Olivia DrakeJim Kamm, Bill Nelligan and Rose Pandolfo received Cardinal Achievement Awards in October for providing extraordinary support to their Wesleyan colleagues. Kamm is a desktop support specialist with Information Technology Services; Nelligan is director of environmental services for Physical Plant - Facilities; and Pandolfo is a staff accountant with the Office of Finance. All three staff members extended themselves above and beyond the expectations of their position to provide support in their respective areas of expertise with good will, good humor and limitless patience. This special honor comes with a $250 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. Award recipients…
Joop Varekamp, the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, professor of earth and environmental sciences, and Marty Gilmore, the George I. Seney Professor of Geology, professor and chair of professor of earth and environmental sciences, are the co-authors of two book chapters published in Copahue Volcano (Springer Publishers, September 2015) Copahue Volcano is part of Springer Publishers' "Active Volcanos of the World" series. Varekamp is the lead author on a chapter with Jim Zareski MA‘14 and Lauren Camfield MA’15. Gilmore and Tristan Kading MA’11 are co-authors with Varekamp on another chapter dealing with terrestrial environments as analogs for Mars. A third chapter,…
The 26th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium of the Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium (KNAC) was held at Williams College on Oct. 17. Five students presented results of their summer research: Julian Dann '17, Aylin Garcia Soto '18, and Girish Duvvuri '17 delivered oral presentations while Rachel Aronow '17 and Avi Stein '17 presented a poster. Several other students came along to enjoy the weekend, which featured a dinner and social event on Friday night, the seminar on Saturday and breakout sessions on such topics as Inclusive Astronomy and how/why to program in Python. More than 100 students and faculty from KNAC attended the event (pictured…
Tom Morgan, Foss Professor of Physics, recently attended the 68th Gaseous Electronics Conference of the American Physical Society in Honolulu, Hawaii and presented a poster dealing with the behavior of giant atoms with an electron far from the nucleus in phase space. Andrew Murphy '11 and Jace Haestad '11 contributed to the study. Phase space is a momentum-velocity space that provides a different perspective on atomic behavior. Looking at atoms from this viewpoint provides a mechanism to uncover new insight into their quantum nature. Morgan also took the opportunity to reconnect with a Japanese colleague, Professor Tomoyuki Murakami, at Seikei University, Tokyo,…
The entire Wesleyan community is invited to Homecoming/Family Weekend Nov. 6-8 to experience life at Wesleyan and reunite with friends and family. Events include campus tours, WESeminars, multiple art exhibitions, a Career Center open house and Summer Experience Showcase, a family swim, "Mass Incarceration: Feminist Responses" symposium, an Asian American Arts Festival, the annual Homecoming/Family Weekend Dinner, the 12th annual Schumann Symposium "Where on Earth Are We Going?," a Friends of the Wesleyan Library book sale, a president's reception honoring leadership donors and volunteers, a West African Drumming performance, an A Capella concert and much more. A special celebration honoring Wesleyan's recently-retired…
During the Society for Neuroscience's (SfN) annual meeting Oct. 17-21, Janice Naegele, professor of biology, professor of neuroscience and behavior, received the Louise Hansen Marshall Special Recognition Award. The Louise Hanson Marshall Special Recognition Award honors individuals who have significantly promoted the professional development of women in neuroscience through teaching, organizational leadership, public advocacy and more. Naegele shares the 2015 Louise Hansen Marshall award with Paul Greengard P'77, P'79, GP '08, the Vincent Astor Professor at The Rockefeller University in New York. Naegele began her career studying the characteristics of cortical neurons and more recently has performed pioneering studies of transplantation of inhibitory…
Several students are celebrating the fall season at Wesleyan's Long Lane Farm. Farm interns are still harvesting pumpkins, peppers, beets, tomatoes, fresh flowers, thyme and other herbs this October. The student-run organic farm is devoted to allowing students a place to experiment and learn about sustainable agriculture. Long Lane students also seek to foster good relationships with local farmers. On Oct. 17, the College of the Environment hosted its annual Pumpkin Fest at the farm. Participants received farm tours, free veggie burgers, craft opportunities, face paintings and live music performances. Pumpkins, along with other produce, were sold at the festival. View photos of Pumpkin…
For seven weeks last summer, James Forster '18 learned how to transform a female classmate into a bat and mold an older gentleman into a pointy-eared creature named “Zerbei.” As one of six selected students enrolled in a "Make-Up FX and Prosthetics Creation" course at Groton Studios in the United Kingdom, Forster learned ways to work behind the scenes as a creative, workshop-based prosthetics artist. From concept designing through sculpting, moulding, casting and finishing, the curriculum focused on producing industry-ready craftspeople. Forster, a potential English major with an interest in drawing and photo manipulation, got a taste for character creation while working…
Marine scientist and author Ellen Prager '84 came to the Exley Science Center on Oct. 8 to talk about her recent research and writing. Discussing her book Sex Drugs and Sea Slime: The Ocean's Oddest Creatures and Why They Matter, she entertained a crowd of Wesleyan students and faculty with stories from her work in the Galapagos and as researcher at the Aquarius undersea laboratory off Key Largo, Fla. Lately, Prager has ventured into the realm of children's fiction in order to spread awareness about the ocean's most pressing issues. Her most recent children's book, The Shark Whisperer, was published in May…
The Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life and Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a visit of former Japanese Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki on Oct. 13 in the Mansfield Center for East Asian Studies. Several Wesleyan faculty, students and visitors attended the program, "Walk in the U.S., Talk on Japan." Fujisaki served as the Ambassador from 2008-12. While at Wesleyan, Fujisaki met with various business and academic groups to talk about a number of issues facing Japan and its relationship with the U.S. His team made presentations on topics ranging from Abenomics to military policy, followed by a question-and-answer session. Photos of the program…
Violinist Hayes and Guitarist Cahill performed at the Center for the Arts Oct. 17. (Photos courtesy of the Green Street Teaching and Learning Center)
Eugene Klaaren, associate professor of religion, emeritus, died Oct. 18 at the age of 78. Klaaren taught at Wesleyan from 1968 until he retired in 2006. Klaaren's courses introduced students to central Christian thinkers in the history of theology and philosophy, from Martin Luther to Soren Kierkegaard, John Calvin to David Hume and Jonathan Edwards, and Friedrich Schleiermacher to Friedrich Nietzsche. (more…)