University News and Communications publishes VUToday, a compilation of Vanderbilt mentions in the media, each weekday. Read a selection of Vanderbilt news stories for the week of Dec. 5. To subscribe to the daily VUToday newsletter, visit news.vanderbilt.edu/vutoday.
Nashville Public Radio: Vanderbilt Poll: Tennessee voters are feeling upbeat about Trump’s victory
A new Vanderbilt Poll finds Tennesseans are feeling better about the future of the state and country, and pollsters believe the results reflect a confidence that President-elect Donald Trump can make good on many of his campaign promises. Poll co-directors John Geer, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science, and Josh Clinton, Abby and Jon Winkelried Professor of Political Science, are quoted. The Tennessean, Knoxville News-Sentinel, Memphis Daily News, the blog “Humphrey on the Hill,” The Associated Press and The Nashville Ledger also reported on the poll. Geer is quoted in related stories in the Nashville Business Journal and Nashville Post.
The New York Times: Opinion: What the alt-right really means
The alt-right is not a large movement, but the prominence that it is enjoying in the early days of the Trump era may tell us something about the way the country is changing. At least since the end of the Cold War, and certainly since the election of a black president in 2008, America’s shifting identity—political, cultural and racial—has given rise to many questions about who we are as a nation. The piece quotes Carol Swain, professor of political science and law.
Los Angeles Times: Warning: That warning label may be useless in conveying danger
Chances are, you encounter so many warning labels on a daily basis that you no longer bother reading them. And even if you do, it’s nearly impossible to determine if a product represents a true hazard or if you’re just encountering a bunch of weasel words designed solely to avoid lawsuits. The article mentions a recent paper in the Harvard Business Review about the ineffectiveness of such labels. W. Kip Viscusi, University Distinguished Professor of Law, Economics and Management, who co-authored the paper, is quoted.
The Wall Street Journal: Donald Trump’s choice of generals for top posts raises concerns
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday turned to a third retired military officer to help him run the country when he takes office in January, a move that represents an unusual level of military influence in the executive branch. Thomas Schwartz, professor of history, is quoted.
R&D Magazine: Blood-brain barrier on a chip sheds new light on ‘silent killer’
An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education (VIIBRE), headed by Gordon A. Cain University Professor John Wikswo, has developed a microfluidic device that overcomes the limitations of previous models of this key system and has used it to study brain inflammation. Swelling in the brain is dubbed the “silent killer” because it doesn’t cause pain but contributes to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. M. Diana Neely, research associate professor of pediatrics; Aaron Bowman, associate professor of pediatrics, neurology and biochemistry; VIIBRE staff scientist Jacquelyn Brown, who is first author of the paper; and Donna Webb, associate professor of biological sciences, are quoted.
PBS NewsHour: Column: Trump Tower, the skyscraper and the future of urban development
Could Trump Tower stimulate more creative, sustainable approaches to urban development? In this essay originally published by The Conversation, Kevin D. Murphy, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities, suggests that the president-elect is at least bringing attention to the urban tower as a residential building type. And some architects and urbanists believe that the skyscraper offers one important solution to climate issues.