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Pardee RAND News & Events

Pardee RAND Graduate School students, alumni, and faculty are often in the news, writing blogs, publishing research, speaking at events, and more. Other pages (student blog posts, alumni news, faculty blog posts, featured research) provide filtered views of Pardee RAND news and announcements; here we present a complete compilation of ALL the news that's fit to share.

  • Militant Islamist fighters waving flags, travel in vehicles as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014

    All for One and One for All: Toward a Coordinated EU Approach on Returnees

    Nov 28, 2017

    To combat the threat posed by returning fighters, EU intelligence and police agencies will need to coordinate to find potential terrorists before they are able to conduct attacks in Europe. Prof. Colin Clarke says the return of dangerous foreign fighters to European soil should be motivation enough for an overarching review of each country’s vulnerabilities.

  • Communities are seen surrounded by water and wetlands in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, August 25, 2015

    Environmental Impact Bonds May Not Bear Fruit for Green Investors

    Nov 26, 2017

    Investors may be willing to accept a lower return for socially responsible investments. But analysis supported by the Cazier Initiative suggests environmental impact bonds may not be the best way to leverage these investment possibilities.

  • A drone takes off from an operations center in Muhanda, Rwanda, on its way to deliver blood supplies to remote hospitals, October 12, 2016

    Drones Could Deliver Change to Africa

    Nov 17, 2017

    Drones have potential on the African continent to transform urban and rural infrastructure and enhance agricultural productivity, writes Prof. Shira Efron (alum, cohort '11). But deployment of drones in Africa still faces technological, economic, social, and legal and regulatory challenges.

  • Laborers work at a road construction site in Kolkata, India, February 27, 2017

    How Hot Is Too Hot? Rising Temperatures and the Workplace

    Nov 16, 2017

    Climate change is here. Future extreme heat waves are a given and will likely grow in intensity, geographic reach, and duration. Student Gulrez Shah Azhar (cohort 14) says plans need to be made now to ensure survival of the poorest, to protect outdoor workers and to adapt economic planning to what is increasingly becoming a hotter planet.

  • Protective barriers are placed along a bike path near a memorial for the victims of the October 31 attack in New York City, November 3, 2017

    America Is Great at Fighting Terrorism, but Terror Is Alive and Well

    Nov 16, 2017

    When terrorists adopt a strategy of pure terror, it is challenging to prevent attacks like those seen in Nice, Columbus, London, Barcelona, or New York. Instead, writes Prof. Henry Willis, strategies are needed to counter terrorism's ultimate aim, to instill fear, and to remove some of the incentives of those who might be motivated to conduct them.

  • p201711_01, onwr, one night with rand, event, celebration, casa del mar, dinner

    RAND Tribute to U.S. Air Force Honors Natalie Crawford, Don and Susan Rice

    Nov 16, 2017

    One Night with RAND, a November fundraising event, paid tribute to the achievements of Pardee RAND faculty member Natalie W. Crawford and longtime Pardee RAND supporters Donald B. and Susan F. Rice.

  • Child and adult hands holding a plant in an egg shell

    Early Childhood Programs Can Improve Outcomes and Outweigh Costs

    Nov 16, 2017

    Students Ashley Muchow (cohort '13) and Maya Buenaventura (cohort '14) worked with professors Jill Cannon, Lynne Karoly, and Rebecca Kilburn to review 115 early childhood interventions — including preschool, home visiting, parent education, and other approaches. They found that most programs have favorable effects on at least one child outcome, and most of the programs with benefit–cost analyses show positive returns.

  • Elderly man with chin on his fist, looking out a sunny window

    U.S. Health System Should Prepare for Future Alzheimer's Treatments

    Nov 15, 2017

    Advanced clinical trials are underway for at least 10 promising therapies for Alzheimer's disease. But alum Jodi Liu (cohort '12) and student Jakub Hlavka (cohort '14) found that the U.S. health care system lacks the capacity to rapidly move a treatment from approval into wide clinical use. Millions of people could miss out on transformative care if such a breakthrough occurs.

  • Twenty Pardee RANDites Present at APPAM in Chicago

    Nov 10, 2017

    Alumni, students and faculty converged on Chicago for APPAM's 39th annual fall research conference November 2–4. The theme of the conference was Measurement Matters: Better Data for Better Decisions.

  • Nest egg with state of California flag painted on the egg

    The Looming Pension Crisis

    Nov 8, 2017

    California leads the nation in pension underfunding. The state government has $464.4 billion in unfunded liabilities — the difference between resources that will be available in the state's pension fund and what will be owed to retiring employees. Executive Vice Dean Dan Grunfeld explains that, as dire as the problem is now, it could double over the next 12 years.

  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Un provides guidance with Ri Hong Sop (2nd L) and Hong Sung Mu (2nd R) on a nuclear weapons program in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang, North Korea

    Recovering from a Nuclear Attack on a U.S. City

    Nov 7, 2017

    Responding after a nuclear attack will require having planned and prepared for problems that are very different than those encountered after hurricanes and earthquakes, writes Prof. David Shlapak. U.S. cities are inadequately prepared to handle a disaster of this magnitude.

  • How Safe Should Autonomous Vehicles Be Before They're Introduced to Market?

    Nov 7, 2017

    Prof Nidhi Kalra and alum David G. Groves (cohort '01) developed a model to compare 500 different scenarios of autonomous vehicle introduction, adoption, and improvement. The research shows that putting autonomous vehicles on the road sooner, allowing them to improve quicker, could save hundreds of thousands of lives over time.

  • Sling load inspector checks the load plan paperwork prior to sling load operations with the 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion March 22, 2016 at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany

    The Long-Term Budget Shortfall and National Security: A Problem the U.S. Should Stop Avoiding

    Nov 6, 2017

    Bold promises and even actions that balance the budget for the short term should not mask the fact that the U.S. government has failed to face its long-term budget problems. Without changes, writes. Prof Howard Shatz, the ability to pay for many functions — including defense — will rely wholly on borrowed money.

  • Police investigate a pickup truck used in an attack on the West Side Highway in lower Manhattan in New York City, November 1, 2017

    New York Terror Attack: Can Vehicle Attacks Be Prevented?

    Nov 1, 2017

    The recent vehicle attack in Manhattan was the deadliest terror attack on New York since 9/11. Preventing every attack is unrealistic, writes Prof. Colin Clarke, but with increased vigilance, cooperation with law enforcement, and intelligence sharing, citizens can help mitigate the threat of terrorism.

  • Halloween display of candy

    Candy Out of Sight, Out of Mind

    Oct 31, 2017

    CVS is cutting back on candy at the cash register, making junk food less visible and “healthier” snacks easier to find. Any move that nudges consumers toward healthier choices should be applauded, writes Prof. Deborah Cohen, but CVS could take the lead as a retailer and do away with junk food displays by the cash register altogether.

  • A person's hand writing a checklist

    Checklist of Best Practices Developed to Guide Development of Suicide Prevention Campaigns

    Oct 25, 2017

    Is your crisis line’s suicide-prevention communications effort working well enough? What should you be doing differently? Some help is available through a checklist published earlier this year, writes Prof. Joie Acosta.

  • Members of al Qaeda's Nusra Front move toward their positions near al-Zahra village, north of Aleppo city, November 25, 2014

    The Moderate Face of Al Qaeda

    Oct 24, 2017

    Al Qaeda in Syria cut ties with its parent organization to portray itself as a legitimate, capable, and independent force in the Syrian civil war. The group appears dedicated to helping Syrians prevail, writes Prof. Colin Clarke, and now that ISIS has lost its capital in Raqqa, al Qaeda may be the only group viewed as militarily capable of challenging the Assad regime.

  • An engineer working on an oil field

    Employers and Colleges Could Plan Better for Future Oil and Natural Gas Workforce

    Oct 17, 2017

    Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to tap natural gas should bring long-term economic benefits to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Student Diana Gehlhaus Carew (cohort '15) helped survey employers and educators to inform policy decisions on how best to expand and sustain the pool of workers with the needed knowledge and skills.

  • Close up of the state of Iowa on an antique-looking map

    Evaluating Iowa's Proposed Stopgap Measure

    Oct 16, 2017

    To stabilize the state's individual health insurance market, Iowa proposed the Iowa Stopgap Measure (ISM). Alum Jodi Liu (cohort '12) and colleagues say ISM modifications would increase the federal deficit, but decrease federal spending per enrollee.

  • A container is loaded on to the first Chinese container ship to depart after the inauguration of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor port in Gwadar, Pakistan November 13, 2016

    China's Field of Dreams in Pakistan

    Oct 16, 2017

    China is four years into joint planning and construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, from Kashgar, China to the Pakistani port of Gwadar. Prof. Rafiq Dossani asks, What are the benefits for China and Pakistan and what do they mean for future growth in the region?

  • Wargaming at the Naval Postgraduate School

    Adding Shots on Target: Wargaming Beyond the Game

    Oct 9, 2017

    Figuring out what the future may look like—and what concepts and technology we should invest in now to prepare—is hard. Student Ellie Bartels (cohort '15) considers how the wargaming community can build a cycle of research to help understand what these paths might be.

  • A newborn baby rests beside his mother at the Ana Betancourt de Mora Hospital in Camaguey, Cuba, June 19, 2015, the week the World Health Organization declared Cuba the first country in the world to eliminate the transmission of HIV and syphilis from mother to child

    Doing More with Less: Lessons from Cuba's Health Care System

    Oct 6, 2017

    High U.S. health care costs do not yield corresponding health outcomes for its citizens. But students Claire O'Hanlon (cohort '13) and Melody Harvey ('12) note that Cuba, for less than a tenth of U.S. costs, has attained comparable outcomes on many indicators, such as life expectancy and infant mortality. Cuba prioritizes primary care and prevention and addresses social determinants of health.

  • Scales of justice in front of computer monitors with code

    The Intersection of Algorithms and an Individual's Rights

    Sep 29, 2017

    Data collection, and our reliance on it, have evolved extremely rapidly. The resulting algorithms have proved invaluable for organizing, evaluating and utilizing information. Our new executive vice dean, Dan Grunfeld, poses the question: How do individuals' rights come in to play, when data about their lives is compiled to create algorithms, and the resulting tools are applied to judge them?

  • Santa Monica's Wellbeing Project

    Sep 29, 2017

    Prof Anita Chandra and Santa Monica city officials discuss the Wellbeing Project, which aimed to evaluate overall community wellbeing and incorporate these results into city planning and governance.

  • Medical staff member checking a blood bag

    Public Cord Blood Banks Provide Benefits Despite Drop in Use

    Sep 29, 2017

    U.S. umbilical cord blood banks are a valuable resource for patients and the research community. Research by student Jakub Hlavka (cohort '14) indicates their benefits far outweigh their costs and they should continue to receive federal support. Stakeholders could work together to strengthen the industry and improve the genetic diversity and quality of the national inventory.