Photographs by Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Campus & Community
Reducing medication expenses, embracing the elderly, expounding on AI — along with other research proposals
Eight graduate students present their projects during Harvard Horizons discussions
At Harvard, a multitude of scholars strive to enhance understanding across a diverse range of subjects. Each year, eight students are chosen to refine strategies for transmitting that knowledge from the University to the broader public through Harvard Horizons.
Now in its twelfth iteration, the initiative invites doctoral candidates to present their research at a one-night academic symposium. The students engage in personalized mentoring sessions to fine-tune their presentation techniques and research concepts.
“It’s essential for both faculty and students to effectively engage and connect with the wider community,” stated Karen Thornber, the Richard L. Menschel Faculty Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. “These multi-faceted skills are fundamental, not only for involving students in the classroom but also for ensuring that research with the potential to greatly enhance global well-being is accessible and impactful to a larger audience.”
Harvard Horizons is an initiative of the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Bok Center.
‘Redesigning’ ancient Egyptian architecture
Sergio Alarcón Robledo
Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Ancient edifices are not as unchangeable as previously believed. Alarcón Robledo is striving to gain a deeper understanding of the narratives surrounding tombs in North Saqqara, Egypt, utilizing 3D modeling and a technique known as photogrammetry — mapping structures onto archaeological locations using archival photographs and software. He has discovered that tombs evolved over time, with modifications and reconstructions transitioning from purely funeral functions to venues for ritual activities and communal gatherings.
“Structures are akin to individuals, and documenting their history is comparable to crafting a biography,” he remarked. “Throughout our lives, there may be numerous moments that signify our identities … yet even capturing a singular moment from every day would not accurately represent us.”
Aging can be a beautiful experience, according to Braslavsky. Her presentation focused on insights that scholars can glean from elder female poets, including embracing aging rather than yielding to the narrative of deterioration and downturn.
“While the cultural climate instructs us to dread aging, it’s an integral aspect of the human journey,” she noted.
Her research specifically highlights three Slavic poets — Elizabeta Mnatsakanova, Bohumila Grögerová, and Krystyna Miłobędzka — known for their writing and creativity into their later years.
“These women demonstrate through their work that time can be interpreted through our perceptions, and that time can be assessed as much emotionally as it can be quantifiably,” Braslavsky expressed.
According to Campbell, silver might serve purposes beyond accessories. His research aims to employ silver in a chemical reaction that could significantly decrease the costs associated with pharmaceutical production. Through photochemistry, Campbell has been endeavoring to isolate trifluoroacetate — a compound infamously challenging to synthesize, yet vital to many contemporary medications.
In order to achieve this, he is using a distinct type of silver (Ag²⁺) — a highly reactive variant of the element that can be recycled and repurposed to not only reduce expenses but also make advancements in sustainability.
“When I began my Ph.D., very few Ag²⁺ compounds had ever been synthesized. However, in this vacuum of information and absence of precedent, I recognized an opportunity, and I seized it by developing a novel synthetic method for isolating substantial quantities of silver compounds,” Campbell stated.
Before the advent of spreadsheets, khipus existed. Twisted cords with clusters of knots, khipus served as the ancient Inca’s counterpart to written language. They were utilized to document various data, such as population counts, taxes, and potentially complex stories and melodies.
FitzPatrick has been examining a collection of 33 khipus sourced from cliffside graves at Laguna de los Cóndores in Peru to gain deeper insight into the individuals who crafted them.
“I opted to reverse the conventional approach, investigating how khipus were created, who the creators were, and what insights this provides regarding their application,” FitzPatrick stated.
A component of this investigation, he noted, has involved becoming a khipu-creator himself. During his presentation, FitzPatrick handed out a homemade khipu to each audience member.
The ancient Greek bard Sappho has historically been deemed lost to the ages, only to be rediscovered in the late 19th century when fragments of papyrus containing her verses were found in Egypt. However, Horgan argues that she was never truly absent.
“Sappho has consistently lingered in poems and dramas, in art and sculptures, and in the consciousness of readers who have envisioned her repeatedly, irrespective of the availability of her poetry,” Horgan remarked.
Horgan’s research is centered on dispelling the notion that the creations of Sappho—a notably queer poet—were intentionally suppressed. In truth, she asserted, Sappho and her queerness have been visible in numerous scholarly works and art since her lifetime in the era before Christ.
“My aspiration is that this work provides not just accounts of queer repression, but also narratives of queer resilience. Sappho didn’t continue to exist despite her queerness, but indeed, because of it,” she added.
According to O’Donahue, courts, as pivotal structures in democratic frameworks, can either bolster or jeopardize democracy. The Ph.D. scholar, who observed a failed military coup while working for the U.S. State Department in Istanbul, noted in his discourse that this is especially evident in nations like Turkey, Israel, and even the U.S. Israel and Turkey, as per O’Donahue’s perspective, illustrate opposing extremes of the “judicial power-sharing” continuum — which refers to the capacity of rival factions to appoint judges to the nation’s supreme courts.
“I arrived at Harvard with a problem I needed to resolve,” he remarked. “What causes courts to support or undermine democracy through the enforcement of legal limitations on powerful political leaders?”
Are we misusing AI? Raux asserts that we are. His research indicates that individuals project their own cognitive frameworks onto artificial intelligence, causing us to overlook the true capabilities of the technology.
“We must ensure that, as humans, we can fully capitalize on AI’s potential,” Raux expressed.
By conducting experiments with chatbots, Raux had the AI address inquiries related to parenting. His goal was to illustrate that human cognition is dramatically different from artificial intelligence, and that the challenges faced by humans may differ significantly from those encountered by AI and vice versa.
“But do individuals acknowledge this when engaging with AI?” he inquired.
Ultimately, Raux aspires that his work will assist both researchers and users in leveraging the technology’s capabilities more effectively.
Venturo-Conerly holds an ambitious vision: to make mental health services available to every young individual globally. She’s commencing this journey in Kenya. Building on initiatives she began as an undergraduate with fellow Harvard alumnus Tom Osborn, Venturo-Conerly has been developing mental health programs for Kenyan youth through the Shamiri Institute. Named after the Kiswahili term for “thrive,” Shamiri employs a tiered framework of community members, overseen by mental health specialists, to provide counseling and educational support to Kenyan students. In addition to mental health, their efforts address academic, financial, and social wellness.
“Instead of centering on psychopathology, it navigates stigma by emphasizing positive themes, growth mindset, gratitude, and values, affirmations, all of which are interventions supported by research, theorized to foster an upward spiral of change in beliefs and behaviors,” Venturo-Conerly noted.
Shamiri is currently in its sixth operational year, with Venturo-Conerly and Osborn continuing to assess its effects.