http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/The latest featured stories from Princeton University.en-usPrinceton University Programming a robot to perform like a plate spinner at a circus, making all the tiny adjustments needed to balance a thin stick perfectly upright, is associated with what engineers call the inverted pendulum problem. For most students, the tricky balancing act can be quite a challenge. For Princeton senior and valedictorian of the Class of 2013 Aman Sinha, it was an inspiration.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/91/56Q05/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedJohn Sullivan, Office of Engineering Communications2013-05-23T12:00-05:00 Princeton University senior Sofia Quinodoz took on two theses that pertain to an unseen and not fully understood action that is nonetheless felt by those it afflicts, be it in the form of an infection or the void of a loved one suddenly erased.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/84/75C93/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedMorgan Kelly, Office of Communications2013-05-20T12:00-05:00 This spring, 23 Princeton students mined their own experiences with joy, fear, loneliness and a host of other emotions to write original songs. Using the workshopping style of the performing arts, they met in the Whitman College Class of 1970 Theater each week for the course "How to Write a Song."http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/85/37C48/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedJamie Saxon, Office of Communications2013-05-17T12:00-05:00 The freshman seminar "The Dreamkeepers: Education Reform and the Urban Teaching Experience" is designed to help students develop an understanding of the social and political context of urban education and examine trends in urban education reform — all while focusing on the experience of the urban teacher.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/64/02A36/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedMichael Hotchkiss, Office of Communications2013-05-15T12:00-05:00 A journey to explore the complex identity of southern Spain gave Princeton senior Rund Abdelfatah new insights into an overwhelmingly Catholic region that has an uneasy relationship with its Muslim past. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/80/26C86/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedMichael Hotchkiss, Office of Communications2013-05-13T13:00-05:00 A group of Princeton University Ph.D. students have been involved in a research project led by Professor of Architecture Beatriz Colomina that looks at the influence of architecture on Playboy Magazine from 1953 to 1979, and the magazine's impact on architecture and design culture in the United States through its vision of a desirable contemporary lifestyle. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/79/53S11/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedDanielle Alio, Office of Communications2013-05-10T12:00-05:00 Through improvisational techniques influenced by sound, gestures, rhythm, poetry/spoken word and visual arts, 20 Princeton students in the new course "The Improvising Ensemble" are pushing the boundaries of their own concepts of what music is and can be.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/75/24C27/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedJamie Saxon, Office of Communications2013-05-08T12:00-05:00 Princeton senior Danielle Pingue's thesis "Partners in Crime: Nonprofits' Promising Approach to Mass Incarceration Reform" shows how nonprofits are contributing to policy reform in the criminal justice system. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/62/34A26/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedJamie Saxon, Office of Communications2013-05-06T12:00-05:00 A central feature of Princeton University's undergraduate education is the independent research requirement for juniors and seniors. In the School of Architecture, juniors take a design studio course each semester to meet the requirement. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/63/86I26/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedDanielle Alio, Office of Communications2013-05-02T12:00-05:00 The first Princeton Arts Weekend, April 25-28, showcased the talents of hundreds of students with nearly 70 events. The last day of the festival coincided with Communiversity, an annual event that brings together thousands of members of the town of Princeton and the University community. Also on Sunday, a student tribute to President Shirley M. Tilghman honored her commitment to the arts. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/72/58G33/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedJamie Saxon, Office of Communications2013-04-29T16:00-05:00 Christopher L. Eisgruber, Princeton's provost for the past nine years, has been named the University's 20th president, effective July 1. He succeeds Shirley M. Tilghman, who last fall announced her intention to step down at the end of this academic year after completing 12 years in office. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/65/54C75/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedthe Office of Communications2013-04-21T12:30-05:00 Graduate student Michael North and psychology professor Susan Fiske have put a new emphasis on ageism, focusing on the challenges society faces to adjust to a growing older population and the intergenerational tensions that can result.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/49/28A93/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedMichael Hotchkiss, Office of Communications2013-04-19T11:00-05:00 Princeton University's first conference for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally alumni on April 11-13 gave a voice to hundreds of alumni, many who felt as if they did not have one as students on campus. The "Every Voice" conference brought together 550 undergraduate and graduate alumni, faculty, staff and students to celebrate how Princeton and the country have transformed during the past 50 years and to discuss the advances the LGBT community still seeks.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/61/20M32/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedEmily Aronson, Office of Communications2013-04-16T12:30-05:00 Princeton University is hosting its first conference for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) and ally alumni on campus Thursday to Saturday, April 11-13. In a video premiering at the conference, alumni, students, staff and professors discuss the arc of LGBT life at Princeton over the last 50 years.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/56/94A34/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedthe Office of Communications2013-04-12T09:00-05:00 Studying engineering, playing basketball in the NCAA tournament, and traveling to Europe are just a few opportunities made possible by Princeton University's groundbreaking financial aid program.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/50/01C68/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedStaff2013-04-08T12:00-05:00 Princeton University juniors Cody Abbey and Shiro Kuriwaki recently spent their spring break just a few miles from campus, yet a world away from college life. The students led a Breakout Princeton trip focused on arts and music education in Princeton, Trenton and Camden, N.J. The group was one of six Breakout Princeton programs organized by students and sponsored by the Pace Center for Civic Engagement that took place March 16-24. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/49/11S07/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedEmily Aronson, Office of Communications2013-04-04T12:00-05:00 Princeton Univerity junior Jackson Dobies experienced a summer of a lifetime last June after he was awarded a Martin A. Dale '53 Summer Award. Dobies rafted much of the length of the Mississippi River from north to south along with his older brother Justin, modeling the classic stories of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/43/90A86/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedDanielle Alio, Office of Communications2013-04-01T12:00-05:00 The class "Ethics and Public Health" brings together students from a wide range of disciplines to examine issues at the intersection of ethics, policy and public health.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/42/42S10/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedMichael Hotchkiss, Office of Communications2013-03-28T12:00-05:00 The Richard L. Smith '70 Freshman Seminar, "The Mathematics of Magic Tricks and Games," explores the mathematical principles behind games and magic tricks in order to introduce young academics to the creative side of mathematics, a field widely considered difficult and inaccessible.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/37/98S70/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedMorgan Kelly, Office of Communications2013-03-25T12:00-05:00 Dining Services recently held the annual "There's No Place Like Home" recipe contest, inviting students to submit their recipes for their favorite dish. The winning recipes were served on Feb. 14 in the residential dining halls, the Center for Jewish Life, and Food for Thought in the Frist Campus Center Food Gallery.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/18/90Q28/index.xml?section=featuredfeaturedMatilda Luk, Office of Communications2013-03-21T12:00-05:00