Faculty
Undergraduate Dismissed in Sexual Misconduct Case
A student was dismissed from the College in late November after multiple instances of alleged sexual misconduct, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Michael D. Smith announced at the faculty’s monthly meeting on Tuesday.
BC Professor Contributes Academic Diversity
With a long-standing research partnership at the University and a family that boasts five Harvard degrees, visiting professor Kay Schlozman does not have a hard time navigating the Harvard landscape.
Faculty Members Say Grade Distribution is Not a Big Concern
With Harvard College under national scrutiny after Dean of Undergraduate Education Jay M. Harris revealed Tuesday that students at the College are more likely to receive an A than any other grade, faculty members told The Crimson that they do not have to meet a particular grade distribution and that they are not overly concerned about the potential consequences of high grading averages.
Substantiating Fears of Grade Inflation, Dean Says Median Grade at Harvard College Is A-, Most Common Grade Is A
The median grade at Harvard College is an A-, and the most frequently awarded mark is an A, Dean of Undergraduate Education Jay M. Harris said on Tuesday afternoon, supporting suspicions that the College employs a softer grading standard than many of its peer institutions.
Professor Discusses Ethics of World War II Biological Weaponry Tests
The Japanese army killed around 10,000 Chinese civilians, Russians, and American prisoners of war while testing biological weaponry during World War II, but the U.S. government withheld knowledge of the fatal tests. Even though the episode has often been overshadowed, it played a significant role in America’s ethical history, according to professor David S. Jones ’97 at the Ethics of Human Experimentation, a discussion hosted by the Harvard Undergraduate Bioethics Society Monday night.
Physics Professors Win Prestigious Award
Physics professors Andrew E. Strominger ’77 and Cumrun Vafa were awarded the Milner Foundation’s Fundamental Physics Prize earlier this week.
Faculty Hear From SEAS Deans, Faculty Council, and Professors of Religion at Monthly Meeting
Two deans from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences laid out priorities and concerns on behalf of colleagues involved in the planning process for the school’s eventual move to Allston at the monthly meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Tuesday afternoon.
With Space and Personnel at a Premium, SEAS To Increase Faculty by Nearly 30 Percent
Facing constraints in manpower and space, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is set to make twenty new tenure-track hires and is preparing for its building projects in Allston, SEAS Dean Cherry A. Murray told The Crimson in an interview this week.
The Harvard Classroom, Digitized
This semester, the third since Harvard and MIT announced the launch of edX, many students are questioning whether virtual course materials in Harvard classes are enhancing—or detracting from—the learning process.
Mazur Criticizes Forms of Assessments
Current academic assessments fail to teach students skills that are applicable in the real world, argued Area Dean for Applied Physics Eric Mazur during a lecture to a packed hall in the Science Center Tuesday afternoon.
Donors and Professors Confer at Symposia After FAS Capital Campaign Launch
At a symposium on digital education, Robert A. Lue, a biology professor and director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, said that Harvard needs donors’ support to lead research on innovation in teaching and learning.
In Study, Open Access Science Journals Accept Fake Papers
More than half of over three hundred fee-based, open access science journals accepted a bogus research paper for publication in a study conducted by John N. Bohannon, a visiting scholar at the Harvard Program in Ethics and Health.
SEAS To Offer New Two-Year Master's Degree
The Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences announced on Friday that it will offer a two-year Master of Engineering in the field beginning in fall 2014.
Degrees Offered at SEAS
SEAS offers new two-year master's degree for Computational Science and Engineering
America's Next Top Nobel
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or a pile of p-sets in the corner of Lamont), you’ve probably heard that chemistry professor emeritus Martin Karplus just won a Nobel Prize. This, according to The Crimson, was for his innovations in “computer simulations using classical physics and quantum mechanics that could improve scientists’ understanding of complex reactions and the development of new drugs." If you’re anything like us, you’re very impressed, and also have no idea what this actually means. For your benefit, we’ve broken down this scientific jargon into language even Folklore and Mythology concentrators can understand. WARNING: The following definitions have been provided by a sarcastic humanities concentrator who has only ever stepped foot in the Science Center to buy chai tea lattés from the Greenhouse Café.
Office Hours with Lieberman: Overcoming Your Inner Caveman Instincts
You walk into brain break and survey your options. If you’re faced with the choice between an apple and a brownie, chances are your instincts will guide you towards the brownie; try as we might, we just can’t stop reaching for fat and sugar. Human evolutionary biology professor Daniel E. Lieberman '86 is an expert on the evolutionary logic behind these patterns. In his newest book, "The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease," Lieberman tells us about the evolutionary causes and effects of “mismatch diseases,” which occur as a result of long-term changes in our environment but not our bodies. We spoke with Lieberman about his book and what it might mean for college students in their day-to-day lives.
History Panel Seeks To Promote Discipline, Entice Concentrators
Throughout the evening, speakers sought to emphasize the complex, multifaceted, and ever-present nature of history.
Hanspeter Pfister To Lead Institute for Applied Computational Sciences
Computer science professor Hanspeter Pfister was named director of the Institute for Applied Computational Sciences at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences last Monday. Pfister is taking the place of physics professor Efthimios Kaxiras, who has led the Institute since its founding in 2010.
Center for Astrophysics Workers Furloughed Following Government Shutdown
As debate over the federal government shutdown continues in Washington, funding for the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has dried up and approximately 100 federal workers at the Center have been sent home.
New Program Partners Faculty Members with Freshman Entryways
In keeping with the tradition of a Senior Common Room in each upperclassman House that connects Harvard’s faculty to residential life, faculty members will now affiliate with freshman entryways as well through the “Faculty Fellows Program.”
Professor Discusses Publishing in China
In a talk Tuesday afternoon, Vogel discussed the complexities of selling his 2011 book “Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China” in the Japanese and Chinese markets.
Professors Say Shutdown Debate Could Change Perceptions of ACA
Harvard academics in health economics and public policy suggest that the Affordable Care Act’s role in the government shutdown on Tuesday might compromise implementation of health care reform.
At Town Hall Meeting, Professors Discuss Future edX Improvements
Faculty members addressed how the 15-month-old online learning platform must continue to adapt pedagogically, financially, and structurally to reach its goals—expanding access, improving teaching, and advancing research.