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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2004)
An independent newspaper www.dailyemerald.com Olympic Trials Page 5 Tuesday, July 6, 2004 Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Volume 106, Issue 5 Professor achieves nanotech advances Jim Hutchison's research may lead to creation of a 'nano-scale circuit' BEN BROWN NEWS REPORTER Size does matter, or at least distance does, according to University chemistry professor jim Hutchison's research. Last month, Hutchison and his team at the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtech nologies institute made a scientific breakthrough when they discovered a method to control the spacing between nanoparticles. Gerd Woehrle, a chemistry graduate stu dent who worked with Hutchison to de velop the technique, said this tool kit might allow people to build nano-scale circuits, something no one has yet been able to accomplish. Woehrle said circuits made with nanoparticles would be smaller and more sensitive than existing circuitry and microchips made with these circuits could hold more memory and could be 10 to 100 times smaller. These circuits would also use a lower current than con ventional ones. Nanoparticles interact only at very small distances: 1.5 to 2.8 nanometers, which are one millionth of a millimeter. Until now, scientists have not been able to reliably create reactions between parti cles, which have varied reactions at different distances. More fine-tuning of the exact distance between particles allows scientists to bet ter predict and control chemical reactions. Dependable spacing is accomplished by growing particles on a "DNA template." Discovering how to reliably space and tune these reactions is part of what Hutchi son calls his "tool kit." "We're making a nano-scale Lego set," Hutchison said. "Now we have to figure out how to put the Legos together." Hutchison said he is committed to Please see NANOTECH, page 3 Thursday afternoon at the University longhouse construction site, workers Rick Parrish, Chuck Hatcher, Jim DeVorak, Gene Koll and Kirk Miller (left to right) of Preferred Construction, Inc. and Hatcher Crane Service, Inc. maneuver timbers into place with the assistance of crane operator Gary Smith. Erik R. Bishoff Online & Photo Editor A new longhouse to call home The Many Nations Longhouse will combine influences from various Native American traditions OMIE DRAWHORN NEWS REPORTER onstaiction is under way for the University's new Many Nations Long V^yhouse, a $1.2 million project that has been 10 years in the making. The new longhouse, which is scheduled to be finished by late October or early November, will replace the original longhouse, a converted World War II army barracks. In the meantime, Native American students are using a modular to hold their meetings. "With the exception of the $350,000 that was allocated from student building fees in 2002, the project was funded with private funds raised over the last five years, " said Dave Hubin, Executive Assistant to the President, adding that students funded one-third of the building's cost. "(The new longhouse) will allow the entire University to draw from and learn from native traditions." A longhouse is a traditional community cen ter common to many Native American peoples in the Pacific Northwest and around the country, according to the Many Nations Longhouse Web site. The University's longhouse serves many pur poses. It is a place for celebrating weddings, grad uations, ceremonies and powwows, as well as for studying, socializing and relaxing. Many consider it a home away from home. "During spring and winter powwows, students and community members come to the long house for a feast," said Gordon Betties, Interim Steward of the longhouse. Campus groups like the Native American Law Students Association, Southern Oregon Research Projects, Native American Student Union, North west Indigenous Language Institute and the Center for Study ofWomen in Society hold meetings there Betties said the building is modeled after the Kalapuya tribe's longhouses and designed through many meetings with tribal elders, stu dents and community members. "This longhouse is the coming together of many different ideas of many different cultures," Betties said. Although the longhouse is modeled after the Kalapuya, nine tribes have contributed some item or idea to the project. For example, lumber used in the new facility will come from the Warm Springs tribe. Betties said there is a stone at the entrance just inside the Longhouse that touches the ground because some tribes believe there should be earth in the longhouse. "The door to the east symbolizes the tribal val ue of looking through the front door and greet ing the rising sun," Betties said. "The spirit goes into the west after people live their lives." The longhouse will also have a skylight to rep resent those tribes that enter the house through the roof. The original longhouse was beyond repair and virtually unlivable. Hubin called it a "spiri tually rich, structurally decrepit building." 'T he roof needed replacing," Betties said. “The floor was so old, in some places you could actually fall through." Betties said it was cold in the winter and hot in the summer because of faulty air conditioning. James Elorendo, an academic advisor for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, said the building Please see LONGHOUSE, page 3 Oregon Marine dies in Iraq A vehicle accident killed James Huston Jr. of Hermiston, one of at least 24 soldiers with close Oregon ties' to die since March 2003 ASSOCIATED PRESS I lermiston, Ore — An Eastern Oregon marine has been killed in action in Iraq, according to military officials. In a brief news release, the Pentagon said that L^nce Cpl. lames Huston Jr., 22, of Hermiston, died Friday in a vehicle accident while his unit was responding to "hos tile action" in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. The military said he was a rifleman based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. According to Camp Pendleton spokesman Nathaniel Garcia, Huston joined the Marine Corps on Oct. 10, 2001. He had been awarded several military honors, in cluding the Navy and Marine Corps achievement medal, the Armed Forces expeditionary medal, the presidential unit citation and the Sea Service deployment ribbon. lames's brother Matthew, an electrician in the Navy, told the East Oregonian newspaper in Pendleton that knowing his brother's death was an accident helps the family deal with their loss. "I think we all take comfort knowing it wasn't in his hands," Huston said. "It was an accident, and accidents happen." James Huston had been redeployed to Iraq in March, after being in the country the first two months Please see IRAQ, page 3 NEWS BRIEF Endowment by alumnus honors EMU’s first director University graduate Andrew "Andy" Berwick Jr. and his wife I>hyl lis have given S 100,000 to start an en dowment for student leadership activ ities in the EMU. The endowment, called the Richard C. Williams Endowed Student Leader ship Fund, is named after Berwick's for mer mentor and the EMI I's first director. The endowment will support work shops, seminars, student and profes sional staff members, and an infor mation resource for campus. "When 1 was chairman of the board of the student union and Dick was the director, I spent a great deal of time talking with him about student union problems and how to solve them," said Berwick, a 1955 business graduate. "He never gave me direct answers. He always tried to make me come up with my own solutions. His mentoring helped me develop a lot of self-confidence and organizational skills that were a very important part of my success in the business world." Williams, who oversaw the EMU's construction and served as director from 1948 to 1954, expressed surprise at the endowment. "I'm still at a loss for words," Williams said. "This is the nicest thing that's ever been done for me." — Jared Paben
