Science on the Brain
Tiny sensors no larger than a human hair invented by AU bioanalytical chemist Alexander Zestos could offer big insights about how the human brain works.
Zestos partnered with biotech company Spike Neuro to bring his sensors—which measure real-time changes in brain neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin—to market. The collaboration, announced this fall, is funded by a grant of nearly $1 million from the National Institutes of Health.
The sensors—which Zestos hopes will ultimately be used in humans—will help scientists better understand how drugs affect different brain regions, how diseases like dementia progress, and why some people wrestle with addiction and depression.
“Our understanding of the brain and nervous system is limited by the technologies currently available to study them,” he says. “Our probes are small, fast, biocompatible, and minimally invasive, and they can measure different brain regions simultaneously.”
Ishmael Who?
The late Washington philanthropist Mary Weinmann made a whale of gift to AU.
In addition to her Nebraska Avenue estate, known today as AU House, Weinmann bequeathed a rare 1853 copy of Herman Melville’s The Whale—definitively titled Moby-Dick—and other special publications to the University Library. The book features handwritten edits and notes from British playwright and novelist Charles Reade, whom Melville’s London publisher, Richard Bentley, is believed to have assigned to shorten the novel.
Reade, whose signature is on the interior front board and paper, did not shy away from the task. His bold first act was to strike the novel’s famed first line: “Call me Ishmael.”
An extraordinary resource for new scholarship, The Whale “will foster curiosity and empower new knowledge,” says University Librarian Jeehyun Davis. The volume is among 300 books gifted to the library as part of AU’s Change Can’t Wait campaign.
High Marks for Short Film
The Test—a 16-minute documentary codirected by School of Communication professors Claudia Myers and Laura Waters Hinson, SOC/MFA ’07—is making the grade on the festival circuit.
“[We] felt this was a profound story of hope at a particularly dark and politically divided time,” says Hinson, director of AU’s Community Voice Lab. “It showed how two often marginalized groups—immigrants and senior citizens—could come together across cultures and generations to lift each other up.”
The Test has been screened at 22 film festivals, including the Oscar-qualifying Austin Film Festival, and has won jury awards at the Santa Fe International Film Festival and three others. Most of the crew members for the film are AU graduates or students.
Ticket Masters
The spotlight was on experiential learning this fall as students in Kogod professor John Simson’s Representing Talent class staged an on-campus concert featuring rapper Flo Milli on October 24.
The Kogod Fall Concert was funded by a gift from the Veloric family, which also sponsored AU’s fall 2023 Flo Rida concert.
Students began planning the event over the summer, meeting with some of the music industry’s top talent agencies to identify an artist. Eagles also managed logistics, publicity, and ticket sales—even raffling off floor passes for students who donated to the Market, AU’s food pantry.
“Seeing the things that we talked about happen—it was exciting and rewarding,” says business and entertainment major Mahita Dasu, Kogod/BA ’25, who designed a promotional poster for the show.
DJ Rayyan, also known as Rayyan Al Romaih, Kogod/BS ’25—who has performed from Mykonos to Madrid—opened for Flo Milli. “I finally got to play in the arena in front of my school—that’s pretty cool,” he says.
A Sine of the Times
The Sine Institute of Policy and Politics’ third annual survey, released September 17, revealed an “optimism gap” among young Americans. According to Reimagining Political Leadership, 75 percent of respondents, ages 18–34, are hopeful about their own future—but only 47 percent feel the same way about the country.
Respondents graded the US across seven metrics: innovation, education, inclusivity, college affordability, economy, effective government, and capable and trustworthy political leaders. Men gave the country slightly higher marks than women, as did Republicans versus Democrats and cisgender/heterosexual young adults compared to their LGBTQ+ peers.
The Sine Institute partnered with Future Caucus, the Close Up Foundation, and Generation Lab on the poll, and a student advisory group helped formulate questions. The study employed innovative methodologies like audio clips with AI-generated voices to identify winning leadership traits young voters want in political leaders.
“This research offers a model for leaders to inspire, engage, and win the trust of young Americans,” says Amy Dacey, SPA/MA ’95, executive director of the Sine Institute. “You need to be honest and real, value everyone, and show that you care.”
Climate Grannies, Green Grandpas
In March 2023, thousands of older environmental activists in 30 states called on banks to divest from fossil fuels as part of the Rocking Chair Rebellion, billed as the largest climate action ever undertaken by seniors.
Baby boomers “are particularly engaged in climate action right now,” says sociologist Dana Fisher, who just landed a $1.04 million grant from AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, to study the impact of the work on political outcomes and individual participants.
Fisher, a professor in the School of International Service and director of AU’s Center for Environment, Community, and Equity, will also build out a DataCorps program that trains students to evaluate climate activism and engagement.
The grant builds on $556,000 in funding awarded by AmeriCorps to Fisher over the last two years.
“This new program is a great complement to the work we’re already doing with younger adults and climate corps emerging around the country,” Fisher says. “With this expanded funding, we’re not only looking at people starting their lives and careers but also older Americans who are increasingly focused on climate.”
Redefining Justice
Justice for survivors of sexual assault can take many forms: help breaking a lease, getting a name change, or securing a job transfer to avoid an abuser.
In an article published in May in Social and Legal Studies, School of Public Affairs professor Jane Palmer, SPA/PhD ’13, explores the efficacy of civil legal services, which are available pro bono to survivors thanks to the Violence Against Women Act.
“Civil Legal Service and Survivor-Defined Justice: A Qualitative Study with US Civil Legal Attorneys for Sexual Assault Survivors” was coauthored by Jacqueline Lee of Boise State University and Emily Michels, SIS/BA ’20.
As a graduate student, Palmer was a legal advocate with a nonprofit housed in a domestic violence court. Her role was to offer information, options, and referrals to survivors before they met with the state’s attorney and opened a criminal case. “They showed up bruised, saying, ‘The cop last night told me I need to get a criminal order of protection.’ But they didn’t have to go that route if it wasn’t right for them,” Palmer says.
“If you’re going to go through the criminal legal system, it will take forever; they probably won’t find the person guilty; and you will be revictimized in the process. It’s, in my opinion, a harmful system and not very trauma-informed.”