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News — EAST LANSING, Mich. – From politics and an unprecedented presidential election to heightened international conflicts as well as celestial events, Michigan State University faculty experts shared their research-based commentary to provide insight and context on these events in addition to their own programs and discoveries.
As one of the nation’s leading public research universities, Michigan State University is often featured in the media for its research prowess, major discoveries and advances in science. MSU faculty also prioritize engaging media with the goal of advancing public knowledge to support more informed decision-making and policy funding. It is important that the public hear from faculty experts who present information based on science, research and facts at a time when misinformation is increasingly prevalent.
Here is a look at some of our in national, statewide and local media for 2024.
All things election
2024 provided the backdrop for an unprecedented presidential election. The year was filled with drama on many levels, and MSU experts were there to comment and set the record straight. Our home state of Michigan was in the spotlight as an important swing state. , director of MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, was a go-to scholar the public about Michigan’s importance in the race. Key Michigan counties were visited frequently by candidates, so the public — along with — looked to , director of the , which profiles counties, to explain in Michigan and across the country.
As the year progressed and President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump secured enough delegates to be their party’s nominees, they faced off in an early debate, the first-ever to take place in June. And the Trump-Biden debate wasn’t about policy and promises, it was about optics — many reported that Biden showed his age. He seemed to move slower, appeared to be dazed and provided answers that many deemed confusing. , associate professor of communication, .
Biden’s debate performance led to his withdrawal. The last time an incumbent president was replaced prior to this election was in 1968 when President Lyndon B. Johnson withdrew his nomination.
Childless cat ladies and other key demographic groups
Enter Kamala Harris — and childless cat ladies. During the campaign trail, comments resurfaced from now Vice President-elect JD Vance, in which he referred to prominent Democrats as “childless cat ladies,” while also including Harris in this group. and , professors in the Department of Psychology, and spoke to .
Celebrities came out to support both campaigns resulting in , Leslie Endowed Chair in Literary Studies and associate professor in the College of Arts and Letters, in several national outlets.
The nation also was watching different demographic groups to see how they would impact the election. , associate professor in the Department of Political Science, of Muslim voters, as well as , assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and also a faculty member in the Muslim Studies Program, who spoke with and other outlets.
Both Black and Latino voters were another important demographic that both campaigns were paying attention to during this election cycle. , associate professor in the Department of Political Science who closely follows Black voter sentiment, spoke with and others.
Hot topic issues for the next administration
After former President Trump became the president-elect, the focus shifted to how he would govern on issues from immigration to education and the economy. , director of the Immigration Law Clinic, for the border and deportations.
And , professor of education policy, and , professor in the Department of Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education in the College of Education, both discussed the possibility of Trump dismantling the Department of Education and the future of education under a second Trump term. that we could expect more debates about bathrooms and women’s sports, school vouchers and more singling out of kids because of their immigration status, while Cantwell that’s likely on its way due to the GOP control in Washington.
Regarding the economy, , professor and the Noel W. Stuckman Chair in Food Economics and Policy, and implications of Trump’s proposed tariffs with many media outlets.
Scientific and engineering wows
It was an astronomically busy year. From meteor showers to a total solar eclipse and , 2024 was the year to look up at the night sky.
MSU researchers , assistant professor in the College of Natural Science’s top-ranked Department of Physics and Astronomy; graduate student ; and Jack Uteg, an undergraduate student in the Honors College, about of our Milky Way galaxy. They scoured decades of NASA’s data to find these “” that had previously been missed by astronomers.
, a postdoctoral fellow also in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, in our solar system. , he and the research team have doubled the population of known dark comets and are the first to identify two distinct types based on differences observed in orbit and size. Seligman that one of the most important reasons why we study small bodies, like asteroids and comets, is because they tell us about how material is transported around the solar system — a cosmic supply chain!
, director of Abrams Planetarium, gave to the public who wanted to get a glimpse of the year’s many celestial events by answering questions in MSUToday resulting in articles in and many more.
And more star news: This past February, an working at the created that have never existed on Earth before. These new isotopes will help inform and refine scientists’ understanding of nuclear science. Now, researchers can start making the isotopes in greater quantities to conduct experiments that were never possible before. The team of scientists are also eager to follow the path they’ve forged to make more new isotopes that are even more like what are found in the stars. This exciting discovery was featured in .
Can you hear me now? Earlier this year, the NCAA approved coach-to-player communication, which involves inserting a device into a helmet so play calls can be heard clearly. But how do you tune out the roar of fans so the players can actually hear the call? To do this, the MSU football team turned to , an associate professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering at MSU. Bush worked with her team of undergraduate students in the to develop that can snap in and out of the earholes of football helmets and reduce the noise players hear. covered the story along with several other outlets.
Amazing agricultural adventures
One of actually began in 1878, when the schooner James R. Bentley set sail from Chicago bound for Buffalo loaded with a large shipment of rye but hit a shoal in Lake Huron and sank. Fast forward to Sept. 2024, a crew and took them to Associate Professor , an expert in wheat breeding and genetics. Olson has extracted DNA from the seeds and will transfer chromosome segments into a modern rye variety. If successful, Olson will have resurrected a historic rye for the very first time. The story caught the attention of , and many .
Splendor in the (turf) grass. MSU’s internationally recognized turfgrass management program has received a second invitation from FIFA to grow playing surfaces for the FIFA World Cup 26. The that , professor of turfgrass research, and his team developed for the 1994 World Cup games proved that turfgrass could be grown indoors and be installed and removed from a venue. This system has become the industry standard for using turfgrass in stadiums across the country and around the world. The story was covered by the and .
Artificial intelligence was everywhere in 2024 and is being used in countless applications — even in . , a Red Cedar Distinguished Associate Professor in the College of Engineering, partnered with , an adjunct professor with the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources who also works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to help reduce the labor shortage by developing a . Though robotic apple pickers already exist, the to identify the ripest apples and leverage engineering technology to harvest and protect the apples from bruising.
Potato chip lovers rejoice! A team of scientists led by MSU professors and has discovered a way to make a chip that tastes good and is better for you. Douches created a new potato variety, the Kal91.3 potato, that can be stored in the cold but doesn’t result in cold-induced sweetening, a process that converts starches to sugars, which poses health risks when cooked and processed. The was featured in , and more.
Health science breakthroughs
Honeybees can do more than make sweet nectar — they can . , an assistant professor in the College of Engineering and MSU’s Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, found that or chemical concentrations associated with lung cancer in human breath. The team have also shown that the honeybees can distinguish between different lung cancer cell types using only the ‘smell’ of the cell cultures. wrote about this un-bee-lievable discovery along with many other outlets.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 48.7 million people aged 12 or older have a substance use disorder. , an addiction medicine specialist and an at the College of Human Medicine, has dedicated herself to improving care and removing the stigma for patients with substance and alcohol use disorders. She founded the clinic at the Corewell Health Medical Center in Grand Rapids to help pregnant women and new mothers who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. She also spearheaded a program that trains a chronic brain disorder that alters circuits involving reward and self-control. Her work was prominently featured in .
Crusader and pediatrician continued to help kids in need. She laid the foundation to launch , the city’s first-ever for expectant mothers and infants. The program is an expansion of Flint Rx Kids and provides a no-strings-attached cash prescription of $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 each month for the first year of a baby’s life. Â鶹´«Ã½ outlets across Michigan spoke with Hanna, including .
In June, on the Research Center in the New Center neighborhood of Detroit. The research center is the first physical embodiment of the Henry Ford + MSU partnership and will be MSU’s largest research facility. Once completed, it will further and translational research for which the partnership is becoming known. Another key focus in this research is closing the gap in health care outcomes for people based on race, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status.
This year, avian influenza, also known as the bird flu, was still widespread worldwide and caused outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the current public health risk is low, the CDC is watching the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people with animal exposures. dean of the and former director of the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, and her team have been working closely with state and federal agencies to respond to the ongoing highly pathogenic virus since the outbreak began in February 2022. Part of the response process is to educate the public, so Dodd and colleagues have and made themselves available to , including , which reported on Michigan’s robust public health response.
Legally speaking
This year, the Supreme Court of the United States made major news by ruling on topics from presidential immunity to government authority and free speech.
, professor of law and Harold Norris Faculty Scholar, and how they could impact his eligibility to be nominated in addition to discussing the potential of self-pardons. Kalt was one of four constitutional law scholars to submit an to inform the Supreme Court that Trump’s absolute presidential immunity arguments have “no support in the Constitution’s text and history.”
Because the 2020 election was so hotly contested, the nation wondered if the same would happen in 2024. ,1855 professor of the law of democracy in the College of Law, to protecting against voter intimidation and the laws that pertain to both issues.
Another big ruling was the Supreme Court’s decision that cities can ban people from sleeping and camping in public places. Assistant Professor , who submitted an amicus brief on the Grants Pass vs. Johnson case, published an article in and provided insights to other outlets. She said that clearing encampments won’t solve homelessness and offered a better way forward that strikes a balance between public concerns and the needs of people who are homeless.
Additionally, the court reversed precedent when it overturned the so called “Chevron Deference” doctrine about the executive department’s authority. , assistant professor at James Madison College, discussed the ruling as well as the .
Although the court declined to rule on social media and regulation, , clinical professor of law and director of the and the , offered insights on free speech and regulation, speaking with and other outlets.
The economy, inflation and supply chain, too
As supply chain timelines were a major part of the economic conversation, , Eli Broad Professor in Supply Chain Management and interim chairperson of the Department of Supply Chain Management, spoke about the impact of 47,000 port workers going on strike across the United States. Among the many outlets he was spoke with were . Additionally, Middle East tensions impacted supply chain delays, as . He also of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.
Food prices and inflation continued to be a big issue for Americans throughout 2024. was a on these topics and provided insight to and , as he also detailed how the election could impact prices.
The stock market also experienced fluctuations in 2024 and so , associate professor in the Department of Economics, could mean with media after a temporary dip in August. Leading up to the election, there were also discussions about tax policy for Michigan and the country. economics professor emeritus, to statewide media on which tax policy changes could be helpful and, ultimately, be implemented.
Continuing global conflicts
From the Middle East to Asia, global conflicts escalated this year. This past October marked one year since the Israel-Hamas war began, with ongoing devastation in Gaza and remaining Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. As the conflict is still top of mind for members of these communities, professors from both Muslim and Jewish studies engaged with media. , professor of religious studies and director of Muslim Studies, spoke with about how Ramadan was difficult for many Muslims.
Additionally, professors from Jewish studies including , the William and Audrey Farber Family Chair in Holocaust Studies and European Jewish History, and , professor and director of the Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel, the rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia.
This year, tensions also worsened between Russia and Ukraine. , professor of international relations, and , associate professor at James Madison College, shared their expertise. Also discussing the state of the Middle East, as well as Russia and Ukraine, was , associate professor, speaking with .
Tensions also increased in Southeast Asia with China’s mounting military activity around Taiwan, threatening to potentially annex the country under its control. And South Korea’s president made headlines declaring martial law, prompting , assistant professor at James Madison College, to quickly respond and on this global event.
Addressing gun violence
February 13 marked the one-year anniversary of the 2023 shooting at MSU. No classes were held that day to allow students to reflect and grieve. At spaces around campus and in the East Lansing community, Spartans joined together to reflect, grieve and honor those who were lost and all who were impacted by the tragic event. All the activities were designed to allow people to participate in the way that made the most sense for them.
Additionally, the Associated Students of Michigan State University and the Center for Community Engaged Learning hosted “Healing Through Kindness and Service” events at the MSU International Center and Hannah Community Center in East Lansing. Both locations provided opportunities for attendees to write notes of support and attach them to small stuffed animals as well as paint small rocks with heartfelt messages, either to keep or give away. And therapy dogs were on hand that day to bring both comfort and joy.
Because everyone processes grief differently, associate professor in the colleges of Human Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine, that can occur as an anniversary of an on-campus tragedy approaches.
Ley leads the , which launched in May 2023 to target adolescent violence prevention. It’s a unique program that draws upon the expertise of mental health providers, law enforcement and educators to provide a research-to-practice hub located in MSU’s Department of Psychiatry.
Unfortunately, ours is one of many campuses that has experienced gun violence. The College of Human Medicine partnered with the Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo, New York, to host a , since both institutions experienced gun violence in their communities. The deans of both schools arranged the conference to explore public health approaches to ending gun violence. , dean of the college and executive dean of Health Sciences, and has continued to discuss taking public health approaches to end gun violence.
Spartan Bus Tour
On Oct. 21-23, MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., and a group of faculty and administrators set out on the inaugural . They visited locations throughout the western Lower Peninsula of Michigan to build community connections and strengthen MSU’s commitment to education, research, outreach and extension.
Major stops along the way included MSU’s Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Center, which has been in the northwest Lower Peninsula; the Ludington coastline along Lake Michigan where , an assistant professor of geography in the College of Social Science, works to ; the , which anchors the Medical Mile in Grand Rapids; and MSU’s W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, which serves as a hub for that benefits the state and beyond. Media across the state reported on the tour, including the , , , in Grand Rapids, , and Lansing’s , and .
See MSU year in review photos and video on .
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