Author Archives: Daniel Bethencourt

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s announcement in December that Cornell University would build an engineering campus on the city’s Roosevelt Island not only mirrors Yale’s acquisition of West Campus in 2007 — it marks the growing recognition that universities require large amounts of space for innovative science research. The construction of new science campuses »

As science departments work to enhance teaching quality and improve course offerings for non-science majors, several department heads said limited resources hinder progress. A curricular review released by the Yale College Dean’s Office in November found an “urgent need for widespread pedagogical innovation” in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses. While several department heads »

The Astronomy Department’s newest seminar is the University’s first course offering to undergraduates in a rapidly developing scientific field. The spring semester class, “Exoplanets,” studies planets that exist outside the solar system and marks a growing collaboration between Astronomy and Geology and Geophysics — two departments that have had increased reason to work together since »

Though the University announced the creation of a new mass storage system to meet the needs of faculty researchers in mid-October, the new backup option is only a temporary boost to Yale’s current storage systems. Yale Information Technology Services and the Provost’s Office announced on Oct. 11 the creation of a “Research Storage Solution” — »

A new device may allow NASA telescopes to analyze light from distant galaxies billions of lightyears away, starting in a decade or two. Researchers at Yale and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have developed a new “nanobolometer” that can isolate single photons of infrared light, revealing traits of the most distant galaxies. It is the most »

Astronomy professor Debra Fischer has spent some early mornings this fall peering into the Hawaiian night sky in search of new planets, using one of the world’s largest telescopes. But she has done so without leaving campus. Through a 10-year, $12 million agreement in 2009, Yale purchased rights from the California Institute of Technology to »

Ten years after two departments decided to offer a single Biology major, professors in those departments agree the major should be split in two. The University’s Committee on Majors is currently reviewing a proposal — submitted by the Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Departments — to create separate biology majors. »

Despite the recent addition of new amenities on Yale’s West Campus intended to better connect faculty members with each other, many researchers there still feel the site is isolated and relatively empty. Within the past year, administrators have expanded dining options at the facility, increased the frequency of shuttles from Science Hill and added weekly »

After more than two years of student demand for a more comprehensive curriculum on renewable energy and fossil fuels, students and faculty formalized plans Wednesday for a new undergraduate program in energy studies. The proposed program, an energy certificate awarded by the Yale Climate and Energy Institute, is not a Yale College major but would »

The five team members behind HackYale, the University’s newest student-run class on Web startups, are hoping to cultivate a community of programmers. HackYale, which held its first session last Wednesday, teaches web development to students with any level of coding experience. The course is geared toward entrepreneurs and will offer weekly lessons on programming to »

The Yale College Council has built a new home online. This Friday, the YCC will put the finishing touches on its new website, which had its initial launch at www.ycc.yale.edu Sept. 8, in time for YCC elections. Council representatives said they hope the redesigned website will become a definitive guide to student-run events on campus »

Unless a buyer steps in with an offer, Labyrinth Books could close in as soon as two weeks. For the last few months, the York Street bookstore, which has offered Yale course books as well as a variety of academic titles for more than five years, has searched for a buyer without success, said Labyrinth »