Leader of the pack

Top scholar, political activist, community volunteer: This senior’s all that – and more

Global conversation

African author Ngugi wa Thiong’o champions diversity in literature and culture

In toon with biological sciences

Adam Summers revels in spreading fervor for his field

Pushing the edge

Self-described ‘gizmologist’ Simon Penny sees a new culture – and area of study – emerging from the digital age

Frozen species, deep time, and marauding black holes

It all goes with the territory for Gregory Benford, a mild-mannered professor who doubles as the working physicist’s science-fiction writer

Focused on the future

David Blake thinks tomorrow’s corporate leaders need information, technology … and flexibility

Forecasting risky business

Philippe Jorion is advancing ‘new knowledge’ revolutionizing the financial industry

From chaos, order

For economist Art De Vany, the natural order that emerges spontaneously from chaos is more efficient and responsive than anything a planner could devise

A good life

In the work of evolutionary biologist and ordained priest Francisco Ayala, science and religion have found a peaceful coexistence

Of human bonds

A scholar’s exploration of altruism ultimately took her to its opposite, genocide, and to an understanding of the common ground both share