Archive – August, 2010
Ceremony marks start of the year
Posted August 31, 2010; 01:33 p.m.
The University will mark the beginning of the academic year with Opening Exercises at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12, in the University Chapel. The annual service will include an address by President Shirley M. Tilghman and the recognition of academic achievements of undergraduate students.
Chin to speak at Constitution Day program
Posted August 30, 2010; 05:47 p.m.
A conversation with U.S. Circuit Court Judge Denny Chin, a 1975 Princeton graduate, and a student re-enactment titled "The Constitution in a Time of War: The Trial of Minoru Yasui" will be featured in this year's Constitution Day program at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, in McCosh Hall, Room 10.
Paper money is focus of exhibit
Posted August 30, 2010; 01:41 p.m.
Paper money will become works of art in the exhibit "Money on Paper: Bank Notes and Related Graphic Arts from the Collections of Vsevolod Onyshkevych and Princeton University." Currency from the University's Numismatic Collection will be on view starting Monday, Aug. 30, in the Leonard Milberg Gallery for the Graphic Arts at Firestone Library.
Campus sustainability efforts expand over summer
Posted August 30, 2010; 12:00 p.m.
Along streams and lakes and inside offices and classrooms, Princeton students, faculty and staff could be found working this summer to help the University meet its long-term sustainability goals.
Video: Student work: 'Eco-Reps'
Posted August 27, 2010; 12:06 p.m.
Eco-Reps students promoted sustainability in 2009-10 through events such as a trash recycling pilot project at Reunions.
Exhibition showcases JFK's brief time at Princeton
Posted August 26, 2010; 12:00 p.m.
Memorabilia from John F. Kennedy's brief stint as a Princeton student -- including his application stating his intended career as "banking" and a Christmas card showing Kennedy dressed in tails with his roommates -- is part of a new exhibition at the University's Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.
Money worth looking at! Exhibit of paper money at Princeton University
Posted August 24, 2010; 12:00 p.m.
Paper money will become works of art in the Princeton University Library exhibit "Money on Paper: Bank Notes and Related Graphic Arts from the Collections of Vsevolod Onyshkevych and Princeton University," starting Monday, Aug. 30. Currency from the University's Numismatic Collection will be on view in the Leonard Milberg Gallery for the Graphic Arts at Firestone Library on the Princeton campus.
Princeton builds research ties with historically black universities
Posted August 23, 2010; 12:00 p.m.
Collaborating with a Princeton engineering professor this summer, Max Fontus realized that working with scientists from other fields of research results in a cross-pollination of ideas that lays the foundation for great progress in science. Fontus and two other visiting junior faculty were paired up with Princeton engineering faculty this summer as part of the Leadership Development Institute, a National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported project intended to bolster research capacity and strengthen science, technology, engineering and mathematics research and education at historically black colleges and universities.
Lindenstrauss wins prestigious Fields Medal for mathematics work
Posted August 20, 2010; 07:02 p.m.
Elon Lindenstrauss, a Princeton professor of mathematics, has received one of this year's Fields Medals, widely considered to be the math world's equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
Video feature: 'Eli Harari: Engineering After Princeton'
Posted August 19, 2010; 12:00 p.m.
Eli Harari, who earned a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton in 1973, describes how a successful inventor recognizes a need and changes the world by pushing innovation. In this video profile by engineering alumnus Michael Wood, Harari recalls how his research experience at Princeton influenced his work as founder and chief executive officer of SanDisk Corp.
Eli Harari: Engineering after Princeton
Posted August 19, 2010; 12:00 p.m.
SanDisk Corp. founder Eli Harari, who earned his Ph.D. at Princeton in 1973, describes how a successful inventor changes the world by pushing innovation.
Bulletin moves to monthly schedule
Posted August 19, 2010; 10:00 a.m.
The Princeton University Bulletin will move to a monthly publication schedule beginning in September, for a total of 10 issues during the 2010-11 academic year.
Faculty Road re-opened, power restored on campus
Posted August 17, 2010; 03:47 p.m.
Faculty Road between Washington Road and Harrison Street has been re-opened, and power has been restored to most campus buildings, as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17.
Two appointed to leadership posts in Office of Development
Posted August 17, 2010; 03:00 p.m.
Two new members have been named to the Princeton University Office of Development's senior leadership team: Cynthia Albert Link has been named assistant vice president for capital giving, effective Sept. 13, and Kerstin Larsen will join the staff on Sept. 20 as director of development and of the Aspire campaign, a comprehensive fundraising effort that seeks to raise $1.75 billion by June 30, 2012.
Possible discovery of earliest animal life pushes back fossil record
Posted August 17, 2010; 01:00 p.m.
In findings that push back the clock on the scientific world's thinking about when animal life appeared on Earth, Princeton scientists may have discovered the oldest fossils of animal bodies, suggesting that primitive sponge-like creatures were living in ocean reefs about 650 million years ago. The shelly fossils, found beneath a 635 million-year-old glacial deposit in South Australia, represent the earliest evidence of animal body forms in the current fossil record by at least 70 million years.
U.S. and international publications give Princeton high marks in rankings
Posted August 17, 2010; 12:01 a.m.
Princeton University continues to be recognized on national and international college ranking lists as a top university for its quality of education, commitment to generous financial aid and leadership in sustainability initiatives.
Routes to campus, residents affected by storm -- UPDATED 9:30 P.M.
Posted August 16, 2010; 09:35 p.m.
Because of severe storms that moved through the area Monday, Aug. 16, Faculty Road between Washington Road and Harrison Street remains closed, and is expected to be closed throughout the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 17. Faculty, staff and students that typically arrive on campus via Faculty Road and Washington Road should plan alternate routes due to downed tree limbs and power lines. Alexander Road is open, and Washington Road is accessible via Nassau Street.
Campus residents displaced by storms being sheltered in Frist
Posted August 16, 2010; 08:05 p.m.
Public Safety is assisting residents of the Butler Apartments who were affected by the severe thunderstorms that moved through the area shortly before 5 p.m. Aug. 16 by establishing a shelter in the Frist Multipurpose Room. Cots and toiletries are available, and Dining Services is making food and beverages available to Butler residents who were not allowed to return to their homes.
Student scientists tackle research challenges in summer program
Posted August 13, 2010; 12:00 p.m.
Nearly 100 college students from Princeton and across the country worked with University faculty this summer as part of the University's Summer Undergraduate Research Program in Molecular and Qualitative and Computational Biology. The program, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Princeton's Department of Molecular Biology and Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, the Genentech Foundation, and the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research, funds intensive laboratory research experiences for a select group of undergraduates chosen from a nationwide pool.
Video feature: 'Polymers'
Posted August 12, 2010; 12:00 p.m.
What are polymers, anyway? With the help of local middle school students, Princeton faculty members and graduate students give a hands-on explanation of these long-chain molecules in the "Polymers" video, recorded at the University's 2010 Science and Engineering Expo.
Video: 'Polymers'
Posted August 12, 2010; 12:00 p.m.
Local middle school students help faculty members and graduate students give a hands-on explanation of polymers at Princeton's 2010 Science and Engineering Expo.
Leighton named director of Davis International Center
Posted August 12, 2010; 10:00 a.m.
Jacqueline Leighton, who has more than 15 years of experience in managing international programs and services, has been appointed director of the Davis International Center at Princeton. Her appointment is effective Wednesday, Aug. 18.
Video: Digital models to study fossils
Posted August 10, 2010; 01:41 p.m.
This video (no audio) shows the development of three-dimensional digital models to study fossils that may be evidence of the earliest living animals. The modeling by Situ Studio, a Brooklyn-based design studio and digital fabrication firm, made it possible to analyze fossils that could not be excavated from the surrounding rock using conventional techniques nor imaged using X-ray scanning techniques.
(Video courtesy of Situ Studio)
UPDATED - Chemistry lab carries Frick name; move-in begins
Posted August 10, 2010; 12:56 p.m.
The first occupants have begun moving into Princeton University's new chemistry building -- now formally named the Frick Chemistry Laboratory -- this week, initiating a process that will take place over the next six months.
Four graduate students receive inaugural DOE fellowships
Posted August 9, 2010; 05:59 p.m.
Four Princeton University graduate students are among 150 nationwide who have been selected as the first recipients of awards through the new Department of Energy Graduate Fellowship program.
Young journalists get hands-on lessons
Posted August 9, 2010; 12:00 p.m.
High school student Shawdae Harrison got a one-of-a-kind seminar in astrophysics this summer when she spent an hour one afternoon talking with Princeton scientists Lyman Page and David Spergel about the makeup of the universe. A Baltimore native, she is one of 21 high school students who on Aug. 9 wrapped up 10 days of intense, hands-on journalism study as part of the Princeton University Summer Journalism Program.
Princeton alumna confirmed to U.S. Supreme Court
Posted August 5, 2010; 05:22 p.m.
The U.S. Senate Aug. 5 confirmed President Barack Obama's nomination of Princeton alumna Elena Kagan to serve as the 112th justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. When she takes the oath of office, she will be the third consecutive Princeton University graduate to be appointed as a Supreme Court justice.
Princeton-led team comes up with new insights on malaria cycle
Posted August 5, 2010; 04:25 p.m.
Manuel Llinás, an assistant professor of molecular biology and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University, and members of his laboratory have published results of new research into the metabolism of the malarial parasite, published on Thursday, Aug. 5 in Nature.
Princeton-led team finds new building block in cells
Posted August 5, 2010; 01:00 p.m.
Zemer Gitai, an assistant professor of molecular biology at Princeton University, members of his laboratory, and scientists from the California Institute of Technology have published results in Nature Cell Biology of new research into how a metabolic enzyme in bacteria forms cytoplasmic filaments that affect bacterial cell shape. The study was published online July 18.
In focus: Art Museum enlivens summertime activities
Posted August 5, 2010; 12:00 p.m.
The Princeton University Art Museum is offering a range of exhibitions this summer, all of which are open to the public.
First among these is a landmark exhibition exploring the advent of color photography as a fine art form in the 1970s. "Starburst" is described as a surprising look at a misunderstood era, and is on view until Sept. 26.
Mass notification system tests scheduled
Posted August 4, 2010; 09:13 a.m.
The University will conduct sound testing of a mass notification system from Monday, Aug. 9, to Friday, Aug. 13, as part of an effort to determine the feasibility of installing mass notification equipment on campus. The testing will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.
Robert Tucker, renowned Soviet expert and Stalin biographer, dies
Posted August 3, 2010; 09:53 a.m.
Robert Tucker, a Princeton University professor emeritus of politics who was an authority on the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin and Marxism, died July 29 of pneumonia at his home in Princeton, N.J. He was 92.
Aspiring graduate students gain insights on path to Ph.D.
Posted August 2, 2010; 12:00 p.m.
In just eight weeks this summer on the Princeton campus, 14 college students from around the country are getting a real sense of how their lives may change over the next several years. The students are taking part in the Princeton Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, a program run by the Graduate School for students who are interested in pursuing doctoral studies.
Langiulli named director of corporate and foundation relations
Posted August 2, 2010; 11:00 a.m.
David Langiulli, an executive with more than 20 years of experience spanning the corporate and higher education sectors, has been appointed director of corporate and foundation relations at Princeton. His appointment was effective June 28.