Luca Cian, a UVA associate professor of marketing, said consumers are somewhat forced to rely on design cues and packaging-based claims if they don’t have a reliable understanding of what their food experience might be. Cian pointed toward research that found “rounded” design elements – shapes, names, typefaces, and low-pitched sounds – best convey “sweet” tastes. Angular shapes – or names, typefaces, and high-pitched sounds – suggest “sour” tastes.
It’s a Wednesday in April, just past noon. A dozen or so students are gathered virtually in a Zoom room, summoning their attention for a brisk lunchtime lesson filled with music and poetry. The course, called Transformations, teaches the basics of critical thinking, research and academic writing. It’s designed for students new to UVA – but not entirely new to higher education. They’re all adults enrolled in the University’s online Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program.
The new study is the first to identify the molecule iso-propanol – the largest alcohol detected so far in interstellar space – demonstrating the increasing complexity of one of the most abundant classes of molecule found in space. “We’re discovering molecules that are more and more complicated at the very early stages of star formation,” Rob Garrod, co-author of one of the studies from the University of Virginia, said.
Denny McCarthy, currently 39th in the FedEx Cup standings and 88th in the official World Golf Ranking, might project as a target for the LIV Golf Series, which is throwing gobs of Saudi oil money at its sportswashing effort. The UVA golf alum has no interest in LIV’s money.
(Commentary by A.D. Carson, assistant professor of hip-hop) None of these justify the use of “rap” or “rapper” in describing Crimo’s alleged criminal behavior – and everything to do with criminalizing rap and rappers. In my view, referring to this genre of music and those that make it is a racially loaded signal to readers that Crimo’s musical interests are a significant part of the mass shooting and somehow led to the crimes of which he is accused.
Virginia Tech’s Jack Hurley and UVA’s Kyle Teel were named to this year’s USA Baseball Collegiate National Team that will compete at Honkbalweek Haarlem in the Netherlands. The UVA catcher is one of four players who is returning after representing the Stars and Stripes last summer.
(Subscription may be required) Nearly 80% of schools would like more mental health support for students or staff, while 70% said more training is required to support students’ social-emotional development. “What that tells you is the sort of depth and breadth of the need,” UVA education professor Scott Gest said. “Part of what was striking to me in looking at the results is that these basic concerns and COVID impacts are largely seen across all levels of schooling, across all regions, across different kinds of school demographics.”
(Commentary by Sarah Milov, associate professor of history; subscription may be required) The Food and Drug Administration recently proposed lowering the nicotine content in cigarettes to less addictive levels. If adopted, this regulation would finally test one of the tobacco industry’s favorite claims: that smoking is a choice.
(Editorial; subscription may be required) Dr. Kat Egressy plans to leave for Ukraine in the next few weeks. The pulmonary critical care specialist at UVA Health plans to visit her father. But she will stuff her luggage full of medications that hospitals in the western part of the country have told her father that they need.
Psychologist Joseph Allen and his team have been following nearly 200 adolescents since 1998. One of his UVA’s lab’s most robust findings is that having one or more strong friendships during the teen years predicts a range of benefits later on: academic success, better mental health, rewarding romantic relationships in young adulthood.
In upholding a football coach’s right to pray on the 50-yard line, surrounded by willing players, the conservative majority discarded one precedent, and seemed to leave room for more precedents to be shattered – among them the court’s repeated decisions since 1962 barring teacher-led prayer in the classroom. UVA Law professor Douglas Laycock wonders how school officials, or lower court judges, are going to differentiate between prayer on the football field and prayer in the classroom.
In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the passing of Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), one of America’s most important and enigmatic artists, The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA has organized an exhibition of his work. “Joseph Cornell: Enclosing Infinity” is on view June 26 through Feb. 12. The intimate, focused exhibition will feature six boxes from The Fralin’s collection, inviting visitors to enter Cornell’s world of fantasy.
Statistical physicist Marija Vucelja of the University of Virginia started wondering how common the phenomenon might be. “Is this like is a needle in a haystack, or could it be useful for optimal heating or cooling protocols?” she asked.
UVA law professor George Geis said he thinks the current crypto situation differs from the dot-com debacle of yesteryear, “though there are certainly some parallels – such as questionable business models and vast waves of capital coming into this space. … I do think there will be a wave of consolidation. Companies will be scrambling to avoid becoming the next ‘Celsius,’ and traditional financial services firms are carefully considering whether now is the right time to acquire a crypto foothold.”
David Hamilton Ibbeken of Charlottesville died peacefully June 27. He was 80 years old. A UVA Law alumnus, he returned to the University in 1979 as the executive director of the Law School Foundation. Over the course of 28 years under his watch, the foundation’s endowment grew from $5 million in 1979 to more than $300 million in 2007. The highlight of his career was overseeing the capital campaign in the 1990s which raised $202 million, more than any other law school had raised at the time.
With omicron and its subvariants making up most of cases right now, it’s good to know that rapid tests generally still work for omicron, TODAY reported. But it’s too early to know how well they work against omicron subvariants, Dr. Amy Mathers, associate professor of medicine and pathology and associate director of clinical microbiology at the UVA School of Medicine, said.
(Subscription may be required) A pair of national championships helped the UVA athletics department finish 11th in the final 2021-22 Directors’ Cup competition, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics announced. It is the second consecutive year that the Cavaliers have finished 11th in the competition, which awards overall athletic department excellence.
Chris Ruhm, a UVA economics and public policy professor who specializes in the health effects of economic downturns, put it bluntly: “When the economy gets worse, mental health gets worse.”
(Subscription may be required.) Dr. Rachel Moon with the UVA Children’s medical center is the lead author of the updated guidelines.
The University of Virginia is a must-see for history buffs and architecture admirers. “It is open to the public; gardens, buildings… all of it,” says Madison Spencer, a UVA alum and Charlottesville-based architect.