Month: June 2016

Maker City Book: A Practical Guide to Reinvention in American Cities

This book is for Makers, community organizers, business leaders, policy makers, and other city leaders in local government. It is designed to help public, private, and city leaders understand the Maker movement and the impact it is having on economic opportunity in cities.  Have a look!
Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction and a Call to Action

Chapter 2: The Maker movement and Cities

Chapter 3: The Maker City as Open Ecosystem

Chapter 4: Education and Learning in the Maker City

Chapter 5: Workforce Development in the Maker City

Chapter 6: Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain inside the Maker City

Case Study: Urban Manufacturing Alliance

Chapter 7: Real Estate Matters in the Maker City

Chapter 8: Civic Engagement in the Maker City

Chapter 9: The Future of the Maker City

Acknowledgements

Resources

To learn more about the Maker City Project including a complete list of cities studied, people interviewed, contributors, and partners go tohttp://makercity.com/

Funded generously provided by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; fiscal sponsorship provided by Gray Area Foundation for the Arts.

Featured image of CO+HOOTS collaborative workspace in Phoenix “http://media.bizj.us/view/img/6934242/cohoots2*750xx2592-1458-0-135.jpg”

by Categories: Makerspace, STEAMTags: , , , , Leave a comment

“THE RECYCLED ORCHESTRA” EXHIBIT AT MIM

On exhibit now at the Musical Instrument Museum

Exhibit displays instruments from remarkable group

Amid a massive landfill in Cateura, Paraguay, children find hope by making music on instruments built from recycled trash. In a slum town where families survive by collecting and reselling garbage (and where a violin can cost more than a house), a visionary music teacher gathered a small team to plunder the landfill for materials and construct an ensemble of “recycled” instruments. In just a few years, their innovation has led to a thriving music school in Cateura and a youth orchestra that performs internationally. For members of the Recycled Orchestra, material poverty is not an obstacle to a life rich with music. They have each learned to value greatly how music impacts their lives, helping them express creativity, build self-confidence, and strengthen community.

The Musical Instrument Museum features the inspiring story and the innovative instruments of the Recycled Orchestra through a Latin America gallery exhibit and docent mini-tours. The Recycled Orchestra exhibit features eight recycled instruments from Paraguay as well as video and images of the youth orchestra and the environment of Cateura.

by Categories: Arizona, Culture, DIY, Guitar, Humanity, Interdisciplinary, Music, Recycling, STEAM, SustainabilityTags: , , , , Leave a comment

The Hottest Year on Record … 2016

The scorching temperatures mean 2016 is all but certain to be the hottest year ever recorded, beating the previous hottest year in 2015, which itself beat 2014. This run of three record years is also unprecedented and, without climate change, would be a one in a million chance. Scaife says: “Including this year so far, 16 of the 17 warmest years on record have been since 2000 – it’s a shocking statistic.”

Shattered records show climate change is an emergency today, scientists warn

Unprecedented temperature levels mean more heatwaves, flooding, wildfires and hurricanes as experts say global warming is here and affecting us now

Read more about the science and realities of climate change in this article by Damian Carrington of The Guardian.

by Categories: Arizona, Environment, Humanity, Science, SustainabilityTags: , , , Leave a comment

STEM Scholarships to NAU Still Available!

Do you plan to transfer to Northern Arizona University (NAU) into an approved College of Engineering, Forestry & Natural Sciences major Fall 2016?

Do you have a 3.0 or higher GPA in at least 24 transferable credits?

And $2,500 or more in unmet financial need? (2016 FASFA is required)

Then you may qualify for the Transfer-GEMS (Transfers to Graduates in Engineering, Math and Science) Scholarship!

This scholarship is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number 1260138.

SCHOLARSHIPS ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR THE 2016-2017 ACADEMIC YEAR!

For more information, please contact jen.johnson@nau.edu.

Learn more or Apply now!

 

 

by Categories: Arizona, Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Environment, Forestry, GCC, Physics, Scholarships, ScienceTags: , , , , Leave a comment

At the Tonys, Moments to Remember

Photo, from left: Renée Elise Goldsberry, Leslie Odom Jr., Cynthia Erivo and Daveed Diggs.Sara Krulwich/The New York Times 

In a Tony Awards night shadowed by the tragedy in Orlando, Fla., prizewinners and other performers worked hard to strike a balance between joy and reflection. Here are some moments to remember:

The Hardest-Working Man in Showbiz

Soon after delivering a tremulous speech addressed to the TV audience (“Hate will never win”), the Tonys host, James Corden, dove into a breathless mash-up of 20 Broadway hits, concluding with some elegant hoofing to “We’re in the Money” from “42nd Street.”

#TonysSoDiverse

“Think of tonight as the Oscars, but with diversity,” Mr. Corden joked in his opening monologue. And the show delivered: In a first for Broadway, Tony voters gave the four musical performance awards to black actors: Cynthia Erivo of “The Color Purple” and Leslie Odom Jr., Renée Elise Goldsberry and Daveed Diggs of “Hamilton.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Sonnet

Lin-Manuel Miranda accepted the award for best score for “Hamilton” at the Tony Awards with a sonnet addressing his wife, Vanessa Nadal, as well as the shooting in Orlando, Fla.

TONYS 2016 By CBS 00:28
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Sonnet Video

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/video/players/offsite/index.html?videoId=100000004467857

A Poem for the Moment

In his acceptance speech for best score for “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda provided the broadcast’s emotional high point, reading a sonnet he had written that cited “senseless acts of tragedy” and included the repeated “and love is love, is love, is love, is love” that brought down the house.

Asked later why he decided to address the situation this way, he said: “We live in this world where beautiful and horrible things exist at the same time. You can’t let that go by, particularly when theater doesn’t exist without the L.G.B.T. community.”

Read more of the NY Times article here.

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MIT engineering protective barrier that mimics skin

Interesting article from the American Ceramic Society regarding MIT’s development of a synthetic second skin that has potential to transform lives with medical and cosmetic applications.

Video: Scientists engineer ‘second skin’ with potential for superior topical UV protection  Published on June 1st, 2016 | By: Stephanie Liverani

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Living Proof, and Olivo Labs have developed a new material that can temporarily protect and tighten skin and smooth wrinkles, according to an MIT News article.

Even better? The team plans to develop the material further for use in transdermal drug delivery and treatment of skin conditions, such as eczema and other types of dermatitis, and also adapt it to provide long-lasting ultraviolet protection.

Credit: MIT; YouTube

Read more here:  http://ceramics.org/ceramic-tech-today/video-scientists-engineer-second-skin-with-potential-for-superior-topical-uv-protection

http://news.mit.edu/2016/polymer-temporarily-tightens-skin-drug-delivery-0509

 

by Categories: Ceramics, Engineering, Environment, Research, STEAM, STEMTags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Cédric Villani: TED talk on why Math is sexy.

Hidden truths permeate our world; they’re inaccessible to our senses, but math allows us to go beyond our intuition to uncover their mysteries. In this survey of mathematical breakthroughs, Fields Medal winner Cédric Villani speaks to the thrill of discovery and details the sometimes perplexing life of a mathematician. “Beautiful mathematical explanations are not only for our pleasure,” he says. “They change our vision of the world.”

Cédric Villani
Mathematician
Cédric Villani tackles perplexing problems in mathematical physics, analysis and geometry with rigor, wit and a signature personal style. Full bio

 

by Categories: Math, STEAMTags: , , Leave a comment