Engineering snacks to whet your appetite
Posted by Sheri on July 21st, 2008 | No Comments »
The new Film Wall.e released by Pixar in conjunction with Disney, succeeds in bringing attention to engineering education. The robot, Wall.e, creates discussion around current environmental concerns and technological innovation.
Could a robot like Wall.e someday exist?
Related Links: Robots and Beyond: Exploring Artificial Intelligence at MIT Robots of the Future Will Show Empathy, Be Good Listeners
Filed under Innovation, Society | Tags: robots, webcast
Posted by John Hunter on August 31st, 2007 | 1 Comment »
SciVee is a new site by the great people at PLoS, with support from NSF and San Diego Supercomputer Center. It is very early in the launch of this effort but it looks very promising.
SciVee allows scientists to communicate their work as a multimedia presentation incorporated with the content of their published article. Other scientists can freely view uploaded presentations and engage in virtual discussions with the author and other viewers. SciVee also facilitates the creation of communities around specific articles and keywords. Use this medium to meet peers and future collaborators that share your particular research interests.
Of course plenty of great videos are already online but this looks like another great effort at helping improve communication of scientific ideas by the Public Library of Science. And there are advantages to a community lead by scientists that not only posts videos but encourages scientific discussion on the related matters. I am hopeful (and confident) this will become a great resource.
Related: Science and Engineering Webcast Directory – Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Public Lectures – Google Engineering and Technology Webcasts
Filed under Education, Society | Tags: Education, engineering education, internet, science, webcast
Posted by John Hunter on June 26th, 2007 | 10 Comments »
MIT’s Amy Smith on appropriate engineering, Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, California. Food, water, medicine — in the developing world, these basic needs can be impossible to meet. Amy Smith and her students design smart, low cost tools to improve the life of the poorest in our world.
I remember traveling with my father as he worked on appropriate technology projects while I was growing up. Engineers can make huge difference to truly improve people’s lives. The video does a nice job of explaining how combining engineering know how with a passion for improving people’s lives have a huge impact. Amy Smith is a MacArthur Fellow (2004-2009)
Related: KickStart (article on Kickstart: Stanford Engineering to Social Innovation) – Segway Inventor working on bringing water and electricity to the world’s poor
Filed under Society, The Economy | Tags: appropriate technology, design, making a difference, Society, webcast