News Archive

They’ve written final papers and taken final exams. The Ph.D. students have defended their dissertations. Now they’re waiting to hear President Lee C. Bollinger proclaim that they have been “admitted to the degree for which you have qualified” at University Commencement on May 22. 

Most scholars earn a Ph.D. then go on to a career in their chosen field and publish some books. Jack F. Matlock Jr. did all that, but in reverse.

When he received his A.B. from Harvard in 1969, Martin Chalfie wasn’t sure what he would do next. His worst grades had been in physics and chemistry, and a summer research project had failed, so science seemed out of reach. Today, Chalfie is a Nobel laureate.

From the chimera in Greek mythology to the sphinx in ancient Egypt, humans have imagined making creatures from pieces of different organisms for millennia.

Six Columbia professors have been elected members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, joining some of the world’s most accomplished leaders from academia, business, public affairs, the humanities and the arts in one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies.

In recognition of their exceptional scholarly merit and distinguished service to Columbia, the University Board of Trustees has approved President Lee C. Bollinger’s appointment of two new University Professors: Martin Chalfie, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Biological Sciences; and Wafaa El-Sadr, Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine. The rank of University Professor is Columbia University’s highest academic honor and, with the addition of professors El-Sadr and Chalfie, there are now 13 current members of the faculty who hold this special honor. “In everything they do, Marty…

The role of technology in the Arab Spring and the Boston bombings, repression in North Korea, and privacy in the Internet age were just some of the topics Eric Schmidt, executive chairman and former CEO of Google, and Jared Cohen, director of Google’s in-house think tank, Google Ideas, discussed when they spoke at Columbia Journalism School on April 30. 

Ronald O. Perelman, Chairman and CEO of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. and a member of the School’s Board of Overseers, has pledged a landmark gift of $100 million to Columbia Business School. 

Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Professor Patricia J. Culligan and her doctoral student, Robert Elliott, were part of an interdisciplinary team that included members of the Aquanauts student group at Columbia University whose design proposal was recognized for innovative technology in a green roof competition sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

Mark Cane, an expert on the El Niño climate pattern, and Terry Plank, an authority on explosive volcanoes—both scientists at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory--have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. 

Extreme weather can wreak havoc on cities and their economies. Damage from hurricanes Katrina and Sandy is estimated at more than $150 billion and over $60 billion, respectively. Weather-based power failures and disruptions to transportation systems can delay commuters, stall deliveries, and choke supply chains. And even where extreme conditions are common, economic life suffers. Regions with hot, wet climates are less productive on average.

Thanks to a bit of providential timing, Columbia Journalism had a large news bureau at the installation of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square in Rome in mid-March. Sixteen students covered every aspect of the historic event: the pilgrims, the dignitaries, the trinket sellers, the faithful and the protesters.

The conference, “History in Action,” drew an eclectic group of historians, including some who have pursued non-academic careers or made an impact outside the academy.

If you could take only one volume to a desert island, Columbia Law School Professor Robert A. Ferguson’s new book might be the one. Ferguson, the George Edward Woodberry Professor in Law, Literature, and Criticism, has written \"Alone in America: The Stories that Matter\" (Harvard University Press), which explores the recurring theme of loneliness in American fiction and the possibility that literature can soothe the pain. “It is a subject lonely people are not willing to admit to, but they’re quite happy to read about it.” said Ferguson “More people live by themselves than at any…

When Barbara Becker’s strategic communications class decided to help Afghan women and children afflicted with a disfiguring disease, they focused their campaign on another group in the community—the men. Three students from her School of Continuing Education class, “Communications for Social Change,” set out to educate male heads of household about leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease transmitted by the bites of infected sand flies that lurk in the home. The infection mostly affects women and children, who are more likely to spend time indoors. The disease leaves unsightly scars, creating…