Year: 2008

  • Nation & World

    Chall Lecture focuses on the future of literacy achievement gap

    Research shows that there have been positive trends in literacy achievement in the past 25 years. These gains, however, have not included a significant closing of the gaps between racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, a fact that represents a serious issue in education today.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Harvard Forest names Bullard Fellows

    The Harvard Forest has recently announced nine Charles Bullard Fellows in Forest Research for 2008-09. Established in 1962, the Bullard Fellowship program was created to support the study and advanced research of individuals looking to make important contributions as scholars or administrators in forestry.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Hu named professor of applied physics, electrical engineering

    Evelyn L. Hu, a pioneer in the fabrication of nanoscale electronic and photonic devices, has been named Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering in Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), effective Jan. 1, 2009.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Microbiologist Gary Ruvkun:

    Gary Ruvkun has made a career out of imagining the unimaginable, and of surrounding himself with like-minded thinkers who let the wheels of thought spin until they catch on something…

    15 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Harvard students caught up in election excitement

    On this year’s election night, the Harvard News Office cast its staff of writers and photographers out over the University to serve as witnesses. From the Kennedy School to the Queen’s Head pub, they recorded on notebook and film the tension, the growing enthusiasm, and the final nearly ecstatic pandemonium that marked this historic occasion.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Election 2008 excitement

    Harvard students came together and tuned in to the national media at Election Night 2008 gatherings that ranged from small and quiet to large and loud, ultimately spilling into Harvard’s Yard and Square.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Survey finds disconnect between sexual problems in women and feeling of distress

    The largest such study ever published finds that, although about 40 percent of women surveyed report having sexual problems, only 12 percent indicate that those issues are a source of…

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Evelyn Hu named professor of applied physics, electrical engineering in SEAS

    Evelyn L. Hu, a pioneer in the fabrication of nanoscale electronic and photonic devices, has been named Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering in Harvard University’s School…

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    David Clarke appointed as professor of materials in School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

    David R. Clarke, an inventive materials scientist recognized worldwide for his out-standing contributions to the study of ceramic materials, has been named Gordon McKay Professor of Materials in Harvard University’s…

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Gene scan of Alzheimer’s families identifies four new suspect genes

    The first family-based genome-wide association study in Alzheimer’s disease has identified the sites of four novel genes that may significantly influence risk for the most common late-onset form of the…

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Paul Zofnass ’69, M.B.A. ’73 establishes GSD sustainability initiative

    Paul Zofnass ’69, M.B.A. ’73 has established a sustainability initiative at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) with a $500,000 gift.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Houghton joins with libraries nationwide to celebrate artists’ retreat

    HCL Communications It’s been said great art often grows out of tragedy — in the case of Yaddo, an artists’ retreat in upstate New York founded in 1900, tragedy spurred the creation of hundreds of great works of art.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    The Nobel for literature: An insider’s view

    One of Per Wästberg’s best times as a college student in the 1950s was the night he got locked in Widener Library. “I got so enthralled [in the stacks], the library closed and I couldn’t get out,” Wästberg said with a laugh, noting that the floor of the library was nicer than his room at…

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Effects of climate change vary greatly across plant families

    Drawing on records dating back to the journals of Henry David Thoreau, scientists at Harvard University have found that different plant families near Walden Pond in Concord, Mass., have borne the effects of climate change in strikingly different ways. Some of the plant families hit hardest by global warming have included beloved species like lilies,…

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    10 ways to help

    1. Drive less: Walk, bike, and take public transportation instead. Check out the Harvard Commuter Choice Program for information on ridesharing, discounts for MBTA passes, and more.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Women have national title hopes

    It has been a decade since the women’s ice hockey team won a national championship. Despite 10 years of ECAC and Ivy League dominance, the Crimson have been way too close to the top — way too often. Since the first year of the women’s NCAA tournament (2001), the team has reached the NCAA tournament…

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Police reports

    Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) for the week ending Oct. 27. The official log is located at 1033 Massachusetts Ave., sixth floor, and is available online at http://www.hupd.harvard.edu.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Mortimer John Buckley

    Mortimer John Buckley was born July 1, 1932 in Worcester, Massachusetts to an Irish immigrant family from near Killarney. Mort attended the College of the Holy Cross and then Boston University Medical School, later being named a distinguished alumnus of both schools.

    9 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Goldstone to receive MacArthur for international justice work

    The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will honor Justice Richard J. Goldstone, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, with the MacArthur Award for International Justice in May.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Men’s hockey draws high preseason expectations

    Highs and lows were thematic throughout the 2007-08 men’s hockey season. After losing to No. 11 Clarkson in the season opener, the Crimson won six of their next eight games — outscoring their opponents 23-10.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Korea Institute announces postdoctoral fellows for 2008-09

    The Korea Institute recently announced three postdoctoral fellows for Harvard’s 2008-09 Post-Doctoral Fellowship program in Korean Studies. Todd A. Henry and Se-Mi Oh were named as this year’s postdoctoral fellows for the Korea Foundation, and Jun Uchida was selected as the postdoctoral fellow for the Korea Institute-Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Green politics at IOP

    An environmental call to action issued by Harvard President Drew Faust accelerated this year, with a pledge to reduce campus-wide greenhouse gas emissions and with an October celebration of sustainability efforts.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    IOP survey finds concerns over economy skyrocket

    A new national poll by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics (IOP), located at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), finds that 18- to 24-year-old likely voters continue to prefer U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (56 percent) over U.S. Sen. John McCain (30 percent) in the race for president. Economic issues are far and away the No. 1 national…

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Health disparities in Boston focus of talk at HSPH Community Partnership Day

    Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the city’s top health official, Barbara Ferrer, speaking at the Harvard School of Public Health’s (HSPH) 18th Annual Community Partnership Day, said efforts to end racial health disparities must go forward in the city even as the nation’s economy falters.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    In survey, patients give some high, some low marks to hospitals

    The quality of hospitals across the United States is inconsistent. To address this issue, the federal government and private organizations have begun to publicly report data, such as how well hospitals treat certain conditions. But until now, there has been no data on how patients themselves feel about the care they received. A new study…

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Status of women in academe assessed

    More than three decades of championing better opportunities for women has yielded critical changes, but there is still work to be done.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    HKS presents awards to 10 tribal governments

    Ten tribal governments were honored on Oct. 21 by Harvard’s Honoring Contributions in the Governance of American Indian Nations (Honoring Nations) awards program. Five of the governments received a “High Honors” award of $20,000 and five others received an “Honors” award of $10,000 in recognition of their good governance achievements. Hundreds of guests attended the…

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    This month in Harvard history

    Oct. 26, 1952 — Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson worships at the First Parish Church in Harvard Square and visits President James Bryant Conant afterwards in Massachusetts Hall.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Obama voters much more likely to believe outcome will impact health care

    As part of the ongoing poll series “Debating Health: Election 2008,” the Harvard Public Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Harris Interactive conducted a new survey focused on whether voters believe the results of this presidential election will make “a great deal of difference” in the state of the…

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Distinguished mathematician Andrew Gleason dies at 86

    Andrew Gleason, professor emeritus of the Mathematics Department, perhaps best known for his contribution to solving Hilbert’s Fifth problem, died Oct. 17 of complications following surgery. He was 86.

    4 minutes