The Department of Microbiology and the Peace Studies Program brought a speaker to Cornell on Wednesday whose background may have incited prejudice and discomfort just a few decades ago. Dr. Guennady Lepioshkin, now of the Scientific Research Institute for Environmental Monitoring, was once a bioweapons scientist for the Soviet Union.

For Phillip Krasicky, physics, science education is about one thing: demonstration.

In the basement of Rockefeller Hall, Krasicky’s office is filled with fascinating objects. A piece of metal foil floats in the air, while a holograph of a shark hovers in a frame.

Art and film are everywhere. But how does the brain really perceive art and cinema? Prof. James Cutting, psychology, has been working on this question for over two decades. His research in perception ranges from optics to depth perception to cinema.

Sooner or later, most Cornell students find themselves in a chemistry course, sometimes against their best wishes. It’s not easy to teach Chemistry to a uninterested audience, but one professor is well known for making the most of the endeavor by interjecting a little bit of fun.

Dr. Frank DiSalvo is the John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science and has been a member Cornell’s faculty for over 30 years. He’s well known by his students for taking what he calls “commercial breaks” and blowing stuff up in class.

While scientists around the world sweat the steady growth of climate change, Professor Johannes Lehmann, crop and soil sciences, and his researchers have turned up the heat to produce biochar – a fine-grained residue that may simultaneously improve soil health and curb harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Biochar is the organic matter left over after pyrolysis—a slow-burn conducted in the absence of oxygen. This process confines much of the carbon that might otherwise contribute to the formation of carbon dioxide, a prevalent GHG.