Edward Triplett is an assistant professor of the practice of Art, Art History & Visual Studies. (Photo courtesy of Triplett) When Edward Triplett first stood among the ruins of a Spanish medieval fortress, he wasn’t just looking at weathered stone. He was looking for a story.And he found one. Using tools such as drone photography and procedural 3D modeling to virtually reconstruct historic fortifications around Spain and Portugal, the assistant professor of the practice of Art, Art… read more » about Castles Crumbling: Using the Digital Humanities to Reimagine Medieval Iberia
In 1947, the sweet crack of a bat connecting with a baseball was amplified in ballparks big and small when Jackie Robinson crossed major league baseball’s color line and the national pastime truly became America’s game. June 19 is the date of Juneteenth, an earlier milestone along the arduous journey toward freedom and equality in America.The holiday commemorates the arrival in 1865 of the Union Army in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation barring the odious institution of slavery in the… read more » about A Duke Professor’s Play on Jackie Robinson Is a Hit for Clayton’s Juneteenth Celebration
The richness of Duke’s intellectual communities and its deep commitment to interdisciplinarity are major draws for top scholars who are leaders in their fields. To help recruit these academic stars, Duke leveraged the university-wide institutes, initiatives and centers (UICs) to create the Provost’s School-UIC Joint Hiring Program and to offer starting support from UICs. Donors’ generous gifts helped make these programs possible.Duke was able to recruit more than 40 faculty members through these mechanisms between 2006 and… read more » about Nine Reasons Stellar Interdisciplinary Faculty Choose Duke
Tucked into an old brick building near the Eno River, which once housed a textile manufacturing business, is Quadridox — a company whose founders want to change the future of airline travel, while also making health care diagnostic testing more accurate. Quadridox uses X-rays, but not the way doctors detect broken bones. Those X-rays make pictures by passing straight through objects. Quadridox’s X-ray diffraction imaging, on the other hand, is used to analyze the structure of materials by observing how X-rays bounce… read more » about Hate Airline Security Lines? A New Technology May Ease Your Pain
Duke faculty members Denise Comer, Saskia Cornes, Shai Ginsburg, Candis Watts Smith and Norbert Wilson spent last year serving as fellows in the Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Leaders Network (ACC ALN).“Being part of the ACC ALN was incredibly energizing and inspiring,” said Comer, who is professor of the practice and director of the Thompson Writing Program. “It connected me with a thoughtful community of peers and gave me practical tools and fresh perspectives that continue to shape how I lead and collaborate.”… read more » about A Year of Faculty Leadership Development With the ACC
Kerry L. Haynie, Trinity’s dean of Social Sciences and professor of Political Science and African & African American Studies, recently received the Mac Jewell Enduring Contribution Award from the American Political Science Association. Honoring scholarly contributions to U.S. state politics or policy that continue to shape the field more than a decade after publication, the award was presented to Haynie and co-author Kathleen Bratton of Louisiana State University for their influential 1999 Journal of… read more » about Enduring Impact: A Seat at the Table Still Matters
A multidisciplinary team across Duke University is developing a promising new approach to pain management using adenosine, a naturally occurring compound in the human body that can help regulate pain, inflammation and seizure activity. Seok-Yong Lee, PhD, George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology and professor of biochemistry; Ru-Rong Ji, PhD, William Maixner Professor of Anesthesiology; and Jiyong Hong, PhD, professor of chemistry, developed a non-opioid pain-relieving compound that inhibits… read more » about A New Painkiller Offers Alternative to Opioids
While artificial intelligence is disrupting industries, and even replacing humans in some areas, we still live in a world where artificial and human intelligence need each other. That’s the message that was driven home at the recent Triangle AI Summit, which brought together academic and industry leaders to delve into what a future with AI will look like.“There’s no turning back. Students are using it. The world is using it,” Jun Yang, Bishop-MacDermott Family Professor of Computer Science at Duke, said. “We have to figure… read more » about Charting a Future With AI
This year marks a special milestone for Duke's Department of Music as David Heid celebrates his 30th year on faculty. Known for his dynamic presence in the classroom, on stage, and behind the piano, Heid has been an inspiring force in the university’s musical community for three decades. In this in-depth interview, Heid reflects on his journey to Duke, his teaching philosophy, and what keeps him inspired after all these years.A Career in HarmonyQ: What is your current job title?D. Heid:… read more » about Celebrating 30 Years of Music and Mentorship: An Interview with David Heid
Nearly 400 Duke faculty members from all schools have invested time in working with a professional coach in the Office for Faculty Advancement.Coaching is a series of confidential, structured conversations that help people reflect on complex situations, navigate challenges, enhance self-awareness, set goals and exercise accountability for meeting those goals. Maria LaMonaca Wisdom, assistant vice provost for faculty advancement and adjunct associate professor of the practice in the Program in Education, is a professional… read more » about Faculty Perspectives on Coaching
The Office of the Provost and The Graduate School have selected three proposals to establish new Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Collaboratives (IGECs). Made possible by a generous grant from The Duke Endowment, these IGECs will launch in Fall 2026 and offer graduate students unique opportunities to tackle complex societal challenges alongside peers and faculty from across campus.Through seminars, working groups and projects, students will receive applied training and gain exposure to emerging issues at the… read more » about Equipping Graduate Students to Tackle Emerging Challenges
Clay Taliaferro, professor of the practice emeritus in the Dance Program, will be honored with the 2025 Balasaraswati/Joy Anne Dewey Beinecke Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching award from the American Dance Festival (ADF) on June 29.A celebrated figure in the world of dance, Taliaferro has built a remarkable sixty-year career as a dancer, choreographer and educator. His professional teaching journey began in 1969 at the American Dance Festival, where his collaborations… read more » about Dance Emeritus Clay Taliaferro Honored by American Dance Festival
AI is transforming every industry, from medicine to film to finance. So, why not use it to study one of the world’s most revered ancient texts, the Bible? An international team of researchers, including Shira Faigenbaum-Golovin, assistant research professor of Mathematics at Duke University, combined artificial intelligence, statistical modeling and linguistic analysis to address one of the most enduring questions in biblical studies: the identification of its authors. By analyzing subtle variations in word… read more » about Revealing Hidden Language Patterns in the Bible, With the Help of AI
Trinity College of Arts and Sciences recently celebrated the achievements of three 2025 Ph.D. graduates selected as the first recipients of the Trinity Distinguished Dissertation Award. Nominated by their programs and representing each of Trinity’s three divisions — Natural Sciences, Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences — the recipients demonstrated remarkable academic excellence in their fields. This award honors not only their dissertation work but also their contributions to fostering a positive and enriching graduate… read more » about Trinity Recognizes Excellence in Ph.D. Research
Duke Professor Emeritus of Physics Lawrence Evans passed away on Sunday, May 25, at the age of 92. A long-standing member of the Duke University family, Evans joined the faculty in 1963 as an assistant professor and would spend the next 27 years as an active member of the Physics Department, including serving as chair from 1987 to 1997. He was deeply involved in the university community more broadly and was a leader who helped shape faculty governance at the university. Evans continued to be engaged with the… read more » about Physics Professor Lawrence Evans Passes Away
“At that moment the power of reading made itself clear and real to me. If I could see the words, then no one could control them or what I got from them. They couldn’t even know if I was merely seeing them or reading them, sounding them out or comprehending them. It was a completely private affair and completely free and, therefore, completely subversive.” – James by Percival Everett“James,” by Percival Everett, has been selected as the Duke Common Experience reading for the summer of 2025. “James” retells… read more » about “James” Selected as Duke Common Experience Reading
In hospital intensive care units, neurologists often use a simple scorecard to quickly evaluate a critically ill patient’s likelihood of having a brain-damaging seizure so they can prevent it.The scorecard saves lives, lowers costs and helps doctors make far more efficient use of important, expensive medical equipment. But it wasn’t always that way. Until about 2019, hospitals had no way to quickly monitor a patient’s electronic brain activity and accurately predict whether a seizure was lurking. Often, a patient… read more » about A Tool That Helps Predict a Brain-Damaging Seizure
DURHAM, N.C. -- Have you ever been stuck on a problem, puzzling over something for what felt like ages without getting anywhere, but then suddenly the answer came to you like a bolt from the blue?We’ve all experienced that “aha! moment,” that sudden clarity or magical epiphany you feel when a new idea or perspective pops into your head as if out of nowhere.Now, new evidence from brain imaging research shows that these flashes of insight aren’t just satisfying — they actually reshape how your brain represents information,… read more » about Brain Scans Reveal What Happens in the Mind When Insight Strikes
Duke Physics Ph.D. alum Tyler Johnson was awarded the 2025 Springer Thesis Prize. Johnson’s award-winning thesis, “The First Indication of Neutrino-Induced Nuclear Fission,” will be published in a book series called “Springer Theses”.The series “Springer Theses” brings together a selection of the very best Ph.D. theses from around the world and across the physical sciences. The work reported in the thesis must represent a significant scientific advance.Johnson’s thesis, which was conducted under advising by… read more » about Ph.D. Alum Tyler Johnson Awarded the 2025 Springer Thesis Prize
On a picture-perfect spring afternoon, Germain Choffart’s French 101 students took a field trip to Duke Campus Farm, where they were greeted and guided — en français — by Saskia Cornes, Duke Campus Farm director and assistant professor at the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute. Cornes, who now teaches in the environmental humanities at Duke, studied French as an undergraduate. Cornes shared the farm’s academic mission and environmental initiatives. For example, did you know that some of the… read more » about French Takes Root at Duke Farm
A new “atlas” developed by researchers at Duke University School of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and the University of Pittsburgh will increase precision in measuring changes in brain structure and make it easier to share results for scientists working to understand neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. The tool, the Duke Mouse Brain Atlas, combines microscopic resolution, three-dimensional images from three different techniques to create a detailed map of the entire mouse… read more » about Brain ‘Atlas’ to Help Study Neurological Disorders
It seems counterintuitive, but it can be a wonderful feeling to realize that you’re wrong.Duke philosophy and neuroscience professor Felipe De Brigard didn’t feel great at first when he realized that some claims in the paper that helped establish his career 15 years previous were wrong. But then he had a chance to discuss his errors publicly at a large conference. He was followed in his talk by other scientists, including John O’Keefe, a Nobel Laureate who, like De Brigard, studies the hippocampus in the brain.“John ended… read more » about When I Was Wrong: Faculty Lessons From Their Mistakes
The Duke Campus Farm typically sees more visitors than usual on Fridays, when it holds Community Work Days and welcomes students, faculty, and community members to help run tasks and learn more about its sustainable agriculture practices.However, this particular Friday, April 11, was a bit special. Instead of us volunteers driving wheelbarrows back and forth, mulching or weeding, several members of the Vilgalys Lab at Duke instructed participants on how to grow our own mushrooms.The process begins with inoculation: placing… read more » about Growing Your Own Mushrooms Is Easier Than You Think, Thanks to Workshops at the Duke Campus Farm
Duke biology professor Fred Nijhout has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences.Nijhout, the John Franklin Crowell Distinguished Professor of Biology, has been a member of the Duke faculty since 1977. His scholarship focuses on developmental physiology and understanding how complex traits arise through, and are affected by, the interaction of genetic and environmental factors.Much of his research has focused on how butterflies and other insects develop from a larva to a winged adult — how… read more » about Biologist Fred Nijhout Elected to National Academy of Sciences
The inaugural Southern Roots: Growing University-Assisted Community School Partnerships symposium, held over two days in mid-April at North Carolina Central University and Duke University brought together nearly 200 public school practitioners, community-based partners, and higher education students, faculty and staff from across the U.S. South. Participants engaged in dynamic workshops, site visits, student-led research and movement building, and focused on established and emerging… read more » about Inaugural ‘Southern Roots’ Symposium Brings Together Public-School Educators, Community-Based Partners and Higher Ed
Biomedical engineering. Climate science. Political science. Global Health. While these departments are housed in buildings far from each other on campus, their current research was all spotlighted at the Duke Undergraduate Research Symposium on April 10. Over the course of two hours, 120 budding researchers presented their work in Penn Pavilion, eagerly chatting with peers, faculty, and community members alike. The level of professionalism was obvious upon a glance at the poster titles. The symposium was strongly… read more » about Posters Galore and More: Undergraduate Research in the Spotlight
Duke Economics students Lewis Zhu, Ian C. Bailey, Nick Sortisio and Nick Papavassiliou won first place at the Econometrics Game in Chicago, which took place on April 4 to 6, 2025. The Econometrics Game is a weekend-long competition where undergraduate teams of 1 to 4 students come from over 30 prestigious universities tackle real-world economic questions using data. The cases address urgent global issues, giving students the opportunity to apply their knowledge for real-world impact. The 2025 Econometrics… read more » about Duke Econ Students Take First at Econometrics Game
If there was a contest for biggest female bullies of the animal world, lemurs would be near the top of the list. In these distant primate cousins, it’s the ladies who call the shots, relying on physical aggression to get their way and keep males in line.Not all lemur societies are built about female rule, however. In one branch of the lemur family tree, some species have evolved, within the last million years, to have a more harmonious relationship between the sexes.Now, new findings suggest that this amiable shift in… read more » about How Changes in Lemur Brains Made Some Mean Girls Nice
Sharing your writing is hard. There’s a vulnerability that comes with letting others see your words in print, and establishing trust is the cornerstone of any successful writing class.Faculty in the Thompson Writing Program (TWP) have been building that trust — and community — since 2000, when the program was established to amplify the importance of writing in the undergraduate curriculum.With the launch of the Arts & Sciences new curriculum for students entering in Fall 2025, the Thompson Writing Program will… read more » about Thompson Writing Program Builds Spaces of Trust in the First-Year Experience
DURHAM, N.C. – In miniature test tubes in biologist Ryan Baugh’s lab at Duke, thousands of tiny wriggling worms – each one a fraction the size of an eyelash – munch on their dinner of bacteria broth.The worms’ soupy meal is laced with a hidden ingredient, invisible so-called “forever chemicals” found in America’s drinking water, our food and farmlands, even lurking in our bodies.It’s a chemical safety test, said Duke postdoctoral fellow Tess Leuthner. The garden- and compost-dwelling worm is helping researchers such as… read more » about ‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Everywhere. Most of Their Health Effects Are Unknown