In the News

Michael Ahern, director of power systems and program director in Academic and Corporate Engagement, wrote an article in T&D World detailing what he sees as the seven issues facing the modernization of the nation’s power delivery system. Spoiler alert: the top challenge is people: utility companies and related organizations face difficulty in attracting and retaining the highly skilled talent they need to meet the growing demands of the grid.

Time interviewed Associate Computer Science Professor Craig Shue for its article (10th graph), “FaceApp Is Getting People to Age Overnight. Here's What You Should Know About Its Security Concern.” “It’s all about your tolerance for risk,” Shue told Time. “In this case the user is giving third party company a very high-quality image of themselves that they can do what they want with.”

Facilitiesnet sought insight from Professor Milosh Puchovsky, fire protection engineering, for the article (2nd graph), “Valve Problems, Water Quality Can Affect Fire Sprinkler Functionality.”

In an interview aired on  Boston 25 news, President Leshin said more discoveries await on the moon’s surface. “Imagine exploring the Earth by only touching six different places on its surface,” she said. “We wouldn’t really have a full understanding of our own planet. The most important thing we’ll learn by going back to the moon is how to live permanently off our planet.” This month marks 50 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing.

For this article, The Boston Globe interviewed President Leshin who recounted how Sally Ride was the impetus behind her realizing that she, too, could have a job in the U.S. space program. Ride was the first American woman in space. “Now it’s really important to know about all the hands and minds that made Apollo successful,” Leshin also told The Globe. “We need that diversity, and we need people to see themselves in space exploration because we’re going to need all of them to succeed in the future.”

The New York Times quoted Albert Simeoni, professor, interim department head, fire protection engineering, in in this article. (see: Precious Time Lost subhead) “The only thing that surprised me is that this disaster didn’t happen sooner,” Simeoni told The Times.

The MetroWest Daily News sought insight from Alexander Wyglinski, professor of electrical and robotics engineering, for this article. Wyglinski said many autonomous vehicles on the road today are electric and tend to have better technology inside them. Also, they’re easier to gauge range-wise since they run on a battery.

This article headlined the Worcester Business Journal highlighting how the university is receiving the funding for an initiative with Quinsigamond Community College to develop and run a curriculum for Greater Worcester public school students. President Leshin praised the initiative of bringing together public and private partners along with higher education. "When these three sectors can come together effectively, powerful things can happen," Leshin said.

Computer science professor Neil Heffernan’s opinion piece in the Hechinger Report takes a look at the need for new technology and evidence-based instructional practices, such as online homework tools, to address inequities in our public school system.

The Worcester Business Journal quoted Assistant Professor Pratap Rao, mechanical engineering, on how technological advancements have dropped prices of hydrogen and made it more feasible to store hydrogen for fueling stations.

This article, penned by Bonnie Walker, executive director, diversity and inclusion strategy,  was featured in the Worcester Business Journal’s “Outside the Box” section.

The Worcester Business Journal interviewed Andrew Palumbo, dean of admissions and financial aid, for this article. Citing the fact that in 2009 WPI became the first test-optional technical school, Palumbo said, “enough is known about the subjective nature of standardized testing and its negative correlation to social inequalities...we realized we had better tools to predict success.”

The Boston Globe covered yesterday’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first man to the moon, held at the JFK Library. The celebration featured astronaut Michael Collins, the command module pilot on Apollo 11, Caroline Kennedy, and Jeff Bezos, among others. The Globe quoted President Laurie Leshin, who attend the event, and who formerly served as a NASA official. "Are we alone in the universe? Is there a more profound question that we as scientists can ask?" she said during a panel discussion.

WGBH’s “Morning Edition” profiled bird research by Associate Teaching Professor Marja Bakerman, “Tracking Massachusetts’ Disappearing Whip-Poor-Wills”. The research project, a collaboration between WPI and Mass Wildlife, features catching and putting GPS tags on the birds to collect data on their travels,” the report stated.  

The Telegram & Gazette sought input from WPI’s Glenn Gaudette, the Willliam Smith Dean’s Professor of Biomedical Engineering, for this article. “From a scientific point of view, it is not that shocking if you think about all we can do in regards to genetic engineering in human and animal cells,” Gaudette told the T&G.  “There has been some amazing work done in plant biology that just doesn’t get the same press as human biology.”

Boston 25 News reported on WPI research on women and alcohol. “Professor Jeanine Skorinko from Worcester Polytechic Institute wanted to find out about the perceptions women face when they go out for a drink,” the broadcast stated.

The Robotics Business Review highlighted work by Major Qualifying Project (MQP) teams, ranging from an autonomous vehicle platform to a robot that can guide prospective students around a campus.

National Public Radio’s TED Radio Hour featured a conversation with WPI’s Jennifer Wilcox, the James H. Manning Professor of Chemical Engineering and an internationally renowned expert on capturing and storing carbon dioxide, during its ‘Climate Crisis’ segment.

The New York Times featured WPI’s study abroad program, including students in Albania, Singapore and Kyoto, in this article. “This is about solving an open-ended problem in an entirely different culture, in an entirely different location without friends and family,” President Leshin told The Times, which referred to study abroad as a “boots-on-the-ground” experience with challenge and purpose.

Inside Higher Ed featured this op-ed by Richard Vaz, director, Center for Project-Based Learning. “The benefits of having students tackle authentic problems are powerful. Problems that communities or organizations face are almost always interdisciplinary and require consideration of a range of stakeholders’ perspectives,” he wrote.