Virologist appointed
UNL genetics chair
By Deb McAdams
Editor_
Top execu ti ves of the 3 M Corpo
ration, including former chair
man and CEO Lew Lehr, were
at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Tuesday to announce the appointment
of a nationally recognized AIDS re
searcher to the 3M/Lcw Lehr En
dowed Chair in Genetics at UNL.
In a ceremony at the Wick Alumni
Center, Charles Wood, currently head
of the Division ofNeurovirology at the
University of Miami, was appointed
to the position, pending approval by
the Board of Regents. He will take the
position at the George W. BcadleCen
ter for Biotechnology Research when
the center opens next year. The chair
was created by a SI million donation
from 3M Corporation.
Jack Moms, director of tin: UNL
School of Biological Sciences, said
3M wasn’t directly involved in genet
ics research, and there were no strings
attached to the endowment. The cor
poration’s selection of UNL for the
endowment was Lehr’s decision.
“3M traditionally provides an cn
dowment for the retiring CEO,” Morris
said.
Lehr, a native of Elgin, earned a
chemical engineering degree at the
University of Nebraska. He advocated
curiosity-based research and recog
nized the importance of genetic re
search, Morris said. Lehr’s interest in
research and his support of UNL al
lowed the university to attract Wood,
who has done significant research
about HIV, the virus that causes Al DS.
Wood said he accepted the position
at UN L because it provided an “oppor
tunity to build a program and to attract
other investigators to the center.”
Much of Wood’s focus as the ge
neticschair will be on HIV. Wood said
he has been involved in HIV research
since the virus was discovered and has
helped engineer products used to
screen blood.
Creating a solid foundation for his
program will be one of Wood’s main
goals.
Besides studying HIV, he has done
genetic research on a bovine immun
odeficiency virus. Vice Chancellor for
Research Priscilla Grew said.
“His research involves both human
and animal viruses. We see this as an
ideal thing because he’ll bring togeth
er research from cast campus and city
campus," she said.
Grcw’sofFice is promoting research
1 inkages between all of NU ’s campus
es, and the nature ofWood’s work will
help strengthen the research relation
ship between UNL and UNMC, she
said.
“There is strong HIV research at
UNMC,” Morris said. “For the past 2
or 3 years, we’ve had an informal
virologists meeting between campus
es. There will be opportunities with
the Beadle Center to bring all of the
areas of virology together.”
“Reciuitingsomeonclike Dr. Wood
is very important,” he said. “He’s not
exclusively an AIDS virologist. He
works on the molecular biology of
HIV as well as the bovine immunode
ficiency virus. A key here is the kind
of research we expect to do in the
Beadle Center is how human and an
imal genes work."
Wood will also bring more grant
opportunities to UNL.
“The major funding at UNL is from
the USDA, but that is shrinking. We
need to bring researchers in like
Charles Wood so we can bring in
funding from other agencies,” Morris
said. “He has grants to work on HIV
and the human herpes virus in excess
of$l million.”
Most of that funding is from the
National Cancer Institute and from
the National Institute of Health. Ac
cording to the 1992-93 Annual Report
of the Office of Sponsored Programs,
UNL received no funding from either
of these agencies last year.
More grant opportunities may mean
more researchers, and the strength of
UNL’s program is based on the re
search community, Morris said.
“Our institution isn’t big enough
or strong enough to be a number one
research university, but we can have
areas of excellence,” he said. “We’re
getting there.”
Larry Freeland sails away his afternoon at Holmes Lake.
Jason Levkulich/DN
barth to catch glimpse ot comet colliding with Jupiter
By Paula Lavigne
Staff Popottor
With the force of 200,000
megatons of dynamite, a
comet traveling 130,000
miles per hour will collide with Jupi
ter on July 16, resulting in an explo
sion more spectacular than even the
largest nuclear bomb could ever pro
duce.
Erik Hublc, a supervisor at Hyde
Observatory located in Holmes Park
and member of the Prairie Astronomy
Club, said the collision would be “more
than anything man has ever seen or
witnessed before.”
The comet, named Shoemaker
Levy 9 after its discoverers Eugene
and Carolyn Shoemaker and David
Levy, approached Jupiter in 1992 and
was trapped within the planet’s grav
itational pull and ripped into 21 piec
es.
Compared to a giant “dirty snow
ball" with a core of ice, snow and
debris, the comet, with its trail of dust
and gas, is about four kilometers in
length.
Its pieces are joined 1 ike a train that
will intermittently hit the solar sys
tem’s largest planet beginning July 16
and ending July 22. As spectacular a
phenomenon as this might be, Huble
said, very little to none of the impact
will be seen from Earth.
The comet will strike the planet on
its backside from Earth’s point of
view, Huble said, and since Jupiter is
such a large planet, 144,810 kilomc
tcrs in diameter, the comet is loo small
to be seen. However, backyard star
gazers arc not completely out of luck.
“Jupiter has a nine hour and -50
minute rotation, so during an eight to
18 minute time span, Jupiter will ro
tate around so we can see the area
where they would have impacted,” he
See COMET on 2