Technology and Engineering

Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Medical Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Biotechnology, Green Tech, Information Science, Nanotech

ISEA (International Symposium on Electronic Arts) 2020: Why Sentience? rescheduled to October 2020 in Montréal, Québec

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
Mentioned here twice (in a November 29, 2019 posting about the call for proposals and in a March 4, 2020 posting about the preliminary programme), the 2020 International Symposium on Electronic Arts has been postponed, from a March 23, 2020 announcement received via email, POSTPONEMENT NOTICE – ISEA2020 New Dates: October 13 to 18, 2020 Montreal, March 23, 2020 — With the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is facing an extraordinary situation. Following the measures announced…

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In the future your clothing may be a health monitor

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
It’s not ready for the COVID-19 pandemic but if I understand it properly, wearing this clothing will be a little like wearing a thermometer and that could be very useful. A March 4, 2020 news item on Nanowerk announces the research (Note: A link has been removed), Researchers have reported a new material, pliable enough to be woven into fabric but imbued with sensing capabilities that can serve as an early warning system for injury…

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Statistics In A Time Of Crisis: COVID-19 Data Sources

Dan Gillis Communication, Education and Outreach, Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
If you are like me and you use statistics and data to help you better understand the world, you’re probably spending your spare time analyzing whatever data you can get your hands on. To help out, I thought I would create this post to provide a list of data sources that you might find useful.Continue reading "Statistics In A Time Of Crisis: COVID-19 Data Sources"

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An Open Letter

Dan Gillis Communication, Education and Outreach, Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
If you are an instructor in any of Canada’s post-secondary institutions, you have most likely already experienced the significant disruption that the COVID19 pandemic has caused. As I’ve written in previous posts, we are in uncertain and unprecedented times and the anxiety this is causing is very real. And those anxieties are particularly acute forContinue reading "An Open Letter"

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COVID-19: caution and concern not panic

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
There’s a lot of information being pumped out about COVID-19 and not all of it is as helpful as it might be. In fact, the sheer volume can seem overwhelming despite one’s best efforts to be calm. Here are a few things I’ve used to help relieve some fo the pressure as numbers in Canada keep rising. Inspiration from the Italians I was thrilled to find Emily Rumball’s March 18 ,2020 article titled, “Italians making…

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Statistics In A Time Of Crisis

Dan Gillis Communication, Education and Outreach, Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
The last week has been strange to say the least. Much like you, I’m left wondering with how best to cope with a pandemic that has shifted our reality significantly. For me, coping is obsessively monitoring the confirmed COVID-19 cases. As I wrote in another post, knowing the data behind something helps me to betterContinue reading "Statistics In A Time Of Crisis"

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Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) releases study on silver and titanium nanomaterials in wastewater

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
It turns out that silver and titanium nanomaterials (e.g. silver nanoparticles washed out of athletic clothing) in wastewater may have ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ effects on freshwater and marine life depending on the species. A November 18, 2019 news item on Nanowerk provides an introduction to the research (Note: Links have been removed), You may not always think about it when you do your laundry or flush the toilet; but whatever you eat, wear or apply…

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Replacing human tissue with nanostructured rubber-like material?

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
The scientists started out with an idea for creating a bone-like material)and ended up with something completely different. A March 16, 2020 news item on ScienceDaily announces news about a new material that could be used to replace human tissue, Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have created a new, rubber-like material with a unique set of properties, which could act as a replacement for human tissue in medical procedures. The material has the…

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Flexible graphene-rubber sensor for wearables

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
Courtesy: University of Waterloo This waffled, greyish thing may not look like much but scientists are hopeful that it can be useful as a health sensor in athletic shoes and elsewhere. A March 6, 2020 news item on Nanowerk describes the work in more detail (Note: Links have been removed), Researchers have utilized 3D printing and nanotechnology to create a durable, flexible sensor for wearable devices to monitor everything from vital signs to athletic performance…

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