Olivia DrakeAugust 3, 20103min
On July 11, Craig Malamut ’12 photographed a pacific solar eclipse 2,500 miles west of South America. As a Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium Summer Fellow, summer exchange student, Malamut had the opportunity to travel to Easter Island with a group from Williams College. The last time an eclipse occurred over the island was in 591 A.D. The expedition was led by Jay Pasachoff, the Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy at Williams College and chair of the International Astronomical Union's Working Group on Eclipses. This was Pasachoff's 51st solar eclipse study; it was Malamut’s first. “Before getting this position, I was…

Olivia DrakeAugust 3, 20101min
Wesleyan has announced the following promotions of faculty, effective July 1, 2010: Promotion with Tenure During the academic year, the Wesleyan Board of Trustees maintains an ongoing process of tenure case consideration. During its most recent review, the Board awarded tenure to one faculty member effective July 1, 2010. Michael Singer, associate professor of biology, was appointed assistant professor at Wesleyan in 2004. Previously he was postdoctoral fellow at the University of Arizona’s Center for Insect Science, in Tucson. Singer’s research examines the evolutionary ecology of tri-trophic interactions between plants, herbivores and carnivores. In considering (more…)

Olivia DrakeAugust 3, 20102min
Students of all ages can benefit from liberal arts-based educational opportunities outside of a formal degree-granting program through the new Wesleyan Institute for Lifelong Learning (WILL). WILL classes are taken  for interest, not for credit. Classes will be small with an informal atmosphere. “Everyone in the room--students and teacher--will be engaged in their subject out of pure curiosity,” says Karl Scheibe, director of the Susan B. and William K. Wasch Center for Retired Faculty. “The learning experience is likely to be more intensive than extensive.” Scheibe, who is overseeing the new institute, says the courses are designed to appeal to…

Olivia DrakeAugust 3, 20103min
When Wesleyan student-athlete Adrian “A.J.” Chan ’11 isn’t studying for an economics exam or making a tackle on the football field, he’s busy training Olympic athletes, college and high school students, NFL Superbowl Champions and NBA and NCAA team members. He’s also working with underprivileged youth who use sports as a vehicle for life lessons. Chan, who co-manages the Oakland, Calif.-based gym, Ant’s Mind and Body, prepares athletes by training the body, mind and soul as one. His business, which celebrates its 1-year-anniversary this month, was recently featured in The San Francisco Chronicle. “The training system is a combination of…

David PesciAugust 3, 20101min
Wesleyan’s architecture design class and its Research-Design-Build Studio have been recognized by the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) 2010 Small Projects Practitioners Awards. They were recognized for the observation platform “SplitFrame” they created for the Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary in Portland, Conn., in 2008. The studio and class are overseen by Elijah Huge, assistant professor of art, assistant professor of environmental studies. Last year the class and studio created the Sukkah on campus as one of their projects.

Olivia DrakeAugust 3, 20101min
Charles Sanislow, assistant professor of psychology, participated in a National Institute of Mental Health meeting in Bethesda, Maryland on July 13-14 for the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project. RDoC aims to create new diagnostic criteria for researching mental disorders, and this meeting addressed the role of working memory in this effort.  Sanislow is a member of the RDoC steering committee and co-authored a commentary describing the RDoC in the July issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, 167, pp. 748-751.

Olivia DrakeAugust 3, 20101min
Three members of Wesleyan’s Campus Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT) assisted the City of Middletown in manning a temporary cooling station June 9. Stacy Baldwin, construction project coordinator in Physical Plant – Facilities; Cheryl-Ann Hagner, director of the University Events and Scheduling Office; and Brian Nangle, area coordinator in Residential Life, volunteered four hours each at the public station at Middletown High School. Their task was to register, monitor and assist personnel, ensuring their comfort during the heat wave. Formed in September 2009, Wesleyan’s C-CERT was trained to assist first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims, and organize volunteers at…

Olivia DrakeAugust 3, 20102min
The student-run group, Wesleyan Clinic Escorts, is the recipient of the annual Catherine Roraback Award, given by NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut. The Catherine Roraback Awards is presented to individuals or organizations that have demonstrated leadership, courage and activism in the struggle to protect privacy rights, the legal right to obtain an abortion and access to reproductive health for all women. Students involved in the clinic escort travel to the Summit Women’s Center in Bridgeport, Conn. on Tuesday and Friday mornings during the academic year. The center performs abortions on these days. According to the Wesleyan Clinic Escorts Facebook site, the group…

Olivia DrakeAugust 3, 20102min
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund sponsored a two-day workshop on solar energy generation and wind energy generation for Connecticut teachers July 15-16 in Usdan University Center. Wesleyan’s Project to Increase the Mastery of Mathematics and Science (PIMMS) taught the workshops. The teachers participated in a number of activities appropriate for use with middle and high school-level students. The solar energy workshop included lessons on measuring solar angles, solar radiation, convection heating, building a solar house and solar cooker and photovoltaics. The wind energy workshop included lessons on hurricane winds, measuring wind speeds, wind and windmill generation, blade design, generator and…