OUR BLOG HAS MOVED

Hello!

We have some great news. The NYU Arts and Science Alumni Blog has a new home. Please bookmark the following site and while you're at it, subscribe!

http://blogs.nyu.edu/as/alumni/


We have a lot of exciting things in the works for the new blog and we encourage you to send us your news, stories and information.

Ear to the Earth, the New York festival of sound, music, and ecology

Looking for something fun and interesting to do over the next few weeks? Why not check out the Ear to the Earth Festival. Here is a blurb from the press release:

New York, NY -- 2008 Ear to the Earth, a unique festival of sound, music and ecology presented by Electronic Music Foundation, returns to the city to kick up the volume of our sonic environment, October 9-25. For its third installment, the festival will launch New York Soundscape, a panoramic portrayal of the metropolis’s audio personality and urban ecology through concerts, installations, public forums and sound walks created by a mix of internationally acclaimed composers, sound artists, students and NY residents from all walks of life. This year’s festival also includes a series of three concerts at the Chelsea Art Museum, highlighting instrumental music with an ecological bent, and featuring soundscapes from other parts of the world. Ear to the Earth will close with a star-studded performance of John Cage's Lecture on the Weather.

For much more information please visit http://www.eartotheearth.org

Numerous NYU professors are involved in this festival and we encourage you to check out the daily schedule of events listed on the above website. One event that might be of particular interest to you is New York Big Fritz which is presented in collaboration with NYU.



Cloud Car – a mobile installation highlighting the connection between the automobile, life and the air in New York City. The Cloud Car will be at the New York Hall of Science on Saturday October 25th from 10 am - 3 pm.. The installation consists of a parked Ford Taurus station wagon fitted with mist bars, hoses, pumps and other special-effect devices that will envelop car and rider in a cloud of mist. Visitors are invited to sit in the car and listen to environment-related sound compositions on the car stereo

Our Blog Is Being Worked On

Dear Readers,

You may have noticed that there has been a lack of new posts on this blog recently. This is because we are currently in the process of making some very exciting changes. Please keep checking back for updated information about these changes and rest assured that new posts will be appearing very soon. In the meantime, here are two books by NYU alumni authors that you should definitely check out!

1) The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti



Here's a review of Ms. Tinti's book from the New York Times.

2) American Widow by Alissa Torres



Here's a review of American Widow from the New York Times.

Yvonne Latty's Award-Winning Play, "In Conflict" gets New York Premiere

Be sure to read the recent NY Daily News article written by Clem Richardson about NYU journalism professor Yvonne Latty. Click here to read the piece.

From the NYU Journalism Website:

Yvonne Latty is the author of In Conflict: Iraq War Veterans Speak Out on Duty, Loss and the Fight to Stay Alive (Polipoint Press 2006) and the critically acclaimed We Were There: Voices of African American Veterans, from World War II to the War in Iraq (Harper Collins/Amistad 2004). She worked for the Philadelphia Daily News for 13 years where she was an award winning reporter specializing in urban issues. Professor Latty was featured in the History Channel’s Documentary Honor Deferred and has lectured nationally. Born and raised in New York City, she earned a BFA in Film/Television and later an MA in Journalism from New York University.

For more information please visit www.yvonnelatty.com.

Kenny (WSC, '90), Moose and Goose

One of the most versatile sports broadcasters in the country, Kenny Albert (WSC, '90) has become a fixture in the New York Rangers radio booth calling the play-by-play action since 1995. Albert, who has called all four major sports during his professional career, has described the action for over 1,000 professional hockey games over the last two decades. Additionally, Albert is a contributor to MSG.com where you can find him frequently blogging on the Rangers.

For his complete bio from the MSG website, click here. We are currently trying to secure an interview with Mr. Albert for the blog so check back.

"3 Men and a Gallery"

Terry Rosenfelder (WSC, '66) has a new fine art exhibit, "3 Men and a Gallery," at Bank of the Arts in New Bern, North Carolina, along with two other painters. The show opens today, September 9, 2008 and continues through October 25. Mr. Rosenfelder taught art in public schools for over 25 years; he retired in 2006, and he now devotes himself full time to painting. Inspired by such artists as Monet, Hopper and Wyeth, he fills his paintings with light, shadows, color and detail.

Click here to visit Mr. Rosenfelder's site.

NYU Arthur Carter Journalism Institute

New York University's Faculty of Arts and Science has re-designated its Department of Journalism the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, in recognition of Arthur Carter's long-time support of journalism education at the university. NYU will celebrate the new designation of its journalism program at an Oct. 6 ceremony.

Please click here to read the full press release.

To find out more exciting information and news on the Journalism Department please click here.

Genomics and NYU

New York University and the American Museum of Natural History have received a $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to explore plant evolution and to create a public database that provides information about the structure and inferred function of proteins found in two plant genomes. The three-year grant will allow the researchers at both institutions to investigate ground-breaking methods for exploring the evolution, structure, and function of proteomes— the entire array of proteins expressed by a genome.

Please click here to read the press release in its entirety.

As you may know, NYU is at the forefront of Genomics. But in order to continue to build in this rapidly evolving field, our scientists need facilities to match their extraordinary talents.

The revolutionary new Center for Genomics and Systems Biology planned for 12-16 Waverly Place is at the very heart of NYU's Washington Square campus. It will give our professors, researchers, graduate, and undergraduate students the tools they need to unleash the full potential of their research and to remain at the forefront of their field. While key sources of funding for ongoing research projects have already been secured, building these facilities will require the support and generosity of our entire University community.

Please take a moment to visit Endless Possibilities: The Campaign for The Center for Genomics and Systems Biology for more information. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Who Knew Punk Rope Originated At NYU?

Are you looking to get some great exercise and have fun at the same time? If so, Punk Rope is for you. That's right, Punk Rope.

Punk Rope is a fitness class created by NYU alumnus, Tim Haft (GSAS '86). Tim also worked at NYU as a career counselor in the Office of Career Services from 1988 to 1993. So it's only fitting that Tim launched Punk Rope at NYU. The first class was held at Coles in 2004. Since then Punk Rope has spread to community centers, health clubs, college rec centers, and schools in 12 states.

But you're still probably scratching your head wondering what exactly is Punk Rope. Take one part recess, one part boot camp, and one part rock concert. Toss in a blender, flip the switch, and voila you have Punk Rope. More specifically Punk Rope combines creative calisthenics with rope jumping, group conditioning drills, and core training for a highly effective workout which improves aerobic capacity, bone density, body composition, coordination, agility, timing, and balance.

Most importantly, Punk Rope is fun. It's a great way to get an intense workout, laugh, make new friends, and listen to some incredible music all at the same time. Most classes are thematic in nature meaning that the music and drills relate to a particular holiday or cultural event such as Oktoberfest, the Super Bowl, or International Women's Day. This approach to exercise helps to distract the participant and reduces the discomfort often associated with intense exercise.

Want to sign up for a Punk Rope class? Here's the information:

New York University Recreation
Punk Jump Rope, "Bootcamp in the playground"
Palladium Athletic Facility
Tues & Thurs 7:30-8:25 PM
9/16- 10/16 (10 classes) $45.00
Course #PLD 414

In Person Registration @ Coles, 181 Mercer St
Mon 9/9, 8-12 & 4-8 pm
Wed & Thurs 9/10 –11, 12-8 pm

Be sure to take advantage of the great Alumni Gym Membership Offer by clicking >here.

For more information about Punk Rope, please visit www.punkrope.com.

Jeff Han Steals The Show At Nvision '08

Jeff Han, founder of Perceptive Pixel and a computer scientist at New York University, recently stole the show at Nvision 08 as he demonstrated his interface-free, touch-driven computer screen. Here's an article about it and if you'd like to see Mr. Han demonstrating the screen, click here.

We are hoping to get a video interview with Mr. Han and perhaps a personal demonstration to post on this blog so check back!

Perceptive Pixel, Inc. was founded by Jeff Han in 2006
as a spinoff of the NYU Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
to develop and market the most advanced multi-touch system in the world.

NYU Student-Alumni Mentoring Event

Please join fellow NYU alumni and students for an open house to share your career advice, practical tips, and the secrets to your success. Come and enjoy refreshments and get acquainted with students who need and want mentors, and share with them valuable input that will help them to achieve their goals and shape their future.

Your participation is needed to help create a warmer, stronger alumni-student community at NYU. Alumni who attended this event last year had a wonderful time and made valuable connections with students. We hope we can count on you to do the same this year. Below are the details for this great event:

September 3
6:00-8:00PM
Jeffrey S. Gould Welcome Center
50 West Fourth Street (at Washington Square Park East)

For more information please email Melissa Davison at melissa.davison@nyu.edu and say you saw this on our blog.

KTLA Anchor Cher Calvin (CAS, '97)

Cher Calvin (CAS,'97) anchors the "KTLA Morning News," and is a 2005 Emmy Award recipient. She has also picked up three Golden Mike Awards for KTLA, two for Best Public Affairs Program, "Access LA" and one Golden Mike for the "KTLA Morning Show".

Born and educated in the US, Cher took up broadcast journalism in New York University and began her career at the news desk of TIME Magazine while completing her internship at Cable News Network (CNN) in New York. She was eventually offered a part-time job at CNN, and continued working at TIME and CNN simultaneously until she moved to Manila to have her taste of Philippine broadcast journalism.

You can read a recent interview with Ms. Calvin published in the Asian Journal Online by clicking here.

Galaxy Craze (GSAS, '97)

Galaxy Craze's new novel, Tiger, Tiger, picks up where her previous novel By The Shore ends.

GALAXY CRAZE received a BA from Barnard College and attended the NYU creative writing program on a full scholarship from The New York Times. Born in London, she currently lives in New York City. She is the author of By the Shore, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award for best debut.

Click here to read an article in today's LA Times about Ms. Craze.

Upcoming Events: NYU Women's Initiative

October 7
6:30–8:00 PM
The Grey Art Gallery
100 Washington Square East

The NYU Women's Initiative Presents
The Poetics of Cloth: African Textiles / Recent Art
This dynamic exhibition will compare and contrast traditional textiles with contemporary paintings, sculpture, photographs, and videos by leading African artists, illuminating the connections between past and present. These stunning works will demonstrate how African artists from different countries and backgrounds share a common engagement with one of the most fundamental and traditional forms of African art.

We hope you can join us for this wonderful event.
Click here for more information and here to register for the event.

In The Land of No Right Angles

Daphne Beal(GSAS '98)has published her debut novel, In The Land of No Right Angles, which chronicles the friendship between a Nepalese woman and an American woman. A former editor of the New Yorker, she has also done editorial work for Artforum and The Chinati Foundation's publication Art and the Landscape. She is married to the writer Sean Wilsey.

Click here to get more information on Daphne Beal and In The Land of No Right Angles, and here's a recent interview with Ms. Beal, published in the New Jersey Star Ledger.

"Off The Beaten (Subway) Track" by Suzanne Reisman (CAS, '97)

Tired of visiting the same NYC attractions? Well have we got a treat for you! Let us introduce you to Suzanne Reisman (CAS, '97) who is today's guest blogger and sent in the following entry:

NYU is a top ranked university, and one of its many attractive features for students, faculty, and staff is that it makes use of the greatest campus in the world: New York City. When I decided to attend NYU in 1994, I had every intention of returning to my hometown of Chicago after graduation. Yet after living in New York for only three years, I found that it was impossible to leave. In my subsequent 11 years as a full-time New Yorker, I explored the City diligently, looking for the things beyond the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, and Central Park that make New York what it is. The resulting book is Off the Beaten (Subway) Track: New York City's Best Unusual Attractions (Cumberland House Publications).

NYU's Washington Square campus is not only surrounded by cool little museums, like the Ukrainian Museum (check out the pysanka, known in English as Easter eggs), the Forbes Galleries (most impressive toy collection ever), and the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (self-explanatory), but it's central location allows for the easy implementation of what I call the "subway road trip." Subway road trips are city-dwellers a low carbon footprint way to go see some unusual sites, just like one might do on a typical road trip, but not requiring the use of a car. Off the Beaten (Subway) Track offers 101 sites that are easy to get to using the subway and/or bus from around NYU.

For example, one might head over to Union Square and jump on the #4 train to the Bronx. The intrepid explorer can debark at Burnside Avenue and head over to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans. On the way to this leafy, bizarre monument to 100 "great Americans," you'll pass by Aqueduct Walk, a portion of the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, on your way to the Bronx Community College campus. (This was originally the campus of NYU, which is responsible for the Hall of Fame.) Contemplate the various busts that represent each Hall of Famer, then hike up University Avenue (or jump back on the #4 train) to Kingsbridge Rd. Just west of the subway station is the 258th Field Artillery Armory, reputedly the World's Largest Armory. Sadly, the fantasy castle-like building is in horrific disrepair, but hopefully some day it will be restored and usable by the community. Continuing east on Kingsbridge Road, you will arrive at Edgar Allen Poe's cottage. Yes, right in the center of Grand Concourse sits a cottage which contains the bed Poe's wife Virgina died in! This is also where the great poet wrote Annabell Lee, Eureka, and The Bells. Return to NYU by hopping a downtown D train to West 4th Street.

For more subway road trip ideas, pick up a copy of Off the Beaten (Subway) Track online or at the NYU Bookstore.


Thanks so much Suzanne. We have our own office copy of this fabulous book and are looking forward to navigating the unusual attractions uncovered by Suzanne. Why not pick up a copy this weekend and start exploring?

Courant Team Creates iBird

Have you always wanted to experience the feeling of flying through the air like a bird? Well now you can, thanks to a group of students and faculty at the New York University Media Research lab who have created the iBird, a "bird-flight simulator" that gives one the sensation of flying through a virtual world without ever leaving the ground. Click here to see a video demonstration and here for more information about the simulator.

"Don't Tell A Soul", A New Thriller By Author David Rosenfelt (Heights '70)

David Rosenfelt (Heights, '70), the author of a legal mystery series, has written his first stand-alone thriller, "Don't Tell a Soul", currently in bookstores. He has also written three television movies, including the TNT movie Deadlocked, starring Charles Dutton and David Caruso. Mr. Rosenfelt and his wife began the Tara Foundation in 1995, an organization named after their golden retriever that rescues dogs. For more information on Mr. Rosenfelt please visit his website by clicking here.

Francis Tuoti (Heights '52), Still Riding

Francis Tuoti(Heights '52) is the oldest member of greater Danbury's Hat City Riders motorcycle club. The Hat City Riders motorcycle club is open to anyone interested in riding, regardless of age, race, gender or type of bike.

Click here to read an article by Tiffany Citroen about Mr. Tuoti and his passion for riding, published in The News Times.

Marcus Jackson (GSAS '06)

Marcus Jackson's (GSAS '06) poem, "Mary at the Tattoo Shop," was published in the July 21, 2008 edition of the New Yorker. To read the poem click here and click here to read a recent article on Mr. Jackson.