computer the information you have and get a full-blown analysis," Friesel said. "Instead of using paper and pencil, you do your work on a computer design machine and it prints it out for you. Technology has changed the way we conduct our research and experiments immensely."\nTechnology has also allowed the cyclotron to continue to draw big name businesses to use the facility. NASA, one of the main benefactors to the cyclotron until 1998, used it to test out space suits to see whether the suits would sustain heat on Mercury, which has an average temperature of 354 degrees Fahrenheit. The cyclotron, which shoots out a proton beam of 200 electronvolts (MeV), was able to test the material in just minutes to determine its strength. \nFor Friesel, who once dreamed of being a pilot in the Air Force, instances like that remind him why he chose the life of a physicist. As a child, he was a "builder," taking apart objects and then putting them back together just to see their parts. He said he has always enjoyed learning why things are the way they are. In retrospect, Friesel said flying planes would not have proved as satisfying.\n"I guess you could say that science was the course of least resistance," Friesel said, leaning far back in his desk chair. "I walked the line until grad school because that's what I was supposed to do and ended up here. But I'm thankful for it. I would have gotten bored in an airplane."\nWorking on the cyclotron has been no walk in the park. Many long days and even longer nights have been the norm for Friesel, but he said it was pure fun. He compared a college student's inclination to partying to that of his and his colleagues' decision to constantly work. \n"Just like a college student who drinks on the weekend because it's fun, our idea of a good Saturday night was working on the cyclotron and as soon as something fit, and we accomplished what we were doing, we stepped back and celebrated," Friesel said. "We popped open our beers, too."\nDave Jenner, IUCF construction coordinator and division head of technologies, began working with Friesel 23 years ago. \n"He is the single most responsible person for the cyclotron being the success that it was," Jenner said. "He worked 16-hour work (days) and basically lived at the facility for the first 25 years the cyclotron was running. He was headstrong, insistent and people delivered. His expectations were clear."\nJohn Collins, division head of software engineering at the IUCF, echoes that sentiment. \n"He's extremely forthright, a real type-A personality," he said. "Subtlety is hardly something he can spell, much less be. While there are negatives to that, the positive is that those qualities are characteristics of a good leader."\nWhen the cyclotron lost its funding in 1998 because the instrument had done all the experiments it could do, Friesel contemplated retiring and trying a different job, but once again something fell into his lap. The facility was able to stay afloat "by hook or by crook." Before Friesel knew it, he was chairman of the Proton Therapy Treatment Center, which uses the cyclotron's proton beam to treat localized tumors in cancer patients. The center has treated more than 160 patients, most of whom see reductions in their tumor size without surgery. \nThough Friesel plans to retire in July, but even he acknowledges that it's not set in stone. \n"I'm going to relax a bit," Friesel said. "Maybe do some consulting work."\nSurprising words for a man who has spent the last 35 years working, but as Friesel knows, things can always remain interesting.