Aug. 7, 2018: Fields Medalist Akshay Venkatesh *02; Judge T. S. Ellis III ’61 at the Manafort Trial

Number theorist Akshay Venkatesh *02, center, with colleagues at the Institute for Advanced Study, was one of four researchers awarded the 2018 Fields Medal, the highest honor in mathematics. Read more about Venkatesh and his experience at Princeton in a feature from Quanta magazine.

Federal judge T. S. Ellis III ’61 is presiding over Paul Manafort’s corruption trial with his signature style of sharp questioning. — The Washington Post
 
Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek says he’d like to see lawyer and legal commentator Laura Coates ’01 take on hosting duties for the show when he retires. Coates tweeted that she was honored that Trebek even knows who she is, calling Jeopardy! her “fave game show ever.” — Money
 
In New Mexico, Regis Pecos ’77 “has earned a reputation as one of the state’s most enduring power brokers,” according to a recent profile. — Santa Fe New Mexican
 
Recent graduate and Rhodes Scholar Jordan Thomas ’18 urged Jeff Bezos’86 to select Thomas’ hometown of Newark, N.J., as the site of Amazon’s second headquarters. — NJ.com

Alabama circuit court judge Bob Vance ’82 is running for chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court against longtime associate justice Tom Parker. — Associated Press

“Power dynamics that disadvantage women, especially women of color, are nothing new. What is new is that we now have an opportunity to make progress because our collective consciousness has been elevated.”

— Carmen Twillie Ambar *94, the president of Oberlin College, advocating for recognition and correction of imbalanced power structures in higher education. Read more in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

 
Housing and Urban Development assistant secretary of administration Suzanne Tufts ’77 is leading efforts to recruit new workers for the department, with nearly 25 percent of employees currently eligible for retirement. — Government Executive
 
The New York Times named Clifford J. Levy ’89 its new metropolitan editor. Levy previously spearheaded online initiatives at the newspaper. — The New York Times
 
Sen. Ted Cruz ’92 of Texas will meet Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke for five debates across the Lone Star State this fall. — Houston Chronicle
 
Catherine Cohen ’13 has found success in New York City with a one-woman musical comedy show. — The Village Voice

Catcher-turned-spy Moe Berg ’23 will receive a year-long exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame featuring both baseball and spy-related memorabilia. — The New York Times
 
Fifty years after his death, Chuck Mayo 1921 was remembered as an exemplary surgeon, educator, and leader at the Mayo Clinic. — Post-Bulletin

Lileana Blain-Cruz ’06 is directing the New York premiere of Marcus Gardley’s historical New Orleans drama The House That Will Not Stand at the New York Theatre Workshop. — The Village Voice