Biology prof interviewed for NPR's With Good Reason

Written by Chad Osborne, updated by Karen Powers

The “With Good Reason” public radio program recently (April 2023) aired an interview with Professor of Biology Karen Powers about her research examining the prevention of bird-window collisions.

The interview was hosted on more than 60 radio stations across the United States. The show is available as a podcast at withgoodreason.org. Powers' interview is aptly named "The Alcove of Death" after one beautiful patio that is particularly prone to bird-window collisions.

Powers and her students have been documenting bird-window collisions since 2018. The research involves eight to 10 students a semester, with each student collaboratively collecting data and developing independent research questions based on the growing dataset. More than 50 Radford students have contributed to the work.

Teasing the recorded interview, Powers said she spoke “about the cool projects students have developed – from drones to game cameras – and the work that we have published.” She also talked about collision effects on bird populations and other major threats to birds.

Coincidentally, the now-famed "Alcove of Death" on campus is being fitted this summer with bird-deterring film that will significantly reduce collisions for years to come. A special thanks to the current administration at RU for supporting this conservation-minded application.

The award-winning radio program is produced by Virginia Humanities for the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium, which comprises all of Virginia’s public colleges and universities.

“With Good Reason” is heard by an estimated 100,000 people each week on public radio stations in 33 states, including Virginia and Washington, D.C. Thousands more download the episodes via iTunes.

Chad Osborne
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