Carbon nanotube optics and the quantum

January 7, 2019 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

A US-France-Germany collaboration has led to some intriguing work with carbon nanotubes. From a June 18, 2018 news item on ScienceDaily, Researchers at Los Alamos and partners in France and Germany are exploring the enhanced potential of carbon nanotubes as single-photon emitters for quantum information processing. Their analysis of progress in the field is published in this week’s edition of the journal Nature Materials. “We are particularly interested in advances in nanotube integration into photonic…

Metcalf Institute Science Immersion Fellowship 2019 for journalists: applications open

January 4, 2019 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

I received this January 4, 2018 announcement from the Metcalf Institute at the University of Rhode Island (URI; US) in my email this morning. In other words, this is fresh off the email, Get Science Tools to Break StoriesAbout Global Change & Water Resources Apply for Metcalf Institute’s Career-Changing Science Immersion Fellowshiptuition, room and board, and travel support included Global Change Impacts and WaterAccording to the United Nations, water is the “primary medium through which…

The Evolution Of My Course Outlines – Part II

January 3, 2019 Dan Gillis Communication, Education and Outreach, Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

Last September I wrote about The Evolution Of My Course Outlines after reading a friend’s shared post on Facebook. In particular, I described how I would modify my course outlines to accommodate parents who might need to bring their children to the classroom. Today I’ve opted to evolve my course outlines once more. The newContinue reading "The Evolution Of My Course Outlines – Part II"

Talking about brains in Vancouver, Canada

January 3, 2019 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

I have two items, one featuring past events and one featuring an upcoming January 2019 event. Brain Talks The Brain Talks series folks featuring a bunch of Dept. of Psychiatry types and their ilk at the School of Medicine at the University of British Columbia sent me a December 21, 2018 announcement (via email) about videos featuring past talks, Haven’t been able to make one of the last severals BrainTalks? Luckily, we’ve been filming! HAVE…

Moths with sound absorption stealth technology

January 2, 2019 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

The cabbage tree emperor moth (Thomas Neil) [downloaded from https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/nov-17-2018-greenland-asteroid-impact-short-people-in-the-rain-forest-reef-islands-and-sea-level-and-more-1.4906857/how-moths-evolved-a-kind-of-stealth-jet-technology-to-sneak-past-bats-1.4906866] I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more gorgeous moth and it seems a perfect way to enter 2019, from a November 16, 2018 news item on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), A species of silk moth has evolved special sound absorbing scales on its wings to absorb the sonar pulses from hunting bats. This is analogous to the special coatings on stealth aircraft that allow them…

FrogHeart and the year ending/beginning—2018 into 2019

December 31, 2018 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

I’m not sure I’m ready to take another look at my Friday, December 28, 2018 posting; at this point, I’m feeling embarrassed at being so cranky that I forgot to note how much I have appreciated WordPress software over the years. It should also be noted that the updated ‘linki’ function in WordPress 5.0 is easier to use. Unfortunately, that’s all I can find to praise but my fingers are crossed in hope that the…

It Takes A Village

December 30, 2018 Dan Gillis Communication, Education and Outreach, Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

As 2018 winds down, I’ve been giving more thought to the events that have helped define the last 365 days. In a similar vein to my previous post, none of the events that made this year what it was would have been possible without an incredible team of people working with me. This is particularlyContinue reading "It Takes A Village"

WordPress 5.0—Worse Christmas gift ever!

December 28, 2018 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

Without checking to see the reaction to this latest version, I updated this blog to the latest version of WordPress (WP). After using WP for over ten years and never having had a big problem, there was a surprise in store for me. There have been glitches in the past but for the most part, I have written, edited, and published my pieces with relative ease. This is no longer true. First, I’m going to…

Sound-absorbing nanofoam

December 27, 2018 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

In these increasingly noisy days (there’s construction going on around me), news of a cheaper, easier way to dull the noise is very attractive. From a June 25, 2018 Far Eastern Federal University (Russia) press release on EurekAlert, The breakthrough material reduces a noise level by 100% more efficient comparing to standard analogs, cutting the level of noise transmission by 20-22 dB. The new foam reacts to sound waves not only of high but also…

Joyeux Noël! Science raps for Christmas 2018!

December 24, 2018 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

I received a December 17, 2018 email from Baba Brinkman, a Canadian rapper who lives in New York City these days and who has often graced this blog. He has an offer for those of us lucky enough to be in New York City from December 27, 2018 to mid-February 2019 , If you’re looking for a last minute present for someone you know in New York, get them the gift of thought-provoking entertainment with…

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