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Recent News from Columbia

Research & Discovery

Illustration of a chickadee.
Chickadees Are Memory Geniuses

New research shows that the birds memorize the location of food using brain cell activity akin to a barcode.

The study's lead author, Yuhang Hu, a PhD student at Columbia Engineering in Hod Lipson’s lab.
Emo the Robot Can Foresee, and Respond to, Your Smile

Columbia engineers have built a robot that uses AI to anticipate a person’s smile before they actually smile, a major advance.

The mile-wide crater of Costa Rica’s Poás Volcano hosts a steaming lake that occasionally explodes. Debris from past eruptions covers an area of 150 square miles around it.
Tapping Into the Breathing of a Volcanic Beast

In Costa Rica, Climate School scientists are installing geophysical instruments that can monitor the underground in real time.

Campus & Community

Abbey Hsu and Kaitlyn Davis
Columbia’s Abbey Hsu (CC‘24), Kaitlyn Davis (CC’23) Selected in WNBA Draft

More history was made for Columbia University and the women's basketball program, as Abbey Hsu (CC'24) and Kaitlyn Davis (CC'23) were both selected in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Hsu and Davis are the first two WNBA Draft selections in Columbia women's basketball history.

Columbia students toss mortar boards in the air.
Commencement & Graduation Season Stories 2024

On this page, you'll find stories from graduates, photos from the season, trivia, and the latest updates on what to expect from this year's Commencement and various graduation celebrations. We'll be updating throughout the weeks leading up to the big day.

Columbia students point up at the solar eclipse.
Look Up! 8 Luminous Photos From an Eclipse-Viewing on Low Plaza

On April 8, hundreds of Columbians gathered on Morningside campus to witness a partial solar eclipse.

National & Global Affairs

Yaeli Bloch-Elkon, Brigitte Nacos, and Robert Shapiro.
Will History Repeat Itself With the 2024 Presidential Election?

A new book traces how the Tea Party laid the groundwork for the rise of Trump.

Dialogue Across Difference
What’s at Stake in These Polarized Times

Students, faculty, and staff gathered in person and online to explore how the often binary conversations around current events inform our understanding of democracy, the elements that prevent us from coming together for civil discourse, and where we go from here.    

IGP, Columbia University. Photo credit: Nir Arieli
Institute of Global Politics, Columbia University. Photo credit: Nir Arieli.
IGP Kicks Off Women’s History Month with the Launch of Its New Women’s Initiative

The event convened leading policymakers, scholars, and advocates to discuss a range of issues, from reproductive rights to gender equity in the workplace to technology-facilitated gender-based violence.