Vassar Today

Found in Translation

headshot of Professor Miriam Rossi

Buck Lewis

Professor Emerita of Chemistry Miriam Rossi recently completed the first-ever English translation of Italian author and Holocaust survivor Primo Levi’s 1941 university chemistry thesis. As a young scientist studying at the University of Turin, Levi was limited by the fascist racial laws of the time from conducting lab work because he was Jewish. Instead, he undertook a literature review of the “Walden Inversion,” in which atoms appear to turn themselves inside out during a particular type of chemical reaction. The resulting work was never translated into English—but now, thanks to Rossi, an Italian native-born speaker, and co-author Bart Kahr of New York University, it can be found as a chapter in the new book The Birth of the 3rd Dimension in Chemistry (Springer, 2025). Kahr and Rossi are longtime friends, and their discussions led them to decide to produce a manuscript that links Levi’s scientific education to his literary work.—Kimberly Schaye
Vassar professors and students in gray and black striped scarves pose on the steps of the U.S. Capitol during the #MathSciOnTheHill advocacy day in Washington, D.C.

Courtesy of Prof. Ben Lotto

Math on the Hill

This January, six Vassar professors and six students attended the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Washington, DC, along with thousands of others in the mathematical sciences community—educators, students, and researchers from colleges, universities, industry, national labs, and other organizations across the country.

During the annual event, they presented their work and learned about advances in their fields. The day after the meetings concluded, nearly 300 mathematical sciences professionals and students from 46 states participated in a direct-action advocacy campaign, #MathSciOnTheHill, calling for continued funding and support for the mathematical sciences. Participants met with senators and the staff of congressional representatives to emphasize the critical importance of sustaining robust federal support for mathematical sciences research.

“Research in the mathematical sciences is the bedrock underlying nearly all innovations in science, technology, and engineering,” noted Professor of Mathematics Ben Lotto, who participated in #MathSciOnTheHill alongside Vassar Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Statistics Charles Steinhorn. “Recent developments in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing all rely in a fundamental way on mathematics, statistics, and data science. Investments in research made by federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Departments of Energy, Defense, Education, and Health and Human Services have historically paid off through breakthroughs in these and many other fields.”

Lotto and other participants cautioned representatives about the potentially devastating consequences of proposed budget cuts to these federal agencies.—Elizabeth Randolph

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