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The Green Street Teaching and Learning Center hosted a Girls in Science Camp Aug. 3-7. Wesleyan faculty members Ruth Johnson, assistant professor of biology (pictured third from left); Erika Taylor, assistant professor of chemistry, assistant professor of environmental studies (pictured at far right); Chris Othon, assistant professor of physics (pictured at left), along with three undergraduate students, worked with the campers on various experiments. Sara MacSorley, director of the GSTLC (second from left), coordinated the activities. Johnson led the campers on a bug hunt through Wesleyan's West College Courtyard garden. There, the girls observed insects while considering insect diets and insect life-cycles. The girls…

Justine Quijada, assistant professor of religion, assistant professor of Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian studies, has co-authored a new article, together with Eric Stephen '13, MA '14 and a colleague at Indiana University, in the journal Problems of Post-Communism. Published July 30, it is titled, "Finding 'Their Own': Revitalizing Buryat Culture Through Shamanic Practices in Ulan-Ude." Research was conducted by Quijada and Kathryn E. Graber of Indiana University on a grant funded by the National Council of Eurasian and East European Research – Indigenous Peoples of Russia Grant, and included collecting survey data at a variety of shamanic ceremonies. Stephen conducted extensive statistical analysis…

On July 16, Physical Plant began spearheading a College Row sidewalk replacement project. After removing the existing concrete sidewalk, that spans from Church Street to Wyllys Avenue, contractors installed a 13-foot-wide asphalt path that will accommodate large groups of people, such as campus tours. The existing path was 8-feet-wide. "This sidewalk has a large amount of foot traffic all year round," said Wesleyan grounds manager Rob Borman. "The concrete sidewalks around campus also have shown considerable decay, primarily due to salt use in winter." The wider sidewalk also will allow grounds maintenance staff to remove snow faster and easier by using a larger machine. Asphalt,…

Ahead of the centennial celebration of Wesleyan's Van Vleck Observatory, The Hartford Courant explored a bit of observatory history, including some recent discoveries of rare artifacts. A team of Wesleyan professors and students, together with the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford, is preparing for an exhibit this spring, "Under Connecticut Skies: Exploring 100 Years of Astronomy at Van Vleck Observatory in Middletown, Connecticut." "We've been looking into every nook and cranny to see what we have here," Associate Professor of History Paul Erickson told the Courant. One exciting find: a rare early mechanical model of the solar system, long believed to be lost, known as "Russell's Stupendous and…

Seth Redfield, associate professor of astronomy, and Marshall Johnson '11 are the co-authors of an article titled "The Interstellar Medium in the Kepler Search Volume," published in The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 802, No. 2, July 2015. The article highlights ways scientists are studying the gas and dust in the galaxy near where the Kepler Space Telescope is discovering exoplanets. "Stars, with planets, can interact with the gas surrounding them in interesting ways, like bubbles in a drink, where each of the bubbles is an individual star (perhaps with planets) and the drink is the 'interstellar medium', the gas in between the stars," Redfield explained. In…

Three key players in Wesleyan baseball’s fantastic run over the last three years have signed professional baseball contracts this summer. Gavin Pittore ’16 signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers; alumnus Nick Cooney ’15 signed a contract with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the independent American Association; and Donnie Cimino ’15 was drafted in the 37th round by the Chicago Cubs.

Seventy years later, it is widely believed that President Harry S. Truman made a decision to authorize the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The truth, writes William Johnston in the Hartford Courant, is that he never did, at least not explicitly. Johnston, professor of history, professor of East Asian Studies, examines in an op-ed how history has been rewritten surrounding the bombings. In fact, Truman's first explicit decision about atomic bombs was to later order that their further use be stopped without his "express authority." But in summer 1946, Johnston explains, the need arose to write an alternative narrative, as the bomb's…

Seth Redfield, associate professor of astronomy, and Wilson Cauley, postdoctoral researcher in astronomy, led the effort on a paper titled "Optical hydrogen absorption consistent with a thin bow shock leading the hot Jupiter HD 189733b" accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. Bow shocks are ubiquitous astrophysical phenomena resulting from the supersonic passage of an object through a gas. In this paper, the authors present a robust detection of a time-resolved pre-transit, as well as in-transit, absorption signature around the hot Jupiter exoplanet HD 189733b using high spectral resolution observations of several hydrogen lines. Better knowledge of exoplanet magnetic field strengths is…

Two Wesleyan faculty received NEH Public Scholarships to encourage new research and support their upcoming publications. Only 36 writers in the country received the award. The Public Scholar program, a major new initiative from the National Endowment for the Humanities, is designed to promote the publication of scholarly nonfiction books for a general audience. On July 29, the NEH awarded a total of $1.7 million to 36 writers including Wesleyan’s Jennifer Tucker, associate professor of history, and Andrew Curran, the William Armstrong Professor of the Humanities and professor of French.

University Professor of Music Sumarsam is the author of an article titled “Bali–Java Cultural Exchange: Gamelan Carabalen,” published in Interculturalism and Mobility of the Performing Arts, Sound, Movement for the Proceeding of the 3rd Symposium of the International Council for Traditional Music Study Group on Performing Arts in Southeast Asia. Gamelan Carabalen is an ancient, processional Javanese ensemble whose creation was inspired by a processional Balinese gamelan. "Ethnicity and cultural identity is the product of specific historical condition. Viewed in a context of history of ethnic relations, we find very complex picture, dynamic process, and multifaceted forms and meanings of ethnicity…

In this News @ Wesleyan story, we speak with Miranda Haymon from the Class of 2016. #THISISWHY Q: Miranda, what are you majoring in and why? A: I am a German studies and theater double major but when I started at Wesleyan, I thought I was going to create my own linguistics major under the University Major option. I remember very clearly the Wesleyan Admissions Dean telling me I could take four languages for all four years if I wanted to — I was instantly sold. Instead of doing that, I ended up taking a few theater classes, a German language class and a First Year…

On July 31, nine Green Team members and a liaison from the sustainability office met outside the Allbritton Center to discuss their goals for the coming year. The Green Team focuses on finding simple measures that all Wesleyan offices can enact to conserve resources. Anita Deeg-Carlin, administrative assistant for the Physics Department, who initiated the formation of the team in 2014, led the meeting. The team’s hope this year is to focus on small, practical steps that can spark interest and change among other community members. Anika Dane, administrative assistant in molecular biology and biochemistry, suggested the team look into the…

Faculty Teach Local Girls about Science

Quijada Co-Edits New Volume, Co-Authors Article with Stephen ’13, MA ’14

College Row Receives Safer Sidewalk Replacement

Courant Explores History of Astronomy at Wesleyan Ahead of Centennial Celebration

Study by Redfield, Johnson ’11 Published in Astrophysical Journal, New Scientist

3 Wesleyan Baseball Players Sign Professional Contracts

Johnston Reveals Truth About Bombings of Hiroshima, Nagasaki in Op-Ed

Bow Shock Study by Redfield, Cauley Published in Astrophysical Journal

NEH Supports Research, Writing Projects by Tucker, Curran

Sumarsam Writes Article on Gamelan Carabalen

Mellon Mays Fellow Haymon ’16 is Double Majoring in German Studies, Theater

Wesleyan Green Team Brainstorms Sustainability Measures