Bridge engineering does not end when construction finishes and traffic starts to flow.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Engineering
Analysis and Comment
In 1979, David Duke told the media he had launched a wildly successful recruiting drive in Connecticut. A local reporter wanted to test Duke's claims – so he filled out an application to join the KKK.
As retro video games become more popular, research suggests players could be looking for nostalgia – and the psychological benefits it brings.
Research is yielding strategies for making plastics greener and more sustainable. But without support as they scale up, new versions will struggle to compete with well-established synthetic plastics.
Nobel prize winning author Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul was as hard on himself as on others.
New legislation may boost growth rate of employee-owned companies in the US, easing the impact of one of the largest transfers of wealth in American history.
As the anniversary of Indonesian independence from the Netherlands approaches, a close look reveals how Dutch policy divides people along racial lines and ignores the Indonesian dead in that war.
Pregnant women often get medical information from social media and websites, many of which contain misleading and false information about vaccination. Could OB-GYNs help educate them better?
Hundreds of US cities have red light cameras to try to catch traffic violations and prevent accidents. But research shows that the cameras may encourage other types of accidents.
Israel's increasingly conservative policies on social and religious issues appears to be playing a role.
The partition of India led to more than a million deaths. One man, Lord Louis Mountbatten, who hurriedly drew the new borders in secret, is largely responsible.
At midnight on August 15, 1947, India achieved freedom from more than two centuries of colonial rule. Hours earlier, Pakistan was declared a new nation. Was partition inevitable?
Microplastics are everywhere--our water, soil, and even the air we breathe. The consequences of this exposure on human health is unknown. But studies in animals give us reason to worry.
A study of recent epidemics like Zika and Ebola suggests that the media may fail to tell the public what to do during an outbreak.
An African-American burial ground uncovered at a construction site in Texas has ignited debate on how to protect black history as suburban sprawl overtakes rural areas once farmed by enslaved workers.
The Trump administration's latest effort to undermine the Affordable Care Act is the expansion of short-term insurance plans. But these shorter plans are also short on real benefits.
Despite the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, passed by the US Congress 40 years ago, Native Americans still struggle to protect public lands where they practice their religions.
You know you've hit it big when your designs find their way into millions of kitchens – and the Museum of Modern Art.
In tandem with affirmative action, policies that guarantee college admission to students in the top 10 percent of their class could be a viable way to achieve diversity, a law professor argues.
Fifteen years after the Northeast Blackout of 2003 cut power to 50 million people in the US and Canada, experts explain that many threats to the electricity grid remain.
Two business professors spent five years studying Walmart's ambition project to bring sustainability to its millions of budget-conscious customers – a plan that began with the birth of a granddaughter.
While transitioning to the ninth grade can be stressful for many students, teaching students to be more optimistic can better enable them to cope with the challenges, research psychologists argue.
Saudi Arabia has arrested a number of feminists, while bringing in reforms for women. An expert argues why this goes to show that the kingdom remains adamant on not opening space for more voices.
It's more than just a slogan. For community organizers, 'Abolish ICE' represents the first step to a world without immigrant detention or prisons.
The victory of a Democratic Socialist in a New York primary will not lead to the dictatorship of the proletariat. It's an incremental addition to the long history of moderate socialism in the US.
The most common explanation for obesity is overeating calorie-rich foods and a sedentary lifestyle. But new studies suggest that chemicals in our environment might be another cause.
African-Americans are severely underrepresented in genetics and neuroscience research. That could leave the treatments of the future out of their reach.
When you engage in recreational gambling, you're not simply playing against the odds – you're battling an enemy trained in the art of deceit and subterfuge who uses human nature against you.
New nonprofits don't make the same impact everywhere. In most places, there's enough money to go around to support new ones.
Critics say hologram tours exploit the dead for a quick buck. But there's something about Roy Orbison's ethereal mystique that makes this one a particularly fitting tribute.
On the one-year anniversary of the tragedy in Charlottesville, we asked the presidents of Bowdoin, Elon and the University of Washington whether free speech should be treated differently on campus.
When Martin Luther King Jr. was met by violent opposition, he remained hopeful, believing that 'the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.' While racism remains, there's reason for hope.
With California suffering another devastating wildfire year, more people are wondering about whether and how global warming is contributing. A climate scientist explains.
Apple became the world's 'biggest' company because of its sky-high valuation. But in the past, the largest companies were known for more meaningful metrics such as revenue and number of employes.
While they may talk about 'free speech,' businesses make decisions about their content based on a very different set of principles.
Going private would help Tesla reestablish its luxury status.
Argentina's Senate voted down an abortion bill 38-31 after a 16-hour debate. The Catholic Church thanked senators for defending 'life,' but ever more Catholics here insist on women's right to choose.
Red tide and a blue-green algae outbreak are fouling hundreds of miles of coast, killing fish and driving tourists away from beaches. Some of the causes are natural, but human actions play a big role.
There's no precedent for selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at a time when there's no market-driven reason for doing that.
From resettling Syrian refugees to mitigating climate change in Ecuador, interactive 'story maps' harvest communities' stories to help policymakers and neighbors better understand complex problems.
Kitchens are like mini laboratories, with foods and utensils exposed to extreme temperatures. So it's no surprise that a material used for Mars missions has found its way into a range of cooking ware.
Research and News
An evolutionary biologist visits the remote jungle mountaintop where a little-known naturalist wrote his insightful paper about the mechanisms of evolution that spurred on a rivalrous Charles Darwin.
A jury concluded on Aug. 10 that exposure to the herbicide Roundup caused Dewayne Johnson's cancer and ordered the company to pay $289 million in damages. Thousands more claims are pending.
During epileptic seizures, neurons in the brain fire without rhyme or reason. New research identifies a possible way to wrest back control by stopping these signals before they can get started.
Technological professionals are the first, and last, lines of defense against the misuse of technology.
Rivers are natural boundaries for evolving populations. But scientists don't agree whether they create new species or just help maintain them. Research using birds' molecular clocks provides some answers.
How do brains convert experiences into memories? New research explores the chain of events by focusing on what genes shift into gear when neurons are firing.
Hundreds of lawsuits against Monsanto contend that its popular Roundup weed killer gave users cancer. But proving this kind of connection is challenging in both science and law.
What's the connection between kids making paper snowflakes and wearable devices that stretch and bend with your body? Engineers who find design inspirations from many sources.
Wildfires in California
As California reels from another devastating fire season, environmental resource scholars explain how the state – and other fire-prone areas – can better prepare and coexist with wildfires.
Russia
Donald Trump admires Russian President Vladimir Putin. But Putin's track record over his career reveals a serial liar, and presents damning evidence of complicity in multiple critics' violent deaths.
3-D plastic gun case
A battle over the Second Amendment is exactly the wrong way to think about the government's role in the firearms industry.
Immigration
Nicaragua has exploded in violence since mass protests began against President Daniel Ortega in April, with hundreds dead and thousands wounded. Amid such chaos, criminal violence is likely to follow.
Plastic – taking stock of its impact
Research and Expert Database
Analysis from academics around the world
Editors’ Picks
Confrontational characters spouting conspiracy theories and fringe ideas have been around since American broadcasting began. With Alex Jones banished from the web, someone else will take his place.
American Sikhs have been the target of many racist attacks. An expert explains the Sikh faith and its history in the United States.
Cells that transmit nerve impulses in the part of elephants' brains responsible for functions such as learning and memory are structured differently from those of any other mammal.
Our social institutions and politics suffer from a collective arrested development – and our relationship to technology has only exacerbated this trend.
More than 6 million US citizens can't vote because they've been convicted of a felony. But states are beginning to change their laws. Will it make a difference?
One in 4 US women receives an abortion sometime in her life. Who are the women who choose to end their pregnancies?
Pakistan's new leader has been battling to get into office for years.
Millennials are less inclined than older Americans to intervene abroad, maintain superior military power or believe the US is an exceptional nation. What does that mean for the country's future?
With superpowers other animals can only dream of, these crustaceans challenge sharks for the title of most amazing predator in the sea.
The Ogalalla Aquifer is a vast underground lake that irrigates farms across the US Great Plains. It took thousands of years to fill, but human use could drain it in roughly a century.
Nearly half of Americans say they see a great deal of bias in the news media. But the research on this subject is unresolved.
In Texas' Lower Rio Grande Valley, Border Patrol agents must ignore blistering heat and 25 mile-an-hour winds. Their job is simple: Catch terrorists, people without papers or those carrying drugs.
Aristotle coined the term "enthymeme" to refer to arguments, words and ideas that are broadly accepted among the people of a nation. So what happens when enthymemes start to disappear?
Alzheimer's is not only the third leading cause of death in the U.S. but also the most dreaded diagnosis. Genetic testing can help determine susceptibility, but knowing whether to test isn't easy.
Many cities are removing their Confederate statues. But pioneer monuments represent a racist past, too. There are at least 200 of them, and their future is now being debated.
Most Read past week
Pitch an idea
Got a news tip or article idea for The Conversation?
Our Audience
The Conversation has a monthly audience of 10.7 million users, and reach of 38.2 million through Creative Commons republication.
Want to Write?
Write an article and join a growing community of more than 71,300 academics and researchers from 2,479 institutions.
Make a Donation
The Conversation relies on university, foundation and reader support. If you would like to help us have even better conversations, then you may like to make a one-off or on-going donation.