Featured series 
Year: 2007
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Science & Tech
Ingenious use of indigenous tree reaps award
The jatropha tree is a humble — some might even say homely — plant, with large, maple-like leaves and clusters of inedible fruit that, when mature, look too brown and shriveled to be of much use to anyone. But to thousands of rural eastern and southern Africans, the jatropha is a beautiful thing. It represents…
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Science & Tech
Using Spitzer telescope, scientists create first map of extrasolar planet
For the first time, astronomers have created a rough map of a planet orbiting a distant sun-like star, employing a technique that may one day enable mapping of Earth-like worlds. Because the planet just charted is a gas giant and lacks a solid surface, the map shows cloud-top features. Using the Spitzer infrared space telescope,…
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Campus & Community
Test improves prediction of self-injurious behavior
Researchers have found a way to better predict self-injurious behavior by using a test that assesses subjects’ implicit attitudes toward self-injury rather than relying on self-revealing talk. The test addresses…
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Health
Patrick announces $1B initiative
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick Tuesday (May 8) announced a $1 billion biotech initiative to secure Massachusetts its position as a world leader in biotechnology and stem cell science.
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Campus & Community
Howard Gardner’s ‘quintet of minds’
It’s been more than 20 years since Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner offered up a radical idea: that humans possess multiple forms of intelligence rather than just a single type that is easily tested by linguistic and logical-mathematical parameters.
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Campus & Community
Noyce Scholarships provide incentive for public school internships
Among the topics in the national conversation on education during the past few years have been teacher retention (particularly for high-needs schools) and the lack of math and science educators in primary and secondary settings. The National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Scholarship — which was awarded this year to 10 master’s students from the Harvard…
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Health
Evolution caught playing with genetic on-off switch
A tiny opossum’s genome has shed light on how evolution creates new creatures from old, showing that change primarily comes by finding new ways of turning existing genes on and off.
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Health
Leading scientists announce creation of Encyclopedia of Life
Realizing a dream articulated in 2003 by renowned biologist E.O. Wilson, Harvard and four partner institutions have launched an ambitious effort to create an Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), an unprecedented project to document online every one of Earth’s 1.8 million known species. For the first time in history, the EOL would grant scientists, students, and…
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Health
Diabetes drug dramatically boosts power of platinum chemotherapy
A widely used diabetes drug dramatically boosted the potency of platinum-based cancer drugs when administered together to a variety of cancer cell lines and to mice with tumors, report scientists from Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
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Campus & Community
Women of the Ivies
In a historic first, Harvard on Wednesday (May 2) hosted “Women at the Top: The Changing Face of the Ivies,” a summit of the five women who lead, have led,…
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Campus & Community
$5 million grant from Gates Foundation to fund Financial Access Initiative
Finding funding is a key step in building the wealth of low-income individuals in developing countries. How to make that step, however, is not always clear. The anecdotal success stories about microfinance are well known; substantive research on how to increase and improve access is still lacking.
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Campus & Community
Schelling and Neustadt winners announced
An international trade theorist and a longtime judge and international war crimes prosecutor are recipients of the 2007 Thomas C. Schelling and Richard E. Neustadt Awards. The awards were announced during a May 4 event hosted by the Kennedy School of Government (KSG).
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Nation & World
Secretary of Treasury Paulson talks about China’s booming economy
“Time is of the essence,” Henry Paulson told the capacity crowd at Burden Hall on the Harvard Business School (HBS) campus Thursday afternoon (May 3). China needs to make some critical economic reforms — floating its currency, reforming its capital markets, and restructuring so that domestic consumption plays a bigger role — and the time…
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Arts & Culture
Heading disaster off at the pass
Before Hurricane Katrina, you could walk along a street in New Orleans and look up to see a ship glide by — with an ocean of water held in check by just one dike.
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Campus & Community
Carpio, Frank are named Abramson winners for excellence in teaching
Glenda Carpio, assistant professor of African and African-American studies and of English and American literature and language, and Alison Frank, assistant professor of history, are this year’s winners of the Roslyn Abramson Award, given to junior faculty for excellence in undergraduate teaching.
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Campus & Community
Five honored as Harvard College Professors
In this 10th anniversary year of the prestigious Harvard College Professorships, five FAS faculty members have been honored for their particularly distinguished contributions to undergraduate teaching, advising, and mentoring.
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Health
Opossum genome shows ‘junk’ DNA source of genetic innovation
A tiny opossum’s genome has shed light on how evolution creates new creatures from old, showing that change primarily comes by finding new ways of turning existing genes on and…
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Campus & Community
Harvard Foundation honors Knowles for ‘years of support’
The Harvard Foundation will present its 2007 Faculty/Administrator Award to Jeremy R. Knowles, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Amory Houghton Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, at the annual Harvard Foundation Student/Faculty Awards dinner on Friday (May 4). Knowles will be honored for his years of support of the Harvard Foundation…
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Campus & Community
Fourteen faculty named to 2007 class of AAAS fellows, honorary members
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) on Monday (April 30) announced the election of 203 new fellows and 24 new foreign honorary members. Included among this new field of fellows and honorary members are 14 Harvard faculty members.
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Campus & Community
This month in Harvard history
May 1638 — The College Yard expands as the Town of Cambridge grants the College a lot of land that today includes Harvard, Hollis, Stoughton, and Holworthy halls.
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Campus & Community
Police reports
Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) for the week ending April 30. The official log is located at 1033 Massachusetts Ave., sixth floor, and is available online at http://www.hupd.harvard.edu/.
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Campus & Community
Newsmakers
Edwards honored by Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University has named David A. Edwards — a 1983 graduate of the university and the Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Biomedical Engineering at Harvard — the winner of its Melvin Calvin Medal of Distinction. The medal recognizes individuals with an affiliation with the university who have…
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Campus & Community
Memorial services
Grillo memorial service May 3 A celebration of the life of Hermes C. Grillo, professor of surgery emeritus, will be held May 3 at 3 p.m. in Memorial Church. Grillo died in Italy in October 2006. Musgrave memorial May 18 A memorial service for Professor Emeritus Richard Musgrave will be held on May 18 at…
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Campus & Community
President seeks input
In a May 2 letter to the Harvard community, interim President Derek Bok is soliciting input on the issue of calendar reform. The letter also provides an update on developments around this issue. To view the letter, go to http://www.harvard.edu or visit the President’s site at http://www.president.harvard.edu/.
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Campus & Community
HBS holds annual Business Plan Contest
Harvard Business School (HBS) held the final round of its 11th annual Business Plan Contest late last month in the School’s Burden Auditorium. The contest began this past January with a total of 62 student teams, eight of which made it through the various stages of judging to the final round of presentations. Four of…
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Campus & Community
Gates’ scholarship, ‘African American Lives’ honored
Alphonse Fletcher Jr. University Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. has recently been named the recipient of three awards in recognition of his scholarship and for the cultural impact of “African American Lives,” the PBS series created and produced by Gates, New York’s Channel 13, and Kunhardt Productions. Since first airing in February 2006, “African American…
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Campus & Community
Three to receive HAA medals
The Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) has announced the recipients of the 2007 Harvard Medal: Phyllis Keller B.F. ’70, Carl H. Pforzheimer III A.B. ’58, M.B.A. ’63, and Richard Menschel M.B.A. ’59.
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Campus & Community
Sports briefs
Sailing ties down third, final bid for nationals The Crimson sailing team qualified for nationals April 28-29 with a third-place finish (out of 12 schools) at the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association Team Racing Championship on the Charles. Harvard recorded an 8-5 record in the final three rounds to finish two wins ahead of B.C.…
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Campus & Community
Men called out, women in extra innings
Even with no postseason in sight, there were still enough strategic adjustments during Tuesday afternoon’s (May 1) season finale to make the Harvard baseball team’s last game of 2007 a dramatic one. And in the end, a successful one as well for the host Crimson squad, who protected a 4-3 edge versus Northeastern to close…