Prof. Heidi Williams, a 2015 MacArthur Fellow, speaks with Bloomberg’s John Tozzi about why drug companies are underinvesting in long-term research. Williams explains that there are “scientifically feasible projects that aren’t getting done because there aren’t sufficient incentives."
Prof. Charles Stewart III co-authored this op-ed for The Washington Post, which examines John Boehner’s resignation from the U.S. House speakership. “We see Boehner’s resignation as a signal that House leadership is undergoing a transition in how it is acquired and retained,” the authors write.
Prof. Noelle Eckley Selin writes for Forbes about the consequences of the Volkswagen diesel scandal. “My analysis shows that Volkswagen’s deception — which resulted in emissions 30 to 40 times allowable levels when driving — could exceed $100 million in economic costs from health damages,” writes Selin.
Boston Globe reporter Jeremy Goodwin reviews “Einstein’s Dreams,” a play adapted from Prof. Alan Lightman’s 1993 novel. “The conceit behind Lightman’s deeply imaginative source material is that it presents a journal of Einstein’s nocturnal musings as he developed his theories of general and special relativity,” writes Goodwin.
Prof. Sherry Turkle speaks with ABC News about the impact of constant connectivity on how people relate to one another in the digital age. “Before we had our phones, conversation was the way we satisfied our need for stimulation,” explains Turkle. Face-to-face conversation “lays the groundwork for empathy.”
Prof. Heidi Williams has been named a 2015 MacArthur “Genius” award winner, according to the Associated Press. Williams was honored for her research exploring, “the causes and consequences of innovation in health care markets.”
Prof. Kripa Varanasi was named to the Boston Business Journal’s “40 under 40” list, which honors “business and civic leaders who are making a major impact in the community while also improving the civic health of the Boston area through volunteer work and other forms of philanthropy.”
Matt McFarland writes for The Washington Post about Prof. David Mindell’s new book, in which he argues that automation can take away from the enjoyment of working. “The most advanced (and difficult) technologies are not those that stand apart from people, but those that are most deeply embedded in, and responsive to, human and social networks,” Mindell explains.
Prof. John Lienhard and Dr. Kenneth Strzepek write for The New York Times about the need for Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to successfully share water from the Nile. “The world needs to get good at sharing water, and right away,” they write. “The alternative is frequent regional conflicts of unknowable proportions.”
Prof. Marcia Bartusiak writes for The Washington Post about Eileen Pollack’s book, “The Only Woman in the Room,” which examines the obstacles facing women in science. Bartusiak writes that, “Pollack draws attention to this important and vexing problem with a personal narrative, beautifully written and full of important insights on the changes needed to make those barriers crumble.”
Prof. Junot Diaz speaks with Carolyn Kellogg of The Los Angeles Times about reading, writing, and racism. “Being around other readers and talking about reading and talking about the love of books is very natural,” says Diaz. “I sometimes think I became a writer as a pretext of being a full-time reader.”
Prof. Max Tegmark speaks with David Pogue of Scientific American about his views on the future of artificial intelligence. “AI also has enormous upsides…if we get it right. Let's not just drift into this like a sailboat without its sail up properly. Let's chart our course, carefully planned,” Tegmark says.
Boston.com reporter Allison Pohle writes about how stigmas against mental illness are fading on college campuses, highlighting the work of MIT’s Active Minds group, a student-led initiative aimed at raising awareness of mental health.
Prof. Andrew Lo speaks with Michael Regan of Bloomberg News about the recent volatility in the stock market. “We have a number of different forces that are all coming to a head,” explains Lo. Due to automated trading “we’re seeing much choppier markets than we otherwise would have five or 10 years ago.”
Marcelo Gleiser of The Chronicle of Higher Education reviews “A Beautiful Question: Finding Nature’s Deep Design” by Prof. Frank Wilczek, which examines the mathematical symmetry of the physical world. “The book is an ode to Nature’s beauty, as seen by a physicist’s mathematical eye: beauty equated with symmetry and symmetry with truth,” writes Gleiser.