Sept–Oct/14 | The University of Chicago Magazine

Volume 107, Number 1

Sept–Oct/14

Features

Natural connection

Joining forces with the Marine Biological Laboratory, the University formalizes its long-standing links to a venerable scientific destination.

Storm driven

Researcher Maud Slye’s (EX 1899) contentious career helped open the field of cancer genetics.

Up in the air

From balloon sculptures to an avant-garde video game, the art of Willy Chyr, AB’09, is all about the journey.

In search of words lost

Wayne Scott, AB’86, AM’89, remembers—and misremembers—his Aims of Education address.

Editor’s Notes

Autumn rites

Official or unofficial, solemn or frivolous, shared experiences bind us to the University.

Letters

Readers weigh in on the Aspen Institute; the global views of Bret Stephens, AB’95; the University’s political leanings; the multiple choice question twins face when heading to college; the propriety of publishing a racial epithet; Alma Lach’s (EX’38) legacy; Robert Maynard Hutchins’s views about World War II veterans and the GI Bill; feline friends; and more.

Course work

Free thinking

Neurobiologist Peggy Mason gives almost 55,000 students an online introduction to the brain.

Alumni Essays

The regulars

Susie Allen, AB’09, recalls the human drama and sitcom qualities of the Reg’s One True Floor.

Unraveling

Lisa K. Harris, AB’82, MBA’84, learns to let go when her daughter leaves for the College.

UChicago Journal

Energy wise

What does it take to build an ultra energy-efficient research facility?

Policy revision

The University implements changes in its approach to sexual misconduct and discrimination.

Language bearer

A German student, a South Asian language, a UChicago career.

Novel pilgrim

A Divinity School historian’s study of medieval Europe becomes a wellspring of historical fiction.

Powerful charges

What scientists don’t know about static electricity might shock you.

Brewhub

A Chicago Booth alum taps into Beijing’s microbrewery scene.

William Rainey Harper’s Index: Good sports

UChicago athletes set a high bar and make a splash.

Original Source: Torch songs

Sung from street corners a century ago, Mexican folk ballads offered “a valuable index to popular thought,” wrote UChicago anthropologist Robert Redfield, whose work is part of a Special Collections exhibit on Mexico.

Fig. 1: Drug rates

Those who know medicine buy generics.

Interview: Immigrant children

Maria Woltjen, a children’s rights expert in the Law School, says US policy should prioritize safety.

For the record: University news

An eminent astronomer joins the faculty as a University Professor, new economic direction for the Becker Friedman Institute, a visionary leader for the Grossman Institute, endowed human rights, funding for outreach and research to improve education and reduce crime, and more.

Citations: Faculty research

A human parasite gets its start in ancient Mesopotamian irrigation ditches, a gaze betrays the difference between love and lust, a prehistoric protein mutation sets the stage for modern biology, and science verifies the old adage that birds do, indeed, fly south for the winter.

Peer review

Releases

The Magazine lists a selection of general interest books, films, and albums by alumni. For additional alumni releases, browse the Magazine’s Goodreads bookshelf.