Year in review: 24 stories from ’24

At Yale, 2024 was a year of transformation and renewal.

The university welcomed a new president, Maurie McInnis, an accomplished scholar, university leader, and alumna who first arrived on campus as a graduate student in 1989, and celebrated her predecessor, Peter Salovey, who returned to the faculty full-time after 11 years as Yale’s leader.

Ambitious new construction and renovation projects across campus, from the David Geffen School of Drama to Science Hill, positioned the university to advance key priorities — and another historic project, a reimagined Yale Peabody Museum, reopened its doors to the campus and New Haven communities.

And, as always, scholars and scientists campuswide pursued solutions to the most pressing issues facing humankind and the planet, including public health challenges, social inequities, and climate change; explored ways to harness the promise of artificial intelligence; and continued the ever-evolving project of teaching and engaging students.

As the year draws to a close, we present here, in chronological order, 24 of our favorite stories that were published on Yale News in 2024 — those that informed us, inspired us, or gave us hope.

A scene from the 2023 Yale Repertory Theatre production of “Wish You Were Here.” — A scene from the 2023 Yale Rep production of “Wish You Were Here,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi, directed by Sivan Battat.

Photo by Joan Marcus

Yale moves forward with new dramatic arts building

In February, Yale announced that it will develop a landmark theatrical arts building that will bring faculty, staff, students, and guest artists under one roof. “This is a huge step toward aligning our facilities with the talents and aspirations of our exceptional faculty, staff, and students,” said James Bundy, the Elizabeth Parker Ware Dean of the Geffen School and Yale Rep artistic director. [Feb. 6]

‘Uncovered, unknown, and uncertain’: Guiding ethics in the age of AI

In a Q&A with Yale News, philosopher Luciano Floridi, who leads Yale’s new Digital Ethics Center, discussed his efforts to help guide the prudent and moral use of new technologies. “The digital revolution is truly historical,” he said. “So much is changing so dramatically that a lot of the conceptual tools that we have need to be completely rethought and others need to be designed.” [Feb. 21]

Seeing Yale from the other side of the lectern

Each year, Faculty Bulldog Days encourages Yale faculty to step out of their own classrooms to observe how colleagues practice the craft of teaching — and perhaps pick up some new tricks of the trade. “Taking the time to shut off thoughts about your own questions, even for just 45 minutes, and to contemplate how others are dealing with their questions, it can’t help but inform how you think,” said Yale physicist Larry Gladney. [Feb. 29]

Novel cancer vaccine offers new hope for dogs — and the people who love them

A few years ago, a search-and-rescue dog named Hunter was diagnosed with a deadly bone cancer. Today he shows no signs of the disease — thanks in part to an immunotherapy treatment developed by Yale’s Mark Mamula. (With video.) [March 5]

What is life’s purpose? A Yale psychiatrist looks to science for answers

In a Q&A, Yale psychiatrist Samuel Wilkinson discussed the evolutionary forces that spur us to be our altruistic selves — and what inspired his fascination with life’s purpose. [March 5]

Would you believe? A Yale historian reconsiders the seemingly impossible

Earlier this year, historian Carlos Eire spoke with Yale News about his book, “They Flew: A History of the Impossible,” which draws on his fascination with accounts of mystical phenomena — such as levitation and ‘bilocation’ — to examine the power of belief to shape reality. [March 20]

Inspiring wonder again: Reimagined Yale Peabody Museum reopens

In March, for the first time in four years, the Yale Peabody Museum opened its doors to guests. The historic renovation transformed the Peabody — which now offers free admission for all visitors — into a dynamic center of participatory learning, groundbreaking research, and more accessible exhibitions. [March 26]

All-City program helps local students connect with musical heritages

For more than a decade, the Yale School of Music’s All-City Ensembles program has offered New Haven students free after-school music instruction. Last fall, mariachi and salsa were added to the mix, reflecting the district’s growing Hispanic population. [April 11]

Sea of love: Behind the unusual sexual parasitism of deep-water anglerfish

Fascinating research from Yale scientists illuminated the evolution of anglerfish, with a particular focus on their unique (and somewhat unsettling) mating routine — in some cases involving the permanent fusion of the male’s head with the body of its female companion. [May 23]

Maurie McInnis named Yale’s 24th president

In May, Yale appointed Maurie McInnis ’96 Ph.D., a Yale graduate and accomplished scholar of cultural history, to serve as the university’s 24th president. McInnis, who was the unanimous choice of Yale’s Board of Trustees, began her tenure on July 1. [May 29]

Looking back at Peter Salovey’s legacy of leadership

As Peter Salovey prepared to return to the faculty after more than a decade as Yale’s president, a Yale News series explored the university’s evolution during his tenure and his commitment to the university and to New Haven. [June 27]

Giant clams may hold the answers to making solar energy more efficient

In June, new findings by Yale’s Alison Sweeney showed that giant clams in the Western Pacific are perhaps the most efficient solar energy system on the planet — an example, she told Yale News, that may offer inspiration and insights for more efficient sustainable energy technology. (With video.) [June 28]

Maya Meschkuleit, Margaret Hedeman, and Daisy Mazzio-Manson — Yale senior Maya Meschkuleit (left), Margaret Hedeman ’23, and Daisy Mazzio-Manson ’20 are among the 16 current and former Yale rowers competing at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Allez! Yale rowers for gold at Paris Olympics

During this summer’s Paris Olympics, 16 current and former Yale rowers, representing nine nations, carried on the enduring tradition of Yale Rowing on the world stage (with eight taking home medals!). “It’s a pretty unique sport in college, I think, in the sense that you do literally have the best in the world for that age in college,” Dan Williamson ’23, who was still a Yale College student when he won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, told Yale News. “It really is an all-star team kind of situation.” [July 25]

Cartoonist Alison Bechdel brings lessons of a ‘curious’ life to the Yale faculty

This fall, acclaimed cartoonist Alison Bechdel joined the Yale community this fall as a professor in the practice in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, where she is helping students “unfurl” the craft and production of comics. “I’m hoping to be able to show [students], quickly, stuff that took me a long time to do,” she told Yale News. “And then they can just get to work.” [Sept. 13]

Hard realities, real opportunities: Yale hosts climate summit in New York City

In September, Yale Planetary Solutions hosted its first-ever climate summit during Climate Week in New York City, highlighting the university’s commitment to addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. [Sept. 25]

How to dismantle the mass incarceration system

In an interview, Yale Law School’s James Forman Jr. discussed what it will take to reform the criminal justice system and where reforms are already making a difference. (This year also marked Yale Law School’s bicentennial year.) [Sept. 25]

‘Weird little creations’: A Yale College student brings together engineering and art

Yale College senior Jason Nuttle, a double major in engineering sciences and art, aims to evoke life’s sweetness and absurdity in the “automata” he makes — a stricken songbird, a self-typing keyboard trapped in an indecisive loop; a randomly gesturing robotic hand. Watch them in action. [Oct. 2]

Are you tasty to mosquitoes? Research reveals clues into when and why they bite

Understanding mosquitoes’ gustatory preferences — a particular combination of salt and amino acids found on human skin, a recent Yale study found — could help curb the spread of diseases like dengue fever. [Oct. 16]

A woman and child walking toward a house nestled into the woods. — The latest house designed and constructed by the Jim Vlock Building Project will house two educators from Friends Center of New Haven, an organization that provides affordable early-childhood care and education in New Haven.

Photo by Allie Barton

For architecture students, building project fosters social change

For this year’s Vlock Building Project, Yale architecture students designed and built a home in what is becoming a growing “village” for local educators. (With video.) [Oct. 21]

‘True hybrid’ mice might reveal how new species emerge

Forty years ago, James McGrath (who would go on to spend more than three decades as a clinical geneticist and research scientist at Yale) made a discovery that advanced scientists’ understanding of gene control and the rules governing genetic inheritance. In October, in what would be his final study, he made another key contribution to the field of genetics. [Oct. 23]

Yale Teaching Fellowship to support graduate study for public school teachers in New Haven

In October, Yale leaders — in collaboration with the City of New Haven and other local partners — launched a $10 million initiative to fully fund graduate study for more than 100 teachers who commit to teaching in New Haven public schools. [Oct. 30]

A geometry masterpiece: A Yale scholar solves part of math’s ‘Rosetta Stone’

The “Langlands Conjectures” have for decades suggested deep, unproven connections between disparate fields of mathematics. Yale’s Sam Raskin led a team that has solved a major portion of it — and could lead to a translation theory for some areas of math. [Nov. 1]

A climate message in the heart of New Haven

A new partnership between Yale and the City of New Haven is supporting mural projects by local artists — and calling community attention to the climate threat. (With video.) [Nov. 15]

Ring out! For 75 years, Yale students have played the bells of Harkness

The Yale Memorial Carillon, played regularly by a group of student and alumni carillonneurs, is more than an iconic part of the campus soundscape — it’s a towering symbol of the instrument’s artistic evolution. [Dec. 4]