News at Princeton

Tuesday, Feb. 09, 2010
 Cape Times headline: New Era for SA

The 20th anniversary of the end of apartheid in South Africa and Nelson Mandela's release from prison is the focus of an exhibition Feb. 9-28 in the Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding, 58 Prospect Ave. Titled "A Personal Account of Cape Town in 1990," the exhibition features photographs and newspapers from the private collection of Hugh Price, a lecturer in public affairs and the John L. Weinberg/Goldman Sachs & Co. Visiting Professor in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

 

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Exhibition marks anniversary of new South Africa

An exhibition commemorating the 20th anniversary of the end of apartheid in South Africa and Nelson Mandela's release from prison will open at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, in the Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding, 58 Prospect Ave.

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Diemand-Yauman selected to receive Pyne Prize

Princeton senior Connor Diemand-Yauman has been named the winner of the University's 2010 Moses Taylor Pyne Honor Prize, the highest general distinction conferred on an undergraduate.

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Princeton scientists win grants under new program tied to recovery funding

Three Princeton scientists working at the frontiers of physics have been notified they will receive awards under a new program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy that is designed to boost the American economy.

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Princeton scientist makes a leap in quantum computing

A major hurdle in the ambitious quest to design and construct a radically new kind of quantum computer has been finding a way to manipulate the single electrons that very likely will constitute the new machines' processing components or "qubits."

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Electrons on the brink: Fractal patterns may be key to semiconductor magnetism

Just as the heartbeats of today's electronic devices depend on the ability to switch the flow of electricity in semiconductors on and off with lightning speed, the viability of the "spintronic" devices of the future -- technologies that manipulate both the flow and magnetic "spin" of electrons -- will require similarly precise control over semiconductor magnetism.

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Energy-harvesting rubber sheets could power pacemakers, mobile phones

Power-generating rubber films developed by Princeton University engineers could harness natural body movements such as breathing and walking to power pacemakers, mobile phones and other electronic devices.

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New South to be renovated for inclusion of arts programs

New South, the location of administrative offices over the past 40 years, will be renovated in 2010 to also become the home of some academic functions associated with the Lewis Center for the Arts.

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Trustees approve low fee increase, boost financial aid despite budget challenges

Princeton University trustees Jan. 23 approved one of the lowest percentage increases in undergraduate tuition and fees since 1966 -- 3.3 percent -- while also endorsing a 9.6 percent increase in the financial aid budget. The authorizations came as the University is in the midst of a two-year plan to reduce its operating budget by $170 million.

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Evergreen beauty of campus gardens thrives year round

The winter season brings a subdued beauty to Princeton's campus. As the fall foliage fades, Princeton's evergreens take on a more prominent role in coloring the landscape and adding vitality to the grounds. According to Jim Consolloy, who retired Feb. 1 after nearly 21 years as grounds manager, some of the University's most well-traveled spaces are spectacular in winter as well as summer.

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A broader palette: Steward pictures an art museum that 'sets the standard'

On a warm Thursday night in September, crowds of students, staff and community members filled the Princeton University Art Museum. In all 2,400 people visited the museum that evening to celebrate the new extended hours on Thursdays, delighting James Steward, the new director of the museum.

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Shapiro brings scientific analysis to terrorism and counterterrorism research

As a graduate student a few years ago, Jacob Shapiro worked with a colleague to get internal documents from al-Qaida released from a U.S. government database. The files didn't reveal national security secrets -- but they did portray the terrorist organization as a bureaucracy with plenty of red tape. This data- and document-driven approach exemplifies Shapiro's work on the organization of terrorist groups and counterterrorism.

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The 'sultan of slime': Biologist continues to be fascinated by organisms after nearly 70 years of study

At age 89, Bonner, the George M. Moffett Professor Emeritus of Biology, is one of the world's leading experts on cellular slime molds, found in soils the world over. He has led the way in making "Dictyostellum discoideum" a model organism central to examining some of the major questions in experimental biology. Science magazine describes him as "the current patriarch of the slime mold community."

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Princeton announces plans for new computing research center at Forrestal

Princeton University plans to build a facility to house its high-performance computing research systems on the Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro about three miles north of the main campus.

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Stanley Kelley Jr., professor and architect of University governance transformation, dies

Stanley Kelley Jr., a Princeton political scientist who left an indelible mark on the University after chairing a key committee on governance in the late 1960s, died Sunday, Jan. 17, in Princeton from complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 83.

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Perspective on: Affirmative action and the racial achievement gap

Thomas Espenshade, author of "No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life," discusses affirmative action and the racial achievement gap. He is a professor of sociology and faculty associate of the Office of Population Research.  

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Dickerson earns MLK Day Journey Award for roles as mentor, advocate

Janet Dickerson, Princeton's vice president for campus life for the past 10 years, received the University's MLK Day Journey Award, which recognizes efforts to continue the journey to achieve Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision for America.

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Sicily trip brings history to life

You have to see it to understand it. That was the lesson a group of Princeton students learned when they visited Sicily over fall break to gain a firsthand appreciation of the ancient cultures of that Mediterranean island.

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Berlo named director of Print and Mail Services

Deborah Berlo has been selected for the newly created position of director of Print and Mail Services at Princeton University. Her appointment was effective Jan. 4.

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Bogle invests in Princeton's future

With the gift of a new dormitory in Princeton's Butler College, John (Jack) C. Bogle, a 1951 graduate of the University and the founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group, has added his name to the campus vocabulary. Students now eat, sleep, study and socialize in Bogle Hall, and some even monitor sustainability experiments on its green roof.

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Graves recognized for excellence in architecture education

Michael Graves, Princeton's Robert Schirmer Professor of Architecture Emeritus, has been named the recipient of the Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education. The medal, from the American Institute of Architects and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions to architectural education for a decade or more.

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Designing a course, crafting a business

Since childhood, junior Jason Baum has been aware of environmental issues, switching off lights when leaving a room and turning off the water while brushing his teeth. After a year of planning with the Program in Environmental Studies and lecturer and entrepreneur Gregory van der Vink, Baum was among the 22 students taking the seminar "Environmental Entrepreneurship" this past fall.

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Long way home: Best finds success in studying religious roots

Trained as a historian and working in religion, Wallace Best fits the interdisciplinary nature of the Center for African American Studies. Since arriving at Princeton in 2007 from Harvard Divinity School, he has taught courses on spiritual narratives by black women, religions of the Americas and African American religious history, among others. He also has organized a lecture series on black gospel music. This semester he is teaching a course on the Nation of Islam and serving as the director of graduate studies in the religion department, as well as advising undergraduates. In addition, he is writing a book on the religious writings and thought of Langston Hughes.

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'Civic technologies' developed at Princeton shed light on government issues

Edward Felten and Stephen Schultze use computers as flashlights. The Princeton computer scientists recently oversaw the launch of two Web-based technologies to illuminate the workings of government by making court records and the federal government's "newspaper," the Federal Register, easily accessible online.

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Leach, Petraeus to receive top alumni awards

Princeton University will present its top honors for alumni to James Leach, a longtime U.S. congressman and current chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as commander of the U.S. Central Command.

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Five undergraduates named Scholars in the Nation's Service

The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs has selected five students to be the 2010 undergraduate cohort of the Scholars in the Nation's Service Initiative (SINSI), a scholarship program designed to encourage and prepare exceptional students for careers in the U.S. government.

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Flower, Hecht appointed college masters

Harriet Flower, professor of classics, has been named master of Mathey College, and Michael Hecht, professor of chemistry, has been named master of Forbes College. Both will begin their four-year terms in the residential colleges on July 1, 2010.

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Showcasing Princeton inventions

The University's rich research tradition and guiding spirit of intellectual curiosity was celebrated Friday, Dec. 18, at an event that showcased faculty members' cutting-edge ideas in a broad range of disciplines.

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Scientists use bacteria to power simple machines

A scientist from Princeton University, working with researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and Northwestern University, has discovered that common bacteria can turn microgears when suspended in a solution, providing insights for design of bio-inspired dynamically adaptive materials for energy.

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Tilghman awarded Du Bois Medal from Harvard

Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman has been awarded the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal, the highest honor bestowed by Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, for her leadership in strengthening Princeton's commitment to African American studies.

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From terrorism to HIV, it's all about the network

Similarities between webs of terrorists and networks of rescue personnel may seem unlikely. To an eclectic collaboration of engineers and social scientists, the connections are not only possible, but a potential source of deep insights.

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Study: Earth's polar ice sheets vulnerable to even moderate global warming

A new analysis of the geological record of the Earth's sea level, carried out by scientists at Princeton and Harvard universities and published in the Dec. 16 issue of Nature, employs a novel statistical approach that reveals the planet's polar ice sheets are vulnerable to large-scale melting even under moderate global warming scenarios. Such melting would lead to a large and relatively rapid rise in global sea level.

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Grehan receives Sachs Scholarship

Josh Grehan, a senior with a lifelong interest in social justice advocacy, has been awarded the 2010 Daniel M. Sachs Class of 1960 Graduating Scholarship, one of the highest awards given to Princeton undergraduates.

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Tilghman appoints committee on undergraduate women's leadership

Princeton University President Shirley M. Tilghman has charged a new committee of faculty, staff and students with developing a better understanding of how undergraduate students perceive and seize the opportunities available to them to assert leadership both inside and outside the classroom.

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Going underground for a climate solution

Hoping to help fix the Earth's atmosphere, Catherine Peters recently found herself 4,100 feet underground. Peters, a Princeton associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, rode an elevator down a deep shaft into the Homestake Mine, a defunct South Dakota gold mine being transformed into an underground science laboratory. She toured the mine to plan for a research project that will explore whether factories that emit carbon dioxide, the gas primarily responsible for global warming, could instead safely pump it into the ground.

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Princeton awarded $23 million in Recovery Act funding

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Princeton University has received $23 million in research funding from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

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