Gregory Wellenius Receives Beverly A. Brown Professorship

Gregory Wellenius has been named the Beverly A. Brown Professor for the Improvement of Urban Health. Endowed in 2012 through a $4 million donation from Boston University trustee emeritus Richard Shipley (SMG’68, GSM’72), the professorship honors and supports the work of a highly distinguished professor whose research, teaching, and service advance the condition of the more than half the world’s population who live in urban areas. The professorship is named for Beverly A. Brown, the long-time development director of the former Center for Global Health and Development and the wife of BU president emeritus Robert A. Brown.

Historical Trial to Test Limits of Military Power in US Law Enforcement

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, a post-Reconstruction law that bars the use of military troops for domestic law enforcement, will head to a bench trial Monday for the first time in American history to determine if the Trump administration’s federalization of the California National Guard and deployment of the Marines is legal.

Brink Bites: Prescribing Cheaper Energy Bills and the Bible’s Agricultural Connections

A BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine assistant professor of medicine, Goldman spoke on a panel focused on reducing climate change’s impact on Boston, along with fellow BU researchers, Lucy Hutyra, a College of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor and chair of Earth and environment, who talked about an urban cooling project, and Madeleine Scammell, a School of Public Health professor of environmental health, who discussed an effort to document city hot spots. All three are affiliated with the BU Institute for Global Sustainability, which has a full report on the summit.

Concerning new report reveals hidden health risks of cryptocurrency mining: ‘I can feel it in my chest’

Residents in Granbury, Texas, where a 300-megawatt mining operation runs day and night, describe the sound as similar to living next to a jet engine. “It wakes you up. I’ll be asleep, and everything will be fine, and then I’ll wake up because I can feel it in my chest,” says Shenice Copenhaver, who lives less than a mile from the facility, per The Guardian.

“Disrupted sleep causes a cascade of other issues in someone’s life. Lack of sleep is linked to depression, higher stress levels and chronic diseases like hypertension,” explains Mary Willis, assistant professor of epidemiology at Boston University.

Healey-Driscoll Administration Promotes Efforts to Ensure Fair Housing

The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) last week hosted “Beyond Fair Housing Month: The Future of Fair Housing in Massachusetts” to close out the month with a proclamation from Governor Maura Healey declaring April as “Fair Housing Month” and announced a series of regional listening sessions launching later this spring that will be led by the state’s first-ever Office of Fair Housing.