News

Science writer and Bard alumnus Nsikan Akpan examines a surge in fake news stories with real-world impact, beginning in 2010 and leading up to this year's election.

Bard College students Kina Carney ’18 and Jessica Liu ’18 have both won highly competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to pursue studies abroad during the upcoming spring semester. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Gilman scholars receive up to $5,000 toward study abroad or internship costs.
 
Carney, a literature major, will take part in the Pitzer in Botswana program, which includes extended study trips in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Students live with host families, study local cultures, and work with scholars and experts in each country. Participants experience firsthand the concept and life of Ubuntu, the notion that defines the communal nature of the cultural values of the South African, Batswana, and Zimbabwean peoples. Ubuntu is indicated in the greetings that proclaim, “I am well if you are well,” and “my destiny is intricately intertwined with yours.”
 
Liu, a mathematics major, plans to pursue studies in the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics (BSM) program. Through BSM, mathematics and computer science majors study under the tutelage of eminent Hungarian scholar-teachers and receive the benefits of Hungary’s long tradition of excellence in mathematics education that includes combinatorics, number theory, and probability theory. BSM instructors are members of Eötvös University, the Mathematical Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Budapest University of Technology and Economics, the three institutions known for having educated more than half of Hungary’s highly acclaimed mathematicians. In keeping with Hungarian tradition, teachers closely monitor each student’s progress. Considerable time is devoted to problem solving and encouraging student creativity. Emphasis is on depth of understanding rather than on the quantity of material.
 
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program aims to diversify the students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go. Rep. Gilman (R–N.Y.), who retired in 2002 after serving in the House of Representatives for 30 years and chairing the House Committee on International Relations, commented, “Study abroad is a special experience for every student who participates. Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views, but also adds an enriching social and cultural experience. It also provides our students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be contributors rather than spectators in the international community.” During the spring 2017 application cycle, the program reviewed more than 2,700 applications for more than 850 awards.

Bard student Elena Botts ’18 has been named the inaugural Serota fellow at the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College. The Kevin Serota Fellowship at the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College was established in June by Kendall (KC) Serota ’04 and his parents, Kim Blaine Serota and Karen Ann Serota, in tribute to KC’s brother, Kevin Daniel Serota, who died in December 2015. The Kevin Serota Fellowship at the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College honors Kevin’s passion and aptitude in the field of drone technology and creation. The fellowship is a semester-long, intensive research position awarded to a student who has demonstrated exceptional research and writing skills, as well as an academic or professional interest in unmanned systems technology and associated issues. The Serota fellow will support a variety of original research initiatives, including both short-term and long-term research assignments, and is expected to work independently under strict deadlines. In addition to assigned work, the Serota fellow will be invited to submit proposals for original research projects to be considered for publication by the Center for the Study of the Drone.
 
Kevin Daniel Serota was Lead System Engineer at Detroit Aircraft Corporation (DAC), where he engineered, created, and built drones professionally. Kevin’s interest in drones started as a hobbyist working with aerial photography, and his passion led him into his career at DAC. He became an invaluable team member and worked on projects including the creation of drones that went to Africa to aid in antipoaching efforts and a research drone that was shipped to Antarctica. Kevin was most interested in the drone’s capacity for good. Kevin’s brother, Kendall (KC) Serota ’04, has been a member of the Bard College Alumni/ae Association’s Board of Governors since 2011. He currently serves as Vice President and Cochair of the Diversity Committee. KC and his family believe that Bard’s interdisciplinary perspective on drones honors the memory of Kevin’s interests and was instrumental in their decision to create the Kevin Serota Fellowship Fund at the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College.
 
Elena Botts’18 is a Global and International Studies major with a concentration in Mind, Brain, and Behavior at Bard College. Since graduation from high school in 2014, Elena has interned and worked for local nonprofits and political campaigns, including working for local officials in the school board and state legislatures. In 2015, she interned at Lawyers for Human Rights, where she did policy research and directly assisted refugees. As a visual artist and poet, Elena explores how the psyche can influence society. Her work has been published in dozens of literary magazines and two poetry books and exhibited in local galleries.

Cyril is a Solution Architect at UiPath, the global leader in Robotic Process Automation. In their personal life, Cyril is the Alumni Chair of The LASA Foundation, and freelances as a tattoo artist. Prior to their current role, Cyril was an Instructor and Student Coordinator for All Star Code, a non-profit connecting young men of color to the tech industry. Cyril was born in Laredo, TX, raised in Austin, and currently resides in Harlem, NYC. They received their B.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Bard College in 2016, after completing a joint senior project in group-based cryptography.

Morgan Evans is a PhD student at the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, researching natural language processing on privacy policies. She published and presented a portion of her Senior Project, "An Evaluation of Constituency-based Hyponymy Extraction from Privacy Policies," at IEEE's 25th International Requirements Engineering Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. While a student at Bard, she was a research assistant in the Memory Dynamics Lab and a student fellow at the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities.

Brad Whitaker '18, a student in Bard's 3+2 engineering program with Dartmouth College, tells the story of coming out to the Bard Lacrosse Team.

On October 25, 37 BEAM alumni/ae and their families visited Bard High School Early College Queens for a tour and admission exam. The Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM) is an intensive program for New York City middle school students with an aptitude in math who wouldn't otherwise have access to advanced courses. They come to Bard and other colleges for three weeks every summer, followed by a robust mentoring program that helps them apply to high schools and colleges. Bard students and alumni/ae serve as faculty, BEAM students often continue on to the Bard High School Early Colleges, and this year a BEAM graduate came to Bard as a member of the class of 2020.

Professor Eshel discusses his research on the outsize environmental impact of beef consumption with actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio in the documentary Before the Flood.

Bard faculty and undergraduates bring a hands-on approach to math enrichment when working with local students and teachers.

Kelsey O'Brien's last-minute decision to come to Bard has turned out to be a life-changing choice for her and a program-changing choice for women's soccer. O'Brien, perhaps the best keeper ever to play for the women's soccer team at Bard, has spent summers on campus working for Professor Brooke Jude in the biology lab. Now she's working her way back into peak form on the field after a knee injury and trying to decide whether to pursue a career in research or medicine after graduation.

Every year the Mid-Hudson Section of the American Chemical Society recognizes undergraduate achievements in the field of chemistry with its College Recognition Awards. This year's winner from Bard College was Kyan Jain '16.

With its substantial participation from local homeowners, the Cary Institute's tick study in Dutchess County could become a model for other areas affected by tick-borne illness.

What happens at Bard over the summer, after the seniors graduate and before the new first-years arrive for Language and Thinking? Sharing the campus with SummerScape artists, graduate programs, and sports camps, a group of rising eighth graders from New York City enlivens Annandale every summer for the Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM) program. Bard students and alumni/ae serve as faculty, BEAM students continue on to the Bard High School Early Colleges, and this year a BEAM graduate has joined Bard's class of incoming first-years.

By Hannah Fassett ‘17

“Today, you wrote your first proof like real mathematicians,” says Javier Ronquillo. “Isn’t that cool?” Cheers erupt, followed by giggles and chatter, as a dozen middle school students in Hegeman 308 pack up their notebooks and head out onto Ludlow lawn. After dispersing to various activities on and off campus, they will rejoin their teachers for dinner at Kline Commons and continue to discuss lingering questions and puzzles from the day’s class.

Javier Ronquillo, a Ph.D. student in mathematics at Ohio University, and his teaching assistant, Bard rising junior Kaylynn Tran ‘18, teach Counting Without Counting in the Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM) program at Bard. For three weeks every summer, a group of rising eighth graders from New York City enlivens Bard’s campus. The students have a high aptitude for mathematics, but come from low-income schools where they often cannot access advanced math courses. The BEAM program is tuition free, enabling underserved students to attend a rigorous academic program in a college setting. Daniel Zaharopol founded the program in 2011 under the name Summer Program in Mathematical Problem Solving, with 17 students attending. This summer marks BEAM’s sixth year partnering with Bard, with 40 students participating on Bard’s campus.  

In the fall of 2015, the Summer Program in Mathematical Problem Solving became the Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics, a shift reflecting the organization’s growth from a summer camp to a year-round mentoring program. Ayinde Alleyne, program coordinator and one of the Bard College site directors, notes how the mentoring aspect has become more robust, and now includes a four-week program in New York City in the summer after sixth grade. “We want to expand the opportunities we can offer students and the success they can achieve by exposing them to advanced mathematics earlier,” he explains. Following their summer at BEAM, Alleyne takes interested students to an Open House for the Bard High School Early Colleges (BHSECs) in Queens and Manhattan. This is part of BEAM’s five-year support plan, which includes helping students develop a personalized high school action plan and providing college application assistance. From BEAM’s most recent class of graduating eighth graders, 10 students will attend the BHSECs in Manhattan and Queens. Since the program’s inaugural summer, 27 BEAM alumni/ae have matriculated into the BHSECs.

Attending BEAM provides the students with an experience outside of the city in which, as Alleyne explains, they can “own the space,” develop their intellectual skills, and broaden their social world. This summer, there are 40 students each at Bard and at Vassar College. BEAM expanded their summer program to a second college site in 2014 to accommodate greater enrollment. The students live in college dorms and share meals at the dining halls with faculty and counselors. At the onset of each week, students choose from a number of advanced topics such as Number Theory and Computer Programming with Mathematica. In a given day, the students attend seven hours of classes, with activity breaks ranging from baking and crafts to soccer and chess. BEAM offers weekend field trips to Six Flags, water park and hiking adventures, and, this year, a trip to the Fisher Center for a dress rehearsal of the SummerScape opera, Iris. Milani, a rising eighth grader from East Side Community High School, explains, “every experience I’ve had here is going to be a memory, because everything is new.”

BEAM maintains a connection to Bard’s undergraduate program by hiring currents students and alumni/ae for the summer program. Tejaswee Neupane, who spent the summer of 2011 on Bard’s campus as one of the original cohort, will be returning to pursue her undergraduate degree at Bard this fall. BEAM faculty include Bard alumna Rachel “Shelley” Stahl ‘08 and Ronquillo’s T.A. and current Bard math major Kaylynn Tran. Tran initially heard about BEAM through a former BEAM counselor and further explored the program through Bard’s Career Development Office. The experience has inspired her to join Bard Math Circle this upcoming academic year, where she will volunteer to teach math enrichment to local elementary and middle school students.

BEAM provides students with methods of approaching math that expand on and complicate the Common Core middle school curricula. In the interview process, many students admit that they find school boring because the course work does not challenge them and “everyone’s disruptive in class.” Once they arrive at BEAM, students are, often for the first time, “surrounded by people who love learning.” While developing critical thinking skills, BEAM students share the experience with like-minded students from similar backgrounds. Milani explains, “When I got here, I just started to get comfortable. I am surrounded by people who are like me.” Her peers nod adamantly, their faces recalling the excitement they shared with Ronquillo over their first proofs.

Akriti, a student from I.S. 77 in Queens explains that “in school we learn to do math [with] speed,” whereas at BEAM the students learn how to approach complex questions with deliberation and patience. Alleyne sees the core of BEAM’s mission as “teaching students how to think about problems,” a skill that extends beyond the classroom into their high school experiences and eventual career paths. Akriti is already thinking about high school and considering BHSEC.

BEAM’s mission is often expressed through the question “Why?”—a favorite classroom term in the program. Beyond finding a solution, faculty push students to look at the context of their answer, and to ask themselves how and why they found it. For Akriti, BEAM has deepened her mathematical thinking, forcing her to ask: “Why does this happen? Why does this pattern continue?” She pauses, reflecting on math before BEAM, “We didn’t think deeply enough, we’d just say ‘it’s a pattern.’ I never went [this] deeply into thinking before.”
 

Alexandra Bettina '11, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, has made a discovery that could make waves in wiping out drug-resistant bacteria.

Bard High School Early College Manhattan alumna Sophia Van Valkenburg is part of the team that's made it possible to view the Times archive in a new, mobile-friendly design.

Florida International University biology professor and Bard alumnus Matthew DeGennaro discusses his work modifying mosquitos to reduce the transmission of diseases like dengue and Zika.

The Michèle Dominy Award was established in 2015 to honor Professor Dominy’s 14 years of service as the dean of the college. Professor Deady, the first recipient of the award, is described in the letter of nomination as “an exemplar of Bard’s intellectual mission and dedication.”

Bard researcher, alumnus, and Hudsonia director Erik Kiviat '76 has made a career out of understanding and protecting the natural environment of the Hudson Valley.

Edward Snowden, largely confined to Moscow, maintains a busy schedule of international travel and public appearances using a BeamPro robot or appearing virtually as he did at last fall's Hannah Arendt Center conference.

Professor Epstein has authored a report calling on the international community not to drop the ball in the fight against Ebola. The report is the culmination of Bard's Ebola conference in March.

In a study using tadpoles, scientists from Brown University with Bard biology professor Arseny Khakhalin demonstrate how judgment of sensory simultaneity may develop in the brain.

Professor Eli Dueker's new Bard Water Lab has teamed up with the Saw Kill Watershed Community and Riverkeeper to monitor water quality in the region.

Bard Sustainability Manager Laurie Husted and student researcher Jason Chang '18 talk about the new microhydro project at Bard, which last week won a $1 million New York State clean energy grant.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York State will award $1 million each to Bard College, University at Buffalo, and Broome Community College as part of the “Energy to Lead Competition.” The competition was announced by the Governor in October 2015 and challenged student-led coalitions from New York colleges and universities across the state to develop plans for local clean energy projects on campus and in their communities. The announcement was made Monday at Bard College.

Student-Led Coalitions at Bard, University at Buffalo, and Broome Community College Awarded  $1 Million Each to Develop Innovative Clean Energy Projects in Their Communities

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York State will award $1 million each to Bard College, University at Buffalo, and Broome Community College as part of the “Energy to Lead Competition.” The competition was announced by the Governor in October 2015 and challenged student-led coalitions from New York colleges and universities across the state to develop plans for local clean energy projects on campus and in their communities. The announcement was made Monday at Bard College.
 
“On behalf of the College I would like to thank the Governor’s office and NYSERDA for this important award,” said Bard College President Leon Botstein. “Innovation is at the core of Bard’s mission, and this award helps us to continue to innovate in environmental issues and energy conservation, and to signal the importance of these issues to the entire higher education community.”
 
Bard College’s “Micro Hydro for Macro Impact” project will show how novel microhydro power generators can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, be financed in different ways, and integrate into student curricula and workforce training. The project is expected to result in the avoidance of 335 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, and will also include the launch of an online public information resource, “NY Micro Hydro,” to help others install microhydro power throughout the state.
 
“The winners of this competition will transform ideas into real clean energy solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy bills and improve resiliency for campuses and their surrounding communities,” Governor Cuomo said. “I extend my congratulations to the winning students and faculty, and commend them for their commitment to combating climate change by building a cleaner and healthier environment.”
 
The Energy to Lead Competition is part of Governor Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) strategy to build a clean, resilient and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers. Through REV, New York State has set the following 2030 energy targets: generate 50 percent of electricity from renewable energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels and reduce energy consumption in buildings by 23 percent from 2012 levels. Collectively, the three winning college projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of taking 17,000 cars off the road each year.
 
The $3 million competition was administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and was open to student-led coalitions from two- or four-year public or private colleges or universities. The competition challenged schools to develop ideas for innovative projects in energy efficiency, renewable energy or greenhouse gas emission reduction on campus, in the classroom and in surrounding communities.
 
Applicants were required to demonstrate innovation in one or more of the following areas: project design, business model, partnerships, and/or curriculum integration. They were also asked to describe the project’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions, how they would measure success and how they would use the $1 million award to advance the project. 
 
“Students bring a unique urgency, passion and creativity to the fight against climate change.” Richard Kauffman, chair of energy and finance for New York State. “As we remake our energy system in New York, we are thrilled to harness the leadership of our young people to help us do it faster, cheaper and bigger than any other state. I look forward to the next phase, when the winners will turn these strong ideas into real projects for the benefit of their colleges, their communities and the state as a whole.”
 
“New York is a national leader in developing innovative energy solutions to protect our environment and grow our economy,” John B. Rhodes, president and CEO of NYSERDA. “Congratulations to the winners and all the participants in ‘Energy to Lead’ for taking up this challenge and developing compelling ideas that not only solve critical energy issues on their campuses and communities, but that also make a point of ensuring others can learn from and replicate their success.”
 

Professor Eshel has received the fellowship for his project, "Rethinking the American Diet: Optimally Unifying Environmental and Nutritional Sciences."

Joseph Danquah, mathematics faculty member at Bard High School Early College Manhattan, was honored at the White House on May 3 as an outstanding teacher. Danquah was one of five teachers nationally who received a special invitation from President Barack Obama to join an event for National Teacher Appreciation Day that honored the National Teacher of the Year, the State Teacher of the Year from each state, and other outstanding educators from around the country. Danquah was nominated to go to the White House by the organization Math for America after being named a winner of the 2015 Sloan Award for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics and as a 2014 New York Times Teachers Who Make a Difference Honoree.

Bard College was awarded two New York State Hudson River Estuary Grants as part of the $3 million in awards Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced last week for new projects to help communities improve recreation access, protect water quality, conserve open space, and increase storm resiliency in the Hudson River Estuary watershed. A $49,950 watershed grant was awarded to the Bard Office of Sustainability to conduct a study assessing the impacts of maintenance and repair, partial removal, or entire removal of the Lower Saw Kill dam. The dam on the Saw Kill Creek is a known barrier to aquatic connectivity for American eel, a Species of Greatest Conservation Need. A second $44,744 river access grant was awarded to the Bard Environmental and Urban Studies Program to support a feasibility study to explore trail repairs and boat launch options to the Tivoli South Bay shoreline trail. Both projects are affiliated with the Saw Kill Watershed Community.

Bard biology professor Felicia Keesing, codirector of the five-year, $8.8 million study, outlines the different tick-eradication strategies they'll be using on Dutchess County properties.

Distinguished Writer in Residence Teju Cole reflects on the ethical implications of displaying found photographs of African Americans in the age of digital photo tagging.

Professor Battle was commissioned to paint "How long is your past, how far is your future." At 16-feet wide by 5-feet tall, the oil and mixed media piece is her largest yet.

The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation has awarded a $5 million dollar leadership grant to the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies to support a scientific study, being done in partnership with Bard College, that seeks to reduce Lyme disease in neighborhoods. Research will be carried out in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New York State Department of Health, and Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health. If successful, the project will revolutionize Lyme disease prevention.

Bard College professor Brooke Jude has led a research team that includes students in the Bard biology program, at Al Quds Bard College in the West Bank, and at several Hudson Valley schools. This investigation of bacterial species in the local watershed was recently published in a citizen science–themed issue of the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education. Researchers worked to determine the prevalence of violacein-producing bacteria, which potentially limit outbreaks of an invasive fungus that leads to a decline in the amphibian population. The secondary school students gathered water samples, after which the college students—Yegor Dukashin and Kelsey O’Brien from Bard, and Raneem Jo’Beh from Al Quds—worked to identify the samples. Local students participated from Red Hook High School, Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook, and F.D. Roosevelt High School in Staatsburg.

Bard psychology major Eleonora Beier '16 has won a highly competitive Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. The fellowships recognize and support outstanding graduate students in the sciences, providing a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance, as well as opportunities for international research and professional development. Eleonora will attend The University of California, Davis, where she plans to continue the music cognition research related to her Senior Project work in the Memory Dynamics Lab at Bard. 

During the week of April 4, the Bard Center for Environmental Policy will host The Power Dialog, a national event in which thousands of students will meet with top officials in more than 30 states to discuss climate policy. Participants will head to their state capitols to talk about state-level action to help meet the U.S. climate commitment of a 30 percent cut in global warming pollution by 2030. The Power Dialog gives students a voice in critical decisions that will determine their future and the future of the earth.

"Brain-training company" Lumosity's $2 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission should give us pause, writes Mazie, a professor at Bard High School Early College Manhattan.

As the domestic drone industry in the United States continues to grow, stakeholders are increasingly looking for reliable sources of data on which to build policies and strategies to sustain and manage the sector through what continues to be an uncertain and complex regulatory and economic climate. A new study released today by The Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College provides a comprehensive analysis of the U.S. commercial drone services industry by examining nearly 3,000 Federal Aviation Administration non-recreational drone use permits known as Section 333 exemptions. “Analysis of U.S. Drone Exemptions 2014–15” presents a variety of significant data-driven conclusions about the contours of the evolving industry landscape. Read the full report

Trying to suppress memories of past events leads people to forget unrelated experiences from periods surrounding the time of suppression, according to a new study coauthored by Justin C. Hulbert, Bard College psychology professor,  and Richard N. Henson and Michael C. Anderson of the University of Cambridge, and published online today in Nature Communications. The study’s results identify cognitively triggered amnesia that begins with the voluntary suppression of an unwanted memory as a new mechanism for forgetting. This mechanism may help explain the memory deficits observed in patients suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder or other acute trauma. Read the full report

Arthur Holland Michel, cofounder and codirector of Bard's Center for the Study of the Drone, talks about the public fascination with, and fear of, drones.

Bard High School Early College senior Emery Powell has won the Dana Foundation's 2016 "Design a Brain Experiment" competition for work on a possible therapy for Alzheimer's.

"Apple’s marketing promises that each new product will help us live up to our highest ideals; however, more often than not, the products ... enable our basest impulses," Marrs writes.

Language and Thinking faculty member Bruce Watson's Light: A Radiant History from Creation to the Quantum Age is "a delightful journey."

Professor Danquah hopes that inspiring his students to love math will help make it more common for black male teachers to receive honors such as the Sloan Award.

Nguyen Khoi Nguyen, video and multimedia editor at Science magazine, created this video on last week's monumental, first-time detection of gravitational waves.

In "an experiment that is being closely watched by educators and members of the advanced-math community," BEAM identifies low-income students for specialized math training and mentoring.

Arthur Holland Michel investigated how a small team of engineers built the first lethal Predator drone and created the basis for modern drone warfare leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks.

This paper focuses on building microbial fuel cells (bacterially powered batteries) in the classroom, referencing Bard student projects and classes taught by Bard students to eighth graders.

Bard physics professor Hal Haggard weighs in on the new theory that mysterious radio bursts from space are hints from exploding black holes.

As a Bard student, Easthausen was named an Amgen Scholar, and worked on cancer research in the lab of Julian Martinez-Agosto at UCLA.