Jumbo Magazine - Summer 2015 by TuftsAdmissions

THE TUFTS ADMISSIONS MAGAZINE ADMISSIONS.TUFTS.EDU

THREE-PEAT! THIS THREE-TIME NATIONAL CHAMP OFFERS UP HER ANSWERS TO THE TUFTS SUPPLEMENT

TOP TEN

THE COOLEST THINGS TUFTS STUDENTS ARE DOING OVER THE SUMMER

SILK

THE NEW ENGINEERING MATERIAL EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

MUSIC TO OUR EARS

THE DUAL DEGREE PROGRAM WITH THE NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY

ADMISSIONS ADVICE

HOW TO DECIDE IF A SCHOOL MAKES YOUR LIST

ISSUE 12 / SUMMER 2015

JUMBO 12

22 FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES THE NEWEST MAJOR to hit the hill

32 SILK

PHOTO BY ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

YOU WON’T BELIEVE what this engineering material can do

ONTHETHE ON COVERCOVER MICHELLE COOPRIDER‘16 ’15 answer IMOGEN BROWDER

This three-time national champion your pressing questions lorem ﬁlls out the Tufts supplement to ipsum etc more text coming from help you get to know her and the Mere.application at the same time. Tufts Meet Michelle on page 30. FRONT COVER PHOTO BY JARED LEEDS BACK COVER PHOTO BY ALONSO NICHOLS/ TUFTS UNIVERSITY

GREETINGS

FROM THE DEAN TWENTY SPRINGS AGO, I began my run as a college admissions dean. When

I realized 2015 marked my 20th anniversary in such a role, it sparked a degree of reflection. My title might be the same but the admissions process I lead is profoundly different than it once was. A full generation of freshman classes have been recruited, admitted, enrolled, and graduated since “Dean” replaced “Mister” as my campus prefix, and I’m struck by how much has changed. Campus tours still feature the enthusiastic student guide walking backwards, sometimes in flip flops, and the information session with an admissions officer is more or less the same idea, even if PowerPoint and video are now featured elements. But that’s where the similarities start to fade. 1995’s admissions landscape was largely paper-based. Colleges produced a view book and assorted brochures; the Millennial Class of 2000 received an acceptance letter distributed by the U.S. Postal Service. We had e-mail— still in its embryonic form—but websites were essentially electronic bulletin boards accessed via a dial-up modem. There was no Facebook group to join (I think Mark Zuckerberg was still in junior high) or Naviance scattergrams to assess. “Blog” was a typo, texts were books, and the only tweets around college admissions were from the birds on campus. I don’t remember many newspapers having an “admissions beat” and there were certainly far fewer rankings and opinions to absorb. Things related to college admissions seemed quieter and decidedly less frenzied back then… The Classes of 2020 and ’21 now occupy center stage in the admissions drama. And here’s some advice to them from someone who’s been through it a few times: the process of researching and selecting a college is fundamentally a conversation about program, people, place, and personality. By May 1 of your senior year, your objective is to identify a college—and a community—that meets your needs in each of those fundamental categories. JUMBO magazine will highlight members of the Tufts community in order to cut through the noise and give you a sense of fit. As the buzz surrounding your admissions process rises, keep your perspective focused on what’s important to you. Don’t believe everything you hear and read (except when it’s in JUMBO, of course). Try to maintain some clarity about what you want, even when it seems like everyone around you has an opinion about what you should want. It’s your search. Own it.

MEET THE STUDENT COMMUNICATION GROUP Most of what you’re about to read was written by these Tufts students. We’d like to thank them for introducing you to the Tufts community from a student’s perspective.

THE TUFTS ADMISSIONS MAGAZINE

CAMERON HARRIS ’18 from Shelburne, VT BENYA KRAUS ’18 from Bangkok, Thailand ABIGAIL MCFEE ’17 from Chadron, NE

AMANDA NG YANN CHWEN ’18 from Penang, Malaysia GRIFFIN QUASEBARTH ’15 from Baltimore, MD

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

Lee Cofﬁn Dean of Admissions and Enrollment Management

14 WAYS TO MAJOR IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

STEP ONE

COMPLETE 6 CORE REQUIREMENTS

STEP TWO

CHOOSE 1 OF 14 THEMATIC CONCENTRATIONS AND COMPLETE 7 COURSES WITHIN THAT CONCENTRATION

CORE COURSES > Introduction

to Politics of International Relations > Principles

of Economics > One class in:

International Economics

THEMATIC CONCENTRATIONS AND COURSE EXAMPLES Europe and the Former Soviet Union • Soviet, Russian, and Post-Soviet Politics • Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe • Political Thought of Machiavelli

Middle East and South Asia • Political Economy of India • Foreign Policy Making in the Arab World • Literary Qur’an • Egypt since 1952

International Finance • Political Economy of Developing Countries • Historical Marxism • Economics of International Migration • Geographic Information System (GIS)

Global Health, Nutrition and the Environment • Human Reproduction and Development • Epidemiology • Health Care in America • Biological Anthropology

Ideologies • Dungeons and Dragons: Medieval Roots of German Identity • Comparative Revolutions • Confucianism • Liberty, Morality, and Virtue

East and Southeast Asia • Power and Politics in China • Women and Gender in East Asian Tradition • Introduction to Buddhism • Japan and Postmodernism

Latin America • Revolution in Central and South America • Mesoamerican Archaeology • Native Peoples and Indigenous Rights in South America • Latin American Short Story

International Environmental Economics • International Environmental Negotiations • Environmental Biology • Environmental Justice and World Literature • Water and Diplomacy

International Security • Anthropology and Armed Conﬂict • War and Domestic Political Change • Mitigating Electoral Violence in Africa • Paris, 1919, and the Treaty of Versailles

Empires/Colonialism/ Globalization • Urban Sociology • Coming of Age in Contemporary Africa • Modern Latin America • Enlightenment and Imperialism • Christianity and Globalization

Africa • After Violence: Truth, Justice, and Social Repair • African Music Ensemble • Southern African History • World View of Race

International Trade • Economics and Policy of Land Use and Development in Transition Economies • Poverty and Public Policy • History of Financial Turbulence and Crises

International Development Economics • Economics of the Middle East • Quantitative Economic Growth • Labor History across South Asia and the Caribbean

The U.S. in World Affairs • The Global Factory: Labor and Industrial Capitalism • World Wars and the Nation State • Human Rights and American Foreign Policy

Ex: International Trade > One class in:

The Historical Dimension Ex: History of Consumption > One class in:

Theories of Society and Culture Ex: Human Rights in Cultural Context > Language

Requirement Enough for oral and written proﬁciency in a foreign language of your choice

INS & OUTS

SNAPSHOTS FROM THE HILL

JUMBO CHEF: CEREAL SPECTACULAR AS CREATED by Johnny

Fairﬁeld-Sonn ’18 in Carmichael Dining Center INGREDIENTS Lots of cereal (I love Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Lucky Charms, and Corn Pops) 1 banana 1 spoonful peanut butter DIRECTIONS Fill one large cereal bowl with as many types of cereal as you’d like. Grab a banana and slap some peanut butter on the side of your bowl. Once you’ve sat down, peel your banana and get some peanut butter on your knife. Slice your banana into your bowl; this will get peanut butter evenly distributed on your banana. Stir it all up and voila! Cereal Spectacular!

ENGINEERING IN CRISIS HOW WAS SUSHI AFFECTED in the Fukushima meltdown? Can you use cotton balls to clean up an oil spill? ‘Introduction to Engineering in Crisis’ with Professor Daniele Lantagne is just one of the options for the ES93 introductory class each freshman engineer is required to take. Learn about four disasters that have hit the world and how engineers are at the forefront of preventing them, reducing their effect, and dealing with the aftermath. There are seven other ES93 options to choose from, including Simple Robotics, Global Product Development, and Climate Change Engineering.

CYMBAL

JUMBO FANS BLEED BROWN AND BLUE WHEN THE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM hosted the first four rounds of the NCAA national tournament, the men’s track team showed up with giant cut-outs of each player’s head, along with signs that read “SWAT TEAM” in reference to our two 6’2” blocking machines, Hayley Kanner ’15 and Michela North ’17. When our football team won the first home game of their season, the majority of the 3,500 fans who crammed the stands rushed the field after the final play. Through multiple “Fan the Fire” spirit events each year, Jumbo fans come out to support our varsity teams and a good cause, in keeping with our athletes’ commitment to service. Every Jumbo fan is dedicated to showing pride for dear old Brown and Blue. Go ‘Bos! 4

CREATED BY Tufts seniors Gabe Jacobs, Amadou Crookes, and Mario Gomez-Hall, the music app Cymbal has gone viral on the Tufts campus. By connecting to Spotify and SoundCloud, you can post a song you’ve just discovered or one that’s stuck in your head. Follow your friends to favorite and comment on each other’s cymbals and discover new anthems. What would your cymbal be today?

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO WRITE WHEN Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jonathan Franzen came to speak on campus, I was able to sit just a few feet away from him. He framed his talk as a Q&A session with himself, asking the questions that interviewers have neglected to ask. His answer to the question, ‘Have you ever regretted publishing something?’ was ‘Yes.’ The anecdote he told, about a story he published in The New Yorker that ended up hurting someone deeply, was uncomfortable and sad. He didn’t ﬂinch as he told it, but he did tear up slightly. ‘You have to believe you have the right to write,’ he said.” —Abby McFee ’17

@MONACOANTHONY TWEETS MUMBO JUMBO THIS YEAR, the Jumbo mock trial team won 5th place in their division at the National Mock Trial Tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio. Nationally, Tufts Mock Trial is ranked 32nd of nearly 300 schools, and is one of very few completely student-run groups in the country. The team travels all over the country to compete, and even hosts an invitational tournament on campus called Mumbo Jumbo.

TUFTS’ PRESIDENT ANTHONY MONACO is every Jumbo’s favorite social media guru, and apparently an ice cream scooper on the side! Here’s one of our favorite tweets from this spring: Swing by the Campus Center between 2:30–4:00 p.m. I’ll be serving up sundaes with other administrators to thank our generous students.

FAN PHOTO BY KELVIN MA/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

EXCOLLEGE COURSE: RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN MODERN AMERICA POP OP IN TTO OFFICE HOURS

LET’S GET ETHICAL

ENGINEERS AND LIBERAL ARTS STUDENTS alike flock to office hours in the computer science building, Halligan Hall—and not just for the extra help. Computer Science Professor Bruce Molay is famous for making fresh popcorn for students who attend any professor’s office hours in the building. With a student to faculty ratio of 9 to 1 and professors as approachable as Professor Molay, it’s easy and fun to get to know the faculty at Tufts!

EVERY FALL the Department of Philosophy and the Experimental College co-host the Tufts Ethics Bowl. Guided by graduate students in the department of philosophy, teams of 3–5 undergraduates from various departments debate real-world ethical problems in front of a panel of judges. The winning team not only receives cool prizes and bragging rights, but also an opportunity to compete in the Northeast Regional Ethics Bowl against other New England colleges.

EACH SPRING SEMESTER, two Massachusetts assistant attorneys general ask a class of twenty students one single question: “Does privacy exist?” Students in the class come from majors as diverse as clinical psychology, art history, biology, political science, and American studies. Throughout the semester, they will examine each amendment from the Bill of Rights and dissect the most important Supreme Court opinions that form the body of constitutional privacy rights. The answer to the central question of the class changes nearly every day.

from every possible angle, including health technology, communication, and even budgeting. Through research projects and group presentations, Jasmine was challenged to answer questions like, “Where does communication go wrong in medical interactions between patient and provider?” “How did this hospital mismanage its money and eventually fail?” “How should a certain target population be using the Fitbit to improve their health?” Being surrounded by individuals with more experience and different perspectives on health has been eye-opening for Jasmine. Of being the youngest person in all of her classes, though, she said, “It really doesn’t matter. Everyone’s lived experience gives them something to offer in class discussions.” A theme that ran through our conversation was the support and help she received throughout this process. From her Resident Director who read and edited her personal statement to the head of the Health Professions Advising program, Jasmine always felt like she had a team behind her. And while she still has another year as a Tufts student, she knows she’ll get the same support well after her (second) graduation. “The thing about health professions advising at Tufts is it doesn’t end when you leave,” she said. —MEREDITH REYNOLDS ’11

Jasmine will graduate in ﬁve years with a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Public Health. Then, it’s on to save the world through health policy implementation, hopefully focusing on child and maternal health care.

JASMINE BLAND COMMUNITY HEALTH AND CHILD STUDY AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT DOUBLE MAJOR AND BA/MPH DUAL DEGREE STUDENT FROM BOYNTON BEACH, FL 6

’15

PHOTO BY JARED LEEDS

Like many students starting college, Jasmine Bland ’15 had her eyes set on medicine. “I thought I wanted to be a doctor,” she told me, “because I wanted to make large-scale systemic changes to the health care system.” But in her first year at Tufts, as she fell in love with her community health classes, she realized it’s actually public health professionals that make the changes she was envisioning. “That’s when my focus shifted to policy,” she said. Jasmine first discovered the huge potential impact of public health professionals in a final project for her community health introductory course. Her class was challenged to find a health disparity in a specific U.S. state and address it. Choosing her home state of Florida, Jasmine investigated the difference in healthcare spending for children and the elderly. Discovering through census data that the elderly population is not as overwhelming in Florida as she originally thought, Jasmine was shocked to find that the state was spending incredibly little per child in public assistance programs. “No one ever talks about children’s health in Florida,” she said. “But you hear so much about Medicare. I was seeing this in [my research] and it reinforced what I saw in my high school.” Jasmine attended a Title I high school in south Florida, and had many peers who couldn’t recall the last time they’d seen a doctor or gone to the dentist. This class project made everything click. “That’s when I really got into maternal and child health policy,” said Jasmine. Three years later, Jasmine is finished with her undergraduate study. But she’s also halfway done with her Master’s in Public Health at the Tufts School of Medicine, having applied for the BA/MPH dual degree program as a junior. “During your four years of undergraduate study,” she explained, “[the BA/MPH program allows you to] take classes at the medical school within the public health program, so you can graduate in five years with two degrees.” It’s a unique opportunity that allowed her to save a year of tuition money and apply to graduate school without taking the GRE. “I feel like I’m in on this big secret,” she laughed. With all that this program offers, however, it’s impossible to keep it a secret. As an undergraduate, Jasmine was already taking classes with lawyers, medical students, veterinarians, and other professionals and graduate students. Together they investigated and reimagined the health care system

LIVING

WHAT’S IN YOUR FRIDGE?

There seems to be some common understanding that college students only eat ramen noodles. While it’s true that college students are restricted by the amount of space in their mini fridges, we learned by polling Tufts students that not everyone is living off of instant soup and Red Bull (although we did ﬁnd some Red Bull, we’ll be honest). So what’s in a college student’s fridge? Here’s what we heard!

PHOTO BY AMOS CHAN

Abby Curran ’16 Peanut butter and jelly Cream cheese Yogurt Hummus Carrots Turkey

Benya Kraus ’18 Red Bull Raspberries! (Must eat them fast or else they go bad) Leftover General Gau’s chicken from Chinese food takeout Cam Harris ’18 Real Vermont Maple Syrup (can you tell where I’m from?) Salsa Gatorade Ben & Jerry’s (the theme continues…)

Abby McFee ’17 Hummus Naked juice Frozen peas Tons of Greek yogurt Restaurant leftovers Occasional ice cream

Joey Cheung ’16 Korean marinated BBQ Mangoes Almond butter Avocados Broccoli Bagelsaurus Bagels Cream cheese

TUFTS’

TOP 10 SUMMER PLANS

JUMBOS ARE BUSY. THEY JUGGLE STUDY SESSIONS WITH DANCE REHEARSALS, SPORTS PRACTICES, INTERNSHIPS, AND MORE. YOU’D THINK THEY’D SLOW DOWN IN THE SUMMER, RIGHT? WRONG! HERE ARE JUST SOME “OFF SEASON” PLANS THIS YEAR’S JUMBOS HAVE:

STUDY ABROAD

CONDUCT FUNDED RESEARCH

In addition to the ten Tufts study abroad programs and over 200 approved non-Tufts programs during the academic year, Tufts has its own campus in Talloires, a small town in the French Alps. The Tufts in Talloires program lasts six weeks over the summer, during which students live with host families. Course offerings include Flowers of the Alps, Alpine Nature in French Literature, and The Political Philosophy of Rousseau.

Tufts’ Summer Scholars program funds about 50 undergraduates each year in the pursuit of a ten-week research project with a faculty mentor. This year, topics include communities’ influences on maternal mental health, the effects of radio jets on their host galaxies, gender identity and function in 20th century science fiction, how voters punish and reward a politician who “flipflops,” and the interaction between liquid crystals and carbon nanotubes.

GET AN INTERNSHIP

EXPLORE BOSTON

ENJOY THE OUTDOORS

TAKE A CLASS

Tufts students intern all over the globe, and up to 45 of them will receive funding for their summer internships with a Tufts Career Center grant. This summer you’ll find Jumbos at the San Francisco airport working on civil engineering projects, at the Boston Medical Spanish Center teaching Spanish to medical professionals, or at CNN, the Los Angeles Times, or NBC Sports expanding their media portfolios. You’ll ﬁnd them at the Massachusetts State House, the Institute of Contemporary Art, J.P. Morgan, Dassault Systèmes, and countless other spots.

Boston is a hub of activity all year long, but summer brings events like the Scooper Bowl (all-you-can-eat ice cream in City Hall Plaza!), outdoor concerts (Billy Joel and James Taylor both performed at Fenway Park this summer!), and Red Sox games by the plenty. Summer is also a great time to walk the Freedom Trail, spend a day at the New England Aquarium, or picnic on the Boston Harbor Islands.

Sure, Tufts is only four miles outside of Boston, but that doesn’t mean Jumbos can’t be full-time outdoorsmen. Tufts Mountain Club’s Loj—a cabin in Woodstock, NH with access to hiking, swimming, rock climbing, and more—remains open during the summer months. Students may also choose to hike through the Middlesex Fells Reservation just off campus, spend a day at one of the many beaches in or around Boston, or kayak along the Mystic or Charles Rivers.

Tufts students who stay on campus over the summer can choose from a wide range of courses. This year, students can choose to take anything from Medical Anthropology to Writing in the Beat Generation; from Ecology, Biotechnology and Sustainability to Economics of Management and Strategy; from Simple Robotics to Modern Africa Through Fiction and Film.

WORK WITH CHILDREN

TRAVEL WITH A PROFESSOR

VOLUNTEER

SUMMER READING

Whether they are teaching at the EliotPearson Department of Child Study and Human Development on campus, which runs summer sessions through their Children’s School, or acting as camp counselors for the Robotics camps run through Tufts’ Center for Engineering Education and Outreach, Tufts students have plenty of opportunities to get involved in early education over the summer.

Tufts professors will be conducting research all over the globe each summer, and many will bring undergraduates along! This summer, pre-vet student Kendra Nowak ’17 is representing the Romero Lab in Chile in a collaborative university project funded by the National Science Foundation. They will be taking blood samples from an animal called the degu to measure stress hormones. Rachel Martel ’17, Michelle Sodipo ’17, and Paige Roberts ’16 will be in Ghana with Assistant Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine Karen Kosinski conducting research on schistosomiasis (read more on the facing page).

Active citizenship is a central part of each Tufts student’s identity. Students this summer will volunteer with Green Streets Initiative, a non-proﬁt promoting the use of sustainable, active transportation in Boston; they’ll work with students at risk of dropping out of the Boston Public School system; and they’ll provide services to lowincome community members through LIFTBoston. And that’s just the beginning!

No, Tufts classes don’t have summer reading as requirements (we can hear your sigh of relief from here). But summer is a great time to pick up a book you ﬁnd fascinating. This year, Tufts faculty have published over 30 books students can check out. Titles include The Challenge of Democracy: American Government in Global Politics; Cognitive Architecture: Designing for How We Respond to the Built Environment; Jumbo: Marvel, Myth, and Mascot; The Readable Darwin: The Origin of Species Edited for Modern Readers; and Frida Kahlo’s Garden.

PHOTO BY JARED LEEDS

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering David Gute has a background that might seem unexpected for an engineering professor. As the former Assistant Commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Health, he is interested in how public health applies directly to the ﬁeld of engineering. Engineers build sustainable solutions to our greatest problems around the world; they develop infrastructure that keeps populations safe and disease-free. Recognizing this important intersection, Professor Gute has been instrumental in establishing a relationship between the departments of civil and environmental engineering and community health. It’s remarkable how civil and environmental engineering principles can be used as a means to improve sanitation and prevent the spread of diseases. Take, for instance, the work that Professor Gute and Karen Kosinski—now Assistant Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine—did to counteract the parasitic disease, schistosomiasis. “Schistosomiasis is the second leading parasitic disease in the world after malaria,” Professor Gute said. “It’s contracted through contact with speciﬁc species of snails in surface bodies of water.” Professor Gute and his team conducted research on the disease in Eastern Ghana. “Our idea was to use engineering skills and approaches to interrupt the cycle of transmission of schistosomiasis,” he told me. Children have the highest risk of contracting schistosomiasis since they generally spend the most time swimming. Professor Kosinski’s team proposed the construction of a low-cost community water recreation area in a village, as a means to keep children from recreating in the rivers. Disease rates declined precipitously after the water recreation area was built, he explained. More locally, Professor Gute worked in Somerville, MA in a collective effort with various community action groups to establish the Vida Verde Cooperative. Vida Verde supports Brazilian female house cleaners in Somerville. “The goal was to empower these female immigrant workers to be able to work more safely and effectively,” Professor Gute explained. In addition to advocating for the cleaners’ employee rights, the cooperative implemented the use of renewable cleaning agents that are safer for both the workers and the environment. “Vida Verde stands as an example of a public health intervention,” said Professor Gute proudly. “Not only are the workers receiving further training and empowerment, but caustic, irritating, and toxic cleaning materials were replaced with better, safer alternatives.”

Professor Gute brings his community health experience to the classrooms at Tufts, offering courses such as The Biology of Water and Health. Taught in collaboration with Professor Jeff Griffiths of the Tufts School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, the class was recently brought to a whole new platform. “The Biology of Water and Health formed the basis of the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) produced here at Tufts,” said Professor Gute. MOOC courses are a new online teaching platform; since all of the material is web-based, individuals all over the world can enroll. In offering The Biology of Water and Health as a MOOC, Professor Gute said, “we originally hoped to reach first-line sanitation and public health workers around the world.” The course did exactly that. “The first post we received as our MOOC went live was a series of questions from a sanitation engineer in Monrovia, Liberia. At this point, that was the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak.” For more information, search for “Biology of Water and Health” on edx.org. Maybe you’ll enroll in this class with Professor Gute, and explore the exciting intersection of engineering and health. —CAMERON HARRIS ’18

Professor Gute brings his public health experience to the engineering classroom, highlighting the important intersection of engineering and health.

DAVID M. GUTE PROFESSOR OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

CLASS HIGHLIGHT

THE EXPERIMENTAL COLLEGE The Experimental College, or the ExCollege, offers a new set of over 50 innovative, unconventional classes each semester. Some cover outlandish topics or offer a new spin on a well-worn theme. Others are taught by leaders in industry, local entrepreneurs, or even Tufts undergraduates instead of professors. All of them make students think differently about a college classroom and what it will teach them. Here are four of our favorite ExCollege courses from this past semester. See the full list of ExCollege courses for Fall 2015 at excollege.tufts.edu.

Sabermetrics: The Objective Analysis of Baseball

Inside Women’s Magazines: From Ladies Home Journal to B*tch and Beyond

Andy Andres won the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) USA Today Sports Weekly Award in 2012 for his research on Tommy John surgery and PITCHf/x. He was the Lead Instructor of the MIT Science of Baseball Program and received his PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry and Physiology at Tufts. His class examines baseball objectively—using hitting, pitching, and ﬁelding statistics. Guest lecturers, assignments like choosing and defending your own MVP, and a few days dedicated to the science of baseball scouting keep the class fresh and always evolving. Throughout the semester, in addition to reading Moneyball and Baseball Between the Numbers, among other works, students created their own in-depth sabermetric research project.

Have you ever noticed that when female athletes make the cover of Sports Illustrated for reaching milestones in their careers, they are often photographed in little clothing and suggestive poses? Do you ever wonder why more women aren’t assuming top editorial positions at what are considered “thought-leader” magazines, or why women’s magazines are considered “less serious” than other publications? Susanne Althoff, editor of Boston Globe Magazine, felt that women’s magazines have been unfairly ignored in our society, and she decided to offer an ExCollege class that addressed these issues and more. For the class’ ﬁnal project, students broke into pairs and created their own women’s magazine. They focused on female comedians, tackled LGBTQ issues, and promoted positive self-image for tweens.

Famous Trials in U.S. History Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Startups In recent years, Boston has become a leader in “the cleantech revolution.” With over 200 New England companies dedicated to cleantech innovation, you could call this region—and Boston in particular—a hub of clean energy entrepreneurship. Using Boston’s “cleantech cluster” as a case study, this ExCollege course investigated the steps that cities, states, and countries have taken to promote innovation. What makes a city a “hub for entrepreneurship”? These ExCollege students couldn’t ask for a better teacher to guide them in answering that question; Sandra Kreis is a 2014 winner of the Entrepreneur’s Data Jam hosted at Google Headquarters in NYC and the former Senior Business Development Manager for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. Tufts students spent the end of the semester drafting a proposal and pitch for an incubator in life sciences, cleantech, fashion, and more.

Ever noticed that society seems to think differently of women’s magazines? So has the Experimental College! Now let’s ﬁgure out why. 10

Students in Ian Pilarczyk’s class discussed trials that everyone in the United States would recognize: O.J. Simpson, Lizzie Borden, the Salem witch trials, President Clinton’s impeachment proceeding, and more. These trials, their key players, and their outcomes can reveal an incredible amount about the social mores and cultural trends of the society and time in which they took place. Pilarczyk, the founding Associate Director of the LL.M. in International Law program at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the founding Director of Executive LL.M. in International Business Law at Boston University’s School of Law, challenged Tufts students to decide if justice was served in these trials, what made them so resonant in society, and what role they played in public discourse. “Trials provide us with invaluable unconscious testimony,” the syllabus says. “We can glean what issues are in contention; what things are tacitly agreed upon and therefore not verbalized; what aspects in culture are in ﬂux.”

ATHLETICS

PHOTO BY KELVIN MA/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

BACK TO BACK IN LAX In the last ﬁve years, Tufts athletes have certainly led the pack (or herd, as the case may be) in Division III athletics. As this spring came to a close, Jumbos claimed their 13th NCAA Division III national title in ﬁve years. This included team and individual events. Both Jumbo teams that won national championships this spring have become somewhat accustomed to the title; women’s softball took home their third trophy in as many years this May, and men’s lacrosse is now back-to-back champions. This is the third national title overall for men’s lax, and the team is looking strong for next year as well. Among the returning talent will be John Uppgren ’16, who led Division III nationally in scoring this season, with 76 goals and 53 assists. With 129 points, he broke his own single-season

scoring record and amassed 253 points in the last two years. Conor Helfrich ’16 will also be back next year, returning to the middle of the ﬁeld—a spot where he feels more than comfortable. Conor won 24 of 31 face-offs in the national championship game against Lynchburg, earning him recognition as Most Outstanding Player. The performance wasn’t such a surprise to his teammates; Conor’s success rate on the face-off was 65% overall this year. Eleven different players scored in the ﬁnal game to clinch the national title this spring, a testament to the depth of the Jumbo roster and the teamwork Head Coach Mike Daly encourages in every game. Jumbos on all teams are looking forward to the 2015–2016 school year, and we can’t wait to celebrate more wins and titles in the future! 13

When you think of the words “art history,” what comes to mind? Paintings in a quiet museum? Stuffy lectures and rote memorization of dates and artists? How about dynamic challenges to gender norms and influential sociopolitical commentary? To the casual observer, art history may appear to be an intimidating subject, but once demystified, it is a concentration with stunningly powerful influences. This is the world in which Associate Professor of Art History Adriana Zavala lives and the one she brings to Tufts every day. Born in Mexico and raised in the United States, Professor Zavala focuses on US-Latino relations, and is specifically interested in the representation of particular groups of people in visual arts. “We are humanists and historians,” she said of academics in her field. Art, according to Professor Zavala, both reflects and influences history. It is not just about aesthetic pleasure and canonical artists, but also about history and the people who shape it. Her latest book, Becoming Modern, Becoming Tradition, examines women and gender in 20th century Mexico before, during, and after the Mexican Revolution. Exploring the works of artists like Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, Zavala discusses the concept of womanhood and its evolution in relation to a changing 20th century Mexican identity. The postrevolutionary cultural renaissance led to a “reinvention of Mexican tradition in the interest of national unity,” she explained. This tradition typically limited women’s rights. But at the same time, Mexican women had seen the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel and were pushing towards more representation in arts, culture, etc. “You have this collision of cultural impetus to becoming modern with a nationalist project of revalorizing tradition,” Professor Zavala said. Artists like Kahlo, who painted self-portraits while wearing traditional native clothing, represent this dichotomy of the old and the new through their work. However, visual culture is not solely represented through famous paintings. In fact, one chapter in Professor Zavala’s book is devoted entirely to evolving beauty pageant advertisements. Images, regardless of the medium, are used to convey these changing and conflicting Mexican ideologies, she explained. As someone with both American and Mexican roots, Professor Zavala seeks to act as an ambassador to her own Mexican heritage while giving her

students the tools to think critically about the longstanding relationship and inextricable bonds (both positive and negative) between the US and Latin America. In her class this semester, which focuses on Chicano and New York Puerto Rican identities, she examines issues like immigration and seeks to uncover the truth about two cultures who are maligned and underrepresented in the US. A truly multidisciplinary teacher, Professor Zavala assigns readings with the hope of showing how cultural groups are represented in ﬁlm, music, social sciences, and even the US census. With her careful guidance, students become bonded and empowered to challenge not only society’s beliefs but also their own. Professor Zavala compares the Tufts student community to a Cubist painting, challenging the rules of reality and tradition. Tufts students, she said, are complex and full of color. They look beyond convention and critically analyze the world around them. Luckily, through the guidance of mentors like Professor Zavala, we have all the tools we need to do so. —GRIFFIN QUASEBARTH ’15

ADRIANA ZAVALA ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ART HISTORY 14

PHOTO BY JARED LEEDS

Professor Zavala is the curator of the current exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden titled Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life.

HOT ITEMS

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

CANDLE CHI OMEGA CANVAS

LEGO MINDSTORMS ROBOTICS KIT This kit from my Simple Robotics course is the best part of my engineering coursework. When completing assignments means having to build with LEGO bricks, it hardly feels like I’m doing homework (I actually play with my course materials when I’m bored sometimes). —Cameron Harris ’18

When I arrived at Tufts, I didn’t intend on joining Greek life. But now I’m a newly initiated member of the sorority Chi Omega, and I cannot think of a better group of 47 young women with whom to share my Tufts journey. One of my sisters made me this owl canvas, and every time I look at it I’m grateful to have found a sisterhood of young women who strive to better not only themselves, but each other and the community around them. —Benya Kraus ’18

I received this candle during orientation week at the Illumination Ceremony, which signiﬁes the ignition of lights of knowledge on the Tufts Hill. At the end of this year, during senior week, I lit this candle once more with the rest of my graduating class. After we listened to President Monaco speak, we blew out our candles as a symbol of our time at Tufts coming to a close. —Danielle Bryant ’15

CARMICHAEL STIR FRY NIGHT TICKET

ROBOTICS PHOTO BY KELVIN MA/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

CHOCOLATE One of my classes had been going through a stressful patch when our professor decided to bring some chocolate to class. Life suddenly got a lot sweeter. (Okay since it was dark chocolate, technically it wasn’t that sweet but bear with me on the wordplay.) —Amanda Ng Yann Chwen ’18

THE BOOK OF MY LIVES BY ALEKSANDER HEMON Imagine this: you are an English major who read an amazing memoir in class last semester. The professor of that class, with whom you are little obsessed, e-mails to tell you that the author of said memoir is coming to campus to give a reading. She invites you to go with her. You spend two hours in complete awe of the professor sitting beside you and the author standing at the podium. That was my Tuesday night. —Abby McFee ’17

CAMERA

Get pumped for Tuesday nights at Carmichael Dining Center, where you can get a bowl of delicious stir fry made right on the spot for you. Coming from Asia, I’m extremely picky about these American renditions on my favorite dishes, but Carm’s stir fry night makes even the pickiest Asian cuisine enthusiasts water at the mouth from just thinking of it. —Benya y Kraus ’18

Tufts was the place where re I found my passion for cinema and movie-making. My freshman year I picked up a Panasonic GH4 camera a at a Tufts University Television ion (TUTV) general interest est ked meeting and never looked back. —Danielle Bryant ’15

15 1 5

ARTS HIGHLIGHT

MUSEUM WITHOUT WALLS Art on a college campus doesn’t have to be confined to galleries and studio art classes. We’re proving it to you with glimpses of Tufts art in every nook and cranny of campus. 1 Not only is this recycled coffee cup sculpture environmentally friendly, its conversation bubble shape feels appropriate for its location—the Tower Café in Tisch Library. Students who get coffee with their professors in Tower Café get their drinks for free! 2 The “Easter Lilies” stained glass window in Goddard Chapel, the non-denominational religious space on campus, was produced by Tiffany Studios. Goddard’s many windows make the space bright and beautiful for religious ceremonies, a cappella concerts, and more. 3 This tapestry hangs from the ceiling in the Tisch Library lobby. The binary code on it is a translation of Philip Larkin’s poem New Eyes Each Year. “Find old books here,” the poem begins… 4 Artist Nina Katchadourian created this video piece on an airplane during a long-haul flight. She used her iPhone to create a “fine art cell phone video.” 5 Who couldn’t use a little ego boost on their walk across campus? This graffiti sits atop the library steps and never fails to brighten our day. 6 Colossal AcornHead is everyone’s favorite member of the Tufts community. Artist Leslie Fry is influenced by fairy tales and magical creatures… can you tell? 7 The 11x8 foot bronze Jumbo statue in front of Barnum Hall is exactly to scale to represent our beloved mascot, the 19th century circus elephant. Go Jumbos!

1 16

*Download the Museum Without Walls app on your smartphone for a tour of campus art— conventional and otherwise.

PHOTOS BY KELVIN MA/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

8 The scale of Planar Mountain, the statue outside Aidekman Arts Center, allows you to walk around it and ﬁnd animals, plants, and even humans in its many shapes.

8 17

Many Jumbos have interests that span multiple disciplines. Engineers double majoring in drama, English majors who talk endlessly about their astronomy courses, and premed students who speak three languages all come to mind. But even among this unique group of students with interests all over the map, there is an extreme. Meet the dual degree student. The Tufts/NEC dual degree program combines an intensive music education at the New England Conservatory (NEC) with the Tufts liberal arts experience. Over the course of ﬁve years, dual degree students pursue a Bachelor of Music degree from the NEC and a Bachelor of Arts or Science from Tufts. (A similar program also exists with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, granting students a Bachelor of Fine Arts in addition to their Tufts degree.) Curious about the people who manage this huge commitment, I decided to speak to a couple of dual degree students myself. It didn’t take long for me to learn that, yes, these may be the busiest people I’ve ever met, but they are real human beings. They manage both degrees, get involved in other activities, and, you know, eat and sleep, too. It is their love for their pursuits that keeps them constantly moving. Inga Liu ’17 (pictured) hails from northern California, and studies classical violin together with English and economics, splitting her time between Tufts and the NEC. The journey on the free campusto-campus shuttle takes 30 minutes each way—time she told me she uses to get some homework done.

While time management is certainly a skill this program has gifted Inga, she told me it is the opportunity to learn from two schools that has been the most amazing part. “If I went to a music school, everyone there would be focused on the same thing,” she said. “But there’s [so much else] I want to learn that [will] enhance myself as a person and as a musician.” Attending two schools also means having access to twice the resources, she pointed out. She has been able to work with renowned musicians, have access to Tufts’ broad liberal arts curriculum, and perform in spaces like Symphony Hall, home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This summer, Inga has a fellowship at the Tanglewood Music Festival in the Berkshires, one of the top music festivals in the world. Isabelle Zeledón, a fifth year dual degree student, echoed Inga’s feelings. As an opera singer, she is pursuing classical vocal performance at the NEC, while her time at Tufts is dedicated to international relations and German studies. Isabelle’s family is from Nicaragua, and she grew up in several states. It was the idea of cultural exchange that drew her to Tufts in the first place. “I always think of identity as a very fluid thing. It’s constantly changing,” said Isabelle, who has managed to make cultural exchange part of every facet of her life in college. After spending a summer in Germany, Isabelle spent a year living in the German House at Tufts. In the classroom, she studies diplomatic relations, peace treaties, and nuclear deals. Even opera can be a form of cultural exchange,

Isabelle said. “[We experience opera] to be transported to another world,” she explained. “It’s all about increasing understanding between people.” This idea is behind Isabelle’s dream to bring artists from different cultures and countries together to promote peace and cooperation. Inspired by a Tufts class on peace implementation in Bosnia, her hope is for artists “to create something together, and to have an understanding of one another [so that] cooperation is possible.” As I listen to Inga and Isabelle’s stories and perspectives, I am inspired by the heart they put into what they do. But I also realize how difficult it is to balance the dual degree workload. “You’re basically doing eight years of work in five years,” Inga explained. And yet both Inga and Isabelle make time for many activities outside of their course work. Inga, for example, teaches 3rd to 6th graders as part of the strings program in a public elementary school in East Somerville. Isabelle has balanced internships at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and with the Boston Pops. Isabelle recognizes that this intensity isn’t for everyone. But for her, the opportunity to enhance her musical education with a liberal arts one (and vice versa) made this the perfect choice. For those considering the program, Isabelle offered this final thought: “You need to be open to changing—your major, your schedule, who you are—and I think that’s what college is for!” —AMANDA NG YANN CHWEN ’18

WHY CHOOSE?

A LOOK AT THE TUFTS/NEC DUAL DEGREE PROGRAM

PHOTO BY JARED LEEDS

Meet Inga. On her way to two degrees in ďŹ ve years, Inga studies English and economics at Tufts and classical violin at the New England Conservatory.

PHOTO BY TUFTS UNIVERSITY

Visit campus for one of our fall open houses! Learn more about our STEM and diversity open houses at admissions.tufts.edu/visit/open-houses. Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t visit in person? Follow us on... TWITTER @TuftsAdmissions INSTAGRAM @TuftsAdmissions FACEBOOK Tufts Admissions

FILM MEDIA STUDIES

WHY YOU SHOULD BE EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW MAJOR ON THE HILL

You might be surprised to learn that as an undergraduate at Tufts, my most memorable classes were not within my major. I found my major fascinating, don’t get me wrong, but if you asked me to list the most engaging classes in my time as an undergraduate, they would actually all belong to my minor: Communications and Media Studies (CMS). Classes like Marketing for Social Change, Narrative and Documentary Practice, and Creative Writing: Journalism got my heart racing and my stomach ﬂuttering. They offered me what I had always imagined college would: hands-on experience, refreshing perspectives, and a critical lens through which to view the world and my role in it.

BY MEREDITH REYNOLDS ’11 22

ILLUSTRATION BY LINCOLN AGNEW

These three core courses, along with seven or eight electives, make up a rich and rigorous schedule for Jumbos to tackle during their four years. But when you ask a former CMS minor or future FMS major what all the fuss is about, chances are you’ll hear about something else before the available courses. “The senior capstone project was probably the most fulfilling and challenging part of my undergraduate experience,” said Sam Zollman ’15, a CMS minor who graduated in May. For many students, the capstone project is an opportunity to gather their interests and experiences in a creative pursuit that culminates in a tangible product. Projects this year ranged from an original screenplay based on a short story by Thomas Hardy, a critical comparison of Twitter and the Chinese microblogging system Weibo, and a thesis examining gender images in children’s animated programming. Sam’s project was a pilot episode script for an original children’s environmental television show, The EcoExplorers. “The capstone was my opportunity to think deeply and critically about how to teach climate change to children through an engaging television show,” said Sam, “and produce a 30-page script, neither of which I would have been able to do through a typical classroom experience.” Sofia Linares ’15 also jumped right to her capstone project when describing the best parts of her undergraduate experience, saying it allowed her to explore her international and anthropological interests through a new media: photography. The goal of her project was to “gain a better understanding of what role Bogotá’s Central Cemetery played in the cultural memory of the city’s residents and how it was tied to larger social issues of the 19th and 20th centuries,” she explained. The experience, she said, gave her research experience, an opportunity to explore the topic of cultural memory, and a new perspective on how time and social context can transform the power of a physical space. “The cemetery,” she explained, “was a place of mourning but also a place of social and political resistance.” Many students will connect their senior capstone project to an in-depth research project just like Sofia did. Deb Frank ’15, who wrote a pilot episode for an original educational children’s cartoon with her partner, Griffin Quasebarth ’15, used her senior thesis as a backbone for the structure of the capstone project. “[Griffin and I] conducted research on children’s animated television for the Children’s Television Project and wrote honors theses on the data we collected,” she explained. This qualitative and quantitative analysis informed the themes, dialogue, and even gender balance in their pilot episode. “I found that male characters outnumber female characters two to one [in children’s cartoons],” said Deb, “so I wanted to make sure the characters’ genders were balanced in our show.” In her case, Deb finished her senior year with published research and a tangible product—a television pilot—with which to make professional connections. Facilitating connections with professionals in media industries is, in fact, an important strength at Tufts. Semester-long internships are hugely important and easy to find through Career Services or through the program’s administrators themselves. In my time at Tufts I was able to complete a marketing internship for the New England Patriots and New England Revolution. Sam’s internship at FableVision, an educational media company in Boston, informed much of his senior project. “It was also hugely important in my overall

ILLUSTRATION BY LINCOLN AGNEW

have learned over the years that I am not alone in this perspective: CMS is a program with loyal fans. Media and Society consistently makes the list of most popular classes each year, and it’s not hard to find future screenwriters, filmmakers, or journalists touting their CMS classes above all others. “Producing Films for Social Change [was] the most educational and rewarding class I took in my time at Tufts,” said Georgia Ranes ’11, a CMS alumna who now works for the Vice President of Production at HBO. The class, which Georgia describes as “a crash course in documentary filmmaking,” walks students through the production, direction, and editing of a documentary film. In her senior year, Georgia co-produced a documentary about the recent move to make Boston a more bike-friendly city. Titled Between the Curbs, the film won the Ivy Film Festival’s award for Best Documentary Film in 2011. The class not only provides students with something tangible that can live beyond their time at Tufts, the course description also explains that it allows students “to use film powerfully to tell a story about a social issue, along with a dose of advocacy.” The CMS program has been a not-so-well-kept secret on the Hill, and not just because of the dynamic classes like Producing Films for Social Change. Alumni in film and media give the program a lot of clout. The writer of House of Cards, the producer of Little Miss Sunshine, the co-executive producer of The Good Wife, and journalist and talk show host Meredith Vieira all share Tufts as a common denominator. “It’s pretty astonishing the number of talented, successful Tufts alumni who currently work in entertainment,” said Georgia, “considering Tufts only provided one media minor option.” …Until now. In May of 2015, it was announced that Tufts will now be offering a Film and Media Studies (FMS) major—a more comprehensive and intensive study of media analysis, history, and theory than the minor could provide. “[Students will be] learning about media on a global scale through both critical studies and courses that combine analysis with an element of practice,” explained Julie Dobrow, Co-Director of the new major. Joining her as Co-Director will be Malcolm Turvey, a film scholar currently finishing a book on Jacques Tati, one of the most important filmmakers to emerge in France after WWII. With a PhD in Cinema Studies, Professor Turvey is particularly interested in the interactive filmmaking style Tati pioneered that requires viewers to actively engage with his films. “In a way, his films exemplify the goal of the new FMS program at Tufts, which aims to help students become more engaged and critical users of media.” Professor Turvey and Professor Dobrow are extremely excited to kick off a new chapter of media study on the Hill. “I’m particularly happy to be part of a program that isn’t confined to film… but that encompasses electronic media more broadly,” said Professor Turvey. The new major certainly has plenty of room for exploration: seven or eight of students’ FMS classes will be electives that could range from Religion and Film to Dance on Camera; from Cinema of India and China to Hollywood and the Making of the U.S. Military; from Game Development to Designing Health Campaigns Using Social Media. But there are three core courses that all FMS majors will take before they graduate. Those are: Art of the Moving Image, Global History of Cinema, and Media Literacy or Media and Society. Professor Dobrow explained that the combination of these courses will give students literacy in film as an art form, an understanding of global film history, and the “critical skills to evaluate media that surround [them so that they can be] more careful and critical consumers and producers of media.”

“ IT’S PRETTY ASTONISHING THE NUMBER OF TALENTED, SUCCESSFUL TUFTS ALUMNI WHO CURRENTLY WORK IN ENTERTAINMENT CONSIDERING TUFTS ONLY PROVIDED ONE MEDIA MINOR OPTION… UNTIL NOW.”

understanding of the current media landscape,” he explained. Georgia’s internships at Walden Media, also in Boston, offered similar benefits. In her time working for Walden Media, a company founded by Tufts alumnus Michael Flaherty ’90, Georgia created a multi-level marketing campaign for their film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Perhaps the most distinct opportunity for students interested in media at Tufts is the “winternship” program. About 35 Tufts students each year shadow Tufts alumni in their field of interest for a week over winter break, seeing firsthand what it’s like to work in television production, publishing, moviemaking, and more. Tufts students have found themselves giving artistic feedback on the set of Mad Men, fact-checking articles for The Boston Globe, and writing for public radio segments across the country. Sure, the shadowing piece is important, and the learning potential is great, but the most important piece of the winternship program, students agree, is the networking. It was through Jumbo connections that Georgia found her first job in Los Angeles, which eventually led to HBO. Now, she oversees the budget, schedule, and “look” of multiple HBO series. “I help the producers in the hiring of key crew members,” she explained. “During production I watch… raw takes to ensure the

“ THE CAPSTONE WAS MY OPPORTUNITY TO THINK DEEPLY AND CRITICALLY ABOUT HOW TO TEACH CLIMATE CHANGE TO CHILDREN THROUGH AN ENGAGING TELEVISION SHOW, AND PRODUCE A 30-PAGE SCRIPT.”

production value of the show, make sure that the production runs smoothly, and ensure the episodes are delivered on time and on budget.” She joins a powerful and growing community of Jumbos in media that can and will support undergraduates as they explore the field. Part of what makes Tufts students so appealing as potential hires in media industries is the interdisciplinary foundation of their liberal arts education. This is something that will not change with the start of the new major, Professor Dobrow assured me. “In keeping with Tufts' rich liberal arts tradition,” she said, “core courses in film and media analysis, history, and theory will be supplemented by electives in a variety of departments that examine film and other media in an interdisciplinary context.” Many students were happy to hear that the interdisciplinary approach would still be central to the program. After all, the emphasis on multiple perspectives and interests was what made the program so exciting in the first place. “Anyone can make [this program] match up with their interests,” said Deb, who now works on shows like Arthur at WGBH. “If you’re into political science, focus on political journalism. If you’re like me and want to study child development, focus on children’s media. Pre-med? Medical communication is so important!” As a program that can complement pretty much any other academic department, it seems that the FMS major was born out of increasing demand from all corners of the Tufts campus. So whether you want to be a producer in Hollywood, a writer for The New York Times, a professor of cinema studies, or even a public health official or a small business owner, Film and Media Studies might be just what you need to guide your undergraduate study. “We hope to attract students who want to better understand their tremendous artistic potential and social effects,” said Professor Turvey. And as for what you can be doing now, before you even begin your Tufts adventure? “Watch as much as possible,” he said, “from as many different times and places as you can!” There’s much to be learned from all forms of media, so brush up on films by Jacques Tati from post-WWII France; contemporary children’s cartoons; and Twitter, Weibo, and everything in between. 25

PHOTO BY TIMOTHY ARCHIBALD

This summer Patrick Williams is interning at one of the top investment management ďŹ rms in San Francisco. He spent the spring studying abroad in Hong Kong and looks forward to the next Jumbo football season this fall.

PATRICK WILLIAMS

’16

POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR AND ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP STUDIES MINOR FROM MONCKS CORNER, SC

When I met Patrick Williams, he was sitting in a McDonald’s in Hong Kong wearing business clothes. “If you hear anyone yelling about a Big Mac, that’s why,” he explained over Skype. Having just come from a meeting with Tufts alumni, Patrick had ducked into the McDonald’s to use their WiFi. He embodies this on-the-go energy in all aspects of his life: he is a varsity football player and the co-host of a radio show on Tufts' student-run radio station, WMFO. He’s majoring in political science and minoring in Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies (ELS), and this spring he studied abroad with the Tufts in Hong Kong program. “I knew I wanted to go abroad no matter what,” Patrick told me. He chose a program that would allow him to stay at Tufts in the fall during football season, when he was part of the team that broke a 31-game losing streak in a euphoric moment for the Tufts community. In Hong Kong, he enjoyed keeping up with the team’s workouts. “It’s one of those sports that pushes you to limits you wouldn’t reach just by being in the real world,” he said.

Patrick speaks about political science in a similar way: as a discipline that is informing who he is as a human being, so that he can apply what he learns to other areas. “I don’t see myself in government or in law,” Patrick explained. “But I’ve been fortunate enough to take what I’ve learned in political science and [apply it] to startups and investment management and social justice and all these different projects I’m working on.” As an ELS minor, Patrick has been able to pursue his passion for business. In one of his favorite classes, ELS Marketing, Patrick and his classmates created a marketing plan for a real company, Community Rowing, Inc., to help them sell a safety boat they had manufactured. The class met with the heads of the company and filmed a video about the boat in order to present the film industry as a potential market. “The ELS minor is incredibly hands-on,” he explained. Outside of class, Patrick and five other students founded the Business Opportunity Council, a new group on campus focused on business management

and marketing. His meeting with Tufts alumni in Hong Kong (prior to McDonald’s) was part of the group’s effort to facilitate undergraduate connections with the alumni network at Tufts. Patrick has experienced the power of alumni connections firsthand. This summer, he is interning at BlackRock, one of the top investment management firms in San Francisco. “I received that opportunity by meeting a Tufts alumnus, Daniel Landers, who basically took a chance with me,” he said. Daniel invited Patrick to San Francisco for a “Find Your Future” forum hosted by BlackRock, letting Patrick stay at his house during the visit and introducing him to members of the firm. “I think Tufts is the one school where you’re able to make yourself as versatile as possible,” Patrick told me. “You’re able to be a political science major or an English major, but you’re able to use your mind and use your ideas to go outside that realm and do amazing things.” —ABBY MCFEE ’17

COMMUNITY SERVICE AROUND TOWN

Medford, MA “I walk a dog in Medford once a week for someone who has work during the days, a position I found through the LCS General Interest Meeting at the beginning of the year. For me, it’s a chance to relax during the day and enjoy a nice walk with a happy little puppy! I have a good relationship with my dog owner, [and with the extra time during the day] she gets to work on her own startup.” — RAIMY SHIN ’18

Tufts Campus, Medford/Somerville

The Liaison Interpreters Program of Somerville (LIPS) is a program run by The Welcome Project that provides bilingual high school students with the opportunity to learn and practice interpretation skills. 66% of public high school students in Somerville are from homes in which English is not the primary language. “I participated in LIPS my senior year of high school. We were given a voice, and that voice mattered because it allowed me to open up and share bits and pieces of my personal story with others. I am here at Tufts in part because of LIPS. Last summer, I had the privilege of going back to The Welcome Project [to give] back to the place that originally provided me with so much.”

“Two nights each month, I volunteer at the Sharewood Project as a clinic coordinator. The Sharewood Clinic gives free healthcare to all: people from the Greater Boston area, recent immigrants, and people without access to healthcare. I handle patient intake, manage our volunteers, and ensure the clinic runs smoothly. I found out about it from a poster at the activities fair, and at a pre-med presentation. It’s deﬁnitely reaffirmed my reasons for becoming a doctor. It’s satisfying to know you’re making a difference for these people who have no access to healthcare.”

— TENZIN CHOKKI ’18

— AARON YU ’17

— MELISSA ADLER ’18

Somerville, MA

Chinatown, Boston, MA

ILLUSTRATION BY ATELIER ANTOINE CORBINEAU

“Once a year, we bring about 300 kids in kindergarten through third grade to Tufts for Kid’s Day. We have performances, carnival rides, and booths with all kinds of activities run by different Tufts groups—from sorority and fraternity chapters to the Society of Women Engineers. I was the liaison to the chemistry show. We showed the kids film canister rocket ships that actually jumped into the air, bubbles that caught on ﬁre, and extracted strawberry DNA.”

EDITION Charlestown, MA “For one semester, I spent every Thursday morning at a Boston Public School, shadowing and assisting teachers in English as a Second Language classrooms. This was part of an education class called Observing Theory in Action. With tremendously dedicated educators and the coolest teenagers, it turned out to be a huge learning experience for which I am immensely grateful.” — AMANDA NG YANN CHWEN ’18

“College is such a bubble,” may be something you’ve heard many times. While it’s true that life on the Hill is exciting, with many classes, events, and activities to potentially distract students from the outside world, active citizenship at Tufts is the norm. In fact, the most popular student group at Tufts is the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS), the umbrella organization for community service efforts. The Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Ser vice is also an exciting hub for students who will grow to be active citizens for their entire lives. There’s even an entire pre-orientation program dedicated to service in the Boston area! Here’s a glimpse of what Jumbos are doing on campus, in Medford and Somerville, and in downtown Boston to give back and connect with the world outside the college “bubble.”

The Greater Boston Area “Food Rescue aims to provide hunger relief while simultaneously reducing food waste. With two friends of mine, I revitalized the organization. We now act as the transport method for food donations between grocery stores and farmers’ markets, and homeless shelters and food pantries in the Greater Boston area. So much perfectly good food would get thrown out otherwise!” — SEAN FERNALD ’15

VOXJUMBO MICHELLE COOPRIDER ’15 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS MAJOR FROM HOPKINTON, MA

Michelle Cooprider is an outﬁelder for the Tufts varsity softball team. This year, the team captured their tenth NESCAC title with an undefeated season and went on to win their third national championship title in a row. The team broke the NCAA DIII winning streak record with a perfect 51–0 season. Michelle’s personal passions lie in alleviating global hunger and poverty, and her international relations major is a perfect ﬁt. Here, Michelle answers the Tufts supplemental questions (she thought she was done with this years ago!) so that you can get to know her, Tufts, and our application all at the same time!

INTRODUCING THE TUFTS COMMUNITY THROUGH OUR SUPPLEMENT … ONE PERSON AT A TIME.

Why Tufts? At Tufts, I was able to be a true student-athlete. Tufts gave me an endless array of academic opportunities with room to independently explore a variety of interests. I was able to follow my passion for international development through the international relations major, in addition to classes in child development, economics, and community health to round out my education. I also had the privilege of playing on one of the most successful collegiate softball programs in the country with a community of dedicated athletes to positively represent the Jumbos.

There is a Quaker saying: “Let your life speak.” Describe the environment in which you were raised and how it influenced the person you are today. I was fortunate to have been raised in a very loving family. I have two encouraging parents and three sisters. My dad is frequently questioned about the struggle it must have been to live with five girls, but he has never complained. In a house with five girls, there were obviously many screaming matches, but the amount of laughs with my family has far outweighed any of the arguments. Above all, my family has a love for each other and a love for God, which shaped much of my upbringing. Growing up in a faith-filled family, church was a regular part of my weekly schedule and it was through my church that I was able to attend six short-term mission trips, some of which were to developing countries. I realized that I never felt better than when I was helping communities in different parts of the world, and these experiences have shaped my passion for international development and fueled my decision to major in international relations at Tufts. My heart for international development grew during my time here as I took advantage of opportunities to dive deeper into development topics though challenging classes, like History of Financial Turbulence and Crisis in the Department of Political Science, and School and Society in the Department of Education. I am looking forward to making a positive impact on the world through development work as a career focus.

Of six options, Michelle chose the following for the ﬁnal supplemental question: F) Celebrate the role of sports in your life.*

PHOTO BY JARED LEEDS

Whenever I write descriptions of myself, “softball player” is always near the top of the list. The sport has been a part of my life since I was just four years old, and now I am blessed with the opportunity to play softball as a Jumbo. Over my four years at Tufts, I spent countless hours working with my teammates—dedicating ourselves to get better each and every day. That hard work culminated in multiple national championships, but it is the deep friendships that we developed that I will remember most. My teammates include an engineering psychology major who balances two varsity sports and has won four National Championships in three academic years, a sorority sister who spent last summer as a teaching fellow with the nonprofit Breakthrough, and a chemical engineer who is the only pitcher in NESCAC history to be named pitcher of the year four times. But these women are also the kindest, weirdest, most hilarious people I know, and they have made my athletic experience rewarding and exciting both on and off the field. Softball has taught me time management, teamwork, and leadership skills that will benefit me off the field as I take my next steps in life. Being a student at Tufts is an honor in itself, but being able to sport a jersey with “Jumbos” on the front is an opportunity that I will always be thankful for.

*To see the other options for the third supplemental question, visit admissions.tufts.edu/apply/essay-questions 31

THE ENGINEERING MATERIAL THAT WILL MAKE YOUR HEAD SPIN By Cameron Harris ’18

ou know silk as the stuff of luxury fabrics—used for sheets, pocket squares, and gowns. But in the past two decades, engineering researchers at Tufts have developed methods to reverse engineer the natural protein composition of silk cocoons, and it will change the way we think about silk forever. It is now possible to turn raw silk into gels, ﬁlms, sponges, and ﬁbers that accomplish impressive engineering feats. Through a chemical process that requires only water and silk proteins, silk can be transformed into a sheet that is comparable in strength and weight to Kevlar, and much more.

Silk’s natural properties make it a valuable engineering material. Not only is it incredibly strong, it is also environmentally friendly and completely biodegradable. Professor David Kaplan, chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and director of the Tissue Engineering Resource Center at Tufts, pioneered the process of reverse engineering silk. In an article for Tufts Now, he said of silk; “Every year we learn something new about it. You can make it mechanically match everything from bone tissue to brain tissue. It’s biocompatible, FDA approved, and degradable in the human body.” His lab is developing things like human tissue scaffolding and silk-based surgical materials. Undergraduate and graduate students alike are involved with silk research in the labs of Professor Kaplan and Professor of Biomedical Engineering Fiorenzo Omenetto. Professor Omenetto’s lab is using silk in a different way, developing micro sensors and electronics that can fold or wrap around complex surfaces, LED integrated silk tattoos, and optical gels that may someday be able to replace damaged eyes. With such a diverse research area, the work in Professor

bone marrow can grow. Over time, the silk scaffolding dissolves because of its water solubility, and the actual human tissue will have regenerated itself sufficiently in that time so it can have its own structural integrity. What’s even more amazing is that the rate at which silk dissolves into the body, as native tissue overtakes it, can be controlled. Depending on the crystallinity of the silk scaffolding—that is, how hard or soft it is—the amount of time the scaffolding requires to dissolve can range anywhere from almost immediately (with low crystallinity) to two or three years (with high crystallinity). Silk scaffolding has amazing potential in the field of medicine. Consider an orthopedic surgery, where in the past titanium plates and pins would be implanted to fix a fracture. Silk-based plates and pins can now be inserted, and over time the native tissue will grow to replace the surgical locations entirely. “Silk is fairly quiet in the body,” Professor Kaplan told the American Chemical Society. “When you’re done, it essentially disappears as it turns into amino acids, which are the normal content of your matrix and cells in the body.” This means that silk-based biomedical technology can be used in virtually any part of the body with no potential harm or risk of the body rejecting it. While the current silk implants have mainly been successful for simpler tissues such as bone marrow, Professor Kaplan and his team are aiming to advance silk research to be able to replace entire organs with complex silk sponges in the near future. Major progress has already been made in the development of complex tissue growth aided by silk. Professor Kaplan and his colleagues successfully cultivated brain tissue that grew outside of the body for months with the support of a silk and collagen scaffolding, along with the infusion of additional brain cells. They were able to produce scaffolding that was conducive to brain tissue growth by mimicking the architecture of actual cortical tissue and the

“PROFESSOR KAPLAN AND HIS TEAM ARE AIMING TO ADVANCE SILK RESEARCH TO BE ABLE TO REPLACE ENTIRE ORGANS WITH COMPLEX SILK SPONGES IN THE NEAR FUTURE.” Omenetto’s lab is very interdisciplinary, using concepts from physics, material science, and electrical engineering in addition to biomedical engineering. This makes it an accessible and exciting research opportunity for students from various majors. “If you have someone who is creative enough and connective enough to understand the context of materials and the impact they can have, they can come from any ﬁeld and work in my lab,” Professor Omenetto said. Electrical engineer Logan Garbarini ’18 is a perfect example; he has been working in Professor Omenetto’s lab since his ﬁrst semester at Tufts. “I was really fortunate to be able to connect with research right away,” said Logan. “It allowed me to connect with a lot of people very early on in my Tufts career.” Since he began working with Professor Omenetto, Logan has developed silk nanoscale structures for things like sensors that are smaller than a single human hair. He was granted funding to continue his research over this summer and he plans to further the development of silk biomedical technologies in his remaining three years at Tufts. Logan is currently involved in developing a silk-based sensor that detects the amount of sweat on a person’s skin. The researchers in Professor Omenetto’s lab actually equipped the Tufts marathon team with prototype sweat sensors, and received data throughout the Boston Marathon last spring. “The thing about biomaterials that is very interesting is their ability to sit at the interface between the biological and technological environment,” Professor Omenetto said. Alana Lustenberger, a senior who also conducts research in Professor Omenetto’s lab, designed a similar silk sensor that detects bacteria in a medical patient’s urine or saliva. “The properties of silk have been amazing me since I heard about the Professor Omenetto’s research when I was in high school,” said Alana. “I began working in BME labs as a sophomore… and have been doing research in the department ever since.” Professor Kaplan’s lab also utilizes undergraduates for cutting-edge research. He is experimenting with the biopolymer properties of spider silk to create complex, regenerative tissues. Silk aids in the process of tissue regeneration because it can act as scaffolding upon which tissues such as stem cells and 34

extracellular matrix, which is the basis of neural connectivity. The silk structures were integrated with a protein gel that enabled the silk cells to be compatible with actual brain cells. Another notable aspect of Professor Kaplan’s BME silk tissue research is its assistance in the production of platelets. Platelets can be lifesaving, as they are necessary for the process of blood clotting. Various diseases prevent or completely inhibit the production or effectiveness of platelets. Silk, combined with endothelial cells, has been shown to promote the growth of bone marrow, which is responsible for platelet production. From platelet production, to bone regeneration, to potentially far more complex organ tissue regeneration, Professor Kaplan and his colleagues are doing amazing things with silk for the ﬁeld of medicine. Though Professors Kaplan and Omenetto are members of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, silk has applications that span far beyond medicine. Professor Omenetto shared over 20 of the many amazing things that researchers are doing with silk in his TED Talk at the TED conference in Long Beach, California in 2010. Researchers have imaged DVDs on silk ﬁlm, made biodegradable dishware completely out of silk, and created three-dimensional holograms on silk plates. The material’s “range” is what makes it so incredible. “It can come in forms ranging from bone screws to food sensors, LED tattoos, holograms and drug-eluting devices,” said Alana. Right now, Professor Omenetto’s lab is integrating silk sensors with Bluetooth to allow sensors implanted in the body to gather remote data. A material such as silk, which humans have used for thousands of years, has only recently been discovered in a brand new way. It can now be transformed into high-tech devices that range across medical, pharmaceutical, electronic, and eco-friendly applications. As Professor Omenetto said, “Whether you want to replace a vein or a bone, or maybe be more sustainable in microelectronics, perhaps [throw away a coffee cup] without guilt, carry your drugs in your pocket, deliver them inside your body, or deliver them across the desert, the answer may be inside a thread of silk.”

PHOTO BY ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

Professor of Biomedical Engineering Fiorenzo Omenetto is using silk as an engineering material to create biodegradable pollutant detectors, blood-sugar sensors, environmentally friendly coffee cups, holograms, and more.

ADVICE

HOW TO CRAFT YOUR COLLEGE LIST

“Where are you applying?” As senior year approaches, this once harmless question becomes incredibly stressful. People tell you to ﬁnd the answer on campus tours and in the pages of guide books. While these methods are helpful, you can do better. Here’s our secret guide to understanding the colleges you’re considering, deﬁning your priorities, and crafting the perfect list of schools for you. 36

AFTER YOU READ THE GUIDE BOOKS… LOOK AT THE COURSE CATALOG ONLINE.

AFTER YOU GO ON A CAMPUS TOUR… SPEND AN HOUR IN A COFFEE SHOP.

Sure—rankings, student-faculty ratios, and “most popular major” lists can be helpful… to a point. But in reality, those facts and figures won’t be among your immediate concerns when you move in to college. The classes you’re taking and if you find them interesting, however, will be. So when you find a school that catches your eye in a college guide book, search for its course catalog online. Are there many classes you’d be excited to take next year and the year after that? Do the requirements seem exciting or limiting? Would you describe the courses as pre-professional, discussion-based, challenging? These are important questions!

While campus tours give you important information, a sense of place, and a student’s perspective, they offer a limited view of college life. So save some time after your tour and grab a coffee on campus. You can use the time to debrief with family, but also eavesdrop a little. What are students talking about around you? Do they seem stressed, happy, studious? Could you picture yourself joining the conversation at the table next to you? Write down some adjectives that come to mind as you sit, so when you come back to your notes you can recall the “vibe” of each campus from your own observations.

ILLUSTRATION BY JAN KALLWEJT

AFTER YOU READ THE MATERIAL YOU GET IN THE MAIL… FIND THE ONLINE VERSION OF THE SCHOOL NEWSPAPER. Material you receive from colleges (yes, even this magazine) is written for you. While that’s important, it’s also helpful to read the material written by and for current students at the college or university you’re considering. Searching for an online version of a school’s daily newspaper or student magazine (like tuftsdaily.com or tuftsobserver.org) can give you a more authentic glimpse into daily life. Keep in mind, though, that you’re looking at only one moment in time. Reading in the middle of ﬁnals wouldn’t feel the same as a mid-semester glimpse, for example, but this tactic will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the issues students care about, the general attitude and tone of the place, and the level of student involvement in every corner of campus.

AFTER YOU LOOK AT THE WEBSITE… PERUSE STUDENT BLOGS. Again, admissions websites give you one important perspective on campus life. But why would you only check one source when ﬁnding your home for the next four years? Student blogs—on admissions websites or independent accounts—can give you an individual reﬂection on daily life at a college. Does the blogger seem excited about their classes? What are they doing on the weekends? What roadblocks are they navigating along the way? Do you connect with their voice? Do us a favor: read more than one blog per school. Just as you click with some people more than others now, not everyone on a college campus will be your best friend, so keep an open mind. Check out our blogs at admissions.tufts.edu/blogs/jumbo-talk.

AFTER YOU VISIT A SCHOOL YOU THINK YOU’LL LOVE… VISIT ONE YOU THINK YOU’LL HATE. Discovering what you don’t like can be as helpful as discovering what you do like. Sometimes, stepping foot on a campus you think you won’t like at all—whether that’s a small rural campus, a huge research university, or a school a little too close to home—can allow you to articulate your priorities in a more concrete way. What exactly do you dislike about a place, and how can that inform your list moving forward? And hey, maybe that place you think you’ll hate will surprise you… it could make your list after all.

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

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

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

PHOTO BY ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

American Studies

CLASS HIGHLIGHTS HISTORY Whether or not youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a history major, classes in the history department will enrich your understanding of international relations, sociological phenomena, political platforms, and more. Check out some of the courses the Tufts Department of History is offering this fall. History of Christianity Japan to 1868 The Byzantines and Their World Modern South Asia: History, Culture, and Political Economy Rise of the Modern Woman Travel Writing and History Martin Luther: Man & Era Courtship in Modern America Religion and U.S. Politics War & Society in the Middle East Historical Marxism Icons and Tsars: Early Modern and Imperial Russia Europe in the Early Middle Ages Revolution in Latin America: Mexico and Cuba Historical Perspectives on Contemporary Crises in Africa

ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING Here are just some of the many classes taught through the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Music Recording and Product Probabilistic Systems Analysis Feedback-Control Systems Communications Systems Introduction to Microwaves Silicon Radio Frequency Digital Signal Process Power Systems Digital Logic Systems Bioelectronics Wireless Communications Design of Medical Instrumentation Information Theory Principles of Medical Imaging

PHOTO BY

Linear Systems

If you were to eat dinner with Professor Ben Wolfe, chances are you would find some delicious fermented foods on the table: creamy camembert cheese, salami, or perhaps a bowl of miso soup—chosen not just for their taste, but for their microbes. A professor in the Department of Biology at Tufts, Ben Wolfe researches the microbial communities found in food. “If you go to the soil outside this building or you look in our guts or deep in the ocean, [you’ll ﬁnd] different microbes living in different parts of our planet. The challenge is that most of those microbial communities are really complex,” he explained. “So [my lab] is using simple microbial systems [in food] to understand how microbial communities work. We can’t necessarily translate everything from a piece of cheese to the rest of the world, but there are basic principles that we’re searching for and starting to ﬁnd.” In addition to cheese, his lab is home to fermented vegetables, salami, and kombucha. The

gastronomic appeal of his chosen research subject is no coincidence. A fermented food fanatic, Professor Wolfe was drawn to this research because it combines the area of science he is passionate about—microbes and fungi—with food, something that relates directly to people’s everyday lives. It’s hard not to get excited while listening to Professor Wolfe talk. He employs assembly line metaphors and Mario Kart references to explain science and speaks about microbes with an almost fatherly tone of approval and fascination. He wants others to share in this fascination. “One goal is really teaching people about microbes,” he said. “You hear about them in the news as ‘Deadly killers! Toxic! Ebola! Salmonella! E. coli!’ But most microbes are benign or beneﬁcial to us. People don’t think about all of the wonderful things microbes [do].” By working directly with food producers, teaching workshops, and writing about microbes for websites and magazines, he is able to share his research with an audience outside of the scientiﬁc community.

This coming fall, Professor Wolfe will teach a course on the microbiology of food. “We call it a farm-to-gut journey into the microbial world,” he told me. The course is designed to be accessible for all students, regardless of major. “It’s a really fun course for me, because I can connect microbiology to pretty much anything: economics, ethics, philosophy, history,” he said, adding excitedly, “And it’s food! We can do demos. We’ll bring in chefs. We’re going to have Skype conversations with people all over the world dealing with microbes in their food systems.” In addition to its implications for medicine, science, and food production, one perk of his research on microbial communities in food is that the research itself is never bland. The current microbial conundrum that Professor Wolfe and his seven undergraduate researchers are tackling in the lab? “We call it the ‘purple mystery cheese,’” Professor Wolfe said. —ABBY MCFEE ’17

BENJAMIN WOLFE ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY

PHOTO BY JARED LEEDS

Professor Wolfe researches microbial communities in food. In addition to his research publications, he contributes frequently to food magazines, co-writes an online series for Boston Magazine called “Chefology,” and curates MicrobialFoods.org.

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

BORIS HASSELBLATT Associate Provost and Professor of Mathematics I found this door knocker in Gustavia, St. Barthélemy on a Tufts Travel-Learn trip.

MARÍA ORDOVÁSMONTAÑÉS ’16 from Framingham MA Tufts Cycling Kit!

ALEX CHERRY ’18 from Armonk NY Elephant Nature Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand, August 2013

YULIA KOROVIKOV ’13 Assistant Director of Admissions This Jumbo sits on my desk in the Tufts admissions ofﬁce.

EMMA KINDIG ’18 from Bethesda MD Tarangire National Park, Tanzania July 2014

ERIKA BATIZ ’18 from Arden Hills MN Spotted this Jumbo somewhere in Wisconsin while on a road trip this past summer.

ADAM KERCHEVAL ’18 from Princeton NJ This elephant can be found in its natural habitat, next to my printer.

JUMBO PARENTS J87 AND E87 Spotted on Halloween!

SAM SCHIEREN ’15 from Nyack, NY Found this Jumbo at Mole National Park in Ghana.

KYLE PAUL ’18 from Albuquerque NM Spotted at a gallery in York, England.

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/asr/wp-content/uploads/Annual-Security-Report-2014-2015.pdf.

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