Featured Stories Archive – May, 2007
Alumni of all ages return for Reunions
By Ruth Stevens · Posted May 31, 2007; 07:00 p.m.
Some 20,000 alumni and their families are expected on campus Thursday through Sunday, May 31-June 3, for Reunions activities. Highlights of the weekend will include: the annual P-rade throughout campus beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday; alumni-faculty forums and department open houses during the day on Friday and Saturday; and performances by groups including Quipfire!, Theatre Intime and the Triangle Club as well as receptions and student/alumni arch sings on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Valedictorian capitalizes on time at Princeton
By Eric Quiñones · Posted May 28, 2007; 08:00 p.m.
After four years as a Princeton undergraduate, Glen Weyl is still about a year away from his degree -- his Ph.D. Weyl has completed all of his coursework and exams for a doctorate in economics while still an undergraduate, earning a reputation as a rising star in the field. He also has garnered a remarkable collection of academic honors, capped by his selection as valedictorian of Princeton's class of 2007.
King of the road: Dale winner to take musical journey across America
By Eric Quiñones · Posted May 24, 2007; 10:00 a.m.
From the hum of a massive incinerator in Harrisburg, Pa., to the tonal distinctions of Chinese languages, Daniel Hawkins has found musical inspiration in atypical places. Now the Princeton senior plans to spend the next year traversing America's highways, taking his search for muses onto the open road.
Senior tests gender differences in political behavior
By Eric Quiñones · Posted May 21, 2007; 12:03 p.m.
With Nancy Pelosi serving as the first female speaker of the House of Representatives and Hillary Clinton vying for the presidency, the role of women in U.S. politics continues to expand. Politics major Janice Dru decided to investigate how a greater female presence might affect the political landscape — and used her peers as test subjects.
Writing the melody of a novel
By Jennifer Greenstein Altmann · Posted May 17, 2007; 10:32 a.m.
A few weeks ago Dmitri Tymoczko, the departmental representative in music, sent out an e-mail that listed the name of every senior in the department and the type of thesis each student was pursuing. Some students were listed under musicology, and some under composition. Scott Elmegreen was listed under "other." Elmegreen, a music major who also is earning a certificate in creative writing, actually wrote two theses, both of which combine the written word and music in a way that's rarely been done.
Wu gifts promote excellence in engineering and across campus
By Steven Schultz · Posted May 15, 2007; 10:00 a.m.
Business leader and alumnus Sir Gordon Wu returned to campus Monday, May 14, to celebrate 25 years of extraordinary support to the University, including funds to construct buildings, provide financial aid, endow faculty positions and support innovative research. Wu, a member of the class of 1958, completed payments this year on a historic gift of $100 million that he pledged in 1995 to support the School of Engineering and Applied Science. The gift is the second largest in Princeton's history; in 2006, Peter B. Lewis, a member of the class of 1955, gave $101 million to support the creative and performing arts.
Seeking Mars survival secrets
By Chad Boutin · Posted May 10, 2007; 10:45 a.m.
David Smith always wondered whether other planets might harbor life, so when he actually got the opportunity to investigate, he jumped at it. His decision launched him on a year-long mission, leading him to the Kennedy Space Center and back.
Assembling the written word: McPhee reveals how the pieces go together
By Jennifer Greenstein Altmann · Posted May 7, 2007; 10:00 a.m.
For John McPhee, the most significant element of putting together one of his famed New Yorker magazine articles is figuring out the structure. "I'm obsessed with the structure of pieces of writing," explained McPhee, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Princeton's Ferris Professor of Journalism, who has taught his legendary class on writing at the University for more than 30 years.
Deepening the discourse on racial dynamics
By Karin Dienst · Posted May 3, 2007; 10:00 a.m.
Investigating where she comes from is a central theme for Anne Cheng, an Asian American, who uses her wide-ranging interests in 20th-century American literature, film, psychoanalysis, history, law and the arts to explore how racial identity is perceived and promulgated in American culture. Part of where she comes from is Princeton.