Stanford community invited to learn about the origins of the computer at two free exhibits

May 17th, 2013

Take a copy of this flyer to the Computer History Museum for free admission and membership discounts

The Computer History Museum in Mountain View is hosting a weekend of free admission for members of the Stanford community.

Staff, faculty and students can enjoy the main exhibit, “Revolution: The First 2,000 years of Computing,” as well as other attractions for free Saturday and Sunday, May 18-19.

The Computer History Museum also is offering Stanford faculty, staff and students a one-time exclusive offer this weekend of two-year memberships for the price of one and discounts at the museum store and café. Just bring a Stanford ID and a copy of the attached flier.

The computer also takes center stage at a photography exhibition at the Cantor Arts Center on campus.

Through June 16, visitors can see “Lee Friedlander: The Cray Photographs,” which includes 79 works by Friedlander, who was lauded for his straightforward documentation of ordinary things.
In 1986, Cray Research Inc., then the world’s top supercomputer producer, invited Friedlander to visit its worksite in Chippewa Falls, Wis., and take photographs for a book marking Cray’s 15th anniversary. This exhibition features the vintage gelatin silver prints in the resulting set, Cray at Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

Admission to the Cantor Arts Center, which is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, is free.

—BROOKE DONALD

Three SLAC scientists receive early career grants

May 16th, 2013
Slac scientists

Thomas Bligaard, Stefan Hoeche, Juhao Wu

Three scientists at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory will receive Early Career Research Program grants from the U.S. Department of Energy for research to boost the peak power of X-ray laser pulses, model catalytic chemical reactions and build better simulations of particle collisions at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.

SLAC’s THOMAS BLIGAARD, STEFAN HOECHE and JUHAO WU were among 61 scientists selected from a pool of 770 applicants for the five-year grants, which were announced last week by the DOE Office of Science. Researchers receive about $500,000 per year for salary and research expenses.

The grants support the development of individual research programs of scientists who received their doctoral degrees up to 10 years earlier. Recipients must be full-time DOE national laboratory employees or tenure-track assistant or associate professors at a U.S. academic institution, and their research topics must fall within one of six Office of Science focus areas.

Bligaard, a senior staff scientist who joined SLAC’s SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis two years ago, works to improve computer modeling of chemical reactions involving catalysts. Catalysts speed up reactions without themselves being consumed in the process. They are essential for many industrial processes, including the large-scale production of fuels and other chemicals, and for reducing airborne pollutants.

The grant will be useful in constructing more sophisticated, comprehensive codes that encompass a broader range of variables in chemical reactions and better represent complex materials, he said.

Hoeche, a member of SLAC’s Particle Physics Theory Group, is also working on better simulations, but of a very different sort. He and his group are developing more precise simulations for researchers at the Large Hadron Collider.

“We’re providing a tool that bridges the gap between theory and experiment,” Hoeche said.

Wu, a staff scientist in the Accelerator Research Division who joined SLAC in 2002, is studying methods to increase the peak power of pulses at SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) by more efficiently transforming its electron energy into X-rays. The LCLS is an X-ray free-electron laser, or XFEL, and its ultrabright, ultrashort X-ray laser pulses are generated when an electron beam from the lab’s linear accelerator traverses a sequence of alternating magnets in devices called undulators.

Read the entire press release on the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory website.

‘I am Stanford’

May 15th, 2013

In this video, created by Stanford Athletics, seniors talk about what makes the Farm special to them as athletes and scholars.

France honors Stanford historian Aron Rodrigue

May 14th, 2013

The French Ministry of Education has named ARON RODRIGUE, a professor of history and director of the Stanford Humanities Center, a Knight (Chevalier) of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques.

The Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Order of Academic Palms) is an honorific order of France that recognizes significant accomplishments in the areas of teaching, research and scholarship. Non-French citizens may also receive an award for contributing to the expansion of French education, language and culture throughout the world.

Established by NAPOLEON BONAPARTE in 1808, the distinction became a decoration under Emperor Napoleon III in 1866 and is the oldest non-military French decoration.

Rodrigue, whose research and publications focus on the spread of French language among 19th- and 20th-century Jewish communities in Muslim lands, said he was simultaneously “pleased, surprised and honored” when he learned about the award.

Raised in Istanbul, Rodrigue said his research probably had its origins in his curiosity about why “French was the language of culture” that he encountered in his youth. His scholarly pursuits led him into an investigation of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, a French-Jewish educational system that established schools across the Middle East.

As director of the Humanities Center, Rodrigue founded the International Visitors program, which has invited several French scholars to campus. Years before he became director, Rodrigue co-founded the center’s French Culture Workshop, in which academics from a wide array of disciplines examine questions relevant to French culture and society.

Rodrigue will join three other Stanford scholars who have been recipients of Order of Academic Palms honors, history Professor KEITH BAKER, Clayman Institute scholar MARILYN YALOM and CHARBEL FARHAT, professor of aeronautics and astronautics and of mechanical engineering.

The award and accompanying medallion will be conferred in a ceremony administered by the French Consulate.

—CORRIE GOLDMAN, the Humanities at Stanford

Documentary about Stanford brain research gets local Emmy nod

May 13th, 2013

Dylan’s Gift, a documentary detailing how one family’s generosity is advancing research on a little-understood childhood cancer, has been nominated for a 2013 San Francisco/Northern California Emmy Award. The film, which was inspired by a 2009 Stanford Medicine story, explores the work of Stanford physician-scientist MICHELLE MONJE, who cares for pediatric brain cancer patients and conducts research on a rare, vicious brain tumor that arises in school-aged children and usually kills them within a year of diagnosis.

A release issued by the Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR) explains:

“When their 5-year-old son, DYLAN, is diagnosed with a rare and fatal brain tumor and given just six months to live, DANAH AND JOHN JEWETT become determined to fight the deadly disease, called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). When their son’s life is tragically cut short, they donate Dylan’s tumor to research at Stanford University School of Medicine. This generous gift has helped scientists create the first-ever mouse model of DIPG. The DIPG mouse model is now shedding light on this devastating disease and helping scientists discover new treatments and a potential cure to help other children. This episode was filmed on location at Stanford University School of Medicine.”

In the trailer, posted on the SCOPE blog, the Jewetts share their story and discuss their decision to donate Dylan’s brain tumor after he died.

Dylan’s Gift is nominated under the Emmy’s Informational/Instructional-Program/Special category. It is part of a TV series titled Bench to Bedside, which is produced by FBR Media. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in San Francisco in June.

—LIA STEAKLEY, Stanford School of Medicine

Crown Prince and Princess of Norway visit Stanford

May 10th, 2013

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, with David Kelley, a professor of mechanical engineering

CROWN PRINCE HAAKON OF NORWAY and his wife, CROWN PRINCESS METTE-MARIT, toured Stanford on Wednesday during an official visit to the United States that also included stops in Houston, San Francisco and Palo Alto

Leading the royal couple through the Quad, University President JOHN HENNESSY shared Stanford’s history and pointed out distinctive architecture and artwork, including the Rodin sculptures and Memorial Church.

The couple also was treated to presentations at the d.school (official name: The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design), where Professor DAVID KELLEY spoke about the goals of the institute and shared some of the successes of its students.

TINA SEELIG, who directs the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, also described her method to unlock creativity and be routinely innovative.

In brief remarks to a crowd of Stanford students and Norwegian entrepreneurs who gathered there, the Crown Princess thanked Stanford for hosting the couple and lauded the innovative spirit at Stanford and the d.school, in particular.

“You tear down hurdles by combining methods from engineering and design, ideas from the arts, tools from social sciences and insights from the business world,” she said. “By combining expertise from different fields, the d.school finds solutions to complex, real-life challenges.”

—BROOKE DONALD

Spormann elected fellow of American Academy of Microbiology

May 9th, 2013
Spormann

Alfred Spormann

ALFRED SPORMANN, professor of civil and environmental engineering and of chemical engineering, has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of microbiology.

Spormann studies anaerobic microbes to understand the molecular and biochemical basis of unusual metabolism, as well as the triangular relationship between metabolism, population-level fitness and ecosystems-level niche construction. In particular, Spormann has been working to develop microbes able to produce “clean” methane as a potential grid-scale electrical storage technology.

The American Academy of Microbiology is a leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology, the world’s oldest and largest life science organization. Its mission is to recognize scientists for outstanding contributions to microbiology and provide microbiological expertise in the service of science and the public.

—ANDREW MYERS, School of Engineering

Innovation from many corners: 2013-14 U.S. and international Knight Fellows selected

May 7th, 2013

Twelve U.S. journalists and innovators have been awarded John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships for the 2013-14 academic year. They were chosen from among 100 applicants.

Next year's domestic Knight Journalism Fellows

“This group of U.S. Knight Fellows is easily the most diversified ever, with fellows coming from daily newspapers, online publications, tech companies and even an academic institution,” said JAMES BETTINGER, director of the Knight Fellowships Program. “This wide range of backgrounds and specialties reflects the variety and depth of expertise and commitment that journalism needs right now.”

The domestic fellows will join eight international fellowswho were selected last month. The program champions innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership in journalism by helping the fellows pursue their ideas to improve the quality of news and information reaching the public. Fellows also participate fully in the intellectual life of the university, through academic classes, lectures, symposiums and individual research.

The 2013-14 international Knight Fellows

The 2013-14 fellows will explore proposals that touch on many aspects of journalism: improving accuracy in reporting on Islam, raising the profile of indigenous perspectives on the news, engaging citizens in local food coverage, helping the public better understand data visualization and getting news quickly to communities hit by disaster. They also will be developing tools to help journalists create high-quality animated editorial cartoons, blog live on mobile platforms, gain relevant coding and data skills and better connect with “millennials” and the changing U.S. demographic.

The international fellows were selected from among 216 applicants. They will be researching a range of ideas to improve journalism, from bringing news to Pakistan’s tribal areas and fostering innovation in China and East Africa to training female reporters in Afghanistan and strengthening press freedoms in Myanmar.

To find out more about the 2013-14 fellows and their projects, visit the Knight Fellowships website.

Martin Reinhard wins Humboldt Research Award

May 6th, 2013

MARTIN REINHARD, professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering, has been selected for a Humboldt Research Award, conferred annually in recognition of lifetime achievements in research. The award is presented by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Bonn, Germany, to promote academic collaboration between top international scientists and scholars and colleagues in Germany.

Martin Reinhard

Reinhard studies the fate of organic substances in the subsurface environment. His lab develops technologies for the remediation of contaminated groundwater through chemical and biological transformation reactions in soils, natural waters and treatment systems.

Humboldt awardees are invited to carry out research projects of personal interest in cooperation with German counterparts.

—ANDREW MYERS, School of Engineering

Senior Maya Kornberg awarded Shultz Fellowship

May 3rd, 2013

Thomas L. Friedman, Maya Kornberg and George Shultz

While thousands of Stanford students earn scholarships and have the opportunity to study abroad, for senior MAYA KORNBERG, the awarding of her fellowship to study in Israel this summer was anything but ordinary. “This is an only-at-Stanford kind of morning,” said RABBI SERENA EISENBERG, executive director of Hillel at Stanford. Or as New York Times columnist and author THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN said, “Not many people get a fellowship handed to them by two former secretaries of state.” Not to mention a best-selling author.

Condoleezza Rice and Maya Kornberg

At a breakfast gathering at Hillel Thursday morning, Kornberg was awarded the George and Charlotte Shultz Fellowship for Modern Israel Studies from former U.S. Secretary of State CONDOLEEZZA RICE. Rice, also a professor of political science and business at Stanford, happened to teach Kornberg in her undergraduate foreign policy seminar winter quarter. Kornberg also received accolades from the namesake of the fellowship, GEORGE SHULTZ, also a former U.S. secretary of state. And Friedman, who established the fellowship in honor of Shultz on the occasion of Shultz’s 90th birthday two years ago, also joined in bestowing the honor.

“This fellowship is an example of what Stanford does best,” Rice said. “Great research universities bring together people from the entire academic spectrum, from 18-year-old freshmen to Nobel laureates, and put them together to instill in all of us a desire to search for the truth.” Despite her many commitments, Rice said she did not hesitate when asked to serve on the Shultz Fellowship review committee: “Anything with George’s name, I pay attention. George is emblematic of a great public servant, and he is also a university person, deeply involved with students. And Tom Friedman, he has helped us see inside this complicated region more clearly than any author or scholar I know.”

Rice, Shultz and Friedman all noted that a visit to Israel is essential for any scholar working to understand the Middle East. Friedman said he established the fellowship in recognition of Shultz’s “tireless efforts to broker Middle East peace,” and that the honor is available to any Stanford student interested in studying Israel or the Arab-Israeli peace process. The Shultzes then added to the fellowship, as did philanthropists LAURA LAUDER and JIM KOSHLAND. (Because of university restrictions on funding research opportunities in Israel while the State Department maintains a travel advisory there, the fellowship fund was established at Hillel at Stanford, which administers the award.)

Last year, the first fellowship was awarded to EMILY WARREN, a joint JD-economics PhD candidate, who used the time to study how Israel’s defense investments in the late 1980s resulted in a tech boom in the early 1990s.

Kornberg, a graduating senior majoring in international relations, intends to use her fellowship to examine Israeli political parties’ campaigns in elections between 1967 and 2013, investigating the platforms and rhetoric on issues relating to the peace process, such as territorial division, the status of Jerusalem and rights of return.

“What I have appreciated most about my Stanford experience is that they just keep throwing these amazing opportunities at you all the time,” said Kornberg, who is the daughter and granddaughter of two Nobel laureates, ROGER KORNBERG and the late ARTHUR KORNBERG. Her proud mother, who was toting a camera Thursday morning, is YAHLI LORCH, associate professor of structural biology.

Maya Kornberg plans to pursue a graduate degree in public policy at Columbia University. But when she returns from Israel, she has a date to meet with Rice, Shultz and Friedman to share what she learned.

—LISA LAPIN