A March 21 story featuring Noah Diffenbaugh called “Heavy California rains par for the course for climate change” was the most popular story in Stanford Report in 2017. In that story, the climatologist explains why heavy rains during a drought are to be expected for a state in the throes of climate change. Image credit: Kurt Hickman Former Provost John Etchemendy’s letter to the Stanford community appeared in Stanford Report on Jan. 9. In it, Etchemendy addressed issues such as Title IX and the fate of the Stanford Band. Etchemendy’s essay, which followed on Feb. 21, was called “The threat from within.” It was based on a speech he gave to the Stanford Board of Trustees. It addressed his concerns about growing intellectual intolerance at universities. Both were among the most popular stories in Stanford Report in 2017. Image credit: L.A. Cicero Just prior to the solar eclipse of 2017 on Aug. 21, scholars from the Graduate School of Education suggested how teachers and parents could use the event as a learning opportunity for children. That story proved to be popular among readers of Stanford Report. Image credit: Getty Images Data exposure became an issue for individuals, organizations and corporations throughout 2017, including Stanford. That concern led to “Stanford offers best practices for protecting personal privacy” on Sept. 13. Image credit: Getty Images Graduate School of Business coverage of Robert Sutton’s new book, The Asshole Survival Guide, was the among the most popular stories (“Work with a jerk? Here’s how to survive”) in 2017. It appeared in Stanford Report on Sept. 15. A Stanford Medical School story, “Caffeine may counter age-related inflammation” appeared on Jan. 18. The story highlighted a study by Mark Davis and his colleagues that unearthed a connection between advancing age, systemic inflammation, cardiovascular disease and caffeine consumption. Image credit: Getty Images A story about the projects planned for the northeast part of the Stanford campus appeared on June 9 and was among the most popular stories of the year. The story, called “East Campus construction to ramp up in summer,” highlighted the Escondido Village Graduate Residences, which will add 2,431 graduate student beds in four residential buildings. Image credit: Stanford Land, Buildings & Real Estate “Making the perfect first-year roommate match” proved popular with Stanford Report readers as the campus prepared for the fall quarter. The story explained the work of sophomore Cesar Arevalo and senior Devin Norder, whose summer job was to match first-year students as Stanford’s undergraduate housing coordinators. Image credit: L.A. Cicero A question-and-answer feature created by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, “Q&A with Stanford experts on the president’s climate agreement decision,” was among the most popular stories in Stanford Report in 2017. The story highlighted the opinions of environmental scholars who assessed the president’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. Image credit: Getty Images A June 8 story in which scholars offered their analysis of the congressional testimony by former FBI Director James Comey was popular among Stanford Report readers in 2017. Image credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon Researchers led by Jose Montoya found evidence inflammation may be the culprit behind chronic fatigue syndrome, a disease with no known cure. The School of Medicine story, “Researchers identify biomarkers associated with chronic fatigue syndrome severity,” ran on Aug. 1 and was among the most popular Stanford Report stories in 2017. Image credit: Steve Fisch A July 15 story announcing the passing of mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, the first and only woman to win the Fields Medal, was among the most opened stories in Stanford Report in 2017. She died at 40 of breast cancer. The Fields Medal is awarded every four years on the occasion of the International Congress of Mathematicians to recognize outstanding mathematical achievement for existing work and for the promise of future achievement. Image credit: L.A. Cicero Stanford’s announcement on Sept. 28 of the Middle Plaza project to revitalize vacant lots in Menlo Park was among the most popular stories in Stanford Report in 2017. The story discussed plans to turn an 8.4-acre stretch of vacant car lots along El Camino Real into a vibrant mix of housing, offices and retail with a strong village character. Image credit: DES Architects + Engineers and the Darlin Group Architecture Fullscreen