Just after turning forty, Steve Grove left Silicon Valley as a Google executive to move to his home state of Minnesota. Gone from the Midwest for two decades, Grove traded his career at Google for a position in state government with Governor Tim Walz. In How I Found Myself in the Midwest, Grove tells a story of reinvention that took on new urgency when crisis struck, as the coronavirus pandemic and the tragic murder of George Floyd unfolded just miles from his newfound home, thrusting Grove’s work into an unexpected spotlight.

For most of the past half century, Americans of both parties expressed high levels of trust in science, coinciding with bipartisan support for investment in scientific research. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, however, that dynamic has shifted, with Republicans reporting declining trust even while Democrats planted lawn signs reading “In this house we believe in science.” 

Competitive and recreational sports alike are changing faster than ever thanks to innovations ranging from helmets to footwear to ball tracking to adaptive wheelchairs. This accelerating pace of new technology is spurring debates about fairness, safety, and the importance of traditions.

On February 7, 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced it would cap indirect cost payments on its grants at 15 percent. The policy has faced strong criticism from universities, the scientific community, and others, who argue it would place unsustainable financial strain on research universities, undermine biomedical research, and ultimately delay or reduce the development of new drugs, treatments, and other valuable health research. At the same time, many critics of the change concede that the current indirect cost recovery system is flawed and in need of reform.

It is virtually impossible to turn on CNN, read the Wall Street Journal, go to a hospital, attend a university, or browse a bookstore without encountering a sea of Indian names and faces. In her new book Indian Genius: The Meteoric Rise of Indians in America, author and journalist Meenakshi Ahamed examines the story of Indian immigration to the United States.

For policy makers, water managers, and others seeking to promote equitable access to municipal drinking water and reduce the environmental impact of bottled water consumption, the presence of unwanted tastes and smells found in municipal drinking water present challenges. In this seminar, Christy Spackman (ASU) and Susheera Pochiraju (Hazen and Sawyer; AWWA Taste and Odor committee) outline approaches to using the presence of environmental tastes and smells in municipal water as a community-engagement opportunity.

ASU alumni and friends are invited to attend a reception at the ASU Barrett & O’Connor Center. Join the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory for company and conversation about the integral role our planet’s oceans play in sustaining the Earth’s life-supporting systems and the initiatives underway at ASU to ensure thriving ocean futures. Remarks by Peter Schlosser, vice president and vice provost of global futures; Sally Morton, executive vice president, ASU Knowledge Enterprise; and Bill Curry, president of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. Join us!

In a regressive era, few policymakers seek neutrally competent analysis of technologies. Existing models of technology assessment will have to be rethought for a noisy environment rife with messaging by interested parties that range from armchair pontificators to industry lobbyists to federal agencies pushing internal agendas. To help serious-minded policymakers and policy influencers isolate meaningful signals from the noise—noise that seems likely to grow ever louder and more discordant—technology assessment should probe for points of policy leverage and become more sharply focused.

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