Announcing the 2014 Horizon Scholars

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The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the 2014 Horizon Scholars, eight PhD students whose ideas, innovations, and insights have the potential to reshape their disciplines. These students have been selected by the Harvard Horizons initiative as representatives of the high aspirations and the extraordinary achievements of Harvard University’s PhD programs. They form the second class of the Society of Horizon Scholars, a fellowship cohort that will offer opportunities for long-lasting community, mentorship, and professional and academic growth. Over the next month, these scholars will receive in-depth mentoring  on the art of effective presentation, preparing them for a campus-wide symposium on April 22, 4:15–6 p.m. in Sanders Theatre (reception to follow).

The 2014 Horizon Scholars

Image Man posing for photo	Adam Anderson, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations The Old Assyrian Social Network: an analysis based on the texts from Kültepe (Kanesh), Turkey
Image Woman smiling for photo	Whitney Henry, Biological and Biomedical Sciences Understanding the Chemotherapeutic Benefit of Aspirin in Mutant PIK3CA breast cancer
Image Man smiling for photo	Ashok Kumar, Applied Physics Simple Technology to Tackle Sickle Cell Disease
Image Thomas Norman	Tom Norman, Systems Biology Decisions, Decisions: The Eclectic Lives of Individual Cells
Image Heather Olins	Heather Olins, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology The Lives of Microbes in and around Deep Sea Volcanoes
Image Danny Orbach	Danny Orbach, History Culture of Disobedience: Rebellions, Defiance and Assassinations in the Japanese Army, 1858-1931
Image David Roberson	David Roberson, Neuroscience A Magic Bullet for Pain and Itch
Image	Sarah Rugheimer, Astronomy Spectral Fingerprints of Another Earth

Harvard Horizons Symposium

The Horizon Scholars will present their ideas in compelling, short-format talks at the Harvard Horizons Symposium on April 22 from 4:15–6 p.m., at Sanders Theatre, with a reception to follow. President Drew Faust, Provost Alan Garber, FAS Dean Mike Smith, and GSAS Dean Xiao-Li Meng will join in the celebration, and faculty, staff, and students from across the University are invited to attend as well, and to stay for a reception after the symposium. Free tickets will be available at the Harvard Box Office and at the door at Sanders Theatre. (More information to follow.)

The 2014 class of Horizon Scholars was selected by Harvard Horizons, an initiative of Dean Meng and Shigehisa Kuriyama, Reischauer Institute Professor of Cultural History at Harvard.

Many students applied to Harvard Horizons in January, submitting synopses of their most essential research ideas and short video of themselves presenting their work. A cross-disciplinary faculty committee reviewed the applications, selected 16 semi-finalists, and conducted a round of interviews, after which the committee met to choose the eight Horizon Scholars. 
 

For information, visit Harvard Horizons or contact harvardhorizons@fas.harvard.edu.