Susan Singer, the Laurence McKinley Gould Professor of the Natural Sciences, co-authored a paper that ran in Nature on Nov. 16. Entitled “The Medicago Genome Provides Insight into the Evolution of Rhizobial Symbioses,” the abstract is now available for viewing. The entire paper is available only to subscribers. It marks Singer’s first published piece in the esteemed science journal.

Roy Grow, the Frank B. Kellogg Professor of International Relations at Carleton, spoke with Minnesota Public Radio on Nov. 14 regarding President Obama’s 9-day trip through the Asia-Pacific region. Grow appeared on the Midday program with Gary Eichten, outlining the areas where Obama might focus his time visiting various countries, with a special focus on the United States’ relationship with China, which continues to grow more competitive on many levels.

Jack Schneider, the Robert A. Oden, Jr. Postdoctoral Fellow for Innovation in the Liberal Arts in Educational Studies, wrote an op-ed piece in the Nov. 13 LA Times entitled “Gutsy — but not always right.” In the article, Schneider asks “When, one has to wonder, did so much knowledge move to the gut? When did instinct begin to trump argument?” He goes on to discuss how, 40 years ago, going with one’s gut was considered risky and ill-informed. Schneider examines how that trend has changed over time and that current research shows it might not be for the better.

Susan Singer, the Laurence McKinley Gould Professor of the Natural Sciences, was one of the guests on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” regular Friday segment, “Science Friday,” as she and other guests discussed alternative ways to teach children and engage them in the sciences on Friday, Nov. 11. Audio from the show is available on demand.

Deborah Gross (Associate Professor of Chemistry) and Debby Walser-Kuntz (Professor of Biology) co-authored a talk presented at the American Association for Aerosol Research National Meeting, entitled “Particulate Matter and Asthma Triggers in Homes: A Combined Civic Engagement and Research Project for Undergraduate Students.” The talk focused on a joint ACE project in CHEM 100 (Fall 2010) and BIO 310 (Winter 2011) that is ongoing. Gross also presented a talk entitled “Characterization of Particle Emissions from Great Lakes Shipping and Other Sources” with undergraduate co-authors Alison Smyth (’12) and Samantha Thompson (’11), as well as collaborators from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and St. Louis University.

Gao Hong Dice, performance activities coordinator in music and lecturer in Chinese musical instruments at Carleton College, will be featured on an upcoming episode of Twin Cities Public Television’s (TPT) “Minnesota Original.” The episode, entitled “Gao Hong and Butterfly,” is slated to air on TPT 2 on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. CDT. The episode also airs on TPT’s Minnesota channel on Sunday at 10 p.m. CDT and on TPT’s Life channel on Monday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m.

Carleton students who are part of the College’s Academic Civic Engagement (ACE) program, along with program director Adrienne Falcon, are mentioned in a MinnPost.com story on Northfield community leader Janet Lewis Muth. Muth has aided a number of local non-profit organizations by basically helping the groups help themselves. “You can help one individual with a given problem, but if you change systems then you help much more broadly,” Falcon says in the piece. “Janet is someone who is able to navigate levels from individual help to systems change really effectively.” Carleton students joined in Muth’s efforts to start a multicultural cook club, with the students eventually taking the lead over from Muth. Falcon and Carleton students also aided Muth in efforts to streamline transportation options for local residents who don’t own cars.

Deborah Appleman, the Hollis L. Caswell Professor of Educational Studies, wrote a commentary piece for Minnesota Public Radio regarding her experience in teaching literature and creative writing at the Stillwater state prison during her sabbatical leave in fall 2009. Her piece was in response to a story MPR covered about the prison starting a program that connects inmates with visitors, in hopes of reducing recidivism. The writings from that class are available in a book edited by Appleman called “From the Inside Out: Letters to Young Men and Other Writings Poetry and Prose from Prison.”

Jack Schneider, Robert A. Oden Jr. Postdoctoral Fellow for Innovation in the Liberal Arts at Carleton, wrote an opinion piece in the Oct. 5 edition of Education Week entitled “Questioning Our Mania for Education Technology.” Schneider’s commentary touches on how technology has invaded the classroom and is viewed as a catch-all solution for what ails the American education system. “Funding projects to improve teacher training, development, and retention, for instance, is less sexy than cutting the ribbon on a lab full of lightning-fast computers. But it’s also more likely to help kids learn,” he writes.

Opening Convocation melded with the newest part of Carleton—the Weitz Center for Creativity—to open the 2011-12 academic year.