USD Magazine, Fall 1995

programs in other Western nations. That research helped her understand how the Peace Corps fit into a broader picture of how nations after World War II tapped into people's desire to improve the world and make a difference in the post-Industrial Age. "We look back on those youthful attempts to change the world in the 1960s and think they were ours alone," says Hoffman, whose lifelong involvement in a number of activist projects was one catalyst for the book. "But the same social upheavals with the same consequences appeared in other coun– tries, and they came to terms with it in some of the same ways Americans did." Hoffman now faces the challenge of bringing all this new– found information into her book, which will be published by Harvard University Press. Although combining countless oral interviews and information from government and private docu– ments into a cohesive narrative seems like an overwhelming venture, it's also an exciting one because it propels Hoffman into a new area of interest in her specialty of diplomatic history. "The definition of diplomacy is expanding to look beyond offi– cial policies and see how nations interact on an unofficial level through organizations like the Peace Corps," she says. "The idea is to weave together the public and the private histories." Although her research took her around the world, Hoffman expects her book to say much about how the Peace Corps affects us within our own country. "A lot of what these organi– zations are about is nation building at home," she says. "I'd like the book to say something about our national character; who we are and why we do what we do." I Exploring an active volcano can be, at best, a daunting task. If that volcano happens to be located at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, it's close to impossible. At least it was until last year, when USD professor of marine science Anne Sturz and an international consortium of geolo– gists, chemists and oceanographers - a veritable who's who of marine science - became the first to successfully drill into and _----:==-- -=---=~=;;=====~

from around the world were looking into other geological aspects of underwater volcanoes, such as how they might point to ore, how they affect heat flow and earthquakes on the ocean floor, and basic questions about how the sites are formed. The trip was part of an ongoing worldwide effort to explore the oceans that was begun in the 1960s. Known as the Ocean Drilling Program, the internationally funded project has sup– ported more than 160 journeys - called "legs" - each with a different objective. Sturz worked on one leg, the 128th, in 1989. But when the chance came to work on Leg 158 last year, she was understandably excited. "Although there had been some success in drilling into vol– canically active sites in the Pacific Ocean, this was the first successful attempt to do so in the Atlantic," she says. "At first I didn't even apply, because I knew all the biggest names would want to go. But when this position was left open, I applied and got it." Each leg of the project produces two volumes of analyses and results, one discussing the research aboard the ship and another in which scientists discuss the results of their post-trip research. Sturz, along with graduate student Mark Burke, has one year to complete the research on the rocks and water extracted from the site and contribute the results to the Ocean Drilling Program for publication. Burke, who also is working with Sturz on a project to examine contaminants in San Diego Bay, believes the effects of the research are far-reaching. "We make basic assumptions about what's happening in the area around these hydrothermal vents, but this research will help us understand the system and how it works," he says. "We'll probably end up answering questions we've never even asked." Burke is not the only student who will be affected by Sturz's participation in the groundbreaking research. She plans to bring her experiences into a special topics course on hydrothermal vents and into her other undergraduate classes. "Bringing my sea experience into class gives students a real view of what a marine scientist does," she says. "A project like this shows them the good and bad parts of this work, and helps them decide if it's what they want to do. It also lets them know that if I can do it, they can do it too." Settling Differences In the business world, the key to success is often as simple as finding a niche and filling it. In business research, Professor Marc Lampe found, the same principle applies. Lampe, who teaches business ethics at USD, has long held the belief that businesses and individuals often can benefit from mediation, an informal process of resolving disputes that keeps the opposing sides out of court. But when he set out to research how mediation might benefit small businesses, Lampe found a dearth of data. Like any good businessman, he saw a need and set about fulfilling it. "There was a lot of research on small businesses and a lot of research on mediation, but nothing that put the two together," says Lampe, who notes that mediators act as neutral third par-

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examine an active volcano at the Mid– Atlantic Ridge, a geological formation on the ocean floor. The volcano, technically known as a hydrothermal mound or vent, is located in the middle of the ocean, halfway between North America and Europe. And for two months beginning last September, so was Anne Sturz. "I was aboard the ship as a geo– chemist, which means my task was to examine the water and rock in the area and see what influence the hydrothermal vents have on the chemical composition of sea water," Sturz says. "Ultimately it's an examination of the physical and chem– ical parameters of the ocean." Although Sturz had her work cut out for her - working in the lab of the 500-foot ship to analyze the rock as soon as it was recovered - she was only one of 26 shipboard scientists. Scientists

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