The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded Tuesday to a Canadian-American cosmologist and two Swiss scientists for their work in understanding how the universe has evolved from the Big Bang and the discovery of the first known planet outside of our solar system. Cornell University experts are available to discuss the impact their work had on our understanding of the cosmos. 

Physical Sciences & Engineering

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Environmental activists kicked off two weeks of protests on Monday in London, Berlin and other cities to demand that governments adopt a more radical approach to climate change.

International

Arts and Sciences

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On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize for Medicine to Drs. William G. Kaelin Jr., Gregg L. Semenza and Peter J. Ratcliffe for their work on oxygen levels and the body’s cells.  Richard Cerione, professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University, studies cellular pathways that influence various biological outcomes, including cancer progression. He says the scientists’ findings have important implications for our understanding of cancer cells’ behavior.

Arts and Sciences

Veterinary Medicine

Health, Nutrition & Medicine

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The service sector slowed the pace of its expansion in September, according to the Non-Manufacturing Index (NMI) released on Thursday by the Institute of Supply Management (ISM). The reading comes days after the institute published unfavorable data on last month’s manufacturing sector, fueling concerns of an overall economic slowdown.  Christopher Anderson, professor at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and the director of the Center for Hospitality Research, says that the service sector remains robust, despite signs of an upcoming slowdown in hospitality. 

School of Hotel Administration

Business, Economics & Entrepreneurship

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The U.S. announced it is moving to impose tariffs imports from the European Union, following a ruling from the World Trade Organization (WTO) earlier on Wednesday that authorized Washington to go ahead with tariffs. Kate Bronfenbrenner, senior lecturer at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, says that the WTO’s decision gives Trump the option to use tariffs as a distraction from domestic issues at the expense of jobs beyond the airline industry - where the trade dispute originated.

Economics and Business

Industrial and Labor Relations

International

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Starting this Thursday, cars will be banned from lower Manhattan’s 14th street as part of an 18-month experiment to improve traffic flow. The 1.1-mile stretch will only allow buses, trucks, bikes and pedestrians. Only local businesses and residents will have car access to the street.  

New York City

Cornell Tech

Engineering

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

Architecture, Art and Planning

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Income inequality in the United States grew last year to its highest level in more than 50 years, according to figures released on Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Heartland states are among the leaders of the increase, even though several wealthy coastal states still had the most inequality overall.

Business, Economics & Entrepreneurship

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A major new United Nations report, issued on Wednesday, warns that the Earth’s oceans are under severe strain from climate change, threatening everything from the ability to harvest seafood to the well-being of hundreds of millions of people living along the coasts. Cornell University experts are available to discuss impacts of increasing ocean temperatures and the importance of ocean conservation.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

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On Wednesday, vaping firm Juul announced it was replacing its chief executive, Kevin Burns, with KC Crosthwaite, formerly with tobacco giant Altria. The replacement follows reports of vaping-related lung diseases and growing concerns about the firm’s advertising towards children. Hyunseob Kim, professor of finance in the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and an expert in corporate governance says that a former tobacco executive is a natural pick given their expertise with regulators, one of Juul’s most important audiences in the foreseeable future.

Economics and Business

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

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Israeli citizens went to the polls this week to vote in an election that long-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hoped would give him and his Likud party a governing mandate. However, the election resulted in no party securing enough seats in parliament to form a government. Uriel Abulof, visiting professor at Cornell University’s Government Department and senior lecturer of politics at Tel-Aviv University, says that the election is an indication that Netanyahu’s political strategy did not pay off and may have cost him his leadership role.

Law, Government & Public Policy

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