Spotlights

What if boats, buoys, and other items designed to float could never be sunk — even when they’re cracked, punctured, or tossed by an angry sea?

If you think unsinkable metal sounds like science fiction. Think again.

A team of researchers at the University of Rochester led by professor Chunlei Guo has devised a way to make ordinary metal tubes stay afloat no matter how much damage they sustain. The team chemically etches tiny pits into the tubes that trap air, keeping the tubes from getting waterlogged or sinking. Even when these superhydrophobic tubes are submerged, dented, or punctured, the trapped air keeps them buoyant and, in a very literal sense, unsinkable.

“We tested them in some really rough environments for weeks at a time and found no degradation to their buoyancy,” says Guo, a professor of physics and optics and a senior scientist at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics. “You can poke big holes in them, and we showed that even if you severely damage the tubes with as many holes as you can punch, they still float.”

Guo and his team could usher in a new generation of marine tech, from resilient floating platforms and wave-powered generators to ships and offshore structures that can withstand damage that would sink traditional steel.

Their research highlights the University of Rochester’s knack for translating physics into practical wonder.

For reporters covering materials science, sustainable engineering, ocean tech, or innovative design, Guo is the ideal expert to explain why “unsinkable metal” might be closer to everyday use than you think.

To connect with Guo, contact Luke Auburn, director of communications for the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, at luke.auburn@rochester.edu.

Higher learning in the age of artificial intelligence isn’t about policing AI, but rather reinventing education around the new technology, says Chris Kanan, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Rochester and an expert in artificial intelligence and deep learning.

“The cost of misusing AI is not students cheating, it’s knowledge loss,” says Kanan. “My core worry is that students can deprive themselves of knowledge while still producing ‘acceptable work.’”

Kanan, who writes about and studies artificial intelligence, is helping to shape one of the most urgent debates in academia today: how universities should respond to the disruptive force of AI.

In his latest essay on the topic, Kanan laments that many universities consider AI “a writing problem,” noting that student writing is where faculty first felt the force of artificial intelligence. But, he argues, treating student use of AI as something to be detected or banned misunderstands the technological shift at hand.

“Treating AI as ‘writing-tech’ is like treating electricity as ‘better candles,’” he writes.

“The deeper issue is not prose quality or plagiarism detection,” he continues. “The deeper issue is that AI has become a general-purpose interface to knowledge work: coding, data analysis, tutoring, research synthesis, design, simulation, persuasion, workflow automation, and (increasingly) agent-like delegation.”

That, he says, forces a change in pedagogy.

What Higher Ed Needs to Do His essay points to universities that are “doing AI right,” including hiring distinguished artificial intelligence experts in key administrative leadership roles and making AI competency a graduation requirement.

Kanan outlines structural changes he believes need to take place in institutions of higher learning.

• Rework assessment so it measures understanding in an AI-rich environment. • Teach verification habits. • Build explicit norms for attribution, privacy, and appropriate use. • Create top-down leadership so AI strategy is coherent and not fractured among departments. • Deliver AI literacy across the entire curriculum. • Offer deep AI degrees for students who will build the systems everyone else will use. For journalists covering AI’s impact on education, technology, workforce development, or institutional change, Kanan offers a research-based, forward-looking perspective grounded in both technical expertise and a deep commitment to the mission of learning.

Connect with him by clicking on his profile.

With global attention on Venezuela following the U.S. removal of Nicolás Maduro, one of the central questions is whether taking out a leader actually changes the political system that put him in power.

Two University of Rochester political scientists — Hein Goemans and Gretchen Helmke — study different sides of this issue, and can shed light on why authoritarian regimes often survive even when leaders fall and what the U.S. intervention means for Venezuela and the world order.

Goemans specializes in how wars begin and end, regime survival, and why so-called “decapitation strategies” — removing a leader without dismantling the broader power structure — so often fail to produce stable outcomes. His research draws on cases ranging from Iraq and Afghanistan to authoritarian regimes in Latin America.

In a recent interview with WXXI Public Media, Goemans warned that removing Maduro does not resolve the underlying system of military and economic control that sustained his rule. Without changes to those institutions, he said, power is likely to remain concentrated among the same elite networks.

“The problem isn’t just the leader,” Goemans explained. “It’s the structure that rewards loyalty and punishes defection. If that remains intact, the politics don’t fundamentally change.”

Helmke, a leading scholar of democracy and authoritarianism in Latin America, emphasizes that legitimacy, not just force, determines whether democratic transitions take hold.

Her research helps explain why democratic breakthroughs so often stall after moments of dramatic change, and why outside interventions can unintentionally weaken domestic opposition movements by shifting power toward regime insiders.

“When the institutions and elites remain in place, uncertainty — not democratic transition — often becomes the dominant political reality,” she said.

For journalists covering the fast-moving situation, Goemans and Helmke are available to discuss why removing leaders rarely brings the political transformation policymakers expect and what history suggests comes next. They can address:

• Why regime-change operations so often backfire, even when dictators are deeply unpopular
• What sidelining democratic opposition means for legitimacy
• Whether U.S. claims that Maduro is illegitimate hold up under international and U.S. law
• How prosecuting a foreign leader in U.S. courts could reshape norms of sovereignty
• The risks the U.S. intervention poses to the rules-based international order and NATO
• How interventions affect international norms, including sovereignty and the rule of law, and why short-term tactical successes can create long-term strategic risks.
• Why treating global politics as a series of “one-off” power plays misunderstands how states actually enforce norms over time
• How competing factions inside the U.S. administration may be driving incoherent foreign policy

Geomans also brings rare insight into the internal dynamics of U.S. policymaking, having taught and observed Stephen Miller, one of President Donald Trump’s closest aides who is helping shape the administration’s worldview. (Goemans taught Miller at Duke University in 2003.)

Click on the profiles for Goemans and Helmke to connect with them.

As interest in cryptocurrencies move from the fringes to mainstream conversation and public policy debate, Derek Mohr, clinical associate professor of finance at the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester, offers a clear-eyed voice on the subject.

Mohr specializes in financial innovation and digital assets, and he’s been in demand with reporters looking to understand the economics behind everything from “Bitcoin-powered” home heaters to gas stations offering discounts for crypto purchases.

His message? Not everything that markets itself as a breakthrough actually adds up.

For instance, some companies have pitched devices that promise to heat a home using excess energy generated from bitcoin mining. Mohr recently told CNBC the idea might sound clever, but that its practicality collapses under basic financial and engineering realities.

“The bitcoin heat devices I have seen appear to be simple space heaters that use your own electricity to heat the room . . . which is not an efficient way to heat a house,” Mohr said. “Yes, bitcoin mining generates a lot of heat, but the only way to get that to your house is to use your own electricity.”

Bitcoin mining, he explained, has become so specialized that home computers have virtually zero chance of earning a mining reward. Industrial mining farms operate on custom-built chips far more powerful than any consumer device.

In other words, consumers who think they’re heating their homes and earning crypto are, in reality, just paying for electricity and getting no real mining benefit.

A pragmatic voice in a volatile space Mohr’s research and commentary help explain not just what is happening in the crypto world, but why it matters for consumers, businesses, and regulators. Whether evaluating the economics of mining or the viability of crypto payments, he brings a steady, analytical perspective to a domain dominated by hype and fast-moving news cycles.

For journalists covering cryptocurrency, fintech, and the future of financial transactions, Mohr is available for interviews on digital payments, bitcoin mining economics, crypto regulation, and emerging trends in financial technologies.

Top contact him, reach out to University of Rochester media relations liaison David Andreatta at david.andreatta@rochester.edu.

As families around the world prepare to celebrate Hanukkah, University of Rochester professor Nora Rubel can expound on the deeper stories behind the holiday’s foods, rituals, and evolving traditions.

Rubel, a scholar of Jewish studies and chair of the Department of Religion and Classics, specializes in how Jewish identity is expressed through everyday practices and food. For instance, her work explores how dishes like latkes and sufganiyot (fried jelly donuts) carry meanings beyond the kitchen.

“Food is one of the most powerful ways communities tell their stories,” Rubel says. “During Hanukkah, the foods we make and share help us remember the past, celebrate resilience, and connect with one another.”

Hanukkah runs from Dec. 14 through Dec. 22 this year.

Oil at the Heart of Hanukkah: Why Fried Foods Matter Many people recognize the holiday through its signature fried foods. But Rubel notes that these traditions developed over centuries and vary widely across cultures.

• Ashkenazi Jews typically serve potato latkes.
• Sephardic and Mizrahi communities prepare sufganiyot, bimuelos, zalabiya, and other fried sweets.
• Some families incorporate dairy dishes, drawing on medieval interpretations of the Hanukkah story.

What unites these foods, Rubel explains, is the symbolism of oil, which commemorates the miracle at the heart of the Hanukkah story.

Many Ways to Celebrate Rubel emphasizes that Hanukkah is not a monolithic holiday. Its rituals, from lighting the menorah to singing blessings and exchanging gifts, vary across communities and generations.

Some families add new traditions such as:

• Hosting “latke tasting” gatherings
• Experimenting with global Jewish recipes
• Incorporating social justice themes into nightly candle-lighting
• Sharing stories of family immigration and heritage

“Hanukkah is a living tradition,” Rubel says. “It continues to evolve, and food is one of the ways people reinterpret what the holiday means for them today.”

A Resource for Understanding Jewish Life Rubel’s broader scholarship focuses on American Jewish life, cultural memory, and how religious identities are shaped in the home as much as in the synagogue.

She is a go-to resource for journalists covering holiday practices, regional Jewish cuisines, and the meaning behind rituals that shape the season, and is featured in “Family Recipe: Jewish American Style,” a new documentary now airing on PBS stations across the United States.

Rubel is available for interviews throughout the Hanukkah period and beyond, and can speak to how traditions differ in Jewish communities around the world, the evolution of Hanukkah in American culture, and contemporary interpretations of rituals and identity.

Click on Rubel's profile to connect with her.

Ho-ho-ho and a bottle of Tums? From feeding a crowd to juggling travel and schedules and managing finances during a challenging economic time, the holidays can feel like a pressure cooker.

But University of Rochester psychologist Jeremy Jamieson, one of the country’s leading researchers on stress, says the pressures of the season of giving (and giving and giving and giving some more) can be mitigated by mentally reframing the stress we feel. In other words, what matters is how we interpret our stress.

Jamieson’s Social Stress Lab studies a technique called "stress reappraisal": the practice of reframing stress responses as helpful rather than harmful. According to researchers, people can learn to treat their signs of stress — the racing heart, the sweaty palms, the mental sense of urgency — as tools that prepare them to meet a challenge rather than a sign that they’re falling apart.

“Stress reappraisal isn’t about calming down or shutting stress off,” Jamieson says. “It’s about changing the meaning of your stress response. If you view the demands as something you can handle, your body shifts into a challenge state, which is a more adaptive, productive kind of stress.”

The research behind this approach has grown considerably.

In one of Jamieson’s studies, published in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, the Social Stress Lab trained community college students to reinterpret stress as a resource. The results were striking: students experienced less anxiety, performed better on exams, procrastinated less, were more likely to stay enrolled, and approached academic challenges with healthier physiological responses.

Newer findings from the lab also suggest that stress reframing can support people facing workplace pressures, caregiving responsibilities, and major life transitions.

In short, stress isn’t the enemy of our well-being during the holidays. The real culprit is believing stress is dangerous.

Jamieson is available for interviews and can explain how people can use stress reappraisal strategies to navigate holiday pressures — and other high-demand moments — with more confidence, better health, and better outcomes.

Click on his profile to connect with him.

For decades, talk of UFOs has thrived on fuzzy photos and personal anecdotes—never the kind of hard data scientists can actually test. But new peer-reviewed studies have changed the conversation, says Adam Frank, a University of Rochester astrophysicist who studies life in the universe and the nature of scientific discovery.

Two recent papers, published in reputable astronomy journals, claim to have found evidence of “non-terrestrial artifacts” in astronomical photographs from the 1950s — objects that appear to be  orbiting Earth before the Space Age began.

“That’s an extraordinary claim,” Frank says, “and, as Carl Sagan famously said, 'Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.'

“The good news is that, finally, there’s something associated with UFOs that science can work with.”

Led by astronomer Beatriz Villarroel and her VASCO project (Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations), the studies passed the first test of scientific credibility: rigorous peer review. Now, Frank says, comes the harder part — the “call-and-response” that defines real science.

“Getting a paper published doesn’t make the claim right,” he explains. “It just means the debate can begin. Other scientists will now dig into the data, test the methods, and try to tear the claim apart. That’s how science works.”

Frank is a frequent on-air commentator for live interviews and segments in national media outlets and the author of The Little Book of Aliens (Harper Collins, 2023). He also regularly contributes to written publications, including The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Scientific American. In 2021 he received the Carl Sagan Medal, which recognizes and honors outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the general public. It is awarded to scientists whose efforts have significantly contributed to a public understanding of, and enthusiasm for, planetary science.

Connect with him by clicking on his profile. 

A “brain-on-a-chip” technology might sound like science fiction, but it’s real-world hope.

James McGrath, a biomedical engineer at the University of Rochester, leads a team that develops micro-scale tissue chips to study diseases in lieu of conducting animal experiments. The team’s “brain-on-a-chip” model replicates the blood-brain barrier — the critical membrane separating the brain from the bloodstream — to mimic how the barrier functions under healthy conditions and the duress of infections, toxins, and immune responses that can weaken it.

Recent findings from McGrath’s team show how systemic inflammation, such as that caused by sepsis, can compromise the barrier and harm brain cells. The researchers also demonstrated how pericytes — supportive vascular cells — can help repair barrier damage, an insight that could guide new therapies for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The research culminated in a pair of recent studies published in Advanced Science and Materials Today Bio. “We hope that by building these tissue models in chip format, we can arrange many brain models in a high-density array to screen candidates for neuroprotective drugs and develop brain models with diverse genetic backgrounds,” McGrath says.

McGrath aims to transform how scientists test drugs and predict neurological side effects before they occur — helping rewrite how we study, and one day safeguard, the brain.

Contact McGrath by clicking on his profile

The Senate returned to Capitol Hill on the first day of a government shutdown to vote on two funding bills aimed at getting the government up and running amid an ongoing blame game among congressional leaders.

University of Rochester political scientist Gerald Gamm is watching the deliberations and political maneuverings closely and is in a unique position to lend insight on the negotiations and gamesmanship.

Gamm is a co-author of Steering the Senate (Cambridge University Press, June 2025). The book has received high praise from a multitude of sources, and has been called "essential reading for all who care — or worry — about the past and future of institutional leadership and capacity on Capitol Hill," "the best book we have about the organizational development of the Senate," and "a masterpiece . . . that unearths new information on the emergence of leadership institutions and the role of parties and showing their relevance for the Senate of today."

Gamm is available for interviews and can be contacted by clicking on his profile.