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Kayhan Irani, a 2008 City College of New York graduate, Humaira Hansrod, a 2012 graduate from the Macaulay Honors College at City College and PhD candidate Susan M. Tsang have been awarded 2012-2013 Fulbright Scholarships for study and research abroad. Ms. Irani, a New York Emmy Award-winning screenwriter with a BA in Theatre and Social Change from the CUNY Baccalaureate program, will travel to India this fall. She will spend seven months in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and New Delhi researching early Parsi communities and embroidery for a play titled “Paisley” that she is writing. “For the entire

Study Finds Similar Patterns in Epidemic’s Movement Across United States and Marketing and Distribution of Food Products An international team of researchers’ study of the spatial patterns of the spread of obesity suggests America’s bulging waistlines may have more to do with collective behavior than genetics or individual choices. The team, led by City College of New York physicist Hernán Makse, found correlations between the epidemic’s geography and food marketing and distribution patterns. “We found there is a relationship between the prevalence of obesity and the growth of the supermarket

Gene Involved in Dementia Affects the Insulin Pathway, Reports Biology Professor Chris Li and Colleagues In recent years it became clear that people with diabetes face an ominous prospect – a far greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Now researchers at The City College of New York (CCNY) have shed light on one reason why. Biology Professor Chris Li and her colleagues have discovered that a single gene forms a common link between the two diseases. They found that the gene, known to be present in many Alzheimer’s disease cases, affects the insulin pathway. Disruption of this pathway is

Findings Could Give Directors, Advertisers New Ways to Predict How Audiences Will Respond Visual and auditory stimuli that elicit high levels of engagement and emotional response can be linked to reliable patterns of brain activity, a team of researchers from The City College of New York and Columbia University reports. Their findings could lead to new ways for producers of films, television programs and commercials to predict what kinds of scenes their audiences will respond to. “Peak correlations of neural activity across viewings can occur in remarkable correspondence with arousing moments

Philosopher K.D. Irani, a Student of Albert Einstein, and Student Affairs Administrator Wendy Thornton Chosen for 2012 Service Awards K.D. Irani, professor emeritus of philosophy at The City College of New York, will receive the 2012 CCNY Alumni Association's Faculty Service Award. The Association’s Administrative Service Award will go to Wendy J. Thornton, executive director, Student Services and Conduct. The awards will be presented at the Alumni Association’s 160th annual meeting, 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 13 in The Great Hall, Shepard Hall, 160 Convent Ave., on the CCNY campus. Dr. Lisa S

Nomination is Fifth Since 2006 for CCNY Film Students A five-minute short produced by Spanish filmmaker and Fulbright Scholar Alex Lora for an MFA class exercise is The City College of New York’s latest finalist in the annual Student Academy Awards. Since 2006, five CCNY student filmmakers were finalists in the competition, with three going on to win the silver medal. In addition, recent alumni have received Emmy Awards and won prizes at several festivals. One graduate, Zachary Borst, had a commercial he produced shown during Super Bowl XLVI as first prize in a competition sponsored by

CCNY-Based Center to Provide Continuous Development Support in Transportation Management and Technical Programs The Abu Dhabi Department of Transport (Abu Dhabi DoT) and The CUNY Institute for Transportation Systems (CUNY ITS) in the Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York, signed a Memorandum of Understanding Monday, June 4, 2012, aimed at providing continuous development support in areas of transport management and technical programs to targeted United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Abu Dhabi DoT students, executives and staff. The Abu Dhabi DoT’s responsibilities cover aviation

Team ‘VISTA Wearable’ Wins for Hands-Free System to Help Visually Impaired A hands-free system to help visually impaired people sense their surroundings won $50,000 for a team of five City College of New York students in the Second Annual Kaylie Prize for Entrepreneurship competition. The team, "VISTA Wearable," includes four senior computer engineering majors – Daniel Zuleta, Frank Palmer, Cindy Rodriguez, and Javier Montesino – and doctoral student in psychology, Lei Ai. Professor of Computer Science Zhigang Zhu advised the team. A judging panel of industry professionals selected the winning

Lisa Brandt and Julian Flores, members of The City College of New York Class of 2012, and Alexa Mieses, a 2011 graduate, have been selected to receive the 2012 Jonas E. Salk Scholarship awarded by The City University of New York. The awards recognize the high ability and scholarship of students who plan careers in medicine and the biological sciences and who are judged likely to make significant contributions to medicine and research. They are selected on the basis of original research papers undertaken with prominent scientist/mentors. “Congratulations to Lisa, Julian, Alexa and the winners

The City College of New York announced today that Dr. Eric Weitz, an internationally recognized scholar of modern European history, has been appointed Dean of Humanities and the Arts and that Dr. Mary Erina Driscoll, currently chair of the Department of Administration, Leadership and Technology at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, will become Dean of the School of Education. CCNY Provost Martin Moskovits announced the appointments. “Both Dr. Weitz and Dr. Driscoll are accomplished academics with outstanding track records in research and leadership,” said