In both 2020 and 2021, the Abel Prize — considered by many the Nobel Prize of math — was awarded to a Yale-affiliated mathematician.

Forty faculty members retired from the FAS in 2020-2021, and six of our active FAS colleagues passed away during the academic year. As is tradition in the FAS, at the final Yale College Faculty Meeting of the academic year, Dean Tamar Gendler read tributes to these faculty, recognizing their long-time service to the university. While this is typically an occasion to gather in person and celebrate our accomplished FAS colleagues, this year’s meeting took place remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions. Once we are able to gather again, we look forward to celebrating our 2020-2021 retirees in person.

A new Yale study vindicates the often-maligned reputation of an ancient assortment of worms, trilobites, and other animals that once lived in Earth’s oceans.

As the days lengthen and the sun shines more brightly, I write with gratitude and admiration for the myriad ways in which we have come together as a community of scholars and teachers during the long months of the 2020-21 academic year.

Mark A. Reed, the Harold Hodgkinson Professor of Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics, and integral member of the SEAS community for three decades, passed away peacefully in his home on May 5, 2021, at the age of 66.

Humans use all surfaces of the hand for contact-rich manipulation. Robot hands, in contrast, typically use only the fingertips, which can limit dexterity. In a new study from the lab of Aaron Dollar, professor of mechanical engineering & materials science & computer science, researchers took a non-traditional approach to creating a new design for robotic hands.

In “America on Fire,” the historian Elizabeth Hinton offers a sweeping reconsideration of the racial unrest that shook American cities in the 1960s and 70s.

Alan Mikhail, an authority on Middle Eastern history, has been appointed the Chace Family Professor of History, effective April 17.

Francesco Casetti has been appointed the Sterling Professor of Humanities and Film and Media Studies, effective April 17.

Eight members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) have recently been named to endowed professorships by vote of Yale’s Board of Trustees.