Pedal Power
David Kennedy and Steve Haber, both professors of history, are spending a week cycling 485 miles in a bike race across Iowa.
Kennedy is bringing along “lots of liniment.” Haber is pondering his “capacity to get myself into impossible situations–like agreeing to ride across Iowa with David Kennedy.” They’re both looking forward to the finish line on the banks of the Mississippi.
Up in the Whirlybird
Well, maybe by fall quarter. Check out Brian Cantwell, associate chair of aero/astro engineering, as he hovers over Palo Alto airport, continuing his helicopter flying lessons.
“Autorotation can be a little bit nerve-racking,” he admits. “You’re looking down at the ground as it comes up toward you and you feel like a leaf falling.
The Reef Beyond Belief
Robert Dunbar, professor of geological and environmental sciences, is studying El Niño’s patterns by surveying coral mortality on the stunningly beautiful Galápagos reefs.
Dunbar is traveling with Eric Eisenhardt, a co-term student in earth systems. “Your colleagues always determine how productive you are on a trip,” Dunbar says. But they won’t just be working. “The Galápagos is one of the amazing places on earth,” Dunbar says. “Sometimes you find yourself diving with penguins, sea turtles, sharks and iguanas, which look like flying dragons under water.”
The Last Tango in Prague
Richard Powers, a lecturer in the dance division of the department of drama, is tripping the light fantastic with 40 members of the stanford Vintage dance Ensemble at workshops in Prague.
The dances may be tightly choreographed, but Powers says he is looking forward to "the spontaneous gatherings, explorations, discoveries and parties that always happen, even more than the scheduled events I've planned.”
Tropic Topic
Pam Matson, professor of geological and environmental sciences, heads out to Hawaii, where she’s doing field work in the rain forest on the effects of nitrogen deposits in tropical ecosystems.
When she’s not noting the nasty negatives of nitrogen, she’ll be happy she packed rain clothes and swim gear. “I love getting out of the office, away from phone and e-mail and disappearing into the forest,” she says. And the swim gear? “I can decide to
A Gem of a Journey
Seth Lerer, chair of comparative literature, is polishing up his lapidary skills as he treks through Montana in search of sapphires.
Lerer, an amateur mineralogist and currently vice president of the San Francisco Gem and Mineral Society, is prospecting with his wife and 5-year-old son. Searching the bends of the Missouri River and its tributaries, they’re using a method similar to gold panners–washing out the gravel and keeping the stones.
Awake and Sing!
They’re not exactly wandering minstrels, but Stephen Sano, an assistant professor of music, is taking the Stanford Chamber Chorale on a two-week concert tour through England and Scotland. They’re singing for their suppers in London, Oxford, Salisbury, Coventry, York and Edinburgh.
Sano is excited about performances in Salisbury Cathedral, York Minster and Eton Chapel–as well as the opportunity to work in master classes with some of the leading figures in British choral music.
Murder She Read
Nancy Kollmann, professor of history, is researching violent crime in old Moscow, digging into manuscripts in the city’s legal archives to uncover 17th- and 18th-century murder and assault court cases.
The attraction is the sometimes lurid, sometimes mundane world of Russia 200 years ago. “You begin to feel drawn into the often violent world of the Russian countryside,” Kollmann says, “into the day-to-day lives of people who lived so long ago in such different times.”
Atomic Sleuth
Gabrielle Hecht, assistant professor of history, is taking the backroads to the beginnings of the atomic age. In Madagascar, her destination is the uranium mines that provide the nuclear fuel for bombs and reactors.
She’s bringing her “indispensable” tape recorder to the remotest parts of the country, where the uranium mines are located, and interviewing Tandroy villagers once hired by the French to work in the mines.
On Top of the World
Simon Klemperer, associate professor of geophysics, is having a blast in Tibet. In an attempt to understand how the region was shaped by the collision of the Indian and Asian land masses, Klemperer is setting off a series of small controlled explosions and timing the sound waves as they travel through the earth’s crust.
Among the crucial pieces of equipment he’ll bring along is a seismic recorder to measure the intensity of the waves. But almost as important is a supply of Hershey bars. “You lose your appetite at high altitude, so it’s important to take along junk food,” Klemperer says. “If we lived only on Chinese food, we’d lose a lot of weight.”
Shake and Bake
Was Troy destroyed in Homer’s fabled war or by an ancient temblor? Amos Nur, chair of the geophysics department, is setting out to study the archeological sites of ancient Troy, Armageddon and Jericho. Through the grueling heat of summer, he is shaking up old theories by looking at how earthquakes may have been responsible for some of the catastrophic changes in ancient societies.
With camera in hand, Nur hopes to unearth the collapsed walls, skeletons and written records buried by earthquakes.
Zen and Art
Enrique Chagoya, assistant professor of art, is attending the opening of “American Stories” at the Akita Art Museum in Japan. He is one of 12 artists whose work is on view at the exhibition.
Booked to deliver his first lecture to a Japanese audience, Chagoya is determined not to forget his slide show. And he’s looking forward to deciphering the thick exhibition catalog, written in Japanese.
Kibbitzing and Kibbutzing
Joel Beinin, professor of history, is leading a study tour to Israel and Palestine organized by the Middle East Children’s Alliance.
Beinin is anxious about the volatile mix of politics and religion that his teenage voyagers will encounter. “You need nerves of steel,” he says. “Navigating through the Israeli occupation can be a very harrowing experience.” But Beinin is looking forward to seeing his family and long-time friends, both Israelis and Palestinians, and sharing the experience with the children on the trip.
