all Venkatesh Narayanamurti stories

‘Water guy’ John Briscoe stays in motion

50443248 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:55:22 -0400

For someone who deep-sixed his BlackBerry (instant e-mail was taking over his life) and traded the local newspaper for a good book (“What do I need to know about Celtics’ scores?”), John Briscoe ’76 is as worldly a person as you are ever likely to meet.

An expert on water and economic development who most recently served as the World Bank’s senior water adviser and the country director for Brazil, Briscoe has lived in his native South Africa as well as Bangladesh, Mozambique, India, and Brazil.

Narayanamurti named director of Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at Belfer Center

50443248 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:48:43 -0400

Venkatesh “Venky” Narayanamurti will be the new director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Cherry A. Murray is named dean of SEAS

90581724 — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:56:42 -0400

Cherry A. Murray, who has led some of the nation’s most brilliant scientists and engineers at Bell Laboratories and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has been appointed dean of Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), effective July 1, 2009.

She will also become the John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Hansjorg Wyss gives $125 million to create institute for biologically inspired engineering

404132862 — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:48:09 -0400

Engineer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss MBA ’65 has given Harvard University $125 million to create the Hansjörg Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.

Investigators at the Wyss Institute (pronounced “Vees”) will strive to uncover the engineering principles that govern living things, and use this knowledge to develop technology solutions for the most pressing healthcare and environmental issues facing humanity. Wyss’ gift is the largest individual gift in the University’s history.

Researchers develop new technique for fabricating nanowire circuits

404132862 — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:11:39 -0400

Scientists at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), collaborating collaborating with researchers from the German universities of Jena, Gottingen, and Bremen, have developed a new technique for fabricating nanowire photonic and electronic integrated circuits that may one day be suitable for high-volume commercial production.

Dean of Engineering and Applied Sciences to step down

404132862 — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:16:40 -0500

Venkatesh Narayanamurti, dean of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), who for 10 years has directed the renewal and expansion of the former division and its transition to a School, has announced today (Feb. 15) his intention to step down from his position in September 2008.

AAAS to induct 13 Harvard faculty to 227th class of fellows

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 12:12:17 -0400

Thirteen Harvard University faculty members will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences at a ceremony on Saturday (Oct. 6). Celebrated for their scholarship, artistic triumphs, and service to society, the 227th class of fellows includes the following Harvard affiliates:

David G. Blackbourn, Archibald Carey Coolidge Professor of History; David Cutler, dean for the Social Sciences in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics; Leopold Damrosch Jr., Ernest Bernbaum Professor of English Literature; Lars Hernquist, professor of astronomy; Rem Koolhaas, professor in practice of architecture and urban design; Thomas W. Lentz, Elizabeth and John Moors Cabot Director; N. Gregory Mankiw, Robert M.

Harvard christens School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

404132862 — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:48:55 -0400

An afternoon of reflection, promise, and a bit of humor marked the official launch of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences on Thursday (Sept. 20), the first new Harvard school since the John F. Kennedy School of Government was created 71 years ago as the Graduate School of Public Administration.

Harvard President Drew Faust officially ushered the former Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences into its new status a little after 2 p.m., unfurling the new School's banners during a luncheon ceremony held on the lawn of Pierce Hall.

Accelerating science with innovative computing

50443248 — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:31:17 -0400

How daunting a task is it, in an age when it is possible to visualize structures and to see them at magnifications not even dreamed of a short time ago, to produce a "wiring diagram" of the human brain?

It is an extreme challenge when one considers that the amount of information that needs to be gathered, manipulated, and analyzed is "equal to all the written materials in all the libraries in the world," Jeff Lichtman, professor of molecular and cellular biology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, explained to those attending the inaugural symposium of Harvard's new Initiative in Innovative Computing.

Harvard proposes to transform Engineering Division into a school

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 06:27:30 -0400

Harvard University announced May 23, 2006, a proposal to transform its Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences (DEAS) into the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS.

The re-naming, which will be presented for formal approval in the autumn, would have the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences function as a "school within a school." It would maintain close academic connections with other parts of FAS and educate undergraduates within Harvard College, as it does today.

Rising research tide lifts math, physical sciences

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:07:37 -0400

The preservation and new significance of a once-obscure mathematical field known as Knot Theory is cited today as an example of the importance of basic research and its funding by the federal government. Knot Theory is now being used by genetic scientists as they race to understand how the orientation of tangled DNA strands affects DNA's functioning. With its mathematical description of knots, the theory is an unlikely tool for today's advanced geneticists. It was actually invented a century ago to help describe what was then thought of as the cosmic "ether" that surrounded all things. For many years Knot Theory was forgotten by all but a few mathematicians.

Exploring big and small possibilities of the information revolution

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:11:11 -0400

" ‘System-on-a-chip' is the new buzzword today," said Professor Woodward Yang in 1999. "It's really not that far away." As Yang sees it, the computer revolution is really just beginning. Systems are poised to become smaller, more portable, and found everywhere from traditional desktops to cell phones and pagers. Yang in 1999 said researchers are close to putting a billion transistors on a chip – a thousandfold increase since the early 1990s – something that, even a few years ago, seemed impossible. The advance means entire systems on a single chip are becoming feasible for the first time, meaning devices like cellular phones, pagers, and personal digital assistants will be able to do things like scan, manipulate documents, and send them electronically.