Cornell scores gold STARS sustainability rating
Cornell has achieved a gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education for its work as a 'green' leader. (Jan. 31, 2012)

'The Life Before Us' chosen for reading project
Freshmen and incoming transfer students this fall will read and discuss French author Romain Gary's 1975 novel 'The Life Before Us' for the New Student Reading Project. (Jan. 31, 2012)

Research boosts maple syrup production
Cornell-developed techniques to limit bacteria in maple tree taps are leading to increased sap quantity and quality for New York's $12.3 million maple industry. (Jan. 31, 2012)

Joe Veverka receives Whipple Award
Joseph Veverka, Cornell's James A. Weeks Professor of Physical Sciences, has received the Whipple Award for his 'outstanding contribution to the field of planetary science.' (Jan. 31, 2012)

Qi wins prestigious American Diabetes Association award
Ling Qi, a researcher who studies the response of fat cells to stress and its relationship to obesity and type 2 diabetes, received a prestigious award from the American Diabetes Association. (Jan. 31, 2012)

Portable device will quickly detect pathogens
Two Cornell professors are developing a handheld detector that will give health care workers in the developing world speedy results to identify pathogens in the field. (Jan. 30, 2012)

Parent educators, researchers share wisdom at conference
New York state parent educators gathered at Cornell Jan. 25-26 to share research-based information on building parenting skills. (Jan. 30, 2012)

Study: Stressed kids more likely to become obese
The more ongoing stress children are exposed to, the greater the odds they will become obese by adolescence, reports Cornell environmental psychologist Gary Evans in the journal Pediatrics. (Jan. 30, 2012)

Campus Area Farms offer lots of living lab space
Campus Area Farms, operated by Cornell's Agricultural Experiment Station, offers researchers 352 acres - patchwork of 11 small farms - for test plots. (Jan. 30, 2012)

Food safety inspires kids to build LEGO machines
A national challenge attracted scores of 6- to 9-year-olds to campus to show off their team-built LEGO contraptions on the theme of food safety Jan. 28. (Jan. 30, 2012)

eCornell named a top leadership training companies
eCornell, which offers online professional and executive development courses, has been named to Training Industry Inc.'s list of Top 20 Leadership Training Companies for the third consecutive year. (Jan. 30, 2012)

Volunteers sought for simulated Mars mission
Cornell is working with the University of Hawai'i-Manoa to conduct a three-year NASA study on the diets and food issues of six volunteers who spend four months in a simulated Mars habitat. (Jan. 26, 2012)

Frequently asked questions about NYC tech campus
The New York City tech campus is generating interest - and questions - from around the community. Tech campus proposal leaders will answer questions at a forum Feb. 3, and the Chronicle periodically will run an FAQ. (Jan. 26, 2012)

Faculty members honored as inspiring teachers
Cornell professors George Hudler, Ravi Ramakrishna and Yervant Terzian have been recognized for distinguished teaching with Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowships. (Jan. 26, 2012)

Eighth AguaClara plant under construction
In a few months, nearly every home in Atima, Honduras, will have safe, clean drinking water, thanks to a treatment plant principally designed by Cornell engineering students. (Jan. 26, 2012)

Students help inaugurate AguaClara sand filter
The stacked rapid sand filter, developed by members of Cornell's AguaClara research team, could well be the reason that Tamara now has some of the best water in all of Honduras. (Jan. 26, 2012)

Things to Do, Jan. 27-Feb. 3
Events this week include a winter reception at the Johnson Museum, the inaugural Startup Fair, a film series devoted to sound, and lectures on international relations in China and 1970s politics. (Jan. 26, 2012)

Registered disaster volunteers receive paid leave
Cornell faculty and staff who are certified by the American Red Cross or similar organizations as disaster volunteers or emergency disaster responders can now take five days paid leave. (Jan. 26, 2012)

Robert Richardson to receive Duke honorary degree
Physicist Robert C. Richardson, 1996 Nobel laureate, will receive an honorary degree from Duke University. (Jan. 26, 2012)

Public lecture series to explore the rise of China
The Cornell Program on Ethics and Public Life launches a major series of lectures on the politics and ethics of the rise of China. (Jan. 26, 2012)

Assemblies Update, Week of Jan. 23
An update from the Office of the Assemblies, including brief reports from the Student Assembly, Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, Employee Assembly and University Assembly. (Jan. 26, 2012)

Peter Meinig looks back at a decade of service
Peter C. Meinig '61, outgoing chair of the Cornell University Board of Trustees, recently sat down with the Cornell Chronicle to look back on a decade of service. (Jan. 25, 2012)

'Worm speak' uses chemicals to communicate
A study reports that a species of roundworms combine chemical fragments to create precise molecular messages that control social behavior. Study unravels 'worm speak' that uses chemicals to communicate. (Jan. 25, 2012)

Cornell leads Ivy League in Peace Corps recruits
With 58 undergraduate alumni serving in the Peace Corps, Cornell ranks No. 4 on the top Peace Corps volunteer-producing colleges and universities among medium-sized institutions. (Jan. 25, 2012)

Four companies get expert help from JumpStart
The Cornell Center for Materials Research helps New York state small businesses develop and improve their products through collaborations with university scientists. (Jan. 25, 2012)

Librarians share cyber info in India
Four Cornell librarians and information technologists conferred with counterparts in India at a workshop on information literacy. An outcome is that Indian librarians will come to campus. (Jan. 25, 2012)

Model shows how often to review material for flashcards
Cornell computer scientists have developed a mathematical model for the timing of review for flashcards and other educational software. (Jan. 24, 2012)

Myra Sabir gives first talk for Soup and Hope
Myra Sabir, assistant dean of admissions and advising, opened the 2012 Soup and Hope series Jan. 19 using excerpts from her work-in-progress to convey her journey toward self-awareness and connection. (Jan. 24, 2012)

Imaging live mouse spinal cord will aid trauma therapy
A study describes an imaging technique that allows researchers to observe a live mouse's spinal cord continuously over time to gain understanding for treating spinal injuries. (Jan. 24, 2012)

College cuts odds for marriage among disadvantaged
A new study by Kelly Musick finds that college lowers the odds of people from less-advantaged backgrounds from ever marrying, creating a 'marriage market mismatch.' (Jan. 24, 2012)

Muna Ndulo wins Distinguished Africanist Award
Muna Ndulo, professor of law and director of the Institute for African Development, won the New York Africana Studies Association's 2012 Distinguished Africanist Award. (Jan. 24, 2012)

Board approves tuition and fees for 2012-13
The board of trustees approved planning parameters Jan. 20 for the university's 2012-13 budget that entails an across-the-board tuition increase of $1,860 for all of the university's undergraduate students. (Jan. 23, 2012)

Two win Air Force young investigator awards
Two Cornell faculty members - Gregory Fuchs and A. Kevin Tang - are among this year's 48 winners of the Air Force Young Investigator Research Program. (Jan. 23, 2012)

Special journal issue wins award
A special issue of South Atlantic Quarterly - 'Sovereignty, Indigeneity and the Law' - co-edited by Professor Eric Cheyfitz, has won a best special issue of the year award. (Jan. 23, 2012)

Cohabiting couples are happier than wedded ones
A study by Kelly Musick, published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, reports that the benefits of marriage reduce over time while cohabiting couples experience greater happiness and self esteem. (Jan. 23, 2012)

Researchers study why metals fail
Cornell engineers are studying better ways to predict how cracks grow in metals, and how to engineer better materials. (Jan. 23, 2012)

Cornellians honor Peter Meinig at gala
Trustees, deans, vice presidents, provosts and friends gathered Jan. 20 at the New York Public Library to pay tribute to Peter C. Meinig, outgoing chair of the Cornell University Board of Trustees. (Jan. 23, 2012)

CAAA honors Irene H.S. So '61 at NYC gala
Irene H.S. So '61 was the honoree at the 21st annual CAAA Banquet Jan. 21 at Grand Harmony Palace in Manhattan. Also at the event, artist Kwong Lum donated one of his works as a gift to Cornell. (Jan. 23, 2012)

Professor Emerita Karen Brazell dies at age 73
Karen Brazell, the Goldwin Smith Graduate Professor Emerita of Japanese Literature and Theatre, died Jan. 18. Brazell was also a translator of Japanese literature and innovator in digital humanities. (Jan. 23, 2012)

Physicist Albert Silverman dies at 92
Albert Silverman, professor emeritus of physics and nuclear studies at Cornell, who led pioneering experiments in particle physics during his 38 years at the university, died Jan. 17 at age 92. (Jan. 23, 2012)

Professor Emeritus Stephen M. Parrish dies at 90
Stephen Maxfield Parrish, Goldwin Smith Professor of English Emeritus at Cornell and noted Wordsworth and Yeats scholar, died Jan. 11 at age 90. (Jan. 23, 2012)

Trustees move forward with new humanities building
The Buildings and Properties Committee of the Cornell Board of Trustees unanimously approved the design phase of the new humanities building, the first at Cornell in over 100 years. (Jan. 20, 2012)

Cells' inability to replicate does not stop tumors
A new study co-authored by Cornell's James Sethna and published in PLoS Computational Biology shows that making cells stop dividing does not stop tumor growth as previously believed. (Jan. 19, 2012)

Grad student Ferraguto wins prestigious Pisk Prize
Mark Ferraguto has been awarded the American Musicological Society's Pisk Prize, which recognizes the most outstanding scholarly paper read by a graduate student at the society's annual meeting. (Jan. 19, 2012)

Jason Moran to perform in Cornell Concert Series
Jazz pianist Jason Moran and bassist Dave Holland will give a rare performance as a duo Jan. 28 in Barnes Hall, as part of the Cornell Concert Series. (Jan. 19, 2012)

Things to Do, Jan. 20-27
Events this week include new films and modern classics at Cornell Cinema, a Glee Club concert, a talk by two digital artists at the Johnson Museum, and celebrated jazz artists in Barnes Hall. (Jan. 19, 2012)

Assemblies Update, Week of Jan. 13
An update from the Office of the Assemblies, including brief reports from the Student Assembly, Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, Employee Assembly and University Assembly. (Jan. 19, 2012)

Algae may be sustainable alternative for animal feed
Researchers are testing the algae that's a biofuel byproduct as a protein-rich source of feed to supplement or replace some corn and soybean meal mix traditionally given to food-producing animals. (Jan. 18, 2012)

Method identifies mutations that drive genetic diseases
For the first time, a new computational method allows researchers to identify which specific molecular mechanisms are altered by genetic mutations in proteins that lead to disease. (Jan. 18, 2012)

Suzanne Mettler named Century Foundation fellow
Suzanne Mettler, Cornell's Clinton Rossiter Professor of American Institutions, has been appointed a fellow by The Century Foundation, a progressive nonpartisan think tank. (Jan. 18, 2012)

Enhanced financial aid changes 'many more lives'
Cornell now spends some $224 million annually on financial aid that benefits half of its undergraduates - roughly 7,000 students. (Jan. 17, 2012)

Winter Employee Celebration draws 2,400
The Winter Employee Celebration drew a record 2,400 to the community dinner and athletic events at Bartels Hall Jan. 14. (Jan. 17, 2012)

Plant pathologists put the squeeze on citrus disease
Researchers have developed genetically engineered orange trees to fight a deadly bacterial citrus disease in Florida. The trees will soon be put to the test. (Jan. 16, 2012)

Scientists predict an out-of-this-world kind of ice
Researchers have combined high-powered computing and 'chemical intuition' to discover new phases of ice at extremely high pressures nonexistent on Earth, but probably abundant elsewhere in the solar system. (Jan. 16, 2012)

Study uncovers how DNA unfolds for transcription
Cornell geneticists expand on their previous work that showed how compacted DNA unravels prior to transcription. (Jan. 16, 2012)

Paz-Soldan assists young Latin American writers
Bolivian writer Jose Edmundo Paz-Soldan, a professor of Hispanic literature in the Department of Romance Studies, is helping young and emerging Latino and Latin American writers at Cornell. (Jan. 16, 2012)

Guilt, gender play roles in human-animal relations
Anthropology professor Nerissa Russell has published the first systematic overview of social zooarchaeology, and finds that guilt and gender play a major role in human-animal relations. (Jan. 16, 2012)

Seven fashion students win scholarships
Seven undergraduates in the Department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design have each received $5,000 scholarship awards in a prestigious national fashion design and management competition. (Jan. 16, 2012)

Rugged new strawberry has a hint of pineapple
Herriot is a new tasty strawberry variety with high yields, vigor, disease resistance, eye appeal and a hint of pineapple flavor. (Jan. 12, 2012)

Wasp rediscovered after almost 100 years
Two tiny wasps have been found in Geneva, N.Y.: One hasn't been seen on this continent since its initial discovery by Cornell scientists in 1915, and the other has never been seen here. (Jan. 12, 2012)

NYC Tech Campus fits into Ezra Cornell's vision
As technology entrepreneur himself, Ezra Cornell might see the new science and technology campus as a reiteration of everything he intended in founding his university. (Jan. 12, 2012)

Rules for accessible parking to change Feb. 1
A new program for accessible parking for employees will require municipal parking placards and instituting a payment structure for long-term parking; the process for short-term parking remains as is. (Jan. 12, 2012)

Trevor Pinch edits 'The Handbook of Sound Studies'
'The Oxford Handbook of Sound Studies' looks at the impact and changing impact of sounds in a variety of public and private spaces throughout history. (Jan. 12, 2012)

ILR professor helps world's poorest workers
In his new book, ILR School professor Gary Fields describes living with families in developing countries and policy issues relating to their poverty. (Jan. 12, 2012)

Metaphysics is not just semantics, says philosopher
A new book by Theodore Sider, Frederick J. Whiton Chair in philosophy, asserts that there is one best way to describe the world, using an objectively special language that matches reality's concepts. (Jan. 12, 2012)

Benedict Anderson awarded $10,000 prize
Benedict Anderson, the Aaron L. Binenkorb Professor Emeritus of International Studies, Government and Asian Studies, has received the 2011 Albert O. Hirschman Prize from the Social Science Research Council. (Jan. 12, 2012)

After bitter battles, NLRB survives with full quorum
Senior lecturer Kate Bronfenbrenner explains the recent politics surrounding the appointments to the National Labor Relations Board. (Jan. 12, 2012)

Things to Do, Jan. 13-20
Events on campus include art exhibitions at the Johnson Museum and Mann Library, a Soup and Hope lecture in Sage Chapel, outdoor photography workshops and a veterinary medicine seminar. (Jan. 12, 2012)

Assemblies Update, Week of Jan. 9
An update from the Office of the Assemblies, including brief reports from the Student Assembly, Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, Employee Assembly and University Assembly. (Jan. 12, 2012)

Blackboard course management system offers new features
The Blackboard course management system has been upgraded, with new tools for grading and quizzes. (Jan. 12, 2012)

Soon for sale? Ethnic veggies like maxixe and shiso
The Cornell Vegetable Program is looking at how to promote the growing and marketing of such ethnic vegetables as shiso, maxixe, tasoi and komatsuna. (Jan. 11, 2012)

Pilot program will test electronic textbooks
Beginning this spring, Cornell will launch a pilot program to test electronic textbooks in four courses, involving about 1,000 students. (Jan. 11, 2012)

ILR School faculty and alumni receive labor honors
ILR School Dean Harry Katz and Professor Rose Batt were named Scholar Fellows Jan. 7 by the Labor and Employment Relations Association. Another ILR faculty member and two alumni were also honored. (Jan. 10, 2012)

CIT service puts your videos on the Web
Faculty and staff now have a free way to put videos on the Web in support of the Cornell mission. With the new Video on Demand service from Cornell Information Technologies, it takes just a few quick steps. (Jan. 10, 2012)

Cornell encourages veterans to join its workforce
The end of the Iraq war gives universities the opportunity to hire veterans with leadership abilities and relevant skills in areas such as operations, business, engineering, finance and hospitality. (Jan. 10, 2012)

Land-grant schools are democracy's colleges
Associate professor of education Scott Peters is helping to lead a national effort to deepen the civic identities of American educational institutions via the American Commonwealth Partnership. (Jan. 10, 2012)

First police dog on campus dies
Sabre, a rescued black Labrador retriever who served as Cornell's first police dog and helped safeguard such notables as former President Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama, died Jan. 5 at age 12. (Jan. 10, 2012)

High-performance computing tackles hepatitis
The Cornell Center for Advanced Computing has received a High-Performance Computing Innovation Excellence Award for crunching hepatitis C virus data on its experimental MATLAB computing resource. (Jan. 9, 2012)

TEEAL Electronic library resource expands its reach
El Salvador and Guatemala join 84 other countries that now have access to The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library project, run out of Cornell's Mann Library. (Jan. 9, 2012)

KAUST names Frank Rhodes its first trustee emeritus
Cornell President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes has been named the first trustee emeritus of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. He was instrumental in the founding of that university. (Jan. 9, 2012)

Susan Henry receives state's highest agriculture honor
Susan Henry, professor and former dean of Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has been awarded the highest honor bestowed by the New York State Agricultural Society. (Jan. 9, 2012)

Students and alumni collaborate to volunteer
More than 350 students and alumni tackled community service projects in New York City and 19 other cities for Cornell Cares Day Jan. 7. (Jan. 9, 2012)

Researchers make less carcinogenic cigarette
Though quitting smoking is still best, Cornell researchers have found a way to make cigarettes less toxic. (Jan. 9, 2012)

Soumitra Dutta named new Johnson dean
Soumitra Dutta, a professor of business and technology and founder and faculty director of a new-media and technology innovation lab at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, will become the 11th dean of Johnson July 1. (Jan. 9, 2012)

Strep-resistant fire blight found in New York orchards
Cornell plant pathologists are warning New York apple and pear growers after discovering that a strain of fire blight is resistant to traditional treatments. (Jan. 6, 2012)

Willow biofuels program ignites with new boiler
The willow bioenergy program has a new $950,000 grant for breeding willow and installing a boiler to heat two buildings at Cornell's experiment station in Geneva. (Jan. 6, 2012)

Powerful people overestimate their height
An ILR School study finds that powerful people experience a physical sensation of being taller than they actually are when they exercise power. (Jan. 6, 2012)

High-speed rail belongs in Northeast, says Geddes
At a U.S. Congressional hearing Dec. 6, economist Rick Geddes urged lawmakers to concentrate on the crowded Northeast corridor for high-speed rail development, rather than less populous regions. (Jan. 6, 2012)

William P. Thurston receives Steele Prize
William Thurston, the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Mathematics, received the 2012 AMS Leroy P. Steele Prize for a Seminal Contribution to Research, Jan. 5. (Jan. 5, 2012)

Revolutionary tool will methodically track ocean populations
Oceanographer Chuck Greene is working to optimize an ocean-observing tool to collect and transmit ecosystem data to his desktop in real time, tracking the ocean like the weather. (Jan. 5, 2012)

How you plate food for kids matters
How you plate food for kids matters, reports a study in Acta Paediatrica. Children are most attracted to food plates with seven different items and six colors; adults prefer only three of each. (Jan. 5, 2012)

Technology tracks birds visiting feeders
RFID technology repurposed for tracking birds automates data collection, requiring scientists to spend only a few hours a week tending to feeders wired with tracking technology. (Jan. 5, 2012)

Slaves or not, Babylonians were like us, says book
In a new book about Babylonian laborers of the 14th and 13th centuries, B.C., assistant professor Jonathan Tenney asserts that whether they were slaves or not, they lived in nuclear families. (Jan. 5, 2012)

Jillian Cohen named a 2012 Knauss fellow
The doctoral student in Cornell's Department of Natural Resources, will spend one year working for the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources as a Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow for 2012. (Jan. 5, 2012)

College of Arts and Sciences offers six new minors
The College of Arts and Sciences offers new minors in classics, classical civilization, mathematics, history, physics and anthropology. (Jan. 5, 2012)

Botanist William Dress, professor emeritus, dies
William J. Dress, Ph.D. '53, professor emeritus of botany at the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium at Cornell, author of 10 plant books and for whom two plants have been named, died Dec. 15 at age 93. (Jan. 5, 2012)

Engineers hide a moment in time
Cornell researchers have demonstrated a 'temporal cloak,' hiding a moment in time during the transport of information by a beam of light. (Jan. 5, 2012)

Researchers discover a compound that controls Listeria
Cornell researchers have identified a compound called fluoro-phenyl-styrene-sulfonamide that is safe for mammals but stops Listeria in its tracks. (Jan. 3, 2012)

Conference examines hiring those with criminal records
At an ILR School conference in New York City Dec. 8, experts gathered to examine how to increase hiring of people with criminal records. (Jan. 3, 2012)