Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing

Recent News

• Bard College Students Attend UN Economic and Social Council Youth Forum
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  Bard College Students Attend UN Economic and Social Council Youth Forum

  

  During their visit to UN headquarters in New York City, (L–R) Wilson Hundley ’28, Jamora Aroyo-Jefferson ’28, Peter B. Szasz ’28, and Felipe Chitic Luis ’28, members of Bard UNA’s executive leadership team, stood among banners representing UN sustainable development goals.
  

  Four students of the Bard College chapter of the United Nations Association (UNA) attended the 2025 UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum held at United Nations headquarters in New York City. Jamora Aroyo-Jefferson ’28, Peter B. Szasz ’28, Felipe Chitic Luis ’28, and Wilson Hundley ’28, members of Bard UNA's executive leadership team, joined other youth advocates and leaders from countries around the globe during their two-day visit, where they engaged with government representatives, youth delegates, policymakers, and representatives from the public and private sectors. 
  
  “As a biology major concentrating in environmental studies and sustainability—specifically controlled environment agriculture—I was particularly interested in learning how I can best assist in worldwide efforts to address ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture,” wrote Aroyo-Jefferson. ECOSOC issues policy recommendations to the UN system and to member states, and serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system.
  
  Post Date: 04-29-2025
  
• Citizen Science Used by Brooke Jude in Microbial Research Cited in The Scientist
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  Citizen Science Used by Brooke Jude in Microbial Research Cited in The Scientist

  

  Brooke Jude, associate professor of Biology at Bard College. 
  

  Research by Brooke Jude, associate professor of Biology at Bard College, was cited in a roundup article in The Scientist magazine exploring how some scientists are increasingly aided in their research by citizen scientists, non-professional enthusiasts who provide data and support as a hobby. “For molecular microbiologist Brooke Jude of Bard College, there was an abundance of purple pigment-producing microbes in the Hudson River Valley watershed around her,” writes The Scientist. “The purple pigment, violacein, is known for its antimicrobial properties which help amphibians fight off chytridiomycosis, a fungal disease.” With the help of students and citizen scientists who help identify and catalogue these microbes, she has been exploring local Hudson Valley waterways for 14 years, and cultivates the purple microbes in her lab to observe how they grow and map whole genome sequences.
  
  Post Date: 04-08-2025
  
• Bard College Junior Lauren Mendoza ’26 Wins Goldwater Scholarship
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  Bard College Junior Lauren Mendoza ’26 Wins Goldwater Scholarship

  

  Lauren Mendoza ’26.
  

  Bard College is pleased to announce that Bard junior Lauren Mendoza ’26, a double major in physics and philosophy, has been announced as a recipient of the 2025 Barry Goldwater Scholarship. The scholarship supports college sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering.
  
  Mendoza currently conducts research in astrophysics with Professor Clara Sousa-Silva and had previously conducted research in nanofabrication with Professor Paul Cadden-Zimansky.  After graduating from Bard, she hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in astronomy with a focus on the solar system and instrumentation, and aims to promote effective scientific communication between academics and the wider public.
  
  The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, established by Congress in 1986 in honor of Senator Barry Goldwater, aims to ensure that the U.S. is producing highly-qualified professionals in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering. Over its 30-year history, Goldwater Scholarships have been awarded to thousands of undergraduates, many of whom have gone on to win other prestigious awards such as the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Fellowship, Rhodes Scholarship, Churchill Scholarship and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship that support the graduate school work of Goldwater scholars. Learn more at https://goldwaterscholarship.gov/
  
  Post Date: 04-02-2025
  
• Bard Physicist Paul Cadden-Zimansky Asks “What is Quantum?” at QuantumFest 2025
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  Bard Physicist Paul Cadden-Zimansky Asks “What is Quantum?” at QuantumFest 2025

  Professor Paul Cadden-Zimansky visits the the Global Physics Summit with the American Physical Society.
  

  Professor of Physics Paul Cadden-Zimansky hosted a video tour of the Global Physics Summit, a “public celebration of all things quantum,” in partnership with the American Physical Society. The video tour was part of Cadden-Zimanski’s responsibility as Global Coordinator for the UN’s International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, a position he was appointed to in January. Participants at the Summit showed experiments related to Quantum science like static electricity and UV light. “The idea of this year is to have everybody who knows something about Quantum help people who don’t learn a little more about it,” Cadden-Zimansky said.
  
  At the Summit, Cadden-Zimansky spoke with scientists from around the world about the importance of Quantum mechanics at 100. He also spoke with Nobel Laureate Barry Barish, an expert on gravitational waves, about why scientists should engage in public outreach about scientific topics. “As individuals, you or I can only do so much,” Barish said. “But one thing that actually multiplies what we do… is to get young kids interested in science. I think it makes it worthwhile.”
  
  Post Date: 03-31-2025
  
• New Research by Gidon Eshel Featured in the Washington Post
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  New Research by Gidon Eshel Featured in the Washington Post

  

  Gidon Eshel, research professor of environmental and urban studies at Bard.
  

  A new study led by Gidon Eshel, research professor of environmental and urban studies at Bard College, which found that grass-fed beef did not hold a carbon emissions benefit compared to grain-fed, was featured in the Washington Post. Some ranchers and conservationists have posited that grass-fed beef is better for the planet than grain-fed cows—which have been shown to produce lower methane emissions because they grow faster and are slaughtered younger—by arguing that grazing fields store carbon underground instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. However the study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used newly available US data comparing pasture where cows were grazing to grass that had been left undisturbed and factored the carbon storage in the soil into the overall carbon footprint of grass-fed beef, and compared this to the emissions from grain-fed systems. It showed that the emissions per kilogram of protein of even the most efficient grass-fed beef operations were 10–25% higher than those of grain-fed beef. “Accounting for soil sequestration lowers the emissions, and makes grass-fed beef more similar to industrial beef, but it does not under any circumstances make this beef desirable in terms of carbon balance,” Eshel told the Post. “That argument does not hold.”
  

  More on Gidon Eshel's Research in the Washington Post
  

  
  Post Date: 03-18-2025
  
• Professor Clara Sousa-Silva Interviewed About the Disappearance of Scientific Datasets
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  Professor Clara Sousa-Silva Interviewed About the Disappearance of Scientific Datasets

  

  Clara Sousa-Silva, assistant professor of physics at Bard College. Photo by Melanie Gonick
  

  Clara Sousa-Silva, assistant professor of physics at Bard College, was interviewed in Jacobin about how crucial scientific data required for her research had vanished from federal government servers. Sousa-Silva’s research studying the atmospheres of other planets relies on climate monitoring data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “This data disappearance coincides with the aggressive implementation of two intertwined initiatives from the Trump administration: the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump’s campaign to purge the federal government of anything ‘woke,’ including efforts to combat climate change,” writes Meagan Day for Jacobin. “The consequences for my research on Venus are pretty bad,” said Sousa-Silva. “I will be a worse astrophysicist. But that feels pretty minor considering the importance of being able to monitor how our climate is changing. To climate science, this is absolutely disastrous.”
  

  Read Professor Sousa-Silva's Full Interview
  

  
  Post Date: 03-04-2025