Research Matters

In this eye-opening episode of Research Matters, David Rand, professor in the Cornell Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, and the College of Arts and Sciences, reveals how AI actually sways what we think – even how we vote. Packed with insight, practical takeaways, and a peek into the future of AI in our daily lives, this episode is a must-listen for anyone curious about how technology shapes our choices.  Watch here.

Kirsten Kurtz, assistant director of the Cornell Soil Health Lab, discusses her practice of painting with soil, the need for creativity in science and why “the skin of the earth” is more than just dirt.

Chloé Arson, professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in Cornell Engineering, discusses her interest in rock mechanics and geothermal heat, addresses common misunderstandings about the technology and recounts the unexpected, zigzagging journey that led to her becoming a literal rock star.

Climate change and flagging investment in research and development has U.S. agriculture facing its first productivity slowdown in decades. Ariel Ortiz-Bobea, associate professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, explains what is needed to reverse course: a level of public R&D spending growth that hasn’t been seen in the U.S. since the years following World War I and World War II. Read more: Large-scale investment in research needed to maintain U.S. agriculture

Academia can be a very siloed place, but Itai Cohen, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, has managed to work on an incredibly eclectic range of projects, from studying the neuroscience behind insect flight, to making origami-like solar materials that wrap buildings, to creating tiny diffractive microrobots that can probe the microscopic world. He reflects on where his diverse interests and collaborations have led him, and the role that fear played in the evolution of his scientific trajectory.
Read about the tiniest walking robot and its micro-measurements.

As social media platforms deployed psychological “inoculation” on a large scale, hoping to help people spot techniques common to misinformation, Gordon Pennycook, associate professor and Himan Brown Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology and College of Arts and Sciences, had doubts about its effectiveness. He discusses new research identifying a way to strengthen inoculations, and why he began studying misinformation.
Read more about it.

A $7 million restoration of Cornell's McGraw Tower and Uris Library, underway since summer 2023 and expected to be completed in November, includes replacing roofs, repairing masonry and shoring up a century-old entryway.

New York state agencies are encouraging hunters to choose non-lead ammunition to benefit both wild animals and humans, with help from Cornell communication and wildlife experts.

A new study found that only about 5% of Adirondack lakes may continue to maintain water that is cold and oxygenated enough to support cold-water species given current trends. 

Providing teenagers opportunities to affirm positive aspects of their identities and values can help bolster their self-esteem and ease transitions to high school, new Cornell psychology research finds.