Subscription Options:
Category Archives: Implementation
TEDxCaltech Recap: Part 1
“I see your sleepy kitty and raise you EVERYTHING!” January 25, 2011 Wow.
TEDxCaltech: Ideas Worth Spreading
It’s time for the TED talks! January 13, 2011 As I mentioned in a previous post, Caltech is hosting a TEDx program tomorrow, Friday January 14, 2011 at 10:00am (PST). The event is guided by the original TED conference format, but as with all TEDx events, is self-organized. TEDxCaltech sold out in record time, but you can watch the TEDxCaltech website. Cheers ~gk
The Chemistry of Caramel
mmmmmm … January 12, 2011 There has been a lot of discussion lately in the chemistry community about making chemistry more approachable and visible to the general public. Paul ponders this issue at the end of part 1 of his 2010 Chemmy Awards post in his ruminations on whether or not chemistry needs a “hero”. In this vein, the fine crew at Nature Chemistry took it upon themselves to conduct a quick poll to decide who is the greatest chemist of all time. This post and poll generated lots of chatter and strong opinions, which included Paul expanding on his top-5 chemists. Icanhasscience has some really fun ideas (including possibly utilizing Lady Gaga and, dare I say it… Justin Bieber) on what we can do to more effectively communicate chemistry. One problem with this, which Chemjobber and Th’Gaussling point out, is that chemists live in the details. We need all … Continue reading
Posted in Basic Science, Implementation
9 Comments
How Do We Break This Cycle?
Chemistry Jobs Roundtable. Day 4 December 16, 2010 Talk about a couple really tough acts to follow. CJ, Leigh and Paul set a really high standard with their posts, and reader response has been phenomenal. Introduction As CJ put it so eloquently in Monday’s post: “we are the grist”. PIs advance their own careers by taking on as many students as they can. They do this to maximize the amount of papers they can publish, which they need in order to get that next grant. Rinse. Spit. Repeat. Collectively, we produce PhDs while neglecting to even take into consideration what we’re going to do with them once they have their degrees. But really, research money is what all PIs are after. It is the way we advance our careers. (We’re having a discussion right now in my department about tenure and promotion. The biggest point of contention is over research … Continue reading
MONDAY! MONDAY! MONDAY!!
Chemistry and Tech Job Policy December 13, 2010 Just a quick note: This Monday, ScienceGeist is going to be part of a roundtable discussion on the state of jobs in the chemical industry and academia, and by default, the things we talk about will be 100% applicable to any employment in any technical arena. The schedule is as follows: Monday: Chemjobber will discuss why the current view (espoused by the President’s Scientific Advisory Council and many other agencies and CEO’s) is wrong. The background for this post will be an article by Beryl Benderly. So, do your homework and check it out! Tuesday: Leigh Krietsch Boerner will discuss over at her blog on CENtral whether or not we are training more chemists in PhD programs than we actually need to be. I’m sure a lot of our readers have strong opinions on this one. Wednesday: Paul Bracher will give his … Continue reading
Posted in Basic Science, Implementation, Policy, Technology
Leave a comment
SpaceX and Arsenic
Bad for NASA(?) Good for science(!) December 9, 2010 We’ve had a lot of NASA in the news recently, and not necessarily for things that NASA is/should be happy about. I want to get one thing straight from the outset of this post. NASA is one of the finest drivers of science/engineering/innovation that the United States has ever sponsored. They continue to produce unmatched science and promising young scientists and engineers (many of whom I personally know and completely admire). However, one of NASA’s perceived missions is that it is around to do the completely impossible (note: this is the my opinion of the public perception of NASA). NASA is supposed to go to the moon. NASA is supposed to give us the Mars rovers. NASA is supposed to do things that we can only imagine. The public face of NASA today seems to show an organization that is about … Continue reading
Posted in Basic Science, Implementation, Policy, Technology
5 Comments
Forums for Thought
The thighmaster: neither a thigh, nor master. Discuss. December 07, 2010 It’s like the SNL skit, Coffee Talk… Dorothy Parker: famous wit and salon participant. Now I turn to the internet to find my muse and to reach out into the community of “thinkers”. So let’s talk about TED. As many of you know, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. TED began in 1984 as a nonprofit “devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading” and has since broadened its scope to include 2 annual conferences in California, a TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, and multiple sites broadcasting the best performances/TEDTalks online for free. The idea is simple: bring together the world’s most passionate thinkers and inspired doers and give them 18 minutes to explain themselves in the most interesting ways possible. These conferences have captivated the attention of millions of viewers and spawned programs such as the TED Open Translation Project … Continue reading
Posted in Basic Science, Implementation, Technology
Tagged Art, Every Day Life, Forums
Leave a comment
Step on in to the science cafe
What can we do for you? November 15, 2010 Carl Zimmer wrote a feature for the New York Times Science section recently titled, “Voices: What’s Next in Science.” Well, that’s certainly a big question. Zimmer interviewed ten scientists from various fields (space science, conservation, game design, ocean science, climate change, genomics, engineering, neuroscience, biotechnology, and mathematics). Their responses are very directed and specific (as you might expect their comments to be … they are scientists for heaven’s sake). Actually, I have a feeling that Zimmer pressed them to be concrete. It’s a great read. And, I am always fascinated when the world’s top scientists are talking about where they think the future of research is headed. Taking off on a somewhat related theme, one of last week’s biggest topics in the science-interweb-bloviating world (which you guys are sure to know that I am a huge fan of) is the degree … Continue reading
Time to fall back
Have your internal clocks changed yet November 9, 2010 I catch the bus to the train station each morning for work. I usually get to the train at right around 6:45am. When I arrive, there are a couple of things that are the same day-in and day-out. First, it’s dark. Like, I should still be sleeping dark. Like, why am I even out of bed right now dark. Like, it’s hard to imagine that my daughters woke me up an hour ago dark. Second, I can leisurely make my way up to the train. There is no rush. There is no crowding. There is no fight through the turnstiles. And, third, there is always someone passing out the free local newspapers. (This is great because I get my sudoku and crossword fix everyday on the train). Yesterday almost all of that changed. First it wasn’t pitch dark out. It didn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Basic Science, Implementation, Policy
Leave a comment
The Green Beaver
Green with envy? November 5, 2010 Caltech and MIT have a longstanding, somewhat friendly rivalry, but we have more than a few things in common. We’re both top-notch institutes of technology (hey, it’s in our names!), house fairly dismal athletics programs, have world champion Rubik’s cube clubs, and we share a mascot: the beaver! (supposedly due to the industrious engineering nature of the furry little critter) Beavers in arms… So why the Green beaver? Well, as it turns out, Caltech pulled ahead this year in its rankings as a “Green College”, earning an overall grade of A- vs. MIT’s B+. Not to be childish, but neener neener… I was recently alerted to our Green Beaver status as I absentmindedly flipped through an abandoned copy of our student newspaper (yes, we still have those old fashioned things), and read some interesting statistics. GreenReportCard.org is the first interactive website to provide in-depth … Continue reading
