Aumack won that title hands down. The group total was $61,000. In addition, the Los Gatan has raised $30,000 through the Team in Training program over the past three years. Aumack completed a marathon, a triathlon and an adventure race as part of Team in Training, an endurance training program.

She called the marathon the most difficult of the three races. Aumack, a junior at Santa Clara University, said the society will definitely continue to be a factor in her life. "You can see direct results of your fundraising—new equipment at the hospital and treatment for those unable otherwise to afford it."

She has no personal connection to the diseases but has a broad network of family and friends who support her—which accounts for her successes. Aumack joined Team in Training when she was a senior at Mitty High School. The field hockey season was over and she was looking for athletic challenges that would benefit the community.

This year the money raised for the society was in honor of San Jose youngster Kandace Kim, 11. Her leukemia has been in remission for two years, but she needs to continue treatment. Leukemia is the leading killer from disease of those under age 20, and every day 300 people learn they have blood cancer.

JUNIOR LEAGUE BOARD: Kristie Driscoll and Annette Finsterbusch are board members of the San Jose Junior League for the coming year. Driscoll is a sustaining adviser; Finsterbusch a member at large. Driscoll has been active in the organization for 12 years, has served on the executive committee as well as the board.

She volunteers at St. Francis High School and St. Mary's and lives in Monte Sereno with her husband, Vince, and three daughters—Vanessa, Kara and Erika.

Finsterbusch was recently named GOLD (Graduate of the Last Decade) by SJSU. She holds an MBA in business from that school and is a founding member of the steering committee for the Exceptional Women Executives of SJSU. She works for Applied Materials in mergers and acquisitions.

In addition, Finsterbusch is on the board of the Heritage Grove Homeowners Association. She has served on various committees of the Junior League for the past four years. She lives in Los Gatos with husband Werner and son Christopher.

The league's biennial fashion show, one of its biggest fundraisers, will be held Sept. 16 and 17 at the San Jose Fairmont. The contact is 408.264.3402 for tickets.

SOLO SHOW: Kari Byron's first solo show, "Stray Doll," is on display at Anno Domini Gallery at 150 S. Montgomery St., San Jose, through Sept. 23. Some 20 sculptures, an installation and several paintings are on view. For a sampling, the gallery is at www.galleryAD.com.

Byron, a LGHS grad, traveled solo with only a backpack and little money through Egypt and Southeast Asia for more than a year a few years back, so she's experienced firsthand Third World conditions. As a result, her work shows her compassion for the downtrodden.

"We live in a strange and scary world, and my artwork is a way for me to quarantine the world into a more manageable space," she says.

Byron is one of the talents on the TV show Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel. A new series starts in late September. Mythbusters tackles urban legends and tests them. The crew is filmed as they build experiments using special effects and scientific methods.

Byron's role on the show is part host, part builder. She is the daughter of Sue and Dennis Byron.

ROBOTIC INTERFACE: Wendy Chisholm, assistant professor of digital media at the University of New Orleans, brought a team of students and their exhibit of robotics art to the Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence Conference in San Jose this summer.

Chisholm and Dr. Sheila Tejada, who teaches a robotics course at the university, teamed up to produce entries to the conference. Their students combined virtual reality, the web and a Sony Aibo dog to create a three-dimensional installation where people and robots interact.

This interaction occurs both in real life and on the Internet. The team and its installation then headed to the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena for more demonstrations. Back in New Orleans their work will be part of an exhibit at the Ogden Museum of the South's White Linen Night.

The Ogden is an affiliate of the Smithsonian. Chisholm is the daughter of Jo Piazza Chisholm, who lives in the Los Gatos hills.

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