October 31, 2026 | 9:00 a.m. EDT edition
Student creativity, learning opportunities and scientific discovery lead this edition of Phoenix News to Know. Here are three short reports, beginning with Proctor High School’s upcoming theater production in Utica.
Proctor Drama Club brings Rise of Robin Hood to Utica Nov. 6–7
Proctor High School students will bring Rise of Robin Hood to the stage next weekend, with two performances open to the community.
The Utica City School District announced the Drama Club production October 30. Performances are scheduled for Friday, November 6, at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 7, at 3 p.m. in the Proctor High School Auditorium. Both times are Eastern Standard Time.
Tickets and production team
Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for students, children and senior citizens, according to the district.
Lacey Stevens directs the production, with Colleen Campbell as co-director. Andrew Buffington provides art direction. Johnny Calabrese composed the original music and directs the music.
The performances offer families a chance to support student work on stage and behind the scenes without the cost of a larger commercial theater outing.
The announcement does not specify advance ticket sales, payment methods or seating arrangements. Families can check the district’s production notice for updates before attending.
Emily Cho’s STEM nonprofit opens learning paths for detained youth
A Cornell student’s effort to bring science education into correctional facilities has grown into a volunteer network, offering young people another way to imagine their futures.
In an October 29 profile, Cornell reported that Emily Cho’s Juvie for STEM works in 36 facilities in the United States and abroad with more than 7,000 active volunteers.
Cho, a member of Cornell’s class of 2028, was named a 2026 L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth honoree. The recognition includes a $25,000 grant.
Learning and support
The organization describes its mission as combining STEM education, mentorship and reentry support for young people in detention and correctional facilities. Its website offers routes for volunteers to help with workshops, chapters and local support. Donations help supply electronics, laboratory kits and classroom materials.
Cornell says Cho plans to use the grant for expansion into Louisiana and software to track participants’ progress. Those are plans, not completed outcomes.
Sources: Cornell Chronicle, October 29, 2026; Juvie for STEM.
Cornell finds two superconducting states in one material
Cornell researchers have found that uranium ditelluride, a material called UTe2, can support two kinds of superconductivity at the same time. The result makes it a promising research candidate, not a finished quantum-computing technology.
Cornell reported the work October 30, alongside publication in Nature Physics. Sahas Kamat is the paper’s first author; physicist Brad Ramshaw is the corresponding author.
Evidence, not the final answer
The team used pressure, extreme cold and pulse ultrasound measurements to map the material’s behavior. Temperatures reached between 1 and 2 kelvin.
The central limit matters: showing two states together does not prove that the material is a topological superconductor. Cornell says that question remains open.
Readers should therefore treat this as a step in basic research, rather than a claim that a new consumer device or commercial quantum computer is ready.
Sources: Cornell Chronicle, October 30, 2026; research paper in Nature Physics.
