Harvard’s connections in India—research collaborations, academic exchanges and partnerships, business ventures involving alumni and faculty—have expanded in recent years, in tandem with the country’s rapid growth. Those connections, including efforts spearheaded by Barry R. Bloom, Atul Gawande, and Richard Cash of Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), are outlined in the March-April issue of Harvard…

There are no ifs, whys, or butts about Harvard Kennedy School’s new smoke-free policy. As of March 1, the entire HKS campus is smoke-free, meaning that smoking is prohibited inside any campus building or outside on HKS grounds, including the courtyard, and within 25 feet of building entrances, outdoor air intakes and windows. “We make…

The tragic impact of war and corruption in Afghanistan; developmental pediatrics in inner-city communities; the current state of philanthropy for organizations serving women and girls: If asked where at Harvard these subjects were recently discussed, one of the last places someone might suggest is Harvard Divinity School (HDS). And yet all three were topics at…

A new animated video about cholera—how people get infected, how it spreads, and how to treat it—is drawing attention from health workers around the globe. The video’s producer, Deborah Van Dyke, is a nurse practitioner in Vermont, a longtime aid worker for Doctors Without Borders, and a 1993 graduate of Harvard School of Public Health.…

Nutritious snacks don’t have to bust budgets, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers conclude in a new study that analyzed the cost of foods served in YMCA after-school programs in four U.S. cities. While the prices of individual healthy snacks are typically higher than those of their processed-food counterparts, the researchers found simple strategies…

Children in the U.S. whose activity choices, interests, and pretend play before age 11 fall outside those typically expressed by their biological sex face increased risk of being physically, psychologically, and sexually abused, and of suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by early adulthood, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard School…

Alan Rusbridger, editor of the British-based Guardian newspaper, will address an audience of students, faculty, journalists and members of the public on Tuesday, March 6, at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The program begins at 6 p.m. in the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, and is sponsored by the Joan…

These are challenging times for American foreign policy. Violent government crackdowns against pro-democracy protesters in the Middle East, new saber rattling in Tehran, and a fragile European Union under the weight of a widespread debt crisis underscore the difficulties facing U.S. policymakers and their allies. Here is a sampling of perspectives from several Harvard Kennedy…

Former ambassador to South Korea expresses optimism for future relations between the U.S. and North Korea, but remains realistic. Donald Gregg told a group at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation last week (Feb. 17), it will take years to thaw the icy divide formed between the countries during the Cold War and re-chilled after…

Active duty Navy Commander and 2011 Harvard Extension School Master of Liberal Arts (A.L.M.) grad Ted Johnson has been selected to participate in the prestigious White House Fellows program. Of the 15 chosen to participate, more than half hold degrees from Harvard, with Johnson being the first Harvard Extension School graduate selected for the program.…

Growing out of a longstanding commitment to sharing knowledge about the natural world, the Arnold Arboretum’s educational programming for children began in the 1980s with the introduction of field study opportunities in the historical landscape. While this programming continues to thrive today, the Arboretum’s Boston Teachers Union School collaboration is designed to provide science instruction…

As part of the Harvard College General Education course Science of the Physical Universe 24: “Introduction to Technology & Society,” students and members of the Harvard community are invited to check out market ready alternative vehicle technologies in automobiles that are presently being sold. Day & Time: Wed, Feb. 15, 1-2:30 p.m. Location: In front…

Katia Bertoldi, assistant professor of applied mechanics at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), has won a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The honor is considered one of the most prestigious for up-and-coming researchers in science and engineering. Bertoldi’s research involves the use of continuum…

As revolutionaries go — and he is one, embracing a dynamic new conception of humanistic research in the digital age — Jeffrey Schnapp is really quite grounded. He’s a medievalist, for one thing, a Dante scholar with impeccable credentials and a long track record in all the traditional scholarly forms. And although he founded a…

From exploring citizen participation in rural China to assessing how public deliberations in California can engage citizens, HKS’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation continues to be at the forefront of understanding democracy’s challenges. In early February 2012, the Center announced a deepened commitment to studying democracy by devoting $350,000 each year to faculty…

Using whole-genome sequencing, a team led by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Broad Institute has traced the path of the E. coli outbreak that sickened thousands and killed more than 50 people in Germany in summer 2011 and also caused a smaller outbreak in France. It is one of the…

People with higher-than-average levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood may be roughly 30 percent less likely than those with the lowest levels to develop atrial fibrillation, according to new Harvard School of Public Health research. Atrial fibrillation is a dangerous condition that tends to strike the elderly and can lead to stroke or…

Over the past decade, scientists have produced a flurry of studies exploring the role of genetic (nature) and environmental factors (nurture) in youth depression, but there has been little consensus on how depression is jointly impacted by specific genes and external factors, such as poverty, abuse, and negative family relationships. The lack of a clear…

Alvin Curran will bring his thoughts and experiences to Harvard as the Louis C. Elson Lecturer, and will talk about his uncommon music and life on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 5:15 p.m. in John Knowles Paine Concert Hall on the Harvard University campus (Harvard Square Red Line T stop). Paine Hall is wheelchair accessible, and…

Facebook certainly “likes” Gregory Malecha, a Ph.D. candidate in computer science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). The social media giant awarded Malecha a 2012-13 Facebook Fellowship. As a fellow, he will enjoy fully paid tuition and fees for the academic year. He will also receive a $30,000 stipend, money towards…

Researchers at Harvard University have launched the Peer Instruction (PI) Network, a new global social network for users of interactive teaching methods. PI, developed by Eric Mazur, area dean for applied physics and Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), is an innovative evidence-based pedagogy…

The Arnold Arboretum is pleased to announce that the Weld Hill Research Building has been awarded LEED Gold in assessments established by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute. Opened in January 2011, the Arboretum’s research and administration facility at Weld Hill was designed and constructed to LEED (Leadership…

Europe’s financial crisis dominated the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting, which wrapped up Sunday (January 29) in Davos, Switzerland. For the first time, growing wealth disparities were a main topic of discussion, thanks largely to the Arab Spring uprisings, the Occupy movement and other protests around the globe. More than 2,500 VIPs, including Harvard…

Seven Harvard-affiliated researchers will receive grants to support collaborative projects in high-performance computing. The seed grants, awarded by the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) under construction in Holyoke, Mass., are intended to support projects in computational science that advance basic knowledge, create new practical applications, and accelerate the development of faster and more…

Until now, a key part of receiving a Ph.D. from Harvard was taking a cab ride to a factory in Charlestown (it was not T-accessible) to have your dissertation bound. Now that scenic journey is a thing of the past. After a pilot program launched by GSAS to great success among March degree candidates, all…

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has awarded Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute a $10 million grant to support the expansion of its pioneering cancer imaging research program. The MLSC grant will help fund the establishment of the Molecular Cancer Imaging Facility, a $20 million research initiative to develop new molecular imaging probes. The facility will ultimately…

Whether drafting a plan to help patients make healthier food choices or designing an electronic medical records system, the more public health professionals know about the personal preferences of those who will use the end product, the more likely the initiative will be successful, Patrick Whitney (pictured at right), told an overflow HSPH audience January…

Limiting certain essential nutrients for several days before surgery—either protein or amino acids—may reduce the risk of serious surgical complications such as heart attack or stroke, according to a new Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) study. The study appears in the January 25, 2012 issue of Science Translational Medicine. “Food restriction as a way…

The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services recently announced a scheduled cut in physician fees for 2012 using a sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, which determines annual adjustments to payments for services. The SGR formula was implemented in 1998 to curb the growth in expenditures on physicians’ services. In a new paper, “The Sources of the…

The end of the Cold War brought great changes across the political and economic landscapes. But it also affected the academic world in significant ways. In a new research paper titled “The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians,” which is to be published in a forthcoming issue of the Quarterly…