Technology and Engineering

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

Special Lecture Series

Dan Gillis Communication, Education and Outreach, Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
Attention all first year students. Join me on Wednesday, September 4th in Rozanski 101 (from 2:30-3:20 pm) for Changing the World One Course at a Time. This active discussion is part of the 2019 University of Guelph Special Lecture Series, and will challenge you to consider how your discipline and your courses might be theContinue reading "Special Lecture Series"

Continue reading

Cyborgs based on melanin circuits

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
Pigments for biocompatible electronics? According to a March 26, 2019 news item on Nanowerk this is a distinct possibility (Note: A link has been removed), The dark brown melanin pigment, eumelanin, colors hair and eyes, and protects our skin from sun damage. It has also long been known to conduct electricity, but too little for any useful application – until now.In a landmark study published in Frontiers in Chemistry (“Evidence of Unprecedented High Electronic Conductivity…

Continue reading

The (science) ambassador approach

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
This piece of research reminds me of being in a mall explaining data communications to people who’d come to shop. We were part of a nationwide, annual Canadian federal government science promotion effort and the Vancouver region contractor had decided to put science and technology in the malls. It was very well received and we were busy answering questions throughout the day,, surprising the engineers I worked with. They hadn’t thought anyone would be interested.…

Continue reading

No mention of climate change or environmental impact? Transforming Canadian science through infrastructure; a report from the Council of Canadian Academies

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
If there’s a topic that cries out for passion it’s infrastructure. It can be the only thing that will sustain you as the years go by in your quest to improve wonky and sometimes dangerous buildings (e.g. the Science and Technology Museum of Canada prior to i2017; see Ivan Semeniuk’s Nov. 12, 2017 article for the Globe & Mail about the refurbished museum), address poorly designed work environments, and replace inadequate tools and equipment. Unless…

Continue reading

Idealization vs abstraction for mathematical models of evolution

Theory, Evolution, and Games Group bloggers Biology and Life Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Technology and Engineering
This week I was in Turku, Finland for the annual congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology. I presented in the symposium on mathematical models in evolutionary biology organized by Guy Cooper, Matishalin Patel, Tom Scott, and Asher Leeks. It was a fun. It was also a big challenge given the short ten minute format. I decided to use my ten minutes to try to convince the audience that we should consider not just…

Continue reading

Canadian researchers develop bone implant material from cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) while Russian scientists restore internal structure of bone with polycaprolactone nanofibers

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
Two research groups are working to the same end where bone marrow is concerned, encourage bone cell growth, but they are using different strategies. University of British Columbia and McMaster University (Canada) Caption: Researchers treated nanocrystals derived from plant cellulose so that they can link up and form a strong but lightweight sponge (an aerogel) that can compress or expand as needed to completely fill out a bone cavity. Credit: Clare Kiernan, UBC The samples…

Continue reading

A nanocomposite biomaterial heart valve from the University of British Columbia (Canada)

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
I wish the folks at the University of British Columbia (UBC) would include more technical/scientific information in their news releases about research. For those who do like a little more technical information, I included the paper’s abstract at the end of this post. A March 25, 2019 news item on ScienceDaily trumpets the UBC (Okanagan campus) research, Researchers at UBC have created the first-ever nanocomposite biomaterial heart-valve developed to reduce or eliminate complications related to…

Continue reading

Ankle exoskeletons good for people who need to do a lot of walking or running on the job

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
For people who need a little extra ankle support, this might be useful in the, hopefully, not too distant future. The new ankle exoskeleton design integrates into the shoe and under clothing. Submitted photo. Courtesy of Vanderbilt University Credit: Matthew Yandell A March 22, 2019 news item on ScienceDaily announces this latest research, A new lightweight, low-profile and inexpensive ankle exoskeleton could be widely used among elderly people, those with impaired lower-leg muscle strength and…

Continue reading

Allegory of the replication crisis in algorithmic trading

Theory, Evolution, and Games Group bloggers Biology and Life Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Technology and Engineering
One of the most interesting ongoing problems in metascience right now is the replication crisis. This a methodological crisis around the difficulty of reproducing or replicating past studies. If we cannot repeat or recreate the results of a previous study then it casts doubt on if those ‘results’ were real or just artefacts of flawed methodology, bad statistics, or publication bias. If we view science as a collection of facts or empirical truths than this…

Continue reading

An art/science and a science event in Vancouver (Canada)

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
We’re closing off August 2019 with a couple of talks, Curiosity Collider features an art/science event and Café Scientifique features a discussion about protease research. Collider Café: Art. Science. Hybrids. on August 21, 2019 From an August 14, 2019 Curiosity Collider announcement (received via email), How can the hybrids of scientific studies and artistic practices – embroidery, botanical art, projection sculpture, and video storytelling – spark creativity and discoveries? Our #ColliderCafe is a space for…

Continue reading