STORY TIPS This and every University Communications news release is available on the Internet and World Wide Web. Our Web address is www.acs.ohio-state.edu. WEXNER CENTER INVITES FAMILIES TO BUILD, BUILD, BUILD!--Feb. 15. Become an architect, builder, or designer for a day. Use your imagination to create unusual homes, from bird houses to skyscrapers. The Build, Build, Build! Family Day at the Wexner Center, noon-4 p.m., offers activities planned especially for children ages 4-12 and accompanying adults. Inspired by the exhibition Fabrications: Full Scale, the event features drop-in art activities, films, family tours and drama. This Family Day features activity leaders from Days of Creation: Arts for Kids, a consortium of gifted artists and arts educators from Columbus, and Intuition Theatre Co. of Cincinnati. CONTACT: Darnell Lautt, Wexner Center, 292-9923. UNIVERSITY SCHOLARS MAXIMUS COMPETITION--Feb. 20, 21, 27, 28. About 1,000 of the top applicants for next fall’s freshman class will be on campus (about 250 per day) for an essay contest to determine recipients of 120 prestigious four-year merit scholarships. The top 10 finalists will receive “full-ride” Presidential Scholarships, the next 30 will receive Medalist Scholarships (equal to full in-state tuition), and the next 80 will receive Tradition Scholarships (equal to one-half of in-state tuition). All participants have already been named University Scholars, which confers a $1,200 annual scholarship, which will be rolled into the Presidential, Medalist and Tradition awards. In addition to the two-hour morning exam, the students have opportunities to meet with faculty at breakfast and lunch, to hear an academic presentation, and to tour Honors House and Honors housing. There are also programs for parents and guardians. Most events are in the Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St. The schedule runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Testing 10 a.m. to noon). Check at the “Help Desk” (in Main Lounge in morning, at West Ballroom in afternoon) for the full schedule or assistance in locating competition administrators. CONTACTS: Nina Hoppes, University Honors Center, 292-3135; Ruth Gerstner, University Communications, 292-8424. NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE DIRECTOR SPEAKS AT THE JAMES--Feb. 23. Richard Klausner, director of the National Cancer Institute, will discuss The Progress and Promise of Cancer Research at 10 a.m. in Rhodes Hall Auditorium. Among those joining Klausner on the panel will be U.S. Rep. John Kasich, chair of the House Budget Committee; Ellen Stoval, executive director of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship; Clara Bloomfield, director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center; and David Schuller, director of the James Cancer Hospital. The new federal budget proposes a five- year, 65% increase in cancer research funding at the National Institutes of Health. Klausner will be available for interviews at 11:30 a.m. in the Board room, across from the auditorium. CONTACT: Jan Ray, James Cancer Hospital, 293-6054. FORENSIC SCIENTIST DISCUSSES MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION--Feb. 24. Who killed Huey P. Long? James E. Starrs, forensic scientist and law professor, will discuss the 1935 assassination of the U.S. senator during a lecture and slide presentation at 4 p.m. on Feb. 24 in the auditorium of John Deaver Drinko Hall (College of Law), 55 W. 12th Ave. Starrs has established the authenticity of Jesse James’ remains and hopes to solve the mystery surrounding the death of noted explorer Meriwether Lewis. While in Ohio, he will also examine the exhumed body of a 26-year-old Jackson County woman alleged to have committed suicide by shooting herself in the chest with a shotgun while hunting with her boyfriend, who had a history of violence. Starrs will be available to talk with reporters from 3-4 p.m. on Feb. 24. CONTACT: Liz Gates, College of Law, 292-2937. ACLU PRESIDENT WILL LECTURE AT OHIO STATE--Feb. 24. Nadine Strossen, president of the American Civil Liberties Union, will participate in an interactive conversation at 7:30 p.m. in The Ohio Union East Ballroom, 1739 N. High St. Strossen, a law professor at New York Law School, was elected president of the ACLU in 1991. An expert on constitutional law, civil liberties and international human rights, she is the first woman and youngest president in the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization. Strossen’s appearance is sponsored by the School of Journalism and The Ohio and Drake Unions Activities Board. Although her schedule is tight, Strossen is available for interviews by contacting Frank Lazar at 292-3117 or 297-8748. CONTACT: Frank Lazar, Ohio and Drake Unions Activities Board, 292- 3117 or 297-8748. LECTURER LOOKS AT GENETIC TESTING FOR CANCER--Feb. 26. Barbara Rimer, director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Division of Cancer Control and Population Science, will deliver the sixth annual Herbert J. Block Memorial Lecture at 8 a.m. in The James Cancer Hospital Auditorium (room 518), 300 W. 10th Ave. Rimer’s lecture is titled Facilitating Informed Decisions about Genetic Testing for Cancer Susceptibility. She is responsible for the new NCI Division of Cancer Control and Population Science, with a focus on behavioral aspects of cancer control, communication of cancer risk, early detection and cancer screening. The Block Lectureship recognizes an individual whose contribution to cancer research, patient care or education has received international recognition. CONTACT: Jan Ray, James Cancer Hospital, 293-6054. OHIO STATE CELEBRATES HERITAGE AND LEGACY OF BLACK HISTORY--through Feb. African Americans: Celebrating and Creating Legacies is the theme for the 28th annual celebration of United Black World Month at Ohio State. Events include: ---A panel discussion about the effect of affirmative action on higher education hosted by state Sen. Jeffrey Johnson, D-Cleveland, at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 26 in the Ohio Union Conference Theater. ---Children’s Cultural Hours, which teach history and promote pride for African-American culture, Feb. 24 at 9:30 a.m. in the Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center, 153 W. 12th Ave; ---Cookies and Conversations on Black Culture: Hair-raising Tales of Life in the Perm-lane, a discussion of the politics of beauty, femininity and social acceptance of black hair, Feb. 16 at 5 p.m. in the Ohio Union. ---Strength through Diversity: Increasing African-American Representation in the Environmental Field, a workshop led by Alice Cowans, an urban conservation advocate, at 6 p.m. Feb. 18 in the Hale Center. CONTACT: Cynthia DeVese, African American Student Services, 292- 6584. OHIO STATE ALUMNI KEEP TITANIC MOVIE AFLOAT--Two Ohio State arts alumni contributed to the special effects that have kept Titanic on its record-breaking course in movie theaters across the country. Among the film’s computer-generated sequences constructed by alumni Muquem Kahn and Chris Wedge are underwater scenes of the ship as it is sinking. Kahn, Wedge and their colleagues used footage of the real shipwreck to create new images of the ship, and then transitioned the images into live-action shots of the actors. They also composited ice and foggy breath onto the film to give the appearance of icy cold waters that did not exist during the actual filmmaking. Kahn and Wedge studied at the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD) in the College of the Arts. Other ACCAD graduates have worked on such projects as Apollo 13, Mars Attacks, Jurassic Park, Batman Forever and Babe. CONTACT: Wayne Carlson, ACCAD, 292-3416, or Lois Foreman Wernet, College of the Arts, 292-8835. The person listed as the contact for each item will have the best information about the story. However, feel free to call on our news services staff for assistance with these or other Ohio State news stories-- Amy Murray, 292-8385; Ruth Gerstner, 292-8424; Tracy Turner, 688- 3682; and Emily Caldwell, 292-8309. Compiled by Amy Murray, University Communications, (Murray- Goedde.1@osu.edu).