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Underwater photo of plastic bottle and other trash floating in ocean

Summer 2019

Cover of Columbia Magazine summer 2019 issue / photo of plastic trash
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Plastic, Plastic Everywhere

The planet is drowning in the most useful material ever invented. So what are we going to do about it?

Features

Arts & Humanities

Alumni Artists Featured at the Shed in Hudson Yards

Five Columbians show off the projects that grabbed the attention of curators at New York’s ambitious new cultural space

Science & Technology

Columbia Goes to the Moon

Fifty years ago, when astronauts first landed on the moon, they carried not only humanity’s highest hopes but an important experiment from Columbia

Science & Technology

The Age of Cyberwarfare

With the Internet now a global battlefield, how serious a threat do cyberweapons pose to America’s economy and infrastructure?

College Walk

On Campus

New Digs for Columbia’s Oldest Tree

With the construction of new walkways, the sycamore outside the Mathematics building has “mulch” to be thankful for

On Campus

The Short List: Summer 2019

Things to do on and around campus

Arts & Humanities

Remembering Donald Keene, America’s Foremost Japanologist

The Columbia professor lived for his adopted country — and his students

Arts & Humanities

A Look at the Medical Center’s 10th Annual Art Show

Some 200 works by CUIMC students, faculty, staff, and family members will be on display through 2019

Science & Technology

Ursula Burns: Straight Talk on STEM

Quotes from the Veon CEO on her choice of career and the need for more diversity in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields

On Campus

Would You Survive Parole?

A simulation captures the frustration of reclaiming a life after prison

Science & Technology

BioBus Brings Science to the Streets

A lab on wheels gives schoolchildren glimpses of the natural world

Explorations

Health & Medicine

ToxicDocs Exposes Industry Misdeeds

A database reveals which American companies have been accused of knowingly harming citizens with products containing poisonous substances

Science & Technology

Geoscientists Find Answers in Stone-Age Pee

Middle Easterners may have given up hunting and gathering more abruptly than previously thought, says a new study

Health & Medicine

Can a Surgeon Be Too Stressed to Operate?

Anxious docs are more prone to mistakes, study finds

Science & Technology

The Myth of the Asian-American Advantage

They outperform their classmates by almost every measure. But do these accomplishments lead to professional success?

Science & Technology

Study Hall: Summer 2019

Research briefs

Science & Technology

New Robots Can Swarm Like Human Cells

A new robotic propulsion system could help create new kinds of robots capable of venturing into hazardous environments

Health & Medicine

The Secret Research That Could Make You Healthier

A business professor studies the psychology of secrets

Science & Technology

Helping Herders in Africa Adapt to Climate Change

Research from Columbia shows where the grass is greener

Science & Technology

Stunning Video Shows Neurons in Action

Liveaction 3D footage reveals the nervous system of a fruit-fly larva as it crawls

Network

Alumni

Major League Baseball’s First Latina Announcer

Marysol Castro ’00JRN is changing the game with the New York Mets

Alumni

Mariana Costa Checa, Arundhati Katju, and Other Alumni in the News

Columbians making headlines

Arts & Humanities

Elegance Bratton Makes Films About the Queer Black Experience

The filmmaker talks about family, ballroom, and diversity in film and television

Alumni

A Childcare Network for Easy Playdate Planning

Amanda Raposo’s new tech company offers an alternative to hiring a sitter

Arts & Humanities

The Marie Kondo Whisperer

Meet Marie Iida ’11GSAS, the valued translator on Netflix’s hit reality show

Alumni

4 Alumni Influencers Attracting Major Followers

For these Columbians, Instagram is much more than a place to share flattering selfies and proof of fun times

Alumni

Home-Cook Hacks from Christopher Kimball

The chef, television personality, and Milk Street founder shares tips and a recipe

Books

Books

Book Review: "Doing Justice"

A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law, by Preet Bharara '93LAW

Books

Book Review: "Orange World"

By Karen Russell '06SOA

Books

Book Review: "Working"

By Robert A. Caro '68JRN

Books

Summer 2019 Reading List

New and noteworthy releases from alumni and faculty

Books

Dorothy Butler Gilliam: A Newsroom Pioneer

The Washington Post's first Black woman reporter discusses her new memoir, Trailblazer

Bulletin

On Campus

Columbia Tennis Team Wins Sixth Straight Ivy Title

The Lions defeated Cornell on the final weekend of the season this spring

On Campus

Library Acquires Archive of Flash-Fiction Master

Author Lydia Davis's personal papers come to the Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Health & Medicine

School of Social Work to Lead $86 Million Opioid Response in New York State

The effort, part of a nationwide research study, is being led by Professor Nabila El-Bassel ’89SW

On Campus

Law School, Clooney Foundation Launch TrialWatch

The program will monitor legal proceedings against journalists, dissidents, LGBTQ people, and other vulnerable groups in countries where human rights are at risk

On Campus

Online Course Helps Veterans Navigate College Admissions

The course, "Attaining Higher Education," is hosted by the nonprofit online-education company edX and is free and open to all

On Campus

$32M Gift to Support Cardiology Programs

In recognition of the gift, the medical school is renaming its cardiology unit the Seymour, Paul, and Gloria Milstein Division of Cardiology

Science & Technology

Climate Panel, Revived by Earth Institute, Releases First Report

Among its recommendations is planning for increased risk of heat-related injuries, drinking-water shortages, sunny-day flooding, and infectious disease

Rare Finds

Arts & Humanities

Bring Me the Head of Béla Bartók

There's a bronze sculpture of the Hungarian composer in Dodge Hall

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