Molly Callahan

Northeastern law scholar with a focus on data justice appointed to White House post

Rashida Richardson, a 2011 law school graduate who joined the Northeastern faculty as assistant professor of law and political science on July 1, was tapped to join the Office of Science and Technology Policy—a role in which she’ll help to advise President Joe Biden and others on issues related to government data collection, and data security and civil rights.

by Molly Callahan August 18, 2021

People use a boat to bring man out of home following a severe storm in 'Rue de Tilff' in Angleur, a district from Liège, Belgium. A severe storm and heavy rainfall has caused the Meuse River to flood, damaging thousands of homes and businesses. According to local reports, 23 people have died. Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

Some experts see UN climate change report as urgent but not dire

A U.N. report shows that negative effects of climate change are undeniable, but the news isn’t actually all bad, says Matthew Nisbet, professor of communication, public policy, and urban affairs at Northeastern. And, says Steven Flynn, director of the Global Resilience Institute, sometimes it takes a crisis to find innovative ways out of it.

by Molly Callahan August 12, 2021

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Northeastern will require indoor mask-wearing starting in September

To safeguard the health and wellness of the Northeastern community at a time when its campus populations swell with students traveling from around the world, the university will require students, faculty, staff, visitors, and vendors to wear masks indoors—regardless of vaccination status—for the start of the fall semester, officials announced.

by Molly Callahan August 11, 2021

John Soliven a work study at the Institute for Wireless Internet of Things (W-IoT) monitors the Colosseum, the world's largest RF emulator with 256 programmable software radios which enables academic, government, and industry researchers to perform scalable and repeatable experimentation in wireless systems in a large-scale emulation environment, at Northeastern University’s Innovation Campus in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Northeastern receives rare designation by FCC to expand wireless technology research

The university was designated a Spectrum Innovation Zone by the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, a status that will afford researchers at the university new opportunities to build and test the next generation of wireless technology. Northeastern is one of four locations in the U.S. to hold the designation.

by Molly Callahan August 5, 2021

Should you sell your palm print to Amazon?

Better not, say two Northeastern scholars of law and marketing. While consumers may benefit from the convenience of touch-free checkout, it’s not always clear what a company will do with consumers’ biometric information once it has it.

by Molly Callahan August 4, 2021

Members of the Northeastern community walk around the Boston campus in the fall. The university announced on Monday that faculty and staff based in the United States will need to submit verification of vaccination by Sept. 8, 2021.

Northeastern to require COVID-19 vaccinations for faculty, staff this fall

In a continued effort to support the health and wellness of the entire Northeastern community, university leaders announced today that faculty and staff based in the United States will need to be fully vaccinated and submit verification of vaccination by Sept. 8, 2021.

by Molly Callahan August 1, 2021

Beach handball players compete in the 2018 summer Olympics.

Olympic men compete in shorts, women in bikinis–but the Tokyo Games could change all that

From Norway’s women’s handball team to Germany’s women’s gymnastics team, the Olympic Games in Tokyo feature the rumblings of a movement among athletes to take back control of their uniforms and their perception on the world stage, say two Northeastern scholars.

by Molly Callahan July 28, 2021

Vaccine manufacturers including Pfizer and Moderna are in the process of conducting trials among younger children, but in the meantime, what should parents do? What about families in which some children are eligible for the vaccine and others aren’t?

Children under 12 can’t be vaccinated yet—what should parents do?

“Families are experiencing a lot of turmoil and uncertainty right now,” says Laurie Kramer, professor of applied psychology. There’s no single answer that will make sense for every family, she says, but across the board, the situation does offer opportunities to open up conversations between parents and children about frustrations, fears, and hopes.

by Molly Callahan July 26, 2021

Did Ben & Jerry’s make the right call about the West Bank?

This week, Ben & Jerry’s—famous for its unique ice cream flavors as well as its outspokenness on social issues—waded into its most contentious debate yet, announcing that it would stop selling ice cream in “occupied Palestinian territory” in the West Bank. The decision was controversial, but it’s unlikely the company had any choice whether to take a stand, says Yakov Bart, associate professor of marketing at Northeastern.

by Molly Callahan July 22, 2021

When Airbnbs increase in a neighborhood, so does crime. Here’s why.

A proliferation of Airbnbs, or similar short-term rentals, in a neighborhood contributes to higher rates of crime in the area, according to a new study by two Northeastern researchers who theorize that the highly transient housing frays the crime-deterring social fabric of the community.

by Molly Callahan July 16, 2021

Posts by Molly Callahan