Stanford News

JackRabbot 2: The polite pedestrian robot

Like its predecessor, JackRabbot 2 is learning how to navigate safely through spaces occupied by people, following the rules of human etiquette. What it learns could help it move comfortably among us in the future.

Science & Technology

Cash, carbon, crude: How to make oil fields bury emissions

A new analysis looks at what it would take for oil companies to start pumping millions of tons of carbon dioxide into their wells to boost crude production – and what it would mean for the climate.

Science & Technology

Last straw: The path to reducing plastic pollution

Driven by public pressure, governments and corporations are considering eliminating or phasing out single-use plastics such as straws. Stanford experts discuss the limitations of these bans and the potential for meaningful change.

Science & Technology

Can machine learning bring more humanity to health care?

Many Stanford Medicine projects combine artificial intelligence technologies with medical expertise to help doctors make faster, more informed and humane decisions.

Law & Policy

Government hacking raises new security concerns

A cryptography expert at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society examines U.S. government hacking and the security concerns it entails.

In the Spotlight

Teaching & Students

Learning en plein air

At Stanford University, gardens beckon visitors to learn en plein air – about small-scale sustainable farming, sun-loving desert plants and sculpture.

Science & Technology

Is our universe one of many?

This five-part series tells the story of how theoretical physicists at Stanford helped develop the String Theory Landscape – and in the process sparked a fierce and still ongoing debate about what science is and what it should be.

Humanities

Diving into the medieval world

A group of Stanford humanities professors and their students have been analyzing medieval manuscripts and artifacts to better understand how current societies and cultures developed.

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Science & Technology

X-rays uncover a hidden property that leads to failure in a lithium-ion battery material

Experiments at SLAC and Berkeley Lab uproot long-held assumptions and will inform future battery design.

Science & Technology

Hurricane Florence: The science behind the storm

Atmospheric scientist Morgan O’Neill discusses what’s driving Hurricane Florence, why it’s unusual and how it could be connected to climate change and other storms brewing in the Atlantic.

Humanities

Did crafting beer lead to cereal cultivation?

Stanford researchers have found the oldest archaeological evidence of beer brewing, a discovery that supports the hypothesis that in some regions, beer may have been an underlying motivation to cultivate cereals.

Science & Technology

Could water utilities transform the way the electric sector did?

A newly developed model looks at how updated regulations and financing options could help renew our aging water infrastructure.

University Affairs

Stanford principles regarding immigration

As events continue to unfold regarding federal immigration policy, a website has been created where Stanford leaders summarize the principles of the university’s support for international and undocumented community members. Also found on the site are links to resources for the Stanford community.

Arts & Creativity

Sculpture installed at Stanford University’s Denning House anchors new art collection

The 17-foot bronze sculpture is by Ursula von Rydingsvard, who will visit campus next month for a formal dedication of the artwork and to speak with students.

Social Sciences

Study suggests Facebook’s war on fake news is gaining ground

In one of the first studies of its kind, Stanford economist Matthew Gentzkow is shedding light on a key question: Are Facebook's countermeasures making a difference?

University Affairs

Stanford will seek to rename Serra Mall in honor of Jane Stanford

Two campus buildings currently named for Junipero Serra, the founder of the California mission system, also will be renamed, but other campus references to Serra and the mission system will be retained, based on a set of university committee recommendations that have been accepted by the Board of Trustees.

Science & Technology

Measuring the wind

Modeling wind power is a complicated feat that involves predicting how air will flow over the individual turbine blades as they interact with wind near the earth’s surface, a region scientists call the atmospheric boundary layer. Precisely capturing such a span of variables—ranging in size from meters to kilometers—takes an extraordinary amount of computing power.

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