With the start of a new year, please enjoy some of the stories the media covered throughout 2022; these feature WPI’s amazing research, expert analysis, faculty and student activities, project-based learning, and our focus on global STEM education.
RESEARCH
The New York Times worked extensively with Fire Protection Engineering professor and department head Albert Simeoni and post-doctoral researcher Muthu Kumaran Selvaraj to create 3-D fire and smoke models of the building in the Bronx where 17 people were killed in January 2022. (7/8/22)
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation spoke with Chemical Engineering professor Michael Timko about his research to have ships remove plastic waste from the world’s oceans, and then chemically convert that waste into fuel that could power the plastic-collecting ships. (1/21/22)
Popular Mechanics highlighted the groundbreaking research of William Smith Foundation Dean’s Professor of Mechanical Engineering Yan Wang to develop a method to recycle lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. (8/26/22)
WBUR featured English professor Michelle Ephraim and her popular “Infected Shakespeare” class that studies how the famed playwright understood and wrote about pandemics and infectious diseases, as part of the station’s “Brilliant Boston” series. (7/29/22)
The Boston Globe and GBH showcased how science and the arts came together for the ‘Black Hole Symphony’ – a musical piece composed by adjunct professor of Music David Ibbett, that features a live chamber orchestra, recorded electronic music, a narration, and visual elements. The symphony was based on the sonification of the electromagnetic spectrum of a black hole, which Ibbett used as the basis for the music. (6/21/22, 7/22/22)
USA Today and the Telegram & Gazette toured Worcester with Steve McCauley, The Global School associate professor, to discuss his research on the city’s heat islands – areas of Worcester that can be as much as 17 degrees warmer than other neighborhoods during the hottest days of the summer. (7/29/22)
EXPERT ANALYSIS
The New York Times spoke with Fred Bianchi, director of the Glacier National Park project center and professor of Music, about a report from UNESCO that warns the world’s glaciers are disappearing. Bianchi talked about the report’s potential effects on tourism and the steps the park must take to protect the glaciers. (11/7/22)
The New York Times also interviewed Alex Wyglinski, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Electrical & Computer Engineering professor, about the new 5G towers that are being built across New York City, how the technology works, and how the towers will allow for more equitable access to the faster wireless network. (11/5/22)
The Washington Post asked Rob Krueger, professor and department head of Social Science & Policy Studies, what it means for a hotel to be carbon neutral. Krueger told the Post how the way people use a building can affect its environmental impact, even if the building is carbon neutral once its constructed. (6/29/22)
The Associated Press talked with Crystal Brown, assistant professor of Social Science & Policy Studies, about how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens democracy, and how Vladimir Putin has used the appearance and infrastructure of democracy to gain, and hold on to, power. (2/28/22)
On the same day he testified before a panel on Beacon Hill about a new blockchain workforce development bill, The State House News service spoke with The Business School professor Joe Sarkis about the future of the blockchain industry in Massachusetts. (9/21/22)
STUDENT STORIES
CBS Boston highlighted the internship Alyssa Magaha ’23 had on the NASA DART mission that redirected an asteroid. (10/11/22)
NBC Boston covered the Farm Stay Project Center in Paxton – speaking with project center director and The Global School associate professor of teaching Lisa Stoddard, as well as Zane Mollins ’22 and Shannon Henderson ’23, about how WPI students are helping young learners at the farm get excited about environmental education through the university’s project-based education. (8/4/22)
Spectrum News 1 spoke with head football coach Chris Robertson and Frank Almeida ’24 about the football team’s annual bone marrow drive, and how Almeida donated his bone marrow – likely saving the recipient’s life. (4/7/22)
Worcester Magazine shared the volunteer work of Maggie Gunville ’22, who had leadership roles in a student-run organization that recovers unserved food from Morgan Dining Hall and delivers it to Friendly House. Gunville was also instrumental in helping the organization to pivot to help the homeless community, and in restarting food delivery operations in fall 2021, following a pandemic-induced disruption. (5/31/22)
TechRaptor, a video game news site, wrote how it sees a “bright future” for the video game industry, after speaking with associate professor and department head of IMGD Gillian Smith, as well as Justin Gaborit ’22 and Brendan Horack ’21. (6/21/22)
THE HIGHER EDUCATION SPHERE
The Boston Globe highlighted WPI as a “critical academic player” in robotics, in an article detailing the robotics ecosystem in Massachusetts. (8/15/22)
The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NBC News spoke with Vice President of Enrollment Management Andy Palumbo about WPI’s test-blind status following MIT’s decision to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement for its applications. (3/28/22, 3/29/22, 3/30/22)
NPR asked Health Services director Lisa Pearlman how COVID-19 restrictions were changing as the 2022-2023 academic year began. (8/16/22)
Insight into Diversity spoke with Dean of The Business School Debora Jackson and PhD student Scorpio Rogers about the Executive PhD program and how it is helping executives become thought leaders and support of social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. (9/19/22)
The Boston Globe covered CDC Director Rochelle Walensky’s commencement address where she advised the graduating class of 2022 to “embrace the gray” – the uncertainties of life - and praised their resiliency during the difficulties of the pandemic. (5/14/22)
GLOBAL ISSUES
The BBC covered how Venice, Italy is sinking and could be underwater in a matter of decades, as climate change causes sea levels to rise. Fabio Carrera, director of the Venice project center and The Global School professor, told the BBC how Venice needs to be forward-looking, and find future-proof solutions to save the city, rather than relying on short-term fixes. (9/27/22)
The Christian Science Monitor spoke with The Business School associate professor Renata Konrad about how she and her colleagues at WPI to help people affected by the war in Ukraine. Konrad also talked about how she and other faculty members have been remotely advising students in Ukraine. (4/7/22)
GBH and WBUR also highlighted the efforts of Konrad as well as Dmitry Korkin, professor of computer science, associate professor in The Business School, to help people affected by the war in Ukraine. Korkin opened his home to the family of a Ukrainian professor and is working to help the professor find work in the United States once he’s able to leave Ukraine, while Konrad organized donations of first aid and medical supplies. (3/21/22, (3/11/22)
The Financial Times included analysis from professor Jennifer Rudolph, an expert on modern Chinese political history, about the potential impact of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. (8/3/22)
