The Wesleyan Connection

Graduate student Weiwei Pan spoke on "Categorified Bundles and Classifying Spaces" at the 2008 Eastern Sectional Meeting of the American Mathematical Society held Oct. 11-12 at Wesleyan. (Photos by Olivia Bartlett)

During a session on algebraic topology, graduate student Weiwei Pan spoke to dozens of mathematical scholars from around the world on “Categorified Bundles and Classifying Spaces.”

Pan was one of 220 speakers who presented math-related talks during the 2008 Eastern Sectional Meeting of the American Mathematical Society held Oct. 11-12 at Wesleyan. More than 300 participants registered.

“One of the best things about being a mathematician is that there are people all over the world who share your interests, and that mathematics (more…)

Wesleyan's Complex Quantum Dynamics and Mesoscopic Phenomena Group is hosting the annual New England Mesoscopic Systems Symposium Oct. 26. Group members include front, from left, James Aisenberg '09, Rangga Budoyo (now at the University of Maryland), Gim Seng Ng '08 (now at Harvard University), Mei Zheng '10, graduate student Katrina Smith-Mannschott and Carl West '11, and back, from left, graduate student Joshua Bodyfelt and Tsampikos Kottos, assistant professor of physics.

Physicists, predominately from New England and Europe, will convene Oct. 26 at Wesleyan to discuss topics related to mesoscopic systems. The one-day event, coordinated by the Physics Department’s Complex Quantum Dynamics and Mesoscopic Phenomena Group, will be the first-ever New England Mesoscopic Systems Symposium.

The mesoscopic scale lies between microscopic and macroscopic, which is visible to the human eye.

(more…)

Seiji Naito, adjunct associate professor of Asian languages and literatures emeritus, died in Zama City, Japan. He was 66 years old.

Naito was trained as a linguist. He earned a bachelor of arts in education from Yokohama National University and a Ph.D in linguistics from Harvard University. He held positions at the University of Hawaii, Boston University, and Tokyo Junshin Women’s College before joining the Wesleyan faculty as adjunct assistant professor in 1993. In 1999 he was promoted to adjunct associate professor, and he left Wesleyan in 2003. (more…)

The Environmental Studies Program sponsored the Fifth Annual Robert Schumann Environmental Studies Symposium "Where on Earth Are We Going" Oct. 18 in Exley Science Center.

(more…)

Donna Steinback, department assistant/customer service assistant in Physical Plant, explained the residential hall no-no's to students during New Student Orientation.

Q: Donna, how long have you worked at Wesleyan as the department assistant/customer service assistant for Physical Plant?

A: It’s been eight years.

Q: The extension X3400 is one most people on campus are familiar with.

A: This is my number, the direct number for all customer service needs.

Q: Have you had any odd-ball calls?

A: I have to say the funniest call I received was a request asking that we send someone to clean a refrigerator out because she had rotten chicken that was smelling. (more…)

An exhibit titled "The Pearl of the Snowlands: Buddhist Prints from the Derge Parkhang" is on display at the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies Gallery through Dec. 7. Founded in 1729 by Denba Tserenone, the Derge Parkhang is of the foremost cultural, social, religious, and historical institutions in Tibet.

(more…)

Matt Connolly '09

Matt Connolly '09 is the author of several film reviews , published in Reverse Shot, a quarterly, independently published film journal. Last winter, Connolly sent writing samples to the Reverse Shot editors and he was offered a contributing writer position. Since, he has written reviews on the films Boy A, The Chronicles of Narnia: Price Caspian, Felon, The Incredible Hulk, Frozen River, and others online here.

Connolly also had the opportunity to attend press screenings for select films and have his reviews published the day a film is released.

“As film criticism is ultimately a field I want to pursue, its been a truly amazing experience,” he says. “I’ve even had the privilege of having my articles looked at by the editor Michael Koresky, who has offered wonderful advice on both writing and film.”

In addition, Connolly had the opportunity to intern with American Theatre Commuications Group this summer, where he wrote articles for American Theatre magazine on notable upcoming productions throughout the country for the September and October 2008 editions.

“Interning at American Theatre was a dream, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in arts journalism,” he says. “The magazine allowed me to interview playwrights, actors, directors and even makeup artists.”

Fall foliage at its peak on College Row Oct. 10.

(more…)

A service project undertaken by Wesleyan students for the Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary in Portland, Conn. has drawn the attention of journalists. A piece title “Bird-Watching Deck Built with Respect for Environment appeard in the Oct. 19 Sunday Hartford Courant: http://www.courant.com/features/hc-fancybirders.art0oct18,0,3286282.story . Another piece titled “Eye Candy: Bird-Watching in High Design” ran in the Oct Chronicle of Higher Education: Chronicle of Higher Education blog . The design and building of the structure, which was part of the Feet to the Fire project was detailed in the Connection: http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2008/09/23/students-create-innovative-structure-for-audubon-society/ .

Wesleyan was mentioned in an Oct. 15 issue of The Middletown Press for making “enormous strides in sustainability.” Wesleyan has established a climate action plan with a pledge for the campus to become carbon neutral by 2050. In the article, Bill Nelligan, the director of environmental health, safety and sustainability, stated that “Wesleyan has a strong commitment and the mechanisms in place to live up to those commitments.” The campus has implemented numerous initiatives, including a rideshare program, kitchen waste donation to the city composting program, and a solar panel donation to city schools.