January 2010 – Page 3

B. "Balu" Balasubrahmaniyan, adjunct instructor of music, spoke on Carnatic music during a lecture demonstration Dec. 23 at the Madras Music Academy in Chennai, India. Balasubramanian discussed the musical piece, Gopalakrishna Bharati's Nandanar Charithiram - its tunes, story and the compositions. It was first published in 1861 by a French collector. In 1932, M.S. Ramaswamy brought it out with tunes. There are a number of notations found for the songs. A.M. Chinnasamy Mudaliar published it with notations for 42 songs. Of them, 17 are original. Balasubramanian was featured in the Jan. 8 edition of The Hindu in an article titled "On the…

Dana Royer, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences, was quoted in a Dec. 30, 2009 issue of Nature News in an article titled "Soils give clean look at past carbon dioxide." According to the article, scientists believe atmospheric carbon dioxide levels may have been lower in warm eras of the Earth's distant past than once believed. The finding raises concern that carbon dioxide levels from fossil fuel burning may, in the near future, be closer to those associated with ancient hothouse climates. More immediately, the work brings one line of palaeoclimate evidence — that deduced from ancient soils —…

The Institute for Human Centered Design in Boston, Mass. included Wesleyan's Memorial Chapel, Zelnick Pavilion, Patricelli '92 Theater complex in their Universal Design Case Studies collection. The Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD) is an international educational non-profit organization committed to advancing the role of design in expanding opportunity and enhancing experience for people of all ages and abilities. The institute recognized how Wesleyan rejuvenated its historic core campus by providing new centers for community and student life. The total cost of the project was $23 million and it was completed in 2006. Wesleyan's design contractor, Robert Olson + Associates,…

Oil paintings by Tula Telfair, professor of art, will be on display at the Florence Griswold Museum April 24 through June 27. Telfair's exhibit is titled "Landscapes in Counterpoint." The Griswold Museum is located at 96 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, Conn. The exhibition pairs nine new monumental paintings by the artist with her selection of 19th and early 20th-century paintings from the museum's collection. Telfair's choices, which include works by Thomas Cole and Frederic E. Church, establish the visual foundation for, as well as a counterpoint to, her own large-scale landscapes-paintings that are informed by both tradition and imagination.…

The 9th annual Independent Music Awards nominations were recently announced and include Brandon Patton ’95, a former music major at Wesleyan. Patton was nominated for Best Story Song of 2009 for “Mixed-Up Modern Family,” a humorous and pithy account of the shocking sex lives of his parents and grandparents. Patton has been busy promoting his new solo album, Underhill Downs (Merlin Pool Music). His song “Ashes and Stains” was chosen for NPR’s song of the day in September 2009. Patton also plays bass for MC Frontalot, with fellow alumni Gaby Alter ’97 and Damian Hess ’96.

The Green Street Arts Center celebrates its fifth-year anniversary with an auction, entertainment and world cuisine. During Green Street's "A Feast for the Senses," participants will enjoy live performances, international foods, scrumptious desserts and a silent auction and raffle on 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 18. An online auction runs from Jan. 15 to Feb. 15. "'A Feast for the Senses' promises to showcase Green Street's unique kaleidoscope of offerings with live performances and interactive salsa workshops (bring your dancing shoes), while enjoying a delicious meal," says Jessica Carso, GSAC managing director. "Wonderful items and experiences are arriving for our silent…

The Green Street Arts Center received an award for $5,000 from Bank of America on Jan. 4. The one-year grant will fund Green Street's Afterschool Program.

John Bonin, the Chester D. Hubbard Professor of Economics and Social Science, tutor in the College of Social Studies, is the author of two book reviews: Malcolm Cook's Banking in Southeast Asia: The Region’s Decisive Decade, published in Pacific Affairs, Vol. 83, No. 3 in fall 2009, pp. 555 – 557; and Janos Kornai's From Socialism to Capitalism: Eight Essays, published in The Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. XLVII, No. 3 in September 2009, pp. 853 – 856. The latter is the main journal for such reviews in the profession and is published by the American Economic Association.