Anthropologist Elizabeth Brumfiel Dies at Age 66
Weinberg College is saddened by the death of Elizabeth Brumfiel, a leading scholar of Aztec archaeology and professor of anthropology at Northwestern. She brought the study of social and economic inequality to the forefront of archaeological research and promoted an inclusive and inspiring research ethic for her students and colleagues.
Protest Via Peace or Strife?
A new book by political scientist Wendy Pearlman looks at why protest movements do or do not use violence, offering a theory about political violence that can be applied to any movement.
Great Expectations for Artificial Molecular Machines
Northwestern chemists and a University of Maine physicist shed new light on the challenges of harnessing the energy-conversion efficiency of synthetic molecular machines.
Weinberg Alum Awarded Rhodes Scholarship
Sarah Smierciak, who mastered Arabic as a Weinberg undergraduate and went on to teach street children near revolution-fraught Cairo, has earned one of the most prestigious fellowships in the world.
Other Weinberg News
'Girl Power' Surges in India
Economist Lori Beaman co-authored a study suggesting than an affirmative action law in India has improved women's attitudes toward higher career aspirations and education goals.
A Tiny Worm Points to Big Promise
Research led by biologist Richard Morimoto identifies new genes and pathways that prevent protein misfolding and toxic aggregation, keeping cells healthy, and also identifies small molecules with therapeutic potential that restore health to damaged cells.
Art Professor Awarded National Fellowship
Art theory and practice professor Iņigo Manglano-Ovalle, who once created a video installation block party in one of Chicago's toughest neighborhoods, was named a USA Fellow. The fellowships are given each year to 50 outstanding visual, literary and performing artists.
Astrophysicist Named Editor of Scientific Journal
The American Astronomical Society has named Frederic Rasio of Northwestern University as the next editor of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Nine Seniors Honored for Outstanding Achievement
Nine Weinberg seniors were presented with the prestigious Oliver Marcy, James Alton James, and Daniel Bonbright Awards during a recent ceremony led by Dean Sarah Mangelsdorf.
Multimedia
3-D Imaging Tool Puts Research on the Big Screen
CAMI, the state-of-the-art imaging facility that opened last year in Silverman Hall, brings all biological molecular imaging at Northwestern under one roof. [Large size video | Related story]
Mayan Prophecy a Popular Culture Myth
Anthropologist Cynthia Robin says 2012 will mark the end of a cycle in the Mayan calendar.
Honors and Achievements
Professor Tobin Marks, a world leader in organometallic chemistry, chemical catalysis, materials science, organic electronics, solar energy, photovoltaics and nanotechnology, received the 2012 National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences.
Weinberg professor Kenneth Seeskin has won the National Jewish Book Award. The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion, and Culture, co-edited by Seeskin, received first place in the anthologies and collections category.
Mentions in the Media
The Life, Work of Poet Wislawa Szymborska
Wislawa Szymborska's longtime translator, Slavic languages and comparative literature professor Clare Cavanagh, speaks with PBS Newshour about the poet's life and work. Szymborska was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1996. pbs.org February 2, 2012 Full story
Fingerprints of a Monster Quake
How to plan for earthquakes if seismic activity wanders around the map? ... Northwestern University geophysicist Seth Stein argues that there won't be any future earthquakes at New Madrid. He has gathered GPS data that show no pressure developing in the Earth's surface there; hence, he argues, no energy is building for a convulsion. He believes mid-continent seismicity moves around, so that as the New Madrid zone "turns off," future quakes may happen elsewhere. washingtonpost.com January 10, 2012 Full story