News

Program Sponsored by State Department Supports Study Abroad Ayodele Oti, Gareth Rhodes, Jesse King, Tabassum Rahman and Catherine Mandler, undergraduates at The City College of New York, have won 2011 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships for study abroad during the spring semester. They were among 2,300 students chosen nationwide by the International Institute of Education, which administers the program, and they will travel to China, Costa Rica, France, the United Kingdom and Egypt for periods ranging from four weeks to five months. The Gilman Scholarships aim to prepare U.S

Same Proteins Involved, but Cancer Takes Hold When Response Gets Out of Control, CCNY Biologists Report Tiny parasitoid wasps can play an important role in controlling the populations of other insect species by laying their eggs inside the larvae of these species. A newly hatched wasp gradually eats the host alive and takes over its body. The host insect is far from defenseless, however. In Drosophila(fruit flies), larvae activate humoral immunity in the fat body and mount a robust cellular response that encapsulates and chokes off the wasp egg. New research by Dr. Shubha Govind, professor of

Work Demonstrates Benefits of Scholarly Ties Between the Humanities and the Sciences Hydrologists may have a new way to study historical water conditions. By synthesizing present-day data with historical records they may be able to recreate broad hydrologic trends on a regional basis for periods from which scant data is available. Lack of reliable historical data can impede hydrologists’ understanding of the current state of waterways and their ability to make predictions about the future. That was the case for the rivers of the northeastern United States between 1600 and 1800, a period that

“Research & Design: Faculty Work, The City College of New York - Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture,” by George Ranalli, (Oscar Riera Ojeda Publications, 2010), the catalog accompanying the school’s opening exhibit, was chosen one of the ten best architecture books for 2010 by ArchNewsNow, an architecture online newsletter. “From the over-the-top Hotel Jellyfish for Tianjin, China, by Michael Sorkin that straddles a line between zoomorphic and dadamorphic design, all to way to the dignified apollonian civility of Dean George Ranalli’s Saratoga Community Center in Brooklyn, NY, the

Ron Koder’s Biological Design Work Could Someday Reduce Combat Deaths As a post-doc at The University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Ron Koder, assistant professor of physics at The City College of New York, was part of a team that devised a novel method for producing an artificial protein capable of transporting oxygen, similar to human neuroglobin. He was recently awarded a three-year $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop an artificial blood that can be administered to injured troops on the battlefield. “Engineered blood substitutes have a lot of attractive properties

The City College of New York Division of Science announces eight events for December featuring prominent scientists from across the United States speaking on their research. All are free and open to the public and held in the Marshak Science Building, unless otherwise noted. Listings of event times, speakers, topics and room numbers follow, along with contact information at the bottom of the list. December 1 , 12 noon: Biochem Seminar, Dr. Diana Bratu, associate professor of biology, Hunter College, “In vivo fluorescence imaging of oskar mRNP transport during drosophila oogenesis," Room 1027

A new service-learning course offered by The City College of New York’s Division of Science gives CCNY undergraduates the opportunity to apply their scientific knowledge to community projects that address critical health issues in the Harlem community. The course began as “Focus on Obesity” in spring 2010 and targeted the issue of obesity that has reached epidemic proportions in Harlem with 48 percent of children living in its zip codes considered to be overweight or obese. It is funded by the City College Academy for Professional Preparation , which is partnering in a Learn and Serve America

The venus flytrap plant captures its prey when it senses the presence of an insect on the tips of its leaves. An amphiphilic molecule designed by chemists at The City College of New York acts in a similar manner by changing its structure when heated slightly and, then, reverting to its original form when cooled. The finding, reported in the journal “Angewandte Chemie,” points toward the possibility of designing adaptive soft materials in the lab that take their cues from how nature responds to stimuli, said Dr. George John , associate professor and corresponding author. Professor John and

Dr. Bernard Sohmer, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at The City College of New York and a former chair of the City College Faculty Senate and CUNY Faculty Senate, passed away Friday, November 19, following a lengthy illness. He was 81. Professor Sohmer, who joined the math department in 1953, was a fixture at City College for more than a half century, serving in numerous administrative, faculty and union roles. Throughout his career, he was a tireless advocate for City College faculty and students and the institution’s mission. In addition to being a faculty member, he served in the

$3 Million Gift From Mini-Circuits Founder Will Provide Stipends, Housing to Create Silicon Valley-like Environment for Student Start-up Ventures Helping students to bridge the academic and real worlds, the Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York is launching an entrepreneurship contest supported by a new $3 million gift from CCNY alumnus Harvey Kaylie, ’60. Winners of the Kaylie Prize for Entrepreneurship will receive financial support and housing while they work over the summer in a Silicon Valley garage-like environment to turn their ideas into a successful business