From Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: This is the second installment in a series by researchers working with Princeton University’s Empirical Studies of Conflict’s COVID-19 disinformation project. Led by professor Jacob Shapiro and Jan Oledan—a research specialist for the conflict studies project—students at Princeton and other universities are cataloguing the various false narratives cropping up online about the COVID-19 pandemic. https://bit.ly/3eMaiyl

From SPIA: The Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC) at Princeton University will explore how countries like China use economic power to pursue their national interests, thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Defense. The project, which will be led by ESOC Director Jacob N. Shapiro and Co-Director Ethan B. Kapstein, was selected through an annual competition held by the Minerva Research Initiative. https://bit.ly/32oPgmK

From The Wall Street Journal: Researchers led by sensory ecologist Mary Caswell Stoddard at Princeton University tested wild broad-tailed hummingbirds in their natural setting and clearly showed the birds use their ultraviolet vision to forage for food.https://on.wsj.com/30oYUDh

A new study from Princeton University and Sapienza University of Rome provides strong evidence for a controversial theory that at very cold temperatures water can exist in two distinct liquid forms, one being less dense and more structured than the other. https://bit.ly/2ZElXuI

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope measures the oldest light in the universe, known as the cosmic microwave background. Using those measurements, the 140-person science team has calculated the universe’s age as 13.77 billion years. The project has been led by Princeton researchers since its inception, first Lyman Page and now Suzanne Staggs. In addition, 58 of the co-authors of two new papers are present or former Princeton researchers. https://bit.ly/2CMot8Y

Of all of the possible ways planets could orbit, how many configurations will remain stable over the billions of years of a star’s life cycle? Rejecting the large range of unstable possibilities — all the configurations that would lead to collisions — would leave behind a sharper view of planetary systems around other stars, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. “Separating the stable from the unstable configurations turns out to be a fascinating and brutally hard problem,” said Daniel Tamayo, a NASA Hubble Fellowship Program Sagan Fellow in astrophysical sciences at Princeton. https://bit.ly/2CJIq0o Related from Futurism: New AI Predicts Which Planets Are Going to Smash into Each Other

From Planet Princeton: Almost three acres of solar canopies will be constructed above the surface parking lots located along Elm Drive adjacent to Faculty Road as part of the University’s second phase of solar array projects. University officials hope the solar arrays will produce between 15 and 18 percent of the school’s energy when all of the projects are complete.https://bit.ly/2ZAS3au

From NJ Tech Weekly: In late January, the Keller Center offered six teams of graduate and undergraduate students positions in the eLab Accelerator Program. Twenty-seven young entrepreneurs would be devoting ten weeks this summer to building their startup ventures. However, as soon as those acceptance emails went out, the Keller eLab administrators were brainstorming on how they were going to offer an intensive accelerator experience during a global pandemic. https://bit.ly/3fD3Ive

Town Topics: Tiger football head coach Bob Surace said, “It is easy to support people when you are 10-0 but your true colors come out when you are in the midst of this adversity. Even though we know it is the right decision, it doesn’t make it less painful for all of us.”https://bit.ly/3eDNuke

From The Daily Princetonian: President Eisgruber: “While free speech permits students and faculty to make arguments that are bold, provocative, or even offensive, we all have an obligation to exercise that right responsibly. Joshua Katz has failed to do so, and I object personally and strongly to his false description of a Princeton student group as a ‘local terrorist organization.’ By ignoring the critical distinction between lawful protest and unlawful violence, Dr. Katz has unfairly disparaged members of the Black Justice League, students who protested and spoke about controversial topics but neither threatened nor committed any violent acts.” https://bit.ly/3je1ZP8

We welcome the federal government’s agreement to rescind its announcement of July 6 regarding international students enrolled at universities across the country, including Princeton. We recognize the anxiety and pain this has caused across our community, and we will remain vigilant for any further policy developments that might impact our international students, faculty, or staff. Princeton will continue to stand with and advocate for our international community, whose members are crucial to the mission and quality of this University and, indeed, to the vitality and creativity of our country.https://bit.ly/3j1Fa0K

From Bloomberg: Harvard and Princeton universities will limit how many students can return to campus this fall. Colby College will bring everyone back and test them twice a week for Covid-19. At Rutgers University, most classes will be online.https://bloom.bg/2OnrS0x

From The Chronicle of Higher Education: Princeton joins the University of Kentucky, the University of Alabama, and other institutions that are meeting this moment of racial reckoning by capitulating to longstanding demands for the removal of offensive symbols. But changing a name is, in some respects, the easy part. The tougher task is what comes next. https://bit.ly/2Z1ql6s Related from Inside Higher Ed: Campuses Reckon With Racist Past

Politics & Polls: In light of the widespread Black Lives Matter protests, Americans are taking a deep look at police violence in the country. Many are demanding a complete transformation of our criminal justice system, tasking America’s leaders with delivering tangible policy.Alex Vitale joins Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang to discuss the Kerner commission, the militarization of policing, and where the country goes from here. Vitale is professor of sociology and coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College.https://bit.ly/38S3jCj

Omar Wasow: Race and American politics: What will come of the gathering call for action? (The Washington Post)
Eddie Glaude Jr.:

• James Baldwin for Today (The Brian Lehrer Show)
• In risky bid, Trump stokes racial tensions to motivate voters (Associates Press)
• Eddie Glaude: ‘Allyship collapses when we view racial justice as a philanthropic enterprise’ (MSNBC)

Kevin Kruse: Why a Biden Administration Shouldn’t Turn the Page on the Trump Era (Vanity Fair)
Stephen Kotkin: Geopolitical risks, uncertainty and the COVID crisis (top1000funds.com)
Julian Zelizer:

• Trump Says He Will Create a Statuary Park Honoring ‘American Heroes’ (The New York Times)
• Trump Jumps on Preserving Monuments as Winning Campaign Issue (The Wall Street Journal)
• Trump’s reelection campaign gets a reboot as virus persists (Associated Press)

Sean Wilentz: Take the statues down. Replace them with any of these people. (The Washington Post) and Monuments to a Complicated Past (The Wall Street Journal)
Paul Frymer: The politics of D.C. statehood follow a well-worn path. Here’s why. (The Washington Post)
Chen Cao, postdoc: This Ancient Sea Creature Builds Its Body With a Whisper, not a Scream (The New York Times)
Coleen Murphy: Protein from blood of exercising mice rejuvenates brains of ‘couch potato’ mice (Science Magazine)
Ruha Benjamin: Don’t ask if artificial intelligence is good or fair, ask how it shifts power (Nature)
Joshua Akey: DNA Inherited From Neanderthals May Increase Risk of Covid-19 (The New York Times)
Jessica Metcalf: Immunity sampling can alert the world to emerging diseases (Financial Times)
Bob Surace, Princeton Football Head Coach: Coach Surace on the cancellation of Ivy league sports (The Zach Gelb Show) 
Peter Hepburn, research fellow at Princeton’s Eviction Lab: Evictions are likely to skyrocket this summer as jobs remain scarce. Black renters will be hard hit. (The Washington Post)

Ten Princeton University faculty members were transferred to emeritus status in recent action by the Board of Trustees. Transfers are effective July 1, 2020, except where noted.https://bit.ly/3eoJWCd

Princeton researchers found that gardening at home had a similar effect on people’s emotional well-being (or happiness) as biking, walking or dining out. The benefits of home gardening were similar across racial boundaries and between urban and suburban residents, and it was the only activity out of the 15 studied for which women and people with low incomes reported the highest emotional well-being. The results suggest that household gardens could be key to providing food security in urban areas and making cities more sustainable and livable.https://bit.ly/32cyMxP

For his senior thesis, Peter Schmidt, Class of 2020, wrote a novel that uses the violent history of Bolivia’s Cerro Rico — which has been mined for silver since the 1500s — to examine recent efforts worldwide to grant natural features legal personhood.https://bit.ly/3fokz4Q