
Class, symposium explore ‘New Approaches to Poetry and Song’
In music professor Matthew BaileyShea’s class, students share lyrics from favorite songs, then work to uncover complexities in the text. An upcoming Humanities Center symposium organized by BaileyShea will further explore new ideas about text-music interaction.

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.

Myths of freedom, American manhood explode in When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder?
University of Rochester’s International Theatre Program opens its 27th season with Mark Medoff’s Obie Award-winning drama.

Tales of history, morality highlight Polish Film Festival
Murder. Adultery. Theft. Those are three of the themes explored in the 2016 Polish Film Festival. Organized by the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies, the festival is now in its ninth year.

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.

Hey, hey: Covach says Monkees stand the test of time
In 1967, the Monkees outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined, and remain the only band with four No. 1 albums in a 12-month period. “Their music stands up,” says John Covach, director of the University’s Institute for Popular Music.

Protein found that initiates DNA repair
Researchers who specialize in the study of aging have identified a protein that may serve as a first responder, activating a “longevity gene” known as sirtuin 6 and setting in motion a cascade of molecular first responders to repair damaged DNA.

Award supports book on Ottoman Railway
Peter Christensen’s book shows how the late 19th-early 20th century German-designed train stations, bridges, and other structures along the Ottoman Railway show the trademarks of imperialism and elements of emergent nationalism.

Enigma Machine takes a quantum leap
Researchers have developed a “quantum enigma machine” to improve on data encryption. The device manipulates photons to create an unbreakable encrypted message with a key that’s far shorter than the message—the first time that has ever been done.

A first for direct-drive fusion
Experiments have created the conditions capable of producing a fusion yield that’s five times higher than the current record laser-fusion energy yield. The new work represents an important advance in a long-standing national research initiative to develop fusion as an energy source.