Month: June 2013

  • Nation & World

    Our signature 1776 revolutionary

    Founding Father and patriot John Hancock, he of the famous signature, was also famed in his day as the Harvard treasurer who left town while managing the College funds — and returned them two years later.

    7 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Journalism, cinema-style

    A new summer film series on journalism opens with a documentary that asks: Will print, and original news reporting, survive the digital avalanche? “Meet John Doe,” presented by James Geary, Nieman ’12, will be shown July 9.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Avoiding the digital ‘flock’

    In his new book, “Rewire,” former Berkman Fellow Ethan Zuckerman challenges the digital world to connect with others, using tools to overcome people’s “flocking” instincts.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Watching Spanish grow

    The Instituto Cervantes Observatory of the Spanish Language and Hispanic Cultures in the United States at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University will be a center for tracking Spanish language growth.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Right down the middle, explained

    The ability to throw an object with great speed and accuracy is a uniquely human adaptation, one that Harvard researchers say played a key role in our evolution.

    8 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Coach for the ages

    Legendary crew coach Harry Parker, who joined Harvard in 1960 and helmed the Crimson’s heavyweight program starting 50 years ago, died June 25. He was 77 and had mentored generations of Harvard rowers and U.S. Olympians.

    6 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Remembering Harry Parker

    On June 25, 2013, the world of rowing lost a legend. Please share your reflections below.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Statement on passing of Harry Parker

    Statement on passing of Harry Parker, The Thomas Bolles Head Coach for Harvard Men’s Heavyweight Crew, by Jack Reardon, AB’60, Executive Director, Harvard Alumni Association and Harvard University Athletic Director 1977-1990.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Tracking a cultural shift

    Harvard experts examine high court rulings, as well as the political, cultural, and social factors that have ushered in a wave of support for marriage equality.

    10 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A beacon of community

    Harvard, Boston, and community and federal officials attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Allston for the new Charlesview Apartments at Brighton Mills, an unusual partnership that proved an exercise in teamwork.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Map to renewable energy?

    Researchers hoping to make the next breakthrough in renewable energy now have plenty of new avenues to explore — Harvard researchers this week released a database of more than 2 million molecules that might be useful in the construction of organic solar cells for the production of renewable energy.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Down home

    House life is a vibrant experience in which undergraduates learn from and mingle with other students, tutors, House masters — and their families — from sophomore year until graduation. A glimpse inside as seen through the photographers’ lens.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Affirmative action policies remain

    The U.S. Supreme Court returned the question of affirmative action in college admissions to the lower courts for reconsideration.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A learning gap is filled with plants

    With classes in plant morphology fading in universities across the country, an Arnold Arboretum short course is seeking to plug the hole, bringing in top botany graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for an intensive, two-week course.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A goodbye and hello

    Elected officials, Harvard leaders, and community members celebrated and lauded departing Cambridge City Manager Robert Healy, who will become a fellow at the Kennedy School.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Jesse Berlin to receive Lagakos Award

    The Harvard Department of Biostatistics has announced that Jesse Berlin will be this year’s recipient of the annual Lagakos Distinguished Alumni Award.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Following the swarm

    Australian scientist Stephen Simpson’s locust research has led to insights on human nutrition.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Sandel in Central Park

    During an evening in Central Park, germane readings from Shakespeare’s plays were followed by a forum led by Professor Michael Sandel, whose book “What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limit of Markets” examined the social repercussions of letting so many life choices come with a price tag.

    7 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Feeling especially secure

    Members of the Harvard University Police Department and Securitas were honored for their efforts during the Boston Marathon bombings and their aftermath.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Gaiman as a guide

    Author Neil Gaiman and book designer Chip Kidd discussed their collaboration on “Make Good Art” and challenges and opportunities for artists today in an Oberon talk.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Taking stock of technology

    At the recent Harvard IT Summit, Anne Margulies, vice president and University chief information officer, mentioned how Harvard had been at the forefront of information technology since its inception, even to the point of naming the burgeoning field.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Science, front and center

    A Harvard/MIT conference brought together young scientists and experts to explore best practices in communicating science to wider audiences.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Developing cancer drugs

    Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers have identified in the most aggressive forms of cancer a gene known to regulate embryonic stem cell self-renewal, beginning a creative search for a drug that can block its activity.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Heroes, day by day

    Sixty men and women from across Harvard were honored for their outstanding work and service to the University’s mission at the annual Harvard Heroes event.

    6 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Market time

    A wide range of regional vendors participate in Harvard farmers markets in Allston and Cambridge.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Floating classroom

    Putting problem sets, papers, studying, and exams behind them, a small group of Harvard students brought together by Professor Melissa Franklin built their own boat, going from raw materials to finished product in just five days and then launching the vessel on the Charles River.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    The sudsiest night of the year

    The 11th annual Mather Lather brought excitement, and soap, to House life.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Healthy menus for people and planet

    Harvard nutrition experts and leaders of the food industry met this week at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge to discuss recommendations for changing menus of everything from restaurants to cafeterias to prepared foods in an effort to improve the American diet and lessen the environmental impact of the foods we eat.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Looking at chimp’s future, seeing man’s

    The fate of chimpanzees in Africa is largely in the hands of increasing numbers of poor, rural dwellers crowding the primates’ forest homes. That is why an educational project begun near Uganda’s Kibale National Forest focuses on 14 schools teaching almost 10,000 children, researchers say.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Reflections of James Meredith

    Civil Rights activist James Meredith, who famously fought to be admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi in 1962, received the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s highest honor when he was awarded its Medal for Education Impact during its recent convocation.

    2 minutes