May-June 2007 | Harvard Magazine

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Editor’s Highlights Sign up to be notified of new issues. See a sample newsletter	Skip to primary navigation May-June 2007 Volume 109, Number 5 Jump to Section: Letters, Right Now, Montage, Commencement and Reunion Guide, Features, John Harvard's Journal, The Alumni, The College Pump, Treasure Letters Cambridge 02138 Critic Frank Rich Craig Lambert writes (“Reviewing ‘Reality,’” March-April, page 40) that New York Times columnist… Right Now Modern Milk The milk we drink today may not be nature’s perfect food,” says Ganmaa Davaasambuu, a Mongolian physician who is a fellow this year… Artful Engineering In a single undergraduate course last fall, students tackled all of the following: engineering nanofood particles to combat childhood obesity… The Healthy Tan A lotion that tans your skin without exposure to the sun and protects you against skin cancer sounds like the sort of miracle product… Willing to War Our minds favor hawks over doves, argues a recent Foreign Policy article. Past psychological research has shown that when it comes to the… Back to top Montage Jete Propelled Heather Watts says that she prepared for teaching her Harvard course, “George Balanchine: Ballet Master,” the same way she used to… Off the Shelf A Natural History of North American Trees, by Donald Culross Peattie ’22, illustrated by Paul Landacre (Houghton Mifflin, $40). This is a… Flexible Movies “You never see cartoons where there are bad outcomes,” says Michelle Crames, M.B.A. ’03, founder and CEO of Lean Forward Media… Twin Passions Both these elegant little books on science and religion are by eminent Harvard professors emeriti—much-revered researchers, writers, and… An Earlier Bid for Mastery New genetic knowledge may let us manipulate our nature: beef up our muscles, brush up our memory, make designer children. What’s wrong… Joculor, Ergo Sum From their freshman year in college they were inseparable pals, once called “the Mutt and Jeff of post-Kantian idealism.” That… Sexy Struts Start with a stance that points the heel of one foot toward the middle of the other. Stand up tall, your back slightly arched. Stride forward… Chapter & Verse ~Who proclaimed that photography is to painting as water is to wine? ~Who protested, “They have taken away all our liberties—now… Back to top Commencement and Reunion Guide Red Books, Raw Gems Please tell your classmates, in a paragraph or two, what you would like them to know about your activities, interests, family life, career… Seniors of Note “The members of this year’s graduating class all possess talents and experiences that will carry them far in the world beyond the… Favorites For this annual round-up of Cambridge eateries, the editors asked a range of Harvard faculty and staff members to recommend a favorite… Events of the Week The many rituals of graduation peak on Commencement day, which this year includes addresses by President Derek Bok and Microsoft cofounder and… A Special Notice Regarding Commencement Exercises Morning Exercises, Thursday, June 7, 2007 To accommodate the increasing number of those wishing to attend Harvard’s Commencement… Ripening Nicely Soon Harvard’s sidewalk superintendents will turn their attention to Allston because that’s where the hardhats will go. For the next… Back to top Features The Global Empire of Niall Ferguson Here is an image calculated to ruffle the feathers of all red-blooded Americans: Consuming on credit, reluctant to go to the front line… Wendell Phillips Wendell Phillips on a platform,” wrote Henry Adams in his Education, “was a model dangerous for youth.” In this opinion Adams… The Enigmatic Mr. Putin Who is Mr. Putin?” The question reverberated in world capitals when Boris Yeltsin called a press conference on August 9, 1999, to… End of the Melting Pot? In 1986, after receiving amnesty under the Immigration Reform and Control Act, Jorge Montes began looking for a good place to raise his family… Friction at the Entry Level The debate over Hispanic assimilation in America has tended to sidestep a troubling reality. In many of the places where immigrants are making… Uneasy Neighbors: A Brief History of Mexican-U.S. Migration The recent political sparring over immigration reform has included scant mention of cross-border diplomacy. Despite the growing interdependence… Back to top John Harvard's Journal Construction Gallery Photograph by Jim Harrison [view larger photograph] Seen from atop William James Hall (and in detailed views below), the… Fast Start Although she will not move into the president’s office in Massachusetts Hall until July 1, President-elect Drew Gilpin Faust has launched… David Williams David Williams studies how social factors affect health. Education and income affect health, that’s clear. But why, as is the case, should… Science's "Third Branch" Why are doctors from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital working with Harvard astrophysicists? And why is Professor Jeff Lichtman… Ethics in Practice Every Tuesday afternoon at the Kennedy School of Government, over lunch, a group of 10 people debates ethical questions that, in one form or… Faculty for Freshman Seminars Ungraded freshmen seminars, introduced in 1959, were intended to introduce new College students to faculty members and to a… Ready for Growth? Harvard proposes to put shovels in the ground not only to build a new campus in Allston but, far more modestly, to put up a research and… Yesterday's News 1912 Mrs. George D. Widener reveals plans to build a library at Harvard in memory of her son, Harry Elkins Widener ’07, who perished with… Growth Spurt The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) has grown more in the past nine years than in the previous four decades. In a letter distributed to… Keeping the Vibes How do you play a broken record? “Take a picture of it,” says audio engineer David Ackerman, who heads the Audio Preservation… Off the Fast Track Slow down, please, said community members comprising the Harvard-Allston Task Force. May we take things one at a time? Of course, said Harvard… The Moral Status of the Embryo Is a blastocyst—an early-stage human embryo—a person? As part of the University’s efforts to encourage public dialogue about… Brevia Top Billing for Two Bills Kristie Bull / Associated Press William H. Gates III Charlie Riedel /… Culture(less) Club During the year and a half I have spent as a student at Harvard, I’ve been befuddled by tRNA in a Life Sciences 1a lecture, experienced… Disruptive Influences He was a world-beater before he arrived at Harvard. In 2003, as a new high-school graduate, Greg Cohen ’07 played on the U.S. under-19… Crimson Intermediary At a press conference, new Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is flanked by translator Masafumi Hoshino ’02 (left) and… Icy Pinnacle She is not just another female Chinese-American Olympic hockey star. Julie Chu ’06 (’07), a two-time Olympic medalist in ice hockey… Back to top The Alumni Signals for Change With his flowing white hair and Mixtec Indian physique, Hugo Morales ’72, J.D. ’75, spoke recently to a crowd, mostly prominent… What's Past Is Prologue Sage Stossel ’93, executive editor of The Atlantic Online, regularly contributes editorial illustrations to the Boston Globe. She prepared… Candidates for Election This spring, five new Harvard Overseers and six new elected directors for the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) board will be chosen by alumni… Comings and Goings University faculty appear around the country to lecture on their specialties and meet with alumni. Here is a list of some of the speakers… Harvard@Home The University’s on-line learning programs (accessible via athome.harvard.edu) provide a wide range of material on courses, events… Economic Initiator Every Wednesday at seven in the morning, Leland Cole ’57 and 10 other Cincinnati business leaders get together for breakfast. The meetings… Documenting Disaster Ever since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, Carl Lindahl ’70, a research professor of English at the University of Houston, has… An Invitation to Reminisce Daniel Gensler ’72, one of the students gathered below on the steps of University Hall in this April 1969 photograph, invites classmates… Camping Pioneer The “camp bug” bit Kevin Gordon ’91 in college, when the psychology concentrator took a summer job as a tennis pro at a… Painting and Numbers Daniel Rockmore, Ph.D. ’89, is as likely to be found studying a Renaissance painting as writing equations on a blackboard. His unusual… Back to top The College Pump "...I don't care if I never get back." "Your wooden arm you hold outstretched to shake with passers-by." Baseball fan Philip J. Lowry ’71, M.B.A. ’79, of… Back to top Treasure Imperial Salukis “Chinese emperors were expected to be cultured gentlemen, whether they were or not,” says Robert D. Mowry, Dworsky curator of…

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