Author: Shawn Kornegay


UConn’s New Multidisciplinary Data Science Master’s Starts this Fall, with Focus on Ethics

August 12, 2022

From online streaming to health care systems, from retailers to researchers, the demand for knowledgeable and skilled data scientists has never been greater. UConn has stepped up to meet the need with the launch of a new multidisciplinary Master’s in Data Science program and an inaugural full-time cohort of 20 students starting in the upcoming Fall 2022 semester.




The Drugs Don’t Work (and Other Mental Health Myths)

August 8, 2022

Any evidence supporting the link between creativity and mental illness is extremely tenuous, says Prof James C Kaufman at the University of Connecticut. “Historiometric” analyses, for example, have plumbed the biographies of notable artists. While these studies seem to suggest that mental illness is more prevalent in creative personalities, any post-hoc diagnoses, based purely on a text, have to be treated with great caution. “They are not super objective,” says Kaufman. “Very few creativity researchers believe there is a strong connection.” And the idea that mental anguish may inspire great art certainly shouldn’t be grounds for avoiding treatment for a serious conditions, he says.




Antisemitism Rising: Bearing Witness Then and Now

July 28, 2022

Connecticut saw a record high number of antisemitic incidents last year. The Holocaust remembrance movement says “never forget,” but surveys find the problem is deeper — many young people lack basic knowledge of the Holocaust. On the next Cutline, we hear personal stories – then and now. We look at links between antisemitism and extremism, visit a Connecticut classroom teaching the Holocaust, and explore the story of Sobibor, a secret Nazi death camp that was a site of bravery and resistance.




Research Highlights Positive Impacts of Math-Focused Summer Learning

July 20, 2022

“Our results show that schools, district leaders, and community groups should consider increasing their investments in summer programs as an evidence-based strategy to aid in pandemic-related educational recovery, particularly for children whose learning has been placed most at risk,” said study co-author Kathleen Lynch, an assistant professor of learning sciences at the University of Connecticut.