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Community Brain Expo 2014

School students arrived at the New York State Psychiatric Institute’s Kolb Annex on the Columbia University Medical Center campus March 12 to participate in the annual Community Brain Expo, cosponsored by the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute at Columbia University.

American Choral Conductor Harold Rosenbaum Wins 2014 Ditson Conductors’ Award

Harold Rosenbaum, distinguished scholar, teacher and choral conductor, is the recipient of the 2014 Ditson Conductor’s Award for the advancement of American music, Columbia University has announced.

Warming Climate May Spread Drying to a Third of Earth, Says Study
Increasing heat is expected to extend dry conditions to far more farmland and cities by the end of the century than changes in rainfall alone, says a new study. Much of the concern about future drought under global warming has focused on rainfall projections, but higher evaporation rates may also play an important role as warmer temperatures wring more moisture from the soil, even in some places where rainfall is forecasted to increase, say the researchers. The study is one of the first to use the latest climate simulations to model the effects of both changing rainfall and evaporation rates…
Dr. W. Ian Lipkin Recipient of 2014 Mendel Medal

W. Ian Lipkin, MD, John Snow Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and director of the school’s Center for Infection and Immunity, was named recipient of Villanova University’s 2014 Mendel Medal. 

Ask Alma's Owl: Organ at St. Paul’s Chapel

Dear Alma,
I know pipe organs are called the king of instruments, but how did St. Paul’s Chapel come by its own musical crown?
—Melody

The Marriage of True Minds: A freewheeling conversation with the Broadway team of Tom Kitt ’96 and Brian Yorkey ’93
Study: Innovative Pre-Apprenticeship Program for Minority Youth Deserves Expansion

Just weeks after President Barack Obama announced the creation of “My Brother’s Keeper,” an initiative aimed at increasing job training opportunities for young black and Latino men, a study released today by Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs found that the Edward J. Malloy Initiative for Construction Skills, an innovative workforce development model for students in New York’s career and technical high schools, has been succeeding in placing minority youth in middle-class careers in the construction industry.

Women were digital media pioneers but underrepresented and underappreciated in journalism startups

USA Today launched its first website just days before the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and its staff helped create a new kind of crisis storytelling in the aftermath. Rapid updates, photos, and story indexes made the web, for the first time in human history, a significant source of information for understanding national tragedy. Two years later, another major paper continued to shape our understanding of online news when a web producer at Philly.com assembled the multimedia version of Black Hawk Down. On the West Coast, meanwhile, the San Jose Mercury News unveiled Good Morning Silicon Valley…

Lenfest Distinguished Teaching Awards

Great teachers are passionate about the classroom, as evidenced by the 10 faculty members honored this year with Lenfest Distinguished Teaching Awards.

Simon Schama Documents 3,000 Years of Jewish History in New PBS Series

After a distinguished career that has spawned numerous books and television series on everything from the French Revolution to the slave trade, Columbia Professor of Art History and History Simon Schama is now unveiling his most personal project yet: "The Story of the Jews," a multimedia account of 3,000 years of Jewish history.

Columbia People: Clara Leon, Medical Center Assistant Director of Community Affairs

Leon coordinates the use of space on the CUMC campus for community projects and special events, everything from small meetings to big galas, health fairs and the annual HBO Latino Film Festival, which for several years attracted hundreds of people each summer for the premiere of a Latino film that later was shown on HBO. 

Community Brain Expo

School students arrived at the New York State Psychiatric Institute’s Kolb Annex on the Columbia University Medical Center campus March 12 to participate in the annual Community Brain Expo, cosponsored by the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute at Columbia University.

Head of Medical Center Instrument Shop Turns Scientists’ Dreams Into Reality
For nearly half a century, Gary Johnson, an instrument maker at Columbia University Medical Center, has been taking scientists’ ideas for research equipment and turning them into reality. “People come to me and tell me what they need,” said Johnson, who is the director of the Design and Instrument shops for the Center for Radiological Research and the core facilities at the Medical Center. “When I get a request, I sit down with the researcher and we kick the ideas around and draw some sketches.” In January, Johnson, who has worked with nearly every department and center at the Medical…
Law Professor and President Emeritus Michael Sovern Reflects on ‘Improbable Life’

Michael Sovern (CC’53, LAW’55) has had a six-decade love affair with Columbia, from the moment he walked through its gates in 1949 through to the present as University president emeritus and Chancellor Kent Professor of Law.

Assessment of trends in groundwater levels across the United States

The Columbia Water Center, part of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, announced today the release of a new white paper, “Assessment of Groundwater Level Trends across the United States,” that analyzes long-term groundwater trends across the United States.