Posts Tagged School of Arts and Sciences

For more than 50 years, the Kardashev scale has been the gold standard for classifying hypothetical “exo-civilizations” by their ability to harness energy. A team of researchers led by Rochester astrophysicist Adam Frank have devised a new system that takes into account the impacts of that energy use.

Monkeys had higher confidence in their ability to remember an image when the visual contrast was high. These kinds of metacognitive illusions—false beliefs about how we learn or remember best—are shared by humans, leading brain and cognitive scientists to believe that metacognition could have an evolutionary basis.


“Greater awareness of the Japanese-American internment can help the nation avoid repeating the conditions that led to violating the rights of so many innocent people,” says Joanne Bernardi, a University expert on Japanese culture.

When people disagree, and all involved in the discussion believe that theirs is the reasonable position, what’s to be done? That’s a question that underlies a lecture series in September by philosopher Richard Feldman.

Rachel Waddell, director of orchestral activities, conducts a brass and percussion ensemble composed of Department of Music students as they perform Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man to mark the beginning of classes. (University photo / J. Adam Fenster)

There isn’t much Judith Smetana doesn’t know about parenting teenagers. Her latest study in a nearly 40-year career as a professor of psychology, looks at the effect of using guilt as a parenting tool.

Physics and astronomy professor Dan Watson will be experiencing Monday’s total solar eclipse from Tennessee, and he shares more eclipse answers and tips, as well as places at the University of Rochester where you can safely view the eclipse.

Chemical engineering major Tianhao Yu ’19 has a unique job this summer: testing organic light-emitting diodes that may help improve the screen displays of devices such as cell phones and televisions.

Brain research does not take a summer vacation, and neither does Magdalena Granados ’19. The McNair Scholar is working on “awake language mapping” research designed to help neurosurgeons operate with greater precision.

Chemistry major Austin Bailey ’18 (T5) has spent his summer developing a special polymer to attach other molecules to nanotubes, and his work could have significant applications for creating renewable energy sources.