Olivia DrakeAbigail Hornstein, associate professor of economics, and her former thesis student, Zachary Nguyen '12 are the co-authors of a paper titled "Is More Less? Propensity to Diversify via M&A and Market" published in the International Review of Financial Analysis, June 2014, pp. 64-88. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) could lead to a firm diversifying into new industries, and the impact of this may be related to the firm’s prior diversification. By using a panel of 1,030 M&A transactions from 2000-2010, Hornstein and Nguyen found that that previously diversified firms are more likely to pursue industrially diversifying M&A. "Both previous and contemporary diversification…
Zin Lin '12 received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for his research on PT-symmetric systems performed while a student at Wesleyan. Lin's advisor was Tsampikos Kottos, the Douglas J. and Midge Bowen Bennet Associate Professor of Physics. Lin was selected for his "outstanding abilities and accomplishments, as well [his] potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the U.S. science and engineering enterprise. He's currently studying quantum nonlinear photonics as a second-year graduate student at Harvard University. As a fellow, Lin will receive a $32,000 stipend for 2014-15. Fellows are expected to make satisfactory academic progress towards completion of…
Kate CarlisleThe deep poverty of Kenya's slums are fertile ground to breed terrorism
A paper co-authored by Rich Olson, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, and Sophia Levan '12 was published in The Journal of Molecular Biology, March 2013. The article is titled, "Vibrio cholerae Cytolysin Recognizes the Heptasaccharide Core of Complex N-Glycans with Nanomolar Affinity." The human intestinal pathogen Vibrio cholerae secretes a pore-forming toxin, V.cholerae cytolysin (VCC), which contains two domains that are structurally similar to known carbohydrate-binding proteins. Olson and Levan used a combination of structural and functional approaches to characterize the carbohydrate-binding activity of the VCC toxin. At Wesleyan, Levan was the recipient of the Butterfield Prize, the Graham Prize…
Lauren RubensteinAssistant Professor of Psychology Patricia Rodriguez Mosquera, together with Tasmiha Khan '12 and post-doc Arielle Selya, recently published an article in Cognition & Emotion titled, "Coping with the 10th anniversary of 9/11: Muslim Americans' sadness, fear, and anger.' A decade after the events of Sept. 11, 2001—which prompted an increase in prejudice, discrimination and other forms of unfair treatment toward Muslim Americans—the researchers examined the emotions of Muslim Americans in the days preceding the 10-year anniversary. They found that the anniversary precipitated intense concerns with loss and discrimination, and feelings of fear, anger and, most intensely, sadness. They also measured three coping…
Q: Dana, you're Wesleyan's first Civic Engagement Fellow. How do you describe your role? A: As the Civic Engagement Fellow, I focus on promoting civic engagement throughout the entire university, with students, faculty and staff. While the focus may be broad, I mainly work with two specific centers: the Center for Community Partnerships, under Director Cathy Lechowicz, and the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, under Director Paul Gagnon. At CCP, I’m primarily involved in informing students about the many opportunities for immediate impact here in Middletown, and in assisting student coordinators of the Office of Community Service's programs. We’re also developing…
Cynthia RockwellKimberly Muellers ’12, communications director for the nonprofit Brighter Dawns, spent part of her post-graduation summer in Bangladesh, helping provide a village with access to clean water. The Boston Globe highlighted the work of Massachusetts native Muellers in a recent article titled “Westwood Woman Helping in Bangladesh.” “There are so many preventable diseases that can be solved so easily just by having clean water and good hygiene,” Muellers told The Globe. “Our main focus is on sanitation issues.” Muellers was joined this summer in Bangladesh by Tasmiha Khan ’12, Brighter Dawns CEO, as well as Fahim Zaman, Brighter Dawns director…
(Story contributed by Jim H. Smith) Senior thesis research conducted last spring by Audrey Haynes '12 at Costa Rica’s National University, under the tutorship of Johan “Joop” Varekamp, has shown that many residents of the Central American nation have levels of mercury in their hair that far exceed those recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Varekamp, whose student made the discovery as part of a broad evaluation of environmental mercury in Costa Rica, says the elevated mercury levels are probably a consequence of over-consumption of large ocean fish, not exposure to mercury in the air emitted by volcanoes, as…
David PesciMichael Barsotti ’12, signed a contract to pitch for the minor league Joliet Slammers of the independent Frontier League. Barsotti, a government major, is Wesleyan’s all time strike-out leader. In his first appearance for Joliet he threw a scoreless inning in relief and did not allow a batter to reach base. On July 14, he was named the M&M Bank Player of the Game for the Slammers after inducing a ground out, a fly out and a pop out while throwing just nine pitches, seven of them strikes. Barsotti was twice named the NESCAC pitcher of the week during his Wesleyan…
Tasmiha Khan ’12, founder of Brighter Dawns, a charitable organization committed to improving health in the slums of Bangladesh, was invited to the White House to participate in a forum to discuss the important role that faith-based social innovators play in expanding opportunity and addressing social issues. Khan, who was selected by DoSomething.org as one of 11 Young Women To Look Out For, founded Brighter Dawns in the fall of 2010 after working on a health and hygiene project in Bangladesh with the World Peace & Cultural Foundation that summer. Back on campus, she convinced other students to join her in…
The MINDS Foundation, an organization started by Raghu Appasani ’12, was recently featured in the June 6 Huffington Post. The MINDS Foundation is working to eradicate mental illness stigmas and provide mental healthcare services to patients in rural villages in India. According to the article, the conditions of many mental health facilities are inexcusable; people lack basic human dignity, and necessities such as clothes, clean water, and food; they are often locked away in prison-like rooms; and lack even the most basic legal protections. Since 2012, the MINDS Foundation has educated nearly 1,000 individuals, and is currently treating 36 patients suffering…
The world is changing at a dizzying pace and uncertainty is rising, but luckily, “Wesleyan has prepared you to live and thrive in this unpredictable world,” U.S. Senator Michael Bennet ’87 told the Class of 2012 in his Commencement Address. “This is a school that rewards curiosity. It challenges you to test [your] assumptions. It encourages flexibility—of mind, of approach, even of body, if you took that class in acrobatic yoga. Wesleyan has taught you that having a plan counts for less—a lot less—than having your bearings when that plan falls apart.” An honorary doctor of laws was conferred upon…