Toy and Entertainment Engineering Camp
Posted on April 19, 2007 Comments (0)
via our post suggestion page, this Toy and Entertainment Engineering camp looks interesting (for students or a teacher) to me.
My name is Rebecca and I work for a Branded Camp Services. We design and operate residential academic summer camps for high school students.
This year, at Union College in Schenectady, we will be offering a course in Toy and Entertainment Engineering. I’m looking to hire an
energetic teacher for both two-week sessions in July. Most of our teachers are currently in graduate school or recent graduates. This
class is brand new and we’re having a harder time recruiting because of its specialized nature.
Thanks! You can apply by writing me at Rebecca at brandedcampservices.com
Quantum Theory Fails Reality Checks
Posted on April 19, 2007 Comments (0)
Quantum Theory Fails Reality Checks
Einstein was famously bugged by what are now well-established facts of quantum theory: the randomness of a particle’s choices and the possibility of instantaneous linkages between far-flung light or matter. Experimenters now conclude that Einstein cannot even pick his poison, because allowing for instant links kills any simple notion of reality, too.
$600 Million for Basic Biomedical Research
Posted on April 18, 2007 Comments (7)
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) will hold a national competition for investigators that will result in an investment of at least $600 million in basic biomedical research. Up to 50 new researchers will be selected by spring 2008. HHMI Announces New Open Competition:
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HHMI values innovation and encourages its investigators to extend the boundaries of science. By appointing scientists as Hughes investigators — rather than awarding research grants — HHMI is guided by the principle of “people, not projects.” HHMI investigators have the freedom to explore and, if necessary, to change direction in their research. Moreover, they have support to follow their ideas through to fruition — even if that process takes many years.
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This new competition represents the first time that HHMI has opened up a general competition to the direct application process. In the past, faculty members had to be nominated by their institutions for HHMI investigator positions.
More details and apply via: 2008 HHMI Investigator Competition.
Innovative Alarm Clocks
Posted on April 17, 2007 Comments (2)
I heard about clocky last year on NPR and again last week. Gauri Nanda, designed clocky while a student at MIT – an alarm clock that runs and hides so you have to get out of bed to turn it off. She has since manufactured them and now you can buy your very own mobile clock.
There is also the April Fools joke, SnūzNLūz – Wifi Donation Alarm Clock, but I think people would really buy it. “Connects via WiFi to your online bank account, and donates YOUR real money to an organization you HATE when you decide to snooze!”
2007 National Science Board Public Service Award
Posted on April 16, 2007 Comments (0)
Chemist, Educator, Communicator Receives 2007 National Science Board Public Service Award
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In 1983, Shakhashiri founded the Institute for Chemical Education at the University of Wisconsin. It has since become a national center for research and development, teaching and dissemination of information on chemistry at all educational levels. In the same year, he opened the first-of-its-kind interactive chemistry exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, which has remained permanently on display there.
Science if Fun with University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri.
Related: Public Service Award – Science Education in the 21st Century – 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry – 2006 MacArthur Fellows – 2006 Draper Prize for Engineering
PhysicsQuest
Posted on April 15, 2007 Comments (0)
PhysicsQuest aims to teach middle school students physics concepts, but its overarching goal is to give them a positive experience with physics. APS is focusing this program on middle school students because these grades have been identified as the point when many students lose interest in math and science.
Register now, free kits are limited to the first 7500 United States classes to register.
Related: k-12 science education posts – Directory of science education sites – Getting Students Hooked on Engineering – primary school science education podcast
Two Screens Are Better Than One
Posted on April 15, 2007 Comments (2)
Two Screens Are Better Than One:
I must say when moving to two screens I was surprised how much of a difference it made. I look forward to my huge screen.
In the photo (from Photo from: Women Go With the (Optical) Flow – pdf) three projectors, show screens on a curved Plexiglas panel, resulting in a 3072 x768 resolution display. The display was curved to avoid distortion at the farthest fields of vision. Gary Starkweather, who also invented the laser printer, is the designer behind this effort.
Related: cool gadgets – Cool Mechanical Simulation System (direct display interaction) – Microsoft Wants More Engineering Students – Microsoft Visualization and Interaction for Business and Entertainment (VIBE) Research Center – High Tech Ice Cream – Open Source 3-D Printing – Video Goggles
What do Engineers Need To Know?
Posted on April 15, 2007 Comments (1)
What do Engineers Need To Know? by Pradeep K. Khosla, dean of the College of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon:
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The change has been accelerated by other nations’ massive investments in engineering and science education, first in Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea, and now in India and China. They all understand what America already knows: Knowledge creation drives future economic growth, and an educated labor force is essential for participation in the global economy.
So true, the economic benefit of science investment is a big theme in our economic posts.
A good plan and one repeating what has been discussed here before: Benefits of Engineering and Innovation Education – MIT Undergraduate Changes – Harvard Elevates Engineering Profile – Improving Engineering Education. Also remember more S&P 500 CEOs majored in Engineering than anything else. Tour the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Lab.
Eco-Vehicle Student Competition
Posted on April 15, 2007 Comments (3)
Participating schools included Purdue University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Grand Rapids Technical School, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Rose- Hulman Institute of Technology and Mater Dei High School.
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By the end of the day, it was Cal Poly San Luis Obispo that took the grand prize for combustion-engine vehicles. The team’s vehicle traveled 1,902.2 miles to the gallon. Rose-Hulman took second place with 1,637.2 miles to the gallon, and Mater Dei High School in Evansville, Ind., came in third at 1,596 miles per gallon. Los Altos High School took first place for the hydrogen-engine group. The group’s vehicle traveled 1,038 miles to the gallon.
Photo from Shell Eco-Marathon Americas site (see more photos, results, webcasts…).
Related: La Vida Robot – Student Algae Bio-fuel Project – NASA Engineering Challenges – International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition
Read more
Dark Cosmos
Posted on April 14, 2007 Comments (3)
I just finished reading Dark Cosmos: In Search of Our Universe’s Missing Mass and Energy by Dan Hooper. I found it an enjoyable read. The author writes well for a general audience, that like me, doesn’t have much of an knowledge of the topic. I think he did a good job of providing enough connection to the science but at a level that most interested in science could understand.
Some people think it is a bit too folksy, without enough science. I can see how some might feel this way, I think the balance is good but for those that want to dig into the details around dark matter and dark energy this is probably not the right book. For those that want to get a good idea of the basic concepts though I think this is a good choice. I like discussion of the process of scientific discovery – the uncertainly the adaption of ideas to new experimental results etc.. The tone is similar to Chaos and The Elegant Universe.
Related: science books – Dan Hooper
T-rex Treasure
Posted on April 14, 2007 Comments (2)
T. rex remains yield new treasure
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The very existence of the molecular relics had been unimaginable. Until now, scientists thought such soft stuff survived no more than a million years in animal remains. Usually, tissue degrades and bone gets replaced by mineral, yielding fossils molded precisely like the originals. Although the fossils enable scientists to piece together a skeletal sketch of ancient life forms, they tell only so much.
The discovery of the protein fragments, detailed in the journal Science today, suggests that new molecular clues may be buried in other well-preserved fossils around the world. And those clues could help explain the biology of dinosaurs and other extinct animals. The newly discovered microscopic fragments are not DNA — the inherited code stored in billions of cells that defines every living creature. As a result, no one should expect any Jurassic Park-like replicas of dinosaurs to result from Schweitzer’s finding.
Related: Over 100 Dinosaur Eggs Discovered – Most Dinosaurs Remain Undiscovered – Fossils of Sea Monster
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