Note: Some media outlets require users to log-in. The Gordon Library offers the WPI community free access to a number of newspapers. Visit newspaper database for details.
Cyberattacks on critical US infrastructure keep happening. How worried should we be?
Professor Craig Shue, head of the computer science department, provided analysis for this USA Today article on the impact and frequency of cyberattacks that probe critical networks.
In this article, the Telegram & Gazette reported on Eric Young, assistant professor of chemical engineering, being part of a team developing a biosecurity tool that can detect engineered microorganisms based on their unique DNA signatures. “There’s this huge change in how civilization works” thanks to the advent of GMOs, he told the T&G, “and the dream is that it’s a much more sustainable way of producing things.”
In a report on its website, CBS Boston highlighted WPI’s roll in Polar Park - the future home of the Worcester Red Sox. The facility, expected to open in 2021, will “embrace the future of the game experience through a technology partnership with WPI,” the station reported (2nd graph from bottom). “We made an early commitment to technology,” Pawtucket Red Sox Principal Owner and Chairman Larry Lucchino told the station. “I don’t think we have robots yet in this ballpark, but we do want to have the next generation of technological advantage.”
Inside Higher Ed interviewed WPI Librarian Anna Gold, and Lori Ostapowic-Critz, associate director, library academic strategies, for this article. Gold noted that WPI’s Shuster Lab for Digital Scholarship (centered on project-based learning) is a popular home for informal and course-related digital scholarship.
Numerous business-related publications, including Business Insider cited a report by Assistant Professor Dimitrios Koutmos, Foisie Business School. He said he’s sounding the alarm for investors, calling his report a “cautionary note” for fans of cryptocurrency.
WPI got a shout out on CNN-International when Michael Smerconish (on his program, “Smerconish”), discussed the SAT and named the university as one of “the great schools” that has gone test optional.
In the article, “Women, Alcohol and Perceived ‘Sexual Availability”, The New York Times reported on a study coauthored by Jeanne Skorinko, professor of psychology, “She Looks Like She’d Be an Animal in Bed: Dehumanization of Drinking Women in Social Contexts.”
This Inside Higher Ed article featured work by WPI faculty and administration to clarify the university’s faculty promotion guidelines to better support associate professors and offer options that go beyond traditional research paths.
WBZ radio interviewed WPI graduate Jared Grier, who suffered a spinal injury at the end of his freshman year but was determined to finish his degree. Grier said he was eager to get back to WPI after the injury: “This is where I’m supposed to be. A lot of my motivation was from not wanting to lose what I already achieved,” he told WBZ.
WPI graduate Jared Grier, who suffered a spinal injury at the end of his freshman year but was determined to return, was interviewed by WCVB-TV after commencement, where he received his degree in mechanical engineering.
WBUR talked with Jeanine Skorinko, professor of psychology, about her research on how women who drink alcohol in social settings are seen as less human by other women and men.
Professor Joseph Sarkis, Foisie Business School, had his op-ed,“Inclusion of ‘circular economy’ in Green New Deal Could Support Economic Transformation,” published in the Telegram & Gazette’s As I See It column.
The Telegram and Gazette reported on a study by Jeanine Skorinko, professor of social science and policy studies that looks at the social perceptions of women and men who drink alcohol and considers the consequences of these perceptions.
WBZ Radio reported on Mass STEM Hub and Project Lead The Way’s High School Student Showcase and STEM signing day at WPI. Martha Cyr, director of Strategic Growth, Project Lead The Way at WPI, was interviewed about the program and the importance of STEM education, especially for young women.
Fabio Carrera, teaching professor and director of the Venice Project Center for 30 years, was interviewed for a lengthy feature story in The Guardian (UK) about the negative impact of tourism on Venice. In this article, Carrera, who tracks tourism flow and believes Venice’s maximum capacity for tourists per day should be better managed, noted that “no other city faces a bigger tourism challenge.”
CBS Boston's Eye on Education featured the FIRST Robotics News England Championship, which was hosted at WPI. Over 3,000 high school students designed solutions that could "collect samples on another planet with unpredictable terrain and weather. (Clip begins at the :41 second mark).
Worcester News Tonight covered the Stigma Free app, designed by WPI students, which will help people battling addiction and other struggles anonymously. The City of Worcester and WPI students teamed up to get the app off the ground.
Reuters quoted Jennifer Wilcox, the James H. Manning Chaired Professor, in the article. She noted in the article that a Dublin-based company’s pilot program to build 1,200 carbon-cleansing metal columns within a year would be the world's largest "direct air capture" operation to date.
The Telegram & Gazette quoted President Leshin and highlighted WPI students’ collaboration with the city on a new app that provides help for those needing substance abuse recovery, mental health support and housing services. “There are a lot of challenges and stigmas,” Leshin told the T&G. “If we can take down a barrier just a little bit and reduce a stigma by just a little bit, the impact to the community could be tremendous.”
