Campus & Community

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  • Public employee unions: Self-renewing cycle?

    Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance Eric Kriss cast down the gauntlet to public labor unions last week (Sept. 22), blaming a monopolistic union structure for governments financial woes and calling for a new debate on the unions role.

  • Computer scientists develop wireless way to monitor volcanoes

    A rumbling South American volcano has gone wireless: Computer scientists at Harvard University have teamed up with seismologists at the University of New Hampshire and University of North Carolina to fit an Ecuadorean peak with a wireless array to monitor volcanic activity. The sensors should help researchers, officials, and local residents understand and plan for eruptions of Tungarahua, one of Ecuadors most active volcanoes in recent years.

  • KSG receives $10M to set up fund for ‘excellence’

    Business and political leader David M. Rubenstein is giving $10 million to establish a fund for excellence at the Kennedy School of Government. A key component of the gift is $1 million earmarked for a loan forgiveness program to encourage talented students to pursue careers in public service.

  • East Asian painters have powerful impact

    To someone accustomed to Western art with its vivid colors, its emphasis on the human figure, its use of naturalistic modeling and perspective, East Asian painting may seem a bit pallid at first – pretty enough with its graceful calligraphic lines and its ever-present repertoire of bamboo, plum blossoms, and chrysanthemums, but somehow lacking in individuality and oomph.

  • Widener Library renovations: On time, on budget

    For the past five years, Widener Memorial Library – one of Harvards best-known buildings and the heart of its 90-library system – has surrendered its scholarly serenity to the cacophony of construction.

  • Fairbank Center announces postdoc fellows, visiting scholars

    The John King Fairbank Center for East Asian Research at Harvard has announced the scholars who will be resident at the center for the 2004-05 academic year. Each of these scholars will be completing specialized research projects and will present his or her work in a free and open lecture.

  • Scalia condemns judicial moralism

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told a packed John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum Tuesday night (Sept. 28) that democracy is best served when judges stick to determining the letter of the law and refrain from ruling on moral issues such as abortion and assisted suicide.

  • HMS researcher named MacArthur Fellow

    A newly appointed Harvard Medical School assistant professor who specializes in the study of cellular mitochondria has been named one of this years 23 recipients of the MacArthur Foundations genius grants: $500,000 over five years, no strings attached.

  • Matthew Meselson wins 2004 Lasker Award

    Harvard biologist Matthew Meselson has won the 2004 Lasker Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science. The prize honors a lifetime of solving fundamental biological problems and of helping to curtail the spread of biological and chemical weapons.

  • The search for computer security

    Its a computerized jungle out there, with viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other electronic predators waiting to wreak havoc on an unprotected computer.

  • The Big Picture

    Silver medalist volleyball player, trainer and recruiter of underrepresented minorities in science, committed family and tribal member – full-blooded Navajo Indian Lee Bitsoi juggles all these roles, and does it well. His balancing act is grounded in the Navajo philosophy of finding harmony in ones life, of paying heed to the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of ones being.

  • Sports in brief

    Crimson comeback shocks Brown The Harvard football team overcame a three-touchdown deficit this past Saturday (Sept. 25) to skim past host Brown, 35-34. Sophomore running back Clifton Dawson had another…

  • Crimson game plan springs leak

    On the surface, Navys last-second victory over the Harvard mens water polo team this past weekend had all the makings of a hard-fought match between two good teams. Regrettably, the 11-10 setback seemed to knock the wind right out of the Crimsons sails, setting a gloomy course for host Harvard for the remainder of the ECAC championships.

  • Researchers find earliest known oven

    Archaeologists have found strong evidence that wheat and barley were refined into cereals 23,000 years ago, suggesting that humans were processing grains long before hunter-gatherer societies developed agriculture. The findings, including the identification of the earliest known oven and hence the oldest evidence of baking, were described in a recent issue of the journal Nature.

  • GSD names Loeb Fellows for independent study

    The Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design recently announced that 11 individuals have been awarded fellowships to participate in one year of independent study using the curriculum and programs of GSD as well as other resources at the University. Loeb Fellowships provide a unique opportunity for nurturing the leadership potential and professional development of accomplished midcareer individuals in design and other fields related to the built and natural environment.

  • OfA fall 2004 grants to benefit more than 700 students

    More than 700 students will participate in over 30 projects in dance, music, theater and multidisciplinary genres at Harvard University this fall. Sponsored in part through funding from the Office for the Arts at Harvard (OFA) Grant Program, the grants are designed to foster creative and innovative artistic initiatives among Harvard undergraduates.

  • International scholars join HSPH in three programs

    The Department of Population and International Health at the Harvard School of Public Health (SPH) has a long-standing tradition of training international scholars through nondegree fellowship programs. The department has three fellowship programs that focus on different areas of international health.

  • Lighting the way

    The river, a footbridge, music, and light drew a few thousand Cambridge and Allston neighbors to the Charles riverbanks for a fall equinox celebration on Sept. 22. Organized by the Charles River Conservancy and the Revels, the event marked the beginning of fall and the first evening of permanent illumination for the Weeks Memorial Footbridge, which connects Harvards Cambridge and Allston campuses.

  • Incidents of indecent assault and battery reported

    Two alleged incidents of indecent assault and battery were reported this week in the area of Harvards Cambridge campus. Wednesday (Sept. 22) at approximately 8:30 a.m., a graduate student reported that a male on a bike circled her then groped her as she was walking on Roberts Street toward Cambridge Street. On Tuesday (Sept. 21), at around 1 a.m., an undergraduate student reported that she was approached by a male who groped her while she was walking on Plympton Street near Mt. Auburn Street.

  • This month in Harvard history

    Sept. 11, 1770 – With the Great and General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony temporarily convening in Harvard Hall, the spirit of public debate catches fire among students, and Samuel…

  • Memorial services set for Cox, Holzman

    Cox to be remembered at memorial service on Oct. 8 A memorial service for former Harvard Law School Professor Archibald Cox will be held on Oct. 8 at 2 p.m.…

  • ‘Shrek 2’ selected for ‘Movie Time’

    All members of the University community and their guests are invited to attend Harvards third annual Its Movie Time at Harvard, to be held this Sunday (Sept. 26) in Tercentenary Theatre.

  • Police reports

    Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) for the week ending Sept. 19. The official log is located 1033 Massachusetts Ave., sixth floor.

  • President Summers meets with students, staff on Oct. 14

    President Lawrence H. Summers will hold office hours for students in his Massachusetts Hall office on the following dates:

  • Newsmakers

    Cheryl Knott named an inaugural Emerging Explorer The National Geographic Society recently selected associate professor of anthropology Cheryl Knott to its Emerging Explorers Program. The new program recognizes and supports…

  • The ‘controversial enterprise’

    One of Steven Shapins current research projects is a study of the way science is conducted in the for-profit, high-tech sector. He is trying to understand how venture capitalists decide which research and which researchers to put their money on. He has discovered that the process is a surprisingly familiar one.

  • Working Mother votes Harvard good place for women

    For the second year in a row, Working Mother magazine has chosen Harvard as one of the 100 best places to work for women who juggle a career with raising children. Whats more, Harvard is the only university recognized this year and one of only three Massachusetts employers chosen for the distinction.

  • Research in brief

    Scientists create way to turn gene on and off as needed Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School have created a novel, elegant, and safer system for controlling…

  • In brief

    Modern Greek Studies seeks submissions for conference Harvard’s Modern Greek Studies Program invites graduate students in modern Greek studies or in related fields to participate in a grad student conference…

  • Youth Leadership Forum a success

    Its not often that you can get a group of high school students out of bed before 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning, but when its for an event such as the 4th Youth Leadership Forum, some motivated students will forgo their usual weekend sleep-in. Despite the torrential rain that fell this past Saturday, more than 40 such students with disabilities made their way to the Spangler Center at Harvard Business School to attend this years forum as delegates from throughout Massachusetts. The event was hosted by the Office of the Assistant to the President, as Marie Trottier, University Compliance Officer and University Disability Coordinator, co-chairs the planning committee for the Youth Leadership Forum as part of her role as co-chair of the Massachusetts Governors Commission on Employment of People with Disabilities.