Next Meeting:
The next meeting will be Friday, 5th September in room 201 of the Wang Center. Note the new location, just for this meeting. The speaker will be Ambassador Harsh Bhasin of the Department of Asian and Asian-American Studies. The title of his talk is "Emerging Triangular Relationships: India, China, and the United States."
Bio: Ambassador Bhasin has represented India overseas in different capacities in a diplomatic career spanning over three decades, and has taught at Stony Brook intermittently since 2001. Most recently he served at Ambassador of India to Denmark (2003-05), and was High Commissioner of India to South Africa (1998-2000). For three years he served as India's Consul General in New York City (1995-98). He holds Bachelor and Master's degrees from the Banaras Hindu University, and was a Fellow of the Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, 1990-91.

Last Meeting
The Provost's annual luncheon attracted a large number of members and guests. Following a delicious repast, the chairman of the Steering Committee, Karl Bottigheimer, welcomed everyone and then conveyed the Emeritus Association''s appreciation to the Provost Office both for the luncheon and for the many services that the office provides to the group throughout the year, most notably the preparation and mailing of the monthly newsletter and the provision of coffee and pastries at the monthly Friday meetings. Karl then introduced Provost Eric Kaler. After outlining Eric's scholarly and administrative achievements, Karl noted that this background bodes well for Eric following in the footsteps of some of his noble predecessors, such as Bentley Glass, as a provost sympathetic to the core values of an academic institution and willing to defend them.
Being himself new to the university, Eric appropriately titled his talk "What's New at Stony Brook." The most notable recent news was the $60 million gift by Jim Simons for the founding of a new department and building devoted the study of geometry and physics, a field of study predicted to produce the kind of path-breaking research for which Nobel prizes are awarded. Expansion and development is also the goal of the university's $300 continuing development campaign. Another addition to Stony Brook has been the acquisition of the Southampton campus which will allow for an expansion in the university's Marine Sciences unit as well as development of related environmental studies. On the Stony Brook campus the School of Journalism has now become a separate undergraduate academic program, the first of its kind in the nation and focusing on "the newsroom of the future." Construction continues at the new research and development park west of the main campus with the Center for Excellence in Wireless Technology almost completed, shortly to be followed by the new center for research in new energy technologies.
The incoming freshmen class will be from the largest number of applicants ever recorded, a 50% increase from six years ago. Of those only 43% were granted admission, making Stony Brook among the highly selective universities in the county. The average SAT scores among the incoming freshman class is 1221, compared to 1131 in 1998. Stony Brook is now ranked among the best public universities in the county, included in the category just below the grouping that includes universities such as UC at Berkeley, UNC in Chapel Hill, and University of Michigan. In terms of ethnic diversity Stony Brook is the most diverse among the four university centers in the SUNY system.
Eric's goals for the future include revising the undergraduate curriculum; closing the intellectual divide symbolized by Nichols Road; creating closer ties between Stony Brook, Brookhaven Lab, and Cold Spring Harbor; and increasing funding and opportunities for graduate students.

Emeritus Faculty - Take a Hike!
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have updated their physical activity guidelines. Click on the link below and scroll down for the new recommendations for adults over 65: http://www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home_Page&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=7764
To aid you in following their recommendations a new map of hiking trails in and around the university has been prepared. On our main web page, click on "more info" under the picture of Lake Briana. Thus seven of our members joined about 30 others on June 26 to see President Kenny unveil a historical marker before embarking on a short hike along the last remaining section of the old highway that George Washington took 218 years ago on his return from Setauket (see the center of our map where the remaining colonial highway meets with Mount Rd). This old dirt highway, 18 foot wide between embankments (enough for two carriages to pass), used to extend and was clearly recognizable in a straight line extension right across campus through where the West A bus stop and the Roosevelt dormitories now stand. As far as the Gyrodyne acquisition is concerned be aware that the administration has recently placed stern retricted area notices on a boundary around the technology park. So, if you hike in that viscinity be sure to take along your university ID card just in case. Note that other entrances do not have such signs - just large yellow ones that say State University...No snowmobiling, No off-road vehicles. Notwithstanding this, and not more than 100 yards from one of the signs, the university has converted the beautiful old Flowerfield meadow into and an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) obstacle course for the "Stony Brook Motorsports team" (on our map, locate the notation berm - actually lots of berms so the meadow can no longer be mowed). It is becoming unusual to find hiking trails on LI (and elsewhere) not trashed by ATV's. But your webmaster has recently (re)discovered another such delightful mowed pathway through the plantings. Turn left (West) just after leaving the perimeter road on the path going north towards our berm notation. Note it is also possible to park close by in the Gyrodyne business parking lot (enter from Mill Pond Rd) and enter through (or around the left hand side of) the university gate by the RR crossing.