Ideas

Past Visitor (2015–21) Karina Urbach’s book Alice’s Book: How the Nazis Stole My Grandmother’s Cookbook, originally published in German to wide acclaim,has been published in English, with a translation by Jamie Bulloch. 

James D. Wolfensohn Professor Didier Fassin and past Distinguished Visiting Professor Axel Honneth (2018–19) are the editors of Crisis Under Critique: How People Assess, Transform, and Respond to Critical Situations.

Past Members in the School of Natural SciencesRobert J. Vanderbei (2019–20) and Michael A. Strauss (1991–95), along with Neil deGrasse Tyson and J. Richard Gott, have authored a unique journey into the cosmos titled Welcome to the Universe in 3D: A Visual Tour, the fourth in a series of astrophysical tours for Princeton University Press. 

Mathematics Member John Urschel works on linear algebra, specifically matrix analysis. In this video, he shares his journey from the NFL to a career in mathematics, having worked on his Ph.D. at MIT during the offseason while playing for the Baltimore Ravens. Now retired from the NFL, Urschel is able to focus completely on math.

Patrick Geary is co-PI of the European Research Council funded research project HistoGenes, which uses a combination of genomic, archaeological, anthropological, and historical methods to study over six-thousand burial sites in the Carpathian Basin between the fifth and tenth centuries.

In this Scholar Spotlight we feature Hofie Sigridar Hannesdottir, a Member in the School of Natural Sciences. She shares what inspired her to study elementary particles and what she hopes to learn about our universe.

Ukrainian mathematician Svitlana Mayboroda was initially undecided on her career path. She had every intention of going into business until an opportunity presented itself to attend a mathematics graduate program in the United States.

In this Scholar Spotlight we feature Douglas Flowe who is a Member in the School of Historical Studies. He discusses his work on incarceration and the influences he had in life to follow this path.

Historian Jérémie Foa offers a very unique view of the 1572 massacres in his work entitled Tous ceux qui tombent: visages du massacre de la Saint–Barthélemy [All that fall: faces of the St. Bartholomew's day massacre]. He exhumes the “small lives” that were taken by reconstituting history in minute detail and honoring the names of the anonymous victims.

In this Scholar Spotlight we feature Sukanya Chakrabarti who was a Member in the School of Natural Sciences earlier this year. She talks about her work on galactic dynamics and why fundamental research is important.