Dean James Ryan announced today that Colorado State Sen. Michael Johnston, Ed.M.’00, will address graduates and their families at the 2014 Convocation ceremony on May 28. “I am delighted that Mike Johnston will address our graduates and their families at Convocation this year. As a teacher, principal, and entrepreneur, Mike’s leadership has made a real difference…

 Barbara Burleigh, associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases, studies Chagas disease, a leading cause of infectious heart failure. The disease is a major health and economic burden in Latin America, where it’s endemic, with roughly 8 million people infected and another 100 million individuals at risk of infection, mostly in rural, resource-poor settings. How does Chagas disease cause…

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism has selected 24 journalists as members of the 77th class of Nieman Fellows. The group includes journalists who work around the globe as reporters, editors, columnists, bureau chiefs, digital leaders and news executives in print, broadcast and online media. They will study at Harvard University during the 2014-15 academic year.…

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) has awarded a three-year, $3.75-million contract to a team of Harvard researchers to further develop a promising grid-scale battery technology they demonstrated earlier this year. The innovative organic flow battery is designed to safely and inexpensively store solar and wind energy for use when the…

Planetary scientist and former Harvard Society of Fellows Junior Fellow Sarah Stewart Johnson’s “O-Rings,” originally published in issue 43 of Harvard Review, was recently selected for this year’s Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology. Covers for the Review’s issues 41 and 42, designed by Alex Camlin, were featured in Print Magazine’s 2013 Regional Design…

Moderately high-protein diets may have short-term weight loss benefits, and may lower heart disease risk, but the “package” the protein comes in matters, said Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. “If there’s too much protein and it comes from animal sources, it may have other health consequences,” Hu said in a Boston Globe interview published April…

Sylvester James Gates Jr., professor of theoretical physics at the University of Maryland, College Park, was named the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations 2014 Scientist of the Year. Gates was presented a special medal signed by President Drew Faust at the annual Harvard Foundation Albert Einstein Science Conference: “Advancing Minorities and Women in…

People who increased the amount of coffee they drank each day by more than one cup over a four-year period had a 11% lower risk for type 2 diabetes than those who made no changes to their coffee consumption, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers. In addition, the study found that those…

If a single illuminated manuscript can give a glimpse of the art, literature, religion and history of Western culture during the Middle Ages, imagine what nearly 4,000 – the number of such manuscripts held in the Boston area – might do. Those 4,000 manuscripts are the focus of an exhibit being prepared by Kuno Francke…

Instead of its traditional April 22, Earth Day was Sunday on Harvard’s MAC Quad. But whether it lands on a Tuesday or a Sunday, Earth Day is an annual reminder that efforts to preserve the environment are ongoing and should remain a priority for everyone, everyday. The Environmental Action Committee (EAC), which organized the annual…

Harvard School of Public Health researchers and colleagues have compiled the first global data on dietary intakes of specific fats worldwide. The report compares the intake of saturated fat, cholesterol, trans fats, omega 3s, and other fats and oils among 187 countries. The report, written on behalf of the Global Burden of Diseases Nutrition and Chronic Diseases Expert Group, was published…

More than 100 children and families recently came together at the Gardner Pilot Academy for the first-ever Family Science Night. Co-sponsored by Harvard University, the event brought students from kindergarten through seventh grade and their parents together to explore the endless possibilities of science. Families gathered to listen to Heather Olins, a fifth-year doctoral student…

Ever since the Snowden leaks, the NSA revelations, and most recently the Heartbleed bug, Internet privacy and online surveillance have moved to the forefront of any conversation involving technology. In the midst of constant tracking and data mining from both the commercial and government spheres, is the whole idea of privacy dead? To find answers, Julia Angwin,…

Improving health outcomes in African nations requires not just boosting investment in health, but strengthening the capacity of national health care delivery systems, according to speakers at a gathering of African finance ministers at Harvard in early April. “It is not only about increasing the amount of money for health, but also increasing the health for the money,”…

Technology Review today announced its annual list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies that “mark true milestones” and “solve thorny problems or create powerful new ways of using technology.” Gracing the list is a sophisticated microscale 3D printing technique developed by Jennifer A. Lewis, Hansjorg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering…

As the nation celebrates the 45th Earth Day on Tuesday, April 22, 2014, researchers from Harvard and MIT are calling for an improved approach to studying the link between pollution and human health. In an article published April 18, 2014 in the journal Science, the researchers note that in recent years, one-third to a half of all benefits gained from major…

The Korea Institute at Harvard University promotes the study of Korea and brings together faculty, students, scholars, and visitors to create a leading Korean studies community at Harvard. Through the Korea Institute, Harvard offers resources for graduate and undergraduate students to study Korea. On campus in Cambridge, students take courses on Korea and may choose…

The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is pleased to announce that Dr. Ailene Ettinger and Dr. Jessica Savage were awarded Putnam Fellowships in Plant Science to conduct independent research utilizing the Arboretum’s plant collections. Ailene Ettinger received her doctoral degree from the University of Washington where she studied the role of climate and competition in…

After experiencing a tragic and truncated end to the 2013 Boston Marathon, race organizers were faced not only with grief but with hundreds of administrative decisions, including plans for the 2014 race – an event beloved by Bostonians and people around the world. One of the issues they faced was what to do about the…

Young people who conform most strongly to norms of masculinity and femininity—the most “feminine” girls and the most “masculine” boys—are significantly more likely than their peers to engage in behaviors that pose cancer risks, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers. The most feminine teenage girls use tanning beds…

Adolescent lesbians and bisexuals are less likely to use passenger safety belts than their heterosexual peers, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health Research Fellow Sari Reisner. Drawing from data gathered in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey which includes a measure of sexual orientation identity, the researchers found that sexual minority youth had…

To assess the media’s coverage of the crisis in Syria, the Shorenstein Center welcomed Deborah Amos, Middle East correspondent for NPR, to share her insights. In Syria, Amos said, “there are at least five different wars” going on simultaneously. “It is the most complicated of all the conflicts in the Middle East,” yet the media is criticized…

An evaluation study of the nonprofit Facing History and Ourselves, conducted by Harvard Graduate School of Education researchers, shows its positive effects on teacher and student learning. The full study, “A Randomized Controlled Trial of Professional Development for Interdisciplinary Education,” will be available and free to all on the Teacher’s College Record website for one…

Henry Louis Gates Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and director of the newly launched Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, has welcomed 23 first-rate fellows for the 2014-15 academic year. “We are delighted to welcome one of our most distinguished and diverse class of Fellows of the W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute, housed…

Just a few days after the Boston Marathon bombing last year, lecturer Betsy McAlister Groves was asked to meet with a group of residents who lived on the same street as Martin Richards, the 8-year-old who had been killed by one of the bombs. The parents wanted Groves, a licensed clinical social worker and founding…

Harvard University Transportation Services, the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD), and the Cambridge Police Department (CPD) have launched an educational initiative to provide motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians with important tools for staying safe. The LOOK campaign provides specific safety messages for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers, so that these three groups can co-exist safely within the…

The recent conversion of a Harvard Mail Services truck to a hybrid electric vehicle has dramatically reduced fuel consumption. As a result, the eight-month pilot program has cut the vehicle’s greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 22 percent. Now, in addition to delivering thousands of pieces of mail across the University, the van is also delivering…

As Harvard continues to advance teaching and research on campus, online, and beyond through HarvardX, a University-wide initiative to enable faculty to create open online learning experiences, a new program is under way to combine online educational resources with in-person teaching components. HarvardX for Allston will bring HarvardX content to the Allston-Brighton community and general public…

For more than a century, the arrival of spring in Boston has been affectionately linked with the peak blooming time of the world-renowned Lilac Collection at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. On May 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Arboretum invites flower lovers of all ages to absorb the wonderful sights and…

An interdisciplinary team of 12 Harvard Graduate School of Design students worked with Andreas Georgoulias, lecturer in architecture and director of the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure, to deliver the Inter-American Development Bank Private Sector Infrastructure Sustainability Awards, or Infrastructure 360° Awards. The sponsored research project between Harvard and the Inter-American Development Bank started in…