WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley today announced that Tyler John Husar of Muscatine has been selected to attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.  Husar is a student at Muscatine High School, and is the son of Cindy L. Husar.

"The U.S. service academies offer students an excellent education and an opportunity to serve their country at the highest level.  I'm proud that another young Iowan is meeting the challenge at one of these great institutions," Grassley said.  "The Naval Academy accepts only the best and brightest, and Tyler will represent Iowa well on campus."

Each year, Grassley nominates young Iowans for the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, NY, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point, NY.  Information on the application process is available on Grassley's website at http://grassley.senate.gov/info/academy_nominations.cfm.  Applications for the 2012 school year are due on October 1, 2011.

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Rock Island, Ill.-Augustana's Department of Theatre Arts will meld tradition with the avant-garde in its upcoming performances of Metamorphoses, a contemporary retelling of Ovid's classic tales written by American playwright Mary Zimmerman. Performances will run Jan. 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 30 at 1:30 p.m., Feb. 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 6 at 1:30 p.m. in Potter Theatre, located in Bergendoff Hall of Fine Arts (3701 - 7th Ave.).

Metamorphoses made its debut in Chicago in 1998 with the famous Lookingglass Theatre Company.  Rather than telling one story, the play is divided into short segments, each of which portrays a different classic Greek myth. Because of the segmented structure, the actors play multiple roles throughout the show.

One of the play's most striking features is the scenery it requires. The separate vignettes all focus on human change, which is illustrated symbolically through frequent references to water. To convey this central theme, the majority of the stage is occupied by a large reflecting pool, which serves as everything from a wash basin to the River Styx during the production.

In addition to the pool, the myths are mostly conveyed through "ensemble movement" rather than with physical props. Director Saffron Henke explains, "[With ensemble movement,] instead of putting an actual tree onstage, the actors themselves create a tree." Although this technique is difficult, Henke says the students have risen to the challenge. "The cast has come a long way in terms of working together and creating an ensemble. They have been very willing to try new things."

Henke was asked to direct Metamorphoses after visiting Augustana to conduct a short workshop on movement for actors. An accomplished director, educator and performer, Henke currently lives in Iowa City. She has performed in more than 60 professional plays around the world and in television and film. Her directing credits include shows with the Sacramento Theatre Company, the University of Southern California and the Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble.

Tickets for Metamorphoses are available at $11 for the general public and $9 for senior citizens and full-time students. Tickets may be purchased online at www.augustana.edu/tickets, by calling the ticket office at (309) 794-7306 or at the door. This show is appropriate for older youth and adults.

Metamorphoses is the second production of Augustana's 2010-11 theatre season, "Reflections." At the end of April and beginning of May, the Department of Theatre Arts will perform Thornton Wilder's classic, Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town.

For more information, contact Andrew Walter at clydeandrewwalter@augustana.edu or (309) 794-7833.

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers more than 70 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty members and has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world. 

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"This year, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day takes on a significant meaning because of the tragic events in Tucson. Dr. King gave his life for public service; the victims in Tucson - friends, colleagues and constituents - did too. And as our nation heals from the horrible events of January 8th, I hope we all recommit ourselves to that idea of service - of helping each other - not just our friends and family, but our neighbors as well. And not just here in Iowa, but across the country and the planet."

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A group of "Lights ON for Learning" students are focusing on engineering for the next 8 Saturday mornings. According to the Lights On site coordinator at John Deere Middle, Chad Potter, 40 students will be attending classes from 8 am until noon every Saturday until February 26th.

Potter says the students will focus on the process of engineering, "The students will weigh out design options and make choices based on the available materials and their own imagination.  They are going to build, test, collect data, and refine.  Many of our students start the program with no understanding of how math and science are used to make lives better and more comfortable."

According to Potter the program offers students an opportunity to experience different aspects of the field of engineering through hands-on problem solving activities. Potter says the students will be producing a mousetrap powered race car that will travel twenty five meters.  The students will also be creating a technical drawing and a detailed report explaining how it works. The students must also be able to explain how their car works in front of a multi-judge panel.

Bruce Boardman, a retired John Deere engineer and volunteer for the program, says working with the young students is as satisfying as seeing a product he helped design succeed in the marketplace.

Boardman says what the kids will learn each week is a life experience that goes well beyond multiple choice and true/false questions.  "While the concept of a mousetrap powered car appears, on the surface, to be simple, it is not.  The students need to balance several conflicting design and material considerations.  It is an exercise in merging both the art and science of mechanical devices to achieve the best overall performance within a demanding set of rules and criterion for success.  It is an exercise where there is no one correct answer - rather there are several solutions from which they must choose."
Caroline Anthony is a former John Deere student who participated in the program last year and was a part of a national winning team.  Anthony says science was not her favorite subject before, but now it is.  "I think that it would be a good idea for anybody to participate in Saturday Science even if they don't like science because it's fun and it's a great way to meet the most interesting people. We met several amazing engineers who came and helped us with anything that we had trouble with. All of them made it a great experience".

The John Deere Middle Engineering Program is made possible through two grants and the generous donation of time by Deere and Company engineers.  John Deere Middle is in year three of a five year 21st Century Lights on for Learning federal grant.  This grant funds academic and enrichment programming beyond regular school hours at the school and covers a substantial part of the Saturday Science program.  Deere and Company also provides funds making travel, team shirts, and morning breakfast possible.  The volunteer engineers work with teams of students each Saturday.  The program would not exist without their help.