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News from Princeton, Oct-Dec 1997
Apr-Jun 1997 | Jul-Sep 1997 | Oct-Dec 1997 | Jan-Mar 1998
12/31/97
Richard A. Lester Dies at 89; Influential Economist
and Dean of the Faculty at Princeton University
Richard Allen Lester, a prominent labor economist and dean of the faculty, emeritus, at Princeton University, died suddenly on December 30. ...
Professor Lester's best-known research addressed wage determination and minimum wages. In the 1940s, he developed the "range theory of wages," which recognized that individuals in similar jobs were often paid very differently. He used this theory to explain why higher minimum wages might not have the dire employment consequences predicted by their opponents. ...12/17/97
New Theory Explains Formation of Cosmic Structure
In a new book, Quantum Origins of Cosmic Structure (A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam & Brookfield, VT), Professor Erik VanMarcke introduces a theory, embryonic inflation, to help explain the formation of cosmic structure across a broad hierarchy of astronomical objects (clusters of galaxies, galaxies, stars, planets).12/15/97
Princeton to Honor Alumni at Annual Gathering
Two alumni will receive special honors at Princeton Universityís Alumni Day on February 21, 1998: biologist Eric Lander, Class of 1978, and pianist Charles Rosen, a member of the Class of 1948 who also holds a 1951 Princeton PhD.12/12/97
Native American Becomes Princeton Trustee
In his first days as a student at Princeton University, Regis Pecos felt like a displaced person. A Pueblo Indian whose parents never finished junior high school, whose grandparents spoke no English what was he doing on an Ivy League campus? Two decades later, Pecos is executive director of the New Mexico Office of Indian Affairs and this year he was sworn in as a member of Princeton's board of trustees, one of four new trustees elected by alumni.12/8/97
Princeton Students Named Rhodes, Marshall Scholars
Three Princeton University seniors were named Marshall scholars last week; in addition, one senior and one alumnus were awarded Rhodes scholarships.
The three Marshall scholars are: Alex Heneveld, '98, of Savannah, Ga., Andy Neitzke, '98, of Narberth, Pa., and Aisha Williams, '98, of Silver Spring, Md. The two Rhodes scholars are Adeel Qalbani,'98, of Sioux City, Ia., and alumnus Narayanan (Bobby) Kasthuri, '96, of Parsippany, New Jersey. Qalbani was awarded both a Marshall and a Rhodes scholarship but, by the terms of the agreement with the Rhodes Scholarship Comittee, will accept the Rhodes.11/26/97
Ford Foundation Representative to Speak on "NGOs in South Africa"
John Gerhart, the Ford Foundation's representative for South Africa and Namibia, will speak on "Non-Govenimental Organizations in South Africa: From Protest to Civil Society," at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Thursday, December 11.11/26/97
French Author and Presidential Adviser Attali to Speak on "Problems of Globalization"
Jacques Attali, a leading French commentator on social and economic affairs, will speak on "Problems of Globalization" at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Wednesday, December 10.11/25/97
Teacher, Author Julian Jaynes Dies at 77
Julian Jaynes, 77, of Princeton and Keppoch, Prince Edward Island, Canada, died November 21 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. . . . A popular teacher, he lectured in the Psychology Department at Princeton University from 1966 to 1990. He was also frequently invited to lecture at other universities in North America and abroad. After making significant contributions to the study of animal behavior and ethology, he turned his attention to the riddle of human consciousness and became best known for his provocative book, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, a nominee for the National Book Award in 1978.11/25/97
Jocelyn Bell Burnell to Offer Hamilton Lecture: "In Pursuit of Pulsars 30 Years On!"
Jocelyn Bell Burnell, chair of the department of physics at The Open University in Milton Keynes, England, will offer the 23rd annual Donald Ross Hamilton Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, December 9, at 8 p.m. in Jadwin Hall, room A-10. Her topic is "In Pursuit of Pulsars -- 30 Years On!"
Thirty years ago, a small group of radio astronomers at Cambridge University were trying to understand regular pulsations appearing in their newly constructed radio telescope, which did not look like any celestial radio source ever seen or predicted. Then a graduate student, Jocelyn Bell Burnell set out to investigate the apparently implausible idea that the pulses might nevertheless be coming from the sky. The subsequent discovery of radio pulsars earned Bell Burnell's thesis adviser, Antony Hewish, the 1974 Nobel Prize in physics.11/20/97
GFDL Head Assesses State of Knowledge on Global Warming
Jerry Mahlman, a professor at Princeton University and Director of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab, assesses current scientific understanding of global warming in the journal Science this week. In the article, which appears in the Policy Forum section of the journal, Mahlman distinguishes between three kinds of climate data: (1) facts, (2) projections with various degrees of certainty, and (3) projections that are widely believed but probably wrong. Among the latter, Mahlman says, is the assertion that tropical storms will increase under conditions of global warming.11/19/97
Former U.S. Ambassador to Poland to Speak on the Country's Transition from a Totalitarian to a Democratic Government
Nicholas Rey, former U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Poland, will give a lecture entitled "Poland 1989-1997: From Communist Basket Case to Dream Ally" at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Tuesday, December 9.11/17/97
$10 Million Gift to Princeton to Build State-of-the-Art Center for Engineering Education -- A $10 million gift from Dennis J. Keller of Princeton's Class of 1963 will be used to create a state-of-the-art education center for the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Keller, a trustee of the University, is chairman and CEO of DeVry Inc. -- one of the largest private higher-education systems in North America.11/17/97
Wilson to Address "Bridging the Racial Divide"
William Julius Wilson, the Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, will present the 3rd annual Melvin M. Tumin Lecture on Inequality on Thursday, December 4, at 4:30 p.m. in Dodds Auditorium at Robertson Hall. The title of his talk is "Bridging the Racial Divide." The lecture, which is sponsored by the Sociology Department, honors the memory of Professor Melvin Tumin, whose writing on social inequality edified and inspired a generation of American social scientists.11/14/97
Census Director to Participate in Panel on "The Census Undercount"
A panel discussion on "The Census Undercount" will be held at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Thursday, November 20.
Panelists will include Martha Farnsworth Riche, the director of the U.S. Bureau of the Census since 1994. The latest in a long line of census directors that began with Thomas Jefferson, she started her career as an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1961, then moved to the private sector in 1978 as a founding editor of American Demographics, the nation's first magazine devoted to interpreting demographic and economic data for corporate and public executives.11/12/97
Philosopher of Science Carl G. Hempel Dies
Carl G. Hempel, a philosopher of science who refined and defended the approach known as logical positivism or logical empiricism, died Sunday, November 9, of pneumonia at the Windrows at Forrestal care facility. He was 92 and a resident of Princeton Township. He was the last survivor of the logical positivists who emigrated from Germany and Austria to this country around the time of World War II.11/12/97
Student-Run Conference to Examine Nanking Massacre on its 60th Anniversary
A student-organized conference will examine historical questions associated with the Japanese assault on the Chinese capital of Nanking in December 1937. The conference, which will feature a keynote address by journalist Ian Buruma, author of The Wages of Guilt , takes place November 20 and 21.11/10/97
Former Austrian Prime Minister to Speak at Princeton
The former Prime Minister of Austria, Franz Vranitzky, will speak on "A Common European Foreign and Security Policy? -- The Example of the Crisis in the Balkans" at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Tuesday, November 18.11/3/97
AT&T Awards Industrial Ecology Grant to Center for Energy and Environmental Studies
AT&T today selected researchers at Princeton University's Center for Energy and Environmental Studies as one of four recipients of the AT&T Foundation Industrial Ecology Faculty Fellowship program for their project "Recycling and the Role of the Internet." The winning researchers receive $25,000 in research funds, and the Center's Principal Investigator Valerie Thomas also is named an AT&T Industrial Ecology Fellow.11/3/97
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Speak at Princeton University
Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations, will speak on "Tomorrow's United Nations" at Princeton University on Monday, November 24. Annan's visit has been organized by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs as well as the University's Center of International Studies and its Institute for the Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia.11/3/97
French Consul General to Speak at the Woodrow Wilson School on Trans-Atlantic Relations
Patrick Gautrat, consul general of France, will give a lecture entitled "Trans-Atlantic Relations--The View from France" at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Wednesday, November 12.10/27/97
Health Care Lecture Series Continues at the Woodrow Wilson School
The Health Care Lecture Series, begun in the spring 1996 at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, continues this semester, featuring a group of distinguished health care specialists speaking on a variety of timely and critical topics.10/27/97
Stalin in the Ukraine to be Discussed at the Woodrow Wilson School
Professor Yuri Shapoval of Ukraine and Volodymyr Prystaiko, a major-general and the deputy director of the Ukrainian Security Service, will give a lecture entitled "Stalinism in Ukraine: The Mechanisms of Repression (1920s-30s) and of Rehabilitation (1980s-90s)" at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Monday, November 17.10/27/97
Award-winning Film on Massachusetts Housing Crisis to be Shown at Princeton
Leah Mahan, an independent documentary producer and media consultant, will show and discuss her film Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street at Princeton Universityís Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Thursday, November 13.10/24/97
Former Chancellor of UC-Berkeley to Address Engineering in a Modern University
Engineering in a modern university will be the lecture topic when Chang-Lin Tien, the former Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, visits the Princeton campus on Wednesday, November 12, 1997. Tien will speak at 4:30 p.m. in Room 104 of the Computer Science Building on Olden Street in Princeton. The lecture is free and open to the public.10/16/97
Economic Editor of Die Zeit to Speak on Economic and Social Change
Uwe Heuser, the economic editor of Die Zeit, will give a lecture entitled "The Fragmented Society -- Economic and Social Change in the Digital Age from a European Perspective" at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Monday, November 3.10/16/97
The Cyprus Problem is the Subject of WWS Lecture
Tozun Bahcheli, professor of political science at King's College, Ontario, and Christopher Hitchens, contributing editor to Vanity Fair, will give a lecture entitled "Prospects for a Solution on the Cyprus Problem: Changing Dynamics in the Euro-American Security Order" at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Thursday, October 23.10/15/97
Princeton to Dedicate Cotsen Children's Library: Book Collection Exhibition Designed to Spark Lifelong Love of Reading
On Thursday, October 30, 1997, Princeton University will dedicate the Cotsen Children's Library, which comprises one of the world's finest historical collections of children's books as well as an interactive exhibit designed to inspire children to read. Media are invited to attend the event, which begins with a 4:15 p.m. reception in the main gallery of Firestone Library. A ceremony follows at 5 p.m. on the library patio. The Cotsen Children's Library will be open to the public during normal library hours beginning October 31, 1997.10/10/97
Grossman to Speak on Campaign Finance Reform
Steven Grossman '67, the national chair of the Democratic National Committee, will give a lecture entitled "Campaign Finance Reform and Its Impact on Grassroots Politics" at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Tuesday, October 14.10/10/97
Is Civility a Dying Norm in Congress? Jamieson Asks in WWS Lecture
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, professor of communication and dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, will give a lecture entitled "Shut Up You Liar: Is Civility a Dying Norm in Congress?" at Princeton University on Monday, October 13.10/10/97
Former President of the European Monetary Institute to Speak on Europe's Monetary Union
Alexandre Lamfalussy, former president of the European Monetary Institute, will give a lecture entitled "Back to Fundamentals: Why a Monetary Union for Europe -- And Why Now" at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Tuesday, October 14.10/10/97
'Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe' to be Topic of WWS Lecture
Wendy Luers, president of The Foundation for a Civil Society, will speak on "The Crucial Role of a Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe" at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Thursday, October 16.10/10/97
Uwe Reinhardt to Discuss "Can America Afford Its Older Citizens?"
Uwe Reinhardt, an authority on the nation's health care system and Princeton's James Madison Professor of Political Economy and Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, will give a lecture titled "Can America Afford Its Older Citizens?" at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Thursday, October 16.10/10/97
A Former Political Reporter Looks at "Campaign Reform" at Princeton
Former Washington Post reporter Paul Taylor will speak on "Campaign Reform" at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Monday, October 20.10/1/97
Paul Muldoon Wins Irish Times' Literature Prize for Poetry
Paul Muldoon, director of the Creative Writing Program at Princeton University, has won the 1997 Irish Literature Prize for Poetry sponsored by The Irish Times, the Dublin-based newspaper announced today.10/1/97
Expanded Woolworth Center, Scheide Music Library to Give Musicians More Space
Princeton's Department of Music will gain space and a new library this month when the University rededicates an expanded Woolworth Center for Musical Studies and dedicates the Scheide Music Library on October 17. The dedication . . . marks the completion of the two-year project, which has increased available space for music students and faculty by 75 percent.
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