{"id":466172,"date":"2021-01-21T15:48:32","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T20:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=466172"},"modified":"2022-04-25T20:55:14","modified_gmt":"2022-04-26T00:55:14","slug":"science-offers-hope-during-dark-times-466172","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/science-offers-hope-during-dark-times-466172\/","title":{"rendered":"Science offers hope during dark times"},"content":{"rendered":"
As the United States enters a new chapter with a new presidential administration, astrophysicist Adam Frank<\/strong><\/a>, the Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor in the\u00a0Department of Physics and Astronomy<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0做厙勛圖<\/strong><\/a>, reflects on what he calls this past year\u2019s \u201cdark times\u201d amidst a raging COVID-19 pandemic and a divisive political climate.<\/p>\n One bright spot was the endurance of science.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout all our turmoil, American science has not wavered,\u201d Frank writes in a piece for NBC News. \u201cInstead, American science in all its forms\u2014the institutions, individuals and culture\u2014has not only remained solid through the crises, but also provided us a path out of the darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n Frank notes several striking examples of scientific breakthroughs in 2020: while vaccines usually take decades to develop, researchers worked tirelessly and used cutting-edge genetic science to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine in fewer than 12 months; artificial intelligent techniques based on Google\u2019s DeepMind pinpointed breast cancer cells with higher accuracy than doctors could; and the privately owned company SpaceX safely launched American astronauts into space.<\/p>\n These achievements show that greatness is possible, Frank writes, \u201cwhen we work together and hold fast to the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n Frank\u2019s research is in the general area of theoretical astrophysics, and in particular, the hydrodynamic and magneto-hydrodynamic evolution of matter ejected from stars. A self-described \u201cevangelist of science,\u201d Frank has also been awarded several prestigious honors for his efforts to communicate about science. His most recent book,\u00a0Light of the Stars<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(W.W. Norton, 2018) was awarded the 2019 Phi Beta Kappa Award for Science.<\/p>\n