Skip to main content

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.

Read Kumar’s essay

Prem Kumar smiles while standing over a lab bench with his right hand twisting a piece of metal equipment. He wears a blue blazer and a dark green shirt.
Northwestern community members share the wisdom they learned the hard way.

Read their stories

Scissors cutting through a piece of paper that says “I can’t do it.”
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.

Read the story

Michelle Foster leans against a brick wall, wearing a white turtleneck top, oblong hoop earrings and a necklace. She is smiling and holding a copy of her book.
Women’s Leadership Program director Ellen Taaffe says many women at work encounter the “mirrored door” phenomenon — the internal place where, when presented with opportunities, they reflect inward and hesitate, seeing themselves as unworthy or unready to move forward. This self-judgment, Taaffe says, can cause women to hold back from raising their hands or applying for a new role.

Read Taaffe’s essay

Portrait of Ellen Taaffe
Snorkeling, tightrope walking, woodworking and competitive whistling — you won’t believe what Northwestern community members are up to outside of the classroom and office!

Check out these hobbies

Portrait of Jeffery Coleman curling
In recent years, deepfake videos have been used to demand ransom, distribute revenge porn and influence elections. With the clamor for AI regulation growing louder every day, professor Subrahmanian says it is time to reflect on the threats posed by deepfakes — as well as potential benefits.

Read Subrahmanian’s essay

V.S. Subrahmanian smiles for a headshot.
Northwestern professors share how we successfully learn information — and how we can better retain it.

Read more

A colorful image shows various silhouettes in different colors, each with a different subject in their brain.
An assistant professor at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, George Chiampas works for some of the world’s biggest sports teams and leagues. He is also chief medical and safety officer of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, an event he looks forward to every fall.

Read more about Chiampas

Chicago Marathon runners stride over a bridge that crosses over the river, with tall skyscrapers in the back.
Coined by Northwestern associate professor Moya Bailey, the word “misogynoir” gives name to the specific type of prejudice that Black women experience in today’s society. Bailey sat down with Northwestern Magazine’s Diana Babineau to discuss the origin of the word, how the phenomenon persists today and the Digital Apothecary lab’s latest research endeavors.

Read the Q&A

Moya Bailey stands smiling with her arms crossed next to large shelves of books at a library.
Literature can help us make sense of life’s biggest questions. And no one did that better than the great Russian novelists, says professor Gary Saul Morson.

Read the essay

Gary Saul Morson