Featured Post from University of Delaware

Small island states forging climate legacy

Dec 14, 2023

2 min

Comprising nations that are often overshadowed by larger counterparts on the economic stage, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) has become a formidable presence in shaping the discourse around climate change. Despite their limited economic clout, the AOSIS group wields influence by virtue of their vulnerability to the frontlines of climate impacts, making them pioneers in advocating for climate justice.

Now at the heart of global climate negotiations, the AOSIS group has successfully spearheaded the establishment of a breakthrough in climate justice: A dedicated fund geared towards assisting less developed nations in bolstering their adaptation and resilience efforts.

Kalim Shah, associate professor of energy and environmental policy at the University of Delaware, can comment on AOSIS and its role at The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (also known as UNFCCC). He makes the following points:

The AOSIS group, which is the negotiating body for small island developing states (SIDS) in The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has emerged over the last decade as a major force in the global negotiations (even though the group comprises of small island nations which are typically not significant economic powerhouses=). They continue to lead on a number of key components of the UNFCCC climate agreement and wield this power largely because small islands are on the frontlines of climate impacts like seal level rise and are among the first to be impacted, even as they hold "no responsibility" for global warming.

Small island states have now successfully led the negotiations for and approval of acknowledgement of "loss and damage" and a specific new loss and damage fund. This fund is dedicated to helping less developed countries with their adaptation and resilience building needs. “Loss and damage” is a general term used in UN climate negotiations to refer to the consequences of climate change that go beyond what people can adapt to, or when options exist but a community doesn’t have the resources to access or utilize them.

This could be a turning point for the Alliance of Small Island States, since over 70% of climate funds to date have been allocated or distributed to climate mitigation efforts and very little to the SIDS. Since SIDS do not account for massive amounts of Greenhouse gas emissions, this was of little real help to them. But now the global consensus is understanding that the 1.5 degrees threshold of the Paris Accord will be passed and more efforts on the adaptation side must be available for the most vulnerable, such as SIDS to cope with climate impacts that are inevitable.

To set up an interview with Professor Shah, visit his profile and click on the "contact" button.

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Kalim Shah

Associate Professor, Energy and Environmental Policy

Expert in public policy, governance and institutional analysis for sustainable development in small peripheral economies and jurisdictions.

Public PolicyEnvironment, Social, Governance (ESG)Institutional TransformationSmall Island Developing StatesEnergy Security and Transition

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Oct 26, 2026

1 min

Two years after the 2024 election, where does civil discourse stand?

Election season has brought the expected vicious political campaign ads, heated online disagreements and difficult dinner table conversations with family and friends. But the University of Delaware’s Timothy Shaffer says there’s still room for civil discourse. Shaffer, UD’s inaugural Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Chair of Civil Discourse, studies how people can engage across significant differences while maintaining the relationships and democratic institutions that make disagreement possible. As chair of UD's SNF Ithaca Initiative, Shaffer works with students, educators and civic leaders to develop and practice constructive engagement across differences. He can comment on the following through the lens of the first midterm election since the vitriolic 2024 general elections. • What has changed since 2024: How have the past two years affected the way Americans talk about politics, disagreement and democracy? • Polarization and dialogue: Is political disagreement itself the problem, or is the greater challenge engaging constructively across differences? • The role of disagreement: Why civil discourse doesn't require consensus and how listening to competing perspectives can strengthen democratic engagement. • Politics and personal relationships: How to navigate political differences with family, friends, neighbors and colleagues without letting disagreements become personal. • Social media and the 2026 election: How online environments shape political conversations, what Shaffer expects as Election Day approaches, and how people can engage more constructively across differences. To reach Shaffer and arrange an interview, visit his profile page and click on the "contact" button. Interested reporters can also send an email to MediaRelations@udel.edu.

Oct 21, 2026

1 min

Blood Clots Can Sideline Elite Athletes. Could Microrobots Offer a New Approach?

Blood clots have sidelined or ended the careers of several elite athletes, drawing attention to a potentially life-threatening condition. The University of Delaware's Sambeeta Das is part of a team that has developed tiny, magnetically guided robots that could offer a new approach to removing such blockages. The list of athletes affected by blood clots includes NBA champion Chris Bosh, whose career ended after recurring clots; tennis great Serena Williams, who survived two life-threatening pulmonary embolisms; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, who was shut down in February 2025 when deep vein thrombosis was discovered in his right shoulder; and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose recent diagnosis of blood clots in his lungs has drawn national attention. In a published study, Das and her colleagues demonstrated that magnetic microrobots could mechanically break apart clusters of human liver cancer cells and clear them from narrow channels designed to model blood vessels. The robots used mechanical forces rather than drugs or chemicals to disperse the clusters. The research offers an early proof of concept for using microrobots to remove unwanted cellular material in confined spaces. Das can discuss how the technology works, its potential application to blood-clot removal, the challenges of targeting blockages inside the body, and what further research is needed to explore its use in patients. To contact Das and arrange an interview, visit her profile and click the “Contact” button. Reporters can also email MediaRelations@udel.edu.

Oct 20, 2026

2 min

From Baseball to Business: The Science of Team Success

The ingredients that create a World Series team often mirrors how units achieve success in business. How did they get there? The University of Delaware's Kyle Emich says the answer goes beyond assembling a roster of star players. Emich, a professor of management, says that how players combine their strengths, respond to opponents and create opportunities together can be just as important as individual talent. The same is true in business, where a collection of talented employees doesn’t automatically translate into a high-performing team, he said. One example is the approach that the 2026 Milwaukee Brewers’ took during their postseason run. Rather than relying exclusively on home runs and individual star power, the team created opportunities through a combination of speed, patience at the plate, timely hitting and pressure on opposing defenses. A stolen base, a walk or a defensive mistake might seem like a small event on its own, but the effects can build as players’ actions interact. These interactions matter, he says, because teams are not simply collections of individuals; their performance emerges from how people and their activities affect one another within a larger environment. The same is true in business as well as baseball. Businesses may recruit exceptional employees or invest in promising technologies such as artificial intelligence, yet fail to realize their potential if their processes, team structures and working practices don’t support those strengths. Emich can discuss: • Beyond Moneyball: What baseball’s emphasis on statistics and individual talent reveals about the limits of evaluating people in isolation. • Building better teams: How coordination, complementary strengths and the interaction among team members contribute to performance. • Strategy and competition: What baseball teams’ adjustments to opponents can teach business leaders about responding to competitors and changing conditions. • Technology and the future of work: Why adopting artificial intelligence or other new technologies is not enough without considering how people, processes and technology work together. To reach Emich directly and arrange an interview, visit his profile page and click on the "contact" button. Interested reporters can also send an email to MediaRelations@udel.edu.