Grain & Chaff

Exporting expertise

Two books co-authored by professor Nicholas T. Dines of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning and LARP Ph.D. graduate Kyle D. Brown of California State Polytechnic University have recently been translated and published in China by McGraw-Hill Education (Asia) and China Architecture and Building Press. "Time-Saver Standards, Concise Site Construction Details Manual," originally published in 1999, is an anthology of 350 key site construction details encountered in medium to large scale development. Details are categorized by material, level of use (loading), existing soil substrate condition, existing climate, and initial and long-term maintenance costs. The book is a print version of an interactive CD-ROM that received an Association of American Publishers award of excellence in electronic media in the category of Math and Science (1998). The other book now in Chinese is "The Landscape Architect's Portable Handbook," originally published in 2001, contains 443 pages of information useful for professional practice and preparation for the professional registration examination.

Remembering Herbert Aptheker

While the March 17 death of historian Herbert Aptheker was noted in major newspapers across the country, the obituaries didn't mention his relationship with UMass and the University of Massachusetts Press. In 1946, W.E.B. Du Bois chose Aptheker to edit his personal papers and correspondence, which numbered about 100,000 letters. Delving into the collection, Aptheker produced "The Correspondence of W.E.B. Du Bois," a three-volume set published in the early 1970s by the UMass Press. The work was hailed as a "landmark in Afro-American history" by the New York Times. Aptheker also edited two other books published by the Press: "The Education of Black People" and "Prayers for Dark People." In 1971-72 Aptheker taught American history at UMass as the Du Bois lecturer and in 1996, he was awarded an honorary degree during the dedication of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library. Aptheker died in San Jose, Calif. at the age of 88.

Right to the source

Ask Google.com's FAQ page (google.com/help/faq.html#foreign_char) "How can I improve the accuracy or number of results when searching for foreign words?" and the search engine responds, "Spelling the word correctly with the appropriate foreign characters will significantly improve the quality of your search results... For instructions on typing foreign characters with an English or any other keyboard, visit the following page for instructions: http://www.umass.edu/langctr/keyboardhelp.html." The keyboard help site, which has as many as 1,500 visitors a day, was written and is continued by Irene Starr, retired director of the now-closed Foreign Language Resource Center.

Something to say

Stella Volpe, associate professor of Nutrition, was a speaker at the Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutritionists Conference on March 15 in Chicago. She discussed minerals and weight loss in a colloquium with one of her former graduate students, Christopher Mohr, who is presently working on his doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh. Volpe was also an invited speaker at Smith College where she spoke on two occasions on "Fueling the Body for Optimal Performance." The presentations to student-athletes was part of a special program based on a grant Smith received from the NCAA.

Fool's gold

Last week's April Fool's report on a state plan to locate a casino on campus apparently snookered a few readers, notably in Natural Resources Conservation, Administration and Finance, the Library, Housing Services and UMass magazine. One reader suggested that the horse track at the Hadley Farm is almost ready for racing and another suggested the casino be dubbed "Lombardi's Longshot." Just to cover all the bases, another reader asked if Wayne Newton would be coming to entertain at the new resort.