UVA alumna Margot Lee Shetterly’s universe always included relatives and family friends who worked in math and science. The women are the basis for Shetterly’s book, “Hidden Figures,” which is being released today and is the basis for a movie to be released in January.
When Justin Trudeau sits down for a meeting Saturday with Jack Ma, he will come face-to-face with the most recognizable captain of China’s ambitious new economy. But the prime minister will also be speaking with a powerful figure who has become useful to the Communist Party in shaping how the world sees China. “The party is very interested in having a wider range of spokesmen, especially some that look impartial like business people,” said Shirley Lin, a professor of political economy at UVA and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Larry Sabato of UVA’s Center for Politics discusses the Republican preparation for a big loss.
For those who wish this long and often dismal presidential campaign were over, help is already here. To the rescue have come the forecasters – political scientists with prediction models that have already called the election, in some cases many months ago. Their work will soon be published collectively in the upcoming issue of the journal PS: Political Science and Politics. Some of their analyses have been carried on Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball website at the University of Virginia.
Polling aggregators, which calculate averages of major polls, have shown that Clinton’s lead has been shrinking for the past few weeks. But in contradiction to the two new surveys, those averages still put her ahead of Trump by between three and six percentage points. Larry Sabato, director of UVA’s Center for Politics, said he remained convinced Clinton was ahead. “There has been a closing that’s completely natural,” Sabato said.
While overdose deaths have reached epidemic proportions, one UVA professor thinks the opiate problem is probably even more prevalent than is officially known. In a working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research, Christopher Ruhm, a professor of public policy and economics, found that 20 percent to 25 percent of death certificate records from the CDC in cases of overdose deaths did not specify the types of drugs used.
“Ayotte appears to be running ahead of Trump in New Hampshire, but Trump is fairly far behind, which could drag Ayotte down,” said political analyst Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia. “Right now I’d rather be Hassan than Ayotte, and the only reason for that is the presidential race. We’re in an era where presidential results typically have a large impact down the ballot, and we’re seeing that in New Hampshire even though Ayotte has some crossover appeal.”
In 2016, does America project a welcoming message for immigrants, or are we encouraging them to stay away? Dr. Larry Sabato, founder and director of UVA’s Center for Politics, was the keynote speaker at the Monticello ceremony, and considers that question today on The Takeaway.
Worried About the October Surprise? Here's How Many Americans Cast Early Votes Ahead of Election Day
Larry Sabato is the director of UVA’s Center for Politics, so he’s pretty good at this “prediction” stuff. When he talks about what he thinks the election will look like, people listen. Today, he tweeted this: “Much gab about October Surprises. Possible but less influence than ever. Early voting means a third of ballots cast days/weeks before 11/8.”
On Monday the Undergraduate Research Network began a weeklong research and scholarship week with a discussion on women in research. The group talked about illuminating some of the barriers that women are facing in science, technology, engineering and math fields and ways in which they can move past and overcome them.
Beyond academics, students who frequently miss school are less likely to adopt the behaviors and social norms that employers, colleges and law enforcement may expect, experts say. “Absence is often associated with low supervision … and alienation or detachment from conventional institutions,” said Patrick H. Tolan, the director of Youth-Nex, a UVA center that conducts research on factors influencing youth development.
Mission scientist Anne Verbiscer of UVA notes Pluto reached its annual opposition point July 8 when it appeared on the opposite side of the sky as the sun. In “Pluto: Preparing for the Perfect Alignment,” Verbiscer reported that in 2018, Pluto and Charon will be in a near-perfect alignment with the Earth and Sun, presenting a unique opportunity to capture images of their surfaces and compare these with photos taken by New Horizons.
The advertising bombardment from both presidential campaigns will increase enormously in coming days. “The TV ads, the speeches and the constant TV coverage, and your friends and relatives talking about it,” said Larry Sabato, director of UVA’s Center for Politics.The advertising bombardment from both presidential campaigns will increase enormously in coming days. “The TV ads, the speeches and the constant TV coverage, and your friends and relatives talking about it,” said Larry Sabato, director of UVA’s Center for Politics.
(By Gerald Warburg, professor of public policy at UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy) Labor Day once marked both the eve of the new school year and the kick-off of the campaign season. It was a time of hope and renewal. Why then are so many students and voters pessimistic today?
One of the biggest benefit races in Charlottesville ran full steam early Saturday morning. Thousands of runners took to the course along Garth Road for the annual Charlottesville Women's Four Miler. All proceeds go to the UVA Cancer Center’s Breast Care Program.
The University of Virginia underwent a similar exercise in introspection over a period of several years. In 2007, UVA’s governing board approved a resolution expressing regret for the university’s use of slaves in its early years. Last year, the university opened a new dorm that honors a 19th-century man who was enslaved by UVA professors for a portion of his life.
A large display of panoramic photos on Charlottesville's Downtown Mall is challenging the interpretation of slavery and segregation in Virginia. The exhibit has additional installations at the Jefferson School African-American Heritage Center and the University of Virginia.
Lana Swartz, an assistant professor of media studies at UVA, joined a BBC “Newshour Extra” roundtable on “The End of Cash.” Swartz is an expert on Bitcoin and shared her perspective on the rise of electronic currency.
At the UVA Medical Center, heart attack patients are given an appointment to come back to a special clinic within 10 days of discharge. Over the course of about an hour, patients meet with an exercise physiologist, a cardiologist, a nutritionist and a pharmacist – and all in the same exam room.
In order to promote interdisciplinary faculty research that addresses environmental challenges, UVA has created Resilient Environment Seed Grants. Such research will help develop more resilient communities that can anticipate, withstand and possibly prevent threats from rising sea levels.