News
Robot On a Mission, Air Quality, Womanist Ethicist
ON THE CHARLES RIVER
Air Quality Sensors Could Be Coming to A Bicycle Near You
A team of BU undergraduates have a vision: creating a mobile network of air monitors that automatically collect valuable air quality data as people on bicycles pedal through different neighborhoods.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
A Robot On a Mision
With funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Army, see how an autonomous robot created a shock–absorbing shape no human ever could—and what it means for designing safer helmets, packaging, car bumpers, and more.
FACULTY EXPERT
Leading Womanist Ethicist and Theologian Named New MLK Professor of Religion and Black Studies at BU
As Dr. Emilie Townes joins the BU School of Theology, she hopes to foster conversations in an increasingly polarized culture.
THOUGHT LEADERS
In Case You Missed It...
Victoria Sahani of the BU School of Law testified before a House Judiciary Subcommittee about litigation financed by third-party investors... Katherine Levine Einstein of the BU College of Arts & Sciences says the Reducing Regulatory Barriers to Housing Act will help state and local governments... BU School of Public Health researchers say the 2021 Advance Child Tax Credit reduced food insufficiency for families experiencing economic shocks in a new policy brief... Raul Fernandez of the BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development discusses the racial segregation of Massachusetts schools with WBUR... Yvette Cozier of the BU School of Public Health speaks with The New York Times about the disturbing truth about hair relaxers.
Lessons from an Interim President: Kenneth Freeman Reflects on a Historic Year
Longtime BU leader who held the office after Robert A. Brown retired, on the achievements he’s proud of and challenges he’s faced.
Antisemitism Hearing; Social Science Blueprint; ARPA-E
BU IN DC
Victoria Sahani of the School of Law testified before the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet regarding litigation financed by third-party investors on June 12th.
Brian Walsh of the College of Engineering discussed heliophysics research and engineering with Massachusetts Congressional offices on June 12th.
Kevin Outterson of CARB-X and the School of Law met with White House budget officials about federal investments to address antimicrobial resistance on June 13th.
HOUSE TAX COMMITTEE CRITICIZES CAMPUS RESPONSES TO ANTISEMITISM
On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing entitled "Crisis on Campus: Antisemitism, Radical Faculty, and the Failure of University Leadership." Witnesses, including a recent Cornell University graduate, a Columbia University professor, the leader of the American Jewish Committee, and a former Trump Administration education official, sharply criticized universities' responses to antisemitic incidents on campus. Members of Congress asserted that the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights needs to investigate schools more aggressively and issue stiffer penalties for civil rights violations; proposed that schools should lose their tax-exempt status or access to federal dollars for not responding forcefully to antisemitic incidents; and argued that diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus are harmful.
WHITE HOUSE URGES USE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN POLICYMAKING
The White House recently released a "Blueprint for the Use of Social and Behavioral Science to Advance Evidence-Based Policymaking." Federal officials from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, and other agencies compiled the document, which recommends incorporating social science findings in policymaking and rigorously evaluating policies using social science methods. The blueprint also urges federal grant-makers to "prioritize [grant] proposals that include evidence-based social and behavioral science strategies, support the generation of new evidence to help fill knowledge gaps, and institute rigorous evaluation requirements."
GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) released a $150 million Funding Opportunity Announcement for its Vision OPEN 2024 program to fund up to 50 clean energy technology projects. The 2024 solicitation is designed to advance transformative breakthroughs in energy technology areas that fall outside the scope of existing ARPA-E technology-focused programs. Proposals need to incorporate a high-risk, high-reward energy technology that can be significantly advanced within three years and attract funding from other sources at the end of the ARPA-E award term. Concept papers are due by July 16th, 2024.
A Note To Our Readers: Jessica Wong has joined the BU Federal Relations team as our new Director of Federal Relations. We are pleased to welcome her to BU!
Meet BU’s New LGBTQIA+ Student Resource Center Director
Interim leader Katy Collins appointed as inaugural student center director.
Getting Police Officers to Trust Implicit Bias Training
BUPD chief and Harvard researchers collaborate to show a scientific approach works.
Supreme Court Upholds Access to Abortion Pill Mifepristone
Unanimous decision leaves FDA’s approval of a widely used abortion pill intact, but sidesteps bigger questions about the future of abortion access in the United States, says LAW’s Nicole Huberfeld.
The U.S. Intellectual Property System and Third-Party Financing of Litigation
Professor Victoria Sahani (Law), BU's Associate Provost for Community and Inclusion, testifies before the House Subcommittee on the Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet with respect to intellectual property (IP) litigation financed by third party investors and foreign entities on Wednesday, June 12, 2024,
President-Elect Melissa L. Gilliam Names New Provost, Fills Key Senior Staff Posts
Gloria Waters will be BU’s new provost; a new Office of Strategy & Innovation is being created.
The Solar System May Have Passed through Dense Interstellar Cloud 2 Million Years Ago, Altering Earth’s Climate
In a new BU-led paper, astrophysicists calculate the likelihood that Earth was exposed to cold, harsh interstellar clouds, a phenomenon not previously considered in geologic climate models.
Antisemitism Investigations; Women’s Health Research; Military Health
BU IN DC
Jennifer Gómez of the School of Social Work and Suzanne Kennedy of the Office of the Provost attended a meeting of the National Academies Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education on May 22nd and 23rd.
Dean Mariette diChristina of the College of Communication moderated a virtual panel entitled "Trust in Science: Understanding the Trends and Implications for Science Communication" at the National Academies on May 30th.
HOUSE CONTINUES FOCUS ON COLLEGE ANTISEMITISM
On Monday, six committee chairs in the U.S. House of Representatives wrote to ten universities to emphasize that the committees are investigating the schools' use of federal funds and their learning environments in the wake of allegations of "an environment hostile to Jewish students." The committees' letter was sent to the leaders of Barnard College, Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University, MIT, Northwestern University, Rutgers University, University of California - Berkeley, University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Pennsylvania. House committees have also recently taken the following actions:
- During a May 23rd hearing, members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee questioned the leaders of Northwestern, Rutgers, and UCLA about their responses to pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations.
- The Committee announced it will conduct transcribed interviews with the leaders of Yale University and the University of Michigan in June and August, respectively.
- Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce and Education Committees wrote to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to inquire whether the National Institutes of Health is "[holding] grantees accountable for antisemitism arising on their campuses." The letter notes that grantees who do not comply with federal civil rights laws can lose federal funding.
BUZZ BITS...
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a five-year NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Research on the Health of Women. The plan identifies five goals, including furthering research into the multiple factors influencing women's health, improving data science and management related to women's health, and advancing women scientists' career development. The Biden Administration issued an executive order in March to foster women's health research across government agencies.
- Dr. Darío Gil, Senior Vice President and Director of IBM Research, is the new chair of the National Science Board (NSB). The NSB guides the activities of the National Science Foundation; Gil will be the Board's first industry leader in more than three decades.
- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently released a five-year DHS Innovation, Research, and Development (IRD) Strategic Plan. The plan outlines eight cross-cutting Strategic Priority Research Areas (SPRAs), including advanced sensing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, climate change, communications, cybersecurity, data methods and tools, and digital identity and trust.
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The 2024 Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS) is tentatively scheduled for August 26th to 29th at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida. The MHSRS is the Department of Defense’s (DOD) premier medical research meeting; it offers an opportunity for researchers to engage with program managers and DOD officials, who are often hard to reach, on military biomedical and health-related research topics. Registration for the event is expected to open in early July.