Olivia DrakeDuring a session on algebraic topology, graduate student Weiwei Pan spoke to dozens of mathematical scholars from around the world on "Categorified Bundles and Classifying Spaces." Pan was one of 220 speakers who presented math-related talks during the 2008 Eastern Sectional Meeting of the American Mathematical Society held Oct. 11-12 at Wesleyan. More than 300 participants registered. "One of the best things about being a mathematician is that there are people all over the world who share your interests, and that mathematics (more…)
Physicists, predominately from New England and Europe, will convene Oct. 26 at Wesleyan to discuss topics related to mesoscopic systems. The one-day event, coordinated by the Physics Department's Complex Quantum Dynamics and Mesoscopic Phenomena Group, will be the first-ever New England Mesoscopic Systems Symposium. The mesoscopic scale lies between microscopic and macroscopic, which is visible to the human eye. (more…)
Seiji Naito, adjunct associate professor of Asian languages and literatures emeritus, died in Zama City, Japan. He was 66 years old. Naito was trained as a linguist. He earned a bachelor of arts in education from Yokohama National University and a Ph.D in linguistics from Harvard University. He held positions at the University of Hawaii, Boston University, and Tokyo Junshin Women's College before joining the Wesleyan faculty as adjunct assistant professor in 1993. In 1999 he was promoted to adjunct associate professor, and he left Wesleyan in 2003. (more…)
David PesciPulitzer Prize winning author, historian and philosopher Saul Friedlander will deliver a presentation titled "Toward an Integrated History of the Holocaust" as the featured speaker at this year’s Hallie Lecture, which will be held at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23 in Memorial Chapel. (more…)
In Introduction to Archaeology, all students were trash-talking their first assignment. Titled "Understanding Garbage - Research and Analysis," the laboratory project helped students understand ways archeologists collect and analyze data by rummaging through rubbish and taking note of their findings. (more…)
Corrina KerrMichaelle Biddle, head of preservation services, has returned from a five-week sabbatical to Nigeria, where she conducted a survey of Islamic manuscripts and related materials in northern Nigeria under the auspices of the Arewa House, Centre for Historical Documentation and Research, Ahmadu Bello University. Biddle was there working on preserving documents and taught conservation workshops to preserve documents in Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto and Maiduguri and teach archivists and conservationists how to best preserve paper documents in accordance with international conservation standards. The program Biddle taught was entitled “Conservation in a Box” and was funded by the U.S. Ambassador's Cultural Preservation Program.…
It’s all about politics, about western influences, Asian influences, African influences, gender relations, protest, genocide, violence, spirituality, centuries of culture, the latest fad, and performers in the New York Subway system and more than a hundred other topics set in disparate times, places and civilizations. Which is all another way of saying it’s all about music. Specifically, the Annual Meeting for the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), which will be held Oct. 25-28 at Wesleyan. (more…)
The topic of “Climate Policy: A Progress Report” is the theme of the Fourth Annual Robert Schumann Environmental Studies Symposium "Where on Earth are we Going?" which will be held on Oct. 18. The event begins at 8:30 a.m. in Exley Science Center Room 150, the Tischler Lecture Hall. (more…)
"Come Home" is the theme for the 2008 Homecoming/Family Weekend, scheduled Oct. 17-19 on campus. "Come Home is a literal invitation for alumni, but we also address this message to parents, families, students, faculty and staff," says Makaela Kingsley '98, associate director of events and alumni association secretary. (more…)
Renowned Russian poet Sergey Gandlevsky presented a poetry reading and memoir during a conference titled "Moscow in Russian Culture" at Russell House during a two-day, interdisciplinary conference held Sept. 19-20. (more…)
The ninth annual Molecular Biophysics Retreat was held at Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown on Sept. 18. The event was organized by David Beveridge, professor of chemistry and the University Professor of the Sciences and Mathematics; Manju Hingorami, associate professor of molecular biology; and Ishita Mukerji, professor of molecular biology.
Imagine this architectural challenge: create a site-appropriate structure for a former cranberry bog covered with 3 feet of water; use durable and sustainable materials and construction technologies as extensively as possible; work within a budget and; make it optimal for observing Redwing Blackbirds, Scarlet Tanagers, Hooded Mergansers, and the occasional Great Blue Heron. (more…)