Trevor Pinch, a professor of Science and Technology Studies and a professor of Sociology at Cornell University, comments on the performance of IBM’s Watson computer on Jeopardy.
The applications you add to your smartphone can label you as a specific “appitypes,” says Trevor Pinch, professor of science and technology studies, who worked as a consultant for the Finnish telecomm giant Nokia.
Iowa State University's Ayman Fayed is working with Rockwell Collins engineers to test a technology that could extend the battery life of portable devices by reducing power consumption.
Vikas Berry, assistant professor of chemical engineering, has received a National Science Foundation CAREER award for his work involving graphene, which could lead to improved electronics and optoelectronics.
Peek into the future: Cornell University students will show off their digital technology research projects focusing on forward-thinking, cutting-edge innovations at the annual Bits On Our Minds, or BOOM 2011 showcase, at the Duffield Hall Atrium on campus, March 9, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Peter Fox and James Hendler of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are calling for scientists to take a few tips from the users of the World Wide Web when presenting their data to the public and other scientists in the Feb. 11 issue of Science magazine. Fox and Hendler, both professors within the Tetherless World Research Constellation at Rensselaer, outline a new vision for the visualization of scientific data in a perspective piece titled “Changing the Equation on Scientific Data Visualization.”
One year ago, Kirk Cameron decided his company MiserWare would give away its main product -- intelligent energy-saving software for personal computers. Recently, he found out how valuable his software giveaway program was when he learned that Time Magazine had named it a Top 20 Green Tech Idea.
The Internet has become not only a tool for disseminating knowledge through scientific publications, but it also has the potential to shape scientific research through expanding the field of metaknowledge—the study of knowledge itself.
By testing radiation detection equipment and helping establish national and international standards, a team of Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers protects the people who keep the nation safe. The Graduated Rad/Nuc Detector Evaluation and Reporting program fulfills a Congressional mandate to set capability standards and establish a test and evaluation program for radiation and nuclear detectors.
NIST has issued two new draft documents on cloud computing for public comment and set up a new NIST Cloud Computing Collaboration site to enable two-way communication on the topic.
The University of Washington today announced the launch of a new program, co-funded by Intel Corp., that aims to make it dramatically easier and cheaper to manufacture silicon chips that combine light and electronics, enabling the next generation of computer chips.
A team of physicists has taken a big step toward the development of useful graphene spintronic devices. The physicists, from the City University of Hong Kong and the University of Science and Technology of China, present their findings in the American Institute of Physics journal Applied Physics Letters.
A development described in the journal Applied Physics Letters may soon revolutionize handheld electronics, flat-panel displays, touch panels, electronic ink, and solar cells. Physicists in Iran have created a spintronic device based on "armchair" graphene nanoribbons that could one day replace more expensive indium tin oxide.
A new smartphone application developed by students and faculty at the University of Kentucky, brings the first public art application to the Commonwealth.
In the first phase of a more than two-year study funded by InterDigital, Virginia Tech researchers have made great strides in the development of more reliable and efficient spectrum sensing techniques that will be needed to meet the ever-expanding demand for wireless technologies.
In a first-of-its-kind experiment, a University of Vermont scientist created robots that, like tadpoles becoming frogs, change their body forms while learning how to walk. These evolving robots learned to walk more rapidly than robots with fixed bodies and developed a more robust gait.
JILA researchers have developed a laser-based source of terahertz radiation that is unusually efficient and less prone to damage than similar systems. The technology might be useful in applications such as detecting trace gases or imaging weapons in security screening.
The quantum computers of tomorrow might use photons, or particles of light, to move around the data they need to make calculations, but photons are tricky to work with. Two new papers by NIST researchers point to ways to build reliable sources of single photons for use in photon-based quantum computers.
New measurements by NIST researchers may affect the design of devices that rely on the high mobility of electrons in graphene--they show that layering graphene on a substrate transforms its bustling speedway into steep hills and valleys that make it harder for electrons to get around.
NIST researchers have found a novel, and potentially widely applicable, method to expand the capabilities of conventional transmission electron microscopes by adding a new twist to their electron beams.
TM-DOE report shows material science advances could improve performance and lower costs of electrical energy storage devices for the future electrical grid.
Researchers are using inexpensive LCD projectors to control the brain and muscles of tiny organisms, including freely moving worms. This technology advances the field of optogenetics, which has given researchers unparalleled control over brain circuits in laboratory animals.
The impact of iPhone 4 release by Verizon on the competitive landscape boils down to one word: performance. That is, the performance of iPhone 4 on Verizon's CDMA wireless communications network.
A new twist on spectroscopy, described in the journal Review of Scientific Instruments, allows for an unprecedented level of such filtering, one that could transform everything from the search for extraterrestrial intelligence to super-sensitive spy gear to scan hotel rooms for hidden microphones or cameras.
A few unassuming drops of liquid locked in a very precise game of “follow the leader” could one day be found in mobile phone cameras, medical imaging equipment, implantable drug delivery devices, and even implantable eye lenses. DARPA-funded study published in the peer-reviewed journal, Lab on a Chip.
Thick gravel, mud, snow, steep ramps or hills . . . They might get a pedestrian a little dirty or out of breath, but to someone in an electric wheelchair, they could mean terrain that’s simply too difficult to cross alone.
So what are the next big things for business in 2011? Brian Mennecke, an Iowa State University management information systems professor, has some ideas.
Computer science might not be the obvious major for students looking to change the world. But two teams of University at Buffalo students are proving that programming can translate into compassion.
Engineering students won an international contest for designing a system to tell when water disinfected by solar rays is safe to drink. They share a $40,000 prize from the Rockefeller Foundation and are working with nonprofits to turn their concept into a reality.
This month IEEE Spectrum reviews the most important innovations that came of age in the past 10 years, based on their influence, usefulness, and sheer technical coolness.
Using unique equipment developed by the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at The Florida State University, an international team of researchers has used the spin of atomic nuclei in silicon to store information for longer than a minute and a half. More remarkable still, the team showed that the information can be read out electronically — a key step toward the development of faster conventional computers and superfast “quantum” computers.
University of Utah physicists stored data for 112 seconds in what may become the tiniest computer memory: “spins” in the atomic nuclei. Then they read the data electrically – a step toward using spin memory for faster conventional and superfast “quantum” computers.
The University of Delaware is now one of only a handful of universities with a microscope so powerful that researchers can measure a single molecule within a cell.
A survey conducted by the University of Arkansas shows that the health care industry is making significant gains toward adopting global data standards for the health care supply chain, but nearly a third of respondents have not started preparations for adopting the standards.
Computer scientists within the Tetherless World Research Constellation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed an application to help solve the problem. A collaboration with scientific publisher Elsevier, the application utilizes the U.S. government data warehouse, Data.gov, to provide scientists with easy and direct access to government data sets relevant to their research.
A quicker and cheaper technique to scan molecular databases developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory could put scientists on the fast track to developing new drug treatments.
New research finds that owning a DVR does not influence the demand for advertised products despite its ad-skipping feature. In fact, only a small percentage of ads were fast-forwarded by DVR users who participated in the study, and even that did not have an adverse effect on sales.
Comparing the locations of photos posted on the Internet with social network contacts, Cornell University computer scientists have found that as few as three “co-locations” for images at different times and places could predict with high probability that two people posting photos were socially connected.
Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) will explore these questions related to Tata Motors' revolutionary new Tata Nano, in an exhibition at the university’s Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. "Unpacking the Nano," runs from Jan. 15 through March 27, 2011.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital announced today the introduction of a new pediatric diagnostic tool that assesses developmental milestones in early childhood while helping identify problems so that treatments for various conditions or disorders can begin sooner.
A brand-new bacterial species has been found aboard the RMS Titanic, which is contributing to its deterioration. The discovery by a team led by researchers at Dalhousie University reveals a potential new microbial threat to the exterior of ships and underwater metal structures such as oil rigs.
The Broselow Pediatric Emergency Tape – otherwise known as the Broselow Tape -- has been a staple of ERs and child trauma units for nearly three decades. Using a color coded-format, it provides specific medical instructions to medical caregivers based on the height and then subsequent weight of the child. This information now will be displayed on a large LCD monitor within emergency rooms, for all personnel to see.