iMedia

Going rogue: The physics of finance

Can economic systems also act like physical systems? The interdisciplinary practice of econophysics looks for the parallels, and the physics arXiv Blog points out recent research that suggests intriguing new evidence that, like rogue ocean waves, the behavior of some market meltdowns have characteristics that can be modeled and understood.

Kentucky science, engineering research funding available

The KY Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or EPSCoR, Kentucky office has funding in its FY09-10 budget for the following 3 categories:

• Collaborative Research Initiation Grant (CRIG) - Funds are available to form a group and determine a research focus of national importance - 1 year, up to $10,000.
• Collaborative Research Development Grant (CRGD) - Funds are provided for organizational activities leading to the submission of a federal proposal to establish a research program, center, or institute of national importance - 1 year, up to $30,000. Renewals are possible.
• National Laboratory Initiative (NLI) - NLI grants of up to $1,500 are available for travel to a national laboratory to determine the feasibility of joint research programs and/or sabbatical stays. NLI grants of up to $5,000 are available to assist faculty in establishing residence at a National Laboratory for a period of up to 12 months. Proposals may be submitted until April 30, 2010 or the funding is exhausted.

Guidelines are available online. More information may also be obtained from Liz Knapp, Assistant Director, Kentucky EPSCoR Program at (859) 246-3245 or lknapp@kstc.com.

"Why we're failing at math and science"

The Wall Street Journal talks to some experts about why we're failing at math and science, and what can be done about it.

Regional Climate Change forum

Featuring speaker Dr. Radley Horton from The Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University, the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC) has announced a forum on regional climate change.

Changing global climate conditions promise to bring about a range of challenges and issues for the Kentucky and the region. At this unique forum you will discuss what the global climate models are suggesting for this Kentucky along with the associated implications, challenges and opportunities. For details and to register click here Regional Climate Change Forum or go to KSTC and click on the Regional Climate Change Forum banner.

Space is limited so register early. Student pricing is available, please email (bflexter@kstc.com) or call (859-233-3502 ext. 221) Barbara Flexter for details. For additional information or questions, please contact Kris Kimel at 859-229-6161.

Unexepected paring: Astronomical Medicine

The Revolutionary Minds Think Tank series points out the unexpected and beneficial relationship between two seemingly different disciplines, astronomy and medical imaging. Pulling a quote from the Astronomical Medicine page at Harvard, it says

While astronomy and medical imaging seem very different, both fields search through large amounts of image data looking for meaningful patterns. For example, a physician may inspect a patient's MRI scans looking for signs of disease, while an astronomer will analyze radio telescope image data to find evidence of a new star being born. The two sciences have separately developed many techniques to analyze, visualize, and catalog complex multi-dimensional imaging data, but seldom have experts from the two areas worked together.

Putting microgravity, orbital research within reach

[Cross-posted from the Kentucky Space blog] At a recent meeting in Lexington, Managing Director for Nanoracks, Jeffrey Manber, described the idea behind the use of Nanoracks to host Cubesat-sized modules with individual science and research experiments - called Cubelabs - on the International Space Station. This brand new project will bring microgravity research within reach of many more organizations.

Think like Ants to defend a network

"Worms and viruses" are two names given to invasive software. Now some are taking their inspiration from ants when it comes to computer defense, according to Futurismic. Famed social biologist Bert Hölldobler, who authored the book Superorganism with Harvard's E.O. Wilson, recently spoke at the IdeaFestival in the Louisville on the features of this kind of biological organization, which has often been used as a model for distributed intelligence.

Wikipedia: biomimicry

"Netscape moment" for commercial space exploration?

According to VentureBeat, commercial space may be having its "Netscape moment".

The commercial space industry has seen some interesting developments over the past weeks. Statements last week by members of President Obama’s human spaceflight review committee (The Augustine Commission) suggest that commercial providers may be taking a significant role in how NASA accesses low Earth orbit and how missions beyond low Earth orbit use orbiting 'gas stations'. At the same time, two commercial space companies, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX, have received significant investments from well known funds (more on that below), suggesting that capital markets see a fundable new industry developing.

Some of these developments are reminiscent of the Internet industry in the early 90s....

If so, Kentucky Space may well be in the right place at the right time.

A Biology for Altruism

[cross-posted from the IdeaFestival web log] Dr. Lee Alan Dugatkin, a professor of Biology at the University of Louisville, has been doing research on the evolution of goodness in humans and non-humans for the last twenty years. As he points out here and in his 2008 IdeaFestival presentation, altruistic behavior can be found throughout the animal kingdom. His forthcoming book, "Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose" is a tale of both natural and American history and will be the subject of talk planned for IF'09.

Wayne

Think like bees: Self-organizing HVAC systems save energy

To save energy in large distributed HVAC systems, think like a bee. From Signtitfic, a science and technology forecasting organization:

A startup based in Toronto says that it has come up with a way to reduce energy use by mimicking the self-organizing behavior of bees. REGEN Energy has developed a wireless controller that connects to the control box on a piece of building equipment and functions as a smart power switch. Once several controllers have been activated, they detect each other using a networking standard called ZigBee and begin negotiating the best times to turn equipment on and off. The devices learn the power cycles of each appliance and reconfigure them to maximize collective efficiency...... Before making a decision, he explains, a node will consider the circumstances of other nodes in its network. For example, if a refrigerator needs to cycle on to maintain a minimum temperature, a node connected to a fan or pump will stay off for an extra 15 minutes to keep power use below a certain threshold.