Science

'They deserve to have this knowledge’: U. student co-authors climate change book for kids

By Emma Gardner | September 29

As the threat of climate change grows more imminent, educating children about the phenomenon that will come to define their future has become increasingly important. A new children’s book by Zanagee Artis ’22 and environmental activist Olivia Greenspan aims to help fill this growing need. ...

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Student-led team to launch satellite in Spring 2022

By Gabriella Vulakh | September 27

A University student-led satellite project called SBUDNIC has been building an exceptionally quickly and efficiently developed research nanosatellite.. The satellite, a 3U Cubesat built on a $10,000 budget over the course of a year, would be the first of its kind built solely from terrestrial parts ...

Schmidt '21: Distrusting COVID-19 science is a disease in itself

By Rachael Schmidt | November 18

The immediate and negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are innumerable: serious illness, worsening mental health, economic downturn and more. But one of the most disastrous effects of the pandemic must not be overlooked: it has exacerbated already prevalent distrust in science and research. Tracing ...

Ainissa Ramirez ’90 pens ‘The Alchemy of Us’

By Cate Ryan | October 27

As a student at Brown, Ainissa Ramirez ’90 would spend countless hours studying at her usual spot on the fifth floor of the Sciences Library. Perched five stories above Thayer Street, she would review her engineering or chemistry material until her friends reliably found her and walked her to the ...

Schmidt '21: The coronavirus is the great equalizer of science

By Rachael Schmidt | April 8

At the forefront of everyone’s minds right now is the ever-developing COVID-19 pandemic. What started as a faraway problem in January in some people’s minds has shaped up to be a global health crisis with both immediate and long-term consequences. Now more than ever, the necessity of healthcare ...

University researchers investigate volcanic activity

By Preeti Ganesh | October 23

In an effort to better understand volcanic activity and its origins on Earth and beyond, University researchers have examined the creation of magma chambers to help explain why these chambers exist at relatively the same depth across the globe. A recent study by Christian Huber, lead author of the research ...

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Science & Research

University biostatistician Crawford excels in lab, mentorship

By Emilija Sagaityte | October 15

If someone asked Lorin Crawford, an assistant professor of biostatistics, where he saw himself a decade after finishing high school, Crawford could not have guessed that in 2019, he would receive accolades including spots in Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science, The Root 100 list for the most influential African ...

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Science & Research

Study increases understanding of spider web properties

By Rahma Ibrahim | April 19

University researcher and Professor of Engineering Huajian Gao and Xi-Qiao Feng, a researcher from Tsinghua University, led a study that found that the mechanical properties of spider silk change significantly at different points on the web. The researchers also found that this gradient is critical ...

Science & Research

University alum develops startup to support ride-share drivers

By Chris Schutte | February 27

Though it began as an idea between two friends in their college dorm room, a startup called Firefly has grown into a community-centered company that aims to supplement the income of ride-share drivers around the country and reduce the costs of transportation by allowing drivers to make money by displaying ...

Science & Research

Online student startup promotes collaborative studying

By Chris Schutte | February 12

A new online startup called BrainChain, created by Chuck Isgar ’20.5, is redefining the ability of students to study together. The platform, launched on the first day of classes this spring, allows users to quickly set up times to meet and study across all types of classes, with users creating study ...

Science & Research

Joint study on cfDNA provides insight into aging

By Emilija Sagaityte | January 25

Many say age is just a number, but a recent research study involving short pieces of cell-free DNA has added some scientific truth to this common cliché. University researchers, in tandem with researchers in Bologna, Italy and Belo Horizonte, Brazil, published a study in December proposing a link between ...

Science & Research

Science & Research Roundup, Oct. 5

By Jonathan Douglas | October 4

Laser scan reveals massive ancient Mayan civilization in Guatemala At first glance, it could be easy to dismiss a patch in the Guatemalan jungle as just trees and plants. But after extensive analysis of a region spanning more than 2,100 square kilometers, a team of researchers has discovered an expansive ...

Opinions

Miller: University should safeguard researchers’ independence

By Ken Miller | September 6

Criticism is part of science — indeed, science couldn’t move forward without it — but sometimes that criticism can be brutal. Assistant Professor of the Practice of Behavioral and Social Sciences Lisa Littman is getting a taste of that right now in the reaction to her paper on rapid-onset gender ...

Science & Research

Thirty University students, alums chosen for grants

By Jonathan Douglas | April 15

After proposing projects on topics ranging from particle physics to the mechanisms of chewing in animals, 30 University students and alums have been selected as winners of the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship. The 2,000 overall winners were selected from a pool of more than ...

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Science & Research

Educational program unites video games, protein folding

By Tanushri Sundar | April 12

Imagine playing a video game that also makes scientific contributions to the field of computational biology. Firas Khatib, assistant professor in the Computer and Information Science Department at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, discussed just that in his talk, “Crowd Computing: Scientific ...

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Science & Research

University studies postpartum depression program

By Jeff Demanche | April 2

Postpartum depression, experienced by one in seven mothers in the United States, is more than twice as common among low-income women, according to a press release from Michigan State University. Researchers from Michigan State and the University are now studying how a program shown to help prevent postpartum ...

Science & Research

Professor brings international science to University

By Jonathan Douglas | April 1

In the midst of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the United States competed in virtually every arena, each power vying for the political, economic and military advantage. Yet in 1976, the field of planetary science was united by the efforts of Professor of Geological Science Jim Head, who helped bridge ...

Science & Research

Fair educates community on brain science

By Arjun Ganga | March 18

Housed in the recently opened Engineering Research Center, the Brown Brain Fair welcomed more than 800 attendees to learn more about brain sciences Saturday. Organized by the nonprofit Cure Alliance for Mental Illness, the event was part of the third annual Brain Week Rhode Island, which aims to raise ...

Science & Research

Lecture contemplates intersection of faith, science

By Priyanka Podugu | March 5

“There is something very dignified about (God) allowing the creativity of the Universe to be present within it and slowly emerge, rather than just putting everything in order from the beginning,” said Karin Öberg, a professor of astrochemistry at Harvard, during a lecture titled “Science and ...

Science & Research

Kaufmann '18: Data (mis)match

By Nikki Kaufmann | February 11

Math dictates almost every process in our lives: It can determine if an infectious disease will become an epidemic, how quickly a biochemical system will reach its equilibrium and the circumstances under which a certain species will become extinct. However, though I am firm in my conviction that math ...