Duke in the News: June 12, 2007

LIGHT FANTASTIC: FLIRTING WITH INVISIBILITY New York Times, June 12 -- Last October, scientists at Duke demonstrated a working cloaking device, hiding whatever was placed inside, although it worked only for microwaves. The cloak was not perfect. "You'd see a darkened spot," said David R. Smith, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke. ... Full story

PENTAGON CAN'T HOLD 'ENEMY COMBATANT,' COURT RULES (Fort Wayne, Ind.) News-Sentinel, McClatchy Newspapers, June 11 -- Scott Silliman, a Duke law professor and former Air Force lawyer, says a federal appeals court ruling against the continued indefinite military detention of a Qatari man is "a pretty broad challenge to the administration." ... Full story --Also, San Francisco Chronicle: War Crimes Charges Hinge on Whether Combatants Lawful (Madeline Morris, a Duke law professor and chief counsel to the Defense Department's military commissions' defense office at Guantanamo) ... Full story

DUKE EXPECTS MORE FRESHMEN (Raleigh) News & Observer, June 12 -- Duke is planning for a larger freshman class than projected, because more prospective students accepted Duke's offer of admission -- one more sign that the university is moving beyond the lacrosse controversy. ... Full story --Also, WRAL.com, AP: Duke Class of 2011 Larger Than Expected ... Full story Duke News: Duke's Class of 2011 Will Be Its Most Selective, Diverse ... Full story

CAMPUS DEMAND DRIVES DEVELOPMENT OF iTUNES U Apple Education, June 11 -- Tracy Futhey, Duke's vice president for information technology, partnered with Apple as they developed an entirely new way to distribute content -- iTunes U. ... Full story

IS THE U.S. WINNING BACK ITS COMPETITIVE EDGE? CNNMoney.com, June 11 -- A new Duke-University of California at Berkeley study finds that American universities are luring technology entrepreneurs from overseas, fueling a $52 billion startup boom. ... Full story --Also, BusinessWeek: Immigrants -- Key U.S. Business Founders ... Full story Houston Chronicle: Immigrants Often Key to Startups ... Full story

U.S. VOTERS MAY FACE OUTBREAK OF 'CAMPAIGN FATIGUE' New York Times, Reuters, June 12 -- Campaign fatigue will tend to hit the type of voter who likes to pay attention early, absorb the news and follow the issues, says John Aldrich, a political science professor at Duke. "They're the people who are going to fade out. That kind of worries me." ... Full story

ON THE AIR Kerry Haynie, associate professor or political science at Duke, joins a conversation today on North Carolina Public Radio's "The State of Things" about the John Edwards campaign and the questions it is raising about poverty. ... Details/listen