From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

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Kansas coalition to take step toward development of regional hydrogen hub
LAWRENCE — The Kansas-based HARVEST Hydrogen Hub Coalition – which includes the University of Kansas and dozens of partners spanning various industry sectors – will pursue a full application for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program, which will allocate up to $7 billion in federal funds to develop as many as 10 regional clean hydrogen hubs across the nation.

Costs vs. benefits of COVID-19 lockdowns and mask mandates revealed in new research
LAWRENCE — Beginning in 2020, most state governors ordered lockdowns and mask mandates to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. But a new study examines how the value of these actions also came with costs. “Locking down a state is a complex, difficult decision for a governor that involves examining several tradeoffs. This is why we did not limit ourselves just to the benefit of reduction in cases of the virus,” said Sajeev Nair, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Kansas.

Retired KU pharmacy professor establishes $1.6M scholarship fund
LAWRENCE – Gary Grunewald, who spent 50 years on the faculty of the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy, is making a $1.6 million contribution to establish a scholarship fund for pharmacy students at KU. The endowed scholarship will fund two full-tuition scholarships each year for students in the school.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Joe Monaco, Office of Public Affairs, 785-864-7100, [email protected], @UnivOfKansas
Kansas coalition to take step toward development of regional hydrogen hub

LAWRENCE — A coalition of Kansas public entities and private partners will apply for federal funding that could make Kansas a regional hub in the emerging hydrogen economy.

The Kansas-based HARVEST Hydrogen Hub Coalition – which includes the University of Kansas and dozens of partners spanning various industry sectors – will pursue a full application for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program, which will allocate up to $7 billion in federal funds to develop as many as 10 regional clean hydrogen hubs across the nation. Successful applicants will establish regional networks of hydrogen producers, consumers and local connective infrastructure — all toward the goal of building a robust national hydrogen-based energy sector that generates low-cost sustainable power, stimulates economic growth and benefits communities.

In December, the DOE encouraged the HARVEST Coalition to pursue a full application for the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program. The formal encouragement was based on an initial concept paper submitted by the HARVEST team in November. The DOE received 79 papers from a variety of public and private applicants — some large alliances of states and/or corporations — across the nation. The HARVEST Coalition was one of just 33 applicants to earn official encouragement to move forward.

“We are excited to partner with major industrial and government players to put forward a successful proposal for economic development and energy diversification,” said Jay Kalbas, the state geologist of Kansas and director of the Kansas Geological Survey at KU, and who chaired the coalition effort. “Kansas has a unique energy portfolio and storage capabilities that, coupled with natural and human resources, make it a premier location to grow the nation’s hydrogen production capabilities. We are proud of our partners and companies in Kansas that are leading the way to develop this resource while showing that hydrogen can be a major driver of economic growth for Kansas and the Midwest.”

The coalition

The HARVEST Hydrogen Hub Coalition is an alliance of public and private entities in Kansas — including Black & Veatch, Evergy, NextEra Energy and Enel Green Power, to name a few — that have a strong interest in the development of a productive hydrogen-based energy sector that supports a range of economic activity and acts as a hub for the future national hydrogen infrastructure.

The HARVEST hydrogen hub’s concept proposes to utilize industry investments of more than $1 billion and matching funds from the DOE to advance production and usage plans in three defined regions of the state. In so doing, it leverages several distinctive factors that position Kansas to be a uniquely productive leader in the nation’s hydrogen ecosystem, including:

1. some of the lowest wholesale electrical generation costs in the nation, fostered by significant electrical generation from wind, solar and nuclear sources
2. a strategic location in the center of the United States with a robust transportation infrastructure
3. robust agricultural and industrial sectors that can readily consume derivative products made from hydrogen
4. extensive underground storage potential in salt deposits that can be transitioned into storage caverns.

The coalition also benefits from KU’s research expertise, infrastructure and status as one of the nation’s leading research universities. Specifically, the statewide hydrogen initiative dovetails well with KU’s “Earth, Energy + Environment” strategic research theme and with KU’s commitment to fostering economic growth and prosperity in Kansas through the university’s Office of Research and Office of Economic Development.

“Our coalition is united by an extraordinary vision of what is possible for the state and region if we are able to act decisively to take full advantage of Kansas’ remarkable resources,” Kalbas said. “This program offers the opportunity to infuse billions of dollars into the region’s economy to improve energy security and expand access to key commodities while placing Kansas at the heart of a new nationwide ecosystem.”

In addition to facilitating hub development, DOE funding would also enable HARVEST to coordinate dynamic community engagement and environmental justice initiatives to ensure that the benefits of clean hydrogen serve all Kansans and help alleviate challenges in disadvantaged communities throughout the region.

The HARVEST Hydrogen Hub is currently moving forward with development planning and preparation of a full application due April 7. The DOE is expected to announce funding recipients in fall 2023.

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Contact: Jon Niccum, KU News Service, 785-864-7633, [email protected]
Costs vs. benefits of COVID-19 lockdowns and mask mandates revealed in new research

LAWRENCE — Beginning in 2020, most state governors ordered lockdowns and mask mandates to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. But a new study examines how the value of these actions also came with costs.

“Locking down a state is a complex, difficult decision for a governor that involves examining several tradeoffs. This is why we did not limit ourselves just to the benefit of reduction in cases of the virus,” said Sajeev Nair, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Kansas.

“We looked at metrics like GDP and unemployment, and, from a marketing point of view, things like consumer spending and customer satisfaction. So while there were benefits, there were also costs — and policymakers need to be mindful of weighing these aspects.”

His paper, titled “Lockdown Without Loss? A Natural Experiment of Net Payoffs from COVID-19 Lockdowns,” analyzes both the health and economic effects of state lockdowns. It determines this action reduced 480 infections per million consumers per day (equivalent to a reduction of 56%), yet they also reduced customer satisfaction by 2.2%, consumer spending by 7.5% and GDP by 5.4%, and increased unemployment by 2% per average state. It appears in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing.

Co-written with Gerard Tellis of the University of Southern California, Ashish Sood of University of California-Riverside and Nitish Sood of the Medical College of Georgia, Nair’s team addressed four key issues:

1. Were lockdowns effective in reducing infections?

2. What were the costs to consumers?

3. Did lockdowns increase or reduce consumers’ mask adoption?

4. Did governors’ decisions depend on medical science or non-medical drivers?

“We thought the spread of the disease in the state would be the most important factor that would compel the governor to lock down,” Nair said. “But, surprisingly, we found that political affiliation was a more important factor. Democratic governors were twice as likely to lock down compared to Republican governors.”

Other factors such as information cascades and policy transfer or learning were also stronger predictors of governors’ decisions to impose this than disease spread. One aspect that led to the huge public misunderstanding and criticism of lockdowns followed when cases spiked immediately afterward.

“To a common man’s eye, it’s like, ‘This is not effective! Why are we locking down?’ But the surprising thing was lockdowns have a lag effect that starts kicking in in a delayed fashion due to the long incubation period of the disease,” Nair said.

Nair’s team utilized the benefit of a “natural experiment” in that some states locked down while some did not. Plus, many states implemented this at different times.

“We considered states that locked down as test units and those that didn’t or locked down later as control units. So what we’re essentially doing is comparing neighboring states that are very similar in population density, mobility, economy, income and climate factors. These states differ only in the timing of lockdowns. Then we looked at how the cases trended before and after the lockdown,” he said.

This is technically known as a difference in difference regression model (commonly used in economics and marketing), which Nair calls a “powerful and intuitive approach.”

The research also appraised the signaling effect and the substitution effect of lockdowns.

He said, “The signaling effect is when consumers really understand the severity of the problem, so they go that extra mile to take whatever practical protection steps are needed during the lockdown. At the same time, the government was messaging that wearing masks, washing hands, etc., are good ways of preventing the disease spread. The other thing we hypothesized was people would think, ‘If there is a lockdown, I’m staying at home. Why should I use masks?’ But our data is the first to show that did not happen; the lockdowns actually increased mask adoptions by consumers.”

Nair said he believed the most significant takeaway of this research is that public policy actions have huge implications for the general citizen, consumers and businesses.

“A lot of stakeholders are involved,” he said. “So how can governments, policymakers and even businesses think ahead of time and adapt to the situation? If consumers were adhering to things like mask mandates and being careful about limiting the disease’s spread, probably the painful lockdowns may not have been required.”

Having joined KU last semester, Nair studies marketing strategy issues using quantitative empirical methods, with a specific focus on new product management and online reviews.

If Nair were governor of Kansas and a new wave of COVID hit, would he order a lockdown and mask mandate?

“We are not policy experts,” Nair said.

“Our goal is to put the message out that it’s a very complicated situation. We are not making any policy prescriptions to any governor that if a pandemic were to happen, you have to lock down. It needs to be a decision made by weighing the costs and the benefits.”

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Contact: Michelle Keller, KU Endowment, 785-832-7336, [email protected]; @KUEndowment
Retired KU pharmacy professor establishes $1.6M scholarship fund

LAWRENCE – Gary Grunewald, who spent 50 years on the faculty of the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy, is making a $1.6 million contribution to establish a scholarship fund for pharmacy students at KU. The endowed scholarship will fund two full-tuition scholarships each year for students in the school.

“Dr. Grunewald’s philanthropy is a remarkable legacy and a tribute to his lifelong passion for science and teaching,” Dean Ronald Ragan said. “He spent his entire postgraduate career in the KU School of Pharmacy, and his impact on students over five decades is immeasurable. He taught and mentored many graduate students who continue to make a difference in the pharmacy community around the world. With this generous gift, his influence on students, the School of Pharmacy and the university will continue to be felt for decades to come.”

Grunewald’s career was marked not only by 50 years of teaching in the School of Pharmacy, but for his devotion to students. As a mentor and doctoral adviser, he helped launch the careers of more than 40 graduate students in medicinal chemistry and scores of others who were under his guidance as postdoctoral scholars.

Grunewald, who turned 85 in November, came to KU in 1966 as an assistant professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry after finishing a doctorate in physical organic chemistry at the University of Wisconsin. Previously, he graduated with highest honors and as valedictorian of his 1960 class at Washington State University, where he earned two bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and pharmacy. He was selected outstanding graduate in both programs.

Granted full professorship in 1972, Grunewald served as department chair in medicinal chemistry from 1994 to 2003. He was also acting dean of the school in 1993-94. His retirement was celebrated in 2016.

Grunewald earned School of Pharmacy and university teaching awards and was a valued member of the academic and professional community through active committee service and leadership. He was an extraordinary researcher as well, awarded more than 10 National Institutes of Health research grants in addition to funding awards from the American Heart Association, the Department of Defense and university grants. His research focused on drug design, using computer modeling and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. Grunewald published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and presented his work countless times at meetings and symposia.

KU Endowment is the independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fundraising and fund-management organization for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment was the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.

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KU News Service
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-3256
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Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs

From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

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Contact: Mike Krings, KU News Service, 785-864-8860, [email protected], @MikeKrings
‘Improbable Probabilities’ tells unlikely story of education professor’s journey from poverty to international acclaim

LAWRENCE — It is improbable that a child born in a remote village in 1960s China to a family of illiterate parents whose main concern in life was to find the next meal would grow up to become an internationally known scholar and educational leader. Yet, just as unlikely as that idea is, it is exactly what happened in the life of Yong Zhao. A new memoir tells the story of how University of Kansas professor not only survived his meager childhood circumstances but how what most would consider insurmountable disadvantages allowed him to use his mind, daydream and set his own course in life.

“Improbable Probabilities: The Unlikely Journey of Yong Zhao” is the latest book from the KU Foundation Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies. The book is not a typical memoir: When approached by his publisher to write an autobiography, Zhao initially was hesitant. But after talking with a colleague and fellow international education scholar G. Williamson “Bill” McDiarmid, he decided to write a book that told his story and how surviving and beating the odds can be a roadmap for educators to challenge the status quo of strict curriculum, rote memorization and standardized testing and instead allow all students to be self-actualized, individual learners.

“Everybody can tell you something valuable. You have a story, but what’s the point?” Zhao said. “I wanted Bill to be a co-author, and when I asked him, I said, ‘I have the data, but you can have an interesting perspective on what this is all a case of and what the story means.”

McDiarmid, dean and alumni distinguished professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and distinguished chair of education at East China Normal University in Shanghai, is also an internationally respected scholar. The two have been colleagues, collaborators and co-authors before writing “Improbable Probabilities.” They met weekly via Zoom for 14 months to bring the story together, deciding that Zhao’s life was a good illustration of evolutionary biologist Richard Lewontin’s triple helix theory. The idea holds that chance, genes and environment work together to determine how a person’s life plays out.

Zhao readily acknowledged that chance, or what some would call luck, largely played to his advantage. Born in a farming village in China’s Sichuan Province, he was the first son of a family that only saw five of 12 children survive to adulthood. Born in 1965, timing also played in his favor.

“Overall, if there is a lesson to learn from my story, it is that a person’s life story is impacted by luck,” Zhao said. “For example, if I had been born two years earlier, I probably wouldn’t be where I am, because the Great Leap Forward hadn’t ended. If I had been born 10 years later, I probably also wouldn’t be, because the Cultural Revolution would have likely prevented that.”

In addition to Zhao’s story, the book contains historical background on the events in Chinese history he refers to, including when Chairman Mao’s reforms led to an estimated 20 million people starving to death as well as the violence and unrest of the Cultural Revolution.

At first glance, genetics may not look like they’d work in Zhao’s favor either. His parents, both subsistence farmers, had little time to devote to any sort of scholarly pursuits. Their concern was not allowing their family to starve, something Zhao witnessed among others in his village. They set no expectations for him and demanded very little from their son.

“My illiterate parents really didn’t expect anything from me. So I was able to do what I wanted,” Zhao said. “I was also physically small and was considered not of value to the village, because I was not strong enough to be good at farm work. But that was an advantage, too, as I was able to use my mind.”

The book outlines how environment helped shape Zhao and lead to his success as well. Instead of the ideal of the rugged individual who succeeds through sheer determination, Zhao was fortunate to be surrounded by intelligent, encouraging people throughout his life who recognized his potential, allowed him to explore his own interests, supported his ideas even when the value was not immediately apparent and did not chastise him for breaking rules.

Through each chapter, the book chronicles Zhao’s journey through life and how his failures and successes can illustrate a path forward for educators to help today’s students. When he became one of the first in his village to attend college, he spent a good share of his time at the English-language bookstore, which allowed him to hone his English skills, led to a business opportunity as a translator and allowed him to make friends and professional connections that led him to the United States. Permission for Zhao to take on new challenges led to his creating new technologies in education and becoming an internationally recognized scholar. Similarly, he argues if students are allowed to pursue what interests them, they can find opportunities others might not see.

“Improbable Probabilities” also traces how the Chinese Communist crackdown on protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing convinced Zhao his future was abroad. He was able to visit an American university on a chance encounter with an American scholar, and that led to a multidecade career in educational technology and policy. Zhao and McDiarmid argue that given the internet and technological advantages today’s students have, they are in a better place to explore the world and find what inspires them and guide their own learning, whether it be in their hometown or on another continent.

The book concludes with a broad summary of Zhao’s higher education career and scholarship and his focus on challenging the common orthodoxies of education policy and thought. Just as China for centuries demanded strict adherence to authority and rote memorization to identify talented government bureaucrats, American education this century has placed an emphasis on strict standardized testing. Both are mistaken, the authors argue, and stifle creativity in service of supposed accountability. Ironically, while China was placing an emphasis on westernizing its educational approach in recent years, American schools were shifting to a model like the Chinese in hopes it would help improve math scores. Both are mistaken in their insistence on strict curriculum and avoidance of identifying every student’s individual strengths and allowing them to guide their own learning, according to the authors.

While Zhao’s story may be improbable, the book is not intended to lionize someone who beat the odds through rugged individualism, glorify poverty or overthrow standardized teaching practices. Rather, his life is an example of how his fundamental arguments of reshaping education to give today’s students their best chance at success by empowering them as individual learners can allow more youths to get the most out of their school experience.

“Most of my life is funny if you look back,” Zhao said. “A lot of my opportunities were actually ways to avoid my shortcomings. In American education, people often say, ‘If you’re poor, things will get worse.’ I had a chance to take that thread of hope and run with it. No matter how bad things are, some good can come of it.”

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KU News Service
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-3256
Fax: 785-864-3339
[email protected]
http://www.news.ku.edu

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs