Rachel Crowell

AI helped uncover a special object that can fill space without repeating patterns

Some 50 years after exposing gender discrimination in US academics’ retirement benefits, Mary Gray works as a statistician and social-justice campaigner.

A new proof solves a long-standing problem about the doughnut-shaped torus

Nicola Dell, a computer scientist studying the role of technology in intimate partner violence, cofounded the Center to End Technology Abuse.

Vernon Morris inspires change in the geoscience community by calling on colleagues to commit to anti-racism in their scientific endeavours. Vernon Morris inspires change in the geoscience community by calling on colleagues to commit to anti-racism in their scientific endeavours.

Since the second Trump administration took office, news on how the nation’s leaders are systematically dismantling the practice of science in the U.S. has arrived in a daily deluge. In this roundtable discussion, five journalists share their strategies for choosing stories, balancing science and politics in their reporting, working with hesitant sources, and navigating an information landscape that’s constantly shifting.

Fan Chung, who has an Erdős number of 1, discusses the importance of connection — both human and mathematical.

Using a notion called integer partitions, mathematicians have discovered a new way to detect prime numbers while also connecting two areas of math in an unexpected way

Mathematicians describe the most beautiful and beguiling forms and surfaces they know

Nathan Alexander's laboratory welcomes ‘anyone and everyone’ to use a mix of mathematics and computing to solve challenges in society. Nathan Alexander's laboratory welcomes ‘anyone and everyone’ to use a mix of mathematics and computing to solve challenges in society.

12 min read Mathematicians discuss some of the most compelling unsolved problems in the field By Rachel Crowell edited by Clara Moskowitz Mathematicians sometimes think of their research as a garden and unsolved problems as seeds waiting to sprout.…

PublicationsAPS NewsOak Ridge National Lab’s graphite reactor, an APS Historic Site, powered plutonium production for the Manhattan Project APS News | This Month in Physics History The reactor, which achieved criticality in just nine months, had both…

4 min read Mathematicians have made lots of recent progress on a question called the Mordell conjecture, which was posed a century ago By Rachel Crowell After German mathematician Gerd Faltings proved the Mordell conjecture in 1983, he was awarded…

Today’s teaching methods prioritize creative problem-solving over traditional formulas and equations, but these changes may be critical for the next generation.

Geoscience is a colorful research field. Rock formations’ hues provide clues about their makeup. Colors preserved in fossils can shed light on how ancient organisms looked. And expansive rainbows of colors are used to highlight key information on…

Scientists are working across disciplines and borders to support growth in sustainable energy. Many countries across Africa have an enormous need for more plentiful and reliable energy. While abundant energy potential exists on the continent, many…

PublicationsAPS NewsThe Astrophysicist Restoring Ecosystems to Combat Climate Change APS News | Careers and Education Meet Claire Burke, the head of applied science at a land regeneration startup. When Claire Burke decided to study physics, she knew…

8 min read Mathematicians picked the most dazzling, thought-provoking and compelling equations they know To mathematicians, equations are art. Just as many are moved by a painting or piece of music, to those who appreciate and understand math,…

10 min read Mathematicians are working on ways to use their field to tackle major social issues, such as social inequality and the need for gender equity By Rachel Crowell & Nature magazine When Carrie Diaz Eaton trained as a mathematician, they…

When Carrie Diaz Eaton trained as a mathematician, they didn’t expect their career to involve social-justice research. Growing up in Providence, Rhode Island, Diaz Eaton first saw social justice in action when their father, who’s from Peru, helped…