Jumbo Magazine - Fall 2015

THE TUFTS ADMISSIONS MAGAZINE ADMISSIONS.TUFTS.EDU

DIVING IN WITH SO MANY APPLICATIONS, HOW DO ADMISSIONS OFFICERS CHOOSE A CLASS?

MARTIAN WEATHERMAN

ONE ENGINEER’S RESEARCH AND ITS IMPACT ON SPACE EXPLORATION

FOR THE LOVE OF ART

A TUFTS/SMFA COMBINED DEGREE STUDENT ANSWERS “WHY TUFTS?”

DORM LIVING

AND THOSE WHO HELP YOU THROUGH IT

DIGITAL HUMANITIES

MEMBERS OF THE TUFTS COMMUNITY ARE REVOLUTIONIZING ANCIENT TOPICS

ISSUE 13 / FALL 2015

JUMBO 13

FALL ’15 INFOGRAPHIC | 3 LIVING | 7 CLASS HIGHLIGHT | 10 ARTS | 12 ATHLETICS | 17 AROUND TOWN | 26 ADMISSIONS ADVICE | 36 FEATURES

20 DIGITAL HUMANITIES HOW TUFTS is revolutionizing the study of (really) old topics.

32 LET’S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS

PHOTO BY KELVIN MA/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

TUFTS’ FINANCE Initiative and the Jumbo Entrepreneur

ON THE COVER IMOGEN ON THEBROWDER COVER‘16 answer

your pressing questions lorem Ever wonder what admissions offi cersetc caremore abouttext most when from ipsum coming reading your application?

Mere.

See page 36 to discover what they’re thinking as they read.

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY AAD GOUDAPPEL BACK COVER PHOTO BY KELVIN MA/ TUFTS UNIVERSITY

GREETINGS

FROM THE DEAN Silicon Valley,” a suburban cul-de-sac in New Jersey, a Vermont village of 567 people, the canals of Venice, and a traditional Japanese Shinto shrine in Beijing. The pre-med from Somerville offered a personal narrative of survival: “I have been a refugee for more than half of my life. Waking up safe in the morning and having food was a miracle.” A continent away, the violinist from Chugiak, Alaska told us he skied home from elementary school while watching the Northern Lights.

On September 2nd, 2015, Dean of Admissions Lee Coffin spoke at the matriculation ceremony for the Class of 2019. He welcomed 1,360 new Jumbos by introducing them to the Tufts community—and each other—using the rich content of their applications to Tufts. He’s sharing this abbreviated version of his speech here to give you a sense of the Tufts voice, and to introduce you to your potential future friends and classmates. We hope the characters in this issue of JUMBO intrigue you, from the first page to the last.

[In your application], we invited you to “Let your life speak.” And you did! The figure skater from Sioux Falls announced, “I’m a South Dakota-bred Renaissance Woman whose curiosity soars freely across the open prairie…” The Sri Lankan EMT from New Jersey was self-deprecating: “If Helen of Troy was the face that launched a thousand ships, then my morning face is the one that sent them running back.”

Sometimes a single phrase vividly illuminated your personal vibe: “I am a quiet, indignant feminist with an unquenchable thirst for indie pop”; “I’m a standup comedian and Stephen King aficionado”; “I’m an atheist living in the Bible Belt.”

We invited you to “celebrate your nerdy side.” You enthusiastically described interests as diverse as meteor showers, 1920s German film, maps, metric patterns in Latin poetry, fish conservation on the Atlantic coast, satellite design, and the cultural history of Italian face masks, to name just a few.

“I’m not too good with words,” said the computer buff from Seattle, “So I wrote you some computer code instead.”

You are the products of your environments, and those places are as different as a 200-year-old farmhouse in Andover, Mass., “a cottage by a creek in a pocket of wilderness tucked in the middle of

Say hello to the Thai photographer featured in Italian Vogue and the Teen Jeopardy contestant from Chicago. A teen blogger for The Huffington Post, an Appalachian clog dancer from Michigan, a Bulgarian rocker, and a chicken farmer from Cape Cod join us today. We welcome the tap-dancing chemical engineer from Bend, Oregon; the Medford altar boy who works as a box office attendant at the Somerville Theatre; a tour guide at the U.S. Capitol; and the tomato at Vermont’s annual Chili Festival. Joining them are 215 recruited athletes, the Singaporean naval officer trained in underwater combat, and a three-time Surf Cup champion from San Diego. And how could we ignore the culinary talents of the bio major from Dallas, PA who worked at her parents’ pizzeria: “I can make a half BBQ, half extra bacon pizza on whole-wheat crust, thick style, in less than 10 minutes.”

We wondered, “Why Tufts?” A Nepalese soccer player declared, “At Tufts, I can be an engineer without losing touch with my artistic, romantic side.”

Others appreciated our vibe: “Tufts is full of witty personalities”; “It brings out the curious kid in me.”

But perhaps my favorite response came from the gay debater who told us he went from eating solitary lunches at school to being Student Government President: “Tufts is the only place that can handle me,” he said. Bring it.

On behalf of my colleagues in Undergraduate Admissions, welcome to the Jumbo herd, my friends.

MEET THE STUDENT COMMUNICATION GROUP Most of what you’re about to read was written by these Tufts students. Keep an eye out for their voices as they introduce you to the Tufts community.

THE TUFTS ADMISSIONS MAGAZINE

KRISKA DESIR ’19 from Orange, NJ

CAMERON HARRIS ’18 from Shelburne, VT

CHARLOTTE GILLILAND ’16 from Birmingham, AL

BENYA KRAUS ’18 from Bangkok, Thailand HANNAH STEINBERG ’17 from Scarsdale, NY

DYLAN HONG ’19 from Phoenix, AZ

OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS Tufts University / Bendetson Hall 2 The Green / Medford, MA 02155 617 627.3170 / admissions.tufts.edu / jumboeditor@tufts.edu

Produced by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Edited by Meredith Reynolds, Assistant Director of Admissions Design by Hecht/Horton Partners

PHOTO BY ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

**For the full speech, visit admissions.tufts.edu/blogs/inside-admissions

INTERDISCIPLINARY MAJORS

At Tufts, very few academic majors live within one academic department alone.You could major in International Relations, for example, and choose classes from almost 30 departments over four years, from Japanese to biology. We’re taking a look at just a few interdisciplinary majors at Tufts and the departments and programs they draw from, to give you an understanding of what “interdisciplinary learning” really means.

CHOOSE COURSES FROM...

MAJOR IN...

AFRICANA STUDIES

Cognitive and Brain Sciences

CHOOSE COURSES FROM...

ENGINEERING SCIENCE

AMERICAN STUDIES ENGLISH ANTHROPOLOGY FRENCH ARABIC GERMAN

Community Health ART HISTORY HISTORY BIOLOGY ITALIAN CHEMISTRY JAPANESE CHILD STUDY AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Environmental Studies MUSIC

PHILOSOPHY

CHINESE

CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

PHYSICS

Film and Media Studies POLITICAL SCIENCE

CLASSICS PORTUGUESE COMMUNITY HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY COMPUTER SCIENCE

International Literary and Visual Studies (ILVS)

RELIGION

DANCE RUSSIAN DRAMA SOCIOLOGY EARTH AND OCEAN SCIENCES

Peace and Justice Studies

SPANISH

ECONOMICS WOMEN’S, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY STUDIES EDUCATION

3

INS & OUTS

SNAPSHOTS TS FROM THE E HILL

LEARNING THROUGH OBSERVATION IN CHILD D DEVELOPMENT THE ELIOT-PEARSON CHILDREN’S N’S SCHOOL

EXCOLLEGE CLASS: IMPROV: APPLICATIONS BEYOND THE STAGE EACH SEMESTER the Experimental College offers a set of over

50 innovative, interdisciplinary classes that you couldn’t possibly find in a typical academic department. This semester, classes like Circus and Society and Social Justice through Young Adult Literature offer new perspectives on unexpected topics. But our favorite ExCollege class this fall examines the practical applications of improv in the real world—particularly in the workplace—through material written by cognitive-scientists, business specialists, and theater experts. “Yes, and…” the class also includes improv games, of course.

offers students in the Department partment of Child Study and Human Development velopment a unique opportunity to translate slate classroom lectures into concrete e examples through classroom observations. tions. In the class The Exceptional Child, Lecturer of Child Study and Human Development evelopment Laura Vanderberg discusses learning disabilities like dyslexia and ADHD. As a part of their final paper, students udents complete four classroom observations ations to see how the material they discussed sed in class influences children’s daily lives. ves.

PAX ET FRISBUS IN ADDITION to Tufts’ 28 DIII varsity teams, Jumbo athletes

have 21 club sports to choose from. The list includes men’s and women’s Ultimate Frisbee, whose motto, Pax et Frisbus, is a play on the university’s motto, Pax et Lux. In 1984, Tufts’ Ultimate Frisbee team organized and hosted the first ever Ultimate Frisbee College Nationals. Since then, both our discthrowing men and women have been nationally competitive at the team and individual levels. Last spring alone, Qxhna Titcomb ’15 made the cover of USA Ultimate Magazine, coach Sangwha Hong was named one of USA Ultimate’s Coaches of the Year, and Tyler Chan ’15 was nominated for Skyd Magazine’s Callahan Award. Go Jumbos!

THE RUNNING DEAD YOU HAVE A CHOICE: “human” or “zombie.” Theta Chi, one of the nine fraternities on campus,

hosted their 2nd annual Tufts Zombie Run this October. The “zombies” chased the “humans” in a 4K loop around campus in full hair and makeup, and all funds benefitted the Jimmy Fund for cancer care and research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

4

@MONACOANTHONY TWEETS TUFTS PRESIDENT TONY MONACO is a campus Twitter celebrity.

Here’s our favorite tweet from last spring.

Thanks to the @RedSox for honoring our NCAA spring champions at Fenway Park last night! #jumbopride #HomeOfChampions

SUCCESSFUL WOMEN IN BUSINESS THE TUFTS CAREER CENTER hosts many events throughout the year covering a wide range of

topics, from business dinner etiquette to how to land a non-profit job. One of the Career Center highlights last spring was a panel entitled “Successful Women in Business.” The panelists were four Tufts alumnae with careers in finance, biomedical consulting, architecture, and law.

The women provided insightful advice on networking, maintaining a work-life balance, and navigating male-dominated fields.

JUMBO CHEF: DEWICK CLUB

AS CREATED

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

Two slices of bread (toasted whole wheat is my favorite), Sliced tomato, Bacon, Arugula, Sliced turkey, Guacamole

Assemble the ingredients in the proportions you’d like, and, if you’re not running to your next class, place the whole thing in the panini-maker. Then just enjoy this delicious Dewick Club... and I suggest you follow it up with some FroYo from the machines at the dessert station.

by Emily Prestley ’17 in Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center

TUFTS EUROPEAN CENTER

FRISBEE PHOTO BY KELVIN MA/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

DID YOU KNOW that the Tufts campus extends far beyond the Boston area? The Tufts European Center located in Talloires, France hosts a six-week summer study abroad option to which any Tufts student can apply. The campus sits on the beautiful Lac d’Annecy in the heart of the French Alps. Students have the opportunity to hike in the Alps, enjoy French cuisine, and study by the lake while taking two classes with Tufts professors. A typical day in Talloires involves going to class in a historic building, playing beach volleyball with your professor, and enjoying dinner with your host family.

HEADBAND OR MIND READER? THE COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT has created a mind-

reading headband in the Human-Computer Interaction Lab. Okay, so it can’t actually read your thoughts, but this device aims to measure mental workload as an indicator of stress and anxiety or boredom. The headband was originally created to help air traffic controllers automatically shift flight assignments when they were experiencing a brain overload (literally).

But the headband has also been used to generate movie recommendations, play piano keyboards, and change the level of difficulty in video games to match a player’s ability.

5

Our neighboring planet, Mars, has long been a fascination within the scientific community. As the planet in our solar system with the most similar properties to Earth, Mars has been a major focus in space exploration, and it is believed to have possibly supported life at some point in its history.

Kevin Ligonde, a senior mechanical engineer, has focused his undergraduate research on developing sensors for detecting Martian wind speeds. “If we know more about the weather on Mars,” Kevin explained, “we can be better prepared for space exploration in the future.”

Kevin’s research began when he was selected to be one of about fifty participants in Tufts’ Summer Scholars Program. Through the program, Kevin lived on campus and was funded to conduct ten weeks

of research alongside multiple graduate students and a faculty advisor—Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Robert White—in Tufts’ Micro and Nano Fabrication Facility. Kevin titled his project “Capacitive Micro-Machined Ultrasound Transducers for Mars Anemometry.”

An anemometer is a weather sensor that detects wind speed. “The challenge with using anemometers on Mars,” Kevin said, “is that they require [the presence of many particles] in the air.” Mars happens to be surrounded by very little particulate matter, he explained, since it has a significantly thinner atmosphere than Earth. Kevin told me: “My goal was to make it such that the sensors could work in a very low pressure: less than 1% of that of Earth.” In order to achieve this goal, Kevin has been developing

extremely thin sensors that use ultrasound to detect wind speeds. “We’ve already determined the thickness that the sensor membranes need to be in order to detect the weaker signals on Mars,” he said.

“Now it’s just a function of being able to achieve this thickness.”

Kevin has extended the research project beyond the ten-week Summer Scholars Program, and will continue to work with Professor White throughout this academic year. “Ideally, we will be able to have [much] thinner sensors by this spring,” Kevin told me. This research will most likely be the topic of Kevin’s senior honors thesis. And then it may not be long until Kevin’s ultrasonic sensors are headed to Mars!

—CAMERON HARRIS ’18

KEVIN LIGONDE MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR FROM PÉTIONVILLE, HAITI

’16

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

Kevin is developing ultrasonic sensors that may some day enable us to detect weather patterns on Mars.

LIVING

JUMBO NEIGHBORS The idea of “living alone” in college is definitely exciting, but also a little bit terrifying. Rest assured, though, that your residence hall at Tufts will have plenty of live-in resources to make you feel at home. Here, six helpful neighbors describe their role in your residence hall... living alone never sounded so easy!

(From left): Eco Rep Murvi Babalola ’16, ACE Fellow Stephanie Li ’16, and Resident Assistant Bruce Duggan ’16 in the Carmichael Hall lounge.

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

Resident Assistant Who’s that?

• Your peer who asks you about your midterm exam, your dance troupe tryout, or the fraternity you’re rushing.

• The one who will probably ask you to stop riding your bike in the hallway.

• The one who organizes Throwback Thursday nights with ’90s cartoons and Count Chocula cereal; Super Smash Brothers video game tournaments; and dorm-wide haunted houses.

Eco Rep Who’s that?

• Your cheerleader who tells you how much energy you’re saving when you turn off the lights as you’re leaving your room.

• The person behind those flyers around your hall about how to be friendly to our planet.

• The one who organizes competitions and events surrounding green living and sustainable habits.

Resident Head Tutor Scholar in Residence Who’s that?

Who’s that?

• Your tutor for everything from computer science • The live-in professor that you can interact with in to Arabic… or the one who sets you up with said a casual, low-stress way. tutor (you know, in case they don’t speak Arabic). • The one organizing academic discussions that • The room to go to when you want to nerd out happen on dorm couches and pillows on the floor about something you just learned in class. instead of lecture halls and Powerpoint • Someone you can ask about class selection, presentations. course load, or the Academic Resource Center.

• The reason you might have a conversation about the meaning of knowledge with a philosophy Academic and Community Engagement professor or the responsibilities of a university (ACE) Fellow president with your actual university president at Who’s that?

10:00 at night.

• The one to ask when you have an academic question like: How do I approach my professor when I have a Area Resident Director really stupid question? When do I book an appointWho’s that? ment at the Career Center and how? Or, which class • The one who keeps everyone safe and comfortshould I take: Feminist Philosophy or Media and able in their living situation.

Society? (The answer: both.)

• The reason all the events in your dorm are varied, • The one behind your dorm’s hot chocolate brunch fresh, and frequent. for discussing summer internships, research • The more “adult” presence in your dorm, for when positions, and travel opportunities… and how to an issue just seems way over your head. find them.

• Your inside scoop for academic resources you never knew existed (Tisch library has a librarian for each academic major… who knew?)

7

TUFTS’

TOP 10 CAMPUS EVENTS

EACH YEAR, CAMPUS EVENTS LIKE SPRING FLING, TUFTONIA’S DAY, DRAMA AND DANCE PERFORMANCES, AND GUEST LECTURES FILL CLASSROOMS, AUDITORIUMS, LAWNS, AND JUMBO CALENDARS. HERE, WE’RE HIGHLIGHTING TEN EVENTS ON CAMPUS THAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT… BUT SHOULD. CHECK IT OUT.

NEWCOMERS’ WEEKEND

TUFTS DANCE COLLECTIVE SHOW

Tufts owns a lodge (aptly named The Loj) in Woodstock, New Hampshire where students can retreat to nature. Towards the middle of first semester, the Tufts Mountain Club (TMC) hosts Newcomers’ Weekend to introduce new students to the hiking, cycling, swimming, and rock climbing adventures available to them just a short drive away. Together, TMC vets and newbies enjoy the beautiful views of New England nature, and celebrate the traditions of The Loj.

People with two left feet, rejoice! If you thought your full dance potential was limited to the Macarena, Tufts Dance Collective (TDC) is the group for you. Every semester, groups of 20 students come together to learn a choreographed themed dance that borders on ridiculous (last semester one dance was titled The Tea Darty That Never Happened). The result? A memorable night of dance and hilarious YouTube videos guaranteed to embarrass you later.

HOMECOMING FOOTBALL GAME

COMMUNITY DAY

THE INSTITUTE SHOWS

WING FLING

With barbecues and live bands playing throughout the day, students, parents, alumni, and faculty come to our big Homecoming football game. Everyone is sporting brown and blue, and the stands are packed with cheering Jumbo fans. Don’t forget to decorate elephant-shaped cookies and ride the mechanical shark! (Apparently a mechanical elephant doesn’t exist… yet.)

The Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) is the umbrella organization on campus for all things community service. Once a year, LCS hosts Community Day, an event during which members of the Medford and Somerville communities come to campus for a capella performances, face painting and crafting booths, dance shows, and lunch for all.

The Institute, a sketch comedy group on campus, draws massive crowds three times each semester for their sometimes shocking, always funny shows. Their sketches are entirely student written and acted, and at the end of each year, they write and perform a full-length musical with totally original songs. The Institute showcased their comedy chops at the National College Comedy Festival last year.

Three minutes, two teammates, one massive bucket of chicken. Put them all together and you have Wing Fling, one of Tufts’ messiest and most fun events. Sponsored by the sorority Chi Omega, the event has teams of two compete to eat the most wings in three minutes. The proceeds go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Chi Omega’s national charity organization.

THURSDAY/SUNDAY SUNDAE

BEELZEBUB SHOWS

FAN THE FIRE

Twice a week, the Tufts community gathers for a tradition that is as beloved as it is delicious. The dining centers host Sundae Sunday (and Sundae Thursday—because one night of ice cream is not enough) with an entire sundae bar and a variety of ice cream flavors. Want the inside scoop? Go for a Belgian waffle sundae with Oreos and hot fudge.

The Tufts Beelzebubs—the oldest all-male a cappella group on campus—is one of Tufts’ eleven a cappella troupes. They were runners-up in the first season of The SingOff, and had a number one hit on iTunes when they sang “Teenage Dream” as the voices of The Warblers on Glee. Jumbos can catch them at one of their nearly 20 oncampus shows each semester—in Goddard Chapel, the beautiful Distler Auditorium, or just out on the Academic Quad. We love their rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.”

It really makes us feel that Boston pride.

A handful of times each year, Tufts students will pick one of the varsity games for a Fan the Fire event celebrating Tufts athletes and their commitment to service. Each event is centered around a new team and a new charitable organization—from the Perseverance Foundation to the One Love Foundation to Autism Awareness and more.

The Fan the Fire slogan says it all: Spirit.

Sports. Service.

SPOKEN WORD ALLIANCE SPRING SHOWCASE

8

Spoken word artists will perform in many SWAT (Spoken Word Alliance at Tufts) shows, but last year the spring showcase took the cake. Through open mics, poetry slams, and guest poets, SWAT allows students to express themselves in a lyrical and beautiful way, introduces Jumbos to the world of spoken word, and creates a safe and open space for thoughts of all kind.

Associate Professor of Political Science Consuelo Cruz’s areas of expertise are Latin American politics, comparative politics, and empirical theory.

When we started discussing her research on state building in Latin America, she lit up and apologized in advance for “getting a little nerdy.” Her research focuses on the relationship between long, recurrent episodes of democratic rule and state building through a technique called path dependence. “[Path dependence] finds ‘critical junctures’ [in history]—when struggles are waged and institutional arrangements are open to change—and sees how they impact the creation of institutional and political paths that are stable,” she explained. “It’s an approach that allows you to understand both stability and high instability, plasticity, and the potential to change.”

Born and raised in Nicaragua, Professor Cruz has always been interested in political stability, and lack thereof. She is interested in questions like: Why does democracy exist in certain places and not in others? And why is government in some states more effective than in others? “I come from a country that had periods of authoritarian rule followed by civil war followed by more authoritarian rule,” she told me. “That got me interested and involved in politics.”

This semester, Professor Cruz is teaching Political Culture in Comparative Perspective, a seminar exploring the relationship between power and culture, and Latin American Politics, which gives students a strong foundation on Latin America and its leadership patterns.

Professor Cruz is passionate about her research and her classes, but her favorite thing about Tufts?

The students. When I asked her to pick her favorite thing about students here, she smiled and responded, “Are you sure I can only have one?”

Tufts students, she said, are just fabulous. “They are curious about the world, very interested in ideas, while also being civically engaged—they want to make the world a better place,” she said. “Oh, and they are very nice.”

—HANNAH STEINBERG ’17

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

Professor Cruz “gets a little nerdy” about critical junctures in political history.

CONSUELO CRUZ ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

CLASS HIGHLIGHT

ZORK, WEARABLE COMPUTERS,

Computer science classes at Tufts answer questions like: How can we program a computer to make contextsensitive spelling corrections? How can we improve a virtual reality to allow users to better visualize a space?

What is the future of computer interfaces that use completely passive human interactions? They are exciting questions… maybe that’s why computer science classes on the Hill are so popular. Here are some descriptions from the computer science course catalog to give you a flavor of the department and its possibilities:

10

GAME DEVELOPMENT This course covers the principles, design, and development of games. Topics include game structure, engineering, 2D and 3D rendering, user interfaces, sound, animation, security of online games, and the applications of economics, music, and psychology in crafting games. Projects include designing an addictive one-button game, developing an interactive fiction game, and building a functional game in a team. In any given class, students might attend the Tufts Hackathon, discuss a brief history of video games, or even play Zork I: The Great Underground Empire.

ILLUSTRATION BY ©2015 HARRY CAMPBELL C/O THEISPOT.COM

ANIMATION, AND MORE

HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION How do computers communicate with people? This course covers methodology for designing and testing user interfaces, interaction styles (menus, graphical user interfaces, virtual reality, etc.), interaction techniques (including use of voice, gesture, eye movement, etc.), design guidelines, and user interface management software systems. Assignments throughout the year include: analyzing a next-generation interaction style (passive interaction, virtual reality, wearable computing, etc.); using a formal experiment to make a quantitative statement about the difference between two interaction techniques (pull down vs. pop-up menus, for example); and designing your own user interface.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE This course is an introductory survey of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Basic concepts include the history and theory of AI, representation of knowledge, and computational methods for reasoning. By the end of the semester, students should be able to identify the major classical and modern AI paradigms; analyze the structure of a problem and choose an appropriate paradigm in which to frame that problem; and implement a wide variety of both classical and modern AI algorithms. One homework assignment will have you using AI to get Bilbo Baggins through The Shire’s new subway system, and another begins: “You work at the registrar’s office at Hogwarts…”

VISUALIZATION This is an introduction to visualization techniques and technology. Well-designed visualizations are powerful tools for communication and support recall, inference, and decision-making. We will study techniques for creating effective visualizations, incorporating principles of graphic design, cognitive and perceptual psychology, data analysis, and human factors evaluations. Topics include color theory, animated transition, experimental design, and data mapping. Readings will include research papers representing the state of the art in visual communication technology.

11

ARTS HIGHLIGHT

CAPOEIRA, KATHAK, AND SALSA: WORLD DANCE ON THE HILL

12 12

PHOTO PHOT PHO P PH HOT HO H OT O TO B BY Y

You may come in contact with Tufts’ dance program as a total beginner or as an artist pursuing the minor. Browsing through the department’s course catalog, the dancers out there will certainly stumble upon some classes they were expecting: hip hop and hip hop fusion, as well as four iterations each of ballet and modern dance. Dance Repertory and Performance is present on the list, as are Dance Composition and 20th Century Dance History. They’ll also come across some atypical titles: Dance on Camera, for example, or Creative Dance for Children (that one’s cross-listed with Child Study and Human Development, of course). And then there are dances they may have never tried before—traditions from all over the world that have gathered on the Hill.

A critical piece of Tufts’ dance minor is a course in non-western dance. Dance minors could fulfill this requirement (and non-minors can explore something fun and new) by learning classical Kathak dance footwork along with abhinaya (facial expressions), mudras (hand gestures), and tal (rhythm) in Gretchen Hayden’s North Indian Kathak class. They could practice timing, tempo, and the power of slowing down for expressive impact and health in Sheriden Thomas’ Tai Ji Quan course. They could salsa, merengue, and samba in Latin I or II. Or they could explore capoeira, orixá, and frevo dance with Cristina Rosa in Afro-Brazilian Dance.

World dance is also a theme among Tufts dance troupes outside of the classroom. From La Salsa to Irish Dance Team, from the north Indian dance team Bhangra to the African Dance Collective, and from the Bollywood Fusion group Tamasha to the breakdance troupe known as TURBO, Jumbos are traveling the globe in dance studios and stages all over campus. Country swing, Middle Eastern dance, Garba?

Yeah, we’ve got a group for that.

PHOTOS BY ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS UNIVERSITY; TOP RIGHT AND BOTTOM LEFT PHOTOS BY DONNA DESIMONE

13

TYLER LUECK

’16

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR, SPANISH MINOR, AND VARSITY SWIMMER FROM WEYMOUTH, MA

14

We asked Tyler to reflect on his time at Tufts. He chose to do so using a law that he’s become quite familiar with as a chemical engineer and a (very busy) Tufts student: the second law of thermodynamics.

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

I love rules, plans, and structure. Basically, anything that keeps things on time, running smoothly, and predictable gets a thumbs up from me. I like to have a plan, and I like to stick to it. Unfortunately, there is one rule to rule them all, and it is the law of chaos. I don’t mean, “Explosion! Car chase! Vin Diesel!” kind of chaos. I’m referring to the second law of thermodynamics, which states: the entropy of the universe must increase. In chemical engineering, this law has a very crucial role, from energy balances to isentropic processes to polymer chain conformation. But in real life, the second law means one thing: disorder.

In simple terms, entropy is proportional to the total number of possible microstates for a system, or every way in which the molecules could exist. My microstates come in many different forms. I could be found in the Science and Technology Center for Reactor Design or Drug Product Formulation or in Olin Hall for Healthcare in the Spanish Speaking World or Survey of Latin American Literature II. In the dining hall, I can be found eating with my teammates after practice, studying with my fellow chemical

engineers, or catching up with friends from my freshman dorm, Miller Hall. I could be practicing at the pool, teaching swim lessons, or lifting at the gym.

From this alone, I have a decent amount of entropy.

But the second law states that this disorder- this absolute chaos of the universe—increases. This is what nature prefers, it says. My entropy continues to get bigger each day at Tufts, just as it should…

In high school, I only went to a few football games. Now, I paint my chest for Tufts volleyball at all their home matches. Last spring I danced like a total goof in front of most of the school at the Tufts Dance Collective spring show. Trust me, it wasn’t part of my “plan” for college to be in a dance choreographed to a mash-up of Lil Wayne and Aaron Carter. I used to be a sprinter, and now I swim the 500, the 1,000, and the mile for the Tufts varsity swim team. I was so set on doing something with medicine or pharmaceuticals after graduation, but my professors’ research on topics like polymeric membrane filtration, using tobacco mosaic virus for nanobiofabrication, and even micro-brewing have opened my mind to so many other chemical

engineering paths that I didn’t even know existed.

I had this rule in my head that, as an engineer, I would never take another English class ever again, and then I took a poetry class freshman year just for the fun of it. As much as I try to put order in my life, more and more good randomness keeps coming in at Tufts. But, as the second law states, this disorder is natural.

As a state function, entropy is independent of path. No matter what path you take from state one to state two, the increase in entropy is the same.

Everyone at Tufts has the same increase in disorder in his or her life, but no one person does it in the same way. And there is so much to learn from everyone else’s chaos.

As you can see, even though I’m a person who loves rules, order, and plans, my time at Tufts has been so incredibly far from ordered and planned.

These four years have been nothing but chaotic… in the best way possible. The disorder has allowed me to take some chances, to meet some amazing friends, and to explore myself. And this is what nature prefers.

15

TUFTS CAP AND GOGGLES As a varsity swimmer, last minute swims in Hamilton Pool are always a possibility.

So I keep my cap and goggles in my bag at all times—in case I have time for a swim between chemical engineering classes.

—TYLER LUECK ’16

PLASTIC TRASH BAG

THE REZ PUNCH CARD

Each winter, members of the Tufts Mountain Club (TMC) meet excited students flocking to the President’s Lawn to go sledding with a pack of plastic trash bags to be turned into homemade snowsuits. Typically worn as a poncho with head and arm holes, a trash bag is all you need for hours of sledding on the hill.

—JULIA GRACE ’18

If you frequently pick up a Voldemort or a Lucy in the Chai from the student-run café in the Campus Center (those are actually drinks on the menu), a frequent flyer card is essential. If you order 10 drinks, you get one for free!

—ANNIE GILL ’17

COMFORTABLE HEADPHONES

LONGBOARD LONGBO

I’m working in a Child Study and Human Development lab watching videos of children with learning disabilities doing a homework task with their parents. I assign codes based on their interactions. When I’m watching these videos for hours to study the data, I’ve learned that I need to have 2 things: great snacks and comfortable headphones.

—HANNAH STEINBERG ’17

Cruising across campus on a longboard is my favorite way to enjoy Tufts on a sunny day.

—CAMERON HARRIS ’18

16

CUPCAKES Every Sunday night my dorm gathers in our common area for Hall Snacks. We are free to bring our own snacks to share but usually my Resident Assistant, Dennis, bakes our entire hall cupcakes. No matter how much studying we have to do, we always make time to run downstairs, grab a cupcake, and catch up with each other.

—SYLVIA OFOMA ’17

FAN POSTER

GLITTER

I may not be on a varsity team, but my friends and I love to go to our sports games (we’ve deemed ourselves Tufts’ #1 fans). We made a bunch of signs for our Homecoming Football game and kept up the tradition through soccer, lacrosse, and softball games.

Go ’Bos! —HANNAH STEINBERG ’17

I have this glitter left over from last year’s Spring Fling. Kesha headlined the giant end-ofsemester concert last spring, and Tufts students celebrated Kesha-style in bright colors and tons of glitter. Campus sparkled for days afterward.

Now we’re just left (impatiently) waiting to see what kind of theme next year’s headliner will bring!

—EMILY PRESTLEY ’17

FAN POSTER PHOTO BY KELVIN MA/TUFTS UNIVERSITY TY TY

HOT ITEMS

YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT TUFTS THROUGH RANDOM ITEMS FOUND ALL OVER CAMPUS.

ATHLETICS

GO ’BOS!

THE TOP THREE REASONS YOU SHOULD WANT TO BE A JUMBO ATHLETE ACCORDING TO JOHN MORRIS

PHOTO PHOTOBY BYALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

John Morris is the new Athletic Director at Tufts. In a recent interview with Tufts Now, John spoke about the many reasons he’s excited to join the Jumbos at this important time in our athletic history, and why you should be too.

We Dominate

We’re Well-Rounded

We Have Excellent Leadership

Or as John puts it, “[Tufts has] a rich history and tradition of athletic success.” Tufts was ranked 9th out of more than 400 DIII schools in the 2015 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, which ranks schools according to their finishes in NCAA events.

We participate in the nation’s most competitive small college conference academically and athletically, and our athletes have won eleven team and individual national titles since 2010.

“[At Tufts], athletics… are truly just one part of a student’s overall educational experience,” said John.

The average GPA of our athletes is higher than the overall average GPA of the student body. Our athletes double major, study abroad, pursue internships, and participate in research. They are dedicated to service through events like Fan the Fire, which supports specific causes throughout the semester, and organizations like Team IMPACT, which pairs children facing life-threatening and chronic illness with college sports teams to improve their quality of life (an organization founded by Tufts alumni).

(John was too modest to say this, so we’re saying it.) Our new Athletic Director, John Morris, comes to Tufts with experience at the DI level. He majored in French and political science in college. “The mission of Tufts University aligns perfectly with my own educational values, and I will be passionate about carrying out that mission every day,” he said. He also points to our amazing coaches as an example of leadership, saying: “Coaches are great teachers who just happen to coach.”

17

“FLY”

A POEM BY LIZ PALMA ’16 | AMERICAN STUDIES MAJOR FROM PASADENA, CA

Migration is a human right.

God did not build borders or 18-foot high fences.

It is degrading to have to deny yourself the right, the right to walk to and from wherever you want.

Who has the right to deny anyone the passage of freedom?

If butterflies can fly, as they like, I too want to be a butterfly.

Quiero volar alto alto alto.

Nadie me parara.

No one shall stop anyone. Es mi derecho. It is my right Es tu derecho. It’s your right.

Mami told me, “Hija tú puedes con todo. Nos vas a sacar de estas fronteras y nos vas a dejar volar contigo.”

Mami doesn’t understand that I can’t fly.

I’m stuck, immobile.

Unable to flap my wings because as long as she and daddy can’t move I can’t either.

I don’t know what direction to go towards.

I’m chained down, chained down like a prisoner of war.

I am the daughter of dreams that have been shackled down.

I am the daughter of dreams that want to be free.

I am the daughter of undocumented immigrants.

I am the daughter of hope.

I hope because as dark as the passage has been so far, I know that there is a key to unchain my family.

To unchain my dreams. To unchain our dreams Mami I won’t be able to fly fly fly until you and Papi can fly fly fly.

We are one.

Somos uno.

Remember what the father said in church: “Familia que hoy unida permanece unida.”

I refuse to be separated.

It means that we will stick together.

No matter the odds.

Hasta que te sientas libre, then I will also be free.

When your wings begin to expand and reach any distance they want is when I can begin to fly along with you.

Y luego toda la familia tendrá alas bellas, y podremos volar juntos.

Fly mariposa. Fly mariposa. FLY Little butterfly I am no longer.

Powerful and magnificent Strong and mighty.

Unafraid I will become.

We will all be one. Unidos!

La fuerza será compartida.

We will be one once again!

Mami, Papi, Vane, Diana, y yo!

Volaremos y nada nos detendrá.

Jamás!

We will never stop flying.

In April 2015, Tufts announced that we will proactively and openly recruit undocumented students and meet 100% of their demonstrated financial need, just as we do for U.S. citizens.

Liz Palma, a senior active in immigrant justice through the Tufts Refugee Assistance Program and the Committee for Refugees from El Salvador (CORES), read this poem aloud at the announcement of this news. We found it moving, and thought you might too.

18

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

19

THE EVOLUTION OF TH

20

E DIGITAL HUMANITIES

ILLUSTRATION BY CHAD HAGEN

By Charlotte Gilliland ’16

21

I

’LL ADMIT IT--I LOVE BOOKS. I love how the pages smell. I love the touch of their tattered, worn covers and broken spines. I love how I can remember where I was when I spilled coffee all over my copy of my favorite William Faulkner novel, and I love looking at my old books all in a row in my bedroom.

During my first year at Tufts, I made my dad mail me the copy of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance that he had given me a few years ago.

I usually refuse to read things electronically—I prefer the touch of the book in my hands when I read. I’ve always been skeptical of electronic versions of books, but recently, with the help of a few Tufts professors and students, I’ve started to change my mind. I’m beginning to wrap my head around the idea that the humanities have the possibility to be all the more powerful when they embrace digital platforms.

Assistant Professor of Religion Jennifer Eyl, for instance, is rethinking how technology can be used in the realm of the humanities to provide the world with more accurate translations. She is currently working on the first scholarly annotated Bible ever to be available online, and is focused on using a digital sphere to create a space for correcting variations in translations that is separate from Christian ideology.

“I started looking at the translations of New Testament documents, and the English translations didn’t match the Greek. And I thought, well this is an interesting problem,” Professor Eyl said, explaining the origin of her project.

“So I started keeping a list of all of the words and concepts I had confronted in translation that didn’t match the Greek...and I thought, this problem is too pervasive to let it go.”

Errors in translation can lead to problematic implications for readers who aren’t fluent in the language of the original text. Say that instead of using the verb “to covet,” a certain translation used the verb “to take.” These words have entirely different meanings, and therefore the entire meaning of a sentence could be completely misconstrued.

To fix these errors, Professor Eyl focuses on the “living” aspect of a digital version of any text--scholars are constantly updating and correcting language in translations that have been found inaccurate. With a digital version, the text can constantly be updated, corrected, and studied thoroughly.

“When we improve our scholarship, or if somebody makes a breakthrough, we can change the translation right then and there. We don’t have to wait fifteen years for a new printing. It will be a flexible, constantly updatable resource,” Professor Eyl explained.

The religion department is not the only place at Tufts working to create humanities resources that incorporate the digital sphere—the Department of Classics has created Perseus, one of the largest digital humanities projects in the world, that archives anything from linguistic sources to physical artifacts, with a particular focus on the Greco-Roman world.

“We want to make this record available to every human...in the realm of possibility,” Assistant Professor of Classics Marie-Claire Beaulieu, who is also Associate Editor of Perseus, said. Her work focuses on the translation of ancient tombstones from Latin, a task that she collaborates with undergraduates to complete and make available on Perseus.

22

According to Professor Beaulieu, the meaning of providing “access” to this digital library indicates much more than it simply being free and available to anyone with internet access.

“Perseus is a set of tools to understand the text,” she said. “You have real access in the sense that you can understand what you’re seeing.” With this kind of accessibility, every user can enter the conversation.

Not only does Perseus, for example, allow you to read Homer’s Iliad in the original Ancient Greek with English translations—debated and otherwise—of every word; access a map of the most frequently mentioned places in the work; and read up on scholarly annotations and notes, but the project also facilitates necessary communication between disciplines. In a field like classics, which combines history, literature, and philosophy, interdisciplinary connections are vital to research.

“I always tell my students that they’re entering this big, world-wide conversation with [Perseus],” said Professor Beaulieu. “Because data can be formatted according to common standards...you can exchange data between different disciplines and understand one another in that way. You can look at phenomena over time [and] over cultures with other specialists.”

IN ADDITION TO CREATING GLOBAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN STUDENTS, RESEARCHERS, AND SCHOLARS, THE FIELD OF DIGITAL HUMANITIES IS FORCING US TO ASK EVEN LARGER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STUDY OF HUMANITIES ITSELF. A multidisciplinary approach is not unique to the classics department either— the Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies is a hub that researches the regions of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other surrounding countries, with an approach that combines the fields of history, culture, literature, and diplomacy, just to name a few. Seeking to improve collaboration among these disciplines, the center launched a Digital Humanities Lab, which pursues historic South Asian multimedia projects and makes them available online. Associate Professor of History Kris Manjapra, for example, is spearheading a project to archive the cultural heritage of Bengal through oral history recordings from senior intellectuals of West Bengal and Bangladesh. Tufts student Aniket De ’16 got involved with the Digital Humanities Lab during his sophomore year with Professor Manjapra, working to correct translations for the digital library.

“In the past 10 years a remarkable number of things have been made available on digital archives to the extent that I don’t think any undergraduate working on South Asian history now needs to leave the Tisch [Library] computers [to complete a] thesis,” said Aniket, who is so interested the collection of oral histories that he has actually begun to collect interviews on his own, in and around his hometown in India.

In addition to creating global connections between students, researchers, and scholars, the field of digital humanities is forcing us to ask even larger questions about the study of humanities itself. With living documents and collections like Perseus, how do we now determine a publication’s finality?

“We’re opening up new intellectual challenges,” Professor Beaulieu explained.

“Fifty years back, nobody would have questioned what a publication is. But now we have options...so I think intellectually it’s very challenging and very exciting to be redefining how these practices are done.”

“If anything, [oral histories are] facilitating more human interaction because you’re actually hearing human speakers and... listening to their voices,” Aniket said. “If that doesn’t increase human contact, then I don’t know what does.”

So, as the book-lover that I am, I’ve got to ask—what do we lose by reading ancient texts through screens? Will our physical connections to texts change in the future?

Asking ourselves what is gained from studying the humanities, beyond just the digital realm, might bring us back to the central pillar of the field of “humanities” itself: the “human” aspect. The study of disciplines such as literature, history, philosophy, and religion help us not only understand the world and its history, but also our present day, ourselves, and each other.

Here’s where Assistant Professor of English John Lurz comes in. He’s interested in the changing format of the book, and how our physical relationship to a text affects our reading. Currently, his research is exploring the way the book is being challenged by different mediums in his forthcoming book, The Death of the Book: Modernist Novels and the Time of Reading.

“People need resources to imagine who they want to be and who they want to become,” Professor Lurz said. “[In college], the more things I read, the more tools I had to understand my own experience...There’s something about the experience of reading literature that...helps me to access experiences, or imagine experiences that are different than mine.”

“The book will focus on things that we aren’t necessarily aware of—like how the book feels, how we feel when we touch it,” Professor Lurz explained. “I really wanted to think about reading books… How does the way books smell relate to our actual intellectual work?”

Particularly in light of today’s pressing world issues in areas such as race, gender, or global poverty, the study of the world’s history can certainly help us further understand both each other, and how the past has been so ideologically influential on our present day. And perhaps technology can simply help us do that better.

According to Professor Lurz, some aspects of a physical text are simply not replicable on screen.

ILLUSTRATION BY CHAD HAGEN

As Aniket said, the digital humanities function as a vital way to foster connections between both people and scholarship, using the Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies’ oral history project as an example.

“[With a book,] you can do things like have a spatial sense of things. There are things that a book offers that a digital text doesn’t,” Professor Lurz said.

“I do think, [though, that] if we ignored [the digital] completely we’d be shooting ourselves in the foot even from an intellectual standpoint.”

So even though I know that I’ll always keep my shelves lined with my paperback books--there’s something about the feeling of the grainy, crisp, cream-colored pages that I can’t part with--that doesn’t mean I won’t be expanding my world the with help of humanities work in the digital sphere, either.

23

AYESHA JALAL 24

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

MARY RICHARDSON PROFESSOR OF HISTORY

Professor Jalal has received a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship Award for her research in South Asian history and political economy. Her course last semester was taught between classrooms at Tufts and in Pakistan.

After over twenty-eight years of teaching, a MacArthur “Genius” Award Fellowship, and a staggering list of major publications—including her most recent book, The Struggle for Pakistan— Professor of History Ayesha Jalal definitely stands as an example of where I dream to be one day. She serves as the Director of Tufts’ Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies and teaches courses like Contemporary South Asia; and Modern South Asia: History, Culture, and Political Economy, among others. When I asked her about the beginning of her lifelong study of history, she explained that it all began with questions. “I had questions about South Asia—about where I come from in Pakistan,” she said. “I enjoyed asking questions that brought me closer to understanding the larger picture.” Her focus on South Asia also began from questions examining the historical partition of India, which resulted in the creation of two countries—Pakistan and India—that have had hostile relations ever since. Why were these countries separated? What were those problems? How have they evolved?

Her career has certainly been dedicated to answering many of these questions. She is a leading historian of Pakistan and the factors that led to its creation, as well as the political and religious history of South Asia. At Tufts, Professor Jalal challenges her students to ask their own questions. “History is not just about memorizing names,” Professor Jalal pointed out. “It’s about [being able to] really understand and analyze concepts.” According to Professor Jalal, there are lessons in history that allow scholars to “engage with the present in a more imaginative way”—something that doesn’t happen if one “remains completely ensconced in the present,” as she put it. Studying history also helps students critically distinguish between myth and history, and understand the crucial role that myth plays in society.

“Perceptions matter,” Professor Jalal explained. “It is important to know how [they are] created, and what purpose [they serve], because that’s the only way you will know how people think.”

Professor Jalal’s goal for her students is to acquire the ability to empathize—to learn from the lessons of the past in order to “craft a future that is

based on different premises.” Students last year who took her class, South Asian History in a Transnational Perspective, experienced firsthand how Professor Jalal welcomes different perspectives into her classroom. The class itself was video-linked; Professor Jalal taught the class at Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan, and coordinated with Associate Professor of History Kris Manjapra to hold discussions between the two classrooms halfway across the world from one another. “Across time zones, across so many miles, were students who were able to exchange ideas in a truly exhilarating fashion,” Professor Jalal said. At Tufts, she teaches classes in the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts’ graduate school of international affairs, which gives undergraduates the opportunity to study alongside Fletcher students and learn from their years of working experience in the field of international relations. “One has to learn to live in a world of multiplicity,” she said. “We live in a complex world, and education is about how you process knowledge in order to make sense of that complex world.”

—BENYA KRAUS ’18 25

AROUND TOWN

FALLING IN LOVE WITH BOSTON

26

FRIDAYS IN SEPTEMBER

ALL FALL LONG

ALL FALL LONG

Classics on the Common Reserve a Friday night (or two) for free outdoor movies on the Boston Common. The Goonies or Back to the Future, anyone?!

See a Show Broadway in Boston presented Tony Award-Winning Cinderella and The Book of Mormon this fall. Also check out world premieres or classics in opera, ballet, and more.

Boston Volunteer Days Help distribute food at local pantries, get involved with Bikes Not Bombs, or attend fundraising events for Boston’s Public Radio Station.

9.5

9.19

Battle of the Barges Fireworks Barges anchored in the Boston Harbor duke it out on Labor Day weekend to see who can put on the best firework show. Spoiler alert: everybody wins.

South Boston Street Festival Food trucks, local merchants, dance performances, and entertainment on two stages.

9.26

9.26

Free Museum Day Check out the Museum of Science, the Institute of Contemporary Art, or the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum… for free! (The MFA is always free for Tufts students.)

Fluff Festival Marshmallow Fluff was invented in our very own Somerville, MA. Celebrate the sticky, delicious invention with Fluff Festival in Union Square.

9.25-27

9.25-10.4

9.27-10.3

Boston Calling The Avett Brothers, Alabama Shakes, Hozier, Of Monsters and Men… the list goes on.

ArtWeek Boston Take the walking tour of Edgar Allen Poe’s Boston; learn jewelry making basics; try a pop-up improv class; or enjoy the Symposium on Art for Inclusion.

Boston Fashion Week Fashion shows galore—plus Open Style Labs and Smart Talks— make Boston ever-so fashionable in late September.

Tufts is less than five miles from the city of Boston, and less than five minutes from Davis Square, a hub of activity right in Somerville. Here’s a look at this fall’s calendar of events off campus, so you can get a sense of what your social calendar might include as a Jumbo.

ALL FALL LONG

ALL FALL LONG

ALL FALL LONG

Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics Games Hope you can handle Boston fans, because ‘tis the season to visit Fenway, Gillette, and the TD Garden.

Concerts Boston welcomed Madonna, Josh Groban, Diana Ross, Ed Sheeran, The Decemberists, Florida Georgia Line, and more this fall.

Escape the Room: Zombie Edition Somerville’s Escape the Room has a creepy twist—you’re trapped with a hungry Zombie.

You have 60 minutes to find clues, solve puzzles, and unlock the door.

10.4

10.9-11

St. Joseph’s Feast in the North End This is the last of an entire season full of feasts hosted in Boston’s “Little Italy,” The North End. Eat a cannoli for us!

Honk!

This Davis Square festival hosts street musicians of the “brassroots revolution” from all over the country. Roam the streets and stumble upon incredible musicians around every corner.

10.14-16

10.17

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey’s Circus P.T. Barnum was a Tufts trustee—and our mascot is a circus elephant— so how could we not point out when the circus is in town?

Boston Pumpkin Festival Light your carved pumpkin and float it out on Boston’s Frog Pond with hundreds of others.

10.17-18

10.23-24

10.31

Head of the Charles Regatta The world’s largest two-day rowing competition attracts over 11,000 athletes and 400,000 spectators to the shores of the Charles River every year.

Boston Book Festival Over 150 presenters arrive for this event (we welcomed Margaret Atwood this fall), and Copley Square transforms into a giant outdoor bookstore. Literary buffs rejoice!

Beacon Hill with a BOO! Tour Boston’s oldest neighborhood, but bring your blankie; this tour covers ghost haunts.

27

VOXJUMBO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS MAJOR AND COMBINED DEGREE STUDENT WITH THE SCHOOL OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS (SMFA) FROM SHANGHAI, CHINA Yuchun (who goes by Lynette) will graduate in five years with two degrees: a Bachelor of Arts from Tufts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the SMFA. She fills her schedule with classes like Feminist Philosophy and Decolonization and Post-Colonial Thought but also Por trait Painting and Watercolor Mapping. She hops on the campus-tocampus shuttle on a regular basis and never compromises her passion for art for her fascination with international affairs. Here, Lynette answers the Tufts supplemental questions so you can get to know her, Tufts, and our application all at the same time!

A piece from Lynette’s art collection titled “Subway People.”

Why Tufts?

In high school, I would willingly spend eight hours on a painting assignment but also enjoy writing a 14-page research paper on the merits of authoritarianism. Craving both intensive studio practices and a general liberal arts education, I had my eyes on the combined degree program between Tufts and the SMFA. I deeply appreciate the luxury of exploring my diverse interests on two campuses without ever compromising my artistic goals or academic pursuits.

I feel truly content with what this program has offered me—and it was love at first sight.

There is a Quaker saying: “Let your life speak.” Describe the environment in which you were raised—your family, home, neighborhood, or community—and how it influenced the person you are today.

I moved from my hometown, a medium-sized city, to its neighboring city, Shanghai, at the age of six. I remember tracing my mother’s footsteps in the overwhelming crowd at a subway station, amazed by the metropolitan lifestyle. A year after we moved, though, I started commuting to my downtown primary school on my own, totally at ease with underground trains and flooding crowds. To everyone’s surprise, I moved again to a village in Maine to continue high school years later, where I indulged in painting, literature, and nature. My experiences of growing up in extremely disparate parts of the world fostered my variety of interests. I enjoy wandering in urban landscapes and hopping between galleries and museums. But I also treasure moments in nature: sketching the stem of a leaf or the petal of a withering flower, or hiking through the heart of a mountain and its forests. Eventually, I found the happy medium between a megacity and a remote town—the city Boston.

But more importantly, I learned if we overcome our fear for the uncertainties of the future, every new place can be a possibility for a new home. Right now, I find it surprisingly soothing to travel in between Tufts and the SMFA, and metaphorically, between two fields of study.

Perhaps I have finally found a constant among uncertainties and changes.

Of six options, Lynette chose the following for the final supplemental question: A) Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf—the first elected female head of state in Africa and winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize—has lived a life of achievement. “If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough,” she once said. As you apply to college, what are your dreams?* The two Chinese characters “Yu” and “Chun” that make up my first name were given to me after my family’s deliberate consideration. When translated into English, however, all that is left are the pronunciation and alphabetical letters. For those who can’t read Chinese, the meanings are forever lost in this kind of translation.

Loss in meaning does not only happen in translation between languages. I have been living in a foreign country for five years, and I have noticed that it is always much harder to describe the significance of certain events, customs, and sometimes my personal feelings to my peers.

I have met numerous Chinese students of my generation—immigrants of previous generations, undocumented Chinese immigrants—and they all remind me of what it is like to be a foreigner, a member of a racial minority, and sometimes an outsider. I wondered if there was a way to blend into a western society without sacrificing my—and our—“Asianness.”

With the goal of bridging the culture and communication gap between China and the U.S., I tried to merge eastern and western aesthetic elements in my designs. I started studying international relations at Tufts, and I became a member of the Chinese Student Association.

This goal has become a part of my life rather than my “dream”—a lofty term. Perhaps too often we are scared of our dreams because they seem too idealistic in the face of reality. But before we know it, we start to carry them on our shoulders as we march forward in life.

*To see the other options for the third supplemental question, visit admissions.tufts.edu/apply/essay-questions 28

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

YUCHUN BIAN ’17

INTRODUCING THE TUFTS COMMUNITY THROUGH THE TUFTS SUPPLEMENT …

ONE PERSON AT A TIME.

#ILOOKLIKEANENGINEER WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AT TUFTS

**Facts from these pages were gathered from American Society for Engineering Education, U.S. News, the National Science Foundation, and Indiana University Bloomington

30

PHOTO BY KELVIN MA/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

WE ALL STILL HAVE A WAYS TO GO WHEN IT COMES TO THE FEMALE PRESENCE IN STEM FIELDS. BUT WE FEEL OPTIMISTIC WHEN WE MEET THE INSPIRING FEMALE ENGINEERS AT TUFTS—UNDERGRADUATES, GRADUATE STUDENTS, AND FACULTY ALIKE—AND LEARN ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE ACCOMPLISHING IN THIS MALE-DOMINATED FIELD. HERE ARE SOME FACTS ABOUT WOMEN, ENGINEERING, AND WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE HILL AND BEYOND.

19%

38%

The national average of female undergraduates in engineering is 19%.

Nationally, only 38% of the class of 2013 participated in an internship during their undergraduate experience.

NOT-SO-FUN FACT:

NOT-SO-FUN FACT:

32%

PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: MELODY KO/TUFTS UNIVERSITY, MELODY KO/TUFTS UNIVERSITY, KATHLEEN DOOHER, KELVIN MA/TUFTS UNIVERSITY, KELVIN MA/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

FUN FACT:

At Tufts, women comprise 32% of the undergraduate population in the School of Engineering. This includes chemical engineer Sylvia Lustig ’17, who did funded summer research on the selectivity and efficiency of various single atom metal alloys as catalysts for the dehydrogenation of methanol; civil engineer Melissa Adler ’18, whose research focuses on testing the qualities of Synthetic Lightweight Aggregate; and mechanical engineer Camille Saidnawey ’17, whose summer internship with SolidWorks allowed her to virtually explore the Lascaux caves of France in a Virtual Reality Center.

25.4%

NOT-SO-FUN FACT: 25.4% of individuals in computer and math science occupations are women.

80% FUN FACT:

At Tufts, nearly 80% of engineering undergraduates participate in at least one internship during their undergraduate experience. This includes chemical engineer Rachael Grudt ’16, who interned with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s bioenergy technoeconomic analysis group last summer; mechanical engineer Geena Lucibello ’16, whose internship involved Aviation and Surface Transportation devices with Volpe National Transportation Systems Center; and electrical engineering major Emily Gill ’16, who helped design and deploy a new combustible gas indicator device for National Grid in her full-time internship.

!!!!!!!!

FUN FACT:

Associate Professor of Computer Science Soha Hassoun is Chair of Tufts’ Department of Computer Science in the School of Engineering.

Her research is in computational methods for metabolic engineering and Computer-Aided Design for integrated circuits.

14%

NOT-SO-FUN FACT: The national average of female faculty in engineering disciplines is 14%.

24% FUN FACT:

At Tufts, women comprise 24% of the faculty in the School of Engineering. This includes the Robert and Macy Haber Endowed Professor of Chemical Engineering Maria FlytzaniStephanopoulos, elected to the National Academy of Engineering for her contributions to clean energy technology; Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering Irene Georgakoudi, who is revolutionizing the detection of cancerous growths by using light detection instead of invasive biopsies; and Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Daniele Lantagne, who came to Tufts after seven years working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and develops and implements household water treatment projects in developing countries.

10%

NOT-SO-FUN FACT: In 2013, only 10% of the patents in industry had women’s names attached.

FUN FACT: Last year, three female engineering undergraduates placed second in Tufts’ $100K New Ventures Competition, an entrepreneurial event that awards members of the Tufts community (including faculty, graduate students, and alumni) with $100,000 for outstanding business plans. Briana Bouchard (now a Tufts Admissions Counselor!), Diana Burns, and Claire Rogers designed a secure IV that is streamlined, simple, and painless for patients.

31

PHOTO BY

LET’S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS: TUFTS’ FINANCE INITIATIVE AND THE JUMBO ENTREPRENEUR

BY CHARLOTTE GILLILAND ’16

M

any people think you have to major in business in order to work in business—and in fact, U.S. college graduates consistently choose to study business more than any other subject. Now let’s be frank: Tufts doesn’t offer a business major. This often begs the question: “Can I go to Tufts and still be prepared for the business world?” The more time I spend on this campus, and the more I learn about the Tufts community and its resources, the more I understand the answer to this question to be a resounding “Yes!” And I think people like Jamie Dimon (CEO and President of JPMorgan Chase), Danielle Weisberg (co-founder of TheSkimm and one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 this year), and Ellen Kullman (the first female CEO of DuPont) might point to their years studying the liberal arts at Tufts as evidence of this.

As I enter my fourth year at Tufts, I can tell you without a doubt that this university is a hub of ideas. From the exchange of cutting-edge business

proposals at the Tufts Entrepreneurial Society to the more tangible projects, such as three students’ creation of the music-sharing app Cymbal—recently valued at $6.1 million—Tufts is a place where business-minded students come to share their innovative visions.

This entrepreneurial spirit is only growing each year on the Hill. In March 2014, the economics department announced that it would now offer a minor in finance, beginning a rapid evolution of Tufts’ financial and entrepreneurial programming.

Nearly coinciding with this announcement was the creation of the Tufts Finance Initiative and the hiring of Chris Di Fronzo, a finance-oriented career counselor in the Career Services office.

Di Fronzo, who joined the Tufts community in May 2013, is now Assistant Director of the Tufts Career Center, and Director of the Tufts Finance Initiative. His job has three parts: working with students as a career advisor; collaborating with alumni

to offer networking and learning opportunities for undergraduates; and working to provide useful programming and events for students who want to prepare for a career in the field.

Di Fronzo has created an exciting path for students interested in finance. Whether it’s advising juniors on applying for a key internship before their senior year, or coordinating the Finance Career Forum for students to network and learn from alumni working in the field—Di Fronzo and the Tufts Finance Initiative have had their hands full. “We’ve put together a road map for finance at Tufts,” Di Fronzo told me. “[We help students] set themselves up for opportunities to appear….We’ll give you the track to run on.”

This “finance track” can begin in a variety of ways, most markedly with the new finance minor: a six course interdisciplinary minor that provides students with formal economics classes as well as coursework in mathematics and even philosophy.

33

THIS “FINANCE TRACK” CAN BEGIN IN A VARIETY OF WAYS, MOST MARKEDLY WITH THE NEW FINANCE MINOR: A SIX COURSE INTERDISCIPLINARY MINOR THAT PROVIDES STUDENTS WITH FORMAL ECONOMICS CLASSES AS WELL AS COURSEWORK IN MATHEMATICS AND EVEN PHILOSOPHY.

Once a student combines this minor with the strength of a liberal arts education, and the tactile skills one can gain at events like the Finance Career Forum, says Di Fronzo, Tufts students are highly equipped to work in the field.

“I’ve seen the success,” he said. “Being a liberal arts institution is very important… It teaches you how to think, solve problems, [and] look at a situation from many different angles. And that’s extremely important because in the world of business, there isn’t one solution to a problem. There are a thousand solutions. Your goal is to find the one that… is the most effective [and] can be implemented in the time frame that you have for the cost that you can afford.” Those are the skills a Tufts liberal arts student masters, he explained.

Doug Rachlin, a 1985 graduate of Tufts who is now managing director at Neuberger Berman, echoed Di Fronzo’s remarks on the new minor. “It maintains the integrity of a strong liberal arts program, but it offers the finance-minded student an opportunity to get [exposure] to the finance area,” he said.

Rachlin, who has returned to Tufts many times in the past few years to work with students, told me he was impressed by Tufts’ expanded focus on careers in the finance field. He makes a concentrated effort to recruit interns from Tufts, and this summer invited a Tufts senior to return to work full-time after graduation.

“Tufts students offer a very strong applicant pool for corporations and businesses that are looking to [hire] young talented individuals,” he told me over the phone from his New York office. “The intern I had this past summer…was so excited about what I do. It was great to see that I could hire a student that shares my passion for investing.”

This passion for all things business has been made clear through events and programs already available to Tufts students. Take, for example, the Tufts $100k New Ventures Competition, which welcomes students to submit proposals and compete for $100,000 worth of funding for a business idea.

The interest and talent has always been huge; winners from last year included a mobile application for valet parking and a pharmaceutical company working to create novel therapies for breast cancer.

Tufts’ Finance Initiative and the new minor have responded to the existing interest and upped the ante with expanded networking opportunities, as well as events like Wall Street Prep—a two-day intensive seminar led by investment bankers to whip students into Wall Street shape. But according to Alyana Verjee ’17, who just completed a summer internship at Goldman Sachs, a lot of the building blocks necessary for a successful finance interview can be learned in one course: Introduction to Finance.

“I took Intro to Finance with Christopher Manos, [Professor of the Practice with years of experience as a CFO], and that was extremely helpful,” she said, “It was ...a run-down of finance terminology that one should know going in to an interview. I was taught...your primary finance principles which was incredibly beneficial when editing presentations.”

Alyana, hailing from Toronto and majoring in economics, decided to look at liberal arts colleges, instead of attending a school where she might specifically study business. “I’m so glad I applied ED to Tufts,” she said. “I wouldn’t trade my liberal arts degree for anything...I think liberal arts students are able to conceptualize on a larger scale.”

STUDENTS PRESENTING THEIR BUSINESS PLAN AT THE $100K NEW VENTURES COMPETITION. WINNERS FROM LAST YEAR INCLUDED A MOBILE APPLICATION FOR VALET PARKING AND A PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY WORKING TO CREATE NOVEL THERAPIES FOR BREAST CANCER.

TUFTS’ FINANCE INITIATIVE AND THE NEW MINOR HAVE... EXPANDED NETWORKING EVENTS [AND INTRODUCED] EVENTS LIKE WALL STREET PREP—A TWO-DAY INTENSIVE SEMINAR LED BY INVESTMENT BANKERS TO WHIP STUDENTS INTO WALL STREET SHAPE. When I asked Alyana about how she prepared for her interviews to attain her position at Goldman, she told me she performed some outside prep work, but built largely on the basic concepts she learned at Tufts. After a summer of hard work, long hours, and lots of on-the-job learning, she’s been invited back to Goldman to return for the following summer.

“I became automatically aware of my work-life balance and how to manage my time,” she told me.

“As an intern you’re really thrown in. You’re working with globally recognized companies… You also have exposure to senior bankers. I got to learn so much.”

In addition to being an economics major and likely a finance minor, Alyana is involved with 180 Degrees Consulting: the largest student consultancy in the world that works to consult for non-profits and help them improve their non-profit business models.

Tufts has its own chapter of the student-run consulting group. In Alyana’s words, working with 180 Degrees is a way of giving back, and an important way to combine her interests in finance and nonprofit work.

Knowing that civic engagement was something all Tufts students could get behind, I asked Alyana why someone interested in non-profit work should take finance courses. “In any business, finance is [at the] core,” she explained, “even if you’re talking about a non-profit company. All businesses are driven by revenue.”

This seems to be a “Tuftsy” combo: entrepreneurial initiatives with a social mission. Sharad Sagar ’16, for example, founded the non-profit Dexterity Global in order to expand access to education for children in South Asia. Dexterity Global has worked with close to 1 million students in more than 46 countries and Sharad has received multiple UN awards as well as a fellowship through the Clinton Global Initiative for his work.

Tufts offers many ways to engage with social entrepreneurship, such as courses from the ExCollege that look specifically at the impact of microfinance initiatives on communities, or providing grants for the Tufts Institute of Global Leadership program called Empower, which works to educate and assist students with the projects in the field of business-related social work.

And as Di Fronzo told me, you can always give back, no matter what field you’re in. If having a career in finance is your goal, he said, then you’ll know better how to manage, plan, and succeed in any type of social-driven work you might want to add on in the future.

“As an industry, [finance] is important….If you want to start something new, you need financing, you need funding,” Di Fronzo said. “And whether that something new is a bakery, [or] you want to start a non-profit organization that helps the homeless, [or] you want to open a bank…you need funding in some way.”

So whether you’re interested in Wall Street or social entrepreneurship, Tufts will make sure you’ve got the finance background you need.

35

ADVICE

WHAT IS AN ADMISSIONS OFFIC

Last year, Tufts had just over 19,000 applications to review in order to find the 1,360 students that would make up the Class of 2019.

As the admissions officers in Bendetson Hall read through each application, they asked themselves a series of questions about each individual they “met.” The answers to these questions were important in shaping the well-rounded, intellectual, nice group of people that now live and study at Tufts.

What are the questions they ask, why are they important, and how can they help you craft a better application? Take a look.

36

Does this person “get” Tufts?

Will our professors love this person?

Our supplement includes the question, “Why Tufts?” We care about your answer because if you understand Tufts—its values, community, and intellectual identity—then you are communicating to us that you see a fit between you and this university. If you can articulate the reasons you’d fit at Tufts in your essays, it becomes easier for us to see a fit, too. So do your research and be specific when answering this question. Pick one or two things about Tufts and talk about them in depth as opposed to listing many things you like about this place. And also infuse your other essays with information about yourself that you feel is a fit for our school.

First and foremost you are going to college to learn. As we evaluate each application, admissions officers are asking the question, “Will this person provide a unique perspective in class that will allow others to learn from them?” We ask, “Will our professors enjoy teaching them, working with them, and learning from them?” So at some point in your application, talk about something that intellectually excites you. Whether you do independent research, write slam poetry in your spare time, or are known for voicing strong political opinions in class, tell us that. We care about your intellectual identity; define it for us.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY AAD GOUDAPPEL

ER THINKING?

How would this person’s best friends describe them?

What impact will this person have on their future community?

Does this person make me care about what they are writing about?

The answer to this question allows admissions officers to predict what kind of person we’ll meet (and who your classmates will meet) when you show up on campus. We should finish your application knowing if you’re a nice person who would be a great roommate, teammate, and friend; where you feel most like yourself; and what you sound like. Are you sarcastic, contemplative, energetic? Infuse your essays with your own flavor and tone. When you have finished writing, ask yourself the question, “If I were to hand this essay and three others on the same topic to my best friend, would they be able to tell which is mine?” If the answer is yes, that’s a sign that your authentic voice is present in your essays.

In order to fill 28 varsity sports, over 300 student organizations, hundreds of study abroad programs, and research positions in every academic department, we need to admit students who will get involved. We also want students who will be active members of their communities long after graduation. When listing your activities, be specific in highlighting the impact you have made. Did you raise $2,000 for a non-profit, break a school athletic record, or tutor a student toward their first A in math? In your essays, help us picture your impact after graduation by telling us about your aspirations.

Do you hope to be an advocate for the environment?

Revolutionize health care? Remember that you are not locking yourself into anything; telling us you’re interested in majoring in physics doesn’t mean you have to, but it tells us more about your aspirations than “Undecided” will.

Inspiring others to be excited about an idea is an excellent skill; it’s one you’ll use in college classrooms, during group projects and presentations, and in the dining hall discussing an upcoming lecture on campus. If you can write about documentary filmmaking or Sylvia Plath’s poems in a way that allows an admissions officer to get excited about them too, you’ve crafted a successful college essay. Give us a few details about your passion so we can geek out about it with you, or use descriptive language that allows us to picture it. If we can feel like we connect with you on this topic, we know you can really engage your future friends during late-night dorm conversations and your classmates during heated debates.

37

PROGRAMS With nearly 150 majors and minors, 30 interdisciplinary programs, and the courses of the ExCollege, Tufts’ offerings require more than a brief skimming, so you can find an expansion of this quick list on our website. But in the meantime, skim away.

Just note that Tufts undergraduate programs are offered in two schools: Arts and Sciences and Engineering. You can choose majors and minors in either or both schools, and many students do. You may even transfer from one school to the other.

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES MAJORS

Greek and Latin

Civil Engineering

French

History

Computer Engineering

Geology

*available only as a second major

Interdisciplinary Studies

Computer Science

Geoscience

Africana Studies

International Literary and Visual Studies

Electrical Engineering Environmental Engineering

Geosystems/Earth and Ocean Sciences

International Relations

Mechanical Engineering

German

American Studies Anthropology Applied Mathematics Applied Physics Arabic Archaeology Architectural Studies Art History Astrophysics Biochemistry Biology Biomedical Engineering Sciences* Biopsychology Biotechnology* Chemical Physics Chemistry Child Study and Human Development Chinese Classical Studies Cognitive and Brain Sciences Community Health Computer Science Drama

Italian Studies Japanese Judaic Studies Latin Latin American Studies Mathematics Middle Eastern Studies Music

Engineering Psychology/ Human Factors English Environmental Studies* Film and Media Studies French Geological Sciences/Earth and Ocean Sciences

Engineering Psychology/ Human Factors Engineering Science Environmental Health

Hebrew History Italian Japanese Judaic Studies Latin Latin American Studies

Physics

Africana Studies

Latino Studies

Political Science

Arabic

Leadership Studies

Psychology

Architectural Engineering

Linguistics

Psychology/Clinical Concentration

Architectural Studies

Mathematics

Quantitative Economics

Art History

Medieval Studies

Religion

Asian American Studies

Music

Russian and Eastern European Studies

Astrophysics

Music Engineering

Biotechnology Engineering

Philosophy

Chemical Engineering

Physics

Child Study and Human Development

Political Science

Spanish Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Chinese

Roman Archaeology

Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Roman Civilization

FIVE-YEAR COMBINED DEGREE PROGRAMS

Colonialism Studies

Russian

Computer Science

Sociology

Tufts/New England Conservatory: BA or BS and Bachelor of Music

Dance

Spanish

Drama

Studio Art

Tufts/SMFA (School of the Museum of Fine Arts): BA or BS and Bachelor of Fine Arts

Economics

Urban Studies

Education

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING MAJORS

Engineering Management

Russian Language and Literature Sociology

PROFESSIONAL DEGREES

38

Engineering Physics

Greek Civilization

Philosophy

German Language and Literature Greek

Engineering

Greek Archaeology

MINORS

Geology/Earth and Ocean Sciences German Studies

Architectural Studies

Peace and Justice Studies

Economics Education*

Greek ADDITIONAL DEGREE OPTIONS

Engineering Education English Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies

Biomedical Engineering

Film and Media Studies

Chemical Engineering

Finance

Religion

CLASS HIGHLIGHTS DRAMA Whether you want to be an actor, director, screenwriter, or just a more critical viewer of theater and film, there’s something in the Tufts Department of Drama and Dance for you. Take a look at the courses they are offering this fall: First-Year Showcase

Latino Theatre and Film

Scene Painting Practicum in Acting

18th Century European Drama and Performance

Theater Technology

Writing the Short Film

Sound Design

Teaching Drama and Improv

History of Pop Entertainment

History of Directing

Public Speaking

Costume Design

Dramaturgy

Producing for Film

PHOTO BY ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING Here are just some of the many classes taught through the Department of Biomedical Engineering: Introduction to Biomedical Engineering

3D Bioprinting

Design of Medical Instruments Biological Systems Analysis

Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine

Tissue Engineering Research Lab

Computer Interface Design

Quantitative Physiology

Drug Product Formulation

Optics and Wave Motion

Biophysics

Principles of Controlled Release and Drug Delivery

Molecular Biotechnology

Biomedical Entrepreneurship and Strategy

Introduction to Biophotonics

Associate Professor of Biology Philip Starks studies many systems, but his favorite is the honey bee. He believes that the future of efficiently understanding and combating diseases could be found through the study of honey bees. I recently had the pleasure of learning about his research straight from the source.

“Much of what I do is view honey bees as super organisms,” he told me. “You can look at a honey bee colony and consider it like a body in which all the cells are workers in that body.” With this information, Professor Starks can use honey bees as a “model system for studying disease transmission through natural population” which may provide a predictive model of disease. By viewing honey bees as super organisms we can see patterns in the spread of disease, measure the success of prevention techniques, and explore methods to combat

diseases once they’ve taken hold. Even cooler, multiple hives of honey bees can represent a city with bees bringing foreign objects (such as pollen) and pathogens back to the hive. Honey bees respond to disease by pulling out the dead, maintaining a clean hive, or (as Starks discovered) by generating fever within the brood comb. The relevance of this research is incredible. “The hope is that we could use this information to learn how a disease flows through social systems,” explained Professor Starks.

“Humans are social animals.” Just like bees.

To collect his data, Professor Starks has gone on collecting trips, collected fine temperature readings, set up his own enclosures to maintain live animals, and watched organisms in the wild—all with vital help from his students. Professor Starks has students constantly publishing out of his lab. He also

loves to welcome aboard new undergraduates who are interested in his research. “First year students are ideal for research,” he said. “The sooner you get an undergrad, the more they can accomplish in their time here. I think it’s extremely useful for undergrads to get involved as soon as possible.”

When asked about his favorite thing about working at Tufts, Professor Starks expressed that it changes every year. In the past it has been the tight-knit welcoming department, the academic freedom, and even simply having a job! However, right now, his favorite thing about working at Tufts is the students. “You’re all a little bit too motivated, you work too hard, you play too hard, but you’re an awful lot of fun to work with.”

—DYLAN HONG ’19

PHILIP STARKS ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY 40

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

Professor Starks loves to involve students in his fascinating research about social animals like honey bees.

JUMBO SIGHTINGS

PHOTOS BY STUDENTS, PARENTS, AND ADMINISTRATION

TUFTS STUDENTS CAN’T LOOK AT ELEPHANTS WITHOUT SEEING JUMBO. IF YOU’VE SPOTTED ONE LATELY, SEND AN EMAIL WITH YOUR PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS TO JUMBOEDITOR@TUFTS.EDU

HAYDEN LIZOTTE ’15 Admissions Counselor “Found Jumbo in India among the pancha rathas, chariot-shaped temples from the late 7th Century.”

PHU THINZAR SOE ’19 from Yangon Myanmar “Made this Jumbo stuffed animal!”

DANIEL KNIGHT ’19 from Jensen Beach FL “Jumbo hears a Who!”

ANNIE JACOBSON ’19 from New York, NY “This fellow Jumbo helped me get even more hyped to start freshman year!”

JULIA GARBOW ’19 from Ridgefield, CT “An elephant a day keeps the doctor away!”

SELENA GROH ’19 from Arlington Heights, IL “Getting the dorm décor started!”

BRIANNA MOODY ’16 from Honolulu, Hawaii This orientation coordinator got ready to greet new students to campus this fall!

LIAM KNOX ’19 from Princeton Junction, NJ Graduation party cookies!

LAUREL HOWELL ’19 from Los Ranchos, NM “Even my socks are ready for Tufts!”

JOE KRAWITZ ’19 from Wyckoff, NJ “My dog is joining the Jumbo club.”

Equal Opportunity Applicants for admission and employment, students, employees, sources of referral of applicants for admission and employment, and all unions or professional organizations holding collective bargaining or professional agreements with Tufts University are hereby notified that this institution does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, veteran status, or national origin in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs and activities. Any person having inquiries or complaints concerning Tufts University’s compliance with the regulations implementing Title VI, Title IX, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, or Section 504 is directed to contact the Office of Equal Opportunity on the Medford/Somerville campus, 617-6273298 or 800-611-5060 (TDD 617-627-3370). This office has been designated by Tufts University to coordinate the institution’s efforts to comply with the regulations implementing Title VI, Title IX, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Section 504. Any person may also contact the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202, or the Director, U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Region One, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, regarding the institution’s compliance with the regulations implementing Title VI, 34 C.F.R. Part 100; Title IX, 34 C.F.R. Part 106; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, 45 C.F.R. 90; or, Section 504, 34 C.F.R. Part 104.

In addition, Tufts has formulated an administrative policy that educational and employment decisions are based on the principle of equal opportunity. The consideration of factors such as sex, race, color, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, veteran status, or disability unrelated to a person’s ability, qualifications, and performance is inconsistent with this policy.

In accordance with both federal and state law, the university maintains information concerning current security policies and procedures and prepares an annual crime report concerning crimes committed within the geographical limits of the university. Upon request to the Office of Public Safety, 617-627-3912, the university will provide such information to any applicant for admission. The report is also available online at http://publicsafety.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/tufts-public-safety-annual-report-2015-16.pdf.

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. Postage PAID Burlington, VT Permit No. 149

OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS Tufts University Bendetson Hall 2 The Green Medford, MA 02155 -7057 617- 627-3170 admissions.tufts.edu