VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY NEWS

The Philadelphia Inquirer
What Does a Black Hole Sound Like? A Villanova Scientist's Answer Was Turned Into Music.

August 14, 2026 - Villanova astrophysicist Becka Phillipson wondered what a black hole might sound like. She found an answer by translating X-ray data from a black hole system into musical notes. The first time she listened to the audio, the cacophony reminded her of someone pressing every key on an organ at once. After roughly 30 seconds of this “chaos,” she heard a “coherent, beautiful major chord” ring out.

The Philadelphia Inquirer
Villanova U. Spent More Than $100 Million on Renovations of the Former Cabrini Campus. Students Will Begin Living and Learning There This Fall

August 10, 2026 - The former Cabrini University campus has undergone a more than $100 million, Villanova-fueled rebirth, and students will begin attending classes and living there this month... The acquisition of the campus, which officially opens for fall classes Aug. 24, marks an era of new growth for Villanova.

Associated Press
A New Mexico Judge Ordered New Child Safeguards for Meta. Advocates Hope Other Courts Follow

August 8, 2026 - Many of the changes ordered by Biedscheid hinge on strong age-verification measures... Age verification "can be done well in a privacy-protective way, but it is not easy," said Peter Ormerod, an associate professor of law at Villanova University.

BBC
AI Stories Preferred to Human-Written Ones

August 4, 2026 - Readers gave the highest ratings to stories created by artificial intelligence (AI), believing they had been written by humans, according to new research... Senior author Dr. Deena Weisberg, from the department of psychological and brain sciences at Villanova University, said: "I'd say that public assumptions about AI's capabilities are increasingly out of date."

CNBC
Trump Says Sanctions Bill Should Include Tariffs on Iran, Despite "Trivial" Trade with US

July 30, 2026 - The U.S. has sanctioned Iran for decades, and the Treasury Department has sought to further squeeze Tehran's economy amid the war. "The Administration's threat to impose tariffs on imports from Iran is entirely symbolic," Jonathan Doh, professor of international business at Villanova School of Business, said in an email to CNBC. "U.S. imports from Iran are trivial."

U.S. News & World Report
Consumers Remain Gloomy About the Economy

July 28, 2026 - Chairman Kevin Warsh has already added some uncertainty to Fed decisions as he favors a less open policy about communicating future central bank actions to the markets and the press. "Without any communication, it's going to be interesting to see what happens to inflation expectations," says Erasmus Kersting, economics professor at Villanova University.