The Conversation

Going to the boardroom from the classroom helps students learn how nonprofits work

Written by Mary Beth Collins, Executive Director of the Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison

With deft leadership, nonprofit boards can capably steer the organizations they oversee.Hinterhaus Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course

“Nonprofit Board Leadership”

What prompted the idea for the...

Does your service business need AI? Here are 4 rules to help you decide

Written by David Cohen, Associate Professor of Management and Business, Skidmore College

Not everyone needs to jump on the AI train.primeimages via Getty Images

Artificial intelligence is the big thing right now, with industries from finance to health care to retail scrambling to adopt AI or risk being left behind. But speaking as professors of business, we think some companies might be jumping the gun.

Our recent research suggests that...

Drake’s beef with Kendrick Lamar isn’t nearly as important as his tiff with Tupac Shakur’s estate over using the dead rapper’s voice

Written by Jabari M. Evans, Assistant Professor of Race and Media, University of South Carolina

Canadian rap artist Drake was forced to pull a diss track he had produced that used an AI-generated voice of Tupac Shakur.Prince Williams/Wireimage via Getty Images

In April 2023, a song titled “Heart on My Sleeve,” written and produced by a mysterious producer named Ghostwriter, went viral on TikTok and briefly became the most popular s...

The rush to return humans to the Moon and build lunar bases could threaten opportunities for astronomy

Written by Martin Elvis, Senior Astrophysicist, Smithsonian Institution

A lunar base on the Moon would include solar panels for power generation, and equipment for keeping astronauts alive on the surface. ESA - P. Carril

The 2020s have already seen many lunar landing attempts, although several of them have crashed or toppled over. With all the excitement surrounding the prospect of humans returning to the Moon, both...

Eye exercises to improve sight – is there any science behind them? An ophthalmologist explains why you shouldn’t buy the hype

Written by Benjamin Botsford, Assistant Professor of Opthalmology, UMass Chan Medical School

For people tired of wearing glasses, the claims can be enticing.Valeria Blanc/E+ via Getty Images

You may have seen advertisements claiming to eliminate the need for eyeglasses through vision therapy or vision training – basically, eye exercises.

These exercises include putting pressure on or palming the eye; eye movement exercises; or...

AI is cracking a hard problem – giving computers a sense of smell

Written by Ambuj Tewari, Professor of Statistics, University of Michigan

A rose by any other name would not smell as sweet to a robot.estt/iStock via Getty Images

Over 100 years ago, Alexander Graham Bell asked the readers of National Geographic to do something bold and fresh – “to found a new science.” He pointed out that sciences based on the measurements of sound and light already existed. But there...

Outside Supreme Court justice’s home, a Revolution-era flag, now a call for Christian nationalism

Written by Leslie Hahner, Associate Professor of Communication, Baylor University

Demonstrators display a call for Christian nationalism at the Jan. 6, 2021, 'Stop the Steal' rally that preceded the storming of the Capitol.Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Homes owned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito have flown flags linked to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and the general effort of Donald Trump and his supporters to overturn...

Los científicos prevén un «Internet de los océanos», con sensores y vehículos autónomos capaces de explorar las profundidades marinas y vigilar sus constantes vitales

Written by Peter de Menocal, Director, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Un gran robot, cargado de sensores y cámaras, diseñado para explorar la zona crepuscular del océano.Marine Imaging Technologies, LLC © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Muy por debajo de la superficie del océano, la luz se desvanece en una zona crepuscular donde migran ballenas y peces y llueven algas muertas y...

Hurricanes don’t stop at the coast – these mountain towns know how severe inland flood damage can be, and they’re preparing

Written by Craig E. Colten, Professor Emeritus of Geography, Louisiana State University

Remnants of Hurricane Fred sent rivers out of their banks across western North Carolina in 2021North Carolina DOT

The French Broad River winds through the mountains of western North Carolina, fed by dozens of mountain streams, and crosses the city of Asheville. At over 2,000 feet above sea level and more than 250 miles from the coast, it is an...

I’m an astrophysicist mapping the universe with data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory − clear, sharp photos help me study energetic black holes

Written by Giuseppina Fabbiano, Senior Astrophysicist, Smithsonian Institution

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory detects X-ray emissions from astronomical events. NASA/CXC & J. Vaughan

When a star is born or dies, or when any other very energetic phenomenon occurs in the universe, it emits X-rays, which are high-energy light particles that aren’t visible to the naked eye. These X-rays are the same kind that doctors...