Crowd-funded Dams
Infrastructure development is a major issue in many countries of the developing world. Countries with developing economies often suffer from a negative balance of trade and weak institutions, […]
Category Archives: Technology
Smart(y) Pants: Putting the Tech in Textiles
Nowadays, it feels like we’re living in a sci-fi movie with the development of self-driving cars, technology we can talk to, and watches that monitor our day-to-day activities. All that’s […]
Your Latest [Artificial] Intelligence Report
With the technology introduction of the personal assistant Siri and the promise of a completely self-driving car from Tesla soon, artificial intelligence (AI) is radically changing the modern world. AI […]
Turning (Saw)dust into Gold
A year ago, I was invited to present my research findings at a conference held at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. So, there I was, standing in a room full […]
Bioterrorism & Chemical Weapons: Part 1
Smallpox blankets given to Native Americans. Gas chambers in concentration camps. Chemical weapons in the Syrian War. Russian spies poisoned by a nerve agent. What do these have in common? […]
Science in your Laundry Detergent
When I was a kid, if I got a grass stain or a blood stain on my clothes it was probably not coming out no matter how much presoaking and hand scrubbing was involved. Nowadays, if I get food on my clothes, I admonish myself for being clumsy then throw it in the wash with some liquid detergent and hope that it magically comes out looking new. It still amazes me that it usually does. How have laundry detergents improved their cleaning efficacy so much in just the last few decades?
The EDGES Story: How Scientists Detected Effects of Light from the First Stars
In March 2018, a team of scientists led by Judd Bowman from Arizona State’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and Alan Rogers from MIT’s Haystack Observatory has done what […]
Innovation in Education: How Virtual Reality is Transforming the Classroom
It is a blazing hot summer day in August of 2014, and I am a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed freshman at the University of Georgia about to attend my very first college […]
It’s the Little Things: Finding Inspiration in a Snail
Nature influences us every day. Not only can we find beauty in the natural world, but scientists and engineers can also draw inspiration from animals and plants to solve problems. […]
Hey Doc, U up?
Ever since the new iPhones were announced, millions of people have been pondering one of life’s most important questions: to upgrade or not to upgrade? For me, the newly improved camera could take my Instagram game to a whole new level. For others, retinal scanning could help secure important business emails. Whether you use your phone to post pictures of your vacation, respond to important emails, or stalk an ex-boyfriend, there’s no denying that phones have become integral parts of our lives. For people without access to healthcare, cell phones can help save their lives. Even in Africa, 93% of people have access to cell phone service. This has spurred scientists to find ways to make diagnosing, treating, or tracking diseases as easy as using an app on your phone.
