Invitation to take in some cricket

From MLC professor Dr. Chintamani S. Manish:

On behalf of the Omaha Cricket Club, I would like to extend an open invitation to watch some live cricket in Omaha over  the next two weekends.  The OCC is organizing the 4th Annual OCC Challenger Series (2009); a cricket tournament featuring teams from neighboring states as well as Nebraska.

Games will be played in Omaha (two grounds) and Lincoln, but the main festivities will be at the NP Dodge Park (north-east Omaha).  The matches start at 9am on Saturday and Sunday and will go on till well past 5 pm.  (There are multiple matches scheduled in a day, lest you think that a cricket match can last that long.  Well … it can … but that is a story for another day).

This is an open invitation to everyone to come and watch.  Apart from the game, there will be plenty of yummy Indian food to devour, but I cannot guarantee that it will not get eaten before you get there depending upon when you do.  Lunch will be served around 12:30pm onwards on both days.  There is no price for admission and I will be there at the ground (either playing or spectating) and we will be glad to show you the ropes of the game.

If you’d like more details (or directions to the ground) please contact me.  Briefly: if you take Route 36 East towards Bennington and drive till it ends at the Missouri River, you will need to then go north (under the Mormon Bridge) for about 1.5 miles.  NP Dodge Park is to your right and the cricket ground is to the north-east corner of the park.  (Just follow the sound of merriment or the smell of good food and you will be right there!).

I hope to see you there, even if for just a few minutes.

Dr. Chintamani S. Manish
Assistant Professor of Biology

What’s my GPA? Here’s a tool

Trying to compute your GPA? Here’s a new tool from the registrar’s office.

A GPA Calculator has been enabled online under the Midland Express website to assist students and advisors in calculating GPA’s!

Please log into MyMLC and choose Midland Express – GPA Calculator.

NASA, Midland team up for event

Midland Lutheran, in association with the NASA, is commemorating the 400th anniversary of the telescope and the International Year of Astronomy with a public unveiling of new images of the spiral galaxy Messier 101 at an event Thursday, Feb. 26 at 3:30 p.m. at the Eppley Auditorium on the Midland campus.

In 1609, Galileo improved the newly invented telescope, turned it toward the heavens, and revolutionized our view of the universe. In celebration of the 400th anniversary of this milestone, 2009 has been designated as the International Year of Astronomy.

Today, NASA’s Great Observatories are continuing Galileo’s legacy with stunning images and breakthrough science from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Dr. Greg Clements will discuss the science and significance of the images, which will be unveiled by college president Dr. Stephen E. Fritz.

Twenty people will receive lithographs of the Hubble image of Messier 101, and refreshments will be provided. The public is welcome.

There will also be a presentation on the telescope, from its inception to the modern equipment in use today.
Midland is one of 116 partner institutions across the nation that have been selected to display these images. The images will be on display through 2009 at the Lueninghoener Planetarium.

While Galileo observed the sky using visible light seen by the human eye, technology now allows us to observe in many wavelengths, including Spitzer’s infrared view and Chandra’s view in X-rays. Each wavelength region shows different aspects of celestial objects and often reveals new objects that could not otherwise be studied.

This image of the spiral galaxy Messier 101 is a composite of views from Spitzer, Hubble, and Chandra.

• The red color shows Spitzer’s view in infrared light. It highlights the heat emitted by dust lanes in the galaxy where stars can form.

• The yellow color is Hubble’s view in visible light. Most of this light comes from stars, and they trace the same spiral structure as the dust lanes.

• The blue color shows Chandra’s view in X-ray light. Sources of X-rays include million-degree gas, exploded stars, and material colliding around black holes.

Such composite images allow astronomers to see how features seen in one wavelength match up with those seen in another wavelength. It’s like seeing with a camera, night vision goggles, and X-ray vision all at once.

Prof. Shell showing art at Bellevue

If you find yourself down Bellevue way in the next two months, make plans to stop in at Bellevue U. and see Midland art professor Tracy Shell’s exhibit.

Along with artist bev Valentine, Prof. Shell’s ceramics will be on display from now until January 23 at the university, located at 1000 Galvin Rd. South in Bellevue.

As always, Prof Shell’s work is distinctive and beautiful. If you’re in the neighborhood, check it out.

Updates to the FutureForce Forum

Check out the new student community and parent community offerings on the FutureForce Forum.

We’re expanding the offerings to help current students connect with their classmates and faculty, as well as provide a resource for potential students and their parents. In addition, YOUR parents now have a place to interact with other parents.

If you’re not already a member of the Forum, now’s the time to sign up. There’s some interesting debates going on in the program forums. Plus, there’s a place where you can tell us what you’d like to see next in the Forums.

Feel free to share this Forum with your friends, family, and student organization.

Play in clay, build a bowl, feed a need

Make a bowl and make a difference in the fight against hunger.

This afternoon (3-4:30) faculty artist Tracy Shell will be holding the final Empty Bowls workshop.

Come on over, build your own ceramic bowl and help out the Empty Bowls project.

Here’s how it works.

Volunteer artists (like you!) have joined with some of the top ceramic artists of the region to create some 150 unique bowls. Then, on Dec. 1 after the lighting of the Tree of Lights, there will be a charitable dinner and art show.

Participants that night will choose from the custom bowls for $10, then they get to fill those bowls with soup and bread (generously donated by Sodexho). At the end, participants get to keep their one-of-a-kind works of art as a reminder that the fight against hunger is a constant battle.

All proceeds will be used to fight hunger in and around Fremont. The Salvation Army has agreed to handle the funds.

Tell me how this is not a win-win?

You get to play with mud (sorry… clay). The creative part of the brain gets let out. You add to the aesthetic quality of campus through the creation of art… Then, on Dec. 1 you also get the chance to warm up after the lighting with some nice, hot soup. Not even Donovan McNab’s mother could do any better.

On top of all that, you know that your art (and/or donation) has helped provide a meal to someone who may have otherwise gone hungry.

Share a few minutes of your time. Make a bowl, make a difference.

If you’re interested in helping out, please give Tracy Shell a shout at shell@mlc.edu or 941-6301.

Congratulacion, Dr. Valle De Anton

Midland foreign language professor, Dr. Antonio Valle de Anton was recently re-elected to the board of the Nebraska Association for Translators and Interpreters.

As if that were not honor enough, the NATI board also elected Dr. Valle de Anton to the presidency of the group.

WarriorWay commends Antonio on his commitment to serve his field outside the classroom. In addition to helping serve the community, his work on this board also benefits his students by ensuring that he not only is abreast of the needs and issues facing the translator community, he’s helping craft that policy.

“You” are the focus of interterm course

Dr. Jim Tremain’s interterm course “Self Awareness” is drawing some interest off campus.

From the Fremont Tribune:

A Midland Lutheran College professor tries to help a group of students each year with their own discoveries.

Jim Tremain, professor of psychology, teaches a January short-term course called “Self Awareness,” in which students try to learn more about themselves and how they relate to other people.

The way each of us sees ourselves — what Tremain called “self concept” — is a big part of that puzzle, but goes deeper.

“We believe that self concept is limited because we’re all biased,” he said. “We need to look deeper. What are our values? How do we respond in certain situations? Everybody lists the same values: Family, friends, etc. But then we need to challenge them on that to see if that’s really what they value. Our actions reflect what our values are.”

When we talk about Midland students gaining Insight into themselves, these are the types of programs and courses that make that possible. Any college can prepare you for a career. Midland will prepare you for a career AND help you understand who you are. Midland graduates have the Foresight to succeed at career, and the Insight to succeed at life.

Moxness named Certified Nurse Educator

Congratulations to Prof. Diana Moxness for earning her Certified Nurse Educator status. She joins Dr. Anne Larson as a CNE on Midland’s nursing faculty.

Dr. Linda Christensen, the chair of the department, tells that out of Nebraska’s 25 nursing schools/colleges, only 15 or so faculty members have earned their CNE designation, putting Moxness and Larson in pretty elite company.

Again, congratulations to Prof. Moxness on the hard work and dedication to her craft.

Faculty artist part of Omaha North Hills show

Tracy Shell will be showing her work this weekend as part of the Omaha North Hills Pottery Tour.

Several studios are participating, but Shell will be showing her work as part of the Too Far North Wines & Wine Tasting near Fort Calhoun.

For those unfamiliar, Tracy does some very original pottery with beautiful glazing.

Check out the Omaha North HIlls Pottery Tour Web site for hours and maps to the various locations. The show runs Saturday and Sunday, so there’s ample time to see some gorgeous pottery and show some support for one of Midland’s own.