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We tackle the most challenging problems in Computer Science and related fields.

Being bold and taking risks allows our embedded teams to make discoveries that affect billions of users every day.

Our Publications

In-Datacenter Performance Analysis of a Tensor Processing Unit

Norman P. Jouppi, Cliff Young , Nishant Patil, David Patterson , Gaurav Agrawal, Raminder Bajwa, Sarah Bates, Suresh Bhatia, Nan Boden, Al Borchers, Rick Boyle, Pierre-luc Cantin, Clifford Chao, Chris Clark, Jeremy Coriell, Mike Daley, Matt Dau, Jeffrey Dean , Ben Gelb, Tara Vazir Ghaemmaghami, Rajendra Gottipati, William Gulland, Robert Hagmann, C. Richard Ho, Doug Hogberg, John Hu, Robert Hundt , Dan Hurt, Julian Ibarz , Aaron Jaffey, Alek Jaworski, Alexander Kaplan, Harshit Khaitan, Andy Koch, Naveen Kumar, Steve Lacy, James Laudon , James Law, Diemthu Le, Chris Leary, Zhuyuan Liu, Kyle Lucke, Alan Lundin, Gordon MacKean, Adriana Maggiore, Maire Mahony, Kieran Miller, Rahul Nagarajan, Ravi Narayanaswami, Ray Ni, Kathy Nix, Thomas Norrie, Mark Omernick, Narayana Penukonda, Andy Phelps, Jonathan Ross

ISCA (2017) (to appear)

Guetzli: Perceptually Guided JPEG Encoder

Jyrki Alakuijala , Robert Obryk, Ostap Stoliarchuk, Zoltan Szabadka, Lode Vandevenne, Jan Wassenberg

arXiv (2017)

Google's Neural Machine Translation System: Bridging the Gap between Human and Machine Translation

Yonghui Wu , Mike Schuster , Zhifeng Chen , Quoc V. Le , Mohammad Norouzi , Wolfgang Macherey , Maxim Krikun, Yuan Cao, Qin Gao , Klaus Macherey , Jeff Klingner , Apurva Shah, Melvin Johnson , Xiaobing Liu , Łukasz Kaiser , Stephan Gouws , Yoshikiyo Kato , Taku Kudo, Hideto Kazawa, Keith Stevens , George Kurian, Nishant Patil, Wei Wang, Cliff Young , Jason Smith, Jason Riesa , Alex Rudnick , Oriol Vinyals , Greg Corrado , Macduff Hughes, Jeffrey Dean

CoRR, vol. abs/1609.08144 (2016)

Development and Validation of a Deep Learning Algorithm for Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy in Retinal Fundus Photographs

Varun Gulshan , Lily Peng , Marc Coram, Martin C Stumpe , Derek Wu , Arunachalam Narayanaswamy , Subhashini Venugopalan, Kasumi Widner , Tom Madams , Jorge Cuadros, Ramasamy Kim, Rajiv Raman, Philip Q Nelson , Jessica Mega, Dale Webster

JAMA (2016)

Digitized Adiabatic Quantum Computing with a Superconducting Circuit

Rami Barends , Alireza Shabani , Lucas Lamata, Julian Kelly , Antonio Mezzacapo, Urtzi Las Heras, Ryan Babbush , Austin Fowler , Brooks Campbell, Yu Chen, Zijun Chen, Ben Chiaro, Andrew Dunsworth, Evan Jeffrey , Erik Lucero , Anthony Megrant, Josh Mutus , Matthew Neeley , Charles Neill, Peter O'Malley, Chris Quintana , Enrique Solano, Ted White , Jim Wenner, Amit Vainsencher , Daniel Sank , Pedram Roushan, Hartmut Neven , John Martinis

Nature, vol. 534 (2016), pp. 222-226

Our Research Areas

• Algorithms and Theory
• Data Management
• Distributed Systems and Parallel Computing
• Human-Computer Interaction and Visualization
• Information Retrieval and the Web
• Machine Intelligence
• Machine Perception
• Machine Translation
• Mobile Systems
• Natural Language Processing
• Quantum A.I.
• Security, Privacy and Abuse Prevention
• Software Systems
• Speech Processing

Google is an engineering organization unlike any other. Because so much of what we do hasn't been done before, the line between research and product development is wonderfully blurred. The engineer is often engaged in research, and the researcher in engineering.

Corinna Cortes

Úlfar Erlingsson

We support the broader research community through our Faculty Engagement and Student Support programs, and by providing Research Datasets and Tools & Resources

Work at Google

Google is a fantastic place to do research. The ability to work on really interesting problems, with excellent colleagues (whose expertise is often very complementary to your own), and to have your research impact billions of users every day is incredibly exciting.

I'm at Google because that's where the data is, and the means to use it. This makes it possible to do great work at scale. In the end, the reason for doing the work is to create something useful that helps people, and Google makes it easy for researchers to roll out products that will help hundreds of millions of people.

The raw computation power available at Google is just incredible - we can do research on a scale that was unimaginable to me in academia, and work on problems that no one else is even thinking of.

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Scientists in Japan Give Robots a Fleshy Face and a Smile

Researchers at the University of Tokyo published findings on a method of attaching artificial skin to robot faces to protect machinery and mimic human expressiveness.

By Emily Schmall

Engineers in Japan are trying to get robots to imitate that particularly human expression — the smile.

They have created a face mask from human skin cells and attached it to robots with a novel technique that conceals the binding and is flexible enough to turn down into a grimace or up into a squishy smile.

The effect is something between Hannibal Lecter’s terrifying mask and the Claymation figure Gumby.

But scientists say the prototypes pave the way for more sophisticated robots, with an outward layer both elastic and durable enough to protect the machine while making it appear more human.

Beyond expressiveness, the “skin equivalent,” as the researchers call it, which is made from living skin cells in a lab, can scar and burn and also self-heal, according to a study published June 25 in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science.

“Human-like faces and expressions improve communication and empathy in human-robot interactions, making robots more effective in health care, service and companionship roles,” Shoji Takeuchi, a professor at the University of Tokyo and the study’s lead researcher, said in an email.

The research comes as robots are becoming more ubiquitous on factory floors.

There were 3.9 million industrial robots working on auto and electronics assembly lines and other work settings in 2022, according to the International Federation of Robotics.

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Understanding the World and Shaping Its Future

Through bold thinking, rigorous scholarship, and cross-cutting collaborations, Yale research pushes the boundaries of scientific and technological knowledge to benefit people and our planet.

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From A(nalytical and stable isotopes) to Z(ebrafish phenotyping), research at Yale combines serious inquiry, deep expertise, and state-of-the-art technology.

Yale’s research cores enable scientists across campus to interact, collaborate, and develop new applications that advance the university’s scientific mission.

At a series of autumn Cores Fairs, visitors learn how core facilities can help with their research. Mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy are among the offerings at West Campus Analytical Core.  

Eric Paulson, PhD, tunes the probe under a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer, one of twelve at the Chemical and Biophysical Instrumentation Center (CBIC). The Center also houses instruments for mass spectrometry and X-rays.

A Meissner corpuscle is a group of cells that acts as a touch detector. Its 3D structure was revealed for the first time using enhanced focused ion-beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM). Image credit: Yury Nikolaev, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Slav Bagriantsev lab .

Liver cancer cells escape a tumor spheroid in a fibrotic environment. This Art in Research contest -winning image was collected by Xiangyu Gong, a postdoctoral associate in the Michael Mak biomedical engineering lab , with a Leica SP8 Confocal microscope.

Research cores make science easier, more fruitful, and more efficient.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a high-profile experimental research paper from Yale that hasn’t been touched by a core."

Related Research Cores

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Characterizing and elucidating structures

“The WCAC provides our research community here at Yale access to high-level instrumentation, helping to forward discovery.”

• West Campus Analytical Core

A more collaborative approach

"One of the most enjoyable aspects of what we do is collaborate with the grad students and faculty to solve the problems they’re up against. It’s not just cranking out the data."

Cutting-edge electron microscopy

“Potentially, this research will inform the development of tactile sensors for next generation of prosthetics.”

• FIB-SEM Collaboration Core (F-SCC)

New cancer insights

"Compared to cell culture in a petri dish, the three-dimensional models provide new insights into understanding cancer and enable more accurate cancer drug screening. Yale core facilities make it possible for us to unveil novel cellular behaviors in the midst of disease progression."

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By the numbers

Yale takes a data-intensive approach to science and technology research, harnessing today's volume, speed, and availability of data to transform knowledge production.

Research Infrastructure

• 70+ core science facilities
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Empowering Support

in sci/tech R&D expenditures in FY22

HERD Report, 2022

Roberts Innovation Fund to support inventions in AI, quantum, water

The awards provide $1 million in accelerator funding to support 10 new inventions led by faculty from Yale’s School of Engineering & Applied Science.

Opinion: Connecticut must seize quantum technology opportunity and the job crea…

As QuantumCT works to position Connecticut as a quantum tech leader, we urge Congress to fully fund the CHIPS and Science Act—and we invite Connecticut residents, lawmakers, businesses, and organizations to join in the work.

World’s most powerful 3D super-resolution microscope arrives at Yale’s West Ca…

Yale researchers will soon watch individual molecules move through living cells, thanks to the arrival of an Abberior MINFLUX instrument, the world’s most powerful 3D super-resolution fluorescence microscope.

Devoret, Schoelkopf awarded Comstock Prize in Physics for quantum advances

The National Academy of Sciences recognized Michel Devoret and Robert Schoelkopf for their innovative work in quantum information processing.

Announcements

Yale center for geospatial solutions has its first executive director.

Jennifer Marlon will begin her appointment on July 1, 2024.

Tech Tank to open at West Campus

Celebrate the new facility's grand opening May 9th with tours, robotics demonstrations, and more.

PSEB Town Hall, Monday, March 25

Updates on building progress on upper Science Hill

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SLAC is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory operated by Stanford, conducting research in chemistry, materials and energy sciences, bioscience, fusion energy science, high-energy physics, cosmology and other fields.

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The Hoover Institution, devoted to the study of domestic and international affairs, was founded in 1919 by Herbert Hoover, a member of Stanford’s pioneer class of 1895 and the 31st U.S. president.

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Working toward a future in which societies meet people’s needs for water, food and health while protecting and nurturing the planet.

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Advancing research into the historical, philosophical, literary, artistic, and cultural dimensions of the human experience.

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Biomedical and life science researchers, clinicians, engineers, physicists and computational scientists come together to unlock the secrets of the human body.

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Understanding problems, policies and processes that cross borders and affect lives around the world.

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We are America’s first research university , founded on the principle that by pursuing big ideas and sharing what we learn, we can make the world a better place. For more than 140 years, our faculty and students have worked side by side in pursuit of discoveries that improve lives.

What kinds of discoveries? We made water purification possible, launched the field of genetic engineering, and authenticated the Dead Sea Scrolls. We invented saccharine, CPR, and the supersonic ramjet engine. Our efforts have resulted in child safety restraint laws; the creation of Dramamine, Mercurochrome, and rubber surgical gloves; and the development of a revolutionary surgical procedure to correct heart defects in infants.

The research opportunities here are just endless. That’s really what I was looking for, a place where it’s very easy to do research .

Researchers at our nine academic divisions and at the university’s Applied Physics Laboratory have made us the nation’s leader in federal research and development funding each year since 1979. Those same researchers mentor our inquisitive students—about two-thirds of our undergrads engage in some form of research during their time here.

Research isn’t just something we do—it’s who we are. Every day, our faculty and students work side by side in a tireless pursuit of discovery, continuing our founding mission to bring knowledge to the world.

Zika’s impact on early brain development

Johns Hopkins researchers contribute to breakthrough study showing likely biological link between Zika virus and microcephaly, a birth defect linked to abnormally small head size and stunted brain development in newborns.

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Research Focus: Week of June 24, 2024  

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June 20, 2024 | Victor Bahl

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June 19, 2024 | Dongqi Han

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Microsoft News Center  |  Jun 20, 2024

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Martez Mott receives CRA-WP Skip Ellis Early Career Award  

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Chatbot teamwork makes the AI dream work  

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Vanderbilt prides itself on being a global hub for conducting scholarly research, advancing discoveries and fueling breakthroughs across multiple disciplines. Students are central to the university’s world-class research efforts and have a variety of opportunities to take part in transformative discoveries.

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Interdisciplinary Approach

Research at Vanderbilt draws on the belief that great breakthroughs happen when different ideas, disciplines and areas of expertise come together. As a result, Vanderbilt is dedicated to fostering cross-disciplinary collaborations that can expand the framework for what is possible. Revolutionary programs like the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering and the Engine for Art, Democracy and Justice are among the many examples of multi-departmental partnerships within the One Vanderbilt community.

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For many undergraduates, the opportunity to work alongside graduate students and leading faculty experts is a defining aspect of their Vanderbilt experience.

Research at Vanderbilt is integrated into many academic courses and majors, and it spans everything from field studies in the natural sciences, to laboratory research, to historical investigations and projects at the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities . Beyond the classroom, undergraduate students are encouraged to pursue research as part of Immersion Vanderbilt and through summer programs such as the Vanderbilt Undergraduate Summer Research Program .

Vanderbilt is a preeminent global research university whose faculty are recognized for path-breaking research and innovative leadership in higher education. Padma Raghavan, Ph.D., M.S. Vice Provost for Research About Research

Centers & Institutes

In addition to its traditional schools and departments, Vanderbilt supports numerous centers and facilities to promote interdisciplinary research and collaboration, such as the ten trans-institutional centers within the School of Medicine Basic Sciences . These centers—including the  Vanderbilt Brain Institute and the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery —provide a vibrant research and training environment through academic expertise spanning a wide range of specialization.

University-wide interdisciplinary centers and institutes include the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt's Innovation Center , the  Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering , the  Center for Digital Humanities  and the  Data Science Institute , among many others.

Support & Funding

The university is committed to helping Vanderbilt faculty, students, labs, centers and institutes secure funding and resources for projects that can improve society from the university, federal and state-sponsored research grants and other external funding mechanisms.

From the proposal stage to the commercialization of key discoveries, the  Office of Research  provides a robust ecosystem of resources—including those through the department of  Research Development & Support , the  Center for Technology Transfer & Commercialization and  Research IT along with other services through the  Heard Libraries .

Received from 1,259 awards (FY '23)

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The Vanderbilt community is committed to the highest academic standards, a spirit of intellectual freedom and a pursuit of excellence in all endeavors.

Research at Tufts is interconnected and dynamic: Across departments, schools, and disciplines, students and faculty work together to break ground and build knowledge. Research doesn’t just happen in a lab or library—it is connected and applied to the world around us. In all of our schools and departments and the 65 centers and institutes across our campuses, our research community integrates scientific work, academic thought, and innovation into policy and practice to have a positive impact on peoples’ lives.

Research Impact

Collaborating across disciplines and with leading institutions around the world, our faculty and students are driving thinking and research forward to solve our most pressing challenges—in our communities and around the world.

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Biden’s shaky debate performance doesn’t mean he’s dropping out, do the democrats have a gen z problem, at least 750,000 on brink of starvation and death in sudan, experts warn.

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Graduate, undergraduate, and postdoctoral students play a critical role in research at Tufts, working closely with faculty as research assistants and members of labs and research groups.

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Research: Using AI at Work Makes Us Lonelier and Less Healthy

• David De Cremer
• Joel Koopman

Employees who use AI as a core part of their jobs report feeling more isolated, drinking more, and sleeping less than employees who don’t.

The promise of AI is alluring — optimized productivity, lightning-fast data analysis, and freedom from mundane tasks — and both companies and workers alike are fascinated (and more than a little dumbfounded) by how these tools allow them to do more and better work faster than ever before. Yet in fervor to keep pace with competitors and reap the efficiency gains associated with deploying AI, many organizations have lost sight of their most important asset: the humans whose jobs are being fragmented into tasks that are increasingly becoming automated. Across four studies, employees who use it as a core part of their jobs reported feeling lonelier, drinking more, and suffering from insomnia more than employees who don’t.

Imagine this: Jia, a marketing analyst, arrives at work, logs into her computer, and is greeted by an AI assistant that has already sorted through her emails, prioritized her tasks for the day, and generated first drafts of reports that used to take hours to write. Jia (like everyone who has spent time working with these tools) marvels at how much time she can save by using AI. Inspired by the efficiency-enhancing effects of AI, Jia feels that she can be so much more productive than before. As a result, she gets focused on completing as many tasks as possible in conjunction with her AI assistant.

• David De Cremer is a professor of management and technology at Northeastern University and the Dunton Family Dean of its D’Amore-McKim School of Business. His website is daviddecremer.com .
• JK Joel Koopman is the TJ Barlow Professor of Business Administration at the Mays Business School of Texas A&M University. His research interests include prosocial behavior, organizational justice, motivational processes, and research methodology. He has won multiple awards from Academy of Management’s HR Division (Early Career Achievement Award and David P. Lepak Service Award) along with the 2022 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions award, and currently serves on the Leadership Committee for the HR Division of the Academy of Management .

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Cornell Research & Innovation

Extreme Talent. Radical Collaboration. Results That Matter.

From the laboratory bench to the hospital bedside and from cultural evolution to concepts in sustainability, our researchers and scholars are translating discovery into meaningful, measurable impact that is changing the world for the better.

Research Around the University

Impact of dietary fiber varies from person to person

Ultrasensitive liquid biopsy tech spots cancer earlier than standard methods

‘Two-for-one’ fission aims to improve solar cell efficiency

Model estimates groups most affected by intimate partner violence

Virtual, mixed realities converge in new driving simulator

Scans show brain's estrogen activity changes during menopause

Growing rural-urban divide exists only among white Americans

Backdoor method creates high-entropy material at lower temps

The cost of silence: Financial stress mutes couples’ communication

Simons Observatory begins measurements to probe Big Bang inflation

“I think none of us anticipated that this would turn into anything more than a class paper, but we all felt that there was something there.”

“Knowing that what I'm doing will actually help decrease carbon emissions and contribute to mitigating the climate change impacts is very rewarding.”

“Plastics like polyethylene and polypropylene are great materials; we use them for everything. But the problem is their strong properties, which make them so great for so many applications, also mean they don’t degrade…. We have to do something about that.”

Radical Collaboration

Multidisciplinary partnerships.

The challenges of the world and the big picture of what’s possible rarely fit neatly into a single academic discipline. This is why we’ve made collaboration and communication a way of life at Cornell. We foster a community of renowned scholars that spans disciplines, locations, and industries in order to convert promising ideas and innovations into results that truly matter.

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The best & brightest faculty.

Talented researchers and top scholars know that teaching and learning are intrinsic to one another. That's why they come to Cornell. They know they can push the boundaries of discovery by engaging with students who, in turn, engage with and challenge them.

Michael Goldstein

Lisa Kaltenegger

Rick Johnson

Martha Field

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More than 100 interdisciplinary research organizations bring students and faculty together to pursue research, teaching, and outreach.

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Millions of dollars of funding go into our labs every year. Hundreds of inventions, patents, licenses, copyrights, and plants emerge every year. Now we just need you.

Cornell Global Research Stories

Cornell research delivers results that matter all around the world.

Male lyrebirds snare mates with ‘acoustic illusion’

Researchers discover that Australia’s superb lyrebird males imitate the panicked alarm calls of a mixed-species flock of birds while they are courting and even while mating with a female.

Historic Alaskan Tlingit 1804 battle fort site found

Cornell and National Park Service researchers have pinpointed the exact location of a Tlingit fort in Sitka, Alaska used in 1804 to defend against Russian colonization forces.

Hold still, big cat: Vaccination could save Siberian tigers

New research out of the College of Veterinary Medicine has revealed that vaccination of endangered Siberian tigers is the only practical strategy to protect these big cats from potentially deadly canine distemper virus.

Study: European unions’ support varies for precarious workers

In many cases, unions in Europe have helped nonunionized workers whose jobs are precarious, according to new Cornell research.

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Discovery happens here. The University of Minnesota Twin Cities is a top 10 U.S. public research university with world-class academics, award-winning faculty, and state-of-the-art facilities. Our researchers and students uncover new knowledge and find solutions to some of the most complex challenges facing society today.

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From unlocking the secrets of DNA repair to zero gravity flight, students experience the thrill of discovery, learning under the direction of faculty who are leaders in their fields.

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In fields from engineering to medicine, business, law, and liberal arts, our students become tomorrow’s trailblazers through limitless research opportunities.

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Graduate students have the opportunity to perform research through any of more than 200 master’s and doctoral degree programs.

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Our centers and institutes connect researchers with similar interests to increase funding and strengthen the quality of research.

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Our research advances society through new ideas, technologies, treatments, and cures, and we continue to create and transfer technology to companies for the development of new products and services that benefit the public good and foster economic growth.

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Research News

A clearer picture of DNA repair

A young scientist studies how proteins repair chromosomal breaks—and help us become who we are.

U of M maps genome of the last living wild horse species

University of Minnesota researchers have successfully mapped the complete genome of the endangered Przewalski’s horse. Once extinct in the wild, the species now has a population of around 2,000 animals thanks to conservation efforts.

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U of M researchers explore the energy potential of wastewater from breweries.

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With expenditures in excess of $1 billion, research is central to U-M’s mission and permeates all 19 schools and colleges. U-M is a strong advocate of promoting collaboration and interdisciplinary research initiatives that involve faculty and students from across campus.

U-M researchers have demonstrated organic solar cells that can achieve 8 percent efficiency.

Research Attention

Below are 25 research outputs that have received attention in the news, social media and other digital sources in the past week ranging from “mainstream” sources to citations. This work from University of Michigan researchers represents a tiny fraction of the more than 263,000 research outputs produced by our academic community.

Transformative tales: The role of story videos on children's reasoning about transgender identities

• Article in British Journal of Developmental Psychology
• 413 mentions in the past week

A systematic review and meta‐analysis of herpes zoster occurrence/recurrence after COVID‐19 infection and vaccination

• Article in Journal of Medical Virology
• 305 mentions in the past week

Unitary Tract Infection Treatment When to Use What Agents including Beta-lactam Combination Agents

• Article in Infectious disease clinics of North America
• 226 mentions in the past week

Long-Term Outcomes in Patients Using Protocol-Directed Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer

• Article in JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association
• 136 mentions in the past week

Restrictions on undocumented immigrants' access to health services: the public health implications of welfare reform.

• Article in American Journal of Public Health
• October 2003
• 108 mentions in the past week

Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists in Patients With Heart Failure and Impaired Renal Function

• Article in JACC
• 94 mentions in the past week

State Restrictions and Geographic Access to Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth

• 91 mentions in the past week

2024 Focused Update: Guidelines on Use of Corticosteroids in Sepsis, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and Community-Acquired Pneumonia

• Article in Critical Care Medicine
• January 2024
• 75 mentions in the past week

Transforming Cardiovascular Care With Artificial Intelligence: From Discovery to Practice JACC State-of-the-Art Review

• 67 mentions in the past week

Adjuvant Trastuzumab Emtansine Versus Paclitaxel Plus Trastuzumab for Stage I Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2–Positive Breast Cancer: 5-Year Results and Correlative Analyses From ATEMPT

• Article in Journal of Clinical Oncology

Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults

• 61 mentions in the past week

Sleep loss diminishes hippocampal reactivation and replay

• Article in Nature
• 60 mentions in the past week

Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8

• Article in International Journal of Transgender Health
• September 2022
• 55 mentions in the past week

Consensus guidance for monitoring individuals with islet autoantibody-positive pre-stage 3 type 1 diabetes

• Article in Diabetologia

Diagnosis and Management of Acute Respiratory Failure

• Article in Critical care clinics
• 52 mentions in the past week

Finerenone in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction: Rationale and design of the FINEARTS‐HF trial

• Article in European Journal of Heart Failure

Oral Lipid Nanocrystal Amphotericin B (MAT2203) for the Treatment of Invasive Fungal Infections

• Article in Open Forum Infectious Diseases
• 51 mentions in the past week

Baseline characteristics of patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction: The FINEARTS‐HF trial

• 49 mentions in the past week

Radiation exposure from CT scans in childhood and subsequent risk of leukaemia and brain tumours: a retrospective cohort study

• Article in The Lancet
• 46 mentions in the past week

The gut microbiome and mental health: advances in research and emerging priorities

• Article in Molecular Psychiatry
• 44 mentions in the past week

Current Causes of Death in Children and Adolescents in the United States

• Article in New England Journal of Medicine
• 43 mentions in the past week

Minority Stress Predicts Depression in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Emerging Adults via Elevated Diurnal Cortisol

• Article in Emerging Adulthood
• January 2016
• 40 mentions in the past week

Cardiac aging: from hallmarks to therapeutic opportunities

• Article in Cardiovascular Research

Grocery Delivery of Healthy Foods to Pregnant Young Women With Low Incomes: Feasibility and Acceptability Mixed Methods Study

• Article in JMIR Formative Research
• December 2020
• 33 mentions in the past week

Grocery Delivery to Support Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes: Protocol for a Pilot Quality Improvement Program

• Article in JMIR Research Protocols

The Movement Science 437 class uses a student in a motion detection sensor suit for a study on how knee injuries inhibit motion.

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Methodology

Research Methods | Definitions, Types, Examples

Research methods are specific procedures for collecting and analyzing data. Developing your research methods is an integral part of your research design . When planning your methods, there are two key decisions you will make.

First, decide how you will collect data . Your methods depend on what type of data you need to answer your research question :

• Qualitative vs. quantitative : Will your data take the form of words or numbers?
• Primary vs. secondary : Will you collect original data yourself, or will you use data that has already been collected by someone else?
• Descriptive vs. experimental : Will you take measurements of something as it is, or will you perform an experiment?

Second, decide how you will analyze the data .

• For quantitative data, you can use statistical analysis methods to test relationships between variables.
• For qualitative data, you can use methods such as thematic analysis to interpret patterns and meanings in the data.

Table of contents

Methods for collecting data, examples of data collection methods, methods for analyzing data, examples of data analysis methods, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research methods.

Data is the information that you collect for the purposes of answering your research question . The type of data you need depends on the aims of your research.

Qualitative vs. quantitative data

Your choice of qualitative or quantitative data collection depends on the type of knowledge you want to develop.

For questions about ideas, experiences and meanings, or to study something that can’t be described numerically, collect qualitative data .

If you want to develop a more mechanistic understanding of a topic, or your research involves hypothesis testing , collect quantitative data .

You can also take a mixed methods approach , where you use both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Primary vs. secondary research

Primary research is any original data that you collect yourself for the purposes of answering your research question (e.g. through surveys , observations and experiments ). Secondary research is data that has already been collected by other researchers (e.g. in a government census or previous scientific studies).

If you are exploring a novel research question, you’ll probably need to collect primary data . But if you want to synthesize existing knowledge, analyze historical trends, or identify patterns on a large scale, secondary data might be a better choice.

Descriptive vs. experimental data

In descriptive research , you collect data about your study subject without intervening. The validity of your research will depend on your sampling method .

In experimental research , you systematically intervene in a process and measure the outcome. The validity of your research will depend on your experimental design .

To conduct an experiment, you need to be able to vary your independent variable , precisely measure your dependent variable, and control for confounding variables . If it’s practically and ethically possible, this method is the best choice for answering questions about cause and effect.

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Your data analysis methods will depend on the type of data you collect and how you prepare it for analysis.

Data can often be analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. For example, survey responses could be analyzed qualitatively by studying the meanings of responses or quantitatively by studying the frequencies of responses.

Qualitative analysis methods

Qualitative analysis is used to understand words, ideas, and experiences. You can use it to interpret data that was collected:

• From open-ended surveys and interviews , literature reviews , case studies , ethnographies , and other sources that use text rather than numbers.
• Using non-probability sampling methods .

Qualitative analysis tends to be quite flexible and relies on the researcher’s judgement, so you have to reflect carefully on your choices and assumptions and be careful to avoid research bias .

Quantitative analysis methods

Quantitative analysis uses numbers and statistics to understand frequencies, averages and correlations (in descriptive studies) or cause-and-effect relationships (in experiments).

You can use quantitative analysis to interpret data that was collected either:

• During an experiment .
• Using probability sampling methods .

Because the data is collected and analyzed in a statistically valid way, the results of quantitative analysis can be easily standardized and shared among researchers.

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If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Chi square test of independence
• Statistical power
• Descriptive statistics
• Degrees of freedom
• Pearson correlation
• Null hypothesis
• Double-blind study
• Case-control study
• Research ethics
• Data collection
• Hypothesis testing
• Structured interviews

Research bias

• Hawthorne effect
• Unconscious bias
• Recall bias
• Halo effect
• Self-serving bias
• Information bias

Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.

Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables and test hypotheses . Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.

In mixed methods research , you use both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods to answer your research question .

A sample is a subset of individuals from a larger population . Sampling means selecting the group that you will actually collect data from in your research. For example, if you are researching the opinions of students in your university, you could survey a sample of 100 students.

In statistics, sampling allows you to test a hypothesis about the characteristics of a population.

The research methods you use depend on the type of data you need to answer your research question .

• If you want to measure something or test a hypothesis , use quantitative methods . If you want to explore ideas, thoughts and meanings, use qualitative methods .
• If you want to analyze a large amount of readily-available data, use secondary data. If you want data specific to your purposes with control over how it is generated, collect primary data.
• If you want to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables , use experimental methods. If you want to understand the characteristics of a research subject, use descriptive methods.

Methodology refers to the overarching strategy and rationale of your research project . It involves studying the methods used in your field and the theories or principles behind them, in order to develop an approach that matches your objectives.

Methods are the specific tools and procedures you use to collect and analyze data (for example, experiments, surveys , and statistical tests ).

In shorter scientific papers, where the aim is to report the findings of a specific study, you might simply describe what you did in a methods section .

In a longer or more complex research project, such as a thesis or dissertation , you will probably include a methodology section , where you explain your approach to answering the research questions and cite relevant sources to support your choice of methods.

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Research at Iowa changes lives—and not just those who benefit from a new medical treatment or technology developed by Hawkeyes.

Research creates an opportunity to have a unique, transformative academic experience. When you get involved in research, you develop practical skills that set you apart in the job market and help you find new areas of specialization you love. 

As one of the country's foremost public research institutions, there's no better place to find those experiences than Iowa. And with support for high-impact, pioneering research at the core of our mission, you can be part of a team that changes the world. 

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Undergraduate students at the University of Iowa not only have plentiful opportunities to work alongside faculty researchers, they make important contributions to science.

Two new grants help train future scientists

Two new Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs funded by the National Science Foundation bring students to Iowa for active participation in research projects.

Iowa researchers, patients giving cancer plenty of fight

Not only does the University of Iowa offer a variety of treatment options for a range of cancers, from the most common types to the rarest, campus investigators are working daily to make those treatments better. And patients play a key role.

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Home Market Research

What is Research: Definition, Methods, Types & Examples

The search for knowledge is closely linked to the object of study; that is, to the reconstruction of the facts that will provide an explanation to an observed event and that at first sight can be considered as a problem. It is very human to seek answers and satisfy our curiosity. Let’s talk about research.

Content Index

What is Research?

What are the characteristics of research.

• Comparative analysis chart

Qualitative methods

Quantitative methods, 8 tips for conducting accurate research.

Research is the careful consideration of study regarding a particular concern or research problem using scientific methods. According to the American sociologist Earl Robert Babbie, “research is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and control the observed phenomenon. It involves inductive and deductive methods.”

Inductive methods analyze an observed event, while deductive methods verify the observed event. Inductive approaches are associated with qualitative research , and deductive methods are more commonly associated with quantitative analysis .

Research is conducted with a purpose to:

• Identify potential and new customers
• Understand existing customers
• Set pragmatic goals
• Develop productive market strategies
• Address business challenges
• Put together a business expansion plan
• Identify new business opportunities
• Good research follows a systematic approach to capture accurate data. Researchers need to practice ethics and a code of conduct while making observations or drawing conclusions.
• The analysis is based on logical reasoning and involves both inductive and deductive methods.
• Real-time data and knowledge is derived from actual observations in natural settings.
• There is an in-depth analysis of all data collected so that there are no anomalies associated with it.
• It creates a path for generating new questions. Existing data helps create more research opportunities.
• It is analytical and uses all the available data so that there is no ambiguity in inference.
• Accuracy is one of the most critical aspects of research. The information must be accurate and correct. For example, laboratories provide a controlled environment to collect data. Accuracy is measured in the instruments used, the calibrations of instruments or tools, and the experiment’s final result.

What is the purpose of research?

There are three main purposes:

• Exploratory: As the name suggests, researchers conduct exploratory studies to explore a group of questions. The answers and analytics may not offer a conclusion to the perceived problem. It is undertaken to handle new problem areas that haven’t been explored before. This exploratory data analysis process lays the foundation for more conclusive data collection and analysis.

LEARN ABOUT: Descriptive Analysis

• Descriptive: It focuses on expanding knowledge on current issues through a process of data collection. Descriptive research describe the behavior of a sample population. Only one variable is required to conduct the study. The three primary purposes of descriptive studies are describing, explaining, and validating the findings. For example, a study conducted to know if top-level management leaders in the 21st century possess the moral right to receive a considerable sum of money from the company profit.

LEARN ABOUT: Best Data Collection Tools

• Explanatory: Causal research or explanatory research is conducted to understand the impact of specific changes in existing standard procedures. Running experiments is the most popular form. For example, a study that is conducted to understand the effect of rebranding on customer loyalty.

Here is a comparative analysis chart for a better understanding:

It begins by asking the right questions and choosing an appropriate method to investigate the problem. After collecting answers to your questions, you can analyze the findings or observations to draw reasonable conclusions.

When it comes to customers and market studies, the more thorough your questions, the better the analysis. You get essential insights into brand perception and product needs by thoroughly collecting customer data through surveys and questionnaires . You can use this data to make smart decisions about your marketing strategies to position your business effectively.

To make sense of your study and get insights faster, it helps to use a research repository as a single source of truth in your organization and manage your research data in one centralized data repository .

Types of research methods and Examples

Research methods are broadly classified as Qualitative and Quantitative .

Both methods have distinctive properties and data collection methods .

Qualitative research is a method that collects data using conversational methods, usually open-ended questions . The responses collected are essentially non-numerical. This method helps a researcher understand what participants think and why they think in a particular way.

Types of qualitative methods include:

• One-to-one Interview
• Focus Groups
• Ethnographic studies
• Text Analysis

Quantitative methods deal with numbers and measurable forms . It uses a systematic way of investigating events or data. It answers questions to justify relationships with measurable variables to either explain, predict, or control a phenomenon.

Types of quantitative methods include:

• Survey research
• Descriptive research
• Correlational research

LEARN MORE: Descriptive Research vs Correlational Research

Remember, it is only valuable and useful when it is valid, accurate, and reliable. Incorrect results can lead to customer churn and a decrease in sales.

It is essential to ensure that your data is:

• Valid – founded, logical, rigorous, and impartial.
• Accurate – free of errors and including required details.
• Reliable – other people who investigate in the same way can produce similar results.
• Timely – current and collected within an appropriate time frame.
• Complete – includes all the data you need to support your business decisions.

Gather insights

• Identify the main trends and issues, opportunities, and problems you observe. Write a sentence describing each one.
• Keep track of the frequency with which each of the main findings appears.
• Make a list of your findings from the most common to the least common.
• Evaluate a list of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats identified in a SWOT analysis .
• Prepare conclusions and recommendations about your study.
• Act on your strategies
• Look for gaps in the information, and consider doing additional inquiry if necessary
• Plan to review the results and consider efficient methods to analyze and interpret results.

Review your goals before making any conclusions about your study. Remember how the process you have completed and the data you have gathered help answer your questions. Ask yourself if what your analysis revealed facilitates the identification of your conclusions and recommendations.

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At UChicago, scholars are continually breaking new ground and exploring new territory—both real and theoretical. Here, you’ll have the intellectual freedom necessary to push boundaries and convention. In this culture of constant questioning through open and spirited debate, you’ll be positioned to do your best work.

An education that transforms

At UChicago, You will do much more than acquire knowledge: you will develop the critical skills necessary to examine, understand, and challenge ideas and assumptions—including your own. It’s a proficiency you will develop in the classroom and use throughout your career.

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The University of Chicago operates a robust library from six locations at the heart of campus, serving both students and scholars. The University of Chicago Press has been publishing books for scholars, students, and general readers since 1892.

One of the resources that enables the University to lead scientific innovation is its affiliation with two U.S. Department of Energy l aboratories—Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab—and the world-renowned Marine Biological Laboratory.

Through its campuses and centers in Beijing, Delhi, Hong Kong, London, and Paris, the University expands opportunities for students and faculty to collaborate on research, while providing a transformative educational experience.

Critical research, innovative thinking, and multi-institutional work bring scholars together across the country and the globe through the University’s more than 140 institutes and centers.

The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and UChicago Charter School both empower and educate students to ask questions, develop paths of inquiry, and challenge conventional thinking.

Supporting the University’s community of scholars by defining our distinctive culture, as well as providing scholars with the opportunities, infrastructure, and resources to do their best work.

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• How Americans View National, Local and Personal Energy Choices

Most Americans want more renewable energy, but support has dipped. Interest in electric vehicles has also declined

Table of contents.

• 1. Views on energy development in the U.S.
• 2. Americans’ views on local wind and solar power development
• 3. Americans’ perceptions of solar power in their own lives
• Acknowledgments
• The American Trends Panel survey methodology
• Appendix: Detailed charts and tables

Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand Americans’ views of energy issues. For this analysis, we surveyed 8,638 U.S. adults from May 13 to 19, 2024.

Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way, nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for this report , along with responses, and its Methodology .

The planet’s continued streak of record heat has spurred calls for action by scientists and global leaders . Meanwhile, in the United States, energy development policy is being hotly debated on the national and local levels this election year. How do Americans feel about U.S. energy policy options, and what steps are they willing to take in their own lives to reduce carbon emissions? A new Pew Research Center survey takes a look.

Among the major findings:

There’s been a decline in the breadth of support for wind and solar power. The shares who favor expanding solar and wind power farms are down 12 percentage points and 11 points, respectively, since 2020, driven by sharp drops in support among Republicans.

Interest in buying an electric vehicle (EV) is lower than a year ago. Today, 29% of Americans say they would consider an EV for their next purchase, down from 38% in 2023.

Still, a majority of Americans (63%) support the goal of the U.S. taking steps to become carbon neutral by 2050. When asked which is the greater priority, far more Americans continue to say the country should focus on developing renewable energy than fossil fuel sources (65% vs. 34%).

The survey, conducted May 13-19 among 8,638 U.S. adults, finds a fairly modest share of U.S. adults (25%) say it’s extremely or very important to them personally to limit their own “carbon footprint.” Far more give this middling or low priority.

These findings illustrate how large shares of Americans back more renewable energy that would decrease overall carbon emissions. Still, this general orientation does not necessarily translate into strong commitment to reducing personal carbon emissions or interest in buying an EV.

Jump to read more on: Trends in views of energy development in the U.S. | Views on wind and solar development at the local level | Perceptions of solar power in people’s own lives

What’s behind declines in support for wind and solar?

Declines in public support for renewable energy have been driven by Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, whose support started to fall sharply after President Joe Biden took office in early 2020.

• 64% of Republicans say they favor more solar panel farms, down from 84% in 2020.
• 56% of Republicans say they favor more wind turbine farms, a 19-point drop from 2020.

Over this same time period, views among Democrats and Democratic leaners on these measures are little changed, with large majorities continuing to support more wind and solar development.

In some cases, gaps between Republicans and Democrats over energy policy now approach the very wide partisan divides seen over the importance of climate change .

In May 2020, Democrats were 26 points more likely than Republicans to say the country’s priority should be developing renewable energy (91% vs. 65%). Four years later, that gap has ballooned to 49 points, due almost entirely to changing views among Republicans – 61% of whom now say developing fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas should be the more important priority.

Jump to more details on partisan differences in views of U.S. energy development.

But changes in attitudes about policies that would reduce carbon emissions are not solely the result of more negative views among Republicans. For instance, the share of Democrats who say they are very or somewhat likely to consider an EV for their next car purchase has declined from 56% to 45% in the last year. And the share of Democrats who call climate change a very big problem for the U.S. has declined from 71% in 2021 to 58% today.

Views within each party

Among Republicans, age matters. Younger Republicans express much more support for renewable energy than do older Republicans. For instance, 67% of Republicans ages 18 to 29 say the country should give priority to wind, solar and hydrogen development. The oldest Republicans (ages 65 and older) take the opposite view: 76% give priority to developing oil, coal and natural gas.

By and large, Democrats are more united in their views on energy. Democrats across age groups broadly support steps that would lower carbon emissions and prioritize renewable sources. But differences emerge over the degree with which to break from fossil fuels: 45% of Democrats say the country should phase out the use of oil, coal and natural gas completely, compared with 53% who say that fossil fuels should remain part of the mix along with renewable sources.

Differences within the two major parties are explored in more detail here .

Views on increasing electric vehicles in the U.S.

Amid a major policy push at the federal level for electric vehicles, Americans are unenthusiastic about steps that would phase out gas-powered vehicles.

In March of this year, the Biden administration announced a rule aimed at dramatically expanding EV sales . Overall, 58% of Americans say they oppose these rules that would make EVs at least half of all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. by 2032. Republicans overwhelmingly oppose this policy (83%). Among Democrats, 64% support these rules to expand EV sales, while 35% say they oppose them.

Americans bought EVs in record numbers last year, but the growth rate is slowing, and interest in EVs has declined. In the current survey, 29% of Americans say they are very or somewhat likely to consider an electric vehicle the next time they purchase a car. Last year, 38% expressed this level of interest in an EV purchase.

Related: About 3 in 10 Americans would seriously consider buying an electric vehicle and the distribution of EV charging stations in the U.S.

Americans’ views on limiting their own ‘carbon footprint’

Discussions about reducing carbon emissions often include the everyday actions people can take to reduce the amount of energy they use . One-in-four Americans say it is extremely or very important to them personally to limit their own “carbon footprint.” Larger shares say this is either somewhat (42%) or not too or not at all (32%) important to them.

Even among Democrats – who express broad support for renewable energy – only 39% say reducing their own carbon footprint is extremely or very important to them personally.

These findings align with a previous Center survey that shows a modest share of Americans (23%) expect to make major sacrifices in their own life because of climate change.

Simply put, the shares of Americans who place the highest priority on limiting their own carbon emissions or expect to make big changes to the way they live because of climate change remain relatively small.

Those who place a high priority on reducing their own carbon footprint – or expect major direct impacts from climate change – are far more likely than other Americans to back aggressive steps to reduce carbon emissions.

For instance, 70% of those who place high importance on reducing their own carbon footprint support rules to dramatically boost EV sales in the U.S. by 2032. Much smaller shares of those who say reducing their carbon footprint is somewhat (43%) or not too or not at all (14%) important support this policy.

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June 25, 2024

Engineers develop faster, more accurate AI algorithm for improving nuclear reactor performance

Rep. Greg Pence, a member of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee (second from right), toured Purdue University Reactor Number One, Indiana’s first and only nuclear reactor, alongside Purdue engineering faculty and research leaders in August 2023. (Purdue University photo/Kelsey Lefever)

Purdue University research reactor serves as test bed for optimizing performance of small modular reactors

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — To expand the availability of electricity generated from nuclear power, several countries have started developing designs for small modular reactors (SMRs), which could take less time and money to construct compared to existing reactors.

Toward this effort, a study conducted at Purdue University has made progress in enabling artificial intelligence to improve monitoring and control of SMRs, possibly offering a way to further cut costs of their operation and maintenance so that they can be more economically viable.

The study, published in Nature’s Scientific Reports , showed how a machine learning algorithm could rapidly learn about the physics behind a measurement of how steadily a reactor is producing power, and predict changes in this indicator over time with 99% accuracy.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Purdue University chosen by Indiana Office of Energy Development for small modular nuclear reactor study
• DOE Undersecretary Richmond visits Purdue nuclear and fluid power facilities
• Greg Pence joins Purdue leadership, faculty to discuss innovation in energy research
• Feasibility study: Advanced nuclear technology is a potential option to achieve zero carbon emissions for Purdue University

The researchers believe that an algorithm like this one, which doesn’t require as much training as other AI methods that have been proposed for predicting a reactor’s performance, might help engineers achieve efficient reactor monitoring and control. It could also allow future operators to monitor and improve a reactor’s performance more effectively over its whole lifespan.

Researchers from Purdue and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory conducted this study using measurements from the Purdue University Reactor Number One (PUR-1) , the first and only reactor in the U.S. licensed with a fully digital instrumentation and control system .

Most existing reactors have analog systems, limiting how much AI can benefit their operation. SMRs, on the other hand, will have digital gauges and sensors, opening a door for AI to collect real-time data and inform their design and performance more comprehensively.

PUR-1’s digital instrumentation and controls make it an ideal test bed for developing and testing AI algorithms.

“We can harmoniously couple the subatomic world with AI systems that can dig into these numbers and extract all kinds of nuggets of information and knowledge about maintaining and improving the machine,” said Konstantinos Prantikos, the first author of this paper and a graduate research assistant in Purdue’s School of Nuclear Engineering .

Only used for educational and research purposes, PUR-1 also is the site of the first “digital twin” nuclear reactor control system on a university campus, which Purdue and Argonne researchers used to conduct this study. The digital twin is a clone of PUR-1 that allows researchers to collect real-time data and realistically simulate the reactor on a computer and experiment without affecting the reactor’s operation. The data is available in real time through a virtual program, which can then be used to view and analyze the data.

“With a digital twin, it’s possible to develop the capability to monitor a reactor remotely. In the future, SMRs could use digital twins to have algorithms running in the background that can predict what’s going to happen in the next minute, in the next hour, and then provide information to the operator to make adjustments,” said Stylianos Chatzidakis , a Purdue assistant professor of nuclear engineering and associate director of PUR-1, whose research group created the reactor’s digital twin.

The Purdue-Argonne team tested the machine learning algorithm’s ability to monitor and predict fluctuations in the number of neutrons released from the reactor core. These neutrons kick-start fission, which is the chemical reaction that allows a reactor to produce power. The reaction relies on neutrons to continuously split uranium-235 atoms, releasing a high volume of energy. Nuclear power plants use this energy to generate electricity.

The algorithm can predict neutron flux for PUR-1 with an error rate below 1% on average, which is sufficient accuracy for monitoring a reactor, the researchers report.

This accuracy is due to how comprehensively the algorithm learned about the reactor’s neutron flux levels. The researchers designed the algorithm to learn from a physics model trained on neutron flux level measurements provided via the digital twin. The algorithm then made predictions on how these levels could change.

The team found that this transfer of learning between the physics model and machine learning algorithm not only improves accuracy, but also happens in just a few seconds, significantly cutting down the training time needed to develop an algorithm that can monitor and improve the performance of a reactor. 

This work builds on previous collaborations between Argonne and Purdue. The two entered into an agreement last year that allows certain researchers to share affiliations to both institutions. Under this joint appointment master agreement , designated researchers will have access to facilities and expertise at both the national laboratory and Purdue. Alexander Heifetz , a principal nuclear engineer at Argonne who collaborated with Purdue on this study, is a visiting scholar in Purdue’s School of Nuclear Engineering through this agreement.

This research is funded by DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy and a donation from Goldman Sachs Gives to the AI Systems Lab at Purdue.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives . 

Writer/Media contact: Kayla Albert, 765-494-2432, [email protected]

Sources have limited availability. Please contact Kayla Albert for interviews.

Physics-informed neural network with transfer learning (TL-PINN) based on domain similarity measure for prediction of nuclear reactor transients Scientific Reports https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-43325-1 The abstract and author list are available online. 

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The role of research at universities: why it matters.

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Teaching and learning, research and discovery, synthesis and creativity, understanding and engagement, service and outreach. There are many “core elements” to the mission of a great university. Teaching would seem the most obvious, but for those outside of the university, “research” (taken to include scientific research, scholarship more broadly, as well as creative activity) may be the least well understood. This creates misunderstanding of how universities invest resources, especially those deriving from undergraduate tuition and state (or other public) support, and the misperception that those resources are being diverted away from what is believed should be the core (and sole) focus, teaching. This has led to a loss of trust, confidence, and willingness to continue to invest or otherwise support (especially our public) universities.

Why are universities engaged in the conduct of research? Who pays? Who benefits? And why does it all matter? Good questions. Let’s get to some straightforward answers. Because the academic research enterprise really is not that difficult to explain, and its impacts are profound.

So let’s demystify university-based research. And in doing so, hopefully we can begin building both better understanding and a better relationship between the public and higher education, both of which are essential to the future of US higher education.   

Why are universities engaged in the conduct of research?

Universities engage in research as part of their missions around learning and discovery. This, in turn, contributes directly and indirectly to their primary mission of teaching. Universities and many colleges (the exception being those dedicated exclusively to undergraduate teaching) have as part of their mission the pursuit of scholarship. This can come in the form of fundamental or applied research (both are most common in the STEM fields, broadly defined), research-based scholarship or what often is called “scholarly activity” (most common in the social sciences and humanities), or creative activity (most common in the arts). Increasingly, these simple categorizations are being blurred, for all good reasons and to the good of the discovery of new knowledge and greater understanding of complex (transdisciplinary) challenges and the creation of increasingly interrelated fields needed to address them.

It goes without saying that the advancement of knowledge (discovery, innovation, creation) is essential to any civilization. Our nation’s research universities represent some of the most concentrated communities of scholars, facilities, and collective expertise engaged in these activities. But more importantly, this is where higher education is delivered, where students develop breadth and depth of knowledge in foundational and advanced subjects, where the skills for knowledge acquisition and understanding (including contextualization, interpretation, and inference) are honed, and where students are educated, trained, and otherwise prepared for successful careers. Part of that training and preparation derives from exposure to faculty who are engaged at the leading-edge of their fields, through their research and scholarly work. The best faculty, the teacher-scholars, seamlessly weave their teaching and research efforts together, to their mutual benefit, and in a way that excites and engages their students. In this way, the next generation of scholars (academic or otherwise) is trained, research and discovery continue to advance inter-generationally, and the cycle is perpetuated.

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University research can be expensive, particularly in laboratory-intensive fields. But the responsibility for much (indeed most) of the cost of conducting research falls to the faculty member. Faculty who are engaged in research write grants for funding (e.g., from federal and state agencies, foundations, and private companies) to support their work and the work of their students and staff. In some cases, the universities do need to invest heavily in equipment, facilities, and personnel to support select research activities. But they do so judiciously, with an eye toward both their mission, their strategic priorities, and their available resources.

Medical research, and medical education more broadly, is expensive and often requires substantial institutional investment beyond what can be covered by clinical operations or externally funded research. But universities with medical schools/medical centers have determined that the value to their educational and training missions as well as to their communities justifies the investment. And most would agree that university-based medical centers are of significant value to their communities, often providing best-in-class treatment and care in midsize and smaller communities at a level more often seen in larger metropolitan areas.

Research in the STEM fields (broadly defined) can also be expensive. Scientific (including medical) and engineering research often involves specialized facilities or pieces of equipment, advanced computing capabilities, materials requiring controlled handling and storage, and so forth. But much of this work is funded, in large part, by federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Energy, US Department of Agriculture, and many others.

Research in the social sciences is often (not always) less expensive, requiring smaller amount of grant funding. As mentioned previously, however, it is now becoming common to have physical, natural, and social scientist teams pursuing large grant funding. This is an exciting and very promising trend for many reasons, not the least of which is the nature of the complex problems being studied.

Research in the arts and humanities typically requires the least amount of funding as it rarely requires the expensive items listed previously. Funding from such organizations as the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and private foundations may be able to support significant scholarship and creation of new knowledge or works through much more modest grants than would be required in the natural or physical sciences, for example.

Philanthropy may also be directed toward the support of research and scholarly activity at universities. Support from individual donors, family foundations, private or corporate foundations may be directed to support students, faculty, labs or other facilities, research programs, galleries, centers, and institutes.

Who benefits?

Students, both undergraduate and graduate, benefit from studying in an environment rich with research and discovery. Besides what the faculty can bring back to the classroom, there are opportunities to engage with faculty as part of their research teams and even conduct independent research under their supervision, often for credit. There are opportunities to learn about and learn on state-of-the-art equipment, in state-of-the-art laboratories, and from those working on the leading edge in a discipline. There are opportunities to co-author, present at conferences, make important connections, and explore post-graduate pathways.

The broader university benefits from active research programs. Research on timely and important topics attracts attention, which in turn leads to greater institutional visibility and reputation. As a university becomes known for its research in certain fields, they become magnets for students, faculty, grants, media coverage, and even philanthropy. Strength in research helps to define a university’s “brand” in the national and international marketplace, impacting everything from student recruitment, to faculty retention, to attracting new investments.

The community, region, and state benefits from the research activity of the university. This is especially true for public research universities. Research also contributes directly to economic development, clinical, commercial, and business opportunities. Resources brought into the university through grants and contracts support faculty, staff, and student salaries, often adding additional jobs, contributing directly to the tax base. Research universities, through their expertise, reputation, and facilities, can attract new businesses into their communities or states. They can also launch and incubate startup companies, or license and sell their technologies to other companies. Research universities often host meeting and conferences which creates revenue for local hotels, restaurants, event centers, and more. And as mentioned previously, university medical centers provide high-quality medical care, often in midsize communities that wouldn’t otherwise have such outstanding services and state-of-the-art facilities.

(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

And finally, why does this all matter?

Research is essential to advancing society, strengthening the economy, driving innovation, and addressing the vexing and challenging problems we face as a people, place, and planet. It’s through research, scholarship, and discovery that we learn about our history and ourselves, understand the present context in which we live, and plan for and secure our future.

Research universities are vibrant, exciting, and inspiring places to learn and to work. They offer opportunities for students that few other institutions can match – whether small liberal arts colleges, mid-size teaching universities, or community colleges – and while not right for every learner or every educator, they are right for many, if not most. The advantages simply cannot be ignored. Neither can the importance or the need for these institutions. They need not be for everyone, and everyone need not find their way to study or work at our research universities, and we stipulate that there are many outstanding options to meet and support different learning styles and provide different environments for teaching and learning. But it’s critically important that we continue to support, protect, and respect research universities for all they do for their students, their communities and states, our standing in the global scientific community, our economy, and our nation.

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Jun 25, 2024

California to focus on pandemic preparedness and prevention through precision medicine research

What you need to know: California is set to leverage the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to further design and harness new technologies and tools to prepare for and prevent future pandemics.

Sacramento, California – Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced an agreement to enhance the state’s ability to prepare for and potentially prevent the next pandemic by integrating the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine into the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) and broadening its scope to include technologies relevant to pandemic prevention. Precision medicine, particularly when used with advanced diagnostic tools for infectious diseases, has the potential to alleviate the burdens of future pandemics by enabling early detection, faster response, and more effective countermeasures.

“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the necessity for robust public-private partnerships to respond rapidly to emerging public health threats. By harnessing the power of precision medicine, California is moving to the forefront of pandemic preparedness and prevention.” Governor Gavin Newsom

Why this matters

Pandemic preparedness and prevention are critical to safeguarding public health and ensuring societal and economic resilience against infectious disease outbreaks. This involves a multi-faceted approach that includes early detection through advanced diagnostics, rapid response mechanisms, and the integration of data and technology to monitor and predict disease trends. Strengthening healthcare infrastructure, enhancing the public health workforce, and fostering community engagement are also essential components. By strategically investing in precision medicine research to develop next-generation tools and approaches, the state can achieve a more targeted and effective response to infectious diseases.

Key context

The California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine was launched in 2015 to support collaborative research and foster partnerships between the state, researchers, patients, communities, and industry to further the aims of this approach to health and medicine. Precision medicine aims to use advanced computing tools to aggregate, integrate, and analyze vast amounts of data from research, clinical, environmental, and population health settings, to better understand health and disease, and to develop and deliver more targeted diagnostics, therapeutics, and prevention measures.

Experts weigh in

• Max Henderson, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chief Data Scientist at CovidActNow, a US-based non-profit formed in April 2020 to provide modeling and infrastructure to track the spread of the pandemic:  “The time to prepare is now. California already has many promising technologies to mitigate future pandemics, but we need consistent focus to drive down costs and deploy them in the field. This new focus on pandemic prevention will help California lead the way in preventing the loss of life, economic devastation, and large scale shutdowns from future outbreaks. I commend the Newsom administration for pledging to carry on this important work.”
• Dr. Mark Ghaly, CalHHS Secretary:  “California aims to set a new standard for pandemic preparedness and prevention, ensuring a safer and healthier future for all residents,” “This move underscores California’s commitment to advancing public health through innovation.”
• Dr. Steve Luby, Director of Research at the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health and globally renowned expert in pandemic prevention:  “There are very few actions we can take in this world that could result in alleviating more suffering and saving more lives than preventing another global pandemic – I am glad to see Governor Newsom and the State of California pick up that torch to help Californians and all of humanity.”

Bigger picture

This reorganization and expansion is reflected in AB/SB 164. Once this legislation is passed by the Legislature, Californians Against Pandemics, proponents of a ballot initiative eligible for the November 2024 ballot that would create the California Institute for Pandemic Prevention, have agreed to withdraw their measure.

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What can polls tell us in 2024?

John lapinski, the robert a. fox leadership professor of political science and director of the robert a. fox leadership program and the penn program on opinion research and election studies, talks polling in this presidential election year..

If there is one thing Americans can count on during any presidential election year, it’s the constant commentary about polls. But how has polling changed in the digital age? How accurately can polls predict election outcomes? What purpose do they serve?

John Lapinski , the Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor of Political Science and director of the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program and the Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies (PORES) , addresses these questions. Lapinski also directs the Elections Unit at NBC News, where he is responsible for projecting races for the network and producing election-related stories through exit polls.

“There have been misses with polling recently,” Lapinski admits. “Is it critically important that people have a sense of who may or may not win an election before election night? I don’t think so, but it is important, given that we live in an electoral democracy, that we have some way of measuring public opinion; otherwise, the people elected to represent us won’t know what we want.”

Lapinski notes that polling has changed dramatically over the decades. “We’ve seen big differences in response rates when using online methods versus telephone. There are differences in subgroups within a population, and it’s very pronounced with younger people,” he says.

“We’re doing a huge experiment right now at PORES, running five different surveys, including telephone interviews with both landline and cellphone interviews, a text survey, and two different online methods.”

In general, Lapinski says, polls can’t predict turnout. However, “one of the beautiful aspects of election polls is that you can determine whether they’re accurate or not because elections happen. Here’s what the poll said, here’s what the results said.”  

This year’s election, he adds, will be “super close.”

This story is by Jane Carroll. Read more at OMNIA .

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'Youth are our future'? Think again. LGBTQ+ youth activism is already making an impact.

At Pride parades and protests , adults often voice a sentiment of hope for young generations: “The youth are the future.”

Forget about the future, Alyssa Wainaina would tell you – youth are doing the work right now. The 24-year-old community organizer with the non-profit Advocates for Youth has been in activism for 10 years, securing gender-neutral bathrooms in Idaho public schools, attending protests and advocating for reproductive rights and gender-affirming care . A 2022 survey from research firm Edelman found that 70% of Gen Zers are involved in a social or political cause.

“Young people have consistently been at the front of movement work,” Wainaina said. “Saying ‘youth are the future’ is … not the full story. Youth are the past and the present and the future."

But their efforts can be even more fruitful with the support of adults, said Faith Cardillo, a 19-year-old member of the nonprofit Queer Youth Assemble and the founder of Bulletproof Pride , a gun violence prevention nonprofit.

"Are we going to use our voice? Yes, should we have to by ourselves? Absolutely not," Cardillo said.

LGBTQ+ youth present and looking forward

Wainaina understands that forward-looking sentiment often comes from older activists who know how long it takes to bring about change.

But the future focus also drives long-time activists, like Cathy Renna, director of communications at the National LGBTQ+ Task Force, nuts. She finds it “a little bit insulting."

"I say that as a near-60-year-old," she said. "I can’t imagine how it makes young people feel, it’s patronizing.” She prioritizes working with young people, not because they are the "future," but because that’s “where the energy is,” she said.

Young people long been crucial to LGBTQ+ activism

With social media , Gen Z is certainly shaking up how activism is done. But that doesn’t mean youth organizing is new.

After the 1969 Stonewall uprising, the LGBTQ+ movement became less about respectability politics and more about liberation. Several youth groups emerged in the following decade.

These youth groups grew out of necessity, said Eric Denby, a history and social sciences instructor at Phillips Academy in Massachusetts. Young people were often left out of the mainstream because older LGBTQ+ activists feared being associated with minors would lead them to be labeled predators, a troubling concern historically wielded against the LGBTQ+ community. Rather than just focusing on the fight for legal rights, LGBTQ+ teenagers wanted peer-led spaces to support an array of pressing issues, addressing their housing and employment needs and providing emotional support for youth experiencing homophobia, Denby said. 

In fact, many present at the Stonewall riots were young people. The legal drinking age in New York was 18 in 1969, and Stonewall had a reputation for letting in even younger patrons, Denby found in his research.

“They’ve got that energy and the naivete,” Denby said. “They haven’t been beaten down by a system that’s designed to beat them down.”

Pluto Fitch, a 17-year-old member of Queer Youth Assemble, said that energy is what makes youth activism so successful. In the past few years, Queer Youth Assemble members have hosted walkouts across the country, offered peer support and created educational materials to share on social media – all while juggling high school and college responsibilities.

“There have been so many recent bills that have been trying to shut us down and we’re not having it. We’re completely going against it and we want to be ourselves,” Fitch said. “We’ve got the energy, we mostly have the time and we want to get it fixed before we are old enough that it can’t be done anymore.”

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Young people want activism to look different

In peer-led spaces, young activists don’t have to ask permission to fight for what’s important to them.

“We’re not treated as people who can be leaders,” said Queer Youth Assemble Co-President Alia Cusolito, 18. “There are very full human beings existing right now who are young and have dreams and hopes for their own lives that they want to fulfill and they should be able to do that.”

Being a young activist means thinking creatively.

“Obviously, we’ve seen that systemically, the old way doesn’t work,” Cardillo said. “Just hosting a rally once or maybe twice in a few areas that may be hubs for queer identities – that doesn’t work.”

On a video call with USA TODAY, Queer Youth Assemble members between 14 and 19 described hours-long Zoom hangouts, the thousands of TikTok comments they sorted through when organizing a national walkout and the birthday cards and postcards they sent to queer youth across the country. Only a handful of them have met in real life, but they've created a safe space online.

Social media is in part to thank for this. But that much visibility online can lead to safety concerns. Queer Youth Assemble marches and protests have received several “mass violence threats,” Cusolito said. It's not uncommon for social media discourse to lead to real-life threats. In November 2023, a USA TODAY investigation confirmed dozens of bomb threats, death threats and other harassment after popular conservative social media channels posted about LGBTQ+ events.

But the threats won't undermine their vision for the future. They prioritize lived experiences over statistics. They don’t care about aligning themselves with corporate allies who sell rainbow merch during June , Cusolito says. And young people are emphasizing intersectionality, an interconnected understanding of identity and oppression.

“Our generation is working really hard to radically decenter whiteness in our organizing work,” Wainaina said. “We focus on the most marginalized communities so that all of us can benefit.”

More than 500 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in 2024, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, many of them targeting trans and nonbinary individuals. Trans people are more likely to be in poverty than their cisgender counterparts, even more likely if they are people of color .

How adults can support youth activists

The older generation can do the most for youth activists by being present, Wainaina said: “The most important thing is to be a ride or die for these youth activists.” Adults need to let young people create new ways of organizing. To let them lead and even fail on their way.

Generations working together is key to success, Denby said. Some of the longest-lasting youth groups from the 70s and 80s were peer-led but had the assistance of experienced, adult activists who could navigate bureaucracy, he explained. 

“The whole world is run by adults,” Cusolito echoed. “So expecting young people to take on the burden of changing everything when they don’t let us actually have the power to do those things is completely unfair.”

It’s also the responsibility of adults to create safe spaces for queer youth as their autonomy is threatened on state and federal levels , said Kazz Alexander, a co-chair of NYC Pride . NYC Youth Pride, for example, is a free event with music, carnival games, educational resources, food, a glam tent and a wellness tent for reflective moments.

“It’s a reflection of the time that we’re in – folks are trying to remove the safety of young people under the guise of providing it,” Alexander said. “But this is actually what providing a safe space looks like.”