News

Altmann elected to Academy of Sciences

For her study of the relationships between behavior and other biological processes in natural populations, ecology and evolutionary biology professor Jeanne Altmann earned election to the National Academy of Sciences this year, dubbed by The New York Times "an honor considered second only to a Nobel Prize."One of 72 inductees selected this year by fellow scientists, Altmann brings the total number of members affiliated with the University to 60.

Dean announces training of preceptors

More than a year after the U-Council's initial proposal for precept reform, the University has finally reached a decision to introduce mandatory training for all first-time preceptors this fall.

Doyle, international relations scholar, to leave for Columbia U.

In the midst of the Wilson School's renewed efforts to recruit high profile international studies scholars, current international relations professor Michael Doyle has announced he will be leaving the University in June.Doyle will be heading for Columbia University where he has accepted a joint appointment at Columbia Law School and School of Public and International Affairs."I have been very pleased to have taught at Princeton, beginning in 1977, and will miss many colleagues and friends, but I am also eager to undertake new challenges at Columbia," Doyle said in an email."He very much wanted a tenured appointment in a law school," Anne Marie Slaughter, dean of the Wilson School, said in an email.Doyle's move comes at a time when the University is looking toward a renewed focus on international studies in both the Wilson School and the rest of the University."It is certainly a blow; Professor Doyle is an eminent scholar and celebrated practitioner with important UN experience," Slaughter said in an email.

Peng uses website to take donations

Since Dan Peng '05 was saddled with a $15,000 settlement and lawyers' fees from his skirmish with the Recording Industry Association of America, he has been thinking creatively about how to pay the sum ? and he is now using the website that originally got him in trouble to dig himself out of debt.Peng has now made wake.princeton.edu ? the site that formerly enabled file sharing ? a virtual space for taking donations."I got a lot of emails from people that were just offering to help out and asking if there was some way they could donate," Peng said.

Will GS '68 discusses the state of American politics in society today

Columnist and television commentator George F. Will GS '68 spoke last night in McCosh 10 about American politics and society, saying that many Americans forget that many current problems are rooted in American culture and have been faced before.Will, who has a twice-weekly column syndicated in roughly 500 newspapers and has appeared on ABC's "This Week" for the last 21 years, began his lecture by comparing baseball and politics."Baseball . . . is a game where small increments over a long season make the difference," he said, suggesting this is equivalent to a conservative outlook in politics.Will praised the conduct of America's war on terrorism and the recent conflict in Iraq."We have acted with amazing speed in responding to 9/11," he said.He said that U.S.

Sinkler, beloved athletic trainer, dies at 86

Robert Sinkler, beloved community member and University athletic trainer for 36 years, died last week in his home in Princeton, according to Town Topics.Sinkler was given the Princeton University Alumni Council Award for Service to Princeton in 1997 and who was an honarary member of the Classes of 1938, 1962 and 1978.In 1999, he recieved the All-American Football Foundation's Top Athletic Trainer Award.In the Class of 1962's July 1999 class notes, the class cited as reason for honoring Sinkler, "the support and good will Bobby extended to countless undergraduates during his long career as a sports trainer for the university."He received an award from the Friends of Princeton University Hockey in 1981, Town Topics said.Outside of the University, Sinkler was an instrumental and vibrant member of the Princeton community.He was Director of the Princeton Recreation Deparment and a Little League Coach.He served on both the New Jersey Recreation Advisory Committee and the Township Recreation Committee, and ran for a spot on the Princeton Township Committee in 1954, Town Topics said.The memorial service will be held at 2 p.m.

Gates to use time off from Harvard as scholar at IAS

Henry Louis Gates Jr., the famous Harvard University Afro-American studies chair who in December declined a longstanding offer to join the Princeton faculty, will spend next year at the nearby Institute for Advanced Study.Princeton Provost Amy Gutmann said she didn't know whether Gates planned to teach at Princeton during his time in the area but noted that "typically a sabbatical and time at the institute are intended to allow a scholar to focus on his or her scholarship."The announcement by Harvard President Lawrence Summers in December that Gates had decided to remain in Cambridge ended what became a highly public campaign by Princeton to hire away Harvard's "dream team" of African-American professors, including Gates, Cornel West GS '80 and K.

Genomics institute opens to bridge science community

Approaching the Carl C. Icahn Laboratory from Washington Road, one is met with a long, uniform facade of pale concrete.

Student hackers breach security of Blackboard IDs

Two students from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Alabama sparked controversy over the security of campus ID cards and the rights of hackers when their attempt to publicize how they had compromised the security of the Blackboard Transaction System was stopped by a suit brought by Blackboard, Inc.Blackboard, known by students for hosting the University's course websites, also operates student ID cards at approximately 223 universities across the nation, including Princeton.

Panelists explore impact of Title IX

"Let's get ready to rumble!"With jock jams blasting in the background, five panelists squared off last night in McCosh 50 at the "Title IX Bout" ? a debate over the pros and cons of Title IX.

Politics professor's company fights SARS

Donald Drakeman GS '88, politics professor and former lawyer, is now at the forefront of developing a treatment for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.His company, Princeton-based pharmaceutical business Medarex, joined forces with the Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories of the University of Massachusetts Medical School late last month to create wholly human antibodies to SARS.SARS ? a respiratory illness that has recently been reported in Europe, Asia and North America ? has as of yesterday caused more than 6,500 cases and close to 500 deaths, according to the World Health Organization."We believe that development of a fully human neutralizing antibody to the SARS virus may be a relatively rapid approach to obtain an agent that can limit the disease in infected and exposed individuals," said Israel Lowy, director of infectious diseases at Medarex, in a press release.Drakeman and Mark Shelton of the UMass press office said the lab and the company were compatible because of their similar research in genetic engineering.The MBL is the only nonprofit Food and Drug Administration-licensed manufacturer of vaccines and other biologic products in the United States, according to a press release on Medarex's website.

Students, faculty join to honor Dean Fred after his last 'YES!'

Dean Fred. Dean of Deans. The "Yes!" man.During his 15 years as dean of admission, Fred Hargadon has achieved a healthy archive of nicknames from colleagues and the students he has admitted.

Q&A: David Dobkin

David Dobkin, chair of the computer science department, will take on a new role as the University's dean of the faculty starting July 1.'Prince' reporter Josh Brodie asked Dobkin about his past research.'Prince': About the time when you left grad school, computer science was a nascent field.

Professor and rare book specialist Ludwig dies at 82

A former associate University librarian and emeritus English professor, Richard Ludwig, died April 28 in his home in Princeton.

Seven professors retire at year-end

Seven professors with more than 250 years of teaching experience among them will retire at the end of this year.A trio of loved English professors ? Robert Hollander '55, T.

Photos from Lawnparties

Three students sent to McCosh, PMC over Houseparties weekend

This year's Houseparties weekend saw the number of students requiring medical transport more than halved over last year.Three students required medical transport for intoxication as of early last night.One student was taken to Princeton Medical Center, and two were taken to McCosh Health Center."This is very low, much better [than previous years]," said Public Safety Sgt.

A spirited Princeton tradition, Houseparties endure, evolve

Every May, as the days grow warmer and classes end, University students assemble for the annual tradition of Houseparties.

Israeli political identity blurring, professor says

In a lecture yesterday in Dodds Auditorium, political scientist Tamar Hermann discussed the evolution of Israeli-Jewish public opinion on the peace process with the Palestinians.Hermann, who is director of the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research at Tel Aviv University, said the standard definitions of "left" and "right" in Israeli politics no longer apply.In previous years, to say that you were "on the left" in Israel meant that you were willing to make far-reaching concessions in negotiations with the Palestinians, while saying you were "on the right" meant you believed security should be the top priority, she said."This division between doves and hawks no longer exists in Israel in the same way it did in the past," she said.

Weekly Wrapup

Dean's List Thumbs Up: Hey, congrats man, you've got a date'Twas the night before Houseparties and all through the house, not a female was untaken, not even a mouse.