From halting cancer to protecting soldiers, Big Red research is at risk

A look at some projects imperiled by federal funding cuts—and how you can support your alma mater through ‘Cornell Matters’

Natural sensors help in mapping out cells’ own biology

Cornell chemistry and chemical biology researchers have found a new and potentially more accurate way to see what proteins are doing inside living cells — using the cells’ own components as built-in sensors.

Alumna’s namesake observatory takes a deep dive into the cosmos

The facility, which honors astronomer Vera Cooper Rubin, MS ’51, has released its first images—and they’re mind-blowing

A&S honors 13 faculty with endowed professorships

The professorships are made possible because of gifts from alumni, parents and friends.

Global perspectives reframe timeline and scope of WWII

This summer marks the 80th anniversary of the “official” end of World War II, but a new book co-edited by Ruth Lawlor, assistant professor of history, extends the war’s timeline back to 1931 and into the mid-1950s.

Conspiracy theorists unaware their beliefs are on the fringe

Overconfidence is a hallmark trait of people who believe in conspiracies, and they also significantly overestimate how much others agree with them, Cornell psychology researchers have found.

Iranian nuclear project may be more dangerous now than ever

Professor of government Uriel Abulof: “In the aftermath of recent regional escalations, there’s a growing risk of repeating a familiar—and dangerous—pattern: ceasefire, self-congratulation, and strategic blindness

Colanzi wins Zinklar Award for short fiction

Liliana Colanzi’s award is the first Zinklar Prize to honor Spanish language fiction.

Your June 2025 reads

This month’s featured titles include the latest from A&S faculty Ishion Hutchinson and Charlie Green, plus A&A alumni Chris Pavone '89 and Sarah Spain '02.

Emotion – not just action – helps brain define, divide events

Study participants who watched scenes from popular movies showed emotion plays a larger role than previously understood in establishing event boundaries that help structure attention and memory.

Why experimental art is more important than ever

When we focus on making our work marketable, it’s no longer the creative endeavor that our society so desperately needs, alumna Jesi Bender-Buell '07 writes in a Chime In column.

SPROUT Awards cultivate early-stage engineering research

From designing a reversible male contraceptive to detecting life on distant ocean worlds, the latest Cornell Engineering SPROUT Awards are cultivating breakthroughs across medicine, space exploration, robotics and environmental sensing.

Research at risk: Records of enslaved people seeking freedom

A research project collecting records of freedom-seeking enslaved people in the pre-Civil War U.S. came to a halt when researchers received a stop-work order from the National Endowment for the Humanities in early May.

Cornell astronomers win time on James Webb Space Telescope

The "premier telescope in space right now" will start a fourth annual cycle of observations on July 1, and three early-career astronomy researchers in A&S are PI or co-PI on observation programs chosen from a very competitive field.

Reunion 2025: The view from five years out

Members of the Class of 2020 remember their journeys at Cornell.

Better basketball through theoretical physics?

A Cornell research team has employed a variation of a theory first used to predict the collective actions of electrons in quantum mechanical systems to a much taller, human system – the National Basketball Association.

Why our attempts to avoid emotional discomfort often backfire

"As a clinical psychologist, I’ve learned that moments of anxiety can be golden opportunities to learn to tolerate distress," A&S psychology major Alissa Worly Jerud ’08 writes.

New $1.5M graduate research fellowship honors former director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

A new $1.5 million gift from philanthropist K. Lisa Yang ’74 has established the Charles Walcott Graduate Research Fellowship in Conservation Bioacoustics to fund graduate research at the Lab of Ornithology.

Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series announces 2025-26 Season

The season will include explorations of timeless classics, as well as concerts highlighting new frontiers in music.

Staff graduates recognized for academic achievements

More than two dozen staff members who earned degrees at Cornell or other institutions this year while also working at the university were celebrated in a ceremony June 10.

‘End of a hopeful era’: Cornell expert reflects on Wilson and Stone legacies

The deaths of Brian Wilson, co-founder of The Beach Boys, and funk and soul pioneer Sly Stone, of Sly and the Family Stone, mark the end of a pivotal era in music, says professor Judith Peraino.

Professors address climate change from multiple disciplines

The panel, during Reunion 2025, was called "Beyond the Apocalypse: New Narratives and Innovations for Climate Action."

History Center exhibit chronicles excavation at Ithaca’s ‘Freedom Church’

The exhibit on Ithaca’s St. James A.M.E. Zion Church will open on Juneteenth with a community event scheduled for 4 p.m.

Lewenstein wins science communication prize

The inaugural Award for the Advancement of Science Communication as a Professional Field from the International Network on Public Communication of Science & Technology recognizes outstanding contributions to the development of science communication as a field.

Military use in Los Angeles coming right up to Insurrection Act

History professor David Silbey points out restrictions on and risks of using active-duty military to respond to protests.

Study shows how city life shapes music choices

Living in a metropolis broadens our musical horizons, and makes our playlists less alike.

New York Times series features math by Prof Steven Strogatz

Strogatz has been busy with outreach activities as the inaugural Susan and Barton Winokur Distinguished Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Mathematics.

Cornell Atkinson awards catalyze solutions in food, climate, clean energy

Atkinson Venture Fund awards have distributed $21.7 million to 223 projects spanning every college on Cornell’s campus over 15 years.

'Wine is not fungible': How an alum's firm made global headlines

The small, family company founded by Victor Schwartz ’80, an A&S econ graduate, became the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against import tariffs—and won.

Thomas A. Lewis named Graduate School dean, vice provost

A professor of religious studies at Brown, Lewis will also hold a faculty appointment as a professor of religious studies and German studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Savely Senderovich, scholar of Russian literature, dies at 89

A mainstay of the Department of Russian Literature from 1977 until his retirement after the department closed in 2010, Senderovich oversaw the establishment of a comprehensive graduate program in Russian literature, expanding Cornell’s graduate offerings in the field.

One tiny particle could complicate predictions of physics theorists

The international, interdisciplinary team measured the magnetic anomaly of the muon – a tiny, elusive particle that could have very big implications for understanding the subatomic world.

From posters to precedent, humanities scholars showcase their research

Projects spanned topics from Confederate cemeteries to Korean textiles.

US Rep. Beth Van Duyne ’95, Brooks School dean to discuss policy at Reunion

The discussion will explore the intersection of public policy, politics and civic engagement.

Gift creates new Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series at Cornell

A $2 million gift from the Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts will rename the Cornell Concert Series and allow it to continue its efforts to bring world-class musicians to campus.

Prefreshmen Summer Program gives students opportunity to build skills for college

Most students head to college at the end of August, however students participating in the Prefreshmen Summer Program (PSP) at Cornell arrived June 21 and will spend seven weeks on campus. 

Graduate Student Invited to Prestigious Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings bring together Nobel Prize recipients and approx. 600 exceptional young scientists from around the world for a week of “interdisciplinary exchange” aimed at fostering scientific collaboration across generations and national boundaries.

I’ve Always Been a Generalist—and on ‘Jeopardy!,’ It Paid Off

Dan Moren ’02 explains why becoming a two-time champion on the legendary quiz show felt like ‘a vindication of a life full of eclectic interests.’

The College Welcomes New Faculty for 2020-21

Twenty-seven new faculty join the College of Arts & Sciences this year.

Norton honored with top alumni award from Harvard

The Centennial Medal recognizes alumni who have made fundamental and lasting contributions to knowledge, their disciplines, their colleagues and society

‘Expectations matter’: Cornell expert on today’s economic turmoil

Ryan Chahrour studies how people’s beliefs drive economic events and what makes the U.S. dollar special – and dominant – in world trade.

Ph.D. graduates overcame obstacles to find success

Cornell’s newest Ph.D.s found success even through the unexpected events of the last few years, President Michael I. Kotlikoff reminded nearly 400 doctoral graduates at the 2025 Ph.D. Recognition Ceremony on May 23 at Barton Hall.

Students got game at annual video game showcase

The showcase was the final exam for students in Cornell’s game design courses

Cornell lacrosse wins national championship, first in 48 years

The Big Red defeated Maryland 13-10 in the NCAA title game held at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Cornell graduates aim to ‘lead from the front’ as military officers

During a May 23 ceremony in Statler Auditorium, more than 25 members of Cornell’s Reserve Officers' Training Corps Tri-Service Brigade were commissioned as second lieutenants or ensigns in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Space Force.

Your May 2025 reads

This month’s featured titles include essays on womanhood by A&S alumna Nicole Graev Lipson ’98.

Music professor named new director of Milstein Program in Technology & Humanity

Roger Moseley, associate professor of music, will begin in the new role July 1.

Happy together: Peroxide binds incompatible polymers for recycling

“The dream is, if you can make a really rigid polymer that’s also really tough, then you can make packaging that uses less material, yet has the same sort of properties."

Moving pictures: Researchers use movies to diagnose EV battery failure

The technique enables them to watch chemistry in action and collect real-time movies showing what happens to energy materials during temperature changes.

Med student Grace Staes ’22 feels prepared for the work

Staes said her major in anthropology has proven to be an asset in medical school.