Faculty

Insights into groundbreaking faculty research, innovative projects, and academic thought leadership across Harvard’s schools and institutes.

A man with glasses, wearing a black suit and white shirt, smiling against a dark background.

Jason Furman: Capitalism Is Working. It Could Work Better.

On Open to Debate, the Harvard economist defended free market competition—with meaningful government involvement. 

by Schuyler Velasco

Mechanical engineer Emilie Dressaire

A Durable Bubble

Mechanical engineering student Emilie Dressaire studies tiny bubbles that can last up to a year and replace fat droplets in ice cream.

by Paul Gleason

The slave trade shipped Africans to the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia; where victims ended up depended in part on which trade route their captors used. In total, the four routes ferried nearly 20 million people out of Africa.

Slavery’s Sway

Interdisciplinary economist Nathan Nunn explores the problem of African underdevelopment by drawing on—and unearthing—historical data about slavery.

by Paul Gleason

Tail of the panther chameleon, <em>Furcifer pardalis</em>, of Madagascar. The same species appears on the cover (below, right). Chameleons do not change color to match their backgrounds, but to communicate excitement, anger, fear, and other emotions.

Animals Speak Color

Kit Reed introduces an exhibition at the Harvard Museum of Natural History that reveals the different roles color plays in the animal and plant kingdoms.

by Christopher Reed

Decoding Diabetes

Elizabeth Gudrais reports on how discoveries in genetics, cell metabolism, and the study of small molecules point the way to new therapies and perhaps a cure for diabetes.

by Elizabeth Gudrais

High windows overlooking a courtyard reflect the Museum of Comparative Zoology. The low granite curbs among the trees frame skylights.

Labs, Size Large

The new Northwest Science Building at Harvard

Perspectives on Saving Capitalism

Ideas from Harvard scholars and alumni include going local; regulating consumer credit; and getting over our aversion to centralized planning.

Bailout: Dividends No, Savings Bonds Yes

In two newspaper op-ed essays, faculty members critique aspects of the federal government's financial-rescue measures and emerging proposals for another economic-stimulus package...

Tiktaalik Resurfaces

In today’s New York Times, science writer John Noble Wilford reports on new findings (to be published tomorrow in the journal Nature) about Tiktaalik roseae, a fossil fish that...

Bill Gates on “Creative Capitalism”

Highlights from an armchair discussion between Bill Gates and Robinson professor of business administration emeritus James Cash

Martin Chalfie ’69, Ph.D. ’77, and Roger Y. Tsien ’72 Share Chemistry Nobel Prize

Fundamental work on the green fluorescent protein, isolated from jellyfish, is now a basic tool used to study biological processes...