Khalida Sarwari - News @ Northeastern

Her family broke the cycle of poverty. She wants to do the same for others.

Growing up in Bangladesh, Urbashee Paul witnessed from an early age the crippling effects of poverty and inequality. Motivated by her own odyssey, Paul is pursuing a doctoral degree in economics at Northeastern, and hopes to find ways to mitigate the economic inequality young people may face later in life.

by Khalida Sarwari October 22, 2019

He explores the space where cultures collide

Over the course of his career, Thomas Nakayama, a professor of communication at Northeastern, has broached subjects that others have tended to shy away from. For his examination of topics such as sexuality, whiteness, Asian-American studies, masculinity, and power, he has received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the National Communication Association.

by Khalida Sarwari October 21, 2019

The missed opportunity in California’s power outage

Pacific Gas and Electric, California’s largest utility, says it had to turn off power for hundreds of thousands of customers to reduce the risk of wildfires. Northeastern professor Daniel Aldrich, who co-directs the Master’s in Security and Resilience Studies program, says the company should have warned residents earlier and done more to prepare them for the blackout.

by Khalida Sarwari October 10, 2019

A screen shot of the Making Waves title page

How closely did you listen to the last movie you watched?

The culmination of a lifelong fascination with how sound plays a role in the cinematic experience, Northeastern professor Bobette Buster’s new documentary, Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound, explores the power and significance of sound in cinema, and the artists, technicians and designers responsible for creating it.

by Khalida Sarwari October 9, 2019

‘What do we want out of artificial intelligence? And, how do we get there?’

“What we want, I imagine, is something like having artificial intelligence improve human flourishing in socially just and sustainable ways,” Northeastern philosophy professor Ronald Sandler told leaders in business, government, and higher education who gathered at the Seattle campus this week.

by Khalida Sarwari October 3, 2019

Depiction of a person looking at a screen full of code

Northeastern University launches Institute for Experiential Artificial Intelligence

The university is allocating $50 million for the pioneering research hub, which will place human skills and intelligence at the forefront of artificial intelligence development, from the earliest design steps to the final implementation.

by Khalida Sarwari and Laura Castañón October 3, 2019

‘The most reckless political experiment in human history’

Despite being comprised of disparate ideologies and languages, India regularly lures its citizens to the voting booth, even in the most poor and isolated areas, says Ravi Ramamurti, founding director of Northeastern’s Center for Emerging Markets.

by Khalida Sarwari September 30, 2019

How robots can help veterans, or patients with dementia

Arielle Scoglio, a doctoral student who studies social robots—robots whose function is to interact with people socially, while also helping them to manage their physical and psychological well being—hopes that as the technology for these types of robots improves, they can be replicated in a cost-effective way, and thus allow people who struggle with physical or cognitive disabilities to use them at home.

by Khalida Sarwari September 26, 2019

The smart devices in your home are listening to you, recording your whereabouts, and sending data to technology companies and other third-parties, according to a new study by David Choffnes, an associate professor at Northeastern. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Your smart TV is talking to Netflix about you behind your back

While you were watching the finale of Chernobyl, your smart TV was sending data to technology and advertising companies, according to a new study led by David Choffnes, an associate professor of computer and information science at Northeastern. What isn’t clear is what third-party services actually do with that data and whether they’re misusing it, he says.

by Khalida Sarwari September 20, 2019

Boston’s 311 reporting system is the subject of O’Brien’s latest book, The Urban Commons: How Data and Technology Can Rebuild Our Communities. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

A smart city is more than flying cars and sensors

The 311 system, a service that enables citizens in hundreds of cities and towns around the country to report non-emergency issues such as graffiti and potholes, represents the “mundane version of smart cities,” argues Northeastern professor Dan O’Brien. “Apps and basic digital data can help us understand and serve cities better,” he says.

by Khalida Sarwari September 18, 2019

Posts by Khalida Sarwari