2018 in review: Take a look back at the top stories from the last year

As the year comes to a close, we wanted to take a look back at some of the top articles published in The Daily this year, based on what mattered most to our readers. The stories we shared throughout 2018 celebrated the successes of our students and faculty in the lab, remembered the lives we lost, and marked key—even record-breaking—moments to set the university up for the future: We announced our donors committed more than $200 million in 2017-18 and shared news of a $20 million challenge grant to engineering and medicine, a $10 million donation for a new theater and a $5 million gift for the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. Meanwhile, President Barbara R. Snyder and the Board of Trustees directed $1 million to support the new Student Success Initiative. But there was so much more that happened in the past 12 months. We pulled together the top 18 research and news features of 2018*, according to our analytics. Take a look back before the new year begins.

18. The future of grocery shopping: Faster, cheaper, smaller

One of the most common shopping experiences in American life is fundamentally changing, according to a new study in the journal Strategy and Leadership.

17. 5 questions with… galaxy spotter, science radio show host and undergraduate student Chris Carr

Last summer, undergraduate student Chris Carr spotted a “smudge” on deep sky images taken from the university’s Burrell Schmidt telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in southwest Arizona. His findings pointed to the detection of a new galaxy about 37 million lightyears away.

16. What’s next? A few members of the Class of 2018 share their stories

In advance of commencement, we talked with graduating students from each school to see how they got here, what their time was like on campus and where they’re headed next.

15. CWRU announces 2018-19 Think Forum speakers

From the national movement to support survivors of sexual assault to what Russia really wants from the United States, to broad concerns of education and the stories of Vietnam War refugees, Case Western Reserve University’s Think Forum lecture series for 2018-19 cuts a wide swath of social and political issues, offering insight and perspective from prominent national experts, leading academics and prize-winning authors.

14. Legacy of ‘redlining’: How 1930s Cleveland mortgage-lending maps mirror today’s poverty

Many of the Cleveland neighborhoods that banks “redlined” almost a century ago have some of the city’s highest rates of poverty and crime, and the effects of this so-called “redlining” still reverberate. And, now this phenomenon can be illustrated in a visually compelling format, thanks to a team of researchers from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.

13. How Sears think[box] helped put a puppy back on his paws

As a 3-month-old puppy for sale at a northeast Ohio pet store, Bento was accidentally dropped—breaking a front leg that healed crooked and weak. Bento’s vet searched for a surgical solution, which led him to the Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box].

12. Collaboration creates connection as Nord Family Greenway opens

Earlier this year, hundreds gathered to dedicate the Nord Family Greenway, a 2,200-foot-long expanse that exemplifies the accomplishments possible when organizations collaborate toward a common goal.

11. 10 Case Western Reserve University entrepreneurs to show at CES 2018

Case Western Reserve University again showed off some of its best innovations at CES 2018 Jan. 9-12 in Las Vegas, including self-powered “smart building” sensors and low-cost, hand-held blood analysis devices and more among its 10 exhibits.

10. Cat-like ‘hearing’ with device trillions times smaller than human eardrum

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University are developing atomically thin “drumheads” able to receive and transmit signals across a radio frequency range far greater than what we can hear with the human ear. But the drumhead is tens of trillions times (10 followed by 12 zeros) smaller in volume and 100,000 times thinner than the human eardrum.

9. Dave’s Cosmic Subs and Music to open in former Barking Spider Tavern space on Case Western Reserve University campus

Live music of all genres will once again emanate from a former early-1900s carriage house in the heart of the Case Western Reserve University campus in University Circle. Locally owned and operated Dave’s Cosmic Subs and Music will open in the space formerly occupied by the Barking Spider Tavern, a popular musical and social gathering spot for 30 years until it closed in 2016.

8. Four professors recognized for scholarly contributions with Faculty Distinguished Research Awards

This year’s Faculty Distinguished Research Award honorees are: Susann Brady-Kalnay, professor of molecular biology and microbiology; Jonathan Karn, the Reinberger Professor of Microbiology; Walter Lambrecht, professor of physics; and Dale A. Nance, the John Homer Kapp Professor of Law.

7. Executive turned patient invests in health education

Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University have been given a very generous gift from Sheila and Eric Samson for the Health Education Campus, scheduled to open in summer 2019. In recognition of the significant donation, the campus’s centerpiece 485,000-square-foot facility will be named the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion.

6. Get a glimpse of where the Class of 2017 is now with the First Destination Survey report

The Career Center released the First Destination Survey report, which gives a snapshot of where the Class of 2017 was less than one year after they walked across the stage.

5. George Washington University arts and sciences dean named Case Western Reserve provost

Case Western Reserve’s next provost and executive vice president will be Ben Vinson III, an accomplished historian of Latin America now serving as dean of George Washington University’s Columbian College of Arts & Sciences.

4. Former Cleveland Clinic CEO offers unexpected advice at commencement

Former Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove told Case Western Reserve University’s Class of 2018 about a topic he said he felt “eminently qualified to address.” Leadership? No. Health care? No. Cardiac surgery? Yet again, no. Instead, he focused on failure—namely, his own. A collection of C’s in college. Rejection of 12 of his 13 applications to medical school. And messages during residency that he was the “least talented” in his group and absolutely should not try to specialize in cardiac surgery.

3. U.S. News and World Report announces graduate, professional program rankings

Case Western Reserve University’s graduate and professional programs experienced mixed results in this year’s U.S. News & World Report’s graduate school rankings, with two schools achieving impressive gains, three holding steady, and one suffering a small dip.

2. By the numbers: Meet the Case Western Reserve University Class of 2022

Over the next four years, we also will have the opportunity to get to know the Class of 2022. But for now, we put together a quick breakdown of the Class of 2022 by the numbers to help you get started.

1. Man vs. machine?

The “deep learning” computers in Anant Madabhushi’s diagnostic imaging lab at Case Western Reserve University routinely defeat their human counterparts in diagnosing heart failure, detecting various cancers and predicting their strength. *List does not include obituaries of the faculty, staff and students who passed away during 2018.