Story Ideas:
• New optical lens filter technology patented by Chemistry professor Carl Dirk, Ph.D. , has been implemented to protect works of art from light damage in the Getty Museum in Albuquerque and is now moving into exciting biomedical applications including behavioral data, cognitive testing and collecting biomarker data. Professors from chemistry, electrical and computer engineering, physical therapy, health science, environmental research and nursing all are working on these applications while private companies like PhotoKinetics Inc. have been founded to license and apply this technology commercially.
• The cardboard canoe competition, a highlight of UTEP’s 2014 ExciTES Summer Institute in the College of Engineering, will pit high school students against each other to see whose canoe can stay afloat the longest at 9 a.m. Thursday, June 19, in the Student Recreation Center.
Participants will race each other in the pools of the Student Recreation Center, where they will be judged on design, the stability of their cardboard canoe, and how many laps it can successfully complete.
ExciTES, which stands for Excellence in Technology, Engineering and Science, introduces middle school and high school students to a variety of engineering fields including electrical engineering, materials engineering, civil engineering and computer science through inquiry-based/team-oriented projects.
Press Events/Photo Opportunities On Campus:
Friday, June 20
8:30 p.m.
Kidd Field, UTEP Campus
Movies on the Lawn — Hercules
Returning for the program’s fourth season, Movies on the Lawn will show Hercules at 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 20 at Kidd Field. Hercules is rated G and follows the son of two Greek gods who is stripped of his immortality as an infant and must become a true hero in order to reclaim it.
In celebration of the Centennial Year, organizers will distribute giveaways to the first 100 people to arrive at each showing, offer contests on the UTEP Union Services Facebook page and set up a school supply drive for students in the community. The drive will collect school supplies such as paper, markers, crayons, glue, Kleenex, hand sanitizer, erasers and pencils. A collection area will be set up at each Movies on the Lawn showing. The school supplies will be disseminated to community students in need after the last show.
Two movies have been added to the usual eight-movie summer lineup in response to community member requests.
All films are free to the public and shown on an 18-foot inflatable screen.
At the concession stand, guests can purchase a $5 combo, which includes a 12 oz. can of soda, popcorn and a hot dog. Guests may also purchase a Centennial popcorn cup for $2.50. Popcorn refills are $1.50 for the rest of the season.
No alcohol or glass containers are allowed inside Kidd Field.
Kidd Field is located on the north end of campus adjacent to the intersection of Randolph Drive and Robinson Avenue.
The venue is ADA accessible and all films will have closed captioning.
For visitors to the UTEP campus, parking is available at the UTEP Sun Bowl Parking Garage or in the P-8, P-9, P-10, P-11 and P-12 parking lots. For a complete listing of all on-campus parking options, see the “Visitor Parking” section at parking.utep.edu.
For more information, call Union Services at 915-747-5711 or visit https://www.facebook.com/UTEPUnion.
All films begin at approximately 8:30 p.m. or as determined by sunset.
Campus Spotlights:
• From now through September, one spot on campus is glittering with jewelry that is more than bling.
Metalsmith and jewelry maker Rachelle Thiewes — who has been teaching at UTEP for more than 35 years — is presenting her first-ever retrospective at the University’s Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, giving visitors the opportunity to see how accessories become art.
The exhibit went up last week and will be celebrated with an official public opening from 5-7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26 as part of the Rubin Center’s “Summer Celebration of the Arts,” also featuring a newly commissioned mural by Gaspar Enriquez.
• The green hues of Memorial Park will get an orange makeover when generations of UTEP alumni meet from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 12, to share old memories and create new ones at the third annual UTEP Alumni PICK-NIC.
Miner alumni – and there are about 40,000 in the El Paso area – are invited to spread out their blankets, lawn chairs and ice chests at the park, 3200 Copper Ave. (between San Marcial and Luna streets) and be part of this special Miner tradition. The event is one of more than 20 scheduled July 12 around the world where people will celebrate being Miners with food and fun.
These parties on the second Saturday in July will build alumni camaraderie and strengthen the foundation for future alumni growth as the Miner Nation continues its Centennial Celebration this year.
Picnickers are asked to wear their Miner gear and take plenty of photos and videos. Prizes will be awarded. Participants also should come ready to belt out their rendition of UTEP’s fight song, “Miner Fight.”
The Alumni Association will provide the hamburgers and hot dogs, and participants are encouraged to bring sides, salads and desserts as well as their own drinks.
UTEP PICK-NICs in the U.S. include Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Orange County, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, and San Francisco. Internationally, picnics will be held south of the border in Juárez and Zapopan, Mexico; as well as half a world away in Thimphu, Bhutan.
Information or to RSVP for a picnic: http://alumni.utep.edu or 915-747-8600.
• UTEP’s School of Nursing has received $100,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program (NCIN) to award scholarships to assist college graduates from underrepresented backgrounds to transition into careers in nursing. NCIN is a program of RWJF and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Armando Anchondo, Matthew Castanon, Otto Niel Madrigal, Librado Rafael Rodriguez, Hilda Terrazas, Karina Nicole Valdespino, Maria Ester Barbosa, Naomi Magallanes, Katherine Ann Torres and Holly Victoria Villegas each received a $10,000 scholarship that can be applied toward tuition and fees, books and expenses.
In addition to the scholarship, NCIN scholars participate in leadership and mentoring programs, as well as a pre-entry immersion program to help them learn study, test-taking, and other skills that will help them manage the challenges of an accelerated program.