Democracy 20/20 webinar to examine U.S. polarization

The next installment of the Democracy 20/20 webinar series, scheduled for Oct. 30 at 2 p.m., will tackle polarization and how tensions between the political parties and the social groups they represent are redefining American democracy.

Using microbes, scientists aim to extract rare-earth elements

A U.S. Department of Energy agency has awarded $1 million to Cornell researchers, who are using programmed microbes to mine rare-earth minerals used in consumer electronics and advanced renewable energy.

Religion: less ‘opiate,’ more suppressant, study finds

Rather than making people less political, religion shapes people’s political ideas, suppressing important group differences and progressive political positions, according to sociologist Landon Schnabel.

Michael Morley, emeritus professor of math, dies at 90

Winner of the Leroy P. Steele Prize for Seminal Contribution to Research for his advances in mathematical logic and model theory, Michael Morley was also a devoted advisor of Cornell students. He died Oct. 11.

Fossil footprints tell story of prehistoric parent’s journey

Human tracks at White Sands National Park record more than 1.5 kilometers of a journey and form the longest Late Pleistocene-age double human trackway in the world.

Wilkerson to discuss ‘Racial Moment of Truth’ in CCSS lecture

Isabel Wilkerson, author of “The Warmth of Other Suns” and “Caste,” will deliver the Cornell Center for Social Sciences’ annual Distinguished Lecture in the Social Sciences at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 21.

Zhang helps NYS to go solar, avoid land-use conflicts

Engineering professor Max Zhang has been awarded a NYSERDA grant to determine efficient solar farm array configurations so the state can avoid land-use conflicts or spoiling precious agricultural space.

New Jeep ad supports Carl Sagan Institute initiative

The Carl Sagan Institute is getting a boost from an unexpected source: Fiat Chrysler Automotive. The company’s ad for its new Wrangler 4XE plug-in hybrid features the late astronomer Carl Sagan’s famous “Pale Blue Dot” monologue and images.

Grants fund community-engaged learning curricula

The Office of Engagement Initiatives recently awarded Engaged Curriculum Grants to 19 teams of faculty and community partners that are developing community-engaged learning courses, majors and minors across the university.