Maria Elizabeth Grabe is inaugural Dalton Family Professor at COM
Working for South Africa’s state-controlled TV under apartheid, documentarian Maria Elizabeth Grabe faced unrelenting censorship. On January 1, Grabe joined the College of Communication as its inaugural Dalton Family Professor and second-ever director of Emerging Media Studies. “The [Dalton Family] Professorship,” says COM Dean Mariette DiChristina (COM’86), “aims to focus on the use of emerging communication platforms and research to engage communities around addressing societal challenges—building understanding while building bridges.”
New Questrom Institute to Explore Business’ Role in Society
The Ravi K. Mehrotra Institute for Business, Markets, and Society (IBMS) “will help others understand and appreciate the role business and markets do, can, and should play in creating lasting prosperity, advancing societal goals, and solving global challenges,” its mission statement reads. Ravi K. Mehrotra, founder of a global shipping firm, has given BU a gift to endow a namesake institute studying how business contributes to society, and how it can do better.
BU Researchers Help Develop First Therapies to Treat Sickle Cell Disease
For people with sickle cell disease, a group of inherited blood disorders, there’s new hope. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved two groundbreaking treatments—developed with the help of Boston University researchers.
Center for Computing & Data Sciences Wins Global Award for Interior Design
The dramatic exterior of the Center for Computing & Data Sciences and its fossil-fuel-free design have received widespread acclaim since it opened in December 2022. But its stunning interior had been overlooked until it won top honors in the education category of the annual architecture competition at the respected World Architecture Festival. The center was designed by KPMB Architects of Toronto.
Men’s Soccer Wins Patriot League Title
BU men’s soccer team won its first-ever Patriot League title. The Terriers defeated Lafayette, 1-0. The Terriers won the Patriot League regular season with a 10-3-4 record, a 7-1-1 mark in conference play.
BU Ecologist Lucy Hutyra Wins a 2023 MacArthur “Genius Grant”
Lucy Hutyra, a BU College of Arts & Sciences professor of Earth and environment, focuses on understanding the impacts of urbanization on climate and ecosystems. She is one of 20 fellows who has received a MacArthur “Genius Grant.”
Researchers Find Way to Tweak Immune System to Fight Tuberculosis
A Boston University–led research team has found a way to tweak immune cells to better fight tuberculosis that could be ready for clinical trials as soon as 2024. The researchers identified the genetic signatures of white blood cells and then tested the ability of different compounds to transform vulnerable cells into more resilient ones.
BU Ignition Awards Accelerate Products for Repairing Damaged Teeth, Fighting Cancer, and More
The BU Ignition Awards are designed to accelerate promising new science and technology. Among the 2023 winners are a tooth-saving formula, AI-powered reading tool, and cancer-fighting technology. Award winners receive coaching and support to bring their innovations to market.
BU Dark Matter Researcher Wins Award for Contributions to Experimental Physics
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has named Boston University physicist Alex Sushkov to its 2023 cohort of Experimental Physics Investigators. The recognition is given to a select group of distinguished scientists who the organization hopes will make “extraordinary contributions to the field of experimental physics.” Sushkov will receive $1.25 million over five years to support his work on an imaging technique used to study the nuclei of atoms.
Kenneth W. Freeman, President Ad Interim
2023–Present Kenneth W. Freeman, dean emeritus and professor of the practice at Questrom School of Business, and University vice president and associate provost, has been appointed as interim president starting August 1, 2023. In his 13 years at Boston University, Freeman has filled a number of roles: respected professor, transformative dean, valued mentor, forward-thinking academic innovator, and a skilled and rock-steady vice president during a period of crisis. As BU’s acting leader, Freeman will hold all the powers of the president’s office, and be entrusted to provide leadership to deans, faculty, students, and all key stakeholders, while continuing the initiatives already in process that are core to BU’s 2030 Strategic Plan.
