The degree to which we use energy has far-reaching consequences. For example, the simple act of driving to work uses fuel that is ultimately tied to both international conflict and global climate change. The success of modern civilization is fundamentally linked to our ability to harness energy, primarily in the form of fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas. As shown in Figure 1, … Continue reading Why We Need Sustainable Energy
For many years, sunlight has been seen as a potential gold mine of useable energy for our global needs. Having successfully used the sun to grow food to feed the world, people are now trying to harvest the sun’s energy and convert it into electric energy. The principle way this has been accomplished is through the use of solar cells, also known as solar photovoltaics … Continue reading Black Silicon: Working around the current limits of solar cells
Fossil fuels are running out Since the mid nineteenth century, humans have progressively mastered the discovery, extraction, and combustion of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are the remains of organisms, mostly thick growths of plants from more than 500 million years ago, that were buried under heavy layers of sediment and slowly heated and compressed, under conditions without oxygen, into carbon-rich deposits. These are now used … Continue reading Synthetic Biology for Fuels
Last year, the world invested more money in renewable energy than ever before, at over $257 billion [1]. There is no question that renewable energy projects need finance to develop and commercialize. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), $37 trillion of investment will be needed in the world’s energy supply system over 2012-2035, of which a growing component will be in renewable energy [2]. … Continue reading Beyond the Debate: The role of government in renewable energy finance
Presented by Jessica Laird, Brenna Krieger, and Philip Shiu Decision-making is part of our daily routine, but what is really going on in our heads? This lecture will explore the science of decision-making from the perspectives of Economics and Neurobiology. First, we’ll learn how economists examine decision-making when there is a tradeoff between immediate and future happiness. For example, how do people compare the present … Continue reading Thinking About Thinking: the science of decision-making from an economics and neurobiology perspective
Presented by Max Mankin, Lauren Hartle, and Kevin Chau Continue reading Clean Energy of the Future: Solar cells, Biofuels, and Fuel Cell Catalysts
— Every organ in our bodies performs a specialized role. So what happens when one of these organs fails or is damaged? Some animals can re-grow or replace lost tissue – newts can regenerate entire lost limbs – but unfortunately human organ regeneration is limited mainly to the liver. For decades, the only solution has been organ transplantation, but the demand for organs far exceeds the number of donors, which causes the waitlists for most transplants to be quite long. Also, transplants are not always successful, and it can be difficult to find a “donor match” which will be compatible with the patient’s body. However, as technology and researchers’ understanding of the human body have advanced, the field of tissue engineering is making some serious breakthroughs, and with this progress comes the promise of custom-made organs that could not only keep pace with demand, but also avoid rejection since they could be made with a patient’s own cells. Continue reading Custom-Made Body Parts: Advances in Tissue Engineering
— Most of us have probably received vaccines and antibiotics at some point in our lives, and while they may have seemed to work like magic at the time, medical professionals’ precise understanding of the drugs’ mechanisms of action enables their use as the primary tools for fighting infection. Vaccines are made out of pieces of “dead” viruses or bacteria, and when administered, these particles train the body to recognize and attack similar foreign invaders.[] Medical personnel typically administer vaccines to patients in at-risk populations as preventive measures against viral infections, such as the measles, the mumps, and rubella (recall the dreaded MMR shot). Conversely, medical personnel turn to antibiotics to fight a bacterial infection once it has already begun. Antibiotics are typically composed of much smaller molecules than are vaccines.[] These small molecules directly attack bacteria, interfering with cellular processes the bacteria needs to grow and reproduce (and cause a nasty infection). Continue reading Silk-Stabilized Vaccines and Antibiotics: Ending the “Cold Chain”
— All scientists are driven to explain how and why things are the way they are. The differences among the various scientific disciplines lie in the scale and location at which we choose to investigate these basic questions. Two of the most fundamental questions one could ask about matter – anything that takes up space and has mass – are: “What is matter made of?” and “Why does matter have mass?” It is very rare nowadays to see a scientific discovery that helps answer questions as fundamental as these, which is why the July 4th announcement that scientists at the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) had discovered a new particle that behaved like the Higgs boson was such a big deal – it represents a step toward a more complete understanding of the universe. Continue reading The Higgs Boson Hoopla Explained
— Behind every Olympic victory is an incredible amount of physics, biomechanics, and engineering. With the Olympic Games in full swing, let’s take a look at the science behind three of its most popular events: running, swimming and gymnastics. Continue reading Science at the Summer Olympics