Princeton University’s Post

Congratulations to Princeton professor Tina Campt and professor emerita Nell Irvin Painter for being among the 24 recipients of this year’s Berlin Prize Fellowship. The prestigious fellowship is awarded by The American Academy in Berlin to U.S. scholars, writers, composers and artists that “represent the highest standards of excellence in their fields." Through the fellowship, Campt and Painter will spend the fall semester at the Academy’s Hans Arnhold Center in Berlin to pursue their scholarship and participate in public programs: https://bit.ly/3LnZ1GU

"Living in such a dynamic environment has challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, adapt to new situations, and embrace the beauty of diversity." Gina Arnau Torner '26, a member of Yeh College majoring in Princeton MAE is spending her summer with a start-up in Singapore, helping to develop Hall effect thrusters for low-Earth orbit satellites. She's doing so through the Streicker International Fellows Fund at the Princeton Office of International Programs, which allows undergrads to design their own internships/projects in a country outside the US. "This hands-on experience with thrusters and innovative technologies has not only broadened my technical knowledge but also offered valuable insights into the practical applications of aerospace engineering." In addition to daily tasks and lab work (like assembling carbon nanotube grids and testing those grids to characterize thruster performance), Gina has reconnected with her passions for drawing and photography, including taking weekly trips to draw different parts of the city with a group called Urban Sketchers. Gina says of some of her favorite experiences, "Exploring different neighborhoods, such as Chinatown, Little India, and Kampong Glam, has allowed me to see how each culture preserves its heritage while contributing to the overall tapestry of Singaporean society. The architecture, food, and daily practices in these areas offer an insight into the country's broader cultural landscape." The internship has given Gina the opportunity to learn about spacecraft subsystems that haven't been covered by her #PrincetonU courses just yet, while allowing her to experience a new city and culture. "Overall, my internship in Singapore is not only allowing me to delve into a field of interest related to my major and gain invaluable industry experience, but it is also enabling me to explore a culturally rich country and meet fascinating people along the way." As for the future, Gina is shooting for the stars — "My dream is to either work on NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's astrobiology missions, seeking to discover life on other worlds, or to develop innovative solar panels for spacecraft using nanomaterials or perovskites."

From Princeton to podcast host to Paris — Kareem Maddox '11 will be representing Team USA on the 3x3 basketball team during the Olympics. Maddox shares what made this moment possible and the sport's deep ties with Princeton: https://bit.ly/4cBN8sZ

During the summer, Princeton’s Emma Bloomberg Center prepares first-gen college, lower-income, community college and other students for college success through five distinct programs. One of the longest running programs is the Freshman Scholars Institute (FSI) which gives incoming students the opportunity to get to know Princeton’s academic, co-curricular and social experiences before the start of their first semester. “It’s teaching students how to have the tools and empower them to navigate Princeton so they can also shape this institution in their image.” – Khristina Gonzalez, director of the Emma Bloomberg Center. Learn more about FSI: https://bit.ly/3XRIOBt

Congratulations to Princeton mathematician Noga Alon who has been awarded the 2024 Wolf Prize in Mathematics by the Wolf Foundation “for pioneering contributions to mathematical cryptography, combinatorics, and the theory of computer science.” Alon, a professor of mathematics and applied and computational mathematics, is one of the most prolific mathematicians in the world. He has published more than 850 papers, including contributions to biology, economics and neuroscience: https://bit.ly/4eYjTlC

Hear a few insights from Princeton University staff about their Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) experiences. ERGs are volunteer, employee-led organizations comprised of staff from across the University who come together based on shared interests, experiences, and/or identities. For more information, visit https://lnkd.in/edbivBFn.

Every Fourth of July, Carnegie Corporation of New York recognizes a group of naturalized citizens who have made contributions to American society. Professor Lorgia Garcia-Peña, Jim Lee '86, and Nobel laureate Maria Ressa '86 have been named to this year's class of "Great Immigrants": https://bit.ly/3XQmRTn

#TellUsTigers: My family felt an immense wave of pride when I was accepted to Princeton in 2020. As a first-generation, lower-income (FLi) student who had moved to the U.S. at age 10 unable to repeat the English alphabet, I felt unfathomably fortunate. But my excitement was quickly eclipsed by uncertainty: How would I navigate the academic and social spaces? I felt like an imposter. What helped was finding community in two programs at Princeton the summer before I started: the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA) program and Princeton's Freshman Scholars Institute (FSI). Finding community in these programs ignited my curiosity about the interplay of socioeconomic background and well-being at college. With the unwavering guidance of my adviser, Rebecca Carey, my senior thesis in psychology tracked the development of relationships and the well-being of first-year students from the FSI program throughout the academic year, compared with their peers. My data showed that rather than quantity, it was the quality of interactions that mattered for FLi students. The nuanced results of the study found that closeness, support and satisfaction in friendships were uniquely linked to better well-being for FLi students during the transition to college. My thesis has fueled my passion to advocate for research-based and culturally sensitive mental health initiatives. I also hope to conduct community-based research on how to improve and disseminate mental health resources, including daily self-care practices. One habit I borrowed from NASA and perfected for myself at Princeton is taking 27-minute naps. NASA says 26, but 27 works for me. — Tiffanie Cheng ‘24; photo by Noel Valero ‘82 *86 Cheng’s thesis received the Department of Psychology’s Miller-Schroeder Memorial Prize, awarded to the graduating senior whose thesis best exemplifies the application of the psychological methods to the study of a problem of social significance.

Princeton professors share what’s on their summer reading lists: https://bit.ly/3LbmFGy

After studying coding through Persevere and taking community college courses while in prison, Mary McCrary is now participating in a computational biology research internship at Princeton. Associate professor Bridgett vonHoldt says McCrary "is a role model, demonstrating for anyone who thinks such change is impossible that nothing is impossible."