SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " distinguished " 177 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
College of Science receives seven 2026 University of Arizona Distinguished Faculty Awards
The University of Arizona is proud to honor 25 exceptional faculty and mentors, including seven awardees in the College of Science, whose outstanding contributions have been recognized through 13 prestigious University-wide awards.
Renowned Energy-Storage Leader Aims To Expand University’s Impact
Dr. Babu Chalamala joined the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science as a professor of materials science and engineering last fall. He holds the Jonsson School Distinguished Chair and is supported by the Governor’s University Research Initiative. In June, he also will be a professor of electrical and computer engineering. Dr. Babu Chalamala, […]
The National Academy of Sciences Elects Two Berkeley Lab Researchers
Two Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) scientists have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. They are part of a cohort of 120 new members and 25 international members. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and — alongside the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine — provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations. The 2026 electees bring the total number of active members to 2,705 with 557 international members. Gary Karpen is a biologist senior faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Biological Systems and Engineering Division and a Professor of Cell and Developmental Physiology in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley. Karpen studies how the structure, organization, and maintenance of genetic material impact inheritance and cell function. His lab focuses on chromatin — a packaged form of DNA strands wrapped around proteins that comprises our chromosomes — with a particular emphasis on centromeres, rarely expressed sequences called heterochromatin, DNA repair, and regulatory RNAs. His research reveals insights into fundamental aspects of nuclear organization and genome regulation that are shared across the tree of life, broadening our understanding of cancer and other diseases, birth defects, and aging. Kam-Biu Luk is a Professor Emeritus of physics at UC Berkeley and a retired senior faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Physics Division. He is an experimental particle physicist whose research has focused on neutrinos: nearly massless, electrically neutral elementary particles that can pass through matter virtually undetected. Neutrinos are created during radioactive decay processes, including the fusion process occurring in stars and the fission process that powers nuclear reactors. Luk initiated and co-led the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment, a project based in China with more than 200 international collaborators. In 2012, the Daya Bay experiment discovered a new form of a phenomenon called “neutrino oscillation” in which neutrinos change from one type to another. For this discovery, Luk and his collaborator Yifan Wang received the 2014 American Physical Society Division of Particles and Fields W.K.H. Panofsky Prize for outstanding work in experimental particle physics, and he was also the co-recipient of the 2016 Breakthrough Prize. Luk is currently participating in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) hosted by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, which will investigate any potential difference in behavior between neutrinos and antineutrinos that may shed light on the evolution of the universe, especially why antimatter is absent in the present universe. ### Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
UC Names Katherine Yelick to Head Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Yelick is a distinguished academic and national lab leader with deep expertise in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing
‘This is going to change the rest of our lives’: New book details personal politics of race & gender
MS NOW’s Lawrence O'Donnell talks with distinguished law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw about her new book, "Backtalker: An American Memoir," and what she learned during the Supreme Court confirmation of Clarence Thomas, the George Floyd protests, and the return of Donald Trump.
Global Health & WASH: May 2026 Funding Opportunities (14 new opportunities!)
The May update for Global Health & WASH brings new calls that cluster around three distinct shifts: LMIC research leadership moving from funder encouragement into a hard eligibility constraint, pharmaceutical and corporate-linked funders running structurally independent education and use-inspired research portfolios at substantial scale, and AI adoption shifting decisively from speculative tool to operational capability across health and WASH systems alike. In LMIC Research Leadership as Eligibility, Not Encouragement, Wellcome anchors the dominant signal of the month with three separate major calls that all require or strongly center LMIC leadership in their basic eligibility architecture. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs (£1.5-£1.9M per hub over 3-5 years) explicitly requires an LMIC-based lead applicant, treating Global South leadership as a design constraint rather than a participation goal. Wellcome’s Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award funds transdisciplinary teams whose lead must be a mid-career or established researcher based at an organization in Africa, South Asia, or Southeast Asia. Wellcome’s larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1M-£8M for optimizing licensed interventions) requires the administering organization to be in eligible LMIC regions and at least 50% of applicants based there. Around Wellcome, the same pattern shows up at smaller scale and across funders: CHINNOVA channels $1M into West and Central African research institutions for climate-health work; IBRO’s Neuroscience Training Grants explicitly tier ceilings by region of residence with Africa receiving the highest amount ($5,000); IHME’s GBD Emerging Researcher Award reserves at least one of its two annual awards for an LMIC researcher; Sidaction’s HIV Cure call funds research teams across France, the Netherlands, and eligible African countries with a minimum two-country collaboration requirement. Taken together, these calls signal a meaningful shift in how research equity is being operationalized — not as encouragement language at the bottom of a call, but as a structural feature of who can lead, where the work must be administered, and what proportion of the team must be regionally rooted. In Pharma-Funded Independent Medical Education and Use-Inspired Research, the lineup this month is unusually deep. Pfizer alone runs four parallel calls under independent education and quality improvement frameworks: a Migraine and Women’s Health RFP (200K x 2-year, $500K pool), Migraine IME ($200K, $1M pool), JAK Inhibitor evidence-based education ($100K), and Maternal Vaccination HCP Education in Saudi Arabia ($75K), plus a separate Pediatric Pneumococcal Surveillance research call in Saudi Arabia ($400K per project). Novo Nordisk Foundation runs four parallel calls of its own at substantial scale: Infectious Diseases Catalyst Grants (DKK 60M pool, up to DKK 7M collaborative), Non-Diabetic Endocrinology Collaborative Grants (DKK 53M pool, DKK 5-10M per project), Pioneer Innovator Grant Health (DKK 1.1M), and Distinguished Innovator Grant Health (DKK 6.8M). LEO Foundation deploys DKK 2-4M per project for dermatology research excellence. Pfizer’s framing across calls deliberately separates the funding from product promotion, emphasizing measurable practice-relevant change and structural distance between scientific outputs and commercial activity. Novo Nordisk’s “use-inspired” hard filter pushes researchers toward a credible translation pathway from mechanism to deployable tool. The pattern: industry-aligned funders are running structurally independent portfolios at meaningful $ that fund implementation evidence, not promotion. In AI as Operational Capability, Not Speculation, several calls this month explicitly treat AI adoption as a near-term operational question with real evidence and governance requirements, rather than a speculative trend to be watched. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs frames AI as “the accelerator” for evidence synthesis, asking hubs to translate technical innovation into adoption-ready workflows that can match real-world policy timelines. UNICEF Venture Fund’s new Climate Tech for Children’s Health call funds for-profit startups deploying AI, machine learning, and blockchain in low-resource environments, with a strict requirement that solutions must already have a working prototype with promising pilot results. The Water Research Foundation has launched two simultaneous AI calls treating reproducibility, cybersecurity guardrails, and human-in-the-loop deployments as core design constraints rather than nice-to-haves: one on GenAI and Agentic AI in water utilities ($200K), one on alternatives to water shutoffs that explicitly screens for implementation economics evidence. Nordic Innovation’s quantum technology call (NOK 4.5M) extends the same logic into life science and healthcare, demanding consortium-stage projects mature enough to test with real users. TEF-Health offers €300K in subsidized testing infrastructure for European healthcare AI and robotics SMEs. The pattern: funders are converting AI pilots into playbooks, requiring transfer evidence and risk controls before AI can move from experimentation to sector-wide operational practice. For LMIC-based researchers in infectious disease or evidence synthesis, the three Wellcome calls together represent the deepest concentration of LMIC-led research capital in recent memory — pair the Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award (£200K, deadline May 19) as a strategic pipeline feeder into the larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1-£8M, deadline June 2), since the development award functions explicitly as a track into the larger trial scheme. For Nordic researchers, the four Novo Nordisk Foundation calls plus LEO Foundation and Nordic Innovation Quantum represent ~$30M in regional research capital this cycle, all with deadlines clustered in May-August. For WASH practitioners, the three Water Research Foundation calls together (each up to $200K) are a cluster worth reading across — one on AI deployment, one on shutoff alternatives, one rewarding applied innovation — and the strongest applicants will articulate how their work bridges utility operations to policy-relevant evidence. For US-based clinical researchers and educators, the four Pfizer calls plus the APF Portfolio’s 80+ programs form an unusually accessible recurring pipeline; APF’s prohibition on indirect costs is a meaningful structural feature for early-career applicants whose institutions might otherwise absorb significant overhead. Snapshot of New Opportunities Total Estimated Funding Pool: $100 Million+ USD The grants are organized into three categories: Open Calls: Current grant and opportunities with a deadline. Grants are listed by closing date. 39 open opportunities- 14 new! Rolling Applications: current grant and opportunities with rolling applications (but it’s still best to submit as early as possible). 14 rolling opportunities- 1 new opportunity! Long term planning: Grants that have closed their current rounds, but are expected to open new windows. 4 long term opportunities! A quick tip for returning readers: if you want to jump straight to the newest additions, use CTRL F to search for “New!” and navigate quickly to the latest funding opportunities This post is for paid subscribers. This helps support the time and effort it takes to curate and organize these opportunities. Subscribe To keep this accessible to everyone who needs it, we’re happy to offer pay what you can rates. You can find more details here. Open Calls: Migraine Competitive Grant Program: Migraine and Women’s Health (Quality Improvement and/or Research RFP), Pfizer.*Closing soon!* Pfizer, in collaboration with the American Headache Society, is seeking independent quality improvement and research projects that close persistent gaps in migraine care for women across the United States. The funding logic centers on measurable, practice-relevant change: proposals should generate actionable evidence, tools, or system improvements that can be shared and used widely, not just within a single site. Priority areas span menstrual migraine and screening in women’s health settings, the role of hormonal fluctuations across the lifespan, sex-specific risk factors, comorbidities and quality-of-life burden, and disparities in outcomes by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The call is structured as a two-step competitive process with an initial Letter of Intent, with the strongest concepts expected to translate scientific insight into implementable improvements in diagnosis, management, and equity. Geographies: United States. Who can apply: U.S.-based organizations (not individuals), including professional schools, healthcare institutions, professional organizations, and other entities focused on healthcare improvement. Funding amount: Up to USD $200,000 total over 2 years; total pool USD $500,000. Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: migraine, women’s health, quality improvement, clinical research, menstrual migraine, health disparities. Deadline: LOI: May 5, 2026; Full proposal (by invitation): August 28, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This RFP rewards “shareable impact”: the most competitive submissions will pair rigorous methods with a clear plan for system uptake and dissemination beyond the originating institution. ReSSARC: Strengthening the Health Sector and Food Security in the Central African Republic (AID 013381/01/0) Call for Proposals, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). *Closing soon!* AICS is seeking a limited set of high-capacity humanitarian partners to deliver an integrated package that stabilizes essential health services while reducing acute malnutrition and strengthening food security resilience in priority areas of the Central African Republic. The funder’s logic is explicitly nexus-based: proposals should meet urgent, life-saving needs while reinforcing local systems, coordination mechanisms, and community-level capacity so results persist beyond the emergency window. AICS emphasizes inclusion and protection outcomes, expecting gender-sensitive design and explicit measures for groups facing compounded vulnerability, including women, children under five, internally displaced people, and people with disabilities. The call also signals a localization pathway, encouraging stronger collaboration with national NGOs and balanced partnerships, alongside clear coordination with existing cluster and humanitarian actors to minimize duplication and improve coverage. Geographies: Central African Republic (Bangui, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Lim-Pende, Lobaye). Who can apply: Non-profit organizations registered with AICS, plus eligible non-profits without an office in Italy that have a pre-existing collaboration agreement with an AICS-listed organization. Funding amount: Total pool EUR €1,800,000; max EUR €800,000 (single applicant) or EUR €1,000,000 (ATS). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: malnutrition prevention and treatment, maternal and child health, community health services, food security and resilience, localization partnerships Deadline: May 5, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This call is structured to reward partners who can link frontline service delivery to system durability and localization, not just short-term coverage gains. Contracts for Innovation in drug and alcohol addiction healthcare, Innovate UK. *Closing soon!* Innovate UK, on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences Addiction Healthcare Goals program, is procuring R&D to accelerate innovations that can improve treatment outcomes, strengthen recovery, and reduce harm and deaths linked to drug and alcohol addiction. The competition is positioned as a market-facing readiness push: selected projects are expected to advance solutions toward later-stage validation, generate evidence of user acceptability and UK market fit, and map credible routes through regulatory and certification requirements. Innovate UK signals a preference for innovations that can be field-tested in relevant UK settings and progressed to TRL 6 or 7, with practical plans for commercialization after contract completion. This structure favors applicants that can execute most work in-house, co-develop with service providers and people with lived experience, and translate technical progress into deployable tools for addiction healthcare delivery. Geographies: United Kingdom. Who can apply: Single organizations of any size (including EU, EEA, or international) leading delivery, with most work and key deliverables carried out in the UK; subcontractors for specialist skills only. Funding amount: GBP £200,000–1.5 million per project (inclusive of VAT); Total pool: GBP £20 million (across two strands). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: Mental Health, Health Systems Strengthening, Research & Development, Technology Access. Deadline: May 6, 2026 (11:00am). Learn more and apply here. This call uses procurement to pull near-market addiction innovations toward operational proof and adoption pathways in UK services.
Trio of College of Health Sciences graduates earn UM-Flint’s top academic award
UM-Flint’s College of Health Sciences boasts three graduates who have been recognized with the Maize & Blue Distinguished Scholar Award.
2 ASU professors elected to prestigious National Academy of Sciences
Two professors from Arizona State University have been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors awarded to scientists in the United States.The academy announced this week that 120 new members and 25 international members were selected for 2026, recognizing “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”
Bradley Staats Appointed Dean of McCombs School of Business
He will begin his appointment on July 1, succeeding Lillian Mills, who has served as dean since 2020 and will return to the Department of Accounting as a distinguished faculty member.
Murphy Honored as Distinguished Leader in Global Health
Robert Murphy, MD, executive director of the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health, has been honored with the 2026 Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Distinguished Leadership in Global Health Award.
Harvard faculty recognized by the National Academy of Sciences
In recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research, 15 Harvard faculty have been elected to join the National Academy of Sciences.
Heard on Campus: Tanya Berger-Wolf on AI for nature
Tanya Berger-Wolf, professor of computer science engineering; of electrical and computer engineering; and of evolution, ecology and organismal biology at Ohio State University, gave a lecture titled “AI for Nature: From Science to Action" as part of the Distinguished Lectures in Life Sciences series presented by the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.
Vanderbilt Health’s Seth Karp To Join Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
After 15 years of distinguished leadership at Vanderbilt Health, Seth Karp, MD, the H. William Scott Jr. Professor of Surgery, will be stepping down as System Surgeon-in-Chief and Chair of the Section of Surgical Sciences on Oct. 15.
Entwisle named to American Academy of Arts and Sciences - College of Arts and Sciences
Carolina sociologist Barbara Entwisle has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Entwisle is the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Sociology and fellow of the Carolina Population Center.
Physicist Nitin Samarth elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Nitin Samarth, Verne M. Willaman Professor of Physics, has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for distinguished contributions to the physical sciences.
2026 L&S Academic Staff Career Awards Announced
Five receive L&S Academic Staff Career Award honors in three categories: Early Career, Mid-Career, and the Judith Craig Distinguished Service Award.
KU School of Business names 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients
KU School of Business will honor alumni John Brandmeyer and Ron Lockton for business leadership, community impact and service to KU.
The Death of Public Health
During the recent measles outbreak, the largest in more than 30 years, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. refused to clearly recommend the measles vaccine, saying instead that it was a “personal decision,” and that parents should “do their own research.” Similarly, during her recent confirmation hearing for United States Surgeon General, Casey Means was questioned by Senator William Cassidy (R, La). “You’re the nation’s doctor,” said Cassidy. “Would you encourage [a mother] to have her child vaccinated!” “I’m not an individual’s doctor,” Means said. “And every individual needs to talk to their doctor before putting a medication in their body.” In June 2025, Marty Makary, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said that COVID vaccines for pregnant women should be a “personal choice”, even though every other country in the world recommended the COVID vaccine during pregnancy due to a higher risk for severe disease. It doesn’t end there. On January 5, 2026, RFK Jr. reduced the number of routinely recommended vaccines from 18 to 10. For vaccines that protected against influenza, COVID, and rotavirus, parents were urged to speak with their doctors—to make an individual choice. (On March 16, 2026, in a ruling by a federal court in Boston, RFK Jr.’s revised schedule was invalidated.) What’s happening? Why are public health officials moving away from making recommendations for the public? The origin of this change might be rooted in the first two years of the COVID pandemic. In 2020, during the first year on the pandemic, we didn’t have anything to stop a virus that was killing hundreds of people a day and could be spread asymptomatically. We didn’t have antivirals until October, monoclonal antibodies until November, and vaccines until December. All we could do was restrict travel, close businesses, shutter schools, and mask, isolate, quarantine, test, and social distance. During the second year of the pandemic, when we had vaccines to prevent COVID, people couldn’t go anywhere without their vaccine cards. They couldn’t go to their favorite bar or restaurant or sporting event or place of worship without proof of vaccination. Some people were fired from their jobs for refusing to get vaccinated. For many, this was seen as massive government overreach and energized what has been called the “medical freedom movement.” Indeed, a headline in the New York Times declared, “How Health Freedom Became a Winning Rally Cry.” As expressed in the comments of RFK Jr., Casey Means, and Marty Makary, the medical freedom movement focuses on the individual not the community—the opposite of public health. In an article titled “Ethics and Social Value Judgments in Public Health,” ethicists from Yale University distinguished public health from medical freedom. “Public health policies,” they wrote, “are population oriented. Because individual health affects the health of others, public health measures regulate individual behavior to achieve population health goals. All raise questions about how individual autonomy and freedom should be balanced against public health interests…which respects individuals’ sovereignty over their bodies and actions as long as their actions do not harm others.” The medical freedom movement fails to recognize that it often limits the freedom of others. For example, a parent who is afraid to send a child to school where many of the students are unvaccinated. Or immune compromised children who depend on those around them to for protection. The question then becomes “Freedom for whom?” Is it your right, in the name of medical freedom, to catch and transmit a potentially fatal infection—and in so doing, take away the freedom of others? In Four Essays on Liberty, Isaiah Berlin sums it up best. “Liberty for the wolves,” he wrote, “is death to the lambs.” Thanks for reading Beyond the Noise! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Subscribe
WVU announces recipients of 2025-26 Benedum Distinguished Scholar Awards
Three outstanding faculty members have been selected as the 2025-26 Benedum Distinguished Scholars in recognition of their exceptional research and scholarly activity.
Lake State Railway, TGS Cedar Port receive ASLRRA Business Development Awards
MINNEAPOLIS — Lake State Railway and TCS Cedar Port, a Texas industrial park which operates its own short line, were honored with Business Development Awards at the recent American Short Line and Regional Railroad annual conference. Also honored on the conference’s final day was Gary Vaughn, recipient of the ASLRRA’s Schlosser Distinguished Service Award. Lake State Railway was recognized for its work
UNC Hussman offers new sports play-by-play class | UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
This story, written by UNC Hussman alumna Caroline Daly ’24, was originally published on unc.edu. The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media has a new, hands-on class available for students interested in sports careers. Students in “MEJO 390: Sports Commentary and Play-By-Play” can call live radio broadcasts for Carolina sporting events, streamed live on the Go Heels website. This spring, 11 students are calling mostly softball games to gain experience and learn the preparation needed for a successful broadcast. The class is capped at a small number to provide consistent, individual feedback. Matt Krause, the radio voice of Carolina women’s basketball, teaches the class to help students sharpen their skills, using his experience with the Tar Heels and calling games for ACC Network and ACC Network Extra. “There is no substitute for live reps, and that is the only way you get better. The classroom component teaches you how to get better, but going about that requires sitting in that chair, making mistakes and being able to know your broadcast is going somewhere,” Krause said. “These students are doing real live games, and they will have tape where if they want to pursue this. They will have ready-made demos to send for jobs. Being able to utilize all the resources of UNC, GoHeels Productions and the Carolina Athletics brand and create these opportunities for students is really impactful.” In the class, students learn fundamentals like how to announce starting lineups for different sports and how to conduct research before games. Krause has led the class in mock preparation exercises, looking at game charts with information about the different teams and players that they can refer to at pivotal moments during the game. Krause and the students then critique each other, listening to clips from the past week to find ways to improve. It’s a rare class without a slew of quizzes or assignments. Their main tasks are calling games and making a portfolio or demo reel of their best calls at the end of the semester, all with the goal of being ready to step into similar roles after graduation. Laible live streams her coverage on the GoHeels website. Calling a live game while broadcasting her coverage allows her to get hands on experience. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill) Junior Anna Laible ’27 wished for a class just like this. Her first year at Carolina, she interned with the Coastal Plain League, where she was introduced to play-by-play for baseball. “I enjoy the challenge and uncertainty of each game being different because each sport looks a little different,” said Laible. “Each game is different — not just with teams but what could happen with certain records being broken or random trends. That’s what I enjoy most.” She wanted more opportunities for reps during college to prepare for a career after Carolina, so she pitched an idea for the class to Livis Freeman ’99, distinguished associate professor of sports communication. Laible and Freeman reached out to GoHeels Productions for a partnership and then connected with Krause. “This is how at UNC Hussman we separate ourselves: Our students go into the field ready,” said Freeman. “The biggest compliment we get it is when our students start their careers, they don’t need any hand-holding.” Laible calls a Carolina softball game at Kessing Stadium – after pitching the idea to Hussman faculty. Her interest in sports commentary allowed her to apply her interest as she attends Carolina. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill) Laible is now a student in the class, which has helped her strengthen her skills and deepen her passion for the field. The goal is to expand to other sports like soccer, lacrosse and field hockey. “The hands-on experience I’ve gotten here is invaluable. I’ve loved the classes and professors because they’ve taught me a lot, but it’s also the things outside of class, too, that have helped me grow,” said Laible. “Since being at UNC, I’ve grown a lot in the versatility, from doing writing to production and commentating. UNC Hussman and Carolina have given me the ability to be strong and well rounded.”
UW College of Business Selects Reimann as 2026 Distinguished Alumnus
The University of Wyoming College of Business has selected Richard “Rick” Reimann as its 2026 Distinguished Alumnus, recognizing his leadership in accounting, business and community service across Wyo
Google’s chief technologist delivers talk at Rice on role of AI in math and computer science research
Prabhakar Raghavan, chief technologist at Google, was the featured speaker in the Ken Kennedy Institute Distinguished Lecture Series.
Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty join University Distinguished Professor ranks
Texas A&M University has named Binayak Mohanty, Ph.D., and Catharine Ross, Ph.D., University Distinguished Professors.
Simon Cherry Receives ESMI Award for Significant, Long-Term Contributions to Imaging Science
The Distinguished Research Professor of biomedical engineering has received the 2026 ESMI Award from the European Society for Molecular Imaging. Among the most prestigious honors in imaging science, the award celebrates a researcher for their outstanding contributions to the interdisciplinary field.
Harding University appoints leaders to business college
Following a national search conducted by an internal search committee and CarterBaldwin Executive Search, Harding University President Mike Williams announced Tuesday the appointment of two distinguished leaders to pivotal roles within the institution.
Huck Distinguished Lecture Series brings leaders in AI, biodiversity and cryo‑EM
The Huck Distinguished Lecture Series in April will feature Tanya Berger-Wolf of The Ohio State University and Wah Chiu of Stanford University, highlighting advances in artificial intelligence for biodiversity research and cryogenic electron microscopy for biomedical discovery.
2026 Distinguished Lecture Series in Materials Science and Engineering
The Distinguished Lecture Series in Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State will be held in April and will include two Richard E. Tressler Award Lectures in Materials and the David Ford McFarland Award Lecture for Achievement in Metallurgy.
Neff College of Business Honors Local Leadership Scholar with 2026 Pacemaker Award
Clinton “Clint” Longenecker, a Distinguished University Professor of Leadership Excellence Emeritus in the John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation, is an executive educator, consultant, leadership coach and motivational speaker, and a former Rocket football player.
UWM primate researcher honored as fellow for national science organization
Trudy Turner, distinguished professor emerita of anthropology at UW-Milwaukee, has been elected to the 2025 class of fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Pepperdine Graziadio Business School Announces Physician and Innovator Martha Molina Bernadett (MBA '01, PKE 105) as Distinguished Alumnus Award Recipient
Recognized for her outstanding personal and professional achievements as a healthcare professional, Bernadett currently serves as a University Board member and has been previously recognized with the Waves of Service George Award and as an Outstanding Alumni in Healthcare.
New Public Health Leadership Award recognizes oral health champions in California
California dentists who have distinguished themselves through a lifetime of leadership and contributions in public health and public policy can be recognized through a CDA Foundation award launched April 1.
Sharing her passion for science
By Danielle Rush Communications Specialist, Indiana University Kokomo Hisako Masuda, Indiana University Kokomo professor of biochemistry, was honored by the Indiana Academy of Science (IAS) as its 2026 Distinguished Scholar. The award is given to an individual who is recognized by the IAS as having an exceptional record of scholarship. Recipients are selected from nominations submitted to its awards committee. “I was surprised,” said Masuda, who joined IU Kokomo’s faculty in 2013. “I feel there are many good scientists in the Academy, so I wasn’t expecting it at all.” Patrick Motl, dean of the School of Sciences, said the Academy recognizes up to one member per year, and that Masuda is the second or third IU Kokomo faculty member to receive the commendation. “Clearly this speaks to the strength of Dr. Masuda’s accomplishments in research and scholarship and that her work stands out amongst her peers in Indiana,” said Motl, who received the award in 2019. “Many of the institutions that participate in the IAS are undergraduate institutions or primarily undergraduate institutions, but even having that caveat, Dr. Masuda has built and maintains a very active research program in her lab, working exclusively with undergraduates. She is passionate about science and can share that passion with her students. To carry on a quality research program with so many students involved in so many projects is truly remarkable and I am glad that the IAS acknowledged that for Dr. Masuda.” The IAS specifically commended her for involving more than 50 undergraduates in her research in bacterial metabolism, genomics, and their phenotypic plasticity at IU Kokomo, and publishing 23 articles with many student co-authors. Masuda’s current work primarily focuses on biodegradation and chemical repurposing of nylon. Using soil bacteria, her lab studies bacterial biodegradation of nylon and other environmental pollutants. She applies principles of green chemistry while developing a method to convert nylon waste into other nontoxic polymers. In collaborative work with health scientists, her lab investigates gut microbiomes of Indiana native birds as well as human subjects in a clinical study. She became interested in converting plastic waste while earning her Ph.D. at Rutgers University, working on methods to remove environmental waste not using chemicals or other intrusive methods. She learned about Nylon 11, which is used in pipes for transferring oil, interior components for cars, catheters, and in other industrial hard plastics. Nylon 11 is nontoxic, she added, so it is safe to include students in the research. “Those are considered to be nonbiodegradable, and have to go to a landfill,” she said. “I thought if we could come up with a way to biodegrade it, that would make some kind of impact.” Eventually, she wants to develop a product that would convert nylon waste to something useful, and to reduce waste and microplastics in the environment. “That would be my goal at some point, that we can make that change, and also make people more aware of their use of plastics,” she said. “I hope students stop to think about what we can do as scientists to address issues currently impacting us.” She appreciates the IAS for its support of scientific research at Indiana institutions, and IU Kokomo and the School of Sciences for providing funding for students to attend the Academy’s annual meeting. She added that IU Kokomo has also supported her research with funding from the School of Sciences and Academic Affairs. “Without that, I couldn’t do my research,” she said. Masuda has also earned a Senior Research Grant from the IAS, IU Kokomo’s Distinguished Research Award, and the IU Kokomo Junior Faculty Annual Research Award. She is a Fellow of the Indiana Academy of Science. Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.
Two Salk scientists elected as 2025 AAAS Fellows - Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Highlights Salk scientists Gerald Shadel and Tatyana Sharpee elected as American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2025 Fellows AAAS Fellows are distinguished scientists, engineers, and innovators who have made significant contributions to their fields LA JOLLA—Salk molecular biologist Gerald Shadel, PhD, and neuroscientist Tatyana Sharpee, PhD, have been elected as American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2025 Fellows. The honor recognizes scientists with distinguished scientific and social accomplishments, and AAAS Fellows become national and global science spokespersons for the rest of their lives.
2025 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow
Department Chair, Professor Alexander Spokoyny has been selected as a 2025 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in recognition of his distinguished contributions in main group and organometallic chemistry and academic community engagement and leadership. AAAS is the world’s largest general-scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. Spokoyny is among the 449 scientists, engineers, and innovators spanning 24 scientific disciplines who are being recognized for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements. Four of the new fellows are UCLA faculty members. The new Fellows will be celebrated in Washington, D.C., in late May 2026. Read more about the new AAAS Fellows here. AAAS Fellows in the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry are Professors Kendall Houk (1988), Paul Weiss (1999), Richard Kaner (2000), David Eisenberg and Todd Yeates (2001), Juli Feigon (2002), Miguel Garcia-Garibay and Steven Clarke (2007), Heather Maynard, Carla Koehler, Xiangfeng Duan and Neil Garg (2018), Paula Diaconescu and Thomas Mason (2019), Joseph Loo (2021), and Yi Tang (2022). Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penjen@g.ucla.edu.
Four Ohio State scientists elected to 2025 class of AAAS Fellows
Four scientists at The Ohio State University have been elected to the 2025 class of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellows.The AAAS Fellowship, recognizing scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications, is one of the most prestigious honors a U.S. scientist can receive. Fellow...
Ten Johns Hopkins researchers named American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows
The 2025 class of American Association for the Advancement of Science fellows includes 449 scientists, engineers, and innovators spanning 24 scientific disciplines who are being recognized for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements
Distinguished Binghamton Professor and Nobel laureate elected AAAS Fellow
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry M. Stanley Whittingham elected for his decades of lithium-ion battery research
Brookdale Student Leana Vitale Turns Passion for Science into Research Success
Leana Vitale is proving that curiosity, determination, and hard work can open remarkable doors. A Brookdale student graduating this spring with two associate degrees in biology and chemistry, she has already distinguished herself as an
Astrophysicist Deborah Haarsma Connects Science with Christian Faith at Pepperdine Libraries' Frank Pack Lecture
Hosted by Pepperdine Libraries' Rushford Center, the University community was given the special honor of hearing Haarsma's insights on Christian faith and science at the 21st annual Frank Pack Distinguished Christian Scholar Lecture.
Eleven business students named Spears Distinguished Seniors for 2025-26 academic year
Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business has named 11 students Spears Distinguished Seniors for the 2025-26 academic year.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Celebrates Critical Care Teams' AACN Silver Beacon and DAISY Awards for Nursing Excellence - NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst today announced it received two distinguished national recognitions honoring its Critical Care and Medical Intensive Care
Regeneron Science Talent Search 2026 Recognizes America’s Top Young Scientists, Awarding More Than $1.8 Million to High School Seniors for Innovative Research in Computational Mathematics, Neural Science, and Blood Cancer Treatment
$250,000 top award goes to Connor Hill in America’s longest running and most distinguished science and math competition Top $250,000 Regeneron Science Talent Search Winner Named Regeneron and Society for Science announced that Connor Hill, 17, of State College, Pennsylvania, won the top award of $250,000 in the 2026 Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS), a program of Society for Science. TARRYTOWN, N.Y. and WASHINGTON, March 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Societ
Becker’s Hospital Review Names RWJBarnabas Health to 2025 “100 Hospitals and Health Systems with Great Heart Programs" List
RWJBarnabas Health has been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 100 hospitals and health systems with great heart programs for the third consecutive year in 2025. The hospitals, health systems and institutes recognized on this list are distinguished for their excellence in heart and vascular care.
This Tiny Fish Passed an Intelligence Test That Once Distinguished Great Apes
Welcome to the club.
Civic Conversations Talks About the Loss of Science Funding with Professor Thomas Kaufman
In January, Civic Conversations welcomed Thomas Kaufman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology at Indiana University, to discuss the impact of the loss of science funding in the United States…
Vanderbilt Health remembers C. Leon Partain, former chair of Radiology
Clarence Leon Partain, MD, PhD, professor emeritus of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, whose work in nuclear medicine and magnetic resonance imaging helped shape the field of academic radiology, died Jan. 28 in Brentwood, Tennessee. He was 85. After beginning his career as a nuclear engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and as faculty at the University of Missouri and the University of North Carolina, Dr. Partain joined the ranks at Vanderbilt Radiology in 1980 and was promoted to professor in 1984. He later became the first Carol D. and Henry P. Pendergrass Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences and chair of the department (1992-2000), and subsequently the director of the Center for Imaging Research. Shortly after arriving in Nashville, Dr. Partain began to lead Vanderbilt Radiology’s nuclear medicine division. He remained in this role until he was named the department chair. Dr. Partain specialized in multiple fields, including nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography. Following his time as chair, Dr. Partain shifted his focus to research and spent time working clinically with radiology’s chest imaging section. In 2015, he retired and was honored for his years of service and named as emeritus faculty. Dr. Partain also held an appointment as professor of Biomedical Engineering. A Tennessee native, Dr. Partain was born in Memphis and later graduated from high school in Clarksville. He then received his BS in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee, his MS and PhD in nuclear engineering from Purdue University and his MD from Washington University. He completed his residency training in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Partain was clinically trained and certified in diagnostic radiology and nuclear radiology by the American Board of Radiology (ABR) and the American Board of Nuclear Medicine. Throughout his career, Dr. Partain contributed to the growth of Vanderbilt Radiology and received many academic and research accolades across the specialty through various associations. During his time leading the department, clinical studies increased from 180,000 to 260,000 cases per year, emerging technological imaging equipment expanded the department’s capabilities, and units for angiography and fluoroscopy were added to the tool kit. The department also expanded its footprint with outpatient imaging in Nashville, Bedford County and more. Research continued to expand with continued growth in scientific findings and millions in grant funding for radiopharmaceuticals, functional MRI, nuclear medicine, X-ray, ultrasound and more. Dr. Partain is celebrated for being instrumental in bringing the first MRI and PET/CT machines to the Medical Center. His efforts helped build Vanderbilt Radiology’s prestige in the world of academics and research both nationally and internationally. His society affiliations included the American College of Radiology, the American College of Nuclear Medicine, and the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM). He served as president of the Radiological Research Alliance of the Association of Academic Radiologists and has held executive roles as a member of many radiological society boards. Dr. Partain was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging from 2000 to 2013 and a member of the editorial boards of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the American Journal of Roentgenology, Academic Radiology, the Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Investigative Radiology. He has authored/co-authored/edited six textbooks, including one of the first comprehensive textbooks on MRI, “Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Imaging.” Dr. Partain has also authored/co-authored/edited approximately 100-plus book chapters and 200-plus journal articles. In 2000, Dr. Partain received the Distinguished Service Award from the ABR. In 2014, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the ISMRM. In 2016, he received the Alumni Achievement Award from Washington University for his “contributions to advance the fields of nuclear medicine and medical imaging.” Dr. Partain served the ABR as an examiner for 20 years, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education as a member of the Nuclear Medicine Residency Review Committee, and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in multiple capacities. A devout Baptist deacon and man of committed faith, he is survived by his wife of 62 years, Judy; children, David (Rebecca), Teri (Bland), and Amy; brother, Larry (Deb); brother-in-law, Tom (Cathy); grandchildren, Sarah (Brandon), Amy, Luke, Tucker, Alex, Ryan and Jake; cousins and a host of nieces and nephews. Vanderbilt Health is grateful to Dr. Partain for his decades of service and major contributions to clinical and research imaging.
UNM lecture to explore health risks of microplastics and environmental toxicants
The University of New Mexico Department of Physics, Astronomy and Interdisciplinary Science hosts the next Science & Society Distinguished Public Talk on Wednesday, Feb. 19, featuring researcher Eliane El Hayek.
UNM lecture to explore health risks of microplastics and environmental toxicants
The University of New Mexico Department of Physics, Astronomy and Interdisciplinary Science hosts the next Science & Society Distinguished Public Talk on Wednesday, Feb. 19, featuring researcher Eliane El Hayek.
In Memoriam: Dr. Edgar J. McCullough, Jr.
In memory of Dr. Edgar J. McCullough, Jr., a distinguished scholar and educator, the college’s first dean, and a deeply respected humanitarian whose life’s work touched countless students, colleagues and communities.
‘Trust, love, commitment’: Esteemed business leaders and former Notre Dame football student-athletes reflect on how to be champions of hope at Walk the Walk Week event
On Monday (Jan. 26), two distinguished business leaders and former Notre Dame football student-athletes — Tracy Graham ’95 and Byron Spruell...
Vern Buchanan to retire from Congress after 20 years of distinguished service
'Every achievement worth doing began with listening to my constituents and fighting for their priorities.'
The search is on for Business Report’s 2026 Influential Women in Business
Our sister publication Business Report is now accepting nominations for its 2026 Influential Women in Business recognition. The awards annually honor professional women in the Capital Region who have distinguished themselves in business or through government or nonprofit work. Get everything you need to know about nominating someone here. The deadline for nominations is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6. Honorees […]
Spears Business announces 2026 MSIS Cloud of Honor inductees ahead of 5th annual celebration
Jamie Adamson, Richard Amos, Dr. Bill Hardgrave and Ayana Spriggs Talley are entering the MSIS Cloud of Honor, which celebrates distinguished graduates of Oklahoma State University’s information systems programs. The fifth annual Cloud of Honor Celebration is Feb. 27 at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center.
MOXY: Hispanic News Trailblazers Break the Language Barrier with Inaugural Politics Panel
For decades, Spanish-language outlets were a lifeline for migrants, but that resource came with a hidden cost.Miami, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - January 21, 2026) - Civic engagement platform MOXY recently debuted a powerhouse politics panel led by Emmy and Murrow award-winning journalist León Krauze. Joining the former Univision anchor and current Washington Post columnist were distinguished journalists Carolina Rosario a multi-Emmy nominated news anchor and author, veteran international...
Prof. Dorit Reiss Wins National Award for Distinguished Service in Health Law - UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings)
Professor Dorit Reiss, who brings legal expertise to public health debates, has received a national award for her lasting contributions to the field as a scholar, policy adviser, and mentor. Faculty Who Lead: Dorit Reiss Professor Dorit Reiss receives the 2026 Distinguished Service Award from the AALS Section on Law, Medicine and Health Care. She is a leading expert on vaccine law, advising policymakers and providing expert analysis to journalists. Reiss mentors future health law scholars and combats misinformation online through evidence-based public education. Professor Dorit Reiss, a leading voice on vaccine law and policy, has won a national award recognizing her contributions to health law. She received the 2026 Distinguished Service Award from the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Law, Medicine and Health Care. Presented at the AALS Annual Meeting in January, the award honors sustained service to public health and the health law academy through advocacy, public education, and mentorship. In presenting the award, Professor Doron Dorfman of Seton Hall Law School, chair-elect of the AALS Section on Law, Medicine and Health Care, described Reiss as “a committed public health advocate who has used her expertise to influence vaccine policy, research, and practice at both the state and federal levels for nearly two decades.” Reiss leads a widely read vaccine law listserv that provides real-time updates on litigation, regulatory developments, advisory committee proceedings, and public comment opportunities. The resource has become an important tool for lawyers, scholars, journalists, and public health professionals tracking fast-moving developments in vaccine policy. Her service extends to policymaking as well. She has supported vaccine-related legislation in California, testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on vaccine mandates and non-medical exemptions, and serves on the Parent Advisory Board of Voices for Vaccines, a parent-led organization focused on reducing vaccine-preventable disease. Dorfman also highlighted Reiss’ active role in robust debates over vaccine safety and related laws and policies. “She directly engages misinformation by responding to anti-vaccination claims on social media with careful, evidence-based rebuttals,” Dorfman said. As federal vaccine policy undergoes significant change, Reiss has become a trusted source for major national news outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN, which regularly seek her expert analysis on new policies and decisions. Dorfman noted that Reiss is widely respected for her mentorship of health law faculty and scholars. “She is consistently generous with her time—approachable, willing to provide feedback, and a mentor to many in the field, including myself,” he said. At UC Law SF, Reiss brings the spirit of public service into the classroom, helping students understand how legal frameworks translate into real-world public health outcomes. She holds the James Edgar Hervey ’50 Chair of Litigation, a position that recognizes faculty excellence in the field of litigation. The Distinguished Service Award highlights her sustained commitment to evidence-based vaccine policy, public education, and mentorship during a pivotal time for public health law.
China offers full-time job to top European immunologist Andrew Macpherson
Distinguished professor leaves Switzerland to take up role in China, attracted by its reputation for cutting-edge biomedical research.
Kiess Named Interim Head of Poultry Science
Aaron Kiess, Braswell Distinguished Professor in the Prestage Department of Poultry Science, assumed the role of interim department head, effective Jan. 2.
BOOK REVIEW: Science Under Siege by Michael E. Mann and Peter J. Hotez
By Jim Heffernan Michael E. Mann, a distinguished climate scientist professor, and Peter J Hotez, a noted scientist and pediatrician, got together to produce a very good book about anti-science, which threatens…
ENTERTAINMENT: Clinton Center 2026 lineup includes Cornel West
Cornel West, democratic socialist philosopher in the progressive Christian tradition, according to a news release, and Robert P. George, a Roman Catholic and a conservative legal scholar, will jointly present a Kumpuris Distinguished Lecture.
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health recognizes 7 distinguished alums as the 2025 'Hall of Fame' honorees
Recipients include Dr. Anne Rimoin, professor in the UCLA Fielding School’s Department of Epidemiology and Gordon-Levin Endowed Chair in Infectious Diseases and Public Health.
“My goal is to eliminate every line of C and C++ from Microsoft by 2030” — Microsoft bets on AI to finally modernize Windows
A distinguished engineer outlined a "previously unimaginable" plan to rewrite millions of lines of code using AI agents and algorithms.
Death of Elon sports legend Rich McGeorge
Richard “Rich” McGeorge ’72, one of Elon University’s most distinguished athletes and a cherished figure in both collegiate and professional football, died December 20 at the age of 77. He...
Mentorship Provides Immeasurable Value to Faculty Members and Advances the Science
Dr. Laurie Wideman, Safrit-Ennis Distinguished Professor of Kinesiology, knows how much time, energy, and money goes into recruiting faculty members at UNC Greensboro. She believes those same resources should go into keeping them. At the School of Health and Human Sciences, that’s where mentoring comes in. The Department of Kinesiology and Department of Human Development and Family Studies have intentionally developed a program to ensure faculty mentoring for the success and retention of junior faculty.
A new era for sports communication at UNC Hussman | UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
As director of UNC Hussman’s Sports Communication Focus Program, Distinguished Associate Professor of Sports Communication Livis Freeman is building on the work of the school’s legendary Distinguished Professor for Sports Communication John Sweeney. Sweeney, who retired last year, developed one of the most respected sports communication programs in the country. Freeman, now in his 12th year at the school, is launching an ambitious expansion of the program that is transforming how UNC prepares students for careers in sports media. The most visible change came this fall with a reimagining of “MEJO 377: Sports Communication.” Previously offered as two sections with 30 students each, the course expanded to 96 students and welcomed former UNC basketball star and NBA veteran Tyler Hansbrough as the co-instructor with Freeman, bringing real world professional experience directly into the classroom every week. The course has been a huge success. Students have participated in recording a podcast with Hansbrough and learned from an impressive lineup of guest speakers. Steve Kirschner, UNC’s senior associate director of athletics for communications, was the first in the course’s guest speaker series, followed by UNC Hussman alumni including Kaitlyn Schmidt ’23 from Bleacher Report, Deaton Bell ’90 from Turner Sports and Becca Royer ’19 from the Philadelphia 76ers. Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, also shared his insights with the class. The highlight of the semester came when Roy Williams, who coached Hansbrough and the Tar Heels to a national championship in 2009, visited the classroom. Former UNC men’s basketball players Luke Maye and Marcus Ginyard showed up to support their former coach and Hansbrough, creating an unforgettable experience as Williams entertained students with stories and insights that captivated the room. Student demand has been overwhelming. The course reached capacity within two days of registration opening, with more than 40 students on the waitlist. “Students want to learn from people who have actually lived these experiences,” Freeman said. “Tyler shares insights into media relations, broadcast production and athlete communications that you simply can’t get from a textbook.” The model proved so successful that the school secured funding to continue it for the next five years, with a different former professional athlete co-teaching each fall. The school’s curriculum committee approved a proposal to expand the course to 150 to 200 students starting in fall 2026. This change will make it an introductory course accessible to students from across the University, transforming it into a showcase course for the entire campus. The course redesign represents just one piece of a broader sports communication program overhaul. This fall, the curriculum committee approved “MEJO 390: Sports Play by Play,” the first course of its kind at UNC. Limited to 10 advanced students, the course will be taught by Matt Krause, the current voice of UNC women’s basketball and an ACC Network broadcaster. Students will call actual games across multiple sports including women’s softball, soccer, volleyball, field hockey and lacrosse, as well as men’s soccer and lacrosse. They will also shadow broadcasts of men’s and women’s basketball games. “The sports broadcasting industry is exploding with streaming platforms and conference networks creating unprecedented demand,” Freeman said. The course emerged directly from student advocacy, led by Anna Laible ’26 and others who pushed for hands-on broadcasting experience. Professional equipment has been acquired, partnerships with UNC Athletics are in place and a soft launch began this semester with three experienced students calling games to test the system. The program’s growth extends into other specialized areas as well. Last spring, Stembler Professor Charlie Tuggle launched a new sports event management and hospitality course in partnership with On Location, a company that manages major sporting event experiences. The course provided students with opportunities to travel to the Super Bowl and NFL Draft, and Tuggle plans to take a group to the 2026 Milan Olympics this spring. Looking ahead to spring 2026, Associate Professor Ryan Thornburg will debut a sports data visualization course, adding another dimension to the program’s skill-building offerings. The curriculum expansion reflects the increasingly diverse career paths available in sports media, from traditional journalism and broadcasting to digital analytics and strategic communication. The program is also diving into one of college athletics’ most transformative developments: Name, Image and Likeness rights. Freeman’s “MEJO 466: Sports Marketing” class collaborated last spring with Associate Professor Gary Kayye’s “MEJO 371: Advertising Creative” class on a project with UNC’s Carolina NIL group to help rebrand their organization. That same semester, Kayye’s class envisioned Chapel Thrill, UNC football’s new pregame concert and entertainment experience. And Shaun Anderson, the school’s Knight Chair in Sports, Race and Media, continues to explore the broader implications of NIL through his research and teaching. These NIL-focused initiatives give students direct exposure to the business side of college athletics at a moment when the landscape is rapidly evolving. “Our students aren’t just learning about these changes,” Freeman said. “They’re actively helping shape how schools and athletes navigate them.” The transformation of UNC Hussman’s sports communication program reflects a broader philosophy about how to prepare students for careers in a rapidly changing industry. By bringing in professional practitioners like Hansbrough and Krause, partnering with industry leaders like On Location and ACC Network, and engaging with current issues like NIL, the program ensures students graduate with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. For alumni who remember the foundations John Sweeney built, the expansion represents an evolution rather than a departure. The program still emphasizes strong reporting, strategic communication, ethical communication and critical thinking. But now it also offers students the chance to call live games, work on real NIL campaigns and learn directly from former professional athletes. “We’re not just teaching students about sports media,” Freeman said. “We’re giving them the tools, experiences and connections to actually build careers in it.” With new courses launching, professional partnerships deepening and enrollment expanding, UNC Hussman’s sports communication program is positioning itself as a national leader in preparing the next generation of sports media professionals. For current students, the message is clear: if you’re interested in sports communication, there’s never been a better time to be at UNC Hussman. And for the hundreds of students trying to get off waitlists and into these new courses, the school is working to create more opportunities. The program John Sweeney built is growing in ways that honor his legacy while meeting the demands of a new era in sports media.
BlackRock names 5 engineers to its top circle of technologists shaping the future of the firm
BlackRock's tech fellow program honors the firm's most distinguished engineers. Meet the newest members of the elite cohort.
Veterinarian and Animal Science Graduate James F. Dougherty Named to Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni
The Class of 2026 inductees into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni have excelled in a varied range of fields—obstetrics and gynecology, addiction prevention and treatment, veterinary medicine, football and entrepreneurship, and government and insurance industry leadership—but they all share a uniquely Scarlet bond: A significant, unwavering devotion to supporting the university where they began […]
Deacon Sports Xtra: Dr. Herman Eure Utilized Values and Principles to Break Barriers as a University Trailblazer - Wake Forest University Athletics
The distinguished faculty member and 2017 Wake Forest Medallion of Merit recipient played an integral role in building the university's foundation.
Spears Business marketing and communications director honored at 2025 Distinguished Service Awards
Multiple Spears School of Business staff members were recognized at the Staff Advisory Council Distinguished Service Award ceremony Dec. 11 in the Student Union. Stephen Howard, Spears Business director of marketing and communications, was a finalist and placed third among all eligible OSU-Stillwater staff members.
The New WHO Pandemic Treaty and Global Health Governance: Incorporating Common but Differentiated Responsibilities into PABS - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
On May 20, 2025, the World Health Assembly unanimously adopted the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, an international treaty designed to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. The product of three years of arduous negotiations, the treaty marks a new era of global cooperation in public health. However, core aspects of the agreement remain unresolved—notably the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) System, which is intended to ensure equitable access to pandemic-related materials and benefits. To support the successful implementation of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” should be formally incorporated into the negotiating agenda of the PABS annex. Introduction For the first time, an international treaty has enshrined the principle of “One Health,” the compelling idea that the health of animals, humans, and the environment all contribute to pandemic risks. SARS (2003), H1N1 (2009–10), Ebola (2014–16), and COVID-19 all emerged through zoonotic spillover from animal hosts—respectively, civets, hogs, and bats. Together, they underscore the need for a coordinated, cross-sectoral approach. The Pandemic Agreement responds to this call, requiring state parties to acknowledge the ecological interplay and commit to a comprehensive “One Health” strategy. Specifically, Article 5 charges governments to address “the drivers of pandemics and the emergence and re-emergence of infectious disease at the human-animal-environment interface,” including wild animal markets, deforestation, and antibiotic overuse. Yet the effectiveness of this “One Health” vision depends equally on the free flow of scientific information and data among countries and institutions. Just as environmental and animal health factors have been neglected in past global frameworks, so too has data sharing been marginalized, despite its centrality to timely detection and response. The Pandemic Agreement takes an important step by requiring governments to enhance data collection and cooperate with the World Health Organization (WHO). However, these provisions will remain aspirational without a robust Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) annex. The PABS system will determine whether countries and researchers can rapidly exchange pathogen samples and genetic data while ensuring equitable access to resulting research and development, including diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. Without such mechanisms, the treaty’s promise to operationalize “One Health” and strengthen global preparedness will risk becoming largely symbolic, echoing earlier failures to translate shared principles into coordinated action. Equity Concerns When the 2025 Health Assembly adopted the Pandemic Agreement, it left the difficult question of access to pathogens and the sharing of resulting benefits to be addressed in a separate agreement. Negotiations on this separate agreement, PABS, are now underway in Geneva. Yet governments remain divided over fundamental questions of equity between the countries that primarily contribute to the system and those that primarily draw from it—and consequently benefit. For example, wildlife in countries bordering the equator is likely to produce PABS materials, but companies in Europe are likely to use them to develop lucrative products. The most likely contributor countries are likely to be those biodiverse countries around the equator, such as Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia, where the number of human-mammalian viral host interactions is large. Conversely, countries most likely to benefit from this material are those with the technology, investors, and infrastructure to capitalize on genomic data, such as the United States, EU member states, and Japan. This imbalance reflects a broader pattern seen in prior international frameworks. Now, as in the past, the wealthiest countries in the world (a useful heuristic is membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)) disproportionately benefit from systems in which pathogens and genomic sequencing data are contributed to a common source. Under the International Agreement on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the “Plant Treaty” or “Seed Treaty”) and the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework, companies from Europe and North America disproportionately withdraw biological samples and data for development into lucrative medical products. Their governments and companies have both statutory and contractual claims to the products that those companies correspondingly produce. PABS appears poised to follow the same pattern. The text calls for strong language on access to pathogens and associated data, but the corresponding benefits that should flow to poorer countries are couched in equivocal or non-binding language. Common but Differentiated Responsibilities To address these inequities, the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” should be formally incorporated into the negotiating agenda of the PABS annex. Common but differentiated responsibilities are often a feature of climate change negotiations. The basic principle is that, even though all countries should reduce carbon emissions, governments that became rich and powerful through massive carbon emissions (e.g., France, the United Kingdom, the United States) should have a greater obligation to address the resulting crises. Applied to PABS, it would require that governments hosting and supporting companies developing lucrative products carry greater obligations toward the cost of running the PABS system; share benefits or final medical products; and transfer technology to help countries worldwide develop their own capacities to innovate and manufacture vaccines during an emergency. For example, an annex could mandate that any company based in an OECD country that withdraws PABS material would be obligated to donate the resulting diagnostics, therapeutics, or vaccines to the WHO during a public health emergency or pandemic. Questions remain about how robust those donations would be, but the principle is that they should deliver highly significant lifesaving benefits to be equitably shared. Theoretically, this approach mirrors the PIP Framework, in which companies withdrawing influenza samples are required to pay half of the operating costs. In practice, however, the framework has fallen short. The PIP Framework Secretariat has struggled to secure payments from companies, with companies often disagreeing over how much is owed. Additionally, without another pandemic influenza to test the strength of the agreement during a public health emergency, corporate compliance with sharing mechanisms remains unknown. Even if these limitations did not characterize the PIP Framework, partially paying for operating expenses does not address the inequity in access to genetic data and pathogen samples that left less developed countries last in line for COVID-19 vaccines (and, before them, H1N1). Common but differentiated responsibilities would go further, addressing governments’ legitimate grievances regarding information sharing. It would make withdrawals of PABS material and resulting products more transparent, building trust across the board. Enforcement and Enduring Success A key implication of this approach is that the governing mechanism of the PABS must have real enforcement authority. The WHO Pandemic Agreement delegates its core governance responsibilities to a Conference of the Parties (COP)—a governing body composed of one representative from each participating government, similar to those established under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The proposed WHO Pandemic Agreement COP is charged with oversight functions but ultimately possesses no real authority to compel a government to take any action it does not wish to take. The text does not give the COP the ability to, for example, sanction a party that does not comply with either textual obligations or PABS provisions. In other words, there are no effective mechanisms in place to ensure compliance. Perhaps just as significant, establishing a meaningful enforcement mechanism within the PABS system would strengthen the WHO’s credibility and its ability to ensure compliance across global health governance. By setting a precedent for accountability, such a mechanism could enhance the organization’s authority not only within the Pandemic Agreement but also in enforcing the revised International Health Regulations and other frameworks for public health emergencies. Conclusion The PABS annex can—and should—be different. It should establish clear responsibilities for funding as well as for sharing the diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines that result from contributions to the system. The system, in turn, must include a dedicated body empowered to hold governments and the corporations they sponsor accountable for their responsibilities before, during, and after pandemics. Doing so would restore trust in the broader agreement, which was eroded as commitments were repeatedly diluted while parties scrambled to meet their own self-imposed deadlines during the Pandemic Agreement negotiations. A robust PABS Annex would cement a grand social bargain. Wealthier countries and their corporations would gain unimpeded access to scientific information essential for developing and manufacturing lifesaving medical products. As such, they would stand to gain considerable economic benefit. Yet that privilege must be matched with responsibility. The grand bargain must include not only the right to innovate, but also the duty to ensure that innovation serves all. As medical products are developed and produced through collective contributions, every person must have equal access. All human beings deserve an equitable chance to survive—to save their own life, the lives of their families, and the well-being of their communities. … Sam Halabi, JD, MPhil, is the Bette Jacobs Endowed Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Health and the Director of the Center for Transformational Health Law at Georgetown Law. He serves as the co-lead for the WHO’s Working Group on Regulatory Consideration on AI and Health’s training workstream. He earned his JD from Harvard, his MPhil from Oxford, and undergraduate degrees from Kansas State University. Lawrence Gostin, LLD (Hon.), JD, BA, is University Distinguished Professor and Founding Director and Timothy and Linda O’Neill Professor of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. He is the author of Global Health Security: A Blueprint for the Future (Harvard University Press, 2021); Global Health Law (Harvard University Press, 2014); Public Health Law: Power, Duty, Restraint (University of California Press, 3rd ed., 2016); Public Health Law and Ethics: A Reader (University of California Press, 3rd ed., 2018); Law and the Health System (Foundation Press, 2014); Principles of Mental Health Law & Practice (Oxford University Press, 2010). He also directs the WHO Collaborating Center at Georgetown University. Image Credit: United States Mission Geneva, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The search is on for Business Report's Influential Women in Business
Business Report is now accepting nominations for its 2025 Influential Women in Business recognition. The awards annually honor professional women in the Capital Region who have distinguished themselves in business or through government or nonprofit work. Get everything you need to know about nominating someone here. The deadline for nominations is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7. Honorees will be profiled […]
Nobel Winner Sakaguchi Stresses Importance of Medical Science
Stockholm, Dec. 6 (Jiji Press)--Shimon Sakaguchi, distinguished honorary professor at the University of Osaka,…
We’re announcing new health AI funding, while a new report signals a turning point for health in Europe.
At the European Health Summit in Brussels, Greg Corrado, Distinguished Scientist at Google, released a new report authored by Implement Consulting Group and commissioned…
Mulvaney addresses future of politics and populism at Brooks School event
Director Mick Mulvaney, the 2025–26 Nixon Distinguished Policy Fellow, delivered a keynote on the rise of populism in America to a full lecture hall of Cornell students, highlighting shifts in U.S. politics and engaging in wide-ranging discussion on contemporary policy challenges.
Nan Yao Named MRS Fellow for Contributions to Materials Science
Nan Yao has been selected for the 2026 class of Materials Research Society Fellows for his distinguished research accomplishments and contributions to the advancement of materials research world-wide.
Closed-door MAHA summit offers a glimpse into the administration's evolving health priorities
Dr. Sandro Galea, a distinguished professor in public health and dean of the Washington University School of Public Health, warns that the administration's turn toward alternative medicine risks sidelining science in federal health policy.
Is MAHA influencing health policy? : Consider This from NPR
At the recent Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, summit - which was attended by the U.S. Secretary of Health and the Vice President - the agenda showed a shift toward alternative medicine, wellness and nutrition and away from conventional medication. Most of the speakers were not academic researchers or doctors. To discuss what happens when government guidance moves away from scientific consensus, Miles Parks speaks with Dr. Sandro Galea, a Distinguished Professor in Public Health, and Dean of the Washington University School of Public Health in St Louis, Missouri.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Avery Keatley and Jordan-Marie Smith. It was edited by Ahmad Damen. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.