Over the past two decades, Haiti has endured the devastation of two catastrophic earthquakes — first in 2010 and again in 2021. Each disaster left behind widespread destruction: buildings reduced to rubble, entire communities displaced and an overwhelming loss of life. A major factor in the severity of these tragedies was the widespread structural failure of poorly designed buildings, many of which were not constructed to withstand the powerful tremors. Marc-Ansy Laguerre, a postdoctoral associate in civil and environmental engineering at Rice University, is determined to change that. His research, recently published in Earthquake Spectra, explores cost-effective retrofitting solutions that could help fortify buildings against future earthquakes.

Livestock agriculture is bearing the cost of extreme weather events. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores how heat stress affects U.S. dairy production, finding that high heat and humidity lead to a 1% decline in annual milk yield. Small farms are hit harder than large farms, which may be able to mitigate some of the effects through management strategies.

A grant to Wayne State University from the National Science Foundation (NSF) is opening new doors for researchers and students to explore the future of autonomous vehicles, machines and drones.