LOCAL/S TATE
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 18, 2001- 3A
Former 'U' prof.
S shares Nobel Prize
Former physics Prof. Carl Wieman
shared this year's Nobel Prize in
Physics with professors from the Uni-
versity of Colorado at Boulder, thanks
to research that he began at the Univer-
sity of Michigan many years ago.
Wieman, who taught at the Universi-
ty from 1979 to 1984, relocated to Col-
orado to work in their JILA Institute.
Wieman shared the prize with fellow
researchers, Eric Cornell and Wolfgang
Ketterle of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology for their research on a
new type of matter called a Bose-Ein-
stein Condensate. Cooling and com-
bining millions of atoms forms this new
entity, which was first made by Wieman
and Cornell in 1995.
Program examines
global economy
In an effort to advance the knowl-
edge of labor issues within a global
economy, researchers at the Institute of
Labor and Industrial Relations have
created a program that will examine the
economic and political issues surround-
ing the shift towards multinational cor-
porations and unions.
The Labor and Global Change pro-
gram consists of four units, including a
small grants program, undergraduate
teaching, public talks and forums, and
summaries of related research assem-
bled in a network.
Directed by Institute of Labor and
Industrial Relations researchers Larry
Root and Ian Robinson, the team has
already been investigating labor quality
in factories that produce University
apparel and hope to broaden the scope
of public discussion over these issues,
according to a recent press release.
Detroit economy,
jobs to decline
Wayne County will feel the effects of
economic decline over the next two
years, according to University econo-
mists.
The country is already flirting with a
period of recession, and researchers feel
the events of Sept. 11 will deepen the
drop felt by residents. In a recent Uni-
versity press release, George Fulton, a
research scientist at the Institute of
Labor and Industrial Relations said he
expects a recession in the county
through early 2003.
Researchers expect the county will
lose 10,000 jobs within 2001 and
16,000 over the next two years, drop-
ping the number of people in the coun-
ty's work force from 748,000 in 2000 to
722,000 by 2003.
Of these numbers, they believe that
10,500 of the lost jobs will be a result of
the terrorist attacks and its effects on
manufacturing and transportation areas
of the economy. The loss of jobs would
also raise the unemployment rate, which
hit a record low last year at 3.9 percent.
Brand-name drugs
nothing special
As prescription drug costs continue
to climb, researchers at the School of
Pharmacy examined the difference
between brand-name and generic over
the counter medications.
Though brand-name producers hope
to see a profit from their products, they
must compete with insurers who keep
dropping costs to providers, if they pre-
scribe and encourage the use of generic
drugs. Insurers will also drop co-pays to
stimulate the use of generic alternatives.
The team, led by Duane Kirking,
chair of the Department of Social and
Administrative Sciences, received
$50,000 in funding from the Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation.
Currently, generic drugs make up 40
percent of prescriptions and only 10
percent of pharmaceutical sales, but
researchers don't expect these numbers
to dramatically change because of the
rate at which companies produce
patent-protected brand-name products.
Restructuring in the industry has
made it easier to prove if the generic
drug is biologically equivalent to the
brand-name product. In some cases,
researchers even found that the same
company produced both the generic
and name brand drug;
Instead of prescribing generics,
researchers suggest interchanging relat-
ed drugs.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Lisa Hoffman.
Dean promises
% smooth merging
o S,
is
DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily
SNRE Dean Rosina Bierbaum spoke last night in the Chemistry Building with panelists from the College of Engineering,
Business school and the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning about the Integration of the SNRE.
Panel of deans discuss
environmental issues
By Shannon Pettypiece
Daily Staff Reporter
Rosina Bierbaum, the newly
appointed dean of the School of Nat-
ural Resources and the Environment,
plans to make the integration of
SNRE into the College of Literature,
Science and the Arts her top priority.
"The environmental problems that
have emerged since I have been in
Washington have become more com-
plex and more interconnected," Bier-
baum said yesterday. "It really does
require you to have a lot of under-
standing of the science, policy, politi-
cal and economic implications."
Bierbaum has been in Washington
for the past 20 years and has most
recently worked for the Clinton
administration in the White House
Office of Science and Technology
Policy and the Congressional Office
of Technology Assessment.
But Bierbaum said she has always
planned on a career in academia.
"I intended to really be a laborato-
ry scientist for the rest of my life
and be in a laboratory setting," Bier-
baum said. "One of my mentors
essentially embarrassed me into
applying for one of these congres-
sional fellowships. I applied for this
and really hoped I wouldn't get it."
Once in Washington, Bierbaum
said she realized the need for the
active involvement of scientists in
Washington to help shape environ-
mental policies that were taking
place.
"There was really a lot of good
science happening that wasn't pene-
trating the political psyche," Bier-
baum said. "I was much more
needed in Washington as a sort of
political translator of knowledge
than I was living in a lab where I
had intended to go."
Under interim Dean Barry Rabe,
SNRE has been developing a part-
nership with LSA to facilitate the
eventual consolidation of the
undergraduate SNRE program
within LSA. The merger is pending
until the University Board of
Regents gives its approval. The
SNRE graduate program will
remain intact.
Rabe said that one of his goals
has been to allow students to
become actively involved in both
schools.
"We know that student undergrad-
"There was really
a lot of good
science happening
that wasn 't
penetrating the
political psyche."
- Rosina Bierbaum
SNRE Dean
uate interest in the environment is at
an all-time high, and yet students for
decades have had to make a choice:
Do they do the wealth of activities. in
LSA or do they come over to
SNRE?" Rabe said. "Despite
tremendous interest, our enrollment
was not growing."
Bierbaum plans to continue incor-
porating SNRE into LSA, as well as
making a connection with other
schools in the University. She said
one of the main characteristics that
drew her to the University was the
strong academic foundation within
SNRE as well as the Business
School, Law School and Ford
School of Public Policy, which all
play a role in environmental issues.
"U of M as a whole is so strong,"
Bierbaum said. "With a diverse fac-
ulty and really interesting student
body, I couldn't find a better match."
Faculty members expressed
enthusiasm about what new aspects
Bierbaum will bring to the school.
"I'm very excited about the new
dean. I think her science back-
ground and experience talking with
policy makers at the highest level
will provide a direction to our
school that will link the policy and
science work that we all do here,"
said SNRE Prof. Daniel Brown.
Though some students hope the
new dean brings improvements and
advancements to the school, many
are content with their experience
and hope for the school to continue
its positive aspects.
"I've really enjoyed my time here
and I hope others get to have that
same type of experience," said
SNRE senior Rebecca Meuninck. "I
hope all the good things can stay the
same like the small tight-knit com-
munity we have here."
By Erin Saylor
For the Daily
In her first speech as dean of the
School of Natural
Resources and
Env iron ment,
Rosina Bierbaum
outlined problems
facing the envi-
ronment in the
21st century,
specifically cli-
mate change and
its implications
for other environ- Bierbaum
mental issues.
"Climate change is, I would
argue, the most dangerous environ-
mental issue in the world today, and
it is also the most retractable," she
said.
"Average temperatures have
increased 1 degree Celsius over 100
years; however, when you look at this
over the course of a 1,000 years,
assuming the continued increase of
carbon dioxide pollution, it is very
significant."
This problem, Bierbaum said, is
largely due to the 7 billion tons of car-
bon dioxide that pollute the earth's
atmosphere each year, much of which
is from burning fossil fuels.
"In studies conducted from 1950 to
1995 concerning the cumulative emis-
sions of carbon dioxide, the U.S.
alone contributed 27 percent of the
waste," she said.
A panel discussion on the points
Bierbaum brought up in her lecture
featured the deans from three other
colleges - Stephen Director from the
College of Engineering, Robert Dolan
from the Business School and Dou-
glas Kelbaugh from the A. Alfred
Taubman College of Architecture and
Urban Planning.
"Americans make up 4 percent of
the world's total population and yet
we use 40 percent of the world's ener-
gy and water," Kelbaugh said. "The
average American makes 11 trips in
their vehicle a day, and only 11 to 20
percent carpool."
Kelbaugh said we need to find
alternatives to our current means of
transit.
"Transportation in this country is a
joke," he said.
Kelbaugh said that with the popula-
tion growing so quickly, it will only
be another two years before the world
is equally urban and rural.
"We need to build an urban envi-
ronment that is in harmony with the
natural environment," Kelbaugh said.
Hosted by the Center for Sustain-
able System on their 10 year anniver-
sary, the lecture was in honor of donor
Peter Wege.
He was "a generous benefactor and
supporter of our program and many
others around the world," Bierbaum
said.
I
Despite slowdown,
'U'
endowment up
By April Effort
Daily Staff Reporter
While many colleges and universities
across the country find their endow-
ments decreasing in response to the
weak economy, the University of Michi-
gan's endowment fund continues to
increase.
Despite lower return rates in 2001,
the University's endowment fund
actually increased from 3.5 billion in
2000 to 3.6 billion for 2001. The
University has the fourth largest
endowment of public institutions and
13th overall.
John Griswold, senior vice president
of Commonfund, which manages $30
billion in assets for colleges and other.
nonprofit organizations, said 74 percent
of endowments reported flat or negative
for the 2001 fiscal year.
While the Standard and Poor's 500
index was down 14.5 percent this year,
the University's stock decreased only 5
percent.
"In areas where the market was posi-
tive, we were up more -- in areas where
the market was down, we were down
less," said University Chief Investment
Officer Erik Lundberg.
Lundberg plans to give a presentation
at the University Board of Regents
meeting today on the University's
investment performance, taking an in-
depth look at distribution policy and
investment strategies.
The University's portfolio "produced
excellent returns in the long term and
limited losses in a difficult environ-
ment," Lundberg said.
Jonathon King, associate vice presi-
dent of investments for Dartmouth Col-
lege, compared the current economy to
"going into a strong headwind."
In the past couple of months, which
Griswold described as "brutal," the
U.S economy has been teetering on the
edge of a recession, with companies
reporting staggering losses and
announcing profit warnings during
earnings announcements. He said the
Sept. 11 attacks added to an already
gloomy situation and speculates the
announcement of an official recession
in January.
But Griswold said there are a few
bright spots, including real estate, which
he said held up relatively well.
"I think barring further attacks that
would undermine consumer confidence,
I see a rebound in the next six months to
a year," Griswold said.
Lundberg said diversification,
absolute return strategies, controlled
risk and avoidance of short-term use
of the market are among the Universi-
ty's investment tactics. Lundberg also
identified positive returns in real estate
and energy, all contributing to the Uni-
versity's 15 percent returns in the last 5
years.
THE CALENDAR
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
EVENTS and Women's Salva- Artwork; 2-day reception SERVICES
tion;" Sponsored by the for an exhibit of her color-
Study Abroad Programs- Center for Japanese ful watercolors and oil U Campus Information
Japan;" 4:00 - 5:00 Studies, 12:00 - 1:00 paintings, 6:00 - 9:00 Centers, 764-INFO,
m.apaoom 4:00,-I5:00-info@umich.edu, or
p.m., Room 3065, Frieze p.m., Room 1636, Inter- p.m., Domino's Farms www.umich.edu/-info
*Ruildinl national Institute Ativitc centr .n Franke U Northwalk. 763-WALK.