science wire

Columbia to House El Diario Photo Archive
So much of New York's history has been lived, sung and reported in Spanish. With the great migration of the 1950s, what had long been a relatively small Latino community in New York became a thriving center of Puerto Rican life and culture.

Monica Moore, ’a master problem-solver,’ wins Amy J. Blue Award
Monica Moore, who joined Stanford's staff four decades ago, is one of three recipients of the 2013 Amy J. Blue Awards.

Walters Art Museum manuscript collection makes a virtual move to Stanford
A new agreement will ensure the long-term preservation of the Walters Art Museum's digitized collection of medieval manuscripts and provide new apps for studying them.

Eric Holder, Jerry Brown, Steve Wozniak to address UC Berkeley graduates

Children’s Theatre entertains Waisman Center audiences
Caribbean musicians Afi Lake and Sonia Valle, of the GoonGoo Peas, turn their Waisman Center audience into performers.

Computer game hit maker gives back to U of A writing program
PopCap Games co-founder Jason Kapalka furnishes writer-in-residence program with $1-million gift. Creative writing might not seem the ideal training for designing computer games, but according to Jason Kapalka, co-creator of Bejeweled and Plants vs.

10th annual book salon celebrates Stanford authors
On topics ranging from poetry to politics, Stanford writers talked about their recent publications at "A Company of Authors," a "speed-dating" version of a book fair.

New chief librarian drawn by UAlberta’s leadership profile
Star librarian coming west to continue UAlberta's tradition of championing post-secondary libraries.

Book club brings the Roaring ’20s to Stanford with Anita Loos’ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Once Marilyn Monroe vamped "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," the 1925 bestselling novel was all but forgotten.

A Mystery Unravels in the Penn Museum

UCLA author’s Jane Austen theory makes Chelsea Clinton’s Twitter feed
A UCLA professor's recently published book on Jane Austen's writings has sparked a national conversation in some of America's greatest publications around the central premise: Was Austen ahead of her time as a romance strategist?

Language Crafters
Inventors of fantastic and alien tongues discuss art of constructing languages at 'Linguistics Goes to Hollywood' Nobody wore a ridged rubber forehead, or painted their skin Pandora blue.

Play pushes Stanford scholars, actors to explore contradictions of capitalism
Stanford Summer Theater and the Center for Ethics in Society partner to produce The Exception and the Rule , a Bertolt Brecht "learning play" that explores themes of inequality and corruption.

Rodrigo García to Teach at Penn April 22-23 as Kelly Writers House Fellow

POI: From high school dropout to U.S. Gates Cambridge scholar
BERKELEY - Justin Park dropped out of high school when he was 16, finding it too confining and thinking he could learn a lot more outside the classroom.

Welcome to ’the real world of us’
Exhibit explores first-year experience at UAlberta through the minds and hearts of Aboriginal students.

Vocal vibrator video goes viral
UAlberta drama professor's discovery generates worldwide buzz on YouTube and in the media. Drama professor David Ley demonstrates how to improve vocal power, range and tone using a hand-held vibrator.

Documents that Changed the World: The ‘Casablanca’ letters of transit
For the latest installment of his Documents that Changed the World podcast series, Joe Janes chose a completely fictional document that nevertheless became well known: The famous “letters of tr

David Henry Hwang Discusses Identity, Stereotypes and the Writing Life
Prize-winning playwright David Henry Hwang doesn't mind being labeled an Asian-American dramatist. “It's literally true,” he said during a recent visit to Columbia.

Mellon Professor Colm Tóibín Imagines the Life of Mary in Play on Broadway
Irish author Colm Tóibín is known for his novels and short stories narrated from the perspective of women and mothers.

It’s time to take boredom seriously, says Stanford literary professor
Stanford Report, March 15, 2013 Stanford English scholar Saikat Majumdar traces the roots of modern literature to a fascination with the mundane.

Jewish Historical Society completes transfer of archives to U of M Libraries
News Release MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (03/13/2013) —The Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest (JHSUM) has completed the transfer of all of its historical documents and media collections to the University of Minnesota Libraries. In 2002, JHSUM founders Nathan and Theresa Berman created a $500,000 endowment for the collections at the University's Andersen Library, and the archives were named for them as a permanent memorial to their vision.

Linguistics Scholar John Moore Appointed Muir College Provost at UC San Diego
John Moore, professor of linguistics at the University of California, San Diego, has been appointed the new provost of John Muir College, effective September 1, 2013.

University of Michigan receives $50 million from Zell Family Foundation, led by alumna Helen Zell, for Creative Writing Program
Largest donation in history of U-M's College of Literature. and the Arts Nationally recognized program producing award-winning authors ANN ARBOR-Chicago philanthropist Helen Zell donated $50 million to the University of Michigan College of Literature.

New federal funding rules will mean more access, changes for researchers
A White House memorandum released last week is shaking up the academic community: Researchers who receive grants from large government agencies will soon be required to make their data and publications freely available to the public.

New UCSD Library App That Zeros in on Available Computers Gets Big Thumbs Up
A new mobile app launched by the UC San Diego Library during fall quarter has proven to be a real hit with campus smart phone users, especially those who are on the prowl for an open computer in the Library or another study space on campus.

Using games as an educational tool provides opportunities for deeper learning, panelists at Stanford event say
Stanford Report, March 1, 2013 Interaction and opportunities to make choices are among the virtues of the new generation of educational games, experts say.

Meetings with Books: Raymond Klibansky
Meetings with Books: Raymond Klibansky, Special Collections and the Library in the 21 st Century is a one-day symposium hosted by the McGill University Library taking place on March 20, 2013 at the Faculty Club Ballroom, 3450 McTavish .

Faculty consider the future of research libraries
What will a research library look like in five, 10 or 25 years? Much different than it looks now - but it hinges on the future of the university itself, according to panelists at a Feb.

Stanford Libraries award prizes for international innovation

Faculty Publications Showcased at Campus Library
Faculty members at Penn State DuBois engage in research that helps to provide solutions to global problems and improve the lives of people around the world.  The discoveries these educators make alon

Art and science converge in multidisciplinary art performance
A scientist's biology lecture on flight goes awry when she reveals her own extreme experiments in "Theory of Flight" - the next offering in the new Franke Lectures in Science and the Humanities.

UC San Diego’s Birthday Party for Dr. Seuss to be Held March 1
The University of California, San Diego will be putting on its annual birthday celebration on Friday, March 1, for one of the world's most beloved authors, Theodor Seuss Geisel, also known as Seuss.

How human language could have evolved from birdsong
Linguistics and biology researchers propose a new theory on the deep roots of human speech. "The sounds uttered by birds offer in several respects the nearest analogy to language," Charles Darwin wrote in "The Descent of Man" (1871), while contemplating how humans learned to speak.

Living Language: Faculty Q&A With Linguist John McWhorter
John McWhorter may be best known for his magazine and newspaper writing about race, but the Philadelphia native is at heart a dyed-in-the-wool academic whose first inkling that he would spend his lif

Star-crossed: UCLA musicologist unearths drama behind Stravinsky’s failed Perséphone
Composer Igor Stravinsky is revered for his dazzling scores to such ballets as "The Firebird," "Petrushka" and especially, "The Rite of Spring" — a ballet so revolutionary that its 1913 opening famously sparked a riot.

Early phases of construction begin for BAM/PFA
Work is underway on the future home of the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) in Berkeley's downtown arts district, BAM/PFA officials announced today (Tuesday, Feb.

Demand growing for traditional Chinese medicines
Chinese medicines might not be a curriculum focal point at many North American pharmacy schools, but that doesn't mean there isn't growing interest in traditional herbs and remedies, including at the University of Alberta.

Canada’s ambassador to China comes to campus

Probing Question: Can a shy person be an actor?
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - You're the type of person who stands back in a crowd, taking it all in. When out with a group of friends, you linger on the edges, contributing to the conversation only when you feel you have something worthwhile to share.

Ralina Joseph studies multiraciality in new book ‘Transcending Blackness’
Ralina Joseph , associate professor of , is the author of “ Transcending Blackness: From the New Millennium Mulatta to the Exceptional Multiracial ,” published by Duke University Press.

Revels to rev up ’Impossible City’ revue at Quadrangle Club on Feb. 1 and 2
Sharp-shooting cowboys, women's rights activists and America's first belly dancers may not be the Quadrangle Club's typical crowd, but all that will change Friday and Saturday as the University of Ch

Revels to rev up ’Impossible City’ revue at Quadrangle Club on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2
Sharp-shooting cowboys, women's rights activists and America's first belly dancers may not be the Quadrangle Club's typical crowd, but all that will change Friday and Saturday as the University of Ch

Richard G. Stern, Prof. Emeritus of English and prolific author, 1928-2013
He published more than 20 books in his lifetime, but Richard Stern insisted he was never a driven writer.

Creating stories of hope stitch by stitch
In Nozeti Makhubulo's modest, one-page biography, pinned to a wall in the University of Alberta Rutherford Library South, the divorced mother of six daughters declares, “I haven't studied art, but I am an artist by birth.

Meet alumnus Graeme Ferguson, a creator of IMAX
He is a renowned filmmaker and co-inventor of IMAX, a concept that came out of Expo '67 in Montreal and has grown into a network of more than 660 IMAX theatres in 52 countries.

UC San Diego to Host Workshop on Future of Stereoscopic 3D Cinema
Calit2 senior research scientist Tom DeFanti in StarCAVE VR environment, using polarized glasses to navigate model of Atkinson Hall in S3D (but in 2D for this image).

Stanford’s ’Another Look’ book club to spotlight Janet Lewis’ ’Wife of Martin Guerre’
Stanford Report, January 28, 2013 Stanford's book club for short, overlooked masterpieces considers the 1941 novel "The Wife of Martin Guerre," once called "one of the most significant short nov

Two Stanford scholars join the National Endowment for the Humanities advisory board
Stanford Report, January 28, 2013 Ramón Saldívar and Bruce R. Sievers are now among the prominent humanities scholars and advocates who help guide the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Playwright/alum Stan Lai to discuss creativity, theater
Stan Lai, considered the leading playwright/director in Asia and one of the region's most prolific, is taking a break from his hectic schedule and heading back to his alma mater, the University of Cal

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice turns 200
January 28th marks the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice , Jane Austen's novel of class, family, love and marriage.

An anthropologist’s view of world of indie filmmaking
It's been five years since Sherry Ortner stepped from the academic world into the inner circle of independent filmmakers and producers gathered in Park City, Utah, to participate in the nation's largest and most well-known celebration of the indie film movement, Sundance , going on this week.

Kenneth Goldsmith of Penn Programs in Contemporary Writing Center Named 2013 Poet Laureate of Museum of Modern Art

Choice Names Carnegie Mellon University’s Joseph B. Kadane’s "Principles of Uncertainty" A 2012 Outstanding Academic Title
: Shilo Rea / 412-268-6094 / shilo [a] cmu (p) edu PITTSBURGH- Choice , the magazine published by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), has named Carnegie Mellon Universit

U-M Library receives $1.25 million Mellon Grant for conservation
ANN ARBOR-The University of Michigan Library has received a $1.25 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to create an endowed Conservation Librarian position.

Cornell and Columbia to integrate library technical services
The libraries at Cornell and Columbia universities are taking an unprecedented new step in their 2CUL partnership by integrating their technical services departments.

World’s largest natural sound archive is now online
After 12 years of work, Cornell's Macaulay Library archive, the largest collection of wildlife sounds in the world, is now digitized and fully available online.

First Wikipedian in residence hired at presidential library
ANN ARBOR-The nation's first Wikipedian in residence at a presidential library has set up shop at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library at the University of Michigan, where he will work to make collections available for virtual visitors.

First Wikipedian in Residence interns at presidential library
ANN ARBOR-The nation's first Wikipedian in residence at a presidential library has set up shop at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library at the University of Michigan, where he will work to make collections available for virtual visitors.

A family’s lost story found, and the Sephardic Studies Initiative
For Devin Naar, the Sephardic Studies Initiative is not just a valuable historical archive; it has also been a personal journey revealing an untold family story from the years of the Third Reich.

Lindi Press, alumna, 2003 Amy J. Blue Award winner, dead at 66
Stanford Report, January 14, 2013 Press retired from Stanford last summer after working at Stanford for three decades, including 11 years as academic committee coordinator in the Registrar's Office.

Penn Museum's Chinese New Year Celebration Welcomes the Year of the Snake

Historian Mark Hanna to Discuss "Pirates in Print" at UCSD Library Jan. 16
UC San Diego historian Mark Hanna, an authority on the rise and fall of pirates during the first British Empire, will deliver a lecture at 1 p.m. on January 16 on "Pirates in Print: Seafaring T

Made in translation: Stanford scholar explores Italian-Chinese collaborations in fashion
Stanford Report, December 21, 2012 A Stanford anthropologist studies how the transnational business relations between Chinese and Italian clothing manufacturers are reshaping the people and culture of each country.

Authors sharing royalty payments help first-time authors at Stanford University Press
Stanford Report, December 19, 2012 In the world of academic publishing, young scholars can represent an economic risk.

The archives of Road & Track magazine come to Stanford
Stanford Report, December 11, 2012 The archives of Road & Track magazine come to Stanford An interdisciplinary team of Stanford researchers exploring the place of the automobile in modern society has inherited the entire 65-year archives of Road & Track magazine.

Give a Unique Digitized Book for the Holidays & Support UC Libraries
If you've grown weary of the same old holiday gift giving ideas, here's a novel gift idea that is historically significant, reasonably priced, and will also support University of California libraries: a book digitized from the University of California's own library collections.

Yale GHLI partnership continues for training of Chinese psychiatrists

Chinese typewriter anticipated predictive text, finds Stanford historian
Stanford Report, November 28, 2012 By reorganizing the typewriter's characters into ready-made clusters of commonly used words, Mao-era Chinese typists solved problems that cell phones only came to recently.

U of’T launches online archives
Film footage of the 1939 Royal visit to Hart House and early photographs of Marshall McLuhan and Margaret Atwood are just a handful of the audio-visual treasures captured in a new University of Toronto website that documents the rich history of the institution.

U of M chosen for national digital library project
News Release MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/26/2012) —The Minnesota Digital Library, a state-wide collaboration consisting of the University of Minnesota, Minitex, the Minnesota Historical