Blue Devils tie Czech Republic
Duke opens transgender hospital The center is the first of its kind in the state and is receiving support from the School of Medicine | Page 2
Duke hosted the Czech national team and was unable to break a 5-5 tie in the 10th inning | Sports Page 4
The Chronicle T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2015
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVENTH YEAR, ISSUE 31
Students flock to Arts Annex for new workshops Heather Zhou The Chronicle Students are taking full advantage of one of Duke’s most recent arts initiatives with the construction of a new $50 million Arts Center on the horizon. The DukeCreate Arts Workshop series, developed by DukeArts, University Center Activities and Events, duARTS, VisARTS, Artstigators and the Arts Annex, has received positive feedback from students and local artists since being implemented in early September. A variety of workshops— including painting, ceramics, screen printing and photography—are taught by local professional artists three times a week to appeal to a wide variety of students. “I came to Arts Annex a few times before to use the free supplies they provided to paint,” freshman Jane Xu said. “This workshop is even better because I can meet people who have similar interests in arts as I do, besides the instructor is really inspiring.” Although the program began approximately a month ago, organizers are already talking about potential expansion. “The turnout has been really good. The first two weeks the workshops were completely full,” said Scott Lindroth, vice provost for the arts and professor of music. “Because of the limited space, we can only take eight to 10 students each time. But that’s great because students get more individualized attention this way.” Lindroth noted that it is gratifying to see so many students taking advantage of the workshops. Their popularity is reflective of a recent increase in student interest in the arts—
Jesús Hidalgo | The Chronicle The DukeCreate Arts Workshop series has been popular among students since kicking off in early September. The program hopes to expand in the future by inviting visiting artists and faculty to teach.
data recently released by the University showed that three times as many applicants to Duke are including art portfolios with their applications as did 10 years ago. Administrators are not the only ones pleased with student engagement with DukeCreate Arts—artists teaching the workshops have
reported positive experiences as well. Martha Clippinger, a professional artist who teaches painting and drawing in the workshops, noted that she was impressed that students are finding time to attend despite their busy schedules. “A lot of them have majors that are far away
from arts like biology and economics, and I feel they are all really open to just trying new things,” she said. The program has successfully attracted members across the Duke community— including both undergraduate and graduate students. “I really enjoy doing the arts and talking with the instructor.” said Meng Xie, a Ph.D. student in statistics who attended one of Clippinger’s workshops last Thursday. “It’s the first time this week that I am not thinking about the academic work and just focusing on creating something out of colors and patterns. I think I will come again next week.” Bill Fick, visiting assistant professor of art, art history and visual studies and an organizer for the workshops, noted that one purpose of the workshops is to help students engage with the broader Durham community in addition to learning about art. “A college campus can be isolated sometimes. We want to provide an environment for students to interact with peers and artists from outside and also for artists to know more about Duke, so that it is a two-way interchange of ideas,” Fick said. “We want to help build a dynamic arts community at Duke and we welcome students’ suggestions.” The organizers of the workshops plan to invite visiting artists and faculty to come and teach the workshops to expand the program, Fick explained. Other ideas for growth include future collaborations with Duke Student Broadcasting and DUU Freewater Productions to develop a video workshop next semester. The Arts Annex has hosted more students as a result of the workshop series, but is also See ARTS on Page 3
Triangle schools granted $5.5 million for nanotech research Vir Patel The Chronicle The three largest universities in the Triangle were recently awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to better facilitate collaboration between nanotechnology students, manufacturers and researchers. The grant, which totals more than $5.5 million and lasts five years, supported the launch of the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network in September of this year—an undertaking that builds upon previous NSF-funded nanotechnology initiatives between Duke University, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The RTNN is managed by Nan Jokerst, J.A. Jones professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke; James Cahoon, assistant professor of
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chemistry at UNC; and lead director Jacob Jones, professor of materials science and engineering at NCSU. The grant provides funding for the enhancement of university nanotechnology research centers across the area and also helps nanotechnology facilities introduce their research to students across the country. “We’re going to leverage this network in many ways,” Jones said. “Our collaboration opens up a much larger impact to users across the Triangle and across the nation.” Jokerst explained that the current interests of the RTNN lie in synthesizing materials, developing innovative structures and characterizing new nanoparticles. Nanoparticles, which can be as small as a billionth of a meter in size, possess a wide variety of applications. For example, they can be used as vehicles for drug delivery—nanomedicine
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See NANOTECH on Page 3
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Special to The Chronicle Duke, UNC and N.C. State received a five-year, $5.5 million grant to collaborate on nanotechnology research.
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