Archive – August, 2009
Agawu honored with Harrison Medal
Posted August 31, 2009; 06:18 p.m.
Professor of music Kofi Agawu has been awarded the 2009 Harrison Medal from the Society for Musicology in Ireland.
Mathematical physics awards given to three faculty members
Posted August 31, 2009; 06:13 p.m.
Three Princeton faculty members received awards at the International Congress of Mathematical Physics, which was held in August in Prague.
PWB renamed Princeton University Bulletin, moves to biweekly schedule
Posted August 31, 2009; 12:08 p.m.
As part of campuswide cost-savings efforts and sustainability initiatives, the University's official newspaper will begin a new biweekly publication schedule this fall and will be renamed the Princeton University Bulletin.
Program guides aspiring college students toward success
Posted August 31, 2009; 09:55 a.m.
For local high school students who aspire to higher education, the Princeton campus this summer served as a launching pad toward their goal of attending college. Sixty-eight students participated in the Princeton University Preparatory Program's six-week summer institute, which includes intensive coursework, cultural activities and college tours.
NIH awards $2.9 million to Center for Health and Wellbeing for research on aging
Posted August 27, 2009; 12:32 p.m.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $2.9 million over five years to the Center for Health and Wellbeing at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs to support research exploring the relationships and impacts of people's health and quality of life as populations age.
Fischhoff named AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow
Posted August 27, 2009; 12:26 p.m.
Ilya Fischhoff, a postdoctoral research associate in Princeton's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, has received an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship and will be working at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Unraveling language puzzles
Posted August 27, 2009; 12:00 p.m.
At 4:30 on a Wednesday afternoon, students majoring in psychology, mathematics and classics came together in a classroom at Frist Campus Center. They spent an hour working on fractions written in Egyptian Arabic, translating sentences from the Agta language of the Philippines into Central Cagayan Agta and considering how the Proto-Indo-European "dh" sound vanished from certain English words. The problems were not part of a course curriculum. Rather, they were a series of linguistic puzzles presented at a meeting of the Linguistics Club.
Undergrad wins $100,000 to expand iPhone app for diabetics
Posted August 26, 2009; 11:27 p.m.
After watching diabetic friends and family members struggle to keep track of their food consumption, blood sugar and insulin intake, Matthew Connor knew there had to be a better way. Then it dawned on him: Most people nowadays carry mobile phones. And more and more those phones are tiny computers that can store information and connect to the Internet.
Princeton partnership brings chamber opera to stage
Posted August 25, 2009; 11:26 a.m.
A collaboration between two longtime members of the Princeton community has produced a chamber opera based on a true story of love and courtship featuring singing, poetry and dance. The Center City Opera Theater of Philadelphia will present the first fully staged production of "The Always Present Present" by librettist Renée Weiss and composer Peter Westergaard at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, in the Matthews Acting Studio at 185 Nassau St.
Princeton team learns why some drugs pack such a punch
Posted August 20, 2009; 11:00 a.m.
By studying the intricate mechanisms at work in protein production, a Princeton-led team has discovered why certain kinds of antibiotics are so effective. In doing so, they also have discovered how one protein protects against cell death, shedding light on a natural cancer-fighting process.
Chinese shadow figures highlight University's extensive, seldom-seen collection
Posted August 20, 2009; 09:00 a.m.
An exhibition of vividly painted and delicately carved Chinese shadow theater figures at Princeton's East Asian Library provides a window into an enduring art form as well as Chinese religious beliefs, literature and other cultural markers.
U.S. publications recognize Princeton as a top university
Posted August 20, 2009; 12:01 a.m.
The latest college ranking conducted by U.S. News & World Report has ranked Princeton University as the No. 1 school for undergraduate students, while separate annual rankings by Forbes.com and other similar lists also continue to recognize Princeton as a premier university for its quality of education and commitment to generous financial aid.
Carter elected to international academy
Posted August 18, 2009; 06:15 p.m.
Emily Carter, the Arthur W. Marks '19 Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Applied and Computational Mathematics, has been elected a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science.
Kennan and Forrestal papers processing project completed
Posted August 18, 2009; 02:57 p.m.
Princeton University's Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library has completed a one-year project to process the papers of George Kennan and James Forrestal, two Princeton alumni who were important figures in shaping U.S. policy at the inception of the Cold War.
New 'Princeton Guide to Ecology' explores topics from climate change to community organization
Posted August 17, 2009; 09:00 a.m.
In his new book, "The Princeton Guide to Ecology," Princeton professor Simon Levin has tapped more than 130 experts to compile a concise, authoritative one-volume reference to the major subjects and concepts in ecology.
Car wins Dirac Medal
Posted August 13, 2009; 09:36 p.m.
Roberto Car, the Ralph W. Dornte *31 Professor in Chemistry at Princeton and a faculty fellow of the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, has been named a winner of the 2009 Dirac Medal for his significant contributions to physics.
Butler College Redevelopment Fact Sheet
Posted August 13, 2009; 09:00 a.m.
A list of facts about the Butler College project.
From top to bottom, Butler will be a living environmental laboratory
Posted August 13, 2009; 09:00 a.m.
When 283 Princeton undergraduates move into Butler College this September, they will be entering a 113,000-square-foot complex integrating sustainability features from top to bottom, including the green roofs on more than half of its buildings and a stormwater cistern that will collect and recycle rainwater to irrigate courtyard landscaping.
Video: Princeton's green roofs
Posted August 12, 2009; 03:49 p.m.
Faculty, students and staff involved in a monitoring project are measuring the effectiveness of sustainability efforts on the newly installed Butler College green roof.
Princeton pair sets world record in packing puzzle
Posted August 12, 2009; 01:00 p.m.
Finding the best way to pack the greatest quantity of a specifically shaped object into a confined space may sound simple, yet it consistently has led to deep mathematical concepts and practical applications, such as improved computer security codes. Two Princeton University researchers have made a major advance in addressing a twist in the packing problem, jamming more tetrahedra -- solid figures with four triangular faces -- and other polyhedral solid objects than ever before into a space.
Report maps the future of U.S. energy technology
Posted August 11, 2009; 10:00 a.m.
The United States could meet projected growth in energy demand through 2030 with existing technologies, but the nation's long-term energy sustainability will require an enduring commitment, by both the public and private sectors, to developing, demonstrating and deploying new technologies and energy sources, according to a National Academy of Sciences committee chaired by Princeton Professor and President Emeritus Harold T. Shapiro.
Students illuminate campus lighting with a highbeam on sustainability
Posted August 10, 2009; 09:00 a.m.
For four weeks this summer, a nocturnal visitor to Princeton's campus might have encountered a strange sight — a wooden cart rolling through campus on a bicycle wheel, light meters hanging from a pole in front and two graduate students pushing in back. The Rube Goldberg-like contraption is the centerpiece of a project to collect data on pathway lighting on campus.
Princeton scientists discover, visualize exotic electrons on surfaces of unique insulators
Posted August 10, 2009; 09:00 a.m.
In two separate studies, Princeton-led teams of scientists have found a new type of "light-like" electron and visualized for the first time another type that doesn't bounce back when material imperfections are encountered on the surface of special insulators. The discoveries advance the fundamental understanding of condensed matter physics and may have implications for the development of computing devices millions of times faster than today's most powerful computers.
Video: Student work: 'The Underpants'
Posted August 7, 2009; 11:05 a.m.
Princeton Summer Theater closes its 2009 season with Steve Martin's zany adaptation of Carl Sternheim's "The Underpants," playing through Aug. 16 at the Hamilton Murray Theater as part of a series of student productions.
Purchasing receives sixth consecutive excellence award
Posted August 7, 2009; 08:05 a.m.
The Princeton University purchasing department has been awarded a 2009 Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award. Princeton has now earned this award for six consecutive years.
Princeton alumna, trustee confirmed as Supreme Court's first Latina justice
Posted August 6, 2009; 03:28 p.m.
The U.S. Senate Aug. 6 confirmed President Barack Obama's nomination of Princeton alumna and trustee Sonia Sotomayor to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Princeton quantitative biology center awarded $15 million renewal grant
Posted August 6, 2009; 09:00 a.m.
The Princeton Center for Quantitative Biology will receive $15.54 million over the next five years to continue its research and teaching in biological processes from aging to malaria by developing improved quantitative models, data sets and computational analysis equipment and methods.
Opportunities open up world of learning for Princeton students
Posted August 5, 2009; 11:29 p.m.
Classes are out, but learning is a central summertime pursuit for many Princeton students as they participate in a range of activities around the world.
World of learning: Ankit Bhatia, Sandeep Raj and Tony Trenga
Posted August 5, 2009; 11:11 p.m.
Ankit Bhatia, Class of 2010, Sandeep Raj, Class of 2011, and Tony Trenga, Class of 2011
World of learning: Ben Weisman
Posted August 5, 2009; 10:58 p.m.
Ben Weisman, Class of 2011
World of learning: Michelle Thompson
Posted August 5, 2009; 10:34 p.m.
Michelle Thompson, Class of 2010
World of learning: Kathryn Bailey
Posted August 5, 2009; 10:11 p.m.
Kathryn Bailey, Class of 2010
World of learning: Tommy Lopez
Posted August 5, 2009; 09:56 p.m.
Tommy Lopez, Class of 2010
Astronomers find hyperactive galaxies in the early universe
Posted August 5, 2009; 01:00 p.m.
Looking almost 11 billion years into the past, astronomers have measured the motions of stars for the first time in a very distant galaxy and clocked speeds upward of 1 million miles per hour, about twice the speed of the sun's revolution through the Milky Way.
PPPL will receive $13.8 million in Recovery Act funding
Posted August 4, 2009; 04:17 p.m.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory will receive a two-year federal grant of $13.8 million as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).