News Releases
Is there an invisible tug-of-war behind bad hearts and power outages?
Posted June 17, 2013; 10:30 a.m.
Researchers from Princeton University and Germany's Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization report the first purely physical experimental evidence that an invisible and chaotic tug-of-war known as a chimera state could occur naturally within any process that relies on spontaneous synchronization, including clock pendulums, power grids and heart valves.
Weekend substitute bus service to run between Princeton and Princeton Junction
Posted June 14, 2013; 10:00 a.m.
On the weekends of June 15-16 and June 22-23, buses will replace the rail shuttle service between Princeton and Princeton Junction Station due to construction of the new Princeton Station.
Princeton University holds 266th Commencement
Posted June 4, 2013; 12:10 p.m.
Princeton University awarded degrees to 1,261 undergraduates in the Class of 2013, five from other classes and 892 graduate students at its 266th Commencement Tuesday, June 4.
Four faculty members recognized for outstanding teaching
Posted June 4, 2013; 12:00 p.m.
Four Princeton University faculty members received President's Awards for Distinguished Teaching at Commencement ceremonies Tuesday, June 4. They are: Yelena Baraz, assistant professor of classics; Andrew Houck, associate professor of electrical engineering; Deborah Nord, professor of English; and David Spergel, the Charles A. Young Professor of Astronomy on the Class of 1897 Foundation and professor of astrophysical sciences.
Princeton awards six honorary degrees
Posted June 4, 2013; 12:00 p.m.
Princeton University awarded honorary degrees during Commencement exercises Tuesday, June 4, to six individuals for their contributions to architecture, education, literature, the humanities, human rights, medicine and science: Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health; Lorraine Daston, executive director of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin; Frank Gehry, world-renowned architect; Toni Morrison, Nobel laureate and the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities Emeritus at Princeton; Shirley M. Tilghman, president of Princeton University; and Sakena Yacoobi, executive director of the Afghan Institute of Learning.
Graduate School admits 1,208 from competitive applicant pool
Posted May 30, 2013; 04:22 p.m.
Princeton University's Graduate School admitted 1,208 of the 11,179 students who applied for the 2013-14 academic year, with the school's international reputation and generous financial aid program attracting students from across the globe.
Alumnus Donoho receives Shaw Prize in mathematics
Posted May 28, 2013; 02:33 p.m.
Princeton University alumnus David Donoho, the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Humanities and Sciences and a professor of statistics at Stanford University, today was named the 2013 Shaw Laureate in mathematics. A member of Princeton's Class of 1978, Donoho was recognized for his work to get a more detailed analysis out of large numerical data sets.
Princeton to honor four secondary school teachers
Posted May 28, 2013; 11:30 a.m.
Princeton University will honor four exceptional New Jersey secondary school teachers at its 2013 Commencement on Tuesday, June 4.
Sagar sees Constitution at work in AP phone records seizure
Posted May 24, 2013; 01:57 p.m.
The Justice Department's controversial seizure of Associated Press phone records highlights a messy but effective constitutional balancing act that ultimately benefits the country, said Rahul Sagar, an assistant professor of politics at Princeton University.
'The Great Gatsby' manuscript and galleys now online through Princeton University Digital Library
Posted May 24, 2013; 09:34 a.m.
The Princeton University Library is pleased to announce the digitization of the autograph manuscript and corrected galleys of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925), which were donated to the Princeton University Library in 1950 by Fitzgerald's daughter Scottie Fitzgerald Lanahan. The Library has put the digital images online in the Princeton University Digital Library (PUDL), making the historical items easily accessible to researchers, Fitzgerald fans and the general public.
Alexander Street detour to begin June 6
Posted May 23, 2013; 03:45 p.m.
Starting on Thursday, June 6, Alexander Street will be closed to thru traffic from College Road to University Place. This closure is expected to remain in place until the end of July.
Princeton University Commencement to be held June 4
Posted May 21, 2013; 03:00 p.m.
Members of the news media who wish to attend any of Princeton University's 2013 graduation ceremonies Sunday through Tuesday, June 2-4, must contact the University's Office of Communications no later than 3 p.m. Friday, May 24, to request credentials.
Media Advisory: Lost in space — Cancellation of NASA's Kepler mission would hinder exploration of extrasolar planets, Princeton's Bakos says
Posted May 20, 2013; 01:31 p.m.
The potential cancellation of the NASA Kepler satellite mission would mark the end of an unparalleled source of information about planets and planetary systems outside of Earth's solar system, known as exoplanets, according to Princeton University astrophysicist Gáspár Bakos, who studies exoplanets and has discovered more than 40.
University Public Safety, Princeton Police update operating procedures
Posted May 17, 2013; 09:55 a.m.
The Princeton University Department of Public Safety and the Princeton Police Department have updated an agreement on operating procedures that also outlines best practices and processes for enhancing collaboration between the departments to best serve the entire Princeton community.
Temporary traffic signal installation begins May 13
Posted May 13, 2013; 12:30 p.m.
A temporary traffic signal is being installed at the intersection of College Road and University Place for use over the next year when construction detours are in effect for Princeton University's Arts and Transit Project.
Nine students receive 2013 Spirit of Princeton Award
Posted May 8, 2013; 01:30 p.m.
Nine students have been named winners of the 2013 Spirit of Princeton Award, which honors undergraduates at Princeton University for their positive contributions to campus life. The award recognizes students who have demonstrated a strong commitment to the undergraduate experience through dedicated efforts with student organizations, athletics, community service, religious life, residential life and the arts.
New analysis suggests wind, not water, formed mound on Mars
Posted May 6, 2013; 12:00 p.m.
Researchers based at Princeton University, the California Institute of Technology and Ashima Research suggest that Mars' roughly 3.5-mile high Mount Sharp most likely emerged as strong winds carried dust and sand into Gale Crater where the mound sits. If correct, the research could dilute expectations that the mound is the remnant of a massive lake, which would have important implications for understanding Mars' past habitability.
Physicists, biologists unite to expose how cancer spreads
Posted April 26, 2013; 01:00 p.m.
A multi-institutional study including researchers from Princeton University's Physical Sciences-Oncology Center found that cancer cells that can break out of a tumor and invade other organs are more aggressive and nimble than nonmalignant cells.
Christopher L. Eisgruber named 20th president of Princeton University
Posted April 21, 2013; 12:30 p.m.
Christopher L. Eisgruber, Princeton's provost for the past nine years, has been named the University's 20th president, effective July 1. He succeeds Shirley M. Tilghman, who last fall announced her intention to step down at the end of this academic year after completing 12 years in office.
Bad decisions arise from faulty information, not faulty brain circuits
Posted April 15, 2013; 12:30 p.m.
Princeton University researchers have found that bad decisions might be the fault of faulty information, rather than errors in the brain's decision-making process.
Subconscious mental categories help brain sort through everyday experiences
Posted April 10, 2013; 12:08 p.m.
Princeton University researchers found that the brain breaks experiences into the "events," or related groups that help us mentally organize the day's many situations, using subconscious mental categories it creates. These categories are based on how the considers people, objects and actions are related in terms of how they tend to — or tend not to — pop up near one another at specific times.
Faculty approves changes in academic calendar beginning fall 2013
Posted April 9, 2013; 09:00 a.m.
Changes in the academic calendar that set the first day of fall semester classes on the second Wednesday of September were approved at the April 1 faculty meeting. The change in the first day of classes, which was previously scheduled on the second Thursday, also means that the Thanksgiving break has been extended by one day and will begin the day before Thanksgiving.
Princeton names Debenedetti dean for research
Posted April 8, 2013; 10:00 a.m.
Princeton University has appointed as dean for research Pablo Debenedetti, a longtime Princeton engineering professor and vice dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Debenedetti, the Class of 1950 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science and professor of chemical and biological engineering, will begin his new role on July 1.
David Remnick selected as Class Day speaker
Posted April 4, 2013; 04:00 p.m.
Alumnus David Remnick, editor of the The New Yorker, has been selected to deliver the keynote address at the University's Class Day ceremony on Monday, June 3. Class Day, which takes place the day before Princeton's Commencement, is being organized by members of the graduating class.
'A better path' toward projecting, planning for rising seas on a warmer Earth
Posted April 3, 2013; 12:30 p.m.
More useful projections of sea level are possible despite substantial uncertainty about the future behavior of massive ice sheets. In two recent papers, Princeton University researchers present an approach that provides a consistent means to integrate the potential contribution of continental ice sheets such as Greenland and Antarctica into sea-level rise projections.
Princeton University offers admission to 7.29 percent of applicants
Posted March 28, 2013; 10:00 a.m.
Princeton University has offered admission to 1,931 students, or 7.29 percent of the near-record 26,498 applicants for the Class of 2017 in what is expected to be the most selective admission process in the University's history. This compares with Princeton's admission rate of a record-low 7.86 percent last year.
Princeton astrophysicists helped Planck mission bring universe into sharp focus
Posted March 21, 2013; 05:00 p.m.
Princeton University researchers contributed extensively to the Planck space mission that on March 21 released the most accurate and detailed map ever made of the oldest light in the universe, revealing new information about its age, contents and origins.
March of the pathogens: Parasite metabolism can foretell disease ranges under climate change
Posted February 25, 2013; 09:00 a.m.
Princeton University researchers developed a model that can help determine the future range of nearly any disease-causing parasite under climate change, even if little is known about the organism. Their method calculates how the projected temperature change for an area would alter the creature's metabolism and life cycle.
Genomic detectives crack the case of the missing heritability
Posted February 22, 2013; 09:00 a.m.
Despite years of research, the genetic factors behind many human diseases and characteristics remain unknown, and has been called the "missing heritability" problem. A new study by Princeton University researchers, however, suggests that heritability in humans may be hidden due only to the limitations of modern research tools, but could be discovered if scientists know where (and how) to look.
Treasures of American history featured in Princeton exhibition
Posted February 14, 2013; 12:00 p.m.
From a first-hand account of Colonial life in Jamestown to a wanted poster for John Wilkes Booth following President Abraham Lincoln's assassination, a Princeton University Library exhibition opening Friday, Feb. 22, will trace the American experience from 1607 to 1865. Several items from Princeton's collections will be on display for the first time.
University will host Handel festival
Posted February 13, 2013; 11:00 a.m.
International scholars and performers dedicated to honoring the life and works of Baroque composer George Frideric Handel will gather at the University for the American Handel Society conference on Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 21-23. This is the second time the American Handel Society has held its biennial festival at Princeton; the first was in 2007.
Tilghman and Slaughter will discuss women and leadership
Posted February 11, 2013; 10:35 a.m.
UPDATE: Tickets to this event are now sold out. People without tickets may wait on line outside Richardson Auditorium before the event on Friday afternoon for seating in any unfilled seats. Seating for people on the wait line is not guaranteed.
Princeton University President Shirley M. Tilghman and Anne-Marie Slaughter, Princeton's Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs, will discuss ideas related to women and leadership at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, in Alexander Hall, Richardson Auditorium, on the Princeton University Campus. Tickets for the University community will be available starting at noon Wednesday, Feb. 13 at the University Ticketing office in Frist Campus Center.
Reconcilable differences: Study uncovers the common ground of scientific opposites
Posted January 30, 2013; 12:00 p.m.
Princeton University researchers developed a mathematical framework that strips away the differences between scientific laws and theories to reveal how the ideas are compatible. In a recent report in the journal Physical Review Letters, the authors explain how the mathematical model finds common ground between the famously at-odds physics equations that govern classical and quantum mechanics.
Esteemed Princeton mathematical physicist and mentor Arthur Wightman dies
Posted January 30, 2013; 08:30 a.m.
Renowned mathematical physicist and Princeton University Thomas D. Jones Professor Emeritus Arthur Wightman died of Alzheimer's disease Jan. 13 at Veterans Nursing Home in Edison, N.J. He was 90. He was best known for his pioneering and far-reaching research on the mathematical foundations of quantum field theory.
Princeton applications remain near record number
Posted January 26, 2013; 08:00 a.m.
Princeton University has received 26,505 applications for admission to the Class of 2017. The applicants include 3,810 candidates who applied last fall through single-choice early action, an increase of 11 percent over last year’s early action pool. During the past nine years, the University has seen a 93.5 percent increase in applications.
Tireless and accomplished Princeton biochemist Charles Gilvarg dies
Posted January 17, 2013; 10:30 a.m.
Princeton University professor emeritus Charles Gilvarg, remembered as a tireless scientist and a demanding but motivational professor, died Jan. 6 in Scottsdale, Ariz., following a stroke. He was 87.
Don't read my lips! Body language trumps the face for conveying intense emotions
Posted January 15, 2013; 11:25 a.m.
Be it triumph or crushing defeat, exhilaration or agony, body language more accurately conveys intense emotions, according to Princeton University research that challenges the predominance of facial expressions as an indicator of how a person feels.
University to celebrate King's legacy
Posted January 14, 2013; 03:17 p.m.
Princeton University will commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with its annual King Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 21, in Richardson Auditorium of Alexander Hall. Doors open at 1 p.m. The keynote address will be delivered by Anne Cheng, professor of English and African American studies and a Princeton alumna.
Peter B. Kenen, Princeton professor and leading international economist, dies
Posted December 19, 2012; 09:00 a.m.
Peter B. Kenen, a leading international economist and an expert on the Eurozone, died at his home in Princeton late Monday night, Dec. 17.
Burstein selected to be next president of Lawrence University
Posted December 13, 2012; 11:45 a.m.
Mark Burstein, Princeton University's executive vice president, has been named the next president of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. Lawrence announced his appointment Dec. 13.
Embracing data 'noise' brings Greenland's complex ice melt into focus
Posted November 27, 2012; 03:00 p.m.
Princeton University researchers developed an enhanced approach to capturing changes on the Earth's surface via satellite that could provide a more accurate account of how geographic areas are changing as a result of natural and human factors. In a first application, the technique revealed sharper-than-ever details about Greenland's massive ice sheet, including that the rate at which it is melting might be accelerating more slowly than predicted.
Princeton senior Cunningham awarded Mitchell Scholarship
Posted November 19, 2012; 09:45 a.m.
Princeton University senior Flannery Cunningham has been named a George J. Mitchell Scholar to spend a year studying music composition at University College Cork in Ireland. The Mitchell Scholarships were awarded to 12 students nationwide by the Washington D.C.-based U.S.-Ireland Alliance.
Quick, high-volume test offers fast track in search for Alzheimer's drugs
Posted November 15, 2012; 12:30 p.m.
Princeton University researchers report that an efficient, high-volume technique developed at Princeton for testing potential drug treatments for Alzheimer's disease uncovered an organic compound that restored motor function and longevity to fruit flies with the disease.
In financial ecosystems, big banks trample economic habitats and spread fiscal disease
Posted November 14, 2012; 09:00 a.m.
Researchers from Princeton University, the Bank of England and the University of Oxford applied methods inspired by ecosystem stability and contagion models to banking meltdowns and found that large national and international banks wield an influence and potentially destructive power that far exceeds their actual size. As a result, the capital that current regulations require large banks to maintain should be based on the institution's systemic importance.
Princeton researchers identify unexpected bottleneck in the spread of herpes simplex virus
Posted November 5, 2012; 11:00 a.m.
New research suggests that just one or two individual herpes virus particles attack a skin cell in the first stage of an outbreak, resulting in a bottleneck in which the infection may be vulnerable to medical treatment.
Far from random, evolution follows a predictable genetic pattern, Princeton researchers find
Posted October 25, 2012; 12:00 p.m.
Princeton University research suggests that knowledge of a species' genes — and how certain external conditions affect the proteins encoded by those genes — could be used to determine a predictable evolutionary pattern driven by outside factors. Scientists could then pinpoint how the diversity of adaptations seen in the natural world developed even in distantly related animals.
$15 million gift from Wallace brothers funds dance building and theater
Posted October 17, 2012; 10:00 a.m.
Princeton alumni brothers Monte J. Wallace and Neil W. Wallace have contributed $15 million for the first individual building named in the University's planned arts complex.
Screening and discussion of documentary "Haiti — Where Did the Money Go?" will be held
Posted October 10, 2012; 10:31 a.m.
A special screening of the documentary "Haiti — Where Did the Money Go?" will be held at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22, at the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding at Princeton University. The event, which also will include a Haitian culinary fare and art display, is free and open to the public.
Synthetic liver enzyme could result in more effective drugs with fewer side effects
Posted October 9, 2012; 10:30 a.m.
Medicines could be made to have fewer side effects and work in smaller doses with the help of a synthetic enzyme developed at Princeton University that makes drug molecules more resistant to breakdown by the human liver.
Writer Margaret Atwood to speak at Princeton
Posted October 4, 2012; 04:37 p.m.
Author Margaret Atwood will deliver the Farnum Lecture on "Future Imperfect: The Clock Strikes Midnight" at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in McCosh Hall, Room 50, on the Princeton campus.
PIIRS research community aims to deepen the study of empires
Posted October 1, 2012; 01:21 p.m.
An interdisciplinary group of Princeton University scholars working to enrich the study of empires has been selected by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) as its 2012-15 research community.
Slow-moving rocks better odds that life crashed to Earth from space
Posted September 24, 2012; 12:00 p.m.
Microorganisms that crashed to Earth embedded in the fragments of distant planets might have been the sprouts of life on this one, according to new research from Princeton University, the University of Arizona and the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) in Spain. The researchers provide the strongest support yet for "lithopanspermia," the idea that life came to Earth — or spread from Earth to other planets — via meteorite-like planetary fragments cast forth by disruptions such as volcanic eruptions and collisions with other matter.
Survey shifts spotlight away from poor as key supporters of militants in Pakistan
Posted September 11, 2012; 11:30 a.m.
A groundbreaking survey of Pakistanis has found stronger support for militant groups among the middle class than the poor. The finding by a team including Princeton researchers challenges the conventional wisdom about links between economic status a...
Mellon Foundation grant supports Princeton's Fellows in the Creative and Performing Arts
Posted September 4, 2012; 10:10 a.m.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded Princeton a $3.3 million challenge grant to support the University's creation of the Fellows in the Creative and Performing Arts program, which will bring innovative early- to mid-career artists to campus. The program is part of an initiative to make the arts central to the Princeton undergraduate experience.
Princeton study reveals the brain's mysterious switchboard operator
Posted August 17, 2012; 01:30 p.m.
Princeton University researchers report that a mysterious region deep in the human brain could be where we sort through the onslaught of stimuli from the outside world and focus on the information most important to our behavior and survival.
Cecilia Rouse named Woodrow Wilson School dean
Posted July 30, 2012; 10:00 a.m.
Cecilia Rouse, a Princeton faculty member for two decades who is the Lawrence and Shirley Katzman and Lewis and Anna Ernst Professor in the Economics of Education, has been selected as dean of the University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Her appointment is effective Sept. 1.
Four Princeton researchers receive inaugural Simons Investigators award
Posted July 27, 2012; 11:00 a.m.
Princeton University researchers Sanjeev Arora, Manjul Bhargava, Amit Singer and Frans Pretorius netted four of the 21 inaugural Simons Investigators awards recently presented to outstanding scientists nationwide in mathematics, physics and computer science. Princeton received the most awards of any institution.
Princeton theoretical chemist and mentor Leland Allen dies
Posted July 25, 2012; 03:22 p.m.
Princeton University professor emeritus Leland Allen, remembered for his influence on the field of theoretical chemistry and for his love of discussing his wide-ranging professional and personal interests with colleagues and students, died of Alzheimer's disease at the Acorn Glen assisted-living residence in Princeton July 15. He was 85.
Gift from alumni endows directorship of Princeton University Art Museum
Posted July 17, 2012; 10:00 a.m.
A $5 million gift from Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger of Dallas, both members of Princeton University's Class of 1976, will endow the directorship of the Princeton University Art Museum.
Princeton's Annual Giving campaign raises record-breaking $57.2 million
Posted July 9, 2012; 11:00 a.m.
Princeton University's 2011-12 Annual Giving campaign raised $57,246,302 — the highest total in Annual Giving history — with 60.8 percent of undergraduate alumni participating. This achievement represents strong performances across Princeton's broad range of constituencies, including major Reunion classes, non-major Reunion classes, graduate alumni, parents and friends.
Aspire campaign raises record $1.88 billion for Princeton University
Posted July 9, 2012; 11:00 a.m.
The five-year Aspire campaign, which ended on June 30, exceeded its $1.75 billion goal by raising $1.88 billion — substantially more than any campaign in Princeton's history — to support the University's programs of teaching and research as well as its efforts to prepare students from a wide range of backgrounds for leadership in a complex world.
Media Advisory: Princeton experts offer comments on CERN's quest for the Higgs boson
Posted July 2, 2012; 03:25 p.m.
On July 4, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) will announce the latest results in the multinational search for the Higgs boson, a particle thought to be a key to understanding how fundamental particles such as quarks and electrons acquire mass. Princeton University researchers involved in the search for the Higgs boson are available to comment on the announcement and provide background on the project.
Study in hurricane region reveals effects of stress on pregnancy
Posted June 22, 2012; 03:53 p.m.
Expectant mothers who dealt with the strain of a hurricane or major tropical storm passing nearby during their pregnancy had children who were at elevated risk for abnormal health conditions at birth, according to a study led by a Princeton University researcher that offers new insights into the effects of stress on pregnancy.
Learning continues on Princeton campus with summer outreach programs
Posted June 21, 2012; 10:00 a.m.
Students of all ages and teachers from New Jersey and beyond will be engaged in a summer of learning on the Princeton campus, taking part in outreach programs on subjects ranging from computer science and plasma physics to American history and journalism.
Out of the mouths of primates, facial mechanics of human speech may have evolved
Posted June 20, 2012; 09:00 a.m.
Two recent studies based at Princeton University suggest that the oral-facial component of human speech evolved from lip smacking, a friendly back-and-forth gesture performed by primates such as chimpanzees, baboons and macaques. The studies suggest a separate neural control for facial mechanics in primates that could help illuminate the neurological basis of speech disorders in humans.
$10 million gift to enhance Princeton's globalization efforts
Posted June 19, 2012; 10:00 a.m.
A $10 million gift from Princeton alumnus and trustee William Fung of Hong Kong will substantially increase the University's engagement with scholars around the world and inspire ideas that transcend borders.
Got mass? Princeton scientists observe electrons become both heavy and speedy
Posted June 13, 2012; 02:00 p.m.
A Princeton University-led team of scientists has shown how electrons moving in certain solids can behave as though they are a thousand times more massive than free electrons, yet at the same time act as speedy superconductors.
Four faculty members recognized for outstanding teaching
Posted June 5, 2012; 12:00 p.m.
Four Princeton University faculty members received President's Awards for Distinguished Teaching at Commencement ceremonies Tuesday, June 5. They are: Maria Garlock, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering; Carol Greenhouse, professor of anthropology; Daniel Rodgers, the Henry Charles Lea Professor of History; and Jeffrey Schwartz, professor of chemistry.
Princeton awards six honorary degrees
Posted June 5, 2012; 12:00 p.m.
Princeton University awarded honorary degrees during Commencement exercises Tuesday, June 5, to six individuals for their contributions to athletics, music, education, the humanities and science: Peter Carril, basketball Hall-of-Famer and former Princeton coach; Aretha Franklin, the singer known as "the Queen of Soul"; Eduardo Padrón, president of Miami Dade College; Joan Wallach Scott, the Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study; Joseph Taylor Jr., the James McDonnell Distinguished Professor of Physics Emeritus at Princeton; and Karen Uhlenbeck, the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Regents Chair in Mathematics at the University of Texas-Austin.
Princeton University holds 265th Commencement
Posted June 5, 2012; 12:00 p.m.
Princeton University awarded degrees to 1,230 undergraduates in the Class of 2012, five from other classes and 832 graduate students at its 265th Commencement Tuesday, June 5.
Students recognized for achievement and service at Class Day
Posted June 4, 2012; 12:15 p.m.
Members of Princeton University's Class of 2012 gathered on Cannon Green Monday, June 4, to celebrate the conclusion of their undergraduate careers in a Class Day ceremony honoring their leadership and accomplishments.
To spread, nervous system viruses sabotage cell, hijack transportation
Posted May 30, 2012; 09:00 a.m.
Princeton University researchers have found that herpes and other viruses that attack the nervous system may thrive by disrupting cell function in order to hijack a neuron's internal transportation network and spread to other cells.
Princeton to honor four secondary school teachers
Posted May 29, 2012; 08:46 a.m.
Princeton University will honor four exceptional New Jersey secondary school teachers at its 2012 Commencement on Tuesday, June 5.
Geological record shows air up there came from below
Posted May 23, 2012; 01:00 p.m.
The influence of the ground beneath us on the air around us could be greater than scientists had previously thought, according to new Princeton University research that links the long-ago proliferation of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere to a sudden change in the inner workings of our planet.
Princeton University Commencement to be held June 5
Posted May 22, 2012; 10:00 a.m.
Members of the news media who wish to attend any of Princeton University's 2012 graduation ceremonies Sunday through Tuesday, June 3-5, must contact the University's Office of Communications no later than 3 p.m. Friday, May 25, to request credentials.
University reimburses Department of Energy extended assignment funds
Posted May 21, 2012; 11:00 a.m.
Princeton University has agreed to reimburse $1 million to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) following a report by the DOE inspector general (IG) on a program at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) under which employees were assigned to work for extended periods of time at other U.S. laboratories engaged in fusion energy research. The University manages PPPL under a contract with the DOE.
Graduate School applications reach record high
Posted May 11, 2012; 10:51 a.m.
Princeton University's Graduate School offered admission to 1,226 of the record 12,077 applicants who applied for the 2012-13 academic year, with the school's global reputation and strong financial aid program contributing to a continued increase in applications, particularly among international students.
Expectation of extraterrestrial life built more on optimism than evidence, study finds
Posted April 26, 2012; 09:00 a.m.
Princeton University researchers have found that the expectation that life — from bacteria to sentient beings — has or will develop on other planets as on Earth might be based more on optimism than scientific evidence.
Yeast cell reaction to Zoloft suggests alternative cause, drug target for depression
Posted April 24, 2012; 10:00 a.m.
Princeton University researchers have observed a self-degradation response to the antidepressant Zoloft in yeast cells that could help provide new answers to lingering questions among scientists about how antidepressants work, as well as support the idea that depression is not solely linked to the neurotransmitter serotonin.
University will use Coursera to explore online class materials
Posted April 18, 2012; 09:00 a.m.
As part of efforts to employ technology to enhance the Princeton academic experience and enable faculty to extend their teaching beyond the physical borders of the campus, the University will explore the development of online class materials via the new educational platform Coursera. According to Coursera, Princeton will join Stanford University, the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania in developing Web-based course materials from a variety of academic fields.
A.J. Stewart Smith to be named VP for PPPL, search for new dean for research to begin
Posted April 17, 2012; 03:00 p.m.
A.J. Stewart Smith, who has served as Princeton University's first dean for research since 2006, will assume a newly created position as vice president for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) to serve as the University's primary liaison with DOE. Smith is expected to begin his new role on Jan. 1, 2013. A national search for his successor as dean for research will begin immediately.
UPDATE: Princeton's Tracy K. Smith wins Pulitzer Prize for poetry
Posted April 16, 2012; 07:45 p.m.
Princeton University professor Tracy K. Smith has been awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for poetry for her collection "Life on Mars."
Princeton investigation finds no evidence to back animal research allegations
Posted April 4, 2012; 03:00 p.m.
An internal investigation by Princeton University has found no evidence to support allegations about noncompliance in animal care at the University that were made by an animal rights group last September. The inquiry by a subcommittee of the University's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) was launched in response to the allegations, which were based on an anonymous statement.
Study reveals impact of socioeconomic factors on the racial gap in life expectancy
Posted April 4, 2012; 01:30 p.m.
A Princeton University report reveals that disparities in socioeconomic characteristics can account for 80 percent of the life-expectancy divide between black and white men, and for 70 percent of the imbalance between black and white women. The study is one of the first to put a number on how much of the divide can be attributed to racial differences in factors such as income, education and marital status.
Princeton, Max Planck Society launch new research center for plasma physics
Posted March 30, 2012; 10:04 a.m.
Princeton University and the Max Planck Society of Germany have joined forces in a scientific collaboration that is designed to accelerate progress in cutting-edge research ranging from harnessing nuclear fusion to understanding solar storms.
Princeton offers admission to 7.86 percent of applicants
Posted March 29, 2012; 12:00 p.m.
Princeton University has offered admission to 2,095 students, or 7.86 percent of the near-record 26,664 applicants for the Class of 2016, in what is expected to be the most selective admission process in the University's history. This compares with Princeton's final admission rate of a record-low 8.5 percent for last year’s class.
Zaera-Polo named dean of Princeton's School of Architecture
Posted March 27, 2012; 04:00 p.m.
Alejandro Zaera-Polo, an internationally renowned architect and scholar, has been selected as the next dean of Princeton University's School of Architecture.
Detection of cosmic effect may bring universe's formation into sharper focus
Posted March 20, 2012; 08:00 a.m.
A project initiated at Princeton made the first observation of a cosmic effect theorized 40 years ago that could provide astronomers with a more precise tool for understanding the forces behind the universe's formation and growth, including the enigmatic phenomena of dark energy and dark matter.
Princeton scientists identify neural activity sequences that help form memory, decision-making
Posted March 14, 2012; 02:00 p.m.
Princeton University researchers have used a novel virtual reality and brain imaging system to detect a form of neural activity underlying how the brain forms short-term memories that are used in making decisions.
'Universal' vaccines could finally allow for wide-scale flu prevention
Posted February 27, 2012; 09:00 a.m.
Princeton University-based researchers have found that an emerging class of long-lasting flu vaccines called "universal" vaccines could for the first time allow for the effective, wide-scale prevention of flu by limiting the virus' ability to spread and mutate. A computational model the team developed showed that the vaccines could achieve unprecedented control of the flu virus both seasonally and during outbreaks of highly contagious new strains.
Renowned Princeton biologist Malcolm Steinberg dies
Posted February 22, 2012; 06:00 p.m.
Princeton University professor emeritus Malcolm Steinberg, a molecular biologist well known for his influential hypothesis about how cells in an embryo assemble, and a personable colleague who loved discussing science and ideas, died Feb. 7 at his home in Princeton. He was 81.
'Storm of the century' may become 'storm of the decade'
Posted February 21, 2012; 12:30 p.m.
Researchers from Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology report that projected increases in sea level and storm intensity brought on by climate change would make devastating storm surges — the deadly and destructive mass of water pushed inland by large storms — more frequent in low-lying coastal areas. Regions such as the New York City metropolitan area that currently experience a disastrous flood every century could instead become submerged every one or two decades.
Princeton University to host panel on Syria Feb. 7
Posted January 30, 2012; 10:09 a.m.
Richard Murphy, former U.S. ambassador to Syria, will speak on the latest developments in Syria at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall, at Princeton University. The event, "Up to the Minute: The Latest Political Developments in Syria," is free and open to the public, and presented by the Workshop on Arab Political Development.
Princeton receives near-record applications
Posted January 30, 2012; 10:00 a.m.
Princeton University has received 26,663 applications for admission to the Class of 2016, with many of them also applying for the University’s no-loan financial aid program.
Princeton trustees approve operating budget, bolster financial aid
Posted January 28, 2012; 12:00 p.m.
Princeton University trustees Jan. 28 approved a 5.6 percent increase in undergraduate financial aid in adopting an operating budget for 2012-13 that includes a 4.5 percent increase in tuition, to $38,650.
Survey suggests family history of psychiatric disorders shapes intellectual interests
Posted January 26, 2012; 05:00 p.m.
Survey results published by Princeton University researchers in the journal PLoS ONE suggest that a family history of psychiatric conditions such as autism and depression could influence the subjects a person finds engaging. Although preliminary, the findings provide a new look at the oft-studied link between psychiatric conditions and aptitude in the arts or sciences.
Princeton University Art Museum, Italy reach new antiquities agreement
Posted January 25, 2012; 01:00 p.m.
The Princeton University Art Museum and Italian cultural authorities have completed the transfer of ownership of six works of art in the museum's collections.
Hurricane Katrina survivors struggle with mental health years later, study says
Posted January 24, 2012; 09:47 a.m.
Survivors of Hurricane Katrina have struggled with poor mental health for years after the storm, according to a new study of low-income mothers in the New Orleans area. The study's lead author, Christina Paxson of Princeton University, and her collaborators were able to collect data on the participants before Katrina and nearly five years after the August 2005 storm, finding a persistence of poor mental health and gaining insights into how different types of hurricane-related stressors affect mental health.
Princeton University to celebrate King's legacy
Posted January 9, 2012; 10:00 a.m.
Princeton University will commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with its annual King Day celebration Monday, Jan. 16, in Richardson Auditorium of Alexander Hall. Doors open at 1 p.m. The keynote address will be delivered by civil rights leader and educator Bob Moses, a visiting fellow in Princeton's Center for African American Studies.
Princeton offers early action admission to 726 students for Class of 2016
Posted December 15, 2011; 03:00 p.m.
Princeton University has offered admission to 726 students from a pool of 3,443 candidates who applied through single-choice early action for the Class of 2016.
Less knowledge, more power: Uninformed can be vital to democracy, study finds
Posted December 15, 2011; 02:00 p.m.
A Princeton University-based research team reports in Science that uninformed individuals — as in those with no prior knowledge or strong feelings on a situation's outcome — can actually be vital to achieving a democratic consensus. These individuals tend to side with and embolden the numerical majority and dilute the influence of powerful minority factions who would otherwise dominate everyone else. This finding — based on group decision-making experiments on fish, as well as mathematical models and computer simulations — challenges the common notion that an outspoken minority can manipulate uncommitted voters and can ultimately provide insights into humans' political behavior.
Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos donate $15 million to create center in Princeton Neuroscience Institute
Posted December 13, 2011; 12:00 p.m.
Princeton University alumnus Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.com, and alumna MacKenzie Bezos, are donating $15 million to the University to create a center in the Princeton Neuroscience Institute. The gift will establish the Bezos Center for Neural Circuit Dynamics, which will be led by institute co-director David Tank.
Nighttime images help track disease from the sky
Posted December 8, 2011; 02:00 p.m.
Princeton University-led researchers report in the journal Science that satellite images of nighttime lights normally used to spot where people live can help keep tabs on the diseases festering among them, too.
Princeton's new computing research center builds research capacity
Posted November 30, 2011; 12:00 p.m.
After several years of planning and more than a year of construction, Princeton University's High-Performance Computing Research Center opened its doors this week. Situated on the Forrestal campus, the facility gives researchers on campus new capacity to tackle some of the world's most complex scientific challenges.
Princeton technique puts chemistry breakthroughs on the fast track
Posted November 28, 2011; 11:00 a.m.
Scientists can now take that "a-ha" moment to go with a method Princeton University researchers developed — and successfully tested — to accomplish "accelerated serendipity" and speed up the chances of an unexpected yet groundbreaking chemical discovery.
Three Princeton seniors, two alumni awarded Marshall Scholarships
Posted November 23, 2011; 01:45 p.m.
Three Princeton University seniors — Christina Chang, Kyle Edwards and Emily Rutherford — and two alumni, Samuel Dorison and Alice Easton, are five of 36 American college students who have been awarded 2012 Marshall Scholarships.
Blocked holes can enhance rather than stop light going through, engineers find
Posted November 22, 2011; 10:00 a.m.
Conventional wisdom would say that blocking a hole would prevent light from going through it, but Princeton University engineers have discovered the opposite to be true. A research team has found that placing a metal cap over a small hole in a metal film does not stop the light at all, but rather enhances its transmission.
Three seniors, one alumnus awarded Rhodes Scholarships
Posted November 21, 2011; 08:00 a.m.
Three Princeton seniors — Elizabeth Butterworth, Miriam Rosenbaum and Astrid Stuth — and one Class of 2011 graduate, Mohit Agrawal, have been awarded Rhodes Scholarships for graduate study at the University of Oxford.
Media Advisory: Princeton's Oppenheimer offers comments on IPCC’s special report on extreme events and disasters and new focus on human toll of climate change
Posted November 18, 2011; 06:00 p.m.
The significant feature of the special report, "Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation," released Nov. 18 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is its focus on governmental responses to climate disasters including those related to climate change, according to Michael Oppenheimer, a Princeton University professor and a coordinating lead author of the report.
Massive volcanoes, meteorite impacts delivered one-two death punch to dinosaurs
Posted November 17, 2011; 09:00 a.m.
A cosmic one-two punch of colossal volcanic eruptions and meteorite strikes likely caused the mass-extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period that is famous for killing the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, according to two Princeton University reports that reject the prevailing theory that the extinction was caused by a single large meteorite.
Erratic, extreme day-to-day weather puts climate change in new light
Posted November 15, 2011; 03:00 p.m.
Princeton University researchers report the first climate study to focus on variations in daily weather conditions, which found that day-to-day weather has grown increasingly erratic and extreme, with significant fluctuations in sunshine and rainfall affecting more than a third of the planet. These swings could have consequences for ecosystem stability and the control of pests and diseases; industries such as agriculture and solar-energy production; and could affect what scientists can expect to see as the Earth's climate changes.
Exhibit features watercolors by Gwen John
Posted November 15, 2011; 11:00 a.m.
A group of recently rediscovered watercolors by British painter Gwen John (1876–1939) are on exhibit in the 18th-Century Window of the Main Gallery at Firestone Library from Monday, Nov. 21, through Dec. 31, 2011.
'She Flourishes' exhibit showcases history of women at Princeton
Posted November 10, 2011; 10:00 a.m.
The Mudd Manuscript Library is hosting the exhibit, "She Flourishes: Chapters in the History of Princeton Women," which documents the struggles and accomplishments of women scholars, students, staff and other women associated with the institution. The exhibit includes a video compilation of archival footage. The exhibit is open to the public Monday, Nov. 14, 2011, through Friday, August 31, 2012.
Princeton University to draw science and technology leaders from New Jersey colleges and universities for first Einstein's Alley event
Posted November 10, 2011; 09:00 a.m.
Princeton University will host the first in a series of events scheduled to promote the Einstein's Alley initiative to foster technology- and science-based economic growth in Central New Jersey at the recently dedicated Frick Chemistry Building on the University campus at 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and legal historian to lead Nov. 10 Roe v. Wade panel discussion
Posted November 1, 2011; 09:55 a.m.
Linda Greenhouse and Reva Siegel, co-authors of "Before Roe v. Wade: Voices That Shaped the Abortion Debate Before the Supreme Court's Ruling" (2010), will participate in a panel discussion at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in Dodds Auditorium, Robert...
Savannas, forests in a battle of the biomes, Princeton researchers find
Posted October 31, 2011; 02:00 p.m.
Climate change, land use and other human-driven factors could pit savannas and forests against each other by altering the elements found by Princeton University researchers to stabilize the two. Without this harmony, the habitats, or biomes, could increasingly encroach on one other to the detriment of the people and animals that rely on them.
Impact study: Princeton model shows fallout of a giant meteorite strike
Posted October 19, 2011; 01:00 p.m.
Princeton University researchers have developed a new model that can not only more accurately simulate the seismic fallout from a large meteorite striking the Earth, but also help reveal new information about the surface and interior of planets based on past collisions.
Gift from Ford family to support Princeton athletics program
Posted October 18, 2011; 10:00 a.m.
A gift from William Clay Ford Jr., a member of Princeton's Class of 1979, and Lisa Vanderzee Ford, of the Class of 1982, will create the Bill and Lisa Ford Family Directorship of Athletics at Princeton University. In addition to endowing the directorship, the gift will provide funding for Princeton's athletic director to invest in programs to enhance the student-athlete experience.
Princeton's Sims wins Nobel in economics with visiting professor Sargent
Posted October 10, 2011; 08:15 p.m.
A 40-year path of friendly arguments and groundbreaking studies of how governments weigh policies to deal with economic troubles has led a pair of prominent economists to share the 2011 Nobel Prize in their field. Princeton University professor Christopher Sims was honored along with Thomas Sargent, a New York University economist and visiting professor this semester at Princeton, for developing tools to analyze the economic causes and effects of monetary policy. Their work has revolutionized the field of macroeconomics and how it is applied by central banks and governments around the world.
1:10 P.M. OCT. 10 UPDATE - Princeton's Sims wins Nobel in economics with visiting professor Sargent
Posted October 10, 2011; 01:10 p.m.
Princeton University professor Christopher Sims has been awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in economics along with Thomas Sargent, a New York University economist who is a visiting professor at Princeton, for developing tools to analyze the effect of monetary policy on the economy.
Media advisory: RSVP by Oct. 4 for Princeton Justice Stevens event
Posted September 29, 2011; 10:54 a.m.
The Honorable John Paul Stevens, retired associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, will appear at Princeton University at 4:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 10, in Richardson Auditorium of Alexander Hall on the University campus. Members of the news media who plan to attend should email Martin Mbugua (mmbugua@princeton.edu) no later than 5 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 4, to ensure that we reserve tickets and seats.
Gift from alumnus Griswold and family endows Center for Economic Policy Studies at Princeton
Posted September 26, 2011; 10:00 a.m.
Investment banking executive Benjamin H. Griswold IV, a member of Princeton's Class of 1962, and his family have made a substantial gift to endow the Center for Economic Policy Studies at Princeton University. The center, which supports economic policy-related research in the Department of Economics and fosters communication among experts in the academic, business and government communities, has been renamed the Benjamin H. Griswold III, Class of 1933, Center for Economic Policy Studies, in honor of Griswold's father, a member of Princeton's Class of 1933.
More than a sign of sleepiness, yawning may cool the brain
Posted September 19, 2011; 12:00 p.m.
A Princeton-led study is the first involving humans to show that yawning frequency varies with the season, a dispartity that indicates that yawning could serve as a method for regulating brain temperature.
Black hole, star collisions may illuminate universe's dark side
Posted September 19, 2011; 11:00 a.m.
Princeton and New York University research reported in the journal Physical Review Letters this month presents a ready-made method for detecting the collision of stars with an elusive type of black hole that is on the short list of objects believed to make up dark matter, the invisible substance thought to constitute much of the universe. Such a discovery could serve as observable proof of dark matter and provide a much deeper understanding of the universe's inner workings.
Gene flux can foretell survival for trauma patients, Princeton study finds
Posted September 13, 2011; 05:00 p.m.
Princeton research reported in the Sept. 13 issue of the journal PLoS Medicine shows for the first time that people recovering from a serious injury -- regardless of age, gender or previous health -- exhibit similar gene activity as their condition changes, which doctors can use to predict and prepare for a patient's deterioration.
Word association: Princeton study matches brain scans with complex thought
Posted August 31, 2011; 09:00 a.m.
Princeton researchers have for the first time matched images of brain activity with categories of words related to the concepts a person is thinking about. Reported in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, the results could lead to a better understanding of how people consider meaning and context when reading or thinking.
In the early life of an embryo, a monster lurks
Posted August 22, 2011; 11:00 a.m.
Research based at Princeton University has revealed that newly fertilized cells only narrowly avoid degenerating into fatal chaos. At the same time, scientists have discovered that embryos have acquired a mechanism to contain this dangerous instability, a finding that could help biologists unravel other mysteries about the first hours of life.
High social rank comes at a price, researchers find
Posted July 14, 2011; 02:00 p.m.
Being at the very top of a social hierarchy may be more costly than previously thought, according to a new study of wild baboons led by a Princeton University ecologist. A new study has found that in wild baboon populations, the highest-ranking, or alpha, males have higher stress-hormone levels than the highly ranked males below them, known as beta males -- even during periods of stability.
Princeton's Annual Giving campaign raises $50 million
Posted July 6, 2011; 04:10 p.m.
Princeton University's 2010-11 Annual Giving campaign raised $50,010,045 -- the second highest total in Annual Giving history -- with 61.3 percent of undergraduate alumni participating. The results are notable for their strength and breadth across all of Princeton's constituencies: undergraduate alumni, graduate alumni, parents and friends.
Sovereign Bank gift will support international initiatives at Princeton
Posted July 6, 2011; 08:00 a.m.
Sovereign Bank, part of Banco Santander, has signed a three-year funding agreement with Princeton University to support international scholarly initiatives. The gift from Sovereign Bank will support existing programs that enable Princeton faculty and students to engage in a variety of educational experiences with institutions and scholars from around the globe.
Princeton researchers solve problem filling space -- without cubes
Posted June 27, 2011; 12:00 a.m.
Princeton University chemist Salvatore Torquato and colleagues have solved a conundrum that has baffled mathematical minds since ancient times -- how to fill three-dimensional space with multi-sided objects other than cubes without having any gaps. The discovery could lead to scientists finding new materials and could lead to advances in communications systems and computer security.
Outreach programs encourage summer learning at Princeton
Posted June 20, 2011; 04:30 p.m.
Students of all ages and teachers from New Jersey and beyond will be engaged in a summer of learning on the Princeton campus, taking part in outreach programs on subjects ranging from American history and playwriting to clean energy and DNA.
Shostack gives $10 million to endow Project X fund, giving freedom to 'tinkerers'
Posted June 16, 2011; 10:10 a.m.
Seeking to provide "tinkerers" with freedom to explore hunches and passions, businesswoman and philanthropist Lynn Shostack has given $10 million to permanently endow the Project X innovation fund in Princeton University's School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Work of artist George Segal featured in exhibit at Firestone Library
Posted June 15, 2011; 10:19 a.m.
The exhibition "George Segal: Sculptor as Photographer" will open on Monday, July 25, at the Milberg Gallery, Firestone Library on the Princeton University campus. The show focuses on the late American artist George Segal, who spent most of his creative life in nearby North Brunswick, N.J., and draws on materials that the George and Helen Segal Foundation donated to the Princeton University Library in 2009.
Renowned psychologist Bart Hoebel - who studied addiction, behavior - dies
Posted June 14, 2011; 09:43 a.m.
Bart Hoebel, a Princeton professor of psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute who became internationally known for his research on food addiction, died of cancer Saturday, June 11, in Princeton. He was 76.
Researchers find new 'molecular motors' that bacteria use to transport proteins
Posted June 13, 2011; 02:00 p.m.
Joshua Shaevitz, an assistant professor from the Department of Physics and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University, along with Mingzhai Sun, a postdoctoral associate at Princeton, and scientists from the Université Aix-Marseille in France, have discovered a new type of molecular machine used by bacteria for intracellular protein transport and gliding motility.
Princeton University holds 264th Commencement
Posted May 31, 2011; 01:37 p.m.
Princeton University awarded degrees to 1,202 undergraduates in the class of 2011, four from other classes and 815 graduate students at its 264th Commencement Tuesday, May 31.
Princeton awards six honorary degrees
Posted May 31, 2011; 01:30 p.m.
Princeton University awarded honorary degrees during Commencement exercises Tuesday, May 31, to six distinguished individuals for their contributions to athletics, human rights, clinical research, education, the humanities, the arts and the law: Henry "Hank" Aaron, baseball Hall-of-Famer; Geoffrey Canada, champion for children in Harlem; Susan Desmond-Hellmann, clinical researcher and chancellor of the University of California-San Francisco; Charles Gillispie, Princeton's Dayton Stockton Professor of History Emeritus; Judith Jamison, dancer and choreographer and artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and Princeton alumnus Robert Rawson Jr., legal expert and long-serving member of the University's Board of Trustees.
Four faculty members recognized for outstanding teaching
Posted May 31, 2011; 01:24 p.m.
Four Princeton faculty members received President's Awards for Distinguished Teaching at Commencement ceremonies Tuesday, May 31. They are: Anne Case, the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs; Hendrik Hartog, the Class of 1921 Bicentennial Professor in the History of American Law and Liberty; Alexander Nehamas, the Edmund N. Carpenter II Class of 1943 Professor in the Humanities and professor of philosophy and comparative literature; and Daniel Oppenheimer, associate professor of psychology and public affairs.
2011 President's Commencement Address
Posted May 31, 2011; 01:14 p.m.
2011 Commencement Address delivered by President Shirley M. Tilghman
2011 Valedictory Oration
Posted May 31, 2011; 01:11 p.m.
2011 Valedictory Oration delivered by John Pardon
2011 Latin Salutatory Oration
Posted May 31, 2011; 01:09 p.m.
2011 Latin Salutatory Oration delivered by Veronica Shi
2011 Class Day Remarks
Posted May 30, 2011; 05:25 p.m.
2011 Class Day remarks by Brooke Shields
Students recognized for achievement and leadership at Class Day
Posted May 30, 2011; 01:00 p.m.
Members of Princeton's class of 2011 gathered on Cannon Green Monday, May 30, to celebrate the conclusion of their undergraduate careers in a Class Day ceremony honoring their accomplishments and service.
Princeton's class of 1976 gives dorm to Butler College
Posted May 27, 2011; 02:13 p.m.
Princeton's class of 1976 is celebrating its 35th reunion by naming a dormitory in Butler College. Class of 1976 Hall is the fifth dorm to be named in the complex, whose reconstruction completed the University's launch of its four-year residential college system. The class of 1976 is dedicating the dorm during a private ceremony during Reunions, which takes place Thursday through Sunday, May 26-29, on campus.
Princeton honors exceptional secondary school teachers
Posted May 26, 2011; 10:20 a.m.
Princeton University will honor four exceptional New Jersey secondary school teachers at its 2011 Commencement on Tuesday, May 31. This year's honorees are Kathleen Chesmel, New Egypt High School, New Egypt; Robert Downes, Mountain Lakes High School, Mountain Lakes; Rachel Grygiel, Hoboken High School, Hoboken; and Donata Nicholas, East Orange Campus High School, East Orange.
Princeton institute to support new project on politics of global climate change
Posted May 18, 2011; 02:53 p.m.
A proposal from an interdisciplinary group of Princeton faculty has been selected by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) executive committee to become the first PIIRS research community to receive funding under an initiative announced earlier this year. The research community, "Communicating Uncertainty: Science, Institutions and Ethics in the Politics of Global Climate Change," is composed of 16 faculty members representing nine departments and three programs or projects and is poised to establish Princeton University as a leader in this developing field.
Princeton University Commencement to be held May 31
Posted May 16, 2011; 06:02 p.m.
Members of the news media who wish to attend any of Princeton University's 2011 graduation ceremonies Sunday through Tuesday, May 29-31, must contact the University's Office of Communications no later than 12 p.m. Monday, May 23, to request credentials.
Report: Direct removal of carbon dioxide from air likely not viable
Posted May 9, 2011; 12:40 p.m.
Technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are unlikely to offer an economically feasible way to slow human-driven climate change for several decades, according to a report issued by the American Physical Society and led by Princeton engineer Robert Socolow. The report "Direct Air Capture of CO2 with Chemicals," was issued by a committee of 13 experts co-chaired by Socolow and Michael Desmond, a chemist at BP.
NJ Gov. Christie to speak May 20 at Princeton University
Posted May 5, 2011; 10:18 a.m.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will deliver a policy address at 5:45 p.m. Friday, May 20, in McCosh Hall, Room 50, on the Princeton University campus. The talk is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for entry. The address is sponsored by Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Center for Economic Policy Studies.
Graduate School applications continue to rise--UPDATE
Posted May 4, 2011; 09:35 a.m.
Princeton University's Graduate School admitted 1,197 of the 11,689 applicants who applied for the 2011-12 academic year, with strong interest from international students, the school's global reputation and its robust financial aid program contributing to a continued increase in applications.
Advisory: Princeton faculty experts on Osama bin Laden's death
Posted May 2, 2011; 12:44 p.m.
The Princeton University faculty below may be resources for news media seeking expertise on issues related to terrorism, the Middle East and national security following the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed by U.S. military forces in Pakistan on May 1, 2011, according to a White House announcement.
Empty space in jammed materials explains exotic universal structural features
Posted April 29, 2011; 01:19 p.m.
Salvatore Torquato, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials at Princeton University, in collaboration with a team of researchers has uncovered universal features in the structures of jammed materials, suggesting a unified method to analyze disparate systems. The findings have implications for research in the areas of quantum systems and cosmology. Their work appears in the April 29 online edition of Physical Review Letters.
Marsh selected as deputy dean of the college
Posted April 27, 2011; 01:00 p.m.
Clayton Marsh, University counsel since 2002, has been named deputy dean of the college at Princeton University, effective July 1. Marsh will succeed Peter Quimby, who is leaving Princeton to become the head of the Governor's Academy in Massachusetts.
Gift establishes Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance at Princeton
Posted April 11, 2011; 11:00 a.m.
Investment executive Mitch Julis, a member of Princeton's class of 1977, has made a substantial gift to create the Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance at the University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Research and teaching at the center will focus on using in-depth knowledge of financial markets to improve the design and implementation of public policies.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan to deliver policy address
Posted April 7, 2011; 11:24 a.m.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is scheduled to deliver a speech about the importance of investing in education to enrich American society and the nation’s economy at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall. The talk is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for entry. The event is sponsored by Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Legal scholar Yochai Benkler to deliver Bernstein Lecture April 12
Posted April 6, 2011; 10:00 a.m.
Princeton University will host a public appearance by Yochai Benkler, the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School, at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, in McCormick Hall, Room 101. Benkler will deliver the 7th Annual Donald S. Bernstein '75 Lecture, titled "Degrees of Freedom."
Princeton makes offers to 8.39 percent of applicants in record admission cycle
Posted March 30, 2011; 12:00 p.m.
Princeton University has offered admission to 2,282 students, or 8.39 percent of the record 27,189 applicants for the class of 2015 in what may be the most selective admission process in the University's history. This compares with Princeton's final admission rates of 8.8 percent for the class of 2014 and 10.1 percent for the class of 2013.
Presidential committee makes recommendations to strengthen student leadership
Posted March 21, 2011; 06:00 a.m.
A presidential committee at Princeton University has issued a report finding that, while women undergraduates are providing leadership in many organizations across campus, they have been less prominently visible in some major campus posts in the last 10 years than they were in the earlier years of coeducation.
Aging rates similar across primates, study finds
Posted March 14, 2011; 03:15 p.m.
Members of a research team that included Princeton's Jeanne Altmann, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology emeritus, led by scientists from Duke University and Iowa State University, and brought together by the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) says the team has conducted the first-ever multi-species comparison of human aging patterns against those in wild chimps, gorillas and other primates, and their findings suggest that the human data on aging falls within the primate continuum. The findings were published in the March 11 issue of the journal Science.
Study finds that learning language goes beyond imitation
Posted March 11, 2011; 02:00 p.m.
In a language study exploring how people learn correct word use, researchers at Princeton University and the University of Illinois found that language learning goes well beyond simple imitation, and is in fact creative.
Quantum engineers remove roadblock in developing next-generation technologies
Posted March 8, 2011; 02:00 p.m.
Alireza Shabani, a postdoctoral research associate in chemistry at Princeton University, and an international team of scientists have removed a major obstacle in the quest to engineer quantum systems that will play a major role in the computers, communication networks and biomedical devices of the future. Through a method known as compressive sensing, the researchers say they could drastically simplify the measurement of quantum systems.
Katz, Oates awarded National Humanities Medal
Posted March 2, 2011; 02:45 p.m.
Princeton University professors Stanley Katz, a well-known scholar of American legal history and educational institutions, and Joyce Carol Oates, one of the country's most influential authors of fiction and essays, have been awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama.
Researchers develop improved method to visualize biologic molecules, reinstate classic model
Posted March 1, 2011; 05:00 p.m.
Princeton researchers have developed a new method to better understand how an embryo's basic molecular makeup helps ensure that the embryo's development occurs reliably every time. A team led by Thomas Gregor, an assistant professor of physics and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University, and Shawn Little, a visiting postdoctoral research associate in the laboratory of Professor Eric Wieschaus in the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton, has published in the March 1 issue of the journal PLoS Biology results of research into the fruit fly Drosophila that introduces a method for making precise measurements of biologic units (so-called mRNA molecules) that play a key role in development.
Financial politics and regulatory reform is subject of March 9 lecture
Posted March 1, 2011; 02:41 p.m.
Daniel Carpenter, the Allie S. Freed Professor of Government and director of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University, will speak on "The Contest of Lobbies and Disciplines: Financial Politics and Regulatory Reform in the Obama Administration" at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 9, 2011, in Burr Hall, Room 216, at Princeton University.
Princeton University to hold conference on prisons and race
Posted March 1, 2011; 10:38 a.m.
The Center for African American Studies at Princeton University is hosting a conference on “Imprisonment of a Race” from 10:30 a.m. through 6:15 p.m. on Friday, March 25, in McCosh Hall, Room 10, on the Princeton University campus. The conference is free and open to the public, but online registration is required.
Exporting forms of religious governance is subject of March 8 lecture
Posted February 28, 2011; 12:11 p.m.
Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, an assistant professor of political science at Northwestern University and a 2010-11 visiting fellow at Princeton University, will speak on "The Presidency of Religious Affairs" at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, in Robertson Hall, Room 1, at Princeton University.
Princeton to reinstate early admission program
Posted February 24, 2011; 11:15 a.m.
Princeton University will reinstate an early admission program, beginning next year with the class that will enter Princeton in September 2012. The single-choice early action program will require applicants to apply early only to Princeton, but will not require them to decide whether to accept Princeton's offer until the end of the regular admission process.
Canadian Supreme Court justice to deliver Harlan Lecture
Posted February 24, 2011; 10:00 a.m.
Princeton University will host a public appearance by Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella of the Supreme Court of Canada at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 3, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall. Abella will deliver this year's John Marshall Harlan '20 Lecture in Constitutional Adjudication, titled "Global Justice: The Power and the Pity." In her remarks, Abella will explore the relationship between international law, democracy and global policy in enforcing human rights objectives, and address the question, Is international law doing its job in the area of human rights?
Gift to name Yoseloff Hall in Butler College
Posted February 23, 2011; 11:00 a.m.
A gift from Anthony A. Yoseloff, a member of Princeton's class of 1996, and his wife, Nanar, will name a dormitory in Butler College. Yoseloff Hall is the fourth named dormitory in Butler College, whose redesign was the culminating effort in the University's launch of its four-year residential college system, and an innovative example of environmentally sustainable construction.
Keynesianism during the current economic crisis is subject of lecture
Posted February 21, 2011; 12:00 a.m.
Henry Farrell, an associate professor of political science at George Washington University, will speak on "Networks and Ideational Power: The Rise and Decline of Keynesianism During the Economic Crisis" on Thursday, March 3, 2011, at 4:30 p.m. in Burr Hall, Room 216, at Princeton University.
China's revolutionary tradition is focus of lecture
Posted February 18, 2011; 12:00 a.m.
Elizabeth J. Perry, the Henry Rosovsky Professor of Government at Harvard University and the director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute, will speak on "Anyuan: Mining China's Revolutionary Tradition" on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at 4:30 p.m., in Burr Hall, Room 216, at Princeton University.
Eva Bellin to speak on 'Jasmine Revolution' Feb. 21
Posted February 14, 2011; 02:47 p.m.
Eva Bellin, the Myra and Robert Kraft Professor of Arab Politics at Brandeis University, will speak on "People Power and the Possibilities of Democratization in the Middle East: Lessons From the Jasmine Revolution" at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21, 2011, in Burr Hall, Room 219, at Princeton University.
Political scientist Mervat Hatem to discuss Islamic feminism
Posted February 9, 2011; 04:47 p.m.
The Workshop on Arab Political Development, sponsored by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, will begin its spring speaker series with a talk by Mervat Hatem on "Islamic Feminism in Global and Regional Contexts" on Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 4:30 p.m. Robertson Hall, Room 2, on the Princeton University campus.
Bill Ford '79 to speak on auto industry
Posted February 8, 2011; 02:33 p.m.
Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman William Clay Ford Jr., a 1979 alumnus, will share his insights in "The Auto Industry: From Recovery to Revolution," this year's G. S. Beckwith Gilbert '63 Lecture, at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15, on the University campus.
Scientists discover mechanism involved in breast cancer's spread to bone
Posted February 3, 2011; 12:00 p.m.
In a discovery that may lead to a new treatment for breast cancer that has spread to the bone, a Princeton University research team has unraveled a mystery about how these tumors take root. What the Princeton research has uncovered is the exact mechanism that lets traveling tumor cells disrupt normal bone growth.
Princeton to install powerful solar collector field
Posted February 2, 2011; 10:00 a.m.
Princeton University will become a leader in American higher education in solar energy when it installs a 5.3-megawatt solar collector field on 27 acres it owns in West Windsor Township. The system, comprising 16,500 photovoltaic panels, is expected to be one of the largest single installations at a U.S. college or university.
Famed composer, music scholar Milton Babbitt dies
Posted January 31, 2011; 08:00 p.m.
Milton Babbitt, a famed composer and Princeton University music professor whose mathematical expertise guided his creation of complex, modernist soundscapes that influenced generations of artists and scholars, died Jan. 29 of natural causes at the University Medical Center at Princeton. He was 94.
Filmmaker Kobina Aidoo will screen and discuss his work
Posted January 27, 2011; 11:08 a.m.
Filmmaker Kobina Aidoo will screen and discuss his documentary, "The Neo-African Americans," at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, at the University's Fields Center located at 58 Prospect Ave. The event is free and open to the public.
Cyril Black International Book Forum to focus on the future of the dollar
Posted January 24, 2011; 10:09 a.m.
The role of the dollar and the future of global currency is the subject of the Cyril Black International Book Forum to be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2011, in Robertson Hall, Room 16, at Princeton University. This year’s event features Barry Eichengreen, whose latest book, "Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System," was released in December.
Princeton trustees approve lowest fee package increase in 45 years
Posted January 24, 2011; 10:00 a.m.
Princeton University trustees Jan. 22 approved the lowest increase in undergraduate tuition and fees in 45 years -- 1 percent -- in recognition of the challenging economic environment that continues to affect students and their families.
Princeton sets applications record for seventh year in a row
Posted January 19, 2011; 09:00 a.m.
Princeton University for the seventh consecutive year has set a record for students applying for admission, receiving 27,115 applications for the class of 2015. Over the past seven years, the University's applicant pool has increased 98 percent.
Robert Judson Clark, father of Arts and Crafts revival, dies
Posted January 12, 2011; 06:16 p.m.
Robert Judson Clark, a Princeton professor emeritus of art and archaeology who was considered the father of the Arts and Crafts revival, died Tuesday, Jan. 4, at home in Lafayette, Calif., after a lengthy illness. He was 73.
University to celebrate King's legacy
Posted January 10, 2011; 01:35 p.m.
Princeton University will commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with its annual King Day celebration Monday, Jan. 17, in Richardson Auditorium of Alexander Hall. Doors open at 1 p.m. The keynote address will be delivered by Van Jones, an environmental activist, social entrepreneur and former White House adviser who is a visiting fellow at Princeton.
Princeton scientists construct synthetic proteins that sustain life
Posted January 6, 2011; 11:45 a.m.
In a groundbreaking achievement that could help scientists "build" new biological systems, Princeton University scientists have constructed for the first time artificial proteins that enable the growth of living cells.
Inaugural Schmidt Fund awards enable innovative explorations in sensors and electronics
Posted December 17, 2010; 03:00 p.m.
A project that could enable the development of revolutionary electronics and a separate project that could dramatically improve diabetes monitoring and treatment are the first two research efforts to be supported at Princeton University from the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund. Google CEO and Princeton alumnus Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy, created the $25 million endowment fund at Princeton in 2009.
Valerie Smith named Princeton's dean of the college
Posted December 14, 2010; 04:00 p.m.
Valerie Smith, a distinguished scholar of literature who led a major expansion of Princeton's interdisciplinary Center for African American Studies, has been named the University's next dean of the college.
Sociologist Keller, Princeton's first tenured female faculty member, dies
Posted December 14, 2010; 02:37 p.m.
Sociologist Suzanne Keller, who conducted pioneering research on elite life and on community in America, and was the first woman to earn a tenured faculty position at Princeton University, died of a stroke Dec. 9 at Mercy Hospital in Miami. She was ...
Scientists find gene linked to congenital heart defect
Posted December 5, 2010; 01:00 p.m.
A gene that can cause congenital heart defects has been identified by a team of scientists, including a group from Princeton University. The discovery could lead to new treatments for those affected by the conditions brought on by the birth defect.
Noted literary theorist and blogger Stanley Fish to deliver public lecture
Posted December 3, 2010; 10:00 a.m.
Stanley Fish, the well-known literary theorist whose theories of interpretation became standard fare in law schools, will deliver a public lecture at Princeton University on at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9, in Lewis Library, Room 120. He will be speaking about his new book "The Fugitive in Flight: Faith, Liberalism and Law in a Classic TV Show" (University of Pennsylvania Press, November 2010).
Princeton's phone app provides mobile resource
Posted December 1, 2010; 01:07 p.m.
Students and visitors to Princeton's campus looking for everything from course schedules to University news and events can finally say there's an app for that. Princeton's Office of Information Technology (OIT) has launched iPrinceton, a free smartphone mobile application that comprises a diverse suite of 10 interactive features
Nelson wins Marshall Scholarship
Posted November 30, 2010; 10:30 a.m.
Princeton alumnus John Nelson is one of 31 American college students awarded 2011 Marshall Scholarships. The Marshall Scholarship covers the cost of living and studying at a British university of the recipient's choice for two or three years.
University programs participate in launch of Trenton Mural Arts Project
Posted November 19, 2010; 11:00 a.m.
The University's Center for African American Studies, Lewis Center for the Arts and Pace Center for Civic Engagement have been collaborating with the city of Trenton and several community groups to help launch the Trenton Mural Arts Project, a volunteer-based organization that hopes to establish a vibrant mural arts program in the city.
Carbon Mitigation Initiative receives $11 million through extended partnership with BP
Posted November 18, 2010; 09:00 a.m.
In a continuing research partnership to identify ways to tackle the world's climate problem, Princeton’s Carbon Mitigation Initiative (CMI) has received a commitment of $11 million from BP as part of an extension of their partnership first announced in October 2008.
Linking geometric problems to physics could open door to new solutions
Posted November 16, 2010; 03:13 p.m.
A Princeton scientist with an interdisciplinary bent has taken two well-known problems in mathematics and reformulated them as a physics question, offering new tools to solve challenges relevant to a host of subjects ranging from improving data compression to detecting gravitational waves.
Princeton continues significant progress toward sustainability goals
Posted November 15, 2010; 10:00 a.m.
For the second consecutive year since adopting a Sustainability Plan, Princeton University's on-campus greenhouse gas emissions have decreased. Last year, emissions declined for the first time since the University's energy-efficient cogeneration plant was installed in 1996 by a modest amount at nearly 1 percent. Emissions are now down by 2.5 percent since 2008, despite the addition of more than 360,000 square feet of building space.
Houck, Shaevitz receive presidential awards
Posted November 8, 2010; 02:32 p.m.
U.S. President Barack Obama has named Princeton's Andrew Houck and Joshua Shaevitz as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the federal government on young professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
New study finds common brain organization among disparate mammals
Posted November 8, 2010; 11:36 a.m.
Matthias Kaschube, a lecturer in physics and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University, has published in the Nov. 4 online edition of Science Express results of research into the factors determining development of the brain's neural circuits.
Exhibition shows 'Fauntleroy' manuscript, complete again after nearly 100 years
Posted November 3, 2010; 11:23 a.m.
Author Frances Hodgson Burnett's full manuscript of "Little Lord Fauntleroy" -- reunited for the first time in nearly a century -- will be part of an exhibition opening Monday, Nov. 15, in the Main Gallery at Princeton University's Firestone Library.
Diwali festival will be celebrated in University Chapel
Posted November 2, 2010; 02:17 p.m.
The Hindu festival of Diwali will be marked with a celebration and worship service at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, in the Princeton University Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.