Lauren RubensteinRoth makes the case for a pragmatic liberal education, discusses efforts to keep Wesleyan's cost down
Olivia DrakeMathematics Ph.D. candidate Alicia Marino recently attended a four-day workshop in Portland, Ore. studying various aspects of computational number theory. The workshop focused on Sage, a mathematics software package, developed by and for the mathematical community. The event included talks, tutorials, and time spent in small project groups developing Sage code. Participants worked to enhance the Sage library and discussed ways to increase the number of women in Sage development. The workshop ran July 28-Aug. 1. Marino, who holds a bachelor's degree in computer science, attended the conference to sharpen her programming skills. "My initial desire to attend the workshop…
A figure created by Katherine Kaus, graduate student in the Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Department, was selected to run as the featured cover graphic in the Sept. 9 Journal of Molecular Biology. The graphic is related to her article, titled "Glycan Specificity of the Vibrio vulnificus Hemolysin Lectin Outlines Evolutionary History of Membrane Targeting by a Toxin Family," which was published in the journal on July 29. It is co-authored by Rich Olson, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, and researchers at the University of Connecticut. The abstract appears online here. Vibrio vulnificus is an emerging human pathogen that causes severe food poisoning…
Associate Professor of Psychology Anna Shusterman has received a major grant from the National Science Foundation to study language structure and number word learning in children. The research is a collaboration with David Barner at the University of California-San Diego. The total grant is $1,496,636, of which $724,128 will go to Wesleyan. According to Shusterman, the project explores how the structure of a language affects children's acquisition of word meanings for abstract concepts. Specifically, they will consider how the pace of children's number acquisition is affected by the presence of a "dual marker" — that is, grammatical marking to specify a precise quantity…
There's no reason why the humanities and STEM can't get along, says Roth
"Lassie was always a bit of an acting lightweight," says Basinger
Kate CarlisleIn response to research by Associate Professor of History Erik Grimmer-Solem, the German air forces have decided to rename a base currently named after a celebrated general known as an "anti-Nazi" in the years following World War II. The base is currently called after Gen. Hans von Sponeck, who was court-martialed and imprisoned for refusing to follow Hitler's orders during a major Soviet counteroffensive on the Crimean Peninsula in 1941. Recently, the German government announced in the Bundestag that the air forces had formally approved the name change in June, based in part on Grimmer-Solem's work, published early this year in the…
Ebola grabs headlines this summer, but Johnston says other diseases' toll is far greater
Two drawings by James McNeill Whistler, part of the Davison Art Center’s collection of more than 100 Whistler works, will be shown in a new documentary on the life of the painter. The sketches, one in pencil and one in pen and ink, will be seen in “James McNeill Whistler & The Case for Beauty,” premiering September 12 on PBS. They represent just a small part of Wesleyan’s extensive holdings of works on paper by Whistler, one of the most important American artists of the 19th century. “Whistler was crucial in making the connection between the Impressionists and British art,…
Oneiry, in sixth grade and 11 years old, liked the tie-dye experiment, where learning about the light and color also resulted in cool take-home T-shirts. Genesis, a nine-year-old fourth grader, really enjoyed the liquid nitrogen demonstration, especially the ice cream she got to make with it. And Julia, at 10 in fifth grade, had a good time making "gak," a substance that's not quite solid and not quite liquid - and slimy and fun. They were among 10 Middletown girls between fourth and sixth grade who participated in a girls' science camp sponsored by the Green Street Arts Center Aug. 4-8. The session,…
Basinger: "She was a legend from the very first minute"
There's no free lunch when it comes to lower fuel prices, says Yohe