Fred Oswald, the Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Psychology in Rice University’s School of Social Sciences, is a member of The National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee. On June 22, the committee announced the release of its first report to U.S. President Joe Biden, in support of the administration’s ongoing efforts to advance a comprehensive approach to AI-related risks and opportunities. The report is available at https://www.ai.gov/naiac .
Rice doctoral alumnus Celine Fliedner is the lead author on a research paper selected as an editor’s highlight by AGU Advances. Fewer than 2% of the papers published in the journal are featured in this rubric and highlighted on Eos.org. The research examined how the presence of ground water impacts earthquake magnitude, challenging the assumption that very low- and low-frequency earthquakes differ from regular earthquakes. Experiments on schist – a type of rock typically found near the source of low-frequency earthquakes – revealed that seismic waves are up to four times weaker when water is overpressurized compared to dry conditions. The research expands the understanding of earthquakes and ground fluid dynamics. Melodie French, an assistant professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences, is a co-author on the paper.