Congratulations, Dr. Andrew Fitzgerald! Well done. @WPI @WPI_Physics

RT @mahsa_piraei: URGENT call to help #Iran immediately🚨 Based on my conversations with doctors in Tehran, Fars, Isfahan, Lorestan, Rasht,…

این تصاویر یک انقلاب است.. شمارش معکوس برای رسیدن به نور.. به آزادی.. به روزهای روشن ایران #انقلاب_۱۴۰۴

1/ In London, power lives in Westminster & Buckingham Palace. In Washington—the Capitol and White House. In Moscow—the Kremlin. But in Kyiv? The real power isn't where you'd expect. I'm here now, and what I've witnessed will show you the REAL reason for Russia’s war. 🧵⤵️

The 2026 @NSF budget requests a ~57% decrease compared to 2024. There is a ~66% cut for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (this is where materials research is located). Cut in scholarships for students is 64.6%, for post-doctoral training - 91.4%. nature.com/articles/d41586-0…

Just a thought: Ukraine’s President is Jewish. Our Defense Minister is a Muslim, a Crimean Tatar. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is an ethnic Russian. Our top drone ace — recently awarded the title Hero of Ukraine — is an ethnic Hungarian. Over 70,000 women serve in the military now. Almost all of the most renowned combat medics are women. The revolution that changed this country forever began with a Facebook post by an ethnic Afghan Pashtun, a prominent Ukrainian journalist. And in our parliament, we have a Black MP — an Afro-Ukrainian and universally admired Olympic champion. All of this — in a country that is still, for the most part, Slavic. On the streets of Kyiv today, you’ll see halal restaurants for Muslim tourists standing peacefully next to Jewish eateries. Nearby are a museum and a monument to Sholem Aleichem, and a plaque bearing the face of Golda Meir, who once lived here. Among our main landmarks: 19th-century synagogues. Just a short walk away — a large mosque and Muslim cultural center. And above all, of course — the ancient Christian churches and monasteries that are the oldest and most significant in the East Slavic world. I still can’t get over the fact that Ukraine’s chief Muslim mufti (an ethnic Tatar from Donetsk) stepped down to serve as a frontline paramedic in the army. That our chief rabbi works tirelessly every day to help Ukraine across the globe — and that his adopted son died fighting for Ukraine, weapon in hand. For many years now, a giant glowing menorah has stood each Hanukkah in the heart of Kyiv’s main square. And on Independence Day, every religious denomination gathers in Saint Sophia Cathedral to offer prayers for Ukraine, each in their own rite. Just as they all come together for remembrance at Babyn Yar and the Holodomor monument. The more you look at the world, the more often you realize how much healthier Ukrainian society has become when it comes to coexistence between nationalities and faiths. We weren’t always like this. We are becoming this now — as the country is being radically transformed by revolution and by the defense against imperial Russia. We are shedding the weight of so many remnants of the past — really fast. Just recently in May, Ukraine held its WWII commemorations — with poppies and the slogan “Never again!” What a stark contrast to the satanic frenzy of Russia’s “Victory Day,” with its death cult, its “We can do it again!” bravado, and its glorification of dying for the Tsar. Against the backdrop of war, Ukraine is living through a real national and cultural renaissance. We are rediscovering the Ukrainian language, Ukrainian books, music, cinema — as something precious. And for how many decades were we taught to look down on everything Ukrainian — as “third-rate,” “peasant,” “inferior”?... I walk the streets of Kyiv on Christmas (December 25th, not January 7th as demanded by Moscow priests) and see bands of children in traditional embroidered clothes carrying colorful Bethlehem stars and singing carols. “Ukrainian Christmas” is returning to these lands as a vibrant cultural tradition. On Easter, crowds gather near Saint Sophia Cathedral for picnics and spring dances. In the old city above Podil, I often hear youth pounding out Cossack songs on drums. I always see many people at our nation’s sacred places — the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the cathedrals of Lviv, the Motherland Monument, the old castles. We haven’t suddenly become devout believers. We’ve simply come to take pride, like never before, in being Ukrainian — in treasuring our traditions, our culture, our history, and our way of life, in our own country. New traditions keep being born in wartime, against all odds. Today, we honor war veterans by inviting them to make the symbolic first kick at football matches — and then we give them a standing ovation from the stands, for their service. I could go on like this for hours. What I’m trying to say is — I love what Ukraine is becoming. This hope — breaking through unspeakable pain and hardship — feels like a light piercing the tunnel. Ukraine now, and Ukraine 12 years ago, are two completely different countries. The road ahead is brutally hard, but if only — if only our Ukraine can survive this war for its very existence.

What an honor to serve as the Honorary Marshall at WPI Graduate Commencement. AND got to hood Dr. Sepideh Khanmohammadi.

Almost every single person who starts as anti-Ukrainian, and then goes to Ukraine to see it for themselves, to "do their own research," comes back pro-Ukrainian. This is worth 4 minutes of your time because it's accurate, lucid, and fair.

This. This. This!!!!! We need more of this!!!!

You cannot make this shit up. Sharing this jaw-dropping story with a gift link -- give it a read. theatlantic.com/politics/arc…

Countless emails asking how Americans can directly aid Ukrainian soldiers. Here’s an easy answer: savelife.in.ua/en/

Boston 2/23/25

Unexpected and very fiery pro-Ukraine speech by Senator Tillis in the Senate on Wednesday, specifically mentioning Trump, drawing a contrast in their positions. He just got back from Ukraine. This is a positive, Trump needs the Senate to pass his budget:

I was electrocuted, beaten, stabbed in the leg and starved after being captured while defending my home and family in Mariupol. We held back the Putin invasion for several weeks while Russia slaughtered over 25,000 predominantly Russian speaking Ukrainians including women and children. TRUMP IS MAD OR OWNED.

Alright, let’s break it down once again, for those who are new to this discussion: 1. Russia didn’t start a war of annihilation because Ukraine wanted NATO – Ukraine wants NATO because Russia is waging a war of annihilation. 2. Ukraine is not fighting Russia because it ‘was wrong to trust America’ – Ukraine is fighting because Russia is trying to wipe it off the map, and Ukraine is doing everything humanly possible to survive as a free, independent nation instead of being crushed under a totalitarian fascist regime. 3. Russia’s so-called ‘peace deal’ has never been anything but Ukraine’s destruction and absorption. That’s not on Zelensky, Boris Johnson, or even George Soros. The only one responsible is Vladimir Putin’s fascist regime, which launched the biggest war in Europe since Adolf Hitler to reconquer its former colony. Not everything in this world is some grand conspiracy theory for decadent Westerners obsessed with self-hatred to the point of blindly worshipping foreign dictators that undermine the West.

As a Ukrainian, I just want to say: fuck all of you who voted for Trump, chose to vote for a third candidate, or stayed at home. Ukrainian blood is on your hands - not that you care, but still.

Biomedical researchers, @aimbe has developed & put out another advocacy letter opposing the recent slashed support for NIH indirect cost rates. Regardless of your career stage (or if you are a Fellow), please take 1-2 mins to send a letter to your congressional representatives!

Hello from Kyiv. You can argue all day about why Ukraine matters, but if you don’t address the core beliefs of American skeptics, you’ll never change minds. Here are the three biggest blind spots that keep goodwill Americans—including those in power—from supporting Ukraine. Remove these blinders, and suddenly, security, freedom, and America’s future all come into focus. Let’s peak through the blinders ... 🧵⤵️