Brink Bites: BU Expert to Help Lead UN Climate Report, Undergraduates Study Secrets of the Universe
Other research news, stories, and tidbits from around BU, including prestigious physics and health awards for researchers
BU undergraduates regularly join studies at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (or CERN), where scientists investigate the universe’s fundamental secrets. Photo courtesy of CERN
Brink Bites: BU Expert to Help Lead UN Climate Report, Undergraduates Study Secrets of the Universe
Other research news, stories, and tidbits from around BU, including prestigious physics and health awards for researchers
The Brink’s latest collection of news nuggets, short stories, and other thought-provoking snippets from the world of Boston University research—including a BU expert being tapped to help lead a major United Nations climate report.
BU Expert to Help Lead UN Climate Science Report
The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has selected Boston University researcher Benjamin Sovacool to help lead a major new report on climate change. The panel’s nonpartisan, comprehensive reports summarizing the latest climate science are published every five to seven years and are considered a gold standard, shaping policies worldwide. The director of the BU Institute for Global Sustainability, Sovacool will be a coordinating lead author for the panel’s Seventh Assessment Report. Commenting on the appointment in an IGS news release, BU President Melissa Gilliam called it an “exciting announcement that will further elevate BU’s leadership in global climate science.” First on Sovacool’s agenda will be a meeting in Paris of 800 climate scholars—but he’s also looking for other researchers ready to contribute their expertise to the report. “One of my jobs as a coordinating lead author will be to nominate contributing authors,” said Sovacool, a BU College of Arts & Sciences professor of Earth and environment, in the release. “If you think of someone who might want to volunteer their time…please recommend them to me. We are actively recruiting chapter scientists and contributing authors to help with the report.”
Prestigious Awards for BU Researchers
The American Physical Society (APS) has awarded BU electrical and computer engineer David Bishop its prestigious Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize. The award “recognizes and encourages outstanding theoretical or experimental contributions to condensed matter physics,” according to APS. A College of Engineering professor and head of the materials science and engineering division, Bishop told the ENG news team he was “honored, humbled, a little shocked, and deeply appreciative of this award.”
Other BU community members taking home recent honors are physician Sophie Claudel and public health doctoral student Selene Vences. Claudel, a BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine clinical instructor, nephrology, and fellow at Boston Medical Center, was named a STAT Wunderkind for her research on cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome. Vences (SPH’23,’29), who studies environmental health at the BU School of Public Health, was recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a 2025 Health Policy Research Scholar.
Studying the Secrets to a Healthy Brain in Later Life
In high school, Stacy Andersen worked in a nursing home kitchen and dining room, helping older adults with a broad range of cognitive acuity, from vibrant to declining. The experience sparked an interest in aging-related brain changes that Andersen continues to pursue today as an assistant professor of medicine at BU’s medical school and codirector of the University’s New England Centenarian Study. “My current research focuses on understanding the factors that contribute to cognitive resilience observed in exceptionally long-lived individuals,” said Andersen in a profile for the BU Center for Brain Recovery, where she’s a faculty affiliate. “My work aims to identify the biological, environmental, and behavioral protective factors that underlie this phenomenon with the hope of translating these findings into interventions to help the general population maintain optimal cognitive and brain health throughout life.” Read the full profile for more on Andersen’s research—including efforts to develop new digital tools for tracking brain health.
Exploring the Universe at CERN
At the European Organization for Nuclear Research (or CERN), scientists from around the world are conducting experiments designed to uncover the universe’s fundamental secrets, from how it came together to how it works. Every year, as many as 20 BU College of Arts & Sciences undergraduates join them, working on studies into antimatter, the next generation of particle detectors, and nuclear isotopes. In the latest issue of Arts x Sciences magazine, four BU students talked about their experiences at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. One of them was Shelby Cavanaugh (CAS’26), who worked on a project to help researchers see inside the nuclei of atoms. “You feel like the least knowledgeable person in the room at all times,” Cavanaugh told Arts x Sciences. “But you’re surrounded by people who genuinely want you to learn, because they remember being in that position themselves.”
Want More BU Research or Got a Story Idea? Check out The Brink homepage every week for even more stories and videos about BU research. And if you want to tell us about your research at BU, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at thebrink@bu.edu or tell us about your story online.
