In 2022-2023, a Bass Connections team is working to address the shortages of labor, funds and infrastructure in neurosurgical settings around the world. Using the World Health Organization’s health system building blocks - from research and technology to service delivery - team members are assessing the big-picture challenges facing these countries’ overloaded neurosurgeons.

As a junior undergraduate, Kaylin Tsukayama - like many college students - wasn’t sure what direction she wanted to take in her career. She was a neuroscience major and had already spent nearly three years studying the subject and working in labs; yet, she was starting to question whether she wanted to continue in a natural science field.

In 2013, the first Bass Connections research teams embarked on ambitious projects to tackle real-world challenges ranging from gender inequality in STEM education to children’s mental health to climate policy in the U.S. to rural poverty. Since then, the program has supported nearly 500 interdisciplinary teams and brought together more than 4,000 faculty, students and staff to conduct cutting-edge research spanning dozens of disciplinary fields and world regions.

A 2022-2023 Bass Connections team is digging into the richness of dirt and fungi to inform the development of a unique art project called “Soil and Spirit.”

While stepping into a new era with the Duke Climate Commitment, Duke also looks back on a long state history of environmental justice advocacy and the injustices that necessitate it.

The 2021-2022 school year marked a series of welcome returns for the 1,200 students, faculty, staff and community partners who participated in Bass Connections. Our 61 year-long project teams resumed their in-person work on campus, many teams participated in their first fieldwork since 2019 and we were once again able gather together in Penn Pavilion to celebrate the year through our annual Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase.

Among the 2022 Ph.D. graduates are numerous students who took advantage of the Bass Connections program to strengthen their dissertation research, coauthor publications and hone career-enhancing skills. Many students also engaged in other interdisciplinary opportunities across campus.

Check out these doctoral student pathways.

These 10 seniors are among the nearly 600 Duke undergraduates who participate in Bass Connections each year. For some students, taking part in collaborative, interdisciplinary research confirmed and deepened their interests; for others, the experience opened up entirely new paths. Many students found ways to take their research further through honors theses and other opportunities.

For these five alumni, Bass Connections was a vital part of their journey to careers in health and medicine.

While at Duke, Shweta Lodha (Chemistry and Neuroscience ’19) was a member of a the 2017-2018 Patients’ Journey to Medication Adherence project team.

Please register for our Summer Discovery Program Mentorship Event on Wednesday, June 16 and/or Thursday, June 17- both events will be held from 6 pm - 8 pm eastern: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_daukJ13u7zJJzE2

The Duke University Energy Initiative has appointed Dr. Eric Rohlfing as an executive in residence.

Rohlfing--spouse of Dr. Celeste Rohlfing (T'79) and parent of Meg (T'09) and Anne (T'12 & M'16)--will join Duke this fall after a distinguished career at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where his roles included directing the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

AAAS has an exciting full-time opportunity for a Manager of Scientific Outreach within their SciLine Department in the Washington, DC office.

Responsibilities will include: