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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
Download this issue

Plastic, Plastic Everywhere

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

Features

Alumni Artists Featured at the Shed in Hudson Yards
Exterior of The Shed in Hudson Yards, seen from the High Line
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

Columbia Goes to the Moon
Buzz Aldrin on the moon in 1969
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

The Age of Cyberwarfare
Illustration of anthropomorphized pixels dressed as gangsters and holding explosives behind their backs
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

New Digs for Columbia’s Oldest Tree
Illustration by Lauren Simkin Berke of the sycamore tree outside Columbia University's Mathematics building
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

The Short List: Summer 2019
Cyclists at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center Velocity Ride Event
On Campus

The Short List: Summer 2019

Things to do on and around campus

Remembering Donald Keene, America’s Foremost Japanologist
Donald Keene at poet Basho’s tomb in Zeze, Japan, 1955.
Arts & Humanities

Remembering Donald Keene, America’s Foremost Japanologist

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

A Look at the Medical Center’s 10th Annual Art Show
Black and white photo of bride riding bicycle: "Bridecycle" by Pan Su "Peter" Kim
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

Ursula Burns: Straight Talk on STEM
Ursula Burns
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

Would You Survive Parole?
Illustration by Sara Wong of a former prisoner opening barred gate to a colorful waves
On Campus

Would You Survive Parole?

A simulation captures the frustration of reclaiming a life after prison

BioBus Brings Science to the Streets
Schoolchildren entering the BioBus
Science & Technology

BioBus Brings Science to the Streets

A lab on wheels gives schoolchildren glimpses of the natural world

Explorations

ToxicDocs Exposes Industry Misdeeds
ToxicDocs founders Gerald Markowitz, Merlin Chowkwanyun, and David Rosner
Health & Medicine

ToxicDocs Exposes Industry Misdeeds

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

Geoscientists Find Answers in Stone-Age Pee
Columbia geoscience students excavating ruins near Aksaray, Turkey
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

Can a Surgeon Be Too Stressed to Operate?
"Operation" board game
Health & Medicine

Can a Surgeon Be Too Stressed to Operate?

Anxious docs are more prone to mistakes, study finds

The Myth of the Asian-American Advantage
2.19_EXPL_Myth-F
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?

Study Hall: Summer 2019
Study_Hall_HERO
Science & Technology

Study Hall: Summer 2019

Research briefs

New Robots Can Swarm Like Human Cells
Green robot discs that work together like an organism
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

The Secret Research That Could Make You Healthier
Illustration of person with a brain full of secrets
Health & Medicine

The Secret Research That Could Make You Healthier

A business professor studies the psychology of secrets

Helping Herders in Africa Adapt to Climate Change
A migratory cattle herder in Burkina Faso
Science & Technology

Helping Herders in Africa Adapt to Climate Change

Research from Columbia shows where the grass is greener

Stunning Video Shows Neurons in Action
GIF animation of fruit-fly larva with visible neurons
Science & Technology

Stunning Video Shows Neurons in Action

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

Network

Major League Baseball’s First Latina Announcer
Mets announcer Marysol Castro in studio
Alumni

Major League Baseball’s First Latina Announcer

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

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

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

Columbians making headlines

Elegance Bratton Makes Films About the Queer Black Experience
Elegance Bratton, shot by Gioncarlo Valentine
Arts & Humanities

Elegance Bratton Makes Films About the Queer Black Experience

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

A Childcare Network for Easy Playdate Planning
Three children on a tire swing
Alumni

A Childcare Network for Easy Playdate Planning

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

The Marie Kondo Whisperer
Marie Kondo and her translator, Marie Iida
Arts & Humanities

The Marie Kondo Whisperer

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

4 Alumni Influencers Attracting Major Followers
Columbia alumni Instagram influencers Trevor Bell, Cynthia Chen, Selby Drummond, and Jamie Grimstad
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

Home-Cook Hacks from Christopher Kimball
Christopher Kimball in Milk Street apron
Alumni

Home-Cook Hacks from Christopher Kimball

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

Books

Book Review: "Doing Justice"
Preet Bharara next to book cover of "Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law"
Books

Book Review: "Doing Justice"

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

Review: Orange World
Cover of "Orange World" by Karen Russell
Books

Review: Orange World

By Karen Russell '06SOA

Book Review: "Working"
Cover of "Working" by Robert Caro
Books

Book Review: "Working"

By Robert A. Caro '68JRN

Summer 2019 Reading List
Book spines: Please Read this Leaflet Carefully, The New Rules of Pregnancy, Rabbits for Food, Instructions for a Funeral, The General's Cook, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
Books

Summer 2019 Reading List

New and noteworthy releases from alumni and faculty

Dorothy Butler Gilliam: A Newsroom Pioneer
BookTalk_Gilliam
Books

Dorothy Butler Gilliam: A Newsroom Pioneer

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

Bulletin

Columbia Tennis Team Wins Sixth Straight Ivy Title
Columbia University men's tennis team winning 2019 Ivy League title
On Campus

Columbia Tennis Team Wins Sixth Straight Ivy Title

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

Library Acquires Archive of Flash-Fiction Master
Lydia Davis
On Campus

Library Acquires Archive of Flash-Fiction Master

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

School of Social Work to Lead $86 Million Opioid Response in New York State
Columbia Social Work professor Nabila El-Bassel on Columbia campus
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

Law School, Clooney Foundation Launch TrialWatch
Amal and George Clooney speaking at Columbia Law School
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

Online Course Helps Veterans Navigate College Admissions
Columbia University military members
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

$32M Gift to Support Cardiology Programs
Faculty from Columbia University's newly named Seymour, Paul, and Gloria Milstein Division of Cardiology.
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

Climate Panel, Revived by Earth Institute, Releases First Report
Scientists planting cordgrass to reduce erosion in New York’s Jamaica Bay salt marsh
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

Bring Me the Head of Béla Bartók
Bronze bust of Béla Bartok over sheet music
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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