Olivia Drake(more…)
Zin Lin '12 received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for his research on PT-symmetric systems performed while a student at Wesleyan. Lin's advisor was Tsampikos Kottos, the Douglas J. and Midge Bowen Bennet Associate Professor of Physics. Lin was selected for his "outstanding abilities and accomplishments, as well [his] potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the U.S. science and engineering enterprise. He's currently studying quantum nonlinear photonics as a second-year graduate student at Harvard University. As a fellow, Lin will receive a $32,000 stipend for 2014-15. Fellows are expected to make satisfactory academic progress towards completion of…
Several Wesleyan students enjoyed lunch outdoors for the first time this spring on April 3. Temperatures reached 56 degrees. (Photos by Olivia Drake) (more…)
Lauren RubensteinIn this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we speak with Mike Robinson, assistant professor of psychology, assistant professor of neuroscience and behavior, who joined the faculty in January. Q: Welcome to Wesleyan, Professor Robinson! Please fill us in on your life up to now. A: I was born and grew up in France, in the west suburbs of Paris, but my parents are both British, so that makes me bi-national and bilingual. I went to high school in France and decided to go to university to study neuroscience at the University of Sussex in the U.K. Then I went to…
In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we speak with Joaquin Benares ’15, who recently was awarded a Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship Seed Grant for his project, Boundless Updated Knowledge Offline (BUKO). BUKO uses an electronic bookshelf (Raspberry Pi powered server) to bring video lectures, e-textbooks and other educational tools to Philippine public schools to supplement their (sometimes nonexistent) libraries, teaching aids and contact time with teachers. Q: Where did you grow up and how did you end up coming to Wesleyan? A: I was born and raised in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. I attended high school…
The Office of Human Resources reported the following new hires, advancements and transitions, and departures for March 2014. Newly hired Courtney Becher joined the Corporate Foundation and Government Grants Office as an assistant director on March 17. Edwin Flynn joined Physical Plant as a boiler tender in the Central Power Plant on March 10. Advancements and transitions Lisa Sacks became assistant director of curricular initiatives on March 1. Departures Rosanna Carabelas, administrative assistant of the Wesleyan Fund. Jonathan Connary, area coordinator in Residential Life.
Kate CarlisleIn recognition of Wesleyan’s commitment to equity and inclusion, A Better Chance Foundation will present President Michael Roth with its 2014 Benjamin E. Mays Award. Named for the famed civil rights pioneer, the Mays award is presented annually to a leader in education who individually and with their institution demonstrate a clear commitment to diversifying higher education. "I'm deeply honored to be recognized by A Better Chance,” Roth said. “The Wesleyan community has been enriched by the students who come to us through the foundation.” The foundation’s mission is to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color…
Kari Weil, University Professor of Letters, delivered a keynote address on “Animal Studies: The Ends of Empathy and Beginnings of Reading” at a "Why do Animal Studies?" conference April 3-4 at the University of Chicago. During the conference, scholars discussed "What is it that draws a multiplicity of voices into this conversation, and how can they productively engage with one another? Why has this field of inquiry gained such traction in recent decades? How is Animal Studies taking shape as a field that overlaps multiple discourses and disciplines, and what opportunities or difficulties arise as a result? How do different methodologies clarify or substantiate one another, fill knowledge…
Four staff from Information Technology Services and one student spoke at the NorthEast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP) Annual Conference held in Providence, R.I. on March 26. Karen Warren, director of user and technical services for Information Technology Services, led a poster session on "The Best thing to Ever Happen at Wesleyan: Justifying and Sustaining LyndaCampus." Warren explained the successes of Wesleyan's LyndaCampus implementation backed by usage data statistics, cost comparisons, and a description of the cross-departmental approach used to garner support campus-wide. The poster featured quotes and anecdotes from Wesleyan student users underscoring the benefits of the campus (versus a limited)…
Professor of Economics Richard Grossman gave a public lecture about his book, WRONG: Nine Economic Policy Disasters and What We Can Learn From Them, at the Center for Economic Studies/Institute for Economic Research at Munich University on April 7. He delivered the talk in German. More information about the Munich Seminars is here. The book was published in November 2013 by Oxford University Press. A video of the lecture is available here.