Clay weekly context brief for the University category (ISO week 2026-W36). Clay tracks publications from the University feed list. Below are recent items from this category, each with its source and a short description of what the publication covers when one is available in the source feed. Recent publications: 1. At Opening Exercises, President Eisgruber encourages new Princeton students to value what you learn along the way Source: Princeton University News Link: https://www.princeton.edu/news/2026/08/30/opening-exercises-president-eisgruber-encourages-new-princeton-students-value-what The ceremony marks the start of a new academic year for first-year students in the Class of 2030, incoming transfer students and new graduate students ahead of classes beginning Sept. 2. 2. How MIT Sandbox has turned student ideas into $8.7 billion in global impact Source: MIT News Link: https://news.mit.edu/2026/how-mit-sandbox-turned-student-ideas-into-global-impact-0828 Jacob Becraft spoke on a panel with (left to right) Fred Parietti, Sam Udotong, and Laureen Meroueh. The discussion was hosted by MIT President Sally Kornbluth (far right). 3. Note to stressed parents: Instead of trying to be perfect, do this. Source: Harvard Gazette Link: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2026/08/note-to-stressed-parents-instead-of-trying-to-be-perfect-do-this/ Experts offer tips for raising children while overwhelmed 4. Water shortages in Puerto Rico: U-M experts available to discuss Source: University of Michigan News Link: https://news.umich.edu/water-shortages-in-puerto-rico-u-m-experts-available-to-discuss/ The U.S. 5. How to sign up for a virtual power plantand decide whether you should Source: MIT Technology Link: https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/28/1142956/how-to-sign-up-for-a-virtual-power-plant-and-decide-whether-you-should/ MIT Technology Reviews How To series helps you get things done. 6. Orchard Roads real problem? It forgot how to host a good weekend afternoon Source: National University of Singapore News Link: https://news.nus.edu.sg/orchard-roads-real-problem-it-forgot-how-to-host-a-good-weekend-afternoon/ By Dr Samer Elhajjar, Senior Lecturer in the Dept of Marketing at NUS Business School The Straits Times, 28 August 2026, Opinion, pB4 7. Squeezing solid-state batteries prevents short-circuits Source: Stanford News Link: https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2026/08/solid-state-batteries-compression-short-circuiting SLAC and Stanford research shows that mechanical compression stops lithium buildup in solid-state batteries, making them faster to charge and longer-lasting. 8. Johns Hopkins, AEI extend fellowship exchange program into second year Source: Johns Hopkins University News Link: https://hub.jhu.edu/2026/08/27/jhu-aei-fellowship-exchange-program-renewal/ Proposals are being accepted through Sept. 18 for projects that promote scholarly collaboration and model reasoned exchange across different viewpoints 9. Cornell Law Welcomes LL.M. Class of 2027 Source: Cornell Law Government Link: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/08/cornell-law-welcomes-llm-class-2027 On August 6, Cornell Law School welcomed 103 students representing 26 countries by citizenship to Orientation for the General LL.M. (Master of Laws) Class of 2027. 10. Locksley Edmondson, scholar of the African diaspora, dies at 92 Source: Cornell Arts and Humanities Link: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/08/locksley-edmondson-scholar-african-diaspora-dies-92 Edmondson joined the Africana Studies and Research Center faculty as an assistant professor in 1983, becoming a full professor in 1987 and retiring in 2017. 11. Hitting dead ends and rethinking everything BURE summer scholars explore research life Source: Cornell Computing Information Science Link: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/08/hitting-dead-ends-and-rethinking-everything-bure-summer-scholars-explore-research This summer, 60 undergraduates participated in theBowers Undergraduate Research Experience, a 10-week, paid program where undergraduate students do real-world research alongside Bowers faculty. 12. Infection, diet reshape intestines differently Source: Cornell Food Agriculture Link: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/08/infection-diet-reshape-intestines-differently Diet changes and infection resize an organisms intestines through different cellular strategies. In malnourished fruit flies, infectious microbes became a source of food, not just a threat. 13. Study casts doubt on carbon-removal method Source: Cornell Energy Environmental Sustainability Link: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/08/study-casts-doubt-carbon-removal-method A study led by Cornell researchers suggests the real-world potential of enhanced weathering spreading crushed basalt on farmland as a way to removed CO2 may be far smaller than widely cited estimates. 14. Is there an AI bubble? No, but some tech companies show signs Source: Cornell Business Economics Link: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/08/there-ai-bubble-no-some-tech-companies-show-signs The AI sector is not in a bubble market, but the prices of some individual AI companies behave with the price variability and exuberance characteristic of a bubble, according to new Cornell research. 15. Where the Beam Points Next: Autonomous Experiments Take Shape at CHESS Source: Cornell Physical Science Engineering Link: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/08/where-beam-points-next-autonomous-experiments-take-shape-chess An X-ray experiment at Cornell recently did something unusual: It decided for itself where to take its next measurement. 16. Q&A: UW professors explain how were misreading the energy crisis Source: University of Washington News Link: https://www.washington.edu/news/2026/08/21/qa-uw-professors-explain-how-were-misreading-the-energy-crisis/ Dominic Muren, UW teaching professor of design, and Adrienne Russell, UW professor of communication, examine environmental problems from a perspective beyond the hard sciences. 17. Traumatic brain injury in Pakistan linked to poor long-term survival Source: Cornell Global Reach Link: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/08/traumatic-brain-injury-pakistan-linked-poor-long-term-survival Traumatic brain injury in Pakistan is associated with a high risk of death and disability long after the initial injury, even in mild to moderate cases. 18. Tree-focused tech aims to bring more shade to vulnerable New Yorkers Source: Cornell Architecture Link: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/08/tree-focused-tech-aims-bring-more-shade-vulnerable-new-yorkers Announced Aug. 5 at Cornell Tech, a research partnership will help neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx identify where new trees are needed most to improve public health. 19. How social media interoperability could restore user choice Source: Oxford University Link: https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/how-social-media-interoperability-could-restore-user-choice/ Social networking interoperability is a leading policy proposal thatgivesusers a realchoiceofplatformproviders. New evidence shows it onlyworksif regulators get the specifics right, argues Philipp Riederle, doctoral researcher, OII. 20. Many young people are being prescribed multiple psychiatric drugs at once which can be risky Source: University of Pennsylvania News Link: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/penn-in-the-news/many-young-people-are-being-prescribed-multiple-psychiatric-drugs-once-which-can Many young people are being prescribed multiple psychiatric drugs at once which can be risky Sean Hennessy of the Perelman School of Medicine led a study that explored the risks of prescribing multiple medications at once. 21. Robert J. David Source: McGill University News Link: https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/node/22751 Robert David Title: Professeur(e) titulaire Department: Faculté de gestion Desautels Areas of expertise: Émergence de nouvelles industries; transformation des industries matures; évolution des pratiques de gestion; institutions et esprit d'entreprise Email address: robert. 22. Bonnie Bassler receives top Royal Society honor for seminal research in quorum sensing Source: Princeton University News Link: https://www.princeton.edu/news/2026/08/27/bonnie-bassler-receives-top-royal-society-honor-seminal-research-quorum-sensing Bassler has been named the 2026 recipient of the society's Copley Medal, its oldest and most prestigious prize. 23. Gage Coon: An Earth scientist exploring the power of microbes Source: MIT News Link: https://news.mit.edu/2026/gage-coon-earth-scientist-exploring-power-microbes-0828 I discovered this world of academia, and so I was really excited when I learned about it, Gage Coon says. I was like, Oh my god, constant learning. That is exactly what I want to do forever. 24. Very excited to start this new chapter of my life Source: Harvard Gazette Link: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2026/08/very-excited-to-start-this-new-chapter-of-my-life-video/ Scenes from the Yard on move-in day 25. Beyond hunger: Food insecurity in later life linked to dementia Source: University of Michigan News Link: https://news.umich.edu/beyond-hunger-food-insecurity-in-later-life-linked-to-dementia/ Older adults who experienced food insecurity in both midlife and later life had nearly four times the risk of probable dementia as those who remained food secure, according to new University of Michigan research. 26. A startup claims its found a drug to make your blood young Source: MIT Technology Link: https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/27/1143037/startup-claims-its-found-a-drug-to-make-your-blood-young/ I knew Id officially become a longevity influencer this month when a company called Generation Lab reached out to offer me the chance to write aboutand even receivetheir new rejuvenation treatment,an injectable combination of two existing drugs which they call 1 Generation. 27. Make a second child less of a sacrifice for the first Source: National University of Singapore News Link: https://news.nus.edu.sg/make-a-second-child-less-of-a-sacrifice-for-the-first/ By Dr Tan Poh Lin, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies at NUS The Straits Times, 28 August 2026, Opinion, pB3 28. How AI could uncover the hidden ways people work together Source: Stanford News Link: https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2026/08/ai-workplace-coordination-research A prize-winning faculty-student collaboration is developing an LLM to predict workplace dynamics, potentially reshaping management in the age of AI. 29. New STEM center enriches learning at East Baltimore school Source: Johns Hopkins University News Link: https://hub.jhu.edu/2026/08/27/collington-square-stem-center-opening/ Cal Ripken, Sr. STEM Center at Collington Square Elementary/Middle School designed to strengthen critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration skills essential for academic success 30. Roper Center renews decade-long partnership with Cornell Source: Cornell Law Government Link: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/08/roper-center-renews-decade-long-partnership-cornell TheRoper Center for Public Opinion Research will remain at Cornell for another 10 years, the longest term in the partnerships history, as of Aug. 1. 31. Heritage Forensics investigates cultural heritage caught up in war Source: Cornell Arts and Humanities Link: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/08/heritage-forensics-investigates-cultural-heritage-caught-war Researchers from Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences have developed a forensics framework to document cultural heritage destruction. Sources in this brief: Cornell Architecture; Cornell Arts and Humanities; Cornell Business Economics; Cornell Computing Information Science; Cornell Energy Environmental Sustainability; Cornell Food Agriculture; Cornell Global Reach; Cornell Law Government; Cornell Physical Science Engineering; Harvard Gazette; Johns Hopkins University News; MIT News; MIT Technology; McGill University News; National University of Singapore News; Oxford University; Princeton University News; Stanford News; University of Michigan News; University of Pennsylvania News; University of Washington News. Selected 31 of 393 available items for this weekly brief.