Experts for the Media

A Trump administration proposal to use the federal tax code to offer vouchers that students could use to attend private secular or religious schools has reignited public debate over school choice.

David Figlio, a professor of economics and education at the University of Rochester whose research on vouchers has been widely cited, is available to offer insight on the matter.

A recent study he co-authored on a school choice program in Ohio showed that low-income children in the program were likely to realize significant and positive academic benefits.

Figlio warned in an interview with National Public Radio, though, that the results need to be taken “with a grain of salt.”

“This program was a highly targeted program that bears little resemblance to the statewide, universal vouchers that are being rolled out today,” he said.

Figlio’s research spans a wide range of education and health policy issues, from school accountability and standards to welfare policy and the intersection between education and health.

Contact Figlio by clicking on his profile.

News that Target’s sluggish first quarter earnings were partly due to consumers protesting the retail giant’s rollback on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, may have some people wondering why any company would take a position on a politically divisive issue.

David Primo, a professor of political science and business administration at the University of Rochester, says political polarization across the country has forced the hands of some corporate executives to take a stand.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Americans are split on whether they want big business wading into social and political minefields.

“It’s pretty straight forward to think that a corporation ought to be taking positions on issues related to its core business operations,” Primo says. “The challenge for an executive, who has a fiduciary responsibility to the company, is knowing where to draw the line.”

Primo regularly shares his insights on a variety of topics with business journalists and political reporters. Recently, he spoke to USA Today about consumers boycotting major retailers. Contact him by clicking on his profile.

A research team has uncovered what it believes is “the world’s most electrically conductive organic molecule,” a discovery that opens new possibilities for building smaller, more powerful, and more energy-efficient computers.

It could also allow computer chip manufacturers to eliminate their reliance on silicon and metal as conductors.

“Molecules are nature’s tiniest, mightiest, and most configurable building blocks and can be engineered to build ultra-compact, ultra-efficient technology for everything from computers to quantum devices,” said Ignacio Franco, who was part of the research team that was led by scientists at the University of Miami.

Their research was detailed in a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The molecule, which is composed of chemical elements found in nature, including carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen, can carry electrical current over record-breaking distances without losing efficiency.

Using molecular materials in electronic chips offers several advantages. They consume less power.
They can be more easily customized than silicon. They are more environmentally friendly. And, perhaps most importantly to manufacturers, they are potentially cheaper to produce.

“This molecular design overcomes many of the big issues that for decades have prevented the use of molecules in electronics,” Franco said.

To learn more about this ground-breaking research, read about it at the University of Rochester News Center, and contact Franco at ignacio.franco@rochester.edu.