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Virtually all the biological processes that keep us alive are controlled by proteins in our bodies. Therefore, most, if not all, of our diseases can be traced to faulty proteins. In a major leap toward learning the basics of human biology and what makes it go awry, researchers have built the prototype of a high-tech…

Tuesday night’s presidential debate between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush may have been across town, on Dorchester Bay rather than the Charles River, but Harvard was interested, watching, and — in some cases — there. Harvard’s voices were heard in the chanting outside the UMass-Boston debate hall, and in the analysis of…

Mark Twain knew darn well what he was doing when he wrote “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”: he was pokin’ at a beehive. And for more than one hundred years, the bees have obliged, swarming out with criticism of the tale of the friendship between a poor white boy, Huckleberry Finn, and an escaped slave,…

As Harvard sophomore Jay Williams passed through customs and trudged toward the exits at Terminal E in Logan Airport two weeks ago, the colorful images reflecting off his sunglasses proclaimed the enormity of the moment. Just seconds after emerging from the international gates, the 19-year-old religion and pre-med concentrator was surrounded by reporters, photographers, fellow…

When I knocked on her office door, Margo Seltzer, newly tenured professor of computer science, was changing her daughter’s diaper. “I’ll come back,” I said. “No need,” she replied. In answer to the questioning look on my face, she explained, “when a friend of mine told me about taking her infant daughter to work, I…

A memorial service will be held for Masatoshi Nagatomi, professor of Buddhist studies in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, on Friday, Oct. 27, 2 p.m., at the Memorial Church.

Harvard Law School has awarded Irving R. Kaufman Public Interest Fellowships to 22 graduating students and recent graduates. These fellowships are awarded in recognition and support of individuals who have shown truly exceptional promise for careers in public interest law. The Kaufman Fellowships are managed by the School’s Office of Public Interest Advising, which is…

The Program on U.S.-Japan Relations at Harvard has selected 15 associates for research projects in 2000-01. Founded in 1980, the program enables outstanding scholars and practitioners from the United States and Japan to come together at Harvard University to conduct independent research and participate in an ongoing dialogue with other members of the Harvard and…

The “10th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony” will be held Thursday, Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Sanders Theatre. The ceremony honors scientifically minded achievements that “cannot or should not be reproduced.” Among the esteemed award presenters are genuine Nobel Laureates, including Harvard’s own Dudley Herschbach (Chemistry ’86), William Lipscomb (Chemistry ’76), and Sheldon…

Mark Twain knew darn well what he was doing when he wrote “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”: he was pokin’ at a beehive. And for more than one hundred years, the bees have obliged, swarming out with criticism of the tale of the friendship between a poor white boy, Huckleberry Finn, and an escaped slave,…

The Paul Revere battalion, which includes students from Harvard, Tufts, Wellesley, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been named the “Most Outstanding” by the U.S. Army, among more than 270 ROTC units nationwide. Cadet Battalion Commander Danielle Boudreau ’01, who is the first female battalion commander in Paul Revere’s history, accepted the award on…

One of Norman Janis’ earliest memories is standing on the beach at Coney Island at the age of 6 and singing “HMS Pinafore” to his parents and their friends. The scene is not difficult to imagine. Janis, a compact, bearded man whose wiry frame is constantly in motion, seems to retain the boyish energy and…

Two former world leaders, a prominent health care policy-maker, and the national campaign manager for John McCain’s presidential bid are among the fellowship selections at the Institute of Politics (IOP) this fall. The Institute of Politics was established in 1966 with an endowment from the John F. Kennedy Library Corp. to inspire undergraduate students to…

Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) for the week ending Sept. 23.The official log is located at Police Headquarters, 29 Garden St.Sept. 17: A caller reported a stolen set of keys and identification from Stoughton Hall. Sept. 18: Security reported two vending machines were broken into at…

2000-01 directories to be distributed in November The 2000-01 Directory of Faculty, Professional and Administrative Staff will automatically be distributed to teaching faculty and all administrative and professional staff, as well as all emeriti, starting in late November. If you do not fall under any of the above categories, and need a copy, please send…

Stebbins named fellow, curator at Fogg Museum Theodore E. Stebbins Jr. was named distinguished fellow and consultative curator of American art at the Fogg Art Museum in August. Stebbins is one of the nation’s leading scholars of American art. He served for 22 years as John Moors Cabot Curator of American Paintings at the Museum…

For a week in August, incoming Harvard Medical School students ignored the siren call of sun and sand for a chance to spend a week weighing and measuring preschoolers at the Dimock Early Head Start Program in Roxbury. The result was an eye-opener for the medical students as well as a relief for officials at…

Myra Mayman, the founding director of Harvard’s Office for the Arts (OFA), has announced that she will step down at the end of June. In letters and phone calls to dozens of staff members, alumni/ae, advisers, students, and other friends of the OFA this week, Mayman demonstrated the personal touch for which she is known…

To help employees learn basic language skills and/or prepare for the Graduate School of Education, the Bridge Program has teamed up with doctoral students in the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), the leader in research on adult learning at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The NCSALL graduate students…

Diego Rios has big plans for his career at Harvard. The 32-year-old Colombian native has worked as a waiter at the Faculty Club for the past four years, eagerly taking on every opportunity for training that has come his way. He willingly steps in to fill staffing needs, sometimes cleaning guest and function rooms, at…

Humberto Cuartas and his 9-year-old son are homesick. Even so, they aren’t quite ready to pack up and go back to their home in Medellin, Colombia. Cuartas, a waiter at the Harvard Faculty Club, has a goal to reach before he heads home. “I’m trying to do something better for myself,” he says. “I want…

With one collective eye focused on a controversial and colorful past and the other gazing ahead toward an uncertain future, some 600 African-American graduates of Harvard Law School (HLS), joined by their families and faculty members, gathered at the Law School last weekend to honor their rich history and to chart a course for those…

Harvard Divinity School has announced the establishment of the Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan Professorship in Islamic Religious Studies. The new chair, whose title honors the family of His Highness Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is intended as the cornerstone for an expanded program in the study of Islam at…

The Advisory Committee on Honorary Degrees will be meeting during the fall and spring to consider nominees for honorary degrees in 2002. Members of the Harvard community are invited to submit names of likely honorary degree candidates. Through its conferral of such degrees, Harvard aims to recognize excellence of broad relevance to higher education. The…

The gauntlet hit the floor with a bang during last week’s Askwith Education Forum on “The Homework Wars” sponsored by the Graduate School of Education (GSE) and moderated by Emily Rooney, host of “Greater Boston” on WGBH Television. Calling it the great “black hole of learning,” educational researcher Etta Kralovec presented her case for reducing,…

The Hauser Center is a University-wide, interdisciplinary research center that seeks to expand understanding and accelerate critical thinking about civil society among scholars, practitioners, policy makers and the general public. Now in its third year, the Hauser Center awards up to five two-year residential doctoral fellowships per year to outstanding students registered in any program…

Harvard seeks its second victory of the season when it travels to Lafayette this Saturday for a non-conference tilt. It is the sixth meeting between the schools in a series that dates back to 1966. The Crimson used a fourth-quarter burst to defeat defending Ivy League co-champion Brown, 42-37, last Saturday in Providence and even…