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Is the state of nature fair? Researchers measured how biomass is distributed in microbial communities
HELSINKI, Finland, Aug. 7 -- The University of Helsinki issued the following news release:
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Is the state of nature fair? Researchers measured how biomass is distributed in microbial communities
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The distribution of income and growing inequality are central themes in public debate. Far less attention has been paid to how resources are distributed in ecological communities, in the so-called state of nature, without any social contract.
Species abundance distributions have been studied extensively in ecology, but descriptively. They largely follow a distribution similar to human wealth.
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HELSINKI, Finland, Aug. 7 -- The University of Helsinki issued the following news release:
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Is the state of nature fair? Researchers measured how biomass is distributed in microbial communities
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The distribution of income and growing inequality are central themes in public debate. Far less attention has been paid to how resources are distributed in ecological communities, in the so-called state of nature, without any social contract.
Species abundance distributions have been studied extensively in ecology, but descriptively. They largely follow a distribution similar to human wealth.Yet the fairness of that distribution has rarely been examined.
Teemu Kuosmanen, a researcher in computer science and in organismal and evolutionary biology at the University of Helsinki, has explored the question with microbes as part of the, funded by the Research Council of Finland. The study examined whether the biomass of a microbial community is distributed among species meritocratically, that is, according to how much each species actually contributes to the community.
"In economics, free competition, which natural selection embodies, is generally thought to lead to an efficient and meritocratic outcome. But we have practically no idea whether the state of nature is a fair and meritocratic place," Kuosmanen says.
#The environment affected the fairness of microbial growth
The study assembled 14 microbial communities, each containing four bacterial species. The communities were grown in four different environments: favourable control conditions and more challenging conditions under three different antibiotics. The microbes were left to grow until the community reached equilibrium, after which the researchers measured what proportion of the biomass each species obtained.
A species' contribution is not measured in isolation but in relation to how the whole community grows. This way, synergies between species are also taken into account. Some species may, for example, produce public goods that break down antibiotics and thereby enable other species to grow as well. Others may directly hinder the growth of others and so lower the community's total output.
Some communities distributed their growth in a highly meritocratic way, while others were systematically unfair. Some communities were fair only in certain environments.
In the strongest antibiotic environment, the biomass accumulated almost entirely in a single key species. The fairness of a distribution cannot, however, be inferred directly from the realised distribution: both evenly and very unevenly distributed communities could be fair.
"Overall, though, we found that the realised ecological distribution was more unequal than the corresponding, fully meritocratic distribution."
#How is fairness calculated?
The fairness measure chosen was the Shapley value, a concept from game theory. Developed in economics, the Shapley value is a widely accepted solution to how a shared output or shared costs should be divided fairly among the parties. The Shapley distribution can be shown to be the only one that satisfies certain mathematical axioms of fairness.
Computing the Shapley value is often difficult in practice, however, because the contribution of the same member can differ depending on the community and the environment. Its value depends on the context in which it is measured, just as a person may make a large contribution in one community and a small one in another.
To determine a fair distribution, a community's growth therefore has to be measured in all subcommunities, as was done in this experiment.
#Unfairness may be explained by historical dependencies
A community's earlier stages and differences in the starting situation can also affect the outcome. It is known, for example, that different microbial species need slightly varying time to adjust before they can grow in a new environment. This is called the lag phase.
"We noticed that species with a short lag phase generally received the fair share matching their contribution. Species with a longer lag phase, in turn, either suffered or benefited from the fact that some other species were able to grow before them. In this way, various historical dependencies can sustain unfairness even when the distribution mechanism itself is fair."
Can the study draw any conclusions about whether the state of nature is fair?
"The result can be seen as a new opening, made with randomly assembled communities. The Shapley value helps examine fairness precisely, because it gives each species a single objective share according to how much it truly contributes to the community's growth. It is possible that nature's own communities are even fairer than this experiment suggests."
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Original text here: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/mathematics-and-science/state-nature-fair-researchers-measured-how-biomass-distributed-microbial-communities
Yale School of Management: Remembering Professor Emeritus Theodore Marmor, 1939-2026
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Aug. 1 -- Yale School of Management issued the following news:
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Remembering Professor Emeritus Theodore Marmor, 1939-2026
Emeritus professor Theodore Marmor was a leading authority on welfare state politics and author of the seminal book The Politics of Medicare.
An internationally recognized authority on healthcare and social policy and a pioneer in the field of welfare state politics in North America and Western Europe, Theodore "Ted" Marmor died on July 24, 2026. He was a professor emeritus at Yale SOM, Yale Law School, and the university's department of political
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NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Aug. 1 -- Yale School of Management issued the following news:
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Remembering Professor Emeritus Theodore Marmor, 1939-2026
Emeritus professor Theodore Marmor was a leading authority on welfare state politics and author of the seminal book The Politics of Medicare.
An internationally recognized authority on healthcare and social policy and a pioneer in the field of welfare state politics in North America and Western Europe, Theodore "Ted" Marmor died on July 24, 2026. He was a professor emeritus at Yale SOM, Yale Law School, and the university's department of politicalscience.
Marmor joined the Yale faculty in 1979 and was appointed to the SOM faculty as Professor of Public Management and Political Science in 1982. For four years, he and his wife Jan lived in Calhoun College (now Grace Hopper College) as resident faculty, and mentored students under the administration of Charles T. Davis and Dean Eustace Theodore. After retiring from Yale in 2007, Marmor taught public policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government from 2007 to 2009. Earlier in his career, he was a professor at the University of Chicago, from 1973 to 1979. And he served as a centennial visiting professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science from 2001 to 2003.
Born in New York City on February 24, 1939, Marmor earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1960; attended Wadham College, Oxford, from 1961 to 1962; and then returned to Harvard, earning his doctoral degree in 1966. He began his career as a special assistant to Wilbur Cohen, the U.S. secretary of health, education, and welfare, in the mid-1960s, and was a member of the team that launched Medicare under President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. The program's history and politics would animate Marmor's scholarship for the rest of his life.
Over the course of his distinguished career in public service, Marmor advised Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, served as a senior policy advisor to Mondale during the 1984 presidential campaign, and was a member of President Jimmy Carter's Commission for a National Agenda for the Eighties. He was a Fellow of the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and the British Academy.
Marmor authored or co-authored 13 books and nearly 200 scholarly articles and book chapters. But he was best known for The Politics of Medicare, first published in 1970, with a second edition in 2000 and a third forthcoming in 2027. As Jacob Hacker, the Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science and a resident fellow at Yale's Institution for Social and Policy Studies, observed, the book continues to be "one of the best books ever written about public policy." He added that, with it, Marmor "essentially created the field of health politics" and attracted scholars like Hacker himself to pursue degrees and research at Yale. In addition to being a "brilliant scholar," Hacker reflected, Marmor was also a "generous mentor."
As a teacher and mentor, Marmor "urged his students to question 'fads, fallacies and foolishness' (the name of another of his landmark books) in policy making and probe deeper in an issue by encouraging lively debate and fresh thinking," said Dane Neller, a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School. Marmor was also generous with his time. John Pakutka '92 recalled that Marmor "opened up his office, his dinner table, even his spare bedrooms to students and colleagues who wanted to learn from and collaborate with him." With his help, "hundreds got jobs or gained admission to higher levels of education," he said.
Jerry Mashaw, Sterling Professor Emeritus and professional lecturer at Yale Law School, remarked that Marmor's work with students has had an enduring impact, noting that his mentees' scholarship "bears his imprint." He said, "The energy that he poured into paper and thesis supervision and into commentary on work in progress long after those students embarked on their own careers is legendary." Hacker concurs, adding: "Through what he wrote and what he taught, the publications he authored, and the people he guided, Ted will continue to cast a bright light on fundamental questions of politics, policy, and precarity well into the next century."
At SOM, as one of its earliest faculty members, Marmor contributed to the school's evolution, noted Jeffrey Garten, who served as the school's dean from 1995 to 2005. "He was enormously helpful to me when I arrived as an inexperienced dean, and I'll always be grateful to him for that," said Garten.
In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Marmor co-founded the Crescent Group, a consulting firm, with former student Pakutka, and often served as an expert witness in cases ranging from the constitutionality of the Canada Health Act to asbestos disputes and drug pricing fraud. He was known to his friends and colleagues as a lover of wine, squash, and fly fishing.
Marmor is survived by his daughter, Sarah Marmor, his granddaughters, Nina and Ava Holl, his sister, Barbara Marmor, and his second wife, Kieke Okma. Jan S. Marmor, his wife of over 40 years, died in 2003, and his older daughter, Laura Marmor, died in 2025. A celebration of the life of Theodore R. Marmor will take place in New York City in September.
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Original text here: https://som.yale.edu/story/2026/remembering-professor-emeritus-theodore-marmor-1939-2026
Yale Issues Q&A: Bringing More Personalized Approach to Alcohol Treatment
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Aug. 1 (TNSjou) -- Yale University issued the following Q&A on July 30, 2026, involving Stephanie O'Malley, professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine:
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Bringing a more personalized approach to alcohol treatment
In a Q&A, Yale addiction expert Stephanie O'Malley explains why care for alcohol use disorder has become increasingly individualized - and why this may end up bringing more people into treatment.
By Karen Guzman
For people diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD), the traditional therapeutic goal has long been total abstinence. It's a time-tested
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NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Aug. 1 (TNSjou) -- Yale University issued the following Q&A on July 30, 2026, involving Stephanie O'Malley, professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine:
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Bringing a more personalized approach to alcohol treatment
In a Q&A, Yale addiction expert Stephanie O'Malley explains why care for alcohol use disorder has become increasingly individualized - and why this may end up bringing more people into treatment.
By Karen Guzman
For people diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD), the traditional therapeutic goal has long been total abstinence. It's a time-testedapproach that, for many people, continues to be the best solution.
It is, however, no longer the only solution. Increasingly, research is showing that substantially reducing alcohol consumption short of abstinence can yield meaningful improvements in health and functioning, and abstinence may not be necessary for all individuals, according to Yale addiction specialist Stephanie O'Malley.
In current AUD treatment, many clinicians now tailor treatments that fit individuals and their specific needs, explained O'Malley, the Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. The biggest obstacle, however, continues to be getting people to seek help in the first place -- something that O'Malley says the shift in treatment goals may help.
"Unfortunately, rates of treatment-seeking are very low, and I think it's partly because many people assume that abstinence is the only goal in treatment," O'Malley said. "Our hope is that if there is greater recognition that reductions in drinking are an acceptable outcome for many people, then more people will access treatment."
O'Malley is on the editorial board of JAMA Psychiatry and is a past member of the Data and Safety Monitoring Board for the Clinical Trials Network of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. A consultant to pharmaceutical companies, O'Malley is also a member of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology's Alcohol Clinical Trial Initiative, a public-private partnership working to improve methods for clinical trials.
Last year, O'Malley co-authored a review of 34 published papers which concluded that reducing alcohol consumption by at least one or two identified World Health Organization (WHO) risk-drinking levels is associated with a cascade of improvements in health and functioning. The WHO risk-drinking levels include very high, high, moderate, low, and no risk (abstinence) alcohol consumption, based on average drinks or grams of alcohol consumed, with different cut-offs specified for men and women.
"While abstinence represents the lowest risk, the finding that a large proportion of individuals with AUD can achieve and maintain clinically meaningful reductions in their drinking short of abstinence is encouraging," O'Malley said.
In a recent interview, O'Malley discussed evolving treatments for alcohol use disorder, the promise of new medications, and why not everyone needs to fully abstain.
This conversation had been edited for length and clarity.
Can you talk about the traditional objective in treating alcohol use disorder?
Stephanie O'Malley: Abstinence was historically the primary goal of treatment for anyone dealing with problematic alcohol use, and it still is in some programs. Moving toward more differentiated treatments has been a long process. However, increasing evidence suggests that reductions in drinking also benefit a person's wellbeing and health, even when abstinence isn't, or doesn't need to be, the goal.
In addition, researchers are trying to better understand the characteristics of individuals that can predict whether they will respond to one treatment or to another. Research is also ongoing into new and repurposed medications. In 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration qualified a new drinking reduction endpoint for clinical trials of medications to treat AUD, a step that could accelerate the development of new treatments.
What is the present rate of AUD in the United States?
O'Malley: The percentage of people ages 12 and older who met criteria for AUD in the prior year has decreased somewhat, from 10.6% in 2021 to 9.7% in 2024. Thus, the most recent data suggests approximately 29.5 million individuals [in the U.S.] meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder, so it's a large percentage of the population. Within this population, individuals may be diagnosed with mild, moderate, or severe AUD, and they may have different treatment needs. Of individuals with AUD, less than 20% meet criteria for severe AUD.
When did the move toward more individualized treatment begin?
O'Malley: In the past, it was very controversial to claim that it was possible for people with AUD to reduce their drinking without being fully abstinent. Over the years, however, research into the effectiveness of treatment has provided evidence that drinking reduction outcomes, short of abstinence, are possible. For example, studies of naltrexone [an FDA-approved prescription medication used to treat AUD] at Yale and the University of Pennsylvania found that naltrexone helped people reduce the amount that they drank when they consumed any alcohol. In our 2025 review, we found that reductions in drinking were associated with improvements in how patients feel and function, not only in the immediate term but ongoing, and many more people were able to successfully reduce as opposed to totally abstaining.
What part should primary care physicians play in screening?
O'Malley: Primary care providers play an important frontline role in assessing AUD risk. In some health care systems, they already routinely ask patients about alcohol use. There are now studies showing that if a medical care provider asks a patient about their drinking and determines that it is risky, patients will listen to feedback. As a group, research suggests that patients are responsive to advice to change their drinking and show measurable improvements. Often, they have been thinking about their drinking already, so having a medical care provider broach the topic and discuss the benefits of reducing their drinking can be very useful.
What factors indicate the best course of treatment for AUD?
O'Malley: Determining the best course of treatment involves several considerations, such as assessing the level of physical dependence on alcohol, the availability of social support, and other health and psychiatric concerns. Another important factor is understanding what the patient is concerned about. If you know this, you can link specific benefits to their concerns to promote motivation to change. For example, if they're not sleeping well, you can link reductions in drinking to improvements in sleeping that can occur when people reduce their drinking and explain why. Doing an analysis of a person's situation lets you problem solve and tailor treatments.
And there are many treatments available today?
O'Malley: Many people are only familiar with the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, which supports abstinence. Twelve-step facilitation therapy is one form of formal treatment that supports participation in mutual self-help groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. But there are other treatments like motivational enhancement therapy for people who are on the fence about wanting to change their drinking, cognitive behavioral therapies that teach new coping skills, and therapies that promote mindfulness to avoid relapse, among others. There are a range of programs and medications that can be provided on an outpatient basis.
What medications are currently being used?
O'Malley: The Food and Drug Administration has approved three for AUD: acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone. They all act in different ways. But there are also medications that are being used off-label with success. And there is increasing interest in the GLP-1 receptor agonists, some of which are FDA-approved for weight management. Recent small clinical trials suggest that they may also reduce alcohol consumption among individuals with AUD. Trials are ongoing to determine just how effective GLP-1s may be.
As you've said, the first step is getting people into treatment. What are some of the overlooked signs that someone may have a drinking problem?
O'Malley: It is important that people realize that even if their drinking doesn't meet the standard of a "disorder," drinking at high levels can still be problematic for their health and functioning. Some indications of a problem include when drinking takes up more time to the exclusion of other activities -- so, coming home and not going outside and hanging out with your kids, but being more likely to sit in front of the TV and drink. Another is having difficulty controlling the amount you drink. So, you might decide, "Tonight I'm not going to have anything to drink," or "I'm just going to have one or two," and then you find that it's difficult to do. Basically, drinking more than you intended, for longer than you intended, is a warning signal.
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Original text here: https://news.yale.edu/2026/07/30/bringing-more-personalized-approach-alcohol-treatment
N.C. State: Study - Rural Communities Face Serious Obstacles in Promoting Physical Activity
RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 1 (TNSjou) -- North Carolina State University issued the following news release:
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Study: Rural Communities Face Serious Obstacles in Promoting Physical Activity
People in rural communities have long experienced disproportionate levels of chronic disease, driven in part by systemic barriers to physical activity. A new study from North Carolina State University highlights ways some rural communities use strategic investment and community collaboration to address some of these challenges.
Researchers interviewed 25 health promotion, parks and recreation and community
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RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 1 (TNSjou) -- North Carolina State University issued the following news release:
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Study: Rural Communities Face Serious Obstacles in Promoting Physical Activity
People in rural communities have long experienced disproportionate levels of chronic disease, driven in part by systemic barriers to physical activity. A new study from North Carolina State University highlights ways some rural communities use strategic investment and community collaboration to address some of these challenges.
Researchers interviewed 25 health promotion, parks and recreation and communityplanning professionals, referred to as Key Informants , (KIs) from 10 rural counties in North Carolina to better understand how they make decisions around promoting physical activity.
"What we found is that many rural communities must account for long-standing obstacles when trying to build physical activity access," said Annie Hardison-Moody, a professor in NC State's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and an associate director and family and consumer sciences program leader in NC State Extension.
"These practitioners are embedded in structural realities that shape their everyday decisions, and some of those are difficult historical and systematic issues that they're facing," she said. "Whether it's continued impacts from flooding and hurricanes that have kept their communities struggling to get by, or economic disinvestment in communities, there are significant obstacles that rural communities face."
These obstacles make it difficult to maintain and promote spaces for physical activity. Even in places where facilities like parks or playgrounds already exist, a degrading tax base makes paying staff for those facilities difficult. Higher levels of poverty and chronic illness may also make transportation to these facilities difficult even if the facilities are functioning properly.
The researchers found that these obstacles shaped how KIs working to promote physical activity in their communities must allocate resources, which are in short supply to begin with. Informal partnerships and relationships with the members of their communities were vital for sustaining physical activity promotion.
"Because there is so little funding in these communities, you have people doing multiple jobs who realize they cannot do it all on their own," Hardison-Moody said. "What we see is KIs looking to build out those networks in their communities. People in these counties possess incredible partnership skills, and the networks they build are extremely important for health practitioners to tap into if they want to do work in these communities."
In trying to address these issues, KIs reported that many traditional grants or funding sources simply do not work for their specific contexts. For example, grants may assume a community has access to matching funds, pre-existing partnerships or full-time administrative staff which rural counties do not have. This puts local leaders at a disadvantage from the start, as they do not have access to the financial building blocks which could be used to address their needs.
Despite these challenges, KIs pointed out several bright spots, such as forming multi-agency partnerships and using collaborative funding models that help address their most challenging issues. The KIs identified resources and assets that existed in their communities, including recreation resources and natural environments that could be harnessed to promote health.
This research is part of a collaborative project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which selected the ten counties researchers visited.
"This study exemplifies the best of the work we can do at a land grant university, because we are working so closely with so many partners on the ground in these communities," said Hardison-Moody. "From park and recreation directors, our partners in NC State's Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM), and then on the Extension side, working with our family and consumer science and 4H agents," she said. "This information isn't just going to sit in a journal somewhere, we're actively building on what we've learned, and working with PRTM, working with Extension to try to implement projects in the communities."
This publication was supported by the CDC of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of the journal article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
The paper, "Context Matters: How History, Relationships, And Resourcefulness Shape Rural Physical Activity Systems" is published in the Journal of Rural and Community Development. Co-authors include Pauline Grist, Michael Edwards, Brenna Kirk, Jason Bocarro, Nicole Odell, Maeghan Luttrell, Lauren Morris, Virginia C. Stage, Basheerah Enahora, and J. Aaron Hipp, of NC State University.
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Note to Editors: The study abstract follows.
"Context Matters: How History, Relationships, and Resourcefulness Shape Rural Physical Activity Systems"
Authors: Pauline Grist, Annie Hardison-Moody, Jason Bocarro, Michael Edwards, Brenna Kirk, Nicole Odell, Maeghan Luttrell, Lauren Morris, Virginia Stage, Basheerah Enahora, Aaron Hipp, NC Sate University.
Published: May 25, 2026, Journal of Rural and Community Development
DOI: 10.63315/jrcd.v21i2.3035
Abstract: Rural communities experience disproportionately high rates of chronic disease, a disparity influenced by lower levels of physical activity (PA) and persistent systemic and structural barriers. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, we conducted 25 semi-structured key informant (KI) interviews to explore how county-municipal planners and parks and recreation professionals in 10 rural North Carolina counties navigate barriers (e.g., disinvestment, vulnerability to natural disasters, limited administrative capacity) and leverage facilitators (e.g., partnerships, shared infrastructure) to promote PA in their county. Findings revealed two structuring realities: Acknowledging Historical Challenges and Seeking Community Engagement, which consistently shaped stakeholders' approaches. KIs described the long-term impacts of industry loss, disinvestment, and natural disasters as defining features of their community landscape, highlighting how local trust, informal networks, and community voice are essential to every stage of their work. These orientations informed three interrelated processes: Managing Financial and Organizational Resources, Maintaining Community Infrastructure, and Exploring Opportunities for Community Development and Collaboration. KIs emphasized the importance of relying on partnerships, relational networks, and adaptive strategies to sustain PA opportunities despite resource constraints. Our findings underscore the need for long-term and context-specific investment in relational and organizational capacity that aligns with communities' historical and structuring realities to improve rural PA opportunities.
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Original text here: https://news.ncsu.edu/2026/07/study-rural-communities-face-serious-obstacles-in-promoting-physical-activity/
Johns Hopkins: Venkataraman Lakshmi Elected Fellow of the American Meteorological Society
BALTIMORE, Maryland, Aug. 1 -- Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health issued the following news release:
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Venkataraman Lakshmi Elected Fellow of the American Meteorological Society
Lakshmi studies how water, land, and climate interact across landscapes, and how those interactions affect human health.
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Venkataraman "Venkat" Lakshmi, the Benjamin Howell Griswold Professor of Geography and International Affairs in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, has been elected a fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS).
Fellows are elected by the
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BALTIMORE, Maryland, Aug. 1 -- Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health issued the following news release:
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Venkataraman Lakshmi Elected Fellow of the American Meteorological Society
Lakshmi studies how water, land, and climate interact across landscapes, and how those interactions affect human health.
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Venkataraman "Venkat" Lakshmi, the Benjamin Howell Griswold Professor of Geography and International Affairs in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, has been elected a fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS).
Fellows are elected by theAMS Council in recognition of "outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences or their applications during a substantial period of years." Fewer than 0.2% of AMS members receive the distinction each year.
"This is a high honor that reflects the work done by my research group and collaborators and the support from our sponsors," said Lakshmi.
An internationally recognized hydrologist and remote sensing expert, Lakshmi studies how water, land, and climate interact across landscapes, and how those interactions affect human health. His research combines satellite observations and field measurements with physical models, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to improve understanding of water resources, environmental variability, and links between environmental conditions and disease.
Lakshmi's interdisciplinary work spans hydrology, remote sensing, environmental health, and data science. By bringing these fields together, his research helps scientists observe and model complex water and climate systems at multiple scales, from individual watersheds to large regions. This work can help inform responses to environmental and public health challenges, including water scarcity, flooding, changing climate conditions, and the spread of diseases influenced by environmental factors.
AMS serves professionals, researchers, educators, students, and weather enthusiasts working across the weather, water, and climate fields. The Society publishes peer-reviewed scientific journals, organizes conferences and scientific meetings, offers professional certification and training, develops educational resources, and connects members of the scientific and professional community. Lakshmi will be formally recognized alongside the other newly elected fellows and award recipients during the 107th AMS Annual Meeting in January.
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Environmental Health and Engineering is a cross-divisional department spanning the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Whiting School of Engineering. This hybrid department is uniquely designed to lead pioneering research and prepare the next generation of scholars to solve critical and complex issues at the interface of public health and engineering. Learn more about our programs.
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Original text here: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2026/venkataraman-lakshmi-elected-fellow-of-the-american-meteorological-society
Ford School of Public Policy: Shobita Parthasarathy Named President-elect of Society for Social Studies of Science
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, Aug. 1 -- The University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy issued the following news:
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Shobita Parthasarathy named president-elect of Society for Social Studies of Science
Shobita Parthasarathy, professor of public policy and women's and gender studies and director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at the University of Michigan, has been elected incoming president-elect of the Society for Social Studies of Science, an international nonprofit association for researchers in science and technology studies (also known as science, technology, and
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ANN ARBOR, Michigan, Aug. 1 -- The University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy issued the following news:
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Shobita Parthasarathy named president-elect of Society for Social Studies of Science
Shobita Parthasarathy, professor of public policy and women's and gender studies and director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at the University of Michigan, has been elected incoming president-elect of the Society for Social Studies of Science, an international nonprofit association for researchers in science and technology studies (also known as science, technology, andsociety studies). The interdisciplinary field, often called STS, examines issues ranging from the social life of emerging technologies and public trust in expertise to equity in innovation and the role of science in policymaking.
Parthasarathy will serve a three-year leadership term with the society, known as 4S: one year as president-elect starting in October 2026, followed by a two-year term as president, from 2027 to 2029.
In a statement, Parthasarathy emphasized her commitment to translating STS ideas for the public and policymakers.
"It's important for STS to inform the most serious questions of our time, from how to manage AI and other emerging technologies to why there is declining trust in expertise," she said. "Particularly at a moment when the humanities and social sciences are under attack at universities across the world, I believe that 4S can play an important role in supporting colleagues, demonstrating how STS thinking is crucial for societies to realize better futures, and cultivating new STS concepts to meet tomorrow's challenges."
Parthasarathy's scholarship focuses on the politics of knowledge and expertise in public policy, as well as the social, equity and political dimensions of technological innovation and innovation policy in cross-national and global perspective. She is the author of Building Genetic Medicine: Breast Cancer, Technology, and the Comparative Politics of Health Care and Patent Politics: Life Forms, Markets, and the Public Interest in the United States and Europe. She is writing her third book on the politics of inclusive innovation, with a focus on sanitation and menstruation in India.
A longtime member of 4S, Parthasarathy previously served as the student representative to the 4S Council, where she helped establish the STSGRAD listserv and worked with colleagues to create the society's student section. She later served on the 4S Council from 2014 to 2017 and has held editorial roles with leading STS journals, including Engaging Science, Technology, and Society and Science, Technology, & Human Values.
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About the Society for Social Studies of Science
The Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) is an international, nonprofit association founded in 1975 that fosters interdisciplinary and engaged scholarship in social studies of science, technology, and medicine (a field often referred to as STS). Comprising researchers and practitioners, the field of STS includes Science and Technology Studies; Science, Technology, and Society; and comparable domains of research, teaching, and practice in many languages.
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Original text here: https://fordschool.umich.edu/news/2026/shobita-parthasarathy-named-president-elect-society-social-studies-science
Bates College: Alumni Association Presents Alumni Awards Recognizing Service, Career Achievements
LEWISTON, Maine, Aug. 1 -- Bates College issued the following news:
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Alumni Association presents alumni awards recognizing service, career achievements
By Alexandra DeMarco
At Bates Reunion in June, the Alumni Association gathered to present the annual Alumni Council Awards, recognizing the exceptional career and service achievements of five alumni.
"It is truly inspiring to witness the transformative power of our alumni as they engage in informed civic action and lead in diverse fields," said Leah Elsmore '12, president of the Alumni Association for the 2025-26 academic year. "This year's
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LEWISTON, Maine, Aug. 1 -- Bates College issued the following news:
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Alumni Association presents alumni awards recognizing service, career achievements
By Alexandra DeMarco
At Bates Reunion in June, the Alumni Association gathered to present the annual Alumni Council Awards, recognizing the exceptional career and service achievements of five alumni.
"It is truly inspiring to witness the transformative power of our alumni as they engage in informed civic action and lead in diverse fields," said Leah Elsmore '12, president of the Alumni Association for the 2025-26 academic year. "This year'srecipients reflect the ardor and devotion -- Amore ac Studio -- that define the Bates experience, serving as a powerful reminder of the potential within our entire alumni network."
Peter R. Basiliere '76 received the Alumni Community Service Award in recognition of his leadership and civic service in Milford, N.H., where he was elected town moderator and school district moderator. After retiring from a career as a leader in additive manufacturing, Basiliere, an active Rotarian, began serving as a volunteer with the American Red Cross. Since then he has joined disaster relief teams in California, Vermont, the Carolinas, and, most recently, Guam, where he oversaw the Red Cross' food operations after a super typhoon hit the island. Basiliere's commitment to service and strengthening communities around the country reflects Bates' ideals of purposeful work and responsible stewardship of the wider world.
Scientist Noah E. Petro '01 earned the Alumni Professional Recognition Award in recognition of his career and leadership at NASA, where he has worked since 2007. Since 2017, he has been the lab chief of NASA's Planetary Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry lab, which conducts research on Mercury, Venus, Earth, and their satellites. He is the project scientist for Artemis III, the 2027 mission that will bring astronauts to the moon's surface for the first time since 1972. Petro's work at NASA, both highly scientific and serving the general public, exemplifies Bates' mission of combining intellectual rigor with public good.
Physician Christopher B. Lanoue '99, P'26 earned the Bruce Stangle '70, P'96, GP'26 Award for Distinguished Service to the Bates Community in recognition of his commitment to supporting Bates students and alumni through their medical school journeys. An emergency medicine specialist with MaineHealth, Lanoue has worked closely with the Center for Purposeful Work, mentoring Batesies pursuing medical careers, and done so with "generosity, warmth, and openness." His leadership and service, emblematic of Bates' values, has touched countless people as they themselves prepare for a career of serving others through medicine.
Rachel Ebersole '17 was presented with the Distinguished Young Alumni Award in recognition of her career as a museum educator and her leadership within the alumni community. Ebersole is the manager of teen programs at The New York Historical museum and library, where she also oversees a digital learning lab and makerspace. Ebersole is a dedicated leader within the New York Bates Network, fostering alumni community and hosting events. Her volunteer service to the college is an inspiring example of the transformative power of the young alumni network.
Erica Seifert Plunkett '86 earned the Helen A. Papaioanou '49 Distinguished Alumni Service Award, which recognizes alumni who have given exceptional service to the college. Plunkett served as class co-president while at Bates and, since graduating, as an Alumni Council member, a dedicated class agent, and a committee leader. Plunkett has also led an accomplished career in research; she spent more than 25 years at the Wellesley Centers for Women supporting research projects studying mental health literacy and mental health in adolescents. She is now a project manager at Brown University's Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute, working on projects related to adolescent depression prevention.
The Office of College Advancement also presented Kathryn (Kali) M. Brown '21, Craig E. Comins '81, and Meg W. Curran '11 with Bates' Best Awards, which recognize dedicated volunteers who have expressed a passion and commitment for advancing the mission of the college.
"Our alumni continue to do incredible work in their communities and professions, and honoring this year's award recipients is a privilege," said Assistant Vice President for Alumni Engagement Sarah Cameron. "Every year, these awards remind us of the strength and reach of the Bates network, and we look forward to seeing who our community nominates next."
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Original text here: https://www.bates.edu/news/2026/07/31/alumni-association-presents-alumni-awards-recognizing-service-career-achievements/
