Posts categorized Science & Technology

For more than 50 years, the Kardashev scale has been the gold standard for classifying hypothetical “exo-civilizations” by their ability to harness energy. A team of researchers led by Rochester astrophysicist Adam Frank have devised a new system that takes into account the impacts of that energy use.

Rochester has the ingredients to create its own Silicon Valley in emerging imaging and audio technologies. That’s the vision of the organizers of Light and Sound Interactive, a conference and expo that will showcase how Rochester can play a leading role in such growing fields as augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), and interactive games and media. Oscar-winning filmmaker Ang Lee is among this year’s keynotes.

Monkeys had higher confidence in their ability to remember an image when the visual contrast was high. These kinds of metacognitive illusions—false beliefs about how we learn or remember best—are shared by humans, leading brain and cognitive scientists to believe that metacognition could have an evolutionary basis.

The professor of mechanical engineering was remembered by friends, family members, and colleagues at a recent memorial service in Rush Rhees Library for his “unbounded curiosity.”

Professor Vasilii Petrenko and his team are studying the air trapped in ice cores that date back nearly 12,000 years, long before mankind’s use of fossil fuels, to separate man-made from naturally occurring methane sources.

Physics and astronomy professor Dan Watson will be experiencing Monday’s total solar eclipse from Tennessee, and he shares more eclipse answers and tips, as well as places at the University of Rochester where you can safely view the eclipse.

Chemical engineering major Tianhao Yu ’19 has a unique job this summer: testing organic light-emitting diodes that may help improve the screen displays of devices such as cell phones and televisions.

Brain research does not take a summer vacation, and neither does Magdalena Granados ’19. The McNair Scholar is working on “awake language mapping” research designed to help neurosurgeons operate with greater precision.

Chemistry major Austin Bailey ’18 (T5) has spent his summer developing a special polymer to attach other molecules to nanotubes, and his work could have significant applications for creating renewable energy sources.

A mechanical engineering student visiting from the University of Maryland, Ricardo Cardoza stretched himself—and the shape-memory polymers he worked with—in Mitchell Anthamatten’s chemical engineering lab this summer.