News
Reading with Bookworms
In a new study published in Scientific Studies in Reading, UD Associate Professor and DSI Faculty Council member Henry May, found that the Bookworms curriculum, significantly and positively impacted student literacy achievement by the end of fifth grade, with gains compounding over time.
Irrigating Nigeria
DSI Fellow Bhoktear Mahbub Khan, a doctoral student at the University of Delaware in the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences, (center) and DSI Resident Faculty member Kyle Davis (second from left) recently traveled to Nigeria to lead a workshop geared toward better understanding the opportunities and challenges associated with scaling up irrigation in Nigeria.
Expanding irrigation in Nigeria would allow farmers to sow seeds and grow crops during dry periods, extend the growing season beyond the traditional rainy season, and help Africa’s most populous country become more food secure.
The Future Is Bright For The Forecaster Cup
DSI Affiliated Faculty member Zvi Schwartz, professor of hospitality business management, has started a new global competition called the Forecaster Cup, which welcomed teams of hospitality students from around the world to match wits using hotel data to predict occupancy in pursuit of a $1,000 prize.
Ready, Set, VirusGo
Students from Las Américas ASPIRA Academy High School pose with an augmented reality model of a Brome mosaic virus, part of the VirusGo teaching platform developed by DSI Affiliated Faculty member Jodi Hadden-Perilla, Professor Lauren Genova and undergraduates Riley McKeon and Ava West. VirusGo combines AR and a role-playing game to teach students about viruses.
Computers and Chemistry
At the University of Delaware, a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) known as the Computing and Data Science Training for Materials Innovation, Discovery, & Analytics (MIDAS) program is helping students obtain the skills and experiences they need to become fluent in both computational and chemical languages.
The NRT-MIDAS program was launched by DSI Faculty Council member Arthi Jayaraman, the Centennial Term Professor for Excellence in Research and Education who holds joint appointments in the College of Engineering’s departments of chemical and biomolecular engineering and materials science and engineering. Jayaraman, is both the program director and PI of the $3 million grant from NSF that supports the program for its first five years.
DSI Resident Faculty member Austin Brockmeier and DSI Faculty Council member Sunita Chandrasekaran have served as co-instructors of previous iterations of the NRT Hackathon course (Chandrasekaran in 2022 and Brockmeier in 2023).
Mining in Portugal
DSI Faculty Council member Saleem Ali, the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Energy and the Environment at the University of Delaware, is pictured here at an old pyrite mining pit, which has been restored to a lake with geoscience education curation. Ali recently traveled to Portugal to address mining in the country thanks to a Fulbright Specialist Award he received from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Sharing Innovative Ideas
UD faculty and staff presented ideas that promote academic excellence at the second annual One Idea, One Slide Summit.
DSI Faculty Council member Bintong Chen, professor of business administration and director of Lerner College of Business and Economy, presented “FinTech Policy Innovation: Using Customer Sensitive Data to Improve Fair Lending” at the One Idea, One Slide Summit.
DSI Faculty Council member Sunita Chandrasekaran, David L. and Beverly J.C. Mills Career Development chair, presented “Boost UD Discovery and Learning through Free AI Platform.”
Future Leaders and Innovators
DSI Fellow Shar Daniels was among the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship award winners for 2024.
LSST Camera Arrives at Rubin Observatory in Chile
The largest camera ever built for astrophysics has completed the long journey from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California to the summit of Cerro Pachón in Chile, where it will soon help unlock the Universe’s mysteries. DSI Resident Faculty member Federica Bianco and DSI Associate Director John Gizis have held leadership roles in the Rubin ecosystem for years.
For the Record
DSI Affiliated Faculty member Chandra Reedy, director of the Center for Historic Architecture and Design (CHAD) and professor in the Biden School, was named a national finalist in the 2023 Wiki Science Photo Competition under the Microscopy category and the Image Sets category for Crystals in Song Dynasty Glaze. The winning U.S. images will represent the United States at the international level.
