Olivia DrakeA chapter titled "Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)" by Charles Sanislow, associate professor of psychology, associate professor of neuroscience and behavior, was published in the Encyclopedia of Clinical Psychology in January. Kevin Quinn of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Isaiah Sypher ’13 co-authored the chapter. Sypher worked in Sanislow’s lab at Wesleyan and then went on to a research position at the NIMH Intramural Program in Affective Neuroscience. He is currently in the process of applying to clinical science programs in psychology. Sanislow and Quinn are both charter members of the NIMH Working Group for the RDoC, a project that is developing…
A book by Marc Eisner, the Henry Merritt Wriston Chair of Public Policy, was selected as a winner of the Outstanding Academic Titles by Choice in 2014. Eisner's book, The American Political Economy was published in 2014. In this innovative text, he portrays the state and the market as inextricably linked, exploring the variety of institutions subsumed by the market and the role that the state plays in creating the institutional foundations of economic activity. Through a historical approach, Eisner situates the study of American political economy within a larger evolutionary-institutional framework that integrates perspectives in American political development and economic sociology. Eisner also is chair…
Lauren RubensteinProfessor of Economics Richard Grossman recently accepted two new posts. He was appointed to be a research fellow in the Economic History Program of the London-based Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). Founded in 1983, CEPR's mission is "to enhance the quality of economic policymaking within Europe and beyond, by fostering high quality, policy-relevant economic research, and disseminating it widely to decision-makers in the public and private sectors." Grossman is one of only a few American research fellows at CEPR. He was also recently appointed associate editor for socioeconomics, health policy and law of the journal Neurosurgery. See here for a bio of…
Martha Gilmore, the George I. Seney Professor of Geology, and her former graduate student Patrick Harner MA ’13 are the co-authors of a paper titled "Visible–near infrared spectra of hydrous carbonates, with implications for the detection of carbonates in hyperspectral data of Mars," published in Icarus, Vol. 250, pages 204-214, April 2015. The paper suggests that hydrous carbonate minerals might be relevant on Mars. "We bought and made these unusual minerals in my lab and then took spectra of them to simulate what Mars orbiters might see. Carbonate minerals form in water on Earth (e.g., limestones), and are predicted for Mars, but…
Erika Taylor, assistant professor of chemistry, assistant professor of environmental studies, is the author of a paper "Exploring Allosteric Activation of LigAB from Sphingobium sp. strain SYK-6 through Kinetics, Mutagenesis and Computational Studies," published in Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Vol, 567, pages 35-45, February 2015. Co-authors include graduate students Kevin Barry and Joy Cote; Erin Cohn '15, Abraham Ngu '13 and former graduate student Jason Gerbino. Development of renewable alternatives for petroleum derived fuels and chemicals is of increasing importance because of limits on the amount of fossil fuels that are available on the planet. In an effort to improve the utilization of…
Wesleyan's Winter Session, held Jan. 9-20, provided students with an opportunity to take a full-semester course in only two weeks. The immersion courses offer full credit and allow students to build a close relationship with faculty and each other. Students completed reading and writing assignments before class started. Pictured below are scenes from Winter Session's ENGL234: Jane Austen and the Romantic Age course (taught by Stephanie Weiner, professor of English) and GOVT311: United States Foreign Policy course (taught by Doug Foyle, associate professor of government, tutor in the College of Social Studies). (Photos by Olivia Drake) (more…)
The Center for Jewish Studies is presenting the Eighth Annual Ring Family Wesleyan University Israeli Film Festival. Five contemporary Israeli films and one television show will be screened; each will be commented on by an expert, including a script writer, a film professor, a director, a critic and others. All screenings are at 8 p.m. in the Goldsmith Family Cinema in the Center for Film Studies. Admission is free. Below are a list of films, dates and speakers: Feb. 12 Hunting Elephants, commented on by Isaac Zablocki, director of film programs at the JCC in Manhattan. (more…)
Wesleyan's MLK commemoration will be held in Memorial Chapel at 3:15 p.m., Jan. 30. This is a ticketed, free event.
Professor of Economics Richard Grossman spoke to China Daily about gold price fluctuations in connection with the Chinese New Year and other annual celebrations. Many in the Chinese community purchase gold jewelry and other gifts to help celebrate the holiday. "There does seem to be a seasonal element to consumer demand for gold in several countries. In China, demand increases in months leading up to the New Year. In India, it is said to increase during the holiday/wedding season, which runs from the end of September through January," said Grossman. But, he added, inflation, currency movements, and economic and political stability are "far…
Wesleyan has a new look online. On Jan. 14, the Office of University Communications and Information Technology Services' New Media Lab launched a new Wesleyan homepage and associated landing pages. The new design features a photo-rich look with an abundance of newsy campus content up top. As users scroll down, they'll see links to upcoming events, President Roth's blog, an Exploring Wes section catered to prospective students, and several more links connecting users to Wesleyan resources, tools and social media. Content, overseen by University Communications, is updated multiple times a week. “The new page reflects current industry standards in web…
Beginning this month, Wesleyan will solicit input from all faculty, staff and students about how they use the physical spaces on campus, and how campus should be optimized in the future. Wesleyan has engaged Sasaki Associates to assist with this semester-long exploration of campus’ evolution over the next 10 to 15 years. The end result will be a digital report containing a framework and principles with which to create a new master plan. The report will be shared with the campus community and presented to the Board of Trustees in May. “Wesleyan takes pride in the distinctive residential learning experience…
