November/December 2017

Pedal Pusher

When Soulcycle CEO Melanie Whelan ’99 lost interest in her engineering concentration, she became an entrepreneur.

Content

Lego toys

Building a Better Way

Sangeeta Bhatia ’90 runs her own MIT lab. She’s engineered human livers and a urine test for cancer. Can she live a balanced life?

That Holiday Glow

Your friends and family will be over the moon when they open their presents made by Brown alums. We’ve gathered the best (often at a special discount) so you can sit back and do your seasonal shopping using our Eleventh Annual Gift Guide.

Obituaries

Obituaries from the November/December 2017 issue.

Window Dressing

Manu Sawkar ’04 is taking Macy’s New York City Christmas window displays into the new millennium

Educational Conflicts

Penn’s new provost, Wendell Pritchett ’86, discusses access to Ivy schools and balancing order with lively campus debate.

Letting in Nature

Pediatric neurosurgeon Ann-Christine Duhaime ’77 wants childen's hospitals to be friendlier to kids and the environment.

Before Del’s

Before Del’s lemonade carts and assorted food trucks popped up on campus streets there was only John Reeves.

What You Thought

Readers comment on cybersecurity innovations and remember professors Walter Feldman and Wendell Dietrich.

Behind the Veil

What can a single poem by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Peter Balakian ’80 PhD tell us about our troubled relationship with Iran?

Fresh Ink

A young adult mystery, a history of public schools, the latest from Edwidge Danticat ’93 MFA, and more.

The Player

Screenwriter Mike Makowsky ’13 found success after reading the best scripts that were never produced.

Making History

The latest picture book by Emily Arnold McCully ’61 aims to "get girls to realize what their potential is."

Related to Everybody

A.J. Jacobs ’90 is the king of what's been dubbed "immersion journalism." His latest immersion is genealogy.

Off the Grid

Chicago's kibbitznest: books, brews & blarney, founded by Lewis Kostiner ’72, is a place to get off your phone and talk.

Myth Remaker

A new young adult fantasy by Aditi Khorana ’01 bears a scary—and inadvertent—resemblance to reality.

Cosmic Letters

ABCs from Space: A Discovered Alphabet by Adam Volland ’05 proves you can find letters anywhere and everywhere.

A Satirical Spotlight

A suprising number of alums staff the satirical website the Onion, which until this fall was edited by Cole Bolton ’04.

It’s Not Just Charlottesville

A panel of Brown professors led by President Paxson discusses white nationalism after the Charlottesville tragedy.

New Year, New Students

At Opening Convocation in September new students joyfully marched through the Van Wickle Gates.

Radio Silence

After years of budget deficits, WBRU decides to stream its programming and sell its FM signal to a Christian rock station.

Citizenship

In his address on campus in October, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar focused on social change, not basketball.

“Own the Stage”

Grammy Award–winner Rosanne Cash holds a master class for songwriting students then performs her songs for them.

Asbed Gets a MacArthur

Greg Asbed ’85 earns a MacArthur genius grant for his work organizing farm workers and promoting fair treatment.

Agreement

Brown strikes a deal with the Pokanoket Tribe over land once occupied by the Haffenreffer Museum.

Mid-Semester Switch

After the devastating hurricane, Brown, through the Leadership Alliance, welcomes students from the University of Puerto Rico.

Never Question?

A mother with an autistic son reveals how her Brown education—and cannabis—saved him.

Slabs and Witches

In a fall exhibit, longtime visual arts professor Richard Fishman showed an amazing range of art inspired by a single tree.

From the President

University News

The Brown Promise

All financial aid packages Brown offers students will be loan free. Can alumni help fund it?