a blog by the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
Have you ever been to a presidential library? Each site is located in the home state of the president and they are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration. The libraries contain exhibits, historical documents, and relics that reveal aspects of a former president’s personal life and professional career. Taken all together, the contents …
Continue reading "An engineer as President??"
This Saturday, many scientists and supporters of science will attend the March for Science in Washington D.C. or at marches in their local area. To understand why scientists across the globe are taking to the streets, let’s play a guessing game. I’ll describe a political issue centered around the widespread use of a controversial scientific topic …
Continue reading "Book Review: The War on Science"
This episode of the podcast features an interview with University of Minnesota graduate student Peter Clement, discussing the book The War on Science by Shawn Otto. We focus on Otto's explanation of the Seven Stages of Technological Adaptation -- an observation that how our society adapts new technology has generally repeated the same sequence of steps over and over, from discovery through crisis and adaptation, especially since the mid-20th Century.
There’s no getting around it: the President of the United States always has the potential for profound effects on scientific research and science-related policy and legislation in this country. And because of global interconnectedness (political as well as ecological), this in turn can have ramifications around the world. Many of us are wondering what the …
Continue reading "What Does the U.S Election Mean for Science?"
Part 1 in the "How is That Sustainable?" Series “Paper or plastic?” This was the question you always used to get once you’d made it through the checkout line to the grocery store register (at least when I was growing up). Ever since about 2005, however, it seemed like it was becoming increasingly rare to …
Continue reading "Paper or Plastic? Sustainability is a Multi-Dimensional Problem"
I love a good dystopian novel where technology has gotten out of hand and changed some futuristic society into a place none of us would want to live – think Brave New World, 1984, Cat’s Cradle, or Oryx and Crake. I think these fictional stories are great thought experiments, revealing the importance of science done …
Continue reading "To Label or Not To Label"
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