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Press Releases

Wag the Robot? Brown Scientists Build Robot That Responds to Human Gestures

Human gesture: Brown computer scientists have built a robot that can follow nonverbal commands from a person in a variety of environments — indoors as well as outside — all without having to adjust for variations in lighting.
Brown University researchers have demonstrated how a robot can follow human gestures in a variety of environments — indoors and outside — without having to adjust for variations in lighting. The achievement is an important step forward in the quest to build fully autonomous robots as partners for human endeavors. Results will be presented at the Human-Robot Interaction conference March 11-13, 2009, in San Diego. (Distributed March 11, 2009)

Twin Nanoparticle Shown Effective at Targeting, Killing Breast Cancer Cells

A unique, dumbbell-shaped twin nanoparticle created by Brown University chemists targets a class of breast cancer cells known as Her-2 tumor cells.
Brown University chemists have developed a novel way to treat a class of breast cancer cells. The team has created a twin nanoparticle that specifically targets the Her-2 tumor cell and unloads a cancer-fighting drug directly into it. The result: Greater success at eliminating the cancer while minimizing an anti-cancer drug’s side effects. Findings are published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. (Distributed March 10, 2009)
Composer–in-Residence

Brown Orchestra to Première New Work by Joseph Schwantner

Joseph Schwantner: The second Ford Made in America composer will deliver a public lecture, lead workshops, and meet with student composers while in residence at Brown.
Internationally renowned composer Joseph Schwantner will be a composer-in-residence at Brown University from Thursday, March 12, through Sunday, March 15, 2009. While here, the Brown University Orchestra will première his new work, entitled Chasing Light…. (Distributed March 9, 2009)

Brown Physicists Play Key Role in Single Top Quark Discovery

Single top quark: Brown University joined institutions from around the world to announce on Monday the discovery of the single top quark through the weak nuclear force, shown in this diagram.
Brown physicists have played a key role in observing particle collisions that produce a single top quark, one of the fundamental constituents of matter. The discovery was announced Monday by scientists of the CDF and DZero collaborations at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Meenaskhi Narain, a Brown physics professor who has been involved with DZero since the early 1990s, said the finding is "kind of a dream come true." (Distributed March 9, 2009)

Gullies on Mars Show Tantalizing Signs of Recent Water Activity

Recent water: The gully system in the Promethei Terra region of Mars appears to have been carved by melt water and may be the most recent period when water was active on the planet.
Brown planetary geologists have located a gully system that appears to have been carved by melt water that originated in nearby snow and ice deposits. The gullies, which the team determined to be about 1.25 million years old, may represent the most recent period when water flowed on the planet. The findings appear on the cover of the March issue of Geology. (Distributed March 2, 2009)
Brain Science

Evidence appears to show how and where frontal lobe works

The neuroscience of decision-making: By examining stroke victims, researchers determined that the brain’s frontal lobe controls decision-making, with abstract decisions made closer to the front and concrete decisions farther back.
Brown University’s David Badre, an assistant professor of cognitive and linguistic sciences and psychology, and colleagues at the University of California–Berkeley mapped parts of the brain that control abstract or concrete decision making by studying stroke patients. Their findings are published March 1 in the journal Nature Neuroscience. (Distributed March 1, 2009)
The Economic Crisis: February 24, 2009

Planned Budget Reductions for Fiscal 2010 Must Be Increased

Budget cuts originally planned for fiscal year 2010 will need to be significantly increased. This will require reductions in the University’s workforce. Executive Vice President Elizabeth Huidekoper’s message to University staff follows here. (Distributed February 24, 2009)
Watson Institute for International Studies

High School Students Take Concerns to State Capitols

Capitol Forum on America's Future: Rhode Island students conduct simulated hearings at the State House and discuss controversial international issues facing America.
High school students in six states will bring their opinions on global issues from the classroom to the State House. These discussions with elected officials and civic leaders are part of the 11th annual Capitol Forum on America’s Future, an initiative of the Choices Program at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. (Distributed February 23, 2009)
Meeting of the Corporation

Brown Corporation Restrains Tuition Increase, Approves 0.9% Budget Increase for FY10, Calls for Additional Reductions

The Corporation of Brown University has approved a consolidated operating budget of $758.7 million for the 2010 fiscal year, an increase of less than 1 percent over the fiscal 2009 budget. The total charge for undergraduate tuition and fees will rise 2.9 percent to $49,128 for the 2009-10 academic year, the lowest annual percentage increase since the early 1960s. The Corporation also authorized construction or architect selection for several projects and officially accepted a number of gifts to the University. (Also see President Simmons’ letter to the community.) (Distributed February 21, 2009)
Taubman Center for Public Policy

Most Rhode Islanders Support Stimulus Plan, Concerned with State Economy

The $787-billion economic stimulus bill, set to be signed into law today by President Barack Obama, is favored by most Rhode Island voters, but most are concerned with the speed of its impact on the economy, according to a new Brown University survey of registered Rhode Island voters. The poll was conducted Feb. 7-10, 2009. (Distributed February 17, 2009)

Sociologist’s Documentary on Southside Providence Premieres on PBS

Emancipation Day, 1966.: Cliff Monteiro, Rev. Virgil Woods, and others lead a crowd of at least 500 in “We Shall Overcome” at a Southside freedom rally at the Willard Avenue Shopping Center.  The rally followed local marches against the deterioration of local housing.
Southside: The Fall and Rise of an Inner-City Neighborhood, a feature-length documentary by Brown sociologist Hilary Silver, explores the transformation of the South Providence neighborhood. It airs for the first time Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009, at 7 p.m. on Channel 36. (Distributed February 11, 2009)

Brown Expert Offers Guide to End-of-Life Care

Competent, patient-centered care: A new guide to choosing excellent hospice care will help doctors, patients and families make well-informed decisions at an emotionally stressful time.
Joan Teno, M.D., professor of community health and medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, has co-written a guide to help doctors place their patients in the best possible hospice care. Details on the guide will be published in the Feb. 11, 2009, edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Distributed February 11, 2009)