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Hudson Hall at Duke university
NASA’s U-2 Spy Plane Found Gamma Rays in 90% of Lightning Storms
10/2/24 Popular Science

NASA’s U-2 Spy Plane Found Gamma Rays in 90% of Lightning Storms

Professor Steve Cummer says, "There is way more going on in thunderstorms than we ever imagined. As it turns out, essentially all big thunderstorms generate gamma rays all day long in many different forms.”

artistic rendering of a tiny plane flying above three giant swirls of clouds glowing pink with the horizon of space above
Most Tropical Lightning Storms Are Radioactive
10/2/24 Pratt School of Engineering

Most Tropical Lightning Storms Are Radioactive

New observations from a retrofitted U2 spy plane reveal a surprising amount and variety of gamma radiation is produced in large tropical thunderstorms

Brodhead Center
$25 Million Gift to Establish New STEM+ Scholars Program
9/24/24 Pratt School of Engineering

$25 Million Gift to Establish New STEM+ Scholars Program

The Karsh STEM+ Scholars Program will match undergraduate students who have declared majors in disciplines in the natural sciences, engineering, and STEM-related fields with faculty in the Pratt School of Engineering and Trinity College of Arts & Sciences.

Xiang Cheng
Xiang Cheng: Using Geometry to Push AI’s Boundaries
9/19/24 Pratt School of Engineering

Xiang Cheng: Using Geometry to Push AI’s Boundaries

New faculty member Xiang Cheng exploits geometric patterns in data and algorithms to find better ways to train advanced AI programs

Shaundra B. Daily of Duke University
Duke Trailblazer: Shaundra Daily
9/9/24 Duke Centennial

Duke Trailblazer: Shaundra Daily

For Shaundra Daily, helping to create a more equitable STEM education system is an important part of her work