Girls Who Code. Girls Who Code. Web. 6 Sept. 2014. http://girlswhocode.com/ When most people think of computer science, they think of it as a male-dominated field. Girls Who Code was born out of the need to fix that gender gap. Founded by Reshma Saujani, the organization offers in-depth programs for adolescent girls to prepare them for careers in technology and engineering. The programs […]
Technology
Airborne Wind Turbines
Patterson, Thom. “Meet the BAT, an airborne wind turbine.” CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, 12 May 2014. Web. 31 Aug. 2014. http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/12/tech/innovation/big-idea-airborne-wind-turbines/index.html?hpt=us_t3 Altaeros Energies is changing the game of wind turbines as we know them. Their buoyant airborne turbine, an invention referred to as the BAT, harnesses wind energy with a floating, helium-filled craft. It hovers 1,000 – […]
Botanicus Interacticus
DisneyResearchHub. “BOTANICUS INTERACTICUS.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 3 Aug. 2012. Web. 30 Aug. 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcRSKEIucjk&feature=youtu.be Developed by Disney Research in Pittsburgh, “Botanicus Interacticus” is an interactive technology that illustrates human influence on both artificial and live plants. Using sounds and visuals on a computer monitor, the technology maps out where the plant is being touched by a […]
Representations of Nature in Spike Jonze’s movie Her
Her. Dir. Spike Jonze. Perf. Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, and Amy Adams. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013. DVD. I’ve recently watched Spike Jonze’s movie Her , trying to approach it from an environmentally focused perspective. At first I thought it was a visually stunning film with pseudo sci-fi undertones, but after watching it with the environment in […]
Soluble Circuits to Reduce E-Waste
Hsu, Jeremy. “Building Soluble Circuits To Help End E-Waste.” popsci.com. Popular Science, 9 May 2014. Web. 9 June 2014. http://www.popsci.com/article/science/building-soluble-circuits-help-end-e-waste?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=5&con=building-soluble-circuits-to-help-end-ewaste John Rogers, a scientist from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has invented a type of silicon ribbon thin enough to dissolve in water in roughly ten days. Rogers’ creation is a response to the amount […]
Robots reading humans
“Softbank unveils ‘human-like’ robot Pepper.” bbc.com. BBC, 5 June 2014. Web. 8 June 2014. http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27709828 This article talks about a Japanese robot designed to interact with humans and understand their emotional responses. The robot is built with an “emotional engine” and a cloud-based artificial intelligence system that enables them to comprehend human’s emotions, allowing them to react […]
Making Paper Obsolete
Goudarzi, Sara. “Top Ten Emerging Environmental Technologies.” livescience.com. Purch, 19 Apr. 2007. Web. 28 May 2014. Web. http://www.livescience.com/11334-top-10-emerging-environmental-technologies.html This article cites a possible form of electronic paper that would reduce the amount of paper produced in a given population. The paper doesn’t look like a typical e-reader or a standard tablet, but is a flexible piece of […]
Smog-eating concrete
ENN Editor. “Fighting air pollution with innovation and technology.” enn.com. Environmental News Network, 19 May 2014. Web. 25 May 2014. http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/47403 Chemist Luigi Cassar has developed a cement coating that neutralizes air pollutants. Cassar’s coating dissolves in sunlight and helps preserve buildings from fading while improving the quality of the air that surrounds the coated concrete. The coating […]
Nature Inspires Drones
Institute of Physics. “Nature inspires drones of the future.” sciencedaily.com. ScienceDaily, 23 May 2014. Web. 23 May 2014. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140523094257.htm This article is similar to the previous article about bats being studied in order to improve roving robots, but this article highlights millimeter sized robots who have the ability to fly. Fourteen separate research teams have […]
Vertical Trains
Kermeliotis, Teo. “Catch a train from the sky! How vertical travel could transform your commute.” cnn.com. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., 2 May 2014. Web. 17 May 2014. http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/02/tech/catch-a-train-from-the-sky/index.html?iid=article_sidebar This article talks about the potential development of vertical trains that could be built within major cities in order to effectively utilize space within large metropolitan areas. […]