A new study in Science describes an approximately 1.5 million-year-old fossil footprint site in northern Kenya that records, for the first time, two different kinds of ancient human footprints that reflect different patterns of anatomy and locomotion. It is the first direct evidence showing that Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei, two ancient human species, occupied the same…

Marcella Alsan granted the Humboldt Research Award, honoring her outstanding academic record and research to date.

Amid increasingly tense geopolitics, growing nuclear threats, and risks posed by rapidly evolving technologies, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) have announced the creation of a new high-level Task Force on Nuclear Proliferation and U.S. National Security. When President-elect Donald Trump takes…

“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter,” said Thomas Jefferson. This ethos has guided Jonathan Alter’s career in public service as a journalist. Over the course of his career, Alter has interviewed…

The Harvard Divinity School community and guests gathered on Nov. 12 for a reception and screening of “Sugarcane,” a National Geographic documentary highlighting the painful history of Indian boarding schools through the lens of survivors and descendants.  HDS Writer-in-Residence Terry Tempest Williams and executive producer Geralyn White Dreyfous curated the screening and introduced film’s co-directors, Emily Kassie,…

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, in partnership with the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), is pleased to announce an opportunity for Harvard faculty to apply for research grants focusing on the intersection of technology and geopolitics. – Concept Proposal (500 words): Due…

In 2016, French Egyptian curator Nadine Abdel Ghaffar founded the organization Art D’Égypte in response to a problem she was seeing: a lack of public spaces in Egypt for people to view contemporary art.  “As a regular person in Egypt, you cannot go to these amazing museums or exhibitions,” Ghaffar told the audience at a…

At the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP29) on Friday (Nov. 15), the Growth Lab at Harvard Kennedy School launched Greenplexity, an interactive tool that helps countries identify their localized opportunities for green growth by supplying what the world needs for the global energy transition.  The tool provides 10 years of data for 10 green value…

Harvard has increased the size of its Green Revolving Fund (GRF) from $12 million to $37 million, providing additional funds to Harvard’s Schools and Business Units to accelerate campus decarbonization and move the University closer toward its goal to be Fossil Fuel-Free by 2050 and meet city building emissions reduction regulations.   Established in the 1990s…

Harvard University released its 2024 Sustainable Building Standards, which mark the most significant update since the standards were first developed in 2009. The latest standards now target Living Building Challenge (LBC) Core certification plus the Harvard Healthier Building Academy’s (HHBA) requirements for healthier materials, enhanced indoor air quality, future-proofing for a fossil fuel-free future, and…

The Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE), the FAS Office for Faculty Affairs, and the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning have inaugurated the Anya Bernstein Bassett Award for Excellence in Teaching, bestowing the new teaching award on non-ladder faculty last week at the Barker Center.  The award is named in honor of Anya Bernstein…

A wave of climate faculty hires — with more to come — is the latest development in Harvard’s rapidly expanding climate and sustainability initiative. The new climate faculty hires in 2024 include: Aliya Korganbekova and John Mulliken at Harvard Business School; Jeannine Cavender-Bares in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Fiamma Straneo in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Harvard John A.…

The Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy Initiative announced Taiwanese American performer and activist Nymphia Wind as the inaugural recipient of its Changemaker of the Year award. The honor celebrates those creating positive change within the field of foreign policy. “Nymphia Wind’s commitment to propelling Taiwanese drag artistry stands as a profound example of how cultural advocacy…

The Harvard Art Museums have appointed Audrey Sands as their Richard L. Menschel Associate Curator of Photography. As a member of the museums’ Division of Modern and Contemporary Art, Sands will steward a growing collection of photographs and time-based media that includes approximately 75,000 objects. She begins her role at Harvard on Feb. 3, 2025.…

Annabel Kim thinks of “Plasmas,” the latest novel by French writer Céline Minard, as a cubist painting: representing reality, while simultaneously shattering our perception of it.   Kim’s new English translation of the novel, which she calls “a preemptive eulogy for humanity,” published Oct. 22. “That shattering opens up really wonderful possibilities for how we are…

A new study, published last month in the journal Global Policy, finds rural residents of the European Union feel invisible to the very policymakers charged with representing their interests. “The paper indicates that a substantial portion of the population in Europe feels a lack of fair treatment and respect from the EU government,” said co-author Massimiliano Mascherini,…

The Mittal Institute announced that Naiza Khan, a highly acclaimed visual artist from Pakistan, will be in residence on the Harvard campus in April 2025 as the institute’s second Distinguished Artist Fellow. “It will be an extraordinary honor to have such an accomplished artist with us at the Mittal Institute. It will provide a wonderful opportunity…

The climate crisis demands new and better technology – from green energy sources to cleaner industrial processes and far beyond. Universities, including Harvard, play a significant role in generating that new tech. “Many of the innovations driving clean tech started in university labs,” said Jim Stock, Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability and Director of…

While maintaining its mission of cultivating high-risk, high-reward research, the Rowland Institute at Harvard welcomed change at a symposium that celebrated its transition to a new home in the heart of campus.  The Oct. 23 symposium featured remarks from institute and campus leaders and former Rowland Fellows and concluded with brief overviews of the seven…

The Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery (H&LS) Initiative and the University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences have welcomed four visiting faculty from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to teach and conduct research for the 2024-25 academic year.  “I’m thrilled to welcome such stellar faculty to our campus this year and look forward to seeing the impact…

The winners of the annual Harvard Alumni Association Clubs and Shared Interest Groups awards were honored Oct. 24 at the Alumni Leadership Conference. Celebrating excellence in community building and volunteer leadership, the Outstanding Alumni Community Award and Outstanding Volunteer Leadership Award recognize organizations that make an impact with remarkable programming as well as individuals who…

For some, the mere thought of sitting in a dental chair can send shivers down their spine and set their heart racing. In fact, nearly 40 percent of the population admits to having anxiety or fear of the dentist, which can have serious consequences for an individual’s oral health. We asked Isabelle Chase, a leading…

The Rev. Professor Peter J. Gomes was the majestic baritone minister of the Memorial Church for nearly 40 years. His sermons from the pulpit, lectures in the classroom, best-selling books, and international speaking engagements also made him one of the most critical spiritual voices against intolerance in America. His legacy on the Harvard campus and…

President Alan M. Garber has announced the availability of funding through the recently established President’s Building Bridges Fund. Under this new initiative, students are invited to submit proposals for projects that embody the spirit of diverse student groups coming together to build bridges across differences. Inspired by the preliminary recommendations of both the Presidential Task…

The Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard has announced the fall recipients of the Kempner Undergraduate Research Experience (KURE). KURE awards Harvard undergraduates funding for term-time research supervised by Kempner-affiliated faculty during the fall and spring semesters of the academic year.  Student research projects investigate the foundations of intelligence,…

Isabela Gonzalez-Lawand ’26 is determined to make space for bigger bodies and push campus conversations that affect students of all sizes. Last week, the government concentrator facilitated a discussion with author Kate Manne and plus-sized advocate and model Samyra Miller ’21 as part of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations’ “Celebrating Bigger Bodies…

The National Academy of Medicine has elected 100 new members this year, including 12 with Harvard affiliations. Election to the academy is one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. The newly elected members bring the academy’s membership to more than 2,400, which includes nearly 200 international members. Harvard’s 2024 electees…

The mystical state of consciousness experienced by staring into a painting’s intricate brush strokes, listening to the rhythmic tones of a musical composition, watching mesmerizing dance movements, or reading lyric verse from poetic writing can transport us to deeper places where inner-spiritual experience flows freely. Art’s evocative expressions become symbolic road maps to possibilities of…