Easily unnoticed amid of the excitement for a new academic year, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook the Cornell campus and much of the East Coast on Aug. 23 around 2p.m. The vibrations were recorded by the University’s seismograph, and the results, which are still in the process of being analyzed, are now up on display in the lobby of Snee Hall.

Prof. Richard Allmendinger '75 describes the connections between earthquake size, corruption, poverty and their impacts.

Last week, Ph.D. candidate Karen Heymann, crop and soil sciences, presented her research on black carbon, one of the "dirtiest" specimen on Earth. Her research utilized the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source to detect and characterize this substance, which plays a role in soil and climate change.

Capt. D. C. Anderson (ret.) a former captain in the oil industry, visited the university last Friday to discuss the role of the BP oil leak within the overarching theme of climate change, and he talked about his plans for a "Planet Earth Ship," a vessel that would travel the globe, highlighting the top news from every harbor.

Normally, Earth science students and faculty gather once a week to hear the latest updates on plate tectonics and radiometric dating techniques. This week, however, they were treated to something different. Visiting Professor Victor Ramos of the University of Buenos Aires spoke on his views on the broader subject of science in South America from an Argentinian perspective. He tied together aspects of economics, politics and social history to illuminate how science in South America has changed over the last century and what its prospects are for the next.

The importance of an accessible, developed and protected education system became the theme of the lecture that most resonated with Cornell’s own mission and future.