May/June 2017 – Brown Alumni Magazine

Obituaries

Obituaries from the May/June 2017 issue.

Write Every Day

A farewell to Mark Baumer '11 MFA, who died last December while walking barefoot across the country.

Loving Hate Relationships

Brendan Alper ’09 invents Hater, a dating app that matches people based on the things they hate.

Mead in Brooklyn

Raphael Lyon ’98 founded New York City's first "meadery," which offers an ancient honey wine that's becoming a hipster favorite.

Coconut Balls for Sale

Homesickness for Honolulu prompted Gail Stringer ’88 to open the Hawaii General Store—in Seattle.

A Higher Calling

In Austin, Texas, Ashton Cumberbatch ’79 has combined activism and religion to create a life of service

Whiz Kids

In 1954 Brown toppled reigning champion University of Minnesota to become champs on NBC's The College Quiz Bowl.

What You Thought

Readers react to coverage of Delaware Governer Jack Markell ’82, student reaction to President Trump, student debt, and other stories.

The Activist

To Myacah Sampson ’17, who is black and Navajo, economic inequality is inseparable from racism.

Cultural Anthropologist

Providence native Lehidy Frias ’17 never dreamed of going to Brown. Now she's on track to become an anthropology professor.

Mr. President

Undergraduate Council of Students president Viet Nguyen ’17 wants to increase access to higher education.

The Visualizer

Daniel Kunin ’17 designed a popular website that teaches math through interactive visualizations.

The Education MC

Austin Martin’17 grew up listening to hip-hop. Now he's using it to enhance the vocabulary of minority students.

The Survivor

After gymnast Tori Kinamon’17 picked up a flesh-eating bacteria, she published a study showing that athletes are especially at risk.

The Problem-Solver

Computer scientist Nifemi Madarikan ’17 has used his experience to advocate for more diversity in science and technology.

Discovering Who You Are

If our futures are built on our pasts, the few years undergraduates spend at Brown are often the foundation on which their lives will be constructed, one job, one break, one dream, one setback at a time. Most undergraduates discover the intellectual passion that will shape the rest of their lives during this brief, intense time.

Riding the Wind

Last winter, Deepwater Wind, headed by CEO Jeff Grybowski ’93, generated North America’s first electricity from offshore wind.

My Mother the Radical

International relations professor Peter Andreas spent his childhood with his mother as she chased revolution in South America.

Freedom of Religion

It's now easier for observant Jews to move around campus on the sabbath while observing Jewish law.

A Whale of an Honor

In the Heart of the Sea author Nathaniel Philbrick ’78 earns the Harris Collection Literary Award.

Old Building, New Name

Thanks to a $24 million gift from the Friedman Family Foundation, Wilson Hall will join the 21st century as Friedman Hall.

Clean Sheets

Remember waiting for a free washer and dryer in your dorm's laundry room? Now there's an app for that.

The Face of Syria

Syrians living in Rhode Island came to campus to talk to students about their lives and their culture.

Coding for Change

Sophie Houseer ’19 is helping girls harness the power of programming in some unusual ways.

Take Me!

Applications are up. Admission rate is down. So who did get into Brown this year? We break down the numbers.

“Hell for the Poor”

In April, people on campus did a reading of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam" speech on its 50th birthday.

David Cameron Visits Campus

When you come right down to it, the former prime minister asserts, "fake news" started with Josiah Carberry.

Fresh Ink

New novels about Supreme Court justices and working at a New York City tech firm; the story of a 19th century feminist you've never heard of.

Building an American Home

Jennifer Cheng ’05 writes poems about the wholeness and holeness of an immigrant home.

The Last Waltz

After almost 30 years of performing her songs, singer-songwriter Catie Curtis ’87 embarks on her final tour.

Another Pulitzer

Lynn Nottage ’86 wins her second Pulitzer for a play about factory workers in search of the American dream.

At Home

Photographer Tom Atwood ’94 offers memorable, and often slightly funny, contemplative portraits of LGBTQ people.

Twain Revisited

What ever happened to Huck Finn? He's back, thanks to the fertile imagination of Robert Coover.

Women of NASA

Maia Weinstock ’99 brings together space travel and women from STEM fields in a new set of LEGOs.

Smart Characters

The Americans actor Peter Jacobson ’97 is a self-confessed short, balding Jewish guy who takes on juicy roles.

What Success Looks Like

A reunion volunteer realizes that choosing class reunion speakers is a lot harder than it looks.

Moments of Hope

An exhibit of photos that find unexpected joy in broken places is on display at the Watson Institute through Mayt 31.