Museum, local cancer group host Fourth Annual Planet Head Day

The Northern Maine Museum of Science and Aroostook C.A.N.C.E.R. will be taking a stand against some of the worst things that fate hands out – bitter, cold weather; loss of hair; and Cancer – when it hosts the Fourth Annual Planet Head Day on Saturday, Feb. 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Gentile Hall, and everyone is invited to attend.

Since 2007, Planet Head Day has been held to increase awareness of NASA’s mission to Pluto and to serve as a fundraiser for the local organization C.A.N.C.E.R [Caring Area Neighbors for Cancer Education and Recovery]. Each year, participants from Maine and Canada have donned theatrical bald caps or had their hair shaved off, and then had their heads painted to look like planets, moons, asteroids and comets.

Criminal Justice students at the University of Maine at Presque Isle will take on members of the area’s police departments during the 5th Annual CJ Students vs. Law Enforcement Basketball Game.

The competition begins on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. in Wieden Gymnasium.

With winter in full gear and warmer weather in the future, the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Outdoor Adventure Program International (OAPI) is offering a series of spring adventures for campus and community members to enjoy, including a winter mountain climb, cross country and alpine skiing, snowshoeing and rock climbing.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Faculty Noon Seminar Series returns for the Spring 2010 semester with presentations on First Nations students, student-led teaching models, the challenges ahead for higher education, and the connection between capitalism and zombies.

Seminars will be held on Thursdays from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the Normal Hall Faculty Lounge. Presentations will be 20-30 minutes in length, followed by a discussion. Those attending are welcome to bring their lunches and join in the discussion.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle is pleased to present Dr. Klaus Lackner – the Ewing-Worzel Professor of Geophysics at Columbia University, the Chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, and the Director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy at the Earth Institute at Columbia University – as its first Distinguished Lecturer of the Spring 2010 semester.

Dr. Lackner will deliver his talk Innovations in Sustainable Energy: Capturing Carbon Dioxide Directly from the Air on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in the UMPI Campus Center. A snow date has been set for Friday, Feb. 12. During his talk, Dr. Lackner will give an overview of the environmental challenges facing our world, the importance of carbon dioxide capture and sequestration, and the budding technology behind the capture of carbon dioxide from ambient air using ionic exchange resins in the form of artificial trees.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host its annual spring semester American Red Cross Blood Drive on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010. This blood drive is sponsored by the UMPI Residence Life Office, the Brothers of Kappa Delta Phi and the Sisters of Kappa Delta Phi NAS.

The blood drive is scheduled from Noon until 6 p.m. in the Campus Center’s Multi-Purpose Room. Door prizes will be given away during the event. If donors wish to reserve a time to make their donation, they should call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, or you can sign up at the new online appointment scheduler at www.givelife.org.

University of Maine at Presque Isle officials, several distinguished alumni and members of the campus and community were on hand Monday afternoon for the ceremonial unveiling of the newly installed Alumni Accomplishments Wall in the Preble Hall front entryway.

The Alumni Accomplishments Wall, meant to showcase recent alumni who have made important contributions and realized impressive achievements since graduating from UMPI, serves as a way for the University to applaud the work that UMPI graduates are doing all around the country and the world, and demonstrates to incoming students that they can achieve great things with a degree from the University.

This spring at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, the founder of the Maine Origami Society will present an in-depth and interactive modular origami display and offer a series of workshops to teach members of the campus and community about the art form that combines paper folding and geometry.

Eva Szillery – who also serves as the Director of the Maine Junior Engineering Technical Society and the State Director of the American Mathematics Competitions – has presented similar exhibits and workshops at sites across Maine, including in Lewiston, Bangor, Orono and Portland. Her visits to Presque Isle are being presented in collaboration with the University’s Math Program and the College of Arts and Sciences.