Hans Bethe plunged into academic life at Cornell. His efforts transformed the physics department, with only fifteen faculty-members, into one of the country’s main centers for physics research.  Although Bethe applied his research to develop the first nuclear weapons, he spent his life advocating for nuclear regulation. And now, he is one of Cornell's most beloved scientists.

Current Hong Kong University of Science and Technology President Paul C.W. Chu lectured last night about his life as a leading researcher in the field of high-temperature superconductors and as a president of one of the fastest-growing universities in the Pacific.

Yesterday’s lecture, “An Odyssey of Discovery: from Searching for HTSs in Houston to Developing HKUST in Hong Kong,” was part of a three-day installment of lectures given by Chu.If you look here...: Paul Chu shares insight into scientific discovery yesterday in Schwartz Auditorium.

“If you looked far back enough, the universe should have been decelerating before it [started] accelerating,” said Prof. Robert Kirshner, Clowes Professor of Science, Harvard University, and the former president of the American Astronomical Society, at last night’s lecture entitled “The Accelerating Universe: Einstein’s Blunder Undone.”

Kirshner’s lecture last night was one of three talks on schedule for this year’s Hans A. Bethe Lecture Series. Over 200 people, including students, professors, elementary school kids and their parents, attended the lecture at in Schwartz Auditorium.

Consider this: the Class of 2008 will be the last Cornell class with any memories of West Campus before the West Campus House System opened its first house, Alice Cook House, in August 2004. Since then the House System has tripled with Carl Becker House opening in 2005 and Hans Bethe House opening this fall. Next August, house four, William Keeton House, will open. When as yet unnamed house five join this lineup in a few years, 1,800 Cornell sophomores, juniors and seniors will live, eat, work, debate, reflect, recreate, and relax in the West Campus House System together with five House Professor-Deans, five assistant deans, 29 graduate resident fellows, 15 student assistants and 150 House Fellows — Cornell faculty and senior administrators who venture down the hill to participate in various House activities.

If like many not-so-early-birds you’ve been snoozing through that 8:40 class, you probably should have dropped your class. Or lived on West Campus.

“It’s like a second alarm,” said Rachel Holloway ’10. “The construction starts at 8 a.m. every morning which is fine because it helps me get up. It’s really no inconvenience at all.”

Since construction on the West Campus Residential Initiative began in 2003, the “Class of” halls have all been demolished and three of the five new residential dorms — Cook, Becker and Bethe — now house students.

Construction on the remaining two houses was originally set to be completed in 2010, but is now scheduled for August 2008.