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How can AI tools help consumers find the best deals and tackle the holiday shopping list? Associate Professor of marketing Purvi Shah spoke with NBC Boston about the technology driving retail transformation. "AI can help you compare products and prices across stores. It can also give you review summaries that can help you evaluate various product options based on those review summaries," Shah said. "All of this is done very efficiently."
Kristin Tichenor, WPI senior vice president, was quoted in the article. “The quickest way to bridge the gap between the number of people we need with computing expertise to fill jobs and those with the talent to do that work, is to encourage more women and underrepresented minority students to pursue computer degrees in college,” she said.
WCVB TV 5’s Chronicle aired a story about PABI, a sophisticated and loveable robotic penguin developed by WPI and Salem State University that could change the way behavioral therapies are provided to children with autism. PABI is the brainchild of WPI mechanical and robotics engineering professor Gregory Fischer and Salem State University School of Education professor Laurie Dickstein-Fischer.
President Laurie Leshin was quoted in this article regarding a leaked internal memo at Google that raised questions for women looking to enter Silicon Valley tech companies or join academic STEM departments.
The Boston Business Journal reported on WPI’s announcement that the university is leasing innovation space in Boston’s Seaport District as it expands its economic development efforts across the Commonwealth.
Rob Gegear, assistant professor of biology and biotechnology, was interviewed in a story about legislation being filed by State Representative Carolyn Dykema of Holliston to minimize the use neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides that have a harmful effect on bees and bee colonies—a major threat to the ecosystem and agriculture.
Brian Meacham, associate professor of fire protection engineering, was interviewed by NBC Boston for this segment. The segment focused on the use of lightweight engineered wood and its structural integrity when exposed to flame.
Brian Meacham, associate professor of fire protection engineering, was interviewed for the second of a two-part series on last month’s Grenfell Tower fire in London. In an interview in his lab, Meacham described the concerns regarding the combustibility of materials used in the tower’s cladding system.
The Boston Globe interviewed Robert Gegear, assistant professor, biology and biotechnology, in the Q&A, “What Would Happen if Bees Disappeared?” Gegear discussed his new bee app that allows users to import a photo or video of a bee to a database for analysis.
International Fire Protection Magazine featured an article regarding an extensive literature review of fire safety codes conducted for the National Association of State Fire Marshals Fire Research & Education Foundation by Nick Dembsey, professor of fire protection engineering.
VOX published an op-ed by Suzanne Mello Stark, an associate teaching professor in computer science, which raises questions about our voting system’s vulnerability to hackers.
“The app collects data on individual species of bee and flowers and allows us to figure out what the individual needs of the species are ... so people can make changes to their yard, learn what flowers to plant, and tell us how do we conserve lands to increase bee diversity,” Robert Gegear, professor of biology and biotechnology, told the T&G.
The New York Times interviewed Brian Meacham, associate professor of fire protection engineering, about this week’s tragic high rise apartment building fire in London. Meacham weighed in on the differences between building codes in the United States and the United Kingdom saying, “building codes in Britain put a lot of the onus on building engineers to comply with nonmandatory guidelines on sprinkler systems, alarms and fire exits.”
WPI Physics professor David Medich discussed the four-day international radiation protection forum at WPI. “Every type of medical imaging test has a purpose and, if not done properly, you will not get the information you need,” he said.
Referring to him as a “leader in haptic technology,” the American Society of Mechanical Engineers featured Cagdas Onal, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, in the article. “Many potential applications exist, including prosthetic/orthotic devices, wearable technologies, robotic collaborators/assistants, elder care, and systems that augment human performance,” Onal said.
Biology and biotechnology assistant professor Robert J. Gegear wrote an op-ed in the Telegram & Gazette in which he stresses that bumblebee decline has detrimental effects on our ecology and notes differences between bumblebees and honeybees, which were the subject of a prior editorial.
USA Today interviewed Alexander Wyglinski, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, for the lead article in its Tech section. Commenting on sound waves generated by technology able to generate enough power to keep multiple devices running, Wyglinski said, “in general, just like with any other signal, there’s an issue with it getting weaker the farther away it travels from the transmission source.”
The Telegram & Gazette, interviewed Yanhua Li, assistant professor of computer science and data science, for the article, "WPI researcher aims for a better, cheaper commute." He’s developing an idea for a new kind of transit system, CityLines, inspired by airlines and built for urban areas.
This Reuters’ article included comments from Susan Landau, professor of cybersecurity policy. In the article, Landau stated that “the new bill was an effort to put the process ‘into civilian control.’”
