duke-university-alumni

"... refers to s that can perform 1 billion, billion full precision calculations per second. ... the set that goal a decade ago, not only to achieve exascale computing but to achieve it with extreme . And both our laboratories are very proud to have delivered on that vision with these two systems that are dedicated to . We are already seeing how exascale computing is driving innovation and breakthroughs in many scientific domains, including medicine, from all the way to clinical care. And this is a crucial milestone for science and technology because, now, we can tackle challenges that previously we could not. We can tackle them faster. We can analyze large scales of data with extreme efficiency. We can do simulations of very s."

"has been the cornerstone for research advancement, scientific innovation, , and economic prosperity ... The ’s Leadership Computing Facilities have a long history of enabling researchers to accelerate and deliver practical breakthroughs for some of the most computationally challenging problems. These research and development advances happen across many disciplines such as , , , astrophysics, biology, and engineering to name a few. In addition, supercomputing has proven to be an effective ally to our society by helping us address critical and pressing challenges, such as climate change, , and . For instance, supercomputers help researchers develop personalized medical treatments as well as better predict and manage the effects of natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes through the use of advanced s. ... These discoveries help shape our understanding of the universe, bolster US economic competitiveness, and contribute to a better future. ..."

"Unquestionably, the s approach the diagnostic task with a level of intelligence, flexibility, and common sense that is difficult to duplicate with a computer. Thus far, research findings have demonstrated only that computers are the best savants when it comes to executing mathematically rigorous steps toward the solution of narrowly defined problems. Nonetheless, the radiologist's approach is not devoid of limitations. There are well-documented errors and variations in the human interpretation of ... Some study findings even indicate that the same errors are being made now, as they were in earlier decades ..."

"The word "civilization" apparently first appeared in a French book in the mid-eighteenth century (L'Ami des hommes (1756) by Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau, the father of the French revolutionary politician). Since then, it has had close associations with the West's sense of its own superiority. In order to see the past clearly, we must try to avoid this assumption built into the word."

"For the mamas and grandmas who marched to make sure that women could control our own bodies: We are Not. Going. Back."

"For the ancestors who sat at lunch counters and made sure that we all had the right to vote: We are not. Going. Back."

"I often tell the story of my grandmother, Sarah Daisy, who wanted to work for the federal government. She taped a piece of paper to the refrigerator to teach herself how to type in order to pass a Civil Service Exam, which included a typing test. She practiced every day and soon landed herself a job at the Pentagon—her dream job. I am so honored to be her legacy."

"We are in a good position to win the primary … because the coalition of people have shown up. They are excited."

"Motivated by my grandmother’s story, I always knew I wanted to serve others."

"Most people just want a fair shot—to afford healthcare, housing, education."

"This is our moment to leave Donald Trump where he belongs: in America’s past."

"and I grew up, thirty years apart, in the small town of , situated on the in eastern North Carolina. A life-size portrait of Gurganus hung in our local library’s entryway, and I used to leaf through a copy of his best-known novel, “,” while waiting for my piano lessons to start. (Gurganus knew my music teacher, Gene Featherstone, socially. “A sweetheart,” he assured me.) For me, Gurganus was proof that you could come from the place where I lived—a place steeped in propriety, religion, and tradition—and become a writer."

"As a , I want to deepen my relationship to the natural world. I have no need to dominate nature, just a desire to live a little closer to it. When I read the work of female naturalists like LaBastille and Robin Kimmerer, whose work blends the scientific, tribal and spiritual, I sense a shared love and humility in the relationship between self and nature, not the loud note of personal triumph and chest-thumping we hear so loudly in early environmental work."

"... crying at your own work is like laughing at your own joke — it's just not done."

"Vermont sort of demands humility and equanimity. No one really cares if you’re fancy or high achieving, and if you lead with that energy you will learn quickly that it’s unwelcome. There’s a coldness here that shocked me for years—but I’ve learned to appreciate the authenticity. No one’s faking much of anything; there’s no lipstick on the pigs here."

"My good habits: I don’t really watch television. I read a lot. I teach, which makes me think about what makes good work. I run, which helps me work out s and combat nerves about a first book. I parent, which is radically humbling and physical and informs my characterizations. I always have a in progress. I try not to read rejection letters twice."

"The majority of species, , and of s are found in the of the Earth. Therefore it is no surprise that the greatest diversity of flower morphologies and plant-pollinator interactions are also present in the tropics. Endress has amassed a splendid display of examples and illustrations of this tremendous diversity. ... ... There are many references to the classic works of , , and , as well as many lesser known but important European workers of the nineteenth century."

"A major task for any , , , , or applied forensic specialist is to determine the correct identification of a plant sample in a rapid, repeatable, and reliable fashion. “s,” i.e., standardized short sequences of between 400 and 800 s long that in theory can be easily isolated and characterized for all species of plant on the planet, were originally conceived to facilitate this task (Hebert et al., 2003). By combining the strengths of , , and , DNA barcodes offer a quick and accurate means to recognize previously known, described, and named species and to retrieving information about them. This tool also has the potential to speed the discovery of the thousands of plant species yet to be named, especially in s (Cowan et al., 2006)."

"are reported for all but two major divisions of extant s ... No epiphytes have been reported in the or the . Ten percent of all species (23,466 species) are epiphytic. ... The s account for the great majority of epiphytic taxa at all hierarchical levels. ... The s are depauperate in epiphytes: only 0.5% of the species are epiphytes."

"s are native primarily in the American tropics from the in Central Mexico to the in , including the . A curious disjunct group of six species of Heliconia separated by thousands of miles from most other species is found in the Old World tropics (Kress, 1985, 1990a). The center of diversity of the genus is found along the northern Andes (Colombia and Ecuador) extending into southern Central America (Panama and Costa Rica; Andersson, 1989). Most species inhabit moist or wet regions, but some are found in seasonally dry areas. Although heliconias attain their most luxuriant vegetative growth in the humid lowland tropics at elevations below 500 meters, the greatest numbers of species (many locally endemic) are found in middle-elevation (800-1,500 meters) rain and cloud forest habitats. Few species occur above 2000 meters."

"Theology is like rowing a boat. You can only move forward when you are looking backwards."

"God cannot be placed within any category larger than God in order to understand God."

"Beginning with the flesh of Jesus and its presence in the church, theology alone can give due order to other social formations—family, market, and state. The goodness of God is discovered not in abstract speculation but in a life oriented toward God that creates particular practices that require the privileging of certain social institutions over others. The goodness of God can be discovered only when the church is the social institution rendering intelligible our lives. ... For a Christian account of this good, the church is the social formation that orders all others. If the church is not the church, the state, the family, and the market will not know their own true nature."

"Theology can only be done in cultural form."

"Only because our being and truth already belong to God can we avoid the nominalist temptation, where God arbitrarily and unexpectedly appears as a sheer act of will reversing creaturely being and commandeering our language miraculously from the outside such that nothing identifiably human remains of it."

"Creativity is seeing opportunity where no one else did. It is finding magic in the humdrum of the everyday and the familiar."

"There is nothing as rewarding as being inspired by my students and their work, which happens on a daily basis."

"Social media is essentially having access to people’s curated collection of what they think is the best of the best from the web. It’s a wealth of blogging content and ideas."

"I see African literature taking the lead in reinventing conventional forms of storytelling. Europeans may have invented the novel, for example, but they are currently as confused as everybody else about what digital and social media technology means for literature."

"There is an unprecedented global interest in African writing. As a result, my readership is growing in leaps and bounds."

"The excitement you read in my style is a genuine expression of a reader’s love. African literature is beautiful stuff. As a blogger, I enjoy thinking up innovative ways of getting my readers to put aside all the assumptions and expectations they might have of African writing and simply encounter it from a place of love."

"The life of a professor is exciting. There is never a dull moment. When I’m not teaching, I’m doing research, writing an article, or managing the administrative responsibilities that come with running a class. I find teaching literature intellectually fulfilling."

"...writing, like any creative ability, can be a gift. But it can also be cultivated. It might require more work, more backbreaking labor, but it certainly can be learned."

"I want African writers to sell millions of copies, make good money, and live off their work. This is how publishing industries are nurtured—when they are able to tap into the pulse of mass culture."

"A bestselling novel is like any good product. If it’s good quality, and it’s backed by good marketing, it’s a sure-banker success."

"As every blogger knows, the bread and butter of good sites is great content. If you write things that people love, they will come to the blog."

"Blogging is a totally different beast. When I realized that my training on writing research and conference papers did not really translate into blogging, I had to learn writing all over again. That was challenging!"

"Blogging is all about the slant. How can you take a set of facts, rearrange them, and serve them up to readers in a way that’d make them think or react? Besides, I learned pretty quickly that you can’t please everyone"

"African literature has not always been reader-driven. For Achebe to write with a straight face that a novelist is a teacher, you know we are dealing with a literary culture where the reader doesn’t really count for much."

"Literary critics might claim that they know why Shakespeare became Shakespeare, but the truth is they don’t. If you asked me how a book becomes a classic, I’d say it’s a matter for the gods."

"I’ve run Brittle Paper out of pocket. But Brittle Paper is growing so fast, and it’s become more than clear to me that I need money, not only to run it in its present form, but also to take it to the next level."

"Brittle Paper is hard work. It takes its toll—given that I am also in the thick of writing a dissertation. But I love blogging. It’s as simple as that."

"The reason African literature is sometimes preachy and heavy-handed is precisely because it has never really been inspired by the taste and desires of the African reader—by what the reader really wants. It’s been driven, instead, by the African writer and critic’s lust for literary significance."

"The reader is there to be schooled and herded about and put in their place. It’s taken me years to realize how absurd and borderline disturbing Achebe’s statement is. It points to the power differential that has always defined the writer-reader relationship in African literary culture. Really, it’s all about power."

"Give us the “digestible and quickly forgotten” stuff. I want more African writing with mass appeal. I want a Nollywood invasion of African literature. I want African writers to not take themselves too seriously for once and just write novels that Africans would find endlessly delightful and delicious."

"I want African writers to find inspiration in what Africans want to read not what they should read or what will save them or educate them or edify them."

"At the end of the day, Africans are the only ones who can really champion African literature. It is not enough to complain that the world misunderstands us and our work. We have to take the lead in showing the world what is awesome about African literature and how it should be read."

"Activism is probably too strong a word to use for it. But, I do have a politics regarding African writing in the sense that while I love British and Indian literature deeply, I also understand that African literature is the only literature I can really lay claims to or call my own."

"I publish Brittle Paper so I can tell anyone who cares to listen what I find remarkable about African writing."

"...I don’t let the fear of getting into trouble decide what I write or don’t write."