University of Richmond faculty share their expertise with media outlets
Research & Innovation
Here's a sampling of professors called upon to lend their voices to news stories about teaching rats to drive, artificial intelligence, and other topics during 2024.
More than 100 UR faculty were featured in national news stories during 2024, appearing online and in publications that include The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, U.S. News & World Report, USA Today, Fast Company, Bloomberg, Scientific American, and in top international outlets like the Financial Times and BBC.
Artificial intelligence continues to be a major topic of news coverage, and UR faculty weighed in from various angles.
Risk management expert Shital Thekdi, an analytics and operations professor in the Robins School of Business, discussed the U.S. dockworkers strike in an October Yahoo! Finance episode about how automation could potentially help make working conditions safer.
"The potential is that AI and technology can actually help improve health and safety of workers, which is incredibly important," Thekdi said.
Law professor Rebecca Crootof, spoke with The Guardian about the use of autonomous weapons, and chemistry professor Carol Parish spoke about using AI in research with The Associated Press.
The potential is that AI and technology can actually help improve health and safety of workers, which is incredibly important.
Behavioral neuroscience professor Kelly Lambert and her research team first published about teaching rats to drive in 2019. In 2024, Lambert shared her latest findings, including that the rats opt to drive when given a choice to receive a treat by walking over and taking it or driving to it. This finding showcases the importance of positive experiences and has implications for how anticipation plays a role in sculpting healthy brains.
Hundreds of outlets, including The Washington Post and CNN, covered Lambert's latest research. It also caught the attention of NPR, BBC News, and various podcasts.
“The driving rats project has opened new and unexpected doors in my behavioral neuroscience research lab,” Lambert said. “While it’s vital to study negative emotions such as fear and stress, positive experiences also shape the brain in significant ways.”
UR faculty also offered their academic expertise to pop culture topics.
Psychology professor Janelle Peifer, an expert on parasocial relationships, was quoted in The Boston Globe article, “‘Bennifer’ is officially done. Again. Is it ridiculous to care?”
“Rooting for a celebrity can be like rooting for yourself,” Peifer said. “Celebrities play [a role] as a template for the expression of our hopes, wishes, desires, dreams, fantasies.”
Leadership studies professor and philosopher Jessica Flanigan discussed Taylor Swift with multiple news outlets about her wealth (Fast Company) and the philosophy in her lyrics (The Salt Lake Tribune).
Rooting for a celebrity can be like rooting for yourself.
The second season of the popular “Game of Thrones” spinoff was a perfect opportunity for history professor David Routt to share his expertise on medieval history. Routt penned “House of the Dragon’ was inspired by chaos of Middle Ages — a world without law and order” (Raw Story).
In April, a rare total solar eclipse captivated the U.S. and had many traveling to the places that fell within the path of totality. Physics professor Jack Singal, an astrophysicist, advised those travelers in Fox Business and Mashable articles.
"As long as a location is along the path of totality, then it basically all comes down to the weather — it needs to be not cloudy, at least in the patch of sky where the Sun will be when totality hits in the early to midafternoon, in order to see the eclipse in all of its glory," Singal said.
The Paris Summer Olympics amplified the expertise of two Richmond School of Law faculty.
Andy Spalding, an expert on anti-corruption and human rights related to mega sporting events, discussed these topics with France 24, and cyber law expert Anne Toomey McKenna discussed the use of AI and surveillance at the Paris Olympics with several top outlets, including Scientific American and Yahoo! Sports.
To see more national media coverage featuring UR faculty experts, visit Media Mentions on UR Now.