Cover Story
Tales From the Vault
Step into Northwestern University Archives with historian Kevin Leonard
Spring 2024
Voices
Quantum physics is an exploration of light and matter at the most fundamental level. Professor Prem Kumar says more than an intriguing curiosity, quantum is essential to creating real-world technologies that will revolutionize our lives.
Northwestern community members share the wisdom they learned the hard way.
Northwestern professor Melissa Foster ’96, ’01 MMus believes rap music should be accessible to everyone. She explains why she finds the genre so inspiring — and why learning its history is critical to becoming a good rapper.
Discovery
Earth and planetary sciences professor Andy Jacobson leads a team of researchers at Northwestern and the Chicago Botanic Garden investigating the effects of soil additives on agricultural fields.
News
All-time leading scorer Boo Buie has become the face of Northwestern men’s basketball, helping to usher in a golden era for the program. In 2023–24 Buie was a unanimous selection for the All-Big Ten First Team, earning every vote from both media and coaches, as he led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and only the third time in program history.
From Mali to Greenland, these Northwestern researchers are studying tiny creatures and sometimes unseen changes to develop important research conclusions.
In her senior honors thesis, art history major Elizabeth Dudley explores the influence of technology — from the invention of the sewing machine to the rise of social media — on fashion and aesthetic trends. She focuses on cottagecore, an aesthetic reflecting a pastoral way of life that exploded in popularity during the pandemic.
Researchers plan to 3D-print a lunar landing pad using the moon’s own materials, with the aim of building a permanent base on the moon. But first they need to analyze what moon dust is made of (and nope, it’s not cheese).
Alumni
Traditions for the graduating class create a bridge to the alumni community.
Since 2019 Marc McClellan ’81, a resident of Palm Springs, Calif., has served as president of the NU Club of Coachella Valley, a small but active group that has hosted game watch parties and cultural events, receptions for the Northwestern softball team and alumni filmmakers, and joint gatherings with other Northwestern groups to expand the club’s reach and unite Wildcats in the area.
My Northwestern Direction
Co-founded by Andrew Youn ’06 MBA, ’19 H, One Acre Fund is a nonprofit that provides training and equipment to 4 million farm families across nine countries in eastern and southern Africa.
Impact
As the world’s population rises and the effects of climate change threaten crop yields, food insecurity is an urgent matter. With the support of University Trustee Melih Keyman and Zeynep Keyman, Northwestern researchers are pursuing a novel approach to farming with the potential to make a substantial impact on the global food crisis.
The Lucks Laboratory developed a home test that can detect common contaminants in water. The technology, called ROSALIND, harnesses the “molecular taste buds” found in bacteria and programs them to glow when they detect a contaminant.
Northwestern has been awarded $50 million over five years from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Simons Foundation to establish the National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology (NITMB) — the first institute of its kind in the U.S.
Anyone who makes a gift of any size for three or more consecutive years is recognized as a member of NU Loyal, the University’s largest giving society, with more than 42,000 active donors. Gifts from members of NU Loyal have impacted more than 1,500 areas across the University.
People
Chicago has welcomed more than 35,000 migrants since the state of Texas began busing migrants to “sanctuary cities” as part of his border security initiative Operation Lone Star. A longtime knitter, Margie Chan knew she could rally the crafting community to help keep Chicago’s migrant population warm this winter.
When the Northwestern alum left journalism in 2018, he joked to a friend that he would only come back to news if he could report on Taylor Swift every day. Five years later, his dream is a reality.
After reporter Lauren Chooljian published a story on a COVID outbreak at New Hampshire’s Granite Recovery Centers (GRC), clients and employees of GRC began reaching out to her, alleging that GRC CEO and founder Eric Spofford had been sexually harassing and assaulting clients and colleagues — and paying people to keep quiet. Reported and produced by Chooljian, The 13th Step podcast delves into the allegations against Spofford and why sexual misconduct is pervasive in recovery settings.
Maya-Camille Broussard ’04 MA is the owner of the Chicago-based bakery Justice of the Pies and a star on the Netflix show Bake Squad. In this Q&A, she discusses the inspiration behind her pie flavors, the social issues close to her heart and how she’s worked to make her bakery an accessible place for people living with disabilities.
Music is integral to the plot of Down Below, an in-progress feature film by independent filmmakers Collin Davis ’11 and Matthew Valdez Litwiller ’11. In October 2023, Davis and Litwiller called upon Northwestern student musicians to record two original works for the film in Galvin Recital Hall.
The Metzger family’s efforts to cut down on household waste led Ryan Metzger ’01, ’09 MBA to co-found Ridwell, a multicity recycling operation. Since 2018, Ridwell has helped divert more than 21 million pounds of plastic and other hard-to-recycle materials from the waste stream.
Erica Bethe Levin ’05 founded Globowl, a company that creates baby and toddler food featuring flavors from around the world. Diversifying babies’ palates early on can help stave off picky eating and mitigate food allergies down the road, she says.
As dean of career programs and continuing education and director of apprenticeship partnerships at Olive-Harvey College, Cheryl Freeman-Smith ’92 creates opportunities for students from low-income communities to gain the specialized skills required for the modern economy.
