Since algorithms can detect patterns humans can’t, therefore expediting a doctor’s assessment, AI systems could help enable broader national screening programs for lung cancer or heart disease. “It could be a great equalizer for health care,” says UVA urologist Dr. Kirsten Greene. “People without access to a top-20 medical center – it won’t matter, because technology will at least try to level the playing field.”
George Edward “Jed” Smock Jr., better known as evangelical pastor Brother Jed to college campus communities near and far, died June 6. Smock’s spirited confrontational style of preaching drew big crowds as he would incite heated debate – harangue – student “sinners” for what he considered as their alleged moral failings. “Unlike myself, many students in the amphitheater were offended by Smock’s claims,” Laura Parcells wrote in 2001 in the Cavalier Daily, UVA’s student newspaper. “They attempted to argue with him, and while these endeavors began in earnest or out of sport, they all inevitably l...
(Editorial; subscription may be required) The New York-based Henry Luce Foundation, named after and established by the founder of Time, Fortune, Life and Sports Illustrated magazines, has awarded the Fralin Museum a $250,000 grant that will support new research into its Native American collection, conducted in collaboration with indigenous scholars and artists.
(Commentary by Marlene Daut, professor of American and African Diaspora studies) Last month, The New York Times made headlines with its front-page series about the billions (in today’s dollars) that France forced Haiti to pay following centuries of slavery. Despite the terrors and tortures of French colonialism, the Haitian revolutionaries won their independence from France in 1804 to become the first modern nation to permanently abolish slavery. Yet, in 1825, the French returned to Haitian shores to demand 150 million francs in exchange for recognition of Haitian independence – 21 years after...
Sir John Wheeler-Bennett was the picture of an English aristocrat, without a hint of stuffiness. So genial, so approachable, we young University of Virginia students were thrilled by each of his lectures on diplomatic history – especially about anything on England and Germany in the interwar period.
(Book review) Our current cultural climate incentivizes black-and-white judgments about America’s past, making Thomas S. Kidd’s new biography, “Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh,” refreshing. His book provides a nuanced and intimate analysis of Jefferson that illuminates the man’s contradictory nature.
The courthouse shook from the cheers at the investiture congratulating the new chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Samuel Bernard Goodwyn, a Southampton County native, was installed at the Richmond Supreme Court Building on June 8, becoming the second African American to serve as chief justice. Goodwyn graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and obtained his law degree at University of Virginia.
With the redistricting process now more or less complete, we have a relatively clear view of what the House playing field will look like. The short answer: Good for Republicans. And potentially very good for them. “Our ratings currently show 214 races at least leaning to the Republicans, 193 at least leaning to the Democrats, and 28 toss-ups -- a clear edge for Republicans,” wrote Kyle Kondik for the Crystal Ball at UVA’s Center for Politics.
Spanning 425 miles, Alaska’s Koyukuk River boasts scenic views, hiking opportunities and a variety of wildlife, including, apparently, some which roamed the earth more than 10,000 years ago. Adrienne Ghaly, a UVA environmental humanities research specialist, took to Twitter earlier this week to share the moment she caught on camera part of a woolly mammoth; a creature made all the more elusive due to the fact it’s long been extinct.
In the U.S., education is not a federal right. Such a right is enshrined in all 50 state constitutions, but not in the U.S. Constitution. The nation should consider establishing such a right through the courts, Congress, or a constitutional amendment, says Kimberly Robinson, a professor at the UVA School of Law and editor of “A Federal Right to Education: Fundamental Questions for Our Democracy.” America really has two educational systems, Robinson says.
Times have certainly changed in college athletics in the year since the NCAA opened the floodgates on student-athletes’ ability to profit from their name, image and likeness, even for a first-year head coach like Virginia’s Tony Elliott.
It should feel safe to assume that the average computer science graduate from Stanford University would ace a coding proficiency test. But Stanford CS grads don’t even make the top 10 list for high scorers on the General Coding Assessment, the test designed by CodeSignal and given to software applicants at most major tech companies. Ranked ahead of Stanford (at slot 13 on this year’s CodeSignal list) are schools like the University of Virginia (1) and Swarthmore College (10).
According to Dr. Bill Petri at UVA Health, monkeypox can spread through respiratory droplets, but there’s no need to fear it because it’s not like COVID. “There’s no risk of this becoming a pandemic,” said Petri.
The University of Virginia says its newest professor is one of the world’s most noted authorities on the Holocaust. Victoria Barnett will be joining the College of Arts & Sciences and bringing with her an expert’s perspective on the Holocaust. This is a part of the University’s rotating role as the Frank Talbott Jr. Endowed Visiting Professor.
(Subscription may be required) Former UVA standouts Heath Miller and Herman Moore are on the 2023 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation announced Monday.
(Subscription may be required) Three University of Virginia graduates who set off on a 250-mile canoe adventure to get better acquainted with the James River came away with enough discoveries to fill a documentary feature. Justin Black, Will Gemma and Dietrich Teschner directed “Headwaters Down: Thirteen Days on the James River: An Environmental Adventure Documentary,” which will be screened at a red-carpet event Wednesday at the Richmond International Film Festival.
A more traditional vaccine than some of the others, it might encourage some vaccine holdouts to get the shots, experts said. “There’s a lot of reasons that are not scientifically based for not having taken the vaccine (yet),” said Vivian Riefberg, a professor at UVA’s Darden School of Business. “This may convince some people because it’s traditional technology.”
Understanding the court’s reasoning first requires taking a look at the statute, said Lawrence B. Solum, UVA’s William L. Matheson and Robert M. Morgenthau Distinguished Professor of Law. “On the surface, ‘bees are fish’ looks absurd,” he said, laughing. “Because no one thinks bees are fish. But that’s not what the court is saying.”
Dr. Amalia Miller, professor of economics and graduate studies director at the University of Virginia, notes that “behavior that for boys is socially rewarded doesn’t fit well with good student behavior.”
(Subscription may be required) Dr. William A. Petri, a UVA Health physician-researcher who has answered dozens of your COVID-19 questions this year, tested positive for the virus this week. We asked him, when he felt better, to share his experience with readers.