Purdue Best Bets

September 29, 2000 JOURNALISTS: Here are two story ideas and select events from the Purdue News Service. To arrange interviews or campus visits, contact Jesica Webb, (765) 494-2079 or page her, (765) 743-4333-4117. Fire and ice fuse for Oct. 14 chemistry show Can fire be carried in bare hands? How cold does it get during the winter on Pluto? Purdue chemists will demonstrate these phenomena Oct. 14 during a chemistry show on campus. The one-hour show, called "Chemistry of Fire and Ice," will begin at 10 a.m. in Room 200 of Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry. During the program, demonstrators will show how fire can be carried safely in bare hands, and illustrate how cold the temperature is on Pluto and what effect those temperatures have on ordinary items here on Earth. The show also will include demonstrations of a ring of fire, metal fires that burn very brightly, and a compound that starts burning when soaked with water. CONTACT: Paul Smith, (765) 494-5307; psmith4@purdue.edu Astronaut to appear at Children's Museum Former astronaut Mark Brown, a Purdue University alumnus, will get children excited about science during demonstrations at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis on Oct. 21. The demonstration program, called "A Taste of Aerospace," was developed by Dominick Andrisani, director of the Indiana Space Grant Consortium, which sponsors the program and is based at Purdue. The half-hour demonstrations will be presented at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the ScienceWorks Sewer Room. The demonstrations are part of the museum's three-month program, "The Lost Spacecraft: Liberty Bell 7 Recovered," which begins Oct. 7. The Liberty Bell 7 was a Mercury spacecraft piloted in 1961 by astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom, a Purdue alumnus. Andrisani and Brown will demonstrate scientific principles ranging from fluid mechanics to the effects of gravity. The demonstrations include heating balloons with a hair dryer, dropping two balls with different masses and heating actual thermal tiles from the space shuttle. Brown will take questions from the audience at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. He also will make two informal appearances in the Liberty Bell 7 exhibit, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Andrisani is an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Purdue. CONTACT: Diane Schafer, (765) 494-5873, dianes@ecn.purdue.edu Events Thursday, Oct. 12. Award-winning writer Dava Sobel, author of the best-selling books "Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love" and "Longitude", will give a public lecture in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center, at 8 p.m. She will be available for interviews immediately following the presentation, which is part of the Purdue Lecture Series on Science and Religious Faith. CONTACT: Roberto Colella, professor of physics, (765) 494-3029; colella@purdue.edu • Friday, Oct. 13. Krannert Executive Forum. Krannert Auditorium. William E. Bindley: "How 2+2 Equals 6 ... A Case Study." Bindley is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Bindley Western Industries Inc., the Fortune 500 wholesale distributor of pharmaceuticals, health and beauty aids with corporate headquarters in Indianapolis. Reporters are asked to refrain from asking questions, videotaping or taking photographs during the lecture, but all are allowed during the student question-and-answer sessions. CONTACT: Tim Newton, director of external relations, School of Management, (765) 496-7271, tnewton@mgmt.purdue.edu • Friday and Saturday, Oct. 13-14. Black Cultural Center's Cultural Arts Series: Road trip to the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio. The museum is a repository for preservation, study and interpretation, maintaining a collection of artifacts, art, manuscripts, library materials, and a permanent exhibition titled "From Victory To Freedom: Afro American Life in the Fifties." CONTACT: Renee Thomas, BCC director, (765) 494-3091, rathomas@hfs.purdue.edu • Monday, Oct. 16. 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Diversity Workshop co-sponsored by the Diversity Resource Office and Personnel Services. Room 302, Stewart Center. At 10:30 a.m., Milton Bennett, a diversity consultant and co-founder of the Intercultural Communication Institute in Oregon, will speak about "Intercultural Competence: Building a Climate of Respect for Diversity" followed by a day-long workshop. Free and open to faculty, staff and students. CONTACT: Dorothy Simpson-Taylor, director of the Diversity Resource Office, (765) 494-7307, dmsimpson-taylor@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page