Brandeis announces 2024 Commencement speakers

In an email to the Brandeis community, Brandeis President Ron Liebowitz recently announced award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and higher education leader Ruth Simmons as the 2024 Commencement speakers. The 73rd annual Commencement will feature Burns during the undergraduate ceremony, while Simmons will speak at the graduate ceremony on Sunday, May 19.  Upon receiving an […]

Brandeis Math Department updates: Putnam Competition and CAREER award

The Brandeis Department of Mathematics boasts two major recent accomplishments: Brandeis math students performed exceptionally at the acclaimed William Lowell Putnam mathematics competition, and Carolyn Abbott, Associate Professor of Mathematics, received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award. The Math Department at Brandeis offers undergraduate programs in Math and Applied Math, as well as graduate programs […]

The Heller School and Nagoya University establish academic exchange partnership

The Heller School for Social Policy and Management and the Graduate School of International Development (GSID) at Nagoya University in Nagoya, Japan recently announced the launch of their new academic exchange program. The overarching goal of the program is to provide novel research opportunities for the participating students, faculty and staff. Furthermore, the program will […]

New Engineering course: Introduction to design methodology

This past fall semester, Director of Design and Innovation Ian Roy and Associate Professor of Physics Ben Rogers developed the first course in the new Brandeis Engineering program, ENGR 11A Introduction to Design Methodology. This semester, Roy and Michael Norton, Lecturer in Engineering and Research Scientist at the Materials Research Science and Engineering Group, are […]

The Rose Art Museum names the 2024 Perlmutter Artist-In-Residence

Mexican artist Noé Martínez was selected by the Rose Art Museum as the 2024 Ruth Ann and Nathan Perlmutter Artist-In-Residence Award recipient. The Perlmutter Artist-In-Residence program serves the goal of “promoting emerging artists of extraordinary talent whose work addresses contemporary issues of vital urgency.” Martínez’s exhibition “The Body Remembers” will be held at the Rose […]

South Asian Student Association presents MELA 2023

The Brandeis South Asian Student Association (SASA) recently held their annual cultural show MELA, featuring student dance, vocal, instrumental and comedic performances as well as speeches from SASA representatives and faculty members. The event was held during Brandeis’ I Am Global Week, which is a week-long campus celebration of diverse ethnic customs that promotes cross-cultural […]

Brandeis announces 53rd Rosenstiel Award winner

Professor of Biochemistry and Structural Biology Wolfgang Baumeister has been named the 53rd winner of the Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research. Baumeister is celebrated for his pioneering work developing a technique called cryo-electron tomography. To answer research questions at the intersection of biology and chemistry, it is often crucial to be […]

Brandeis students hold walkout to protest police brutality

On Nov. 13, 2023, members of the Brandeis community left their classes and other commitments to gather on the Great Lawn in response to the arrest of seven members of the protest that occured on Friday, Nov. 10. Close to 100 people silently kneeled and sat on the Great Lawn, carrying blank papers as part […]

Gabbay Award winners Craig Crews and Raymond Deshaies discuss PROTACs

Researchers Craig Crews and Raymond Deshaies were awarded the 25th annual Jacob and Louis Gabbay Award in Biotechnology and Medicine for the development of the proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology in targeted protein degradation. The Gabbay Award recognizes research that has a distinct practical application that is derived from basic science roots. As described on the […]

New developments with Brandeis’ microscope facilities

Microscopes play a pivotal role in uncovering key biological discoveries by allowing scientists to visualize structures that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. Recently, the Brandeis Light Microscopy Facility and the Electron Microscopy Facility have had a number of updates in staff and inventory. In an interview with The Hoot, staff and faculty […]

Brandeis hosts JustArts faculty and staff art exhibition

Brandeis is currently hosting JustArts, the twice-a-year celebration of Brandeis faculty and staff artwork, from Oct. 2 to 23 at the Dreitzer Gallery. In addition to faculty and staff, postdoctoral researchers and faculty emeriti were encouraged to participate as well. The artwork ranged from a wide variety of artistic mediums, such as paintings, fabric, photographs, […]

Brandeis alum Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó win Nobel Prize

Drew Weissman ’81, GSAS MA ’81, P’15, H’23 and Senior Vice President at BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals Katalin Karikó H’23 jointly won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their pioneering work on messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine development during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their collective research on how mRNA interacts with the human immune system […]

Tree for Taking founders develop sustainable guitars

Sam Aronson (Heller Social Impact MBA ’23 and ’20) and Alden Kennedy (Heller Social Impact MBA ’23) recently founded their company Tree for Taking with the vision of reinventing the guitar manufacturing industry to become more sustainable. In an interview with The Hoot, they discuss their journey in founding Tree for Taking as well as […]

Brandeis physics students create Women in Physics group

Brandeis Physics PhD candidate Kanaya Malakar recently led efforts to establish the Women in Physics Group through the aid of a grant from the American Physical Society (APS). The APS awarded 20 grants to support their mission of bridging the gender gap in physics and scientific research. Through this award, as well as support from […]

Brandeis Biology and Neuroscience host diversity, equity and inclusion workshops

The Brandeis Joint Biology/Neuroscience (Bio/Neuro) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee recently organized two workshops titled, “Brandeis DEI Workshop Series for Science Labs: Understanding Implicit Bias, Microaggressions and Cultural Awareness.” The workshops are led by Dr. Charles Chip Mc Neal, Director of DEI Education and Learning Initiatives at Brandeis. The overarching goal of the two […]

Professor Sabine von Mering discusses the impact of the climate crisis on elderly populations

Brandeis professor Sabine von Mering discusses the need for greater support and attention towards the elderly, who are particularly vulnerable to elements of the climate crisis, in a CommonWealth journal article titled, “Nobody should be facing the climate crisis alone.” The article cites statistics demonstrating the rising trend of elderly people living alone and lists […]

New campus transportation services

Brandeis University recently announced several updates to transportation services beginning Monday, Aug. 21 in an email from Lois Stanley, Vice President of Campus Planning and Campus Operations. These changes include a new transportation provider, mobile software for transportation tracking and a new public forum for receiving feedback.   DPV Transportation is replacing Brandeis University’s previous […]

SciFest XII celebrates undergraduate scientific research

The Brandeis community recently celebrated SciFest, the largest annual poster symposium for undergraduates conducting scientific research. This year marked the 12th annual SciFest and was held at the Shapiro Science Center on Aug. 10. Altogether, there were 104 presenters from a wide range of scientific backgrounds. Student presenters described their experience conducting research and presenting […]

GSAS 70th anniversary features keynote speaker Dorothee Kern

Brandeis celebrated the 70th anniversary for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) this week, bringing together current graduate students, alumni, faculty and administrators. This year’s speaker was Dorothee Kern, who is a Professor of Biochemistry and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Beyond her responsibilities leading her research group at Brandeis, Kern also […]