Year: 2019

  • Health

    As the end nears, who’s in control?

    Advocates and opponents of medical-aid-in-dying laws, also called physician-assisted death, gathered at Harvard Medical School for a two-day conference organized by the HMS Center for Bioethics.

    Dan Diaz discusses medical aid in dying with Mildred Solomon.
  • Science & Tech

    Identifying exotic properties

    Though they have unusual properties that could be useful in everything from superconductors to quantum computers, topological materials are frustratingly difficult to predictably produce. To speed up the process, Harvard researchers in a series of studies develop methods for efficiently identifying new materials that display topological properties.

    illustration of water and how symmetry indicators work as a net to catch topological materials
  • Science & Tech

    Laying some groundwork for environmental protection

    The Wyss Institute has developed a sheet pile driving robot, Romu, that works in uneven terrain to build metal walls that can act as dams, retaining walls, or building foundations.

    Romu the robot in the sand
  • Health

    Weighing in on workplace wellness programs

    In the first major multisite randomized controlled trial of workplace wellness programs, researchers found that while they may help people change certain behaviors, they do little to improve overall health or lower health care spending.

    Workout equipment for wellness program.
  • Nation & World

    Pros at the con

    Psychologist Maria Konnikova ’05, who studies the workings of con artists, talks about what underlies some recent pop culture scams and why we’re so fascinated by stories about them.

    Anna Sorokin in court.
  • Arts & Culture

    Picturing vision and justice

    A meeting of experts and scholars from Harvard and beyond organized by assistant professor Sarah Lewis will “consider the role of the arts in understanding the nexus of art, race, and justice.”

    Assistant Professor of History of Art and Architecture and African and African American Studies Sarah Lewis
  • Health

    Detecting DNA defects

    A new algorithm designed by HMS scientists can be incorporated into standard genetic tests to successfully identify patients harboring a tumor-fueling DNA repair defect found in multiple cancers treatable with existing drugs.

    DNA strand and Cancer Cell
  • Campus & Community

    Rising to the challenge

    MacLean Sarbah, M.A. ’19, hopes to return home to help take on one of Ghana’s biggest social problems: youth unemployment.

    GSD student Maclean Sarbah He is seen at Adolphus Busch Hall
  • Campus & Community

    A healthy twofer

    Harvard’s new Sustainable Healthful Food Standards, announced today, will challenge University food service to increase healthy options while also considering how the food is produced, taking into account sustainability, pesticide and fertilizer use, food-workers’ conditions, and animal welfare.

    Illustration of two plates, one filled with components of a healthy diet and one filled with planet.
  • Campus & Community

    A leg up

    The 13th annual Celebration of Scholarship dinner brought together brought together students who have benefited from financial aid and some of the many donors who support the program.

    Three people sitting at a dinner table
  • Campus & Community

    Running for a purpose

    Harvard runners run the Boston Marathon to overcome challenges, be part of a community, and give back

    Jenn Greiner (from left), Alison Steinbach, Bjarni Atlason, and Bob Surette are part of the Harvard College Marathon Challenge.
  • Nation & World

    When it comes to politics, what’s love got to do with it?

    The American Enterprise Institute’s Arthur C. Brooks and University Professor Danielle Allen agree to disagree (and sometimes to agree) in lively exchange over the political necessity of love.

    Arthur Brooks talks with University Professor Danielle Allen
  • Nation & World

    Journalist, whistleblower, or dangerous security leak?

    Legal, intelligence, and news analysts discuss the arrest in London of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who faces conspiracy charges by U.S. federal prosecutors for the disclosure of classified national security documents stolen by Pfc. Chelsea Manning

    Julian Assange in a police van.
  • Campus & Community

    Donoff to step down as dean of School of Dental Medicine

    Bruce Donoff, dean of Harvard School of Dental Medicine for 28 years, announced today that he will step down from the position effective Jan. 1, 2020.

    Dean Bruce Donoff
  • Campus & Community

    Putting compassion into action

    At an event marking the 40th anniversary of the WilmerHale Legal Services Center, faculty, students, and clients recall what it has meant to them.

  • Campus & Community

    Faculty diversity continues to grow

    Harvard continues to make progress in its goal to diversify its faculty, with numbers of women and minorities reaching record highs.

    Cover of the annual report of the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity.
  • Campus & Community

    Striking lessons from the 1960s

    The occupation of University Hall in April 1969 and the strike that followed it left its mark on Harvard’s psyche. A daylong event Friday commemorates the 50th anniversary and brings today’s student activists into the conversation.

    Closeup of a fist raised during 1969 strike.
  • Arts & Culture

    Behind the ‘Thrones’

    A course at Harvard teaches students about the real-world Game of Thrones.

    Kit Harington as Jon Snow and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen.
  • Science & Tech

    Tackling climate change through study

    Harvard’s Climate Change Solutions Fund, now in its fifth year, is awarding seven research projects $1 million in grants.

    Thermovision of house.
  • Campus & Community

    Overseeing progress

    On a recent afternoon, the Gazette sat down with Susan Carney, current president of the Board of Overseers, and Michael Brown, president-elect for 2019-20, to talk about the Overseers’ role, their…

    Overseers president Susan L. Carney ’73, J.D. ’77, and incoming Overseers president Michael Brown ’83, J.D. ’88
  • Science & Tech

    ‘Seeing the unseeable’

    A years-long effort by dozens of researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics reveals the first-ever image of a supermassive black hole.

    In the first picture of a black hole, it is outlined by emission from hot gas swirling around it under the influence of strong gravity near its event horizon.
  • Science & Tech

    A black hole, revealed

    Researchers at the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) just unveiled the first-ever image of a black hole, which captures what EHT Director Sheperd Doeleman called “a one-way door from our universe.”

    Harvard Senior Research Fellow Shep Doeleman
  • Health

    Vitamin D may slow progression of metastatic colorectal cancer

    The first randomized clinical trial of vitamin D in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer found that high doses of supplements combined with chemotherapy delayed disease progression.

  • Health

    Healthy diet helps older men maintain physical function

    A new study shows that older men who maintain healthier diets are 25 percent less likely to develop physical impairment with aging.

  • Nation & World

    What would Dick do?

    A panel including Al Gore, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Roger Porter, and Harvey Fineberg, with Graham Allison moderating, discussed what Richard Neustadt would have thought of the Trump presidency on the 100th anniversary of the late Kennedy School professor’s birth.

    Al Gore (l to r), former Harvard Provost Harvey Fineberg, and Roger Porter, current HKS Professor of Business and Government, share a laugh during a discussion on the presidency in the 21st century. J
  • Campus & Community

    Provost convenes task force to address students’ psychological well-being

    With mental health issues among young people increasing both at the University and nationwide, Harvard’s Office of the Provost has convened a task force to assess and respond to students’ psychological well-being.

    Mario Small, Emma Dench, Matt NockS
  • Arts & Culture

    ‘East Side’ story

    Student-penned musical “The East Side” puts the spotlight on the Harvard Asian Student Arts Project.

    Performers dancing and singing
  • Health

    Hold the soda, hold the fat shaming

    Health and policy expert Sara Bleich has found that when trying to change the way people eat, being prescriptive isn’t always the answer.

    A tower of junk food including fried chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, and cupcakes.
  • Campus & Community

    Per Nykrog, 88

    At a Meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on April 2, 2019, a tribute to the life and service of the late Per Nykrog was placed upon the permanent records of the Faculty.

  • Campus & Community

    Divinity School professor retains her grade-school wonder

    Harvard Divinity School Professor Anne Monius’ determination to get to Harvard started on a grammar school field trip. Today she inspires students to love learning as much as she does.

    Anne Monius at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University.