Warner School receives math, literacy grantsThe Margaret Warner School of Graduate Education and Human Development was awarded a grant for $1.2 million recently, to help run and maintain math and literacy programs in Rochester city schools. The grant came from the New York State Education Department.The Warner School is committed to revamping educational institutions, which involves changes in the very foundations of public education. University President Jackson was supportive of this program. “It’s part of an ongoing engagement with the community,” he said. “They date back to the school’s founder. It’s been a part of the mission since the Warner School began.”According to Judith Fonzi, a Professor at the Warner School and the Director of the Warner Center for Professional Development and Education Reform, such a change will take years.Fonzi saw the effort as a long-term project. “My son once said to me, ‘You can’t do anything to change my education now, so think of it as if you’re changing my children’s education.'” Fonzi said. “So this might not have a big impact on your education, but if you send your children here, it will make a difference for them.”The recent grant is only a small component of the full initiative taken on by the Warner School, which has been extremely successful in raising money. “Every grant we’ve applied for, we’ve received,” Fonzi said.Just last year, the Warner School received a grant for $2.4 million, which was used to develop math programs in K-12 schools. Over the last 15 years, more than $6.5 million has been raised for math programs alone.”[Our current performance] is like being in school and having a 4.0 GPA,” Fonzi said, “You’re already doing the best you can.”The Warner Center for Professional Development and Education Reform has existed for three years. Its major benefactor, William Scandling, was the husband to the late Margaret Warner Scandling, for whom the Warner School is named.
UR researchers win lawsuit against MicrosoftDr. Kevin Parker, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at UR, and Dr. Theophano Mitsa, a former student of Parker and now an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts, recently won the lawsuit against Microsoft Corporation regarding the development of a technology called “Blue Noise Mask.””This is very satisfying, it upholds the validity of patents,” Mark Coburn, associate provost and director of Tech Transfer Office, said. Intending to simply improve the printouts of ultrasound images in the early 1990s, Parker and Mitsa soon discovered that the technology could eliminate artifacts in other images as well. Thus, they began research into Blue Noise Mask, a technology that makes possible the rapid creation of high-quality half-tone images.The decision of the Arizona court in this lawsuit means that many of Microsoft products such as Windows and Office infringe on patents, which could affect Microsoft in the future. “In the future, I hope companies who wish to use our technologies to come and talk to us because we certainly don’t want to sue them,” Coburn said.”I want to congratulate Dr. Parker and Dr. Mitsa for their patience and perseverance,” Coburn added. “They stick to their research for years and overcome the long process.” Companies like Hewlett-Packard, Seiko-Epson, Lexmark International and many others in the field of graphic arts and printing use this technology for advanced products.
Honors Cutoffs AnnouncedThe cutoffs for Latin Honors for students earning degrees in the Arts and Sciences in 2004 are as follows. To be eligible for Latin Honors, students also need at least 88 credit hours and to have completed all their courses. For Summa Cum laude the minimum GPA is 3.94, while the cutoff for Magna Cum laude is 3.77. For Cum laude, the GPA is 3.53.Reporting by Yosuke Aoyama and Ted Elton.
