Before an assembly of Henderson-Hopkins students, Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels will join Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, widow of the late Congressman Elijah Cummings, and artist Christopher Batten, to honor the legacy of Cummings by unveiling his portrait, which was commissioned by Johns Hopkins University for the Homewood campus. The artist will also lead portraiture painting workshops with the students.
Recent news from The Johns Hopkins University
This section contains regularly updated highlights of the news from around The Johns Hopkins University. Links to the complete news reports from the nine schools, the Applied Physics Laboratory and other centers and institutes are to the left, as are links to help news media contact the Johns Hopkins communications offices.
Johns Hopkins Astrophysicist Charles Bennett Receives Rumford Prize
The American Academy of Arts & Sciences has awarded Johns Hopkins University astrophysicist Charles L. Bennett one of the oldest and most celebrated awards in science, the Rumford Prize, an honor Bennett now shares with Thomas Edison and the scientists that invented instant photography and the world’s first nuclear reactor.
In nominating Bennett for the award, the American Academy credited him with a singular achievement in advancing humankind’s understanding of the universe, writing “the single most significant experiment—the one that transformed our view of the Universe from a rough sketch to a remarkably precise picture—was the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe led by Chuck Bennett. “
Bill Miller Donates $50 Million to JHU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy
Legendary investor and philanthropist William H. “Bill” Miller III has made a lead gift of $50 million in a combined $75 million philanthropic effort to support Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Miller’s $50 million commitment will fund endowed professorships, postdoctoral fellowships, and graduate research, and will provide ongoing support for research infrastructure. His gift also served as the impetus for two anonymous donors to support the department as well, expanding to $75 million the funding to advance key areas of physics research.
Johns Hopkins University Expands Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships
Johns Hopkins University announced today it will recruit an additional 50 Bloomberg Distinguished Professors (BDPs), doubling the current cohort of BDPs at the university. These world-class faculty members will lead research into the shared challenges facing humanity, and foster interdisciplinary collaboration across the institution. This new investment will double the total number of BDPs to 100 and make this interdisciplinary research program the largest of its kind in the nation.
Spiders’ Web Secrets Unraveled
Johns Hopkins University researchers discovered precisely how spiders build webs by using night vision and artificial intelligence to track and record every movement of all eight legs as spiders worked in the dark.
Their creation of a web-building playbook or algorithm brings new understanding of how creatures with brains a fraction of the size of a human’s are able to create structures of such elegance, complexity and geometric precision. The findings, now available online, are set to publish in the November issue of Current Biology.
Johns Hopkins Pioneers Method to Examine How Immunotherapy Changes Tumors
Johns Hopkins University engineers are the first to use a non-invasive optical probe to understand the complex changes in tumors after immunotherapy, a treatment that harnesses the immune system to fight cancer. Their method combines detailed mapping of the biochemical composition of tumors with machine learning.
Holiday Shopping Concerns Emerge for Buyers and Retailers
With fewer than 50 days until Black Friday, it’s beginning to look like supply chain issues could severely disrupt holiday shopping in the United States, affecting availability of everything from apparel to toys to electronics and even groceries.
Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School Professor Tinglong Dai says the concerns are due to a perfect storm of supply chain shortages, evident in the record-level congestion at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach that has spread to the East Coast, the widespread power outages across China, shortages of truck drivers and service workers, and COVID-19-fueled infections and restrictions.
Johns Hopkins Finds Thousands of Unknown Chemicals in E-Cigarettes
Vaping aerosols contain thousands of unknown chemicals and substances not disclosed by manufacturers, including industrial chemicals and caffeine, Johns Hopkins University researchers found.
The study is the first to apply to vaping liquids and aerosols an advanced fingerprinting technique used to identify chemicals in food and wastewater. The results, just published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, suggest people who vape are using a product whose risks have yet to be fully determined and could be exposing themselves to chemicals with adverse health effects.
Johns Hopkins Health Disparities Researcher Lisa Cooper Appointed by Biden to President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
Lisa Cooper, MD, MPH, a pioneering public health disparities researcher, general internist, and professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Nursing, has been appointed to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) by President Joe Biden. The White House announced the appointment today.
Johns Hopkins Expert Can Discuss Legality of Workplace, Government Vaccine Mandates
President Biden recently ordered that businesses with more than 100 employees require workers to get a COVID-19 shot or test negative for the virus at least once a week, joining many other workplaces nationwide that already initiated such requirements. A Johns Hopkins University expert in business law, health law, and negotiation is available to offer context and commentary about vaccination mandates.
The Science Behind the Appeal of Pumpkin Spice
Fall is still days away but at coffee shops and grocery stores, it’s already peak autumn thanks to the arrival of a certain flavor that has come to signal the season’s unofficial start. Everyone knows, it’s pumpkin spice time.
But why?
Johns Hopkins University perception researchers can say a key to understanding why people love pumpkin spice is the smell of it. Those notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger trigger deeply rooted cozy memories of autumn.
Johns Hopkins Undergraduate Team Named Finalist in Collegiate Inventors Competition
A team of Johns Hopkins University students are among the finalists in the Collegiate Inventors Competition for their invention of a device to reduce pain from nerve damage in people with amputations.
MEDIA ADVISORY: Grand Opening Set for Henderson-Hopkins School, Community Track and Field
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels will lace up their running shoes Monday for the grand opening of the Henderson-Hopkins school’s new track.
Eyeglasses for School Kids Boosts Academic Performance
Students who received eyeglasses through a school-based program scored higher on reading and math tests, Johns Hopkins researchers from the Wilmer Eye Institute and School of Education found in the largest clinical study of the impact of glasses on education ever conducted in the United States. The students who struggled the most academically showed the greatest improvement.
Hurricane Ida: Johns Hopkins Experts Can Discuss What Lies Ahead for Hard-Hit Areas
August 30, 2021 Kait Howard Cell: 443-301-7993 kehoward@jhu.edu jhunews@jhu.edu As Louisiana officials assess the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida, Johns Hopkins University experts can discuss anticipated damage, the effectiveness of the levee system, and next steps for search-and-rescue efforts and restoring power. Available experts include: Gonzalo Pita is an associate scientist and director of the […]
Hurricane Ida: Johns Hopkins Experts Can Discuss Threats Posed by the Storm
August 29, 2021 Kait Howard Cell: 443-301-7993 kehoward@jhu.edu jhunews@jhu.edu As the Gulf Coast braces for a potentially devastating Category 4 hurricane, Johns Hopkins University experts can discuss possible trajectories the storm can take, and what can be done to lessen the damage. Available experts include: A climate modeler, Anand Gnanadesikan looks at the atmospheric and […]
School Can be Scary in a Pandemic: Johns Hopkins Team Created App to Help Teachers Know How Kids are Feeling
Two Johns Hopkins University researchers who study classroom stress and the emotional well-being of students and teachers have released an app that allows teachers to get daily reports about how their students are feeling.
Though the tool wasn’t created for the pandemic, it certainly has come in handy over the last year as educators struggle to keep tabs on students, especially if they’re teaching remotely.
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Team Details Lack of Daily Data on COVID-19
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center today published a new graphic visualization and analysis detailing the troubling trend of U.S. states eliminating daily reporting of COVID-19 data.
According to Coronavirus Resource Center experts, the reduction in daily reporting on cases, hospitalizations, deaths, and other vital data is taking place at a time when more public data is needed, not less — as the highly transmissible Delta variant is driving a new surge in the pandemic.
Blind People Can’t See Color but Understand It the Same Way as Sighted People
People born blind have never seen that bananas are yellow but Johns Hopkins University researchers find that like any sighted person, they understand two bananas are likely to be the same color and why. Questioning the belief that dates back to philosopher John Locke that people born blind could never truly understand color, the team of cognitive neuroscientists demonstrated that congenitally blind and sighted individuals actually understand it quite similarly.
Delta, Mask Mandates, Worried Parents: JHU Experts Can Discuss Back-to-School Concerns
Children nationwide are returning to school but not all regions are following CDC guidance on mask-wearing. Johns Hopkins University experts can offer perspective and context on the mixed messages parents, teachers and students are hearing, and what educators should be doing to prepare schools.
Johns Hopkins Expert Can Discuss Apple’s Plan to Monitor iPhones for Child Sexual Abuse
Apple has announced plans to scan iPhones and other Apple devices for images of child sexual abuse and report them to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A Johns Hopkins University expert is available to discuss how the technology works, as well as potential privacy concerns.
New Tool Predicts Sudden Death in Inflammatory Heart Disease
Johns Hopkins University scientists have developed a new tool for predicting which patients suffering from a complex inflammatory heart disease are at risk of sudden cardiac arrest.