Ian Thomsen

‘I never thought that this could be me’

Three years after she starred for Northeastern, Madison Mailey will be rowing for Canada at the Olympic Games in Tokyo July 23 to Aug. 8. The COVID-19 pandemic made the pursuit of her dream all the more difficult.

by Ian Thomsen June 28, 2021

An investigator surveys the damage of the collapsed building in Surfside, Florida.

Report and other clues point to possible causes of the Surfside tower collapse

As first responders frantically search the rubble for survivors of a collapsed residential tower in Surfside, Fla., the investigation has already begun—and they can be expected to pursue multiple causes, says Mehrdad Sasani, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern.

by Ian Thomsen June 25, 2021

A portrait of Emily Man, winner of an Innovator Award.

A class project helped two entrepreneurs develop a new contraceptive device

Emily Man and Valeria Martinuzzi hardly knew each other before they began working together in a Design of Implants class at Northeastern. Now their design for a safe and affordable contraceptive device has earned them an inaugural $10,000 Innovator Award from Northeastern’s Women Who Empower inclusion and entrepreneurship initiative.

by Ian Thomsen June 25, 2021

Alabama football players celebrate their national championship in 2021.

The Supreme Court NCAA ruling may enable student-athletes to be paid. But that won’t happen soon.

The unanimous ruling not only encourages student-athletes to file lawsuits against the NCAA demanding that they be paid, says Dan Urman, who teaches constitutional law and the modern U.S. Supreme Court at Northeastern; but it also indicates that the justices are trying to show unity during these polarized times.

by Ian Thomsen June 23, 2021

School of Law graduate Lucie Gulino poses on a street in Boston.

A recent law graduate is helping underrepresented people seek clemency for free

Lucie Gulino is collaborating with Equal Justice Works, a not-for-profit provider of legal services, to offer a first-of-its-kind clemency and family support project in Boston for people who earn lower incomes who are Black, indigenous, and people of color; and queer and trans people of color.

by Ian Thomsen June 22, 2021

President Joe Biden signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Washington. From left, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif, Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., Opal Lee, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., obscured, Vice President Kamala Harris, House Majority Whip James Clyburn of S.C., Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas. AP Photo/Evan Vucci

‘Juneteenth should be a day of reckoning’

The issues raised by Juneteenth, the annual holiday that observes the end of slavery in the U.S., serve as calls to action in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the Black Lives Matter movement. Such was the message of experts who participated in a virtual Northeastern event on Thursday.

by Ian Thomsen June 17, 2021

Jim Madigan, a Huskies hockey legend, becomes Northeastern’s new athletic director

Madigan, who led Northeastern men’s hockey to three straight Beanpot titles, takes over a Northeastern athletic department that has ranked in the top 15 nationally for the past three years. He replaces Jeff Konya, who leaves to become athletics director at San Jose State.

by Ian Thomsen June 17, 2021

Gabrielle Whittle works on her convertible heel design.

How a business idea ‘heeled’ her need to be an entrepreneur

Gabrielle Whittle, who recently graduated in mechanical engineering, received an inaugural $10,000 Innovator Award for her development of an adjustable sole and removable heel that will enable her product to be worn as a flat or a high-heeled shoe.

by Ian Thomsen June 16, 2021

A portrait of Natasha Ibori, co-founder of Uwana Energy.

Her dream of bringing clean electricity to Nigeria earned Natasha Ibori an Innovator Award

Ibori, a Northeastern graduate, launched Uwana Energy to sell and install rooftop solar panels in her homeland. Her $10,000 Innovator Award from Northeastern’s Women Who Empower will help Ibori’s startup overcome the setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic, she says.

by Ian Thomsen June 15, 2021

The winner of this Innovator Award is inspiring people to vote

Emily White, co-founder of the #iVote initiative that hosted a record-setting digital concert around Election Day last year, received an inaugural Innovator Award offered by Northeastern’s Women Who Empower. The $10,000 award was especially gratifying because White applied for it from a hospital bed.

by Ian Thomsen June 14, 2021

Posts by Ian Thomsen