Tag: Faculty of Arts and Sciences

  • Nation & World

    Yale professor examines unconscious biases by whites

    “But I Don’t See Color! Consequences of Racial Color-Blindness,” was the topic of a talk by John Dovidio, the Carl Iver Hovland Professor of Psychology at Yale University. The discussion was part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ Diversity Dialogue series.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Q&A on changing House master title

    In a question-and-answer session, two Harvard deans sat down with the Gazette late last week to talk about the impending change to the House master title that was announced at the Dec. 1 faculty meeting, and to give the thinking behind the switch.

    6 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A moment for gratitude

    Staff members from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences gathered at University Hall to see friends, enjoy cider and cookies, and write notes to co-workers, in the annual Giving Thanks open house.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Pedro, a pitcher with ‘no space to fail’

    Former Boston Red Sox pitching great Pedro Martinez spoke with Professor Michael Sandel Tuesday about his illustrious 18-year career.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A focus on fairness

    Using a simple game in which candy is distributed between two players, researchers found that children in various countries were quick to reject unfair deals, but in three countries they were also willing to reject deals unfair to others.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    On top of the flu

    A team led by Harvard statistician Samuel Kou has devised a new system for tracking flu outbreaks in real time.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    ‘An important piece of the pie’

    Harvard’s Widener Library welcomed more than 500 staff members from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences for a fall celebration featuring conversation and pie.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Pinpointing punishment

    It’s a question most attorneys wish they could answer: How and why do judges and juries arrive at their decisions? The answer, according to Joshua Buckholtz, may lie in the…

    6 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Dramatic chain of events

    Harvard physicist Lisa Randall discusses the research behind her new book, “Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs.”

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Big data, massive potential

    Across Harvard, programs and researchers are mining big data, vast quantities of computerized information, often revolutionizing their fields in the process.

    23 minutes
  • Nation & World

    The spirituality of Africa

    Though larger religions have made big inroads, African spirituality, a belief system based in openness and adaptation, endures, says Harvard religion professor Jacob Olupona.

    14 minutes
  • Nation & World

    How the brain builds new thoughts

    A new study suggests that two adjacent brain regions allow humans to use a sort of conceptual algebra to construct thoughts.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Five recognized as Harvard College Professors

    Michael D. Smith, Edgerly Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, announced five new Harvard College Professors in 2015.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Q&A with Harvard President Drew Faust

    Harvard President Drew Faust sat down with The Gazette recently to discuss the University landscape for the coming academic year, including Harvard’s priorities for 2015-16 as well as some of the challenges ahead.

    24 minutes
    Drew Faust
  • Nation & World

    Tiny wires, great potential

    Harvard scientists have developed a method for creating a class of nanowires that could one day see applications in everything from consumer electronics to solar panels.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Sequencing Ebola’s secrets

    A global team from Harvard University, the Broad Institute, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and other institutions sequenced more than 200 additional Ebola samples to capture the fullest picture yet of how the virus is transmitted and changes over a long-term outbreak.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Injectable device delivers nano-view of the brain

    An international team of researchers has developed a method of fabricating nanoscale electronic scaffolds that can be injected via syringe. The scaffolds can then be connected to devices and used to monitor neural activity, stimulate tissues, or even promote regeneration of neurons.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Big boost for SEAS

    The Harvard community celebrates John A. Paulson’s $400 million gift to boost the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the University’s largest donation ever.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Cooking up cognition

    A new study suggests that many of the cognitive capacities that humans use for cooking — a preference for cooked food, the ability to understand the transformation of raw food into cooked, and even the ability to save and transport food to cook it — are shared with chimpanzees.

    9 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Harvard College deanship named

    The Harvard College deanship will be renamed the Danoff Dean of Harvard College, in recognition of the longtime dedication of Ami Kuan Danoff ’84 and William A. Danoff ’82, and their most recent generosity in support of Harvard College and House renewal.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Improved accuracy in genome editing

    A team of scientists has engineered a form of the genome-editing protein Cas9 that can be controlled by a small molecule and offers improved DNA specificity.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Uncertain forecast for Social Security

    A new study has found that the financial health of Social Security, the program millions of Americans have relied on for decades as a crucial part of their income, has been dramatically overstated.

    10 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Claudine Gay named dean of social science

    Claudine Gay, a Harvard professor of government and African and African American Studies, and a distinguished scholar of mass political behavior, has been appointed dean of social science in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Fryer wins Clark Medal

    Roland Fryer, Harvard’s Henry Lee Professor of Economics, has been awarded the American Economic Association’s John Bates Clark Medal, which is given annually to a rising young economist.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Why birds don’t crash

    A new study shows that birds use two highly stereotyped postures to avoid obstacles in flight. The study could open the door to new ways to program drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles to avoid similar obstacles.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A leap for ‘artificial leaf’

    Using an electro-chemical process to etch materials, Harvard scientists have developed a system of patterning that works in just minutes, as opposed to the weeks needed for other techniques. Researchers can build photonic structures that control the light hitting the device and greatly increase its efficiency.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Three faculty members receive NAS awards

    Catherine Dulac, Hopi Hoekstra, and Xiaowei Zhuang have received National Academy of Sciences awards.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Theater, Dance, and Media

    A new arts concentration will offer classes this fall, and students will be able to declare the concentration officially in December.

    8 minutes
  • Nation & World

    When flames attack

    Harvard researchers were able to predict when test flames in the lab were likely to switch from slow- to fast-moving fires, which could open the way to making similar predictions for forest fires.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Mystery motor

    Harvard researchers have solved the mystery of how some bacteria move across surfaces with the discovery of a rotary motor in the bacterium Flavobacterium johnsoniae.

    3 minutes