Princeton
university BulletinVolume 100, Number 10 June 13, 2011 Tilghman urges graduates: Improve education system
Ru t h St e v e n s or raised your sights, or inspired in you a passion for learning,” Tilghman alling education “our most pow- said. “I am here today because Lionel erful engine for social mobility,” Orlikow, my history teacher at Kelvin C President Tilghman implored High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, this year’s graduates to use their sent a lightning bolt through my mind knowledge to improve the country’s and opened my eyes to the world K-12 education system. beyond my middle-class neighborhood. “Today you leave this privileged place … He inspired me to aim high and be as the beneficiaries of a world-class bold.” education — one that I hope has pre- pared you well for whatever comes next, Continued on page 8 including the unexpected,” she said May 31 in her annual Commencement address. “Without in any way dimin- ishing the importance of your own hard work, you are among the lucky ones.” Speaking to the crowd of 7,500 guests assembled on the front lawn of Nassau Hall, she added, “I find it deeply paradoxical that the United States has without question the finest colleges and universities in the world, but a K-12 education system that is leaving vast numbers of students behind.” Drawing upon personal experiences, data and examples set by Princeton alumni, she outlined the problem and encouraged the 2,021 graduates to help close the educational achievement gap. Denise ApplewhiteDenise “Almost certainly each of you ApplewhiteDenise encountered along the way one or more President Tilghman presides over the Princeton students celebrate after officially being designated as graduates by tossing their teachers who encouraged you to excel, University’s 264th Commencement. mortarboards into the air.
Students get hands-on with mural project in Trenton
nity meetings to studying how public Je n n i f e r G r e e n s t e i n A lt m a n n “People passing by on the street O’Dea and the other students were would stop and say, ‘Keep it up!’ and enrolled in “The Big Picture: Mural murals can be transformative, the stu- overing a square block of a wall ‘It looks great!’” said Kate O’Dea, a Arts in Philadelphia and Trenton,” dents got an intimate look at the many in Trenton with “Blue No. 4” member of the class of 2013, describ- which involved them in every aspect of steps involved in creating public art. C paint, as simple as it may sound, ing the reaction to the students’ work planning and executing a public mural “The students experienced the mural was the moment when 15 Princeton at the Home Rubber Company. “It was in Trenton. The completed mural was process firsthand, from the ground students saw an ambitious public art inspiring and uplifting — and totally unveiled June 4, and from collecting up,” said Stacy Wolf, associate profes- project come alive. different from any other class.” feedback on the project at commu- sor of theater in the Lewis Center for the Arts. The spring semester course was part of the Lewis Center’s Atelier program, directed by Wolf, a unique academic approach that brings profes- sional artists to campus for intensive collaborative work with students and faculty in a seminar workshop. “The students saw the engagement with the community in messy, unpredict- able ways, and worked with someone who’s the master of this process, Jane Golden.” Golden is accustomed to hearing all types of input from members of the community. As the founder of the Phil- adelphia Mural Arts Program — and its director for the last 27 years — she has created more than 3,000 murals in Philadelphia that have transformed public spaces with their colorful, uplifting images featuring community members, historical scenes and inspir- Denise ApplewhiteDenise From left, Princeton students Grace Remington and Alex Knoepflmacher are joined by Shira Walinsky, a muralist who co-taught the course Continued on page 12 “The Big Picture: Mural Arts in Philadelphia and Trenton” with Jane Golden, founder of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.
Former architecture school dean Lerner dies 2 What’s Perspective on: 12 faculty members transfer to emeritus status 4 The future of inside? Four faculty honored for outstanding teaching 10 fusion 5 Princeton 2 university Bulletin June 13, 2011
included urban design, historic pres- ervation, exhibitions and furniture. Spotlight Lerner, former architecture Born in 1949 in New York, Lerner earned his bachelor’s degree from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of school dean, dies at 61 Science and Art and a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard Uni-
Je n n i f e R G R e e n S t e i n A lt m A n n continuing development of the archi- versity. Prior to joining the Princeton tectural discipline. He was not just faculty, he taught at the University of alph Lerner, a longtime faculty an excellent administrator. He was an Virginia, Harvard and the Polytechnic member and former dean of excellent critic with a unique eye for of Central London. R Princeton’s School of Architec- the detection of talent in both students Lerner won numerous international ture, died of brain cancer May 7 in and teachers. He was a good friend design commendations, most notably Princeton. He was 61. — caring, loyal, supportive and a fun fi ve Progressive Architecture awards, Lerner joined the University faculty travel companion who will defi nitely including a First Award for the Indira in 1984 and transferred to emeritus be missed.” Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in status in 2008. He was dean of the Kevin Lippert, the publisher of the New Delhi in 1987, and three Archi- School of Architecture from 1989 until Princeton Architectural Press and a tectural Design awards. Lerner’s work 2002. 1983 graduate of the School of Archi- has been exhibited at the National During his tenure as dean, Lerner tecture, said, “Ralph very much put Building Museum, the Institute of recruited signifi cant design faculty Princeton at the center of the archi- Contemporary Art in London and New members, strengthened the Ph.D. tectural map, both through the faculty York’s Museum of Modern Art. program in the history and theory of and students he attracted, the pro- In addition to contributing to architecture, consolidated the school’s grams, exhibitions and publications he numerous publications, Lerner was a emphasis on urban issues and reorga- sponsored, as well as by the sheer force frequent lecturer, moderator, adviser nized the curriculum of his personality.” and juror at universities as well as Wilson Brian for the bachelor’s Lerner came to Princeton as a professional architectural design com- degree. He added lecturer and became a full profes- missions. Name: Ushma Patel courses in comput- sor in 1987. In 1994 he was named He is survived by his wife, Lisa Position: Social sciences writer in the ing and imaging, the George Dutton ’27 Professor of Fischetti; a son, Sigmund; a daughter, Offi ce of Communications. Serving as restructured courses Architecture. In 2008, after retiring Esther; a sister, Judith Lerner Brice; a liaison to the social sciences academic in the area of build- from Princeton, he became dean of the and two brothers, Alan and Marc. units. Assisting offi ces with communica- ing sciences to refl ect faculty of architecture at the Univer- Memorial contributions may be made tions strategy, such as media relations, Lerner advances in the fi eld, sity of Hong Kong, a position he left in in Lerner’s name to The Cooper Union publicity and messaging, as well as pub- and introduced land- April for health reasons. Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture lications and websites. Writing about scape studies into the curriculum. In 1984, Lerner established Ralph and the Graduate School of Design at faculty, students and their research in “Ralph Lerner was a great dean, Lerner Architect PC, which com- Harvard. For more information, email the social sciences for the Princeton web- totally committed to the School of pleted award-winning projects in
University of California-San Francisco. Board approves 19 new faculty appointments He earned his undergraduate degree from Moscow State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. K ar i n D i e n s t master’s degree from the Chinese In history, James Dun will start his In East Asian studies and history, Academy of Science and a Ph.D. from appointment on July 1, 2011. A scholar Federico Marcon will begin his term on he Board of Trustees has approved Columbia. of the American revolutionary era, he July 1, 2011. A scholar of Japanese the appointments of 19 new faculty has been a lecturer at the University history, he is currently an assistant T members, including three full pro- Assistant professor since 2004 after receiving his Ph.D. professor at the University of Virginia. fessors and 16 assistant professors. The assistant professors have from Princeton. His undergraduate He earned his undergraduate degree three-year terms from their date of degree is from Amherst College. from the Università di Venezia in Italy, Professor appointment. In astrophysical sciences, Jenny and his Ph.D. from Columbia. In economics, Mikhail Golosov will join In astrophysical sciences, Gáspár Greene will begin her term on Sept. In architecture, Michael Meredith the Princeton faculty, effective July 1, Bakos will begin at Princeton on 1, 2011. Specializing in extragalac- will start at Princeton on July 1, 2011. 2011. A specialist in macroeconomics, Sept. 1, 2011. A specialist in extra- tic astronomy and observation, she A specialist in architectural design, public finance and political economy, solar planets and instrumentation, is currently an assistant professor at he is currently an assistant professor Golosov has published articles in he is currently a postdoctoral fellow the University of Texas-Austin, and at Harvard. He earned a bachelor’s leading journals on taxation, monetary at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center previously was a postdoctoral fellow degree from Syracuse University and a policy and financial intermediation. for Astrophysics. He holds a mas- at Princeton. She received her under- master’s degree from Harvard. Golosov will come to Princeton from ter’s degree and a Ph.D. from Eötvös graduate degree from Yale and her In mathematics, Stefan van Zwam Yale University, where he has been a Lóránd University in Budapest, Ph.D. from Harvard. will start his appointment on Sept. 1, professor since 2009. He previously Hungary. In East Asian studies, Pieter 2011. A specialist in combinatorics, he served as a faculty member at the In classics and Hellenic studies, Keulemans will join Princeton’s faculty has been a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Emmanuel Bourbouhakis will start his on July 1, 2011. He studies Chinese Centrum Wiskunde en Informatica in and has held visiting scholar appoint- term on Sept. 1, 2011. A scholar of literature and is currently an assistant Amsterdam. He earned his master’s ments at various federal reserve banks. Byzantine literature, he is currently professor at Yale. He earned his bach- degree and Ph.D. from Technische Uni- He also was an associate analyst at the a research fellow at Albert-Ludwigs elor’s degree from Leiden University versiteit Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Universität in Freiburg, Germany. in the Netherlands and his Ph.D. from In mathematics, Xinyi Yuan will and an economist at the International A graduate of McGill University, he the University of Chicago. start at Princeton on Sept. 1, 2011. Monetary Fund. A graduate of Belarus received a master’s degree from the In chemistry, Robert Knowles will A specialist in number theory, he is State Economic University, he received University of Western Ontario and a start his term on July 1, 2011. A currently an assistant professor at a master’s degree from the University Ph.D. from Harvard University. researcher in experimental organic Columbia, where he earned his Ph.D. of British Columbia and a Ph.D. from In computer science, Mark Braverman chemistry, he is currently a postdoc- He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota. will start at Princeton on Sept. 1, 2011. toral fellow at Harvard. He earned Peking University. In mathematics, Peter Ozsváth, who A specialist in theoretical computer his bachelor’s degree from the College In music, Anna Zayaruzny will begin holds a Ph.D. from Princeton and who science, he is currently an assistant of William and Mary and his Ph.D. her appointment on July 1, 2011. She taught at the University as an assis- professor at the University of Toronto, from the California Institute of is a scholar of historical musicology tant professor from 1998 to 2002, will where he earned his Ph.D. His under- Technology. and is currently an assistant professor rejoin the Princeton faculty, effective graduate degree is from the Israel In molecular biology, Alexei Korennykh at New York University. She earned Sept. 1, 2011. His field of specialization Institute of Technology. will start at Princeton on July 1, 2011. her undergraduate degree from Wes- is topology. In operations research and financial A specialist in structural biology, he is leyan University and her Ph.D. from Ozsváth has been a faculty member engineering, Sébastien Bubeck will start currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard. at MIT since 2010 and also has served his term on Sept. 1, 2011. A special- on the faculty of Columbia University, ist in mathematics, he is currently a the University of California-Berkeley postdoctoral fellow at the Centre de and Michigan State University. He Recerca Matemàtica in Barcelona, has been a member of the Institute for Spain. He received his undergradu- More news on the Web Advanced Study, a postdoctoral fellow ate degree from the Ecole Normale at the National Science Foundation Supérieure in Cachan, France, and and a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow. his Ph.D. from the University of Lille, Visit the News at Princeton Web page at
• The Princeton chapter of Phi Beta Kappa honored William Bialek, the John Archibald Wheeler/Battelle Professor in Physics and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, and Jeff Nunokawa, professor of English, with its annual awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching. Princeton students elected to the academic honor society have selected recipients of the teaching prize annu- ally since 2004.
• Princeton’s class of 1976 celebrated its 35th Reunion by naming a dormitory in Butler College. The Class of 1976 Hall is the fifth dorm to be named in the complex, whose reconstruction completed the University’s launch of its four-year residential college system.
• The Princeton Graduate School presented awards to six graduate students in recognition of their outstanding abilities as teachers. The annual Associa- tion of Princeton Graduate Alumni Teaching Awards were presented to Sibren Isaacman of the electrical engineering department, Jessica Lowe of the history department, Rose MacLean of the classics department, Richard Martin of the anthropology department and Christina Riehl of the ecology and evolutionary biology department. The Friends of the Davis International Center Excellence in Teaching Award, which is given annually to an international graduate student, Denise ApplewhiteDenise was presented to Alexander Zhiboedov of the physics department. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at Princeton University on May 20, stressing the need for the state to maintain strict fiscal discipline and • The 2011 Princeton women’s open varsity crew capped its perfect season with a national championship on May 29. Two weeks earlier, the women’s open crew make difficult leadership choices. The governor’s address was sponsored won the Eastern Sprints, marking the 15th Ivy League championship for Prince- by Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs ton in the 2010-11 academic year — one more than the previous record that and Center for Economic Policy Studies. To read the full story, visit Princeton shared with Harvard.
Kochen’s contributions in areas of 12 faculty members transfer to emeritus status mathematical logic, model theory, number theory and quantum mechan-
Ni c k D iUl i o Aeronautical Research Laboratory. He hensive map of the heavens ever made. ics are well known to those in the field is a fellow of the American Physical This project, which began making and to many who are not professional welve faculty members were trans- Society and the American Institute for observations in 1998, has obtained mathematicians. A graduate of McGill ferred to emeritus status in recent Aeronautics and Astronautics. the images of more than 300 million University, he earned his Ph.D. from T action by the Board of Trustees. Peter Brown is a renowned figure in objects and has led to the discovery of Princeton in 1959, then joined the They are: James Boon, professor humanistic scholarship who is credited almost a dozen previously unknown faculty at Cornell of anthropology; Garry Brown, the with the creation of a field of study companion galaxies to the Milky University before Roger Porter Patterson Professor of called late antiquity, which focuses on Way. Gunn’s contributions have been returning to Prince- Mechanical and Aerospace Engineer- the period between recognized with the National Medal of ton as a professor in ing; Peter Brown, the Philip and the classical world Science, the nation’s highest scientific 1967. Beulah Rollins Professor of History; and the early Middle honor; the Crafoord Prize, a rare honor Perhaps Kochen’s Ronald Davidson, professor of astro- Ages. He has explored in the field of astronomy; a MacArthur most well-known physical sciences; James Gunn, the the end of the Roman Foundation “genius grant”; and the discovery outside the Eugene Higgins Professor of Astron- Empire, the emer- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Kochen mathematics commu- omy; Lincoln Hollister, professor of gence of Christianity, Society. nity is his “Free Will geosciences; Henry Horn, professor and the rise of Islam After working as a senior space Theorem,” which he of ecology and evolutionary biology; Peter Brown within and beyond scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion devised in collaboration with Prince- Simon Kochen, professor of mathemat- the Mediterranean Laboratory, Gunn served on the Prince- ton colleague John Conway. The ics; Burton Malkiel, the Chemical world. Brown’s books include “Augus- ton faculty from 1968 to 1970 before theorem asserts that if humans have Bank Chairman’s Professor of Eco- tine of Hippo,” “The World of Late leaving for the California Institute of free will, then elementary particles, nomics; Ricardo Piglia, the Walter Antiquity” and “The Rise of Western Technology. He returned to Princeton such as atoms and electrons, possess S. Carpenter Professor of Language, Christendom.” in 1980. A graduate of Rice University, free will as well. Literature and Civilization of Spain; A graduate of New College at the he holds a Ph.D. from Caltech. Kochen chaired Princeton’s Depart- Kenneth Steiglitz, the Eugene Higgins University of Oxford, Brown was a Hollister has been a faculty member ment of Mathematics from 1990 to Professor of Computer Science; and research fellow at All Souls College at at Princeton since 1968, focusing his 1993, and after that he served as Lynn White III, professor of politics Oxford and taught at Royal Holloway research and teaching on the question: departmental representative and and international affairs. College at the University of London How are mountains and continental associate chair with general responsi- All are effective July 1, 2011, except and at the University of California- crust made? He has taught undergrad- bility for the undergraduate academic for the transfers of Garry Brown and Berkeley before joining the Princeton uate and graduate courses in subjects program in mathematics. His accolades Piglia, which are effective Sept. 1, 2011. faculty in 1986. At Princeton he such as crystal chemistry, metamor- for his mathematical work include the Boon, a specialist in Indonesian taught numerous courses including the phic petrology, field geology, tectonics Frank Nelson Cole Prize in Number and Balinese culture, graduated from popular undergraduate class “Civiliza- and the evolution of Theory from the American Mathemat- Princeton in 1968 with a degree in tion of the Early Middle Ages.” He the continental crust. ical Society. Romance languages also directed the Program in Hellenic In the 1980s Hol- Malkiel was responsible for a verita- and literatures and a Studies. lister participated ble revolution in the field of investment then-new certificate Brown’s many honors and awards in a major seismic management with “A Random Walk in anthropology. include a MacArthur Foundation survey project in Down Wall Street,” which was first His undergraduate “genius grant,” the Mellon Foundation Alaska, which led published in 1973. With more than 1.5 studies of symbolic Distinguished Achievement Award to the development million copies sold and translations anthropology, his- in the Humanities, the Princeton in 1993 of a project in nine languages, torical ethnography President’s Award for Distinguished Hollister called ACCRETE, it is one of the most influential books in Boon and Southeast Asia, Teaching and the Kluge Prize for a multi-institution, among other top- Lifetime Achievement in the Study of interdisciplinary initiative to study the the field of investment ics, helped guide his Humanity. Coast Mountains of southeast Alaska management. future academic work. He earned his Davidson came to Princeton in 1991 and British Columbia. The project’s Malkiel has taught doctorate in social anthropology from as director of the U.S. Department flagship experiment was the use of a undergraduate the University of Chicago. of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Phys- seismic ship in the inland waterways courses at Princeton Boon’s research and teaching bridge ics Laboratory (PPPL), a position he to provide an unprecedented image of Malkiel in macroeconomics, comparative studies of societies and held for five years. the top 50 kilometers of the Earth’s corporate finance and institutions; colonialist ethnology; As PPPL director, crust and mantle for an area straddling investment markets, literary analysis; approaches to kin- Davidson oversaw the Alaska-British Columbia border. as well as a graduate course in money ship, ritual, myth and media; and the the groundbreak- Hollister’s research also has included and banking. His research primar- history of ideas. His books include ing achievements of studies of the origin of the Himala- ily focused on the pricing of financial “From Symbolism to Structuralism: the Tokamak Fusion yas in Bhutan and of the moon rocks assets, and he has published in a num- Lévi-Strauss in a Literary Tradition” Test Reactor, which returned by the Apollo missions. ber of areas, including international and “The Anthropological Romance in 1994 yielded an Hollister is a fellow of the Miner- monetary arrangements and emerging of Bali: 1597-1972: Dynamic Perspec- unprecedented 10.7 alogical Society of America and the economies. tives in Marriage, Caste, Politics and Davidson million watts of fusion Geological Society of America. A grad- Malkiel earned his bachelor’s degree Religion.” power for one second, uate of Harvard University, he earned and master’s in business administra- Boon taught at Duke and Cornell enough to power momentarily 2,000 to a Ph.D. from the California Institute of tion from Harvard University. He universities before joining the Prince- 3,000 homes. Technology and taught at the Univer- joined the Princeton faculty in 1964, ton faculty in 1989. He served as chair A graduate of McMaster Univer- sity of California-Los Angeles before the same year he received his Ph.D. of Princeton’s Department of Anthro- sity, Davidson earned his Ph.D. in coming to Princeton. from the University. From 1975 to pology from 1998 to 1999 and from astrophysical sciences from Princeton Horn first came to Princeton in 1977 he served on the U.S. President’s 2002 to 2007. in 1966. Before joining the Princeton 1966 amid a wave of new interest in Council of Economic Advisers. He Garry Brown came to Princeton in faculty, he was a researcher at the evolution and ecology in the then- spent 1981 to 1988 as dean of the Yale 1990 as chair of the Department of University of California-Berkeley and Department of Biology. He earned his University School of Management, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineer- a faculty member at the University bachelor’s degree at Harvard Univer- then returned to Princeton, where he ing, a position he held until 1998. In of Maryland and the Massachusetts sity and his Ph.D. at the University of has twice chaired the Department of that role Brown was instrumental in Institute of Technology. Davidson also Washington. Economics and the Financial Research deepening the department’s commit- served as the assistant director for Horn’s long-lasting Center, a forerunner of today’s Bend- ment to materials applied plasma physics in the Office of interest in the growth heim Center for Finance. science, as well as Fusion Energy of the Department of of trees, namely how Piglia joined the Princeton faculty establishing new Energy (DOE). they got their shape in 2001, arriving from the University combustion labora- Davidson’s honors include the DOE and their branching of Buenos Aires in his native Argen- tory facilities. Distinguished Associate Award, the patterns, is reflected tina. Educated at the Universidad Brown is best Kaul Foundation Award for Excel- in his book “The Nacional de La Plata, Piglia is well- known for his work in lence in Plasma Physics Research Adaptive Geometry of known author of novels, short stories the study of turbu- and the American Physical Society’s Horn Trees.” His research and essays whose lence. At Princeton James Clerk Maxwell Prize in Plasma also has focused on work often grapples Garry Brown he developed a new Physics, the highest honor in plasma wind dispersal of seeds, and social with the meaning of concept for hyper- physics. behaviors of butterflies, birds and deer. social and political sonic wind-tunnel technology. He also Gunn has had a major impact on His varied interests carried into his processes. Several of has made significant contributions as a theory, observation and instrumenta- teaching of numerous undergraduate his works have been consultant to the American aerospace tion in the field of astronomy, helping and graduate courses. adapted as films. industry, including important work on to establish the cur- Horn had founding roles and At Princeton Piglia the failure of the solid rocket motor for rent understanding of long-term commitments in several regularly taught a the Titan IV space launch vehicle, as how galaxies form, as activities outside the Department of Piglia popular course on well as work on the AIM-9X, Tactical well as the properties Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Argentine writer Tomahawk and Standard Missile-3 of intergalactic space. most notably with educational travel Jorge Luis Borges. In other seminars missile systems. Among Gunn’s programs for Princeton alumni, sum- he explored the narrative poetics of A graduate of the University of notable achievements mer science workshops for elementary avant-garde writers including Mace- Adelaide in his native Australia, was the conception, school teachers for the University’s donio Fernández, Juan José Saer and Brown was a Rhodes Scholar and building and scien- Program in Teacher Preparation, the Rodolfo Walsh. Piglia has also taught earned his Ph.D. at the University of Gunn tific leadership of the undergraduate Program in Envi- classes dealing with literature and Oxford. Before coming to Princeton Sloan Digital Sky ronmental Studies of the Princeton politics. he taught at the California Institute of Survey, a revolutionary effort that Environmental Institute and the Technology and directed Australia’s produced the deepest, most compre- University Chapel Choir. Continued on page 11 Princeton June 13, 2011 university Bulletin 5
In terms of scope and ambition, how does the lab com- pare to what it was in the 1980s and 1990s when the Perspective on: The future of fusion TFTR experiments were in full swing? The laboratory today is equally as vital as it has ever Name: Stewart Prager been. But it’s smaller. The laboratory’s reduction in Title: Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory size has paralleled the evolution of the fusion program (PPPL) and professor of astrophysical sciences in the United States at large. It had this peak where it demonstrated the production of 10 million watts Administrative focus: Prager, a well-known plasma physicist and fusion scientist, arrived in Janu- of power as an experiment. After that, in the mid- ary 2009 from the University of Wisconsin to become director of PPPL, the United States’ ’90s, the fusion budget in the United States fell when leading magnetic fusion facility. Fusion energy, which is fueled by hot gases of charged particles Congress was reducing budgets severely. Since then, known as plasmas, has the potential to become a safe, clean and abundant energy source for the the budget has been stable, but about one-third of its future. For nearly 60 years, Princeton has been a world leader in research on magnetic fusion former size. The United States and PPPL are still a energy due to efforts by scientists and engineers at PPPL. In 1994, an experimental device leader in fusion but we’re not “the” leader in fusion. built at PPPL, known as the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR), yielded an unprecedented 10.7 million watts of fusion power. As head of the lab, Prager is directing fundamental inquiries to establish the What kind of fusion research programs are being pursued knowledge base for fusion energy, to understand how plasmas behave and to apply this understanding to a wide in other countries? range of applications. The facility is managed by Princeton University and funded by DOE’s Office of Science. There has been a surge of interest in Asia. South Interview conducted by Kitta MacPherson Korea has blasted onto the fusion scene and recently begun operating a new experiment. This experi- ment was designed to be built at PPPL, but it was What new initiatives have you been focusing on since and technological feasibility of fusion energy planned cancelled by the Department of Energy because of assuming the leadership of PPPL? to go online in 2019) in the 2020s. Fifteen years ago, lack of funds. Chinese researchers also have built a PPPL scientists regularly generate intriguing new we proposed building a long-pulse superconducting similar kind of new experiment and recently began ideas. We have made great progress toward a major tokamak, which can be operated for long periods of operations. The same can be said for the European enhancement of our main experimental facility — the time to investigate the science of controlling plas- Union, which is hosting ITER. Germany, also, is National Spherical Torus Experiment, or NSTX. We mas. We would have had that data by now instead of constructing a new facility. The Indian govern- have funding for an upgrade that will yield an order- waiting to see the results on such experiments now ment is increasing its fusion program. The Japanese of-magnitude improvement in its physics capabilities: starting up in Asia. government also is refurbishing the country’s large a doubling of the plasma current, doubling of the tokamak experiment to such an extent that it is also heating power and quintupling of the plasma dura- Have there been practical benefits from fusion research going to be a new major facility. tion. We expect to complete the upgrade in three to so far? four years, so the upgrade will guarantee the scien- There are huge practical benefits and untapped Fusion research has been described as a science without tific vitality of NSTX for at least a decade into the potential benefits, as well. The plasma science borders. Are collaborations with other countries a compo- future. learned from fusion has enormous application. We nent of PPPL’s program? Before the upgrade starts, we will be running all know about plasma TVs, but plasmas are used to We have very strong collaboration programs with experiments on NSTX starting in July in which make computer chips, to develop more efficient light- other countries. Other nations solicit the collabora- researchers will study how heat escapes as hot ing, to burn up wastes, to treat medical wounds and tion with PPPL because we have such deep expertise. magnetized plasma and what materials are best for to power rockets through plasma thrusters, to name And, conversely, we want to make use of the new handling intense plasma powers. but a few. Spinoffs from fusion technology include facilities abroad. We also have moved forward with new studies of new techniques to detect nuclear materials and elec- a liquid boundary for a fusion plasma in contrast to tromagnetic launchers for aircraft on carriers. Plasma What’s the difference between the international ITER the more common solid boundary, with expanded science learned from fusion is also being used to experiment and Princeton’s own big current experiment, operation of our exploratory Lithium Tokamak enhance our understanding of the cosmos. the NSTX? Experiment (LTX), and have enjoyed very promising ITER will be the biggest fusion experiment ever interactions with materials and surface scientists in Is commercially viable fusion energy truly achievable? built and will be the size of a commercial reactor. the engineering school. If you look where we are now, the progress is really NSTX is smaller. ITER will operate with fusion fuel PPPL has led a two-year national planning effort quite remarkable. We routinely produce plasmas that and will produce what is called a burning plasma, to define a program to apply the most powerful com- are hundreds of millions of degrees in temperature. meaning it will be self-sustaining. NSTX is more puters to model the whole, complex fusion plasma We’ve learned how to control them in very fine ways compact — smaller and rounder. When you make system. We have plans for expanded work in plasma so we can manipulate them with remarkable finesse. this variation in the geometry, the opportunities are astrophysics and have led a national study to define We’re not yet done but we can actually produce so rich that there are many reasons to do this. The opportunities in this field. Looking into the fusion and tweak how a hundred-million-degree-plasma NSTX design is a leading candidate for the next future, we have completed a conceptual study of a behaves. We have come so far that we can approxi- major step in fusion research in the United States pilot fusion plant as a possible next step for the U.S. mate conditions of a fusion reactor in a laboratory. — the establishment of a facility that operates with fusion program, investigating various designs and We’ve come so far that the world collectively is going fusion fuel, producing large fluxes of neutrons (prod- the strategic implications of such a step. At PPPL we ahead and building ITER, which will produce 500 ucts of the fusion reaction) to develop and test the are generating many new ideas and initiatives, even million watts of fusion power. We’ve come so far that material components that surround the plasma. in this difficult budgetary climate. we can see the endpoint. What are your priorities and vision for PPPL? Fusion scientists, like you, have been working to produce So it’s reasonable to believe that fusion reactors will The vision for the lab is that it be at the world fusion reactions for many decades. Why is it so hard to someday exist? forefront of fusion research, in basic plasma phys- create fusion energy? That question has been largely answered with ics and in many applications of plasma science. We In a nuclear fusion reaction two atomic nuclei some degree of confidence. It’s a matter of decid- aim to aggressively enhance the knowledge base to fuse and release energy. In a fusion reactor the core ing whether we want to commit the resources to the deliver fusion to the world as quickly as possible. We will contain the plasma producing this energy. It’s remaining development that needs to be done. We also wish to expand our activities across the broad a difficult process because it requires making a hot have a clear choice before us: The United States can frontier of plasma science and technology. gas that is 10 times hotter than the core of the sun either design and build fusion energy plants or we can buy them from Asia or Europe. Online: Full interview — 100 hundred million degrees — and confining www.pppl.gov that for long periods of time in a controllable way. Plasmas exhibit complex behavior that is difficult to understand. The engineering challenge is also huge, because you have to surround this hundred-million- degree plasma with a material structure. We often say that fusion is maybe the most, or one of the most, difficult science and engineering challenges ever undertaken. Why should the United States maintain its funding of the fusion program? The first reason is U.S. competitiveness, both the specific competitiveness in fusion and the general competitiveness in science and technology. Whoever controls the energy sector, whoever innovates with the science, is going to be economically dominant. Second, in fusion, our contributions are needed for the world to acquire this transformative energy source as soon as possible. The United States has a workforce for fusion that is second to none. Why is it that fusion is not always mentioned in discus- sions on alternative energy? Fusion is not going to be affecting the electri- cal grid in 10 years, and most discussions focus on the very-near term. However, underfunding fusion becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that keeps it always in the long term. Twenty years ago, we proposed building a small burning plasma experi- ment. It wasn’t built. If it had been, we could have StarkmanElle shown by now how a burning plasma works and not The Lithium Tokamak Experiment (LTX), one of the initiatives Prager is overseeing, is designed to be the be waiting for results on ITER (an international first device in the world to contain a full, liquid lithium wall. Former PPPL graduate student Laura Berzak experiment designed to demonstrate the scientific peers through a rear port of the vacuum vessel of the LTX. Princeton 6 university Bulletin June 13, 2011 Eight new trustees named, Hall to chair executive committee
rinceton has named eight new fellow in English at Phillips Academy from Harvard. He and his wife Judy and was a gubernatorial candidate members of its Board of Trust- Andover, and would later like to pur- are co-founders of the High Meadows in California in 2010. She earned P ees, and Kathryn Hall will sue a Ph.D. in English and possibly a Foundation, which has supported her bachelor’s degree in economics assume leadership of the board as chair career in journalism. numerous research, education and at Princeton in 1977 and received of the executive committee. Berg, of Los Angeles, is a noted civic engagement projects at Princeton an MBA from Harvard. Whitman The new trustees are: A. Scott biographer who won a Pulitzer Prize related to environmental sustainability. previously served as a term trustee Berg and Meg Whitman, who were for his 1998 book “Lindbergh,” about He also is chair of the Environmental at Princeton from 2000 to 2004. She elected by the board to serve for aviator Charles Lindbergh. He also is Defense Fund. Ferenbach previously has been a generous donor to the Uni- 10 years as charter trustees; Carl the author of “Goldwyn: A Biography,” served as a term trustee of the Univer- versity, supporting the construction of Ferenbach III, Charles Gibson and about film mogul Samuel Goldwyn, sity from 2006 to 2010. Whitman College — Princeton’s sixth Philip Hammarskjold, who were and “Max Perkins: Editor of Genius,” Gibson, of New York, is an award- residential college, which opened in elected by the board to serve for four a biography of the renowned book edi- winning television journalist who was 2007 — as well as various teaching years as term trustees; Pyper Davis tor that grew out of Berg’s Princeton anchor of “World News” and co- and athletics initiatives. and Min Zhu, who were elected by thesis and went on to win the National anchor of “Good Morning America,” Zhu, of Potomac, Md., earned a alumni to serve four years as alumni Book Award. He graduated in 1971 both on ABC. In his more than 40 master’s in public affairs from the trustees; and Aku Ammah-Tagoe, who with a degree in English. He previ- years in broadcast journalism, Gibson Woodrow Wilson School of Public was elected by the junior, senior and ously served as an alumni trustee from reported from around the country and and International Affairs in 1988. He two youngest alumni classes to serve 1999 to 2003. the world, including interviews with is special adviser to the managing four years as young alumni trustee. Davis, of Bethesda, Md., is a member several American presidents and world director of the International Monetary Hall will succeed Stephen Oxman as and former president of Princeton’s leaders. A 1965 Princeton graduate Fund, working to promote sustain- chair of the executive committee, a role class of 1987 who earned an A.B. in with a degree in history, Gibson was able economic growth and financial he has held since 2005. Oxman will East Asian studies. She is chief operat- a term trustee of the University from stability. He previously was deputy remain on the board through ing officer of the SEED Foundation, a 2006 to 2010. governor of the People’s Bank of June 2012. national nonprofit that establishes and Hammarskjold, of Atherton, Calif., China. Zhu established the Princeton The new appointments all are oversees urban public boarding schools is CEO of Hellman & Friedman, a Alumni Association of Beijing and effective July 1. Biographical infor- to prepare students from underserved private equity investment firm with is a member of the Asian American mation about the new trustees communities for success in college offices in San Francisco, London Alumni Association of Princeton. follows: and beyond. Davis previously worked and New York. He graduated from A graduate of Fudan University in Ammah-Tagoe, of Silver Spring, Md., as an executive with News Corp. and Princeton in 1987 with a degree in his native China, he holds a Ph.D. graduated this year with a degree in Katalyst LLC, a boutique consulting mechanical and aerospace engineering, in economics from Johns Hopkins English. She served as a head writing and venture capital firm. She holds an and also holds an MBA from Harvard. University. fellow at the Princeton Writing Center MBA from Harvard Business School. Hammarskjold has served as a member and as a residential college adviser in Ferenbach, of Boston, is a co-founder of the Princeton University Investment Board leadership changes Forbes College. She also was a senior and managing director of Berkshire Co. (PRINCO) board and will become Hall, the incoming executive com- news producer and staff reporter for Partners, a private equity firm. He its chair July 1. mittee chair, is the CEO and chief WPRB, the student radio station. Next graduated from Princeton in 1964 with Whitman, of Atherton, Calif., spent year Ammah-Tagoe will be a teaching a degree in classics and holds an MBA 10 years as the CEO of eBay Inc. Continued on page 11
Summer construction includes final work on computing center NOTE: This article is presented as published in the print edition of the Bulletin. A corrected version is available at
E m i ly A ro n s o n solutions to problems of energy and Neuroscience and Psychology buildings: Library, work on a new book stor- the environment. Initial work on the Structural steel work is expected to age area on the library’s C level and onstruction of Princeton Uni- center’s new home will include some be completed this summer at the site the extension of an existing stairway versity’s new High-Performance site demolition and the placement of of the new Neuroscience and Psy- in the northwest corner of the build- C Computing Research Center underground utilities. The project chology buildings, south of Icahn ing is expected to finish this summer. is expected to near completion this will incorporate 86 Olden St., the Laboratory and west of Washington Planning for the next phases of the summer, while work on the Andlinger former home of the Fields Center, and Road. The 248,000-square-foot, long-term renovation and reconfigu- Center for Energy and the Environ- as part of the site preparation, a set two-building complex will house the ration of the building will continue, ment is scheduled to begin. Several of stone lion statues at the current Princeton Neuroscience Institute and and the library will remain open and other construction and renovation site will be moved in mid-June to a the Department of Psychology. Steel occupied throughout the project. projects also will continue on campus new location along the walkway at work will be followed by installation Wilcox Hall: Julian Street Library, this summer. the southwestern corner of the Frick of metal decking, concrete slabs and located in Wilcox Hall in the Wil- Anne St. Mauro, assistant vice Chemistry Laboratory. The three- utilities at the basement level. The son College residential complex, will president for facilities-design and structure complex in the University’s project is expected to be completed in be renovated this summer and is construction, and Sean Joyner, deputy School of Engineering and Applied spring 2013. expected to reopen in the fall. New director of the Office of Design and Science was designed by Tod Wil- Jadwin Hall: Building renovations furniture, carrels and lighting will be Construction, provided an update on liams Billie Tsien Architects of New will be contained within the fourth installed, and the library’s computing current projects. York. floor this summer. Heating, ventilation and technological resources also will High-Performance Computing Research Lenz Tennis Center: Construction of and air-conditioning systems will be be upgraded. Located on the second Center: Completion of mechanical sys- the 7,100-square-foot center located replaced, and new lighting, building floor of Wilcox Hall, the facility’s new tems and administrative office areas near Roberts Stadium is expected controls and windows will be installed. interior was designed by Joel Sand- is among the final work at the new to be completed this summer. The Work on the building, which is home ers Architect of New York to create a 46,765-square-foot facility located new building will provide locker to the Department of Physics, began in more flexible and versatile study space on the Forrestal Campus in Plains- for students. boro. The building, which will house Blair Walk: The walkway along Pyne the University’s high-performance Hall will be renovated with new computing research systems and pavement and landscaping. Mainte- will be staffed by three people, is nance and waterproofing work also expected to open in mid-September. will be completed on the nearby arch- The two-story building will serve as way, Dodge Gate, located between home of TIGRESS — the Terascale Henry and 1901 halls. Dodge Gate Infrastructure for Groundbreaking will be closed starting in early June Research in Engineering and Sci- and is expected to reopen to pedes- ence Center — and also will support trian traffic later this summer. The approximately half of the University’s walkway and archway renovation is administrative computing capacity, as expected to be completed at the end well as a large number of departmen- of October. tal systems. The facility was designed Lawrence Apartments: Exterior by Gensler of New York, while AKF maintenance work will start in June Christopher Lillja Group of Princeton provided engi- at the Lawrence Apartments gradu- The Lenz Tennis Center, which will be completed this summer, will provide locker rooms and neering services and CS Technology ate student housing complex located coaches’ offices for the University’s varsity tennis teams. of New York provided project man- off Alexander Road. The facades of agement services. building No. 1 and buildings No. 8-14 Andlinger Center for Energy and the rooms and coaches’ offices for men’s the fall of 2009 and is expected to be will undergo routine maintenance, Environment: A four-year process to and women’s varsity teams, a lounge completed in fall 2013. Staff members which will require some scaffolding build the new 127,000-square-foot for team meetings, support spaces, displaced by renovation work will to be placed outside the structures. structure at the corner of Olden access ramps and a 3,700-square-foot be housed in temporary space at 87 Work will be scheduled from 8 a.m. to and Prospect streets will begin this covered viewing deck. The facility Prospect Ave. and Frick Chemistry 4 p.m. on weekdays, and residents will summer. The Andlinger Center was was designed by Dattner Architects of Laboratory. be able to continue to occupy units this established in July 2008 to accelerate New York City. Firestone Library: As part of the summer. The project is expected to be research on effective and sustainable comprehensive renovation of Firestone finished in September. Princeton June 13, 2011 university Bulletin 7 nassaunotes June 13-Sept. 18
Summer news Frist presents summer series Calendarlinks on the Web he Frist Campus Center will pres- • July 20 — Tote bag and hat For broader listings of ent its Summer Program Series, painting featuring concerts and other • July 27 — Concert: Key Wilde & campus public events: hile the Bulletin does not T activities, on the following Wednes- Mr. Clark (children’s music) publish during the summer days at 4:30 p.m. on its South Patio: All events are free and open to the Public Events Calendar W months, the University • June 15 — Concert: Yosi (children’s public.
For additional events sponsored by specific departments, programs and offices: University “A to Z” search page
For audience members needing assistance: Office of Disability Services
To offer submissions for “Nassau notes,” use the online form:
But, she said, there are too many students today who will never encoun- ter their own “Mr. Orlikow.” She noted that 25 percent of students in this country drop out or fail to complete high school on time — resulting in a graduation rate that places the United States 20th among the 34 members of the Organization for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD). In addition, American students perform at or below average among OECD countries in reading, math-
ematics and science. ApplewhiteDenise “What is downright distressing is the fact that a student’s chances of being in Honorary degree recipients pictured with President Tilghman (fourth from left) were (from left): Judith Jamison, Susan Desmond-Hellmann, the bottom quartile and never finish- Robert Rawson Jr., Geoffrey Canada, Charles Gillispie and Henry “Hank” Aaron. ing high school are almost entirely determined by his or her family circum- stances,” Tilghman said. “Just consider low-income students and now is a Shi delivered a salutatory poem in As it does each year, Princeton the fact that the best predictor of SAT champion for public education as a Latin, one of her key areas of study. honored excellence in teaching at score is family income.” congressman from Colorado. The Princeton tradition dates to an the Commencement ceremony. Four Tilghman referenced a recent op-ed While not all graduates may accom- era when the entire ceremony was Princeton faculty members received in The Daily Princetonian student plish these successes, most will be conducted in Latin. The Latin Saluta- President’s Awards for Distinguished newspaper by U.S. Secretary of citizens of places “that will depend on tory, Princeton’s oldest student honor, Teaching (see story on page 10), and Education Arne Duncan, who spoke their public schools for their future began as a serious, formal address, four outstanding secondary school on campus this spring. “[He] calls prosperity, and all of you will be able but today it often contains humorous teachers from across New Jersey also unequal access of students to an excel- to find ways to devote some of your tributes, recollections and a farewell to were recognized for their work. lent education the civil rights issue of time and talents to raising both their Princeton campus life. Other honors for students were our time, and he is right,” she said. sights and their levels of achievement,” “So the generations advance presented over the last few days Beyond helping to achieve social jus- Tilghman said. “Your pledge today onward,” Shi said. “Marching once of the academic year. Six graduate tice, providing a quality education also to demand that those schools serve all and only once, then, friends, and all students were honored for excellence could aid in lifting the U.S. economy, their students well, not just the lucky together, we sing, ‘Hurrah, Victory!’ in teaching during the Association of she said, increasing both upward ones like you, could make all the dif- exulting, and twice again say, ‘Hur- Princeton Graduate Alumni’s Trib- mobility for individuals and global ference in the world. The stakes have rah, Victory!’ and will lift to heaven’s ute to Teaching Reception May 28. competitiveness for the country. “The never been higher, nor the moment lofty arch the noble name of Princeton, Advanced degree candidates par- advent of the knowledge economy has more urgent, for millions of young keeping each other close to our hearts, ticipated in the hooding ceremony at inextricably linked America’s future Americans and the nation as a whole.” ever forthright. Blessed friends, I shall Princeton Stadium on May 30. economic competitiveness in the world She concluded the address with her say ‘Hail,’ not ‘Farewell,’ and this too: Also on May 30, seniors were to the creativity and nimbleness of its traditional send-off — this time includ- ‘With undying loyalty, love each other recognized at Class Day ceremonies, workforce,” Tilghman said. ing a tribute to her former teacher. always.’” where the keynote speaker was actress In appealing to the graduates, “So as you walk, skip or run through The University awarded degrees to Brooke Shields, a 1987 Princeton Tilghman offered up several Prince- the FitzRandolph Gates today, as edu- 1,202 undergraduates in the class of alumna. In her address, she com- tonians as leaders in the “education cated citizens of this and many other 2011, four from other classes and 815 bined memories from her four years revolution” that is gaining momentum nations, I hope you will carry forward graduate students at its 264th Com- on campus with advice about how the across America. In fact, she credited the spirit of Princeton and all that it mencement. It also conferred honorary class of 2011 might put their Princeton doctoral degrees upon six individu- experience to use in their professional als for their contributions to sports, and personal lives. “This university education and the arts: Henry “Hank” does not just teach you about subjects, Aaron, baseball Hall-of-Famer; it teaches you how to have independent Geoffrey Canada, champion for thought, it teaches you how to take Commencement highlights online children in Harlem; Susan Desmond- direction and give it, how to engage Hellmann, clinical researcher and in heated debate,” she said. “Without For more on the 2011 Commencement ceremony and related chancellor of the University of Califor- the four years of learning and growth events — including stories, speech texts, photos and a video — nia-San Francisco; Charles Gillispie, that culminated in my degree, I would visit
CelePrinceton’sbrating graduates Denise ApplewhiteDenise
LEFT: President Tilghman joins New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in
Denise ApplewhiteDenise the Baccalaureate procession.
LEFT: Brooke Shields, an actress, author and advocate, delivers the Class Day keynote address wearing the class jacket of her 1987 Princeton graduating class — and orange-and- black sunglasses.
LEFT: Joyful students celebrate at Class Day, a lighthearted event at which Princeton students are
Denise ApplewhiteDenise honored for their accomplishments. John Jameson John
RIGHT: Graduating students John Jameson John happily exit FitzRandolph Gate following the Commencement ceremony. LEFT: Irfan Kherani (middle) collects his diploma at the Wilson College residential college diploma distribution after Commencement, along with father, Nizar, and mother, Nasim.
LEFT: Degree candidates from the Graduate School pause to
John Jameson John memorialize the moment during the Commencement ceremony. Princeton 10 university Bulletin June 13, 2011 Four faculty members recognized for outstanding teaching
E r i c Q u i ño n e s Princeton University.” Another gradu- One of Hartog’s signature under- on German philosopher Friedrich ate student in economics added, “She graduate courses, “American Legal Nietzsche. He is best known among our Princeton faculty members is a teacher who can transform any History,” provides an overview of com- undergraduates for his course on received President’s Awards for dry, theoretic paper into accessible and plex legal cases. His approach is not Nietzsche, which is among the most F Distinguished Teaching at Com- exciting material, full of unanswered what many students expect when they popular in the philosophy depart- mencement ceremonies May 31. questions for us to explore together enroll, but one that they ultimately find ment. Students also have cited his They are: Anne Case, the Alexander with her. She turns each lecture into invaluable, according to a colleague undergraduate courses on literature Stewart 1886 Professor of Economics an engaging discussion in which even who served as a preceptor for the and arts and the philosophy of art as and Public Affairs; Hendrik Hartog, the shy students like me feel stimu- course. “These are not ‘Famous Cases some of the best they have taken at the Class of 1921 Bicentennial Profes- lated to participate.” 101.’ They are about pigs in the street Princeton. sor in the History of American Law Colleagues noted that Case is both of antebellum New York; common law While praising the memorable and Liberty; Alexander Nehamas, the tireless and selfless in supporting the water rights in the West; slavery in quality of his lectures, undergradu- Edmund N. Carpenter II Class of 1943 development of her advisees and other New Jersey,” Hartog’s colleague wrote. ates also cited Nehamas as a caring, spirited mentor who devotes con- siderable effort to advising their independent work and guiding them in less formal settings. One student wrote that Nehamas “embodies the ideal Princeton professor, who not only lectures but also takes the time to enjoy a friendly conversation with his students. He is a humanist in the most admirable sense of that word: some- one who believes in education as the highest ideal.” Added another student, “Professor Nehamas is unfailingly kind, frequently witty, an admirable lecturer and deeply interested in his students. He represents the highest standards of excellence in teaching and in cultivating individual relationships with his pupils.” This esteem is shared by Nehamas’ graduate students, who have given high marks to his courses on moral psychology, 19th-century German
Denise ApplewhiteDenise philosophy and the philosophy of art. He also is a respected adviser whose Faculty members recognized with President's Awards for Distinguished Teaching by President Tilghman (center) were (from left): Daniel dedication to mentoring continues Oppenheimer, Alexander Nehamas, Hendrik Hartog and Anne Case. to inspire former graduate students who are now professors themselves. Professor in the Humanities and pro- students. For example, she established “None of these problems really offer an “Alexander is among the three or four fessor of philosophy and comparative a research lunch for faculty and gradu- answer about legal history in any way, most memorable teachers in my life,” literature; and Daniel Oppenheimer, ate students who work in development but they are meant to demonstrate how wrote one former graduate student. associate professor of psychology and and health, at which students present legal historians ask questions, what “His combination of intellectual public affairs. works in progress. In addition, two sources look like and how we struggle generosity, deep engagement and The awards were established in 1991 colleagues recalled, “Several summers over and through them. Above all, they careful, thoughtful, critical feedback through gifts by Princeton alumni ago, Anne arranged a research col- are meant to show that law is messy to students distinguishes him from Lloyd Cotsen of the class of 1950 and loquium for approximately eight Ph.D. (not tidy, as the students hope).” He even the strongest teachers among my John Sherrerd of the class of 1952 to students at a remote field site in South engages students in these issues with professors and colleagues. He makes a recognize excellence in undergraduate Africa. There they learned about the a “no bells and whistles” approach decisive impact on the lives of a huge and graduate teaching by Princeton research going on at the site and inter- that emphasizes critical thought, and number of students. Indeed, in making faculty members. Each winner receives acted with South African researchers “gradually they begin to trust Pro- my own choices as a teacher, I continu- a cash prize of $5,000, and his or her and graduate students. We know that fessor Hartog and to see themselves ally return to him as a model and ask department receives $3,000 for the Anne used her own unrestricted funds emerging as bigger thinkers.” myself how Alexander would manage purchase of new books. to cover a substantial portion of this Hartog is a diligent critic of his stu- things.” A committee of faculty, under- colloquium — funds she could have dents’ work, vigorously editing their Colleagues marvel at Nehamas’ graduate and graduate students, and used for her own work.” prose and challenging their arguments expansive research and teaching academic administrators selected the As an adviser, Case is known for to make them more efficient and per- interests. In addition to his dual winners from nominations by cur- motivating students to pursue chal- suasive writers. He puts similar effort appointments in philosophy and rent students, faculty colleagues and lenging questions and to think into finding time to engage one-on-one comparative literature, he has served alumni. creatively about how to develop their with students. One undergraduate as chair of Princeton’s Council of the Case, who earned a master’s in public own research ideas. “Teaching eco- student wrote that students may often Humanities, founding director of the affairs from the Woodrow Wilson nomics demands a delicate balance “assume that a good teacher is the Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts School of Public and International between instilling confidence in a equivalent of a brilliant or charismatic and director of the Program in Hel- Affairs in 1983 and a Ph.D. in econom- student’s abilities while still making lecturer, when in fact the most valu- lenic Studies. “What he has given in ics from Princeton in 1988, has been a sure they are uncomfortable enough able kind of teaching (and learning) the classroom is prodigious,” wrote member of the University faculty since to push themselves as hard as is often takes place outside the classroom one colleague, adding that “wherever 1991. Her scholarly interests are eco- required. Anne excels at this skill,” a or lecture hall — during office hours, there are students of extraordinary nomic development, primarily in South former advisee wrote. Another former through email exchanges, from timely learning and/or imagination and/or Africa, and health issues in developed graduate student recalled, “When I and insightful feedback on assign- originality, they turn out to have found and developing countries. Her teach- would come to her office with a crazy ments, through frequent, focused and their way to Alexander, whether study- ing largely focuses on development idea, possibly promising but probably open-minded conversations. Although ing aesthetics or Nietzsche, or simply economics at the master’s level in the almost impossible to actually pursue, Dirk’s lectures are on par with the best finding confirmation of what it means Wilson School and at the doctoral level she’d join my excitement and say some- I’ve experienced in the history depart- to be a humanist of the greatest rigor in the Department of Economics. thing like, ‘OK, this is great. Now just ment, he is also a master at this other and liveliness.” In the classroom, Case brings do it.’ And I, eventually out of excuses, kind of teaching.” Oppenheimer, who has taught technical and theoretical subjects to just did it.” This approach also has won Har- at Princeton since 2004, studies life and reminds students that their Hartog, a Princeton faculty member tog praise from graduate students. human decision-making in a vari- mission as scholars is to help make a since 1992, is a historian and legal “Perhaps the most important quality ety of contexts, from education to difference in society. In recommending scholar who also directs the interdisci- among those that make Dirk a great, charitable giving to the stock market. Case for the award, a current Ph.D. plinary Program in American Studies. great teacher is that, as best as I can Oppenheimer’s pursuit of his eclectic student in economics wrote, “Professor His breadth of interests, collaborative describe it, he has mastered the art of collection of research interests is fueled Case’s passion for South Africa sur- mindset and infectious enthusiasm for being a teacher-friend,” wrote a former by the intellectual and creative stimu- faced in nearly every lecture through learning have inspired both under- graduate student. “Becoming Dirk’s lation he gets from teaching, including anecdotes or rigorous academic stud- graduate and graduate students who student means right away entering leading his popular “Introduction to ies. Her enthusiasm and unquenchable regard Hartog as a model scholar, into a conversation in which, somehow, Psychology” course, advising under- thirst to understand the problems teacher and mentor. “His office hours Dirk manages to be a mentor, a guide graduate and graduate students, besetting South African households are always filled with students seeking and a resource, while at the same time and serving as faculty fellow to the infused life into dry or seemingly advice from him,” wrote one colleague making one feel like a colleague — a Princeton men’s and women’s varsity intangible economic theory. … Profes- in nominating Hartog for the award. colleague-in-the-making, to be sure, volleyball teams. sor Case’s excitement over the latest “Many of these are not — I repeat, not but a colleague nonetheless.” In taking on teaching duties for release of a comprehensive demogra- — his advisees, but people who have Nehamas, who earned his Ph.D. from “Introduction to Psychology,” Oppen- phy survey from KwaZulu-Natal, or gotten to know him in classes, through Princeton in 1971, has taught at the heimer has earned the respect of his lingering questions as to how and why the suggestion of other students and University since 1990. Renowned as a colleagues and the rapt attention of his family composition was dramatically faculty, or simply from going to public scholar with a wide range of interests students by developing a curriculum changing over time, reminded us of the lectures, workshops and conferences across the humanities, Nehamas is bigger world beyond the confines of and chatting with him afterward.” an internationally recognized expert Continued on page 11 Princeton June 13, 2011 university Bulletin 11
archaeology; Angel Harris, sociol- ogy and African American studies; Board approves promotions for 24 faculty Desmond Hogan, philosophy; Serguei Oushakine, Slavic languages and literatures; Kristopher Ramsay, politics; he Board of Trustees has approved neering; Martin Gilens, politics; Yiguang Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative and Michael Reynolds, Near Eastern the promotions of 24 faculty Ju, mechanical and aerospace engi- Genomics; Jesse Reiser, architecture; studies. T members, all effective July 1, 2011, neering; Scott Lynch, sociology; Denise Mona Singh, computer science and the Assistant professor — John Baldwin, except where noted. Mauzerall, civil and environmental engi- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative mathematics; Alexander Hirsch, politics The faculty members and their neering and public and international Genomics; Thomas Trezise, French and and public affairs, effective Feb. 1, 2011; departments, by the academic rank to affairs; Jan-Werner Müller, politics; Italian; and Stacy Wolf, theater in the Gustav Holzegel, mathematics; and Micah which they are being promoted, are: Catherine Peters, civil and environmen- Lewis Center for the Arts. Warren. Hirsch was appointed for a Professor — Moses Charikar, computer tal engineering; Frans Pretorius, physics; Associate professor (with continu- term of three and a half years; the other science; Mung Chiang, electrical engi- Joshua Rabinowitz, chemistry and the ing tenure) — Rachael DeLue, art and appointments are for three years.
In addition to the executive com- Trustees mittee, five other trustee committees Faculty members submit resignations Continued from page 6 will have new chairs beginning July 1: academic affairs (John Diekman); he following faculty members have of Oxford; Edward Eigen, assistant grounds and buildings (Gibson); stu- submitted their resignations: professor of architecture, to accept a investment officer of Hall Capital dent life, health and athletics (Crystal Effective June 15, 2011: Saeed position at City College of New York; Partners LLC, a San Francisco-based Nix Hines); University resources T Tavazoie, professor of molecular biol- Michael Hochman, assistant professor investment management firm that she (Nancy Peretsman); and alumni ogy and the Lewis-Sigler Institute of mathematics, to accept a position founded in 1994. She earned an A.B. affairs (David Offensend). The com- for Integrative Genomics, to accept a at Hebrew University of Jerusalem; in economics from Princeton in 1980. mittees with continuing chairs are position at Columbia University. and Sergey Norin, assistant professor of Hall, who will be the first woman to finance (Heidi Miller); audit and com- Effective Sept. 1, 2011: Dmitry Belyaev, mathematics, to accept a position at serve as chair of the executive com- pliance (Louise Sams); public affairs assistant professor of mathematics, McGill University. mittee, was elected a charter trustee (Katherine Bradley); and honorary to accept a position at the University in 2007 and currently is the PRINCO degrees (President Tilghman). board chair, a role she will relinquish Completing their terms as trustees in July. She previously served as a on June 30 are Dennis Brownlee, University term trustee from 2002 to Janet Holmgren, Karen Magee, Frank 2006. Moss, Sonia Sotomayor, William Employee retirements Joining Hall as new members of the Walton, Peter Wendell and James board leadership are Brent Henry, who Williamson. will become vice chair, and Robert The 40-member Board of Trustees Murley, who will become clerk. Henry, is responsible for the overall direc- Effective May 1: in information years; in information technology, man- who graduated from Princeton in tion of the University. It approves technology, associate chief informa- ager of telecommunications support 1969 with an A.B. from the Wilson the operating and capital budgets, tion officer for operations and planning and administration Bonnie Monahan, School, was one of Princeton’s first supervises the investment of the Nancy Costa, after 13 years; in Near after 20 years. young alumni trustees and is a former University’s endowment and oversees Eastern studies, department manager Effective July 1: in public safety, president of the Alumni Association. campus real estate and long-range Kathleen O’Neill, after 17 years; in the campus access officer Willie Figgins, Murley, who earned his A.B. in poli- physical planning. The trustees also plasma physics lab, mechanic Lawrence after 35 years; in Building Services, tics from Princeton in 1972, is co-chair exercise review and oversight of Rich, after 11 years. janitor Carl Goodale Jr., after 16 years; of “Aspire: A Plan for Princeton,” the changes in major policies, such as Effective June 1: in the plasma in the library, library supervisor/ University’s five-year campaign to those involving admission and finan- physics lab, general mechanics/mainte- automation unit Gonul Yurdakul, after raise $1.75 billion. cial aid. nance staff member Larry Jones, after 37 16 years.
He was the founding director of the Steiglitz is a fellow of the Insti- and the two-volume work “Unstately Emeriti undergraduate certificate Program in tute for Electrical and Electronics Power.” the Applications of Computing. Engineers and of the Association for A graduate of Williams College, Continued from page 4 Steiglitz is well known for his work Computing Machinery. His honors White earned his Ph.D. from the Uni- on the theory of computer networks, include the Distinguished Teacher versity of California-Berkeley, where mathematical programming, the Award from Princeton’s School of he taught for a year before joining In 2002 Piglia founded the Prince- theory of algorithms and digital signal Engineering and Applied Science. Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School, ton Documentary Film Festival in processing, as well as an early interest White is a specialist in Asian devel- Department of Politics and Program in collaboration with filmmaker Andrés in computer music. In recent years he opment with an East Asian Studies in 1973. He also is an di Tella. He has also been instrumental has been interested emphasis on China. associated faculty member of Princeton’s in bringing to campus notable artists in computing with His research has cen- Department of East Asian Studies. and writers such as pianist Gerardo optical solitons, which tered on the politics of White has taught numerous Wilson Gandini, artist Roberto Jacoby, poet are light pulses that urbanization, devel- School policy task forces and policy Arturo Carrera and Saer. would transmit, store opment, the role of conferences, among other courses. He Steiglitz received bachelor’s and and process data. He local governments and is a former head of the Wilson School’s doctoral degrees from New York Uni- also has focused on unintended decentral- undergraduate and master of public versity and in 1963 moved directly into auction theory, which izations of authority, White affairs programs, as well as a former a position as an assistant professor of Steiglitz lies at the intersection comparisons of China director of graduate studies in the electrical engineering at Princeton. In of computer science, with Thailand and the Philippines, Department of Politics. He is a lifetime 1985 he became one of the initial faculty economics, mathematics and psychol- and relations across the Taiwan Strait. member of the Association for Chi- of Princeton’s newly formed Depart- ogy, and is the subject of his book, His books include “Policies of Chaos: nese Political Studies, the American ment of Computer Science and has “Snipers, Shills and Sharks: eBay and The Organizational Causes of Vio- Political Science Association and the taught an extensive variety of courses. Human Behavior.” lence in China’s Cultural Revolution” Association for Asian Studies.
about how people learn and what to say or was afraid to speak his/her Opp Lab fun,” said a former student. Teaching motivates them to learn is deployed to mind for fear that the ideas would be “Silly as it may seem, knowing as an Continued from page 10 maximal effect.” His colleague noted considered ‘silly.’ At the same time, undergraduate that the ‘Mr. Incred- that Oppenheimer said that leading he was a rigorous discussion leader ible’ toy award was up for grabs in the labor-intensive introductory course who constantly kept us on our toes by weekly lab meetings made me all that that incorporates amusing yet inspir- actually would inspire him to produce challenging our assumptions, play- much more eager to exceed require- ing lectures with engaging laboratory more research, and “his productivity ing devil’s advocate and telling us we ments. Meanwhile, while this weekly sessions. He tosses bags of M&Ms to over the last seven years has borne out could do better.” award was taken fairly seriously as students who volunteer to be part of his claim.” Oppenheimer maintains a similarly an added incentive to produce and be classroom demonstrations, and even Oppenheimer’s teaching portfolio in challenging but supportive environment promptly recognized for exceptional brings a 5-year-old “guest lecturer” the Wilson School includes graduate for the students who conduct research work, knowing that the ‘Best Attempt into class to demonstrate how chil- courses on psychology and policy and under his supervision in the “Opp at Humor’ award was also up for grabs dren think. “As a teacher, Danny is on accountability in higher education, Lab,” where he holds weekly meet- made the meetings lighthearted events, always the consummate psychologist,” as well as an undergraduate policy ings for all of his advisees, research and knowing that the ‘Worst Attempt a colleague wrote in nominating him task force on higher education testing. assistants and other students who want at Humor’ award would inevitably go for the award. “His lectures are fun One student from his policy task force to become involved in psychological to Danny put us all at ease. Danny’s and entertaining on the surface, but said Oppenheimer “was able to create research. Oppenheimer’s “encourage- unique brand of brilliantly corny humor underneath they are absolutely bril- an environment in which one never ment of excellence was coupled with a works wonders in making him relatable liant. Everything psychologists know felt pressured to find the ‘right’ thing healthy dose of humor that made the despite his genius.” Princeton 12 university Bulletin June 13, 2011
areas to broaden and enhance scholar- said, adding that spending time with a Mural ship about how the arts have an impact 7-year-old boy at one of the community on social justice issues and community Continued from page 1 meetings “put a face to the process.” collaboration. The two academic pro- The mural’s design — described by grams began working together on the its creator, Adams, as “Past Present project with the Pace Center, which Future” — emerged from the meet- ing slogans. Golden has consulted on offers students opportunities to engage ings. The design includes historic mural projects all over the world, but in public service and helped facilitate images, a salute to Trenton’s industrial this is her program’s first mural in public outreach for the mural project. origins and an image of water as a Trenton. Golden immersed her students in representation of the future. “Introducing students to this process the study of public art and in the many At the Community Paint Day in is like pulling back the curtain,” said steps involved in creating the mural in April, Princeton students joined more Golden, who co-taught the class with Trenton, which was created by art- than 100 members of the community to muralist Shira Walinsky of Philadel- ist Phillip Adams, who collaborated roll up their sleeves and paint parts of phia. “You can study public art, but with students on the project. The class the mural. The students spent several when you see the journey to creating studied the history of mural art, formal additional days painting at the site. the work, it’s something much richer.” issues of design and function, how the For Robert Lambeth, a member mural process has been a powerful of the class of 2014, the class was a Soliciting feedback and interacting with tool for social change, and how iden- chance to explore his interest in urban residents tity, perception and power shift when and public art. The mural project in Trenton is a communities are part of creating and “It was impressive to see the process collaboration among many partners. writing their own histories through of art bringing people together,” he The University’s Center for African public art. Guest artists visited the
said. Wojciechowski Frank American Studies, Lewis Center and class to talk about mural design, and For O’Dea, who is majoring in the David Seijas (left) and Knoepflmacher work Pace Center for Civic Engagement the students traveled to Philadelphia to Woodrow Wilson School of Public and on a mural they created with classmate worked with the city of Trenton and see some of the program’s murals there. International Affairs, the mural project Sarah Williams (not pictured) for Terrace has been a valuable way to combine Club, an independent eating club for her love of art with her interest in Princeton students. The mural incorporated education policy. ideas they had solicited from club members, “I’m thinking about policies to an approach that was taught in the Atelier improve the urban educational sys- class. tem, and this project convinced me of how impactful art could be in the process. There is so much potential,” students. Knoepflmacher said the said O’Dea, who has worked as a sum- group solicited ideas from the club’s mer intern at an inner-city school in members for the design. Philadelphia. “In class we had been talking about generating ideas from the community, Students design their own murals rather than imposing your ideas,” For their final assignment, the Knoepflmacher said. “For me, that was students answered the question, “If the biggest takeaway from the class. you had the opportunity, what mural As an artist, I’m used to making an would you create and what would image for myself. But here, I’m using its impact be?” Each student — or my skills to make what the community in some cases a group of students — wants. You almost take the role of an developed a detailed plan for their own observer,” a prospect that resonated mural by picking a location, interview- with what he is studying as an anthro- ing people who spend time at the site pology major, he said. and executing a design. They also Terrace members asked for a mural Denise ApplewhiteDenise created 5-foot-by-5-foot images of one that would incorporate the club’s slo- From left, Princeton student Kate O’Dea, Walinsky, student Robert Lambeth and section of their mural design, which gan, “Food=Love,” while celebrating Knoepflmacher complete a day’s work at the mural site. were exhibited at the Friend Center on members of Terrace and its sous chef the Princeton campus in early May. of 20 years, Gladys Marin. O’Dea’s design, which she planned The mural “is eclectic and humor- several community groups to launch Critical to the course was the stu- for an exterior wall of the Young ous” — like the club’s members, the Trenton Mural Arts Project, a dents’ attendance at four community Scholars Charter School in Philadel- Knoepflmacher said. It has been hung volunteer-based organization that meetings to discuss ideas for the mural phia where she has interned, has the on Terrace’s second floor. hopes to establish a vibrant mural arts with residents and get their feed- word “scholar” prominently displayed As the vibrant blues and yellows of program in the city. The mural at the back. Golden always solicits extensive with definitions of the word, along the Trenton mural attract the eyes of Home Rubber Company is the project’s community input on a public mural with colorful images of students danc- passers-by, the project serves, for the first undertaking. The organizers hope project, she said. ing, creating art and studying. students in the class, as a highlight of the mural will be a source of inspiration “A mural is always about building “I interviewed students at the their Princeton experience. and pride for residents, as well as an a collaboration between the artist and school, and they wanted adjectives to “I am thrilled to have had the example of community collaboration. the community,” Golden said. Attend- explain to the community what scholar opportunity to contribute to the project, The project was initiated two years ing the meetings gave the students “a means,” she said. “The kids were which I believe will enhance the Tren- ago by the Atelier program, which sense of what community-based public excited about it.” ton community,” O’Dea said. “Working wanted to do a mural project with art means to a community,” she said. The mural designed by Williams, on the mural design gave me a new Golden, and the Arts and Social For Sarah Williams, a member of along with members of the class of level of appreciation for both the chal- Justice Initiative at Princeton’s Center the class of 2011, the meetings were a 2012 Alex Knoepflmacher and David lenges and the potential of the city of for African American Studies. The highlight of the course. Seijas, was planned for a lounge on Trenton, and offered me an invaluable initiative forges community partner- “I was really interested in meet- the second floor of Terrace Club, an perspective — one that would be dif- ships in Trenton and the surrounding ing the people the mural was for,” she independent eating club for Princeton ficult to get in a classroom alone.” Denise ApplewhiteDenise The expansive mural at the Home Rubber Company facility covers more than 7,000 square feet of wall space.