Creeley is winner of prestigious Bollingen Prize in Poetry
The Yale University Library announced Tuesday that Robert Creeley, Samuel P. Capen Chair in Poetry and the Humanities at UB, has been awarded its 1999 Bollingen Prize in Poetry, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world. The Bollingen, which carries a $50,000 cash award, is presented biennially to an American poet for the best book published during the previous two years or for lifetime achievement in poetry. Previous winners include W.H. Auden, e.e. Cummings, Robert Frost, Robert Penn Warren, James Merrill and John Ashbery.

Citing Creeley's "half century of engagement and leadership in the literary culture of American society," the Bollingen judges praised his lifetime accomplishments, noting in particular, the quality and importance of his two 1998 poetry collections, "Life and Death" and "So There: Poems 1976-1983."

"As editor, publisher, teacher, writer and mind-worker," they said, "Robert Creeley has been a seminal figure of the second half of the 20th century. His broad cultural contribution is balanced by an original prosody and stubbornly plain language that make a Creeley poem instantly recognizable."

Listening with Your Brain' to be topic of "UB at Sunrise"
The complex network of neural systems in the brain and how they affect hearing will be the focus of a "UB at Sunrise" program to be held from 7:30-9 a.m. March 3 in the Center for Tomorrow.

In a lecture titled "Listening With Your Brain," Alan H. Lockwood, professor of neurology, nuclear medicine and communicative disorders and sciences, will explore how our ability to understand what we hear depends on a complex network of neural systems in the brain, as well as how these networks are organized to give meaning to the sounds in our environment.

Lockwood is director of the Center for Positron Emission Tomography at the Buffalo VA Medical Center, a joint venture with UB, and co-director of the UB Center for Hearing and Deafness. A member of the UB faculty since 1991, he holds board certification in neurology from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Cost of the "UB at Sunrise" lecture, which includes a full breakfast, is $10, UB Alumni Association members and $12, general public. The reservations deadline is March 1. For more information, or to make reservations, call 829-2608.

Correction
An item that appeared in the Kudos section of last week's edition misidentified the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. We regret the error.

Asian Studies offering summer faculty grants
The Asian Studies Program, through a U.S. Education Department Title VI grant, is offering two summer faculty grants of $2,500 each for undergraduate course development in Asian studies. The focus must be on humanities courses at the 300/400 level. The end product can be a new Asia-centered course, a significantly revised offering or an Asian module in an existing or projected course.

Applications should be sent by March 15 to Timothy Rutenber, associate vice provost for international education, 411 Capen Hall. For more information and applications, contact Thomas W. Burkman, director of Asian studies, at 645-3474, or .

DiBenedetto to head dental alumni unit for second year
Paul R. DiBenedetto, a 1979 graduate of the School of Dental Medicine, has been named president of the 4,000-member UB Dental Medicine Alumni Association for a second year.

DiBenedetto served as co-chair for the 1998 Greater Niagara Frontier Dental Meeting and will co-chair the 1999 meeting as well. He practices in Cheektowaga.

Michael D. Ehlers, who graduated from the dental school in 1985, will serve as president-elect for a second year. He is a clinical instructor of restorative dentistry at UB and has a practice in Boston, N.Y.

David R. Rice, a 1994 dental- school graduate, begins his first term as secretary. He is a clinical instructor of restorative dentistry and has a practice in Buffalo.

Richard J. Lynch, a 1983 dental-school graduate, will serve as treasurer for a second year. Lynch is a past president of the dental alumni association. A partner in the Western New York Dental Group, P.C., he practices in Williamsville.

Philip Coppens named Woodburn Chair of Chemistry
Philip Coppens, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry, has been named the first Henry M. Woodburn Chair of Chemistry.

Woodburn, who was dean of the Graduate School from 1953-1966, served as professor of chemistry from 1923-72.

A UB faculty member since 1968, Coppens has pioneered studies of the use of X-ray-diffraction techniques to study the nature of bonding between atoms in molecules and crystals by studying the distribution of electrons in a crystal. His textbook on the subject was published in 1997.

The Coppens research group is developing methods for time-resolved diffraction, which will give information on short-lived species of importance in electron transfer, photochemical reactions, catalysis and biological processes. Synchrotron sources and high-power ultraviolet lasers at Argonne and Brookhaven National Laboratories will be used.

Coppens is principal investigator for the SUNY beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source, located at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island. The SUNY beamline is the result of a close collaboration between researchers at UB, SUNY-Stony Brook and the College of Ceramics at Alfred.

A recipient of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' prestigious Gregori Aminoff Prize, Coppens is a former president of the International Union of Crystallography. The author of more than 280 technical papers and articles, he has served as president and vice president of the American Crystallographic Association, and was the recipient of the association's Buerger Award.

Nominations due March 1 for Phi Beta Kappa candidates
Nominations are due by March 1 for election to the Omicron chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the national honorary society for students in liberal arts degree programs. Candidates should have a grade-point average of 3.75 or higher with at least 85 hours completed, or 3.50 or higher with at least 100 hours completed. For students with transfer credits, the UB average, as well as the overall average, must meet these minima, and at least 32 hours must have been taken at UB. In addition, candidates must have achieved breadth in the liberal arts, at a minimum satisfaction of the university's general-education requirements.

Seniors graduating in liberal arts degree programs-B.A. or B.S. but normally not B.F.A.-in Arts and Sciences are eligible. A small number of juniors in these programs also are elected annually.

Chief sources for nominations are departmental nominations, self-nominations and a computer printout from Records and Registration indicating students who meet the minimal credit-hour and GPA thresholds. Nominations, accompanied by the relevant student transcripts, should be sent to Barbara Bono, president, Phi Beta Kappa, attn: Mili Sidorski, The Undergraduate College, 275 Park Hall, telephone 645-6883; fax 645-2893.

Two awards are given each year to distinguished students: the Samuel P. Capen Prize for outstanding work in any genre and the Hildegarde Shinners Prize for the best student essay. Potentially qualifying work or a detailed description of such work should be sent with a nominating letter from a faculty member by April 1 to Bono in the Department of English, 306 Clemens Hall, North Campus. Materials submitted will be returned to the student directly if a self-addressed envelope is provided.

New student members will be inducted on May 14.

Kurtz to speak on overpopulation in India
Paul Kurtz, professor emeritus of philosophy, will speak on "Overpopulation in India: What Can the West Do?" at 7:30 p.m. today in the Center for Inquiry-International, 1310 Sweet Home Road, Amherst. Kurtz will reflect on his January visit to a world humanist meeting in India. Admission is free.

Wright prairie houses topic of slide lecture
The UB Archives will present "Of Nature and Shelter," a slide lecture and discussion of the gardens and landscapes of Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie houses, at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 26 in the University Archives, 420 Capen Hall on the North Campus. It is free of charge and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Speakers will include Connie Lydon of Lydon Landscape and Designs, Inc., and Martha Neri of the Darwin D. Martin House Restoration Corporation. Lydon is a landscape consultant to Wright's E.E. Boynton House in Rochester and the Isabelle R. Martin House at Graycliff in Derby. Neri is the landscape historian of the Darwin D. Martin House.

For further information or to make a reservation, call 645-2916 or email .

The slide lecture will be held in conjunction with the Archives' exhibit "The Gardens of the Martin House and Graycliff Estate," which has been extended through the month of February in 420 Capen Hall.

Henderson appointed theatre and dance chair
Stephen M. Henderson, associate professor of theatre and dance and a theater actor of national reputation, has been named to a three-year term as chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, effective immediately.

Henderson joined the UB faculty in 1987. As director of the department's Acting Program, he has taught improvisation skills, character development and scene study and, with his colleagues, developed courses in black theater and elementary Meisener Repetition.

An award-winning actor, he has acted in films and television dramas and in scores of theatrical productions in Buffalo, Washington and Denver, as well as for UB. Henderson holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from the North Carolina School of the Arts and a master of arts degree from Purdue University.

Commencement Committee seeks student speaker
The University Commencement Committee is seeking a student representative to address graduates at the 153rd University Commencement May 16 in Alumni Arena. The competition for a student speaker is open to all graduating seniors in the College of Arts and Sciences, including special and individualized majors.

Nicolas D. Goodman, vice provost for undergraduate education, will chair a selection committee comprised of faculty, staff and student representatives. Seniors who wish to be considered must submit a written version of their speech to Goodman. Each of three finalists will present his/her address before the committee. The winning speech will be presented by the student at the University Commencement. Speeches should be no longer than three minutes. Selection will be based on relevancy, appropriateness of content and delivery. Submit entries by March 25 to the Student Speaker Selection Committee, in care of Goodman at 255 Capen Hall, North Campus. For more information, call 645-2991.