It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s an alumna.
When Jessica Watkins, ’10, Kate Rubins, PhD ’06, and Nicole Aunapu Mann, MS ’01, work remotely, it means something a bit different than for the rest of us. The three astronauts are a part of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to reestablish human presence on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. Watkins (who spoke with Stanford from the International Space Station in September), Rubins, and Mann (who is currently aboard the ISS) are three of the nine Artemis program astronauts who could become the first woman on the moon. In the meantime, Watkins, a geologist, is researching hydroponic and aeroponic nourishing techniques to grow plants in microgravity. Rubins, a microbiologist, is helping engineers design future lunar spacesuits. And Mann, a mechanical engineer and former U.S. Navy pilot, led the astronaut corps in the development of the Artemis Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft. Should she eventually be named to the moon landing team, her young son, Jack, has put in a request: “When you’re up there on the moon, will you look for me?” he asked her. “Will you wave?”
Gaze into the (virtual) crystal ball.
Sure, ChatGPT may soon be able to write this paragraph better than the Loop can. (We tried it. It came close.) But there’s more to the future of artificial intelligence than existential dread. Last month, faculty affiliated with the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) offered some optimistic predictions for the state of AI in 2023, including anticipated improvements in data curation that decrease the amount of biased information used in AI training models. And, fortunately for us, ChatGPT isn’t on track to be employee of the month . . . yet. “I expect a hit parade of AI that’s not ready for prime time but coming out because it’ll be driven by overzealous industry,” said Russ Altman, a professor of bioengineering, of genetics, and of medicine, and an associate director of Stanford HAI.
A good influence.
If you’ve ever wanted to do something slightly out there—say, melt together 603 lipsticks from Sephora to discover the “theoretically most marketable” color—you might want to check out Safiya Nygaard’s YouTube channel, where her “Frankenphora” video has garnered 29 million views since 2018, when she posted it. Nygaard, ’14, and her husband, Tyler Williams, ’12, have built a career making lifestyle content on YouTube. Nygaard’s videos approach topics such as learning to make boba and testing Balenciaga’s 10-inch platform Crocs through entertaining, deeply researched investigation, and have racked up a combined total of 1.6 billion views. “I want people to approach subjects that seem like they could be surface-level with a little bit of, as Stanford likes to say, intellectual vitality,” Nygaard told Stanford magazine. “When we talk about things that have been traditionally treated as fluffy or superficial with the same intellectual weight as we treat other topics that are considered more serious, there’s actually a lot to unpack there.”
Lake Lag is . . . a lake.
Photo: Steven Artandi
Record-breaking rain slammed the Bay Area starting on December 26, temporarily restoring Lake Lag to a former state of glory and making terms like bomb cyclone household vocabulary around the Bay. If you want to geek out about weather systems, climate scientist Daniel Swain, PhD ’16, dug into the recent events in his latest weather and climate office hours video. California’s five back-to-back atmospheric rivers (a sixth hits later this week) have made for a soggy start to winter quarter, and the gushing San Francisquito Creek has, er, raised the water hazard difficulty at Stanford Golf Course.
The brain–bread connection.
Approximately 88 percent of American adults have poor metabolic health. A new medical subspecialty called metabolic psychiatry shows a connection between mental illness and altered metabolism in the brain. A metabolic disorder like insulin resistance, for example, can create a leakier blood-brain barrier, allowing more toxic substances into brain tissue. Shebani Sethi, founder of Stanford Medicine’s Metabolic Psychiatry Clinic, coined the term metabolic psychiatry after noticing a high prevalence of metabolic disorders among her treatment-resistant psychiatric patients. She now treats mental illnesses in part with nutritional metabolic therapy (e.g., a ketogenic diet) to address conditions like prediabetes, obesity, and hypertension. “If we’re able to change the structure and function of the brain through nonpharmacological methods like diet,” she said, “that’s a very positive step forward for chronic mental illness.”
Show me the data.
While the media buzz about data science is often linked to self-driving cars and robotics, Lynzi Ziegenhagen, ’93, wanted to use data science to support “regular, hardworking people.” She founded Schoolzilla, a software company that helps teachers aggregate and analyze student data like assessments and attendance statistics. Educators from some 2,100 school systems use the software, which, during distance learning, helped teachers identify the students most likely to struggle with remote instruction.
And when COVID hit, leaders of correctional facilities turned to data science to mitigate its impact on prison populations. Years before, Clementine Jacoby, ’15, was researching criminal justice reform when she was confronted with a disappointing dearth of data. “Criminal justice data is so fragmented that we can’t even tell you how many people are in jail today,” she said. This prompted her to start Recidiviz, which consolidates information from numerous criminal justice databases to provide a snapshot of those in the system. In 2020, Recidiviz helped corrections leaders in 34 states identify and release 11,000 prisoners early to help minimize COVID outbreaks. The company’s tools “probably sound quite basic,” said Jacoby, “but they didn’t exist and in many places still don’t exist.”
That’s good motivation for students in a new Stanford major: data science. Starting this academic year, undergraduates can enroll in a BA or BS track, and learn to analyze and utilize the 2.5 quintillion bytes of data produced every day worldwide.
But wait, there’s more.
In recent weeks, media outlets have reported about a Stanford website that discussed the Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative being undertaken by the university’s information technology community. Last week, President Marc Tessier-Lavigne sent a letter to the Stanford community to clarify that the website’s purpose was to educate the IT community about potential harmful effects of word choices on websites and in software code. Tessier-Lavigne says the site, which has been taken down, did not represent university policy and will not be used to censor speech at Stanford: “[T]he free expression of ideas and an inclusive community are essential parts of the same whole.”
Preeclampsia, characterized by high blood pressure late in pregnancy, is one of the top three causes of maternal death worldwide. Stanford researchers have discovered biomarkers—urine metabolites and proteins measured in blood—that predict the disorder early on. The discovery could lead to low-cost urine tests and help doctors treat patients at risk of developing the condition.
Michael Wu, ’25, remembers being 6 years old and the only boy in his ballet class. But since then, the sophomore has appeared on World of Dance and Canada’s Got Talent with his hip-hop crew, GRVMNT. The next time you’re on campus, you might catch his pop-and-lock prowess as he performs with Stanford’s Alliance dance team.
Spoiler alert! In Vanity Fair, assistant professor of art and art history Emanuele Lugli—who researches the ways desire and fantasies of love have shaped art and history—breaks down The White Lotus. Want more Lugli in your life? Revisit his 2021 deconstruction of coloring books for Stanford, complete with an art project.
Third year’s the charm for the Stanford juniors who began their college careers during the pandemic restrictions of 2020. Stanford magazine has followed seven members of the Class of 2024 from that first frosh fall of remote learning through a sophomore year plagued by viral variants. As juniors, they’ve settled into a year of relative normalcy.
And now, a moment of sweet takeover satisfaction: Claudine Gay, ’92, has been appointed president of Harvard University, where she is a professor of government and of African and African American studies. Happy New Year.
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