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Scientists have already discovered more than 3,500 exoplanetary systems (planets orbiting around stars) in the universe, with the number continually expanding. By using Wesleyan's new 24-inch telescope, Kyle McGregor '24 is on the hunt for more, specifically systems involving two planets. To find them, he measures the light from stars over time, noting that the light will decrease when an exoplanet passes in front of a star, blocking the radiated light to Earth. "The measuring of this change in light, known as the 'transit method,' allows us to detect the presence of these distant worlds and to study their properties,"…

Wesleyan’s intellectually dynamic faculty, students, alumni, staff, and parents frequently serve as expert sources for national media. Others are noted for recent achievements and accolades. A sampling of recent media hits is below: In The New Yorker, screenwriter, director, and actor Mike White '92 discusses his latest work, money and status, and his time on Survivor. "Instead of just focusing on one couple’s honeymoon, I constellated [the new show The White Lotus] with many people grappling with ideas about money," he says. "Who has the money can really create the dynamic of a relationship, the relationship itself, the sense of…

Political scientist Ben Oppenheim ’02 thinks it's only a matter of time. "There's this idea circulating that pandemics are a 'once in a century' problem because the 1918 flu happened about a century before COVID-19. But that's just a random quirk," Oppenheim said. "The next one could be next week. Or next month." A College of Social Studies major at Wesleyan, Oppenheim is currently vice president of product, policy, and partnerships at Metabiota, a business providing data-driven insights to help organizations manage infectious disease risk. Through epidemiological modeling, Oppenheim and his colleagues are able to estimate the frequency and severity of…

For a truly sustainable future, Class of 2016 alumni Kotaro Aoki and Kota Uno believe it's crucial to teach people how to view—and properly "use"— nature. "Education is the most important piece in solving the root cause of climate change and environmental problems," Aoki said. "If we don't change our mindset, the same problem continues to rise no matter how drastic changes on the surface are." After reuniting recently in Fukushima, Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, Aoki, a philosophy major, and Uno, a College of Social Studies major, discovered a shared interest in climate change. They agreed that they needed…

María Ospina, associate professor of Spanish, believes that writing fiction is another powerful way to engage the subjects that have driven her academic work—memory, violence, and culture. “Right now, I think that this is the way that I am going to continue exploring intellectual issues that interest me, including those related to history and politics,” said Ospina, who previously published a book of cultural criticism. Her debut book of short stories, Variations on the Body, has been translated into English from Spanish by Heather Cleary and was published in the United States in July by Coffee House Press. The book…

It’s common today to speak of building one’s brand—everyone from world leaders to precocious teens are worried about their image, shaping their personalities online, creating a persona that straddles reality and the imagined. For the Medici family, the 16th-century rulers of Florence and Tuscany and patrons of some of the most famous Renaissance artwork, the tools to accomplish this were very different from those of today. However, the objective was the same. Wesleyan's Davison Arts Center (DAC) is participating in an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art called “The Medici: Portraits and Politics, 1512-1570,” currently on display through October…

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady of the United States In 1932, wheelchair-bound Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first (and only) United States president to hold the top office with a severe disability. While the public was well aware of his paralysis, Roosevelt never let his illness hinder…

Wesleyan’s intellectually dynamic faculty, students, alumni, staff, and parents frequently serve as expert sources for national media. Others are noted for recent achievements and accolades. A sampling of recent media hits is below: On ABC News via the Associated Press, Alex Dupuy, John E. Andrus Professor Emeritus of Sociology, suggests Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph is likely to lead Haiti following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Dupuy also notes that the situation in Haiti is "dangerous and volatile," with Haiti’s police force already grappling with a recent spike in violence in Port-au-Prince that has displaced more than 14,700 people.…

Robyn Autry, associate professor of sociology, studies racial identity, Blackness, and memory, in addition to the politics of museum development in the United States and South Africa. She is the author of eight recent articles relating to these topics. Her work includes the following: “Historical Memory-Making in South Africa,” published in The Oxford Handbook of South African History in December 2020. “Sociology’s Race Problem,” published in Aeon in November 2020. "UNC's rejection of Nikole Hannah-Jones and the Opacity of Tenure in America," published by NBC News in May 2021. “Trump’s 1776 Commission Tried to Rewrite History. Biden Had Other Ideas,”…

Nina Hagel, assistant professor of government, is a political theorist whose research focuses on questions of freedom, recognition, resistance, and democratic belonging. She often teaches courses on contemporary political theory, the history of political thought, and feminist political theory. She is working on a book manuscript on the meanings and political value of authenticity claims. In March 2021, she gave a virtual talk called “Right-Wing Populism and the Dangers of Authenticity” at the University of Alabama as part of the Political Science Department’s Colloquium. She also presented at the Conference on Philosophy and Social Science in Prague, Czech Republic in…

For many first-generation and low-income students, simply the idea of attending college can be daunting. The cost of higher education might be prohibitive. The application process can be complicated and overwhelming. Even with a committed support network, it can all be too much. “Oftentimes for first-generation students, college is not something that's expected … It is now starting to be a little bit more like ‘hey, you should go to college’ but it is not as widespread as in more affluent communities,” said Miguel Peralta, director of Wesleyan's Upward Bound Math-Science program. The Upward Bound Math-Science program is pulling down…

So long are the days of slipping out the back door of a party to avoid confrontation with a date gone bad. Through social media, one can easily "ghost"— that is, cut off all communication without giving a reason. In a new qualitative study titled "Disappearing in the Age of Hypervisibility: Definition, Context, and Perceived Psychological Consequences of Social Media Ghosting," lead researcher Royette Dubar, assistant professor of psychology, and her former master's student Jhanelle Oneika Thomas '18, MA '19 investigated both the motives and psychological consequences of the act of ghosting. Dubar and Thomas discovered that this modern-age disappearing…

Students Study Exoplanets, Bird Viruses, Chinese Immigration, Bacteria during the Summer

Wesleyan in the News

In Nature, Oppenheim ’02 Outlines the Importance of Creating an Intergovernmental Panel on Pandemic Risk

Alumni Create Environment-Focused Summer School for Youth in Japan

Ospina Explores the Struggle of Searching for Community in New Book

Davison Art Center Lends Rare 16th-Century Print to the Met

FDR Memorial by Bergmann ’76 Is a Tribute to Overcoming Physical Barriers

Wesleyan in the News

Autry Pens Articles on Race, Identity, and Politics in the U.S.

Hagel Discusses Authenticity Claims in Democratic Life

Wesleyan’s Upward Bound Helps Local Students Prepare for College

Dubar, Thomas ’18, MA ’19 Explore the Psychological Effects of Social Media Ghosting