Jackie Heinricher ’86: The Bamboo Revolution Hits Wall Street

Jackie Heinricher ’86. Photo: Carlos Javier Sanchez ’97.

Quick flashback: The Evergreen Magazine, Spring 2009
A young girl runs through her back yard, where her father has planted golden bamboo in a cool, rustling jungle. She grabs a few poles and imagines the next project she can create from their woody stems. Close to 40 years later, Jackie Heinricher ’86 runs Boo-Shoot Gardens in Mt. Vernon, Wash.,
a multimillion-dollar biotechnology company . …(Story continued on Evergreen Magazine web page.)

Jump Forward to May 7 2013: Jackie’s world has gotten very big and her passionate message about the global benefits of bamboo cultivation are being heard in very influential places.

Provitro Biosciences  [formerly Boo-shoot Gardens] has been awarded the first-ever U.S. patent for large-scale production of bamboo plants enabling commercial production of fast growing, high yielding timber bamboo. Here is an excerpt from Provitro’s announcement:

MT. VERNON, Wash., May 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Provitro Biosciences LLC (or “Provitro”), a subsidiary of Pendrell Corporation (NASDAQ: PCO) today received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering foundational technologies that enable the rapid, disease-free, and high volume production of bamboo plants for the first time. The patent issued today reflects more than a decade of innovative research by Provitro in the field of non-genetically modified commercial-scale plant propagation methods.

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Seattle Turns out for Macklemore Filming

We’ve gotten one, maybe two comments under the general heading “enough already with the Macklemore.” Meaning no disrespect to the readers who took the time to comment, we simply cannot resist sharing a few great photos from The Seattle Times about Evergreen’s favorite rapper who returned to the Emerald City to shoot a music video on top of Capitol Hill’s iconic Dick’s Drive-in. It was a beautiful summer night and a good time was had by all.

Ben Haggerty aka “Macklemore” shooting a video at Dick’s Drive-in on Capitol Hill in Seattle. Photo: Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times

The streets around Broadway and Olive Way were filled with fans.
Photo: Erika Schultz/Seattle Times

Even the rooftops were full on this beautiful summer evening.
Photo Erika Schultz/Seattle Times

Thanks for coming, Ben and Ryan. Seattle loves you, and so does The Evergreen Mind. Photo: Marcus Yam/Seattle Times

From Tokyo to Evergreen: Yuhdai Sawa ’06 Visits Campus

Yuhdai Sawa ’06 (left) and Julian Genette ’08 taken on Yuhdai’s July visit to Evergreen.

Yuhdai Sawa ’06 dropped by campus this week. He traveled from his home in Tokyo, Japan, to spend his vacation in Portland, Olympia and Seattle “because all my friends are here.”

Yuhdai fell in love with this region after spending several summers attending snowboarding camp near Mt. Hood, Oregon. Returning to the Northwest for college seemed natural. Continue reading

The Wonderful World of Sarah J. Amell ’03, M.M.A., RPA

Sarah Amell ’03, Project Manager, Maritime Archeologist and Principle of Aqua Terra Cultural Resource Consultants

Greeners old enough to have been devotees of the television series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau (1968-1976), will feel a surge of oceanic wanderlust to learn that Sarah Arnell ’03 is living the dream. The South Puget Sound area native has possibly the best job title ever: Maritime Archaeologist.

After receiving her B.A. from Evergreen, she earned a Master of Maritime Archaeology from Flinders University of South Australia and has worked on archaeological sites, including shipwrecks, in Queensland and Tasmania.  Read Sarah’s complete bio on the website of Terra Cultural Resource Consultants.

 

The Prolific Dr. McChesney’s (’76) Latest Publication Celebrated in Madison, WI

Here’s an event notice for July 24, 2013, celebrating the publication of a new book co-authored by Robert McChesney ’76. We have shamelessly swiped this blurb from the Facebook page for The Center for Media and Democracy:

The Center for Media and Democracy will be hosting the inaugural event celebrating the publication of “Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America”, the new book from acclaimed authors John Nichols and Robert McChesney . The two authors, both Madisonians, will be at Tripp Commons, on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus for a 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 24th book reading, discussion and signing. Best-selling author of Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein says of their book: “John Nichols and Bob McChesney make a compelling, and terrifying, case that American democracy is becoming American dollarocracy. Even more compelling, and hopeful, is their case for a radical reform agenda to take power back from the corporations and give it to the people.” [ed. note: bolded text emphasis added]

Officially the Gutgsell Endowed Professor of Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana, Bob McChesney ’76 just never stops writing. Working alone or paired with frequent writing partners John Nichols or John Bellamy Foster ’75, he churns out books and articles at a dizzying pace.  Hyperbole, you suspect?  Not so.  Go to his University of Illinois/Urbana faculty page, download his vita and see for yourself.

If you’re in the Madison area this Wednesday, July 24, stop by and hear the story first-hand.

Bob and John Bellamy Foster will be on campus at Evergreen November 13  for a talk on “Dollarocracy.” Watch The Evergreen Mind for Updates.

Here is Bob on You Tube talking about the crisis in U.S. journalism, and here are just a few of Bob’s publications:

Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy. New York: The New Press, 2013.
Nichols, John, and Robert W. McChesney. Dollarocracy: How the Money-and-Media-Election Complex is Destroying America. New York: Nation Books, 2013.
Foster, John B., and Robert W. McChesney. The Endless Crisis: How Monopoly-Finance Capital Produces Stagnation and Upheaval from the USA to China. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2012.
McChesney, Robert W., and John Nichols. The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again. New York: Nation Books, 2010.
The Political Economy of Media: Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2008.
Communication Revolution: Critical Junctures and the Future of Media. New York: The New Press, 2007.

 

 

Betty Kutter: Putting Evergreen on the Scientific World Stage

Photo of Bacteriophage T4 – a virus that infects the e.coli bacteria. Taken with an electron microscope.

August 1963, Rochester, NY. Second-year graduate student Betty Kutter fell in love with a bacteria-eating bug. It happened like this: a visiting professor showed her a picture, similar to the one seen here, (left), of a virus that consumes bacteria. He captured Betty’s imagination with the comment that when we understand phage, we will understand the essence of life. Betty was hooked.

Fifty years later, faculty member emerita Betty Kutter works within an international community of scientists, researchers and physicians, all focused on the study of and uses for phage.

This August 4-9, about 200 people from 35 countries will be on the Evergreen campus for the 20th Biennial Evergreen International Phage Meeting.  They will share research, form working partnerships and track the future of phage. One possibility, using phage as an naturally occurring antibiotic. Other applications already in use for this miraculous virus:

Phage fights Listeria in Agriculture in the Netherlands
http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2012/05/13/electricity-from-viruses/

Betty came to Evergreen in 1972 in the second round of faculty hires at the new college.  In 1993, she and her scientific team completed the sequencing of the phage genome. Today in the international phage community, Betty is royalty, known for her seminal research and her and tireless work with physicians around the world to optimize the medical possibilities of phage. Back home at Evergreen, Betty evinces a joyous scientific evangelizing spirit. It’s that spirit that has made her an inspirational educator who has pointed countless students toward careers in scientific inquiry.

Fun phage facts:
There are 168,904 “letters” in the genome of the bacteria phage.
The name phage comes from the Greek “phagos” which means “to eat.”

Craig Bartlett at Comic-Con 2013

Craig Bartlett ’81, animator, writer, musician and father of two Greeners.

If you’re on your way to Comic-Con this week, be sure to say hello to Craig Bartlett ’81. He’ll be hanging out with a team of Nickelodeon animators on Thursday, July 18 from 2:00 p.m.

Here’s the scoop, straight from Nick:

Panel: Nick Re-Mix – It’s time to go behind the slime! Nickelodeon is bringing together Craig Bartlett (creator, Hey Arnold!), Chris Viscardi & Will McRobb (creators, The Adventures of Pete & Pete), Jay Howell & Jim Dirschberger (creators, Sanjay and Craig), and Steve Borst & Gary “Doodles” Di Raffaele (creators, Breadwinners) to offer an insider’s look at the creative process behind some of our funniest, most endearing and fan-favorite cartoons from the past, present and future. These creators will discuss what inspired them and reveal what it’s really like to bring a show to life at Nickelodeon. So don’t miss out on this exclusive panel – plus get a sneak peek at Nickelodeon’s brand new animated series Breadwinners. Moderated by Chris Hardwick (voice of Craig, Sanjay and Craig). Room 7AB

Self-Portrait, Craig Bartlett ’81

Be sure to congratulate Craig on the crazy success of Dinosaur Train on PBS. We can’t wait to see what he’s dreaming up next.

Smithsonian Scientist Seabird McKeon ’99 – The Role of Ecology in Evolutionary Changes

Seabird McKeon ’99, post doctoral scientist at The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Seabird McKeon ’99 recently co-authored a study of the reproductive strategies of poison frogs. His research is summarized in Smithsonian Seriously Amazing. By studying the behavior and habits of poison frogs through the reproductive cycle, McKeon has noted larger forces at work:

“…complex predator-prey relationships may have played a role in selecting the ideal habitat for tadpoles and influenced many species of poison frogs to move their progeny from the ground into the trees. In addition, the scientists demonstrated that studying the natural history of modern species can inform the understanding of evolutionary changes in behavior.” (Italics added).

Seabird followed his scientific inquiry from Evergreen to graduate school at the University of Florida to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Fla. His study, Predator Driven Reproductive Behavior in a Tropical Frog was published in Evolutionary Ecology, July 2013, Volume 27, Issue 4, pp 725-737.

Human parents may identify with this notation from the Smithsonian’s summary: “…scientists have studied the compromises inherent in reproduction strategies, including where and why species select certain areas over others to reproduce and raise their young in. ”

Good schools?

Samara Davis (’11) – Farm to Table to Business to Community

AntFarm Manager Samara Davis ’11 (right) with Chef Damon Schwab preparing for AntFarm Cafe’s soft opening July 11. (Photo credit: Jim Hart, Sandy Post)

The Antfarm Cafe quietly opened last week in Sandy, Oregon, a Portland suburb about 40 minutes southeast of the city. Think sustainable agriculture, locally sourced food, small business development, education and at-risk youth programming and you have the business model that kind of looks like Evergreen.  Read more in the Sandy Post, and for alumni in the Portland area, watch for notice of the grand opening in August.

 

 

Greeners Abound at Hoopfest ’13

Left to right: Durriel Jones ’07, Nate Menefee ’10, Antonio McClinon ’08, Terrance Menefee and Patrick Lewis ’12 . (photo credit: Antonio McClinon)

This just in from Antonio McClinon ’08:

Among the 27,000 players (over 7,000 teams) playing at Hoopfest in Spokane, Washington last week were Evergreen alumni Durriel Jones ’07, Nate Menefee ’10, Antonio McClinon ’08, Patrick Lewis ’12 and current student Terrence Menefee. They were participating in the largest “3 on 3” basketball tournament in the world!

This basketball extravaganza has been a regular summer event in Spokane since 1990. This year, it attracted 225,000 fans and occupied over 450 courts throughout the city. In addition to the excitement on the courts, Hoopfest has become a full-blown outdoor festival complete with shopping, food, and lots of entertainment.

Thanks Antonio.  It’s great to hear from Greeners out in the world doing things.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Evergreen Athletics, take a look at their website.