Press Releases in July, 2008

Water-Rich Terrain: This three-dimensional image of a trough in the Nili Fossae region of Mars shows phyllosilcates (in magenta and blue hues) concentrated on the slopes of mesas and along canyon walls. The abundance of phyllosilcates show that water played a sizable role in changing the minerals of a variety of terrains in Mars's early history.

Brown Papers Reveal Widespread, Hardworking Water on Ancient Mars

Papers by Brown University scientists show that water on ancient Mars was pervasive and was working hard, changing the minerals below ground and on the surface. The paper in Nature by planetary geologist John Mustard lends the first in-depth look at the various terrains in which water-bearing minerals were present. A companion paper in Nature Geoscience by graduate student Bethany Ehlmann shows a clay-rich delta that may store past life. 07-180

(Distributed July 16, 2008)

Port Huron Project 1: Until the Last Gun Is Silent : A September 2006 performance of a 1968 Coretta Scott King speech in CentralPark was the first in a series of reenactments of protest speechesfrom the New Left movements of the 1960s and ’70s.

The Port Huron Project

Artist Restages Radical Protest Speeches of the 1960s and ’70s

Public art and activism collide this summer, as Brown University artist Mark Tribe stages reenactments of Vietnam-era protest speeches on the sites where they were originally delivered roughly four decades ago. The speeches, part of a national public art initiative called The Port Huron Project, will be held in Los Angeles, Oakland, and New York City. 08-004

(Distributed July 11, 2008)

Watery Glasses: Researchers led by Brown geologist Alberto Saal analyzed lunar volcanic glasses, such these gathered by the Apollo 15 mission, and used a new analytic technique to detect water. The discovery strongly suggests that water has been a part of the Moon since its early existence – and perhaps since it was first created.

Brown-Led Team Finds Evidence of Water in Moon’s Interior

A Brown-led research team has for the first time found evidence of water deep within the Moon. In a paper published in the July 10 issue of the journal Nature, the researchers believe the water was contained in lunar magmas ejected more than 3 billion years ago. The discovery strongly suggests that water has been a part of the Moon since its early existence – and perhaps since it was first created. 07-170

(Distributed July 9, 2008)

100th Ph.D.

Leadership Alliance Marks Milestone in Creating Minority Leaders for Academia

More than 100 minority scholars have earned doctoral degrees thanks to the Leadership Alliance, a national consortium based at Brown University that identifies and nurtures minority students to become the next generation of academic leaders. To mark the 100th Ph.D. milestone, the Alliance will hold a symposium July 25-27, 2008, at the Hartford Marriott Downtown and the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, Conn. 08-003

(Distributed July 8, 2008)

Human Resources Appointment

Karen Davis Named Vice President for Human Resources at Brown

Karen Davis, a human resources executive with over 20 years of experience in higher education, has been named vice president for human resources at Brown University. Davis takes up her new post on July 1, 2008. 07-156

(Distributed July 7, 2008)

Food That Runs Fast: Brown engineering students showcase a model car – built with a loaf of bread as the body, grapefruit halves as the wheels and an eggplant topped with a radish as the driver – poised on a specially built launch ramp to promote the campus's first Edible Car Challenge on April 10, 2008.

Edible Engineering

Fast Food? Brown Students Make and Race Edible Cars

Brown University engineering students have organized the campus’s first Edible Car Competition, in which teams build and race vehicles made out of food – with materials ranging from bagels to butternut squash. 07-177

(Distributed July 7, 2008)

Volcanic Clue: Scientists led by Brown planetary geologist Jim Head zeroed in on this kidney-shaped volcanic vent (at right and center), surrounded by a halo-like ring and a fainter outer ring, to help confirm that Mercury's surface had been formed by volcanic activity early in the planet's history. The image was taken by the MESSENGER spacecraft as it flew past Mercury in January 2008.

Volcanic Activity Shaped Mercury After All

A research team led by Brown University planetary geologist James Head has determined that volcanism played a central role in forming Mercury’s surface. The evidence of volcanic activity lends important insights into Mercury’s geologic history and appears in a special section describing the MESSENGER mission’s recent flyby of Mercury in the July 4 issue of Science. 08-002

(Distributed July 3, 2008)

Marisa Quinn: Named vice president for public affairs and University relations, effective Aug. 1, 2008.

Quinn Named VP for Public Affairs and University Relations

Marisa Quinn, currently assistant to the president at Brown University, has been named vice president for public affairs and University relations. Quinn will begin her duties Aug. 1, 2008, succeeding Michael Chapman. 08-001

(Distributed July 1, 2008)

Media Relations