Skip to main content

Research

Double Helping of Insight for Biotech

Sometimes, a hearty collaboration starts with something as simple as a good lunch.

Three years ago, Bentley Assistant Professor of Finance Irving Morgan (left) had a research paper starting to simmer. He ran into Fred Ledley in the faculty cafeteria and asked the professor of natural and applied sciences to review some initial findings. Ledley liked what he saw, and suggested working together at some point.

Star Educator

It was a dark sky above Illinois that literally opened up a universe for Bentley faculty member George Fishman.

“I was fascinated, and not just in terms of memorizing the names of celestial objects. I really wanted to study astronomy and understand our place in the universe,” he recalls of that night 26 years ago.

Mix Master

Some cultural critics slam the mixing of art and economics, insisting that commerce cheapens creativity. For Ben Aslinger, that intersection is where things start to get interesting.

“Everything is economic in the long run,” says the assistant professor in Bentley’s English and Media Studies Department. “Our system of commodity exchange and payment actually creates the conditions for creativity.”

History Gets Personal

For Daniel Marrano ’13, the history of Bentley University is much more than the stuff of dusty documents and yellowed news clippings.

“Basically, my whole family has gone to Bentley,” he says of a clan that includes his mother, father and two siblings. “I’ve always been interested in the history of the school, because it’s part of my own history.”

Systematic Scam

Scam artists — the only criminals we refer to as artists — are quite clever at taking advantage of whatever is capturing public interest. Obamacare is no exception, particularly as data is collected during the October 1 launch of the initial open enrollment period.

Forward Thinking

Most college seniors spend a good deal of time pondering their own future. For Ryan Miamis ’12, it was just as important to consider the future of the ground beneath his feet. 

Working with Professor of English and Media Studies Gesa Kirsch, Miamis spent the 2011-2012 academic year studying how urban dwellers might develop a “land ethic.” That is, a guiding philosophy for making decisions about land: using it, preserving it, changing it and more.   

A Supreme Decision I

What will be the tipping point for national legal recognition of gay marriage? Politicians, scholars, activists, and historians can all disagree but one thing is certain: the Supreme Court cannot avoid at least the first significant step toward that tipping point this month.

Fluent in Controversy

The cover of a recent Chronicle Review sums up academic reaction to a new book by linguist Dan Everett. Rendered in caricature, Bentley’s dean of arts and sciences exchanges scowls with the man who has dominated the field for some 50 years.

“Angry Words,” reads the headline. “Is Noam Chomsky’s reign over linguistics at an end?”

Everett chuckles at the illustration but answers the question with a serious “yes.”

Boomers: Time to Pay off that Mortgage?

I am a baby boomer, one of the many Americans approaching their dream retirement age. I am also one of the many baby boomers who has a little panic attack every time I look at my retirement accounts and my exposure to the whims of the stock market.

One of the questions that I often get as a financial planner (and one that I ask myself) is: Should I take money out of my retirement account to pay off the remaining balance on my home’s mortgage?

The answer: It may make you feel good, but it is an expensive decision.

Big Ideas, Small Packages

In working to bring technology to developing countries, people often think big: classroom computer systems, state-of-the-art farm equipment, and the like. But Bentley’s Alina Chircu says the key to technological advancement may come in a much smaller package.

The associate professor of information and process management has spent five years studying how technologies are adopted in emerging economies such as India and China. Her research identifies a staple of everyday life in the developed world — the cellphone — as a prime conduit in the process.