Every year around the globe, earthquakes threaten national economies and have the potential to kill tens of thousands of people and leave many more thousands homeless. Last year, the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that shook Sichuan province in southwest China destroyed 80 percent of the buildings, killed 70,000 people, injured more than 350,000 and left millions homeless. In 1995, a 6.8 magnitude temblor struck Kobe, Japan, destroying 200,000 buildings with damages exceeding $102 billion.
Consider the difference that earthquake-resistant buildings could make worldwide: Fewer would be killed, injured and left homeless, and the impact on the economy and the environment—from tearing down and rebuilding—would be lessened. This year a team of researchers from Stanford and the University of Illinois, led by Stanford Professor Greg Deierlein, designed a structural system to help multistory buildings survive massive shakes. When tested at Japan's Hyogo Earthquake Engineering Center, it withstood simulated earthquakes greater than magnitude 7.
This is one of the many ways Stanford researchers are addressing global problems and working to improve lives. At the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), research by postdoctoral fellow Maria Fitzpatrick demonstrated that states offering universal pre-kindergarten programs have seen improved math and science achievement in low-income children. All children benefit, but benefits are greatest for disadvantaged children in rural areas. Given that U.S. students have been lagging behind their peers worldwide in math and science, such research could significantly influence educational policy.
The complexities of the many problems we face in this country and around the world demand creative thinking and new approaches, and scholars at our universities should be leaders in helping to find solutions. For example, last year SIEPR director John Shoven and SIEPR honorary chair George Shultz examined the thorny issues of health care and Social Security in their book, Putting Our House in Order: A Guide to Social Security and Health Care Reform, and shared their views in meetings with numerous U.S. senators.
Faculty are not the only members of the Stanford community working to improve lives. Last year two undergraduates—biology major Nghi Nguyen, '09, and materials science and engineering major Ariane Tom, '11,—became excited about an emerging discipline called synthetic biology and wanted to compete in iGEM, the field's annual undergraduate competition. A multidisciplinary team of 10 undergraduates was formed, and Drew Endy, assistant professor of bioengineering and co-founder of iGEM, agreed to serve as faculty adviser. This summer, the team worked to create bacteria to detect and treat intestinal diseases. An estimated 4 million people suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, and the students hope genetically engineered "machines" like the bacteria they are creating will offer treatment without the side effects of traditional medicines.
Stanford is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and its emphasis on promoting the public good, and both are evident in the course Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability, offered by the Graduate School of Business and the School of Engineering. Open to graduate students across the University, it has resulted in some extraordinarily innovative and cost-effective services and products. Several years ago, Jane Chen, MBA '08, and Rahul Panicker, MS '04, PhD '08, were on the team that developed Embrace, a low-cost portable incubator with the potential to save millions of premature babies in areas with no access to medical care; today they are testing their design in India. After Sam Goldman, MBA '07, and Ned Tozun, '01, MBA '07, took the course, they founded D.light Design, which specializes in providing affordable light and power sources based on solar cells to people with limited means and no access to electricity. Both Embrace and D.light Design were featured in Time magazine's list of 25 Responsibility Pioneers in 2009.
Service is another way our faculty and alumni have global influence. Stanford alumni have served as elected officials, U.S. Supreme Court justices, volunteers and leaders of nonprofit organizations, and presidents of countries. Most recently, Yukio Hatoyama, MS '72, MS '73, PhD '76, became Japan's prime minister; another alumnus, John Roos, '77, JD '80, serves as the U.S. ambassador to Japan. In September, associate professor of political science Jeremy Weinstein became the fifth faculty member affiliated with Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute to enter President Obama's administration when he was named director for democracy at the National Security Council.
These are just a few examples of Stanford's global reach. Others can be discovered through the Stanford Global Gateway at http://global.stanford.edu/. I encourage you to check out "Explore our world" and learn more about the many ways Stanford researchers, students and alumni are taking on the century's challenges and making a world of difference.
