The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is presented every three years in recognition of exemplary projects in communities where Muslims have a notable presence. For the 11th award cycle, five winners were announced at a ceremony held at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, on Nov. 24, 2010. GSD Dean Mohsen Mostafavi, Rahul…

Harvard University and the Harvard Square Business Association (HSBA) are teaming up again this holiday season to encourage the Harvard community to “think Harvard Square” and shop locally. Harvard President Drew Faust, members of the Harvard community, and the Harvard Square Business Association will kick off the annual Crimson Shops Local effort on Thursday, Dec.…

Cities are many things. Among their least appealing aspects, cities are frequently characterized by concentrations of insecurity and exploitation. Cities have also long represented promises of opportunity and liberation. Public decision-making in contemporary cities is full of conflict, and principles of justice are rarely the explicit basis for the resolution of disputes. If today’s cities…

Otger Campàs knows all about conquering language barriers. As a native of Barcelona, he grew up speaking Catalan and Spanish. While an undergraduate at the University of Barcelona, he studied the elegant language of theoretical physics. He dabbled in cooking there, too, and heard about unconventional techniques like “spherification” and “culinary foams.” In his postgraduate…

The surprise disclosure that North Korea has begun enriching uranium is yet another stark reminder of the grave threats of nuclear proliferation. On Wednesday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m., the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard Kennedy School will host a very timely debate on the unimaginable dangers posed by nuclear weapons, from terrorism to…

The faculty of Harvard Divinity School (HDS) voted, in  a meeting on Nov. 15, to allow Harvard University to make electronic versions of their current scholarly articles available to the public. With the vote for open access, the Divinity School faculty joined five other Harvard schools in a commitment to disseminate faculty research and scholarship…

The Harvard Foundation presented its annual Humanitarian Award to Thorbjørn Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Noble Peace Prize Committee, and secretary general of the Council of Europe. The award, which bears the signature of the president of Harvard University, was given in recognition of Jagland’s “notable contributions to humanitarianism and the cause of peace.” While…

Before you click “print” consider this: Harvard purchases more than 2,000 tons of paper every year. Add that up and you get a pile of paper 13,333 feet tall, just 1,000 feet shy of the tallest peak in the Rockies.  A University-wide reduction of 10% in paper consumption would save enough to power 62 homes…

The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation has awarded the Erasmus Prize 2011 to Joan Busquets, architect and expert in urban development: ‘arquitecte urbanista’ (Barcelona, Spain). The thematic of the Erasmus Prize 2011 is ‘the design of public space in the city’. The prize is awarded to Joan Busquets in appreciation of his impressive and multifaceted oeuvre in…

Making fuel cells practical and affordable will not happen overnight. It may, however, not take much longer. With advances in nanostructured devices, lower operating temperatures, and the use of an abundant fuel source and cheaper materials, a group of researchers led by Shriram Ramanathan at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) are…

Harvard took America Recycles Day to the next level on Monday (Nov. 15), choosing to use the day to celebrate the annual Mt. Trashmore tradition.  One day every fall, students and staff construct the pile, which represents one day’s trash from Harvard Yard.  The idea is to educate the Harvard community about the importance of…

The Master in Design Studies program has announced two new areas of concentration for students enrolling in fall 2011: Anticipatory Spatial Practice and Critical and Strategic Conservation. Anticipatory Spatial Practice will address the inevitability of unpredictable shocks to the built and natural environment, whether due to earthquakes and floods or radical social ruptures. It acknowledges…

At 6 p.m. this evening (Tuesday, Nov. 16), the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at the Harvard Kennedy School is hosting a conversation with three women who hold or have held top defense and security policy roles in the U.S. government over the past decade. Michele Flournoy, under secretary of defense for policy, is a former Belfer Center…

A new report – the product of an unusual collaboration between leading U.S. and Russian institutes – recommends a broad range of cooperative steps by Russia and the United States to strengthen nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation around the world, and to develop new approaches to nuclear energy. The study, from the Belfer Center for…

Engineers from Harvard University have designed and demonstrated ice-free nanostructured materials that literally repel water droplets before they even have the chance to freeze. The finding, reported online in ACS Nano on Nov. 9, could lead to a new way to keep airplane wings, buildings, power lines, and even entire highways free of ice during…

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard will present the Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism to Somali reporter Mohamed Olad Hassan on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010. James Fallows, a national correspondent for The Atlantic, will deliver the keynote address during the ceremony. Nieman Fellows in the class of 2011 selected…

A collaboration between a physician-researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and a mathematician from Harvard University has led to development of a mathematical model reflecting how red blood cells change in size and hemoglobin content during their four-month lifespan. In their report published online in PNAS Early Edition, John Higgins, MGH Center for Systems Biology…

Each year, the students and faculty of the Harvard Foundation and the Memorial Church nominate distinguished individuals from all over the world whose works and deeds on behalf of humanity deserve special recognition.  These individuals range from a variety of backgrounds — heads of state, outstanding scholars, religious leaders, artists, and others whose humanitarian efforts…

Working professionals and executives can now enroll in one- and two-day intensive programs exploring cutting-edge topics in computing with some of the most notable teachers and researchers in their fields, thanks to a collaboration between Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education and computer science faculty from the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). The…

Said Tayeb Jawad, former ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States, has joined the Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) as the inaugural Fisher Family Fellow. He will engage in a number of public speaking events on the future of Afghanistan during his month-long residence, sharing his knowledge and real world experience…

Material Design is authored by Thomas Schroepfer, associate professor of architecture at the GSD. Architects, landscape architects, and other designers discuss the state of the art and project emerging trends in material design. Using an alternative approach premised on observation, speculation, and experimentation, a comprehensive view of today’s and tomorrow’s material technologies and design methods…

The vast and varied countries of Asia are key cultural and economic drivers for the 21st century and, as a recent sojourn by Dean David T. Ellwood affirmed, they have deep and growing affiliations with Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Building on the School’s well-established ties in China, Singapore and Vietnam, Ellwood’s 12-day trip in September…

Alex Wissner-Gross says the future isn’t coming fast enough. Consider the predictions of the 1950s, he says. Here we are, 10 years past the millennium, and what do we have to show for ourselves? “We’re supposed to have ubiquitous space travel and exploration. We’re supposed to have flying cars. We’re supposed to have ocean cities,…

FREETHINK@HARVARD, a new series of free interactive global e-learning discussions on relevant topics led by Harvard faculty, will hold its first online event Friday, Nov. 19, beginning at 6 p.m. The program is sponsored by the Dean of Students Office at Harvard Extension School. The inaugural FREETHINK@HARVARD discussion will be led by Harvard School of…

The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University has named Alison Franklin director of communications. A 1990 graduate of the College, she brings to the Radcliffe Institute 20 years of experience as a communications professional in government, politics, and the nonprofit sector. From 1996 to 2002, Franklin was communications director and press secretary for…

Graduate students and alumni affiliated with Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have won first, second, and third prizes in the graduate student division of the 2010 Collegiate Inventors Competition. The competition “promotes innovation by recognizing inventors and scientists early in their careers, and rewarding students’ often pioneering ideas as they address the…

“I think we need a higher ceiling!” Harvard College senior Colin Saintangelo ’11, his arms outstretched, ran a victory lap around the top floor of the Hemenway Gym as his classmates cried out in astonishment. “Forty-nine feet!” Pole vault? Long jump? No. Saintangelo’s four-inch-long catapult, crafted from a single piece of polycarbonate plastic, had just…

Individuals with albinism face discrimination in societies around the world. Reports of attacks and mutilation occur daily, with thousands of albinos living under threat or at risk. The Harvard Foundation will host a panel discussion and photo exhibition, “Prejudice and Violence against People with Albinism: An International Concern,” on Thu., Oct. 28, and Fri., Oct.…

Harvard University has been recognized by the Sustainability Endowment Institute as an overall college sustainability leader having received an A- in the organization’s 2011 College Sustainability Report Card. Due to its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the breadth, scope, and effectiveness of its energy efficiency, green building, and occupant engagement programs,…

In secondary schools around the nation, the achievement gap among adolescent readers is wide and growing. Motivation is often low, instructional time is insufficient, and campus environments are rarely conducive to improving literacy performance. University of Kansas Professor Donald Deshler, also director of the Center for Research on Learning, spoke about these realities at the…