About Harvard Horizons
A new GSAS initiative to showcase the extraordinary research strengths of the PhD community at Harvard
Harvard Horizons, an initiative to recognize the ideas and innovations of PhD students at Harvard, was conceived by Shigehisa Kuriyama, Reischauer Institute Professor of Cultural History and chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures. The endeavor was supported by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, under the leadership of Dean Xiao-Li Meng.
In January 2013, PhD students were invited to submit their most essential research idea, in the form of written synopses of their work and short videos of themselves presenting it. Letters of endorsement from their advisors or faculty mentors accompanied the applications.
In February 2013, a cross-disciplinary faculty committee reviewed 55 applications and selected 15 semi-finalists for a round of interviews, after which the committee met to choose the eight Horizon Scholars. These eight PhD students, whose ideas represent some of the best new thinking in their disciplines, are emblematic of the extraordinary achievements of Harvard's PhD programs. They form the inaugural class of the Society of Horizon Scholars, a new fellowship cohort that will offer opportunities for community, mentorship, and professional growth.
Harvard Horizons has curated a series of mentoring and professional development opportunities for the selected scholars, under the leadership of Laura Frahm, assistant professor of visual and environmental studies, and Pamela Pollock, assistant director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. The mentoring sessions — on the art of effective communication, including voice coaching and oral and visual presentation tutorials — have enriched the scholars' professional development and helped prepare them to present their ideas in compelling, short-format talks at the Harvard Horizons Symposium on May 6, 2013, from 4:30–6 p.m., at Sanders Theatre.
Harvard Horizons Symposium
May 6, 2013, from 4:30–6 p.m.
Sanders Theatre
Questions:
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2013 Horizon Scholars
Edgar Barroso, Music
"Enhancing Music, Social, and Entrepreneurial Innovation through Trans-Disciplinary Collaboration"
Stephanie Dick, History of Science
"Aftermath: Following Mathematics into the Digital"
Alex Fattal, Anthropology
"Guerrilla Marketing: Information War and the Demobilization of FARC Rebels"
Hansun Hsiung, East Asian Languages and Civilizations
"Textbook Enlightenment: Europe, Japan, and the Rise of Global Distance Learning, 1720–1877"
Fenna Krienen, Psychology
"Big Brain Science: Strategies for Mapping the Human Brain"
Aaron Kuan, Applied Physics
"Graphene Nanopores for Single-Molecule DNA Sequencing"
Liz Maynes-Aminzade, English
"Macrorealism: How Fiction Can Help Us Understand a Networked World"
Jeff Teigler, Division of Medical Sciences
"Building Better Vaccines by Learning the Language of the Immune System"
The Harvard Horizons Committee
Xiao-Li Meng, PhD '90
Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Shigehisa Kuriyama
Reischauer Institute Professor of Cultural History
Margot Gill
Administrative Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Laura Frahm
Assistant Professor of Visual and Environmental Studies
Marlon Kuzmick
Associate Director, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
Pamela Pollock
Assistant Director, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
Cassandra Nelson
Harvard Horizons Project Manager
Acknowledgements
Stephen Blyth
Stephen Blyth, who earned a PhD in statistics from Harvard in 1992, provides resources to encourage innovation at the Graduate School in the form of the Dean's Innovation Fund, which sponsored Harvard Horizons. Blyth is Managing Director and Head of Public Markets for the Harvard Management Company. He is also Professor of the Practice in Statistics at Harvard, and from that perch has been a longtime supporter of pedagogical innovation.
The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning was generous in marshaling its considerable pedagogical resources in service of Harvard Horizons. The mentoring experiences, the oral communication tutorials, and the multimedia documentation of Scholars' presentations were enriched immeasurably and in some cases made possible by the expertise of Bok Center staff and facilities.
The GSAS Graduate Policy Committee
Members of the Graduate Policy Committee (GPC) for GSAS played a critical role in reviewing the applications for Harvard Horizons, in selecting candidates and conducting interviews, and finally in selecting the eight Horizon Scholars. The GPC, which comprises faculty from humanities, social science, and natural science PhD programs, advises the Dean of the Graduate School on major policies and resource allocations affecting all graduate programs.
