Reposted by Teamrat
"We spoke with nine C-level U.S. airline executives and senior officials across six U.S. carriers for this story. They expressed varying degrees of skepticism, but none felt the cuts were without some level of political interference."
With little recourse, U.S. airline leaders skeptical of DOT flight cut justification theaircurrent.com/airlines/air... (via @willguisbond.com & @jonostrower.com) #staycurrent
With little recourse, U.S. airline leaders skeptical of DOT flight cut justification
Concern about political motivation fills the void left by lack of FAA data
theaircurrent.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:08 PM
"We spoke with nine C-level U.S. airline executives and senior officials across six U.S. carriers for this story. They expressed varying degrees of skepticism, but none felt the cuts were without some level of political interference."
Grew up under a dictatorship, they attacked expertise first. This is alarmingly familiar. Trust in expertise is the foundation of modern civilization. Even as a researcher, I rely on expert knowledge I could never master in a lifetime. Rejecting that isn’t freedom, it’s how societies collapse!
RFK Jr: We need to stop trusting the experts... Trusting the experts is not a feature of science or democracy, it's a feature of religion and totalitarianism.
October 19, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Grew up under a dictatorship, they attacked expertise first. This is alarmingly familiar. Trust in expertise is the foundation of modern civilization. Even as a researcher, I rely on expert knowledge I could never master in a lifetime. Rejecting that isn’t freedom, it’s how societies collapse!
“Despots want science that has practical results,” said Paul R. Josephson, an emeritus professor of history at Colby College and author of a book on totalitarian science. “They’re afraid that basic knowledge will expose their false claims.”
Historians See Autocratic Playbook in Trump’s Attacks on Science
www.nytimes.com
August 31, 2025 at 8:00 PM
“Despots want science that has practical results,” said Paul R. Josephson, an emeritus professor of history at Colby College and author of a book on totalitarian science. “They’re afraid that basic knowledge will expose their false claims.”
The Soil Physics Kirkham Medal was given to Bill Jury at the Kirkham Conference in Fukushima. He had an illustrious career at UC Riverside before retiring as Distinguished Professor Emeritus. #soil #soilphysics #kirkhamconference #sssa
August 21, 2025 at 11:57 PM
The Soil Physics Kirkham Medal was given to Bill Jury at the Kirkham Conference in Fukushima. He had an illustrious career at UC Riverside before retiring as Distinguished Professor Emeritus. #soil #soilphysics #kirkhamconference #sssa
Reposted by Teamrat
It’s official, JB Milliken will be the 22nd President of the University of California system. It was a privilege to represent UC faculty interests in this search.
… he currently serves as Chancellor of the UT System, previously led the CUNY system, U of NE and was v. Pres of UNC
… he currently serves as Chancellor of the UT System, previously led the CUNY system, U of NE and was v. Pres of UNC
James B. Milliken named 22nd president of the University of California
The University of California Board of Regents today approved the appointment of James B. Milliken as the 22nd president of UC’s world-renowned system of 10 campuses, six academic health centers, and t...
www.universityofcalifornia.edu
May 2, 2025 at 11:21 PM
It’s official, JB Milliken will be the 22nd President of the University of California system. It was a privilege to represent UC faculty interests in this search.
… he currently serves as Chancellor of the UT System, previously led the CUNY system, U of NE and was v. Pres of UNC
… he currently serves as Chancellor of the UT System, previously led the CUNY system, U of NE and was v. Pres of UNC
Gardner (1991) argued that “if basic soil science did not exist, there is ample evidence that we need to invent it.” While practical applications are valuable outcomes of soil science research, they should emerge from a deep understanding of soil systems rather than define the discipline's scope.
Defining soil science: Balancing fundamental research and societal needs
Soil science's identity emerges from studying Earth's complex living and nonliving systems across scales.
Defining soil science requires balancing practical impacts with fundamental scientific explo.....
doi.org
April 29, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Gardner (1991) argued that “if basic soil science did not exist, there is ample evidence that we need to invent it.” While practical applications are valuable outcomes of soil science research, they should emerge from a deep understanding of soil systems rather than define the discipline's scope.
Reposted by Teamrat
📢 New pub: Defining #soil science: Balancing fundamental research and societal needs, in Soil Science Society of America Journal doi.org/10.1002/saj2...
@teamrat.bsky.social & I argue, soil science, though crucial for solving environmental challanges, should not be defined solely by its applications
@teamrat.bsky.social & I argue, soil science, though crucial for solving environmental challanges, should not be defined solely by its applications
April 25, 2025 at 3:06 PM
📢 New pub: Defining #soil science: Balancing fundamental research and societal needs, in Soil Science Society of America Journal doi.org/10.1002/saj2...
@teamrat.bsky.social & I argue, soil science, though crucial for solving environmental challanges, should not be defined solely by its applications
@teamrat.bsky.social & I argue, soil science, though crucial for solving environmental challanges, should not be defined solely by its applications
Pope Francis’s first papal visit was to Lampedusa, where thousands have perished. There he criticized the “globalization of indifference”. He said we “have forgotten how to cry” for migrants and “take care of each other,” in his homily.
It seems the indifference is worsening everywhere.
It seems the indifference is worsening everywhere.
Pope Offers Mass on Island Beacon for Refugees (Published 2013)
With a service before 10,000 people, Francis seeks to call attention to a humanitarian problem at what has become a gateway for thousands of migrants.
www.nytimes.com
April 21, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Pope Francis’s first papal visit was to Lampedusa, where thousands have perished. There he criticized the “globalization of indifference”. He said we “have forgotten how to cry” for migrants and “take care of each other,” in his homily.
It seems the indifference is worsening everywhere.
It seems the indifference is worsening everywhere.
the so-called war over California’s water is a dangerous, flawed trope that reduces certain water uses to right or wrong, and turns the Delta into a place with no local stakes. Faced with threats of drought, climate change and water scarcity, we should not reduce this place to a warring of... sides.
Opinion | What the War on California’s Water Is Really About
If we are to take seriously the threats of drought, climate change and water security, we should not reduce this place to a warring of two — or even many — sides.
www.nytimes.com
March 10, 2025 at 5:06 PM
the so-called war over California’s water is a dangerous, flawed trope that reduces certain water uses to right or wrong, and turns the Delta into a place with no local stakes. Faced with threats of drought, climate change and water scarcity, we should not reduce this place to a warring of... sides.
Reposted by Teamrat
"Thousands of highly cited scientists have at least one retraction"
"Oransky says the results throw into question the practice of ranking scientists on the basis of citations at all."
"Oransky says the results throw into question the practice of ranking scientists on the basis of citations at all."
Thousands of highly cited scientists have at least one retraction
Database shows that researchers with retracted papers had higher self-citation rates and published more than those without retractions.
www.nature.com
January 31, 2025 at 12:31 PM
"Thousands of highly cited scientists have at least one retraction"
"Oransky says the results throw into question the practice of ranking scientists on the basis of citations at all."
"Oransky says the results throw into question the practice of ranking scientists on the basis of citations at all."
The Ahwahnee at Yosemite
January 18, 2025 at 11:49 PM
The Ahwahnee at Yosemite
Geese at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge.
January 15, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Geese at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge.
A blue heron basking under the morning sun at @ucmerced.bsky.social
January 14, 2025 at 8:57 PM
A blue heron basking under the morning sun at @ucmerced.bsky.social
Reposted by Teamrat
Today, as President Jimmy Carter is honored, we reflect on his 2010 visit to UC Merced, where he received the Spendlove Prize and celebrated the Central Valley’s diversity as a strength of our nation. 🔗ucm.edu/lhgqp1
January 9, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Today, as President Jimmy Carter is honored, we reflect on his 2010 visit to UC Merced, where he received the Spendlove Prize and celebrated the Central Valley’s diversity as a strength of our nation. 🔗ucm.edu/lhgqp1
“… Research Program at the UCLA, surveys first-year college students every year. The percentage who named being “very well off financially” as an important goal doubled from 1967 to 2019. Those who wanted to develop a “meaningful philosophy of life” decreased by nearly half.
Jimmy Carter Was Right About Materialism but, Alas, Wrong About Us
“Too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption,” he said in his 1979 “Crisis of Confidence” speech. If only we had listened.
www.nytimes.com
December 30, 2024 at 4:26 AM
“… Research Program at the UCLA, surveys first-year college students every year. The percentage who named being “very well off financially” as an important goal doubled from 1967 to 2019. Those who wanted to develop a “meaningful philosophy of life” decreased by nearly half.
This study suggests our faces evolve to match our names. It makes me wonder - what people think when they first see my name? Do I look like a Teamrat? Like most Eritrean names, which reflect the hopes and circumstances of the family at the time of birth, it's a story in a word. #names #culture
Can names shape facial appearance?
"While adults demonstrate congruence between their facial appearance and name, this pattern is not observed in children nor in children’s faces digitally aged to adult appearance."
Open Access
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
"While adults demonstrate congruence between their facial appearance and name, this pattern is not observed in children nor in children’s faces digitally aged to adult appearance."
Open Access
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
December 27, 2024 at 10:35 PM
Reposted by Teamrat
Congratulations to QSB graduate student Dean Wu on successfully defending your PhD!!
Today marked my 25th PhD committee/reader sign-off since joining @ucmerced.bsky.social in 2009. What a privilege to support these brilliant minds on their research journeys. Each defense reminds me why I love this profession. Congrats to the newest PhD, Dr. Dean Wu 🎓 #AcademicLife
December 18, 2024 at 5:05 AM
Congratulations to QSB graduate student Dean Wu on successfully defending your PhD!!
Today marked my 25th PhD committee/reader sign-off since joining @ucmerced.bsky.social in 2009. What a privilege to support these brilliant minds on their research journeys. Each defense reminds me why I love this profession. Congrats to the newest PhD, Dr. Dean Wu 🎓 #AcademicLife
December 18, 2024 at 3:28 AM
Today marked my 25th PhD committee/reader sign-off since joining @ucmerced.bsky.social in 2009. What a privilege to support these brilliant minds on their research journeys. Each defense reminds me why I love this profession. Congrats to the newest PhD, Dr. Dean Wu 🎓 #AcademicLife
Delighted to see my friend and colleague Jing Yan, a new Assistant Professor of Soil Physics at University of Hawaii, Manoa, join @bsky.app Proud to see his continued success! Follow him at @jyansci.bsky.social
December 18, 2024 at 3:21 AM
Delighted to see my friend and colleague Jing Yan, a new Assistant Professor of Soil Physics at University of Hawaii, Manoa, join @bsky.app Proud to see his continued success! Follow him at @jyansci.bsky.social
Congratulations to my @ucmerced.bsky.social colleague John Abatzoglou on his well deserved election to Felloe of AGU. #AGU24
December 11, 2024 at 11:38 PM
Congratulations to my @ucmerced.bsky.social colleague John Abatzoglou on his well deserved election to Felloe of AGU. #AGU24
This paper offers valuable insights on adapting teaching and assessment methods for new technologies. However, I question the framing of the title and similar concerns I see lately. By this logic, should we ask if libraries could get degrees? #HigherEd #ai #education
Could ChatGPT get an engineering degree? Evaluating higher education vulnerability to AI assistants | PNAS
AI assistants, such as ChatGPT, are being increasingly used by students in higher
education institutions. While these tools provide opportunities f...
www.pnas.org
December 4, 2024 at 4:41 AM
This paper offers valuable insights on adapting teaching and assessment methods for new technologies. However, I question the framing of the title and similar concerns I see lately. By this logic, should we ask if libraries could get degrees? #HigherEd #ai #education
I created this page of AI-generated podcasts based on my papers over many years. It's a great way to share a high-level introduction. Interestingly, the quality of the podcasts directly correlates with the clarity of the writing.
#podcast #AI #soil #research #academicwriting #scicomm #notebooklm
#podcast #AI #soil #research #academicwriting #scicomm #notebooklm
Soil Physics PaperCast
Motivated by the demand to sustainably provide for a growing world population, we study the physical underpinnings that make soils habitable environments.
soilphysics.ucmerced.edu
December 3, 2024 at 2:19 AM
I created this page of AI-generated podcasts based on my papers over many years. It's a great way to share a high-level introduction. Interestingly, the quality of the podcasts directly correlates with the clarity of the writing.
#podcast #AI #soil #research #academicwriting #scicomm #notebooklm
#podcast #AI #soil #research #academicwriting #scicomm #notebooklm
Reposted by Teamrat
Happy to Share Our Latest Article with @teamrat.bsky.social and colleagues.
Soil Science Informed Machine Learning. We outline how soil science knowledge can be incorporated in ML models. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Soil Science Informed Machine Learning. We outline how soil science knowledge can be incorporated in ML models. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
November 22, 2024 at 7:30 AM
Happy to Share Our Latest Article with @teamrat.bsky.social and colleagues.
Soil Science Informed Machine Learning. We outline how soil science knowledge can be incorporated in ML models. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Soil Science Informed Machine Learning. We outline how soil science knowledge can be incorporated in ML models. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...