Harold Pollack

Pucked=picked. Another fat-thumb iPhone typo…

Found buried in my email today---a note from my dad, written a few months before his passing: Petunia: She was a black and white kitten, who showed up in our luncheonette. I was about fifteen at the time . I pucked up a dolls tiny milk bottle and gave her some milk. Sleepy now, she found the lap of a stuffed bear, curled herself within....and promptly fell asleep. From that moment on, she was home. [several paragraphs] Today, a 92-year-old fellow thinks often about his loved pet, and longs to have her curl up on his lap. purring and he strokes her soft fur His children, grown now with families of their own, think of what would make their dad happy. And so, in a short time, they will bring him a little black-and-white kitten to keep him company in his small apartment. They know the name he will choose for it: Pet-two-nia. PETUNIA.

Medicaid Re-Entry for people leaving corrections has been a big success in California. nytimes.com/2026/03/13/hea…

Those who saw’A Beautiful Mind’, would remember that John Nash’s doctoral thesis had just 26 pages and 2 references, yet it was instrumental in advancing “Game theory”. What if I told you there is a scientist whose achievement is so astounding that he is perhaps the only Indian to “create” an intersectional branch of science? What if I told you that every year, his name echoes across the hallowed halls of science in foreign lands, but most of our students haven't even heard of him? Aneesur Rahman was born in Hyderabad in British India in 1927. His father was a professor and a philanthropist. His family generously donated their property for the creation of Urdu Hall in Hyderabad. His maternal uncle was a professor too. Rahman had a natural flair for subjects that would terrify ‘normal’ students — maths and physics. After getting BSc in Mathematics, he went on to get Tripos in Mathematics and Physics at the prestigious Cambridge University in the UK. From there, he went to Louvaine University in Belgium and got DSc in Physics under Professor Mannenbeck. It’s here that Rahman met a Chinese student Yueh-Erh Li who was doing MD( called Dr Jady by friends). They fell in love and got married. He came back to teach in Osmania university along with his wife. Soon after, he developed interest in the structure of water molecule - especially the polarisation of the hydrogen atom. Unfortunately research in India was at infancy in those days and Dr Rahman realized he was a whale in a tiny pond. He had to move to the ocean. He joined the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. His foundational paper in 1964 birthed “molecular dynamics” , one of the two pillars on which a vast body of computational physics rests.(the other is Monte Carlo method). His equation made it possible to calculate the trajectory of large number of interacting atoms with ease. His work, like Ramanujan’s , was so ahead of his time - that even today, potential applications are being discovered. The Nobel prize in physics for 2013 went to Karplus, Levitt and Warshel whose work depended heavily on Dr Aneesur Rahman’s. Some say there is an inverse association between genius and compassion -Dr Rahman was a prominent exception. He was known not just for his intellect, but also kind nature and mentored many students all over the world. His quiet, unassuming nature made him a much loved professor — and he remained so, until he got Non Hodgkin’s lymphoma — a cancer that took him away from us prematurely, at the age of 59. Perhaps he might have got a Nobel, if only he had lived longer. American Physical Society honors him as the father of computational physics and has instituted an annual award in his name. As a doctor with little idea of theoretical physics, writing Dr Aneesur Rahman’s portrait has been difficult , because of the complex nature of his work that straddles so many areas of science : mathematics, physics, computer science and chemistry. His equations are mind boggling, even intimidating, but what I do understand is this : Dr Rahman didn't just have a beautiful mind, but also a beautiful heart.

A strong case from @MattBruenig that “normal” tax and transfer policies are adequate to make AI-driven productivity growth win-win — unfortunately the voters do not seem to want to hear this. theargumentmag.com/p/ai-could-des…

To our Jewish community: This is what’s happening in the West Bank right now. A Palestinian man describes a brutal sexual assault by Israeli settlers amid a wider pattern of escalating terror and impunity allowed by the state. We have to see Palestinians’ humanity – and the reality of their abuse at the hands of other Jews – and ask what kind of country Israel is becoming. Then demand a different path.

Today, in Iran, in the middle of a war, the regime executed a 19-year-old national wrestling champion for the crime of joining January protests. 💔 After signaling to the world, including President @realDonaldTrump, that they would halt executions of protesters, the regime has done the exact opposite. Three young protesters, Saleh Mohammadi, Mehdi Ghasemi, and Saeed Davoudi, were hanged in Qom after a sham trial. Reports indicate torture. Forced confessions. No access to chosen lawyers. Closed-door proceedings. No right to appeal. I call on @GlobalAthleteHQ to stand with Iranian athletes who are being silenced, imprisoned, and executed simply for raising their voices. This is not just about sports. This is about human dignity.

Folk interested in mental health crisis response should read Matthew Alemu's essay on Washtenaw County just out at @UmichPoverty sites.fordschool.umich.edu/poverty2021/fi…

@mioana Congrats!

🎉I'll be promoted to full professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice, effective July 2026! Grateful for of the many people who've helped and challenged me along the way. Now off to work on #AI and its impact on the economy, society, & policy!

“The ruling dealt a significant setback for the reduced #childhood #vaccination schedule championed by Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist…” @MontefiorePeds @DrFerdowsi @ianpaulmd @liver4kids @drjosflynn @leorahorwitzmd @haroldpollack

Shia Muslim Lebanese Americans in Dearborn, Michigan, condemned the terrorist attack on the synagogue, renounced the attacker, connected with Jewish leaders, and expressed solidarity and support for the Jewish community.

Meet the horrified grandparents fighting for vaccines. From @CitizenCohn || open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark…

@jflier Condolences to you, and to all who are mourning

With great sadness I report the passing of my scientific mentor Jesse Roth at age 91. Jesse was a brilliant & innovative scientist who led the field of membrane receptor biology from NIH diabetes branch. A small part of that family tree is shown. May his memory be a blessing.

RIP John Burns, perhaps the last of a generation of swashbuckling, straight-from-central-casting war correspondents who ran to the sound of the guns and filed exquisite copy at the end of the day. A spendid tribute by @cowellcnd nytimes.com/2026/03/13/wor…

In the 1940s, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was committed to his teaching role at the University of Chicago, despite being based at the Yerkes Observatory. Each week, he traveled 80 miles to teach a special course attended by only two students. The students were Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen-Ning Yang. They proved their mentor's faith was well-placed when they both won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957, years before Chandrasekhar received the same honor in 1983. Remarkably, this course went down in history as the only one where every attendee received a Nobel Prize, underscoring the extraordinary impact of Chandrasekhar's dedication and teaching. 📷 AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Physics Today Collection

Great to seen this out ||| Michael Frerichs and Harold Pollack: More Illinoisans with disabilities can now save and invest chicagotribune.com/2026/03/12/opi…

That money was enough to save the lives of more than 3 million children worldwide, with nutritional paste for malnutrition, bed nets against malaria, vaccination programs and community health workers. Instead we spent it blowing up people and things, and raising gas prices.

Albert Einstein defying the prevailing racial climate at the time by visiting Lincoln University, Pennsylvania in 1946.

So happy that the @NextBigIdeaClub team has selected my first book - THE SCIENCE OF SECOND CHANCES - as a monthly must-read! I summarize 5 big takeaways in this Book Bite. (Link below.)