November/December 2000

Features

COVER STORY

Photos to (Almost) Die For

Sharks "the size of min-vans," seldom-seen species and an epic journey beneath the ice of Antarctica are part of the hazardous, breathtaking work of naturalist/photographer Norbert Wu. As he prepares what experts say will be a revolutionary underwater documentary, this Cousteau protege is influencing the way we see the sea.

What Are the Costs?

The practice of implanting borrowed eggs into infertile women has produced thousands of dreams come true for childless families. But wealthy parents-to-be have complicated matters by seeking out trophy candidates and paying them huge sums. Ethicists and practitioners alike are quetsioning whether the price of eggs has gone too high.

Loud and Clear

Frequently critcized for his activist approach, FCC chairman William Kennard wants to ensure that the communications revolution doesn't speed past poorer Americans. He has signaled a willingness to take on powerful corporate and government forces, but will they listen?

In a Class by Themselves

They never had prom dates, never missed the bus, didn't eat cafeteria food. They didn't even get diplomas. But these home-schooled students learned enough about themselves and the world to move to the top of Stanford's applicant pile.

True to his Word

One hundred years after his birth and more than 30 years after his death, Yvor Winters is remembered for his poetic passion, his knee-buckling teaching tactics and an impressive roster of literary progeny. A survey of the career of a man as enigmatic as he was influential.

Columns and Departments

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

My Stanford Education

Starting a new job…

ON THE JOB

Pumping Up the Kenyan Economy

With Kenya entrepreneur Martin Fisher

BRIGHT IDEAS

An Unseen Advantage

If this company has its way, seeing the future won't be so hard

STUDENT VOICE

Taking the Write Path

A would-be doctor changes prescriptions

AN EXAMINED LIFE

The Rock of the Alumni Association

Longtime SAA president Bill Stone retires

END NOTES

All Together Now

Who could predict the outcome of a matchup like this?

Farm Report

Digest

Ageless Wonder

What Simon says

A Misty, Golden Moment

A misty glow

An Honorable Thing to Do

An overdue reunion

FOLLOW-UP

High Court Will Take a Swing

Casey Martin isn't out of the woods yet

News

EXECUTIVE DECISIONS

Off-Course Housing Site Solves Hole Problem

Housing plan won't include golf course

SLEEP RESEARCH

One Peptide Short of Sweet Sleep

Treatments ahead for narcolepsy

VISITORS

Reading to Inspire Better Writing

Welcoming Maxine Hong Kingston

EDUCATION

Keyboards Vs. Creativity

Crayons vs. keyboards

GRADUATE STUDIES

Simplify, Then Simplify Again

Writing for non-specialists

LITERATURE

Novel Reading and Reimagining

Reappraising the novel

RESEARCH

Lab Work for Humanists

New lab for fuzzies

ATHLETICS

How to Level the Playing Field

Challenging NCAA rules

AGING RESEARCH

New Conversations About Old Age

Educating policymakers

MLA PROGRAM

In Her Own Artistic Words

A master's for busy professionals

MEDICINE

Mind If I Take Your Cyber Pulse?

Training physicians with a joystick

FINANCES

What? I Have to Pay Taxes?

Teaching students to balance checkbooks

Sports

FIELD HOCKEY

Fit and Fast on a Billiard-Table Field

Women hone a wicked passing game

BASKETBALL

New Kid on the Block

A star about to appear?

VOLLEYBALL

Cheering for Their Student-Athletes

Faculty suit up for a day

Shelf Life

AUTHOR, AUTHOR

Warming to the Task

From Russia's avant-garde, with love

EXCERPT

Street Smarts in Prague

Coming of age at Stanford-in-Germany

Class Notes

Profiles

TIME CAPSULE

Berkeley Bombs

Cal drops a bomb

SPOTLIGHT: ROBERT JOHN RUSSELL, '68

God, and the Details

Bob Russell, science-minded theologian

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO . . . CHARLES GOODAN, '96

A Tree Branches Out

Infamous Tree

Farewells

REMEMBERING H. DONALD WINBIGLER

A Guiding Light Goes Out