News

A telescope in space: topped by a circular yellow mirror, the object is boat-shaped, with a background of stars — Northrup Grumman An illustration of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope

Astronomy

Cornell astronomers win time on James Webb Space Telescope

6/17/2025 A&S Communications

The "premier telescope in space right now" will start a fourth annual cycle of observations on July 1, and three early-career astronomy researchers in A&S are PI or co-PI on observation programs chosen from a very competitive field.

Two people standing on a stage, holding a certificate between them — Diogo Lopes de Oliveira/Provided PCST Network President Sook-kyoung Cho presents Bruce Lewenstein with the 2025 Award for the Advancement of Science Communication as a Professional Field (PCST Award).

Science and Technology Studies

Lewenstein wins science communication prize

6/10/2025 A&S Communications

The inaugural Award for the Advancement of Science Communication as a Professional Field from the International Network on Public Communication of Science & Technology recognizes outstanding contributions to the development of science communication as a field.

church building with a green-blue bell tower — Provided St. James A.M.E. Zion Church

Ithaca community engagement

History Center exhibit chronicles excavation at Ithaca’s ‘Freedom Church’

6/10/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The exhibit on Ithaca’s St. James A.M.E. Zion Church will open on Juneteenth with a community event scheduled for 4 p.m.

In memoriam

Savely Senderovich, scholar of Russian literature, dies at 89

6/3/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A mainstay of the Department of Russian Literature from 1977 until his retirement after the department closed in 2010, Senderovich oversaw the establishment of a comprehensive graduate program in Russian literature, expanding Cornell’s graduate offerings in the field.

Dollar bills, some of them folded and crumpled, resting on a white surface — Emilio Takas/Unsplash What it would take to dethrone the dollar? Ryan Chahrour researches this and related questions

Economics

‘Expectations matter’: Cornell expert on today’s economic turmoil

5/29/2025 A&S Communications

Ryan Chahrour studies how people’s beliefs drive economic events and what makes the U.S. dollar special – and dominant – in world trade.

Illustration showing an outline of a brain in white electronic-looking wiring — Steve Johnson/Unsplash

Psychology

Brain-inspired AI model learns sensory data efficiently

5/21/2025 A&S Communications

With brain mechanisms as a guide, Cornell researchers are designing low-energy robotic systems inspired by biology and useful for a wide range of potential applications.

Jason Koski/Cornell University Héctor Abruña, the Émile M. Chamot Professor in the Department of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Abruña receives 2025 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences

5/15/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The biennial prize, announced May 15, “recognizes an individual for exceptional and original research in a selected area of chemistry that has advanced the field in a major way.”

Pink flowering tree and a stone colonade with people on the steps — Jason Koski/Cornell University Spring flowers blossom outside Goldwin Smith Hall.

Excellence in teaching and advising

Outstanding faculty win 2025 teaching and advising awards

5/15/2025 A&S Communications

Among those being recognized for exceptional teaching and mentorship this year are faculty members Begüm Adalet, Claudia Verhoeven, and Marcelo Aguiar.

Clear glass chemistry beakers — Hans Reniers/Unsplash

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Carbon dioxide key to making a precise polymer safely

5/13/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell chemists have developed a user-friendly, scalable process for methacrylate that’s precisely controlled and mediated by carbon dioxide.

People cluster together in an outdoor shelter, looking at papers and flowers — Dan Rosenberg/Provided From left, MFA students Gerardo Iglesias, Sarah Iqbal and Aishvarya Arora listen to observations by two young poets at the Ithaca Children’s Garden.

Creative Writing Program

Cornell writers inspire kids’ poetry at Ithaca Children’s Garden

5/8/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A crew of Cornell creative writers lent their time and experience to guide young poets during Nature Poetry in the Garden, an event held May 3 at the Ithaca Children’s Garden.

Person in blue shirt stands in front of complicated silver equipment — Chris Kitchen Manipulating the properties of atomic material helps Paul Malinowski understand the fundamental physics of how different quantum phases develop and are related to each other.

Klarman Fellows

Klarman Fellow honored for outstanding achievement in physics

5/1/2025 A&S Communications

Paul Malinowski received the 2025 Martin and Beate Block Winter Award from the Aspen Center for Physics.

Glass shelves in wooden cases holding pieces of pottery — Alison Rittershaus/Provided An Amazonian headdress is displayed with two cases of artifacts in the Anthropology and CIAMS Collections

Anthropology

Cornell anthropology opens Collaboratory May 14

5/1/2025 A&S Communications

The new Anthropology Collaboratory gathers many of the university’s anthropology collections and laboratories together in one place in Olin Library.

Nicolas van de Walle speaking, hands moving, wearing glasses and a jacket — Cornell University File Photo Nicolas van de Walle

Government

Conference on African political economy honors van de Walle

4/30/2025 A&S Communications

“Politics, Markets, and Governance in Africa: A conference in honor of Nicolas van de Walle,” set for May 8-9, will focus on the core themes of African political economy, regimes, and modes of electoral and social participation and contestation.

Light bulb decorated to show Earth's continents — Provided

Energy

Cornell Energy Summit considers global energy needs

4/23/2025 A&S Communications

The 2025 Cornell Energy Summit: “The Energy Landscape: Meeting Global Needs in the Age of Sustainability” will be held on April 30, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Statler Hotel Ballroom.

Science history

First Guerlac Lecture to celebrate ‘rock star’ science historian

4/22/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Princeton history professor Michael Gordin will give the inaugural lecture celebrating the life and work of Henry Guerlac ’32, M.S. ’33, an influential historian of science and Cornell faculty member for three decades.

Four people stand in a circle, chatting and smiling — Sreang Hok/Cornell University Graduate students chat at Cornell's Big Red Barn

Psychology

Finding friendship at first whiff

4/15/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Two women meeting for the first time can judge within minutes whether they have potential to be friends – guided as much by smell as any other sense, according to new Cornell psychology research.

Several people dancing in formation in a sunny studio — Anthony Lewis Lall/Provided Preparing for the April 25-26 "SHED" performance, Ashley Dorais and other dancers rehearse elements choreographed by the influential Merce Cunningham

Performing and Media Arts

PMA’s ‘SHED’ performance features intermedia dance

4/15/2025 A&S Communications

The culmination of a year-long study of “New/Futurism: Installation, Intermedia, Interactive & Immersive Dance,” the April 25-26 performance also features the work of influential choreographer Merce Cunningham and highlights collaboration among art forms.

Image of aMedieval scholar sitting at a table writing with a quill pen

Comparative Literature

Biblical scholar: Parables in Luke parallel Genesis stories

4/3/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Prof. Carmichael identifies how parables unique to Luke were composed as a response to, and reframing of, problems attributed to the earliest of biblical times.

Faculty honors

French university honors Jonathan Culler for literary contributions

3/26/2025 A&S Communications

On March 26, the University of Paris 8 on March 26 recognized Culler for his contributions to literary and theoretical studies and his close ties with French intellectual movements.

Physics

Quantum mechanics with a twist: spring 2025 Bethe lecture

3/25/2025 A&S Communications

Physicist Shahal Ilani will introduce the emerging field of twistronics, which is revolutionizing our ability to harness quantum phenomena, during a public lecture April 9.

Provided Book cover: Multiverse Analysis

Sociology

Book calls social scientists to robust ‘multiverse’ analysis

3/25/2025 Cornell Chronicle

To cut through misinformation, noise and fragile claims, sociologist Cristobal Young calls social science researchers to adopt a new approach.

Book cover: The Necromantic State — Provided The Necromantic State

Romance studies

Professor’s book probes afterlife of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela

3/25/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The works ponders how “ghosts” can help a state secure its survival and ground its authority in moments of crisis, such as the one Venezuela is experiencing now.

A gold padlock on a white computer keyboard — Towfiqu barbhuiya/Unsplash

Science and Technology Studies

Balancing various uncertainties in cyber threat intelligence

3/20/2025 Cornell Chronicle

New Cornell research focuses on two types of uncertainty that play important roles in the cyber threat security industry – coordinative uncertainty and adversarial uncertainty – and analyzes the relationship between them.

Klarman Fellows

Klarman Fellow headed to Yaddo residency

3/19/2025 A&S Communications

Eraldo Souza dos Santos will work on their next book project, “Everything Disappears,” a family memoir and meditation on the lived experience of Blackness and enslavement in modern Brazil.

Plastic items in many colors crushed together and wrapped for recycling — Nareeta Martin/Unsplash Plastics bound for recycling

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Reducing plastic’s environmental impact with machine learning

3/17/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Chemistry researchers have found ways to reduce the environmental impact of high-density polyethylene by developing a model that enables manufacturers to customize and improve those materials.

Person wearing laytex gloves sitting at a table with four ancient artifacts: pots — Provided Danielle Vander Horst, M.A. '19, with a collection of face pots during a 2018 research trip at the Colchester and Essex Museum, Colchester, United Kingdom

History of Art and Visual Studies

History of art staff member publishes research on face pots

3/17/2025 A&S Communications

Danielle Vander Horst, M.A., '19 will continue her study of Romano-British face pots, pursuing a Ph.D. through Cornell's Employee Degree Program.

Three people cluster around a computer in a science lab — Ryan Young/Cornell University

Physics

Peer recognition crucial for success in physics research

3/5/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Even when women receive similar amounts of recognition from peers as men for excelling in physics classes, they perceive significantly less peer recognition, new research has found.

Illustration showing a crowd of people, a network of dots and lines, and some binary code — Laura Chichisan/College of Arts and Sciences In a world that’s growing more connected every day, economists and computer scientists need to work together. Cornell researchers have thought this way for years, and the rest of the world is catching on.

Research Collaboration and Impact

Where computer scientists and economists talk to each other

3/5/2025 A&S Communications

In a world that’s growing more connected every day, economists and computer scientists need to work together. Cornell researchers have thought this way for years, and the rest of the world is catching on.

Cognitive science + literary studies

University Lecture examines ‘The Narrative Brain’

2/26/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Our minds and the ways we tell stories are closely attuned, research shows, and scholar Fritz Breithaupt will explore how that connection works during a March visit as University Lecturer.

Microscope with a dish on it; a blue-gloved hand reaches in — ThisisEngineering/Unsplash

Research

Roundtable to consider ‘Science Under Siege’

2/24/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The Feb. 28 event will provide a forum for scientists, social scientists and humanities scholars to discuss challenges to research support in response to recent major changes to federal funding.

promotional poster showing a blue ball marked with black cross-hatches and the words "Media Objects — The World According to Sound “Media Objects,” a podcast collaboration between Cornell media experts and sound artists The World According to Sound, begins Feb. 6.

Media Studies

Media Objects podcast releases 'sonic essays' based at Cornell

2/6/2025 A&S Communications

The series features the voices and research of 13 Cornell faculty members, more than half from A&S.

Classics

Frederick Ahl, innovative classics scholar, dies at 83

2/5/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A scholar of Greek and Roman epic and drama and the intellectual history of Greece and Rome, Ahl was a member of the Cornell faculty for more than 52 years.

Orange red and white horizontal streaks of light under a dark blue sky, showing automobile traffic in motion at night — Ryan Young/Cornell University

Klarman Fellows

New Klarman Fellows to join the College of Arts and Sciences

2/4/2025 A&S Communications

Fellows will pursue research in the sciences, social sciences and humanities.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Benjamin Widom, influential physical chemist, dies at 97

1/31/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Benjamin Widom, Ph.D. ’53, Goldwin Smith Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, died Jan. 23 in Ithaca. He was 97.

Tall stacks of old car tires — Jon Tyson/Unsplash

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Durable plastic gets a sustainability makeover

1/29/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A Cornell chemist has created an alternative to the unrecyclable, plastic-based material used for durable items such as car tires, replacement hip joints and bowling balls.

Tranparent flasks in a chemistry lab, with amounts of orange liquid — Elevate/Unsplash

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

How a pervasive microorganism generates a greenhouse gas

1/17/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell researchers have discovered a way for ammonia oxidizing archaea, one of the most abundant types of microorganisms on Earth, to produce nitrous oxide, a potent and long-lasting greenhouse gas.

Romance studies

Fulginiti wins book prize

1/16/2025 A&S Communications

Fulginiti’s novel, “Il dolore degli altri” (“The Pain of Others”), was chosen from among 114 competing manuscripts and will be published soon by Italian publisher ExCogita.

Pile of tiny squares: SPECS devices — Provided SPECS devices

Chemistry and Physics

Light-activated micro device expands ‘green’ electrochemistry

1/9/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell chemists and nanofabrication experts have joined forces to create a 2 millimeter-wide, wireless, light-activated device to simplify electrochemistry for broad use.

Barry Adams, former vice provost and literature scholar, dies at 89

1/9/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Barry Banfield Adams, professor of literatures of English emeritus in the College of Arts and Sciences, died Dec. 31 at home in Brooktondale, New York. He was 89.

Two mice perched on flowers and facing each other

Neurobiology and Behavior

Mice use their tongues to ‘see’ tactile targets

1/7/2025 A&S Communications

Cornell scientists have identified the neural pathway mice use to direct the tongue to tactile targets.

Government

Elizabeth Sanders, scholar of U.S. political development, dies at 81

1/3/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Elizabeth Sanders, Ph.D. ’78, professor of government emerita in the College of Arts and Sciences, died Dec. 2 in Cullman, Alabama. She was 81.

Book cover: Queer Latin American Voices — Provided

Klarman Fellows

Klarman Fellow co-edits trilingual ‘Queer Latin American Voices’

12/19/2024 A&S Communications

Romance studies scholar Romina Wainberg is co-editor of a collection which contains brief texts and illustrations by Latin American LGBTQIA+ writers and artists, accompanied by responses by queer academics in Spanish, Portuguese or English.

Ancient ship underbody, just a skeleton of wood — Kyrenia Ship Excavations/Provided The Kyrenia was the first major Greek Hellenistic-period ship to be found with a largely intact hull. It was excavated and reassembled for scientific study.

Archaeology

Manning honored for contributions to archaeology

12/17/2024 A&S Communications

Sturt Manning, received the P. E. MacAllister Field Archaeology Award at the Annual Meetings of the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) in Boston in November.

Asian studies

Poets in Japan experiment at the edge of media

12/12/2024 Cornell Chronicle

During the past century, experimental poets in Japan have been stretching the conventional definition of the genre by creating poems in unexpected places, according to a Cornell researcher.

Provided Book cover: Never on Time, Always in Time

Literary studies

In ‘Fun Home’ and other books, queer narratives rework time

12/11/2024 Cornell Chronicle

In “Never On Time, But Always in Time,” Kate McCullough of the College of Arts and Sciences examines four books to explore how queer narratives focus on the body and its senses to find alternative ways of experiencing and presenting time.

A painted portrait, from the 17th century, of a confident looking woman wearing an elaborate ruff and dark colored gown — Galleria Nazionale della Liguria a Palazzo Spinola, Genoa. Under sumptuary laws, women could be denounced for new and fashionable jewellery items, such as the randiglia, or metal support that propped up stylishly large ruffs, worn in this 1610 portrait, "Veronica Spinola Serra," by Guilliam van Deynum (c. 1575 – c. 1624).

History of Art and Visual Studies

Fashion police dictated gender norms in early modern Genoa

12/10/2024 A&S Communications

Sumptuary laws – designed to “control luxury clothing consumption and the social ills it could encourage” – constrained women more than they did men.

Book cover: Borrowing Paradise — Provided

History of Art and Visual Studies

A story of environmental hope set in Bali

12/9/2024 A&S Communications

"Borrowing Paradise," a new book for children, brings a community-centered Balinese Hindi ritual to life.

Double helix strands made out of tiny blue beads against a dark blue background — Braňo/Unsplash DNA double helix

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

New pathway found for regulating zinc in E. coli

12/4/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell researchers have discovered a pathway by which E. coli regulates zinc levels, an insight that could advance the understanding of metal regulation in bacteria and lead to antibacterial applications such as in medical instruments.

A mother helping a child with the hood of a parka — Sai De Silva/Unsplash

Economics

Working moms set an example for the next generation

12/3/2024 Cornell Chronicle

A girl who attends a school with classmates whose mothers work is more likely to be in the workforce when she has a child herself than a girl who grows up in local circles where most mothers stay at home, Cornell researchers have found.

Three people look intensely at a small black and red machine in a science laboratory — Jason Koski/Cornell University Itai Cohen, center, professor of Physics and Design Tech, works with Melody Lim, left, and Zexi Liang, right, at Cohen’s lab in the Physical Sciences Building.

Physics

Smallest walking robot makes microscale measurements

12/2/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell researchers in physics and engineering have created the smallest walking robot yet. Its mission: to be tiny enough to interact with waves of visible light and still move independently, so that it can maneuver, and take images and measurements.

Klarman Fellows

Klarman Fellow wins Middle East Studies dissertation award

12/2/2024 A&S Communications

Olga Verlato's dissertation, “Languages of Power and People: Multilingualism, Politics, and Resistance in Modern Egypt and the Mediterranean,” received the Malcolm H. Kerr Award from the Middle East Studies Association of North America.

The panelists sitting in arm chairs, all three looking at Prof. Jamila Michener talking into the microphone. — Chris Kitchen for Cornell University Ann Marimow ’97, the Fall Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist (far left) discussed the impact of Supreme Court decisions on ordinary Americans with panelists, from left, Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences and professor of government (A&S); Jamila Michener, associate professor of government (A&S) and of public policy in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy; and Michael Dorf, the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law.

Distinguished Visiting Journalist Program

A politicized Supreme Court meets a new moment for America

11/26/2024 Cornell Chronicle

A panel of experts moderated by Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist Ann Marimow '97 discussed the impact of the Supreme Court's decisions on ordinary Americans and the workings of American democracy.

Provided Book cover: The Perversity of Gratitude

Africana Studies

Farred analyzes his apartheid education in ‘philosophical memoir’

11/20/2024 A&S Communications

In “The Perversity of Gratitude: An Apartheid Education," Grant Farred describes his experience of flourishing intellectually, despite and even thanks to being educated under apartheid, while also analyzing concepts that made such an education possible.

Book cover: The Architecture of Blame and Praise — Provided The Architecture of Blame and Praise

Philosophy

Holding people responsible through a system of blame, praise

11/18/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Philosopher David Shoemaker examines the complicated nature of both modes of response, teasing out their many varieties while defending a general symmetry between them.

Two people -- characters in a play -- stand in a field full of flowers — Cherry Arts/Provided 'Rosa and Blanca' will be performed at Ithaca’s Cherry Arts Nov. 8-17.

German studies

German studies hosts evening with ‘Rosa and Blanca’ playwright

11/7/2024 A&S Communications

Rebekka Kricheldorf will talk about writing comedy and more with Samuel Buggeln, the play’s director and artistic director of Cherry Arts, on Nov. 12 – one of several collaborations.

A field of connected hexagons against a dark gray background — AlexanderAlUS/Creative Commons license 2.0 The ideal crystalline structure of graphene, a hexagonal grid

Physics

Revealing the superconducting limit of ‘magic’ material

11/4/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell researchers have identified the highest achievable superconducting temperature of graphene – 60 Kelvin. The finding is mathematically exact and is spurring new insights into the factors that fundamentally control superconductivity.

Two people in casual clothes stand in a room full of bric-a-brac, holding professional grade recording equipment — Gundi Vigfusson/Provided The World According to Sound: Chris Hoff ’02 (left) and Sam Harnett.

Media Studies

Crowdfunding launch supports Ways of Knowing podcast at Cornell

11/1/2024 A&S Communications

A crowdfunding campaign launched Nov. 1 to support a Cornell-based season of "Ways of Knowing,” a new podcast created by The World According to Sound.

Person holds a large, yellowed document in a library setting — Chris Kitchen Jacob Anbinder examines documents held by Cornell University Library from the archives of New York's Regional Plan Association, one of the most influential urban planning organizations of the twentieth century.

History

Klarman Fellow presents findings on housing cost history

10/31/2024 A&S Communications

This fall, Jake Anbinder, a historian with an interest in cities and strong ties to public policy, presented two conference papers elaborating on his award-winning book project.

Creative Writing Program

Poet pictures ‘a place where a woman may find some peace’

10/29/2024 Cornell Chronicle

In “Purchase,” a new collection of poems from Associate Professor Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, the author seeks consolation for grief by turning to specific sources of beauty.

Person sitting at the consol of a wooden organ, hands on keyboard — Elizaveta Zabelina David Yearsley plays the Cornell Baroque Organ

Music

Handel’s greatest hits, reimagined for organ

10/23/2024 Cornell Chronicle

David Yearsley, the Herbert Gussman Professor of Music, has configured some of George Frideric Handel’s greatest works into pieces for solo organ in his new album.

Three people stand near a red production poster outside a theater — Juan Manuel Aldape Muñoz PMA professor Juan Manuel Aldape Muñoz (center) and NAKA Dance Theater co-founders José Ome Navarrete Mazatl (left) and Debby Kajiyama will team up again this month to create a new work at Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography in Florida. They are pictured here at Ithaca’s Kitchen Theatre during a spring 2024 collaboration

Performing and Media Arts

Professor creates new work at national choreography center

10/9/2024 A&S Communications

Playing two roles during a prestigious residency, Juan Manuel Aldape Muñoz will both choreograph a new dance work and document the process.

Four people work at a plastic patio table in the midst of ancient ruins: they are archaeologists on an excavation site — Provided Caitie Barrett, in the foreground, works at the Casa della Regina Carolina site in 2023 with team members (left to right) Cole Warlick, GIS analyst and FileMaker database manage; Lee Graña, assistant director; and Joe Nigro, lead surveyor and iDig database manager.

Digital humanities

Modeling an ancient house and garden in 3D

9/30/2024 A&S Communications

Cornell researchers have received a $150,000 NEH Digital Humanities Advanced Grant to create a 3D virtual modeling project based on the Casa della Regina Carolina, a large Pompeian house.

Chris Kitchen Klarman Fellow Romina Wainberg

Klarman Fellows

Writing against productivity in Latin American fiction

9/25/2024 A&S Communications

Klarman Fellow Romina Wainberg is writing a book that explores how early Latin American novelists depicted the act of writing in their fiction, with a particular focus on fictional representations of the writing process.

Physics

Leading particle physicist headlines fall 2024 Bethe Lectures

9/23/2024 A&S Communications

Beate Heinemann, professor at Universität Hamburg and director for particle physics at DESY in Germany, will share the stories of two outstanding women scientists in a public lecture.

Painting of a mountain in blues, golds and greens — The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Paul Cézanne’s ‘Mont Sainte-Victoire’ paintings, such as this one created in 1902-06, were influenced by French state programs for mountain preservation, Kelly Presutti argues.

History of Art and Visual Studies

How art helped to shape modern France

9/17/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Art historian Kelly Presutti examines the role that depictions of landscape – in paintings, photographs, prints, porcelain and maps – played in the formation of modern France in a new book.

Person writing on a dry-erase board with a window in the background — Chris Kitchen Neil Cholli often goes to the white board in his Uris Hall office to "think things through" while analyzing data on social mobility

Economics

Klarman Fellow to study consequences of the social safety net

9/12/2024 A&S Communications

Neil Cholli, Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow in economics, has received a grant from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth to study how inequality affects economic growth and well-being in the U.S.

Physics

Robert Pohl, innovator in condensed matter physics, dies at 94

9/9/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Robert (Bobby) Pohl, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Physics Emeritus in the College of Arts and Sciences, died Aug. 30 in Göttingen, Germany. He was 94.

About six students sit in desks and interact using a blue Solo cup while an instructor stands by — Lindsay France/Cornell University In a 2019 evolution course, Michelle Smith, now the Ann S. Bowers Professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) observes students in a hands-on activity. Smith and other DBER researchers study how to improve teaching in STEM courses.

Discipline-Based Education Research

NSF-funded postdocs to research education across disciplines

8/29/2024 A&S Communications

Engaging with a whole set of mentors will allow the CIDER postdocs to approach questions about student learning and experiences across disciplinary boundaries and use techniques from multiple fields.

A few dozen people stand together — Provided Participants and facutly directors of the Summer Institute for Moral Psychology

Moral psychology

Moral psychology summer institute hosted at Cornell

8/9/2024 A&S Communications

Directed by College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) faculty in psychology and philosophy, the NEH-funded institute featured presentations from many leading figures in moral psychology, which studies human thought and behavior in ethical contexts

Philosophy

Augustine was ‘wrong about slavery’: Book reexamines key figure

8/8/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Assistant professor Toni Alimi traces the connections between Augustine’s understanding of slavery and his broader thoughts.

In memoriam

Nicolas van de Walle, leading scholar of African politics, dies at 67

7/23/2024 A&S Communications

Known for his scholarship on Africa’s politics, from political economy to democratization and electoral politics, van de Walle contributed decades of award-winning work on regime transitions and continuity, leadership succession, foreign aid, clientelism, political parties and governance.

Patrick Shanahan for Cornell University Brett Fors

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Fors receives ACS Young Investigator Award

7/16/2024 A&S Communications

The award recognizes two outstanding early career investigators conducting research in any area of fundamental polymer or biopolymer science.

Two people color with markers at a small table — Photo by Gabe Pierce on Unsplash

Klarman Fellows

Childcare workers built movement to raise pay, include more families

7/12/2024 Cornell Chronicle

In the early 1990s, labor activists responded to the exploitation of waged childcare workers by dissolving the usual labor divisions between workplace and home, according to a new account of the movement by a Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Abruña receives Global Energy Prize

7/12/2024 A&S Communications

Abruña was selected in the “non-traditional energy” category for “foundational contributions spanning electrochemistry, batteries, fuel cells and molecular electronics.”

A crowd gathering on a city intersection, seen from above — Venti Views/Unsplash

Economics

Economist to study collective action with NSF grant

7/10/2024 A&S Communications

From organizing a charity event to demonstrating against an authoritarian regime, collective action is one of the most basic and ubiquitous forms of strategic interaction in a society, says Marco Battaglini.

Man with mustache leaning close to sleeping baby wearing pink knitted ears — Nubelson Fernandes on Unsplash

Sociology

How girls fare when only a son will do

7/2/2024 Cornell Chronicle

“Gender plays out in many different ways across the world...even when both spouses agree on wanting more sons than daughters, this isn’t consistently correlated with girls getting less education," said sociologist Vida Maralani.

Grassy field in front of a distant bridege at sunrise — Kevin Rajaram/Unsplash

American politics

Growing rural-urban divide exists only among white Americans

6/20/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Researchers have found that when it comes to politics, Black and Latino residents of rural America differ far less, if at all, from their urban counterparts than do non-Hispanic white residents.

Awards and honors

Traverso honored by Autonomous University of Barcelona

6/14/2024 A&S Communications

Enzo Traverso, the Susan and Bart Winokur Professor in the Humanities, has received an honorary doctorate from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB).

Person sitting at a desk with books in the background and graphs on a computer screen — Chris Kitchen By studying prime time news programming and peoples’ reactions to it, Erin Cikanek is finding that Americans gather different emotional information from partisan news programs than they do from traditional outlets.

Klarman Fellows

Partisan news shows broadcast emotions alongside information, says Klarman Fellow

5/30/2024 A&S Communications

Erin Cikanek proposes that citizens are picking up from television news not just what to think but how to feel.

Sociology

Most people trust accurate search results when the stakes are high

5/30/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Using experiments with COVID-19 related queries, researchers found that in a public health emergency, most people pick out and click on accurate information.

Person helps a small child knead bread dough — Christian Bowen/ Unsplash

Neurobiology and Behavior

Mothers live longer as child mortality declines

5/20/2024 Cornell Chronicle

The dramatic decline in childhood mortality during the 20th century has added a full year to women’s lives, according to a new study.

National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center selects two A&S professors as 2024-25 Fellows

5/16/2024 A&S Communications

Kim Haines-Eitzen, the Paul and Berthe Hendrix Memorial Professor of Near Eastern studies, and Mostafa Minawi, associate professor of history and director of Critical Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Studies, will pursue research projects in residence in Durham, North Carolina.

pink blossoms on branches in the foreground; McGraw Tower in the background with a clear blue sky

Excellence in teaching and advising

Outstanding A&S teachers, advisors honored with 2024 awards

5/16/2024 A&S Communications

Among the faculty members being recognized this year for exceptional teaching and mentorship are Liliana Colanzi, Durba Ghosh, and Nick Admussen.

College clock tower rises up beyond a small hill under a lovely blue summery sky

New Frontier Grants

Projects funded by 2024 New Frontier Grants look toward the future

5/15/2024 A&S Communications

The College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) has awarded five New Frontier Grants to cutting edge projects in science, social science and the humanities led by A&S faculty.

Society for the Humanities

Ghosh to lead Cornell’s Society for the Humanities

5/15/2024 A&S Communications

Recently the faculty director of the Humanities Scholars Program, Ghosh brings to the Society scholarly background in the history of British colonialism on the Indian subcontinent; academic focuses on gender and sexuality and South Asia; and broad experience with interdisciplinary collaborations.

metal puck levitates above a slightly pitted white surface

Physics

Ultrasound experiment identifies new superconductor

5/9/2024 Cornell Chronicle

With pulses of sound through tiny speakers, Cornell physics researchers have clarified the basic nature of the newly discovered superconductor uranium ditelluride.

Classics

Exploring the remains of ancient daily life

4/30/2024 A&S Communications

The collection “Households in Context: Dwelling in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt” shifts the archaeological perspective from public and elite spaces such as temples, tombs and palaces to everyday dwellings and interactions of families.

Three people sit in armchairs, part of a panel discussion event — Patrick Shanahan for Cornell University Valzhyna Mort, center, discusses the risks writers take to speak out in many countries, with Suzanne Nossel, left, and David Folkenflik ’91.

Freedom of Expression

Paying a price to speak out, dissident writers help preserve freedoms

4/24/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Speakers at “Dissident Writers: A Conversation” explored how writers keep freedoms open for others by taking risks to criticize governments or societies in environments where there is a cost.

Chris Kitchen Wenbo Tang studies memory to help develop therapies for memory-related diseases, and also to improve AI systems

Neurobiology & Behavior

Klarman Fellow: AI has a lot to learn from 'flexible and reliable' human memory

4/23/2024 A&S Communications

Greater understanding of beneficial characteristics of the human brain, such as flexibility and reliability, will help Wenbo Tang develop therapies for human diseases – and improve AI systems.

Person standing on a path in front of columned ruins of the Parthenon — Provided Pietro Pucci in Athens, June 2017

Classics

‘Adventurous’ classical scholar Pietro Pucci dies at 96

4/23/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Pietro (Piero) Pucci, an influential classical scholar who spent more than 50 years in the Department of Classics in the College of Arts and Sciences, died in Paris on April 7. He was 96.

One person puts off another with a hand gesture

Moral psychology

Persistent questioning of knowledge takes a toll

4/17/2024 Cornell Chronicle

A new study highlights how demoralizing it can be for a person to work in a climate of repetitive skepticism and doubt.

Five people perform a dance, creating a V formation with their bodies — Patrick Shanahan for Cornell University Student dancers rehearse an ensemble piece that will be part of the "This table has been a house in the rain" performance April 25-27 at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts: (from left) Isabel Padilla, doctoral candidate in performing and media arts; Irene Kim ’24; Taylor Pryor, doctoral candidate in literatures in English; Molly Hudson ’25; and Eliza Salamon ’24.

Performing and Media Arts

'A place at the table': Exploring free expression through dance

4/11/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Student-artists will reimagine the Kiplinger Theater in a work titled “This table has been a house in the rain,” through choreography and improvisation, innovative staging and ties to other art forms.

three people working in a film set that looks like a mid-century living room. The fly space of a theater is visible above the room's walls — Simon Wheeler/Cornell University Crew members prepare to film on the set of "Remembering Colin Stall," which took over the Kiplinger Theatre stage for much of the spring 2024 semester: (l-r) Jamen Meistrich, assistant director; Indeana Underhill, director of photography; and script supervisor/on set prop master Victoria Serafini, Ph.D. candidate in Performing & Media Arts

Performing and Media Arts

Film set in Schwartz Center: A pop-up laboratory for building worlds

4/10/2024 A&S Communications

Throughout spring 2024, a set installed on the Kiplinger Theatre stage for the short film “Remembering Colin Stall" doubled as an experimental zone for film and theater technology classes.

Democracy

A.D. White professor addresses threats to democracy

3/28/2024 A&S Communications

Theda Skocpol, Harvard scholar and A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell, will present the public lecture “Rising Threats to U.S. Democracy – Roots and Responses” on April 9.

Chris Kitchen Shiqi Lin next to a poster in her office depicting 25 years of covers from the Chinese culture magazine Neweekly, which reflect China's social changes during the past quarter century.

Klarman Fellows

Klarman Fellow: Digital media connects people in a polarized world

3/26/2024 A&S Communications

Situated at the intersection of media and politics, Shiqi Lin's research explores how critical media culture can push open new spaces for social participation and how new forms of media can bring people together, particularly at times of crisis and radical change.

Economics

Economics department receives $500K gift honoring Tapan Mitra

3/19/2024 A&S Communications

The Dr. Tapan Mitra Economics Fund continues the passion of the late professor for top-level collaboration in economic theory and his legacy of generosity.

Linguistics

‘Innovative’ linguist Margarita Suñer dies at 82

3/8/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Margarita Amalia Suñer, professor of linguistics emerita in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), died in Ojai, California on Feb. 29 after a long bout with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 82.

Media studies

‘Queen of crosswords’ recovers the puzzle’s feminist side

3/5/2024 Cornell Chronicle

In “The Riddles of the Sphinx: Inheriting a Feminist History of the Crossword Puzzle,” Klarman Fellow Anna Shechtman combines a history of the crossword highlighting its early women innovators with her memoir of a personal challenge.

Painting of mountains — Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Purchase, Isaacson-Draper Foundation Gift, 2005 Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Mont Blanc Seen from the Massif, Les Aiguilles Rouges, 1874. Watercolor heightened with gouache over traces of graphite on two sheets of blue-gray wove paper (glued together in a vertical seam at left), 11 7/16 × 26 1/8 in. (29 × 66.4 cm).

History of Art and Visual Studies

Grant to enhance art history book

2/29/2024 A&S Communications

A Millard Meiss Publication Fund award will support the publication of Kelly Presutti's "Land into Landscape: Art, Environment, and the Making of Modern France.”

Latin American studies

On climate change, artists ‘imagine the world otherwise’

2/29/2024 A&S Communications

Carolyn Fornoff explores how contemporary Mexican writers, filmmakers and visual artists have reacted to climate change in her book "Subjunctive Aesthetics: Mexican Cultural Production in the Era of Climate Change."