At a TED conference this week, MIT researcher Skylar Tibbits showed a new technology called “4-D printing.” Rather than printing out an object, the 4-D printer creates a string that can self-assemble into whatever shape you would like it to be. Read more about this or watch 4-D printing in action:
ACS (American Chemical Society) Publications has created a series of videos to help authors and reviewers with the process of writing, editing, or reviewing articles. Below is the first episode in the series. It stars Chemistry Professor George M. Whitesides from Harvard University, who has published over 1100 articles and has worked on the advisory boards of multiple peer-reviewed journals.
Hundreds of journals allow authors to submit a video abstract, i.e., a short video describing their research, along with their article. Consequently, results of scientific experiments are now appearing on YouTube and attracting a larger audience. Read this informative article by Jacob Berkowitz to find out more.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Check out the winners and runners-up of the 2012 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. According to Breanna Draxler of Discover magazine, “the visualization challenge is designed to encourage a better public understanding of scientific research and is sponsored by the journal Science and the U.S. National Science Foundation. Criteria for entries include visual impact, effective communication, freshness and originality.”
My favorite image is the “Polar Mapping of Structures in the Universe.” What’s yours?
DART-Europe allows you to search and access for free over 375,000 dissertations and theses from over 500 European universities. DART is the abbreviation for Digital Archive of Research Theses.
A reminder that the McGill Library also subscribes to ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, which provides references to dissertations and theses from around the world, going back to 1743. The full text is available for all those published since 1997, along with full text for selected works prior to 1997.
Finally, visit eScholarship@McGill for theses and dissertations written by McGill University students.
I came across an interesting monthly series by Rochelle Mazar, an Emerging Technologies Librarian at the University of Toronto Mississauga, about new technologies for faculty, instructors, and researchers. Topics covered include: information overload, productivity tools, digital natives, wikipedia, plagiarism, etc. Check out her latest podcast and previous episodes on the University Affairs website.
Image from Daniel Johnson Jr. (Flickr)
In today’s newspaper, The Gazette, I read an article about the top 10 technology predictions made by Deloitte, a company that offers audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services. The prediction that surprised me the most is that over 90% of passwords can be hacked in a few seconds. Visit Deloitte’s website to read the top 10 predictions and get more information.
Image from Microsoft Office Clipart
Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield, has been tweeting about his experience living and working on the International Space Station, which orbits the Earth 16 times per day. He flew to space on December 19th and will be returning to Earth in May. To follow Chris Hadfield in space, visit: https://twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield
For information about his mission, read the Canadian Space Agency Mission Blog
Photograph of Europe’s Alps from Chis Hadfield, which was taken on New Year’s Eve from the International Space Station
In the latest issue of the New Scientist magazine, there is an article that briefly summarizes last year’s discoveries and debates in the physical sciences. These were:
1- “Beyond Higgs: Deviant decays hint at exotic physics” [read more]
2- “Neutrino speed errors dash exotic physics dreams” [read more]
3- “If you want to be president, hire geeks not pundits” [read more]
4- “Why physicists can’t avoid a creation event” [read more]
5- “Fiendish ‘ABC proof’ heralds new mathematical universe” [read more]
6- “Death-defying time crystal could outlast the universe” [read more]
7- “Truth of the matter: The Majorana particle mystery” [read more]
8- “Quantum measurements leave Schrödinger’s cat alive” [read more]
9- “US judge rules that you can’t copyright pi” [read more]
10- “Move over graphene, silicene is the new star material” [read more]
Image from Microsoft Office Clipart
While gearing up for the holidays, I found this entertaining video with Engineering Professor Larry Silverberg (a.k.a. Dr. Silverbell), from North Carolina State University, who explains how Santa is able to deliver gifts to children around the world in one night by modifying the space-time continuum and using nanotechnology: