From the Acting

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sloth bear

An icon ofaviation

history

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example

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A MONTHLY NEWSPAPER FOR SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION STAFF NO. 08-01 JANUARY 2008

Solving the mystery of the boy in the iron coffin

3 4 5 7 8

See ‘Rastafari,’ Page 3

Just chillin’. Giant panda Tai Shan spent some time hanging around hisenclosure at the National Zoo and enjoying the season’s first snowfall lastmonth. (Photo by Jessie Cohen)

BY AMY ROGERS NAZAROV

Special to The Torch

Were he alive today, the boy buried inan iron coffin in northwest Washing-ton, D.C., before the Civil War wouldprobably be astonished to know howmany people have become fascinatedby his life story.

From tracing his family tree to de-veloping theories about what causedhis death a century and a half ago,several Smithsonian staff have be-

come deeply involved in the brief lifeof William Taylor White (1837-1852).

The iron coffin was discovered at aconstruction site off Columbia Roadin April 2005. The mystery surround-ing the remains—preserved nearlyintact—launched a slew of anthro-

pological, genealogical, radiographicand biomedical research projects byscientists at the Museum of NaturalHistory, a cadre of interns fromGeorge Washington University andnumerous volunteers.

“Many people have provided theirtime and expertise to help in this re-search,” says Deborah Hull-Walski,Anthropology Collections managerand historical archaeologist at MNH.“Everyone wanted to help identifythis boy.”

Through painstaking research ofdeath certificates, school records, or-phan bonds and other primarysources, Hull-Walski’s team win-nowed the number of possible iden-tities for the boy in the coffin down tothree, including White. William

White, from Accomack, Va., had beena student at a preparatory school nearthe site where the coffin was found.Additional genealogical researchhelped track down the living relativesof these three candidates.

Among those people was LindaDwyer of Lancaster, Penn. “My sonanswered the phone one day,” recallsDwyer. “He told me it was someonefrom the Smithsonian.”

The caller was Hull-Walski, askingif Dwyer, thought to be a descendantof William White’s sister, Sally, wouldbe willing to provide a DNA samplevia a cheek swab.

Three previous DNA samples hadbeen obtained from other possiblelineal descendants, but none pro-vided the link that would match themto DNA obtained from the boy’s re-mains. The team’s hopes were cau-tiously pinned on Dwyer, thoughthey braced themselves for anothernegative.

However, the result was a match.Dwyer was William White’s great-great-great-great niece.

“To actually identify her as a linealdescendant of William’s was exhila-rating for all of us,” says David Hunt,physical anthropologist and collec-tions manager of the Physical An-thropology division at MNH. Huntalso serves as a forensic anthropolo-gist for local law enforcement agen-cies and the National Center forMissing and Exploited Children.

Doug Owsley, physical anthropol-ogy curator at Natural History,helped oversee the examination of

Beyond Bob Marley: ‘Discovering Rastafari’ at MNH

spect fulfilled what Rastafaris con-sider a prophecy voiced by Jamaican-born black nationalist Marcus Gar-vey. Garvey predicted a black kingwould rise up out of Africa to leadpeople in the West.

Selassie, known for his passion forhumanitarian and social justice is-

sues, spoke eloquently of world unitythat would transcend race and eth-nicity. Visitors to the exhibition mayhear an echo of reggae king BobMarley’s lyrics as they read Selassie’swords: “Until the color of a man’sskin is of no more significance than

David Hunt, left, and Deborah Hull-Walski examine the iron coffin that heldthe remains of William White. (Photo by Randal Scott)

See ‘Mystery,’ Page 8

A little bit country. Singer-songwriter Garth Brooks donated several items to the American History Museumon Dec. 4, including his first gold record and one of his trademark black cowboy hats. Curator Dwight Bowers, left,and MAH Director Brent Glass flank Brooks at the donation ceremony. (Photo by Hugh Talman)

When Emperor Haile Selassie I wascrowned, he received the titles Kingof Kings, Conquering Lion of theTribe of Judah and Light of theWorld. Preachers in Jamaica saw thecoronation as the fulfillment of Bib-lical prophesy. (Photo detail courtesyof the Library of Congress)

BY VIRGINIA MYERS

Special to The Torch

“Discovering Rastafari!,” a new exhi-bition at the Natural History Mu-seum, is entered through an archwayresplendent with the warm red, yel-low and green of the Ethiopian flag.This fascinating exhibition shedslight on what has been a little-under-stood footnote in modern culture—a movement set to the beat of reggaemusic, adorned with dreadlocks,scented with “ganja” and reminis-cent of the back-to-Africa movementof the 1960s.

However, Rastafari, as one quicklylearns, is so much more than thesestereotypes. And, according to Cura-tor Jake Homiak, the exhibition ondisplay at MNH through Nov. 8 onlybegins to tell the larger story.

Most people think of Rastafarianculture as exclusively Jamaican, buthistorical photographs of Ras TafariMakonnen, prince regent ofEthiopia, make clear Rastafari’sAfrican roots.

When Ras Tafari became EmperorHailie Selassie I of Ethiopia in 1930,he was already an accomplisheddiplomat with strong ties to Europe.He brought Ethiopia into an interna-tional sphere of influence as a mem-ber of the League of Nations andlater, the United Nations. At Selassie’scoronation—with royal crown,robes, scepter and sword—both Eu-ropeans and Africans bowed beforehim. The significance of a black manlifted to the height of power and re-

Grammy nominationsThe National Academy of RecordingArts & Sciences has announced thenominees for the 50th annualGrammy Awards. The SmithsonianChamber Music Society’s recording ofGustav Mahler’s “Das Lied von derErde” was nominated in the categoryof “Best Small Ensemble.” This is thefirst Grammy nomination for theChamber Music Society.

Two Smithsonian Folkways record-ings also were nominated in the “BestTraditional World Music Album (Vo-cal or Instrumental)” category. Thenominated recordings are: “When theSoul is Settled: Music of Iraq,” RahimAl Haj with Souhail Kaspar, and“Singing for Life: Songs of Hope,Healing and HIV/AIDS in Uganda,”various artists, produced by GregoryBarz.

The Grammy Awards will be broad-cast on Feb. 10 on CBS at 8 p.m.

Shriver portraitA portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver,founder of the Special Olympics, hasbeen commissioned by the PortraitGallery from artist David Lenz, win-

news & notesner of NPG’s Outwin Boochever Por-trait Competition in 2006. Thepainting, expected to be presented toNPG later this year, will be added tothe gallery’s permanent collection.

The Portrait Gallery commissionsa portrait for the collection from thewinner of the Boochever Competi-tion, which is held every three years.Shriver is a good choice of subject forLenz; his son, Sam, has Down syn-drome and is an active and enthusi-astic Special Olympics athlete. Lenzis an admirer of Shriver because ofthe international role she has as-sumed as the founder of SpecialOlympics.

“This project is extremely mean-ingful to me because Mrs. Shriver hastirelessly advocated for people likeSam,” Lenz says.

The Outwin Boochever PortraitCompetition is made possible by thegenerosity of Virginia OutwinBoochever, whose gift fosters the ac-quisition of contemporary portrai-ture for the Portrait Gallery.

Postal MuseumThe Smithsonian will continue to

showcase the history of the nation’smail service until at least 2032,thanks to a renewed agreement withthe U.S. Postal Service to operate theNational Postal Museum.

The agreement, ratified Nov. 1,2007, extends SI’s current steward-ship of the museum in the City PostOffice Building near Union Station inWashington, D.C., for 10 years be-yond the 2022 expiration date of thelast agreement, signed in 2002. Op-tions for both parties to extend theagreement for two consecutive five-year periods are also included in theagreement.

NPM has been devoted to the his-tory of the nation’s mail service sinceit was established Nov. 6, 1990,through a joint agreement betweenSI and the Postal Service. Opened inJuly 1993, NPM maintains and ex-hibits one of the largest and mostcomprehensive collections of stampsand philatelic material in the world.

Henry Papers awardThe staff who worked on The Papersof Joseph Henry, volumes 1 through11, were recently awarded the 2007

Eugene S. Ferguson Prize for Out-standing Reference Works by the So-ciety for the History of Technology.

The Ferguson Prize Committee’scitation reads: “From the very firstvolume, the project has consistentlymet superior standards for docu-mentary history...The editions haveilluminating introductory essays, acareful selection of documents andextensive annotations. The projectwill, of course, serve as an enduring,indispensable guide for exploring thelife and work of Joseph Henry andthe earliest days of the SmithsonianInstitution....”

The citation concludes with theobservation that “The staff of theHenry Papers deserves high praiseand congratulations for their well re-searched and superbly organized edi-tions.”

Latino agreementThe Latino Center has signed a mem-orandum of understanding with Fun-dación Carso, the philanthropic armof Grupo Carso, which operates theMuseo Soumaya, a nonprofit culturalinstitution located in Mexico Citywhose mission is to collect, research,preserve and exhibit Latin American,Mexican and European art.

The Latino Center and FundaciónCarso will develop a series of exhibi-tions, public programs, educationalmaterials and other activities to high-light Latino culture and heritage.

Silvio BediniSilvio A. Bedini, historian emeritusand an expert on timekeeping andthe history of early American scien-tific instruments, died of pneumoniaNov. 14 at Suburban Hospital inBethesda, Md.

Mr. Bedini came to the Smithso-nian in 1961. He was assistant direc-tor and deputy director of what wasthen the National Museum of Historyand Technology. He wrote more than20 books, beginning with EarlyAmerican Scientific Instruments andTheir Makers (1964) and most re-cently, With Compass and Chain:Early American Surveyors and TheirInstruments (2001).

In 1978, Mr. Bedini became thekeeper of rare books at SI’s DibnerLibrary of the History of Science andTechnology. He retired in 1978 butcontinued work as historian emeritusuntil his death.

Mr. Bedini was born in Ridgefield,Conn., and attended Columbia Uni-versity before joining the Army AirForces during World War II. Heserved in Army intelligence at a top-secret interrogation center for Ger-man prisoners of war.

After the war, he returned to Con-necticut to run his family’s contract-ing and landscaping business. In hisspare time, he researched and wrotearticles about science and technologyfor schools, encyclopedias and ahobby magazine before joining SI.

He received the Abbott PaysonUsher Prize in 1962 and theLeonardo da Vinci Medal in 2000from the Society for the History ofTechnology.

Survivors include his wife of 56years, Gale Bedini, of Silver Spring,Md., and two children, Leandra Be-dini of Hillsborough, N.C., and PeterBedini, of Silver Spring. ■

PAGE 2 THE TORCH JANUARY 2008

obituaries

This collaboration is the first of itskind between Fundación Carso anda cultural institution in the UnitedStates.

West galleryThe gallery on the third floor of theAmerican Indian Museum’s buildingon the Mall has been officially namedthe W. Richard West ContemporaryArts Gallery in honor of W. Richard“Rick” West, NMAI’s founding di-rector. The Board of Regents andNMAI’s Board of Trustees an-nounced the naming in “gratefulrecognition” of West’s distinguishedservice. West served as director, am-bassador, advocate and fundraiser forthe museum since 1990. He retired inNovember 2007.

Sound Sessions“Sound Sessions” from SmithsonianFolkways is a new radio program fea-turing the eclectic and sometimes ec-centric music from the extensivearchives of Smithsonian FolkwaysRecordings.

The show will air monthly onWashington, D.C.’s WAMU 88.5 FMand can be heard online at the Website www.folkways.si.edu. Host SamLitzinger, an award-winning broad-casting veteran with 30 years of ex-perience, and Folkways Archivist JeffPlace have searched the Folkwaysarchives to find interesting music,rare outtakes, performer interviews,never-before-heard recordings andfascinating stories. Newly digitizedaudio and interviews with Folkwaysstaff will give the show a fresh be-hind-the-scenes perspective. ■

Founding Director of the American Indian Museum W. Richard “Rick” West,center, was presented with an American flag by the Smithsonian Color Guardat his retirement ceremony in November. (Photo by Ken Rahaim)

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Assembled for the signing of the Latino Center’s new agreement with Fundación Carso are: seated, from left, RichardKurin, Acting Under Secretary for History and Culture; Latino Center Director Pilar O’Leary; Carlos Slim, presidentof the board of directors of Fundación Carso; and Smithsonian National Latino Advisory Council member ColumbaBush. Standing, from left, Guillermo Gutierrez, George Washington University; Gloria Rodriguez, vice chair of theSmithsonian Latino Board; Juan Garcia de Oteyza, executive director, Mexican Cultural Institute; Museo Samayo Di-rector Alfonso Miranda Márquez; Latino Center Core Programs Director Joanne Flores and Noralisa Leo, Latino Cen-ter deputy director and external affairs officer. (Ken Rahaim photo)

Sitting Bull. Ernie LaPointe, left, great-grandson of the Hunkpapa LakotaSioux leader Sitting Bull, shakes hands with Paul Risser, Acting Director ofthe Natural History Museum, as Bill Billeck, director of the Repatriation Of-fice at MNH, looks on. After Sitting Bull was killed in 1890, his body was inthe temporary custody of a U.S. Army doctor who obtained a lock of hair andthe wool leggings Sitting Bull wore. The items were sent to the Smithsonianin 1896 and were repatriated to LaPointe last month. (Photo by Chip Clark)

the color of his eyes...the dream ofworld citizenship will be but a fleet-ing illusion to be pursued but neverattained.”

Marley and other reggae artistspopularized the concept of racialunity and helped make Rastafari cul-ture more visible, but most peoplehave only a nodding acquaintancewith the movement’s concepts.

True Rastafari believe that Selassieis descended from the biblical KingSolomon and Queen of Sheba and isthe Messiah, come to redeem not onlyblack people, but all people seekingjustice and truth.

“Rastafari exists around the worldtoday against all odds,” says Homiak,an anthropologist who is director ofthe Anthropology Collection andArchives Program at the MuseumSupport Center in Suitland, Md.“The small group of those who actu-ally embraced this vision in the early1930s were either jailed or sent to the

lunatic asylum.” Heralding a blackgod was just too much for colonialauthorities.

The movement persisted, however.According to Homiak, “DiscoveringRastafari!” is the first exhibition thatexamines Rastafari both as a religionand as a way of life. Until now, few re-searchers took the time to see themovement on its own terms, Homiaksays. He has studied Rastafari for 28years, lived with its adherents in Ja-maica and traveled extensively to bet-ter understand the culture. “Long agoI stopped saying that I was studyingpeople,” Homiak says. “I’m workingwith these people. The work is pro-ducing a particular kind of knowl-edge which is a collaborative effort.”

The exhibition includes a 20-minute video featuring interviewswith a range of Rastafari believers—from male elders who greeted Selassiewhen he visited Jamaica in 1966 toyoung professional women.

The exhibition features artifactsand ephemera, such as posters, but-tons, costumes and drums, that tellthe story of how Rastafari grew andspread not only to Jamaica butaround the world, evolving into dif-ferent “houses” or denominations,and highlighting the repatriated blackWesterners who have formed a Rasta-farian community in Ethiopia.

“I am smitten by this culture,” Ho-miak says. In the course of studyingRastafari, he continues, “You becomean advocate for the Rastafari. Youfind that they have a message for theworld.”

Homiak hopes visitors to the exhi-bition leave with an understandingthat Rastafari is more substantivethan dreadlocks and reggae. “There’ssome depth behind this,” he says.“There’s both resolve and piety to it.”

He hopes people will hear the “res-onance of faith and commitment anddignity” of the Rastafari who speak in

the video, and see the eloquence andprescience of Hailie Selassie’s words.In the little gallery at the back of theAfrican Voices Hall at MNH, he

hopes that a whisper of what Rasta-fari means will be heard above thenoisy voices of the modern world. ■

THE TORCH JANUARY 2008 PAGE 3

The scientists, scholars, artists and re-searchers who become leaders in theirfields share one defining characteris-tic: they are passionately committedto their work. But that passion does-n’t simply appear out of nowhere—itmust be inspired and nurtured.

For generations, the Smithsonianhas played a critical role in trainingthe next generation of scholars by of-fering internships, short-term visitingappointments and fellowships at thepredoctoral and postdoctoral levels.Funding comes from many sources,including endowments, grants andcontracts, federal funds and gifts. Alltogether, SI invests close to $10 mil-lion each year in this training.

Postdoctoral Fellow Kris Helgenfirst came to SI as a college internwith the Museum of Natural His-tory’s Research Training Program.His work with MNH mammalogistDon Wilson led him to the West In-dies, Borneo and the Andes, and onresearch visits to more than 40 natu-ral history museums. He is currentlyworking with SI’s mammal collec-tion—the world’s largest with600,000 specimens—to describe new

species he has discovered. At 27, Kris is already making an

outstanding contribution to his field,having published 50 papers, most re-cently in the journal Science.

In September 2007, he explained tothe Smithsonian National Board howthe Smithsonian has both inspired hispassion and nurtured his talent:

“The Smithsonian gave me theprivilege and pleasure of setting footin a true community of scholars fo-cused on the intellectual path Idreamed of walking down. By re-turning as an intern, a visiting scien-tist and now a postdoctoral fellow, Ihave worked with scientists who aregiants in their field and with world-class collections. The Smithsonianhas been the single most importantrefrain in my training, developmentand aspirations.”

According to SI’s Office of ResearchTraining and Services, during fiscalyear 2007, the Smithsonian hosted1,014 interns; of these, only about 300received a stipend—the rest were un-paid. Competitive fellowships wereawarded to 210 fellows and 100 morereceived direct funding from sources

Rastafari(Continued from Page 1)

Jake Homiak, left, greets Sister Melanie Wright, from Hartford, Ct., at theopening of “Discovering Rastafari.” In the background are Ma-Yana, left, andRas Maurice, who joined the movement in the 1950s. (Harold Dorwin photo)

outside SI. In addition, 270 short-term visiting scholars and fellowsconducted research at SI, including50 at the Smithsonian AstrophysicalObservatory in Cambridge, Mass.

My belief in the value of the fel-lowship programs at SI is reflected inmy decision earlier this year to allo-cate an additional $500,000 to ourcentral Fellowship Program fromfunds donated by the SmithsonianNational Board.

Last fall, I met with a group ofgraduate school deans from leadingAmerican colleges and universities.They were interested in the many fel-lowship opportunities at SI in thesciences, history and the arts. I urgedthem to think about their role in cre-ating the pipeline of scholars who ap-ply for our fellowships. The candi-date pool needs to be both broaderand deeper, with more candidates—particularly underrepresented mi-norities and women—interested inmore fields of study.

Some SI units, such as the Envi-ronmental Research Center in Edge-water, Md., have focused consider-able energy on raising funds and

Fine fellowsRecently, two postdoctoral fellowsat SAO received national recogni-tion for their achievments. GasparBakos was named one of the na-tion’s “Brilliant Ten” by Popular Sci-ence magazine for his work creatinga network of robotic telescopes tosearch for planets orbiting distantstars.

Lisa Kaltenegger was honored inthe Smithsonian magazine article“America’s Young Innovators in theArts and Sciences: 37 Under 36.”She was recognized for her researchmodeling the atmospheres of dis-tant exoplanets to determine whatsigns of life we may be able to de-tect. ■

attracting minority candidates. Ap-proximately 20 fellows and 43 internsworked alongside SERC scientists in2007 on coastal ecosystems.

Over the last 35 years, SERC’s in-ternship program has trained morethan 1,000 undergraduates, 30 per-cent of whom are minorities. Today,about one-third of SERC interns aresupported by funding from the Na-tional Science Foundation; the oth-ers are funded through a variety ofgrants, including contributions fromthe SI Women’s Committee.

Some of our fellowship programshave influenced the development ofan entire discipline. For example, theresidential program at the AmericanArt Museum has enriched the field ofAmerican art history for more thanthree decades, serving more than 340scholars since its founding in 1970.Graduates of this highly competitiveprogram teach at leading private andpublic universities and are curatorsat museums around the world.

Cynthia Mills, a former fellow andnow academic programs coordinatorat SAAM’s Research and ScholarsCenter, explained the impact of theprogram to the National Board at theBoard’s September meeting: “Ourfellows report their experience hereto be life-changing—an opportunityto immerse themselves in disserta-tion and book projects amid a wealthof resources. A number have gone on

to be luminaries of the field. Theprogram alumni are a testimonial tothe Smithsonian’s central—I shouldsay essential—place in the study ofAmerican art and artists.”

In my own travels around theglobe, I often meet outstanding lead-ers who tell me they were once SI in-terns or fellows, and that the Smith-sonian proved to be the transformingexperience in their careers.

Ira Rubinoff, Under Secretary forScience, emphasized SI’s role in cre-ating the next generation of globalleaders at the meeting of the NationalBoard. He explained, “Our staffmembers learn from fellows, andthese young people, in turn, becomethe professors at universities whosend their best students to us.

“Fellowships create a multigenera-tional network as skills and knowl-edge are transferred from one gener-ation to the next,” Rubinoffcontinued. “The more fellows andgraduate students we train, the morevibrant and forward-looking our in-tellectual community will be, and thestronger the Smithsonian will be-come.”

We must continue to train the nextgeneration, providing young scholarslike Kris Helgen with the best theSmithsonian can offer and helping tocreate the next generation of leaders.I can think of no better way to investin our future. ■ —Cristián Samper

Lisa Kaltenegger peers through theeyepiece of a telescope at the Har-vard-Smithsonian Center for As-trophysics in Cambridge, Mass.(Photo by Christine Pulliam)

Hi Mom! The Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center welcomed its five millionth visitor, Quinn Neibergall,Dec. 8. Quinn, his parents and grandparents received a personal tour of the museum and a number of gifts. Quinn’sdad, Gordon Neibergall, is a U.S. Air Force F-16 pilot assigned to thePentagon. (Mark Avino photo)

from the secretary Nurturing a new generation of scholars

From her vantage point in the controlroom of the American Indian Mu-seum, Cpl. Pamela Nash West, a mu-seum protection officer with the Of-fice of Facilities Engineering andOperations, keeps a close watch overthe museum she has served since theday it opened to the public.

Among other duties, she is respon-sible for monitoring the securityalarms and the nine closed-circuit tel-evision screens that help her and therest of the NMAI security team makesure that staff, visitors and collectionsare protected 24 hours a day.

But West, who joined SI in 1998,doesn’t spend all her time in thecontrol room. If the gallery floorsare short of officers, she is quick tohelp out and frequently assumes

other duties without being asked.She also has earned praise for herdiligence in organizing security forthe frequent special events held atthe museum.

“Cpl. West acts as a role model, dis-playing a positive and professionalimage at all times,” Assistant SecurityManager Teresita Marcano says, ex-plaining why she and other managersnominated West for a Smithsonian“Unsung Hero” award presented inSeptember 2007.

“She consistently receives praisefrom visitors and staff for her out-standing customer service skills,”Marcano continues. “She is commit-ted to providing a welcoming, positiveand supportive work environment.”

West is modest about her accom-

plishments and is quick to credit therest of the security team. “We all helpeach other out because we are all ded-icated to the security of the museum.I think our team is so successful be-cause the managers and officers allget along so well,” she says.

Marcano agrees, but gives Westmore credit. “Her friendly disposi-tion brings out the best in each indi-vidual, recognizing the potential inevery person. She is always develop-ing new approaches to improve theway we serve our visitors.”

West’s team-building skills will nodoubt stand her in good stead as sheworks toward her career goals at SI.“By the time I retire, I hope to be amanager,” she says. ■

—Sarah Heffern

Tony Barthel outside the sloth bear enclosure at the National Zoo. Merlin canbe glimpsed in the background. (Photo by Jessie Cohen)

Nancy Bechtol, director of the Officeof Facilities Management and Relia-bility, appeared on the cover of Build-ing Operating Management maga-zine. Bechtol was selected for theprofile because her “emphasis ontraining and teamwork has created aworld-class facilities organization.”

VIARCAmy Lemon, coordinator of the Be-hind-the-Scenes Volunteer Programwrote an article about backgroundchecks for volunteers for the Ameri-can Association for Museum Volun-teers newsletter.

Air and SpaceCurator of Space History ValerieNeal, Exhibit Design SpecialistStephanie Markgraf and Photogra-pher Eric Long traveled to Florida forthe launch of NASA’s Space ShuttleSTS-120. Neal received a crew guestinvitation from Commander PamMelroy.

Space History Curators Roger Lau-nius and Mike Neufeld appeared onan episode of the Public BroadcastingService’s television series “Nova.” Theprogram, “Sputnik Declassified,”documents the history of the famoussatellite and the early space race. Inaddition, excerpts from Neufeld’sbook about rocket engineer WernerVon Braun are featured on the Nova

Web site in a section called “A TaintedLegacy.”

Tropical Research InstituteThe governor of the Chiriquíprovince of Panama presented Stan-ley Heckadon-Moreno, director ofthe Office of Communications andPublic Programs, with a certificateand medal to recognize him as a“meritorious son to the Chiriquíprovince,” for his achievements inPanamanian literature. Heckadon-Moreno, who was born in Alanje,Chiriquí province, has written 17books.

Natural HistoryPaleobiologist Brian Huber wasquoted in a Nov. 8 Time magazine ar-ticle “Dino Conspiracy Theory.” Hewas interviewed as a proponent of thetheory that the mass extinction of thedinosaurs occurred 65 million yearsago when an asteroid struck the Earthand filled the air with sun-blockingdust.

Betty Meggers, director of theLatin American Archaeology Pro-gram, received an honorary doctoraldegree from the Universidade Federalde Rondônia (Unir) in Porto Velho,Rondônia, Brazil. This is Meggers’sixth honorary degree from a SouthAmerican university.

Kristofer Helgen, researcher in the

people in the news

Joel LempHorticulturistFacilities Engineering, Operations

Salt-cured Virginia country ham—something for the holidays.

Yvette Henderson Museum Protection OfficerSouth Quad

There’s nothing better than home-made beef stew. I use my grandma’srecipe.

Mark CrooksVisual Presentation SupervisorSmithsonian Business Ventures

Mom’s Sunday dinner—roastedchicken, roasted potatoes and veg-etables.

Department of Mammals, and Adri-enne Kaeppler, curator in the De-partment of Anthropology, were in-terviewed live for a WTTG-TV “Fox5 Morning News” feature. The pro-

gram highlighted the Museum Sup-port Center as the principal off-siteconservation and collections storagefacility for the Natural History Mu-seum. Located in Suitland, Md., the

state-of-the-art facility houses morethan 31 million objects, includingvery large specimens, such as mete-orites and animals. ■ —Mara Jonas

point of view What’s your favorite com

PAGE 4 THE TORCH JANUARY 2008

Merlin, the National Zoo’s adult malesloth bear, has a wonderful new homein the recently opened Asia Trail fea-turing large rocks to climb and cavesand waterfalls to explore—but noone to share it with.

His former companion, Hana, isbusy raising their cub, Bala, in the ad-jacent enclosure. Staff have noticedthat Merlin is exhibiting certain be-haviors that can indicate increasedstress. So how can the Zoo help alonely sloth bear?

This is just one of the many issuesCurator Tony Barthel deals with on adaily basis. He oversees a staff of 17and a collection of 33 animals repre-senting 11 species.

Barthel manages Asia Trail, theCheetah Conservation Station andthe soon-to-be-renovated ElephantHouse, which, when completed in

2011 as Elephant Trails, will be one ofthe Zoo’s largest and most state-of-the-art exhibits.

But right now, Barthel is concernedwith locating a companion for Mer-lin. Finding the right fit isn’t alwayseasy. “It’s like a giant puzzle,” he says.“We have to consider genetics, socialhistory, medical history, space re-quirements and at the same time,we’re competing with all the otherzoos in the Sloth Bear Species Sur-vival Program.”

A match was finally made withKhali, a female sloth bear at theWoodland Park Zoo in Seattle who,like Merlin, is not recommended forbreeding and also needs a compan-ion.

After a long process of paperwork,vet exams and a ride on a Federal Ex-press cargo plane, Khali arrived in

late November. Barthel was there theevening she was introduced to the in-door enclosure of the sloth bear ex-hibit.

“She was very nervous,” Barthel re-calls. “She immediately climbed upthe 10-foot-high mesh fencing of herexhibit and clung there for a while.”

Barthel and his staff are workingwith Khali to train her in different be-haviors that help Zoo staff monitorher health and well-being, as well asprovide enrichment for her. Lastmonth, she and Merlin were intro-duced and are slowly getting to knoweach other.

“We hope that she’ll have a positiveeffect on his behavior,” Barthel says.“Typically, sloth bears are solitary an-imals, but Merlin has always enjoyedinteracting with other bears.” ■

—Sarah Taylor

spotlight on people

Tony Barthel knows even bears need buddies

Pamela West: Someone to watch over NMAI

Pamela West in the control room at the American Indian Museum. Securitycameras are monitored around the clock. (Photo by Harold Dorwin)

Elizabeth BridgeforthMarketing AssistantFreer/Sackler

Homemade vegetable soup. I use mymother’s recipe. It’s nice and heartyon a chilly day.

Merrell SmithMuseum Protection OfficerNatural History

A grilled cheese sandwich and a nicehot cup of cocoa are perfect on a coldday.

profile Making history: NASM’s Don Lopez is an icon of aviation BY KATHLEEN HANSER

NASM Staff Writer

The Air and Space Museum seeks totell the story of flight through its col-lection of historically significant avi-ation artifacts. But history trulycomes to life in the stories of thosewho helped to shape it.

One such icon of aviation history isNASM Deputy Director Don Lopez,84, whose legendary status was re-cently acknowledged at the 2007Gathering of Mustangs and Legendsat Rickenbacker International Airportin Columbus, Ohio.

During World War II, Lopez was afighter pilot in the 75th FighterSquadron, the Tiger Sharks, of theU.S. Army’s 23rd Fighter Group inChina. He flew Curtiss P-40s andNorth American P-51 Mustangs un-der famous war heroes Col. Tex Hilland Gen. Claire Chennault.

Lopez was only 19 when he shippedoff to China in 1943, but he lookedmuch younger. In his memoir of hisexperiences, Into the Teeth of the Tiger(Bantam, 1986), he refers to hisyouthful appearance by writing, “Ineeded to shave only every othermonth or so.”

Squadron leader Tex Hill thoughthe had lied about his age. “He lookedlike he was about 16 years old whenhe arrived,” Hill recalls in the book.“But he became one of the greatfighter pilots of World War II.”

During his two years in China,Lopez flew 101 missions and qualifiedas an “ace.”

Gen. Jack Dailey, NASM’s director,observes, “Don flew in the most de-manding arena and excelled. Beingcalled an ace is validation that a pilothas the courage and the skills to bethe best. It is the most prestigiousrecognition for a pilot.”

Lopez wanted to be a fighter pilotsince he was a young boy growing upin Brooklyn, N.Y. At age 3, he wentwith his family to see Charles Lind-bergh in a parade through the streetsof Brooklyn.

When Lopez was a teenager and hisfamily was living in Tampa, Fla., hespent many hours watching P-39s flyin and out of Drew Air Force Base. Incollege at the University of Tampa,

When Anyi Cruz accepted a jobchecking coats at Cooper-Hewitt inNew York in 2002, she assumed thejob would be temporary—and shewas right. It wasn’t long before Cruz’stalent for customer service was recog-nized and she was offered a full-timeposition on the Admissions staff. LastJuly, Cruz was promoted to visitorservices manager, and she now leadsthe Admissions team in their effort toensure that all museum visitors have amemorable and pleasant experience.

Before coming to C-H, Cruz spentseveral years working in sales at high-end retail establishments, such asSaks Fifth Avenue. This backgroundprepared her well for the one-on-oneinteractions with the public that arepart of her daily routine. She also isfluent in Spanish, a skill that hascome in handy on many occasionswhen Spanish-speaking tour groupshave visited Cooper-Hewitt.

Recently, Cruz took some time outof her busy day to talk with writerKatie Vagnino about what makes herjob both challenging and rewarding.

Q. Describe a typical day.A. I supervise the welcoming of vis-

itors to the museum and I make surethat all public spaces look polishedand professional. My other duties in-clude overseeing ticket sales, opera-tion reports and cash deposits.

I am fortunate to work in an ex-tremely positive environment with afocused day-to-day agenda. I’m grate-ful for how cooperative the Admis-sions staff are—they are a greatgroup to lead.

Q. What do you hope visitors getout of a visit to Cooper-Hewitt?

A. My aim is for visitors to get en-ergized about design, and to createnew fans in the design community.This mission is achievable; we are awonderful design museum and we’refortunate to be housed in the beauti-ful former home of Andrew Carnegie.

In an effort to engage visitors, weoften provide explanatory bookletsand other materials to accompany ex-hibitions. We also distribute post-

cards advertising upcoming pro-grams and shows. We try to presentthese materials attractively so that vis-itors will take them and refer tothem—another way of incorporatinggood design into our presentation.

Q. What is the most difficult partof your job?

A. Sometimes, visitors have com-plaints or are unhappy about some-

thing. They may not like an exhibi-tion or they object to the cost ofadmission, since SI museums inWashington, D.C., are free. Generaladmission to the Cooper-Hewitt is$15; there are discounts for seniorsand students and children under age12 are admitted free.

One woman left an angry messageon my voice mail, complaining aboutthe garden being closed during thewinter and demanding that there bebenches on the grass, as opposed toaround the perimeter of the garden.

The challenge is addressing thesematters calmly and courteously.

Q. What is your strategy for deal-

ing with visitor complaints?A. I listen carefully and try to ad-

dress what it is that they are upsetabout. If they are angry or confusedabout museum rules or policies, I ex-plain the reasoning behind these rulesand policies. Usually, I ask them to fillout a complaint form and I often of-fer a guest pass as a way to show weare responsive to their concerns.

Q. What are your goals as visitorservices manager?

A. Above all, I want visitors to havea positive experience. Customer serv-ice is paramount—the Admissionsstaff conducts all personal interac-tions with a healthy dose of ap-proachability, patience, good man-ners and smiles. If we do our job well,people will want to keep coming backto see our exhibitions and maybeeven become members of C-H. It’salso important for us to emphasizethat we are the National Design Mu-seum. I want visitors to be inspired bythat as much as by the quality of ourexhibitions and programs. ■

Lopez signed up for the civilian pilottraining program, which was trainingpilots in case of war. Once war wasdeclared in 1942, Lopez immediatelyjoined up.

“Back then, everyone was pretty ea-ger to fight,” Lopez says. “I thinkeverybody wanted to be a fighter pi-lot, and when you were selected, youwere just overjoyed.”

Lopez left China in March 1945and spent the next six years testingfighters at Eglin Air Force Base inFlorida. Lopez says it was an excitingera to be a test pilot. “I got to flyeverything there was. I flew not onlythe fighters, but also the bombers andtransports. It was the beginning ofthe jet age—fighter pilot heaven.”

While in Florida, Lopez met hiswife, Glindell. “The only thing Iwould change in my life is that Iwould meet my wife sooner,” Lopezsays. They now have two grown chil-dren—a son, Don, who is one of theworld’s leading experts on TibetanBuddhism, and a daughter, Joy, whois an executive assistant to the head ofa clinical economics and genetic re-search center. Lopez and his wife alsohave one granddaughter.

After his test pilot days, Lopez com-pleted a short combat tour flyingNorth American F-86s in Korea. Fol-lowing a tour of duty at the Pentagon,he earned a bachelor’s degree in aero-nautical engineering at the Air Force

Institute of Technology and a mas-ter’s degree in aeronautics from theCalifornia Institute of Technology.Apollo X astronaut Frank Bormanwas one of Lopez’s classmates.

“He never lost his calm sense of hu-mor—even at Cal Tech,” Bormansays. “The academic load was difficult

for everyone—most of us wereclimbing the walls, but he was alwayscompletely calm. He is technicallyvery brilliant.”

Lopez spent the next five yearshelping establish the aeronautics pro-gram at the new U.S. Air Force Acad-emy as an associate professor of aero-nautics and chief of academiccounseling. After his retirement fromthe Air Force in 1964, Lopez workedas a systems engineer on the Apollo-Saturn Launch Vehicle and the Sky-lab Orbital Workshop.

Lopez came to the Smithsonian asassistant director of the AeronauticsDivision in 1972. He was part of theteam led by Apollo astronaut andthen-museum director MichaelCollins responsible for planning thenew Air and Space Museum. Lopezwas instrumental in developing theexhibits that welcomed visitors at themuseum’s opening on July 1, 1976.Since that day, NASM has been themost visited museum in the world.

“Don is the creator of this museumfrom the aeronautics standpoint,”Dailey says. “Because of his vastknowledge, he was able to select the

right artifacts to tell the story of avi-ation.”

Lopez became deputy director in1983, a position he held until 1990.He served as senior advisor to the di-rector before retiring in 1993. From1993 to 1996, Lopez served as senioradvisor emeritus. He was again ap-pointed deputy director in 1996.

When pressed, Lopez says that oneof his greatest achievements at NASMis the Pioneers of Flight Gallery.“Originally, it was supposed to be atemporary exhibit, but I filled it withsuch great airplanes it hasn’t beenchanged all this time,” he says.

“I’ve been fortunate,” Lopez con-tinues. “I’ve gotten to do lots of goodthings in my life. I saw the beginningof the jet age, helped establish theaeronautics program at the Air ForceAcademy, worked for eight years onthe space program and helped foundthis museum.”

People who know Lopez say theyare the fortunate ones. As Daileypoints out, “I have never heard any-thing about him that wasn’t compli-mentary. He is universally loved byeveryone.” ■

Anyi Cruz makes sure each visitor to C-H wants to return. (Jill Bloomer photo)

on the job

mfort food for cold winter days?

THE TORCH JANUARY 2008 PAGE 5

Don Lopez recreates a photo taken of him when he was a young fighter pilot dur-ing World War II, left, by posing with a historic Curtiss P-40 at the Udvar-HazyCenter, right. (Photo on right by Carolyn Russo)

Extending a warm welcome

book spotlight SERC casts a wider net with Mobile Ecology LabBY MARA JONAS

OPA Staff Writer

Laughter erupts as Karen McDonald,outreach coordinator for the Smith-sonian Environmental Research Cen-ter in Edgewater, Md., imitates amolting blue crab, pretending to suckin water and expand to break throughan imaginary exoskeleton. She isleading the popular “Blue Crab Lab”program for a class of special needshigh-school students at PathwaysSchool in Pasadena, Md.

This and other SERC educationprograms, once offered on-site only,now are being offered at area schools,thanks to the new Smithsonian Mo-bile Ecology Lab—a cherry-red, 6-by-12-foot trailer that has been fash-ioned into a mobile laboratory,affectionately known as MEL. It isequipped with a generator to runaquarium pumps and filters, a stain-less steel countertop, special foam-lined cabinets for transporting mi-croscopes, and hooks for hangingwaders and seining nets.

With MEL, “we can bring activi-ties normally done on SERC’s docks

right into the classroom,” McDonaldsays. MEL will be especially usefulfor bringing environmental scienceeducation to special needs students,such as those at Pathways School.

“We have always included class-room outreach at some level,” Direc-tor of Education Mark Haddon says.According to McDonald, this out-reach has usually been in the form ofschool assembly programs.

Over the years, SERC has seen anincrease in requests for classroom-based programs, Haddon says, andMEL is a self-contained way to bringSERC to schools.

Last year, 6,000 schoolchildren at-tended on-site educational programsat SERC. Education Specialist JaneHolly says that the programs are of-ten completely booked a year in ad-vance.

“Because of our very full schedule,it can be difficult for teachers to makereservations for our on-site pro-grams. MEL provides a viable alter-native,” Haddon says.

“We also can use MEL as a comple-ment to our on-site programs,” Hollysays. Haddon adds that he would like

to “extend the field trip experience”by taking MEL to a school both be-fore and after a class visits SERC inEdgewater, thus providing a contin-ual and more effective learning expe-rience.

“The possibilities are endless,” Mc-Donald says, citing participation inarea festivals and community eventsand field-based research as other usesfor MEL. The MEL program wasmade possible by a grant from theSmithsonian Women’s Committee,which not only allowed for the pur-chase of the brightly colored trailer,but also the scientific equipment itcarries.

Since the mobile ecology lab pro-gram began last fall, MEL has trav-eled to some 15 schools, where Mc-Donald has led educational present-ations and workshops, such as “Bayin a Box,” “Baylian Invaders,” “Intro-duction to Microscopes” and, ofcourse, “Blue Crab Lab.”

McDonald leads education pro-grams for children and adults of allages, including teacher training sem-inars. Programs are structuredaround Maryland state curriculumguidelines and are based on currentSERC research on subjects rangingfrom invasive species to plankton.

Though the teaching materials arethe same—crab shells, worksheets,3-D models, giant green tongs and alive crab or two for the “Blue CrabLab”—McDonald says that eachworkshop experience is unique andthat she has “to be ready for anythingand adapt to the audience.”

Her presentations are interactiveand she challenges students, posingthought-provoking questions aboutthe environment and the role thatstudents can play in protecting it.

McDonald, who has a master’s de-gree in biology and has been an edu-

Karen McDonald holds a male blue crab during a “Blue Crab Lab” she con-ducted for students at the Pathways School. (Photo by Mara Jonas)

staff on the moveAmy Pearce is the new productionspecialist for the Office of Contribut-ing Membership. She was formerlythe membership coordinator for thePhillips Collection in Washington,D.C.

Cooper-HewittLaurie Olivieri has been promoted tosenior public relations manager andwill continue to focus on exhibitionand institutional publicity. Due to herefforts, press coverage of the 2006 De-sign Triennial reached an audience ofover 100 million, a 45 percent in-crease over the 2003 Triennial.

American HistoryNew Media Program Specialist Kate

Morton has left SI to accept a posi-tion as webmaster/content manange-ment system analyst at George MasonUniversity in Fairfax, Va.

National ZooLainie Contreras has joined the com-munications team as a public affairsspecialist. Most recently, she was pub-lic relations manager for The Mary-land Zoo in Baltimore.

Air and SpaceAfter more than 25 years as a federalemployee, Phouy Sengsourinh hasretired. He served as chief of the In-formation Technology Division atNASM for the last eight years.

Karen Courington in the new ex-plainer program coordinator for themuseum. Prior to joining SI, Cour-ington served six years’ active duty inthe U.S. Air Force as a C-17 pilot.

After 35 years in education, bothas a school teacher and a museumeducator, Explainer Program Coor-dinator Terry Nixon has retired. Heplans to volunteer at NASM and theMaryland Science Center in Balti-more.

After seven years with the Collec-tions Division, Doug Dammann hasaccepted the position of curator ofthe Kenosha Civil War Museum,scheduled to open in Kenosha, Wis.,in June.

Tropical Research InstituteHelene Muller-Landau is the newlead scientist for the Center for Trop-ical Forest Science Carbon DynamicsProgram. She has been associatedwith STRI since 2002 through fellow-ships.

Archives of American ArtCharles Duncan is the new collec-tions specialist for the New York re-gion. He was a senior consultant withHollis Taggart Galleries and FrancisNaumann Fine Art and previouslyowned and operated Digital Fine ArtsInc., a presentation and archivingfirm.

Jessica Theaman has joined AAAas the development associate formembership. She previously was as-

sistant manager of the ConservatorsMembership Program at the NewYork Public Library, and prior tothat, a development assistant at theMetropolitan Museum of Art inNew York.

Suzanne Bybee is the new admin-istrative officer. She held a similar po-sition in the Office of the Under Sec-retary for Art.

Carolina Furukrona is the new di-rector of development and member-ship. She was the development officerand director of the Young Benefactorsof The Smithsonian Associates.

Helia Moore-Sepulveda is the newstaff assistant to the director of De-velopment and Membership. She

held a similar position with TSA andalso provided support to the develop-ment office. ■ —Mara Jonas

Amy Pearce

Helene Muller-Landau

PAGE 6 THE TORCH JANUARY 2008

cator for seven years, is especiallyskilled at making science accessible toall audiences.

During her presentation at Path-ways School, she compared theChesapeake Bay to the drain in akitchen sink, explaining that “every-thing ends up in the bay.” She thensuggested simple ways—such asreusing a lunch bag—that studentscan help protect our waterways.

“The Mobile Ecology Lab and theother programs we run at SERC arean integral part of environmental ed-ucation for children in our area,” Mc-Donald says. “SERC educators act asguides to help students understandthe greater picture of what’s going onin our world and the impact they canhave as responsible stewards of theland.” ■

CorrectionThe November issue of The Torchreported that Joyce Lancaster, atechnical writer in the CustomerSupport Services Division of theOffice of the Chief InformationOfficer, had retired after 15 yearswith the Smithsonian. She retiredafter 25 years with SI and a total of32 years of government service.We regret the error.

SERC’s new Mobile Ecology Lab is supported by funds from the SmithsonianWomen’s Committee. (Photo by Mara Jonas)

Pilar O’Leary, director of the Smithsonian Latino Center since August 2005,has resigned, effective Feb. 8. She plans to become a consultant for founda-tions, corporations and nonprofit organizations, building on her longstand-ing interest in cultural and educational issues affecting the Latino community.

O’Leary has enhanced the public outreach and visibility of the Center. Shehas brought together leaders from the academic, foundation, government andcorporate sectors to support the Center’s work and has developed partner-ships with scores of organizations in the United States and across the hemi-sphere, including, most recently, the Fundación Carso (See related story onPage 2.) She enhanced the Center’s Latino Museum Studies Program, estab-lished the Young Ambassadors program to engage high school seniors in mu-seum work, improved the quality of the Center’s award-winning Web site, anddeveloped important resources for teachers.

O’Leary to leave Latino Center

spare time Edward Tyson is a coach for all seasons

messagecenter Lost: At the SI holiday party onDec.13. Silver pin, Art Deco-style lillywith slender stem, about 2 incheslong. Has great sentimental value.Call Rachel at (202) 633-0870.

Free: Vintage, 1950s-era Tappan gasstove with four burners, oven, broilerand storage compartments. Currentworking condition unknown, as gasline has been capped. Must pick upin Baltimore. Call Kathleen at (410)444-1944 for more information.

Scrabble group: SI staff and volun-teers are invited to join a fun, casualgroup to play Scrabble after work.Group meets weeknights twice amonth at great restaurants withinwalking distance of major Metrostops. For details, e-mail Michael atmichaeltimpani@yahoo.com.

Wanted: Male SI intern from Franceseeks shared housing Januarythrough June. Must be near publictransportation. Contact Fabien Pot-tier at fabpott@orange.fr.

Wanted: Discerning, intelligent, mid-size canine seeks home with suitablehuman and canine companionship.Affable, personable, able to teach olddogs new tricks, but cannot sufferfools, munchkins, cats. Call (410)535-9567 or (410) 257-4908 and askabout Taylor.

For sale: Table-top pool table. Threefeet by 20 inches; 10 inches high.Good condition. Can arrange forbuyer to pick it up in Washington,D.C. $100 or best offer. For more in-formation, call J. Edwards at (301)475-6913.

For sale: Rare fiction and nonfictionbooks about American Indians; 48glass magic-lantern slides, by RolandReed, with original envelopes andbox, dated about 1904; two original,signed Works Progress Administra-tion photographs of Seminole Indi-ans by Florence Randal. For more in-formation, call Sandra Starr at (703)801-7281 or (703) 942-6328.

For sale: Classic car, 1973 DodgeCoronet custom 4-door sedan,79,200 miles. Dark-green body withblack vinyl roof and green vinyl inte-rior. Single owner, garaged, verygood running condition. Completeownership and maintenance historyavailable. $2,000 or best offer. Call703-533-7776. ■

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reserve the right to edit all copy.

The holidays may be a time for giv-ing, but for Edward Tyson, assistantbuilding manager at the Air andSpace Museum, giving back to thecommunity is always in season.

For the last 10 years, Tyson hasworked as a volunteer football andbasketball coach in Prince George’sCounty. The Capital Beltway League,for which Tyson coached most re-cently, was formed to help combatjuvenile delinquency by organizing,establishing, promoting and sup-porting team sports for young chil-dren.

Tyson’s commitment to this mis-sion and the families it serves is evi-dent from the many hours he has de-voted to the leagues. After a full dayof work, there are practices, games,coaches’ meetings and fundraisingactivities to attend.

A Washington, D.C., native, Tysonnow lives in Fort Washington, Md.,with his wife, Michelle, whom he metthrough coaching. They have fourchildren—Kevin Jackson Jr., LaShelJackson, Edward Tyson Jr. and Chere`Tyson—all of whom have playedyouth sports.

His warm smile and jovial laughmake it hard to envision Tyson’s sternside, a side he says he often shows asa coach. “I do a lot of yelling on thefield,” Tyson says. “I’m very tough,but loving, too.”

As a coach, Tyson is not only teach-ing kids to become athletes, but alsoserving as a father figure for teammembers. Tyson knows first-handwhat it’s like for children growing upwithout a father, and he remembershis high school football coach was apositive male role model.

“Through the games of football

and basketball, I teach discipline, re-spect and loyalty,” Tyson adds. Healso stresses the importance of educa-tion and family by making participa-tion in games contingent upon doing

well both at school and at home. The life lessons that Tyson teaches

extend to his team members’ parents,as well. “I encourage parents to cometo games and practices,” he says.Tyson’s mother often came to see himcoach during his first years with theleague. She also was there for his highschool football games and his short-

lived college football career at theUniversity of the District of Colum-bia, where he studied electronic engi-neering until he injured his knee andlost his football scholarship.

Tyson then went to a trade school,became a technician for high-volumecooling and heating systems andcame to the Smithsonian in 1984.

Tyson’s football career never tookhim to the National Football League,yet he takes pride in having helpedtrain a number of college and profes-sional football players as a youth

coach. The Prince George’s County Boys

and Girls League, for which Tyson’steam played before moving to theCapital Beltway League, has pro-duced its share of star athletes, in-cluding Marcus Barnett, wide re-ceiver for the University of Cincinnatiand Shawne Merriman, linebackerfor the San Diego Chargers.

While Tyson is proud to say thathe once coached Merriman, his pas-sion for football is never more ap-parent then when he talks aboutcoaching his own children. Hevividly recalls the last year his twoyounger sons played on the team hecoached.

For the last game of the season, histeam—then part of the Forestville Boysand Girls Club league—faced its biggestrival, Oxon Hill. “Both teams were 7 and0—it was win or go home, and we lost”Tyson says.

The loss was so emotional thatCoach Tyson, normally tough asnails, actually shed tears right thereon the field. “I’m still upset about it,”he admits.

Of course, winning isn’t every-thing. “Making progress is my win-ning,” Tyson says. “Even though I wasupset about the loss, I still had some-thing positive to say to the kids.”

The ability to turn the negative intopositive is just another life lesson thatTyson tries to instill in his team. Hewholeheartedly believes in the oldAfrican proverb, “it takes a village toraise a child.” This philosophy, com-bined with his love of sports, moti-vates him to volunteer as a youthcoach. ■ —Mara Jonas

Edward Tyson believes it “takes a village to raise a child.” He tries to be a rolemodel for the young players on the football teams he coaches and encouragesfamilies to get involved as well. (Photo by Harold Dorwin)

THE TORCH JANUARY 2008 PAGE 7

BY RITA ZEIDNER

Special to The Torch

Perhaps no other institution is as sen-sitive to the threat of fire as theSmithsonian. Several early collec-tions—including the papers of JamesSmithson—were lost when fire de-stroyed the central portion of theCastle in 1865. The idea of a fire inone of SI’s buildings today is ap-palling: in addition to the threat tostaff and visitors, an uncontrolledblaze could reduce priceless and irre-placeable national treasures to ashes.

Fortunately, SI’s fire safety shop isbetter prepared than ever to makesure this nightmarish scenario neverhappens.

Himanshu Patel, chief of the elec-trical services division of the Office ofFacilities Engineering and Opera-tions’ system engineering division,concedes that SI’s fire safety programhas had to overcome some challengesin recent years. Weakened by staff at-trition and struggling to meet firesafety codes in SI’s aging buildings,the division—responsible for in-specting, testing and repairing morethan 11,000 sprinklers, smoke detec-tors and other safety devices—turned to a private contractor forhelp in 2004.

But thanks to a change in manage-ment strategy, Patel says, the divisionis surging back stronger than ever. Inresponse to a challenge from NancyBechtol, director of the Office of Fa-cilities Management and Reliability,

Patel has rebuilt the fire safety pro-gram and hired the staff he needs tohandle the job in-house. Last year, forthe first time since 2004, fire safetymaintenance in nearly all SI facilitieswas overseen by Smithsonian em-ployees.

In one year, the change has savednearly $2 million in contractor costs,Patel says. For example, transferringresponsibility for fire safety at theArts and Industries building to SIstaff has saved some $40,000.

Additional savings are anticipatedduring the next two years as the divi-sion fills several new positions andterminates the remaining fire safetymaintenance contracts.

Kendra Gastright, SI’s associate di-rector for systems engineering, sayscontractors played an important rolein helping get the in-house fire shopback on its feet. But once key controlswere in place, the decision to bringfire safety maintenance back in-housewas an obvious one to make.

But doing so took strategic plan-ning. “There is great demand fortrained fire safety specialists in theWashington, D.C., area,” she explains,“and it was important to promote theSmithsonian as an employer ofchoice. My first goal was to devise acareer ladder that would allow em-ployees to advance within SI.”

Once she and Patel could demon-strate the benefits of a career at theSmithsonian, the rest of the pieces fellinto place. In addition to the talentedSI staff already in place—Electronic

Integrated Mechanic Leader EdwardChanson and Electronic TechnicianSoung Rim—she and Patel askedsome former contractors to join SI’steam, which now includes ElectronicIntegrated Fire Technician NickLudtke and Electronic TechniciansPatrick Cerone, Jason Sawyer, JohnBoyd and Richard Miller.

The new employees take great pridein being part of the Smithsonian,Gastright says. “The fact that we at-tracted these highly qualified techni-cians speaks volumes about theSmithsonian brand.

“These workers were excellent fromthe start—that’s why we hired themas contractors originally,” she contin-

ues. “But now that they are Smithso-nian employees, their pride of own-ership is obvious. We now have a per-fect mix of new employees and staffwith institutional memory.”

A combination of good mainte-nance practices, vigilance and a littleluck have prevented major fires at SIfor many years. The most recent inci-dent, a minor mulch fire at the Na-tional Zoo last summer, was quicklyextinguished and no people or ani-mals were harmed. To prevent furtherincidents, the Zoo has banned smok-ing throughout the park.

The Castle is a lot safer, too, nowthat staff no longer work by candle-light or use wood stoves for heat. ■

Fire safety is a burning issue for SI’s rejuvenated fire shop

From left, Patrick Cerone, Himanshu Patel, Ed Chanson, Nick Ludtke, JasonSawyer, Richard Miller, John Boyd and Soung Rim. (Harold Dorwin photo)

BY ALAN CUTLER

Special to The Torch

Rain forests are the world’s treasurehouses of biodiversity, but not allrain forests are alike. The number ofdifferent species that exist in forestsin different parts of the world mayvary widely. Biodiversity may bemore evenly distributed in someforests than in others and, therefore,may require different managementand preservation strategies. That isone of the conclusions of a large-scale Smithsonian study of a low-land rain forest in New Guinea, re-cently published in the journalNature.

Most previous research has fo-cused on diversity “hot spots,” suchas upland rain forests in the foothillsof the Andes, where dramatic varia-tions in elevation, temperature, rain-fall and other environmental factorsboost diversity by creating a numberof different habitats in a relativelysmall area. Such variation in a re-gion’s indigenous species is calledbeta diversity.

A large proportion of the world’sremaining rain forests are lowlandforests in New Guinea, Borneo andthe Congo and Amazon Basins.Many researchers speculated thatthese lowland rain forests would havehigh beta diversity, but their theorieshad not been tested. Little data existson the distribution of species in thesevast forests, particularly for insects,which account for a large share of theworld’s biodiversity.

An international group of ento-mologists and botanists, includingSmithsonian researchers, recently as-sembled distribution data for 500species of caterpillars, ambrosia bee-tles and fruit flies that live in theundisturbed lowland rain forest ofthe Sepik and Ramu river basins inPapua New Guinea.

The team collected insects and

plants from eight study sites across75,000 square kilometers of contigu-ous forest—an area the size of SouthCarolina—and noted the variationin species makeup from site to site.

The researchers included scientists

Scott Miller and Karolyn Darrowfrom the Museum of Natural Historyand Yves Basset from the Smithso-nian Tropical Research Institute inPanama, along with MNH researchassociates Vojtech Novotny (CzechAcademy of Sciences) and GeorgeWeiblen (University of Minnesota).

They collected data for more thanthree years and built on data from a

decade of fieldwork in New Guinea. One key to the project’s success has

been local researchers. “We have agroup of Papua New Guinean scien-tists and parataxonomists workingwith us who are basically on the

PAGE 8 THE TORCH JANUARY 2008

about exhibitionsOpening This MonthThere are no exhibition openings thismonth.

Closing Next Month“Over the Top: American PostersFrom World War I,” American Art,closing Feb. 3, features 45 war bondposters. These persuasive images,with bold graphics and concise com-mands, encouraged citizens to sup-port the troops, contribute to the RedCross and buy bonds to financeAmerica’s participation in the war.

“Legendary Coins & Currency,”Castle, Schermer Hall, closing Feb. 4,exhibits rare coins from the Ameri-can History Museum’s National Nu-mismatic Collection. Highlights in-clude the 1913 Liberty Head nickeland the unique 1849 Double Eagle.

“Legacy: Spain and the UnitedStates in the Age of Independence,1763-1848,” Portrait Gallery, closingFeb. 10, through portraits and com-pelling authentic documents, ex-

plores Spain’s key role in the Revolu-tionary War and the founding of theUnited States.

“Worthy of the Nation: PlanningAmerica’s Capital,” Ripley Center,closing Feb. 14, presents more than75 photographs and illustrations thatdepict the challenges associated withplanning Washington, D.C., through-out its history, including the Metro-rail system, the addition of memori-als and museums, the revitalization ofPennsylvania Avenue and more.

“Mexican Cycles: Festival Imagesby George O. Jackson de Llano,” Nat-ural History, closing Feb. 15, features135 color photographs of the reli-gious festivals of 30 indigenous com-munities from across Mexico takenby the Mexican American photogra-pher between 1990 and 2001.

“The Potter’s Mark: Identity andTea Ceramics,” Freer, closing Feb. 24,showcases a dozen Japanese ceramicsthat feature impressed or incisedmarks relating to their makers. The

objects highlight the evolution of thispractice, from “seals of approval” im-pressed by patrons who commis-sioned tea wares during the late 16thcentury to a means by which artistsidentified their products by the mid-17th century.

“Japanese Arts of the Edo Period,1615-1868,” Freer, closing Feb. 24,features paintings, lacquerware andceramics of the Edo period from theFreer’s permanent collection.

“The Presidency and the ColdWar,” Portrait Gallery, closing Feb.24, explores how U.S. presidentsshaped or reacted to the events of theCold War, beginning at Yalta whenRoosevelt met with Stalin andChurchill and ending with the col-lapse of the Berlin Wall.

“Wine, Worship and Sacrifice:The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani,”Sackler, closing Feb. 24, presentsmore than 100 objects: gold, silverand ceramic vessels; jewelry; Greekbronze sculpture; Greek and

Colchian coins; and Greek glasswarethat together provide a rich and in-formative view of the ancient land ofColchis and its principal city, Vani.

UpcomingIn March, Air and Space will presenta photographic exhibition that re-veals the “simple beauty” of aircraftdesign. ■ —Eddie Séjour-Gonzalez

This photograph of a 1993 Carnival celebration in Huautla, Hidalgo, Mexico,is part of the exhibition “Mexican Cycles: Festival Images by George O. Jack-son de Llano” on view at Natural History through Feb. 15.

Not all rain forests are the same—and neither are the species that inhabit them

A youngster holds a Hercules moth caterpillar—one of 500 species of cater-pillars, ambrosia beetles and fruit flies studied by Smithsonian scientists inPapua New Guinea. (Photo by Milan Janda)

ground all the time and are reallygood biologists,” Miller says. Paratax-onomists are locally-recruited fieldresearchers specifically trained to col-lect and identify species from theirparticular region.

The data the team collected showedsurprisingly low beta diversity acrossthe study area for all three groups ofinsects, as well as for plants. This in-dicates that species tend to be wide-spread throughout the lowland rainforest and there are few variations inthe species even across large dis-tances. The widespread distributionof insect species was a surprise, giventhe sedentary lifestyles of many of thespecies collected.

“Some insects spend their entirelives on a single plant, even thoughthey have wings. They may not wantto fly, but they can if they need to,”says Miller, an author of the Naturepaper. The insects also showed lim-ited specialization in the plant speciesthey feed upon, in contrast to the as-sumption that tropical insects tend tobe highly specialized.

The study found that sites as far as500 kilometers apart shared the samecommunities of insect species. Thecharacteristics of fruit fly species col-lected in the study remained virtuallyunchanged for distances up to 950kilometers.

In contrast, upland rain forestssites at different elevations may shareless than 20 percent of their insectspecies—even if the plants on whichthe insects live appear at all eleva-tions.

The low beta diversity seen in thisstudy has implications for biologicalconservation. The fact that the sameinsect species appear throughoutlowland forests suggests that the totaldiversity of species in tropical rainforests globally may be lower thanpreviously thought.

The study’s results also may helpshape strategies for preserving rainforest species. “There are some philo-sophical questions that our datashould help address,” Miller says. “Isit better to preserve forests over alarge area as a single forest or is di-versity better served if several smallerforests are preserved?”

Strategies for preserving high- andlow-beta diversity forests might notbe the same. “Our data from the NewGuinea lowland forest suggests thatbigger is better,” Scott continues. “Inthis kind of relatively uniform habi-tat, you’re not losing a lot of beta di-versity that otherwise would have tobe represented by several smallersites. But the opposite might mightbe true in forests with steep elevationor climate gradients.”

However, there is still much tolearn—collecting species diversitydata is a very time-consuming and la-borious process. “We haven’t solvedthe conservation management ques-tion by any means,” Miller says. Henotes that similar studies need to beconducted in other lowland rainforests in the Amazon Basin and theCongo Basin to see if the low beta di-versity pattern remains consistent. ■

White’s remains, beginning in thesummer of 2005. He and colleagues,including Karin Bruwelheide, a mu-seum specialist in the Physical An-thropology division, have examinedremains buried in similar iron coffinsover the years. “But we had wantedfor quite some time to find [remains]that were more completely pre-served...” akin to “an Americanmummy, if you will,” he says.

Unlike Egyptian mummies, forwhich salt and other preservativecompounds were used to slow de-composition, the body of the 19th-century teenager had been preservedin a sealed container which protectedit from agents of natural decay, Huntexplains.

Though vandals had broken theglass face plate on the coffin before itwas received by MNH, the body, as

well as the burial shroud and clothingwas largely intact. The preservationallowed Owsley, Hunt and the rest ofthe team to glean specific detailsabout the boy’s physical health. Au-topsy and laboratory analysis pointedto a lung infection and a congenitalheart defect as the probable causes forWhite’s death at age 15.

For the genealogical side of the re-search, Hull-Walski and scientist

Randal Scott, formerly of the NaturalHistory Museum, were assisted bymore than two dozen volunteers increating family trees for WilliamWhite and his five siblings.

It was discouraging when many ofthe promising early leads turned cold,Hull-Walski recalls. But team mem-bers encouraged one another to per-severe. “We hated the thought that ifwe failed, this young boy would never

have an identity,” she says. “AndDoug Owsley never gave up. He’d sayto us, ‘We want a good ending for thisstory.’”

After nearly two years of research,“we now know more about WilliamWhite than he probably knew abouthimself,” Owsley says. “That is hislegacy to us.” ■

Mystery(Continued from Page 1)