PSU Magazine Winter 2006

addiLional investment. The account is now valued al more than $160,000. SLudents taking the Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management class learn and apply principles of securiLy analysis and portfolio management, with an earnings goal that meets or exceeds LhaL of the S&P 500 lndex-wiLhout exceeding a market level of risk. Though the rules for the D.A. Davidson investment program are slightly different, Lhe students' approach will be the same: spreading investments over a varieLy of seCLors, bul wiLh Lhe added incentive that the University splits profits above five per– cent wiLh D.A. Davidson, funds LhaL will likely support scholarships for future business studenls. Portland Stale is one of 20 universities panici– pating in the Davidson Student Invest– ment program. For more information on the PSU student investmenL portfo– lio, visil www.psuportfolio.pd.x.edu . Google funds open source development Google, in its first academic donation for open source software development, is funding a new partnership between Portland Slate and Oregon State UniversiLy The universities will use the $350,000 grant to encourage computer program developmenl thaL generally gives users the rights Lo use, copy, modify, and redistribute original software. Experts who support the open source concept believe Lhat by allowing anyone Lo modify a program's source code, the software evolves and gets better. Today's popular Linux operating system was developed this way and is now considered an open source alter– native to Windows. PSU and OSU will develop acade– mic curricula and provide computing infrastructure to open source projects worldwide. The initiative is also expected Lo benefit Oregon's growing open Lechnology industry, venture cap– ital firms, and business incubators. Googles investment builds upon open source work already taking place at Ponland State, including research and course offerings by faculty such as computer scientist Bart Massey; pro– grams like the Portland State Aero– space SocieLys open hardware/software amateur rocket; basic infrastructure like Web systems, computer help sys– tems, and the University's email, which all operate in an open source environ– ment; and the University's Portland Business Accelerator, home to open source companies like Compiere. Open source software is among the fastest-growing technology sectors. lBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Intel have developed their own open source labs in Oregon. Students produce 2006 calendar on Nepal landscapes that appear to be at the top of the world, sacred but remote cities bustling with pilgrims, and children-lots of children-grace the pages of the 2006 Journey to High Asia wall calendar. The calendar features the work of photographers from around the world and student-written stories explaining the region's culture and geography. Students creaLed the calendar in a Senior Capstone class-a course that brings together students from dif– ferent disciplines Lo serve a community partner, in this case the nonprofit Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies. Barbara Brower, geography profes– sor, served as ediLor. A small but dedicated contingent of studems con– tinued working on the project even after completion of the 20-week course to ensure that the calendar was completed on time. A Senior Capstone class in 2004 first developed Lhe concepl and design for the Journey to High Asia calendar series. This year's calendar is available for $14 in the PSU Bookstore, at the Patagonia store in Portland, and Lhrough the PSU Geography Depanment. Sales from the calendar provide support for the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies, which works to educate and inspire appreciation for the High Asia region. WINTER 2006 PSU MAGAZINE 3