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SCHOOL NOTES

The following faculty were promoted, effective July 1:
Dr. Margaret C. Brittingham, to professor of wildlife resources; Dr. John J Janowiak, to professor of wood products engineering; Dr. James C. Finley, to professor of forest resources; Dr. Marc E. McDill, to associate professor of forest resource management; and Dr. Wayne L. Myers, to professor of forest biometrics.

After a decade of association with the School of Forest Resources and the expanded Penn State Institutes of the Environment (formerly Environmental Resources Research Institute), the Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center's (CWC) faculty, staff, and students moved, effective July 1, 2003, to the Department of Geography in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. The CWC’s director, Dr. Robert P. Brooks, professor of wildlife and wetlands, is looking forward to the new challenges that this transition will bring. Links with the School will be maintained in selected areas of research, teaching, and outreach. Interested persons are welcome to visit the CWC in its new home in 217
Walker Building at University Park.

Dr. Henry Gerhold and Rachel (Rollason) Billingham ‘98g organized a workshop on January 30, 2003, to train electric utility foresters about the Municipal Tree Restoration Program’s Electric Utility Grants. The grants support planting of utilitycompatible street trees by municipalities, thus reducing tree trimming costs and the likelihood of electrical outages. Speakers included the organizers and several School of Forest Resources alumni and faculty: Vinnie Cotrone, Dr. Bill Elmendorf (’01g), Mike Jones (’83, Penelec), Julianne Schieffer, Bill Taylor (’72, PP&L), and Ben Tresselt, Jr. (’63, president, Pennsylvania Urban and Community Forestry Council).

The School of Forest Resources participated in 2003 Timber Expo at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on June 13th and 14th. Faculty members staffed the exhibit to answer forestry and wood products questions and to demonstrate recent software and Web developments designed to help professionals stay up- to-date in the marketplace.

The new joint degree program between the School of Forest Resources (M. Agr. M.F.R., M.Agr., and Ph.D. in Forest
Resources and Wildlife and Fisheries Science) and the Dickinson School of Law has been approved by the Penn State Graduate Council. The program, which began effective Summer 2003, was described in the previous issue (Winter 2003) of this newsletter. Derald Hay, who completed a B. S. degree in Forest Science in May 2003, is the first joint-degree applicant and has been accepted into the program. Contact Professor Robert McKinstry, Goddard Professor, at rbm10@psu.edu or (814) 665-9390 for additional information.

Winners of the 2003 Charles Lathrop Pack Forestry Prize were (first place) Amanda Yeager, Wildlife and Fisheries Science junior, for her article, "Create a bird paradise in your own backyard," and (second place) Tracey Coulter, Forest Science senior (and recent graduate) for her article, "Steps you can take to protect your home in fire season." The Charles Lathrop Pack Forestry Prize, established at Penn State in 1923 is awarded to students who display the greatest ability to stimulate public interest in natural resources through the medium of magazine or newspaper articles. Yeager's article was published in the Centre Daily Times (April 17, 2003), and Coulter’s piece was included in the February 2003 issue of the Pennsylvania Forest Fire Museum Association's newsletter, Burning Issues.

Abigail Zarichansky is one of five winners of the Lockheed Martin Scholarship competition for the 2003-04 academic year. Zarichansky completed the Forest Technology degree at Penn State Mont Alto in Spring 2003 and will be continuing her studies in Fall 2003 toward a bachelor's degree in Forest Science. The Lockheed Martin scholarships ($2000 each) recognize outstanding undergraduate women in science and engineering. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a highly diversified global enterprise, principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, and integration of advanced technology systems, products, and services.

Dr. Paul Smith, professor of forest products marketing, was elected to the vice presidency of the Society of Wood Science and Technology (SWST) for 2003-04. It is a four-year term that progresses through president-elect (second year), president (third year), and past president (fourth year). Dr. Smith will also speak at a conference in Melbourne, Australia, October 21-23, sponsored by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CISRO). His paper is entitled “Extruded Wood-Plastic Composite Product Substitution in North American Markets.”

Dr. Ben A. Jayne, who served as Maurice K. Goddard Professor of Forestry and Environmental Resources at Penn State (from July 1988 to June 1990) died on September 8, 2002, at Gig Harbor, Washington.

Dr. William Merrill, Jr., professor emeritus of plant pathology from 1965 until retiring in 1999, died January 29, 2003.
Dr. Merrill taught Forest Pathology for many years.

Eleanor Ferguson, daughter of John A. Ferguson (head of the Department of Forestry from 1912 to 1937), died June 7, 2003. She was the assistant secretary for the board of trustees and assistant vice president of administration at Penn State until her retirement in 1976. Memorial contributions can be made to Ontario County Historical Society, Canandaigua, NY, or to Schlow Memorial Library, State College, PA.

Zelda Cauffman Ward, widow of Dr. Wilber W. Ward (director of the School from 1966 to 1977), died July 13, 2002. Mrs. Ward was very active in the development of the School with faculty, staff, and students. Memorial contributions may be made to Penn State, School of Forest Resources, University Park, PA, or to Centre Community Hospital, State College, PA.

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