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LINGUISTICS

Asian, European languages not so different under the hood

Cornell Chronicle

Editors and other language mavens have long recognized that sentences containing subject relative clauses – as in, “The man who called the woman is friendly” – are easier to understand than those containing object relative clauses, such as, “The man who the woman called is friendly.” And indeed, this observation is borne out in laboratory experiments with French, English, German and many other European languages.

STRATEGY

Rock-paper-scissors may explain evolutionary 'games' in nature

Science Magazine

The hand game “rock-paper-scissors” is a classic way to settle playground disputes, with rock smashing scissors, scissors cutting paper, and paper covering rock. But it turns out that nature plays its own versions of the game, and mathematicians and biologists have used it to study everything from human societies to bacteria in a petri dish.

ASTROBIOLOGY

Colorful life-form catalog helps discern if we’re alone

Cornell Chronicle

While looking for life on planets beyond our own solar system, a group of international scientists has created a colorful catalog containing reflection signatures of Earth life forms that might be found on planet surfaces throughout the cosmic hinterlands. The new database and research, published in the March 16 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), gives humans a better chance to learn if we are not alone.

EXOPLANETS

Finding infant Earths and potential life just got easier

A&S Communications

Among the billions and billions of stars in the sky, where should astronomers look for infant Earths where life might develop? New research from Cornell University’s Institute for Pale Blue Dots shows where – and when – infant Earths are most likely to be found. The paper by Blue Dots research associate Ramses M. Ramirez and director Lisa Kaltenegger, “The Habitable Zones of Pre-Main Sequence Stars,” is forthcoming in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

EXOPLANETS

Astronomers create array of Earth-like planet models

Cornell Chronicle

To sort out the biological intricacies of Earth-like planets, astronomers have developed computer models that examine how ultraviolet radiation from other planets’ nearby suns may affect those worlds, according to new research published June 10 in Astrophysical Journal.

Jewish Studies

Reunion panel examines future of Jewish studies

Cornell Chronicle

"This is an exciting moment for Jewish studies,” said Gretchen Ritter, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences, in her introduction to a Reunion Weekend panel on “Jewish Studies at Cornell, Today and Tomorrow,” held June 10 in the Physical Sciences Building.The panel included Jonathan Boyarin, Jewish Studies Program director, and Kim Haines-Eitzen, incoming director of the Religious Studies Program.

Awards

2015 Student and Faculty Award Winners

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES TEACHING AND ADVISING AWARDSThe Deanne Gebell Gitner ’66 Family Annual Prize for Teaching Assistants went to graduate students Sarah Maxey, government, Allison Tracy, ecology and evolutionary biology, Danielle Morgan, English, and Laura Manella, neurobiology and behavior.

Africana Studies

Noelani Gabriel: 'We all have the opportunity to create change'

Noelani GabrielAfricana StudiesSpringfield, MAHow did any of your beliefs or interests change during your time at Cornell?

Mathematics, Music & Physics

Michael Lee: 'I took every opportunity I could to broaden my educational horizons'

Michael LeeMathematics, Music & PhysicsVernon, CTWhat was your most profound turning point while at Cornell?

History of Art

Maxwell Murphy: 'The conversations that transpired from that late election night really rendered tangible how thoughtful students at Cornell are'

Maxwell MurphyHistory of ArtNew York City, NYWhy did you choose Cornell?

Biology & Society

Ankur Srivastava: 'My global health field study helped me understand how I wanted to mesh public health and medicine in the future'

Ankur SrivastavaBiology & SocietyEssex Junction, VTWhat was your most profound turning point while at Cornell?

Government & Asian Studies

Jung-Ju Lee: 'My studies and involvements on campus have helped me to discover my strengths in and passion for diplomacy and conflict resolution'

Jung-Ju LeeGovernment & Asian StudiesAtlanta, GAWhy did you choose Cornell?

Economics & Computer Science

Chris Mills: 'I'm proud of the relationships I've made and I'm hoping they will carry forward'

Chris MillsEconomics & Computer ScienceVienna, VAWhat was your most profound turning point while at Cornell?

Biological Sciences

Akila Venkataramany: 'I immediately sensed there was a place for me among the student body'

Akila VenkataramanyBiological SciencesAshland, OHWhy did you choose Cornell?

Mathematics

Solomon Maina: 'I gravitated towards courses with the most potential for novelty'

Solomon MainaMathematicsIthaca, NYWhat do you value about your liberal arts education?The value of freedom to explore intellectual (and indeed other) interests cannot be understated. I certainly would be a much different person (probably in a bad way) had I not taken the courses in the humanities and social sciences that I got to take while I was a student at Cornell.