The Duke Digest - September 17, 2010

In Today's Issue:

  • Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito on Campus for Conversations and Class
  • Duke Law Tax Expert Available to Discuss Bush Tax Cut Extension
  • Sanford Professor's New Software Helps Journalists Create Timelines
  • NEH Chairman Jim Leach to Speak at Duke September 20
  • Duke Men's Lacrosse Visits the White House
  • Duke Research on Bioluminescent Organisms Could Have Military Applications
  • Durham Ranked #1 Best Place to Retire


SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SAMUEL A. ALITO ON CAMPUS FOR CONVERSATIONS AND CLASS
Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito discussed his distinguished career in law, public service, and on the federal bench during a lunchtime conversation with Dean David F. Levi at Duke Law School on Sept. 15. The conversation, part of the Law School’s “Lives in the Law” series, included Alito’s reflections on the Supreme Court nomination process, his service in the U.S. Department of Justice as U.S. attorney, deputy solicitor general, and in the Office of Legal Counsel, and his love of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Alito is currently teaching a weeklong seminar to upper-year Duke Law students titled Current Issues in Constitutional Interpretation. It is his second year teaching at the Law School.

Read More:
Lives in the Law: Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito (Duke Law)


DUKE LAW TAX EXPERT AVAILABLE TO DISCUSS BUSH TAX CUT EXTENSION
Lawrence Zelenak, Pamela B. Gann Professor of Law, Duke Law School,  is an expert in tax policy generally, and the federal income tax specifically. In a recent article in Tax Notes, Zelenak and a colleague examine -- and dismiss -- the major objections to the looming income tax rate increases on upper-income taxpayers. They also describe and endorse a proposal to index the income tax for changes in pretax income inequality.

Zelenak's publications also include numerous articles on tax policy issues and a treatise on federal income taxation of individuals. Prior to coming to Duke in 2003, his was, among other things, a professor in residence at the Office of the Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C.

Contact:
Forrest Norman
T: (919) 613-8565
Email: norman@law.duke.edu


FORMER WASHINGTON POST JOURNALIST AND SANFORD PROFESSOR'S NEW SOFTWARE HELPS CREATE TIMELINES
One of the biggest challenges facing investigative reporters is making sense of large volumes of information collected from a variety of sources over many months, or sometimes even years. A new tool developed by Sarah Cohen, a professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, aims to make that process easier and faster.

“A lot of people are interested in it, not just journalists – lawyers, fiction writers, museum curators.” Cohen said. “It’s useful to anyone handling a longterm project where you are trying to piece together information from a lot of different sources.”

Read More:
Seeing the Story: New Software Helps Journalists Create Timelines (Sanford School)


NEH CHAIRMAN JIM LEACH TO SPEAK AT DUKE SEPTEMBER 20
Jim Leach, Chairman of the National Endowment of the Humanities, will deliver a lecture entitled Civility in a Fractured Society at Duke's Nasher Museum of Art on Monday, September 20. Organized by the Office of the President, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, and Franklin Humanities Institute, the event will begin at 5:30pm and is free and open to the public.

Leach's visit at Duke is part of his national "Civility Tour," a 50-state tour launched in November 2009 to call attention to the need for civility in public discourse.

Read More:
NEH Chairman to Speak at Duke Sept 20 (DukeNews)


DUKE MEN'S LACROSSE VISITS THE WHITE HOUSE
The Duke University men's lacrosse team spent yesterday touring Washington D.C., highlighted by a visit to the White House where the team was honored by President Barack Obama for winning the 2010 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship.

Read More:
Duke Men's Lacrosse Visits the White House (GoDuke.com)


DUKE RESEARCH ON BIOLUMINESCENT ORGANISMS COULD HAVE MILITARY APPLICATIONS
Someday, the secrets of fireflies or glowing sea plankton could save an American soldier in battle, a Navy SEAL on a dive or a military pilot landing after a mission. That's the hope behind a growing field of military-sponsored research into bioluminescence, a phenomenon that's under the microscope in laboratories around the country.

Sonke Johnsen, a marine biologist at Duke, recently received a $7.3 million grant from the Office of Naval Research to study the brightness, reflection and other features of sea creatures' bioluminescence.

Read More:
Researchers Delve into Secrets of Fireflies, Other Glowing Creatures for Military Uses (AP/LA Times)
Sonke Johnsen's Lab (Duke.edu)


DURHAM RANKED #1 BEST PLACE TO RETIRE
Duke's "stellar" lifelong-learning program, medical center and art museum make Durham the top pick for retirees, CNNMoney.com says.

Read More:
25 Best Places to Retire (CNNMoney.com)