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Features April 28, 2015
Deaton Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Angus Deaton, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of International Affairs and a professor of economics and international affairs, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is among 84 new members and 21 foreign associates elected Tuesday, April 28, in recognition of achievements in original research.
Features April 28, 2015
Class Snapshot: 'Ebola in 2014: The Science, Society and Politics of a Modern Epidemic'
Class: "Ebola in 2014: The Science, Society and Politics of a Modern Epidemic" Description: This course, offered primarily to juniors and seniors, focused on the current Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Throughout the semester, students examined the public health science of Ebola, the social aspects of the epidemic and the national and international politics related to the response. "The Ebola crisis is a significant public concern. It was important to have this discussion at Princeton, especially while the attention is so focused on the epidemic," said Keith Wailoo, vice dean of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International…
The senior thesis of Princeton student Hanna Kim examines the civil society response to earthquakes in China and Japan over the last decade. Kim is a major in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs who is interested in pursuing a career in U.S.-East Asia relations.
Features April 20, 2015
Breaking Ground in East Asian Earthquake Disaster Relief
In 2008, a magnitude-7.9 earthquake struck China's Sichuan province, leaving more than 87,000 people dead or missing, and millions homeless. Three years later, the magnitude-9.0 Tohoku earthquake hit Japan, causing a tsunami that covered more than 200 square miles, killing more than 18,000 people and causing a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power plant. These natural catastrophes motivated Princeton student Hanna Kim's senior thesis, "When Disaster Strikes: A Comparative Study of Civil Society Response to Earthquakes in China and Japan," and led her to travel to East Asia over winter break of 2014 to conduct field research. A major in the Woodrow…
Features April 14, 2015
WWS Reacts: Iran and the Path to a Nuclear Agreement
A preliminary agreement to limit Iran's nuclear program was reached April 2 by Iran and six world powers: the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, China, France, Russia, U.S. and the U.K. – or the P5 – plus Germany, a group commonly referred to as the P5+1. Since its release, some have criticized the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – to be finalized by June – that details the key parameters to ratchet down Iran's nuclear program. We discussed the agreement and its implications with three scholars at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs: Daniel C. Kurtzer, Lecturer and S…
Features April 02, 2015
Alumna Kate Grant Gives a Voice to the World’s Poorest Women
Fatima went into labor with her first child at the age of 16. As is custom in her nomadic community in western Sudan, she planned to deliver the baby at home. But after three days of complications, she embarked on a half-day trek by camel to the nearest hospital. When she arrived, her baby was delivered stillborn by Caesarian section. But Fatima’s journey did not end there.Fatima’s prolonged labor caused an obstetric fistula – a hole between the vagina and rectum or bladder. The only solution is surgery, which she couldn’t afford. After returning home, her husband divorced her, blaming the smell created by the continuous leak of urine caused by the…
Features March 30, 2015
Wailoo Serves on IOM Committee Focused on Mitochondrial Gene Therapy
The United Kingdom's House of Commons recently voted to allow British researchers to pursue a controversial new fertility treatment intended to help women avoid passing on certain genetic defects to their children.The technique, "mitochondrial DNA replacement therapy," has the ability to alter the DNA of an embryo so children are born free of mitochondrial disease – an illness affecting nearly 4,000 U.S. children each year.Experts are now debating whether this form of gene therapy should be allowed in the United States, but critics say the procedure brings forth far too many safety and ethical concerns. To this end, an ad-hoc committee of the…
Features March 24, 2015
Senior Falcon awarded Michel David-Weill Scholarship for study at Sciences Po
Princeton University senior Eric Falcon has been awarded the 2015 Michel David-Weill Scholarship to pursue a master's degree in European affairs at Sciences Po in Paris.The scholarship is awarded each year to one American student from applicants at 20 top U.S. universities based on literary and scholastic achievements, capacity for critical analysis, demonstrated history of leadership, and proven commitment to the community.Falcon, who is majoring in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, said he is grateful for the $80,000 award, which will cover all tuition, living and traveling expenses during the two-year master's program…
Features March 23, 2015
Alumni Join Ebola Intervention in West Africa
Ebola is difficult to contract. The disease is not airborne like influenza or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) – a healthy person must come in direct contact with the fluids of an infected, symptomatic person to risk transmission. The count of deadly cases of Ebola is continuously exceeded by the mortality rates of malaria, tuberculosis and other illnesses in West Africa. This is why the alarms sounded so loudly when the number of Ebola fatalities spiked in the summer of 2014.The degree of the outbreak was not necessarily reflective of the biological complexity of the disease itself, but rather the dire state of the global health system. Still…
Features March 23, 2015
WWS Reacts: Dissecting China's Annual Session
China's National People's Congress (NPC) recently ended its annual session, a 10-day event in which nearly 3,000 delegates gather to pass laws, approve policies and discuss Asia's economy. One of the biggest announcements made at the session was by Premier Li Keqiang, who said the country's economic growth target would be lowered to nearly 7 percent. We discussed the annual session results along with China's economic and environmental plans with Rory Truex, assistant professor of politics and public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School. Truex studies comparative politics, focusing on Chinese politics and non-democratic regimes. Q. What is your…
Features March 18, 2015
Ebola Outbreak of 2014 May Have Laid Tracks for Deadly Measles Epidemic in Africa
The Ebola outbreak that has swept West Africa since 2014 may have cleared the way for a more familiar killer that could claim thousands of more lives — measles.The African countries most affected by the outbreak could now be highly susceptible to measles epidemics due to severe disruptions in health-care systems caused by Ebola, researchers at Princeton University and Johns Hopkins University report in the journal Science. The closing of and public aversion to clinics and hospitals during the Ebola epidemic resulted in the reduction of routine procedures such as measles vaccination.The researchers studied the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia…
Features March 18, 2015
WWS Reacts: Netanyahu's Re-election
In one of Israel's tightest races yet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu triumphed with the Likud Party capturing 30 of the 120 seats in Parliament. Leading up to the election, Netanyahu made some bold statements to sway right-wing voters, including that a Palestinian state would not be created if he were re-elected. How might Netanyahu's re-election affect Israel-Palestine relations going forward? And what will the results mean for Israel, its domestic politics and its international relationships? Daniel Kurtzer, lecturer and S. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle Eastern Policy Studies, commented on the election for WWS Reacts. Q. What…
Features March 16, 2015
Princeton Profiles: Alex Wheatley, Scholar and Athlete
Sneakers skidded on a hardwood court and the rhythmic sound of a basketball hit the floor in different beats during a recent practice at Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium. For Princeton junior Alex Wheatley, these sounds have been a part of her life since she was young. She remembers playing the sport in early elementary school and in her home driveway with her father. Now, Wheatley is a starting forward on the No. 13-ranked Princeton women's basketball team, which went 30-0 this regular season. The Division I team received a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament and will play No. 9 seed University of Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday, March 21, in College Park,…
Features March 16, 2015
Cropping Africa's Wet Savannas Would Bring High Environmental Costs
With the global population rising, analysts and policymakers have targeted Africa's vast wet savannas as a place to produce staple foods and bioenergy groups at low environmental costs. But a new report published in the journal Nature Climate Change finds that converting Africa's wet savannas into farmland would come at a high environmental cost and, in some cases, fail to meet existing standards for renewable fuels.Led by researchers from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, the study finds that only a small percentage of Africa's wet savannas (2-11…
Princeton School of Public and International Affairs logo on a grey background.
Features March 05, 2015
Thomas Piketty Lecture Canceled
Because of severe weather, Princeton University is closed today. Therefore, today's sold-out event with Thomas Piketty is canceled.
Features March 03, 2015
International Panel to Address Building Better Societies in Today's World
Is there hope for building better societies? A new panel is gathering hundreds of global experts to find out.With support from Princeton University's Center for Human Values and Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP), will examine social justice and progress in today's societies and how social science research can help to facilitate change.Examining a number of issues – including democracy, poverty, global risks, health, violence, religion and education, among others – the panel will evaluate how societies have evolved and what barriers or drivers exist for…