In pursuit of computers that harness the power of quantum mechanics, Andrew Houck, a professor of electrical engineering, carves sapphires into wafers thinner than a human hair and uses them to trap single particles of light. Houck performs much of the work at the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM).

The fourth Princeton-Fung Global Forum will convene researchers, scientists, policymakers, officials from nongovernmental organizations and industry leaders to examine digital technologies in the information age.

What could be a better welcome to America than carving pumpkins? That’s what Matt Weiner, Princeton University’s associate dean of religious life, and Patrick Barry, director of refugee and immigration services for Catholic Charities in Camden, New Jersey, were thinking when they brought 25 refugee youths to carve pumpkins with Princeton students one sunny Saturday in October.

William G. Bowen, president of Princeton University from 1972 to 1988 and a leader in higher education for more than half a century, died Thursday, Oct. 20, at his home in Princeton. He was 83.

For the first time, an experiment has directly imaged electron orbits in a high-magnetic field, illuminating an unusual collective behavior in electrons and suggesting new ways of manipulating the charged particles.

With cheers and applause, members of the University community celebrated the unveiling of Princeton’s revised informal motto at a ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 22. “In the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity” read the words carved in the stone medallion set in the crossroads of the walkways on the front lawn of Nassau Hall — a new historic marker for a University that is continually evolving.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the founding of Princeton University’s Office of Sustainability, the hub that supports, monitors and connects initiatives across campus focused on cultivating positive global and local impacts in the environment. 

“Behind the scenes” is a common phrase in the performance world. At Princeton University, one “performance” in particular that has been going on behind the scenes for nearly a decade will premiere in one year. On the weekend of Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 5-7, 2017, the new Lewis Center for the Arts will open its doors and spaces to the University and greater Princeton community.

Princeton researchers have for the first time revealed the mechanics of how bacteria build up slimy masses, called biofilms, cell by cell. When encased in biofilms in the human body, bacteria are a thousand times less susceptible to antibiotics, making certain infections, such as pneumonia, difficult to treat and potentially lethal.  

Princeton University will help lower-income Princeton residents pay their property tax bills under a settlement agreement that ends the litigation challenging the University’s property tax exemptions. 

Princeton University’s Graduate School will offer a new sixth-year funding program to support Ph.D. students in the humanities and social sciences. The program is part of a broader commitment to provide additional funding opportunities for Ph.D. students in all disciplines.

Oliver Hart, a 1974 Princeton graduate alumnus and a professor at Harvard University, is one of the recipients of the 2016 Nobel Prize in economic sciences for contributions to contract theory. Hart shared the award, announced Monday, Oct. 10, with Bengt Holmström of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Since 2009, the Princeton University Volunteer Fire Program has been serving both the University and surrounding community. The program consists of about 30 University staff members who volunteer during business hours to respond to emergencies with the Princeton Fire Department.

Affordable child care and flexible work schedules have all been topics of debates in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Yet, according to a new study by Alexandre Mas of Princeton University (at right) and Amanda Pallais of Harvard University, the average American worker is indifferent to flexible work schedules and instead prefers a set 40-hour workweek.

Researchers from Princeton and Rutgers universities and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have developed a computer simulation that estimates that storm-related flooding on the New York City coastline similar in scale to those seen during Sandy are likely to become more common in coming decades.

Princeton University continues to make significant progress on initiatives to foster an inclusive campus climate, including this summer’s renovation inside the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding and new training opportunities for faculty, staff and students.

Five new postdoctoral scholars have joined the Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts this year. The society, created in 2000 by a gift from Charter Trustee Lloyd Cotsen, is an interdisciplinary community that seeks to bring innovative approaches to scholarship and education at Princeton.

F. Duncan Haldane, Princeton’s Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics, was one of three physicists to be recognized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Tuesday for “theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter.” He shares the prize with David Thouless of the University of Washington and J. Michael Kosterlitz of Brown University, who was a visiting professor at Princeton in 1978.

Named the first Latino United States poet laureate in 2015, Juan Felipe Herrera spoke on Sept. 22, to a standing-room only audience of students and community members at the Fields Center. For nearly two hours, he deftly interwove readings of his poems with advice, encouraging attendees to use their voices against today’s injustices and to use words, as he does, to combat racism and violence. “You are all leaders,” he said.

Most Princeton University students were away during the summer, but it was still a busy season on campus as major construction and renovation projects moved forward to expand initiatives in sustainability, arts, residential housing and other areas.