Timber salvaged from New York City buildings reveals ancient climate
Old-growth forests once covered the eastern United States, but they were almost entirely decimated by the early 1900s after centuries of commercial logging. Yet wood from those forests survives, much of it tucked behind the walls of New York City buildings. The tree rings on these timbers are sources of historical climate data, which is why researchers are working to recover them.
(National Geographic, Oct. 2021)
Oceanographer Juliette Finzi Hart ’96 Shows the (Virtual) Reality of Climate Change
Imagine seeing your favorite beach swallowed by the ocean. Your distress — the visceral kind of reaction that spurs people to action — is what oceanographer Juliette Finzi Hart ’96 is looking to elicit from residents of Southern California through the use of virtual reality.
(Columbia College Today, Winter 2017-18)
Building a Better Bleach To Fight Ebola
Thanks to a trio of Columbia students, healthcare workers treating Ebola may be better protected against the deadly virus by next summer.
(Columbia College Today, Winter 2015-16)
Go Fish: Paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Neil Shubin ’82 brings out the fish in all of us
Paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Neil Shubin ’82 delights in recounting how a fortune cookie foreshadowed the journey that resulted in his most important discovery.
(Columbia College Today, March/April 2011)