Alum and U.S. military veteran Jonathan Wong (cohort '12) reflects on how the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have influenced how he has lived his life since that day.
Looking at the career of alum David Howell (cohort '03), it might seem like he was helping the United States prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic since he graduated. He spoke with us about his experience in the federal government, working on pandemic preparedness and response, and more.
South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety Program requires individuals charged or convicted of alcohol-involved offenses to avoid alcohol and submit to frequent testing. Alum Gregory Midgette (cohort '09) and Prof. Beau Kilmer say this successful program appears to be making a difference in Montana as well.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities. Student Pedro Nascimento de Lima (cohort '19), alum Jordan Fischbach ('04), and RAND colleagues developed an interactive tool that shows how rates of testing, cases, and deaths, and the ability to practice social distancing, has differed across neighborhoods and populations in Pennsylvania's Allegheny County.
Despite the current border closures between their two countries, China and North Korea remain resolutely pledged to a “blood-alliance.” But alum Bruce Bennett and student Diana Myers argue this partnership has vastly different implications depending on which side of the border you consider.
Alumni near and far shared their experiences with current students this spring through interactive Career Services webinars and discussions, taking advantage of one silver lining of our virtual world.
An examination of the impact of increased funding for research on Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease-related dementias in women, conducted by students Annie Chen and Hamad Al-Ibrahim, and alum Denise Quigley, showed that small investments in women's health research can yield large gains, including benefits above investing in general research.
Alum Jodi Liu (cohort '12), student Nabeel Qureshi ('18), and colleagues summarize the spending impact of policy options to reduce hospital prices paid by private health plans, outlining design choices and effectiveness levels for each approach.
Recently, Kim Jong-un admitted that North Korea is facing a dire situation. It was surprising that he would admit circumstances which at face value suggest major failures on his part. Alum Bruce Bennett asks, Why is Kim admitting that such circumstances are developing in the North now?
Record high U.S. election turnout in November 2020 was matched with record low confidence in vote's accuracy. Harper Reed, a member of Pardee RAND’s Board of Governors, sat down (virtually) with Prof. Quentin Hodgson to discuss the election and how the United States can ensure cyber and physical security—and trust—in future elections.
James Syme (cohort '18) and alumni David Groves ('01) and Edmundo Molina-Perez ('11) conducted seven case studies focusing on the western United States and Mexico to develop an interactive tool that provides information about decisionmaking under deep uncertainty (DMDU) methods—specifically, Robust Decision Making (RDM).
Price regulations face political obstacles and have been strongly opposed by medical providers. But alum Jodi Liu (cohort '12) and student Nabeel Qureshi ('18) find that setting prices for all commercial health care payers could reduce hospital spending by $61.9 billion to $236.6 billion a year if the rates were set at 100 to 150 percent of the amounts paid by Medicare.
The benefits of games for military education are well documented, writes alum Ellie Bartels (cohort '15). But harnessing the potential of games to foster innovation may require a commitment to sustain gaming over the years needed to explore a problem space and develop and stress-test new ideas.
As the global community works together to assist Central America in recovering from the disastrous 2020 hurricane season, alum David Groves (cohort '01) and colleagues write, experiences from other recent disaster recovery efforts offer some helpful lessons both for the governments of the region as well as outsiders providing resources and support.
The Pentagon has in recent years turned its attention to the need for speed in weapons system development and acquisition. Alum Jon Wong (cohort '12) writes that, while shortening the timeline for program development and fielding is important for Defense Department acquisition leaders, overly prioritizing speed can lead to issues with program management, sustainment, and other areas.
Dean Susan Marquis, journalist Soledad O’Brien, and professors Debra Knopman and Howard Shatz discussed the changes we can expect from the incoming U.S. administration on issues from energy and climate change to economic policy and COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.
Games are more than just theoretical to alumnae Ellie Bartels (cohort '15), Claire O'Hanlon ('13), and Yuna Wong ('00). Bartels is the new director of the RAND Center for Gaming, O'Hanlon recently launched an online version of her card game ControVersus, and Wong helped create RAND's first publicly available board game, Hedgemony.
The 42nd annual fall APPAM Research Conference may have been virtual, but that didn't stop Pardee RAND students, alumni, and faculty (and RAND researchers) from having a real presence.
Costa Rica set the ambitious goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. Alumni David Groves and Edmundo Molina-Perez, with students James Syme and Carlos Calvo Hernandez, evaluated the benefits and costs of its National Decarbonization Plan and found that under most plausible assumptions about the future, the plan would achieve or nearly achieve its goals and do so at a net economic benefit.
Bruce Bennett (cohort '75), a RAND senior international and defense researcher, and Yong-Sup Han ('88), former vice president and director of the Korean National Defense University, both (officially) retired this summer. Their careers were both remarkable.
