Margaret M. Murnane Named Optica Honorary Member
Grant and Award Announcement
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 2-Jun-2026 18:15 ET (2-Jun-2026 22:15 GMT/UTC)
The Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPIP) welcomes the first group of participants in the new Poly-ABROAD Visiting Student Program—an international collaboration with the Macromolecules Innovation Institute at Virginia Tech. From May through August, six doctoral candidates and students from the U.S. will complete a three-month research stay in Mainz, working on interdisciplinary projects related to biologically inspired and sustainable polymer materials and networking with other doctoral candidates from both Max Planck Institutes and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz at the “Max Planck Graduate Center with Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.” The goal of this initiative, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, is to strengthen scientific exchange in polymer and materials research and to integrate young talent into international networks.
A scientific review published today in the NEJM Evidence journal, coordinated by the D’Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), evaluated outcomes of adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in middle-income countries.
In contrast to high-income countries, where mortality ranges from 16% to 26%, the study found significantly higher rates in the countries analyzed. The work brought together 52 studies and approximately 48,707 patients, revealing an overall mortality rate of 37.1%, which increased to 59.3% among patients requiring respiratory support.
A new article explores what constitutes quality teaching in the age of AI and argues that emotional intelligence, creativity, and professional judgment remain central to effective education.
Reflective practice is often seen as a golden standard in teacher development. This philosophical critique, drawing on Foucault and Aristotle, shows that reflection has been disenchanted from an antique ethics of care of the self into a secularised epistemology, a techne for production, and even a neoliberal governance technology. The authors call for re‑enchanting reflective practice as phronesis that is a three‑dimensional virtue ethics and for teacher flourishing as students' in loco parentis.
Top AI systems only match human examiners for grade bands when marking undergraduate essays around half the time, study finds. AI shows bias towards rewarding complex prose styles regardless of academic quality.