The creator of CholeraMap, a mobile app that warns people in developing countries about contaminated water sources, on the potential expanded use of similar apps:Ali Shafqat Akanda, URI professor of engineering
“Just think: what if we had an app like this to alert the public in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic? It would have helped the public understand high-risk regions, but also list recommendations on how to protect themselves.”
The Boston Globe
The co-author of a recent survey about how the public views the legitimacy of Supreme Court decisions on how dissent impacts trust:Christopher M. Parker, URI assistant professor of political science
“Our research suggests that popular constitutionalists evaluate the court and interpret its actions quite differently than do legal traditionalists. For one group, a dissent is a troubling sign of politicization. For the other, it is a promising signal of representation.”
The Washington Post
The creator of hurricane forecasting models used by the National Hurricane Center, the U.S. Navy, and others, on how warmer ocean temperatures contribute to more intense hurricanes:Isaac Ginis, URI professor of oceanography
“Hurricanes draw energy from the ocean, and if the ocean temperature is higher, then hurricanes become more intense. We’re also seeing that hurricanes are intensifying more rapidly, going from a Category 1 to a Category 3 or 4 within a day or two.”
supercomputingonline.com
On the impact of the University of Rhode Island on its students:Marc B. Parlange, president, University of Rhode Island
“(URI is positioned to) make a difference in the lives of so many people, to bring them to campus and watch them succeed, one student at a time.”
The Providence Journal
On his recently published study that detected PFAS chemicals in the air of kindergarten classrooms, university offices and laboratories, and at home:Rainer Lohmann, URI professor of oceanography
“Our study shows that indoor air, including dust, is another source of exposure to potentially harmful forever chemicals. In fact, for children in homes or schools with old PFAS-treated carpets, inhalation may be even more important than dust as an exposure pathway.”
SciTechDaily.com
On the rise of artificial intelligence in the agriculture industry, and concerns about the impact on biodiversity:Patrick Baur, URI assistant professor of food innovation and policy
“Machines dramatically reduce the diversity of insect life, microbial life, and flora and fauna. That is farming and the agro-ecosystem and the entire cultivation process being shaped to meet the needs of the machine.”
Wired
On the potential demise of the five-day workweek as the pandemic has employees considering how they can take back more of their time:Erik Loomis, URI associate professor of labor and U.S. environmental history
“Maybe the life I was leading that seemed inevitable, and never-changing, maybe I don’t want that. (It’s a kind of) spontaneous realization by millions of people that they could do better.”
Vox