Clay subsoil at Earth’s driest place may signal life on Mars

Earth’s most arid desert may hold a key to finding microbial life on Mars, in new research published Nov. 5 in Nature Scientific Reports.

Kerry imparts experience, hope to the ‘next generation’

Former Secretary John Kerry discussed foreign relations, climate change, political polarization and other immediately relevant topics Oct. 29 during the Belnick Family LaFeber/Lowi Presidential Forum.

Effective government saves lives in cyclones, other disasters

Cornell-led research has found that effective national and local governments are associated with fewer deaths from natural disasters – even in countries with similar levels of wealth and development.

Fitzpatrick is new associate vice provost for social sciences

Maria Fitzpatrick, professor of economics and public policy in the College of Human Ecology, is Cornell’s new associate vice provost for social sciences. She began her three-year appointment on Sept. 1.

Reading series finale to feature Black feminist scholars

Black feminist scholars will examine the current socio-political and cultural moment in “Triangle Breathing: A Conversation with Hortense Spillers and Alexis Pauline Gumbs,” the final Barbara & David Zalaznick Reading Series: At Home virtual event of the fall. The event, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.

Undergrads promote children’s learning with rapStudy

Cosimo Fabrizio ’22 and Drew Speckman ’21 are co-founders of rapStudy, which pairs popular song melodies with new lyrics meant to help elementary and middle schoolers learn about everything from civics to the scientific method.

Watt Webb, biological imaging techniques pioneer, dies

Applied physicist Watt W. Webb, the S.B. Eckert Professor of Engineering Emeritus and a pioneer in methods for imaging living biological systems, died Oct. 29. He was 93.

‘Racism in America’ webinar to examine education, housing

The College of Arts and Sciences’ yearlong webinar series, “Racism in America,” will examine past and present impacts of racism on education and housing in its next webinar, “Education and Housing,” Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.

In election’s waning days, panel sees hope for democracy

Amid the clatter in the days before the presidential election, three professors in the College of Arts and Sciences offered a bright light at the end of the 2020 tunnel: hope for democracy.