Olivia DrakeFrancis Starr, director of the College of Integrative Sciences, professor of physics, received a $282,000 grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology in September. The grant will support “Heterogeneous Dynamics and Assembly Processes in Soft and Biological Materials," a collaborative research project between Wesleyan and NIST. NIST is expected to fund the project through 2018 with a total amount of $1.66M. Soft and biological materials are commonly composed of synthetic or biopolymers, or are formed as a result of the supramolecular assembly of small molecule, nanoparticle, or protein molecules into dynamic organized structures. These materials are central to developing…
For her outstanding contributions to Milky Way research by observational methods, Meredith Hughes, assistant professor of astronomy, received the 2015 Bok Prize in Astronomy from Harvard University. The prize, named in honor of Astronomer Bart Bok (1906–1983), is awarded to a recent holder of a PhD degree in the physical sciences from Harvard or Radcliffe who is under 35 years of age. Hughes received her PhD from Harvard in 2010, and a MA in astronomy from Harvard in 2007. Hughes is an expert on planet formation, circumstellar disk structure and dynamics, gas and dust disk evolution and radio astronomy. She studies planet formation by observing…
Lisa Dierker, professor of psychology and director of pilot programs for the Center for Pedagogical Innovation, received a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation in July. The three-year grant worth $300,000 will support the new Academy for Project-Based Teaching and Learning. The Academy for Project-Based Teaching and Learning, which is under development, will encourage students and faculty to build knowledge and skills by investigating and responding to complex questions, problems, and challenges within and across disciplines. The cornerstones of the project-based approach include significant content at the heart of each academic discipline, and cutting edge competencies in problem solving, critical…
This fall, the German Studies Department and German Embassy in Washington, D.C. are sponsoring a three-part commemoration of "25 Years of German Unity" at Wesleyan. The series, which features discussions with a German filmmaker, a scholar from Connecticut College, and four Wesleyan faculty is made possible by a $3,000 grant from the German Embassy. The first talk, “Gorbachev, Bush, and the Unification of Germany” on Sept. 22 featured Peter Rutland, the Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought, professor of government, and Douglas Foyle, associate professor of government, who spoke on the important role that Russia, Mikhail Gorbachev,…
Lauren RubensteinA partnership between Wesleyan’s Cognitive Development Labs and the Connecticut Science Center recently received a $3,000 Partner Stipend from the National Living Laboratory® Initiative, which receives support from the National Science Foundation. The Cognitive Development Labs received an additional $1,000 Educational Assistance stipend. Hilary Barth, associate professor of psychology, oversees the Living Laboratory® site located at the Connecticut Science Center. Since 2013, researchers from Barth’s lab have been visiting the museum on Saturdays to collect data for current studies, speak with children and families about child developmental research, and guide visitors through hands-on activities that demonstrate important findings in developmental psychology. The National Living Laboratory® Initiative Partner Stipend…
In this News @ Wesleyan story, we speak with Yamil Velez, a new member of Wesleyan's Government Department. Q: Welcome to Wesleyan! Please tell us about your background—where did you grow up, go to school, etc? A: I grew up in Miami, Florida as the only son of two immigrant parents. My parents divorced at an early age and since my mother had to work and go to school to support us, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. It was my grandmother who instilled a passion for politics in me, as I would spend every afternoon listening…
In this News @ Wesleyan story, we speak with Scott Rohde, who marks his one-year anniversary as Wesleyan's Director of Public Safety on Oct. 1. Rohde reflects back on his first year at Wesleyan, changes he has overseen, and what's to come. Q: What has struck you most about the Wesleyan community during your first year here? A: I was stuck by the significant focus on students, and student success. Not only the faculty, but administrators and staff, want every student to succeed here at Wes but also in the global community. The liberal arts tradition is vibrant here and offers a “true college experience.”…
On Sept. 11, the Center for the Arts celebrated the student music scene at The MASH. Inspired by Fete de la Musique, also known as World Music Day, this fourth annual festival highlights Wesleyan's student musicians. The event took place inside Usdan University Center, Patricelli '92 Theater and Crowell Concert Hall. More than 15 bands performed including Locus, described as “one man with psychedelic textures and experimental beats;” Mom, a funky band full of post-pubescent mystery rock; Quasimodal, Wesleyan's oldest co-ed A cappella group; Veeblefetzer, Wesleyan's finest Klezmer ensemble; Lo-Qi, a rap duo “here to denounce corporate oppression;” Sleep Kid,…
The Office of Human Resources reports the following new hires, transitions and departures: Newly hired Kathleen Smith was hired as associate director of fellowships, internships and exchanges in the Center for Global Studies on Aug. 3. Joy Zelikovsky was hired as post-doctoral clinical/counseling psychologist in the Counseling Center on Aug. 3. Kaiser Aslam was hired as University Muslim Chaplain in the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life on Aug. 17. (more…)
President Michael Roth reviewed Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning by Timothy Snyder in The Washington Post. While many other historians have emphasized structural elements that made the Holocaust possible, Snyder focuses on Hitler's personal ideology "as essential for grasping the history of Nazi efforts to eliminate Jews from the planet." Roth writes: In “Black Earth,” we are reminded that for Hitler, Jews were the explanation for everything that went wrong. The health of the human race was dependent, he shrieked, on protecting it from Jewish pollution. There was talk among Nazis and others of isolating the malignancy — maybe shipping Jews…
After a long summer drought, Middletown received a much-needed rain shower Sept. 10. Students, sporting umbrellas and rain jackets, walked to class and Usdan University Center in the wet weather. (more…)
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