November/December 2004

Features

COVER STORY

Net Assets

Buoyed by a federal grant to develop digital research tools, Stanford's computer science department turned its graduate students loose on an intriguing problem-solving exercise. Ten years later, their work has produced virtually every significant Internet search innovation and spawned the world's most popular librarian, Google

Betting the Ranch

On a sprawling Montana spread, Roger and Cindy Lang hope to make ranching and sound environmental practice synonymous.

Bound by Convention

Two years before Abu Ghraib sparked outrage, Army interrogators in Afghanistan were honing new methods for questioning prisoners. Alumnus Greg Miller got an inside view of how they worked and gave painstaking attention to ethical dilemmas.

Regarding Ernest Johnson

Forgotten for almost a century, Stanford's first African-American student has had his legacy restored. And the alumnus who honored him has gained back a piece of his past.

Columns

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Our Report Card

What our readers say

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

Getting Serious About Science

Blackboard Jungle

Class action

Departments

1,000 WORDS

Deliverance

STUDENT VOICE

The War on Worry

Fretting over terror

ASKED & ANSWERED

The Case Against Neglect

A Brown retrospective

BRIGHT IDEAS

Admit Two

Got tickets?

Red All Over

A Home 'Centuries in the Making'

Native American's new home

In Praise of 'Genius'

A pair of geniuses

Farm Report

Showcase

Reinventing the Blues

Singing the blues

'All Is Not Dark'

Earth's advocates

Playing Politics

Embedded, on Iraq

Class Notes

Profiles

SPOTLIGHT: JOHN WHITTEMORE, '21

Still a Contender

UNFORGETTABLE TEACHERS: CHARLES FAIRMAN

The Best Man

SNAPSHOT: ELIZABETH HELFRICK BARNARD, '67

The Frida of the Open Road

SPOTLIGHT: TROY ANDERSON, '90, MA '90

You, Go Guy