Letters

Cambridge 02138

Communications from our readers

January-February 2009

Features

The War and the Writ

In the fight against terrorists, habeas corpus has played a key role in efforts to balance civil liberties against national security.

by Jonathan Shaw

Frances Perkins

How the first female Cabinet member helped shape the New Deal

by Adam S. Cohen

Life Sciences, Applied

Bioengineering--at the intersection of biology, medical science, and engineering--is where scientists Joseph Vacanti, Pamela Silver, Kit Parker, David Mooney, Joanna Aizenberg, and Radhika Nagpal are defining a new field.

by Courtney Humphries

From Daguerreotype to Photoshop

Art historian Robin Kelsey examines photographs of all kinds to reveal what they say about human history, society, and culture.

by Craig Lambert

RIGHT NOW Harvard research and ideas

The Fit Fat

Harvard Medical School’s Bruce Spiegelman studies brown fat, a little-known type of tissue with health-promoting potential.

Retirement Engine Rebuilt

Skeptical of both defined-benefit and defined-contribution retirement plans, Harvard Business School professor Robert Merton proposes a hybrid, SmartNest, to overcome the shortcomings of each.

Does Thinking Make It So?

In The Cure Within, historian of science Anne Harrington explores the medical history of the mind-body connection.

Rx for the Books

McKay professor of applied biology Ralph Mitchell and postdoctoral fellow Nick Konkol work with preservation librarians to develop a test that can detect damaging mold in books before it becomes visible.

John Harvard's Journal University news

Gore Boosts a Greener Harvard

With a public appearance and speech in Tercentenary Theatre, Nobel Prize-winning environmental activist Al Gore ’69, LL.D. ’94, helped launch Harvard’s commitment to sustainability.

Harder Times

An update on the University’s initial responses to the worsening economic climate

The Endowment: Each School’s Stake

(Sidebar) The shrinking Harvard endowment affects the University's different schools differently.

Chiara String Quartet

The Chiara String Quartet are Harvard's current Blodgett Artists-in-Residence.

Educating Students for Life

Harvard College rolls out the new general education curriculum for undergraduates.

Advancing Art

Art historian and former museum curator Emily Rauh Pulitzer gives the Harvard Art Museum 31 important works of modern and contemporary art and $45 million, enhancing a tradition she shared with her late husband, Joseph Pulitzer Jr

Yesterday's News

Happenings at Harvard in Januarys and Februarys past

Edward M. Kennedy '54, LL.D. '08

In a special Harvard convocation, Senator Edward M. Kennedy receives an honorary degree.

Educating Professionals

In speeches at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, President Drew Faust outlines her vision of professional education, service, and responsibility.

Crimson in Congress

Harvardians in the 111th Congress

For Santiago's Poor, Housing with Dignity

An innovative housing initiative with deep Harvard ties lets families in Chile who once lived illegally become homeowners.

Studying Schooling

Two new education centers, run by Roland Fryer and Thomas Kane, and an existing center, run by Paul Peterson, bring Harvard’s analytic resources to bear on public education issues: student achievement, teacher recruitment, and school choice.

Brevia

News of the University and the Harvard community

Making Mingling Manageable

Undergraduate columnist Christian Flow ponders the strange social science of mingling.

Buzzing In

Quiz Bowl’s quirky intellectualism and hard-driving competitiveness energize a strong Harvard team.

Big D

Defensive prowess helps the football team to a share of the Ivy crown.

Sports Roundup

Soccer and basketball updates

Montage Books, creative arts, performance and more

Up in the Air

Aerial photographer Alex MacLean documents the effects of the American lifestyle on the American landscape.

Before the Cocktail Napkin

In this excerpt from her new book, Michelangelo, Drawing, and the Invention of Architecture, Cammy Brothers discusses how the artist demonstrated the possibility for architecture to be a vehicle for the imagination equal to painting or sculpture.

Imagining the Past

Sara Houghteling’s first novel, Pictures at an Exhibition, tells the story of a young man who searches post-war Paris for both his lost love and his father’s stolen art collection.

Off the Shelf

An editorial sampling of recent books with Harvard connections

“Working Sisters”

Pan Tianshu reviews Leslie Chang's new book Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China

Chapter & Verse

A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words

Almuni Harvardians far and wide

Taking It to the Streets

Through his work at the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, Teny Gross is keeping kids alive.

Anthony Woods: Taking a Stand

Anthony C. Woods has initiated his own dismissal from the U.S. Army under the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Educational Activist

Teresa Clarke helps talented but low-income South African children through the Student Sponsorship Programme.

Natural Baker

With her Naturally Nora cake and frosting mixes, Nora Schultz aims to provide quick and wholesome desserts.

The SIGnboard

News from Shared Interest Groups

Storytelling Scholar

Marie Rutkoski blends sixteenth-century history with fantasy in The Cabinet of Wonders, a new novel for young adults.

A Record-Breaker Passes

Farewell to Walter Seward, Harvard's longest-lived alumnus

Comings and Goings

A sampling of forthcoming Harvard Club events around the country