Princeton
university BulletinVolume 100, Number 2 Oct. 18, 2010
been such a fantastic pleasure for me all Princeton Distinguished Visitor Vargas my life that I cannot believe I am hon- ored and recompensed for something that has been so recompensive to me.” He will receive 10 million krona ($1.5 Llosa wins Nobel Prize in literature million) as the prize winner. At a press conference at the Instituto Cervantes in New York City with a Je n n i f e r G r e e n s t e i n A lt m a n n crowd of more than 150, Vargas Llosa cclaimed Peruvian novelist Mario was asked how the prize will affect Vargas Llosa, who is spend- him. “I’ll keep on writing to the last A ing this semester as the 2010 day of my life. I don’t think the Nobel Distinguished Visitor in Princeton Prize will change my writing, my University’s Program in Latin Ameri- style, my themes — that comes from a can Studies, has been awarded the very intimate part of my personality. 2010 Nobel Prize in literature. He also What I think the prize will change is is a visiting lecturer in Princeton’s my daily life,” he quipped. “I thought Program in Creative Writing and the these months I will spend in the Lewis Center for the Arts. United States will be very quiet, (but) Known for his deep engagement with everything has changed. My life will politics and history, as well as his deft be, I think, a life in a madhouse.” storytelling and eye for the absurd, At Princeton this fall, Vargas Llosa Vargas Llosa has been a major figure in is teaching a course in Spanish on Latin American fiction since his debut techniques of the novel and another on novel, “The Time of the Hero,” was Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. published in Spanish in 1963. Vargas Llosa has had a relationship with He won this year’s Nobel “for his the Program in Latin American Studies cartography of structures of power and for several years and taught at the Uni- his trenchant images of the individu- versity in the 1992-93 academic year. In al’s resistance, revolt and defeat,” the addition, his literary papers — including Swedish Academy said in announcing notebooks, correspondence, and manu- the award Oct. 7. scripts of novels and other writing — are “I was wondering if it was a joke,” housed in Firestone Library. Vargas Llosa said of the early-morning The Lewis Center and the Latin phone call he received from the acad- American studies program hosted a emy, according to an interview on the celebratory reception on Oct. 11 for Nobel Prize website. It was 5:30 a.m. Vargas Llosa. Following the reception, Brian Wilson Brian but he was already awake, he said, pre- he presented a public lecture that was Novelist and visiting lecturer Mario Vargas Llosa (left), this year’s winner of the Nobel Prize in paring for one of his Princeton classes. scheduled before he was awarded the literature, is greeted by President Tilghman (right) at a reception in his honor. They are joined “I’m deeply moved and grateful,” he by Rubén Gallo (center), director of the Program in Latin American Studies. said. “I feel very surprised. Writing has Continued on page 6
3-D simulations help envision supernovae explosions
Kitta MacPherson The new 3-D simulations are based on the idea that the collapsing star or scientists, supernovae are true itself is not sphere-like, but distinctly superstars — massive explo- asymmetrical and affected by a host of F sions of huge, dying stars that instabilities in the volatile mix sur- shine light on the shape and fate of the rounding its core. universe. “I think this is a big jump in our For a brief burst of time, superno- understanding of how these things vae can radiate more energy than the can explode,” said Adam Burrows, a sun will emit in its lifetime. With the professor of astrophysical sciences at potential energy of 25 hundred trillion Princeton, who led the research. “In trillion nuclear weapons, they can out- principle, if you could go inside the shine entire galaxies, producing some supernovae to their centers, this is of the biggest explosions ever seen, what you might see.” and helping track distances across the Writing in the Sept. 1 issue of cosmos. the Astrophysical Journal, Burrows Now, a Princeton-led team has found — along with first author Jason Nord- a way to make computer simulations of haus, a postdoctoral research fellow supernovae exploding in three dimen- at Princeton, and Ann Almgren and sions, which may lead to new scientific John Bell from the Lawrence Berkeley insights. National Laboratory in California — Even though these mammoth explo- reports that the Princeton team has sions have been observed for thousands developed simulations that are begin- of years, for the past 50 years research- ning to match the massive blow-outs ers have struggled to mimic the astronomers have witnessed when step-by-step destructive action on gigantic stars die. computers. Researchers argue that In the past, simulated explosions such simulations, even crude ones, represented in one and two dimensions are important, as they can lead to new often stalled, leading scientists to con- information about the universe and clude that their understanding of the help address this longstanding prob- Courtesy of Adam Burrows and Jason Nordhaus lem in astrophysics. The new 3-D simulations like this one are based on the idea that the collapsing star itself is Continued on page 8 not sphere-like, but distinctly asymmetrical and affected by a host of instabilities.
What’s Working group to focus on social, residential life 2 Physicist Gubser Committee to assess disability services 3 looks to strings for answers 7 inside? Ph.D. programs receive high national marks 4 Princeton 2 university Bulletin Oct. 18, 2010
Life Cynthia Cherrey and Vice Presi- Tilghman appoints working group on dent and Secretary Robert Durkee, Spotlight who chaired the Eating Club Task campus social and residential life Force and co-chaired an earlier Task Force on Health and Well-Being. The undergraduate members will resident Tilghman has asked a • What is and should be the role of be senior Cesar Devers, a residential 13-member working group com- fraternities and sororities at Princeton? college adviser in Rockefeller College, P posed of undergraduates, faculty • Is it desirable, and if so, feasible, to vice president of the Black Box The- and staff to review Princeton’s goals reintroduce a campus pub? ater Dance Club and events chair at regarding undergraduate on-campus Tilghman indicated that “these ques- Charter Club; senior Samuel Dorison, social and residential life, and to con- tions are timely, in part because they vice president of the Undergraduate sider several questions that were raised arose out of the campus-wide conversa- Student Government (USG) and a but not fully addressed last year by a tion that was facilitated last year by the former chair of the Whitman Col- task force that focused on relationships Eating Club Task Force, and in part lege Council; junior Angela Groves, between the University and the eating because the four-year residential college a member of the Eating Club Task clubs. system is now fully in place, as are other Force; sophomore Cameron Hough, In her charge to the new working recent additions to campus life like the junior coordinator of the Leadership group, she asked it to examine, among Carl Fields Center and Campus Club.” and Mentoring Program at the Fields other topics, the following issues that Tilghman asked the working group Center and former social chair of the were raised by the task force: “to provide ample opportunity for class of 2013; and senior John Mona- • How can undergraduate social members of the campus community to gle, chair of the USG Projects Board. and residential life be enhanced and offer comments, perspectives and sug- The other members of the work- improved on campus? gestions,” and to aim to issue its report ing group will be Christina Davis, • How can the University enrich the during the spring semester. director of student life in Whitman Denise ApplewhiteDenise social and residential experience in the The working group will be co- College; Thomas Dunne, associ- residential colleges? chaired by Vice President for Campus ate dean of undergraduate students; Jeff Nunokawa, professor of Eng- Name: Trevor A. Dawes lish, master of Rockefeller College Position: Circulation services director for and a member of the Eating Club the Princeton University Library. Over- Eating Club Task Force issues progress report Task Force; Michael Olin, director seeing the work of several Firestone of student life at Wilson College; The University’s Eating Club Task Force has issued a progress report sum- Library public services departments Robert Sandberg, lecturer in English, marizing steps that have been taken to address the group’s recommendations — including circulation, reserve, theater and the Lewis Center for the since the issuance of its report earlier this year. The report can be found at interlibrary loan, borrow direct, stacks Arts; and Susan Teeter, head coach of
The University’s comprehensive Yearly income: $100,000 to $120,000 financial aid plan helps moderate-, Average grant: $38,750 middle- and upper-middle-income What it covers: Full tuition, 18 percent Faculty obituary families afford the cost of a Princeton of room and board education. The figures below show Yearly income: $120,000 to $140,000 the average grant, by yearly income, Average grant: $34,700 Franklyn Van Houten, a Princeton formation known as the Newark basin for students at various family income What it covers: 95 percent of tuition geologist whose interest in simple also made him an authority on the levels in the freshman class of 2014. sediments propelled him for dozens geology of New Jersey. Tuition, room and board is $48,580 Yearly income: $140,000 to $160,000 of summers on a scientific odyssey Known to friends, colleagues and for 2010-11. Average grant: $30,400 What it covers: 83 percent of tuition through the Ameri- students simply as “Van,” Van Houten Yearly income: Up to $60,000 can West, Canada, spent much of his career extracting geo- Average grant: $48,600 Yearly income: $160,000 to $180,000 Venezuela, Colombia, logical history from rock strata, the thin What it covers: Full tuition, room and Average grant: $26,450 Morocco, Tunisia and veneer of sediments coating the Earth’s board, and some expenses What it covers: 72 percent of tuition Egypt, has died at crust. His specialty was sedimentology, Yearly income: $60,000 to $80,000 Yearly income: $180,000 to $200,000 age 96. the study of history buried in sedimen- Average grant: $45,100 Average grant: $22,700 Van Houten, a tary rock. The field long has been vital What it covers: Full tuition, 71 percent What it covers: 62 percent of tuition professor emeritus of to exploration for oil and, more recently, geological and geo- for metals and nonmetallic resources, of room and board Yearly income: $200,000 and above* physical sciences who and has served as a main source for sci- Average grant: $17,000 Yearly income: $80,000 to $100,000 Van Houten joined the Princeton entific knowledge about Earth history. What it covers: 46 percent of tuition Average grant: $42,250 faculty in 1946, died *Most who qualify at this income What it covers: Full tuition, 47 percent at home in Bethlehem, N.H., on Aug. level have two children in college. Online: Full obituary of room and board 27. His pioneering research on a rock blogs.princeton.edu/memorial Source: Office of Financial Aid
The Princeton University Bulletin (© 2010 The Trustees of Princeton University) is published monthly from September through June to coincide with the academic year. The Bulletin is published by the Office of Communications, 22 Chambers St., Suite 201, Princeton, NJ 08542. A total of 10 issues will be published between September 2010 and June 2011. A Princeton publication schedule can be found at
cess for handling informal and formal Committee to assess University’s disability services appeals of decisions by the Office of Disability Services? • Has the University constructed committee of faculty and staff undergraduate students for individual- uate the appropriateness of the Office effective and efficient communication members has been formed to ized accommodations related to their of Disability Services’ current policies networks between the Office of Dis- A assess Princeton’s disability academic programs. Its members will and procedures, identify best practices ability Services and other offices and services and to help strengthen the consult broadly with the student body in the field and “advance Princeton’s academic departments? University’s efforts to provide an inclu- and faculty, and also with a range of commitment to an inclusive, accessible In addition to Schwarzbauer, the sive, accessible campus environment. administrative professionals and experts and equitable campus.” committee members include: Claire The Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on at Princeton and peer institutions. The key questions that the commit- Fowler, senior associate dean of the col- Disability Services for Undergradu- Jean Schwarzbauer, professor of tee will seek to answer include: lege; Hendrik Hartog, the Class of 1921 ates, appointed by Provost Christopher molecular biology, will chair the com- • Is the Office of Disability Services Bicentennial Professor in the History Eisgruber, will review the services mittee, which is expected to complete using appropriate criteria to determine of American Law and Liberty; John provided by the Office of Disability its work and discuss its findings with whether to grant or deny requests for Kolligian, executive director of Univer- Services, which was established in Eisgruber by the end of this academic accommodations related to the under- sity Health Services; Andrea LaPaugh, 2006 to more effectively meet the year. graduate academic program? professor of computer science; Erin needs of faculty, staff, students and “The committee’s members will • Is the University providing an McDermott, executive associate director visitors with disabilities. In particular, have to invest considerable time and appropriate range of accommodations of athletics; Daniel Oppenheimer, associ- the office was created to respond to the effort in order to execute this project to students with disabilities? ate professor of psychology and public growth in the population of students successfully,” Eisgruber said. “I thank • Does the University have an affairs; and Dmitri Tymoczko, associate with special needs — especially those them for their willingness to do so; appropriate process and timeline for professor of music. Eve Tominey, direc- with learning disabilities — that is their conclusions will matter greatly to reviewing the documentation that tor of the Office of Disability Services, occurring not only at Princeton, but at the quality of education that Princeton students submit to support their and Hannah Ross, University counsel, universities nationwide. provides to its students.” accommodation requests? will sit with the committee. Terri Reed, The committee will assess Prince- According to Eisgruber’s charge to • Does the University have in place an vice provost for institutional equity and ton’s approach to requests from the committee, the members will eval- appropriate and effective appeals pro- diversity, will serve as secretary.
and professor of classics; Margaret Provost launches search for dean of the college Martonosi, professor of electrical engineering; Harvey Rosen, the John rinceton Provost Christopher Eis- will step down as dean of the college at dean selected by the end of January so L. Weinberg Professor of Econom- gruber has formed a committee the end of this academic year. that there will be an opportunity for ics and Business Policy and master P to search for a successor to Nancy Eisgruber, who will chair the search overlap. of Whitman College; Veronica Shi, Malkiel, who has announced that she committee, said he hopes to have a new Other members of the committee a senior majoring in classics; and are: Manjul Bhargava, the R. Bran- Michael Weinberg, a senior majoring don Fradd, Class of 1983, Profes- in operations research and financial sor of Mathematics; Wallace Best, engineering and chair of the Under- professor of religion and African graduate Student Government’s American studies; Brandice Canes- Undergraduate Life Committee. Vice Federal Reserve Chairman Wrone, professor of politics and Provost Katherine Rohrer will serve Ben Bernanke, returning to public affairs in the Woodrow as secretary to the committee. campus for a public address Wilson School of Public and Inter- Reporting to the provost, the dean on Sept. 24, discusses the national Affairs; Robert Kaster, of the college is the senior officer importance of the field of the Kennedy Foundation Professor responsible for the University’s under- graduate academic program. economics in confronting the of Latin Language and Literature recent financial crisis and emphasizes the need for further work by policymakers and researchers to prevent future downturns. Bernanke More news on the Web was a faculty member at Princeton for two decades Visit the News at Princeton Web page at
Federal Reserve. ApplewhiteDenise reflects continued success in the University’s efforts to attract a diverse student body and to make a Princeton education affordable to all students Online: Full article www.princeton.edu/main/news who enroll. This year, 768 freshmen, or 58 percent of the class, are receiving financial aid, with a total of $27 million in scholarships. The class of 2014 also includes the largest number of students from minority backgrounds in Prince- ton’s history, with a total of 490 students from American minority groups representing 37.3 percent of the class.
• U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu discussed with staff at the Princeton Committee on undergraduate Plasma Physics Laboratory how scientists must come to the country’s aid in times of need, and how nuclear energy — both fission and fusion — could be women’s leadership seeks feedback solutions to the world’s energy challenges. In his Sept. 27 visit, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist described the lab as being at the center of the intel- lectual “birth” and “coming of age” of plasma and fusion science. committee established to develop perspectives on this issue,” said a better understanding of wom- Keohane, the Laurance S. Rockefeller • A team led by Princeton geoscientist Jeroen Tromp has developed the capabil- A en’s leadership in academic and Distinguished Visiting Professor ity to produce realistic movies of earthquakes based on complex computer extracurricular activities at Prince- in the Woodrow Wilson School of simulations that can be made available worldwide within hours of a disastrous ton has launched a website seeking Public and International Affairs and upheaval. The videos show waves of ground motion spreading out from an observations about leadership roles at the University Center for Human epicenter. In making them widely available, the team of computational seis- the University and suggestions from Values. “Feedback from the website mologists and computer scientists aims to aid researchers working to improve students, alumni, faculty and staff. will augment the information we col- understanding of earthquakes and develop better maps of the Earth’s interior. The Steering Committee on Under- lect while continuing to meet with graduate Women’s Leadership was various groups this fall. The insights • The predatory targeting of minorities in segregated urban areas was a key factor in commissioned by President Tilghman gained are critical to our work as we the recent U.S. mortgage foreclosure crisis, two Princeton scholars have concluded to provide recommendations to expand explore whether there are disparities in a new study. Although the rise in subprime lending and the ensuing wave of opportunities for students to pursue in how male and female undergraduate foreclosures was partly a result of market forces that have been well documented, leadership roles inside and outside the students assert leadership inside and the foreclosure crisis also was a highly racialized process, according to the study classroom. The committee’s website outside the classroom at Princeton.” by graduate student Jacob Rugh of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and Inter- asks campus community members to The website includes information national Affairs and Professor Douglas Massey of sociology and the Wilson School. answer a series of questions about their on the members and purpose of the experiences and views related to stu- committee, as well as a timeline of the • With the aim of expanding internship opportunities for Princeton students, dent leadership at the University. This committee’s activities. The site will while at the same time broadening outreach to alumni with a commitment to information will help the committee be updated as the committee works to civic engagement, the Pace Center for Civic Engagement and the Princeton shape its recommendations, according fulfill its charge by February 2011 to University Class of 1969 Community Service Fund launched a partnership to committee chair Nannerl Keohane. issue a report describing its findings over the summer to support Princeton Internships in Civic Service. This new “The committee already has and presenting recommendations for partnership is among a growing number that involve alumni forging ties with gathered valuable input from many improving the opportunities for all the University for programs that exemplify Princeton’s informal motto, “in the Princetonians in the initial phases students to excel at Princeton. nation’s service and in the service of all nations.” of our work, and we look forward to Online: Committee website capturing the full range of diverse www.princeton.edu/leadership Princeton owns or manages at the University of Oct. 18, 2010 4 university Bulletin California-Irvine and Arizona State University, according to Chad Klaus, assistant vice president for facilities. Upon completion of the project, the Preparations begin for construction of University will make Hibben-Magie available only to graduate students. At graduate student housing at Hibben-Magie that point, the Housing Master Plan calls for the Butler Tract (bounded by Harrison Street, Hartley Avenue and Ru t h St e v e n s ward to partnering with them to meet tems and interior layouts, and do not Sycamore Road), which housed 370 the institution’s goals for this site.” offer residents amenities found in more graduate students last year, to be rede- rinceton has selected American The University, with ACC, also contemporary housing facilities. Part veloped for faculty and staff housing. Campus Communities (ACC) has chosen an architect for the proj- of ACC’s work will be determining the The redeveloped Hibben-Magie site P to assist with preparations ect, and negotiations are under way size and mix of units (studio, one- is expected to meet the majority of the associated with the redevelopment of with that firm. The selection process bedroom, two-bedroom or three- demand of graduate students residing the Hibben-Magie site for graduate included a request for qualifications bedroom) and whether or not to retain there and at the Butler Tract. student housing. from and interviews with a short list of all or part of the existing Hibben- Princeton’s goal is to continue to The Austin, Texas-based company is architects. A member of the Graduate Magie buildings as part of the design. house approximately 70 percent of its one of the largest developers of student Student Government was an inter- Members of the selection commit- graduate students in University-owned housing communities in the country. viewer and was critical to the overall tee were particularly impressed with and -operated housing. Graduate The company will work with the Uni- decision-making. ACC’s collaborative approach, as students, which number slightly more versity on predevelopment tasks such as The redevelopment project is well as the standard of development than 2,225, also live in the Graduate conducting focus groups with graduate intended to provide newly constructed and operations of student housing College and Lawrence Apartments, as students and other stakeholders, obtain- housing units for 475 to 625 graduate developments that ACC developed, well as in off-campus housing. ing regulatory approvals, evaluating students. The predevelopment phase design and financing alternatives, esti- is expected to take two years, with mating costs, and scheduling services. construction anticipated to begin in A project design with all regulatory 2012. The construction period will last approvals is expected to emerge from approximately two years, and plans this collaboration. call for graduate students to occupy “After a great deal of research, the apartments in the summer of 2014. including visits to a number of loca- The project is part of the University’s tions where ACC and others have Housing Master Plan, begun in 2005 developed similar complexes, we to enhance housing programs for learned that there are several firms faculty, staff and graduate students, that produce very high-quality prod- as well as the Campus Plan, begun in ucts and services,” said Michael 2006 to guide campus development McKay, vice president for facilities, through 2016. who directed a team of Princeton The Hibben and Magie apartments administrators through the search for are two adjacent mid-rise buildings a firm for the project. “ACC is clearly a located south of Faculty Road and east leader in this field, and they impressed of Alexander Street occupied during the selection team with both projects the 2009-10 academic year by 280 and operations that respond to the graduate students and 54 faculty and Princeton UniversityPrinceton OfficeCommunications of particular housing needs of graduate staff. Constructed in the 1960s, the students. We’re very much looking for- 192 units have outmoded building sys- American Campus Communities will collaborate with Princeton on the redevelopment of the Hibben-Magie site to house graduate students.
Employee retirements
Effective June 1: In Building Ser- the plasma physics lab, science educa- preparation, program administrator 32 years; in the Council of Ivy Group vices, janitor Danny Caldwell, after 17 tion administrator Christine Ritter, after Helen Martinson, after 10 years; and in Presidents, department office support years; in molecular biology, techni- 31 years. Print and Mail Services, production staff member Jane Antis, after 22 years; cal staff member Carol Champion, after Effective Sept. 1: in Print and Mail assistant supervisor Joseph Mattera, in chemistry, senior laboratory coor- 23 years; in the plasma physics lab, Services, digital print supervisor after 31 years. dinator Surjit Chowdhary, after 10 years; head of information services Anthony Jerome Andrzejewski, after 32 years; in Effective Oct. 1: in chemistry, master in Judaic studies, program manager DeMeo, after 34 years; and in Building the Bendheim Center for Finance, instrument maker Kenneth Andreas, after Marcie Citron, after 11 years. Services, janitor James Fuller Sr., after 15 director of corporate relations David years. Blair, after 10 years; in the plasma Effective July 1: in psychology, physics lab, senior engineer Fred research scholar Casimir Fornal, after Dahlgren, after 36 years; in chemistry, 27 years; in the Office of the Provost, professional researchers and specialists chair of the Mpala Research Trust administrator and seminar coordina- Laurel Harvey, after 28 years; in stew- tor Bonnie DeMayo-Zoller, after 23 years; ardship, director Jotham Johnson, after in Print and Mail Services, associate Ph.D. programs get high 28 years; in loans and receivables, director of mail services Michael Devlin, associate manager Barbara Jones, after after 16 years; in the art museum, marks in national assessment 40 years; in the library, librarian security administrator Gail Everett, after Nina Shapiro, after 23 years; in teacher 30 years; in Building Services, janitor preparation, director John Webb, after Francis Fennen, after 11 years; in the Ca s s C l i at t programs. For example, the number 10 years; and in molecular biology, library, special collections assistant of psychology Ph.D. programs evalu- senior professional specialist John Welsh, Debbie Grant, after 21 years; in chem- he majority of Princeton’s Ph.D. ated by the NRC was 237, while 74 after 25 years. istry, department manager Stephanie programs evaluated in a national programs were evaluated in operations Effective Aug. 1: in the plasma phys- Greene, after 19 years; in the plasma T assessment of research colleges research, systems engineering and ics lab, neutral beam source technician physics lab, principal engineer Rob- and universities released Sept. 28 industrial engineering. Edward Gilsenan, after 34 years; and in ert Marsala, after 31 years; in teacher ranked among the best in the country. According to the NRC data for Princeton was one of 212 research Princeton: institutions that contributed data • Fourteen of Princeton’s evaluated to the National Research Council programs were very highly rated in Employee obituaries (NRC) for its report, “An Assessment both the S-rankings and R-rankings of Doctoral Programs in the United such that the ratings these programs States,” which was developed as a new received were entirely above the rat- national resource on graduate educa- ings received by 80 percent of the Current employees plasma physics lab); Elvira Krespach, 81 tion. Twenty-one of Princeton’s 35 programs in their fields. July: Robert Charles, 59 (2002-2010, (1975-1987, economics); Carrie Shuman, programs evaluated in the assessment • Among these 14 programs, six Dining Services); and Charles Pickett, 76 (1960-1998, Building Services); received rankings that were at or very of the programs — those in applied 56 (1990-2010, Building Services). John Stevenson, 85 (1954-1988, mainte- near the top of their field. and computational mathematics, nance); and Willie Tye, 76 (1994-2007, The NRC assessment evaluated Retired employees psychology, electrical engineering, Building Services). programs on two scales: survey-based mathematics, computer science and March: Frances Hama, 92 (1968-1981, July: Vincent Corso, 83 (1958-1991, “S-rankings,” which reflect the degree the Woodrow Wilson School of Public mechanical and aerospace engineering). plasma physics lab); Bernard Doff, 87 to which a program is strong in the and International affairs — have top April: Doris Carroll, 88 (1964-1981, (1979-1989, Dining Services); Gene characteristics that faculty in the field rating ranges among programs across housing); and Irene Richardson, 90 Pinelli, 71 (1959-1995, plasma phys- rated as most important to the overall the country, rating between 1 and 4 on (1969-1982, public safety). ics lab); Eileen Rabiger, 73 (1980-1995, quality of a program; and regression- both the S-rankings and R-rankings. May: Edward Cameron, 91 (1964-1985, plasma physics lab); and Ann Waldron, based “R-rankings,” which compare • An additional nine programs had plasma physics lab); and Joseph Ingram, 85 (1978-1990, communications). the statistics of individual doctoral top ratings on one of the two rating 75 (1984-2001, public safety). August: Frank Bernath, 85 (1962- programs based on faculty evaluators’ scales: Eight programs — those in June: Wilber Davis, 81 (1970-1994, 1986, plasma physics lab); and George opinions about a sample of programs astrophysical sciences, civil and envi- Dining Services); John Edwards, 75 Schmucki, 90 (1981-2003, alumni and in that field. The number of evaluated ronmental engineering, ecology and (1986-1999, Building Services); donor records). programs within specific fields varied evolutionary biology, economics, Juanita Green, 66 (1975-2006, Dining September: George Ofner, 94 (1957- widely according to the number of Services); Edna Jarvis, 85 (1983-1993, 1979, machine shop). institutions that provided data for their Continued on page 6 Princeton Oct. 18, 2010 university Bulletin 5 nassaunotes Oct. 18-Nov. 14
upcoming Feeney to give first talk in CalENDARlinks
Readings: Richard Price and President’s Lecture Series For broader listings of C.D. Wright campus public events: 4:30 p.m. Oct. 20 185 Nassau St., Stewart Theater enis Feeney, a Princeton profes- Feeney’s talk is the first of three sched- sor of classics, will deliver the uled for this year’s President’s Lecture P uBLIC EvENTS Calendar L ecture: “The Writer as Two Selves: Dfirst talk in this year’s Presi- Series. Nolan McCarty, the Susan Dod
Courtesy of Doug Aitken and 303 Gallery, New York migratory animals. Princeton 6 university Bulletin Oct. 18, 2010
“He has always defended the space Vargas Llosa and autonomy of culture,” said Adel- Continued from page 1 man, the Walter Samuel Carpenter III Professor in Spanish Civilization and Culture and director of Princeton’s Nobel Prize. To accommodate the Council for International Teaching increased interest, the location was and Research. “Writers need to have moved to Richardson Auditorium, autonomy from political structures. It’s where he delivered a lecture in Span- not always a popular stance but he was ish to a crowd of more than 500 on always a defender of it. He’s a classical the trend of trivialization in modern liberal with a fabulous imagination.” culture. He explained that if the main At the press conference, Vargas goal of culture is to entertain, the Llosa addressed questions about result can be banalization, adding whether he believed the prize was that all members of a society need to associated with his political beliefs. be aware of the consequences this can “I am a writer but I am also a citi- have on shared moral, cultural, social, zen. I have literary ideas and values, political and civic experiences. Wilson Brian but I also have civic and political “En todas las épocas historias hay Vargas Llosa is teaching a class on Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges that examines the ideas,” he said. “But I am basically a sido personas cultas y incultas,” he writer’s prose, his techniques and the sources he used in his short stories. Here, Vargas Llosa writer, and I would like to be remem- said. (Throughout the ages of history talks to (from left) juniors Chi Anunwa and Albert Fernandez after class. bered, if I am remembered, for my there have been educated and unedu- work. On the other hand, I am also cated people.) He later added, “La rez, who is majoring in the Woodrow erature and politics through his fiction a citizen and I have political ideas, cultura es ... un denominador común.” Wilson School of Public and Interna- and his essays. which I think is a moral obligation of (Culture is a common denominator.) tional Affairs and pursuing a certificate “This is a recognition not just for him, every citizen.” “Our students have already had a in Latin American studies. “The class but a recognition of Latin American lit- Vargas Llosa’s most well-known great opportunity to work directly has been amazing. Not only are we able erature,” said Díaz-Quiñones, the Emory works include “Conversación en la not only with a first-rate writer, of to hear this famous author, but interact L. Ford Professor of Spanish Emeritus catedral” (1969; “Conversation in the course, but a writer who’s been seen with him on a personal level.” at Princeton. “He is a representative Cathedral,” 1975) and “Tía Julia y el to take on social issues directly and Vargas Llosa is a prominent voice in writer in so many ways of Latin Ameri- escribidor” (1977; “Aunt Julia and the decisively,” said Paul Muldoon, chair the world of Peruvian politics — as a can literature. This prize is a recognition Scriptwriter,” 1982). His 2000 novel of the Lewis Center, who is a Pulitzer prolific essayist and as a candidate for of the richness and wealth and variety of “The Feast of the Goat” portrays the Prize-winning poet. “It’s important the country’s presidency in 1990 — Latin American literature.” final days of General Rafael Trujillo’s that our students, and the rest of us, who has often written about historical Those sentiments were echoed by dictatorial regime in the Dominican are reminded that literature is a real events in his fiction. Gabriela Nouzeilles, professor of Span- Republic in 1961. force in the world.” “He has an especially keen eye ish and Portuguese languages and “I felt that I had never been on Maria Julia Gutierrez, a junior from for the absurdity that characterizes cultures and chair of the Department of such intimate terms with power,” said Mexico who is in Vargas Llosa’s class Latin America’s strangest histori- Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Edmund White, a professor of creative on the techniques of the novel, said cal moments,” said Rubén Gallo, a Cultures. She said that Vargas Llosa’s writing in the Lewis Center, of reading that her family was astonished that professor of Spanish and Portuguese “literary fictions explore humanity in “The Feast of the Goat.” “The will, the she was able to take a class with the languages and cultures and the direc- its multiple and contradictory dimen- self-discipline, the paranoia, the delib- distinguished author. tor of the Program in Latin American sions, from the horrors of history and the erate cruelty, the vanity, the concealed “It’s something that will mark my Studies. “He gives historical events a violent legacy of colonialism and politi- fearfulness — all of these aspects of an Princeton experience and is something beautiful novelistic form. His autocrat were portrayed in unforgetta- that I will never forget,” said Gutier- plots are elegant and compelling, ble and convincing detail. Vargas Llosa, and he gives the per- unlike most writers who live quiet cam- spective of how these pus lives, has been at the very center of political episodes affect politics and understands it better than the everyday person liv- any other living novelist.” ing in Latin America.” At Princeton this semester, Vargas Literary scholar Llosa is giving students an intimate Arcadio Díaz-Quiño- opportunity — through his courses nes, who has known and other opportunities for interaction Vargas Llosa since the — to gain insights into his thinking late 1960s, said the about the craft of writing. award validated the “I am basically a writer, not a writer’s broad influence teacher, but I enjoy teaching because in Latin American lit- of the students, and the chance to talk to them about good literature,” Vargas Llosa said earlier this fall. “Good lit- erature is not only entertainment — it is a fantastic entertainment — but it’s also something that gives you a better understanding of the world in which cal madness, to the sweeping you live. Literature is an exploration of forces of erotic desire and the all the possibilities of human life.” miracle of laughter.” Vargas Llosa tells his students that “He is a masterful story- composing fiction is an all-consuming ABOVE: Vargas Llosa and Gallo share a teller, able to bewitch the endeavor. “Writing is the commitment laugh at the reception honoring the Nobel reader with the power of his of your entire personality and life, and Prize winner. RIGHT: Vargas Llosa talks poetic prose and the fascinat- I think it’s the only way you can suc- with (from left) Caitlin Sanford, a graduate ing complexity of his fictional ceed as a writer — with discipline and student in the Woodrow Wilson School worlds,” Nouzeilles said. also a stubbornness,” he said. of Public and International Affairs, and Historian Jeremy Adelman The award to Vargas Llosa came 17 Mariana Socal, a Wilson School graduate said that many of Vargas years after Toni Morrison, who is now alumna. ABOVE RIGHT: Paul Muldoon (left), Llosa’s political crusades Princeton’s Robeert F. Goheen Profes- chair of the Lewis Center for the Arts, have been on individual sor in the Humanities Emeritus, won greets Vargas Llosa at the reception. rights and freedoms. the Nobel Prize in literature.
highly rated, receiving S-ranking dents; guaranteed multi-year funding academic year, it does not reflect Ph.D. programs ranges that fall between 1 and 10. for doctoral students in all disciplines; significant changes in the interven- Continued from page 4 • The high-rated programs showed a residential campus experience for ing years in the faculty and doctoral strength in the following highly graduate students; and vigorous intel- programs at Princeton and other uni- weighted characteristics in the survey lectual exchange across departmental versities, including the introduction English, history, philosophy and rankings: high faculty research activity and divisional lines. We encourage of two high-quality Ph.D. programs sociology — had S-rankings between on a per-faculty basis; strong student prospective applicants to consider at Princeton, in neuroscience and in 1 and 4; and one program — French financial and programmatic support; carefully which programs might best quantitative and computational biol- and Italian — had an R-ranking and good productivity of Ph.D.’s, meet their specific needs, and we hope ogy, that have been established since between 1 and 4. including good completion rates and students find the NRC assessment a the study was conducted. • Twenty-one out of 35 evaluated consistently low time-to-degree. useful new tool in that process.” “The report should be a valuable programs received S-ranking ranges of “Princeton is justifiably proud of the Princeton participated in the assess- resource for institutions across the between 1 and 10. high quality of its faculty, its graduate ment in support of the NRC’s stated country as a stimulus for motivating • The majority of Princeton’s evalu- programs and its graduate students,” twin goals of helping institutions improvements in admissions pro- ated programs within the humanities said William Russel, dean of the improve their programs and provid- cesses, financial support, advising (six out of 11), social sciences (five Graduate School. “We remain com- ing more information about specific and mentoring, degree requirements, out of seven), the natural sciences mitted to providing relatively small graduate programs to prospective professional development and career and mathematics (six out of 11) and programs that ensure a high level of students. Since the report is based advising, and ultimately completion,” engineering (four out of six) are very engagement between faculty and stu- on data collected for the 2005-06 Russel said. Princeton Oct. 18, 2010 university Bulletin 7 Gubser looks to strings for answers, bringing the public along
K i t ta M ac P h e r s o n four-dimensional field theories (those that he had just finished reading that After postdoctoral work at Harvard dimensions representing time and the story with his kids,” said Carolyn University, Gubser joined the Prince- teven Gubser’s cool, relaxed style three coordinates of space). Birbiglia, a senior majoring in anthro- ton faculty in 2000. and straightforward manner mask Quantum field theory, Gubser said, pology. “In a way, he was more on our Looking back, Gubser’s entry in the S a fierce determination to make is the bread and butter of theoretical level after that and no longer just an field coincided with a period that is sense of the world and to bring along on physics, covering ideas ranging from elite physicist.” now regarded among physicists as the his journey of discovery those who may the structure of quarks inside a proton Gubser was not born to a life in “second revolution” in string theory, not be privy to his knowledge. to the behavior of electrons in super- physics. He found his way there. His following an earlier one in the mid- A Princeton professor of physics, conductors. Quantum field theory is father, Nicholas, a Rhodes Scholar and 1980s. Joining ideas formulated by Gubser is one of the world’s leading hard to use, though, because it relies on anthropologist, moved the family to Juan Maldacena and Edward Witten experts in string theory, a dazzlingly daunting calculations. Scientists view Aspen, Colo., when Steven was a tod- of the Institute for Advanced Study complex and still controversial branch the gauge-string duality as a major dis- dler. Nicholas Gubser left behind his in Princeton, Klebanov, Gubser and of modern theoretical phys- Princeton physicist Alex- ics. The theory attempts to ander Polyakov showed in describe, in a mathematically a seminal 1998 paper that consistent system, both mat- string theory is related in ter — the basic content of the a simple way to quantum universe — and the known field theory. (As Gubser fundamental forces that act did, Klebanov, Maldacena upon matter, such as gravity and Witten also earned and electromagnetism. their physics doctorates There are frustrations and from Princeton.) This led uncertainties inherent in the to a better understanding of scientific endeavor, Gubser particles known as hadrons, says, and in particular, his and suggested that string own field. But they are well theory could yield insights worth it. He is committed to that could be tested in the sharing the insights he gleans real world. with students and the vast “We were both a bit world of nonscientists. lucky to stumble on this as
“I want to be part of the Jameson John a topic,” said Klebanov. He effort by some scientists to In the classroom, Steven Gubser’s belief that physical concepts should be — and can be — clearly explained is evident and Gubser have written 19 convey their work to a broader to his students. He is known for taking abstract physical principles and applying them to everyday situations. papers together. “Our paper audience,” said Gubser, with Polyakov, and Wit- speaking one weekday morn- ten’s paper came out within ing in his sunny Jadwin Hall office. covery partly because it provides simple academic work, which included a semi- a week of each other in February of An important part of this public- geometrical tools for understanding nal study on the Nunamiut Eskimos, 1998,” Klebanov said. “By then, people mindedness is Gubser’s first popular such a complicated theory. and turned to the mountains. were already studying Juan’s paper. science book, “The Little Book of “It sounds like this could be a rela- The younger Gubser, who dedicated There was this incredible interest and String Theory,” published in April by tion between one intractable subject his book to his father, grew up in a concentration worldwide on this sub- Princeton University Press. In a deft and another,” Gubser said. “But it’s supportive intellectual atmosphere and ject that is still continuing.” 162 pages, he describes some of his own not that way at all. Lots of computa- enjoyed the outdoors, spending many ideas, but also strives to explain what tions can be done on the string theory hours hiking and skiing. He enjoyed Experimentalist in everyday life many view as a maddeningly com- side using only geometrical ideas school and was inspired by several Gubser met Laura Landweber at plicated branch of science that views like black hole horizons, and these teachers, most notably a seventh grade Princeton in 2000 after emceeing a fundamental particles like quarks and computations can then be related to math teacher, Gary Kreutzer, who physics department music recital. He electrons as tiny, vibrating strings. interesting aspects of quantum field “made it all seem fun,” Gubser said. had sung Gershwin songs, accom- Often called “the theory of every- theories. In particular, one can com- His love for physics also grew from panying himself on the piano. Now thing,” string theory seeks to describe pute properties of hot, dense, strongly reading books by the science and married with three young girls, all the forces of nature in one unifying interacting matter that are otherwise science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, Gubser and Landweber, a professor theory. The challenge: The theory is very difficult to probe theoretically.” especially one that explained black of ecology and evolutionary biology at unproven. Though many of the world’s In addition, the gauge-string duality holes. Winning first place in the Inter- Princeton, share a passion for science leading physicists support it, some provided a key connection to an area of national Physics Olympiad, for which and family. notable scientists do not. science with an experimentally tested he traveled to Poland at age 17, clinched Gubser the theorist shows his The book acknowledges this scien- framework. Over the decades of string Gubser’s career choice for him. experimentalist side best, according tific divide. “I don’t want people to theory’s development, it has been a He became a student at Princeton to Landweber, when he is baking take it on faith that string theory is significant source of concern that the and excelled, earning his undergradu- homemade breads with his daughters. ‘the theory of everything,’” Gubser subject was too far from experimental ate degree in physics as the class of All the girls participate in some stage said. “While it may be that, it is also physics to remain relevant. 1994 valedictorian. “What I mostly of the process, with the littlest one an unfinished canvas. At the same Part of what Gubser hopes to convey remember is that I was trying to do punching down the dough. time, it is an amazing technical and in his book is that “this subject called what worked and engage in projects Gubser has met with success as a mathematical achievement.” string theory is on the one hand specula- that could lead to something,” he said. scientist because he enjoys challenging tive — and that means it could be wrong problems and doesn’t shy away from Science as sleuthing — but, on the other hand, it is the best Path to string theory them, Landweber said. He also simply As exciting as the quest may be, it hope we have for understanding the next Gubser went on to earn his Ph.D. in loves what he’s doing, she added. is not always obvious to researchers level of subatomic particles.” The object, physics from Princeton in 1998, work- And while he may be bird-dogging when they have sleuthed an important he said, is to make a compelling case ing under Igor Klebanov, a professor of the same theme throughout his career, answer to one of nature’s mysteries, without overstating it. physics, as the two began a sequence his activities, she said, display differ- said Gubser, who earned his A.B. and of theoretical breakthroughs on the so- ent aspects of that interest. Ph.D. at Princeton. Bringing enthusiasm to class called gauge-string duality. “Theorists have a grand vision, but “With exploratory work,” he In the classroom, Gubser’s belief Now also the associate director of at other times they chase the latest explained, “everybody is feeling around that physical concepts should be — the Princeton Center for Theoretical experimental anomaly or theoretical in the dark. When you grab hold of and can be — clearly explained is Science, Klebanov remembers their idea,” Landweber said. “Steve says something, you don’t always know right evident to his students. first meeting. Gubser, then a Prince- that string theory’s grand vision is that away whether it is gold or steel.” “Professor Gubser has been one ton junior, had approached Klebanov, it incorporates, in principle, many or It takes time to appreciate the depth of my most memorable professors at asking if he could take his graduate- most of the central ideas in fundamen- of a scientific insight, he said. Gauging Princeton,” said George Maliha, a level course on general relativity. “He tal physics.” the importance of one’s own research sophomore who took Gubser’s Phys- seemed like a very smart and intense Gubser is always looking for ways papers is equally difficult. “You put ics 102 course last spring. “Over the sort of guy,” Klebanov said, noting to make string theory relate to more it out there and you think, ‘That was months that he taught my physics that Gubser already was known as a mainstream and experimentally acces- really great,’” he said. “A few months class, he attempted to take abstract star undergraduate. Gubser proved to sible areas of physics. That could go by, though, and you realize some- physical principles and apply them to be an outstanding student, earning an explain his most recent research focus- thing. You say to yourself, ‘You know everyday situations.” A-plus in Klebanov’s course. ing on how the behavior of black holes what, that was kind of trivial.’” Sarah Urbut, a senior in molecular While still a junior, Gubser started in string theory sheds light on the But, he added, “You write another biology, praised Gubser for his atten- working with Klebanov on what would dynamics of the quark-gluon plasma, paper and you say, ‘Ho hum.’ Then you tiveness to student questions in the be his senior thesis and the begin- which is a recently discovered, high- put it out there and it turns out that classroom. “He seems to have kind of a ning of his life’s work. Their first temperature state of matter produced there is something really important refreshing attitude about physics — he string theory paper together, “Scal- in collisions of heavy ions. there.” clearly enjoys it and has fun teaching,” ing Functions for Baby Universes in His comments, made when both he As a leader in this field, Gubser is well she said. Two-Dimensional Quantum Gravity,” and Landweber received the Blavat- attuned to the ups and downs of scien- Sometimes Gubser displays his was published in Nuclear Physics B in nik Award for Young Scientists from tific life: He already has written major enthusiasm in whimsical ways. Once, October of Gubser’s senior year. For the New York Academy of Sciences in papers and made key discoveries. He is he chimed in on a discussion students his senior thesis amplifying that work, 2008, explain how he interprets his one of the founders of the gauge-string were engaged in before class concern- Gubser won the American Physical odyssey. “I voyage in thought from duality, which equates string theory ing the children’s author Dr. Seuss, Society’s 1994 Apker Award, which colliding nuclei to black hole horizons, in five curved dimensions to another providing expert details on a character recognizes the top undergraduate and people take me seriously,” he said. key set of concepts in physics known as named Horton. “He went on to explain physics thesis in the United States. “I think that’s pretty exciting.” Princeton 8 university Bulletin Oct. 18, 2010
collapsing to something the size of ing astrophysics, Supernovae Princeton.” applied mathemat- Continued from page 1 What comes next is even more mys- ics and computer terious. science. The At some point, the implosion endeavor produces physics was incorrect or incomplete. reverses. Astrophysicists call it “the a presentation This team used the same guiding bounce.” The core material stiffens through computer- physics principles, but used super- up, acting like what Burrows calls a generated computers that were many times more “spherical piston,” emitting a shock images of three- powerful, employing a representation wave of energy. Neutrinos, which are dimensional in three dimensions that allowed the inert particles, are emitted too. The phenomena. In various multidimensional instabilities shock wave and the neutrinos are general, research- to be expressed. invisible. ers employ “It may well prove to be the case that Then, very visibly, there is a massive visualization the fundamental impediment to prog- explosion, and the star’s outer layers techniques with ress in supernova theory over the last are ejected into space. This highly the aim of making few decades has not been lack of physi- perceptible stage is what observers see realistic render- cal detail, but lack of access to codes as the supernova. What’s left behind is ings of quantitative and computers with which to properly an ultra-dense object called a neutron information includ- simulate the collapse phenomenon in star. Sometimes, when an ultramas- ing surfaces, 3-D,” the team wrote. “This could sive star dies, a black hole is created volumes and light explain the agonizingly slow march instead. sources. Time is Courtesy of Adam Burrows and Jason Nordhaus since the 1960s toward demonstrating Scientists have a sense of the steps often an important After an aging star implodes, the implosion reverses in what a robust mechanism of explosion.” leading to the explosion, but there is component, contrib- astrophysicists refer to as “the bounce.” Shown is a simulation no agreed upon fundamental pro- uting to making the of what happens in this phase when the star’s core stiffens up, Birth of a supernova cess about what happens during the images dynamical producing a shock wave of energy. Supernovae are the primary source “bounce” phase when the implosion as well. of heavy elements in the cosmos. Their at the core reverses direction. Part of To do their work, Burrows and his brightness is so consistently intense the difficulty is that no one can see colleagues came up with mathemati- ing the simulations and connecting that supernovae have been used as what is happening on the inside of a cal values representing the energetic them to real observations. In this “standard candles” or gauges, acting star. During this phase, the star looks behaviors of stars by using math- case, the most recent simulations are as yardsticks indicating astronomical undisturbed. Then, suddenly, a blast ematical representations of fluids in uncannily similar to the explosive distances. wave erupts on the surface. Scientists motion — the same partial differential behavior of stars in their death throes Most result from the death of single don’t know what occurs to make the equations solved by geophysicists for witnessed by scientists. In addition, stars much more massive than the sun. central region of the star instantly climate modeling and weather forecast- scientists often learn from simula- As a star ages, it exhausts its sup- unstable. The emission of neutrinos ing. To solve these complex equations tions and see behaviors they had not plies of hydrogen and helium fuel at its is believed to be related, but no one is and simulate what happens inside a expected. core. With still enough mass and pres- sure how or why. dying star, the team used an advanced “Visualization is crucial,” Bur- sure to fuse carbon and produce other “We don’t know what the mecha- computer code called CASTRO that rows said. “Otherwise, all you have is heavier elements, it gradually becomes nism of explosion is,” Burrows said. took into account factors that changed merely a jumble of numbers. Visualiza- layered like an onion with the bulkiest “As a theorist who wants to get to root over time, including fluid density, tion via stills and movies conjures the tiers at its center. Once its core exceeds causes, this is a natural problem to temperature, pressure, gravitational entire phenomenon and brings home a certain mass, it begins to implode. explore.” acceleration and velocity. what has happened. It also allows one In the squeeze, the core heats up and The calculations took months to to diagnose the dynamics, so that the grows even more dense. Multiple scientific approaches to solve process on supercomputers at Princeton event is not only visualized, but under- “Imagine taking something as mas- the problem and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. stood.” sive as the sun, then compacting it The scientific visualization The simulations are not an end The research was funded by the to something the size of the Earth,” employed by the research team is unto themselves, Burrows noted. U.S. Department of Energy and the Burrows said. “Then imagine that an interdisciplinary effort combin- Part of the learning process is view- National Science Foundation. Courtesy of Adam Burrows and Jason Nordhaus This sequence shows stages of a massive explosion of a huge, dying star. This supernova has the potential energy of 25 hundred trillion trillion nuclear weapons.
Postdoctoral scholars join Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts
hree new postdoctoral scholars is a member of the American Academy project aims to rewrite the early history an anthropology course on gender and have joined the Society of Fellows of Arts and Sciences. of modern aesthetic theory by situating Latin America. T in the Liberal Arts this year. The society includes Princeton its origins in late 17th and early 18th- Janet Vertesi, Link-Cotsen Fellow The society, created in 2000 by faculty members who serve as faculty century theology, moral philosophy and lecturer in sociology, who received a gift from Charter Trustee Lloyd fellows and meet regularly with the and natural law theory. He will offer a her Ph.D. in science and technology Cotsen, a 1950 graduate, is an inter- Cotsen Fellows in the Joseph Henry seminar on the Enlightenment and join studies from Cornell University. Her disciplinary community that seeks to House. The full complement of 14 the faculty team teaching “Approaches dissertation analyzes the use of images bring innovative approaches to schol- postdoctoral fellows is drawn from to Western Culture.” to conduct scientific investigations of arship and teaching at Princeton. It disciplines in the humanities, related Christina Halperin, PLAS-Cotsen Mars and plan robotic operations on offers outstanding young scholars who social sciences and natural sciences. Fellow in Latin American studies and its surface. She will revise her dis- have recently received their Ph.D. the The Cotsen Fellows for 2010-13 were lecturer in art and archaeology, who sertation for publication and pursue opportunity to enhance their teaching selected from more than 1,400 appli- holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the a second, interdisciplinary project on and research over a period of three cants. They teach half time in their University of California-Riverside. Her “the social life of spacecraft.” She is years. academic department and pursue their dissertation examines late classic Maya teaching a course on the sociology of Susan Stewart, the Annan Professor own research. They are: state and household relations through technology and a freshman seminar on of English, has joined the society as Simon Grote, Cotsen Fellow and lec- the lens of their production, circula- “Science and Art.” its new director. A former MacArthur turer in history, who recently completed tion and imagery of ceramic figurines. Fellow, Stewart serves as a chancellor his Ph.D. in history at the University She will teach an art history course on Online: More information of the Academy of American Poets and of California-Berkeley. His research Mesoamerican material culture and www.princeton.edu/~sf/current