Oak Ridge Today

Roane State students serve, learn in Costa Rica and Panama

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Students in the World Cultures and Serving Learning class taught by Dave Rath and Cody Miller gather around the more than 500 pounds of school supplies, toiletries, and clothing collected for impoverished children in Costa Rica and Panama. From left: Gracie May, Chloe Pierce, Jason Wasilewski, Stephanie Anderson, Jan Joyal, Earl Davis, Lexie Perotti, Amber Meter, Lizet Palacios, Tamara Richardson, April Brannon, Apolonia Garcia, Alyssa McCullah, Jocelyn Middleton, Cody Miller, and kneeling, Dave Rath. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Roane State faculty Dave Rath and Cody Miller faced an ironic dilemma.

They had more contributions for impoverished children in Costa Rica and Panama than they had space set aside to fly down to those Central American countries.

“We’ll find a way,” Rath vowed. “Before we leave your hard work in Tennessee, we’ll find a way,” he told their students.

Rath and Miller and 14 students in their World Cultures and Service Learning class recently packed up large cardboard boxes of shoes, toothbrushes, school supplies, and a myriad of other items to transport to remote areas of the two countries during the trip, May 8-17.

This year’s supply drive was the biggest yet, Rath said. [Read more…]

Roane State students will collect donations for Central American countries at Feb. 10 Princess Theatre movie night

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Sixteen Roane State Community College students are traveling to the most impoverished areas of two Central American countries to deliver greatly needed items, and they are seeking the community’s help.

The Service Learning in World Cultures class is seeking contributions of all types of school supplies and clothing. Students will be at the entrance of the historic Princess Theatre in downtown Harriman beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday, February 10, to receive donations.

The college’s Arts and Lectures Committee is holding a free viewing of the film “Do the Right Thing” at 7 p.m. that night at the theater, located at 421 North Roane Street.

That award-winning comedy-drama, directed by Spike Lee, is often listed as among the greatest films of all time. The public is invited to view Friday’s screening. [Read more…]

ORNL part of project to study how tropical forests respond to climate change

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Amazon Tropical Rainforests

The future of tropical rainforests in the Amazon (pictured) and worldwide is the focus of a new research project that combines field experiments and predictive modeling. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory will play key roles in an expansive new project that aims to bring the future of tropical forests and the climate system into much clearer focus by coupling field research with the development of a new ecosystem model.

The project is called the Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments-Tropics, or NGEE-Tropics. Its goal is the development of a model that represents how tropical forests interact with Earth’s climate in much greater ecological detail than ever before. This will help scientists explore, more accurately than is possible today, how rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, increasing greenhouse gas levels, and other natural and human-induced changes affect tropical forests’ influence on Earth’s climate.

Led by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), the effort includes collaborators from Oak Ridge, Brookhaven, Los Alamos, and Pacific Northwest national laboratories. The study also includes researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, NASA, and several institutions from other nations. [Read more…]

Spotlight: Textile display at Oak Ridge Public Library

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Linda Cloutier Textile Display

 

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The art display at Oak Ridge Public Library for the month of June consists of exquisite appliqué pieces from the collection of Linda Cloutier.

The appliqué pieces are called molas, traditionally made by the Cuna Indians of the San Blas Islands of Panama. They feature an intricate form of reverse appliqué created in vivid colors, often on a red background. Stylized animal and plant forms are often used as subject matter. Molas are generally made in a rectangular shape, then framed and used as wall hangings here in the United States. However, the Cuna Indian people incorporate molas into women’s clothing, often using them as the fronts and backs of blouses.

In Linda Cloutier’s collection, molas can be seen added as decorative elements to three cotton shirts. These designs require a high degree of skill, because the amount of detail is quite extensive, and the process requires working with several layers of cloth. [Read more…]