In Brief

Rosalynn Carter to speak at ARCO Forum

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter will speak at the ARCO Forum, Kennedy School of Government, on Monday, April 30, at 6 p.m. Her keynote address, “Minding Our Future: The Importance of Children’s Mental Health in the 21st Century,” is open to the public. The event is sponsored by the Institute of Politics and the Harvard Children’s Initiative.

Carter has been a driving force in the field of mental health throughout her public service career. Today, she continues her leadership through The Carter Center in Atlanta where she chairs the Carter Center Mental Health Task Force. Her latest book is “Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers” (Times Books, 1999).

Hearst Fund for children established at HMS

The William Randolph Hearst Fund has been established at Harvard Medical School in honor of Isabelle and Leonard Goldenson and Ethel and Jack Hausman on behalf of handicapped children.

The $25,000 award is to be used by HMS faculty to support research in pre- and perinatal medicine, with particular emphasis on the prevention of neuromotor disabilities. Preferences for the award will be given to junior and/or new investigators.

The award period runs from July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002. Applications are due June 1. For more information, contact Kemith LeBlanc in Sponsored Programs Administration, at (617) 432-2663.

Organizers sought for next Ig Nobel event

Organizers are sought to help produce the 11th Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, which honors individuals whose achievements “cannot or should not be reproduced.” Likely the world’s largest science-humor celebration, the event will be held at Sanders Theatre in early October and will be broadcast live over the Internet. The event will feature a mini-opera about complexity and the traditional Win-a-Date-With-a-Nobel Laureate Contest.

Anyone interested in participating should contact Marc Abrahams, editor of The Annals of Improbable Research, at marca@chem2.harvard.edu or (617) 491-4437.

24 juniors elected to Phi Beta Kappa

The following students have been elected to the Alpha Iota chapter of Phi Beta Kappa as part of the Junior 24 for the Class of 2002. They are listed below with their Houses and concentrations.

Lauren Elizabeth Baer, Dunster, social studies; Heather Elizabeth Boesch, Kirkland, economics; Emily Buck, Mather, biochemical sciences; Albert Hyunbae Cho, Adams, social studies; Abigail Gutmann Doyle, Kirkland, chemistry; Ashley Simmons Evans, Cabot, comparative study of religion; Dorothy Ashley Fortenberry, Leverett, history and literature; David Stephen Freeman, Adams, physics and mathematics; Michael Gerber, Pforzheimer, history; Jonathan Marc Gribetz, Pforzheimer, social studies; Joyce Cigarroa Keck, Adams, classics; Jonathan Adam Kelner, Leverett, mathematics and physics; Naamit Michal Kurshan, Pforzheimer, history and science; Sarah Elizabeth Little, Dunster, economics; Andrew Leren Lynn, Cabot, history and literature; Paven Malhotra, Lowell, social studies; Benjamin Laing McKean, Cabot, social studies; Sue Kyon Paik, Cabot, psychology; Esteban Alberto Real, Leverett, physics; Stephen Edward Sachs, Quincy, history; Travis Jeremy Schedler, Pforzheimer, mathematics; Ravi Vikram Shah, Winthrop, chemistry; Ariel Hoshea Simon, Winthrop, history and science; and Adam Craig Weiss, Eliot, history and literature.

Environmental colloquium to feature Schiffer

Former assistant attorney general for the environment and natural resources at the U.S. Department of Justice Lois Schiffer will speak today (April 26), at 4 p.m., at the Maxwell Dworkin building, G115. Schiffer, who is a graduate of Radcliffe College (1966) and Harvard Law School (1969), will discuss “Timely Topics in Environmental Law.” Her talk is part of the University Center for the Environment colloquium series.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call Arianne Callender at (617) 496-1684.

– Compiled by Andrew Brooks