Studying welfare’s treatment of single vs. married mothers

Robert Moffitt, a Krieger-Eisenhower Professor in the School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Economics, and his research partner will use a one-year $48,339 grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue to study whether the U.S. welfare system’s assistance based on marital status factors into single mothers’ decisions to stay single, cohabit or marry.

Latin American Studies celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

The Program in Latin American Studies in the Krieger School will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with three events this week: a lecture on how Latinos and immigration have been portrayed in the media, a bilingual roundtable discussion about the Latino population in Baltimore and across the state and a reggae concert. Other events are planned throughout the month, all on the Homewood campus.

Biologist Evangelos Moudrianakis wins ‘Greek Nobel Prize’

Evangelos “Van” Moudrianakis, a Johns Hopkins University biologist and biophysicist, has won the 2009 Bodossaki Aristeio in Biomedicine for his pioneering work shedding light on the structure of the complex web of DNA and proteins (histones) that make up chromatin—work that has provided valuable insight into how the genetic information of chromosomes is regulated.

Now on tap: The ‘fizzics’ of beer

Physicist’s JHU Press book delves into science of popular beverage

A&S Dean Adam Falk named president of Williams College

Adam Falk, the James B. Knapp Dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins, has been elected the 17th president of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. He will assume the post on April 1. The college’s trustees made the announcement Sept. 28.

Using stimulus dollars to decode human number sense

That’s why a team of psychologists at The Johns Hopkins University’s Krieger School of Arts and Sciences is using a $1.6 million National Institutes of Health grant, underwritten in part by the federal stimulus package, to finance a multifaceted study aimed at decoding some of the mysteries of the human approximate number system, or ANS. They want to find out, for instance, everything from how it changes from infancy through adulthood to the impact that number sense acuity has on later success (or failure) in academic and higher order mathematics.
Lisa Feigenson is teaming up with her research partner and husband, Justin Halberda, both assistant professors in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, on the project.

Enrollment spikes at Homewood

Johns Hopkins officials, like colleagues at many other elite private colleges and universities across the nation, expected a lower than normal yield (the percentage of accepted students who enroll) because of the economy. Despite projections to the contrary, the incoming Homewood undergraduate class of 2013 will be significantly larger than expected, a reality that has prompted university officials to respond in a variety of ways to meet student needs.

Seven receive Fulbrights to study abroad in 2009–2010

Seven doctoral students and alumni from the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Peabody and SAIS will have the opportunity to study abroad during the 2009–2010 academic year through the prestigious Fulbright Program.
Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of [...]

Raymond Westbrook, 62, authority on ancient Near East law

Raymond Westbrook, the W.W. Spence Professor in Semitic Languages in the Department of Near Eastern Studies in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, died on July 23 in London following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 62.
Westbrook, who came to Johns Hopkins in 1987, was considered the leading authority on ancient [...]

Sociology’s golden year

This year, “the department that Jim Coleman built” turns 50. While much has changed, including its name, Coleman’s vision of an interdisciplinary department that emphasizes rigorous methods training and hands-on research has remained.

Obituary: Philip Curtin, 87, expert on African, comparative world history

Tirelessly energetic, often controversial and invariably stimulating, Curtin played a catalytic role in scholarly debates over African and world history.

INBT hosts series of professional development seminars for students

The Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology will host four seminars for future scientists and engineers this summer, to expand students’ knowledge of issues and ideas outside of the laboratory and classroom experience.