Curiosity's landing site named for Ray Bradbury

post from Planetary Society Blog on 22 August 2012 05:32:13 PM. © Planetary Society Blog

Ray Bradbury explored Mars, and the future of humanity, through words and ideas--vehicles of the imagination. He was a visionary author and, through his writings and lectures, was a direct or indirect mentor to so many of us involved with designing, building, and operating the actual space vehicles of today. I think it is so fitting, then, that the MSL team has memorialized Ray's contributions to the exploration of the planets -- and especially Mars -- by naming Curiosity's landing site in his honor.

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Former Physicist Tops List of Most Powerful Women

post from Physics Buzz on 22 August 2012 04:16:48 PM. © Physics Buzz

German Chancellor Angela Merkel retained her crown as the most powerful woman in the world this year, according to a Forbes list of the top 100 women from areas including business, politics, entertainment and technology.

As a leader of Europe's largest economy amidst an ongoing debt crisis, Merkel's fifth appearance at the top of this list may come as no surprise. But many people do not know that Merkel holds a PhD in physics and conducted research in quantum chemistry.

She eventually left the academic world for a career in politics, but her scientific roots remain intact as she makes important policy decisions concerning science. Merkel's not alone in this territory, however. Several other prominent women on this year's list have significant scientific backgrounds.

Photo of Angela Merkel courtesy of Aleph via Wikimedia Commons.

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor: #1

During her undergraduate years, Merkel developed an interest in both foreign languages and the universal language of mathematics. In 1978, she earned her doctorate in physics with a dissertation on quantum chemistry. After working as a researcher, Merkel eventually turned to politics and became Germany's first female chancellor in 2005.

Merkel's science backgrounds even extend beyond her career: She's currently married to Joachim Sauer, a physical chemistry professor. Together, Sauer and Merkel form perhaps the most powerful science couple in the world.

For more on Merkel's science background and upbringing, listen to this BBC podcast (scroll to the middle of the page).

Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox: #17

Ursula Burns has led printer and copier giant Xerox for the past three years. Before her tenure at Xerox, she studied mechanical engineering, earning a bachelor's and master's degree in the discipline. Since joining Xerox as an intern in the early 1980's, Burns has certainly made an impact on the technology sector.

Maria das Gracas Silva Foster,
CEO of Petrobras-Petroleo Brasil: #20

Maria das Gracas Silva Foster studied chemical engineering as an undergraduate before earning her master's degree in nuclear engineering. According to Forbes, largely government-owned Petrobras outputs over 90 percent of Brazil's oil and natural gas, and Gracas Silva Foster has risen to the top of the company over the past 30 years.

Weili Dai, Co-founder of Marvell Technology Group: #89

After earning a degree in computer science, Dai went on to help form one of the most successful semiconductor businesses in the world. Dai's company, Marvell Technologies, caters to today's top technology companies including Apple, Western Digital, and Samsung. Outside of her career in business, Dai has focused on promoting STEM education among girls, according to Forbes.

Forbes' Methodology

Assuming that Forbes used a similar methodology for this year's list compared to last year, Forbes narrowed down its list of 100 from an initial pool of 200 candidates. For the final list, Forbes staff looked at three main categories: wealth, media influence and power base.

For instance, higher rankings were given to women with higher social media metrics and influence over a variety of people. Having authority over a narrow group doesn't count as much as a broad influence.

While creating such power rankings can be somewhat subjective, there's no question that many women with science and engineering backgrounds are continuing to make a huge impact on the world. Congratulations to this year's finalists!

Gracas Silva Foster photo courtesy of Roosewelt Pinheiro/ABr. Weili Dai photo courtesy of UC Berkeley school of engineering.
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If you want to keep up with Hyperspace, AKA Brian, you can follow him on Twitter.

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Counting Cells with Bio-Rads TC20 Automated Cell
Counter

post from American Biotechnologist on 22 August 2012 03:32:47 PM. © American Biotechnologist

Bookmark It Hide Sites $$('div.d4605').each( function(e) {[...]

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Scientifically Defining Beauty

post from Canadian BioTechnologist2.0 on 22 August 2012 03:27:32 PM. © Canadian BioTechnologist2.0

Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, it’s in the medial orbito-frontal cortex -TEDx Filed under: Of Interest Tagged: Neurobiology

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Curiosity rolls!

post from Bad Astronomy on 22 August 2012 01:27:33 PM. © Bad Astronomy

Just a few minutes ago, engineers at JPL here on Earth commanded the Mars Curiosity rovers to make its first test drive! The rover rolled a few meters, stopped and took a picture of its progress:[Click to enaresenate.]Wow! This image was taken by the[...]

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Animals and their Compasses

post from Physics Buzz on 22 August 2012 01:16:44 PM. © Physics Buzz

Fish do it; birds do it; humans do it; even bacteria do it. They all detect the Earth's magnetic field. But we actually know very little about HOW these organisms do it. Humans use compasses, and in some cases, other organisms may take a similar approach?such as microscopic bacteria that rely on bits of rust to point them in the right direction. But in other cases, mother nature seems to have come up with some totally radical techniques for detecting magnetic fields.

Check out this week's podcast to learn more. My guest on the podcast, science writer Davide Castelvecchi, also wrote a great piece on this topic in Scientific American.

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Getting the Skinny on Batteries

post from CR4 - Recent Blog Entries on 22 August 2012 12:11:48 PM. © CR4 - Recent Blog Entries

Blemishes are a thing of beauty in graphene paper. Graphene is the world's thinnest material. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), have made the grapheme into paper and then zapped it with a laser or camera flash to blemish it with countless cracks, pores, and other imperfectio

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BAFact Math: Jupiter is big enough to swallow all
the rest of the planets whole

[BAFacts are short, tweetable astronomy/space facts that I post every day. On some occasions, they wind up needing a bit of a mathematical explanation. The math is pretty easy, and it adds a lot of coolness, which I'm passing on to you! You're[...]

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A Suggested DIY: The Ghost Phone!

Are you bored with all your projects? Do you need another electronic gadget to waste your time and money on, CR4er? Has your spouse not complained enough about all of your unfinished projects? Well, have I got a proposal for you! "I'm listening..." ...via Bret ContrerasNo matter your personal

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Why the 3D Printing Revolution Won't Happen
in Your Garage

From ExtremeTech: No one can deny that 3D printing is really cool from a purely technological standpoint. The idea that physical objects can be rapidly fabricated from digital files is fascinating, and could change the world. However, it's very possible that we've all gotten so caught up

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