Rockefeller University

Program for the Human Environment

News

2024 St Andrews Prize for Environment to river restoration project in India

The Kham River Restoration Mission, winner of the 26th St Andrews Prize for the Environment, was awarded the $100,000 prize for work to restore a seasonal river in India.  Also recognized were the excellent runners up, Northwoods for efforts to re-wild mid-sized land-holdings (up to 1000 acres) in Scotland and Washbox for its technology to reduce water pollution on construction sites.   Jesse Ausubel serves on the Prize jury.

Short video by Jesse about Lounsbery Prize & France

On 15 October, on the occasion of the presentation of the French Academy of Sciences awards including the 2024 Richard Lounsbery Prize to Dr. Jean-Léon Maître (Institut Curie Paris), Jesse Ausubel, Chair of the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, looked back on the history of scientific relations between the United States and France and the need to encourage and support young researchers. The 3-minute video is here.

Le 15 octobre dernier, à l’occasion de la remise des prix de l’Académie des sciences et du Prix Richard Lounsbery 2024, Jesse Ausubel, Chairman de la Fondation Richard Lounsbery, est revenu sur l’histoire des relations scientifiques entre les Etats-Unis et la France et la nécessité d’encourager et soutenir les jeunes chercheurs.

David Thaler publishes Forensics, Genius, and Enthusiasm in the Genetics of Leonardo da Vinci

PHE Guest Investigator has published open access an insightful essay Forensics, Genius, and Enthusiasm in the Genetics of Leonardo da Vinci as part of the Leonardo Da Vinci DNA Project.

Why do we want the DNA sequence of Leonardo da Vinci? Three categories, or contexts, suggest themselves: The first is in support of art history, provenance studies, and forensics. The presence of DNA attributable to the master would be evidence of his physical proximity. Depending on details, molecular evidence might lend support to assertions that Leonardo had a hand in creating a particular work. The second category of reasons is to explore the hypothesis that Leonardo’s DNA sequence may contain clues to his physical qualities, materials of his work, diet, possible illnesses, and maternal lineage. The possibility that Leonardo’s DNA sequence might yield clues to his extraordinary visual sensibilities or even his singular genius deserves to be said explicitly.  The third category is not a “reason” in the usual sense but an “apology” in the sense of explanation. It is that this quest is extraordinarily difficult and it engages our enthusiasm.

Jesse’s Afterword for book on genealogy of family of Leonardo

Later this year Pontecorboli Editions will publish in Italian a definitive history of the family of Leonardo Da Vinci from his forebears to the present day, a masterwork of scholarship by Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato.  An English edition should appear in 2025.  We post Jesse Ausubel’s Afterword in both languages as well as the draft table of contents.  The books should form a major legacy of the Leonardo Da Vinci DNA Project.