Education (Colleges & Universities)
Here's a look at documents from public, private and community colleges in the U.S.
Featured Stories
Washington University in St. Louis: Updated Report Outlines Steps to Confront Environmental Racism in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS, Missouri, March 14 (TNSrpt) -- Washington University in St. Louis issued the following news:
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Updated report outlines steps to confront environmental racism in St. Louis
By Neil Schoenherr
A new WashU report examining environmental racism in St. Louis offers updated data and a series of recommendations aimed at addressing longstanding disparities in health, housing and environmental conditions across the region.
The report is an update to a 2019 analysis. The new edition incorporates newer data and expands the scope of the earlier research. For example, the 2019 report examined
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ST. LOUIS, Missouri, March 14 (TNSrpt) -- Washington University in St. Louis issued the following news:
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Updated report outlines steps to confront environmental racism in St. Louis
By Neil Schoenherr
A new WashU report examining environmental racism in St. Louis offers updated data and a series of recommendations aimed at addressing longstanding disparities in health, housing and environmental conditions across the region.
The report is an update to a 2019 analysis. The new edition incorporates newer data and expands the scope of the earlier research. For example, the 2019 report examinedchildhood asthma, while the updated analysis also looks at asthma among adults. It also includes new data visualizations that illustrate how environmental conditions and health outcomes intersect across neighborhoods.
"We wanted to ensure that the updated report incorporated the latest available data and that it reflected what we have learned from the community over the last six years," said Elizabeth Hubertz, director of the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.
In addition, while the 2019 report largely documented environmental disparities, the new version also focuses on solutions.
"The earlier report was largely descriptive, using a combination of public data and interviews with community members to catalogue environmental racism in St. Louis. This report is both descriptive and prescriptive," said Eric Conners, a postdoctoral fellow in the clinic and a contributing author of the report. "It still documents how environmental racism manifests in St. Louis, but it also provides evidence-based, actionable recommendations for addressing those problems."
The report also features "Community Spotlights" highlighting organizations working on environmental justice issues in St. Louis and includes a resource guide for residents seeking assistance or ways to get involved.
Among the recommendations, the report calls for improvements to how environmental health data are collected and shared. For example, it recommends updating Missouri's environmental public health tracking database more frequently. It also suggests testing soils and surfaces in public areas where children gather if contamination is likely.
To address asthma and air quality, the report recommends that schools adopt the AirNow Air Quality Flag Program and calls for increasing air quality monitoring devices in the city.
Other recommendations include addressing the causes of illegal dumping; educating homeowners about beneficiary deeds to help reduce vacancy; supporting community-owned grocery stores in underserved areas; and improving data collection on mold complaints in rental housing.
The report also highlights how natural disasters can worsen inequalities. St. Louis neighborhoods with older housing and fewer resources may face greater damage and slower recovery after severe weather, such as the May 2025 tornado.
"Natural disasters often exacerbate preexisting inequality," Conners said. "We can't prevent the next tornado or flood, but we can strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities."
Even without strong federal support, Conners said cities and states can make meaningful progress. Residents can take action by contacting local officials, joining neighborhood organizations and reporting environmental problems such as illegal dumping or housing hazards, he added.
"A lot of the relevant action happens at the local and state level," he said.
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REPORT: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f75504832055a109f6f3ca6/t/69b2cd2981225e5d5c4d09af/1773325609490/REVISED+EJ+Report+with+cover+03122026.pdf
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Original text here: https://source.washu.edu/2026/03/updated-report-outlines-steps-to-confront-environmental-racism-in-st-louis/
Staffordshire University: Students Take Anti-racism Manifesto to Westminster
STOKE-ON-TRENT, England, March 14 -- Staffordshire University issued the following news:
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Students take anti-racism manifesto to Westminster
Students from University of Staffordshire and Keele University visited Westminster to present an anti-racism manifesto to Members of Parliament
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Originally developed by BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care students at University of Staffordshire, the manifesto shares good practice and solution-focused responses to challenge racism within health and social care settings.
According to data from Skills for Care, around a quarter of employees in the sector
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STOKE-ON-TRENT, England, March 14 -- Staffordshire University issued the following news:
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Students take anti-racism manifesto to Westminster
Students from University of Staffordshire and Keele University visited Westminster to present an anti-racism manifesto to Members of Parliament
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Originally developed by BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care students at University of Staffordshire, the manifesto shares good practice and solution-focused responses to challenge racism within health and social care settings.
According to data from Skills for Care, around a quarter of employees in the sectorcome from ethnic minority backgrounds and, despite the Social Care Race Equality Standard, many workers still report experiences of racism.
The University is collaborating with local partners to disseminate the manifesto and has been working with the Stoke and Staffordshire Integrated Care System. Now, it is hoping to drive systemic change on a national scale after a group of students presented the work to MPs at the Palace of Westminster.
During the visit the students had a full tour of Parliament, including the Commons and the Lords, enjoyed a debate on health and social care from the public gallery and met with Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Gareth Snell.
The manifesto is also being supported by Staffordshire Moorlands MP Karen Bradley who highlighted the work with the Secretary of State for Health, Kerin Smyth MP, and has given suggestions to move it forward.
Jill Salt, Course Leader for Health & Social Care, said: "This trip has been a fantastic experience for our students. For some this was their first time in our capital city, for most their first time in Parliament and for others their first time contributing to the development of social policy change.
"The anti-racism manifesto is an important piece of work co-created by our students and shaped by their own experiences. So, it was a privilege to showcase this to politicians and changemakers, especially our local MPs who have been very attentive and generous with their time."
The trip was made possible thanks to funding from CENTRIS, the University's Careers, Placements and Employability team, and the Students' Union.
While in London, the students took part in a strategic workshop at the Equality Trust, collaborating with professionals to develop a roadmap for scaling their initiatives across England.
Across the two-days, the students also had chance to visit some of the capital's iconic landmarks, including Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, and Downing Street.
LLB (Hons) Law student Michelle Ngoni said: "I am incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to attend. I had the chance to engage in meaningful conversations around anti-racism, lived experiences, and the importance of challenging systemic inequalities. I also had the opportunity to meet some amazing women at the event and be part of discussions where ideas and perspectives flowed so openly. It was inspiring to hear different viewpoints and contribute to such honest and thought-provoking conversations."
Health and Social Care student Alieu Jatta added: "This opportunity afforded me the chance to gain experience that was both academically and culturally rewarding. The experience of watching members of parliament and ministers of the government engage in conversations about issues concerning health and social care was not only intellectually stimulating but also inspirational. My understanding of democratic procedures and public policy was greatly improved as a result of my direct participation in parliamentary proceedings."
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Original text here: https://www.staffs.ac.uk/news/2026/03/students-take-anti-racism-manifesto-to-westminster
James Cook University: Global Conservation Target Risks Livelihoods in the Pacific
TOWNSVILLE, Australia, March 14 -- James Cook University issued the following news release:
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Global conservation target risks livelihoods in the Pacific
New James Cook University-led research warns that the future of Pacific small-fishing communities may be compromised by ambitious marine conservation targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The warning comes as countries work towards the '30 by 30' target, established by the CBD'sKunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which focuses on area-based management and commits more than 190 nations to protecting 30
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TOWNSVILLE, Australia, March 14 -- James Cook University issued the following news release:
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Global conservation target risks livelihoods in the Pacific
New James Cook University-led research warns that the future of Pacific small-fishing communities may be compromised by ambitious marine conservation targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The warning comes as countries work towards the '30 by 30' target, established by the CBD'sKunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which focuses on area-based management and commits more than 190 nations to protecting 30per cent of land and sea by 2030.
The goal is widely seen as a critical response to the global biodiversity crisis. However, an international study, led by JCU, cautions that the target may compromise the rights and well-being of coastal communities the Pacific.
"There's a big push from international organisations and governments to lock up large areas of the ocean for protection," explained JCU lead researcher Professor Amy Diedrich.
"This poses a risk that the needs of small-fishing communities, who rely on fisheries for their food and income, will be overlooked."
Drawing on marine management case studies of the Solomon Islands, the team created a roadmap to help guide area-based marine conservation initiatives that affect coastal communities in the Pacific.
"Rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all solution, our roadmap focuses on national circumstances, good governance and respecting existing tenure," said Prof Diedrich.
"It also sets out practical steps to build on what communities are already doing to manage marine resources, set ethical targets, and ensure conservation efforts are sustainable over the long term."
Co-author David Boseto, the Director of Ecological Solutions Solomon Islands, said collaborative planning demonstrates how global targets can be achieved without sacrificing livelihoods.
"Local fishers are mapping their most important fishing grounds and cultural sites, and instead of blanket restrictions, they're helping design zones that protect biodiversity while allowing sustainable fishing," he said.
"The result is stronger local ownership, better compliance and more resilient communities. It shows that by genuinely involving small-scale fishers, we can meet the 30 by 30 target in a way that safeguards both ecosystems and livelihoods."
Co-author Ms Margaret Fox, Pacific Community Adviser on Gender and Social Inclusion for Fisheries, said Pacific peoples have long managed marine resources sustainably.
"For generations, Pacific communities have relied on small-scale fishing and have managed marine resources in ways that sustained both people and ecosystems.
"They are not just resource users -- they have deep ecological knowledge and are long-standing custodians of biodiversity," she said.
Ms Fox stated that recognising and strengthening the methods of local stewardship will determine the success of the 30 by 30 target in the Pacific.
"If small-scale fishers are meaningfully included, conservation can support biodiversity and human wellbeing together," she said.
"Without that inclusion, well-intentioned global targets risk harming the very communities most closely connected to the sea and dependent on marine resources for their survival."
The researchers concluded that coastal communities should not be made to shoulder the burden of meeting global conservation commitments -- and that equity, effectiveness, and sustainability must be the foundation, not the afterthought, of marine conservation in the Pacific.
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Original text here: https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2026/march/global-conservation-target-risks-livelihoods-in-the-pacific
Imperial College-London: Department of Immunology and Inflammation Achieves Gold LEAF Awards Across All Research Lab Spaces
LONDON, England, March 14 -- Imperial College-London issued the following news:
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Department of Immunology and Inflammation achieves Gold LEAF awards across all research lab spaces
All labs across the department have now earned the Gold LEAF status marking a major milestone in sustainable research.
By Meesha Patel
The Department of Immunology and Inflammation has become the first in the university to achieve Gold LEAF certification across all its laboratory spaces. The department occupies labs on the 4th, 5th and 9th floors of the Commonwealth building at Imperial College London's Hammersmith
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LONDON, England, March 14 -- Imperial College-London issued the following news:
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Department of Immunology and Inflammation achieves Gold LEAF awards across all research lab spaces
All labs across the department have now earned the Gold LEAF status marking a major milestone in sustainable research.
By Meesha Patel
The Department of Immunology and Inflammation has become the first in the university to achieve Gold LEAF certification across all its laboratory spaces. The department occupies labs on the 4th, 5th and 9th floors of the Commonwealth building at Imperial College London's HammersmithHospital Campus.
The awards for the 4th and 5th floors join the earlier award to the Centre for Inflammatory Disease on the 9th floor who were first accredited in 2024.
This milestone reflects a genuine community effort, and while Paul Coote, Laboratory Manager, and Neil Galloway-Phillipps, Senior Laboratory Manager, led the formal written submission, researchers, students, and technical staff on every floor contributed the evidence and practical changes needed to meet the gold standard.
Established by UCL, the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework is a certification scheme designed to improve sustainability within higher education teaching and research. The first Gold LEAF certificate was awarded at Imperial College London in 2021-22 and the framework allows laboratory managers from all departments to identify actions to implement in lab operations to make laboratories more efficient and sustainable.
As part of the process, LEAF assessors visited each lab within the department to review criteria, verify evidence and confirm that the sustainable practices were embedded in the everyday work.
Cutting energy use and reducing waste across every lab
One of the most impactful changes in the department came from targeting the ultra-low temperature freezers which are usually the highest energy devices in wet-lab research.
Neil Galloway Phillips, Senior Laboratory Manager said, "A -80 C freezer uses roughly the same daily energy as a three-bedroom home, while switching to a -70 C reduces energy consumption by a third."
The LEAF energy calculator helped labs identify the highest energy devices. Neil said they found one researcher who still was using an old energy inefficient freezer: "One lab was using an old freezer from the 1990s which was consuming 25kWh of electricity per day. That's triple the electricity use of the average UK household."
Through temperature optimisation and replacing older freezers, now the seven total freezers in the department save an estimated pound sterling10,000 of electricity per year. Energy savings were further improved by ensuring that all lab equipment is switched off when not in use, including tissue culture incubators and centrifuges.
A green team was established on each floor of the department and worked together with the lab managers to make significant changes to work processes. Waste reduction was another area of major improvement. In the 4th and 5th floor labs a new process was introduced for reusing specific single-use plastics and setting up drying racks next to all sink areas, dedicated glove-recycling points were established in multiple places around the lab, and a mini-bin recycling system on benches was introduced as well as reorganising the chemical storage to avoid duplication. A clear out uncovered the oldest stored chemical was from April 1971, which demonstrates why improvements in procurement and shared stock systems matter.
Building a sustainable research community
One of the most important factors for the success of this department was the cultural shift on approaching sustainability. Importantly, this required a complete buy in from both group leaders and those who are more lab based, with everyone realising the importance of achieving a more sustainable lab environment. Scientists rely on evidence-based decision making and once Neil approached research groups with data, the changes to their practice were readily adopted. Compliance with freezer changes was 100% and early career researchers and PhD students were in fact some of the strongest advocates of greener lab practice.
Sustainability in the department is also integrated from day one training and included in the departmental safety induction.
Dr Golzar Mobayen, Research Associate commented on her role in implementing changes on the 5th floor, "As an early career researcher, building and working in a sustainable lab is important to me. Across our floor a small group of us got involved in looking at practical changes we could make, from introducing tip box recycling and switching to more sustainable versions of everyday lab products, to making simple behavioural shifts like turning off lights and equipment when they're not in use. My own area focuses on microplastics, so reducing our environmental footprint wherever possible feels especially relevant.
We worked through a full checklist and each of us was given specific tasks and it really became a collaborative effort. It's been encouraging to see how small, thoughtful changes and properly researching more sustainable equipment can add up to a more responsible way of running a lab."
One of the PIs who contributed to the 4th floor LEAF application was Dr Nick Crump. He said "There was a lot of enthusiasm from researchers to improve sustainability in the lab, and in fact some people had already made changes independently. We worked to coordinate these actions alongside departmental support to make it easier for everyone to act more sustainably."
Ensuring the long-term impact
The Gold LEAF award is renewed annually ensuring continuous improvement in the lab. As major funders are increasingly requiring evidence of sustainable lab practice, these awards demonstrate the leadership within the faculty and strengthens its position for future research opportunities.
Professor Marina Botto, Head of Department said, "Achieving Gold LEAF certification across all our laboratories within the Department is an outstanding achievement, and I'm incredibly proud of the collective effort behind it. This recognition not only reflects our commitment to sustainable research but also the dedication of our staff and students in driving meaningful changes. Being the first Department in the university to reach this is a powerful example, and I hope it inspires others to embed environmental responsibility into everyday science."
Zuzanna Rydz, Lab Sustainability Officer at Imperial College London said, "Congratulations to the Department on achieving 100% Gold LEAF certification, it's a fantastic milestone and a collective effort of lab managers, technicians, researchers and students. This achievement is a fantastic example of how laboratory communities can embed sustainability into everyday research practice. Across Imperial, we are making strong progress towards our sustainable labs targets, with around 70% laboratories (out of over 1400 labs) now certified through programmes such as LEAF. Our vision for sustainable labs integrates education, sustainable procurement and greener experimental methodologies, helping deliver energy and resource savings while meeting funder requirements."
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Original text here: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/articles/medicine/immunology-inflammation/2026/department-of-immunology-and-inflammation-achieves-gold-leaf-awards-across-all-research-lab-spaces/
Case Western Reserve: Law's Sharona Hoffman Recognized as No. 25 Most-cited Health Law Scholar in the U.S.
CLEVELAND, Ohio, March 14 -- Case Western Reserve University issued the following news:
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Law's Sharona Hoffman recognized as No. 25 most-cited health law scholar in the U.S.
In its new scholarly impact rankings, HeinOnline recently named Sharona Hoffman, SJD, the Edgar A. Hahn Professor of Jurisprudence at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, as the No. 25 most-cited scholar in the field of health law. A premier online research platform, HeinOnline offers more than 244 million pages of fully searchable scholarly articles, government documents, international resources and caselaw.
Hoffman,
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CLEVELAND, Ohio, March 14 -- Case Western Reserve University issued the following news:
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Law's Sharona Hoffman recognized as No. 25 most-cited health law scholar in the U.S.
In its new scholarly impact rankings, HeinOnline recently named Sharona Hoffman, SJD, the Edgar A. Hahn Professor of Jurisprudence at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, as the No. 25 most-cited scholar in the field of health law. A premier online research platform, HeinOnline offers more than 244 million pages of fully searchable scholarly articles, government documents, international resources and caselaw.
Hoffman,who has taught at the law school since 1999, has published two books, over 70 major law review articles and more than 50 other pieces, including book chapters, short articles and opinion pieces.
At CWRU, Hoffman serves as co-director at the Law-Medicine Center and has a secondary appointment in the Department of Bioethics at the School of Medicine. In 2017, Hoffman was elected to the American Law Institute and has spent two sabbatical semesters as a visiting scholar at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has also spent one sabbatical semester as a visiting scholar at the National Institutes of Health's Department of Bioethics.
View HeinOnline's full Scholarly Impact Rankings (https://heinonline.org/HOL/scholarly-impact-ranking/aba-authors-by-subject/HEALTH_51).
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Original text here: https://case.edu/news/laws-sharona-hoffman-recognized-no-25-most-cited-health-law-scholar-us
Case Western Reserve: Connecting the Data to Strengthen Communities
CLEVELAND, Ohio, March 14 -- Case Western Reserve University issued the following news:
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Connecting the data to strengthen communities
From housing stability to early childhood outcomes, integrated data systems at the Mandel School's Poverty Center--supported by The Gund Foundation--help social workers see the full story behind the numbers.
Story by: Lauren Marchaza
The theme of this year's World Social Work Day (March 17) draws on the Kenyan concept of Harambee--"all pull together." At the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences' Center on Urban Poverty and Community
... Show Full Article
CLEVELAND, Ohio, March 14 -- Case Western Reserve University issued the following news:
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Connecting the data to strengthen communities
From housing stability to early childhood outcomes, integrated data systems at the Mandel School's Poverty Center--supported by The Gund Foundation--help social workers see the full story behind the numbers.
Story by: Lauren Marchaza
The theme of this year's World Social Work Day (March 17) draws on the Kenyan concept of Harambee--"all pull together." At the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences' Center on Urban Poverty and CommunityDevelopment, integrated data systems demonstrate how that spirit of collective action can translate into real-world impact for communities.
Michael Schramm would know. In his roles as a research associate at the Poverty Center and senior director of systems integration for the Cuyahoga Land Bank--which acquires and rehabilitates vacant, abandoned or tax-foreclosed properties--he has spent 25 years in these data systems, assessing properties in ways that can build stronger, more resilient communities.
Schramm relies on two systems: the Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing (NEOCANDO), and Neighborhood Stabilization Technology (NST). NEOCANDO provides census and community-level data by making neighborhood-specific information easily searchable and usable for nonprofits, policymakers and journalists. Meanwhile, NST aggregates public records data to track property ownership, foreclosures and neighborhood conditions.
"You can see ownership, tax delinquency, vacancy indicators--all in one place," Schramm said. "Instead of guessing where the problems are, you can actually see them."
These problems--homeowners facing foreclosure, for example--are then addressed by community developers and social workers, who contact property owners with resources that can help them. A targeted outreach event is just one way Schramm has seen this done--and indeed remembers the impact it had on him.
"Just watching these people come in with all these documents, trying to figure out how to get out from under their bad mortgages," he said. "It was that moment when I realized that there's a human behind that data."
With the access Schramm and his team have to NEOCANDO and NST, the Land Bank has played a key role in reshaping neighborhoods across Cuyahoga County--demolishing 10,000-plus blighted properties, renovating more than 2,600 homes and helping bring nearly 250 new residences to life.
The result is stronger neighborhoods, renewed investment and an estimated $3.6 billion in economic impact--evidence of the lasting power of coordinated action to create opportunity and stability for communities across the county.
Seeing the whole picture
While the impacts of neighborhood revitalization can be easily seen, transforming the lives of children and families can be less visible. But just as data plays a critical role in community development, it helps connect the dots for people in very important ways.
Consider this scenario: A child is born in Cuyahoga County. In her first five years of life, she may see a pediatrician, enroll in a preschool program, move apartments, receive public assistance or rely on a patchwork of other public benefits designed to help keep families afloat.
As she grows, she may move through multiple social service systems--systems that don't always communicate with one another. During those years, social workers who tried to help her along the way will have no way of knowing for sure whether their efforts made a difference.
That's where the Poverty Center's Child and Household Integrated Longitudinal Data (CHILD) system comes in.
CHILD houses comprehensive administrative data on 750,000-plus children from more than 35 systems dating back to 1989. It allows for a fuller view of a child's overall well-being rather than just one piece of the picture.
For social workers and their agencies, connecting those disparate experiences is critical, according to Rob Fischer, PhD, director of the Poverty Center.
"Wouldn't you [as a social worker] want to know what was going on with the people that you serve before they met you?" said Fischer, who is also the Grace Longwell Coyle Professor in Civil Society at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.
Collectively, the data can also reveal overlapping services and referral gaps, allowing agencies to better coordinate or improve programs. Perhaps most important, however, is the data's ability to tell a story over time.
By securely linking administrative records across systems--involving education, benefits, and early childhood programs--CHILD allows evaluators to compare children who participated in programs such as universal prekindergarten with similar children who did not. If one group consistently fares better, leaders can say with confidence that the investment mattered.
That's something Shawna Rohrman, PhD, director of the Cuyahoga County Office of Early Childhood/Invest in Children, understands well.
Rohrman has spent the last eight years working with the Poverty Center and the CHILD system to evaluate such programs. She recognizes that it is less about the data and more about stories--about whether that child arrives at kindergarten ready to learn, whether she keeps pace with her peers, and whether the programs designed to support her actually change her trajectory.
"We know that what happens [for children] early on is pivotal for long-term well-being," Rohrman explained. "Being able to demonstrate a longitudinal impact is really difficult--and when we can do it, it's extremely meaningful."
In one case she worked on, rigorous evaluation helped secure county funding that doubled the size of their universal prekindergarten program.
"The families benefit, right?" Rohrman noted. "Because if it's a program that's worth funding, then it means that it's a program that's benefiting families."
Sustaining the systems that drive change
The George Gund Foundation has funded the Poverty Center's data systems since 1999 and remains the core supporter, particularly for maintaining underlying data infrastructure. In fact, the foundation recently renewed its commitment with a three-year grant--an extension from its typical two-year cycle.
"The CHILD system is remarkable," noted Marcia Egbert, program director at The Gund Foundation. "Of course, it illuminates critically important indicators of a child's well-being-and does so with great integrity. But at its core, it is a truth-telling operation. It tells the truth about our community's most vulnerable children and families in a way that helps prevent the weaponization of data against these most marginalized community members."
With this renewed funding, Fischer says the center will be able to provide even more direct support to organizations who use its data systems. But it's not just about individual programs like preschool expansion or lead remediation, he noted.
"We have a mature system here that is only now suitable to answer really important questions," said Fischer--complex questions about poverty, service delivery and long-term outcomes that would otherwise take years to answer.
Answering some of those questions is just what Master of Social Work student Christine Marlow set out to do. Marlow has been working with the team at the Poverty Center and using CHILD to learn how to address social bias in data analytics. In their assessment, they have discovered that race, ethnicity and gender identity--characteristics which are variable and socially constructed--have the potential to be misrepresented in administrative data due to social biases.
Now, they're working with Research Associate Professor and Poverty Center Co-Director Francisca Garcia-Cobian Richter, PhD, on teaching modules and guidelines that will help instruct practitioners on how to use social identity data appropriately in administrative data systems.
"This could truly have an impact moving forward," Marlow said, "especially considering the emphasis that is placed on data in regard to program delivery, funding allocation and decision-making in policy."
Like others who use the Poverty Center's integrated data systems, Marlow sees value in what they bring to the field of social work. With hundreds of social workers collaborating in data records numbering in the tens of thousands, there's real potential for positive social change.
But like any social worker would, Marlow emphasized how critical it is to look beyond the numbers.
"Behind every data point is a person--and ultimately, the story that we want to tell."
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Original text here: https://case.edu/news/connecting-data-strengthen-communities
Aalto University: Catalysis in Light - Microscale Interactions Could Enhance Clean Energy Technologies
AALTO, Finland, March 14 (TNSjou) -- Aalto University issued the following news release:
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Catalysis in a new light: Microscale interactions could enhance clean energy technologies
A new study provides a more detailed view of how catalysts function during chemical reactions. The discovery could help develop more efficient materials for applications such as green hydrogen production and a more sustainable chemical industry.
Catalysts power many technologies that modern life depends on. They help remove pollutants from car exhaust, enable the large-scale production of fertilizers that feed
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AALTO, Finland, March 14 (TNSjou) -- Aalto University issued the following news release:
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Catalysis in a new light: Microscale interactions could enhance clean energy technologies
A new study provides a more detailed view of how catalysts function during chemical reactions. The discovery could help develop more efficient materials for applications such as green hydrogen production and a more sustainable chemical industry.
Catalysts power many technologies that modern life depends on. They help remove pollutants from car exhaust, enable the large-scale production of fertilizers that feedbillions of people, and play a key role in emerging energy technologies such as hydrogen production and fuel cells. Without catalysts, many chemical processes would be impossible.
Despite their importance, scientists still struggle to fully understand how catalysts work at the smallest scales. The key processes take place at scales millions of times smaller than a grain of sand. But observing what happens there during a chemical reaction has been extremely challenging.
A new study now offers a window into this hidden world. Researchers from Aalto University, University of Warwick and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have reported new findings in the prestigious journal Nature Catalysis.
"The work shows how different microscopic regions of a catalytic material interact with each other during a reaction and how these interactions can strongly influence the overall performance of the material", says Assistant Professor Daniel Martin-Yerga from Aalto University.
A closer look at the hidden landscape of catalysts
Martin-Yerga compares the study of catalysts to looking at snow. From far away, a snowy landscape appears smooth and uniform. But when examined more closely, it becomes clear that snow is made of countless individual flakes, each with its own structure.
"Catalytic materials behave in a similar way. While they may appear uniform at larger scales, their surfaces contain many microscopic regions with different properties", Martin-Yerga says.
Using a highly sensitive technique known as electrochemical microscopy, the researchers examined tiny areas of a catalyst surface while a reaction was taking place. The measurements revealed that different regions of the material behave differently and need to cooperate to enable the reaction.
"These findings challenge the traditional idea that catalytic reactions are governed by a single type of active site. Instead, they show that interactions between different regions of a material can play a crucial role in determining how efficiently a catalyst works", Martin-Yerga says.
Understanding these microscopic processes could help researchers design better catalysts for clean energy and fuel production. By revealing how catalysts operate at the smallest scales, the study opens new possibilities for designing materials that are more efficient for sustainable chemical technologies.
These findings challenge the view that catalytic reactions depend on a single type of active site. Instead, they show that interactions between different regions of a material can strongly influence how efficiently a catalyst works.
Sustainable ways to produce chemicals, fuels and materials
The new findings are closely connected to the broader research direction of Martin-Yerga's group at Aalto University. Established in early 2025, the group explores how electricity can be used to drive chemical reactions in smarter and more sustainable ways.
Electrochemistry, the field at the heart of the group's work, can be thought of as a way of "steering" chemistry using electricity. Instead of relying on high temperatures or large amounts of energy, electrical currents can guide molecules along specific reaction pathways. When the electricity comes from renewable sources such as wind or solar power, this approach could open new possibilities for producing fuels, chemicals and materials with a much lower environmental footprint.
"Electricity gives us a very precise way to control chemical reactions. It allows us to guide molecules step by step, almost like adjusting the knobs of a machine, to transform them into something more useful", Martin-Yerga says.
The group studies how reactions unfold at the interface between materials and liquids, tiny environments where atoms, electrons, and molecules interact. Understanding these microscopic processes is key to designing better catalysts and electrochemical technologies.
The catalysts developed in the group are then used to convert biomass-derived molecules into valuable chemicals and fuels, explore alternative routes to produce green hydrogen, and transform waste streams such as plastics into new products.
A central goal of the work is connecting different scales of chemistry, from the nanoscale behaviour of materials all the way to the performance of real devices. Techniques such as electrochemical microscopy, used in the recent study, play an important role in this effort.
"These tools allow us to zoom in and watch how reactions happen on extremely small areas of a surface. But they also help us move faster. Instead of testing one material at a time, we can quickly compare many candidates and identify the most promising ones", Martin-Yerga says.
The group is also beginning to explore more automated ways of running experiments, where instruments can carry out measurements independently and help accelerate discoveries.
Although the research group is still young, its work is already supported by competitive funding from the Research Council of Finland, NordForsk, the Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation and the Foundation for Research of Natural Resources in Finland.
Read the publication:
The findings were published in the prestigious journal Nature Catalysis. Read the full article: Xu, X., Howland, W.C., Martin-Yerga, D. et al. Electrochemical imaging of thermochemical catalysis. Nat Catal (2026).
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Original text here: https://www.aalto.fi/en/news/catalysis-in-a-new-light-microscale-interactions-could-enhance-clean-energy-technologies
