USD Magazine, Fall 1995

Universal Problems USD physics professors Gerald Estberg and Daniel Sheehan are the first to admit that tackling a problem like the formation of our solar system is like putting together a very big puzzle: You have to take it one piece at a time. Although their current work represents a small piece of the puzzle, it may be that rare piece that makes the big picture much clearer. Estberg and Sheehan have developed a new model that may explain the spacing between the planets in our solar system. That in itself will help to complete the puzzle of how our solar system was formed, but the two physicists are taking their research one step further, arguing that their model may apply to other solar systems throughout the universe. "It's believed that solar systems form when clouds of gas and dust in space collapse," Sheehan says. "As the cloud collapses, it spins faster and faster, and in our model forms jets of gas that orbit around the center. Our model predicts that material forces itself into areas between the jets, effectively creating the means for planets to form." There are two important aspects to the model Estberg and Sheehan developed. First, their calculations indicate that no matter what the size of the star around which the planetary sys– tem form~, the planets will line up in about the same way. That doesn't mean there's another Earth out there, or even another planet with life similar to ours, but it does mean the possibility of planets somewhat like our own. "There are peculiarities that come into play in each solar system, but in a universe this large, our model would predict that other solar systems can develop similarly to the way ours did," Sheehan explains. "So there might be planets in a habitable zone. For example, there's some likelihood of finding a planet that can support liquid water." The second important part of the puzzle piece is that, unlike many other theories, the model Estberg and Sheehan predict is testable. The support for their model could come in three modes: observation of other planetary systems, the development of a fluid system that will mimic the actions of the dust cloud in space, or computer simulations. The evidence, however, will take some time to collect. "The model can be tested observationally by building a tank on a rotating platform and using water to observe how random vortices sort themselves out," Estberg says. "But we still have to overcome some of the technical difficulties in building and imaging the model." "High resolution infrared telescopes could, within the next 20 years or so, provide us with the resolution to see these zonal jets in other solar systems," Sheehan adds. "If we can observe enough solar systems in various stages of development, we can see if our model agrees with what we observe." The solution to such a complex problem began when Sheehan and Estberg sat down to work out a method that would describe

ties in resolving disputes, bringing opposing sides together for discussion and, ideally, resolution of differences. "I wanted to learn something that would be valuable for businesspeople." Lampe met with success, as the paper he co-authored with fellow USD business professor Seth Ellis, "Resolving Small Business Disputes Through Mediation," was recently accepted for publication by the Journal of Small Business Strategy. Since there wasn't much data to fall back on, Lampe and Ellis set about performing their own research. Students from Ellis' marketing research class put together a survey for a local non– profit group called Dispute Resolution Forum, which needed information on the attitudes of small-business owners toward mediation. The results benefited that group as well as the pro– fessors, who received needed data to support their paper. "This project fulfilled three of the goals we strive for at USD: teaching, research and community service," says Lampe, who also researched mediation in other difficult arenas, such as child custody and divorce, in order to gain insight into the potential for success in the small business arena. The research also fulfilled Lampe's desire to continue to expand awareness of mediation. As a business professor with a law degree, Lampe became interested in mediation early in his career because, he says, it's an alternative to litigation that often costs less and leaves both sides feeling better about each other. His own training and work as a mediator cemented his belief in the process. Others are now coming around to the same belief. Lampe was a catalyst for the inclusion of a chapter on alternative dis– pute resolution - a phrase that encompasses arbitration and negotiation as well as mediation - in the business law text– book "The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business." The chapter was the first of its kind in a business text. Lampe admits that mediation doesn't work in every case, but found in his research that it often reduces hostility and salvages relationships that otherwise would be lost. Although mediation has become more popular because of the spiraling costs of the legal system, Lampe believes it also satisfies peo– ple's view of the right way to act. "With new ideas about empowering people and resolving conflicts, mediation has a natural place," Lampe says. "People are asking themselves, 'What is the ethical way to solve dis– putes?' Mediation holds that possibility."

U S D

M A G A Z