Robinson Professor Robert Hazen did an interview for NPR which aired on November 11th, 2010. He spoke about the “coevolution of life and rocks.” Click here to listen to the interview.
In the September 19, 2010 issue of The Free-Lance Star, Robinson Professor Spencer Crew wrote an article titled “Striking a Blow for the Ideals of a Great Nation.” In this article he discussed the Underground Railroad and how it “became another illustration of the growing strains between the North and South, and another reason why the South felt secession was necessary.”
On Friday, November 5th, 2010, Carma Hinton, Robinson Professor of Visual Culture and Chinese Studies, gave a presentation to students in the Honors College. Her talk focused on “the decision-making process in using evidence to portray multiple perspectives about the controversy surrounding the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square.” During the presentation she showed students raw footage of interviews from people on both sides. She then walked the students through the process of selecting sections of the interviews to include in a documentary.
WASHINGTON: Scientists have proposed that a third type of catalyst , apart from biochemicals-such as amino acids and nucleotides and biological catalysts (proteins or ribozymes), was responsible for origin of life on Earth .
According to Harold Morowitz of George Mason University (GMU), Vijayasarathy Srinivasan of GMU, and Eric Smith of the Santa Fe Institute, molecular structures involving transition metal elements (iron, copper, nickel, etc.) and ligands (small organic molecules) could have catalyzed the synthesis of basic biochemicals (monomers) that acted as building blocks for more complex molecules, leading ultimately to the origin of life.
Spencer R. Crew, Robinson Professor of American, African American and Public History, was the historical advisor for “Songs of Freedom,” a children’s hardcover book and DVD published by Blue Sky Project, a nonprofit media-development organization. Crew also presented “The Role of the Underground Railroad as a Cause of the Civil War” at the second Signature Conference sponsored by the Virginia Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the American Civil War and held at Norfolk State University in September. Crew also wrote “Striking a Blow for the Ideals of a Great Nation” in the Sept. 19 edition of the Free Lance-Star newspaper,Fredericksburg, Va.
Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, presented the opening keynote address on “Mineral Evolution” at the quadrennial meeting of the International Mineralogical Association in Budapest, Hungary, as well as lectures on “Mineral Surfaces and the Origins of Life” and “The Deep Carbon Observatory.”
John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Affairs, lectured at the Foreign Service Institute on “Islam in Nigeria” and at the U.S. Department of State on “Ethnicity in Africa: Implications for Development and Stability.”
Paul D’Andrea, Robinson Professor of Theater and English, had his play, “The Einstein Project,” produced in August at the Junction Theatre in Los Angeles to memorialize the explosion of the atomic bomb in Japan in 1945. His play, “Two-Bit Taj Mahal,” was read at New Dramatists in New York City. D’Andrea also spoke at the Class of 1960 Reunion at the 2010 Harvard Commencement on “‘Do You See This?’: Recognition in Shakespeare.”
Jim Trefil is all about bringing the wonders of the way our natural world works to the general public. And if it takes cheerleaders to get his message across, then so be it.
Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, has built his career on bridging the gap between science and society, but this newest project — possibly the quirkiest partnership to date — proves one thing. He is willing to try any means.
On July 30, 2009, Robinson Professor Spencer Crew met with 25 rising junior students from Annandale High School, all participating in the International Baccalaureate program, to teach them about the process of historical research. The students’ specific research topic was the Civil Rights movement in Fairfax County. Professor Crew not only discussed the research process, but also answered questions the students had about history and helped them with specific problems they faced with their research. The students’ teacher wanted the students to meet with Professor Crew to show the students that there is much more to history than just reading textbooks.
After the students met with Professor Crew, they were led on a one-hour tour of the campus by Patrick Money from Admissions.
Harold Morowitz, Robinson Professor of Biology and Natural Philosophy, cowrote “Ligand Field Theory and the Origin of Life as an Emergent Feature of the Periodic Table,” which was published in the Biological Bulletin 219, 2010. He also cowrote “How Life Began, the Emergence of Sparse Metabolic Networks,” which was published in the Journal of Cosmology 10, August 2010.
Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, presented the opening keynote address, “Mineralogical Co-Evolution of the Geo- and Biospheres,” at the quadrennial meeting of the International Mineralogical Association in Budapest, Hungary.
