News

Byline: Tom Fleischman

Cornell's central campus with lake beyond
Physics

Four on faculty to receive DOE early-career grants

Cornell Chronicle

Four Cornell faculty members are among 99 researchers across the U.S. who have been awarded grants by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of its Office of Science Early Career Research Program.

phone with dark mode screen and social media icons
Berke Citak/Unsplash
Psychology

Right or left, low-quality news links popular on social media

Cornell Chronicle

The spread of dubious headlines on social media isn’t just a right-wing thing – it's a social media thing, according to new research from psychology professor David Rand ’04.

Ken Dryden, in hockey uniform.
Cornell Athletics Ken Dryden ’69 was one of the greatest goalies in NHL history.
Alumni News

Hockey legend Ken Dryden ’69 dies at 78

Cornell Chronicle

Ken Dryden ’69, the legendary Cornell men’s hockey goaltender who still holds the program record for career wins (76) and backstopped the Big Red to its first national championship in 1967, died of cancer Sept. 5.

Cornell's central campus with lake beyond
A. D. White Professors at Large

Dual-campus visit highlights A.D. White Professors-at-Large lineup

Cornell Chronicle

Best-selling writer and technology blogger Cory Doctorow will make the A.D. White Professor-at-Large program’s second dual-campus visit, ending his week at Cornell Tech in New York City. Four other professors will visit Cornell this fall.

Book cover: A Sports Odyssey
Africana Studies & Literatures in English

In new book, Farred breaks down his long-time sports fandoms

Cornell Chronicle

Grant Farred, a professor in the Africana Studies and Research Center, chronicles his love for both a distant and a local sports team in “A Sports Odyssey: My Ithaca Journal,” published July 25 by Temple University Press.

Basketball going through a net
Markus Spiske/Unsplash
Physics

Better basketball through theoretical physics?

Cornell Chronicle

Cornell researchers are applying a theory about the movement of electrons to a much taller, human system – the National Basketball Association.

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

Those most willing to address health disparities tend to be overlooked

Cornell Chronicle

Cornell researchers found that by prioritizing the perspectives of white Americans instead of those from underrepresented groups, studies of pandemic disparities likely missed important insights from those most affected by COVID-19.

Red buds on black branches in the foreground with a clock tower in the distance
Faculty awards

Five early-career professors win NSF development awards

Cornell Chronicle

Researchers studying novel traits in organisms and the fundamental understanding of extreme weather are among the five Cornell assistant professors who've received National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Awards.

Blocks of cream colored mineral substance
J Yeo/Unsplash Mineral deposit
Cross-disciplinary research

Microbe atlas could reveal how to mine critical metals sustainably

Cornell Chronicle

A Cornell-led team will use a National Science Foundation grant to develop a catalog of microorganisms and how they interact with minerals.

Ling Ma
Provided Ling Ma
Creative Writing Program

Novelist Ling Ma, MFA ’16, among 2024 MacArthur recipients

Cornell Chronicle

Novelist Ling Ma, MFA ’16, and Nicola Dell, associate professor at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech, have been awarded 2024 “genius grants.”

Earth seen against a black background
NASA Earth
Cornell Climate Impact Speaker Series

2030 Project plans climate-themed speaker series

Cornell Chronicle

A policy influencer, an entrepreneur, an academic and a journalist will offer their perspectives on how to make a difference in addressing climate change in the Cornell Climate Impact Speaker Series. The first installment is scheduled for Sept. 5.

Very large, multi-tiered room lined with shelves of books
detait/Unsplash Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart, Germany
Economics

The ‘knowledge curse’: More isn’t necessarily better

Cornell Chronicle

Can an increase in knowledge ever be a bad thing? Yes, says economics professor Kaushik Basu and a colleague – when people use it to act in their own self-interest rather than in the best interests of the larger group.

A planet in space: a smooth orb striped horizontally with gray, blue and yellow hues. A small, dark ball (a moon) the bottom
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Titan, Saturn's largest moon, crosses the rings and the planet.
Astronomy

New analysis of Cassini data yields insights into Titan’s seas

Cornell Chronicle

Using data from precision radar experiments, a Cornell-led research team analyzed and estimated the composition and roughness of sea surfaces on Titan.

Campus scene with a decorative stone wall in the foreground and a tower in the background
Cornell Board of Trustees

New trustees to join Cornell board in July

Cornell Chronicle

At its May 24 meeting, the Cornell Board of Trustees elected seven new trustees to four-year terms. The board also reelected a trustee from the field of labor.

Peter Loewen
Lindsay France/Cornell University Peter John Loewen will begin his term as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences on Aug. 1.
College leadership

Peter Loewen named dean of Arts and Sciences

Cornell Chronicle

Coming from the University of Toronto, where he was the director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Loewen began his five-year appointment as the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Aug. 1.

Geometrical ceiling design shining with gold
Another Believer/Creative Commons license 3.0 Interior of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.
National Academy of Sciences

Four Cornell professors elected to national academy

Cornell Chronicle

A&S professors Steven Strogatz and Peter Wolczanski are among Cornell’s 2024 electees to the National Academy of Sciences.

Circular logo of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Chen, Wolfner, Ryan elected to arts and sciences academy

Cornell Chronicle

Professors Peng Chen, Mariana Wolfner ’74 and Timothy A. Ryan, M.S. ’86, Ph.D. ’89, have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the academy announced on April 24.

Ailong Ke
Molecular biology and genetics

Three faculty members elected AAAS fellows

Cornell Chronicle

Molecular biology and genetics professor Ailong Ke is among three Cornell faculty members elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Illustration of a thermometer labeled "accuracy level"
Psychology

Accuracy ‘nudges’ decrease misinformation-sharing on left, right

Cornell Chronicle

A collaboration between two research teams with opposing views found that, despite claims to the contrary, simply reminding people about the concept of accuracy improves the quality of information-sharing on both sides of the political aisle.

Tower as seen from Mcgraw
Early-career awards

Four early-career faculty win 2024 Sloan Research awards

Cornell Chronicle

Assistant professors Anna Y.Q. Ho, Chao-Ming Jian, Rene Kizilcec and Karan Mehta are among 126 early-career researchers who have won 2024 Sloan Research Fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

college campus buildings under a partly cloudy sky, with a lake beyond
Global leaders

Cornell’s ’24-25 Schwarzman Scholars named

Cornell Chronicle

A&S young alumni are among this year’s group of 150 scholars, who are from 43 countries and 114 universities. Schwarzman Scholars, an international program, nurtures a network of future global leaders.

A few musician rock out on a stage lit by yellow and purple spotlights
Provided This year’s most-read Chronicle story announced the return to Cornell of Dead & Company, which included members of the Grateful Dead, for a fundraising concert on May 8, benefiting Cornell’s 2030 Project and the nonprofit MusiCares.
In the news, 2023

The Dead rise: Cornell '77 tribute show among top stories of 2023

Cornell Chronicle

When Dead & Company came to Cornell in May for a benefit concert commemorating the Grateful Dead’s famed “Cornell ’77” show, it drew thousands to Barton Hall. The March announcement of the show was the most-viewed Chronicle story of 2023.

Circular cluster of fibrous strands; the strands in the center are purple
Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Oral delivery a possibility for silica-based C’Dots

Cornell Chronicle

New research has shown that ultrasmall Cornell Prime Dots, or C’Dots, which are among the nanocarriers for therapeutics once thought to be viable only by injection, have the potential to be administered orally.

Tree branches bearing yellow leaves in front of an illuminated window
Mathematics

Five early-career professors win NSF development awards

Cornell Chronicle

Philippe Sosoe, mathematics, is among those at Cornell who recently received National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Awards.

Ray Jayawardhana
College leadership

A&S dean Jayawardhana named provost at Johns Hopkins

Cornell Chronicle

Rachel Bean, the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor in the Department of Astronomy and senior associate dean for math and science, has been named interim A&S dean.

Two people sitting face to face, one's back turned
Psychology

Online ‘sexual double standard’ disadvantages women

Cornell Chronicle

In a new Cornell psychology study, female applicants for scholarships or jobs were viewed less favorably than males when study participants, acting as decision-makers, were shown “sexy” social media photos of the applicants.

Steven Jackson
Steven Jackson
Science and Technology Studies

Steven Jackson named vice provost for academic innovation

Cornell Chronicle

“Teaching is at the center of what we do,” said Jackson, who has a with a dual appointment in the Department of Science and Technology Studies.

Grid of 20 black and white images of an oblong shape: a brain seen from above
National Cancer Institute/Unsplash Brain images
Neurobiology and Behavior

Diversity of neurons affects memory, study finds

Cornell Chronicle

Understanding this diversity could lead to better knowledge of the brain’s computational flexibility and memory capacity.

Michelle Wang, next to a microscope and with dangling wires and equipment behind her
Robert Barker, Cornell University Michelle Wang
Honors

Physics professor elected to National Academy of Sciences

Cornell Chronicle

A&S physicist Michelle Wang is among four Cornell faculty who were elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in research.

White domed building lit up at night
Michael/Unsplash State Capitol Building, Madison, Wisconsin
Tech policy

Whole-message AI communication seen as more useful

Cornell Chronicle

Cornell tech policy research: using AI to write entire messages in representative government appears to be more effective than using AI to generate individual sentences.

Split image showing a rocky landscape on both left (Mars) and right (Atacama Desert in Chile)
Mars photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Atacama photo: Armando Azua-Bustos/Provided On the left is of the Jezero Crater, on the surface of Mars; the image on the right is the Red Stone Jurassic fossil delta of the Atacama Desert in northwestern Chile, a popular geological analog for Mars.
Astronomy

Life on Mars? Better tools needed to get the answer

Cornell Chronicle

Current state-of-the-art instrumentation being sent to Mars to collect and analyze evidence of ancient life may not be sensitive enough to make accurate assessments, says a Cornell-led study.

Clock tower in foreground, snowy college campus in the distance, seen from above in low light
Sloan Research Fellowships

Five early-career faculty win Sloan Research Fellowships

Cornell Chronicle

Assistant professors Debanjan Chowdhury, physics, and Andrew Musser, chemistry, are among 126 researchers in the United States and Canada who this year have received two-year fellowships to advance their work.

Person wearing a bright yellow jacket places a ticket on a car windshield
Economics

Parking ticket reminders work, but not for all

Cornell Chronicle

New research by Cornell behavioral economists reveals that people who would benefit the most from gentle “nudges” to pay their fines – those who are least responsive to tickets in the first place – respond least to those reminders.

Red wires on a black background
Postdoctoral fellowships

Cornell joins Schmidt AI in Science postdoc research initiative

Cornell Chronicle

Cornell, including A&S, will recruit and train a cohort of up to 100 postdoctoral fellows in the fields of natural sciences and engineering. 

Person wearing red and pearls, speaking at a podium
Lindsay France/Cornell University Cornell President Martha E. Pollack delivers her State of the University address Oct. 14 in Kennedy Hall.
State of the University

Pollack lauds ‘amazing Cornellians’ in State of the University speech

Cornell Chronicle

Cornell's president highlighted recent achievements of Arts and Sciences faculty.

a low evening sun peeks through the branches of a giant tree, sending shadows across a lush lawn. three people stroll down a hill.
Jason Koski/Cornell University Evening on Libe Slope
Belonging at Cornell

Three projects awarded Belonging at Cornell innovation grants

Cornell Chronicle

The "Can You Hear My Voice?" project, a collaboration between Arts and Sciences, the ILR School, eCornell and the College of Human Ecology, received one of three Belonging at Cornell innovation grants for 2022.

Ray Jayawardhana
College leadership

Jayawardhana reappointed A&S dean, named Bethe professor

Cornell Chronicle

“Dean Jayawardhana has been an exceptional leader of the university’s most academically diverse college,” Provost Michael Kotlikoff said.

Pink buds on a tree branch; a bell tower in the background
Radical collaboration

Radical Collaboration initiative adds AI, quantum, design tech

Cornell Chronicle

The universitywide initiative has resulted in the hiring and retention of world-class faculty, millions of research dollars invested, and published research that has helped push science forward and change lives in New York state, the nation and the world.

Two police officers stand near a police car
Social psychology

Legal language affects how police officers are judged

Cornell Chronicle

Referring to police using the legal phrase “objectively reasonable” puts the officer in a more favorable light, regardless of race, according to new research from Neil Lewis Jr. ’13, assistant professor of communication, and doctoral student Mikaela Spruill.

Sabrina Karim
Awards

Assistant professor wins NSF early-career award

Cornell Chronicle

Sabrina Karim, Hardis Family Assistant Professor of government, has received an NSF early career award.

Campus buildings, cloudy sky, lake
Faculty honors

Seven faculty members elected AAAS fellows

Cornell Chronicle

Seven Cornell faculty members have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society. This year's fellows, 564 in all, will be honored at a virtual event Feb. 19.

Bruce Lewenstein
Administration

Bruce Lewenstein appointed university ombudsman

Cornell Chronicle

Bruce Lewenstein, professor of science communication in both the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences, has been appointed Cornell’s 13th university ombudsman.

Glass beakers on a table, one partially filled with liquid
Photo by Hans Reniers on Unsplash
Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Four assistant professors win early-career awards

Cornell Chronicle

Two professors in the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology have received Early Career Awards to further their research.

Faculty awards

Eleven assistant professors win NSF early-career awards

Cornell Chronicle

Alex Townsend, Goenka Family Assistant Professor of mathematics, is among the 11 Cornell faculty members who have recently received National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Awards.

Student stories

Students save man from frigid lake after fishing mishap

Cornell Chronicle

“I’ve been a swimmer for 15 years, so I didn’t hesitate to jump in," said Alexander Chung '21.

History

Oluo offers practical antiracism strategies in MLK Lecture

Cornell Chronicle

Author Ijeoma Oluo, the featured speaker at the virtual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture, held March 1, said the white male in America has always enjoyed relatively unfettered passage – usually at the expense of others.

Psychology

Agarwal, Rush, Tschida, Udell win Sloan Fellowships

Cornell Chronicle

Katherine A. Tschida, assistant professor of psychology, is among four Cornell faculty who have won 2021 Sloan Research Fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The fellowships support early-career faculty members’ original research and education related to science, technology, mathematics and economics.

History

Author, journalist Ijeoma Oluo to give annual MLK Lecture

Cornell Chronicle

Seattle-based writer Ijeoma Oluo will give the 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Lecture at Cornell, in a virtual forum on March 1. This year’s event will be a conversation between Oluo and Edward Baptist, professor of history and author of “The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism."

History

Professor emerita to discuss latest work in ‘Book Breaks’

Cornell Chronicle

Mary Beth Norton will discuss her book, “1774: The Long Year of Revolution,” in the next “Book Breaks” discussion, hosted Jan. 31 by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City.

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

A first: Cornell researchers quantify photocurrent loss in particle interface

A&S Communications

With a growing global population will come increased energy consumption, and sustainable forms of energy sources such as solar fuels and solar electricity will be in even greater demand. And as these forms of power proliferate, the focus will shift to improved efficiency.

In Memoriam

Professor Emeritus David Henderson dies in accident

Cornell Chronicle

David Wilson Henderson, professor emeritus of mathematics, died Dec. 20 in Newark, Delaware, from injuries suffered when he was struck by a vehicle in a pedestrian crosswalk in Bethany Beach, Delaware. He was 79.According to published reports, Henderson was struck shortly after 5 p.m. on Dec. 19. After being taken to nearby Beebe Medical Center in Lewes, Delaware, Henderson was transported to Christiana Hospital in Newark, where he died the next day.

Molecular Biology and Genetics & Astronomy

Provost Research Innovation Award winners announced

Cornell Chronicle

Innovative research with great impact is one of Cornell’s hallmarks, and to recognize some of the best examples of that work, the Office of the Provost has established an annual award that highlights the depth and breadth of the university’s research efforts.The inaugural Provost Research Innovation Awards recognize midcareer faculty from engineering, the humanities, life sciences, social sciences and physical sciences.

Faculty excellence

Nine faculty members elected AAAS fellows

Cornell Chronicle

Nine Cornell faculty members have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society.

Economics & Government

Global Grand Challenges event to spark faculty dialogue

Cornell Chronicle

What are the biggest threats facing inhabitants of Earth in the 21st century? A two-day symposium will bring together people from across the university for a dialogue on the “grand challenges” of a world that’s both more connected than ever and increasingly fractured.

Physics

Doctoral student applies physics modeling to voting of SCOTUS ‘Super Court’

Cornell Chronicle

The maelstrom surrounding the nomination and subsequent confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court was to be expected, when one justice’s vote could change the country’s moral compass for generations. But looking at the high court over a period of decades, have political leanings been its strongest barometer?

Physics

Arthur Ashkin, Ph.D. ’52, shares Nobel Prize in physics

Cornell Chronicle

Ashkin received the prize for his invention of "optical tweezers" that move objects with light.

Lawrence Kidder
Astronomy & Physics

Lawrence Kidder elected fellow of American Physical Society

Cornell Chronicle

Award-winning senior astronomy research associate Lawrence Kidder, who contributed to the 2016 confirmation of gravitational waves detected in 2015, has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS).

Physics

Cornell part of $25M NSF effort to untangle future physics data

Cornell Chronicle

… the most from the LHC upgrade, slated for completion in 2026. “We are now searching for the next layer of physics …

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Unraveling titanium dioxide’s self-cleaning ability

Titanium dioxide is one of several minerals that are self-cleaning; they use energy from the sun to convert any “schmutz” that lands on their surface to a harmless gas, which then floats away.

Physics

Donald Holcomb, emeritus physics professor, dies at 92

Cornell Chronicle

Emeritus professor of physics Donald F. Holcomb, who served two terms as chair of the department and championed the cause of improving physics education, died Aug. 9 in his residence at Kendal at Ithaca.

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

On-demand polymers may yield designer materials

Cornell Chronicle

Researchers at Cornell are devising a method for creating new polymers in much the same way that a jewelry maker creates a beaded necklace.

Physics

Accelerator project gets push from National Academy of Sciences

Cornell Chronicle

A National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS) committee has endorsed the idea of building an electron-ion collider (EIC) in the United States, for the purpose of expanding understanding of the fundamental building blocks of matter.

Physics

Singer group will use DOE funding to create new quantum states of matter

Cornell Chronicle

Andrej Singer, assistant professor of materials science and engineering and David Croll Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow, will lead a three-year project funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science that will attempt to create new quantum states of matter.

Physics

Garbage to gold: getting good results from bad data

Cornell Chronicle

Researchers sought a way to obtain usable protein structure images without the expense and time of an X-ray free electron laser source.

Physics

Guinness World Record for micro view into hidden worlds

Cornell Chronicle

In a recent research paper published in Nature, a group led by physics professors David Muller and Sol Gruner claimed a world record for electron microscope resolution using a high-powered detector and a technique called ptychography. Their technique was shown to measure down to 0.39 ångströms or 0.039 nanometers (one-billionth of a meter).

Hector D. Abruna, Sciences Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CHEM), in the lab with post-doctoral students writing chemistry on a white board
Chemistry & Chemical Biology

$10.75M grant aids next-gen fuel cell development

Cornell Chronicle

Fuel cells could someday power numerous devices – automobiles and mass transit systems, buildings, and virtually any type of portable electronic device.Unlike batteries, which eventually run out of power (and thus need to be recharged), a fuel cell will continue to generate electrical energy as long as it has a fuel – usually hydrogen – and oxygen or some other oxidant necessary for the complete electrochemical reaction.

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Electron microscope detector achieves record resolution

Cornell Chronicle

Electron microscopy has allowed scientists to see individual atoms, but even at that resolution not everything is clear.

Physics

Three on faculty honored by World Economic Forum

Cornell Chronicle

An A&S physics professor is one of 50 scientists under the age of 40 named among the top young scientists.

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

A&S faculty member elected to National Academy of Sciences

Cornell Chronicle

Hector Abruña's research emphasizes fundamental studies of battery and fuel cell systems to molecular electronics.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology & Music

Jerrold Meinwald, 2014 National Medal of Science winner, dies at 91

Cornell Chronicle

Jerrold Meinwald, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Chemistry Emeritus and a 2014 winner of the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest honor for achievement in science and engineering, died April 23 in Ithaca. He was 91.

Two professors in lab coats looking at chemistry writing on a white board
Awards and Honors

Twelve assistant professors win NSF early-career awards

Cornell Chronicle

The awards support junior faculty members’ research projects and outreach efforts.

physics

Researchers pave an enlightened path to anyons and quantum computation

Cornell Chronicle

Their work provides a blueprint for future work involving other types of anyons and more complicated quantum states.

Peng Chen
Chemistry & chemical biology

Understanding nanocatalysts' 'talk' could better inform design

Cornell Chronicle

Enzymes are nature’s best nanoscale catalysts, and often show what’s known as catalytic allostery – that is, reactions at one site affecting reactions at another site, typically a few nanometers away, without direct interaction between the reactants.

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

First proof of hydrogen-bonded water wires could lead to better desalination

Cornell Chronicle

Identifying the chirality of water structures could inspire the design of more efficient purification technologies.

Campus Climate

University reaffirms its commitment to, support of undocumented students

Cornell Chronicle

Numerous resources are available on campus for undocumented students with and without DACA status.

Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

It's mostly luck, not pluck, that determines lifetime reproductive success

Cornell Chronicle

While trait variation can influence the fate of a population, researchers found that the fates of individuals are often determined by “dumb luck.”

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Chemistry professor wins Sloan fellowships

Cornell Chronicle

Assistant professors Brett Fors, Karthik Sridharan and Jin Suntivich have been named recipients of Alfred P. Sloan Foundation fellowships. These awards support early-career faculty members’ original research and broad-based education related to science, technology and economic performance.

Psychology

For the win (or tie): Most avoid risk, despite better chance at reward

Cornell Chronicle

Say you’re the coach of a basketball team that’s trailing by two points in the dying seconds of a game. Your team has the ball and you call a timeout to set up a play.Or imagine your football team has just scored a touchdown with three seconds to play to pull to within one point. Instead of immediately sending out the placekicker for the point-after, you call your final timeout to discuss your next move.

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Research probes key protein's role in cancer cell growth

Cornell Chronicle

Two new studies led by Hening Lin, professor of chemistry and chemical biology, offer new insights into oncogene RAS, the most frequently mutated gene of its type in human cancer.

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Aye Lab takes its protein-assessing tool to the next level

Cornell Chronicle

In 2016, Yimon Aye, Howard Milstein Faculty Fellow and assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, introduced the world to “T-REX” – a chemical method for targeting and modulating single proteins to analyze and screen for specific oxidation-reduction (redox) events, which are vital to many basic functions of life.

Physics

Physicists take first step toward cell-sized robots

These electricity-conducting, environment-sensing, shape-changing machines could become a powerful source for exploration.

Mathematics

Randomness a key in spread of disease, other ‘evil’

Cornell Chronicle

An unfortunate church dinner more than 100 years ago did more than just spread typhoid fever to scores of Californians. It led theorists on a quest to understand why many diseases – including typhoid, measles, polio, malaria, even cancer – take so much longer to develop in some affected people than in others.

Physics

Newly developed techniques shed light on key protein’s regulatory ability

Cornell Chronicle

Fundamental processes that occur along strands of DNA, including RNA transcription and DNA replication, commonly encounter obstacles – or “roadblocks” – that can impede progress and ultimately result in mutations and/or DNA damage.

Physics

Keck-funded group proposes new topological superconductor

Cornell Chronicle

The Keck Foundation announced in early July that it had awarded $1 million to a Cornell cross-campus collaboration of professors in engineering and physics aimed at turning theory into reality – namely, creating a specific topological superconducting material that could help pave the way to quantum computing.

Physics

Lt. Gov. Hochul announces $15M from state for CHESS upgrade

Cornell Chronicle

The grant will provide CHESS with enhanced capabilities, making it a leading synchrotron source in the U.S.

Physics

Cornell collaboration reports unique property of bilayer graphene

Imagine walking through the Northwest wilderness, camera phone at the ready, hoping to catch at least a faint glimpse of Bigfoot, and instead returning home with an Ansel Adams-quality picture of the mythical beast as he lumbers past you.That’s kind of what a team led by physics professor Paul McEuen has done in research into the optical properties of single-atom-thick layers of graphene.

Physics

Top-flight rheometer allows for outside-the-box research

Cornell Chronicle

Until last week, if students in Itai Cohen’s research group wanted to perform advanced measurements on a fluid – such as applying both rotation and sinusoidal oscillations to gauge whether the flow disruption was hydrodynamically or contact-mediated – they’d have to drive 330 miles east.

Mathematics

Strogatz's study of 'swarmalators' could direct future science

Cornell Chronicle

How does the Japanese tree frog figure into the latest work of noted mathematician Steven Strogatz? As it turns out, quite prominently.

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Binding molecule could improve injected radiation therapy

Cornell Chronicle

Radiation therapy has been proven effective for the treatment of cancer, but its side effects can be severe depending on the patient and the location of the tumor.

Visualization of enhanced catalytic activity
Chemistry & Chemical Biology

First-ever visualization of enhanced catalytic activity reported

Cornell Chronicle

Just as two heads are better than one when trying to solve a problem, two metals are better than one when trying to catalyze a chemical reaction.

Physics

Where did those electrons go? Decades-old mystery solved

Cornell Chronicle

The concept of “valence” – the ability of a particular atom to combine with other atoms by exchanging electrons – is one of the cornerstones of modern chemistry and solid-state physics.

Cornell Tech-Ithaca partnerships

Milstein: Program will embrace long-held Cornell ethos

Cornell Chronicle

“Think differently” – it’s been a central theme at Cornell for more than 150 years and a driving force behind numerous educational initiatives including the new Cornell Tech campus, which opened this fall on Roosevelt Island in the heart of New Yor

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Magnetic tweezers reveal ‘hairballs’ in polymer growth

Cornell Chronicle

Conventional wisdom has said that when molecules known as monomers band together to create a polymer chain, that creation takes place steadily as the chain forms, like spaghetti out of a pasta maker. But a Cornell research collaboration shows that’s just not the case.

Chemistry

Advance in lipid imaging could impact cancer treatment

Cornell Chronicle

A cellular biology “mystery” is closer to being solved, thanks to sleuthing in the lab of Jeremy Baskin, assistant professor and Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology.

Physics

Octopus inspires 3-D texture morphing project

Cornell Chronicle

A group led by Rob Shepherd, assistant professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is using the cephalopod as inspiration for a method to morph flat surfaces into three-dimensional ones on demand.

Chemistry & physics

Center for Materials Research's NSF funding extended, increased

Cornell Chronicle

The Cornell Center for Materials Research – which through research and education is enhancing national capabilities in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and materials research at all levels – has been has been granted $23.2 million for the next six years from the National Science Foundation.

Chemistry

Aye group discovers avenue for precision cancer treatment

Cornell Chronicle

One of the goals of personalized medicine is to be able to determine which treatment would work best by sequencing a patient’s genome. New research from the lab of Yimon Aye, assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology, could help make that approach a reality.

Psychology

Mouse tracking may reveal ability to resist temptation

Cornell Chronicle

The devil on your right shoulder is telling you, “Go ahead, grab that candy bar! You know you want it!”Meanwhile, the angel on your left is gently saying, “The apple is a much healthier option, isn’t it?”

Physics

Surprising nature of quantum solitary waves revealed

Cornell Chronicle

Solitary waves – known as solitons – appear in many forms. Perhaps the most recognizable is the tsunami, which forms following a disruption on the ocean floor and can travel, unabated, at high speeds for hundreds of miles.

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Baskin, Chang win Beckman Young Investigator award

Cornell Chronicle

Assistant professors Jeremy Baskin, from the College of Arts and Sciences, and Pamela Chang, from the College of Veterinary Medicine, are among eight assistant professors across the nation to be named a Beckman Young Investigator, a prize is given to promising young faculty members in the early stages of their academic careers in the chemical and life sciences.