Bill HolderPeter Patton, professor of earth and environmental sciences, has been appointed as the first Alan M. Dachs Professor of Science, currently housed in the College of the Environment. The endowed chair was created with the generous support of Alan Dachs ’70, P’98, chair emeritus of the Board of Trustees. "I am delighted that Peter Patton will be the first to hold the Alan M. Dachs Chair in the Natural Sciences,” says Dachs. “It is only fitting that a scientist and teacher of his caliber should be recognized in this way. Wesleyan, and science at Wesleyan, have always come first in Peter's…
Olivia DrakeCelebrate graduating seniors and reminisce with former classmates during the 2011 Reunion & Commencement Weekend May 19-22. This year, classes ending in “1” and “6” will celebrate their reunions, and the Class of 2011 will become Wesleyan’s 179th graduating class. "As always, I’m looking forward to R&C – it’s such a fun and celebratory time for the entire Wesleyan community, with over 150 events during three days," says Gemma Ebstein, associate vice president for external relations in University Relations. "In addition to another incredible array of WESeminars, we’ll enjoy great live music from Grammy-nominated Jazz singer Tierney Sutton ‘86, performances…
By synthesizing the antimatter particle antihydrogen, physicists will have the ability to create a more accurate picture and explanation of the universe. "Would antimatter fall down -- or fall up?," asks physics major Guy Geyer '13. "If we could trap antihydrogen for a longer length of time, we could test the gravitational effects of the particle. This would certainly be what scientists aim to do in the end." Geyer, who studies antihydrogen at Wesleyan, received honorable mention for the 2011-12 Barry Goldwater Scholarship. He competed with 1,095 mathematics, science, and engineering students nationwide for the award. Geyer began his antihydrogen…
Eric GershonFor more than five decades, late spring has been a season for writing at Wesleyan, and a distinguished cohort of literary talents will assemble in Middletown next month for the 55th annual Wesleyan Writers Conference. Roxana Robinson, Amy Bloom, Honor Moore and Arthur Phillips – whose new novel, The Tragedy of Arthur, was reviewed on the cover of the May 1 New York Times Book Review – will be among more than 20 professional literary artists, editors and publishers on campus from June 16 to June 20. “We are very serious about the work that we do,” says Anne Greene, director…
Wesleyan President Michael Roth and Alan Rubacha, construction services consultant, hosted a "Squash Building Preview" tour April 26 for faculty, staff, construction contractors and local community leaders. The former Squash Building will house the Career Resource Center, College of Letters and the Art History Department. The Squash Building, located at the north end of College Row, was built in 1934. It closed in 2002. A grand reopening is scheduled for the January 2012. The renovation project expands the former squash building into classrooms and faculty offices. It will include a 17-foot addition to the west increasing the building size from…
By Ben Cohen '10, physical education intern Ask any group of NESCAC student-athletes why they chose their respective institutions, and each will likely mention the conference schools’ strength in both academics and athletics. But Joe Giaimo ’11 has taken things one step further. Giaimo, a captain on the Cardinal football and baseball squads, is leading a student forum this semester, CCIV420-02: "Leadership, Mentoring, and Coaching.” The forum evaluates effective forms of leadership, seeks out answers to what is leadership, defines it, dissects the changing conceptions of leadership, analyzes the psychology of leaders, and eventually discusses the difference between leadership and…
David PesciIn this issue we ask "5 Questions" of Jennifer Tucker, associate professor of history, associate professor of science in society, and associate professor feminist, gender and sexuality studies. Q: Professor Tucker, you started off with an undergrad degree in biology but you’re on the History Department's faculty here and specialize in, among other areas, Victorian London and British cultural history. How did your interest evolve in these directions? A: I entered college with a strong interest in history, but I also loved science courses. At Stanford I combined a major in the neurosciences of visual perception and memory with coursework…
Zully Adler ’11 hopes to document cassette culture in five countries while Davy Knittle ’11 aims to explore the relationship between public space and location-based identity in three major cities. As 2011-12 Thomas J. Watson Fellows, Adler and Knittle will have one year to travel outside the United States for an independent study. Each student receives a $25,000 stipend, which is funded by the Thomas J. Watson Foundation. The Wesleyan students were among 148 finalists nominated this year to compete on the national level. Of those, only 40 were selected for a fellowship. Adler, a history major focusing on European…
Americans have been bombarded over the past three decades with the news that our K-12 students are academically falling behind their peers dozens of countries. The U.S. government has responded by implementing a series of standardized tests and creating such programs as “Race to the Top” and “No Child Left Behind” to measure and improve our children’s success. The outcomes of these initiatives are often used to determine teacher effectiveness, as well. “These programs are based on an assumption that has rarely been questioned by researchers and policy makers–the assumption that there is a consensus about the fundamental purpose of…
This issue, we ask “5 Questions” of Greg Voth, associate professor of physics. Q: Professor Voth, what are your primary areas of research and how did you become involved in them? A: My research group studies turbulent fluid flows and flows of granular materials. These complex systems have a wide range of environmental and industrial applications, but fundamental understanding of these systems has been held back because of the difficulty of measuring rapidly changing flow fields. Advances in high speed digital imaging over the past two decades have opened new ways to measure the trajectories of particles transported by these…
A diverse group of primate researchers will convene at Wesleyan on April 22 for a day-long symposium about the relationship between humans and the other great apes – chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans and gorillas. The schedule is online here. “Protecting Great Apes: How Science and Ethics Contribute to Conservation” will feature presentations by anthropologists, psychologists, primatologists and conservationists who study or advocate for non-human great apes in the wild and in captivity. Discussions will follow each talk, with an emphasis on chimpanzee behavior and the ethical treatment of non-human great apes. “We’re in this complicated and increasingly intense relationship with the…
Prize-winning author Robin D.G. Kelley will deliver the Center for African-American Studies 17th Annual Distinguished Lecture at 8 p.m. April 14. Kelley is a professor of American studies and ethnicity and history at the University of Southern California. His topic will be, "Faking It for Freedom: Grace Halsell's Amazing Journey through the Minefields of Race, Sex, Empire and War - A 20th Century Love Story." The lecture is based on Kelley's new project - a biography of the late journalist Grace Halsell. Halsell, a white journalist, spent a good part of her life masquerading as others and traveling the country…