Give My Regards To…
These Cornellians in the News
Nancy Sutley '84, L.A.'s deputy mayor for energy and environment, named chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
President David Skorton, named co-chairman of the Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative, sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Gates Foundation.
Computer science professor Jon Kleinberg '93, named one of the "twenty best brains under forty" by Discover magazine.
Manuel Muñoz, MFA '98, one of ten winners of $50,000 Whiting Writers' Awards
Astronomer Yervant Terzian, the Duncan professor in the physical sciences, given a gold medal for scientific achievement by the Armenian government.
Peter Kiernan, JD '68, currently a Cornell MBA student, appointed counsel to New York Governor David Paterson.
Edith Lederer '63, the Associated Press's chief U.N. correspondent since 1998, winner of the International Media Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.
Chris Ober, the Bard professor of materials science and engineering, named interim dean of the Engineering college following Dean Kent Fuchs's appointment as provost.
Vivian Schiller '83, a former senior vice president at the New York Times, named president and CEO of National Public Radio.
R&D
More information on campus research is available at www.news.cornell.edu
After watching ten-second video clips of two candidates, voters can predict the winner 60 percent of the time, finds economics professor Daniel Benjamin. Their instinctive reactions to the candidate's charisma, likeability, and party affiliation could help researchers understand the factors that sway undecided voters.
Women who have cohabited multiple times are less likely to marry than those who have cohabited only once. A study by policy analysis and management professor Daniel Lichter also found that a disproportionate number of these "serial cohabitors" are economically disadvantaged.
Luis Quadri, professor of microbiology at the Medical college, has discovered a gene that could make the bacterium Yersinia pestis (responsible for the "black plague") resistant to drugs. Scientists are concerned because Y. pestis could potentially be used as a bioterrorism agent.
Allergies may help to prevent some cancers, according to a study led by neurobiology and behavior professor Paul Sherman. He believes that when sneezes or coughs expel foreign particles from the body, they also get rid of carcinogens and other harmful matter.
In a study looking at changes in the ecosystem and geographic distribution of species as a result of global warming, oceanographer Charles Greene observed a counterintuitive trend. Rather than losing their habitat—as scientists had predicted—northern marine species have migrated south down the North American coast.
Medical college researchers have found that minimally invasive spine surgery is effective. According to a paper in Neuro-surgery Focus, the benefits include reduced hospital stays, less blood loss, shorter operative times, and fewer complications.
Physics grad student Leif Ristroph has shown that flexible objects experience different drag than rigid objects when both are in a similar flow—and that when two objects are close together, the front one experiences less disturbance than its follower. These unexpected findings may help scientists understand why animals such as birds and fish travel in tight groups.
Autism rates are higher in places with more rainfall, says a study led by economist Michael Waldman. Although no causal relationship has been demonstrated, researchers have theorized that bad weather drives kids indoors, increasing the risk of potential autism triggers such as household chemicals, TV, and a lack of vitamin D.
Researchers have identified a group of proteins that remove waste from cells. In two recent papers, Scott Emr, director of the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, and colleagues describe what he calls a "sophisticated recycling system."
A new device has been proven more effective than the standard catheter following prostate cancer surgery, according to a recent study led by Ashutosh Tewari, director of robotic prostatectomy at Weill Cornell. The benefits include lower risk for bacterial infection and less discomfort.