Island-dwelling mammal species often evolve into giant or dwarf versions of their mainland counterparts. Kate Lyons, associate professor of biological sciences, and a global team found that those giants and dwarves have faced extreme risk of extinction — an existential threat exacerbated by the arrival of humans. Lyons was quoted in a March 9 Reuters article on the research. The story was picked up by the Daily Mail, U.S. News and World Report, Yahoo! News and more than a dozen other media outlets.
Patrice McMahon, political science, director of the University Honors Program, wrote a March 2 piece for The Conversation offering five takeaways on how Poland’s hospitality is helping many Ukrainian refugees thrive. The story was picked up by the Houston Chronicle, SF Gate, Yahoo! News and 20-plus other media outlets.
Julia McQuillan, sociology, is part of a multi-institutional research team that will use a $5 million grant to increase the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in chicken processing to reduce waste in deboning and detect pathogens. The grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will establish the Center for Scalable and Intelligent Automation in Poultry Processing. McQuillan will study the effects of robotics on poultry industry laborers and how they perceive the technology. Stories on the project appeared in Feedstuffs and several other media outlets.
Geoff Lorenz, political science, was interviewed for a March 20 Washington Post article on Democratic state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh’s filibuster bringing the Nebraska Legislature to a standstill. The Unicameral used to be one of the least polarized in the country, he said, but that changed with the introduction of term limits for senators, as the old guard retired. “Over the last two decades, the Unicam has been among the most rapidly polarizing state legislative chambers in the country,” he said. (This article requires a subscription.)
Dawn O. Braithwaite, Willa Cather Professor of Communications Studies Emerita, wrote a March 28 blog post for Psychology Today titled “Can you do mindfulness?” She discussed characteristics of mindfulness across different relationship contexts and offered practical suggestions for cultivating mindful intimate relationships.
