Category Archives: Students

Items for students and others, interested in learning about science and engineering and the application of science in our lives. We post many of the general interest items here.

Fossils of Sea Monster

Fosil of extinct sea creature

‘Godzilla’ Fossils Reveal Real-Life Sea Monster, National Geographic news:

Researchers have unearthed fossil evidence of a 135-million-year-old “sea monster” they’re calling Godzilla.

A large skull of the animal was found in southern Argentina in an area that was once part of the Pacific Ocean.

Named Dakosaurus andiniensis, the creature is an entirely new species of ancient crocodile. It had a head like a carnivorous dinosaur and a tail like a fish. With its massive jaws and serrated teeth, it preyed on other marine reptiles.

Totally unique among marine crocodiles, “it is one of the most evolved members of the crocodilian family and also one of the most bizarre,”

Rube Goldberg Machine Contest

Rube Goldberg poster

Rube Goldberg Machine Contest (they broke link so I removed it)

Cut or Shred Into Strips 5 Sheets of 8 1/2″ x 11″ 20lb Paper Individually With a Shredder in 20 or More Steps!
…
Rube Goldberg drew his “Inventions” as contraptions that satirized the new technology and gadgets of the day. His drawings, using simple machines and household items already in use, were incredibly complex and wacky, but somehow (perhaps it was because Rube was a graduate engineer) the “Inventions” always had an ingenious, logical progression as they worked to finish their task.

The annual National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest held at Purdue University in Indiana is organized by the Phi Chapter of Theta Tau, the National Student Engineering Organization. It hosts college and university teams from across the US. Winners of the high school statewide and regional contests are also invited to run their invention machines at the National.

Another site with additional information on the contest. This seems like a great way to make engineering fun.

Mars Rover

Mars Rover
Mars Rover Begins Climb Down From Summit (broken link removed)

After two months at the summit of Husband Hill, the six-wheeled rover is making its descent toward a basin to the south where it will explore an outcrop dubbed “home plate” that looks like a baseball diamond from orbit.

The solar-powered Spirit’s yearlong climb to the peak marked a major feat for the rover, which along with its twin, Opportunity, landed on opposite ends of the Red Planet in 2004 in search of evidence of the past history of water on the cold, dusty planet.

Image credit: NASA/JPL Artist’s concept of the Mars Exploration Rover on Mars.High Resolution Image

NASA Mars Exploration Rover site

China Prepares for Return of Shenzhou

China Prepares for Return of Shenzhou, Washington Post:

China is only the third country to launch humans into orbit on its own, after Russia and the United States _ a source of enormous national pride as the communist government tries to cement its status as a rising power and help prepare for a planned moon landing by 2010 and the eventual creation of a space station.

This is China’s second manned space flight. Shenzhou means “divine vessel.”

Like the United States government in the late 1960’s and the 1970’s the Chinese government sees scientific advancement as one of the top priorities for future success.

China’s vision for new space age, BBC.
China National Space Administration

Ministry of Silly Walks

silly walk photo

The Mechanics of Foot Travel

The engineers’ computer simulations conclude that walking is simply most energy efficient for travel at low speeds, and running is best at higher speeds. And, they report, a third walk-run gait is optimal for intermediate speeds, even though humans do not appear to take advantage of it.

The findings help to explain why the possible–but preposterous–gaits in the Monty Python sketch, “Ministry of the Silly Walks (sadly the link was broken – so removed),” have never caught on in human locomotion. The researchers add that extensions of this work might improve the design of prosthetic devices and energy-efficient bipedal robots.

You have to like a government news release that references a Monty Python sketch, don’t you? Especially if they realize Monty Python was poking fun at ludicrous government departments (using physical humor). I am glad they choose to add some spice to the scientific news. Learn more about the Ministry of Silly Walks (sadly the link was broken – so removed).

New link (since other links died): Monty Pythons Flying Circus (The Ministry of Silly Walks & the Spanish Inquisition ) (2000)

Four Vehicles Finish in $2 Million Robot Race

Four Vehicles Finish in $2 Million Robot Race:

Update: link broken – too bad they don’t know pages must live forever

The vehicles were equipped with the latest sensors, lasers, cameras and radar that feed information to several onboard computers. The sophisticated electronics helped vehicles make intelligent decisions such as distinguishing a dangerous boulder from a tumbleweed and calculating whether a chasm is too deep to cross.

E = mc²

That Famous Equation and You by Brian Greene

Over the last couple of decades, this less familiar reading of Einstein’s equation has helped physicists explain why everything ever encountered has the mass that it does. Experiments have shown that the subatomic particles making up matter have almost no mass of their own. But because of their motions and interactions inside of atoms, these particles contain substantial energy – and it’s this energy that gives matter its heft. Take away Einstein’s equation, and matter loses its mass. You can’t get much more pervasive than that.

25 New MacArthur Fellows

25 New MacArthur Fellows Announced
press release
overview of fellows

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today named 25 new MacArthur Fellows for 2005. Each received a phone call from the Foundation this week informing them that they will be given $500,000 in ‘“no strings attached’ support over the next five years.

I think the fellowships are a great idea: give money to people who have done excellent work. I am not sure of the motivations of the MacArthur Foundation, but if it were me I would trust by providing funds to those people they would (as a group, not every single person) take advantage of those funds to create great advances for all of humanity.

It is great to see examples of those doing work worthy of such high praise. Many of the fellows are scientists and engineers including:

  • Ted Ames – Fisherman fusing the roles of applied scientist and lobsterman to respond to increasing threats to the fishery ecosystem and to suggest needed changes in fisheries management.
  • Lu Chen – Neuroscientist probing the complexities of synaptic transmission in the brain, gaining new insights into the processes of learning and memory.
  • Claire Gmachl – Laser Technologist engineering state-of-the-art lasers for novel applications in environmental monitoring, clinical diagnoses, chemical process control, and homeland security.
  • Michael Walsh – Vehicle Emissions Specialist designing and implementing inventive, cost-effective programs to improve air quality for populations around the globe.