Wednesday, March 5, 2014

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THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD vol. cxlix, no. 29

since 1891

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014

Food for thought: FYS combines chem and cooking Engineering, Students in unusual class enjoy opportunity to cook and eat laboratory experiments By MEGHAN FRIEDMANN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Every Wednesday, 14 first-years head to a kitchen to conduct “edible experiments” that help them see how chemistry applies to cooking. The lab is part of a new first-year seminar, CHEM 0080F: “Kitchen Chemistry,” taught by Associate Professor of Chemistry Sarah Delaney.

SCIENCE & RESEARCH

Potatoes ‘are not all the same’ The class consists of two parts

— Monday’s seminar portion, in which Delaney explains scientific concepts, and Wednesday’s lab section, in which students cook and eat. This week’s seminar focused on why humans perceive certain tastes as “sweet,” how pH levels affect the way potatoes cook and why different potato varieties have different textures when cooked. Delaney said people have certain taste receptors on their tongues that allow them to detect sweetness, adding that individual glucose molecules trigger those receptors, while chains of the same molecule — starches — do not. This is why potatoes, which contain starch, do not taste sweet, while foods containing glucose do. Delaney also talked about the phenomenon of miracle berries. These berries contain a protein that attaches to » See FOOD CHEM, page 4

digital course content set to expand

New School of Engineering building will bring better labs, more faculty and students By JOSEPH ZAPPA SENIOR STAFF WRITER

ALAN SHAN / HERALD

Sarah Delaney, associate professor of chemistry, said she is offering a food-themed first-year seminar to attract non-concentrators to the subject.

Paxson seeks diverse pool of provost apps Tuesday forum allows med students to discuss ideal qualities for next provost By EMILY WOOLDRIDGE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

LILIAN CRUZ / HERALD

Seth Magaziner ’06, a candidate for R.I. general treasurer, tells students to consider social and political factors that may affect investments.

Discussion about priorities for Provost Mark Schlissel’s P’15 successor, including fundraising and the implementation of President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan, stirred an Alpert Medical School Student Senate forum on the provost search process at the Med School Tuesday night. About 15 medical students attended the forum — moderated by Paxson and members of the provost search committee — which gave students

the opportunity to ask questions and offer their opinions on ideal qualities for the new provost. When Paxson asked for a concise definition of what the provost does, no student offered a response. Paxson said this response was not surprising, for the provost’s role is less publicly known, though the role is “incredibly important” to University governance. “The provost is the chief academic adviser of the University,” with responsibility over developing new programs, making tenure recommendations and chairing the Academic Priorities and University Resources Committees, Paxson said. Paxson said the search committee is considering internal and external applicants, adding that each type of » See FORUM, page 6

Two objectives in President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan — the expansion of the School of Engineering and the creation of the Laboratory for Educational Innovation — are still in the planning phases, though both are set to commence soon. An institute for environmental sustainability marks a third strategic plan goal that will likely be implemented in the coming year. The plan to build a new engineering facility was conceived when the Corporation approved the creation of a separate School of Engineering in 2010, said Lawrence Larson, dean of engineering. The building will allow the program to expand. Ideally, the project will be completed within the next four years, said Provost Mark Schlissel P’15. The number of engineering faculty members will rise from the current 48 to as high as the mid-fifties, and both the doctoral and master’s programs will accept more students in coming years, Larson said. Doctoral programs currently admit 30 students annually, and master’s programs currently admit between 60 and 80 students, he added. Thirty million dollars of the $160 million campaign the University launched last year to expand » See EXPANSION, page 2

General treasurer candidate advises student investors Student workers face obstacles, opportunities Seth Magaziner ’06 looks By EMILY DOGLIO STAFF WRITER

“I think we are due for a shake-up,” said Seth Magaziner ’06, candidate for Rhode Island general treasurer, at a Brown Socially Responsible Investment Fund meeting Tuesday night. Rhode Island’s pension system and high unemployment rate stand out as critical issues that need to be addressed by the next general treasurer, Magaziner said in his remarks at SRIF’s meeting in Wilson 305. Magaziner is the son of Clinton administration adviser and Open

inside

METRO

Some student workers sacrifice social time for job, while others find community through work By ELANA JAFFE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Last week, Nicole Salvador ’15 spent 15 hours in class and 35 hours working. In addition to her usual 15 hours a week at the Brown Annual Fund Call Center, Salvador was stage-managing the imPulse dance show. Instead of pursuing extracurricular activities, Salvador works many shifts so her parents don’t have to cover her personal expenses, she said. “I have a lot less time to be a student and a person at Brown, but it’s » See WORKERS, page 6

FEATURE

RYAN WALSH / HERALD

Student worker Joshua Espinoza ’14 balances his Modern Culture and Media coursework with his supervising duties at the Blue Room.

Commentary

Science & Research Study finds attentional mechanism can mitigate effects of IQ on memory

New calibration of underground machine detects low-energy particles

Editorial: Higher education may not be worth the cost of tuition

Johnson ’14: Those who claim their values are under attack are aggressors in the “culture war”

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weather

to address R.I. pension system, unemployment rate as general treasurer

Curriculum architect Ira Magaziner ’69 P’06 P’07. SRIF chooses to buy and sell stocks in companies that are socially responsible, basing its decisions on presentations that members put together, said Arielle Schacter ’16, social chair of SRIF. She added that they use these presentations as an educational tool to learn about social responsibility and finance. The event was small and personal — Magaziner spoke informally to a room of about 15 students. The tone was light-hearted as Magaziner asked members what stocks they like to follow and offered to connect students with internship positions on his campaign or with connections in the socially responsible investment field. Magaziner discussed his experience with Trillium Asset Management LLC, an investment advisory firm, as See MAGAZINER, page 2

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