Professor Kenneth Able has been given the William Brewster Memorial Award for 1996 by
the American Ornithologists Union (AOU) for what it calls “his success in unraveling
some of the mysteries of bird orientation and navigation and his record of excellence
in field and laboratory research.”
The migration and orientation of birds is one of Able’s major research interests. “I have been studying birds for most of my life,” he says. “I first started watching them when I was 11 years old and it was when I went to college that I chose to make their study my career. My plans for the future are to continue studying some of the remaining questions having to do with bird orientation and navigation and also work with birds of other species going through migration.”
From Able’s research of birds, major new insights into many questions have been found regarding bird navigation and orientation. Able has made effective use of what is termed the “cue-conflict experiment,” his results challenging the dogma so long held by many ornithologists that birds use a “sun-compass” for orientation. In a series of experiments conducted in collaboration with his wife, Mary, he has shown that birds often use the plane of polarized light, especially at sunset, to determine migratory direction.
Furthermore, through studies of the ontogeny of orientation behavior in young Savannah Sparrows, Able’s research has demonstrated that birds can learn to use celestial rotation of stars at night and of polarized skylight during the day to determine their orientation.
Able has recently extended these kinds of experiments to mature sparrows, and has shown that they too can calibrate their magnetic compass during the migratory period when exposed to clear day and night skies. From a practical point of view, this also means that such research can now be done with older birds, making the time-consuming and often difficult process of hand-rearing the young birds needed for ontogenetic studies unnecessary.
According to a released statement from the award’s committee of the AOU, “Able’s ability to synthesize and analyze diverse experiments and findings has contributed greatly to the understanding of and the dispersion of knowledge about bird orientation and navigation.”
Able’s investigations have resulted in more than 35 published papers in the last 10 years. He has also written a number of important reviews that have analyzed recent developments in studies of avian orientation and navigation, as well as in the historical development of the field.
The William Brewster Memorial Award is the highest award of the AOU and is given to authors or co-authors of the most meritorious body of work on birds in the Western Hemisphere published during the 10 calendar years preceding a given AOU meeting. The award consists of a medal and honorarium provided through the endowed William Brewster Memorial Fund of the American Ornithologist Union.
Thomas L. Gebhardt, the director of Personal Safety and Off-Campus Affairs, recently presented a workshop with John Ellis from the College of Saint Rose on “Town-Gown Relations” at the 10th Annual National Meeting on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Violence Prevention in Higher Education, held in Park City, Utah. The conference focuses specifically on prevention issues related to colleges and universities.
The meeting provided an opportunity to learn new prevention skills, to network with higher education prevention specialists and to participate in a variety of drug-free activities. The theme was “After Ten Years . . . Still a New Frontier.” Seven different workshops on prevention, a workshop by students on peer prevention, and Project Adventure Challenge, an interactive prevention strategy were among the events at the meeting, designed to leave participants enthused and better prepared to implement prevention activities on their campuses.
“We picked up ideas on safety programs and how students can be responsible when drinking alcohol off campus,” said Gebhardt. “The people who attended were also interested in the Whistle Watch Program and we have mailed a copy of the program along with a whistle to them. They thought the program was very worthwhile.”
Gebhardt and Ellis presented the workshop “Town-Gown Relations: The Committee of University and Community Relations,” which focused on the founding of the Committee of University and Community Relations in Albany and its success in 1) improving community and university relations; 2) improving safety and security off campus; and 3) delivering alcohol and other drug-prevention and education.
Co-sponsors for the 1996 meeting included: the U.S. Department of Education, the Utah State Division of Substance Abuse, the Utah State Board of Substance Abuse, the Utah Association of Substance Abuse Program Providers, the Network of Colleges and Universities Committed to the Elimination of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, the Higher Education Center, and the Southwest Prevention Center at the University of Oklahoma.
Professor Lakshmi Mohan’s work in helping the New York State Department of Mental Health develop a decision-support information system for managing mental health centers has now been successfully funded for the third consecutive year. The first year of the project, 1994, began as a pilot operation in Ulster County. The advanced decision-support system has now shifted to the Capital District Psychiatric Center in Albany. This initiative, which now has received a total of more than $160,000 in funding from the mental health department, focuses on managed care and the productivity of physicians.
Eloise Briere of the Department of French Studies spoke to Siena College students about the historical and political significance of the rise to power of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, former President of Haiti on Oct. 7 at the Loudonville campus. The following evening President Aristide addressed hundreds at an event sponsored by the Siena’s student association.
Theodore H. Fossieck, retired principal of the former laboratory school for teachers,
The Milne School, professor emeritus in education, Citizen of the University and
member of the Heritage Circle Society, died on Saturday, Oct. 19, at St. Peter’s
Hospital in Albany after a long fight with cancer.
Born in Granite City, Ill., Fossieck was a retired colonel in military intelligence
with 30 years of active and reserve duty to his credit and many military decorations,
including the Bronze Star.
A graduate of Shurtleff College in Alton, Ill., in 1936, he went on to earn a Master
of arts degree in education from Washington University in St. Louis, Mis., in 1941,
and then a masters degree (1947) and doctorate (1949) in educational administration
from the Teachers College of Columbia University.
The University Update had reported on Sept. 18 that 1996-97 will be the first year
where the Dr. Theodore H. Fossieck Scholarship will be awarded to a descendant of a
Milne High School teacher or graduate. The scholarship was set up through the
generosity of Fossieck, the principal emeritus of Milne from 1947 to 1973. Fossieck
was second only to John M. Sayles in terms of service years as principal of the
laboratory school, which was in operation from 1852 to 1977.
Fossieck also endowed the Janice Dorr Fossieck and Theodore H Fossieck Fund, which
provides an annual lecture and library resources in the field of Colonial America. A
member of the Friends of the Libraries, he was a former secretary of its board of
directors. In 1994, the former library of the Milne School was renamed the Theodore
H. Fossieck û Milne Alumni Room.”
Theodore H. Fossieck
Julian Emmanuel Zelizer, new faculty member in the Department of History, is an
expert on recent American history, as reflected by his conference participation
during the last two years: “Fiscal Conservatism and the American State: Wilbur Mills
and Medicare,” in 1996, “From Wildcats to Technocrats: the AFL-CIO, 1955-1965,” in
1995, and “The Power of State Culture: Wilbur Mills and American Fiscal Policy,
1946-1974,” in 1994.