Category Archives: Science

About Our Science and Engineering Blog

The title of the blog gives you an idea of the topics we explore. Here we will provide some additional insight into what we aim to do:

  • Primary education (k-12) in science, math and engineering – we will post about the state of such education (research etc.), news and items of interest to teachers and students. We aim to be a resource that helps teachers and students learn about science and engineering. The K-12 category will be targeted at teachers and students. We are also trying a students category for items we think might be of particular interest to students (and we believe teachers might find useful as items to interest students in science and engineering).
  • Higher education (college, university, graduate school and other sources of advanced learning) – we will post about news about science and engineering higher education and items of interest to professor, students and those interested in higher education. The higher education category will be targeted at professors, students and those interested in higher education.
  • Economic impact of science and engineering – we will post about the macro economic and societal impacts of science and engineering: higher education, research funding, investments and political decisions and discussions. We believe science, engineering and technology can serve to improve living conditions around the world. We believe investments in science and engineering, research and higher education, will impact the economic success of countries and the world overall. The economics category contains posts on developments in this are and our thoughts on this topic.
  • Highlight interesting science and engineering information – we will post about interesting science and engineering news and blog posts as we see it

The Effects of Patenting on Science

A Descriptive Analysis of a Pilot Survey on the Effects of Patenting on Science AAAS:

Of the 40% of respondents who reported their work had been affected, 58% said their work was delayed, 50% reported they had to change the research, and 28% reported abandoning their research project. The most common reason respondents reported
having to change or abandon their research project was that the acquisition of the
necessary technologies involved overly complex licensing negotiations.

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

Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education

Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Abstracts for programs funded given by NSF.

For example How Do We Know What We Know? Resources for the Public Understanding of Scientific Evidence,

This project is designed to improve communication between scientists and the public focusing on the role of evidence in science. It is a two-year project that includes: 1) implementing a national survey on the public use of science web sites; 2) conducting a national Science Education Outreach Forum bringing together scientists and informal science educators; 3) implementing workshop sessions at a national conference to disseminate lessons learned from the survey and Forum; and 4) developing a prototype website on the role of evidence that will be evaluated for audience engagement and understanding.

This project builds on the Exploratorium’s prior NSF-funded project (ESI#9980619) developing innovative strategies using the Internet to link scientists and the public using Webcasts, annotated datasets and interactive web resources. Project collaborators include the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Palmer Station, Scripps Oceanographic Institute, FermiLab and the Society of Hispanic Physicists among others. The research and evaluation of the project has the potential for strategic impact by providing new information and models on how science centers can more effectively use the Internet to improve communication between scientists and the public while engaging learners more effectively.

Arctic System on Trajectory to New, Seasonally Ice-Free State

Arctic System on Trajectory to New, Seasonally Ice-Free State by (see below):

This future Arctic is likely to have dramatically less permanent ice than exists at present. At the present rate of change, a summer ice-free Arctic Ocean within a century is a real possibility, a state not witnessed for at least a million years.

The ramifications of a transition to this newsystem state would be profound. The deglaciation of Greenland alone would cause a substantial (up to 6 m) rise in sea level, resulting in flooding along coastal areas where much of the world’s population resides.

Shrinking Polar Ice Cap Graphic

Jonathan T. Overpeck, Institute for the Study of Planet Earth, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA;
Matthew Sturm, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, USA;
Jennifer A. Francis, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA;
Donald K. Perovich, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA;
Mark C. Serreze, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA;
Ronald Benner, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA;
Eddy C. Carmack, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada;
F. Stuart Chapin III, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA;
S. Craig Gerlach, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA;
Lawrence C. Hamilton, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA;
Larry D. Hinzman of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA;
Marika Holland, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA;
Henry P. Huntington, Huntington Consulting, Eagle River, Alaska USA;
Jeffrey R. Key, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Madison, Wisconsin, USA;
Andrea H. Lloyd, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Virginia, USA;
Glen M. MacDonald, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA;
Joe McFadden, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA;
David Noone, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA;
Terry D. Prowse, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada;
Peter Schlosser, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York, USA;
Charles Vörösmarty, University of New Hampshire, Durham New Hampshire, USA.

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.

Bird Flu Resistant to Main Drug

Bird Flu ‘Resistant to Main Drug’ (site removed content so link to them removed)

While the H5N1 virus is now mostly passed directly from bird to human, health experts have warned that it is just a matter of time before it mutates into a form that is easily transmissible between people. When that happens, it may result in as many as 150 million human deaths.

Obviously the 1918 flu pandemic should stand as a recent example of the danger posed by flu epidemics. I don’t have any ability to judge how likely these threats of “bird flu” are but it seems like we could very easily be failing to invest sufficient resources in fighting such a possibility.

Have bird flu warnings affected you?, BBC

It also is a reminder that we should be careful not to overuse anti-biotics.