#northwestern university

[materialsscienceandengineering]

'Forever chemicals' destroyed by simple new method

PFAS, a group of manufactured chemicals commonly used since the 1940s, are called "forever chemicals" for a reason. Bacteria can't eat them; fire can't incinerate them; and water can't dilute them. And, if these toxic chemicals are buried, they leach into surrounding soil, becoming a persistent problem for generations to come.

Now, Northwestern University chemists have done the seemingly impossible. Using low temperatures and inexpensive, common reagents, the research team developed a process that causes two major classes of PFAS compounds to fall apart, leaving behind only benign end products.

The simple technique potentially could be a powerful solution for finally disposing of these harmful chemicals, which are linked to many dangerous health effects in humans, livestock and the environment.

"PFAS has become a major societal problem," said Northwestern's William Dichtel, who led the study. "Even just a tiny, tiny amount of PFAS causes negative health effects, and it does not break down. We can't just wait out this problem. We wanted to use chemistry to address this problem and create a solution that the world can use. It's exciting because of how simple—yet unrecognized—our solution is."

Read more.

#Materials Science #Science #Environment #PFAS #Reactions #Northwestern University

[the-birth-of-art]

11/1/73: McGaw Memorial Hall, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

photo by Charles Seton

#grateful dead #mcgaw memorial hall #northwestern university #charles seton #50 years ago today #fuck your other “big name groups”

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Dion J. Pierre

Yates did not mention that the school’s Middle Eastern and North African Student Association said in a statement after Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, in which the terror group murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 240 others, that “we resoundingly support Palestinian resistance to over 75 years of Israeli state-sanctioned violence.”

On Wednesday, Alums for Campus Fairness said it is “exposing” Northwestern University, alleging that the school has deliberately not punished antisemitic behavior on campus. The group plans to air its advertisements online during a streaming of the Las Vegas Bowl college football game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Utes of the University of Utah. Among other things, ACF is demanding that Northwestern adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

The IHRA definition of antisemitism includes examples of anti-Israel bias, such as “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” “denying the Jewish people their right to self determination,” and “applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” It has been adopted by dozens of governments and hundreds of civic institutions around the world — such as the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations — and is supported by lawmakers across the political spectrum.

“By refusing to define and denounce antisemitism, Northwestern is tacitly endorsing the climate of fear and intimidation for Jews on campus,” ACF executive director Avi D. Gordon said in a statement. “Faculty and student groups are openly supporting Hamas terrorism and calling for the genocide of Jews. It’s beyond time for Northwestern President Michael Schill to take decisive action against individuals violating university policy and adopt the internationally accepted definition of antisemitism.”

#northwestern university #antisemitism #alums for campus fairness #ihra definition of antisemitism

[eretzyisrael]

by Dion J. Pierre

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NOVEMBER 16, 2023 3:54 PM

1

Northwestern University Students, Faculty Slam School for Forming Committee to Combat Antisemitism

Thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators from the Midwest gather in support of Palestinians and hold a rally and march through the Loop in Chicago on Oct. 21, 2023. Photo: Alexandra Buxbaum/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Dozens of student groups at Northwestern University just outside Chicago on Thursday dismissed concerns of rising antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war as “mass hysteria and collective psychosis,” seemingly calling for the destruction of the Jewish state and joining faculty in castigating the school for forming a new panel to combat Jew-hatred on campus.

On Monday, Northwestern President Michael Schill announced the creation of a new committee “on preventing antisemitism and hate.”

Comprising faculty, staff, students, alumni, and trustees, the committee was formed in response to an explosion of pro-Hamas sentiment and acts of antisemitism on campus following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.

The school’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter has falsely accused Israel of apartheid, genocide, and “settler-colonialism” at its events and in its social media posts. The group also marched around campus earlier this month chanting, “Hey, Schill, what do you say, how many kids did you kill today?” In one incident — in which SJP has denied any involvement — an unknown group vandalized print copies of The Daily Northwestern, the campus newspaper, covering them in leaflets headlined, “Northwestern complicit in genocide of Palestinians.”

In Monday’s announcement, Schill disavowed such activity while noting specifically that chants of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” are perceived by “significant parts of our community” as “promoting murder and genocide.” The popular slogan among pro-Palestinian activists has been widely interpreted as a call for the destruction of Israel, which is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Nonetheless, in response to Schill’s announcement, 65 student organizations on Thursday signed an op-ed in The Daily Northwestern that was headlined, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

“Indeed we know there is a genocide happening, and it is happening to Palestinians by the Israeli apartheid government,” the article read. “Palestine has always served as a litmus test of our collective imagination of what freedom could look like. When we say from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, we imagine a world free of Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti-Blackness, militarism, occupation, and apartheid. From the river to the seas, Palestine will be free. Until liberation.”

The op-ed dismissed efforts to combat the recent surge in antisemitic incidents on college campuses as “mass hysteria and collective psychosis,” arguing Schill is being “irresponsible” and “dangerous” by “denying genocide” and “mischaracterizing the mission of activists.”

The students also argued that “the destiny of all marginalized people — both in occupied Palestine and around the world — is intertwined. We believe in the liberation of all peoples from Chicago to Sudan to the Congo to Western Sahara to Palestine.”

Some members of the Northwestern community lambasted the op-ed.

“Ah, yes! Let’s lump this highly complicated and charged conflict in with all of the bad things in this world and blame it on the Jews!” Northwestern University student Josh Miller tweeted in response to the column. “I cannot believe that this op-ed ran in The Daily Northwestern.”

The student groups did not mention or denounce the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, when they invaded the Jewish state and murdered over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped more than 240 others as hostages. The brutality of Hamas’ onslaught — which included rape, torture, and the beheading of babies — has shocked the world.

Also on Thursday, over 150 Northwestern faculty and staff signed a letter accusing Schill of undermining academic freedom and free expression, as well as jeopardizing the safety of “staff and faculty of color.” The letter went on to argue that Israel is committing “genocidal violence in Gaza,” despite the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) taking precautions to prevent civilian casualties.

Antisemitic outrages are not new to Northwestern University.

Last November, SJP tacked together copies of an op-ed by a Jewish student, Lily Cohen, graffitied it with the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and zip-tied it to fences enclosing the Deering Library. SJP took responsibility for the offensive displays that evening in an X/Twitter post charging that “US and Israeli law enforcement agencies collaborate to develop violent tactics to subjugate Black and Palestinian communities — in the name of American and Israeli racism, materialism, and militarism.”

#northwestern university #hamas #antisemitism #daily northwestern

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Northwestern University (Chicago,IL) scholarships needy cheerleaders only to pimp them out as prostitutes to their big donors & VIPs

Northwestern's sex trafficking scheme is exposed and not 1 liberal journalist will cover it.

A former cheerleader for Northwestern University who says her coach intentionally put her in situations where she was sexually harassed and assaulted can proceed with her sex trafficking and forced labor claims against the school, the coach, and several school officials, a federal judge said.

#1 school for journalists, yet the liberal media has refused to cover it

Threatened & intimidated needy girls

Violated forced labour & human trafficking laws

Scholarshiped students to cheerlead

Sex trafficking & emotional distres

If the girls talked, they would owe the university multiple thousands of dollars

Pimped out to Donor Events & VIP Fan Events

Cheerleaders forced into events where they are harassed... interest in donations counts as commercial benefit.

Northwestern cheerleaders 'presented as sex objects' to entice fans, donors, lawsuit claims

Former Northwestern cheerleader's sex trafficking claims can proceed in court, judge rules

A former Northwestern University cheerleader claims she and her teammates were “presented as sex objects” at numerous events, including football tailgates at the Evanston school, and were forced to interact with drunk and belligerent fans for the university’s financial gain.

As a result, some were sexually harassed on numerous occasions while wearing their Northwestern uniforms, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Chicago.

The plaintiff, Hayden Richardson, described a “hostile environment” throughout her two seasons as a Wildcats cheerleader, which included repeated instances of sexual harassment, her suit lawsuit says.

Richardson alleges Northwestern “forced its cheerleaders to behave in a degrading and demeaning manner” to get wealthy fans and alumni to donate to the university and its athletic department.

Former Northwestern cheerleading coach Pamela Bonnevier required female squad members to “mingle” with intoxicated fans without security at several university-sanctioned events, according to the suit. That resulted in Richardson allegedly being groped, assaulted and subjected to “incessant sexual comments,” and in some instances, fans placing their hands on her buttocks and breasts while taking pictures, the suit says.

“It became clear to [Richardson] that the cheerleaders were being presented as sex objects to titillate the men that funded the majority of Northwestern’s athletics programs,” her suit says. “After all, the happier these men were, the more money the University would receive from them. The University’s actions made it clear that brains do not bring in large donations, sex does.”

In the suit, first reported by the Chicago Tribune, Richardson said she initially felt “trapped” in her situation on the cheer team because if she didn’t comply she would be booted from the team, lose her scholarship and be forced to repay the expenses incurred while she was on the team.

When she did come forward, Richardson alleges the athletic department mishandled her complaints. One athletic department official initially didn’t report her complain to the Title IX office, the lawsuit said, a violation of the university’s Title IX policy and federal Title IX guidance.

“It further became evident to [Richardson] that Northwestern’s commitment to supporting victims was a façade to conceal a much uglier reality — Northwestern was willing to silence, and sacrifice the well-being of, its female athletes in order to keep its donors happy,” the suit said.

In a statement, Northwestern said it reviewed the complaint and denies the university violated any law, including Title IX.

“We take all complaints seriously, and we appreciate the courage it takes for anyone in our community to come forward to report potential wrongdoing,” the statement said. “In this case, the University’s Office of Equity conducted a lengthy and thorough investigation, following University policies and procedures.”

Northwestern and Bonnevier are named as defendants in the lawsuit as well as the Deputy Title IX Coordinator and two members of the university’s athletic department, which funds the cheerleading program.

The suit said Bonnevier was fired in October, though it’s unclear if these allegations played apart in her departure. Northwestern confirmed she’s no longer employed.

Richardson seeks an unspecified amount in damages for emotional and psychological distress as well as loss of educational and career opportunities.

Richardson’s suit follows similar ones filed by professional cheerleaders. In 2018, seven former cheerleaders sued the Houston Texans, alleging they were subjected to assault, harassment and unpaid wages.

In a 2018 New York Times report, dozens of NFL, NBA and NHL cheerleaders opened up about their experiences, shining a light on the “systematic exploitation by teams” that profit from sending the women to tailgates and other events where they’re subjected to harassment.

The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Thursday rejected the defendants’ argument that Hayden Richardson, the cheerleader, failed to state a civil claim for sex trafficking. Some of her state law claims, however, were dismissed but with the possibility of them being amended and refiled.

Richardson says Pamela Bonnevier, the head ...

Friday, September 22, 2023

A Northwestern University lawsuit filed by a former cheerleader can forward on labor trafficking, forced labor, sex trafficking counts, a judge ruled.

EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Portions of a lawsuit filed against Northwestern University by a former cheerleader will move forward.

The cheerleader filed the lawsuit back in 2021, alleging she suffered sexual assaults and harassment at multiple events by fans, alumni and donors.

Now, a federal judge is allowing the lawsuit to move forward on several counts, including forced labor trafficking, forced labor and sex trafficking.

In a statement on Friday night, Northwestern said it takes Title IX complaints seriously and investigates them fully, adding, "While we respect the right of individuals to seek redress through the legal system, it is important to keep in mind that the lawsuit, filed more than two years ago, contains only allegations. The university remains confident that the allegations are baseless."

#northwestern #northwestern university #megxit #chicago #silent media #cheerleader #legal #sex trafficking #scholarships

[aquitainequeen]

FAS, a group of manufactured chemicals commonly used since the 1940s, are called ‘forever chemicals’ for a reason. Bacteria can’t eat them; fire can’t incinerate them; and water can’t dilute them. And, if these toxic chemicals are buried, they leach into surrounding soil.

Now, Northwestern University chemists have done the seemingly impossible. Using low temperatures and inexpensive, common substances, the research team developed a process that causes two major classes of PFAS compounds to fall apart—leaving behind only benign end products.

The simple technique potentially could be a powerful solution for finally disposing of these harmful chemicals, which are linked to dangerous health effects and may be common in your water supply.

#pfas #forever chemicals #northwestern university #chemistry #science #oh brave new world #good news network

[sildarmillion-grounds]

Northwestern Medicine. Campus in Chicago. Dec 7, 2023.

#Northwestern University #Northwestern Medicine #Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine #Chicago #Illinois

[teenagedirtstache]

#northwestern university #luciano pergreffi #1988 #80s

[simhuman]

Courtesy my friend who attended it: Northwestern University ‘Wildcat’ Marching Band played the sting from MEGALOVANIA on September 30, 2023, during the Northwestern vs. Penn State football game. We weren't expecting a Megalovania jumpscare at a college football game, but here we are.

#undertale #megalovania #undertale music #marching band #my utdr content #northwestern university

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Elliott Anderson and Robert Onopa (editors) - TriQuarterly 47 - Love/Hate - Northwestern University - Winter 1980

#witches #occult #vintage #university magazine #love/hate #elliot anderson #robert onopa #triquarterly #candles #northwestern university #winter 1980 #1980

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Northwestern University engineers have developed a new sponge that can remove metals -- including toxic heavy metals like lead and critical metals like cobalt -- from contaminated water, leaving safe, drinkable water behind.

In proof-of-concept experiments, the researchers tested their new sponge on a highly contaminated sample of tap water, containing more than 1 part per million of lead. With one use, the sponge filtered lead to below detectable levels.

After using the sponge, researchers also were able to successfully recover metals and reuse the sponge for multiple cycles. The new sponge shows promise for future use as an inexpensive, easy-to-use tool in home water filters or large-scale environmental remediation efforts.

The study was published late yesterday (May 10) in the journal ACS ES&T Water. The paper outlines the new research and sets design rules for optimizing similar platforms for removing -- and recovering -- other heavy-metal toxins, including cadmium, arsenic, cobalt and chromium.

Read more.

#Materials Science #Science #Clean water #Lead #Heavy metals #Toxicity #Northwestern University #Nanoparticles #Manganese #Coatings

[mja]

1930 Syllabus Yearbook. Northwestern University. Evanston, Illinois.

#syllabus #yearbook #northwestern university #1930s #lettering

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

47 Northwestern faculty

October 27, 2023

This letter is in response to the “Open letter on NU leaders’ responses to war in Palestine and Israel” published in the Oct.16 edition of The Daily.

The Oct.16 letter gave the impression that the reasons civilians were killed by Hamas and by the Israel Defense Forces were the same, but whereas Hamas murdered civilians intentionally, the IDF were defending their citizens and homeland. The original 1988 Hamas charter (Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement) and guidelines to mosque preachers from the Palestinian Authority last week — according to Palestinian Media Watch and Jihad Watch — specifically state that Hamas’ mission is the annihilation of Jews and the complete destruction of Israel and the establishment of a theocratic state based on Islamic law. While Hamas amended its charter in 2017 to remove explicit mention of annihilation of Jews, we believe that mission is still intrinsic to their movement.

In 2005, Israel withdrew all soldiers and civilians from Gaza to reduce friction and enhance security. Two years later, Hamas violently overthrew the Palestinian Authority and took over the territory. Since then, terrorists have fired over tens of thousands of rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilians, according to the Associated Press. This has led to multiple wars, and both Israel and Egypt needed to maintain a blockade to prevent weapons smuggling into Gaza.

On Oct. 7 Hamas members intentionally slaughtered and eviscerated civilian men, women and children — as their 1988 charter and directives to preachers demand — and they raped women, according to the IDF. In the Oct. 16 open letter, the authors say the number of rockets Israel dropped in the first week of the war exceeded how many rockets terrorists had dropped, as if it was disproportionate. Based on a rule of proportionality, which is irrelevant in war, the IDF would be justified in committing as many horrific acts against Gazans as Hamas has against Israeli citizens. This is absurd.

The IDF has said it does everything possible to avoid killing Palestinian civilians, such as forewarning civilians to move out of a particular area by dropping leaflets, putting messages on social media and making phone calls. Yet, a significant number of Palestinian civilians are still killed. Why? The Washington Post has reported Hamas hides and fires its munitions in civilian areas, including hospitals, schools and homes, and uses civilians as human shields. Because of this, the IDF has diverted missiles. The IDF has also said Hamas is responsible for blocking civilians from traveling south to what the IDF said would be a safe zone.

The open letter’s depiction of “the blockade and humanitarian stranglehold on the Gaza strip since 2007” by Israel ignores the IDF’s assertion that a blockade is necessary to prevent terrorists from entering, which occurred prior to the blockade. The blockade is a way for Israel to protect its citizens from harm.

Gaza gets hundreds of millions of dollars each year for humanitarian purposes, but much of this money does not reach the civilian population, the Wall Street Journal reported. Hamas uses it for military purposes, which contributes to poverty among civilians. Hamas was named the third richest terror group in the world by Forbes Magazine in 2018. International aid “was designed to be humanitarian in nature, but money is fungible, and that also allows Hamas to divert money from providing for its people to support the war machine,” Alex Zerden, a former senior U.S. Treasury national security official, said in the Wall Street Journal. If Hamas had used this money to build infrastructure and support businesses, Gaza would be in a much better position.

Although we grieve for the loss of all innocent lives, the loss of life is on the bloodied hands of Hamas. There are not two sides to barbaric behavior. Hamas is displaying unimaginable evil that is unacceptable in any civilized society, and there is no justification for pure evil.

Richard B. Silverman, Departments of Chemistry, Molecular Biosciences, and Pharmacology Morton O. Schapiro, President Emeritus, Northwestern University Henry Bienen, President Emeritus, Northwestern University David N. Seidman, Department of Materials Science and Engineering James A Sauls, Department of Physics and Astronomy Philip Greenland, Department of Preventive Medicine Harris Perlman, Department of Medicine Raymond Glassenberg MD Department of Anesthesiology Jonathan B Ida, Department of Otolaryngology Richard J. Miller, Department of Pharmacology Michael R. Wasielewski, Department of Chemistry Rose Shoshanah Seidman, Selector and Cataloguer J. Samuel Tenenbaum, Pritzker School of Law Thomas Meade, Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences Brian M. Hoffman, Department of Chemistry Lewis J. Smith, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Tobin J. Marks, Department of Chemistry Tamar Seideman, Department of Chemistry Ben Z. Katz, Department of Pediatrics Oren Lakser, Department of Pediatrics Mercouri G Kanatzidis, Department of Chemistry Julio M. Ottino, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering George C. Schatz, Department of Chemistry Lee P. Shulman, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology P. Hande Ozdinler, Department of Neurology Neil J. Stone, Department of Cardiology Kenneth Poeppelmeier, Department of Chemistry Chad A. Mirkin, Department of Chemistry Joseph L. Schofer, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Joel Shalowitz, Department of Preventive Medicine Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern, Department of History William Klein, Department of Neurobiology Milan Mrksich, Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering Gary Saul Morson, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures Mark C. Hersam, Department of Materials Science and Engineering Elie Rekhess, Visiting Professor, Department of History Samuel I. Stupp, Department of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering William P. Halperin, Department of Physics and Astronomy Efraim Benmelech, Kellogg School of Management Joel Mokyr, Department of Economics and History Igor Jerome Koralnik, Department of Neurology Eddie Dekel, Department of Economics Martin Eichenbaum, Department of Economics William A. Muller, Department of Pathology Lauren S. Wakschlag, Department of Medical Social Sciences Irwin Benuck, Department of Pediatrics Benayahu Elbaz-Eilon, Department of Neurology

#northwestern university #open letter

[obsidian-sphere]

Purple Parrot, January, 1931.

#northwestern university #1931

[larryshapiro]

Northwestern University colors in Evanston, IL

#larry shapiro #larryshapiroblog.com #shapirophotography.net #larryshapiro #larryshapiro.tumblr.com #fire truck #firetruck #fire engine #EvanstonFD #Pierce #Enforcer #Northwestern University #Evanston IL #Evanston Fire Department

[subtextread]

#this was so stressful 😂😂😂 #offset #dillo day #northwestern #northwestern university