Category: Science & Technology
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Auditing AI
by James A. Bacon This is an issue that every university, corporation or government entity, not just the University of Virginia, should be thinking about: How will Artificial Intelligence affect their accounting, finances, and operations? AI overlords aren’t likely to enslave the human race any time soon. But the technology is progressing at a logarithmic…
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Virginia’s Rocky Road to Green: Navigating the Haze of Marijuana Legalization
by Don Rippert The journey of marijuana decriminalization and legalization in Virginia is a saga marked by halting progress, legislative inertia, and moments of enlightened reform, encapsulating the Virginia General Assembly’s oscillation between inaction and gradual, albeit grudging, acceptance of societal shifts. This narrative reflects a broader struggle within the state’s legislative body, often perceived…
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Contracting Out the Space Race
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Because the focus of this blog is on Virginia politics and public policy, I am loath to venture beyond those boundaries. However, I have recently become concerned about an issue (nonpartisan, I hope) that has ramifications beyond the Commonwealth. I am interested in the opinions of those on this blog who may…
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Virginia Child Victims in the Left’s War on the Enlightenment and Science
by James C. Sherlock Modern progressivism is religion, defined by Webster as “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.” The critical theory progressive, that is to say the modern American progressive, rejects proudly and publicly, root and branch, both the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolutions of the 16th through…
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A Long Time Ago in a World Far Far Away
by Dick Hall-Sizemore This past weekend I went back in Virginia’s history. Waaaay back. Over a billion years back. The occasion was the 2023 Virginia Geological Field Conference. This is an annual event staged by a group of leading geologists in the state. Attending were faculty members from several institutions, including one community college; geologists…
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Math SOLs Up First for New Superintendent Coons
by Eric (Rick) Nelson In K-12 education, can Virginia lead the nation? If that’s the goal, in my view as a career educator, Dr. Lisa Coons is the best possible choice as our new state Superintendent. As Chief Academic Officer in Tennessee, the programs she guided to help teachers improve reading instruction are among the…
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The More Things Remain the Same
by Joe Fitzgerald Stop me if you’ve heard this one. The Hopewell chemical plant where Kepone was born and raised has been cited 66 times over the past eight years for releasing toxic chemicals into the air and into the James River. The Richmond Times-Dispatch tells the story better than I do. What makes this…
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Planes, Planes, Planes, and Some Space Ships
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Friday afternoon I visited the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport, officially known as National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. It has been on my list of places to visit for a long time. If you haven’t been, I heartily recommend it. As with anything the…
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Troubled Times for Turtles: Habitat Loss, Poaching Threaten the Ancient Reptile in Virginia
by Bob Hurley The next time you see a turtle think of what life on Earth might have been like 220 million years ago. Turtles have been around for that long. They saw dinosaurs come and go; survived the Ice Age; and with their distinctive shells, have defended themselves against a variety of predators. And…
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Langley Looks to the Moon
by Robin Beres While mainstream media may be transfixed by the gutter politics going on in New York, exciting, uplifting events are happening in other parts of the nation — including in our very own little city of Hampton. Located on Hampton’s Langley Air Force Base just off the Chesapeake Bay, the Langley Research Center…
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Moral Injury Is Driving Doctor Burnout
by Dr. Scott Armistead Physician burnout is a major issue in the U.S., receiving attention in medical education, medical specialties and at various government levels. Moral injury, in my professional and teaching experience, is a significant and growing challenge to physician wellness. Moral injury happens when one’s personal convictions are unwelcomed and one is pressured…
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Wojick on Whales II: Missing BOEM Report?
by David Wojick In my previous article I raised this question: what is the potential adverse impact of Virginia’s massive offshore wind project on the severely endangered North Atlantic Right Whales? Answering this basic question should be a central feature of the upcoming Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) required for the wind project by the National…
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Hoos the Best Software Engineering School?
by James C. Sherlock Sometimes we get nice surprises. Yesterday was one of those days. A friend on the UVa Board of Visitors sent me a report by CodeSignal. Founded in 2015, (CodeSignal is) the first company to develop an objective skills-based assessment platform that can be used as a standard for technical hiring. The report…
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Mass Transit and Flying Machines
Real rebound or just a dead cat bounce? After bottoming out at around 21,500 riders a year ago, the Virginia Railway Express commuter rail service in Northern Virginia is experiencing a recovery in ridership, reports The Free Lance-Star. In February, VRE reports, monthly rider trips totaled more than 52,900. That’s a far cry from the…
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New Sea Level Prediction Less Dire, Still Unlikely
by Steve Haner The latest projection from the ever-trustworthy federal authorities sweating out the climate crisis is that the sea level will rise one foot along Virginia’s coast by 2050, rising the same amount in 30 years as it rose in the previous 100. The news quickly swept across the Commonwealth. Here is the Richmond…