News

Students walk past Goldwin Smith Hall in the fall

Distinguished Visiting Journalists

Three Distinguished Visiting Journalists head to campus

2/5/2026 Cornell Chronicle

New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, New York Times White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs and ProPublica investigative reporter Keri Blakinger ’14 will visit Cornell this spring.

Large concrete dish surrounded by three poles and wires; a mechanism is suspended over the dish. the whole thing, a telescope, is surrounded by lush trees — David Parker/Science Photo Library Arecibo Observatory

Astronomy

Astronomer paints vivid history of Arecibo Observatory

12/16/2025 Cornell Chronicle

In a new book, Donald Campbell, Ph.D. ’71, professor emeritus of astronomy, recounts the history of Arecibo from construction to its last days under Cornell’s management in 2011.

Three people stand next to a silver device, about a foot taller than the people, made of a post, a box with electronics inside, and a circular top — Alexandra Bayer/Cornell University Shami Chatterjee, associate professor of astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences; James Cordes, the George Feldstein Professor of Astronomy; and doctoral student Sashabaw Niedbalski, on the roof of the Space Sciences Building next to the Global Radio Explorer Telescope.

Astronomy

Cake-pan telescope searches the sky for fast radio bursts

12/10/2025 Cornell Chronicle

One of the world's smallest telescopes, it is part of a series of eight terminals installed around the globe.

Artistic portrait of a person in argyle pattern sweater vest holds a small model of a molecule and looks pensive — Christopher Michel Photography Roald Hoffmann, the Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor, Emeritus, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Faculty honors

Portraits honor 8 Cornell faculty as ‘new heroes’

11/20/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The portraits are part of a series by Christopher Michel, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s inaugural artist-in-residence.

Person wearing a cap, sweater, wool hiking pants and sturdy boots, poses on rocky ground of a very steep hill — Mary Reppy John Reppy above Barrowdale in the English Lake District

Physics

Physicist John Reppy wins Buckley Prize

11/11/2025 A&S Communications

Reppy was recognized along with David Bishop, Ph.D. ’78, for "groundbreaking experiments" they did on helium 50 years ago.

Geoffrey Coates

Awards and Honors

Chemist Geoffrey Coates wins Benjamin Franklin Medal

11/11/2025 A&S Communications

… the nation’s oldest awards, during a ceremony on April 30, 2026. Coates, the Tisch University Professor in the … achievement through its annual awards for 202 years. “The 2026 laureates embody the same remarkable spirit of …

Economics

Hidden markets unveiled in talk by Wharton economist Nov. 4

10/24/2025 A&S Communications

Wharton economist Judd Kessler will pull back the curtain on the hidden markets that determine who gets what in everyday life.

Figure eight-like shape — Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse An example of an invariant measure for a simplified mathematical model of atmospheric convection known as the Lorenz-63 system, using the researchers’ method of time-delayed snapshots.

Mathematics

Cracking the code of chaos

10/17/2025 A&S Communications

Using time-delay snapshots, researchers led by mathematician Yunan Yang have introduced a new way to identify the underlying dynamics of unpredictable systems, such as the atmosphere and turbulent fluids.

Neurobiology and Behavior

Neuroscientist Azahara Oliva receives Packard Fellowship

10/15/2025 A&S Communications

The unrestricted fellowship funds enable Oliva and the 19 other fellows named this year to “test novel ideas and lead research that drives real-world impact.”

Event poster featuring the face of a scary person, in blue — Provided

Cornell Cinema

The Phantom of the Opera: Live score by Invincible Czars

10/14/2025 A&S Communications

This October, Cornell Cinema will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the silent movie “The Phantom of the Opera,” with live musical accompaniment by The Invincible Czars.

An artist's rendition of an atom in the sky next to McGraw Tower on Cornell's campus.

Physics

Brad Ramshaw named Experimental Physics Investigator

10/9/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The recognition goes to researchers pushing the boundaries of experimental physics.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Héctor Abruña to be honored at Dreyfus Prize ceremony Oct. 23

10/6/2025 A&S Communications

The president of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation will present Abruña with the award in a 4 p.m. ceremony in the Meshri Family Auditorium, Baker Laboratory Room 200 and also livestreamed.

Distinguished Visiting Journalist

Journalist offers master class on op-eds, narrative storytelling

9/30/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Journalist and biographer Sam Tanenhaus will share his writing expertise with the Cornell community in a master class, “Op-Eds and Narrative Storytelling, on Oct. 8 in Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall.

Historic photo of two men in suits at a desk, conferring: Richard Nixon and William F. Buckley — Levan Ramishvili/Public Domain William F. Buckley (right) with then-President Richard Nixon at the White House in 1969.

Distinguished Visiting Journalist

William F. Buckley’s secrets revealed in Oct. 9 talk

9/29/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Journalist Sam Tanenhaus will share insights gained from 20 years of investigation in “The Man Who Built a Movement: How William F. Buckley Invented Modern Conservatism,” a conversation with A&S Dean Peter John Loewen, on Oct. 9.

Person posing in a lab — Buzz Barstow Nozomi Ando

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Nozomi Ando named to Schmidt Polymaths cohort

9/16/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Members of the cohort of eight scientists and engineers will each receive up to $2.5 million over five years.

hundreds of black and white portrait photos on a wall leading up to a light grey dome — Eelco Böhtlingk/Unsplash Memorial at Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Israel. December 2018

Jewish Studies Program

Holocaust testimony is AI litmus test, and it fails

9/15/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A Cornell historian argues that human historians are vital to capture the emotional and moral complexity behind world events.

The Nobel Prize as a Gold medal on black background

Events

Three Nobel Laureates to speak on campus this semester

9/12/2025 A&S Communications

This fall, the Cornell community has the chance to hear from three Nobel Laureates in one semester, two of whom are alumni: Claudia Goldin ’67, Jack Szostak, Ph.D. ’77, and Richard Thaler.

An orange-yellow sun with spheres of exoplanets silhouetted against it. — NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Olmsted (STScI) Provided The Earth-size exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 e, depicted at the lower right, is silhouetted as it passes in front of its flaring host star in this artist’s concept of the TRAPPIST-1 system.

Astronomy

Is there water on an Earth-sized exoplanet? Study offers clues

9/8/2025 Cornell Chronicle

TRAPPIST-1 e may have an atmosphere that could support having liquid water on the planet’s surface in the form of a global ocean or icy surface, according to new research.

2025 New Faculty

The College welcomes new faculty for 2025-26

9/4/2025 A&S Communications

… to explore profiles of our new faculty members for the 2025-26 academic year. … The College welcomes new faculty for 2025-26 …

Distinguished Visiting Journalist

Former NYT editor named Distinguished Visiting Journalist

8/25/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Sam Tanenhaus is the former editor-in-chief of both the New York Times’ Book Review and the Week in Review and was a Times writer at large.

Classics

Book details Jews’ two-century fight against Roman Empire

8/19/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Barry Strauss ’74 shines a light on the resilience the Jews of Judea showed in their rebellion against the Romans.

Astronomy

Carl Sagan Medal awarded to astronomer Lisa Kaltenegger

8/15/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The award recognizes and honors outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the public.

Several people standing in rows between two red columns in front of a building — Provided Members of the project team that gathered at Astera Institute on June 24, 2025. Nozomi Ando is front row, second from the right; Stephen Meisburger is back row, third from the left.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Philanthropic support accelerates infrastructure for the future of structural biology

8/12/2025 A&S Communications

A new $5 million initiative, funded by the Astera Institute with experimental work conducted at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, aims to make diffuse scattering accessible to the public and the broader scientific community.

Abstract illustration featuring solar panels, smoke, water, and chart flows, primarily monochrome with yellow, blue, and red accents — Laura Chichisan

Broad Impact Feature

Cornell chemists tackle climate change

8/7/2025 A&S Communications

Innovative and far-reaching discoveries such as better electric batteries, carbon capture technologies, renewable plastics and improvements in solar cells are just a few of their research areas.

Music

Modern theory of music perception posited by 1700s potter

7/23/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A new book by Carmel Raz focuses on the work of John Holden, an 18th-century potter who also wrote an influential treatise on musical theory.

Government and technology

Optimism about AI lowest in US, says A&S dean

7/17/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Peter John Loewen shared takeaways from his decade-long AI research during a recent lecture.

Abstract image in blue and green with lines running in parallel — Michael Dziedzic/Unsplash

Physics

Cornell–IBM collaboration advances quantum computing

7/15/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The researchers achieved two major breakthroughs, taking a step toward universal topological quantum computing (fault tolerant computing).

Man with glasses and t-shirt working on complex electronic table-top machine — Orion Smedley Lead author Thow Min Jerald Cham, M.S. ’21, Ph.D. ’24 at work in the laboratory.

Quantum research

Physicists take step toward a holy grail for electron spins

7/10/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Their breakthroughs came in part by interweaving two fields: 2D materials and spintronics, also known as spin electronics.

Person sitting in front of a chalk board that has circular "smal world" diagrams on it — Jason Koski/Cornell University Steven Strogatz, the Susan and Barton Winokur Distinguished Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Public engagement

New York Times series features math by Prof Steven Strogatz

6/9/2025 A&S Communications

… past year is his new book, scheduled to be released in fall 2026, co-authored with his colleague Alex Townsend , …

two plank-shapes, one with a stripe and one with a white root shape hover over neon color feather shapes — Yao Yang and Madeline Degroodt Artist’s rendering of watching energy materials in action.

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Moving pictures: Researchers use movies to diagnose EV battery failure

5/23/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The technique enables them to watch chemistry in action and collect real-time movies showing what happens to energy materials during temperature changes.

Brad Ramshaw, smiling, with very short mustache and beard, in a polo shirt in front of a tree

Awards and Honors

Physicist Brad Ramshaw awarded $2M as Brown Investigator

5/19/2025 Cornell Chronicle

“This grant will allow us to pursue some high-risk, novel ideas for how to measure material properties like elasticity and high-frequency conductivity that have previously been inaccessible in 2D materials.”

Rectangular glass award set among model planets on a table — Provided Changemaker Award

Astronomy

Changemaker Award goes to SPIF and Zoe Learner Ponterio

5/16/2025 A&S Communications

The Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways say Ponterio’s support “has been invaluable."

View of a city (Berlin) from above: river and red-roofed buildings — Florian Wehde/Unsplash Berlin

Faculty awards

Two A&S professors awarded the Berlin Prize

5/15/2025 A&S Communications

The highly competitive Berlin Prize is awarded annually to U.S.-based scholars, writers, composers and artists who represent the highest standards of excellence in their fields.

Kaushik Basu wearing a tweed jacket with hand upraised as he delivers a talk. — Cornell University File Photo Kaushik Basu at a 2016 Chats in the Stacks talk about his book “An Economist in the Real World.”

Economics

Economist Kaushik Basu named co-chair of UN panel

5/9/2025 A&S Communications

The “High-Level Expert Group” will develop recommendations for measures that complement or go beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Bonobos Kanzi and Panbanisha with Sue Savage-Rumbaugh with the outdoor symbols "keyboard."

Cognitive Science

Celebrated bonobo Kanzi honored in workshop

4/10/2025 A&S Communications

Kanzi's legacy and the relation between great apes and language will be explored in a Humanities Lab Workshop on April 19.

Distinguished Visiting Journalist

National security journalist to discuss ‘New Cold Wars’

4/7/2025 A&S Communications

A public conversation with journalist David Sanger about his recent book, “New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West,” will highlight his April 21-22 visit.

Tall crane lowering a huge rectangular crate onto the ground with mountains in the background. — Provided The shutter component of the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope being placed at the summit of Cerro Chajnantor.

Astronomy

New high-powered telescope reaches Chilean peak

3/31/2025 Cornell Chronicle

… studying the universe, with first light projected for April 2026. FYST will be the most powerful telescope in the world …

Awards and Honors

Historian Barry Strauss wins 2025 Bradley Prize

3/21/2025 A&S Communications

The award carries a stipend of $300,000; Strauss will receive the award at a ceremony on May 29 in Washington, D.C.

Two people cutting a red ribbon ceremonially. They are outdoors — Provided Officially launching the Abruña Energy Initiative Level 3 electric vehicle fast-charging station: Interim President Michael Kotlikoff (left) and Héctor D. Abruña, the Émile M. Chamot Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

First Level 3 EV fast-charging station opens on campus

3/13/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The station will serve as part of a real-world “living laboratory” for existing and emerging electric-vehicle technologies developed at Cornell and elsewhere.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Chemist Robert Fay, emeritus professor, dies at 88

3/6/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Robert C. Fay, emeritus professor of chemistry and chemical biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, died Feb. 6 in Fairfax, Virginia. He was 88.

A conductor directs an orchestra — Ken Yanagisawa/Provided The Cornell Orchestras perform in Jordan Hall during their Boston tour last January.

Music and astronomy

Concert celebrates the wonders of space March 2

2/25/2025 A&S Communications

In a musical journey through the cosmos, the Cornell Symphony Orchestra will perform the world premiere of “Ex Terra, Ad Astra,” a new work commissioned especially for this year’s Young Person’s Concert.

Glowing orange circle against a black background — EHT Collaboration/Provided This is the first image of Sagittarius A\*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy.

Awards and Honors

Astronomer Anna Ho and team win Scialog award

2/21/2025 A&S Communications

Ho’s project will look at supermassive black holes residing in the centers of distant galaxies.

Anne Thompson in green, long-sleeved dress with arms crossed, smiling. — Provided Anne Thompson

Distinguished Visiting Journalist

NBC News’ Anne Thompson named Distinguished Visiting Journalist

2/5/2025 Cornell Chronicle

… has been named the spring 2025 Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist in the College of Arts and Sciences. … Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences. “The Distinguished Visiting Journalist program enables us to bring renowned … vehicles; identity theft; and the politics of the credit card industry. She also covered the trials of Martha …

Neurobiology and Behavior

Neuroscientist Antonio Fernandez-Ruiz wins Scialog Award

1/24/2025 A&S Communications

“This project sits at the cross-roads of neuroscience, ethology and artificial intelligence."

Astronomy

New telescope to set sail for monthlong journey to Chile

1/21/2025 Cornell Chronicle

”This is a huge milestone for the project and we wish FYST bon voyage,” said Gordon Stacey, the project’s director and the David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences.

Wall art showing the faces of Mary Beth Norton, Isabel Hull and Margaret Washington above a drawing of McGraw Hall. — Provided Artwork by Prof. Paraska Tolan-Szkilnik depicting first three women hired by the Department of History and McGraw Hall.

History

History department honors first women hired

1/13/2025 A&S Communications

The centerpiece is a wall-size homage to three of the first women hired and McGraw itself, drawn by Prof. Paraska Tolan-Szkilnik.

Peiwei Chen with glasses in lab, holding up vial to look at — Heather Ainsworth / AP Images for HHMI

Honors

Postdoc Peiwei Chen named HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow

1/8/2025 A&S Communications

The awardees are “outstanding early career scientists who have demonstrated a commitment to making foundational discoveries while building an inclusive culture in academic science,” said HHMI in a statement.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Chemist Héctor D. Abruña wins Enrico Fermi Award

12/19/2024 Cornell Chronicle

The award recognizes scientists, engineers and science policymakers who have given unstintingly over their careers to advance energy science and technology.

In memoriam

Mathematician R. Keith Dennis dies at 80

12/18/2024 Cornell Chronicle

A renowned mathematician, Prof. R. Keith Dennis made significant contributions to algebraic K-theory and group theory, publishing 25 papers.

A wooden box covered with bees, with more in the air; Thomas Seeley in a t-shirt and glasses, holding a jar, is watching them. — Peter Essick/Provided Thomas Seeley watching a swarm take off to move to its new home.

Neurobiology & Behavior

New book explains mysteries behind bee behavior

12/12/2024 Cornell Chronicle

"The take-home message from my book is that these small creatures are extremely intelligent. They may well be the most intelligent of all the insects."

illustration showing illuminated boxes filled with light beams — fabio/Unsplash

Computational biology

New method compresses terabytes of genomic data into gigabytes

12/5/2024 Cornell Chronicle

A new method developed at Cornell provides tools and methodologies to compress hundreds of terabytes of genomic data to gigabytes, once again enabling researchers to store datasets in local computers.

Mathematics

Mathematician Allen Hatcher receives inaugural book prize

12/5/2024 A&S Communications

Allen Hatcher, a geometric topologist, will receive the award for his book, “Algebraic Topology,” published in 2002 by Cambridge University Press.

Three squares showing swirled colors: scientific images — Provided a two-dimensional slice through the three-dimensional simulations Fielding and his collaborators are running on Frontier. The color shows the magnitude of the electric current, or curl of the magnetic field, which is a measure of how much the magnetic field "swirls." The two zoom-in panels demonstrate the small scale complexity that these unprecedentedly high resolution simulations are able to capture in great detail.

Astronomy

Astronomer granted 600,000 supercomputer hours by DOE

12/4/2024 A&S Communications

“We are going to run the largest simulations of the magnetized gas that pervades the space between stars, with the aim of understanding a crucial missing piece in our models for how stars and galaxies form."

Mathematics

Stretching shapes and building tools: topology at Cornell

11/20/2024 A&S Communications

“Cornell has had a considerable impact across many subfields of topology and across decades."

Woman in business clothes walking down the steps of the Supreme Court with the tall columns behind her. — Library of Congress Supreme Court

Distinguished Visiting Journalist Program

Polarized Supreme Court explored in Nov. 20 panel

11/7/2024 A&S Communications

The panel, moderated by the Washington Post’s Supreme Court correspondent, Ann Marimow ‘97, the College's Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist, will include Peter John Loewen, Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Aerial view of the Arts Quad in the fall

Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures

Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures holds first event

10/31/2024 A&S Communications

During “Beyond 2024: Envisioning Just Futures and Equitable Democracy,” faculty and students from across the university will come together to creatively showcase research and art, build community and be inspired to imagine a better future.

Physics

Physicist Yuval Grossman elected to American Physical Society

10/29/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Yuval Grossman, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been elected as a fellow of the American Physical Society for seminal contributions in “flavor” physics.

Physics

Two-day ‘LepageFest’ honors physicist and former dean of A&S

10/21/2024 A&S Communications

The conference focused on the current status and future of heavy quark physics while highlighting the science Lepage has done throughout his career.

Astronomy

Astronomy professor Ho named Packard Fellow

10/15/2024 Cornell Chronicle

The fellowship from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation includes $875,000 in unrestricted funds to be used for research over five years.

Book cover: The Routledge Anthology of Women's Theatre Theory and Dramatic Criticism

J. Ellen Gainor wins book award from Theatre Library Association

10/15/2024 A&S Communications

The George Freedley Memorial Award Special Jury Prize goes to Gainor for “The Routledge Anthology of Women’s Theatre Theory & Dramatic Criticism," which she co-edited.

Arts Unplugged

Celebration of Carl Sagan’s 90th birthday being held Nov. 9

10/9/2024 A&S Communications

On what would have been Carl Sagan's 90th birthday, Cornell’s Carl Sagan Institute will celebrate his legacy in an interdisciplinary day of science, music and more as part of the College of Arts & Sciences’ Arts Unplugged series.

Humanities

A&S announces membership in MLA Strategic Partnership Network

10/8/2024 A&S Communications

“We felt this is an important resource that should be available to our humanists at all levels, whether they have the resources to pay for membership or not,” said Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences.

Two people on a stage, sitting in arm chairs, holding microphones — Simon Wheeler for Cornell University Actor Daveed Diggs, left, speaks with Samantha Sheppard, chair and associate professor of performing and media arts, Sept. 25 at the Schwartz Center.

Performing and Media Arts

‘Hamilton’ star Daveed Diggs speaks on campus to sold-out crowd

10/4/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Tony- and Grammy-award winner Daveed Diggs advises aspiring artists to “stop sweating the timeline” on their creative projects.

Molecular biology and genetics

Scott Emr awarded 2024 Horwitz Prize for discovering ESCRT pathway

9/23/2024 A&S Communications

“This award places Scott Emr in the company of many of the top figures in molecular biology and biomedical sciences from the past 50 years.”

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Vaccine pioneer to give Racker Lecture Oct. 3

9/23/2024 A&S Communications

Peter Kim ’79 will explore how vaccines work and provide an overview of some of the most influential vaccines in history.

Person standing on a balcony, looking out at a mountain, blue sky and palm trees — Provided From the film "Possible Landscapes"

Comparative literature

Professor’s feature-length documentary film debuts at Cornell Cinema

9/20/2024 A&S Communications

“Possible Landscapes,” a new feature-length documentary film exploring the lived experience of landscapes and environments in the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago, will have its debut screening on Sept. 25 at Cornell Cinema.

Public Engagement

Final speaker in series examining antisemitism, Islamophobia

9/16/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell’s “Antisemitism and Islamophobia Examined” series concludes this semester with a talk by Derek Penslar, the William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History at Harvard University.

Astronomy

Scientist Britney Schmidt wins Blavatnik Award

9/12/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Schmidt received the award for “advancing climate science and planetary habitability studies through groundbreaking research on ice-ocean interactions and innovative exploration of Earth’s polar regions and icy planetary bodies.”

Detail of a woven cloth showing figures dressed in red and yellow — Jason Koski/Cornell University Detail of a Burmese cloth

Language study

Language ‘Sustainability through Collaboration’ Conference at Cornell

9/11/2024 A&S Communications

Cornell, the only institution offering regular multilevel instruction in all six of the major Southeast Asian languages – Burmese, Indonesian, Khmer, Filipino (Tagalog), Thai and Vietnamese – will host a conference on the teaching of these languages on Sept. 19-21.

Distinguished Visiting Journalist

Washington Post’s Ann Marimow ’97 named A&S Distinguished Visiting Journalist

8/23/2024 A&S Communications

While Marimow is on campus, she will meet with faculty, students, staff and the Cornell Daily Sun, as well as visit classes.

A bag with a dollar sign on it — Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Economics

Economists uncover hidden influence of top campaign donors

8/1/2024 Cornell Chronicle

The death of a top donor during an electoral cycle decreases the likelihood that a candidate will be elected by more than three percentage points, according to an innovative new study.

A ring of colors -- red, orange, blues yellow -- around a black interior. — ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/ESO/D. Liu et al. The distant galaxy PJ0116-24, a Hyper Luminous Infrared Galaxy (HyLIRG). Cold gas is seen here in blue; warm gas is shown in red.

Astronomy

Surprising ring sheds light on galaxy formation

7/15/2024 A&S Communications

An international research team discovered that the gas in a Hyper Luminous Infrared Galaxy was rotating in an organized fashion, rather than in the chaotic way expected after a galactic collision –– a surprising result.

Cornell University Research equipment at the Cornell High-Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS).

Physics

DOE funds new Cornell accelerator science trainee program

7/5/2024 A&S Communications

The program’s goal is to “produce a diverse body of broadly educated fellows” in areas targeted by DOE’s Office of Science, including RF superconducting structures, high brightness electron sources for linear accelerators, physics of large accelerators and system engineering, and operation of large-scale accelerator systems.

Two people lean toward a complicated scientific instrument featuring gold and orange metal parts; it's about the size of a coffeemaker — Ryan Young/Cornell University Doctoral candidates Zachary Huber, left, and Ben Keller install detector array components for the Simons Observatory in one of the dilution refrigerators in Michael Niemack’s laboratory.

Astronomy and physics

Simons Observatory begins measurements to probe Big Bang inflation

6/20/2024 Cornell Chronicle

The new Simons Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert may soon answer the great scientific question of what happened in the tiny fraction of a second after the Big Bang.

Jonathan Lunine, with glasses, beard and mustache, and suit and tie

Astronomy

Astronomer Lunine appointed chief scientist of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

6/6/2024 Cornell Chronicle

As chief scientist, Lunine will guide the laboratory’s scientific research and development efforts, drive innovation across JPL’s missions and programs and enhance collaborations with NASA Headquarters, NASA centers, the California Institute of Technology, academia, the science community, government agencies and industry partners.

Hands of an elderly person clasped on a gingham print skirt — Danie Franco/Unsplash Cornell history alumna Katie Engelhart ’09 has won a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for her article, “The Mother Who Changed: A Story of Dementia,” published in the New York Times Magazine.

Alumni

History alum receives Pulitzer Prize for story of dementia

5/10/2024 A&S Communications

Katie Engelhart ’09 was recognized "for her fair-minded portrait of a family’s legal and emotional struggles during a matriarch’s progressive dementia."

LGBTQ flag, multicolored arrow shape pointing right at multicolored rows

Inclusivity

Community event will showcase trans philosophy and scholarship

4/26/2024 A&S Communications

Organized by trans Cornellians, the event will address issues and harms facing the community from a trans perspective.

David Folkenflik, with black hair, salt and pepper beard and mustache, in suit and tie, laughing, seated in an armchair.

Distinguished Visiting Journalist

NPR’s David Folkenflik ’91 talks ‘Freedom of Expression’

4/25/2024 A&S Communications

Reflecting on his time on campus as this year's Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist during the university's Freedom of Expression theme year, David Folkenflik '91 says "freedom of expression isn't at its most potent as an issue or principle when it's easy. In some ways, it matters most when it’s hard."

Soldier in uniform with backpack holding rifle walking across grasslands — Photo by Eduard Delputte on Unsplash

Government

Prof. Sarah Kreps featured in new ‘Military Mysteries’ TV series

4/19/2024 A&S Communications

“The stories are fascinating and gave me an opportunity to dig into history and evidence," said Prof. Sarah Kreps.

Cover showing Alien Earths title and cosmic dust fingers against a background of stars

Astronomy

New book gives insider’s view of cosmic search for life

4/15/2024 Cornell Chronicle

The clues we find on exoplanets could be as strange as a bioluminescent glow or a rainbow hue, as astronomer Lisa Kaltenegger describes in “Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos.”

Physics

Hubble Fellow chooses Cornell for postdoc

4/12/2024 A&S Communications

Physicist Keefe Mitman will work with Nils Deppe, assistant professor of physics, on the Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) Collaboration on improving gravitational wave models to aid with the LIGO-Virgo-Kagra Collaboration’s detection and characterization of compact binary encounters.

Provided Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope

Astronomy

Major new telescope structure completed in Germany

4/9/2024 Cornell Chronicle

The newly assembled Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST), nearly the size of a five-story building, was unveiled April 4 at an event in Xanten, Germany.

US-China relations

Former national security adviser to speak on US-China relations

4/4/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Former National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley ‘69 will explore “U.S. National Security Policymaking and the Future of U.S.-China Relations” in a fireside chat on Wednesday, April 17.

A book cover with the title "Dissident Writers — A Conversation" that is actually a cover for a box of matches. — Dissident Writers — A Conversation

Freedom of Expression Theme Year

NPR’s David Folkenflik ’91 to host ‘Dissident Writers’ event

4/3/2024 A&S Communications

The April 17 event, part of the Freedom of Expression series, features Folkenflik in conversation with Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, and Belarusian poet and Cornell faculty member Valzhyna Mort.

Azahara Oliva with long brown hair, a smile, and piercings on her nose and below her lip.

Honors

Suffrage Science Award given to neuroscientist Azahara Oliva

4/2/2024 A&S Communications

The award aims to “create a self-perpetuating cohort of talent that can encourage others to enter science and reach senior leadership roles.”

Ligia Coelho, with wire glasses and t-shirt, smiling at the camera next to her lab bench with dials and beakers and wires connecting them — Provided Lígia Fonseca Coelho

Astronomy

Two Cornell scientists chosen for 51 Pegasi b Fellowships

4/1/2024 A&S Communications

The three-year postdoctoral fellowship, granted to Lígia Fonseca Coelho and Zach Ulibarri, provides recipients with resources, freedom, and flexibility to conduct theoretical, observational, and experimental research in planetary astronomy.

Neurobiology and Behavior

Mind Prize awarded to neuroscientist Antonio Fernandez-Ruiz

3/26/2024 A&S Communications

The prize aims to “change the paradigm of neuroscience research by creating a community of next-frontier thinkers who can uncover a deeper understanding of the brain and cognition.”

Physics, math and connection

Choosing connection: Physics professor teaches Arab youth in Israel

3/11/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Professor Yuval Grossman has been traveling to Israel to lead math and physics activities with young people in Arab villages since 2019. His most recent trip was in January.

colorful burst of light: purple, yellow, orange — NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/CXC/Univ. of Ariz. A superdense neutron star is spewing out a blizzard of extremely high-energy particles into the expanding debris field known as the Crab Nebula.

Astronomy

Cornell astronomers on newly approved UVEX NASA mission

2/15/2024 Cornell Chronicle

The space telescope, targeted to launch in 2030, has Cornell astronomers Anna Y. Q. Ho and Shrinivas R. Kulkarni on the mission team.

Philosophy

‘Fatphobia’ a form of oppression, says philosopher Kate Manne

1/9/2024 Cornell Chronicle

In her new book, “Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia,” Prof. Kate Manne draws on personal experience as well as scientific research.

Awards

NY Times op-ed by philosopher Kate Manne wins award

12/21/2023 A&S Communications

The award honors “standout pieces that successfully blend philosophical argumentation with an op-ed writing style.”

Government

China expert, present at Xi visit to US, aims to cool tensions

11/30/2023 Cornell Chronicle

Professor Jessica Chen Weiss, an expert on U.S.-China relations, was among the attendees of the dinner following President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s historic summit on Nov. 15 in San Francisco.

A display case showing a ceramic head-shaped object standing on a base; a woven cloth showing animal shapes; and a gold mask — Provided Anthropology Collections curator Frederic Gleach held an open house during the Northeast Conference on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory that highlighted materials from the Andes, including the items pictured here: Andean textiles and ceramics, with a Sican gold mask

Anthropology

Conference celebrates 40 years of Andean studies at Cornell

11/22/2023 A&S Communications

“The conference showcased the true intergenerational and diverse group of scholars involved in Andean Studies,” said Prof. Cohen-Aponte.

Science communication

Mathematician Steven Strogatz receives national award for science communication

11/21/2023 A&S Communications

Strogatz’s work, along with that of communications professor Neil Lewis Jr. (CALS), was selected for the awards from among 500 entries published or aired in 2023.

Distinguished Visiting Journalist

Award-winning journalists to discuss role of the press

10/25/2023 A&S Communications

On Nov. 14, NPR’s David Folkenflik ’91, Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist, will moderate a panel of noted journalists and faculty to discuss “Free Press in a Free Society: U.S. Newsrooms on the Front Lines.”

Illustration of a polar bear in a kettle, sipping a pink cocktail and roasting a weenie over a fire — David Levine Illustrating the humor in "Stay Cool: Why Dark Comedy Matters in the Fight Against Climate Change,”

Climate 2030

‘Climate Change Comedy Hour’ on Nov. 2

10/24/2023 A&S Communications

Environmental historian Aaron Sachs will use a combination of gallows humor, history and silly videos to show how we can shift our attitude about climate change -- and how that shift might help us get to the next stage of climate activism.

Person playing a stringed instrument — Provided Simon Shaheen

Near Eastern Studies

Award-winning Simon Shaheen to perform, lecture on Arab music

10/11/2023 A&S Communications

“Simon Shaheen is widely celebrated as a virtuoso violinist and oud player, incomparably creative composer and master teacher of Arab music."

Person singing in a brightly colored traditional costume of Mongolia — Long-song vocalist Ganchimeg Badamsuren

Music

Mongolian music comes to campus

10/10/2023 A&S Communications

Concerts set for Oct. 20 and 22 will highlight the musical legacy of composer Byambasurengiin Sharav, a household name in Mongolia.

Amit Vishwas uses a screwdriver to work on ALPACA, a round metal top with metal boxes and cables protruding — Ryan Young/Cornell University Amit Vishwas ’10, M.Eng.,’14, Ph.D. ’19, research scientist in the College of Arts & Sciences, works on the ALPACA instrument, with Donald Campbell, professor emeritus of astronomy (A&S), looking on.

Astronomy

Cornell-built instrument to transform Green Bank Telescope

10/9/2023 A&S Communications

The new camera "is actually a very different way of observing the sky,” said A&S research scientist Amit Vishwas ’10, M.Eng.,’14, Ph.D. ’19.

Neurobiology & Behavior

Antonio Fernandez-Ruiz receives NIH award for ‘transformational’ project

10/4/2023 A&S Communications

Neuroscientist Antonio Fernandez-Ruiz has received a New Innovator Director’s Award from the National Institutes of Health’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program.