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The Yale Alumni Magazine is owned and operated by Yale Alumni Publications, Inc., a nonprofit corporation independent of Yale University. The content of the magazine and its website is the responsibility of the editors and does not necessarily reflect the views of Yale or its officers. |
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School Notes School of Architecture Travel for advanced design studios Students in six advanced design studios traveled the globe for a week in September to study architectural issues as varied as their locales. One studio visited Crete and Athens to study the labyrinth and the Parthenon and to design a device for producing wind- and solar-powered energy. In Las Vegas, students learned how concepts of urban planning that incorporate mixed-use, high-density buildings, pedestrian-friendly streets, continuous street frontage, and public transportation can be applied to the Las Vegas "strip," celebrated decades ago as the latest exciting urban frontier. Students visiting an IT campus in New Delhi explored the nature of the contemporary global workplace and designed a sustainable interface for integrating "building and landscape, indoors and outdoors, natural and synthetic," as outlined in the course description. Another class journeyed to Munich and the Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism to study the relationship of part to whole, and subject to object, through what Professor Peter Eisenman calls "modernity's darkest manifestation: the Third Reich." In Spain, students designed a public park and network of pedestrian streets, as well as a mixed-use hotel; while another group traveled to China to collaborate with architecture students and faculty at Hong Kong University and Tongji University in Shanghai to consider the character of both the historic and contemporary urban fabric in Shanghai. Building project house dedicated The latest home built in the Jim Vlock First-Year Building Project, a wheelchair-accessible duplex for a disabled female veteran, was dedicated on September 25. The Building Project began in 1967 and is a requirement for every architecture student at Yale. This year the students worked with Common Ground Community, a nonprofit developer, as well as the Veterans Affairs Office to build the home in a low-income New Haven neighborhood. The design incorporated sustainable materials, including cedar and bamboo, and energy-efficient materials and technology, such as a precast concrete foundation system. Architect chosen for new Yale colleges Yale University has chosen the architectural firm of Dean Robert A. M. Stern '65MAarch to design Yale's two new undergraduate residential colleges. The colleges will allow for the first expansion of the undergraduate population in more than 40 years, from 5,250 to about 6,000 students. They will be built north of Grove Street Cemetery, in a triangle bounded by Prospect, Canal, and Sachem streets, and are expected to open in 2013. In making the announcement, Yale president Richard Levin '74PhD said that for the past decade, Stern "has advised me on every major building project we have undertaken. His understanding of Yale, coupled with his appreciation of how good design can foster community, will lead to a superior result." Stern says the layout of the new buildings will resemble the residential colleges designed in the 1930s by James Gamble Rogers '89.
School of Art Benson prints on exhibit at MoMA A current exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City focuses on the work of Richard "Chip" Benson, MacArthur Fellow, faculty member in photography since 1979, and dean of the school from 1996 to 2006. The exhibition is linked to MoMA's recent publication of Benson's book The Printed Picture, and features some 75 examples of original work on which the book is based, including early woodcut etchings, engravings, and photographic prints. "The Printed Picture" is on view through June 1, 2009, with an audio guide written and narrated by Benson himself. (For an excerpt from the book, see Object Lesson.)
Yale College A message from Peter Salovey In my time as dean of Yale College, I have appreciated the opportunity this column has afforded me to communicate with alumni and to share updates about some of our initiatives to sustain the mission of the college. This is my last communication with you in my role as dean of Yale College. I am honored that President Levin has appointed me provost of the university, effective October 1. I know our paths will continue to cross as I take on the challenges of this new position. I look forward to working with the new dean to continue to ensure the excellence of Yale College. Bulldogs Across America Yale College's Office of Undergraduate Career Services directs the Bulldogs Across America program, which provides internships for Yale students across the U.S. each summer. Undergraduates can choose from a wide range of corporate, nonprofit, and government positions. This popular program continues to grow from the pilot in Louisville, Kentucky, ten years ago, to a total of seven cities, including Cleveland, Denver, San Francisco, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Two new cities were added this past summer: New Orleans and Houston. To supplement the Bulldog internships, Yale works with alumni in each city to organize an impressive slate of programs for the students. For summer 2008, nearly 500 Yale undergraduates applied for fewer than 140 internships in the host cities. Bulldogs in Uganda Since 2003, the International Bulldogs program has offered internship opportunities to allow Yale undergraduates to spend nine weeks of the summer living and working in cities around the globe. Administered by the Office of Undergraduate Career Services (UCS) under the auspices of the Center for International Experience, the program has grown from internships for 16 students in one city—London—to 215 internships in 17 cities in 2008, including Athens, Brussels, Budapest, Istanbul, Montreal, and Singapore. One relatively recent addition to the program is Bulldogs in Uganda, which started in the summer of 2007 with the help and organization of then-senior Rebekah Emanuel (ES '07). Emanuel had worked in Kampala the summer before and felt there were exciting work opportunities for Yalies there. Working with the director of UCS, Philip Jones, Rebekah created the infrastructure in Kampala to launch a Bulldogs program there with eight internships. This year, Emanuel returned to Kampala with 16 undergraduates. Two students worked at Hospice Africa Uganda, a cancer and AIDS hospice with a new pediatric cancer team. The students helped the hospice's work on Burkitt's Lymphoma, a highly treatable form of cancer among Ugandan children. Seven other Yalies worked for members of Uganda's multiparty parliament. Two students worked in a TB clinic run by Yuka Manabe (MC '87), helping to reorganize the clinic to prevent the spread of TB to uninfected caregivers and patients within the clinic. Other students worked as teachers and journalists. "Our internship sponsors were amazed at how much these students accomplished in their jobs," notes Emanuel. She looks forward to a new group of students accomplishing even more in the program next year.
Divinity School Religion and literature scholar returns to Yale Renowned religion and literature scholar Peter Hawkins '75PhD, one of the most popular professors to have taught at Yale Divinity School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music in the past three decades, returned to the Yale faculty on July 1. Hawkins came back to YDS and ISM after an eight-year stint as professor of religion and director of the Luce Program in Scripture and the Literary Arts at Boston University. (In 2006 BU honored him with a Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching, its most prestigious university-wide award for teaching.) His work has long centered on Dante, most recently in Dante: A Brief History (2006). Alumni may be familiar with the four-volume series he edited with Paula Carlson, Listening for God: Contemporary Literature and the Life of Faith. Conference addresses morality of nuclear weapons Talk about morality, nuclear weapons, and the way forward dominated the September 18-19 Sarah Smith Conference, hosted by the Divinity School's Center for Faith and Culture, on the topic "Are We Safe Yet? Vulnerability and Security in an Anxious Age." The conference was marked by distinctly global dimensions, not only because of the subject matter but also through the presence of such international figures as the event's keynote speakers, Sergio Duarte of Brazil, the United Nations' high representative for disarmament; and Canadian diplomat Douglas Roche, chair of the Middle Powers Initiative. Roche told conferees that, in the age of globalization, a "new understanding of human rights" is emerging that sets the stage for demands to end nuclear proliferation. Using words like "fundamentally immoral," "illegal," "insult," and "outrage" to describe the world of nuclear weaponry, he called on people of faith to claim a "sacred right to peace" and work toward disarmament. "It is about God's planet," said Roche. "I don't see how this agenda can be divorced from religious concern." Alumnus named president of Carson-Newman College J. Randall O'Brien '87STM has been named president of Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee, effective January 1, 2009. O'Brien, who currently serves as the executive vice president and provost, professor of religion, and visiting law professor at Baylor University, began his transition into the presidency of Carson-Newman on August 1. In making the announcement, David Ogle, chair of the Carson-Newman Board of Trustees, said O'Brien "brings a breadth and depth of education, experience, and understanding for the roles, challenges, and opportunities required to ensure quality faculty and instruction, vibrant student life, and visionary leadership."
School of Drama Design professor named MacArthur Fellow Lighting designer Jennifer Tipton, professor (adjunct) of design at Yale School of Drama and lighting design advisor at Yale Repertory Theatre, has been named a 2008 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in recognition of "pushing the visible boundaries of her art form with painterly lighting that evokes mood and sculpts movement in dance, drama, and opera." Ms. Tipton will receive $500,000 in no-strings-attached support over the next five years, which offers the opportunity to accelerate her current activities or take her work in new directions. The unusual level of independence afforded to MacArthur Fellows underscores the spirit of freedom intrinsic to creative endeavors. Tipton received a BA from Cornell University. She has designed lighting for numerous dance performances, for such companies as the New York City Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre, Twyla Tharp Dance, and the Paul Taylor Dance Company; and for theatrical productions at such venues as St. Ann's Warehouse, the Public Theater, and the Metropolitan Opera, among many others. Tipton's work on Broadway has garnered her two Tony Awards (Jerome Robbins' Broadway, 1989; The Cherry Orchard, 1977) and an additional two Tony nominations, among many other honors. Research project to focus on Eastern European theater Theater magazine, published by Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre at Duke University Press, is undertaking a two-year, five-issue research and documentation project on Eastern European theater, supported by a $30,000 grant from the Trust for Mutual Understanding. The gift allows the editors of Theater to travel to five countries in Eastern Europe—Georgia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine—to investigate the post-1989 theatrical advances in each country, with an emphasis on new voices and young artists. This research will subsequently be published in Theater in the form of articles, plays in translation, and interview transcripts. In many cases, this project will be the first English-language documentation and discussion of these contemporary artists. In addition, three of the artists and writers associated with the project will receive one-week residences at Yale to participate in play readings, lectures, symposia, master classes, and other presentations. "While the sweeping political and cultural transformations in Eastern Europe have been, and continue to be, documented by American journalists and academics, the resulting cultural identity crises have not," says Theater editor Tom Sellar. "Theater artists have responded to these amazing changes with some of the most deeply compelling, groundbreaking productions ever created. But with little written in English about these productions, they remain mere rumors in the international arts community, when they should be widely acknowledged, debated, and studied."
School of Engineering & Applied Science Applied physics professor wins prestigious award The American Physical Society has honored Robert Schoelkopf, professor of applied physics and physics, with the 2009 Joseph F. Keithley Award for Advances in Measurement Science, an annual award conferred by the society "to recognize physicists who have been instrumental in the development of measurement techniques or equipment that have impact on the physics community by providing better measurements." The award citation specifically acknowledges Schoelkopf's development, along with his team, of a radio-frequency single-electron transistor. Although versions of this type of transistor already existed, Schoelkopf discovered a way to make it much faster and more sensitive—allowing physicists to understand how electrons move about tiny circuits and opening the door for a whole new class of measurements in a number of fields, including astronomy. Schoelkopf has also employed microwave techniques in his invention of a self-calibrating thermometer by precisely measuring the electrical noise of single electrons passing through nanodevices. The results have applications in metrology, the science of measurement used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures to define scientific units. Schoelkopf will receive his award at the annual APS meeting next spring. New faculty will expand areas of expertise Four recent additions to the faculty at SEAS—three in chemical engineering and one in mechanical engineering—add depth to the existing strengths of those departments. Appointed as assistant professors of chemical engineering are: Jodie L. Lutkenhaus, who specializes in polymeric materials and composites for electrochemical sensing, energy storage, and harvesting; Corey J. Wilson, whose research interests include understanding the physicochemical properties that dictate protein folding, stability, assembly, and function using experimental and computational approaches; and Andre Taylor, who specializes in MEMs/microsystems, fuel cells, batteries, and organic semiconductors. As assistant professor of mechanical engineering, Nicholas Ouellette will work on two-dimensional and rotating turbulence, with application to atmospheric flow, and on driven complex fluids. All four professors began their appointments with the fall 2008 semester.
School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Yale prize will support eco-ventures An annual $25,000 Sabin Environmental Venture Prize at Yale has been established to stimulate entrepreneurial environmental ventures by faculty and students. The Sabin Prize will support the creation of nonprofit and commercial organizations, business models, or other innovations that address pressing environmental challenges—such as a new technology for desalination, or a startup aimed at distributing existing technologies such as solar-powered lanterns to rural villages lacking electricity. The first Sabin Prize will be awarded next April by the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale. It was made possible by a gift from the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation. Student to live in tiny 'green' house Figuring that it would cost $14,000 annually to live in New Haven, Elizabeth Turnbull, a first-year student at the environment school, built an 8-foot-by-18-foot environmentally friendly home and plans to live in it while she pursues a master's degree for the next two years. The tiny house, which includes a sleeping loft, kitchen area, living room, study, and bathroom with composting toilet, was towed to New Haven from the grounds of the Governor's Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, where it was constructed on a flatbed trailer. The house will be heated with propane gas, and three solar panels on the roof will provide electricity to illuminate the space and power Turnbull's laptop computer. The house also contains soy-based insulation, environmentally friendly paint, and recycled glass for a countertop. New professors include international scholars The environment school has added several new faculty for the 2008-2009 academic year. Karen Seto, associate professor in the urban environment, will teach a course on urbanization, global change, and sustainability. Mark Bradford, an assistant professor in terrestrial ecology, researches soil ecology, biogeochemical processes, and global change. Gerald Torres '77JD will be the Dorothy McCluskey Fellow during the spring 2009 semester. He is jointly appointed with the Law School and will teach classes on Native American law and on social movements and the environment. Simon Tay, chair of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, will teach an environmental law course on global concerns and Asian challenges. Gary Yohe '75PhD, one of the first researchers to study the economic impacts of sea level rise, will teach courses on the economics of climate change and environmental economics. Helga Weisz, head of the research area on social metabolism at the Institute for Social Ecology, Kalgenfurt University, in Vienna, will teach ecology of the society-industry interface this fall. Nick Robinson, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law at Pace University School of Law, will teach international environmental law and policy, the environmental diplomacy practicum, and comparative environmental law in global legal systems—this last course in concert with Lye Lin Heng, a top legal scholar from Singapore.
Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Matriculating class encouraged to wonder President Richard C. Levin welcomed 576 new graduate students "to the ancient and honorable company of scholars" at the beginning of the semester, and Dean Jon Butler encouraged them to cultivate their capacity for wonder. "The world of advanced knowledge, and of the graduate study you are here to pursue, is far more a world of questions than it is a world of answers. And the best questions—the questions that unlock secrets we could not have imagined and the questions that will move your careers for decades—are the questions wonder unfolds for us." The incoming students joined over 2,000 continuing students. Competitive class represents some 50 countries This year's entering class includes 449 doctoral and 127 master's degree students. They were selected from 8,766 candidates for admission, making 2008 one of the most competitive years in the history of the Graduate School. The most popular fields of study for doctoral students are biology and biomedical sciences (76), engineering and applied science (41) and chemistry (33). International students represent a significant minority of the entering class, which has 378 students from the U.S. and 198 from abroad. The countries sending the largest contingents of students are China (68), Korea (15), Canada (11), India (10), Japan (9), and Germany (8). In all, new students at the Graduate School hail from more than 50 countries. Doctoral students previously attended 218 different undergraduate institutions, with Yale sending the largest cohort (17), followed by Cornell (14), UC-Berkeley (13), Notre Dame (9), Peking University (9), and Brown, Stanford, Tsinghua, and Chicago (8 each). Alumni receive Wilbur Cross medals Five distinguished alumni received the Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal—the Graduate School Alumni Association's highest honor—on October 7. This year's medalists are Robert Axelrod '69PhD (political science), Stephen Emerson '80MD/PhD (cell biology/immunology), Yoriko Kawaguchi '72MPhil (economics), David M. Kennedy '68PhD (American studies), and Laura Kiessling '89PhD (chemistry). The medals, given every year since 1966, are named for Wilbur Cross (1862-1948), who was dean of the Graduate School from 1916 to 1930. Axelrod is the Walgreen Professor for the Study of Human Understanding at the University of Michigan. He is author of The Evolution of Cooperation, which has been translated into a dozen languages and cited in thousands of scholarly articles. Emerson became the 13th president of Haverford College in 2007. A clinical hematologist/oncologist specializing in the treatment of bone marrow stem cell disorders, his research has had a major impact on the field. Kawaguchi is a senator in the House of Councillors, Japanese Diet. She was the first female foreign minister of Japan. Kennedy is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University and editor of the multi-volume Oxford History of the United States. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945. Kiessling is the Hilldale Professor of Chemistry and the Laurens Anderson Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She studies carbohydrate-mediated biology, a field she pioneered.
Law School Green initiatives Yale Law School has joined Yale University's sustainability efforts with a number of green initiatives designed to reduce the Law School's carbon footprint. The dining hall has switched to eco-friendly paper plates and catering products, offers a discount to those using reusable coffee mugs, purchases many natural and organic products from local farmers and vendors, and is reducing the use of plastic water bottles. In addition, the Law School's new Green Team is working on some larger Law School initiatives, along with the Yale Environmental Law Association. And a "Green Small Group Challenge" will pair staff with students to generate and implement green ideas. The group judged to have had the most innovative and successful idea will be invited to Dean Koh's home for a sustainable dinner. Former president speaks at Alumni Weekend event The return of former president Bill Clinton '73JD—celebrating his 35th reunion—was among the highlights of Alumni Weekend 2008, held October 3-5 at Yale Law School. President Clinton spoke Saturday afternoon to several thousand Law School alumni, faculty, staff, and students about global challenges. Other highlights of the weekend were a memorial tribute to influential civil rights lawyer Catherine Roraback '48LLB, and an interactive Polling Game emceed by Stanford Law professor Pamela Karlan '84JD. Panelists in the game included Heather Gerken, Yale Law professor; Nicholas deB Katzenbach '47LLB, former attorney general of the United States and senior vice president and general counsel of IBM; and Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. The weekend included a series of panel discussions centering on the theme "Imagining the Future: Challenges and Opportunities for the Three Branches of Government," in which various experts considered how immigration, security, the environment, health care, and other issues will be dealt with by the three branches of government in the coming years, commencing with the changes brought by the national election. Merit awards were presented to author and former Yale Law professor Charles Reich '52LLB, and Augustus E. Lines Professor Emeritus of Law and Professorial Lecturer in Law John Simon '53LLB. Connecticut Supreme Court hears cases at Yale Law School The Yale Law School auditorium was transformed into a courtroom on September 12 when the Connecticut Supreme Court set up shop to hear arguments in two cases, one criminal and one civil. The court's appearance at Yale was part of a continuing educational initiative of the Connecticut Judicial Branch called "Supreme Court on Circuit." Begun more than 20 years ago, the program seeks to provide students, educators, and the general public with a greater understanding of the court and its procedures. "We were delighted to host the Supreme Court of Connecticut at Yale Law School for its first sitting here in the twenty-first century," said Dean Koh. "Through its faculty, graduates, and history, Yale Law School and the Supreme Court of Connecticut have developed deep organic ties. This sitting, held early in the school year, deepened those ties by offering a wonderful educational opportunity for all interested lawyers, law students, and residents of our region to see our state's highest court in action."
School of Management New students tackle Audubon Street Project Just a few hours into orientation, students of the Class of 2010 were launched into a two-day exercise called the Audubon Street Project, designed to introduce them to each other and to the SOM approach to solving business problems. Divided into groups of six or seven, each team had to devise a hypothetical business concept for an unoccupied storefront on New Haven's Audubon Street, near the SOM campus. Students were given background information—maps, photographs, information about tax rates and other fixed costs—but little more. The concepts had to be economically viable; have a social impact that reflected SOM's mission of educating leaders for business and society; and reflect Yale's desire to have a positive impact on the New Haven community. "We wanted orientation to be focused on what's unique and special about the school," Dean Joel Podolny says. "The Audubon Street Project was a chance for students to reflect on the SOM mission before they get into classwork and the job search. The student proposals didn't just meet our expectations, they exceeded them." Yale SOM "raw cases" focus of Marketplace report Dean Podolny was a guest on the internationally distributed business radio program Marketplace on August 28 to discuss the innovative "raw" case studies pioneered by SOM to support the school's integrated MBA curriculum. Unlike traditional "cooked" business cases—short documents that present a business problem in a neatly packaged, single-point-of-view narrative with a sure answer—SOM's web-based "raw" cases are open-ended, multi-perspective scenarios that can feature thousands of pages of primary documents relevant to the case, such as 10-Ks, analyst reports, news articles, stock charts, and interviews with key players, all of which students must analyze. This format reflects the way managers must access and analyze information to make informed business decisions. SOM created a case-writing department two years ago charged with creating the documents necessary to make business education reflect the realities of a global marketplace. Yale president defines higher education in business terms Yale president Richard C. Levin '74PhD addressed SOM students on September 16 on the topic of leading a major, world-renowned organization. He was the first speaker in the school's Leaders Forum lecture series. Looking back over 15 years at Yale's helm, Levin explained how he took an institution with a great national reputation and turned it into one of the most respected brands around the globe. He focused on several major initiatives: rebuilding Yale's crumbling infrastructure and expanding its physical plant; working with New Haven to save depressed neighborhoods and revitalize its downtown core; strengthening science research and education; turning Yale into an international university; and taking a leadership role on the environment. The point of all the initiatives, he said, is to make sure Yale flourishes in a new global environment. "In a globally competitive world, higher education is no different than the business strategy you study," he told the SOM audience. "There's going to be a global market for faculty; there's already a global market for students. Yale wants to be at the top of the heap."
School of Medicine Online course tackles weight biases in healthcare settings The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has launched a web-based continuing medical education course to increase awareness of weight bias in healthcare settings and help clinicians improve care for overweight and obese patients. It is one of the first evidence-based online learning tools designed to address this topic. The free course, called "Weight Bias in Clinical Settings: Improving Health Care Delivery for Obese Patients," is accredited by the School of Medicine's Center for Continuing Medical Education. It may be accessed at http://learn.med.yale.edu/rudd/weightbias. New research in autoimmune diseases Yale researchers have shown that in systemic autoimmune diseases, B cells can be activated without the presence of T cells. This finding contradicts the long-held belief that B cells, the source of damaging autoantibodies, depend on T cells for their activation. The new finding, published in the August 7 online issue of the journal Immunity, suggests new ways to intervene in the immune system's chronic attacks on the body's own tissue. The findings came as a surprise, said Mark Shlomchik, professor of laboratory medicine and immunobiology and senior author of the study, and might explain why treatments that target T cells in autoimmune disease have fared relatively poorly, while newer treatments aimed at B cells have shown promise. New evidence that BPA in clear plastics impairs brain function The chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), present in the polycarbonate plastics found in many household items, causes the loss of connections between brain cells. This synaptic loss may cause memory/learning impairments and depression, according to study results published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Using a primate model, the research team tested lower levels of the chemical than in past studies. "Our goal was to more closely mimic the slow and continuous conditions under which humans would normally be exposed to BPA," said study author Csaba Leranth, professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and professor of neurology. "As a result, this study is more indicative than past research of how BPA may actually affect humans." (For a Yale Alumni Magazine report, see Findings.)
School of Music Celebrated composers among six new faculty appointments David Lang '83MusAM and Christopher Theofanidis '97MusAD, two of America's most celebrated composers, have been appointed to the faculty at the School of Music. They will teach graduate students in the school's composition program, regarded by many as the most prestigious in the country. David Lang, professor of composition (adjunct), is the most recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize in music, and Christopher Theofanidis, associate professor of composition (adjunct), enjoys a reputation as both a frequently performed composer and a respected educator. The composition appointments were announced at the same time as faculty appointments in four other disciplines: Janna Baty '93MusM, mezzo soprano, assistant professor (adjunct) of voice; Richard Holzer, associate professor (adjunct) of music history; Tiffany Kuo, assistant professor (adjunct) of hearing; and Michael Roylance, lecturer in tuba. Longtime professors assume new roles David Shifrin, who has served as professor of clarinet at the school since 1987, has assumed full-time responsibilities on the faculty. In addition to studio teaching and chamber music coaching, he will serve as artistic director of both the Chamber Music Society at Yale and the school's concert series at Carnegie Hall. He will also play a leading role as advisor to the school's highly regarded chamber music program. William Purvis, who has taught horn and chamber music at Yale since 1999, has been appointed interim director of the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments. He will continue as coordinator of brass and woodwinds, and this season serves as artistic director of the Messiaen Centenary Celebration at Yale, which will take place from December 8 to 14. The search for a permanent director of the collection was extended last spring, and the search committee continues its work this fall. More YSM alums in the Academy Owen Dalby '06, '07MusM (violin); Alma Maria Liebrecht '08MusM (horn); David Skidmore '08MusM (percussion); and James Austin Smith '08MusM (oboe) have been accepted into the Academy, a program of Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education, for the 2008-09 season. This prestigious program is an innovative two-year fellowship that offers postgraduate musicians from leading music schools performance experience, advanced musical training, and intensive teaching experience. They join second-year fellows Paul Murphy '06MusM (trumpet), Romie de Guise-Langlois '07ArtA (clarinet), James Deitz '07ArtA (percussion), and Alex Reicher '06, '07MusM (trombone) in bringing the number of YSM alums in the program to eight out of a total of 33 fellows.
School of Nursing Foundation award will support hypertension research Jacquelyn Taylor, PhD, PNP-BC, RN, an assistant professor at Yale School of Nursing, is one of 15 junior faculty in the nation to receive an inaugural Robert Wood Johnson Foundation "Nurse Faculty Scholar" award. The three-year $350,000 grant began September 1. The award supports Taylor's research to examine the interaction between genome-wide association and social environmental factors related to blood pressure, to understand control of hypertension among hypertensive parents and early risks for high blood pressure among untreated African American children. The award also supports Taylor's participation in a training program toward academic leadership across the domains of scholarship, university, professional, and community service, and translating evidence into policy and practice initiatives. "Nursing interventions that focus on gene-environment aspects of chronic disease could decrease the prevalence of hypertension and improve quality of life among patients at risk for high blood pressure," said Taylor. Guide will help cancer patients self-manage care YSN researcher Dena J. Schulman-Green has been awarded $728,000 by the American Cancer Society to help women with advanced breast cancer manage their own care. Dr. Schulman-Green will design and test a self-guided educational program to help women with cancer develop the skills to understand and communicate about their disease. The program will help patients develop their ability to ask questions about their disease, its prognosis, and care options, and to communicate with medical providers and family caregivers about their preferences for care. "Ultimately, we hope to empower these women to share in decision-making processes so that the goals of care reflect their goals for life," Dr. Schulman-Green said. Dean Grey named outstanding nurse scientist Margaret Grey '76MSN, YSN dean and Annie Goodrich Professor, was recently presented the Outstanding Nurse Scientist Award by the Council for Advancement of Nursing Science (CANS), the research arm of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN). Dean Grey accepted the award on October 2 in Washington, DC. The Outstanding Nurse Scientist Award is presented every two years to a nurse scientist whose sustained program of research has made a significant impact on knowledge development with recognizable benefit for nursing practice and healthcare. Dean Grey was nominated for her "sustained program of research on enhancing adolescents' ability to cope with diabetes. Her research has changed the standards of care in international diabetes programs and improved biobehavioral outcomes for countless young people. . . . She has mentored many young scholars and serves as a role model for intervention research, as well as dissemination and translation."
School of Public Health Grant will support AIDS research for five more years Yale University's Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) has received an $11 million grant that will support another five years of HIV prevention and health services research. With the award, CIRA will continue to support ongoing and new research to identify and analyze behaviors, policies, laws, and structural factors that influence the course of HIV infection and to develop and evaluate interventions to prevent and reduce the impact of HIV infection. CIRA will also retain its focus on research on disproportionately affected groups, including children, women, intravenous drug users, and people of color. In addition, the new round of NIMH funding will allow the center to broaden its scope beyond prevention to include research in the realm of clinical health services. CIRA is one of eight HIV research centers in the United States funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Studies in Shanghai explore rising rates of breast cancer The Olympics are over, but Yale researchers remain focused on China. A recent study co-authored by Yawei Zhang '03MPH, '04PhD, assistant professor at the School of Public Health, studied 570 breast-cancer patients in Shanghai, and found that a family history of breast cancer—as well as cancer of the lung and esophagus—remains a particularly important factor in a population that historically has lower rates of such diseases. But the research also suggests that changing lifestyles and exposure to chemicals may be responsible for surging breast cancer rates in much of China. In the industrial city of Shanghai alone, the rate increased by 40 percent from 1975 to 1997. "The findings indicate inherited genetic susceptibility, shared environmental exposure, or both," said Zhang. "Pesticides and chemicals are also pouring into China, and McDonald's is now everywhere. That's why our research focus is there." Biostatistics professor oversees diverse collaborations Heping Zhang, professor of biostatistics at the School of Public Health, remains engaged in multiple initiatives at the Collaborative Center for Statistics in Science, which he created in 2006 to foster cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary studies of statistical methods and technologies in scientific research. The projects he oversees include research training for students who study mental-health epidemiology, statistical methods in genetic studies of substance use, and data coordination for the Reproductive Medicine Network's clinical trials on infertility. "These projects cover the entire spectrum of public health," said Zhang, "from the theoretical to the very real: training students, analyzing data, serving patient populations." Funding from the National Institutes of Health has helped advance his diverse research initiatives—from childhood development to drug abuse. "As a statistician, I have the luxury to pursue a wide range of interests," he said. |
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