December 19, 2019

2019 was a busy year for WPI news. The university continues to garner media coverage from cutting-edge research coming out of our labs to stories that warm the heart, challenge our culture, make us think, and demonstrate what it means to have an impact. Here is some of the media coverage we received from major news outlets this past year.

 

Preview

Research

 

  • The Atlantic reported on software developed by Andrew Trapp to match refugees to U.S. communities.
  • The BBC reported on student research into drone and rover technology that could be used to locate and destroy landmines.
  • The New York Times highlighted work that Jeanine Skorinko has done examining sexual stereotypes applied to women drinking alcohol in social settings.
  • National Public Radio interviewed Pamela Weathers on whether wormwood tea might ward off the worms that cause schistosomiasis.
  • WCVB, Boston’s ABC affiliate, turned its cameras on Christopher Brown and his students for their athletic shoe designed to reduce ACL injuries.

     
Preview

Experts Weigh In

 

  • The New York Times highlighted WPI in an article about study abroad with a focus on our distinctive Global Projects Program.
  • President Leshin was interviewed several times for news stories about the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, including by NBC Boston and The Boston Globe.
  • Venice Project Center Director Fabio Carrera was featured in a Guardian story about the pressure tourism is putting on the city.
  • The New York Times front page, investigative piece on the Notre Dame Cathedral fire included information from Albert Simeoni.
  • The Associated Press interviewed Marco Kaltofen about the dangers of mining waste in Brazil.
Preview

Analysis

 

  • Craig Shue contributed to the opinion piece, “Should Cities Ever Pay Ransom to Hackers?” in the Wall Street Journal. 
  • The Miami Herald published an op-ed by Renata Konrad, “Fighting Sex Trafficking Is Everyone’s Job.”
  • The Hartford Courant published an op-ed by Eleanor Loiacono about the need to better integrate neurodiverse people into society.
  • Audubon spoke with Jennifer Wilcox about her research on capturing carbon to reverse-engineer climate change.
  • A research team including Berk Sunar and PhD candidate Daniel Moghimi shed light on vulnerabilities found in millions of computer chips for The Register.

     
Preview

Human Interest

 

  • With WPI listed #25 in the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts, President Leshin shared some advice to young women in The Boston Globe Magazine.
  • The Boston Globe columnist Thomas Farragher wrote about Jack Duffy-Protentis ’20, who is legally blind but isn’t letting his disability get in his way of becoming a mechanical engineer.
  • The Conversation published an article written by Angela Incollingo Rodriguez, whose research suggests that nearly two-thirds of pregnant and postpartum women experience some form of weight stigma.
  • WBUR interviewed Ulkuhan Guler about a new wireless sensor to monitor newborn babies, which was inspired in part by her personal experience.
  • The Telegram & Gazette reported on a student-developed app that provides substance abuse recovery and mental health resources in Worcester.
Andrew Trapp
Andrew Trapp
Adjunct Research Professor, The Business School
I am Professor of Operations and Industrial Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), with courtesy appointments in Mathematical Sciences, Data Science, and Computer Science. I hold a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. My objective is t [...]
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Jeanine Skorinko
Jeanine Skorinko
Jeanine Skorinko is a professor of psychology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Social Science and Policy Studies. She also is the director of the Psychological & Cognitive Science program. She received her PhD in social psychology at the University of V [...]
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Pamela Weathers
Pamela Weathers
Prof. Weathers is an internationally recognized expert on Artemisia annua and artemisinin, having worked with the plant and its phytochemicals including the antimalarial drug, artemisinin, for >25 years. She is a Fellow of AAAS and SIVB, won many awards, given many national an [...]
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Christopher Brown
Christopher Brown
  Working with scholars and students, especially undergraduates, on research and design projects is what I like best about my three and a half decades at WPI. My degrees are from the University of Vermont. There I was most fortunate to be coached by Mickey Cochran and advised by [...]
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Fabio Carrera
Fabio Carrera
Teaching Professor,
Department of Integrative and Global Studies - DIGS
Fabio is the director of the Venice Project Center (VPC) and Santa Fe Project Center (SFPC). In addition to a number of scientific papers, his work has been repeatedly featured in National Geographic magazine, MIT’s Technology Review magazine, the Smithsonian magazine, Wired, New [...]
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Albert Simeoni
Albert Simeoni
Professor Simeoni is an internationally recognized expert in fire and wildland fire and fire science, with over 120 journal papers, conference papers, and book chapters. He has more than 20 years of experience developing experimental, analytical, and numerical techniques to bette [...]
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Craig Shue
Craig Shue
Professor & Department Head, Computer Science
I am interested in computer networking and security. Given the significance of the Internet in our economy and society, I am interested in improvements and studies that can have a real-world impact. My recent work has focused on how to make both enterprise and residential network [...]
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Renata Konrad
Renata Konrad
The application of Industrial Engineering and mathematical knowledge has always been a rewarding challenge for me. I draw on a variety of Industrial Engineering techniques including optimization and simulation. My research has included evaluating anti-human trafficking efforts, c [...]
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Berk Sunar
Berk Sunar
I received my PhD in ECE from Oregon State University in December 1998 and worked briefly as a member of the research faculty at OSU’s Information Security Laboratory. In 2000 I joined WPI as an assistant professor. My research interests include applied cryptography and cybersecu [...]
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2019 brought WPI’s innovative research, analysis, and human interest to the forefront through media coverage. In 2020, stay tuned for more exciting WPI news. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and WPI news.