Princeton Alumni Weekly Podcasts

Brian Kernighan *69, co-author of classic texts including The C Programming Language, came to Princeton in 1964, when the campus had just one computer. He went on to a rewarding career at Bell Labs and returned to the University as a professor, teaching popular courses for both computer-science majors and less tech-inclined students.

America’s entry into World War II changed the lives of millions of Americans, and thousands of Princeton alumni. In this episode, Herb Hobler ’44, a sophomore at the time of the Pearl Harbor attacks, remembers the swift changes on campus and his travels en route to the Pacific theater.

“I was a shy person,” says Aliye Celik *70, the first female student at Princeton’s School of Architecture, “and Princeton gave me ... the backbone. I became more confident, and I carried that confidence throughout my work.” Celik’s experiences as an MFA student also shaped her career path, which included work at UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Kenya, and New York City.

Dick Snedeker ’51 took a keen interest in music at Princeton, playing clarinet for the marching band, the University Orchestra, and an undergraduate swing band called the Tigers. But the group he remembers best was one that he enjoyed mostly as a spectator: the Intensely Vigorous Jazz Band.

Quipfire!, Princeton’s oldest improv comedy group, launched in 1992 with a set of shows in a black-box theater. Twenty-two years later, it’s something of a campus institution. At Reunions in May, we spoke about the group’s founding with three early members, Matthew David Brozik ’95, Jacob Sager Weinstein ’94, and Steve Reed ’96. To watch video clips from the first Quipfire! show, visit http://paw.princeton.edu

As freshmen in 1950, Richard Muhl ’54 and Alan Whelihan ’54 took part in a September tradition: stealing the clapper from the Nassau Hall bell. But holding onto the prize proved to be harder than expected. Listen to their story in PAW Tracks, our new podcast series.