Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: International Theatre Program presents Venus
The play opens in Todd Theatre on Thursday, Dec. 4, and is based on the true story of Saartijie Baartman, a South African woman taken from her home in 1810 and brought to London where she becomes an overnight sensation on the freak-show circuit.
Playing action video games can boost learning
A new study shows for the first time that playing action video games improves not just the skills taught in the game, but learning capabilities more generally.
Trustee commits additional $1 million to scholarship
Trustee Cathy Minehan and her husband, Jerry Corrigan, have committed an additional $1 million to support the scholarship they established in 2004. The scholarship provides assistance for students in the School of Arts & Sciences with significant financial need, and preference is given to underrepresented minorities, athletes in good academic standing, and those pursuing research in the social sciences.
Sustainability, astrobiology combine to illuminate future of Earth’s technological civilization
How long can a technological civilization last? Will human-caused climate change or species extinctions threaten its collapse or can industrial development continue without restrictions? In a new paper, two astrophysicists argue that these questions may soon be resolvable scientifically.
2014 Polish Film Festival marks Poland’s move toward democracy
This year’s Polish Film Festival celebrates Eastern Europe’s move toward freedom, and the 20th anniversary of the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies, which organizes the annual festival.
Haitian filmmaker leads discussion on post-quake reconstruction
The Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies will host Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck for a screening and discussion of his film, Fatal Assistance.
‘Red Effect’ sparks interest in female monkeys
Recent studies have showed that the color red tends to increase our attraction toward others, feelings of jealousy, and even reaction times. Now, new research shows that female monkeys also respond to the color red, suggesting that biology, rather than our culture, may play the fundamental role in our “red” reactions.
University mourns sudden loss of David Knill
Knill, who came to the University as an associate professor in 1999, was a leading scientist in the study of human perception. He also served as the associate director of the Center for Visual Science since 2001. Most of his work, which included over 60 research and review articles, focused on visual perception and how humans use vision to guide physical actions.
Religion scholar to direct Anthony Institute
Associate professor of religion Nora Rubel has been named director of the University’s Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women’s Studies. As a scholar of religion, Rubel says she was excited to move to Rochester in 2007 to live near the ‘burned over’ district where many religious movements began. “But once I arrived I was just as drawn to the area’s ties to abolition and the women’s rights movements.”
Researcher receives $1.25M grant to unlock ‘magic’ behind babies, language
Elika Bergelson, a newly-appointed research assistant professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, focuses on understanding how babies learn words between 6-to 18-months old. Funding from the NIH recognizes Bergelson as one of the nation’s “exceptional early career scientist” and will help her pathbreaking work advance more quickly.