While progress toward developing a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 infection continues to dominate conversations about the pandemic, international and multigenerational teams of engineers have come together once again through the National Academy of Engineering’s COVID-19 Call for Engineering Action to find creative solutions to myriad pandemic-related problems. Their ideas aim to combat misinformation, help people most at risk, and prevent the spread of the virus.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identifies promising strategies for reducing consumer food waste nationwide, including a national campaign to change consumer behavior, federal standardization of food date labeling, and changes to retailer marketing and food service practices, among other measures.

A new rapid expert consultation from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Societal Experts Action Network says strategies such as giving advance notice, partnering with trusted sources, and offering incentives can encourage individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 to respond to health department contact tracing and share information about people they may have exposed to the virus.

As Hurricane Laura bears down on parts of Louisiana and Texas, officials are dealing with the challenge of evacuating and sheltering people in the middle of a pandemic. A recent workshop examined how disaster preparedness teams must adapt to new realities as hurricanes, wildfires, and other extreme weather events coincide with COVID-19.

A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee tasked with developing an overarching framework to assist policymakers in planning for equitable allocation of a vaccine against COVID-19 will issue a discussion draft of the preliminary framework for public comment on Sept. 1.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today released for public comment a discussion draft of a preliminary framework to assist policymakers in planning for equitable allocation of a vaccine against COVID-19.

Human embryos whose genomes have been edited should not be used to create a pregnancy until it is established that precise genomic changes can be made reliably without introducing undesired changes — a criterion that has not yet been met by any genome editing technology, says a new report by an international commission of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.’s Royal Society.

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has selected three outstanding health professionals for the class of 2020 NAM Fellowships.

To more accurately quantify disaster-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies supporting disaster response should adopt a uniform national framework of data collection approaches and methods for distinguishing direct from indirect disaster deaths, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine started work on a new study last month that will provide advice to policymakers, corrections officials, and public health officials on best practices for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in correctional facilities through large-scale release and decarceration efforts.

The U.S.-based Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has formed a cooperative understanding with the Colombia-based Sociedad Panamericana de Investigación en Transporte y Logística (Pan-American Society of Transportation Research, PANAMSTR).

The sustainability of the nation’s biological collections is under threat, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provides a blueprint and eight overarching strategies for improving health care for the approximately 100,000 people in the United States living with sickle cell disease (SCD).

As wildfires tear across the Western U.S., officials are confronting the challenge of evacuating and sheltering people in the middle of a pandemic.

Limitations in existing health studies have resulted in insufficient evidence to determine whether U.S. troops’ exposure to burn pit emissions and other airborne hazards in Southwest Asia are linked to adverse respiratory health outcomes, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

In a matter of months, the coronavirus pandemic has triggered a global health, economic, and societal crisis of staggering proportions.

The National Academy of Medicine today announced Stephen P. Hinshaw is the recipient of the 2020 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health, for basic and applied research on individuals with externalizing disorders, and for efforts to reduce mental illness stigma through youth-based programs and the promotion of humanization.

For his role as a leader of federal research and policy on infectious diseases and, in particular, for his deft, scientifically grounded leadership in shaping an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Academy of Medicine today announced Anthony S. Fauci is the recipient of the 2020 Gustav O. Lienhard Award for Advancement of Health Care.

National Academy of Engineering (NAE) President John Anderson sat down to talk about some of the engineering challenges posed by the pandemic and how engineers — and the NAE in particular — are working to meet them.

Disease surveillance, testing, and contact tracing are among the best public health tools available to protect ourselves and our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, said panelists during a recent COVID-19 Conversations webinar, hosted by the National Academy of Medicine and American Public Health Association.

As advisers to the nation on all matters of science, medicine, and public health, we are compelled to underscore the value of science-based decision-making at all levels of government.

Susan Shaheen and Nathaniel Ford have been appointed as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the 2021 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Executive Committee by Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences and chair of the National Research Council. Their terms will begin in January 2021 during the virtual TRB Annual Meeting.

The Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, a group of over 60 colleges, universities, and research institutions working to prevent sexual harassment, has released a repository of information on their efforts, along with an annual report on the Action Collaborative’s activities.

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) today announced the 2021 class of Minority Student Fellows.

The Transportation Research Board’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) today announced winners of its annual Graduate Research Awards.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today released the final report of a consensus study recommending a four-phased equitable allocation framework that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) authorities should adopt in the development of national and local guidelines for COVID-19 vaccine allocation.

This summer, the Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine started work on a new study that will assess how climate disasters, oil spills, and long-term environmental changes such as sea level rise are affecting environmental restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico. The study will help fulfill one of GRP’s top goals — monitoring progress and documenting how the Gulf is changing over time.

Colleges and universities should embrace sustainability education as a vital field that requires tailored educational experiences delivered through courses, majors, minors, and research and graduate degrees, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

As many nations around the world have struggled with high rates of infections and deaths from COVID-19, Taiwan has kept the number of deaths from the disease to less than 10 — by drawing upon its previous experience with SARS, said chemical engineer Pam Cheng, speaking at last week’s annual meeting of the National Academy of Engineering.

What Can Lobsters, Clams, and Rockfish Tell Us About Human Aging? Some species of rockfish only live to age 7. Others live over 200 years while maintaining the necessary functions to find food, mate, resist disease, and evade predators.

Where needed to adhere to public health guidelines and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, authorities should use their discretion to minimize incarceration in prisons and jails — and facilitate testing, quarantine, social supports, and individualized reentry plans for those released, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

LabX, a creative engagement outreach program of the National Academy of Sciences, announced the winners of a competition to create games designed to help build public understanding of COVID-19.

While video games often give us a way to explore other worlds, they can also help us learn more about our own — including how to navigate a pandemic. That was the premise underlying “Jamming the Curve,” a competition that enlisted over 400 independent video game developers around the world to develop concepts for games that reflect the real-world dynamics of COVID-19.

A new rapid expert consultation from a standing committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines four topics related to the use and interpretation of COVID-19 diagnostic tests.

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced grant awards totaling $5.27 million for six new projects. These projects, planned to span two to three years, aim to improve understanding of how natural processes and human activities interact to affect coastal ecosystems in the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

To help decision-makers navigate through this ongoing crisis and take actions toward a strong and sustained recovery, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have launched a new strategic science initiative to provide rapid, scenario-based analyses aimed at protecting critical societal functions, avoiding worst outcomes, and building upon potential opportunities.

In the wake of this year’s record-breaking wildfire and hurricane season, efforts are ramping up to rebuild communities and natural ecosystems in places devastated by fire and storms. Restoring natural ecosystems requires replacing the trees, grasses, flowers, herbs, shrubs, and other plants that have evolved and occur naturally in a particular region.

In my nearly 20 years at SpaceX, I have experienced hundreds of Falcon launches and test firings. As such, my level of anxiety prior to these events had been waning until, of course, Saturday, May 30, 2020. On that day, and for days leading up to it, my heart was in my throat.

Age-related hearing loss is common in the United States, with two-thirds of adults over age 70 experiencing a clinically significant hearing loss. However, that doesn’t mean that hearing loss should be something we learn to live with.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a harsh light on the consequences of chronic underinvestment in public health, and the limited recognition of its role. Unless there is a crisis, it is not always obvious that public health is “always on,” working quietly in the background on chronic disease prevention, vital statistics, sanitation, safe water, safe food, occupational diseases and injury, and infection control.

Industry leaders, policymakers, administrators, and researchers from government, industry, and academia will gather online for the Transportation Research Board’s 100th Annual Meeting, taking place virtually throughout January 2021.

Two new rapid expert consultations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine offer lessons learned from the 2020 fall semester regarding COVID-19 testing and guidance on student behavior, as college administrators plan for the 2021 spring semester.

Communities in the Gulf of Mexico are especially familiar with the whims of nature and power of the sea. This year’s hurricane season has already brought power outages, heavy rain, downed trees, and death and injury. Roy Wright talks about the compounding effects and lasting impacts of disasters on shaping resiliency in the Gulf.

Government personnel and their families at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, in late 2016 and the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou, China, in early 2017 began suffering from a range of unusual — and in some cases suddenly occurring — symptoms such as a perceived loud noise, ear pain, intense head pressure or vibration, dizziness, visual problems, and cognitive difficulties, and many still continue to experience these or other health problems.

Survivors of childhood cancer have an increased risk of experiencing disabling conditions, both from the cancer itself and from the effects of treatment, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A new rapid expert consultation from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines methods to better track and evaluate deaths and mental health consequences among health care workers (HCWs) due to COVID-19.

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced it has redesigned its Early-Career Research Fellowship (ECRF) to include three tracks - Human Health and Community Resilience, Environmental Protection and Stewardship, and Offshore Energy Safety.

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced it is accepting applications for the 2021-2022 Science Policy Fellowship.

The National Academy of Sciences today released a new proceedings of a symposium that explored whether the modern research architecture that fuels U.S. innovation needs to be reconfigured to meet the challenges of our time.

While the world awaits the distribution of newly developed vaccines to prevent COVID-19 infection, international and multigenerational teams of engineers have again come together through the National Academy of Engineering’s COVID-19 Call for Engineering Action to find creative solutions to the many pandemic-related problems.