Susan Melsop Describes How to Turn a Bridge Into a Community Resource Center

When São Paulo, Brazil, gifted an empty 12,000 square foot building to the city’s homeless, a world of opportunities and needs was created. Susan Melsop, an Associate Professor in the Ohio State Department of Design, had recently received the Ronald and Deborah Ratner Distinguished Teaching Award, which gave her the opportunity to create a social impact design project abroad. Over the course of several months, she developed academic and NGO partnerships in Brazil and formed a design class to illustrate how design can be an agent for change and social justice.

From Hammer to Nutcrackers to Pins: The Increasing Sophistication of Math with Roman Holowinsky

Math has been studied for thousands of years, so what could be left to discover? Plenty says Roman Holowinsky, associate professor of mathematics and the managing director and co-founder of the Erdős Institute. He studies analytic number theory and aims to find the simplest and most elegant way to accomplish a proof. He discusses math and more this week with David Staley on Voices of Excellence.

The Data About Your Steak Purchase Is More Valuable Than the Steak: Thomas Wood

Thomas Wood is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science who has worked on political campaigns such as Jeb Bush’s presidential run. He studies data use in campaigns and advertisement and shares with David Staley that the fact that a consumer has bought a mail order steak is more valuable than the actual steak sale, since this data can be sold to businesses that target this population.