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Letters and Science

An Icelandic braided river, seen from above.
Photo Credit
Luca Ronchi via iStock
Multi-channel rivers predominate in Iceland’s easily eroded volcanic soil.

Rivers choose their path based on erosion — a discovery that could transform flood planning and restoration

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Professor William Davies King with a collection of cracker boxes
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
William Davies King with part of his collection of Cheez-It cracker boxes

Expansive collections of ‘things of no value,’ nearly 10,000 items worth nothing, at heart of new Red Barn art exhibition
The symmetrical pattern of a cable-stayed bridge from below.
Photo Credit
Gwoeii via iStock
Comparing the complexity of scientific theories is challenging. Mathematical symmetry can provide an excellent guide.

Sharpening Occam’s Razor
Juneteenth mural
Photo Credit
Juneteenth Legacy Project
"Absolute Equality" mural in Galveston, Texas, commemorating Juneteenth

Teaching Juneteenth: a history lesson in slavery and freedom
A tall grey tower against a bright blue sky
Photo Credit
Mike Eliason

University names winners of Thomas More Storke Award and other major prizes for 2023 graduates
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Professor Thuc-Quyen Nguyen receives double honors for her work on organic photovoltaics
Anabel Rocha Ambrosio
Photo Credit
Debra Herrick
Anabel Rocha Ambrosio

First-generation graduate Anabel Rocha Ambrosio builds a better life with education as the foundation
Rice terraces at sunset in Japan
Photo Credit
iStock/Sean Pavone

Shining a light on the interconnectedness between societies and the natural world
concept of subatomic particles from two lattices creating an exotic material
Photo Credit
sci-fig (https://sci-fig.com)
The negative electrons from one lattice and the positive "holes" from another together create a neutral exciton crystal

Physicists discover an exotic material made of bosons
stock market ticker screen

Student-run investment group connects undergrads to the world of finance
Ray Adkins portrait
Photo Credit
Debra Herrick

New physics Ph.D. Ray Adkins is bound for Yale, prestigious award in hand, to apply his research to neuroscience
Actress Cate Blanchett, as composer Tar, in the foreground; her face decorated with Indigenous ceremonial markings
Photo Credit
“Cate Blanchett and Ruperto Fasabi.” © David Díaz Gonzales & Olaf Heine 2021 @ Focus Features, Courtesy of Todd Field.
Created by David Díaz Gonzalez, an affiliate of the Indigenous-focused Peruvian arts nonprofit Xapiri Ground, this photo of Cate Blanchett in character as Tár was produced expressly for the film and appears in one scene.

The rich ambiguity of Tár, and why director Todd Field wouldn’t have it any other way
Ted Egan, Christopher Waller, and Peter Rupert
Photo Credit
David Bazemore
2023 South Coast Economic Summit guests (from left) Ted Egan, Christopher Waller and Peter Rupert

‘Keep calm!’ The economy stays steady despite inflation and the impacts of remote work
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