Smoke in the water

Nicole Fernandez, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in the College of Engineering, just started her second year of teaching at Cornell. Nicole and her students have been focusing on water and its movement through watersheds. Some of their most exciting work is happening in Cascadilla Gorge—just footsteps from their … Read more

Angela Loh ’23 is engineering for impact

At the end of her first semester in the College of Engineering at Cornell, Angela Loh ’23 connected with Alan Hsiao ’21, who shares her passion for engineering for impact. In spring 2020, just a few weeks before Cornell transitioned to remote learning in response to the pandemic, Angela and Alan recruited four like-minded students … Read more

Twenty years: Cornellians at the forefront of climate action

In spring of 2020, Cornell became the first Ivy League institution and the sixth university in the world to receive the highest possible rating for its sustainability efforts—STARS Platinum. The STARS ratings measure campus sustainability across a range of dimensions, from the food Cornell serves to the energy it produces, and from the courses it … Read more

Cornellian’s website streamlines the vaccine appointment process

Olivia Adams ’14, MEng ’15 saw a problem: people in Massachusetts were having a difficult time signing up for COVID-19 vaccine appointments. So, she built a solution. Adams created the website macovidvaccines.com to make it easier for MA residents to find and book appointments. The website compiles appointment availability from vaccination sites across the state, … Read more

Green is the new normal: faculty talk about teaching in fall 2020

Over the past ten months, Cornell faculty have been working to adjust and adapt to the new normal. Faculty have had to quickly master new technologies and new modes of instruction as they’ve transitioned from whiteboards to online polls. They’ve had to think through questions of equity and inclusion, as they attempt to balance the … Read more

Jason Providakes PhD ’85: Cornell connections just make sense

MITRE has employed 144 Cornell alumni, launched a corporate partnership with Cornell’s Systems Engineering program, and invited Dean Lance Collins to join their board of trustees. Jason Providakes never intended to leave academia. After earning his PhD in electrical and computer engineering from Cornell Engineering in 1985, Providakes took a position at Cornell, teaching and … Read more

Cornellians gather at DC’s African American history museum

In the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, a weathered Cornell banner hangs behind glass, representing the university as one of the first to welcome African American students. On November 18, the Cornell spirit of “… any person … any study” moved from the museum’s walls to fill its halls: … Read more

Robert F. Smith ’85 named Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year

Cornell has named a Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year every year since Robert F. Smith’s junior year as a chemical engineering student. On Nov. 3, Smith—one of the world’s top business minds—received this year’s award from President Martha E. Pollack. “Your leadership and thoughtful, socially responsible philanthropy mean a great deal to me and to … Read more

“This Is Rocket Science” celebrates Cornell in space

“Cornellians have flown on the space shuttle. They’ve sent spacecraft to every world in the solar system and built telescopes that have peered clear across the universe,” said science writer Christopher Crockett ’99, MEng ’00 during “This Is Rocket Science: Cornell’s Contributions to Discovering the Universe,” an April 4 event offered by Alumni Affairs and … Read more