xt77h41jmh74 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt77h41jmh74/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Kentucky University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies 1996 volumes. Call Number: LD2762.9 .K38c. Accession Number: 2018ua049 journals LD2762.9 .K38c English Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection University of Kentucky Odyssey Magazine Research -- Kentucky -- Periodicals Education -- Research -- Periodicals Research -- Kentucky Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research, Summer/Fall 1996 text images Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research, Summer/Fall 1996 1996 1996 2026 true xt77h41jmh74 section xt77h41jmh74 0 THE MAGAZINE OF UNIVERSIVIY OF KENTUCKY RESEARCH - SUMMER/FALL 1996 °

ﬂ ”WA?! ‘”:vﬁ;4u;§f *

9,: ﬂ
' *0" a“ is

,. a 1” ’ ,
. 4' 4;;

”WK“

*1 mm m

,pDYLQSF

lu' Unim'rxily of Kl'mm‘l’y. II)"

mmmtmmm'tltfi gmrl'lmtt’ whammy)

am] I‘I’SI’IIITII imiilmiml. «vim In
pulpit/c upparluuilirs [in [In ('Ilumtinu,
personal growth and (Irwin/"malt nfiur/i‘
nil/1m]: and m mutrilmlr Ia I/u- ﬁll/IMP!”
”It’ll! 0] 'xm'irty.

W’itlr Ibis mixsinu .15 its prrmisr. mirgmll
oft/Ir Imiwrsily is m rum/m1 pmgnnm' of
lmsir um] (qr/Ilia] rmwn'l: which support
grtlrltmu- am] pruﬁ-sximml t’tllﬂ‘tllitlll. [Im-
I'itIq/br I/u'mlwmmurm njbmwlctlgr. and
.m'k mlminm ﬁu' tlu‘ dnm- [Drab/rm: uf
Mair-(y.

77w Inliurlsily} n-mm‘lr might" also
m‘ls 413‘ ll Illllglll'ljl‘” Illlnﬂ‘lillg Ill/Ignllludlt’
51min”: wlm mm! In lulrliripulr in :mlimr
ally unupuiliw n'mm-I: pngja-rts. TI 1: n-—
mlrr/v (win-rink? mu uﬂr t/mu d ”kid/I"
mm mlmumgt' in IIn-ir aim-anion utllilr
[dying I/u' ﬁmllrlutinu ﬁn" ﬁmm' rﬁnm‘lv
um] (Irm-IupIm-m. Ody . Ilmmgl: dr—
lir/cs album (writms n'mm‘li [:mjn‘b‘ mu]
gnu/1m“ rrlumlinu [:mgmms. nf/In‘tj Ila“
Im-mII/t aft/w uniwmﬁﬁ MINT/1161‘ urn-
kImn'Ic-Ilgr am! [In- lll_rl‘i4lll q/‘n-snm‘b ﬁr
I/mmn mulrr wqr. "u- pmgnx: III." Illr
Imim'nﬂr [ms ”hair Immnl «(chic-Wig ils
mtnln'lt mixciuu alllrlxn‘uring llir‘ “Inllllﬂ‘
rnlljillllk minim] In sup/tar! 1/»? {rpm (If
rut/numm unutltl/hllr Im‘u illllnwilllr mil/'-
(Ill! I/vr Minus .lml Ilﬂliﬂllillll «g/‘tmr rr‘
Muir/ms.

I 711340.11 49/ ‘( )dyxwy i.“ In I/Ir mnlrr
I/tr appltrluuiq In slim? m mun“ aft/tr
(twin-”mu. ruriusiﬁ dill] «‘muiviq/ (”Fillflll
iu I/w nwmrln mulrr may”! JIM" l Juiwnily

«gl‘Kmmdj ‘

6513*”:“35;
moment, ‘x' :. ,Lr-M . Hmix

5.3;”? «w.-

Wat-:92 2: 45:5,;

FEATURES

DOWNTOWN LEXINGTON: 3
THE ANIMATED VERSION

A77 animated (‘oo'zputer program VFiIIZ'FHZX the (lg/3‘ (loo/mourn lzziztlveape.
“Com‘tmetiozz ”13‘ well under way.

WHAT’S WITH THE WEB? 6
Ho to are VIM/elm amlﬂu‘ztlty at UK using the eleetroitie eomm‘opia tolled

the world W’ikle \Vel)?

: KENTUCKY WOMEN: 12
i LOSING THE FIGHT AGAINST

‘ ALCOHOL AND DRUGS

Kentuelfy zoomezzﬂu‘e olzytaelex that would [launt the strongest person with

KIOSK,
P. 33

atlzlietioo problems. Aml too often these lnm'iers heep women ﬂow the
treatment they need.

DUSTING FOR EVIDENCE 25

What am xtmrlmt tell to about the evolution o/‘ozo‘ galwgy and others?
Plenty, affording to two UK rejezm‘hettv.

KENTUCKY’S LIBRARY 29
3 OF THE FUTURE

Well on yeheo’ole, UK} new bonny/for [he eommomoeolth will open

LOSING THE FIGHT, P. 12

If} {/0 (1 7‘5 11 (’3? SI! ”2 Ulé’l‘.

DEPARTMENTS

LETTERS 2 KIOSK: 32
Comments/tom AIL” of Kc'mucky Nearing HONORABLE MENTION, P. 19
()117' Readers (mop/enon

Sort/Hg 011! the Alt/email [’ast
()lo' Dice/Hes Alahz’og a Come/211th

H 1 7 and more. . ..

O N O RAB LE

MENTION UPDATE 39 {TEI‘I‘M} [immunity QH‘szmk}:
lmpam (“Id ALI/UIHWMWH QELUX All righta sz:€‘;Cd.

Graduate Program All/mill {,:{)§{/I THHHREIUEZ If: 3 yrs»; 3&3:

LETTERS

ODYSSEY

[Lilitor

Susan Hodgetts Stempe]

x’issm‘idn’ Editor
Jeff \Worley

[)rsigm’r
Shear 8: Shear

Production Ill/{KI/ngé'l”
Lisa D. Lizer

President
University omemt'liy
Charles Wethington, jr.

Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies
Fitzgerald Bramwell

University of Kentucky

SUMMER/FALL1996
Volume XIV,No.1

Odyssey is published twice a year by the Vice President for
Research and Graduate Studies. 207 Administration Build-
ing. University of Kentucky, Lexington. KY 405000032.
Copyright 1996 by the University of Kentucky. All rights
reserved. Odyssey is distributed free of charge to graduate
alumni and friends of the University of Kentucky. Volun-
tary subscription donations to support the magazine may
be sent to the omce ofCommunications and Advancement,
West Wing Kinkead Hall, Lexington, “40506-0057. Each
issue of Odyssey describes only a few ofthe many University
of Kentucky research projects under way in a variety of ar-
eas. Requests for permission to reprint material are welcome
and should be sent to Communications 8c Advancement,
University of Kentucky. West Wing Kinkead Hall, Lexing-
ton 40506005? (phone 606/257—8297; fax 606-257‘8298;
or e—mail . The publication of Odys-

sey is not financed by the state general fund.

2 ODYSSEY

Thank you so much for sending the maiden copy ofthc newly formatted
Odyssey. It certainly is both an exciting and interesting production, for
which you deserve a lot of credit. Well done.

Jay Katzen
Commonwealth of Virginia
H oust of Delegates

What a wonderful cover picture! Is this picture available as a poster by
chance? I would love to have a copy.
janet Leigh
Classes of70 d” 72
Virginia Cooperative Extension, Gloucester County Oﬂirr

The article “Growing Old in the New Millennium“ by JeffW’orley
[Winter/Spring 1996 issue} was an extremely interesting one for an 80
year old. However. I was disappointed that a magazine reporting on
research provided so little information about how the researchers arrived
at some oftheir conclusions. For example, a statement that . . after some
sophisticated number crunching. . . it is unlikely that the life expectancy
at birth would increase much beyond 85." And “ifno one ever died before
reaching the age of 50...the increase in life expectancy would be only 3 1/:
years.” These two statements would be more understandable and accept—
able ifthey were supported by data and information about the statistical
methods used.

Terrell L. Noﬁfsinger
Auburn, KY

Our copy of Odyssey arrived yesterday. It really has strong mailbox
appeal, and with the feet on the cover—raises onels curiosity. You’re
certainly blessed to have Lee Thomas‘ photography. lt contributes might—
ily to the impact ofthc magazine, converting what could be dull head and
shoulder photos into portraits of real people.

Suzanne Mitten Owen
Bloomington, IN

Correction: The cutline under Graham Rowless photo in the last
OD Y'SSEYwas incorrect. The caption should have read. Griz/Iain Row/rs
says tlmt in tlwymr 20.30 flit oz'rr»65 population ofiKmmrljy is projected

to be 802.000, double the current number ofonrr—GS residents currently

in the state.

. I” K
J \

Odyssey Magazine welcomes letters from our readers. Our
address is: Odyssey Magazine, Kinkead Hall. Lhiiversity of
Kentucky, Lexington. KY 1510506003.? Fax 606—237—8298.
Email: jworley@pop.ultyedu. Contributors should include
their name, address. and daytime phone number. Letters are
subject to editing for style and space limitations.

ODYSSEY

DOWNTOWN
LEXINGTON :
THE ANIMATED
VERSION

Lexingtonians may be surprised
to learn that on the northeast
corner of Main and Limestone
streets there is a grassy pedes-
trian mall with trees, ﬂowers
and benches. If you know
this downtown corner, you
will be further surprised
that this grassy area extends
north for two blocks from
"'N Main to the Federal Build-
ing at Limestone and Barr streets.

or now. this extensive renovation exists only as a three—
‘» k 31995 a 9" dimensional, computer—animated version of downtown
James 3'30 ’ that “can“ exiﬂgmn has he Lexrngton designed by the UK College of Architecture. But
such glimpses into the city‘s future may be a harbinger for actual
changes in the city landscape.

Developed by James Black, a professor in the UK College of
Architecture the 5—D Lexington “aniscape” was created with the
same computer animation technology used in making the popular
1995 Disney movie “Toy Story.“ The UK program was developed
using commercially available, “off—the—shell“ computer animation
software and a new computer system.

t/ruztulrt’z/ nu [Mtge 4:1

SZXUMIiR/FALL 1996 3

ODYSSEY WRITTEN BY
JOHN DYER FORT

PHOTOS BY LEE THOMAS

The northeast corner of Main and Limestone streets (left) may someday
have quite a different look (right). This “aniscape” version of
the downtown corner has been developed by James Black in the
UK College of Architecture.

Black, a 1995 College of Architecture graduate, learned com—
puter-aided design (CAD) while a student at UK, taking advantage
of the college‘s CAD courses. Last year, one of Blacks original,
computer—aided building designs won a national student competi-
tion sponsored by Architecture Magazine and Graphisoft US.

While architecture students have traditionally relied on every—
thing from balsa wood to styrofoam to model their original designs,
UK began encouraging students to use computerized modeling
tools in the 19805.

When the college received the computer animation package last
year, Black and several architecture students began in earnest the

tailed layouts of Lexington city streets, buildings, parks and other
facilities.

Next, architecture students took photographs of the fronts of
Lexington‘s downtown buildings. The photos were then scanned
by computer and “pasted onto semi—articulated models" ofdown—
town buildings, Black says.

Photographing building facades and downloading their scanned
images allows the computer system to go to work, “modeling in
detail the buildings down to the bricks,“ says Black. Instead ofa grid
ofstreets lined by various—sized boxes, the computer can generate
lifelike models easily recognizable to anyone familiar with the

So far, Black and his colleagues have created a fully rendered, computer—ani-

mated area of downtown Lexington roughly equivalent to 24 city blocks—
south and north from Vine Street to Barr Street and the Federal Building, and

east and west from Thoroughbred Park to Triangle Park.

task of creating a computerized version of downtown Lexington.
The team quickly discovered that building a computer model of
downtown—even with the advanced technology at hand—is a long
and involved process, and “construction" has been slow but steady.

Building a computer model involves several stages. First, the
college downloaded a computerized “floorplan” of downtown
Lexington into their computers memory. The digitized, one—
dimensional layout of the city was made from aeriel photos taken
of Lexington and were provided to the college by the Lexington—
Fayette Urban County Government. The floorplan provided de—

4 ODYSSEY

structures of downtown Lexington.

The amount of detail and the size of the area included in the
computer animated model are “up to the resources,n adds Black.
“Right now, the hard drive can only do so much, we have only so
much RAM, the software can only hold so many materials.“

So far, Black and his colleagues have created a fully rendered,
computer—animated area ofdowntown Lexington roughly equiva—
lent to 24 city blocks—south and north from Vine Street to Barr
Street and the Federal Building, and east and west from Thorough—
bred I’ark to Triangle Park.

As it stands, the 3-D model ofLexington
has many advantages. The animation system
allows the user to explore Lexington from a
seemingly infinite number of angles and
points ofview. Since all the downtown coor—
dinates are mapped out in the computer’s
memory, the program automatically renders
a scene depending on the chosen point of
view, complete with accurate landscape per-
spectives, scaling, a powder blue sky and
white puffs of clouds in the distance. A
“visitor” can choose between a bird’s—eye
view of Lexington, “walk around” and see
the city from street level, or view a scene
from a city bench.

With the help of senior architecture stu—
dents Dave Silvernell, jeff Pickett, and sev—
eral other students, Black has started putting
together a series ofvideo visits through down—

takes 500 minutes.

“Each frame has a possibility of 1 6 million
colors,n Black explains. “The computer puts
them together in these movie files, which are
full resolution, TV resolution, so we can
videotape them. To flip through this much
information that fast takes a lot ofcomputer
power and that’s what our new equipment
does,“ Black adds.

In addition to recreating downtown as it
appears today, proposed changes can be made
to the computer model, replacing old build—
ings, empty lots and existing streets with new
buildings, parks and pedestrian—friendly
streets. While creating alternate versions of
downtown is one way to show what the new
computer modeling system can do, the com—
puter animation system also allows students
to present models of their original designs

ODYSSEY

one—way city streets with two—way lanes
divided by large parking islands with easy,
diagonal parking.

With the help of Black and architecture
instructor Randall Stevens, who teaches
some of the college’s CAD classes, students
have created original, alternate designs of
parts of downtown Lexington, including a
two—block pedestrian mall for the vacant
Snyder Block at Main and Limestone streets,
as well as pedestrian—friendly designs with
more on—street parking for Main and Espla—
nade streets near the Kentucky Theater.

In addition to exploring the city of the
future, the college plans to use the new
computer animation system to help pre—
serve Lexington’s past. The college is seek—
ing approval to offer an architecture major
in historic preservation, redesigning, reno—

In addition to recreating downtown as it appears today, proposed changes can

be made to the computer model, replacing old buildings, empty lots and exist—

ing streets with new buildings, parks and pedestrian—friendly streets.

town—several short, animated “walks”
through a three-dimensional model of Lex—
ington. The video includes easily recogniz—
able features ofhistoric Lexington, from the
Kentucky Theater marquee extending over
Main Street to the otherworldly rock forma—
tions of Phoenix Park’s boulder pool.

The animated videos—complete with
soundtrack—are complex and time—con—
suming to make. Like a director ofa film,
the user sets up several shots and decides
where to place the “camera.” After the area
ofthe model to be shot and the point ofview
are chosen, the computer system runs
through the vast sequence of coordinates
and renders the scene frame by frame, pro—
ducing a “real time” video. A simple three—
second shot looking west down Main Street
takes a hundred frames to render.

“The computer renders the frame indi—
vidually in about five minutes, then goes on
to the next frame,” Black explains. “A hun-
dred frames, about three seconds of video,

created for class. Many of the designs repre—
sent improvements in urban appearance, con—
venience and safety.

One such change envisioned is to make
downtown’s one—way streets handle two—
way traffic and to add large pedestrian is—
lands. This design represents a new trend in
urban thinking, the opposite of vehicle—ori—
ented street design that dominated down—
town planning for the last quarter century.
With many downtowns all over America in
decline, city planners hope to encourage a
slower, more park—like atmosphere that pe—
destrians would want to visit and spend time
in. Vehicle traffic is purposefully slowed and
made safer using two-way streets with larger
sidewalks, medians and “pave-throughs,"
brick paths equivalent to current crosswalks.

Downtown design of the future would
also provide more on-street parking and en—
courage people to visit downtown businesses
and walk city streets. Various plans made by
architecture students have substituted wide,

vating and finding new ways to use old
buildings.

Associate professor of architecture Mark
O’Bryan recently used a com purer-animated
model for a presentation at the Universityof
Louisville to describe the revitalization of
Louisville’s historic Russell neighborhood,
an urban area that has suffered years of
decline.

“It’s good to test the limits ofthis technol—
ogy,” O’Bryan says, “and explore all the
possibilities of video computer animation.
And it’s been a lot offun.”

Contact James Black in the Department of
Architecture for information about a video of
the 3—D downtown project described in this
article. The project can also be accessed via the
inrernet

SUAJMER/FALI, 1996 5

ODYSSEY

WHAT’S
WITH THE
WEB?

The World Wide Web is being

used more and more as a teaching

tool. How can it be useful? Will

the Web gradually supplant the

teacher in the classroom? Will the

Web help to redefine the word
learning?

-, t Cyberspace University
1 therearenotree—linedlawns
with benches dedicated to

.. i the “Class of‘46,“ no class—
rooms or dormitories, no libraries with
dusty shelves and no basketball—all ofwhich
may make some Kentuckians feel down—
right bewildered by the ruckus caused by
computers.

Thanks to the World Wide Web
(W), the modern university is extend—
ing electronically across the globe so that
now research labs can share their latest
findings instantaneously. Anyone at the tap
ofa few keys can find Web sites dedicated
to the popular or the arcane, and foreign
exchange students on American campuses

6 O 1) Y8 S If Y

can stay in touch with family and friends
from around the world.

Fora newgeneration ofcollege studentsw
many ofwhom began to go on-line almost
as soon as they learned to readithe per-
sonal computer may be as familiar as a well—
thumbed dictionary and as intriguing as
Captain Kangaroo’s magic drawing board
was for kids a generation ago. On today’s
increasingly electronic campus, there is
nothingunusualabouthrowsingthelibrary‘s
circulation catalogue from the comfort ofa
dorm room or e-mailing composition
themes to instructors across campus.

Universities have both largely contrib—
uted to, and been the beneficiaries of, the
World Wide Web, but government offices,
commercial industries, entertainment com—
panies and thousands of at-home network
subscribers have made the Web a sort of
universal coffee shop, electronic newspaper
and classic Greek symposium all in one. In
terms ofsharing ideas and information and
communicating with far—flung colleagues,
the Web does resemble the traditional uni-
versity: there are a vast number ofL‘rooms,n
from libraries, research outlets and aca—
demic offices to social hangouts, TV and

music lounges and spots to hear news,
sports and the latest gossip.

GETTING LAUNCHED
INTO (IYBERSPACE

In the King Library’s computer microlab,
WWW resources librarian Rob Aken works
with about 15 students. each of whom is
seated in front ofa computer terminal. The
students are enrolled in Communications
449, “The Social Processes and Effects of
Mass Communication,” taught by com—
munications professor Ramona Rush. Aken,
a librarian at UK for 12 years, regularly
introduces students to the library’s com—
puter resources, including how to access
and navigate the World Wide Web. The
Web, Aken tells them, is basically an “inter—
connected collection of networks.“

In conjunction with instructional ses—
sions, Aken sometimes works with profes—
sors from departments throughout the
university in designing and creating a
“Home Page”—a specifically designed site
on the UK server that acts as a doorway into
the Web for each class. A home page re-
sembles an illustrated library directory and
class newsletter with direct links to a wide

WRITTEN BY
JOHN DYER FORT

PHOTOS BY LEE THOMAS

array of information resources found by
both the professor and Aken—resources
that would take students working on their
own hours to find. For the COM 449 home
page, the resources available include infor-
mation on the environment and the media
which is gathered from government agen—
cies, social and environmental watchdog
groups and research, and not—for—profit
organizations which actively publish on the
Web. There’s even a list ofpopular movies,
such as “Blade Runner” and “Mad Max,“
having to do with “eco—dystopias.”

“In the old library,” Aken explains to the
students, “you look up a catalogue number,
then look on the shelfand, hopefully, find
your book, which of course stays the same
no matter how many times someone reads
it. On the Web, items are catalogued via an
internet address, and the ‘books’ can change
every day.”

While the sheer volume of information
and resources on the Web may often be
overwhelming, Aken explains that the tech»
nology behind it is still in its infancy. “In
terms ofa car,” Aken says, “we’re not to the
Model T.”

Nonetheless, Aken jokingly warns stu—
dents, ukeep your class schedule near you so
you can remember you have class to go to."
None ofthe students smile or look up when
he tells them this: they are too busy looking
at their screens and pecking away at their
keyboards.

TEACHING THROUGH
THE WEB
Ramona Rush, UK professor and former
dean of the College of Communications,
has studied and written about mass com—
munications and the electronic media for
more than 40 years. She has been an enthu—
siast of computers since the 19605, when

Government oﬂices,

commercial inelas—
tries, entertainment
companies ancl
t/ooasancls of
at—loome networ/e
snoscrioers have
made t/oe Weo a sort
of universal coﬁEe
shop, electronic
newspaper anaI
classic Cree/e sympo—

siam all in one.

ODYSSEY

the first software packages were developed
for the “big" computers at campuses all
over the U.S.

Rush has seen computer technology
change significantly, from the days when
computer programming meant lugging
around heavy trays containing hundreds of
carefully ordered punch cards to be run
through a card sorter/counter. Her “hands—
on” experience with this now ancient tech—
nology included, as a graduate student at
the University of Wisconsin, “spilling a
whole shopping cart of punch cards in the
busiest street in Madison.”

With the help ofAken, Rush developed
a home page on UK's computer network
where students can easily access the various
electronic resources available to them, in—
cluding the Web. First used for COM 453,
Mass Communication and Social Issues,
and CIT 619, Global Information and
Communication Perspectives, Rush says
the home page evolved over two years.
Aken says this home page is a model for
other courses taught at UK.

Rush describes Aken as “our guru on the
Web. He works at the Web far more than I
can. He keeps up with new resources ap—
pearing every day. I’ll check them out and
ifthey’re good for my courses, I’ll put them
on the home page."

Rush believes many college students to—
day are caught in a “computer gap”— be—
tween an older generation forced to become
computer proficient at a relatively late age
and a younger generation that has been
exposed to computers since toddling off to
grade school. “Students today have to be
exposed to the Web. They have little broth—
ers and sisters going to computer camps.”

In addition to traditional materials such
as books and periodicals, Rush requires her

continued on page 8

SUMMER/FALL 1996 7

ODYSSEY

students to use electronic sources when
writing class papers. uStudents didn‘t take
me seriously when I told them I wanted
them to use the home page to locate their
electronic sources,“ Rush says. “Then they
became really interested once they started
to use it. Now they say, ‘You won’t believe
what I found!“‘

Eventually, Rush sees a day when the
home page will evolve into a hypertext,
multi—media college course. uIt‘ll bring
video, film, audio, all the printed material
I want them to read, everything they need
in one place. It‘s all there.”

BIOINFORMATICS

The School of Biological Sciences‘ Chuck
Staben represents a newer generation of
college professors who have been using
computer network resources since their own
graduate school days or earlier. Staben came
to UK in 1989 after receiving his doctorate
from the University ofCalifornia at Berke—
ley in I 984 and doing postdoctoral work at
Stanford.

Energetic and talkative, Staben admits to
occasionally “fooling around on the com—
puter when I should be home with my
family.“ In addition to using the computer
in his molecular biology research, Staben
utilizes it in teaching and advising his biol—
ogy students.

For example, Staben has used resources
on the Web to develop “demos“ to show in
class. One such image, published by the
National Institutes ofHealth, is a detailed,
full—color “virtual DNA molecule.“ In one
of Staben’s classes. DNA molecules and
proteins are colored. moved, and rotated by
students so that they better understand
these structures. Using a computer projec-
tor in the School of Biological Sciences
microlab, Staben also projects largevscale
images of these molecules during class lec«
tures.

8 OD YSSE Y

In addition to finding resources for his
students, Staben has used the Web in his
research, developing professional contacts
in his own fields ofmycology and molecu—
lar biology, using bibliographic search ser-
vices and accessing a variety of biological
data bases.

One of the most important tools avail—
able on the Web is a vast library of DNA
sequences, protein sequences and analysis
programs (WWW address: www.niti.g0v).
Some information is “too large” to be pub—
lished in books, and cannot be manipulated
or analyzed easily without a computer,
Staben explains. “Around 1980, biologists
started archiving genetic information, mak—
ing it available on computer networks. This
information has been accessible to biolo-
gists for years, but the amount ofinforma-
tion has mushroomed and access has
improved,“ Staben says. “Some labs are
even putting their protocols on the Web,”
he adds, referring to the carefully designed
research methods and investigative proce—
dures labs use to conduct their studies.

Staben also wrote the department home
page for the School of Biological Sciences
(WWW address: www. uky.edu/ArtsSciences/
Biology). “Now undergraduates and gradu—
ate students can find out about our pro-
grams and faculty on the Web,” Staben
says, a handy information—gathering method
he uses himself. “Before giving a seminar at
Georgetown University not long ago, I

realized I had no idea who I was going to
talk to,“ Staben says. “I got on the Web and
looked up the microbiology faculty so I’d
know who they were."

For the last year or so, Staben has been
preparing to teach a new “Web intensive,”
computation—based course at UK called
“Bioinformatics,” which is listed in the
Class catalogue as Arts and Sciences 500.
Staben will be teaching the course, which
will combine modern molecular biology
with information~gathering and network—
ing techniques, this fall.

There are only about IO to 20 such
courses world—wide right now, Staben says,
that specialize in bioinformatics. He hopes
to teach a diverse mix ofundergraduate and
graduate students majoring in the physical
sciences, and also cross—disciplinary stu—
dents interested in innovative methods in
scientific research.

“\VEB 102”

Some students enrolled in English 10”—
the traditional second—semester composi—
tion class endured by generations of college
students—are experiencing a new spin on
an old theme. Several course sections of—
fered by UK‘s English department are now
designed to introduce students to writing
on the \X’eb and creating their own home
pages.

Second—year English master‘s student
Gardner Rogers is one of the graduate stu—
dents teaching the new course, first offered
by UK in the spring I996 semester.

“We spend a lot of time looking at \Web
pages. We ask students to incorporate the
writing skills they learn into their own
pages,” says Rogers, who made the 1995
List ofExcellent \Writing Program Instruc—
tors (compiled by the English department),
with the special distinction of being the
only instructor ranked excellent in every
section he has taught.

Ed'f‘fC L—‘L—‘H'

fir

In addition to the time—honored chal‘
lenge ol‘developing and reﬁning their writ-
ing skills, students in Rogers‘ class must
learn to use the \Xleb and write in a new
language called "Hypertext Markup lan—
guage." HTML as it is referred to, is an
interactive computer language that orga-
niles and links text and graphics on a page.
HTML used universally
throughoutthe Webqtl—
lows a reader to elecv
tronically skip over a
page, from text to graph-
ics and back. and even to
jump ahead to other re<
lated ideas and sources.

“Basically, it‘s easily
learned.“ Rogers says
He assures his students
that ”It‘s a class in lin—
glish and not computer
science.“

So far this semester,
Rogers says the class is
“an interesting mix.
Some students are really
excited about the \Veb
and looking forward to
it and some students are
intimidated"

This summer, Rogers says, the English
departments Writing Program intends to
set up Web pages so that students can go
look up course materials and examples of
papers required in a course. Also in the
works is an on—line writing lab. "This is the
work of Gail S. Cummins, head of the
Writing Center," Rogers says, “and is some—
thing we‘ve seen other universities do. It'll
give a real presence to the Writing Program
at UK,“ Rogers adds. “We won‘t be con-
fined to a little bound Source Book the
students buy.

“The underlying assumption for the tu—

ture is that the World Wide Web is here to

4 .—————~——_..__.

RAMONA RUSH BELIEVES THAT MANY
COLLEGE STUDENTS TODAY ARE
CAUGHT IN A “COMPUTER GAP”—BE-
TWEEBIAAN OLDER GENERATION
FORCED TO BECOME COMPUTER PRO-
FICIENT AT A RELATIVELY LATE AGE
AND A YOUNGER GENERATWON THAT
HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO COMPUTERS
SINCE BEGINNING GRADE SCHOOL.

Some wonj/ t/Jat not
soﬁzr in t/oeﬁitare t/oe
traditional university
may be competing
with t/oe Web for tne
attention of students

ana’ﬁteaily.

ODYSSEY

stay," Roger says. “and the Writing Pro—
gram sees writing as a very necessary skill.“

COURTROOM SLEL’THlNG
ON THE WEB

\When Sheila Donovan, a first-year student
in UK's College of Law, was assigned a
paper in her contracts class. she wasn‘t sure
where to turn for infor—
mation. The case in-
volved a recently filed
lawsuit by Brown and
\X’illiamson Tobacco
Company of Louisville
against former industry-
executive—turned—
whistle—blower Jeffrey
\X'igand‘a case so cur—
rent that Donovan
reared traditional library
resources would prove
unhelpful.

A further complica—
tion was the typical be—
hind—the—scenes legal
maneuvering going on
between the two parties
Rumors had it that
Wigand had secretly co—
operated with the Mississippi State Attor-
ney Generals Office and filed a deposition
claiming Brown and Williamson had known
lot 20 years that cigarette smoking was
harmful—evidence the state was planning
to use to file a massive lawsuit against the
tobacco company. In response, Brown and
Williamson sued for an iniunction in a
Louisville court against Wigand who, as a
Former executive ofthe company, had signed
an agreement never to disclose company
secrets.

At issue in Donovans law class was the
rights of industry to protect trade secrets
versus the protection or public safety. Her
personal feelings to the contrary, Donovan

S (CU .U P R i“ ii I, I r" “l ‘9 ti 9

ODYSSEY

was assigned to argue on behall ol‘ the
tobacco company ~‘to protect its trade se—
crets and have litigation resolved behind
closed doors and not in the public eye.“

L'nsure where to begin. Donovan began
checking sources on the Web at the sugges—
tion Ora fellow law stu’
dent. in her surprise.
she found tnore than she
expected. First. on the
“Court TV" Web site.
she found a complete
copy orthe actual court
document ﬁled by
Brown and \‘K’r'illiamson
seeking an iniunction
against \X’igand. “I
would have had to go to
Louisvilleto geta copy."
Donovan says. “which I
doubt 1 would have
done.“ By having a copy
of the injunction. she
now knew the argu»
ments and previous
court cases the lawyers
for Brown and
\‘i’illiamson were using
to block Wigand‘s testimony. But she didn‘t
stop there.

Browsing the web even further. Donovan
found a copy oi‘W’igandls original deposi—
tion o