Volume 107, Number 2
Nov–Dec/14

Features

All over the map

High school students fan out to help the University’s Urban Health Initiative chart the resources in Chicago neighborhoods where there are too few.

Novel talent

Novelist Matthew Thomas, AB’97, talks about learning to hear the story that wants to be told.

Battle lines

French illustrators of World War I depicted the arena, the enemy, and the home front with bravura.

Delight in discovery

Economic historian Claudia Goldin, AM’69, PhD’72, takes a detective’s joy in gathering clues, analyzing data, and reconstructing the stories behind social issues.

Editor’s Notes

Looking back—and ahead

Getting lost in the Magazine’s archives offers a glimpse into the University’s history and inspires a commitment to ensuring its future.

Letters

Readers sound off

Readers weigh in on the Aims of Education address; the social structure of the Reg; the root problems in Gary, Indiana; anthropologist Robert Redfield’s (LAB 1915, PhB’20, JD’21, PhD’28) inspiring fieldwork; Egyptologist Emily Teeter’s (PhD’90) graceful common touch; 19th-century French shorthand; amphibian cover models; and more.

On the Agenda

A campaign built on values

President Robert J. Zimmer introduces the University of Chicago Campaign: Inquiry and Impact, a major undertaking with transformative potential.

Alumni Essay

Of superhuman bondage

Noah Berlatsky, AM’94, uncoils the rope that ties Wonder Woman to traditional male superheroes and to Twilight’s Bella.

UChicago Journal

Fevered research

Theories and particles collide in a documentary that captures the tension and intensity of discovery.

Paris at 10

The University’s first international center celebrates a milestone.

Access granted

A new College initiative reduces debt, simplifies the application process, and supports careers.

Grace note

New to Rockefeller Chapel’s staff, Matthew Dean, AB’00, has long inhabited its world of song.

Permutate

Charis Eng, AB’82, PhD’86, MD’88, discovers key genetic markers linking cancer and autism.

Following the stars

For Jesuit priest Paul Mueller, SM’96, PhD’06, the same source reveals scripture and nature.

William Rainey Harper’s Index: Business incubator

A new space for collaborative innovation opens on 53rd Street.

Next Generation: Polymers enlightened

Chemists find a key to improving solar cell efficiency.

Fig. 1: Spine tingling

Finally, a dinosaur that swam.

Interview: Inquiring minds

Neuroscientist John Maunsell leads a new institute’s research into the mysteries of the brain.

For the record: University news

MacArthur Fellows illuminate history and pursue justice, Lear is named to lead the Neubauer Collegium, the Rubenstein Forum will become a collaborative hub, high-tech tools await a new library director, a new initiative trains civic leaders, and more.

Citations: Faculty research

Diverse neighborhoods help babies’ social learning; microbial fingerprints follow people from place to place; old-age insomnia is not always what it seems; and scientists trace the two genes the control monarch butterflies’ colors and their capacity to fly long distances.

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.

Notes

Highlights from the latest alumni news columns.

Deaths

University obituaries

Recent faculty, staff, and alumni obituaries.

Lite of the Mind

Art to text with

The Smart Museum revives, and updates, a generous tradition.