PSu Magazine Winter 2002

New training for energy industry executives Despite the collapse of Enron, Port– land has one of the highest per capita concentrations of energy employment in the country and is considered a national leader in the development of energy efficient programs. Recent news headlines point to the immense chal– lenges faced by those in the industry. Portland State's new program in Applied Energy Economics and Policy (AEE) plans to fulfill demands for qualified professionals to lead the industry. The AEE graduate certificate, one of the few offered at the graduate level in the United States, utilizes PSU's proximity to three major utilities, the Bonneville Power Admini Cration, the Northwest Power Planning Council, as well a numerous private and public companies integral to the generation, transmission, distribution, and market– ing of energy. The courses will make use of seasoned energy industry profes– sionals who can offer students both scientific knowledge and practical insights. The certificate program con i t of four, four-hour courses to be offered over four terms. Classes will typically be offered two evenings per week. For more information, visit the Web site www.aee.pdx.edu or call Patricia Koss at 503-725-3942. For the first time in 30 years, traffic is again flowing between Lincoln and Cramer halls. Fortunately, it is only Portland's new, quiet, slow moving streetcar. Until it was blocked off in 1972, Mill Street was open to traffic through the Park Blocks. The new streetcar travels west on Mill, stopping in the park, as it heads back to northwest Portland. Student to pay for school with Millionaire winnings Jessica Dietz, 22, a first-year MBA tu– dent at Portland State, was one of the hundreds of people who an wered the call of ABC's Who Wants to Be a Mil– lionaire when the show held open auditions in Portland during July. Dietz waited in line for eight hours to take the written test. Her score wa high enough to rate an on-camera interview and a photo session, after which she received the standard, "We'll call you." Sure enough, producers from Millionaire called in October and told Jessica t come to New York for a taping. Was she nervous? "Not really. I had to take my financial accounting midterm in New York. That was what was nerve-wracking." Jessica had her MBA clas mates on standby as the "Phone-a-Friend" Life– line, but it was not until the show aired on December 6 that they learned how she had faired. Dietz, an employee of Mt. Hood Beverage, threw a viewing party at her house (complete with a full keg of beer) to watch her match wits with Regis Philbin. It was the $64,000 question that tripped her up: "What month do the bulls run in Pamplona?" "I did a seme ter abroad in Spain as an undergrad, but it was in Seville," recalls Dietz. "I used my 50-50 lifeline to narrow the answers to 'April' or 'July.' I still had my Phone-a-Friend, but I like to gamb le, and I thought I hould save it for later. I picked April, which is my birthday month. It was July." Dietz walked away with $32,000, enough to cover the cost of her MBA as well as a month in Italy thi sum– mer to tudy international business. WINTER 2002 PSU MAGAZINE 3