Archive – May, 2009
Petraeus challenges seniors to pursue life of public service
Posted May 31, 2009; 06:53 p.m.
One of the nation's top military leaders challenged Princeton University's graduating seniors May 31 to enter a life of public service, exhorting them to continue what is a proud university tradition and promising them that such a path is a meaningful way to live.
2009 Baccalaureate Remarks
Posted May 31, 2009; 03:00 p.m.
Abridged Baccalaureate remarks by Gen. David Petraeus, as provided to the University.
Video: Voz Latina
Posted May 29, 2009; 04:37 p.m.
Participants from across the nation gathered for a symposium on Latinos in America hosted by Princeton's Graduate School and Latino Graduate Student Association.
Alumni, families visit campus for Reunions
Posted May 29, 2009; 03:44 p.m.
Alumni and their families have returned to campus through Sunday, May 31, for Reunions activities.
Graduate students lauded as excellent teachers
Posted May 29, 2009; 10:00 a.m.
The Princeton Graduate School will present awards to six graduate students in recognition of their outstanding abilities as teachers. They will be honored at the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni's Tribute to Teaching Reception on Saturday, May 30. Each winner will receive $1,000.
Two to receive Phi Beta Kappa teaching awards
Posted May 28, 2009; 12:20 p.m.
Sanjeev Kulkarni, professor of electrical engineering, and Anthony Grafton, the Henry Putnam University Professor of History, will be honored by the Princeton chapter of Phi Beta Kappa with its annual awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching.
Princeton honors exceptional secondary school teachers
Posted May 28, 2009; 12:14 p.m.
Princeton University will honor four outstanding New Jersey secondary school teachers at its 2009 Commencement on Tuesday, June 2.
Global Collaborative Research Fund projects selected
Posted May 27, 2009; 02:20 p.m.
The first recipients of grants from the Princeton Global Collaborative Research Fund have been selected by the Council for International Teaching and Research for the study of topics ranging from 21st-century urban architecture to new planets to security issues in East Asia.
Princeton researchers to lead major Pentagon-funded initiatives
Posted May 27, 2009; 10:38 a.m.
The U.S. Department of Defense has selected Princeton engineers to lead two new multi-institutional research initiatives, one aimed at transforming wireless telecommunications networks and the other at inventing materials that adapt themselves to changing loads and environments.
Salutatorian embraces a life of service
Posted May 26, 2009; 04:00 p.m.
Stephen Hammer arrived at Princeton planning to focus his studies on contemporary public policy. But that changed when he read "On Duties" by the Roman statesman and orator Cicero in a political theory class. Cicero gave Hammer "an appreciation of the way Romans looked at morality," he said, a concept Hammer explored in greater depth after becoming a classics major.
Valedictorian Staude shines in the classroom and on the stage
Posted May 26, 2009; 04:00 p.m.
On his first day of classes as a freshman, Holger Staude received an unexpected invitation. Florent Masse, the instructor of his advanced French course, took Staude aside after class and -- impressed with the German native's command of the language -- urged him to join the University's French theater workshop. Staude had never considered acting. Yet, just as he did in deciding to attend Princeton, he accepted the challenge and thrived.
Talk focuses on feminism and the economy
Posted May 26, 2009; 01:21 p.m.
A conversation titled "Women, Girls, Ladies: On Feminism and the Economy" is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday, May 30, in McCosh 10.
Princeton alumna, trustee nominated to Supreme Court
Posted May 26, 2009; 10:41 a.m.
Princeton alumna Sonia Sotomayor has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. If chosen, she would be the court's first Latina justice.
Video: Excerpt from Holger Staude's performance
Posted May 23, 2009; 04:56 p.m.
Valedictorian Holger Staude was one of three winners of the annual University Concerto Competition, which led to a featured performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor. Read more.
Graduate students selected for Scholars in the Nation's Service Initiative
Posted May 22, 2009; 01:27 p.m.
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs has selected the 2009 cohort of incoming graduate students for the Scholars in the Nation's Service Initiative (SINSI), a competitive scholarship program designed to encourage, support an...
Alumni, families to visit campus for Reunions
Posted May 21, 2009; 10:25 p.m.
Alumni and their families will return to campus Thursday through Sunday, May 28-31, for Reunions activities.
Commencement events scheduled for May 31-June 2--UPDATED 6/2/09--Commencement to take place outdoors as planned
Posted May 21, 2009; 10:05 p.m.
**Commencement on Tuesday, June 2, will take place outdoors on the lawn in front of Nassau Hall as planned.** Several University activities for undergraduate and graduate degree candidates and their families are planned for Sunday through Tuesday, May 31-June 2.
Video: Weapons of Mass Construction
Posted May 21, 2009; 05:05 p.m.
More than 120 Princeton student-athletes spent April 5 working in conjunction with the Princeton Varsity Club and Isles Inc. on a rebuilding and beautification project in Hamilton, NJ. Read more.
Video: Masterworks for the Zen flute
Posted May 21, 2009; 03:24 p.m.
Students have the opportunity to learn to play the Japanese bamboo flute from visiting fellow Riley Lee, the first non-Japanese to attain the rank of shakuhachi grand master. Read more.
Grand master guides novices in Japanese musical tradition
Posted May 20, 2009; 03:24 p.m.
In a rehearsal room in the Woolworth Center of Musical Studies, students are blowing into their instruments, flicking hands over finger holes, shaking heads, and dipping chins up and down to create different sounds. Playing a few basic recitations absorbs all their concentration, as most in the class first picked up the instrument a few weeks prior and only a handful are experienced musicians. This immersion into new musical territory is the mission of the course "Masterworks for the Zen Flute: Music for Shakuhachi," in which students across disciplines have the opportunity to play the shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute, and to study its history and culture.
Research team finds important role for junk DNA
Posted May 20, 2009; 12:08 p.m.
Scientists have called it "junk DNA." They have long been perplexed by these extensive strands of genetic material that dominate the genome but seem to lack specific functions. Why would nature force the genome to carry so much excess baggage? Now researchers from Princeton University and Indiana University who have been studying the genome of a pond organism have found that junk DNA may not be so junky after all.
Four professors honored for excellence in mentoring graduate students
Posted May 20, 2009; 09:20 a.m.
Four Princeton faculty members have been named the recipients of Graduate Mentoring Awards by the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning and will be honored during the Graduate School's hooding ceremony on Monday, June 1.
'24' producer to discuss impact of popular culture on public policy
Posted May 18, 2009; 03:33 p.m.
Howard Gordon, a Princeton alumnus who is an executive producer of the television series "24," will participate in a session titled "Content and Discontent: '24'" at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 21, in the Stewart Film Theater, 185 Nassau St.
University expands travel database, services
Posted May 18, 2009; 11:42 a.m.
The University has expanded its travel website to provide planning and emergency resources for faculty and staff members traveling in the United States and abroad.
Plasma physics lab device has second life in homeland security
Posted May 18, 2009; 09:39 a.m.
In 1999, faced with the task of decommissioning the legendary Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR), officials at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) realized they needed something that didn't yet exist -- a way to detect exactly what "hot" elements were lacing the inner vessel of the doughnut-shaped reactor. So they asked a team from the lab to invent a device that would identify each element in the reactor and how much was there. Ten years later, the group not only has successfully tackled that challenge, but it has won national recognition for a system that offers practical applications for homeland security and deterring radiological terrorist attacks.
Princeton University Commencement to be held June 2
Posted May 15, 2009; 02:34 p.m.
Members of the news media who wish to attend any of Princeton University's 2009 graduation ceremonies Sunday through Tuesday, May 31 to June 2, must contact the University's Office of Communications no later than 1 p.m. Friday, May 22, to request credentials.
Exhibition celebrates American Revolution and Lapidus collection
Posted May 14, 2009; 01:46 p.m.
"Liberty and the American Revolution," an exhibition celebrating 50 years of book collecting by Sidney Lapidus, a 1959 Princeton graduate, will open Thursday, May 28, in the main gallery of Firestone Library. The exhibition also marks the 50th reunion of Lapidus' class.
At hometown theater, Dale winner will mount a season of accessible drama
Posted May 14, 2009; 01:08 p.m.
Senior Christopher Simpson established the nonprofit Courthouse Theater Company in his hometown of South Kingstown, R.I., and has spent summers directing plays there during his years at Princeton. Now he is poised to mount the theater's first full season as the 2009 winner of the Martin Dale Fellowship.
Portes elected to American Philosophical Society
Posted May 14, 2009; 10:27 a.m.
Princeton sociologist Alejandro Portes is one of 35 newly elected members of the American Philosophical Society.
Video: Student work: It's Greener on Top
Posted May 13, 2009; 05:33 p.m.
The benefits of green roofs on urban landscapes and campuses such as Princeton's are explored in excerpts from a student-produced documentary. Watch the <font color="#fa7f00;"><a href="http://www.princeton.edu/sustainability/about/office/projects/secn/">full video</a></font>.
2009 Art of Science competition
Posted May 13, 2009; 12:16 p.m.
The 2009 Art of Science competition highlights scientific images created during the course of research projects.
Exhibition showcases the 'Art of Science'
Posted May 13, 2009; 10:21 a.m.
A panel of distinguished judges has selected the best pieces of art to come out of the University's research labs. Now it's everyone else's turn. Winners of the 2009 Art of Science competition were announced at a gallery opening in the Friend Center May 8. The show features 48 works chosen from more than 200 submissions and will be on display in the Friend Center atrium for a year.
Princeton team's analysis of flu virus could lead to better vaccines
Posted May 12, 2009; 02:39 p.m.
A team of Princeton University scientists may have found a better way to make a vaccine against the flu virus.
Panel to explore library research skills
Posted May 11, 2009; 07:28 p.m.
A panel discussion titled "Library Research Skills: Can They Be Taught? By Whom? When? How?" is set for 2 p.m. Monday, May 18, in 101 McCormick Hall.
Conference planned in memory of Mahoney
Posted May 11, 2009; 07:16 p.m.
A conference in memory of Michael S. Mahoney, a Princeton professor of history who died last year, is planned for Friday and Saturday, May 15-16, in 211 Dickinson Hall.
Conference examines health care and immigration
Posted May 11, 2009; 07:09 p.m.
"What Is Ailing U.S.? Health Care and Immigration -- Access and Barriers" is the title of a conference that will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, May 15, in the Friend Center Convocation Room.
Internationally renowned artists appointed to head Lewis Center programs
Posted May 11, 2009; 02:00 p.m.
Susan Marshall has been named the first director of the Program in Dance and Joe Scanlan has been selected as the new director of the Program in Visual Arts in the University's Lewis Center for the Arts.
Cultural property course examines museum's Native American treasures
Posted May 11, 2009; 11:00 a.m.
In a back room at the Princeton University Art Museum, the students in professor Lawrence Rosen's new anthropology course received a firsthand lesson on the issues surrounding art, authenticity and ownership.
Seven faculty members among inaugural group of SIAM fellows
Posted May 11, 2009; 09:45 a.m.
Seven Princeton faculty members have been elected to the inaugural group of fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).
EPA Administrator Jackson describes a new path for environmentalism
Posted May 8, 2009; 07:59 p.m.
The American environmental movement needs to change and appeal to a broader audience if it is to make inroads into the set of problems facing the nation, according to Lisa Jackson, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Hopfield wins IEEE's Rosenblatt Award
Posted May 8, 2009; 10:23 a.m.
John Hopfield, the Howard A. Prior Professor Emeritus in the Life Sciences, will receive the 2009 Frank Rosenblatt Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for his seminal contributions to the understanding of information processing in biological systems.
Conference explores 'totalitarian laughter'
Posted May 8, 2009; 10:01 a.m.
A conference exploring the peculiar relationship between repression and laughter in socialist states is scheduled for Friday through Sunday, May 15-17, in 219 Burr Hall.
OIT tests Amazon's Kindle e-reader in sustainability effort
Posted May 6, 2009; 12:39 p.m.
Princeton's Office of Information Technology (OIT) and the Princeton University Library are working with Amazon's Kindle DX electronic reader in a pilot project to study if using an electronic reader can reduce the use of paper at Princeton while preserving the benefits of the traditional classroom experience.
Cadava appointed master of Wilson College
Posted May 6, 2009; 11:37 a.m.
Professor of English Eduardo Cadava has been named master of Wilson College, one of Princeton's six residential colleges. He will begin a four-year term on July 1, 2009.
Brink to receive International Service Award
Posted May 5, 2009; 05:41 p.m.
Princeton senior Shannon Brink will receive the 2009 International Service Award, which is presented annually by the Davis International Center to a student or student group in recognition of cross-cultural humanitarian endeavors.
Princeton Laptop Orchestra to perform new music with special guests
Posted May 5, 2009; 05:26 p.m.
The Princeton Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk) -- in collaboration with renowned sound art duo Matmos, the Brooklyn-based ensemble So Percussion and shakuhachi master Riley Lee -- will present a program of new works at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 16, in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall.
Princeton to receive $20 million to establish Energy Frontier Research Center
Posted May 5, 2009; 12:03 p.m.
Princeton University will be home to a new $20 million energy research center for combustion science as part of a federal initiative to spur discoveries that lay the groundwork for an economy based on clean replacements for fossil fuels.
Allen named recipient of Academy Award in Architecture
Posted May 5, 2009; 09:13 a.m.
Stan Allen, the dean of Princeton's School of Architecture, has been awarded an Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Video: Keller Center: My idea of a better world
Posted May 4, 2009; 03:55 p.m.
The Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education focuses on preparing Princeton students to be leaders in an increasingly complex and technology-driven society.
Taking an intimate view of religion in Mozambique
Posted May 4, 2009; 10:10 a.m.
Religion major Lily Cowles' senior thesis began with a sign.During the summer after her sophomore year, Cowles was volunteering in the southern African nation of Mozambique. En route to and from the orphanage where she was working, she noticed a sign announcing Mazione church services, and her curiosity was piqued.
Princeton geoscientist offers new evidence that meteorite did not wipe out dinosaurs
Posted May 4, 2009; 10:00 a.m.
A Princeton University geoscientist who has stirred controversy with her studies challenging a popular theory that an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs has compiled powerful new evidence asserting her position. Gerta Keller, whose studies of rock formations at many sites in the United States, Mexico and India have led her to conclude that volcanoes, not a vast meteorite, were the more likely culprits in the demise of the Earth's giant reptiles, is producing new data supporting her claim.
Corngold and Harman receive Behrman Award
Posted May 2, 2009; 09:00 p.m.
Stanley Corngold, professor of German and comparative literature, and Gilbert Harman, the Stuart Professor of Philosophy, have received Princeton's Behrman Award for distinguished achievement in the humanities. They were honored at a May 2 dinner.
L'Avant-Scène to perform 'Cyrano de Bergerac'
Posted May 1, 2009; 04:49 p.m.
L'Avant-Scène, Princeton's French theater workshop, in association with Rockefeller College, will perform Edmond Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac" at 8 p.m. Friday, May 8, in the Rockefeller College Courtyard.
Student work: Lily Cowles' senior thesis documentary
Posted May 1, 2009; 01:07 p.m.
Religion major Lily Cowles learned Portuguese and filmmaking in just one year to create her senior thesis documentary on the Mazione Church in Mozambique.
Princeton Grad School applications rise 10 percent
Posted May 1, 2009; 10:00 a.m.
Princeton's Graduate School admitted 1,068 of the 10,135 applicants who applied for the 2009-10 academic year, with the strength of the school's financial aid program contributing to a 10 percent increase in the number of students applying to master's and doctoral programs. The 10.5 percent overall admission rate is down from the 13 percent of applicants who were admitted from last year's pool of 9,238 applicants.
BodyHype presents spring show
Posted May 1, 2009; 09:41 a.m.
BodyHype Dance Company will present its spring show Thursday through Saturday, May 7-9, in the Murray Theater. Show times are at 8 p.m. Thursday, at 10 p.m. Friday, and at 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday.
Economist Sachs to receive award, present lecture
Posted May 1, 2009; 09:36 a.m.
Acclaimed international economist Jeffrey Sachs will receive the American Whig-Cliosophic Society's James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service and present an address at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, in McCosh 50.