Things to Do, March 19-April 2

Events on campus this week include Maple weekend, CSA Fair, Reimagining Cornell, student mental health, Seder dinners, Don Randel, Literary Luncheon, Sir Richard Jolly, Bailey Hall concert.

Professor: Achievement gap is deep, even among African-American middle class

Travis Gosa, Cornell assistant professor of Africana studies, said that blacks still suffer from an achievement gap - even among the middle class - at a March 12 seminar. (March 16, 2010)

100 mpg car team passes salvage test, gears up for X Prize

The team passed its Department of Motor Vehicles salvage vehicles inspection to be eligible for registration in New York - a requirement to compete for the Progressive Automotive X Prize.

Art historian fights to rescue historic plaster cast collection

Cornell's historic plaster cast collection - copies of famous statues - should be rescued and restored, because it's more valuable than ever, says art historian Annetta Alexandridis. (March 16, 2010)

New York state funds new battery research at Cornell

Emmanuel Giannelis and others will work with New York-based Primet Precision Materials Inc. to develop a family of novel electrolytes for advanced batteries with improved electrochemical stability. (March 15, 2010)

Students apply Arabic language skills in Jordan

Twelve students, the pilot group in the Intensive Arabic Program, are speaking and writing in Arabic this semester while engaging with the culture and studying at a university in Amman, Jordan. (March 15, 2010)

Peter Eisenman shares contentious views on design vs. architecture

Alumnus architect Peter Eisenman gave an opinionated and discursive lecture on architecture, design and changing norms, March 10 in Goldwin Smith Hall. Eisenman is a visiting Rhodes Professor. (March 11, 2010)

Deans articulate their commitment to the arts

In a Cornell Perspectives piece, Deans Kent Kleinman and G. Peter Lepage write, 'The arts are not optional for us; they are fundamental to Cornell University's academic mission.' (March 11, 2010)

Things we want appear closer than they are, studies show

Psychology professor David Dunning and Emily Balcetis, Ph.D. '06, found that when an object is desirable, we perceive it to be closer than it actually is. (March 11, 2010)