The Conversation

Delivering VR in perfect focus with nanostructure meta-lenses

Written by Federico Capasso, Professor of Applied Physics, Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering, Harvard University

Could there be a future with smaller, less bulky VR headsets?Jean-Marc Giboux/AP Images for Siemens

If wearing a virtual reality or augmented reality headset is ever to become commonplace, hardware manufacturers will need to figure out how to make the devices small and lightweight while ensuring their images are sharp and clear. Unfortunately, this...

Wind energy's swift growth, explained

Written by John Hall, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, left, speaks with Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffery Grybowski in 2016.AP Photo/Steven Senne

The wind industry is growing quickly around the world, especially in China and the U.S., where the total amount of electricity generated by wind turbines nearly doubled between 2011 and 2017.

All told, about 25 percent of global...

Should you insure that trip or TV? Here's what an economist would do

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Economist and Research Scientist, The Ohio State University

Offers of extended warranties are increasingly becoming the norm for TVs and other relatively inexpensive goods. AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

You can buy insurance for practically anything these days.

Planning a vacation to France? Your airline, travel agent or even hotel will likely offer trip insurance in case you need to change your dates or cancel....

The census will officially count same-sex couples for the first time ever – but that's not enough

Written by Akiesha Anderson, Law Fellow, Williams Institute, University of California, Los Angeles

Although LGBT people are becoming more visible in society, federal data reveal little about the U.S. LGBT population and its needs.

In a first in U.S. history, the U.S. Census Bureau will explicitly count same-sex couples living together in the 2020 census.

The decision to ask about same-sex relationships, announced on March 29, is an important...

Macron-Trump summit has high stakes for France's embattled leader

Written by Garret Martin, Professorial Lecturer, American University School of International Service

French President Emmanuel Macron can expect a warm welcome from Donald Trump – and, most likely, some glitz and pomp – when he arrives in Washington on April 23 for a two-day summit. It is the Trump administration’s first state visit of a foreign leader.

The two leaders, both political outsiders who achieved surprising electoral...

Comey memos follow tradition of J. Edgar Hoover keeping notes on presidents

Written by Douglas M. Charles, Associate Professor of History, Pennsylvania State University

Copies of the memos written by former FBI Director James Comey.AP Photo/Susan Walsh

President Donald Trump allegedly asked FBI Director James Comey to drop the FBI’s investigation into Michael Flynn.

President Franklin Roosevelt asked FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to collect information on Americans who had committed no crimes.

President...

What Greek tragedy illuminates about James Comey

Written by Victoria Pagán, Professor of Classics, University of Florida

James Comey in 2017AP Photo/Cliff Owen

Once upon a time, there was a prominent, powerful man in government who cared deeply about integrity and following the rules.

He said, “You cannot know a man completely, his character, his principles, sense of judgment, not till he’s shown his colors … Experience, there’s the...

Climate change may scuttle Caribbean's post-hurricane plans for a renewable energy boom

Written by Masaō Ashtine, Lecturer in Alternative Energy, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus

Puerto Rico lost electricity again on April 18, seven months after Hurricane Maria first knocked out the island’s power grid. For people in some remote rural areas, the blackout was more of the same. Their power had yet to be restored.

The dangerous fragility of Puerto Rico’s energy systems has put other Caribbean countries on high alert...

Is Earth's ozone layer still at risk? 5 questions answered

Written by A.R. (Ravi) Ravishankara, Professor of Chemistry and Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University

False-color image of ozone concentrations above Antarctica on Oct. 2, 2015.NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Editor’s note: Curbing damage to Earth’s protective ozone layer is widely viewed as one of the most important successes of the modern environmental era. Earlier this year, however, a study reported that ozone concentrations in the...

Market forces are driving a clean energy revolution in the US

Written by Bill Ritter, Jr., Director, Center for the New Energy Economy, Colorado State University

Block Island Wind, the first offshore wind energy project in the U.S., started operation in 2016.Ionna22, CC BY-SA

Transforming U.S. energy systems away from coal and toward clean renewable energy was once a vision touted mainly by environmentalists. Now it is shared by market purists.

Today, renewable energy resources like wind and solar power...