Coronavirus Impacts BU Study Abroad
University officials have kept up frequent contact with students studying abroad and their families, partner institutions, and staff members about the status of classes, travel plans, and emerging needs related to COVID-19. The unpredictable nature of the pandemic has meant that countless contingencies must be accounted for, including when students find themselves at the center of where an outbreak occurs or experience difficulty returning home or to their original host site.
Eric Kolaczyk Named New Director of Hariri Institute
College of Arts & Sciences Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Eric Kolaczyk will replace the Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering’s founding director, Azer Bestavros, who was recently appointed associate provost of the new Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences. Kolaczyk’s work across bioinformatics, computational neuroscience, and even social work has earned him an international reputation. His appointment further strengthens BU’s position in the burgeoning fields of computing and data sciences.
Expanded Thurman Center Gets a New Look on Campus
The relocated and expanded Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground (HTC) opens at 808 Commonwealth Ave., the latest addition to a culture and arts city block that includes CitySpace, the Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre, and CFA’s Production Center. With windows looking out on Comm Ave and the BU Bridge, HTC’s increased visibility - both literal and figurative – is wholly intentional, redoubling the University’s commitment to frank discussion and the cross-pollination of ideas. Balancing public spaces like a performance venue and open floor plans with private spaces like a tech-free meditation room, the new, larger HTC comforts and invigorates students in ways impossible in its former space.
BU’s Center for Computing & Data Sciences Breaks New Ground by Design
The energy-efficient Center for Computing & Data Sciences taps a geothermal well underground as a natural energy source. With state-of-the-art insulation and natural light, the 345,000-square-foot building will be warm in winter and cool in summer, all without using fossil fuels. It has also been designed to be resilient to coastal flooding.
Azer Bestavros to Lead BU’s Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences
A William Fairfield Warren Professor who gained international prominence as the founding director of BU’s Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering, Azer Bestavros has been named associate provost for computing and data sciences.
BU’s First Computational Artist-in-Residence Reinvents Invention
Francisco Alarcon, BU’s inaugural computational artist-in-residence, works with ENG and CFA students to explore the use of software algorithms, graphic design, fabrication tools, and cutting-edge robotics to create multidisciplinary artwork projects. This new residency is a partnership between the BU Arts Initiative and the Hariri Institute, with additional support from Innovate@BU, CFA, the School of Visual Arts, and BU Spark!
Margaret Low Named General Manager and CEO of WBUR
With the completion of the CitySpace venue, BU builds on its reputation as a cultural destination with live-events programming. Low brings expertise as a leader of live-events strategy at The Atlantic, senior vice president for news at NPR, and senior producer for All Things Considered.
Board of Trustees Welcomes New Members
Cynthia Cohen (MET’77), Michael D. Fricklas (LAW’84), and Jane Moncreiff join the board, along with Nathaniel Dalton (LAW’91), who becomes a regular member after serving ex officio while chair of the Board of Overseers. “New members bring new insights and perspectives from their professional lives and their interest in higher education,” says President Robert A. Brown.
ENG’s Muhammad Zaman Addresses the Global Refugee Crisis in 2019 University Lecture
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor Muhammad Zaman and his lab collaborate with partners at BU and institutions around the world to develop cheap, easy-to-use computational tools and experimental methods to improve education, medicine, and overall quality of life in under-resourced nations and communities of people who have been displaced.
LAW’s Danielle Citron Named a MacArthur Fellow
Danielle Citron, whose pioneering and policy-shaping work in countering hate crimes, revenge porn, and other cyberspace abuses has made her one of the nation’s leading privacy and constitutional law scholars, has been named a 2019 MacArthur Fellow, an award often referred to as a “genius grant.”
