News

A decorative boulder in a shady stone plaza, with Cornell's McGraw Tower in the background — Lindsay France/Cornell University McGraw tower in summer from the Alpha Phi Alpha Centennial Memorial bench.

Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability

Cornell Atkinson awards catalyze solutions in food, climate, clean energy

6/5/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Atkinson Venture Fund awards have distributed $21.7 million to 223 projects spanning every college on Cornell’s campus over 15 years.

Cornell leadership

Thomas A. Lewis named Graduate School dean, vice provost

6/4/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A professor of religious studies at Brown, Lewis will also hold a faculty appointment as a professor of religious studies and German studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.

A huge ring with electronic wiring going into the center, along with a ladder-like stairs. — Provided The muon g-2 ring sits in its detector hall amidst electronics racks, the muon beamline and other equipment at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Physics

One tiny particle could complicate predictions of physics theorists

6/3/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The international, interdisciplinary team measured the magnetic anomaly of the muon – a tiny, elusive particle that could have very big implications for understanding the subatomic world.

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.

Reunion 2025

US Rep. Beth Van Duyne ’95, Brooks School dean to discuss policy at Reunion

6/2/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The discussion will explore the intersection of public policy, politics and civic engagement.

Beth Ryan with big glasses, a smile and a lab coat standing in front of a white board with equations and a lab frame with hoses and things hanging on it — Provided Beth Ryan

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Graduate Student Invited to Prestigious Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

5/30/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings bring together Nobel Prize recipients and approx. 600 exceptional young scientists from around the world for a week of “interdisciplinary exchange” aimed at fostering scientific collaboration across generations and national boundaries.

Person in academic robes shakes the hand of another person in academic robes — Alexandra Bayer/Cornell University President Michael I. Kotlikoff congratulates a doctoral candidate at the 2025 Ph.D. Recognition Ceremony on May 23 at Barton Hall.

Graduate student honors

Ph.D. graduates overcame obstacles to find success

5/28/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell’s newest Ph.D.s found success even through the unexpected events of the last few years, President Michael I. Kotlikoff reminded nearly 400 doctoral graduates at the 2025 Ph.D. Recognition Ceremony on May 23 at Barton Hall.

People on a stage; one in military uniform stands at attention — Devin Flores/Cornell University Marine 2nd Lt. Connor Eaton is pinned at the Cornell University ROTC Tri-Service Commissioning Ceremony, held May 23 in Statler Auditorium.

Student life

Cornell graduates aim to ‘lead from the front’ as military officers

5/27/2025 Cornell Chronicle

During a May 23 ceremony in Statler Auditorium, more than 25 members of Cornell’s Reserve Officers' Training Corps Tri-Service Brigade were commissioned as second lieutenants or ensigns in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Space Force.

A lacross player in white and red uniform holds a trophy aloft; he's surrounded by celebrating teammates — Provided The Cornell men’s lacrosse team celebrates after defeating Maryland in the NCAA Championship Game May 26 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Athletics

Cornell lacrosse wins national championship, first in 48 years

5/27/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The Big Red defeated Maryland 13-10 in the NCAA title game held at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Happy together: Peroxide binds incompatible polymers for recycling

5/23/2025 Cornell Chronicle

“The dream is, if you can make a really rigid polymer that’s also really tough, then you can make packaging that uses less material, yet has the same sort of properties."

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.

Psychology

Roper Center announces 2025 student fellows advancing public opinion research

5/20/2025 Cornell Chronicle

This year’s cohort includes the W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow and three Kohut Fellows. These emerging scholars will advance data-driven research by contributing original scholarly work that uses Roper iPoll’s extensive survey archive.

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.”

Six people standing side-by-side — Ryan Young/Cornell University Campus Community Leadership Award winner Netra Shetty ’25 (center-left) poses with (from left) Marla Love, the Robert W. and Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students; Alec Brown, program manager of the Hunter R. Rawlings III Cornell Presidential Research Scholars Program; Monica Yant Kinney, interim vice president for university relations; Sarah Bartlett, volunteer and outreach manager at the Ithaca Free Clinic; and Taili Mugambee, lead program coordinator of Ultimate Reentry Opportunity, outside of Day Hall

Student honors

A&S senior honored for work that impacts the community

5/15/2025 Cornell Chronicle

For her work supporting the Ithaca community and people struggling with incarceration and drug addiction across New York, Netra Shetty ’25 earned the 2025 University Relations Campus Community Leadership Award.

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.”

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.

crystal ball reflects a view of a river, upside down — Marc Schulte/Unsplash

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

In a first, system uses sunlight to power carbon capture

5/12/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Inspired by the mechanisms plants use to store carbon, researchers found that sunlight can power the capture and release of carbon dioxide, which could vastly lower costs and net emissions.

Molecular biology and genetics

New method explores dormancy in TB, other organisms

5/9/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A new computational method developed by researchers at Cornell sheds light on how going dormant – sometimes for multiple generations – has affected the evolution of the tuberculosis bacterium and other organisms that can temporarily drop out of the gene pool.

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

Government

Research at risk: Protecting national defense from cyberattacks

5/8/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A Cornell-led assessment of vulnerabilities in the semiconductor supply chain and how to mitigate them is on hold after receiving a stop-work order.

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.

trees with pink blossoms in front of a clock tower and a library building

Cornell Center for Social Sciences

Cornell Center for Social Sciences awards grants, invites new proposals

5/5/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The Cornell Center for Social Sciences has awarded spring Seed Grants and the inaugural Grant Preparation Funds to support impactful social science research. Faculty can now apply for up to $115,000 in funding, with the next deadline approaching on June 1.

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

Government

Those most willing to address health disparities tend to be overlooked

5/2/2025 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.

A pug dog leans out the window of a red car. It is very cute — Marina Raspopova/Unsplash

Ecology and evolutionary biology

Evolution of pugs and Persians converges on cuteness

5/2/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Through intensive breeding, humans have pushed breeds such as pug dogs and Persian cats to evolve with very similar skulls and “smushed” faces, so they’re more similar to each other than they are to most other dogs or cats.

Physics

Don Hartill, longtime physics professor, Lansing mayor, dies at 86

4/30/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Donald Hartill, a professor of physics emeritus in the College of Arts and Sciences and a driving force behind decades of experimental research in particle physics, died on April 16. He was 86.

Literatures in English

Poet Ishion Hutchinson tilts into expansive essay writing

4/30/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Award-winning poet Ishion Hutchinson is making his prose debut with his first essay collection, which brings together two decades’ worth of probing reflections on his childhood in Jamaica, the country’s cultural and colonial history and his maturation as a writer.

artificial intelligence graphic with brain, lights and circuits

Psychology

Brain’s ‘blue spot’ key to healthy aging, early Alzheimer’s detection

4/24/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Specialized MRI scans revealed dramatic changes over the human lifespan in the locus coeruleus, a finding that helps characterize healthy aging patterns.

Book cover: I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer

History

Love and the Athenian Mercury: 1600s advice column still resonates

4/23/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Historian Mary Beth Norton found the perfect confluence of interests in a London periodical published from 1691-97 that answered readers’ questions about love and marriage.

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.

Three people on a stage with bright banners behind them — Simon Wheeler for Cornell University Anne Thompson of NBC News, Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund, and David Lodge, the Francis J. DiSalvo Director of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability (left to right) discuss the value of visionary partnerships between Cornell Atkinson and organizations such as EDF on April 10 during Cornell Atkinson’s 15th anniversary celebration.

Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability

Cornell Atkinson at 15: celebrating science, fostering hope

4/18/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability’s 15th-anniversary conference addressed past successes and future efforts to support climate and sustainability.

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.

Provided Jennet Dickinson, assistant professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences and researcher at CLASSE, works on a silicon module for the upgrade of the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Cornell is assembling a detector using over 2,000 of these modules.

Physics

Cornell Celebrates Breakthrough Prize for LHC Collaborations

4/14/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell researchers are helping upgrade the CMS detector at CERN, as LHC collaborations win the 2024 Breakthrough Prize for fundamental physics discoveries.

Person paging through a notebook set on a table piled with archival materials — José Beduya/Provided Irina Troconis, assistant professor of Latin American studies, pores over a selection of handwritten Venezuelan migrant testimonies, part of the TodoSomos archive, in the Reading Room of Cornell University Library’s Rare and Manuscript Collections.

Cornell University Library

Symposium launches archive of Venezuelan migrant testimonies

4/14/2025 Cornell Chronicle

On April 18, this collection of migrant experiences will be presented to the public in a daylong symposium at the A. D. White House.

Person sitting under a tree — Angel Balashev/Unsplash

Sociology

DIY religion: More Americans finding faith outside church

4/14/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell-led research finds that large numbers of Americans are leaving organized religion – not in favor of secular rationality, but to pursue spirituality in ways that better align with their individual values.

Nine fire fighters wearing their gear pose holding game like devices — Provided Varna Volunteer Fire Company members show the new sensory kits developed in partnership with Michelle Tcherevatenko ’25.

Science and Technology Studies

Robinson-Appel Award recipients create community-engaged solutions to social challenges

4/10/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Three Cornell undergraduates, including A&S student Michelle Tcherevatenko ’25, are being recognized for their dedication to tackling social challenges through innovative, community-engaged learning projects.

Government

Study of democracy’s decline offers roadmap for fighting back

4/8/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The study of pathways to democratic backsliding provides clear examples of the risks currently posed to the U.S. system of government.

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.

Provided Book cover: Humanities in the Time of AI

Humanities and technology

Book plumbs AI’s potential to reinvigorate the humanities

4/1/2025 Cornell Chronicle

In his new book, “Humanities in the Time of AI,” professor Laurent Dubreuil argues that the arrival of AI may present an opportunity to “re-create scholarship.”

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

The first major component of the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST) has arrived at its final home: the Cerro Chajnantor mountaintop, more than 18,000 feet above sea level.

A dramatic night sky behind a college campus; a burst of fireworks explodes behind a clock tower with illuminated windows — Jason Koski/Cornell University

Student life

Admitted Class of 2029 channels passions into knowledge

3/28/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Through volunteer work, research and advocacy, the 5,824 students admitted to the Class of 2029 reflect Cornell’s commitment to changing lives through public engagement.

Black and white magnified image; various fields of gray covered with squiggles — Provided Spirochetes are long, slender, spiral-shaped invasive bacteria, associated with Lyme disease and syphilis.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Putting the brakes on bacterial mobility: A new approach to fighting disease

3/28/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Researchers have identified a new way to fight infections like Lyme disease and syphilis by disrupting the bacteria’s ‘motor,’ preventing it from spreading through the body.

Ecology and evolutionary biology

Ecologist Jed Sparks elected AAAS Fellow

3/28/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Sparks was honored for his distinguished contributions to the fields of ecology and environmental science.

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

3/27/2025 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.

Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability

Day-long conference celebrates Cornell Atkinson at 15

3/27/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The evening panel will be moderated by Anne Thompson, NBC News’ chief environmental affairs correspondent and the spring 2025 Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist.

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

Cornell Cinema

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

3/26/2025 Cornell Chronicle

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

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.

Entrepreneurship

Student creates company focused on luxury African bags

3/21/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The newest episode of Startup Cornell, a podcast hosted by Entrepreneurship at Cornell, features Cornell senior Micere Mugweru ’25, the founder of Mizoma Africa.

People playing instruments together — Sreang Hok/Cornell University Four of Twin Court’s bandmates (from left) Mandy Gurung, Caleb Levitt ’24, Wyatt Westerkamp ’22 and Gracekelly Fulton ’25 rehearse in the Gamelan room in Lincoln Hall.

Music

‘Collaborative creativity’ of Gamelan inspires student band

3/21/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The Cornell Gamelan Ensemble and a collection of antique instruments sparked the formation of Twin Court – a band that melds rock and traditional Indonesian music.

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.

Wooden judges gavel — Wesley Tingey/Unsplash

Government

Legality unlikely to sway public opinion about executive actions

3/19/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Don’t expect a broader backlash against President Donald Trump's flurry of executive orders simply because they may rest on shaky legal ground, new Cornell research suggests.

close up of a dog's mouth — Vidak/Unsplash

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Drug found ‘remarkably’ effective in treating common canine oral cancer

3/19/2025 Cornell Chronicle

An FDA-approved drug used in humans has been found to inhibit the growth of oral squamous cell carcinomas in dogs - with one dog’s tumor nearly disappearing in a matter of weeks.

A hand, palm out, wearing a black ring on the thumb — Provided Louis DiPietro

Linguistics

AI ring tracks spelled words in American Sign Language

3/18/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A Cornell-led research team has developed an artificial intelligence-powered ring equipped with micro-sonar technology that can continuously and in real time track fingerspelling in American Sign Language.

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.

Five people stand near a sign that says "Center on Global Democracy" — Provided Center on Global Democracy

Government

Cornell scholars address global threats to democratic institutions

3/14/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The Brooks School Center on Global Democracy hosted “Democratic Mobilizing: Comparative Responses to Backsliding Threats,” a hybrid event that attracted 120 participants and was streamed live from Goldwin Smith Hall on Cornell’s Ithaca campus.

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.

Person speaking on a small stage with a large audience watching — Katharine Downey/Cornell University Damon Hollenbeck '25 pitches his business CRIT to a crowd at the 2024 Cornell Entrepreneurship Showcase: Student Pitches and Venture Panel.

Entrepreneurship

eLab welcomes 13 Startups to Spring 2025 cohort

3/12/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A&S student Max Bohun ’25 and the business he co-founded, GradeWiz, has been accepted into Y Combinator’s winter '25 batch.

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.

Six people sit in a row, during a panel discussion event — Jason Koski/Cornell University In Goldwin Smith Hall on Feb. 28, Peter Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of government, spoke during the “Science Under Siege?” faculty panel discussion hosted by the Department of Science and Technology Studies.

Research

Panels discuss federal research funding threats, opportunities

3/5/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Experts discussed support for science research during a pair of panels organized by faculty and students on Feb. 28.

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.

Person speaking at a podium with an image of a planet in the background — Cornell University file photo Joseph A. Burns, Ph.D. ’66, emeritus professor of engineering and astronomy, and a former vice provost and dean of the Cornell faculty, speaks at Charter Day Weekend in 2015.

In memory

Joseph Burns, emeritus professor, former dean of faculty, dies at 83

3/4/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Joseph A. Burns, Ph.D. ’66, emeritus professor of engineering and astronomy, and a former vice provost and dean of the Cornell faculty, died Feb. 26 in Ithaca.

Ecology and evolutionary biology

Cornell Atkinson awards support graduate student biodiversity and sustainability research

2/28/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell Atkinson is supporting 36 graduate students – including some in A&S – whose work protects biodiversity, improves health, reduces climate risk and more.

Cornell's central campus with lake beyond

Cornell Center for Social Sciences

Cornell Center for Social Sciences names 2025-26 Faculty Fellows

2/28/2025 Cornell Chronicle

12 faculty members from seven colleges have been named 2025-26 Faculty Fellows with the Cornell Center for Social Sciences.

Provided Max Bohun ’25 pitches AI teaching assistant GradeWiz, a startup he co-founded with Aman Garg ’25, last March at the 2024 eLab Student Startup Showcase at San Francisco’s Autodesk Gallery

Computer science

Student startup pilots AI grading assistant, joins Y Combinator

2/27/2025 Cornell Chronicle

GradeWiz, an artificial-intelligence teaching assistant founded by Cornell undergraduates Max Bohun ’25 and Aman Garg ’25, has been accepted into startup accelerator Y Combinator’s Winter 2025 Batch.

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.

Two people embrace in a large, wood-paneled room — Sreang Hok/Cornell University 2024 George Peter Award winner Sarah Albrecht, administrative manager of the Science and Technology Studies Department in the College of Arts and Sciences, embraces Suman Seth, the Marie Underhill Noll Professor of The History of Science and chair of the department, at the Feb. 24 award ceremony.

Staff award

Science and Technology Studies manager wins George Peter Award

2/25/2025 Cornell Chronicle

For her skilled management and healthy sense of humor, Sarah Albrecht, administrative manager of the Science and Technology Studies Department in the College of Arts and Sciences, received the Employee Assembly’s 2024 George Peter Award for Dedicated Service.

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.

a piece of fabric with a design on it — Ryan Young/Cornell University HelioSkin is a lightweight, stretchable architectural fabric that is aesthetically attractive and can wrap around complex shapes.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Solar solutions: Bio-inspired approach creates bespoke photovoltaics

2/21/2025 Cornell Chronicle

What if photovoltaic panels were a hinged, lightweight fabric that was aesthetically attractive and could wrap around complex shapes to better absorb sunlight?

Education Innovation

CTI explores 'The Art of Teaching' in new series

2/15/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Through a series of facilitated faculty conversations, the series aims to shine a spotlight on unique aspects of a variety of teaching formats, from the discussion to the studio, from the field site to the lab to the seminar.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Brian Crane named director of the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology

2/13/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Brian Crane began as Director of the Weill Center for Cell and Molecular Biology on January 1, 2025. He is only the second Director in the History of the Weill Institute since its founding by inaugural Director Scott Emr in 2008.

Three people wearing lab safety glasses look at a small scientific device — Ryan Young/Cornell University Postdoctoral researcher Christopher Petroff (center), doctoral candidate Virginia McGhee (left), doctoral student Azriel Finsterer (right) and Lara Estroff, the Herbert Fisk Johnson Professor of Industrial Chemistry in Cornell Engineering (background), work on perovskites – a class of compound minerals that over the last decade have become the most exciting alternative to silicon.

The 2030 Project: A Cornell Climate Initiative

Solar solutions: ‘Crazy’ perovskite offers sustainable alternative to silicon

2/12/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell researchers are studying how the material can be recycled and grown to be more durable.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Protein shuttling mechanism helps bacteria pump out antibiotics

2/12/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A Cornell-led collaboration uncovered the equipment that enables bacteria to survive exposure to antibiotics: a shuttling mechanism that helps a complex of proteins pump out a wide spectrum of antibiotics from the cell.

Government

The key to some nations’ public support for mental health care

2/11/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Isabel Perera explains why some countries have failed to provide adequate services for the mentally ill while others expanded care.

golden spheres connected by dark lines — Alex Shuper/Unsplash

Fuel cell research

X-ray study sheds light on cost-effective fuel cell materials

2/7/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell researchers have captured an unprecedented, real-time view of how a promising catalyst material transforms during operation, providing new insights that could lead to replacement of expensive precious metals in clean-energy technologies.

Illustration of an adult holding a baby, both with speech balloons — Caitlin Cook/Cornell University

Psychology

Power of babble: Babies elicit simpler speech from adults

2/6/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Across languages and cultures, parents simplify their speech in response to babies’ babbling and early speech, supporting language development, new Cornell research finds.

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

Thompson is NBC News’ chief environmental affairs correspondent.

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.

Person holding a smart phone — Daria Nepriakhina/Unsplash

Psychology

Short and sweet: Supportive texts give partners a boost

2/3/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Supportive texts from a significant other can help people cope with stressful events in their daily lives, Cornell psychology research finds.

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.

A house and garden in the foreground at night, with a wildfire glowing over a nearby hill — Nikolay Maslov/Unsplash

Science and Technology Studies

Student spins spreadsheet into online hub for wildfire relief

1/29/2025 Cornell Chronicle

A doctoral student in the field of information science developed an interactive map that has become an online hub for thousands of people in the greater Los Angeles area who need provisions, are looking to donate supplies or want to get involved.

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.

Two kids sitting on a floor — Chayene Rafaela/Unsplash The Child Tax Credit expansion reduced the number of children living below the poverty line by more than a third.

Government

How to craft effective policy messages to advance equity

1/22/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Expansion of the Child Tax Credit gives researchers a unique example of a universally praised social good that disproportionately benefited some populations.

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.

large brick building with smoke stacks reaching into a blue sky studded with clouds — Provided Cornell's Combined Heat and Power Plant will provide researchers access to real-world flue gas emissions as home to the CAPTURE-Lab, an experimental facility that will explore carbon capture and industrial decarbonization.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

What you need to know about carbon capture, utilization and storage

1/17/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Cornell researchers Greeshma Gadikota, Phil Milner and Tobias Hanrath discuss their carbon capture research, including a new experimental CAPTURE-Lab at Cornell’s Combined Heat and Power Plant.

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.

Illustation showing a box labeled "vote" decorated with a light bulb and a trophy. A hand is placing a square into a slot in the box — Credit: Seung Yeon Kim/Cornell University

Government

Good intentions pave incumbents’ road to re-election

1/15/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Voters care if they’re better off than before the last election — but also about incumbent politicians’ intentions, Cornell research finds.

A microscope image: Dark green background spotted with pink — Weill Cornell Medicine Lipid accumulation in a murine model of fatty liver disease, visualized by color-enhanced lipid droplets (pink) in liver tissue (green). Superimposed chemical structure of a newly discovered bile acid conjugate.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Diet, microbes: new pathway controlling levels of body fat, cholesterol

1/14/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Beneficial gut microbes and the body work together to fine-tune fat metabolism and cholesterol levels, according to a new preclinical study by investigators from Weill Cornell Medicine and the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell’s Ithaca campus.

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.

Peter Yarrow with guitar, tan jacket, white hair just at the back of his head, white beard and glasses in front of a microphone with three women and a child standing next to him — Lindsay France/Cornell University Peter Yarrow ’59 performs in Bailey Hall at Reunion 2019.

Alumni News

Folk icon Peter Yarrow ’59, of Peter, Paul and Mary, dies at 86

1/7/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Musician Peter Yarrow ’59, who drew early inspiration from his time at Cornell before joining the legendary folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, died Jan. 7 in Manhattan.

Mouse peering out of a white paper cup set in a grassy field — Matthew Zipple/Provided A mouse in the study peers out of a hiding spot inside in a semi-natural outdoor enclosure. Scanners placed around the enclosure collected 7.4 million readings from identification tags implanted in the mice to track how they behaved in the environment.

Neurobiology and Behavior

Small wins in early life lead to inequality in adulthood

1/3/2025 Cornell Chronicle

Lucky breaks in a male mouse’s youth can lead to large advantages in adulthood, especially in groups that compete for food, territory and mates.

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.

person sleeping — Alexander Grey/Unsplash

Neurobiology and Behavior

Pupil size in sleep reveals how memories are sorted and preserved

1/2/2025 Cornell Chronicle

The eyes may be the window to the soul, but the pupil is key to understanding how, and when, the brain forms strong, long-lasting memories, Cornell researchers have found.

Large indoor gymnasium (Cornell's Barton Hall) decorated with pointsettias and filled with people wearing caps and gowns — Jason Koski/Cornell University Interim President Michael I. Kotlikoff addressed the 500 graduates and nearly 2,000 guests in the Dec. 22 ceremony, held in Barton Hall.

December graduates 2024

December graduates charted their own course

12/24/2024 Cornell Chronicle

The December Recognition Ceremony, held Dec. 22 in Barton Hall, celebrated 500 August and December graduates.

Three people stand behind a product table for "Seen Nutrition" — Provided With new national interest in menopause healthcare, Bitar (left) and Han (right) have grown a customer base from Hawaii to Florida to Alaska.

American Studies

Ithaca startup’s product builds bone health using NY milk protein

12/23/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Two friends who bonded over shared concerns over their bone health have formulated a bioavailable calcium chew using milk protein from Finger Lakes dairy farms.

Two people work on a very large piece of equipment that's blue and holds a lot of water — Ryan Young/Cornell University Kavya Mittha ’26, left, and Aisha Brundan ’25, working for Prof. Maha Haji, test their bobbing buoy wave energy converter at the DeFrees Hydraulics Lab in Hollister Hall.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology

2030 Project Fast Grant awards support energy systems of the future

12/20/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Researchers from five colleges, including Arts and Sciences, have received awards to support work on sustainable energy systems.

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.

rows of dark squares surrounded by rainbowed edges — Maxence Pira/Unsplash

Government

With DoD grant, Cornell to enhance semiconductor supply chain resilience

12/18/2024 Cornell Chronicle

The research team includes faculty, postdoctoral researchers and doctoral students from fields such as computer science, electrical and computer engineering and social sciences.

Illustration of three television sets, each with a pair of people showing on the screen — Credit: Caitlin Cook/Cornell University

Psychology

We mimic each other, like it or not

12/18/2024 Cornell Chronicle

Mimicry appears to be a fundamental behavior that helps people understand each other, not just when they get along, new Cornell psychology research finds.

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.

"Vote here" sign beside a line of people

Government

Professor’s model perfectly predicted Trump victory

12/17/2024 Cornell Chronicle

A Cornell professor’s election forecasting model correctly picked Trump’s win this year in all 50 states – and would have correctly predicted 95% of states in every election since 2000.