News
Algorithms Were Supposed to Reduce Bias in Criminal Justice—Do They?
Data can discriminate, says BU’s Ngozi Okidegbe, the first dual-appointed professor to the School of Law and the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences.
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to Address BU School of Law Convocation in May
Trailblazing justice appointed to the High Court last June.
BU Researchers Join $100 Million Effort to Fight Future Deadly Pathogens
Scientists from NEIDL and medical and dental schools part of Howard Hughes Medical Institute push to get ahead of pandemics like COVID-19.
Turkey, Religion & Politics, ChatGPT
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
Why Were the Two Earthquakes That Struck Turkey and Syria So Catastrophic—and Could They Have Been Predicted?
BU earthquake expert Rachel Abercrombie says that safer infrastructure can help prevent catastrophic destruction and quake-safe reconstruction could save lives in the future.
NOTABLE ALUMNI
Mix Religion and Politics? For These BU Alumni, You Bet
A divine calling leads BU School of Theology alums into public service, from advising a congresswoman to advocating for the environment.
See how they bring their faith to politics
FACULTY EXPERT
Can We Trust ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence to Do Humans' Work?
OpenAI's new AI chatbot is making (and writing) headlines, but research by BU behavioral scientist Chiara Longoni suggests we're still skeptical of machine learning.
Learn how we decide whether to trust AI
THOUGHT LEADERS
In Case You Missed It...
BU health law scholar Nicole Huberfeld weighs in on the safety and efficacy of abortion pills in New York magazine...Nina Mažar of the BU Questrom School of Business explains why people love Buy Nothing groups in The Washington Post... Thomas Perls of the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine comments on the large number of people living to age 100 in The Hill... United Press International covered a recent study by Ann McKee of the BU Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center that found brain damage in more than 91% of a sample of former football players.
State of the Union, Alondra Nelson, Writing Op-Eds
BU IN DC
College of Engineering Dean Kenneth Lutchen met with Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and staff for Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) as part of the annual American Society for Engineering Education Public Policy Colloquium between February 6th and 8th.
Con Hurley of the BU School of Law moderated a panel during a forum on the future of the Federal Home Loan Bank system cohosted with the Brookings Institution today.
BIDEN PLEDGES TO "FINISH THE JOB" ON PELL, ARPA-H IN STATE OF THE UNION
President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night. The President focused on his Cancer Moonshot, which aims to cut the cancer death rate in half, and urged lawmakers to support the new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health (ARPA-H) to catalyze critical medical breakthroughs. He also touted the success of the CHIPS + Science Act signed into law last summer, lauding the law's support for American manufacturing and innovation. Biden signaled he will continue to push for a proposal to provide two years of free community college, building on the Administration's overhaul of the student loan repayment programs and on recent increases to the Pell Grant financial aid award for low-income students. While discussing immigration, Biden urged lawmakers to provide legal status for Dreamer students brought to the United States without documentation as children.
BUZZ BITS...
- Dr. Alondra Nelson announced on Sunday that she would step down as the deputy director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) after two years in the role. Dr. Nelson led OSTP's work to create an artificial intelligence "bill of rights" for the ethical use of AI, as well as overseeing the rollout of the Administration's open access and scientific integrity initiatives. Nelson has returned to the Institute for Advanced Study, which she led before joining the Biden Administration.
- The White House released a new report on the Biden Administration's priorities for mental health research, part of its wider strategy to address the nation's mental health crisis. The report identifies research priorities such as understanding and leveraging digital mental health interventions, advancing equity in mental health research, and supporting youth mental health.
- Multiple news sources have reported that U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh will be leaving the Biden Administration to lead the National Hockey League Players' Association. Walsh, the former mayor of Boston, will be the first statutory member of the Biden Cabinet to depart.
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The Office of Research and Public Relations are hosting a virtual, interactive workshop with the Scholars Strategy Network entitled a Guide to Op-Eds: How to Improve your Writing, Editing, and Pitching. Participants will learn how to write and pitch compelling, research-based op-eds, identify and incorporate timely news hooks, signal their unique and relevant expertise, and pitch to different media outlets. The workshop will take place online at 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 16th.
The Office of Research, Global Development Policy Center, and Center for the Study of Asia will cohost a Research on Tap on the theme of China and the World on February 27th at 4 p.m. BU faculty will deliver microtalks about their research that addresses Chinese policy through the lenses of the humanities, social sciences, data sciences, and other disciplines. A reception will follow to allow scholars across multiple fields to make connections and help inform research and teaching on this major global power.
A Note To Our Readers: Due to the forthcoming Congressional District Work Period, Beltway BUzz will take a temporary break. We will be back with more news when Congress returns.
Science Policy Plans, Pandemic Origins, Robotics
BU IN DC
Lara Merling of the Global Development Policy Center spoke at a Capitol Hill briefing on "The Impact of U.S. Policy on the Global Economy" on February 2nd.
SCIENCE POLICY IN THE 118TH CONGRESS
Congressional leadership for the committees that oversee federal science policy are now in place, with a mix of new and old priorities expected to be the focus for 2023.
- Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) will once again helm the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. An advocate for the space industry in Washington state, Cantwell intends to reauthorize science programs at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She is also expected use her gavel to highlight how government agencies are implementing the CHIPS + Science Act passed in 2022 and to advocate for full funding for its science provisions.
- Congressman Frank Lucas (R-OK) will chair the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee for the first time; he has been the senior Republican since 2019. Chairman Lucas will focus on the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy's implementation of the CHIPS + Science Act; research security and malign foreign influence in American labs; and broadening participation in science in rural communities, such as those in his district.
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The Office of Research will host its first Research on Tap of the semester, "Robotics and Autonomous Systems," on February 8th at 4:00 p.m. in the Kilachand Center. Hosted by Yannis Paschalidis and Sean Andersson of the College of Engineering, the event will feature micro talks from BU faculty whose research involves robotic devices and locomotion, soft robotics, algorithmic advances, leveraging control and decision theory, data science and artificial intelligence, and how lessons from neuroscience are influencing these algorithms. Attendees will also learn more about the new BU Robotics and Autonomous Systems Teaching and Innovation Center. A reception will follow the presentations to allow attendees to network with potential collaborators.
LAWMAKERS DISCUSS STRATEGY FOR INVESTIGATING PANDEMIC ORIGINS
Two subcommittees of House the Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on Wednesday to discuss a national strategy for investigating the origins of future pandemics. The author of a recent Government Accountability Office report testified that policymakers should consider multilateral agreements for sharing genetic sequence samples and data, incentivizing the growth of a workforce skilled in the multiple disciplines needed to understand a pandemic's origins, and augmenting the 2022 National Biodefense Strategy to clarify how federal agencies will work with domestic and international partners to effectively investigate the origins of a pandemic. Virologist Michael Imperiale of the University of Michigan urged lawmakers to bolster funding for life sciences research and warned that students may turn away from careers in infectious diseases research if they see virologists being vilified by politicians and pundits.
Gas Stoves, African History, Cities & Climate
FACULTY EXPERT
Should we Break Up with Gas Stoves?
After gas stoves take some heat in political culture wars, BU Professor of Environmental Health Jonathan Levy says there are good reasons to switch to electric—but there are safety steps you can take in the meantime.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
Unearthing a Long-Ignored African Writing System, One Researcher Finds African History, by Africans
With support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, BU anthropologist Fallou Ngom is bringing Ajami, a modified Arabic script that dispels Europen myths of African illiteracy, to the world.
COMMUNITY RESOURCE
US Mayors Address the Climate Crisis in New Report from BU’s Initiative on Cities
The latest Menino Survey of Mayors finds city leaders are eager to invest in electric vehicles, but less likely to restrict fossil fuel use.
Hear what the mayors have to say
THOUGHT LEADERS
In Case You Missed It...
The BU School of Law and the Brookings Institution are cohosting a forum on the future of the Federal Home Loan Bank system on February 10th (choose between virtual or in-person attendance)... The High Ground, a play written by Nathan Allen Davis and directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian, both of the BU College of Arts & Sciences, will run at the Arena Stage beginning February 10th... The BU Institute for Global Sustainability has a new online resource to help policymakers visualize energy projects' impacts on marginalized communities... Dick Lehr of the BU College of Communication tells the story of Jane Bosfield, who fought for racial equity in the workplace in the early 1900'sin The Boston Globe... Mary Churchill of the BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development explains why the SAT and the ACT are becoming less important in college admissions in The Conversation.
Education Leaders, Biosecurity Research, Equitable Research Plans
BU IN DC
Mary Daly of the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine discussed genetic newborn screening legislation with the office of Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) on January 20th.
NEW EDUCATION POLICY LEADERS IN CONGRESS
The education committees in both chambers of Congress have new leaders in 2023, setting the stage for a shift in focus for higher education policy on Capitol Hill.
- Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is leading the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. While Sanders is expected to focus his committee on health and labor matters rather than education, he is known for championing free public college and student debt forgiveness. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) will join the HELP Committee for the first time in his Senate career.
- Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) is the chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, a role she previously held between 2017 and 2019. A former community college president, Foxx is a long-time advocate for career and technical training. She is a critic of the Biden Administration's plans to forgive student debt and to extend Title IX protections to transgender students and she has questioned the Administration's commitment to free speech on college campuses.
BUZZ BITS...
- The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity is considering a draft report for improving federal oversight of research on high-risk pathogens. The report recommends expanding the definition of potential pandemic pathogens that require enhanced government oversight and making it clearer to the public how the risks and rewards of potentially dangerous research are assessed.
- President Joe Biden announced his intent to appoint eight new members of the National Science Board, the body that oversees the National Science Foundation. The nominees, who will each serve a six-year term, will restore the Board to its full 24-person membership and increase the representation of women and people of color.
- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released the DOT's Research, Development, and Technology Strategic Plan, detailing the research and development priorities for the agency over the next five years. The plan is organized under five strategic goals: safety, economic strength and global competitiveness, equity, climate and sustainability, and transformation.
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
With many federal agencies now requiring grant applicants to include detailed plans for making their funded research more equitable, the Office of Research is hosting a virtual workshop on best practices for developing inclusive research plans on February 7th at 3:00 p.m. Workshop participants will review strategies for writing a comprehensive plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and hear examples across disciplines of how research groups at Boston University are incorporating these concepts into their work.