Princeton University will have a major leadership role in a new Co-Design Center for Quantum Advantage, headquartered at Brookhaven National Laboratory and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The center will receive up to $115 million over five years to develop materials, devices, software and applications that will serve as a platform for the next generation of quantum computing capabilities. The goal is to overcome the limitations of today’s early stage quantum computers and propel the field forward to unlock new capabilities to tackle real-world challenges.https://www.princeton.edu/news/2020/08/26/princeton-plays-major-role-new-115-million-quantum-science-center

From Town Topics: Entries are open through this Sunday, August 30. Winners will be announced during the Museum’s Nassau Street Sampler Virtual Festival on Thursday, September 3. The Fest will include online lotería, trivia, art-making, chef videos, student performances, and a virtual dance party.http://www.towntopics.com/wordpress/2020/08/26/pu-art-museum-hosting-art-re-creation-challenge/

From Forbes: Princeton University is ranked as the ninth best employer in New Jersey out of the 75 listed. Forbes partnered with market research company Statista to pinpoint those organizations liked best by employees in its second annual ranking of America’s best employers by state.https://www.forbes.com/best-employers-by-state/#751345ff487a

From Money: Princeton is ranked third out of the 730 schools listed. Money weighed more than 20,000 data points, including tuition fees, family borrowing, and career earnings to come up with the rankings.https://money.com/best-colleges/

The Graduate Scholars Program, aimed at supporting underrepresented students in their graduate studies at Princeton University, welcomed 55 students from 28 academic departments this fall. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program held its opening retreat online, including a panel where advanced graduate students shared their experiences with incoming GSP scholars.https://www.princeton.edu/news/2020/08/28/graduate-scholars-program-aims-improve-graduate-experience-students

From ROI-NJ:

ROI-NJ presents its first ROI Influencers: Higher Education list to honor the best of the best with groupings that include presidents, deans and directors, association leaders, generous donors, service providers, and athletic overseers. President Eisgruber is listed under the category “College presidents: The head of the class.” Princeton’s Coleen Burrus, Sir Steven Cowley, and Rodney Priestley are listed under the category “Deans and directors.” 

ROI’s editors on President Eisgruber: 

We get it, with Princeton the No. 1-ranked school in the country for the past nine years, it’s easy to put Eisgruber among the leaders in the state. But, while we should honor Princeton’s glorious past, in this time of uncertainty and uneasiness, it’s essential that Eisgruber be cited for the present. Eisgruber handled the university’s decision to remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from campus with an impressive level of transparency and self-reflection. And his thoughtfulness on how the university campus — and the nation itself — should handle the pandemic was a step above all others.https://www.roi-nj.com/2020/08/26/education/roi-nj-presents-our-first-roi-influencers-higher-education-list/

While this summer was not the one any of us expected at the start of 2020, Princetonians have used persistence and ingenuity to make the most of it – all while staying mindful of the public health practices necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19. Here are some examples:  

Virtual Internships: The University helped students pivot from their original plans to a wide variety of internships that are 100% digital. With assistance from Princeton’s vast alumni network, students have been able to participate in opportunities that spanned academic disciplines and service programs.  

Princeton Summer Journalism Program: Thirty-seven students from 20 U.S. states participated in the 2020 Princeton Summer Journalism Program, which was held virtually this year.  

Princeton University’s Materials Academy: The academy partnered with Mercer County Community College and Upward Bound, MCCC’s educational program for Trenton high school students, to teach students about developing their own apps.  

Summer Food and Nutrition Program: In collaboration with the Princeton Public Schools and three area nonprofits, Princeton University’s Summer Food and Nutrition Program has provided meals for local at-risk families, children and individuals throughout Mercer County. The program ran for six weeks, from July 7 through Aug. 16. 

Princeton University Preparatory Program: PUPP kicked off its 20th year in June. The seven-week program provides comprehensive college preparation to low-income, high-achieving students from five Mercer County high schools. Students are selected to become PUPP scholars through a competitive admissions process during ninth grade, and they participate in the program through high school graduation and their transition to college. 

Virtual events: Like so many other aspects of life, events at Princeton went virtual amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Such events included a panel on “Race in the COVID Era: What America’s History of Racism and Xenophobia Means for Today;” a conversation on the power of mentorship featuring Class of 2020 Valedictorian Nicholas Johnson; and a live edition of the “We Roar” podcast featuring Céline Gounder, M.D., Class of 1997, an infectious diseases specialist.  

Mentorship through basketball: Since the beginning of this summer, rising senior Jared Young and a group of friends have been mentoring kids in the York community through basketball. The group created a nonprofit called the See More Good Foundation. In addition to weekly basketball camps, the organization holds lessons about financial literacy.  

Keep reading for some of these and more stories on Tigers creating their own silver linings.  

Stay safe and healthy. 

Michael Hotchkiss, Ayana Gibbs, Jess Fasano, and Ben Chang 

Thirty-seven students from 20 U.S. states participated in the 2020 Princeton Summer Journalism Program (PSJP), which was held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program, which is aimed at college-bound, low-income students, steeps them in rigorous journalistic practice, then guides them through the college admissions process during their senior year of high school. https://bit.ly/2Qi7e2M

How did Princeton develop strength in energy research? From the declassification of fusion and the establishment of PPPL to the creation of CEES in 1971 to the founding of the Andlinger Center, the history spans more than 50 years. https://bit.ly/34jZgi4  

From Reason: The Georgetown Center for the Constitution will award its 2021 Thomas M. Cooley Book Prize of $50,000 to Professor Wilentz for his book, No Property in Man: Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation’s Founding. https://bit.ly/31ggRFC

From SPIA: Anne Case and Sir Angus Deaton have been featured on the longlist of the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award 2020.https://bit.ly/31g01a0

From Humanities Council: This summer, Florian Lionnet, Assistant Professor of Linguistics, was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for “Dynamic Language Infrastructure-Documenting Endangered Languages.” The three-year grant supports the documentation of the Kulaale language of southern Chad.https://bit.ly/3hpEhhG

From Community News: Highlights the new role of Princeton’s Thompson-Siegel with the New Jersey Youth Hockey League. She will serve as Administrative Vice President responsible for games/playoffs and scheduling with the NJYHL.https://bit.ly/31iwnRx

From Town Topics: Features Craig Robinson, Princeton University trustee and former two-time Ivy League Player of the Year for the Princeton University men’s hoops program. https://bit.ly/2YnCNgg

From The Trentonian: Features Hope Perry ’24 and her project, College Voters United. https://bit.ly/2CO63Fr

From News 12: Features Poll Hero, a project founded in part by a group of Princeton University students. Two students, Ryan Schweiger and Ella Gantman. Mentions the late Laura Wooten as part of the inspiration for the project. Wooten, a Princeton staff member for more than 27 years, was the nation’s longest-serving poll worker, having worked 79 years in a row. https://bit.ly/3j3rYb7

From York Daily Record: Features undergraduate student Jared Young. https://bit.ly/3j1vEdf

Julian Zelizer: Explainer: How the coronavirus changed U.S. political conventions, perhaps forever (Reuters)and A Historian Looks At The Democratic National Convention (WBUR)
Sadaf Jaffer:Kamala Harris gives hope to South Asians in NJ who feel like ‘outsiders’ (Burlington County Times)
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Cornel West, professor emeritus:A Black Marxist Scholar Wanted to Talk About Race. It Ignited a Fury. (The New York Times) 
Keith Wailoo: Pediatrics Group Offers ‘Long Overdue’ Apology for Racist Past (The New York Times) 
Rory Truex:How To Teach China This Fall (China File)
Elizabeth Margulis:Time’s Arrow Flies through 500 Years of Classical Music, Physicists Say (Scientific American)
Pablo Debenedetti:Second critical point appears in two models of water (Physics World)
Corey Cusimano, postdoctoral research associate:People judge others to be more able to change their beliefs than they themselves are (PsyPost)
Jingyu Luo, graduate student:Long-lived particles get their moment (Symmetry)
Siyang Liu, undergraduate student:College towns face uncertain future (Cleveland.com)
Christiana Parreira, incoming postdoctoral associate:Another unity government won’t solve Lebanon’s crisis (The Washington Post)