Author Andrea Wulf on Alexander von Humboldt, ‘founding father’ of environmentalism
Nineteenth-century explorer and scientist Alexander von Humboldt created the modern idea of nature, says author Andrea Wulf, who’ll be speaking on October 4, as part of the Humanities Center Lecture Series.
Joan Shelley Rubin named director of the Humanities Center
Joan Shelley Rubin, a noted scholar of American history, has been named the Ani and Mark Gabrellian Director of the Humanities Center. The center will celebrate the opening of its permanent home in Rush Rhees Library in October.
New book brings shadow into the light
A new book, edited by Kenneth Gross and compiled from lectures by the late John Hollander, traces shadow’s literary history from ancient to modern times.
Catching some gamma rays in central Mexico
Physicist Segev BenZvi and scientists at an ambitious observatory are using simple but groundbreaking tools understand the workings of cosmic and gamma rays in the Earth’s atmosphere while also contributing to the search for dark matter.
Neurologist confronts seizure disorders in sub-Saharan Africa
Neurology professor Gretchen Birbeck has provided care for more than 3,000 patients with seizure disorders in Africa during two decades of work there.
Rochester’s first data science graduates delve into big data
This spring, the inaugural crop of students in Rochester’s new data science programs—at the undergraduate and master’s degree levels—are completing their first year of study at the Goergen Institute for Data Science, a program of the Schools of Arts & Sciences.
Brushing Up on Older Scots
In May, the University is hosting the Rochester–St Andrews Conference on Older Scots Literature and Culture, where specialists from the U.S., Canada, and Europe will share papers on 14th- to 16th-century literature in Older Scots
Witnessing history: Memories of the Lincoln assassination
On April 14, 1865, Albert Barrett, a member of the University’s Class of 1869, was in Ford’s Theater, celebrating his birthday two days before. His seat in the balcony box immediately opposite the president afforded him a clear view of events
Parting words: Leave-taking during the Renaissance
As this year’s keynote speaker for the Ferrari Humanities Symposia, literary critic Jane Tylus will outline some of her new ways of thinking about how artists and others in early modern Europe depicted rituals of separation in a public talk, “Saying Good-bye in the Renaissance: Leave-Taking as a Work of Art,” on April 5.
Italian baroque organ is a musical time machine
The only instrument of its kind in North America, the full-sized Italian baroque organ at the Memorial Art Gallery is a musical time capsule that was saved from destruction in 2005.