Education

Stanford issues first bond in U.S. higher education based on rigorous environmental stewardship and social responsibility standards

Stanford has issued bonds in the emerging ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investment category to fund the university's work to tackle environmental challenges and promote access and inclusion. The projects Stanford will finance with the bonds support health equity, improve access to housing, and sustain the University's equity and diversity goals while reducing GHG emissions that exceed internationally recognized climate action goals.

Famous Stanford coding course seeks to repeat success of novel model of online learning

A free version of the first half of the course "Programming Methodology" called "Code in Place" will be taught again starting April 19. "Code in Place" had over 10,000 students in 120 countries learning computer programming from 900 volunteer teachers. Developed after the shelter-in-place orders, Stanford computer science faculty Chris Piech and Mehran Sahami reimagined their course for a broader online audience.

Inside the brain: How cellphones lead to distracted driving

This study published in Scientific Reports by researchers at the Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Science Research, used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to demonstrate what happens in the brain when we text and drive at the same time. The study confirms that the cellphone draws our attention from driving and the brain imaging shows that cellphones are, indeed, a dangerous distraction.

EVs can make California's grid more fire-safe and resilient. Will it seize the opportunity?

An untapped source of stored energy, EV batteries could power homes when sections of the grid are shut down to prevent wildfires. This could help residents weather power shutoffs and lessen pushback against grid shutdowns. EVs could also support community microgrids--local self-sufficient electricity supply networks. This article looks at steps that would need to be taken to overcome barriers before California could tap cars and charging stations for energy.

Stanford's Long-Range Vision focused on accelerating university impact

Launched in May 2019, Stanford's Long-Range Vision shifted priorities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to accelerate solutions, enhance knowledge and education and support our diverse community. A central part of the Long-Range Vision is not only to advance the creation of knowledge, but to also speed the time to translate that into solutions beyond the university.

School focused on climate and sustainability will amplify Stanford's impact

A new school leveraging Stanford's excellence in climate and sustainability was announced by Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne. The school will include foundational science, low-carbon sustainable energy, human behavior, economics, food security, environmental law and policy, global health and more. It will run degree-granting programs for undergraduate and graduate students.

Stanford researchers find that automated speech recognition is more likely to misinterpret black speakers

Five speech recognition technologies tested by Stanford Engineering researchers found error rates twice as high for blacks as for white. Researchers speculate that machine learning systems used to train these systems likely rely heavily on databases of English spoken by white Americans. Speech recognition is used by more companies to screen job applicants with automated online interviews and people unable to use their hands to access computers.

Q&A: How the catalytic converters in cars go bad and why it matters

Working with a collaborative team from NIST and SLAC, Stanford researchers have simulated the deactivation mechanism at the atomic scale of the palladium catalysts. Their research suggests controlling the size and spacing of metal particles, palladium will neither sinter into large clumps nor decompose into single atoms. This could make it possible to maintain pollution reduction while using less precious metals and lowering the cost of catalytic converters.

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