We know enough about the physics of earth and the universe to be able to predict what’d happen in absurd situations, like a neuron star hitting the earth, flying a plane on Uranus, or experiencing a Richter magnitude -2 earthquake. Of course, we don’t talk about it because most of us aren’t physics geeks. Fortunately, Randall Munroe is, and he has a great sense of humor dealing with the absurd. He runs an online blog…
Poetry and science are often placed opposite each other because they describe different things. One describes the human soul; the other describes nature. That’s unfortunate because they can complement each other vividly. The natural world and the vast universe are sources of unending wonder. It’s a shame that too many people are put off by science as intimidating. In truth, it’s awe-inducing and humbling. Maria Popova brings these lessons to life with 15 poems by…
Ever wonder what it takes to land a plane on top of a train? Or what’s the best way to send nuclear waste to the sun? Or how to take a selfie with yourself and the moon? Well, Randall Munroe has answers, filled in a humorous tone. The beauty of how science generalizes – particularly, physics – is how it applies to all sorts of absurd situations. Munroe understands how to create such situations in…
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine guide America’s federal research policies based on identifying challenges in the field. This 2024 workshop looked at opportunities within scientific research for artificial intelligence (AI) to contribute. It was led by national experts discussing use cases in their research and attempted to generalize based on those experiences. Most use cases were from American-based science, but AI in Africa was a recurring theme. Overall, the abundance of unique…
I have had a 25-year fascination with Blaise Pascal, and this book did nothing but nurture my admiration even more. He applied his fecund mind to so many topics and discovered the vacuum, pioneered computation, founded probability theory and conic sections, and wrote one of the most enigmatic yet persuasive defenses of Christianity’s reasonableness. Any book that helps me swap my wits with his, even if only by a little, helps me become better at…
As someone in his mid-forties, I’m not in the intended audience for this book. Like the author, I went to medical school and work in biomedical informatics. I love figuring out how to help scientists and researchers help advance their ideas to better help patients. Having met and worked with Kevin Johnson, I can say that he’s the perfect person to write this book. He’s super smart but still approachable. He has a consistently great…
For scientists and researchers, conferences provide opportunities to learn, network, and see what others are doing outside of their own lab or institution. They also give opportunities to disseminate one’s work and receive feedback from a wider audience. Thus, they serve as crucial gateways to accelerate a career. Like everything else, however, there’s a learning curve, and conferences cost someone money. It’s in any scientist’s best interest to learn how to get good at the…
This short, accessible work outlines a typical tech transfer office at a university. Research universities drive innovation across entire industries and local economies, and smart companies can figure out how to leverage partnerships for commercial successes. The university office that facilitates that is called “tech transfer.” These offices received increased momentum when a federal act in 1980 allowed universities to license their innovations for profit while under federal funding. At 31 pages, this book is…
Tech transfer offices in American universities attempt to translate innovations from their research labs into industry and the wider marketplace. Tech transfer’s successes tend to be counted in patents and revenue, but most scientific advances run through larger pipelines of graduating students and journal publications. The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 attempted to increase the transfer of patents from universities’ labs into licensing to industry. However, as Melba Kurman notes, successful tech transfer has been around…
The young field of science communication has developed to address the gap between academic science and local communities. Scientific knowledge has explained most natural process, but some mastered processes remain unexplained to individuals in the community. Instead of just relying on overcommitted professors, scientists with interests in communications have begun careers specifically to fill the gap. In this book, Faith Kearns describes this emerging field’s evolution, challenges, and speculative future. One common misconception contends that…