Maxwell School News and Commentary

University Professor Sean O’Keefe says whoever is appointed at Boeing will need to be able to listen to the concerns of the industry. In particular, they will need to work hand in hand with its airline customers—from Alaska Airlines to United—to make sure safety issues will be the focus in the months ahead, he says.

The awards are funded by a 2022 MetLife Foundation grant that supports research and community programming over three years to examine the racial wealth gap’s root causes and ideas that may resolve its economic and social inequalities, says Kendall Phillips, Lender Center interim director.

Timur Hammond, assistant professor of geography and the environment, explores the impact of our environments in shaping identity and culture.

Encouraged by Associate Professor Michiko Ueda-Ballmer, the group of mostly MPA students used public data to address city transportation challenges.

"Examining the Smart City Generational Model: Conceptualizations, Implementations, and Infrastructure Canada's Smart City Challenge," co-authored by Austin Zwick, assistant teaching professor of policy studies, was published in Urban Affairs Review.

If the (Biden) administration does not incentivize an electric transition, it means the U.S. will cede EV [electric vehicle] leadership to China," says Tod Rutherford, professor of geography and the environment. "The Europeans are very alarmed by this and especially the German manufacturers are scrambling to catch up."

Michiko Ueda-Ballmer, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, says the authority should install at least small metal gates to make the system safer. “It’s better than nothing,” she says. “If there’s somebody pushed, just by accident, and if you have metal bars, I think that would definitely help.”

Hot air is less dense than cold air meaning planes have less lift when the mercury rises. “This is a physical restriction related to air density, and there are not a whole lot of direct technological fixes for it,” says Ethan Coffel, assistant professor of geography and the environment.

"There are three primary effects [of climate change on flying]: a reduction in payload capacity for some flights because of rising temperatures, an increase in clear air turbulence on some flight routes, and changes in fuel consumption on some routes due to changes in upper level wind speeds," says Ethan Coffel, assistant professor of geography and the environment.

"Exploring factors shaping transportation electrification in American cities," co-authored by Saba Siddiki, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition.