DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University scientists have given us another way to tell which endangered lemur species are most at risk from deforestation -- based on the trillions of bacteria that inhabit their guts. In a new study, researchers compared the gut microbes of 12 lemur species across the island of Madagascar, where thousands of acres of forest are cleared each year to make way for crops and pastures. The team found that some lemurs harbor microbes that are more specialized than others for the forests where they live, to… read more » about The Surprising Reason Why Some Lemurs May Be More Sensitive to Forest Loss
The world’s best from the dance world has arrived in Durham. The American Dance Festival opens this week and will spend the summer looking back at the icons of dance while also looking forward at how young performers are continuing to evolve this dynamic art form. The American Dance Festival (ADF) season of classes and performances starts Thursday, June 13, and will continue on Duke’s campus and in Durham through July 20. The ICONS showcase, this year’s opening performance, will pay homage to the late dancer and… read more » about ADF 2019: Looking Back, Moving Forward
Sheri Branson, a physical education instructor at Duke, has a strong memory of watching her mother, who lives in Utah, start skipping meals and ordering fast food after her husband died four years ago. That memory has inspired her recent continuing studies cooking class targeted for seniors who had lost a spouse. Her mother’s experience isn’t unusual. There’s research, Branson said, showing that seniors who have lost a spouse have a higher risk of being malnourished. Branson’s concern for her mother’s nutrition made a… read more » about At OLLI, Better Meals Make for Better Friendships for Seniors Who Have Lost a Spouse
For Tecca Wright, summer means having a book in hand as she nestles her feet in the sand with ocean waves crashing nearby. She visits Emerald Isle, N.C. with her family and always brings a book by Mary Kay Andrews, who specializes in southern fiction and features beach towns similar to Emerald Isle. In July, Wright will bring Andrews’ latest novel, “Sunset Beach,” for her family’s beach trip to Emerald Isle. “Her books have this carefree spirit you feel at the beach,” said Wright, a project planner for the Department of… read more » about Dive into Summer with these Books
Sometimes the best place for great music is on film. A four-week film series in June will celebrate Black Music Month by showcasing four films about black musical artists or containing iconic soundtracks. Sponsored by Duke’s Department of African & African American Studies, the second annual Black Music Black Film series will take place at 6:15 p.m. Thursdays, beginning June 6. The free event will take place at Duke’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Bullpen located in downtown Durham. “It’s Black Music Month, so all the… read more » about The Music Is in the Movie: June Film Series Features Black Music
Political Science Professor Peter Feaver discusses why 75 years after D-Day, the United States should remember that on-the-ground leadership still works. Read his full story on Foreign Policy. read more » about Peter Feaver on D-Day: The Lessons of 1944 Are In Jeopardy
DURHAM, N.C. -- From the Ironman triathlon to the Tour de France, some competitions test the limits of even the toughest endurance athletes. Now, a new study of energy expenditure during some of the world’s longest, most grueling sporting events suggests that no matter what the activity, everyone hits the same metabolic limit -- a maximum possible level of exertion that humans can sustain in the long term. When it comes to physical activities lasting days, weeks and months, the researchers found, humans can only burn… read more » about Is There a Limit to Human Endurance? Science Says Yes
As the project manager of a group of faculty and students studying the history and risks associated with ozone-depleting chemicals, Duke graduate student Kathleen Burns spent a lot of time finding and assembling historical materials to distribute to her team. It was a time-consuming task, and it took Burns a while to realize that hunting down all these news stories, government reports, scientific articles and other documents wasn’t her job. That realization was freeing, as was her subsequent act of delegating the research… read more » about 'Endlessly Helpful': How Duke Is Making Sure Graduate Students Have The Skills To Manage Real-World Projects
John Blackshear, senior associate dean for academic planning at the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, will take on a new role this summer as interim dean for academic affairs at the college, effective July 1. As interim dean, Blackshear will oversee administration of Trinity College of Arts & Sciences undergraduate curriculum and educational experiences, as well as instructional programs including the Academic Deans, the Thompson Writing Program, the Office of Continuing Studies, the Office of Undergraduate… read more » about Blackshear to Lead Academic Affairs for Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Name: Matthew Junge Title: Research Assistant Professor, Duke Department of Mathematics Years at Duke: 3 What he does at Duke: Late in his undergraduate studies at the University of Washington, Matthew Junge thought he was destined for a career as an actuary, using established elements of math to determine the likelihood of real world occurrences. But after a research project gave him his first taste of the world of “pure math,” which… read more » about Blue Devil of the Week: Helping People Unlock Math’s Mysteries
DURHAM , N.C. -- Birds may not have a word for maroon. Or burnt sienna. But show a zebra finch a sunset-colored object, and she’ll quickly decide whether it looks more like “red” or “orange.” A Duke University study shows that birds mentally sort the range of hues on the blue-green side of the spectrum into two categories too, but the line between them is fuzzier. It may be that “either/or” thinking is less useful in this part of the color spectrum, the researchers say. Deciding whether, say, a reddish-beaked male is good… read more » about Birds Perceive 'Warm' Colors Differently From 'Cool' Ones
With a Wednesday reception and the launch of a new website, Black Think Tank kicked off at Duke this week. It’s an effort supported by seed money from the Provost’s Office of Faculty Advancement that seeks to connect and promote black faculty of all ranks from all parts of the university. “This is a site made by us, for us,” co-founder Jarvis McInnis, an assistant professor of English, said at the at the kickoff reception in the Holsti-Anderson Room in Rubenstein Library. The organizers of the Black Think Tank hope to… read more » about Junior Faculty, Students, Launch 'Black Think Tank'
*/ /*-->*/ The 5,500 students who will graduate Sunday have had many extraordinary experiences during their time at Duke. There’s Luke Ferrell, who watched as the U.S. Supreme Court debated his research on gerrymandering. Shomik Verma was the technical lead on a student engineering team that is now part of the Guinness Book of World Records for fuel efficiency research. And Shandiin Herrera combined research and activism to strengthen Native American communities both at Duke and across the nation. We can’t tell all 5,… read more » about Class of 2019: Eight Students Who Changed Duke ... and Themselves
May is Duke Appreciation, a month-long celebration of nearly 41,000 staff and faculty members who work across the university and health system. This year, Duke honors 3,080 employees with career milestones of 10 to 55 years, in five-year increments. Known as Duke Stars, staff and faculty range from the nearly 1,000 who are marking a decade at Duke to two employees celebrating 55 years. Working@Duke caught up with some of the Duke Stars to gather their stories about what they appreciate about working at Duke.… read more » about Duke Employees Reflect On Career Milestones
An historian who studies the influence of U.S. food production on gender roles, sports a literary tattoo and loves dance music has been selected to be the next Faculty in Residence on East Campus. Gabriel Rosenberg, an associate professor of gender, sexuality and feminist studies and history, will move this fall into an apartment in Southgate residence hall with his partner Harris Solomon, an associate professor of cultural anthropology and global health. The Faculty-in-Residence program, managed by the Office of… read more » about A New Faculty-in-Residence Moves Into Southgate Residence Hall
Duke University awarded 21 distinguished professorships to members of its faculty May 2 at the annual University Distinguished Professors dinner. They are: -- Atila Abdulkadiroğlu, Garonzik Family Professor of Economics -- Jeremy S. Begbie, Thomas A. Langford Research Professor of Theology -- Emily S. Bernhardt, James B. Duke Professor of Biology -- L. Ebony Boulware, Eleanor Easley Professor of Medicine -- L. Catherine Brinson, Sharon… read more » about Duke Adds 21 Faculty to Distinguished Faculty Rank
Three Duke scientists representing the Pratt School of Engineering and Trinity College of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Chemistry have been recognized by the Royal Society of Chemistry, the organization announced May 7. The society grants awards and prizes annually in recognition of originality and impact in research, or for each winner’s contribution to the chemical sciences industry or education. They also acknowledge the importance of teamwork across the chemical sciences, as well as the abilities of individuals to… read more » about Duke Scientists Receive Royal Society of Chemistry Awards
As first years, many students now graduating from Duke could never have predicted where their college paths would lead them. But Ray Liu ’19, a senior majoring in economics, will be continuing the work he was inspired to begin in high school—albeit on a much greater scale. Liu is the founder and CEO of PeerKonnect, a startup that sells peer tutoring software to high schools in a way that enables them to build highly sustainable and efficient peer tutoring programs. In high school, Liu saw a need for peer mentorship, so… read more » about Class of 2019: Ray Liu on Building a Business and Fostering Connections
While Quentin Harris ’19 isn’t sure what path he’ll pursue after graduation, he says it’s possible he’ll eventually follow in the footsteps of his father, who owns his own sporting goods wholesale company in Connecticut distributing to local high schools and colleges. Harris, a public policy major minoring in economics and earning the I&E Certificate, also played quarterback for Duke’s football team—so the combination of entrepreneurship and the sporting goods industry is an appealing one. “If I do choose to potentially… read more » about Class of 2019: Quentin Harris on Working With the Duke and Durham Communities
Luke Farrell, a senior majoring in computer science and neuroscience, reflects on his experience with the Bass Connections project team Gerrymandering and the Extent of Democracy in America. On March 26, he traveled to the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his team’s research cited in oral arguments and documents in Rucho v. Common Cause, a case on gerrymandering in North Carolina. The opportunity to work on a project that is both deeply technical and politically relevant at the highest level has been a once in a lifetime… read more » about Class of 2019: Using Math to Fight Gerrymandering
Duke sophomore Kya Locklear has been named one of 55 recipients of the Udall Scholarship, which recognizes students who have demonstrated a commitment to careers in the environment or Native American tribal public policy or health care. Locklear, a biology major from Greeneville, Tennessee, was awarded the scholarship in the area of Native American tribal health care. She plans to pursue a dual degree in medicine and psychology so that she can address the mental health needs of Native American children. Locklear is… read more » about Duke Sophomore Kya Locklear Named Udall Scholar
Duke professors Susan Alberts and Sue Jinks-Robertson have been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, which is widely considered one of the highest honors a scientist can receive. They are among 100 newly elected members and 25 foreign associates who are recognized for their achievements in original research -- 40 percent of whom are women, the most ever elected in any one year to date. Alberts studies how animal behavior evolved in mammals, with a focus on the social behavior, demography and genetics of… read more » about Two Duke Faculty Elected to National Academy of Sciences
An award-winning playwright, a medical anthropologist’s study of medical care in North Carolina and a student who is raising issues of housing insecurity in Durham were among the recipients of Faculty Scholars honors for 2020. The Faculty Scholars Award is the only undergraduate scholarship award presented by university faculty that honors students whose record of independent work suggests great potential for innovative scholarship and a scholarly career. This year, seven juniors were honored: Four were designated as… read more » about Seven Undergraduates With a Record of Advancing Knowledge and Bringing Change
With a combined eight decades of feeding students, Duke Dining’s Saundra Norwood and Julia Anderson have a pretty keen sense of the rhythm of student life at Duke. Based on interactions with the students who pass through the Marketplace on East Campus, they can tell when mid-terms are coming, when a break is approaching and, especially, when final exams arrive. “We pretty much know,” Norwood said. “You can tell because they haven’t gotten as much rest or sleep. We’ve even seen some that will do all-nighters in here.”… read more » about When Final Exams Hit
Walt Whitman’s formal education didn’t extend past the fourth grade; his youth in Brooklyn was marked by financial instability and uncertainty. As an adult, he first scratched out a living as a carpenter, typesetter, printer and editor before deciding that he had a calling to be a poet. That’s not a resume of an author about to set the world on fire. But if that poetry seems unremarkable to the contemporary reader, President Emeritus Richard Brodhead told a Perkins Library audience Thursday, it’s only because we fail to see… read more » about Walt Whitman Was a Rebel, And It Still Matters Two Centuries Later
Death is in the air, or rather just outside the wall. This week it’s likely that we’ll be saying goodbye to some beloved Game of Thrones characters, that is unless they rise again to fight their old friends on behalf of the Night King. Violence in battle and on the domestic front has been one of the themes of the show from the start. Omid Safi, professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and director of the Duke Islamic Studies Center, is a fan of the show, which might be unexpected since his work often explores how… read more » about The Connection Between Game of Thrones and Mystic Poetry
Duke University has received a $4 million grant to hire faculty with global perspectives and expertise, Valerie Ashby, dean of the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, announced Wednesday. The Duke Endowment, a private foundation based in Charlotte, awarded the funds for Trinity College to hire up to six junior-to senior-level faculty scholars with expertise in African, Asian-American and Latinx studies. The expansion of knowledge in these areas reflects the changing demographics and cultures of the Duke student body and… read more » about Duke Receives $4M to Broaden Global Perspectives in Arts & Sciences Teaching, Research
Watch Duke students Sam Kelly, Henrik Cox, Carmen Hoyt and Ashley Blawas – members of Duke Conservation Technology (DCT) -- explain the parts that make up the Open Tag, an open-sourced tag designed to help boost opportunities for diving animal research in developing areas. Current tags have high costs and low availability because of poor marketability of these devices and few competitors. The pricing and high percent of lost devices has resulted in less data collection in developing areas due to lack of funding for local… read more » about Safer Tagging & Better Data: A Student Effort to Help Scientists Around the World
In this video, English doctoral students Nora Nunn and Michelle Sroka and visiting assistant professor Astrid Giugni discuss their involvement with the Data+ summer program. Video by Wil Weldon/Storied Legacy read more » about Data+ Program and the Humanities: A Match That Is Helping Scholars Get at New Learning