Research

Anyone looking for vivid lessons on women’s lives – from the impact of the beauty culture to wage inequalities to domestic violence – will find them in The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World (Penguin Books, 2009) by Professor and Chair of Global Studies Joni Seager.

Now in its fourth edition, the atlas uses eye-catching maps to present otherwise dry data. Previous iterations earned Outstanding Reference Book honors from the American Library Association and won the Chicago Geographical Society's Publications Award.

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.

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.”

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.   

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.”

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.”

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.

As a kid, Rick Cleary learned early on that a career as a professional athlete wasn’t going to add up. Luckily, he had a pretty good backup plan.

“I’ve always loved both math and sports,” he says. “I wasn’t too good at sports. I was good at math.”

Cleary would eventually land on his high school cross country team – and parlay endless hours with The Sporting News into a life in statistics. With a PhD in the subject from Cornell University, he joined Bentley’s Mathematical Sciences faculty in 2001.