#cambridgesciencefestival

[swissnexboston]

Superconductivity at Cambridge Science Festival and swissnex Boston

By Francesco Bortoluzzi

As warm weather slowly made its way up to New England, there was no better way for Cambridge to celebrate spring and awaken the mind from a wintery slumber than the Cambridge Science Festival (CSF), a yearly celebration that attracts thousands of locals of all ages for 10 days of fun and learning encompassing science, technology, engineering, art, and math every April.

swissnex Boston is a regular exhibitor at the CSF, showcasing the best of Switzerland’s science and technology. This year, we called on the University of Geneva’s Physiscope team to fly over the Atlantic to reveal to mysteries of superconductivity to the CSF-goers with an exhibit featuring magnetic levitation and pinning. During the festival representatives from the University of Geneva, Jean Etesse and Arnaud Dubreuil (a postdoc and a PhD candidate respectively), showed why superconductivity is such a very active research field nowadays, with applications in medicine, energy, transportation and telecommunication. Superconductivity is present in everyday life and its applications are increasing, despite the fact that superconductor materials need to be cooled down to very low temperatures.

Armed with the exhibit shipped from Switzerland and massive tanks of liquid nitrogen to cool the superconductors, Arnaud and Jean entertained hundreds of people in the gym hall of the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School on Saturday April 15th during the Science Carnival and Robot Zoo exhibition. Aspiring scientists of all ages experienced superconductivity first-hand by dipping superconducting materials in liquid nitrogen and making them levitate over magnets, as well as harnessing power from a rotating and levitating magnet.

After the Easter break, swissnex Boston shared its consular interiors for three days to be turned into a Physiscope exhibition between April 18th and 20th. Kids from schools and community centers, as well as entire families, came by swissnex for a total of 11 highly entertaining and hands-on shows on superconductivity led by the untiring duo of Arnaud and Jean. The shows were so popular that queues formed around swissnex and kids had to sit on the floor in order to be accommodated. On Wednesday 19th, Arnaud and Jean also performed a superconductivity evening show for a full-house of interested people from all over the Boston area.

swissnex Boston is grateful to University of Geneva and its Physiscope team, Arnaud and Jean in particular, for their willingness and enthusiasm to come all the way from Switzerland for the CSF, to Presence Switzerland, as well as the Festival’s organizers for their help and support.

[swissnexboston]

ConnectUS 2017 visit: Innovation is the new black!

By Francesco Bortoluzzi, Junior Project Manager

Between Thursday, April 13 and Saturday, April 16, swissnex Boston had the pleasure to host, once again, the ConnectUS delegation from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW). The delegation is a prestigious annual project organized by students for students at FHNW, launched in 2007 with the primary goal of broadening future graduates’ business and intercultural understanding by linking theory with real world experience, which translates into a two to three week study trip to the United States.

The overarching theme of this year’s delegation visit to the US, which included stops in San Francisco and New York in addition to Boston, was “Innovation is the new black! Expand your mind, change the game,” and the delegation tackled it not only in the fields of technology and economy, but also in those of social and environmental challenges.

During their first day in Boston, the ConnectUS visited swissnex Boston and took a tour of MIT’s campus and then went over to the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) for an introduction and tour. At CIC, they also met with the Pascal Marmier, Swiss Re Digital Analytics Head and also a former Consul/CEO of swissnex Boston and swissnex China, for a conversation about his current job at Swiss Re and his past career, before getting a first-hand taste of Cambridge’s lively entrepreneurial ecosystem at the Venture Café.

On Friday, they were introduced to Proclara Biosciences, the MIT Media Lab and its Changing Places Group, and Pixability. They also enjoyed front row seats at the Cambridge Science Festival’s Opening event, “Are We Alone? Exploring the Possibility of other Intelligent Life in the Universe”, an evening featuring illustrious speakers like Frank Drake. On Saturday, they mingled with the Boston area’s science nerds and enthusiasts at the Cambridge Science Festival’s Science Carnival & Robot Zoo, which took place in a packed gym hall at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School just across the street from swissnex Boston.

They travelled on to New York on Sunday night after spending a final relaxing and sunny Easter Sunday in Boston.

[mazydavy]

Aidan stargazing in the daytime #astronomy #cambridgesciencefestival #stargazing (at Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge)

[hotyoghurt-blog]

Some test prints - neon marble-y t-shirts for #cambridgesciencefestival this weekend! #screenprinting #sciencestuff

[emergingmusings]

Big Ideas for Busy People

Big Ideas for Busy People

Friday, April 18  7:30pm-9:30pm

First Parish in Cambridge 1446 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge  

Prepare for a whirlwind of Big Ideas around science, technology, engineering, art, and math! Come hear 10 short, sharp talks by some of the finest minds in the area. Speakers get 5 minutes to share their Big Idea, the audience gets 5 minutes for questions, and you get an evening of thought-provoking experiences!  

Dealing with Disaster Paul Biddinger | Medical Director for Emergency Preparedness, Massachusetts General Hospital and Partners Healthcare; Director, Harvard School of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Exercise Program  

Video Surveillance: Enhancing Security Without Increasing Danger Lawrence Candell | Assistant Division Head in Aerospace, MIT Lincoln Laboratory  

Dancing in the Age of Bionics Elliott Rouse | Postdoctoral Associate in Biomechatronics, MIT Media Lab  

From a Magic Trick to the Design of Materials Tadashi Tokieda | William and Flora Foundation Fellow, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University; Director of Studies in Mathematics, Trinity Hall, Cambridge University  

The Temporary Universe Alan Lightman | Professor of the Practice of the Humanities, Creative Writing, Physics, MIT  

How Did Our Atmosphere Become Breathable? Tanja Bosak | Hayes Career Development Associate Professor of Geobiology, MIT  

Climate Change Comes to Thoreau's Concord Richard Primack | Professor of Biology, Boston University  

Can Math Help Cure Cancer? Franziska Michor | Associate Professor of Computational Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard School of Public Health  

The End of History Illusion Daniel Gilbert | Edgar Pierce Professor of Pscyhology, Harvard University  

Addiction by Design Natasha Schull | Associate Professor of Science, Technology, and Society, MIT  

Lectures begin promptly at 7:30pm. A reception with the speakers will follow immediately after the last talk. Cost: $10 

[emergingmusings]

National Robotics Week 2014

Did you know that it's the fifth annual National Robotics Week is THIS WEEK April 5-13, 2014. 

The Purpose of National Robotics Week is to:

Celebrate the US as a leader in robotics technology development

Educate the public about how robotics technology impacts society, both now and in the future

Advocate for increased funding for robotics technology research and development

Inspire students of all ages to pursue careers in robotics and other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math-related fields

On a side note it kinda all makes sense since yesterday was IoT Day and at Carnegie Mellon it is currently Carnival! ;-)

In MA, there are a ton of events that run into the upcoming weeks's Cambridge Science Festival as well: http://www.nationalroboticsweek.org/events.php

[thecircusofme]

the elemental value of Benedict Cumberbatch

This is a link -> http://www.thereaction.net/news/y2013/m03/Cambridge-Science-Festival-2013-benedict-worth-elements.aspx    to what I have just spent the last two hours doing in desperate procrastination from doing my spanish past paper.

Basically, it says, here is Benedict Cumberbatch. Calculate how much all the elements in his body are worth at market value.

I did. I was bored, and curious. The combined market value for all the chemical elements in a human adult male of 73kg is £1397.59.

I have an excel spread sheet and everything. Also calculations in my notebook that look like this:

but for three more pages, listing all the elements in the body, and their percentage mass and also market value/kg.

I'm very proud. So, you heard it here first. £1397.59.

[thecircusofme]

let me tell you about the coming month of March

First, I get to see and hopefully meet this man, on the 1st:

I will be bringing cake.

Then, on the 8th, the Cambridge Science Festival starts. This is a big deal for me. I adore the Science Festival and have been going since I was six. I remember seeing DNA for the first time, mixing soap and ethanol with a splodge of kiwi and seeing the white strand of chromosome become visible in the solution. This year, I am going to many good lectures and there is an added bonus in the fact that this man

is the guest director. So, good chance of bumping into him. Half tempted to challenge him to a deduction competition. Incidentally, that is the image of him they are using on the CSF website, but just his eyes. They stare at me every time I open the page.

And the last thing happening in March?

All in all, it means that March 2013 is looking to be much better than March 2011, when I was seriously ill, or March 2012, when Nana was hovering between dying and not dying. But looking at those two it seems that anything would have been better.

Nah. Keeping my schedual, thanks. Roll on the 1st!

~SRM