Fri 24 Oct 2008
I had no grand dreams for this trip. I was expecting average shuttles, average plane rides, and average hotel accommodations. But at 3:30 am Friday, my modest expectations flew out the window. As an ordinary limo and a Hummer limo pulled up in front of the IMU, I was positive they were not for us. [...]Sat 25 Oct 2008
This session focused on propaganda but in the very best sense of the word: How do universities and laboratories convince people to care about them? The answers were good, but they applied to a specific group of science writers, which unfortunately did not include me with my waning attention span. Jim Barlow, the director of [...]Thu 13 Nov 2008
Science writers are one of two breeds — those who start as journalists and those who start as scientists. The end result is usually similar, but the path that each writer takes is as different as the individual. Sheila Sperber Haas received her PhD in psychology from City University of New York. After finishing her [...]Tue 25 Nov 2008
I had fully intended to do a complete write-up of my hours spent in a lab. But as I started, I realized that a simple retelling would not be the most efficient use of my time or my readers’. Working in a lab is like working in any other building. It’s a long day sprinkled [...]Sat 13 Dec 2008
A car run entirely on converted remnants of grass and corn stalks sounds like the stuff of a kid’s imagination. Thanks to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, though, that dream is closer than ever to reality. Through funding by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, researchers have discovered a process [...]Sat 13 Dec 2008
Dani Williams is a sophomore at IUB studying dietetics. Although she’s lived most of her life in Indianapolis, she was born in Charleston, SC, and considers herself a true Southerner at heart. Among her favorite things are good barbecue, old movies, jazz, and Agatha Christie. When not immersed in schoolwork, Dani spends her time with [...]Thu 18 Dec 2008
Natalie Angier loves science. Her passion for all things physical, chemical, biological, geological, and astronomical is clear on every page of The Canon. Unfortunately, her love for quirky phrases and personal commentary negate the universality of the book’s appeal. Simply, The Canon is an interesting read, but not a “one-stop science education” for everyone, as [...]