Art. Science. Optics. A Collider Café event in Vancouver (Canada) on January 23, 2019

January 16, 2019 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

The Curiosity Collider folks have decided to ring in the new year with an event focused on optics. Here’s more from their January 15, 2019 announcement (received via email), FROM CONTEMPORARY ART TO SCIENCE ILLUSTRATION, IS “SEEING” REALLY “BELIEVING”? OR IS THERE MORE TO IT THAN THERE SEEMS? HOW CAN WE EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITIES THROUGH ART AND SCIENCE? OUR #COLLIDERCAFE IS A SPACE FOR ARTISTS, SCIENTISTS, MAKERS, AND ANYONE INTERESTED IN ART+SCIENCE. MEET, DISCOVER, CONNECT,…

Cellulose and natural nanofibres

January 15, 2019 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

Specifically, the researchers are describing these as cellulose nanofibrils. On the left of the image, the seed look mores like an egg waiting to be fried for breakfast but the image on the right is definitely fibrous-looking, Through contact with water, the seed of Neopallasia pectinata from the family of composite plants forms a slimy sheath. The white cellulose fibres anchor it to the seed surface. Courtesy: Kiel University (CAU) A December 18, 2018 news…

A Dry Saskatoon in 2018: Yearly Weather Summary

January 15, 2019January 16, 2019 Saskatchewan Research Council Environmental and Earth Sciences, General Science, Technology and Engineering

Take a look back at Saskatoon’s top weather statistics and events of 2018 using data from SRC's Climate Reference Station. Some might be obvious – who could forget the thick smoke blanketing our city in August or the beautiful frost (freezing fog or rime frost) that set in on Saskatoon in late November – but some might also surprise you.

Why not monetize your DNA for 2019?

January 14, 2019 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

I’m not a big fan of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) companies that promise to tell you about your ancestors and, depending on the kit, predisposition to certain health issues as per their reports about your genetic code. (I regularly pray no one in my family has decided to pay one of these companies to analyze their spit.) During Christmas season 2018, the DNA companies (23andMe and Ancestry) advertised special prices so you could gift someone in…

Cataloging a year of metamodeling blogging

January 12, 2019 Theory, Evolution, and Games Group bloggers Biology and Life Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Technology and Engineering

Last Saturday, with just minutes to spare in the first calendar week of 2019, I shared a linkdex the ten (primarily) non-philosophical posts of 2018. It was focused on mathematical oncology and fitness landscapes. Now, as the second week runs into its final hour, it is time to start into the more philosophical content. Here are 18 posts from 2018 on metamodeling. With a nice number like 18, I feel obliged to divide them into…

Congratulations Keefer

January 12, 2019 Dan Gillis Communication, Education and Outreach, Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

Huge congratulations to Keefer Rourke, who has been named recipient of the Co-op Student of the Year 2018 – Ian Pavlinic Memorial Award for Innovation. Keefer was nominated by Dr. Jason Ernst and Rachel Cheng of Left, where he spent the past eight months working on the RightMesh platform. During this time, Keefer was alsoContinue reading "Congratulations Keefer"

How the technology of writing shaped Roman thought

January 11, 2019 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

I have two bits about the Romans: the first is noted in the head for this posting and the second is about a chance to experience a Roman style classroom. Empire of Letters This January 8, 2019 news item on phys.org announces a book about how the technology of writing influenced how ancient Romans saw the world and provides a counterpoint to the notion that the ancient world (in Europe) was relentlessly oral in nature,…

Wireless Mobile Mesh Interns

January 11, 2019 Dan Gillis Communication, Education and Outreach, Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

I am happy to announce that Xuan Luo, MASc student at the University of British Columbia, is the newest Mitacs Accelerate intern for the Wireless Mobile Mesh Network research program. Xuan will be working on Objective 4.2 – Evaluation of Micropayment Channels Performance Limits, and the Effect on Network Performance Evaluation of Micropayment Channels PerformanceContinue reading "Wireless Mobile Mesh Interns"

Terahertz imagers at your fingertips

January 10, 2019 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

It seems to me that I stumbled across quite a few carbon nanotube (CNT) stories in 2018. This one comes courtesy of Japan (from a June 28, 2018 news item on Nanowerk), Researchers at Tokyo Tech have developed flexible terahertz imagers based on chemically “tunable” carbon nanotube materials. The findings expand the scope of terahertz applications to include wrap-around, wearable technologies as well as large-area photonic devices. Here’s a peek at an imager, Figure 1.…

The top 5 stories of 2018 in science and tech at SRC

January 10, 2019January 16, 2019 Saskatchewan Research Council Environmental and Earth Sciences, General Science, Technology and Engineering

We’re counting down the most-read stories published on our site in 2018. These are the projects and people that really stood out for our readers. In a time when there’s a lot of good content being shared, we’re thrilled that you’ve come here to be inspired and entertained.

Technology and Engineering