September 17, 1998

World premeire Spalding and Rockwell Gray appear at Edison

Monologist Spalding Gray returns to Edison Theatre Oct. 2 and 3

By Liam Otten For close to two decades, Spalding Gray's wry and unflinchingly honest monologues have chronicled the ups and downs of his famously rootless life. Gray returns to Edison Theatre this fall for a pair of new shows, including a world premiere Oct. 2 of "Gray on Gray: A Lifelong Conversation" with his brother, Rockwell Gray, Ph.D., a lecturer in the Department of English in Arts and Sciences. On Oct. 3, Spalding Gray will present the St. Louis premiere of his newest work in progress, "Morning, Noon & Night," which describes a single day in the life of the author's young family. Click to see entire article

'From Argentina to the Coral Sea' Assembly Series talk highlights faculty, student Solo Spirit research Raymond E. Arvidson, Ph.D., professor and chair of earth and planetary sciences in Arts and Sciences, and four of his student researchers will give a special Assembly Series presentation titled "The Solo Spirit Mission: From Argentina to the Coral Sea" at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, in Graham Chapel. The event is free and open to the public. Arvidson and the student researchers were directly involved in adventurer Steve Fossett's August attempt to fly solo in a balloon around the world, serving as key members of Fossett's mission control team. Arvidson served as mission control science coordinator for the Fossett flight and for the payload aboard the flight. A scientist who has made significant contributions to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) missions to Mars and Venus, Arvidson said that the payload was prepared as a prototype of the kind of instrumentation NASA may eventually fly into the atmosphere of Mars or Venus on a robotic balloon called an aerobot. Click to see entire article

Fifth-year senior Shane Ulrich, a dual-major in mech- anical engineering and biology, balances atop an inflatable globe at the annual Walk In Lay Down (W.I.L.D.) student bash Friday, Sept. 11, in Brookings Quadrangle.

The Saint Louis Art Museum unveils "The Giving Tree," an adobe structure by Ron Fondaw (left), professor of art, on Sept. 8. Fondaw based the sculpture (at left, rear) on traditional adobe building techniques using dirt, sticks, straw, tree branches and bright pigments worked directly into wet plaster. The title reflects Fondaw's belief that every- thing around us comes from and is inspired by nature. The work, which is intended to deteriorate naturally, will be on view on the museum's south lawn for four to six months.

Renowned architects appearing in series From the links between the environment and architecture to the relationship between memory and architecture, the School of Architecture's 44th annual Monday Night Lecture Series promises a stellar lineup of renowned national and international architects discussing diverse themes. The series will kick off at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, with a lecture by landscape architect Angela Danadjieva in Steinberg Auditorium. Danadjieva, an environmental designer with the San Francisco-based Danadjieva & Koenig Associates, will discuss "Environmental Response." The series also will include keynote speakers for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Archtecture West Regional Conference "Memory and Architecture," which is being hosted by the architecture school Oct. 2-4. Click to see entire article