News

Cabinet Public Relations Office, Cabinet Secretariat/Creative Commons license 4.0 Sanae Takaichi, 2025

History

Election of Japan’s first female PM isn’t a win for women, says Cornell historian

10/22/2025 A&S Communications

Sanae Takaichi’s election may seem surprising in a country that ranked lowest among OECD nations in women’s political representation as recently as 2023, but it is not a victory for gender equality, says professor Kristin Roebuck.

Graduate student research

Student spotlight: Aleesha George

10/20/2025 Cornell University Graduate School

Aleesha George, a doctoral candidate in chemistry and chemical biology, studies the optical and electronic properties of organic and hybrid materials under the guidance of Andrew Musser at Cornell.

Three people sitting in arm chairs during an on-stage event — Jason Koski/Cornell University At a 2018 panel discussion, “Celebrating 150 Years of Ezra Cornell’s Promise.”

Alumni

Alum and former Law School dean named president of Georgetown

10/20/2025 Cornellians

An A&S College Scholar who clerked for the U.S. Supreme Court, Eduardo Peñalver ’94 currently leads Seattle University.

small boat traveling over open water — Jorge Salvador/Unsplash A small boat off the coast of Venezuela

Government

U.S. returning to ‘familiar pattern’ of interventionism in Latin America

10/20/2025 A&S Communications

Trump's move to cut aid to Columbia and enact tariffs is the latest in a string of escalating tensions between the U.S. and countries in Latin America, says Cornell government professor Ken Roberts.

Government

Gaza ceasefire shouldn’t be considered a “peace deal”

10/15/2025 A&S Communications

Uriel Abulof, a visiting professor in Cornell University’s government department, calls it “a survival pact for leaders who thrive on conflict and enmity."

City under a sky with clouds — Brent Ninaber/Unsplash Antananarivo, Madagascar

International politics

African Union must condemn Madagascar coup, says Cornell expert

10/14/2025 A&S Communications

Olúfémi Táíwò, professor of Africana studies at Cornell University, said the move is another coup d’etat that Madagascar, and the African continent, does not need.

Microphone up close — Kane Reinholdtsen/Unsplash

International politics

Hot-mic moment with President window into ‘transactional foreign policy’

10/14/2025 A&S Communications

Trump has turned U.S. foreign policy into a tool for petty corruption and insider deal-making instead of supporting U.S. national interests, says a Cornell government faculty member.

Music

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra to perform with violinist James Ehnes Oct. 26

10/13/2025 A&S Communications

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with violin soloist James Ehnes will perform a program entitled “Postcards from Paris” in the next Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series (DMCCS) production of the 2025-26 season.

mosque spire rises in fog over a war-damaged street — Tomer Texler/Unsplash

History

Gaza ceasefire is a resounding policy victory for Trump

10/9/2025 A&S Communications

The president's leadership was a key factor in getting the deal done, says professor emeritus Barry Strauss.

Economics

Gold surge does not pose a threat to the US dollar

10/9/2025 A&S Communications

“It would be virtually impossible for Gold to take on the multifaceted role of the USD in international trade and finance."

Jane Wang's face, with short dark hair and a smile.

Physics

Wang receives 2025 Stanley Corrsin Award from American Physical Society

9/30/2025 Cornell Engineering Magazine

Wang was honored for “original and innovative work on insect flight that provided fundamental insights into unsteady aerodynamics, flight efficiency, flight stability, and neural control, and for opening new dimensions of research in biological fluid dynamics.”

Blue sky, stone spire with a cross on top, people holding red, yellow and blue flags — Sasha Pleshco/ Unsplash Chișinău, Moldova

History

Moldovans showed “clarity about what is at stake” in pro-EU party vote

9/29/2025 A&S Communications

The Moldovan people still have a very clear memory of what life was like as a Soviet republic, says professor Cristina Florea after the pro-EU party decisively won a parliamentary election there.

A stage bathed in green light: several people play on keyboard instruments, including standing sythesizers, pianos, and an organ — Simon Wheeler for Cornell University Keyboard Energies concert, spring 2025

Music

‘The Keyboards Strike Back’: concert sequel set for Oct. 9

9/29/2025 A&S Communications

Cornell faculty and graduate students unleash a genre-bending program across seventeen keyboard instruments, from the delicate whisper of the clavichord to the analog punch of the Roland Juno-60.

Alumni

Alum spotlight: Ibrahim Gemeah, Ph.D. ’23

9/26/2025 Cornell University Graduate School

Ibrahim Gemeah, Ph.D. ’23, is an alumnus of the Near Eastern studies doctoral program with a focus on the history of the modern Middle East. He is now an assistant professor of modern Middle East and North African history in the department of Middle Eastern languages and cultures at Indiana University.

Autumn orange tree with a person lying under it, reading — Lindsay France/Cornell University

Alumni authors

Your September 2025 reads

9/26/2025 Cornellians

This month’s featured titles include the latest by a National Book Award winner and a classical history of Jewish resistance to Rome.

Sun beams shoot through heavy clouds over a bay — Adrian Diaz-Sieckel/ Unsplash

Religion

#RaptureTok and the history of end-times beliefs: Cornell religion expert

9/25/2025 A&S Communications

Apocalyptic predictions are "far from new, but social media has whipped up a frenzy," says Cornell religion expert Kim Haines-Eitzen.

Two people sit at a desk on the set of a late night TV chat show — Pete Souza/White House Jimmy Kimmel Live! video taping in 2015

Philosophy

Satire under siege: Cornell humor expert on ‘Kimmel’ comeback

9/25/2025 A&S Communications

“Political leaders – of all stripes – hate two things: unfettered speech and being mocked. With Jimmy Kimmel, the administration got a chance to squelch both."

Public policy

Brooks and A&S partner on new option for public policy major

9/25/2025 A&S Communications

Students in the major will be admitted into the College of Arts & Sciences and take courses in both Brooks and A&S.

Members of an orchestra playing on a stage — Casey Martin Cornell Symphony Orchestra

Live performance

Music Oct. 2-5: Homecoming concerts and historical keyboards

9/22/2025 A&S Communications

Cornell orchestras, vocal ensembles and the Center for Historical Keyboards plan performances.

Stylized image featuring a photograph of a person wearing a beaded sash and a headpiece made of leaves — Provided Deskaheh

History of Art and Visual Studies

‘Defending Haudenosaunee Sovereignty’ exhibit opens Sept. 24

9/18/2025 A&S Communications

The outdoor exhibit celebrates the centenary of Deskaheh Levi General’s 1923 intervention on behalf of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy at the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures

Inaugural “Freedom Party” in downtown Ithaca centers on community connection

9/16/2025 A&S Communications

A Sept. 27 event taking inspiration from the foundations of the Harlem Renaissance will highlight collaboration, resource sharing and storytelling.

Colored rugs make a collage under a blue sky — Provided

International studies

Einaudi welcomes SWANA Program

9/16/2025 Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies

The Einaudi Center welcomes the Southwest Asia and North Africa Program and four new program directors this fall.

Grassy hill with a road leading up it: Scene from Taiwan — Sam Chang/Unsplash A road in Taiwan

Alumni

18 Cornellians receive Fulbright awards

9/15/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell's 2025–26 Fulbrighters, including several A&S alumni and students, will conduct research, study and teach English in Canada, France, Honduras, India, Jamaica, the Netherlands, Norway and Taiwan. Most will be on site by October.

People standing in front of a big brick building with three levels of pagoda-style roofs — binaya_photography on Unsplash Patan Durbar Square, Lalitpur, Nepal

Anthropology

Nepal expert comments on violent protests in Nepal

9/10/2025 A&S Communications

Kathryn March, professor emerita of anthropology, comments on the violent protests in Nepal.

A field of stars surrounding one circular and one oblong area of extreme blackness surrounded by a halo of light — SXS Lensing/Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes Collaboration. A visualization from a computer simulation of two black holes similar to those of GW250124.

Physics

On 10th anniversary, LIGO verifies Hawking’s theorem

9/10/2025 A&S Communications

The LIGO-VIRGO-KAGRA team has announced a black hole merger similar to its first detection; a decade’s worth of technological advances allow unprecedented tests of General Relativity to be performed.

Flag with broad red stripe on top and broad white tripe on bottom on flagpole against a blue sky. — Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash Flag of Indonesia

Government

Cornell expert: Indonesia’s Prabowo ignoring ‘needs of the people’ in cabinet shake-up

9/9/2025 A&S Communications

Professor Tom Pepinsky comments on the news that Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has reshuffled his cabinet, removing top economic and security officials.

Seen from the air: Pentagon-shaped building — Touch Of Light/CC BY-SA 4.0 The Pentagon, the Headquarters of the US Department of Defense

Government

DOD rebrand ‘risks being performative’ without subsequent structural changes

9/8/2025 A&S Communications

“The proposal to rename the Department of Defense back to the Department of War carries symbolic weight but raises questions about substance," says Sarah Kreps, government scholar and former active-duty officer in the U.S. Air Force.

Sociology

Macron to blame for instability in French government, says Cornell scholar

9/8/2025 A&S Communications

The writing was on the wall for the no confidence vote says international populism expert Mabel Berezin.

Five musicians hold folk instruments in a publicity portrait — Annie Diotte/Provided Le Vent du Nord

Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series

Le Vent du Nord plays Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series Sept. 20

9/5/2025 A&S Communications

A leading force in Quebec’s progressive francophone folk movement, Le Vent du Nord will perform in the first Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series (DMCCS) on Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Bailey Hall.

Six people in suits walk abreast up a red carpet, conversing — President of Russia//Creative Commons license 4.0 General Secretary Xi Jinping of the Chinese Communist Party and world leaders attending the 2025 China Victory Day Parade in Beijing.

History

China’s parade signals power shift, cold war parallels, says Cornell expert

9/5/2025 A&S Communications

The massive display of new military power by the Chinese this week served several purposes, says military historian David Silbey.

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Alexei A. Aravin

9/3/2025 A&S Communications

Alexei A. Aravin, Molecular Biology and Genetics

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: María Angélica Bravo Núñez

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

María Angélica Bravo Núñez, Molecular Biology and Genetics

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: James Byrne

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

James Byrne, Literatures in English

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Shami Chatterjee

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Shami Chatterjee, Astronomy

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Sulagna Dasgupta

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Sulagna Dasgupta, Economics

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Jacob Dorn

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Jacob Dorn, Economics

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Patricia Ekpo

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Patricia Ekpo, History of Art and Visual Studies

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Pavel Galashin

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Pavel Galashin, Mathematics

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Manuel Olmedo Gobante

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Manuel Olmedo Gobante, Romance Studies

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Laura Tain Gutierrez

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Laura Tain Gutierrez, Romance Studies

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Jonathan “Jon" Kephart

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

… of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2023-2025 Academic Background: Ph.D., Chemistry, University of …

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Marissa Lavagnino

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

… of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2022-2025 Academic background: Ph.D., Chemistry, Princeton …

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Fangfang Li

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Fangfang Li, Asian Studies

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Jordan Miller

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Jordan Miller, Near Eastern Studies

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Annie Ornelles

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Annie Ornelles, Romance Studies

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Sandeep Parmar

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

… Department of English, University of Liverpool, U.K., 2012-2025 Academic background: Ph.D., English literature, …

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Matt Pennell

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Matt Pennell, Computational Biology

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Talia Prussin

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Talia Prussin, History

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Igor Santos

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Igor Santos, Music

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Jeremy Schneider

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Jeremy Schneider, History

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Milena Šereikaitė

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Milena Šereikaitė, Linguistics

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Nicholas Swanson

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Nicholas Swanson, Economics

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Sarah Thompson

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Sarah Thompson, Government

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Parkorn Wangpaiboonkit

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Parkorn Wangpaiboonkit, Music

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Amanda Weiss

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Amanda Weiss, Government

2025 New Faculty

New Faculty: Jordan Wylie

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Jordan Wylie, Psychology

2025: New Faculty

New Faculty: Thomas "Tal" A. Lewis

9/1/2025 A&S Communications

Thomas (Tal) A. Lewis, Religious Studies and German Studies.

Cartoon illustraiton of four little white robots looking at little blue laptop computers — Mohamed Nohassi/Unsplash

Government and technology

xAI lawsuit: Popularity alone doesn't constitute illegal exclusion

8/26/2025 A&S Communications

Government scholar Sarah Kreps comments on xAI's suit of Apple and OpenAI in U.S. federal court.

A crowd raises their hands with excitement as a band plays on a stage (barely in the image) and confetti rains down from above — Lindsay France/Cornell University The Flaming Lips play Barton in 2010

Alumni

From Springsteen to the Stones: Your Big Red concert memories

8/15/2025 Cornellians

We asked you to recall the musicians you saw on the Hill—and like a great rock show, your responses blew our minds

Person sitting in tall grass on a hilside, reading a book — Jason Koski/Cornell University Reading on Libe Slope

Alumni

Your August 2025 Reads

8/15/2025 Cornellians

This month’s featured titles include the latest from a top mystery writer, a Marvel omnibus, and a look at challenges to democracy – many by A&S faculty and alumni.

Illustration of a free-standing microphone surrounded by yellow lines and a red circle — Ashley Osburn/Cornell University

Alumni

Tune in: Alumni-hosted podcasts offer something for everyone

8/8/2025 Cornellians

Your fellow Cornellians can keep you entertained and informed—with shows on topics from science to sports and beyond.

Stage with five pianos on it — Provided Historic instruments from the Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards will take center stage during public concerts, lectures, roundtables and more during Forte | Piano 2025: Crafting Soundscapes.

Music

Festival celebrates pianos in history, history in pianos

7/22/2025 A&S Communications

Musicians, scholars and instrument makers will gather at Cornell Aug. 5-10 for Forte | Piano 2025: Crafting Soundscapes, a conference and festival exploring dimensions of historical keyboard practice from performance and scholarship to instrument making and listening.

Person speaking into a microphone — Sean Coon/Creative Commons license 2.0 Malcolm-Jamal Warner at National Black Theater Festival in 2007

Performing and Media Arts

‘Significant cultural loss’: Cornell TV expert on Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s death

7/22/2025 A&S Communications

Professor Samantha Sheppard: “Warner’s legacy is both rooted in his foundational and very funny role within a groundbreaking moment in television history and his commitment to moving beyond the character and show that turned him into a beloved household name."

Person reading a book in grass at the top of a hill — Sreang Hok/Cornell University Reading on Libe Slope

Alumni authors

Your July 2025 reads

7/18/2025 Cornellians

This month’s featured titles include a look at the world’s first advice column, self-help for parents, and a scholarly book on Venezuela.

Montclair Film/Creative Commons license 2.0 Stephen Colbert

Media

Politics and punchlines: Cornell humor expert on ‘Colbert’ cancellation

7/18/2025 A&S Communications

Political satire—long a staple of late-night TV—plays a critical role in democracy, cutting through partisanship and exposing hypocrisies that traditional news often can’t, says philosophy professor David Shoemaker.

People in red hard hats construct a structure on the floor of a large indoor space — Provided Cornell's Steel Bridge Project Team at the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)’s Student Steel Bridge Competition.

Physics

Partnership helps Cornell student team build a winning bridge

7/15/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell’s Student Machine Shop at the Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics (LASSP), students have access to industry-standard equipment and expert guidance: “We have users from physics, chemistry, architecture, engineering, physical education — you name it.”

A curved stone building with a row of colums on the facade — Carol M. Highsmith Columns on the Internal Revenue Service Building, part of the Federal Triangle in Washington, D.C

Sociology

Pulpit politics? Cornell expert questions IRS filing

7/9/2025 A&S Communications

Prof. Landon Schnabel comments on the new IRS filing regarding political endorsements by religious institutions.

person at a desk with computers, looking thoughtful — Ryan Young/Cornell University Semiconductors are at the core of the economy and national security. Their importance makes them a target. Sarah Kreps, director of the Tech Policy Institute in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, discusses how Cornell is helping to keep the semiconductor supply chain safe.

Cornell Matters

From halting cancer to protecting soldiers, Big Red research is at risk

7/2/2025 Cornellians

A look at some projects imperiled by federal funding cuts — and how you can support your alma mater through "Cornell Matters."

Government

Iranian nuclear project may be more dangerous now than ever

6/24/2025 A&S Communications

Professor of government Uriel Abulof: “In the aftermath of recent regional escalations, there’s a growing risk of repeating a familiar—and dangerous—pattern: ceasefire, self-congratulation, and strategic blindness

Person sitting on grass, reading a book propped on knees — Sreang Hok/Cornell University Summer reading on the Arts Quad

Alumni

Your June 2025 reads

6/23/2025 Cornellians

This month’s featured titles include the latest from A&S faculty Ishion Hutchinson and Charlie Green, plus A&A alumni Chris Pavone '89 and Sarah Spain '02.

Music

Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series announces 2025-26 Season

6/13/2025 A&S Communications

The season will include explorations of timeless classics, as well as concerts highlighting new frontiers in music.

Person sitting at a white piano on a stage, giving an "okay" sign with hand — Takahiro Kyono/Creative Commons license 2.0 Brian Wilson in 2012 in The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Reunion

Music

‘End of a hopeful era’: Cornell expert reflects on Wilson and Stone legacies

6/11/2025 A&S Communications

The deaths of Brian Wilson, co-founder of The Beach Boys, and funk and soul pioneer Sly Stone, of Sly and the Family Stone, mark the end of a pivotal era in music, says professor Judith Peraino.

Person wearing pink headphones, walking outdoors in a city — Devon Divine/Unsplash

Psychology

Study shows how city life shapes music choices

6/10/2025 A&S Communications

Living in a metropolis broadens our musical horizons, and makes our playlists less alike.

people in military fatigues stand by the side of a street — Levi Meir Clancy/Unsplash

Military history

Military use in Los Angeles coming right up to Insurrection Act

6/10/2025 A&S Communications

History professor David Silbey points out restrictions on and risks of using active-duty military to respond to protests.

Person sitting on a bench under a tree, reading a book — Noël Heaney/Cornell University Graduate student Esther Kondo Heller (MFA, Cornell Poetry ’23)

Literatures in English

Your May 2025 reads

5/27/2025 Cornellians

This month’s featured titles include essays on womanhood by A&S alumna Nicole Graev Lipson ’98.

People in religious robes on a balcony — Creative Commons license 4.0 Pope Leo XIV waves at the people gathered in St. Peter's Square in his first public appearance as pope.

Sociology

Pope Leo XIV bridges Catholicism's geographic divide

5/9/2025 A&S Communications

The historic selection of Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago-born U.S. citizen and naturalized Peruvian, reflects Catholicism's evolving global identity.

Cornell undergraduate students diagnosing wine grape diseases in a plant pathology laboratory in Chile. — Cornell undergraduate students diagnosing wine grape diseases in a plant pathology laboratory in Chile in 2018.

Physics

Cornell STEM education expert weighs in on NSF funding cuts

5/9/2025 A&S Communications

"Students across the country are going to miss out on innovative improvements to their science education – innovations that would have critically prepared them for the competitive 21st century technological workforce."

Doctor's stethoscope and blood pressure cuff — Immo Wegmann/Unsplash

Psychology

Surgeon General nominee is a prescription for ‘pseudoscience’

5/9/2025 A&S Communications

The nomination of Dr. Casey Means is the latest example of the administration’s disregard for scientific expertise and evidence-based policy, says a Cornell University expert.

White stone building with two flags flying over it — Doug Nealy/Unsplash The Peace Arch, situated near the westernmost point of the Canada–United States border in the contiguous United States, between Blaine, Washington and Surrey, British Columbia.

International politics

Carney’s first meeting with Trump yields ‘mixed outcomes’

5/7/2025 A&S Communications

Tuesday's meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and the White House yielded “mixed outcomes” that fell short of a substantial reset of relations between the U.S. and Canada, says scholar Jon Parmenter.

Graduate student research

Student spotlight: Haowen Zheng

5/1/2025 Cornell University Graduate School

Haowen Zheng, a doctoral candidate in sociology from Zibo, China, now studies why people move long distances within a country and how those moves shape their lives.

Large aircraft without a cockpit parked on a runway at sunset — Defense Visual Information Distribution Service An MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle parked on a taxiway at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada

Government

$36B drone plan echoes Ukraine, may not map onto U.S. Army

5/1/2025 A&S Communications

The idea of supplementing or replacing heavy equipment with unmanned systems isn’t new, says Sarah Kreps, professor of government and law, and founding director of the Tech Policy Institute.

Cars speed down a six-lane road through a city — Oleksandr Zhabin/Unsplash Kyiv, Ukraine

International politics

Even if a ‘peace’ deal is reached, Russia won’t give up on Ukraine

4/30/2025 A&S Communications

Cornell experts Bryn Rosenfeld and David Silbey comment on a 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine starting May 8, declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin to mark the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II.

Lake in autumn — John Wisniewski/Creative commons license 2.0 Massapequa Lake, Massapequa, New York

History

‘Self-indigenizers’ using executive bully pulpit in school mascot fight

4/30/2025 A&S Communications

The Long Island community of Massapequa is getting support from President Donald Trump for refusing to change its school mascot from Native American imagery, despite a state mandate, a fascinating example of self-indigenization says historian Jon Parmenter

Building with a cross on top, blue ksy — Pedro Honn/Unsplash

Religion

Catholic charter school matter ‘raises profound questions about equal access’

4/30/2025 A&S Communications

The Supreme Court's decision in the matter of Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond will represent a critical test of the separation between church and state in public education, says Landon Schnabel, associate professor of sociology.

Colorful picture books in a bin — Taylor Heery/Unsplash

Religion

If parents can opt out of LGBTQ themes, can others opt out of traditional ones?

4/22/2025 A&S Communications

Hearing arguments on whether religious parents should be permitted to opt out their children from public school story time that includes LGBTQ themes, U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared to favor the idea that parents can remove their children from these lessons, which 'prompts reflection on the boundaries of religious liberty in a pluralistic society,' says a Cornell sociologist.

Pope Francis waves to a crowd — Zebra48bo/Creative Commons license 4.0 Pope Francis in 20215

Religion

Death of Pope Francis marks end of historic papacy

4/21/2025 A&S Communications

Cornell experts comment on the legacy of Pope Francis, who died on Monday, marking the end of a historic papacy.

Person sitting on a bench and reading under a small, flowering tree. — Jason Koski/Cornell University Spring reading on the Arts Quad

Alumni authors

Your April 2025 reads

4/11/2025 Cornellians

This month’s featured titles include poetry, a Creative Writing Program prof’s neo noir novel, and a memoir about working for two celebrity chefs

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Graduate student Elizabeth Ryan selected to attend Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting

4/10/2025 Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology

A Chemistry and Chemical Biology graduate student in the Weill Institute’s Baskin Lab, Ryan will be among 600 young scientists from around the world to come together in Lindau, Germany.

about a dozen people in creative clothing sit in a richly decorated room — Anja Schütz/Provided Roomful of Teeth

Cornell Concert Series

Vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth featured on Cornell Concert Series April 24

4/10/2025 A&S Communications

Roomful of Teeth is a Grammy Award-winning vocal band dedicated to re-imagining the expressive potential of the human voice.

Two people laughing near a large poster showing a wave — Provided Doctoral candidate Jonathon Thomalla and Professor Mariana Wolfner

Graduate student research

Mentorship series: Jonathon Thomalla and Mariana Wolfner

4/9/2025 Cornell University Graduate School

Jonathon Thomalla, a Ph.D. candidate in biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, and Mariana Wolfner, distinguished professor of molecular biology and genetics and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow in Molecular Biology and Genetics, discuss their mentoring relationship in a Q&A.

Corey Booker in suit and tie on a large screen with a huge American flag in front of it, — Jamelle Bouie Corey Booker.

Government

Booker’s speech: A retreat from the ‘acquiescent liberal elite’ and an embrace of ‘good trouble’

4/3/2025 A&S Communications

Prof. Alexander Livingston comments on Senator Corey Booker's historic 25-hour speech.

A city near a coastline; cloudy sky — Wikimedia Creative Commons The coastline of offshore Cijin Island in the South China Sea, which belongs to the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung.

History

Chinese military drills send ominous message to Taiwan

4/1/2025 A&S Communications

The drills, in the waters and airspace around Taiwan, serve three military purposes, says professor David Silbey.

Nicola Kountoupes/University Relations Paul Ginsparg

Physics

Inside arXiv—the Most Transformative Platform in All of Science

3/31/2025 Wired.com

Modern science wouldn’t exist without the online research repository known as arXiv, Sheon Han writes in a Wired feature about arXiv's creator Paul Ginsparg, professor of physics.

Vox España/Creative Commons license 1.0 Marine Le Pen in February 2025

Sociology

Le Pen conviction could ‘backfire’ on French political establishment

3/31/2025 A&S Communications

Le Pen’s sentence for embezzling $3 million is going to push French politics into even more tumult, says sociology professor Mabel Berezin.

Jason Koski/Cornell University Ziad Fahmy

Near Eastern studies

Fulbright funds research on early Egyptian radio

3/31/2025 A&S Communications

With the award, Ziad Fahmy is working on the first critical history of early Egyptian radio.

Black and white historic image of three people, wearing ties, looking over a tabletop model of a building — Cornell University file photo Robert Wilson, right, with a model of the Robert Wilson Laboratory, built in 1968 on the Cornell campus.

Cornell Cinema

Cornell Cinema to screen ‘The Accelerator,’ film on physicist Wilson

3/26/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Producer David Raubach will attend the free screening of the documentary April 8 and participate in a discussion following the film.

Canada's red and white flag with Ottawa's Peace Tower in the background — Jason Hafso on Unsplash Ottawa's Peace Tower

History

Canadian ‘snap’ election all about President Trump, says Cornell historian

3/21/2025 A&S Communications

Professor Jon Parmenter says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to call the election looks like a smart decision.

Labor studies

Cook-Gray Lecture will examine transformative labor movement

3/21/2025 ILR School

Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College, will deliver the 2025 Alice Cook-Lois Gray Distinguished Lecture on April 15: “Poverty Wages, 'We're Not Lovin' It': Gender, Race and Inequality Rising in the 21st Century.”

Literatures in English

Rosenberg named Poet Laureate of Tompkins County

3/20/2025 A&S Communications

“I believe poetry offers us valuable opportunities to slow down, to reflect, and to extend our empathy, and I’m excited to share these gifts with our whole community,” Rosenberg said.

Patches of dark blue, turquoise and orange scattered on a grid of black broken lines, with an oxagonal and a star-shaped line drawing next to it. — ACT collaboration Part of the new image of the cosmic microwave background from ACT, that adds to Planck satellite measurements, showing the light’s vibration direction overlaid. These black polarization ‘sticks’ are used to work out how much radial-type (blue) or tangential-type (red) polarization there is around any place in the sky. This lets the team make a new image that reveals the velocity of the primordial plasma, with the blue radial-pattern showing where gas clumps are getting pulled inwards by gravity.

Cosmology

Clearest images yet of 380,000-year-old baby universe released

3/19/2025 A&S Communications

The new results confirm a simple model of the universe and have ruled out a majority of competing alternatives, says the research team.