Lauren RubensteinKilgard presented new images of the Whirlpool Galaxy from NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory
Olivia DrakeNicole Arulanantham, who is entering her second year as a graduate student in the Astronomy MA program, was awarded a Chambliss Medal by the American Astronomical Society at its June 3 meeting in Boston. The awards are given to recognize exemplary research by a student presenting a poster paper at an AAS meeting. Arulanantham worked on the study with her advisor, Bill Herbst, the John Monroe Van Vleck Professor of Astronomy, chair of the Astronomy Department, and Ann Marie Cody of the California Institute of Technology. It involved analysis of data obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Read more about the…
Ellen Thomas, research professor of earth and environmental sciences, is the author of a paper titled "Rapid and sustained surface ocean acidification during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum," published in Paleoceanography, May 2014. In this paper Thomas and her colleagues document that ocean acidification of the surface ocean not only occurred during past times of global warming and high CO2 levels, but also by how much — about 0.3 pH units. The group studied planktic foraminifers from a drill site in the North Pacific. Thomas' study has been highlighted in a press release from Columbia University and also on Phys.org.
The Board of Trustees recently conferred tenure to two Wesleyan faculty and promoted five faculty to full professor. Their promotions take effect July 1. Victoria Pitts-Taylor, professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies, and Charles Sanislow, associate professor of psychology, will receive tenure. Pitts-Taylor will join Wesleyan as a new faculty members and chair of the FGSS program on the same date. They join four other faculty members who were awarded tenure earlier this spring. Those promoted to full professor are Martha Gilmore, professor of earth and environmental sciences; Yuri Kordonsky, professor of theater; James Lipton, professor of mathematics and computer sciences; Brian Stewart,…
Twenty-five years after the Tiananmen Square massacre, Schwarcz writes on the importance of remembering
Kolcio: Ukrainian independence is predicated not on political sovereignty, but crafted through the arts
Kate CarlisleThe Board of Trustees has asked President Michael Roth to propose a plan for the future of fraternities at Wesleyan, following a discussion at their spring meeting May 22-23. On his blog, Roth said he would deliver a plan to the board soon, ideally before the start of the next semester but at the latest before the next board meeting in November. His thinking has changed since his first year at Wesleyan, when he wrote about his support for Greek life, Roth said. “Six years of hearing about high-risk drinking at fraternities and dealing with fallout from highly publicized incidents…
Beginning next year, students majoring in the natural sciences or mathematics will have the option to pursue a cross-disciplinary, research-based course of study through the new College of Integrative Sciences (CIS), which was approved by the faculty on May 21. According to a proposal for the new College developed by Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Ishita Mukerji in consultation with faculty colleagues: “CIS aims to be an intellectual home for students interested in exploration at the boundaries of scientific disciplines, and to provide a welcoming and supportive environment for students of all disciplines who are interested by a research-based…
Beginning June 2, the nearly century-old 20-inch Van Vleck Refractor, which lives on Foss Hill in its iconic dome, will get a complete facelift to return it to full working order. The rare historic telescope will be dismantled, cleaned, repaired, reassembled and modernized over a period of about 15 months in preparation of the observatory centennial in 2016. (View several photos of the renovation here.) The work will be done by Fred Orthlieb, Ph.D. and Chris Ray, members of the Antique Telescope Society who run a company called Ray Museum Studios. Based in Swarthmore, Penn., they are well-regarded experts in…
David LowNicola Bennett, administrative assistant in the Office of University Relations, and Lorna Scott, assistant to the vice president for student affairs, received a Cardinal Achievement Award in May. Bennett was acknowledged for her efforts in supporting the 50th Reunion. According to her award announcement, "Bennett played a vital role in the development and production of this year’s 50th Reunion Class Book. Her creativity and organization skills, coupled with her eagerness to take on a new challenge, made this project a huge success. The Class of 1964 and University Relations are very fortunate to benefit from her great work." Scott was…