By Dr. David Blanke Joe B. Frantz Associate Professor of History Texas A&M University-Corpus Christie U.S. history textbooks typically relate early automobile use from the perspective of three distinct narratives. One focuses on Henry Ford, the inventor of the Model T and founder of Ford Motor Company. Ford was a hands-on mechanic who enjoyed tinkering with[…]
Visualization of the proposed SPARC tokamak experiment. Using high-field magnets built with newly available high-temperature superconductors, this experiment would be the first controlled fusion plasma to produce net energy output. / Visualization by Ken Filar, PSFC research affiliate By David Chandler / 03.09.2018 Progress toward the long-sought dream of fusion power — potentially an inexhaustible and[…]
Is this machine adding an antenna to the fabric? Hindrik Johannes de Groot/Shutterstock.com By Dr. Asimina Kiourti / 03.12.2018 Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering The Ohio State University Archaeology reveals that humans started wearing clothes some 170,000 years ago, very close to the second-to-last ice age. Even now, though, most modern humans wear clothes that are[…]
Frederic Bazille’s Studio 9 Rue de la Condamine (left) and Norman Rockwell’s Shuffleton’s Barber Shop (right). The computer was able to detect similarities in the composition of both paintings. Yellow circles indicate similar objects, red lines indicate composition, and the blue square represents similar structural elements. Author provided By Dr. Ahmed Elgammal / 12.04.2014 Professor of[…]
Antonio Gramsci, Creative Commons By Dr. Francesca Antonini Postdoctoral Researcher Luigi Einaudi Foundation Abstract Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937) made his notes on science within his Quaderni del carcere (Prison Notebooks) written between 1929 and 1935, while imprisoned by the Italian fascist regime. This overview focuses mainly on three themes: 1) the Gramscian criticism of the idealist (Croce) and materialist (Bukharin)[…]
Hermann Von Helmoltz By Dr. M. Norton Wise Professor Emeritus of History University of California, Los Angeles “Circulation” seems to have replaced “travel” as a favored concept in history and social studies of science and to have taken on new significance. Formerly, circulation refered primarily to diffusion or spread, such as the diffusion of knowledge[…]
A photograph of the War Scroll, found in Qumran Cave 1, photographed by Eric Matson of the Matson photo service / Wikimedia Commons By Dr. Antonio Lafuente García and Dr. Nuria Valverde Pérez Researchers Centro de Ciencas Humanas y Sociales Instituto de Historia (CSIC) Introduction Our age is rediscovering the importance of commons. Every day we[…]
By Dr. Patricia A. Alexander and Lauren M. Singer Trakhman / 10.03.2017 Alexander: Professor of Psychology Trakhman: PhD Candidate in Educational Psychology University of Maryland Today’s students see themselves as digital natives, the first generation to grow up surrounded by technology like smartphones, tablets and e-readers. Teachers, parents and policymakers certainly acknowledge the growing influence[…]
What’s the link between technology and consciousness? AlexLMX/Shutterstock.com By Dr. Subhash Kak / 12.07.2017 Regents Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Oklahoma State University Forget about today’s modest incremental advances in artificial intelligence, such as the increasing abilities of cars to drive themselves. Waiting in the wings might be a groundbreaking development: a machine that is aware of itself and[…]
Is this the future of human identity? Luke James Ritchie/Shutterstock.com By Dr. Jungwoo Ryoo / 11.08.2017 Professor of Information Sciences and Technology Pennsylvania State University Proving identity is a routine part of modern daily life. Many people must show a driver’s license to buy alcohol at a store, flash an ID card to security guards at work, enter[…]
TV control room in Toronto / Photo by Loozrboy, Wikimedia Commons Technology is changing society at breakneck speed but considerations of human impacts lag far behind. Dinyar Godrej sketches out some of the key political battles ahead. By Dinyar Godrej / 11.01.2017 We are always at the threshold of the future. But whereas in the past, the path[…]
‘You spoke of Hope surpassing Home, I thought that Hope was Home – a misapprehension of architecture.’ Emily Dickinson letter to Otis Phillips Lord. / Amhurst College Library By Dr. Siobhan Phillips / 04.12.2017 Professor of English Dickinson College A lot of people love personal letters now that very few people write them. We have publishing initiatives such[…]
Dare you ride the Gravitron? Photo by Daniel X O’Neill/Flickr By Dr. David Munns / 10.20.2017 Professor of History John Jay College City University of New York If you grew up in the United States in the 1980s, chances are you’ll remember riding the Gravitron at the local fair, or struggling to get past level one of[…]
Could scanning a QR code be an invitation to malware? Zapp2Photo/Shutterstock.com By Dr. Jeremy Straub / 10.11.2017 Assistant Professor of Computer Science North Dakota State University You’ve probably been told it’s dangerous to open unexpected attachment files in your email – just like you shouldn’t open suspicious packages in your mailbox. But have you been warned[…]
Out of all these ideas, will one rise to the top? KlingSup/Shutterstock.com By Dr. Edward Wasserman and Dr. Eric Scerri / 06.22.2017 Wasserman: Professor of Experimental Psychology, University of Iowa Scerri: Science Author and Chemistry Lecturer, University of California, Los Angeles Scientific discovery is popularly believed to result from the sheer genius of intellectual stars[…]
MIT President L. Rafael Reif, left, and John Kelly III, IBM senior vice president, Cognitive Solutions and Research, shake hands at the conclusion of a signing ceremony establishing the new MIT–IBM Watson AI Lab. Credit: Jake Belcher By MIT News / 09.08.2017 IBM and MIT today announced that IBM plans to make a 10-year, $240[…]
Is this our relationship to tech companies now? Queen Mary Master By Joshua A.T. Fairfield, J.D. / 09.05.2017 Professor of Law Washington and Lee University Internet-enabled devices are so common, and so vulnerable, that hackers recently broke into a casino through its fish tank. The tank had internet-connected sensors measuring its temperature and cleanliness. The hackers got[…]
The next frontier of data storage: DNA. ymgerman/Shutterstock By Dr. Luis Ceze and Dr. Karin Strauss / 07.27.2017 Ceze: Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Strauss: Affiliate Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering University of Washington Humanity is producing data at an unimaginable rate, to the point that storage technologies can’t keep up.[…]
NOAA 5-day hurricane forecast model. Forecast tracks are shown in gray, observed tracks in black. / NASA Case study from the Getty’s digital art history team shows how modeling and machine learning are shedding light on the history of the art market. By Dr. Matthew Lincoln / 07.27.2017 Historian and Data Research Specialist Getty Research[…]
Applications of JANUS are limitless. In the operational context, CMRE has already successfully tested the delivery of Automatic Identification System AIS data, which consists of identification, position, course and speed of ships at sea and Meteorological and Oceanographic (METOC) information to underwater assets using JANUS-standardized acoustic information. Credit: NATO By Francesca Nacini / 05.04.2017 NATO[…]
Photo from Knight Centre for Journalism, University of Texas By Dr. Muhammad A. Ahmad / 11.09.2016 Research Scientist University of Minnesota You wake up, get ready for work, have some toast and coffee with your spouse, then wave goodbye. It’s your typical workday. There is, however, something unusual: your beloved has been dead for many[…]
By Dan Fries / 06.22.2017 It doesn’t matter if you’re a professional, a student, a stay-at-home parent, or a volunteer, every day can be summed up as a constant battle against stress and mental fatigue. When our brains grow tired, we make poor decisions, work slower, and produce inferior work. What’s more, there’s a good chance[…]
Computers may play an important role in preparing us for the next viral outbreak – whether flu or Ebola. UW Institute for Protein Design By Ian Haydon / 06.12.2017 Doctoral Student in Biochemistry University of Washington As Bill Gates sees it, there are three main threats to our species: nuclear war, climate change and the[…]
Your smartphone can’t do this – yet. Peter Sobolev via Shutterstock By Peter Byrley / 06.04.2017 PhD Candidate in Chemical Engineering University of California, Riverside A smartphone touchscreen is an impressive piece of technology. It displays information and responds to a user’s touch. But as many people know, it’s easy to break key elements of[…]
Latent fingermarks dusted with micronised Egyptian blue on a $20 note, viewed in the Near Infrared. Simon Lewis, Author provided By Ivy Shih and Dr. Simon Lewis / 05.29.2016 Shih: Editor, The Conversation Lewis: Professor of Forensics and Analytical Chemistry, Curtin University It was during a trip to Indianapolis that Professor Simon Lewis, a[…]
Dandelion flowers close nightly, but if they’re still shut in the morning, rain is on its way. Written and Illustrated by Lydia Cain / 04.17.2017 In an age where the weather app is a tap away, we don’t need to look far for a forecast. But what if you don’t have internet? As you head[…]
Parthenon / Wikimedia Commons By Marina Spanos / 11.25.2012 Introduction Modern society always seems to put itself above the ancient societies that preceeded it, but without their inventions, we wouldn’t be what we are today, and we certainly would not have what we have today. The ancient Greek civilisation flourished for about a thousand years,[…]
An artist’s depiction of the ‘shibboleth incident.’ Detail from art by H. de Blois, from The Bible and Its Story Taught by One Thousand Picture Lessons, vol. 3, edited by Charles F. Horne and Julius A. Bewer, 1908 By Dr. Brian Lennon / 05.03.2017 Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature Director, Digital Culture and[…]
04.06.2017 The natural structure found within leaves could improve the performance of everything from rechargeable batteries to high-performance gas sensors, according to an international team of scientists. The researchers have designed a porous, such as the veins of a leaf, and could make energy transfers more efficient. The material could improve the performance of rechargeable[…]
No common standard: CHAdeMO, CCS and Tesla Supercharger plugs. CHAdeMO: C-CarTom; CCS: Hadhuey; Tesla: Paul Sladen By Dr. Jonathan C. Coopersmith / 03.06.2017 Professor of History Texas A&M University Imagine if you could gas up your GM car only at GM gas stations. Or if you had to find a gas station servicing cars made[…]