The Conversation

Eyes in the sky: Cutting NASA Earth observations would be a costly mistake

Written by David Titley, Professor of Practice in Meteorology & Director Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Center for New American Security, Pennsylvania State University

NASA Earth Science Division operating missions, including systems managed by NOAA and USGSNASA Earth Observing System

Donald Trump’s election is generating much speculation about how his administration may or may not reshape the federal government. On space issues, a senior Trump advisor, former Pennsylvania Rep. Bob Walker, has called for...

Neuroscience hasn't been weaponized – it's been a tool of war from the start

Written by Alison Howell, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Rutgers University Newark

A discipline neither good nor evil.Saturday Evening Post/Harris A. Ewing

What could once only be imagined in science fiction is now increasingly coming to fruition: Drones can be flown by human brains’ thoughts. Pharmaceuticals can help soldiers forget traumatic experiences or produce feelings of trust to encourage confession in interrogation....

What cyber charter schools are and why their growth should worry us

Written by Bryan Mann, Ph.D. Candidate, Pennsylvania State University

What President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican sweep of government will mean for K-12 education priorities over the next four years is not entirely clear yet. However, policy statements and administration selections so far indicate “school choice” will top the agenda.

Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee for education secretary, has...

Donald Trump is no Mussolini, but liberal democracy could still be in danger

Written by Kimber Quinney, Assistant Professor, History Department; Campus Coordinator for the American Democracy Project, California State University San Marcos

Observers continue to draw parallels between President-elect Donald Trump and the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. But the similarities – narcissism, opportunism, authoritarianism – coexist with sharp differences. One came from a working-class, socialistic background and saw himself as an intellectual and an ideologue. The...

Why male couples should think about HIV in their relationships

Written by Rob Stephenson, Professor of Nursing, University of Michigan

Male couple holding hands. Eric Gay/AP

In a relationship there are myriad issues to manage. Who walks the dog? Does his mother like me? Whom are we supporting to win RuPaul’s “Drag Race All Stars 2”? But there is one issue that can often be harder to manage – how do we as a couple deal with HIV?

Gay men and other men who have...

How Trump's immigration enforcement could affect families and communities

Written by William D. Lopez, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Michigan

When immigration officers forcibly remove individuals from their homes, it impacts the psychological, emotional and economic well-being of their families and communities.

President-elect Donald Trump stated throughout his campaign that he wanted to leverage a “deportation force” to deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants currently...

Experts' roundtable: The future of journalism in Trump's America

Written by Gerry Lanosga, Assistant Professor of Journalism, Indiana University, Bloomington

During his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump wasn’t shy about his hostility toward journalists. His unexpected victory proved his doubters – which included many in the media – wrong.

We’ve gathered a group of media experts to explore the challenges facing journalists and the public under a Trump administration:...

Fusion energy: A time of transition and potential

Written by Stewart Prager, Professor of Astrophysical Science, former director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University

The plasma inside a fusion reactor.Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

For centuries, humans have dreamed of harnessing the power of the sun to energize our lives here on Earth. But we want to go beyond collecting solar energy, and one day generate our own from a mini-sun. If we’re able to solve an extremely complex set of scientific and...

Why America's labor unions are about to die

Written by Raymond Hogler, Professor of Management, Colorado State University

I’ve written before on how the decline of organized labor beginning in the late 1970s gave birth to the backlash that fueled Donald Trump’s election.

Labor’s deterioration weakened worker protections, kept wages stagnant and caused income inequality to soar to the highest levels in over eight decades. It also made workers feel...

America says goodbye to Michelle Obama, its mom-in-chief

Written by Sara Hayden, Professor of Communication Studies, The University of Montana

As she prepares to leave the White House, first lady and self-titled “mom-in-chief” Michelle Obama remains popular. Indeed, Obama was one of Hillary Clinton’s most powerful advocates during Clinton’s historic but ultimately unsuccessful presidential campaign.

From Obama’s speech at the 2016 Democratic National...