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Harvard Reports a Significant Surplus
The University’s financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, published today, reflects results from before Lawrence S. Bacow became president , on July 1, but depicts the conditions and resources he and his deans now have to work …
Cryptic Puzzle: “Playground”
Download the puzzle Download the hints Download the solution "Playground" solvers (The first ten are listed in the order their solutions were received, the others alphabetically) Brian McCrady – Newmarket, Ontario, Canada Stephen Throop – Grover, NC …
Topping Off
The final beam of the Science and Engineering Complex in Allston was lowered into place on an unseasonably warm day this November. For years, I have watched the building come into focus in artist renderings and architectural blueprints. Standing at its …
Issue: March-April 2018
Yesterday's News
1920 The physical examination of all 700 Harvard freshmen, in connection with a new system of compulsory freshman athletics, has been completed, with each student classified according to his “bodily mechanics” (posture). Only 7.5 percent of the class …
Cryptic Puzzle: “Lighten Up”
Download the puzzle Download the hints Download the solution “Lighten Up” solvers (The first ten are listed in the order their solutions were received, the others alphabetically) Brian McCrady – Newmarket, Ontario, Canada Ned Robert – Los Gatos, CA Joe …
Toward a Zika Vaccine
Researchers have made a surprising discovery in their search for a vaccine against Zika, a virus that can cause pregnant women to bear children with small heads (microcephaly) and other birth defects. The disease has infected more than 5,000 people from …
Allende, Bloomberg, Bush, and Stiglitz: The Honorands
During the Morning Exercises of the 363rd Commencement, on May 29, Harvard planned to confer honorary degrees on five men and three women—among them a preeminent art historian; a Nobel laureate in economics; an acclaimed popular singer; a former United …
Harvard's Black-Hole Debunker
Kareem El-Badry smiles as he recites one of his favorite quotes: “It’s not the things you don’t know that hurt you. It’s the things you think you know but just ain’t so.” The paraphrased line, often attributed to Mark Twain, has guided El-Badry’s thinking …
Baking Sourdough Bread Is a Survival Instinct
When Noah Evers ’22 ran into problems with his final project for Psychology 15 (“Social Psychology”) during the spring 2020 semester, he went not to his professor for advice, but to his grandmother. It wasn’t a bad idea. Psychologist Patricia Marks …
Take a Break
Anyone taking a late-day stroll in search of coffee or tea and something sweet would notice that Harvard Square has moved happily beyond the multiple Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts outlets—but almost to a ludicrous point. Most lavish are newcomers Tatte …
Issue: May-June 2017
University People
National Academicians David Laibson Courtesy of David Laibson In a year in which 40 percent of its newly elected members were women, a new high, the National Academy of Sciences announced 100 new members, including nine Harvard professors: Joanna …
Issue: July-August 2019
Final-Clubs Battle Rejoined
Following a year of sharp debate within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) over the proposed sanctioning of undergraduates who join final clubs or other unrecognized single-gender social organizations (USGSOs) , the divisions now appear likely to …
Social Club Ban?
In July , a Harvard committee recommended banning students from joining any final club or other unrecognized social organization, whether gender neutral in its membership practices or not. The ban, modeled on one at Williams College, would take effect …
Issue: September-October 2017
Arctic Meltdown Turns Up the Heat
At the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) , researchers have found that rising temperatures and thawing permafrost in the northern region of the Alaskan tundra are leading to increased emissions of carbon dioxide into the …
"Wade in the Water"
“Giving care is an ultimate act of love and hope, and hope is an act of communion,” said associate professor Dr. Joia Mukherjee, M.P.H. ’01 at the Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) Class Day ceremony today. …