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Emily Deschanel on portraying a forensic anthropologist I love that [prickly] aspect of the character. A lot of times when I look at projects, I try and look for flaws in the character, and that's what's fascinating to me. That's what makes somebody human.  [eonline.com] Deschanel plays Dr. Temperance Brennan in Bones (2005 TV series) - based on both the character in the series of novels and the author herself, Kathy Reichs - her latest book is Cross Bones     > related pages:  The Inner Actor    the shadow self

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Due to my lack of enthusiasm for class work, it is a little surprising that I should have gone into physics. But once the abstract part of science was explained to me in terms of the concrete components, which we can measure in experiments, then it all seemed to make sense. ... E = mc2 is incredibly well known... it might be a bit surprising to learn we actually use it outside the classroom.... without Einstein and our understanding of The Equation, I wouldn't have a job.

Well, I would have a job somewhere, I hope, but I probably wouldn't be having as much fun. ... Einstein was a year younger than me when he formulated The Equation. It makes me feel a bit inadequate, but I haven't done so bad for a girl who never liked class work. Caolionn O'Connell, PhD - in her article Riding the Wave of E = mc2 [on site for PBS program Einstein's Big Idea] - she is a post-doc in high energy physics at Caltech > also see her Quantum Diaries blog

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Shannon Lewis, left, Michelle Giron and Haluna Gunterman constitute half of Caltech's all-female chemical engineering class of 2005. (photo by Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times June 20 2005)

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Jef Raskin, a mathematician, orchestral soloist and composer, professor, bicycle racer, model airplane designer, and pioneer in the field of human-computer interactions.. created the Macintosh computer as employee number 31 at Apple in the early 1980s. After a decade studying cognitive psychology, Jef established a scientific basis for the design of man-machine interfaces... His sculptures have been exhibited at New York's Museum of Modern Art. One is included in the permanent collection.

In his 2000 book "The Humane Interface," Jef coined the term and founded the field of cognetics, "the ergonomics of the mind," transforming interface design into an engineering discipline with a rigorous theoretical framework. ... > from article Jef Raskin, creator of the Macintosh computer, dies at 61 By Aza Raskin, Pacifica Tribune pacificatribune.com March 02, 2005 > related page :..design.

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2004-05 Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology [site] National Winner - Aaron Goldin Calif. project : “Autonomous Gryscopic Ocean-Wave Powered Generator..” Regional Finalist - Sisi Chen, Georgia project : “Expressing Integers Using the Least Number of Ones”

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.. .. As I came to know Marie Curie [above, right], I realized that heroes and heroines can be all too human. Marie worried that daughter Eve wore too much makeup and that daughter Irene had married a playboy... Marie triumphed in a world where men made the rules but who also was shy and vulnerable and suffered periods of depression in which she was unable to function. Yet she always bounced back. /// Marie Curie.. believed that  "you cannot build a better society without improving individuals." She thought of the good of humanity before her own good. She blazed a trail for others to follow. Barbara Goldsmith / Parade, Nov 28 2004 Obsessive Genius : The Inner World of Marie Curie by Barbara Goldsmith

.. .. The life of a great scientist in his laboratory is not, as many may think, a peaceful idyll. More often, it is a bitter battle with things, with one's surroundings, and above all with oneself. A great discovery does not leap completely achieved from the brain of the scientist, as Minerva sprang, all panoplied, from the head of Jupiter; it is the fruit of accumulated preliminary work.  Marie Curie..[1867-1934] > from American Institute of Physics .aip.org

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Shuyu Wang [far left], a 17-year-old senior, discovered how DNA bends under certain circumstances to form RNA (ribonucleic acid).  Now an 18-year-old freshman at Harvard, she was one of four students nationwide to win a $50,000 scholarship from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development.  [Lansing State Journal, Oct 17, 2004] > photo of Shuyu Wang and her mother from Davidson site

 

 
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Harish Khandrika, 17 - a Davidson Fellow Category: Science - Project Title: Analysis of X-Rays from the Core of Radio-Galaxy Centaurus A / Award: $25,000 Scholarship The computer scripts which he developed can be used by astrophysicists to expedite future research. with his reflecting telescope - photo by John Gastaldo / Union-Tribune more on 2004 Davidson site ditd.org

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.. .. Kenta Nakamura, the first member of his family to go to college, has been honored nationally for his research on a protein that plays an important role in heart disease. Nakamura, a junior in the UCLA College, is researching this protein full time this summer. // "My family has also given me great support, and my girlfriend, Daisy, who graduated from UCLA last quarter and will pursue her Ph.D., is phenomenally supportive," Nakamura said.

Nakamura's parents lived in Japan, and moved to the United States before he was born. They now run a restaurant in Northern California. Nakamura loved science, and became interested in medicine as a high school student in Orinda (near Berkeley) while volunteering in hospitals. At UCLA, he found that research was his true calling. "Scientific research is creative," he said. "You apply concepts and do things that no one else has ever done. We have the tools now to broaden our body of knowledge and translate that quickly into benefits we all will appreciate. It's a very exciting time in science." from UCLA news article "Outstanding Student Profile: Kenta Nakamura Honored for His Accomplishments as an Undergraduate Researcher Studying Key Protein in Heart Disease" - June 22, 2004 photo from site : Asian Pacific Health Corps [UCLA]

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.. .. Many people have asked me how I could smile so much in the midst of a mass grave or a field of scattered bones.  It is because I see not just death -- about which I can do nothing -- but bones and teeth and hair, which I can do something about, something that serves the deceased and possibly a greater community, not just theirs but other communities around the world. ///

In addition to helping authorities determine the identity of deceased people, forensic anthropology has a role in human rights investigations, because a dead body can incriminate perpetrators who believe they have silenced their victims forever.  That is the part of forensic anthropology that drives me. Clea Koff from article Interpreter of tragedies -  by John Balzar, LA Times / photo by Bryan Chan / LAT her site thebonewoman.com ...> book: The Bone Woman

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.. .. On March 16, 2004 Intel Corporation and Science Service awarded the top 10 college scholarship awards for the Intel Science Talent Search (STS).. Qilei Hang, 18, of Cumberland, Maryland, was named a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search for her engineering project in materials handling.  On a quarry tour, she had been intrigued by the materials stacking and reclamation process, in which stored material is drawn from cone-shaped stockpiles by tunnel conveyors.  Qilei wondered how to best locate the drawpoints to reclaim the maximum amount of material and how to calculate it.

To find design solutions, she used mathematical modeling to develop new equations and built miniature stockpiles to test their validity.  Her equations, increasing efficiency by about 20%, are already being used in the field, and her work has been recognized by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration.  Qilei is first in her class of 200 at Allegany High School, where she competes in tennis and track, and on the math and debate teams.  She is principal cellist in the senior all-county and community orchestras, and her numerous awards include a first place in her category at the 2003 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.  Qilei was born in China and is the daughter of Youhong Hang and Weixing Han. She plans to study physics and biochemistry at Harvard.  from Intel Science Talent Search (STS) site

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.. .. Moriah Nachbaur of Redwood City [CA] experimented with plant genes and found that there may be a way to make corn and other crops more pest-resistant. .... Moriah, 17,  attended a national science convention in Seattle as a freshman and was inspired to do something bigger.  "All the information about Dolly the sheep had just come out, and biotechnology was really kicking," she said. "I was so excited because it was all new."

After many rejections, she was accepted by Mendel Biotechnology, a Hayward, Calif., company, to work in its lab. She has spent the last three summers there. With the help of mentors at Mendel, Moriah tested plant genes and found that the way certain genes work in a small mustard seed plant also works in tobacco plants.  She said her project has "ridiculously wide-reaching potential applications. It could work to improve crops, help feed Third World countries. There's so many positives." from "Pushing the Envelope of High School Learning" -  by Regine Labossiere, LA Times, Feb 11 2004 photo from Intel / Science Service profile

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.. .. Erik Demaine was hired at the tender age of 21 to become the all-time youngest professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Even while working on his PhD, he produced many joint papers with people such as Joseph Mitchell of Stoneybrook and Joseph O'Rourke of Smith College, both senior researchers in computational geometry.  And now, in the year 2003, he has over 100 papers that include 96 collaborators.

Demaine became a keen collaborator, according to his supervisor in the School of computer Science, Anna Lubiw, as a direct result of the home schooling environment of his early youth.  Not only did he become used to working with others early, the experience sharpened his skills at presenting material orally and in writing. "I learned a lot from talking to people. My father always stressed communications skills and that served me well in academia.  "I'm not shy about approaching people to test out ideas. In fact, when I take on a big problem, that's the first thing I do." Demaine currently busies himself in an astonishing range of research areas, including discrete and computational geometry, advanced data structures, computational complexity, approximation algorithms, distributed systems, and game theory. from University of Waterloo article Among his interests listed on his MIT page are :  Improv comedy/theater ; Glassblowing ; Origami ;  Juggling ; Magic, and Topological puzzles photo from MacArthur Fellows Program profile

*related page:**collaboration

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Ideas give humanity the vision to act and the power to transform. Consider the legacy of Hedy Lamarr, a woman of both graceful cinematic talent and considerable technological ingenuity.  Working with composer George Antheil and his player pianos, she developed and patented a method by which frequencies could be changed randomly, and therefore codified to create a secure signal - a concept used today in our everyday lives. excerpt from Boeing Company recruiting ad related article: Hedy Lamarr: inventor

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a few of the 2003 Davidson Fellows text & photos from Davidson Institute for Talent Development ...
Justin Liu, 17, Sacramento, CA - Category: Science; Award: $50,000 scholarship .. pursued an alternative treatment for HIV. He conducted research about the relationship between tyrosine sulfation, a process that results in enhanced biological activity, and chemokine receptors, a protein family that mediates vital functions of the immune system. Justin based his research on the relationship between chemical modification and HIV in hopes of developing more effective treatments for HIV patients.
2003 Davidson FellowsDaniel Kane, 17, Madison, WI - Category: Mathematics; Award: $50,000 scholarship .. explored the theory of partitions, a branch of additive number theory, and proved a conjecture posed by national experts in the field. Daniel’s work makes a significant advancement in number theory with far-reaching applications in many other areas of mathematics, including the fields of coding theory, representation theory and algebraic geometry.
Irene Sun, 16, Indianapolis, IN - Category: Science; Award: $25,000 scholarship .. analyzed gene expression regulation experimentally and computationally using rheumatoid arthritis cells as model systems. Irene’s work provides a deeper characterization of the disease, as well as clues to the treatment and control of rheumatoid arthritis.
Jamie Rubin, 16, Ft. Myers, FL - Category: Science; Award: $50,000 scholarship .. conducted in-depth research into treating infections caused by the Candida albicans fungus with a combinatorial approach, cutting the time needed for future research from several years to less than a week. Jamie's research could improve the quality of life for millions with compromised immune systems, including cancer, HIV and AIDS patients.

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[You mention in your book that you have a lot of friends  who are artists and musicians. Why is that so?] Janna Levin : I think it stretches me, so that I don't collapse in on myself. It's such a relief to be accepted for who I am rather than being seen as my work.  And I'm not sure the scientific community is where I belong. I'm a natural scientist, but the culture of science is not a comfortable place.  It has its charms, but enormous drawbacks as well, and it's very hard to imagine living the rest of your life in that kind of rareified culture.  You have to move all the time for different jobs, and it's disorienting.  People often ask if this is specifically a problem for women. I don't think it is. Still, more often men's families may be willing to follow them, but it's a difficult trajectory for women.  Women look at a future where they might never have a functioning relationship or kids or even be respected by their peers, and that's a tall order; that's a lot of work.

.. .. from article : Physics' Feminine Force by Jill Neimark,  Science & Spirit, Nov/Dec 2002 Janna Levin is a Research Fellow in Astrophysics at Oxford [site] and a Scientist-in-Residence at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art [site] photo from Janna Levin website ...How the Universe Got Its Spots: Diary of a Finite  Time in a Finite Space -- by Janna Levin

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Catherine Wagner     > artwork:Cell Wall 6 Iris prints, 32 x 44" ea

 
I am interested in what impact the changes that emerge from contemporary scientific research
will have on our culture -- socially, spiritually and physically. ...

[These photographs] are meant to serve as a catalyst for thinking about the intersection of images and ideas.

It has never been my intention to document science, but to stimulate discussion, ideas and
questions about human existence. By posing questions that are inviting and inclusive of
non-science audiences, I hope to provide a forum to reconsider science and its relation to us.

  Catherine Wagner - professor of art at Mills College - named a "Fine Art Innovator"
   by Time magazine, October 15, 2001  [quotes from icp.org interview]
 

...book: Art & Science: Investigating Matter by Catherine Wagner

*related page:**visual arts

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