Things to Do, April 26-May 3, 2019

Events include the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows lecture; the play “Spill” on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; Cornell Chorus and Glee Club performing “A German Requiem”; and the Cornell Orchestras’ final performances of the semester. 

Women’s basketball signs 7-year-old Karina Hill

Karina Hill, a 7-year-old second-grader from South Hill Elementary School in Ithaca, has officially joined the Cornell women’s basketball team, a Division I program.

Linguistics students create language for ‘Captain Marvel’

Cornell linguistics doctoral students Ryan Hearn and Joseph Rhyne created the alien language Torfan, used in one of the newest movies to come out of Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Captain Marvel.”

Einaudi grants to send 86 graduate students abroad

Eighty-six Cornell graduate students have been awarded travel grants from the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies for the 2019–20 academic year.

To aid Cameroon students with test prep, earn their trust

When it comes to studying for their all-important baccalaureate exam, students in Cameroon are largely left to their own devices. Now a team of Cornell researchers wants to use those devices to help them prepare for the test.

AI-generated profiles? Airbnb users prefer a human touch

If everyone uses algorithmically generated profiles, users trust them, according to a new study from Cornell researchers. However, if only some hosts choose to delegate writing responsibilities to artificial intelligence, those with AI-generated profiles are likely to be distrusted.

Democracy scholar wins Guggenheim fellowship

Suzanne Mettler, Ph.D. ’94, the John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions, has been awarded a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Rawlings scholars exhibit wide-ranging research

About three dozen Cornell seniors presented their undergraduate research at the 17th annual Hunter R. Rawlings III Research Scholars Senior Expo on April 17.

Occupation anniversary inspires continued progress

Fifty years to the day that students began an occupation of Willard Straight Hall in protest of racial issues on campus, the Cornell community gathered to reflect on the legacy of the occupation and the people involved.