In the News
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February 10, 2020
Pierre Ferdinand Poudeu, associate professor of materials science and engineering, and Ctirad Uher, professor of physics, commented on the arrest of a Harvard professor accused of concealing and lying about his research activities in China. “I’m not sure what the problem is. This is kind of too close to what a university researcher is supposed to be doing,” Poudeu said. Added Uher, “It’s sad to hear situations like these because this all started probably 10 or 15 years ago when these interactions were strongly encouraged by the previous administration. Now, it’s not as favorably viewed.”
Times Higher Education -
February 7, 2020
“Climate change is not a black-and-white situation. It’s not like an asteroid hitting the Earth. But we know we’re in for some major impacts. It’s important to know where we’re vulnerable so we can make informed decisions about possible solutions,” said Daniel Raimi, lecturer of public policy, whose research reveals that “100-year floods” could occur every few years rather than once a century in many locations along Florida’s 8,500-mile coastline.
Scientific American -
February 7, 2020
“The really big players are not focused on this. There’s still a lot of work to be done on self-driving cars in general, but (driving in bad weather) is going to be a big differentiator,” said Matthew Johnson-Roberson, associate professor of naval architecture and marine engineering, and electrical engineering and computer science, who believes that tackling bad weather may offer a way to gain a competitive edge for an autonomous-vehicle company.
WIRED -
February 7, 2020
“There’s a danger in having the instruction emphasize climate catastrophe. It’s tempting to say how bad things are, how much we need to stop it. … We can overemphasize how scary it is to the point where people feel hopeless and panicked,” said Meghan Duffy, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, who now includes solutions — and not just doom and gloom — when teaching the topic of climate change.
The Washington Post -
February 6, 2020
New research by Susan Dorr Goold, professor of internal medicine, and health management and policy, and Renuka Tipirneni, assistant professor of internal medicine, suggests that Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act is linked to higher numbers of low-income people having jobs or going to school. “Our findings suggest states could achieve goals of fuller employment among low-income residents by expanding Medicaid coverage or maintaining an expansion program,” Goold said. “Good health helps people gain employment or stay employed.”
U.S. News & World Report -
February 6, 2020
Women who are blocked from getting abortions face significant financial distress, including higher amounts of debt and increased rates of bankruptcy and eviction, according to research by Sarah Miller, assistant professor of business economics and public policy. She says the economic fallout of being unable to get an abortion and carrying a baby to term lasts for years.
HuffPost -
February 6, 2020
“Imagine how much worse things would be if people were actually voting online. We might never know who actually won, or they might have to scrap the entire process and start over. This is exactly why internet voting is not nearly ready for prime time,” said J. Alex Halderman, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, on the voting chaos and delayed results in the Iowa Democratic Caucus.
Bloomberg -
February 5, 2020
“This settlement allows Tesla to sell and service cars in Michigan as it wants and thus represents a total victory for Tesla in the state. It could also be a tipping point in Tesla’s ongoing battle for the right to engage in direct distribution in other states,” wrote Daniel Crane, professor of law, on a lawsuit that will allow Tesla Inc. to operate service centers through a subsidiary and market cars to consumers in retail spaces.
Automotive News -
February 5, 2020
Adam Finkel, clinical professor of environmental health sciences, asserts that football is so ingrained in American life that chronic traumatic encephalopathy is best seen through the lens of public health — making decisions based on probabilities, weighing the risks and benefits of taking protective actions in an effort to intervene before it’s too late — and not waiting for decades of research to figure out exactly how blows to the head cause the condition.
The New Yorker -
February 5, 2020
Liz Kolb, clinical associate professor of education, and colleagues have designed a new online certificate program for K-12 educators that uses available research to train them how to use technology with their students in a meaningful way: “What we realized in the classrooms was that there were a lot of things being done by the gut — it looked good and felt good, but there was no science behind choices teachers were making.”
EdSurge
