Princeton University

This summer, Emma Ljung, senior lecturer in the Princeton Writing Program, is reading "Pappan och havet" by Tove Jansson.

"Most people think the Moomin series is for children — the characters are trolls, after all, and live in a magical valley without policemen or cities — but they are in fact deeply philosophical and describe many of the feelings and experiences that shape us humans," says Emma, who is also the director of the Santa Susana Archaeological Project and founder of the Western Iberia Archaeology collective.

In the book, Emma says, "Moominpappa moves his family across the wild sea to a hostile island to take up his presumed destiny as lighthouse keeper, but after trials and tribulations comes to realize that a Moominpappa can only ever be a Moominpappa and that is just fine."

Emma teaches courses at all levels on campus: first-year students, transfers, sophomores, and Princeton University Graduate School students. Her current courses include "Constructing the Past" (WRI 146), "The Past Is a Foreign Country" (WRI 208), and "Write to Publish in the Social Sciences and Humanities" (WRI 504).

She also teaches "The Writing's on the Wall: Exploring Princeton through Data-Driven Fieldwork" (WRI 222) — a research course on campus about the complex traditions of Princeton.

Emma re-reads the "Pappan och havet" series every year and regularly gives the English translations to her students.

"I adore seeing them being read across campus!"

Princetonians, let us know what you're reading this summer by filling out this form: https://forms.gle/mht4dRTsv4VZn6n2A

Solving a Rubik’s Cube can feel like an impossible task for some. Now, try memorizing a cube and solving it with your eyes closed. How about memorizing and solving 60 cubes in a row without taking the blindfold off?

That is the goal at the World Cube Association’s Multi-Blind event. Andrew Tao ‘24 was the 2025 Rubik’s Cube Multi-Blindfolded World Champion and recently became the 2026 North American Champion in July. He memorized 63 cubes, and successfully solved 60 of them, which places him 3rd in all-time rankings.

Born and raised in Coppell, Texas, Andrew was a computer science major at Princeton with a certificate in music performance. He was also a member of Mathey College, Princeton University.

Andrew got his competitive start with the Princeton Cube Club, which was founded in 2009 by Shotaro Makisumi ‘12, a 21-time world record holder in various cubing events. Then-Cube Club president Daniel Goodman ‘22, who has since become a close friend, suggested Andrew try blindfolded cubing.

"After speedcubing (with my eyes open) for around a year and a half, I thought it would be fun to learn another event where you solve a cube blindfolded as quickly as possible … Over winter break, I tried practicing multi-blind at home, and found it really fun and I was improving quickly,” said Andrew. “The Princeton Cube Club was a sizable part of why I kept cubing throughout college."

In addition to Cube Club, he was a percussionist in Princeton University Orchestra and treasurer of Tau Beta Pi. Today, Andrew is a software engineer living in New York. He enjoys running and trying new restaurants, while his competitive cubing serves as a social outlet.

"Competitions are also a good way for me to see my friends; this is especially the case at major championships," he said, "since people travel a bit further for those."

At a recent competition, Andrew met two incoming first-year students who plan to reignite the Cube Club’s membership.

Now that Andrew is the North American Champ, he is attempting to break the world record in the multi-blind competition, which is currently at 63/65 cubes in 58 minutes and 23 seconds.

Read up on Andrew’s most recent major win: https://bit.ly/4bzgzh0

It's a beautiful summer day at Princeton University.
Where's the first place you stop when you arrive on campus?

Last spring, Princeton University Football scholar-athletes and staff visited Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst to meet with members of the United States Marine Corps Reserve Association- MCRA of MAG-49 and U.S. Army Reserve soldiers of 2-228 Theater Aviation Battalion.

"It was an awesome opportunity getting to learn the specialization that occurs in the military. We learned a lot of different concepts that we can also bring back to our team," said Evan Haynie '27, a psychology major from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

A few days prior to the trip, head coach Bob Surace '90 talked to the team about the importance of details — on the field, in the classroom, in everyday life — and the theme was prevalent while talking with the soldiers.

"There were posters on the wall, it almost looked like a locker room," said Will Beargie '27, a SPIA major from Clarendon Hills, Illinois. "'Details save lives.' It's higher stakes in the military. Details don't save lives in football, but they can win games."

Throughout the trip, students explored helicopters and hangars while asking questions about the various roles in the military. Another important theme of the day was the value of being on a team.

"Going and speaking to some of those generals and getting to hear their perspective of 'team' and how they apply it on an everyday basis is something that I want to bring back to Princeton," said Haynie.

"Everyone has their role and it's important that everybody executes that role to precision and with expertise, and if we're able to do that, then we'll continue to be successful."

The trip was memorable for the students, coaching staff, and the hosts at the joint base.

"It had a great impact," said Lieutenant Colonel Jared Nichols, director of the Army Officer Education Program at Princeton, TCNJ, and Rowan University. "I'm already fielding questions on when they can do it again."

Six Princeton professors talk about favorite books and share what’s on their summer reading lists — fiction, nonfiction, biography, science fiction, history, fantasy — including books by colleagues: https://bit.ly/45rWG7S

Congratulations to all of our student-athletes for their outstanding achievements on and off the field. Here are some highlights from the spring postseason:

🏆 Men's Lacrosse won its first National Championship title since 2001 after earning a share of the regular season championship and winning The Ivy League tournament

🥎 Princeton Softball won both the Ivy League regular season and tournament titles and notched a win in the NCAA Regional on their way to the most wins in a season since 2006

🚣‍♂️ Princeton Rowing Men's Heavyweight finished 2nd in team standings at the IRA National Championships along with a gold for 2V and bronzes for 1V and 3V

🏌️‍♀️ Women's Golf — Thanana Kotchasanmanee ‘29, Ivy League Player of the Year, finished in 12th place at NCAAs, the highest-ever for an Ivy League women's golfer, and also secured an Ivy League championship

🚣‍♂️ Men's Lightweight Rowing finished 2nd in team standings at IRA National Championships along with a 1V silver and 2V bronze

🥍 Women's Lacrosse were the Ivy League tournament champs which earned them a spot in the NCAA Tournament

🎾 Men's Tennis won the 2026 ECAC Championship and also clinched an at-large bid to NCAAs

🏌 Men's Golf — Riccardo Fantinelli ‘26 was named Ivy League Player of the Year and played in the NCAA Regionals

🚣‍♀️ Women's Open Rowing earned an Ivy League 1V gold, sent 2 boats to the IRA National Championship Grand Finale, and placed 6th at NCAAs

🏃‍♂️ Men's Track & Field won their 3rd consecutive Ivy League Triple Crown and sent 11 to NCAA championships; Connor McCormick ‘26 and Greg Foster ‘26 earned first team all-American honors

🎾 Women's Tennis won the Ivy League Championship, the 5th title in the last 6 seasons for the squad

🏐 Men's Volleyball reached the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) final for the 2nd year in a row; it was the first time a 6-seed has ever made it to the title match

🚣‍♀️ Women's Lightweight Rowing won their 5th consecutive commissioners cup, with an 8+ gold medal and a 4+ gold medal

🏃‍♀️ Women's Track & Field earned their 2nd consecutive triple crown and sent 7 to NCAAs; Layla Giordano ‘28, Georgina Scoot ‘26, and Shea Greene ‘26 all were awarded first team all-American honors

Across the Princeton University campus, groundbreaking biomedical advances are emerging from interdisciplinary partnerships among brilliant scholars — each bringing their individual gifts to the toughest medical questions: https://bit.ly/4vXmVht

: “I applied to Princeton knowing I wanted to be a mol bio major, and the University’s unique collaboration with the Royal College of Music in London, which accepts students by audition for a semester of study, was one of the leading factors in that decision. Remarkably, it would be in a classroom at RCM, playing the violin, where I learned my biggest lesson as a molecular biology major. My days there started with a couple of hours of practice, followed by classes and rehearsals. I loved toiling away at difficult passages in the Beethoven Violin Concerto or learning how to relieve tension in my Alexander Technique class. But ‘Contemporary Improvisation’ with Gerardo Gozzi made me think differently about musical textures and structures — and science. He taught us how to be constantly aware of how every moment fits within the overall story in a piece of music. I realized that being a storyteller is also true of scientists. Discoveries matter not just because they are novel, but because they are part of a broader scientific narrative. Back at Princeton, I carried this perspective into my senior thesis on the ways that human cytomegalovirus uses host-cell machinery in its viral life cycle. Thinking about my experiments as part of a narrative was grounding as I planned each step and communicated my research results. I continued to feed my passion for violin as a music performance minor, concertmaster of Princeton University Orchestra and member of the chamber ensemble Opus. Since graduating, I’ve carried the lessons I learned at RCM into my new role as a clinical research coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital. Huge thanks to mol bio professor Fred Hughson, Michael Pratt in music & Amanda El-Kadi in the Office of International Programs for helping me navigate the logistics of fitting a seemingly unrelated semester abroad into a demanding STEM curriculum. I hope that interested students, especially those in STEM, will realize that studying abroad is absolutely possible with thoughtful, early planning, and that it can profoundly affect the way they approach their discipline.” — Tienne Yu ’26; Photo: Noel Valero ’82 *86