Physics and astronomy professor Jim LaBelle will soon travel to Fairbanks, Alaska, to prepare for a rocket launch which will further his research of auroras. The experiment, called CHARM, will use the flight of a Black Brant XII rocket to study the waves produced by an aurora. LaBelle's experiment will follow those of two other professors from different universities. Marc Lessard of the University of New Hampshire plans to use a similar rocket to examine the power source of pulsating auroras while John Craven, a professor from the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, will examine the launch of four rockets to study auroras' upper-atmospheric winds. The launches will all occur from the Poker Flat Research Range, an area 30 miles of north of Fairbanks.
A leave of absence taken by Southwestern Vermont Medical Center pediatrician Dr. Philip Schultz has caused unrest among parents in the hospital's surrounding area. Schultz left the Bennington, Vt., hospital last month, and may decide to move away from the area permanently. His departure that would leave SVMC with only two pediatricians and one hospital in-patient physician to handle the emergency room and obstetric unit. Though SMVC officials say they have spoken to several candidates for the position, locals have complained about the process' slow pace. Officials from the hospital's parent company, Southwestern Vermont Health Care, have said that Bennington's rural characteristics present a roadblock to the search. Because of the area's small population and large geographic area, local pediatricians often struggle to sustain thriving practices.
Several rural colleges and universities are working to create urban centers close to their campuses, according to a Feb. 7 New York Times article. Seeking to attract prospective students and older residents, about a dozen schools have recently begun construction on "urban villages," shopping centers and housing in the areas surrounding their campuses -- developments similar to those already in place in Hanover. Schools profiled in the article include Hendrix College in Arkansas, the University of Connecticut and the University of Notre Dame. The projects underway at both Hendrix and UConn will be built in the "New Urbanism" style, which calls for narrow roads and buildings close to the street in order to promote pedestrian traffic.
