Michelle Z. Donahue

Engineering @ Maryland, Fall 2021

To deconstruct the structural inequity built into the human environment, engineering needs a better understanding of the ways in which infrastructure holds people back.

(Illustration by Chris Gash)

BioScience (Oxford University Press), October 2021

Preprints can speed scientific communication but offer fuel for nefarious agendas.

Image: Analyticsinsight1, CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Geographic Family, January 13, 2022

We all know the vitamins, minerals, and fiber provided by fresh fruits, vegetables and grains are important for growing young bodies and brains. But scientists are looking more closely at how kids’ diets influence their gut health—and how that might affect everything from mood to mental health to cognitive development.

(Image: wEnDy/Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The Washington Post, April 10, 2020

The federal government is recommending that scientists suspend some fieldwork involving bats in North America out of concern that researchers could pass the novel coronavirus to the animals, possibly imperiling bat populations or creating a new reservoir for a virus that has caused a global pandemic.

(Photo: Amy Smotherman Burgess/AP)

Smithsonian Marine Station newsletter, August 2019

As a deadly, years-long epidemic continues to devastate Florida’s coral reefs, a team of Smithsonian Marine Station scientists have found that at least part of the answer may lie in the protective power of probiotics. (Photo: Olivia Carmack)

SciDev.net, July 23, 2019

During two years of trials on two islands in the city of Guangzhou, researchers reduced the number of viable eggs produced by female Asian tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus) – a major vector for dengue and the Zika virus – by more than 94 percent. (Photo: James Gathany/CDC)

National Geographic, June 12, 2019

Traces of potent pot were identified in 2,500-year-old wooden artifacts buried with people who lived along the Silk Road in China. (Photo: Tristan Savatier)

Engineering at Maryland, May 2019

When a mysterious block of WW2-era uranium metal landed on Tim Koeth’s desk in 2013, he and a collaborator wanted to know: what happened to the other 658 of them? (Photo: John T. Consoli)

National Geographic Travel, originally published February 2019

In air travel, turbulence is a certainty and a major source of flight anxiety for flyers of all stripes. But understanding what causes turbulence, where it occurs, and the high-tech tools pilots use to make air travel safer and more comfortable may help settle even the most anxious flyer’s nerves. (Photo: Christophe Morre/Wikimedia Commons)

New York Times Science Times, Nov. 3, 2018

High in the Andes Mountains, conservators are testing traditional methods for strengthening adobe buildings. (Photo: Angela Ponce/NYT)

National Geographic, Nov. 2, 2018

Scientists are teasing out how jitters, sleeplessness, and even bitter taste are all influenced by tiny variations in your genetic code.

PC Magazine, Oct. 8, 2018

To bridge educational losses suffered by Syrians displaced by war, a new MIT accelerator looks to technology—and personal connections. (Photo: Mike Clarke/Kindi)

Bats Magazine, Issue 3, 2018.

In this issue: tech researchers explore bats’ superpowers; and bats help unlock the secrets of aging.

National Geographic, June 8, 2018

Forsyth hopes his images capture that spirit and bring a bit of perspective: “I hope when people see the scale of these clear-cuts, they realize how insane it is, and that it brings a bit of awareness to the scale of the impact our demands have.”

National Geographic, April 30, 2018

“Before, June, July, and August were warm and with rain. Different types of grass would grow, and the animals would get fat. Now, we have no rain and the wind dries up the grass. It is not what it used to be.”

PC Magazine, April 2018

Even if you don't have a factory pumping out bad air in your backyard, you might still want to get involved in some kind of citizen science.

Wired Magazine, May 2018

“People often see technology as something alien. But if you’re eating it, maybe that can help you understand it better.”

National Geographic News, April 13, 2018

“I dream there won’t be any more cutting, and then we have to think about what happens then,” Zobel says.

National Geographic News, March 15, 2018

Even if koji is a quality source of protein, is it right for both dogs and cats?