It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, January 14, 2023
Gambian pro-democracy activist killed in 2016 honoured at last
Thousands of people turned out in the Gambian capital on Tuesday for the official funeral of a pro-democracy activist who died in custody in 2016 following a protest against former dictator Yahya Jammeh.
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Solo Sandeng during his funeral in Banjul on January 10, 2023
VIDEO Gambian pro-democracy activist killed in 2016 honoured at last View on Watch Duration 2:01
Mourners lined the streets of Banjul as police passed by carrying the flag-draped coffin of Solo Sandeng, in a ceremony that revived memories of Jammeh's brutal rule.
The dictator held sway over the tiny West African state for 22 years until he was defeated in presidential elections in December 2016 by political newcomer Adama Barrow and fled to Equatorial Guinea.
Sandeng died in custody in April 2016 at the age of 57 after organising a protest calling for the return of democracy.
His death was a catalyst for uniting the country's fractured opposition and driving a wave of pro-democracy protests which ultimately led to Jammeh's fall.
Justice Minister Dawda Jallow paid tribute to Sandeng, describing him as "a man who paid the ultimate price in fighting for the cause he genuinely believed in.
"He has left an indelible mark in the political history of this country.
"His legacy will continue to live on in the history of our democratic transition as a nation."
The coffin was placed before a huge Greek-style arch in Banjul that Jammeh built in the 1990s and which has been re-dedicated to the memory of his victims. Sandeng was later entombed at a site in the suburbs of the capital.
His body was exhumed in March 2017. Six members of Jammeh's National Intelligence Agency (NIA) were convicted of his murder in July 2022, with the agency's former director being sentenced to death.
The Gambian authorities have charged Jammeh with murder, rape, torture and corruption.
However, he retains substantial clout back home.
Barrow's government, which won elections in 2016 and again in 2021, has yet to fully implement recommendations made by a truth and reconciliation commission in in 2021.
Egypt unveils ancient royal tomb in Luxor
Issued on: 14/01/2023
Egyptian archaeologist Mohsen Kamel said the tomb's interior was 'in poor condition'
Cairo (AFP) – Egyptian authorities announced Saturday the discovery of an ancient tomb in Luxor dating back around 3,500 years that archaeologists believe holds the remains of an 18th dynasty royal.
The tomb was unearthed by Egyptian and British researchers on the west bank of the River Nile, where the famous Valley of the Queens and Valley of the Kings lie, said Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
"The first elements discovered so far inside the tomb seem to indicate that it dates back to the 18th dynasty" of pharaohs Akhenaton and Tutankhamun, Waziri said in a statement.
The 18th dynasty, part of the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom, ended in 1292 BC and is considered among the most prosperous years of Ancient Egypt.
Piers Litherland of the University of Cambridge, head of the British research mission, said the tomb could be of a royal wife or princess of Thutmosid lineage
Egyptian archaeologist Mohsen Kamel said the tomb's interior was "in poor condition".
Parts of it including inscriptions were "destroyed in ancient floods which filled the burial chambers with sand and limestone sediment", Kamel added, according to the antiquities board's statement.
Egypt has unveiled several major archaeological discoveries in recent years, most notably in the Saqqara necropolis south of the capital Cairo.
Critics say the flurry of excavations has prioritised finds shown to grab media attention over hard academic research.
But the discoveries have been a key component of Egypt's attempts to revive its vital tourism industry, the crowning jewel of which is the long-delayed inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum at the foot of the pyramids.
The country of 104 million inhabitants suffers a severe economic crisis.
Egypt's tourism industry accounts for 10 percent of GDP and some two million jobs, according to official figures, but has been hammered by political unrest and the Covid pandemic.
IMAGE: A. THE LITHOSPHERIC BREAKUP-COLLISION COUPLING SYSTEM, IN WHICH COLLISIONAL THICKENING OF THE CONTINENTAL CRUST IS COUPLED WITH LITHOSPHERIC BREAKUP DUE TO ASTHENOSPHERIC UPWELLING FOR ACTIVE RIFTING. B. THE SEAFLOOR SPREADING-LITHOSPHERIC SUBDUCTION COUPLING SYSTEM, IN WHICH THE OCEANIC SLAB IS SUBDUCTED TO DEPTHS OF >80-100 KM FOR THE GRAVITATIONAL PULL, PROVIDING FAR-FIELD STRESSES FOR PASSIVE RIFTING.view more
The emergence of plate tectonics in the late 1960s led to a paradigm shift from fixism to mobilism of global tectonics, providing a unifying context for the previously disparate disciplines of Earth science. Although plate tectonics was originally defined by the kinematics of the Earth’s outer shell (lithosphere) on the underlying asthenosphere, a number of dynamic interpretations for its operation have developed in the past five decades. This has advanced it as a holistic theory of kinematics-dynamics for the motion of large and small plates in both horizontal and vertical directions. Because modern plate boundaries occur as a global network of mobile belts on the spherical Earth, the difficulty was encountered in deciphering the operation of ancient plate tectonics in geological history.
This synthetic study is presented by Prof. Yong-Fei Zheng at University of Science and Technology of China. It focuses on an advanced version of plate tectonics in its basic principles and geological corollaries along active and fossil plate margins. This is achieved by inspection of natural observations and their tectonic interpretations in the fields of geology, geochemistry, geophysics and geodynamics. The available advances are significant and fundamental to our understanding of various phenomena at present and past plate margins, placing general grounds to figure out the spatiotemporal relationships between material movement, energy transfer, dynamic regime and geothermal gradient along plate margins. Therefore, they provide new insights not only into many first-order problems regarding tectonic occurrences in continental regions but also into the origin of hotspot magmatism in relation to the mantle plume hypothesis.
According to the geometric structure, dynamic regime and thermal state of plate margins, Zheng highlights the importance of plate divergent-convergent coupling systems in the operation of plate tectonics on Earth. These coupling systems are categorized into two types. One is the lithospheric breakup-collision due to active rifting, with the push effect of lithospheric breakup on collisional thickening and shallow subduction to smaller depths of <60-80 km. The other is the seafloor spreading-lithospheric subduction due to passive rifting, with the pull effect of subducting oceanic slab on deep subduction to greater depths of >80-100 km. Because plates may be of different sizes since their generation, they may move in different directions to exchange matter and energy not only between lithosphere and asthenosphere but also between the crust and the mantle.
As generalized by Zheng, matter and energy transfers at plate margins proceeds in bottom-up and top-down ways, respectively. They correspond to changes of not only their dynamic regime from extension to compression and from compression to extension but also their thermal state from hot to warm and from cold to warm. In rifting zone, heat is preferentially transferred from the asthenosphere into the crust, resulting in heat loss from the Earth's interior to exterior. In subduction zones, the cold lithosphere sinks into the hotter asthenosphere, leading to cooling of the Earth's interior. Therefore, both rifting and subduction zones are two basic sites for the matter and energy exchanges between the Earth’s spheres. As such, recognition of their geodynamic mechanisms and tectonic effects on the formation and evolution of plate margins is the key to advance plate tectonics.
Although modern plate tectonics is characterized by a global network of mobile belts on the present Earth, its operation on the ancient Earth history can be tested by inspection of plate divergent-convergent coupling systems. This is outlined by Zheng through characterizing two of the fundamental components in plate tectonics. One is the initiation of rifting zones, eventually forming new ocean basins, and the other is the initiation of subduction zones, recycling the crust into the mantle. Subduction initiation and lithospheric rifting are the two key processes for the onset of plate tectonics. Their operation has great bearing on the structure, processes and geodynamics of plate margins. These elements are not only substantial to upgrade plate tectonics into the new version, but also fundamental to explain the onset and operation of plate tectonics in Precambrian time. In this regard, it is critical to not only keep pace with the times but also uphold fundamental principles and break new ground in advancing plate tectonics.
See the article:
Zheng Y.F., 2023. Plate tectonics in the twenty-first century. Science China Earth Sciences, 66(1): 1-40.
A business founded by researchers at Kennesaw State University to improve the process of growing specialty mushrooms won the People’s Choice Award and finished among four finalists at the Ag Innovation Challenge sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).
MycoLogic, co-founded by assistant professor of microbiology Chris Cornelison and postdoctoral researcher Kyle Gabriel, received the most votes from an online poll among 10 agriculture-based startups to earn the award. The companies were competing for more than $165,000 in prize money at the AFBF event in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“To win the People’s Choice Award, to have your people show up—university, sponsors, friends, family—that’s an amazing level of validation,” Cornelison said. “The ecosystem at KSU and in Georgia have propped us up to the point where we have this amazing opportunity to make the case for large-scale mushroom cultivation.”
MycoLogic won $10,000 for advancing to the semifinals of the Ag Innovation Challenge, $5,000 for making the final and $5,000 for the People’s Choice Award. Through the competition, Cornelison and Gabriel also participated in pitch training and mentorship with scholars from Cornell University’s College of Business, as well as network with representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Investment Companies.
MycoLogic had support from the Georgia Research Alliance’s Greater Yield Initiative, which backs university start-up companies focused on agricultural and food technology. In addition, MycoLogic benefited from financial and resource support from the Georgia Department of Agriculture and Georgia Centers for Innovation.
The American Farm Bureau Federation has held the Ag Innovation Challenge for nine years, championing entrepreneurs and organizations seeking to address challenges facing farmers, such as access to labor and optimizing yield. From hundreds of entries, AFBF whittled the field to 10 semifinalists, who pitched their visions to a panel of experts on Jan. 6. The competition went to a web vote on Jan. 7 before four finalists made another pitch the next day.
Kyle Gabriel
CREDIT
Jason Getz
Cornelison said he will put the prize money won at the Ag Innovation Challenge toward marketing efforts for MycoLogic as well as final design elements for MycoLogic’s first product offering. He said MycoLogic has a 22-customer waitlist after delivering the first unit last fall.
“For Kyle and me, it’s a new world,” he said. “We’re fortunate to have great mentorship and funding from the GRA, GDA, and Centers for Innovation as well as the support of our University, so we’re ready for the rounds of fundraising and networking that come this year. It’s hard not to have an advantage with all these supports aligned for us.”
Cornelison also thanked MycoLogic staff Will Beeson and Luc Lalire, who joined the company in recent months. Beeson earned his Master of Science in Integrated Biology from KSU in December, and Lalire came on board after earning his Master of Professional Studies degree in Controlled Environment Agriculture from Cornell University last August.
Strong, recyclable plastic
Biodegradable polyester with properties to match high-density polyethylene
Polyethylene has a number of advantageous properties, but biodegradability is not one of them. A team of researchers has now developed a plastic which has similar thermoplastic properties to polyethylene but is also biodegradable. The material in question is a semicrystalline polyester that breaks down fully to its starting materials using mild chemical or biological processes, as the team explain in their study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.
High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is a particularly strong and durable material. It owes its thermoplastic properties to the internal structure of its molecular chains, which are arranged in a crystalline manner with added attraction due to van der Waals forces. The molecular chains are also pure hydrocarbons. The combination of crystallinity and hydrocarbon content means microorganisms, which might be able to degrade the plastic, cannot access the chains to break them up.
The research group of Stefan Mecking and colleagues, at the University of Konstanz, Germany, have now developed a polyester that has similar crystallinity to HDPE and also retains its beneficial mechanical properties. Unlike polyethylene, polyesters also contain functional groups that could theoretically be degraded chemically or enzymatically. However, under normal circumstances, the more crystalline a polyester is (i.e., the more similar to HDPE), the less readily it can be biodegraded.
The team was therefore understandably surprised by how quickly their crystalline polyester degraded when exposed to enzymes. “We tested degradation with naturally occurring enzymes, and it was an order of magnitude faster than with our reference material”, Mecking explains. It wasn’t just enzymatic solutions which degraded the material: soil microorganisms were also able to completely compost the polyester.
But what is it that makes this polyester so exceptionally biodegradable? The team were able to identify the significant contribution of ethylene glycol, one of the building blocks of the polyester. Mecking adds: “This building block is actually really common in polyesters. It gives you a high melting point, but it also increases degradability in these polyethylene-like materials.”
Because of its good chemical and biological degradability, together with its mechanical properties, the new polyester could find applications as a recyclable thermoplastic material with minimal environmental impact. The end goal is closed-loop chemical recycling to break the plastic down into its raw materials and produce new plastics, Mecking adds. The added benefit of the team’s plastic is that, if any materials do get into the environment despite this closed loop, they can biodegrade and leave no lasting impact.
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About the Author
Professor Stefan Mecking holds the Chair of Chemical Material Science at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Konstanz, Germany. Together with his research group, he develops and explores catalytic processes that increase the environmental compatibility of plastics on multiple levels.
IMAGE: DR PHIL GRÜNEWALD (LEFT) AND DR TINA FAWCETT (RIGHT). EDOL WILL INVESTIGATE HOW ENERGY DEMANDS MAY CHANGE IN THE NEAR FUTURE – FOR INSTANCE, DUE TO GREATER UPTAKE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES. IMAGE CREDIT: IAN WALLMAN.view more
CREDIT: IMAGE CREDIT: IAN WALLMAN.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New, £8 million Energy Demand Observatory and Laboratory will help UK meet net-zero ambitions
University College London and the University of Oxford will jointly lead a five-year project to collect high-resolution data (with informed consent of participants) on energy usage in UK homes.
‘Field laboratories’ will enable specific policies and interventions to reduce carbon emissions from homes to be tested in real-world conditions.
Findings from the project will help inform strategies to enable the UK to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
University College London (UCL) and the University of Oxford will lead an £8.7m research project to establish an Energy Demand Observatory and Laboratory (EDOL) in the UK. The five-year programme, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, part of UK Research and Innovation) and working with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), will establish a national energy data platform to help facilitate the transition to net-zero carbon emissions.
Energy use in homes is responsible for almost a fifth of UK carbon emissions, and the biggest driver of increased energy demands during the peak winter period. If the UK is to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, domestic energy will have to stop using natural gas and transition to a low-carbon system. However, there is currently little information on how this will impact patterns of energy usage, and whether this will overlap with other changes to the UK’s energy system, including the increased uptake of electric cars and heat pumps.
EDOL will address this by providing a high-resolution data resource that will track energy use in real households (with informed consent of participants), enabling us to understand how, why, and when domestic activity is impacting energy demand and associated carbon emissions.
EDOL will develop a range of innovative methods – including innovations emerging around AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) - for monitoring not only the energy consumed by different appliances, but also the different energy-using activities that make up daily life at home.
EDOL will consist of three elements:
An ‘Observatory’ of 2000 representative UK households equipped with sensors to record the energy used by occupants, their appliances, and their behaviours. The anonymised data will then be analysed by researchers to better understand patterns of energy demand in our homes.
‘Forensic’ analyses of sub-samples of homes that have novel or lesser-known forms of energy demand (for instance, smart charging of electric vehicles). This could include detailed surveys, interviews, and in-depth monitoring.
‘Field laboratories’ of 100-200 households in which policies, technologies, business models, and other interventions can be tried out and compared to relevant control groups in the Observatory. This will allow the researchers to answer novel questions, such as: 'How flexible is the time when people choose to charge their electric vehicles?', or 'Does installing a heat pump have unintended consequences such as increased tumble drying of clothes due to lower radiator temperatures?'
UCL Energy Institute will be leading on data collection, analysis, and governance, as well as overall management of the project. UCL will build on relevant experience developed via the Smart Energy Research Lab (SERL) project, bringing specific expertise regarding innovative techniques for analysing smart meter data.
Professor Tadj Oreszczyn (UCL Energy Institute), Principal Investigator for the project, said: ‘In order to tackle the serious challenges facing our society such as fuel poverty, the energy cost crisis and climate change, we need accurate real-world energy consumption data combined with additional data-streams from, for example, sensors and smart home devices, to facilitate innovative research. EDOL is a major step forward in enabling research for public benefit using cutting edge technology and research techniques.’
The University of Oxford will lead on instrumentation and analysis, and qualitative research, overseen by Dr Philip Grünewald (Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford) and Dr Tina Fawcett (School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford).
Dr Grünewald said: ‘EDOL will raise evidence-based policy making to a new level, by providing a scientifically rigorous demand observatory. This collaboration will be unique in providing a detailed, longitudinal resource of UK domestic energy use which will be available to scientists, industry, and policy-makers. The research will be dynamic, able to respond to a fast-moving technological and policy landscape, and will enable us to propose cost-effective smart data solutions and innovation in real-time and at scale.’
Dr Tina Fawcett (Environmental Change Institute), who will lead the social research aspect of the project, added: ‘EDOL is a really important, long-term investment in energy demand research, which will enable us to understand current and future household energy use as never before. The experiments with EDOL households will allow us to explore who benefits or loses from different social, technical, and economic energy interventions. This will help provide the evidence we need to create a just energy transition.’
EPSRC Director for Cross-Council Programmes, Dr Kedar Pandya, said: ‘Accurate, high-resolution data will be crucial to understanding energy usage across UK households and informing new forms of energy usage. With support from Government, the Energy Demand Observatory and Laboratory will build on the work of the Smart Energy Research Lab to address this need. It will offer unprecedented scale in providing this data, which will support the decisions needed to help us to reduce carbon emissions and make the switch to Net Zero.’
Professor Tina Fawcett (left) and Dr Phil Grünewald (right) with a heat-pump: one of the zero carbon technologies that EDOL will investigate.
Image credit: Ian Wallman.
About UCL – London’s Global University
UCL is a diverse global community of world-class academics, students, industry links, external partners, and alumni. Our powerful collective of individuals and institutions work together to explore new possibilities.
Since 1826, we have championed independent thought by attracting and nurturing the world's best minds. Our community of more than 43,800 students from 150 countries and over 14,300 staff pursues academic excellence, breaks boundaries and makes a positive impact on real world problems.
We are consistently ranked among the top 10 universities in the world and are one of only a handful of institutions rated as having the strongest academic reputation and the broadest research impact.
We have a progressive and integrated approach to our teaching and research – championing innovation, creativity and cross-disciplinary working. We teach our students how to think, not what to think, and see them as partners, collaborators and contributors.
For almost 200 years, we are proud to have opened higher education to students from a wide range of backgrounds and to change the way we create and share knowledge.
We were the first in England to welcome women to university education and that courageous attitude and disruptive spirit is still alive today. We are UCL.
www.ucl.ac.uk | Follow @uclnews on Twitter | Read news at www.ucl.ac.uk/news/ | Listen to UCL podcasts on SoundCloud | Find out what’s on at UCL Minds
The Smart Energy Research Lab (SERL) is an EPSRC funded research resource that provides a secure, consistent and trusted channel for researchers to access high-resolution energy data.
About the University of Oxford
Oxford University has been placed number 1 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the seventh year running, and number 2 in the QS World Rankings 2022. At the heart of this success are the twin-pillars of our ground-breaking research and innovation and our distinctive educational offer.
Oxford is world-famous for research and teaching excellence and home to some of the most talented people from across the globe. Our work helps the lives of millions, solving real-world problems through a huge network of partnerships and collaborations. The breadth and interdisciplinary nature of our research alongside our personalised approach to teaching sparks imaginative and inventive insights and solutions.
Through its research commercialisation arm, Oxford University Innovation, Oxford is the highest university patent filer in the UK and is ranked first in the UK for university spinouts, having created more than 200 new companies since 1988. Over a third of these companies have been created in the past three years. The university is a catalyst for prosperity in Oxfordshire and the United Kingdom, contributing £15.7 billion to the UK economy in 2018/19, and supports more than 28,000 full time jobs.
About the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the main funding body for engineering and physical sciences research in the UK. Our portfolio covers a vast range of fields from digital technologies to clean energy, manufacturing to mathematics, advanced materials to chemistry.
EPSRC invests in world-leading research and skills, advancing knowledge and delivering a sustainable, resilient and prosperous UK. We support new ideas and transformative technologies which are the foundations of innovation, improving our economy, environment and society. Working in partnership and co-investing with industry, we deliver against national and global priorities.
NASA says 2022 fifth warmest year on record, warming trend continues
IMAGE: THIS DATA VISUALIZATION SHOWS THE 2022 GLOBAL SURFACE TEMPERATURE ANOMALY COMPARED WITH THE 1951-1980 AVERAGE.view more
CREDIT: NASA GODDARD SCIENTIFIC VISUALIZATION STUDIO
Earth's average surface temperature in 2022 tied with 2015 as the fifth warmest on record, according to an analysis by NASA. Continuing the planet's long-term warming trend, global temperatures in 2022 were 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit (0.89 degrees Celsius) above the average for NASA's baseline period (1951-1980), scientists from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York reported.
“This warming trend is alarming,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our warming climate is already making a mark: Forest fires are intensifying; hurricanes are getting stronger; droughts are wreaking havoc and sea levels are rising. NASA is deepening our commitment to do our part in addressing climate change. Our Earth System Observatory will provide state-of-the-art data to support our climate modeling, analysis and predictions to help humanity confront our planet’s changing climate.”
The past nine years have been the warmest years since modern recordkeeping began in 1880. This means Earth in 2022 was about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (or about 1.11 degrees Celsius) warmer than the late 19th century average.
“The reason for the warming trend is that human activities continue to pump enormous amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and the long-term planetary impacts will also continue,” said Gavin Schmidt, director of GISS, NASA's leading center for climate modeling.
Human-driven greenhouse gas emissions have rebounded following a short-lived dip in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, NASA scientists, as well as international scientists, determined carbon dioxide emissions were the highest on record in 2022. NASA also identified some super-emitters of methane – another powerful greenhouse gas – using the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation instrument that launched to the International Space Station last year.
The Arctic region continues to experience the strongest warming trends – close to four times the global average – according to GISS research presented at the 2022 annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, as well as a separate study.
Communities around the world are experiencing impacts scientists see as connected to the warming atmosphere and ocean. Climate change has intensified rainfall and tropical storms, deepened the severity of droughts, and increased the impact of storm surges. Last year brought torrential monsoon rains that devastated Pakistan and a persistent megadrought in the U.S. Southwest. In September, Hurricane Ian became one of the strongest and costliest hurricanes to strike the continental U.S.
Tracking Our Changing Planet
NASA’s global temperature analysis is drawn from data collected by weather stations and Antarctic research stations, as well as instruments mounted on ships and ocean buoys. NASA scientists analyze these measurements to account for uncertainties in the data and to maintain consistent methods for calculating global average surface temperature differences for every year. These ground-based measurements of surface temperature are consistent with satellite data collected since 2002 by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder on NASA's Aqua satellite and with other estimates.
NASA uses the period from 1951-1980 as a baseline to understand how global temperatures change over time. That baseline includes climate patterns such as La Niña and El Niño, as well as unusually hot or cold years due to other factors, ensuring it encompasses natural variations in Earth's temperature.
Many factors can affect the average temperature in any given year. For example, 2022 was one of the warmest on record despite a third consecutive year of La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean. NASA scientists estimate that La Niña’s cooling influence may have lowered global temperatures slightly (about 0.11 degrees Fahrenheit or 0.06 degrees Celsius) from what the average would have been under more typical ocean conditions.
A separate, independent analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) concluded that the global surface temperature for 2022 was the sixth highest since 1880. NOAA scientists use much of the same raw temperature data in their analysis and have a different baseline period (1901-2000) and methodology. Although rankings for specific years can differ slightly between the records, they are in broad agreement and both reflect ongoing long-term warming.
NASA's full dataset of global surface temperatures through 2022, as well as full details with code of how NASA scientists conducted the analysis, are publicly available from GISS.
GISS is a NASA laboratory managed by the Earth Sciences Division of the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The laboratory is affiliated with Columbia University's Earth Institute and School of Engineering and Applied Science in New York.
For more information about NASA's Earth science programs, visit:
Both are members of the Historical Performance Research Group in the Department of Music and Design Arts at Huddersfield: violinist Dr David Milsom, who heads up classical performance studies at Huddersfield, and pianist Dr Inja Stanović.
An essential innovative feature here is the use of historic recording technology in what Dr Milsom and Dr Stanović have hailed as a ‘game-changing’ project. This set of brand-new acoustic recordings were put together using rare equipment that uses the same processes for recording music as existed before the widespread adoption of the electric microphone after 1925. The music itself is a wide-ranging collection of shorter works by Bach, Brahms and Mendelssohn, amongst others.
It is the second release from Pennine Records, set up by David as a partnership between the music department and University of Huddersfield Press in 2020. The label's purpose is to showcase a wide range of research-based ways of performing historical music.
David and Inja are performance practice specialists in music performance of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and this project represented a chance to build upon traditional sound recordings research to produce something that is at the same time very old, and while also innovative and new.
“I had wanted the experience of making recordings this way for years, so when Inja and I got the chance towards the end of her Leverhulme project to make some recordings by the acoustic process, it was something we absolutely had to do and so we jumped at the chance,” says David.
"It has been an absolutely extraordinary, game-changing practice research experience and I hope that it will be a shop window on the current state of historical performance research. We are not only people who write about style in historical recordings, we are also professional, performing musicians.
“In this sense, the recording is another instance of why Huddersfield is such a vibrant environment for music performance research: many of us here are practicing musicians as well as lecturers and academics.”
Inja is a conservatoire-trained pianist from Croatia, who came to Huddersfield after following her PhD at the University of Sheffield by securing a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship.
Serendipity dictated that the equipment to make wax disc recordings (a tale of recording horns, cutting styluses, and the manufacture of wax discs themselves into which the vibrations are indented) – and, crucially, an engineer capable of making these recordings in a highly-skilled process widely thought to have been lost to history – were available in nearby Sheffield in the shape of the internationally-renowned Duncan Miller at Vulcan Records. "It was a case of the right people in the right place at the right time,” David adds.
Inja’s husband Dr Adam Stanović transferred the recordings from the wax discs into a digital form, allowing them to be available online. The project itself continues Inja's previous research into how acoustic recordings can be understood as historical documents of an increasingly distant past.
“Musically it is extremely important to research this, but also to actually do them,” says Inja. “Research, in this context, is not only about listening and writing; it is also about playing, and putting yourself in the shoes of historical musicians, accepting the small imperfections that are an inevitable consequence of a one-take recording and a wax recording medium.
“This is the first-ever systematic study of these machines. Previously studies have been short-term and smaller projects, not an extensive one unfolding over a number of years. I started around six years ago, and have produced a huge number of wax discs and cylinders.
“Huddersfield was the ideal environment to do this because of its supportive performance culture, and a number of nearby or Huddersfield-based historical performance researchers.”
Our publication “Sustainability Studies: Environmental and Energy Management” will guide the students and researchers to identify issues related to protection of environmental and energy that might represent future solutions in critical areas of environmental and energy management, to provide an appropriate environmental and energy management in the living things and public human being in the earth of the near future.
The book “Sustainability Studies: Environmental and Energy Management“ focuses on the industrialization and its drawback in the near future caused by human being in the environmental and energy related issues. Also this book chapter content makes an attempt to highlight the impacts created to the environment and also insist to meet the increasing demand of energy in near future. In order to protect the environmental we need to focus the Green Engineering and technologies on the designing of materials, processes, systems and devices with the objective of minimizing overall environmental impact (including energy utilization and waste production) throughout the entire life cycle of a product or process, from initial raw materials used in manufacture to ultimate disposal of materials that cannot be reused or recycled at the end. Also it need steps to be taken by implementing the policies, regulations and planning. If any automatic computing techniques can be adopted to regulate the environmental and energy protection that should be implemented and monitored accordingly.
About the editors:
Dr. G. Venkatesan is faculty in the University College of Engineering (BIT campus) Anna University, India. He has been involved in teaching, research and industrial experience for the past 21 years. At present 7 candidates completed and 5 candidates are pursuing their Ph.D. programme under his supervision. He has published 47 papers in International and National Journals and presented 67 papers in Conferences. He published four books and book chapters and 1 patent garneted. He organized sixteen conferences and workshops and attended twenty-three workshops. He has delivered 31 invited talks conferences and seminars. He has awarded Vishwakarma Award for the category of Academician for the year 2017 organized by Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC), Government of India. Rashtriya Gaurav Award for the year 2015 by India International friendship society New Delhi, best research paper on Environmental issues in the Department of Environment, Government of Tamil Nadu state award for the year of 2012. He is Indian Geotechnical Society Trichy Chapter Founder Secretary. He has been the Council Member of Institution of Public Health Engineers, India during 2012 to 2018. His research interest is Environmental Geo techniques and landfill design, Materials in concrete, Irrigation water management techniques, Water and Solid waste management.
Dr. M. Rengasamy M. Tech., Ph.D, is associated with the Department of Petrochemical Technology, University College of Engineering -BIT campus, Anna University, Tiruchirappalli. He obtained his B.Tech-Chemical Engineering degree in the year 1993 and obtained his M.Tech-Petroleum Refining and Petrochemical Technology degree in the year 1995 from A.C. Tech, Anna University, Chennai. He completed his Doctoral degree in the field of Biodiesel-an alternate transport fuel using synthesized metal nanocatalyst. He has 24 years of total experience in which 9 years of industrial experience and 15 years of teaching and research experience. His area of research interest includes Nanotechnology, Alternate fuels and Environmental studies. Apart from his regular academic activities he has served as Deputy Controller of Examination Anna University of Technology, Tiruchirappalli for period of three years from 2007. He also served as Controller of Examination, Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Tiruchirappalli in the academic year 2015-16. He also acted as Nodal Officer – Procurement, Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP – II, the scheme funded by World Bank through Government of India and Government of Tamilnadu), Bharathidasan Institute of Technology, Anna University, Tiruchirappalli. He has published more than 16 papers in the national and international journals and presented 7 papers in the international conferences and 27 papers in national conferences. He has published 4 book chapters and edited one book. He has completed the funded project worth of 20.29 Lakhs as Co-investigator funded by Department of Biotechnology, Government of India in collaboration with NEERI and Annamalai University in the year 2010. He is a life member in various professional societies namely, Indian Institute of Chemical Engineering (IIChE), Institute of Engineers (IE), Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) and Indian Desalination Association (IDA).
Dr. S. LakshmanaPrabu is associated with Anna University since 2009, he is a GATE qualified personality and secured 110th rank at all India level. He is having great experience in reputed Pharmaceutical Industries and University. He pursued his Ph.D from Manipal University and Post Graduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Rights Law from National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Dr. S. LakshmanaPrabu has 19 years of experience, 15 years in teaching profession and 4 years in Pharmaceutical Industry. In his teaching profession, he successfully completed three projects in Pharmaceutical Industrial effluent waste water treatment, currently guiding one Ph.D candidate in the topic entitled “Hybrid treatment techniques for industrial waste water streams”. Also currently he is teaching Environmental Management System for undergraduate pharmaceutical technology students. He is having very good knowledge in the Pharmaceutical Industrial effluent waste water treatment techniques. As an editor, he edited 3 books - and authored sixteen book chapters in different publishers name a few Elsevier, InTech, Springer, Bentham Science, IGI Global, Nova Publishing Ltd, USA etc., from his research expertise. Currently, he is editing the book entitled “Intellectual Property Rights – Patents”, InTech, Croatia. Among his sixteen book chapter, two book chapters are related to wastewater treatment techniques. He has filled 3 international patents, 97 peer reviewed publications and delivered multiple presentations at national and international conferences. He is an active member of many professional and academic bodies, serving as reviewer and editorial member for various reputed journals. He has organized various national and international conferences. Dr. S. LakshmanaPrabu is a Principal investigator in government funded project sponsored by DBT, New Delhi.
IMAGE: SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES’ SPENDING FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022 HIT AN ALL-TIME HIGH.view more
CREDIT: LLOYD WILSON, SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — For the first time, Sandia National Laboratories’ contributions to the economy have topped $4.2 billion in a fiscal year, supporting individuals, families and businesses at an unprecedented level. Total spending in fiscal year 2022, which ended Sept. 30, was $312 million more than the previous fiscal year. The spending includes labor, subcontracts, purchases and other expenditures.
Sandia also reported today it created 480 new jobs in fiscal year 2022.
“Sandia has seen steady and significant growth over the last several years, and the numbers show how our communities are growing with us,” said Associate Labs Director Scott Aeilts, in reference to the new 2022 Sandia Economic Impact brochure. “Partnering with businesses, particularly small businesses, helps us accomplish our national security mission and helps communities thrive.”
Of all subcontract-related payments, totaling more than $1.5 billion, nearly $943 million — or about 63% — went to small businesses. Total subcontract-related payments increased $132 million more than the previous fiscal year, with 79% of the increase going to small businesses.
More than 32% of all subcontract-related payments in fiscal year 2022 benefited New Mexico companies. Sandia also paid the state of New Mexico nearly $112 million in gross receipts tax, up more than $4.8 million from the previous fiscal year.
Sandia spent about $491 million with New Mexico businesses in fiscal year 2022. That includes nearly $8.9 million in procurement purchases and more than $482 million in subcontracts within the state. Of the New Mexico subcontracts, nearly $420 million — or 87% — benefited small businesses.
“Strong partnerships with diverse suppliers have been a key to our mission success,” said Labs Director James Peery. “Small businesses promote innovation and help us bring to the marketplace technologies that improve peoples’ lives. Sandia is committed to partnering with and building relationships with highly qualified small businesses to spur economic growth in New Mexico and across the country.”
In addition to spending, labs employment increased by 610 over fiscal year 2021, including 480 new non-student jobs and 130 more student interns, and more than $2.5 billion was spent on labor and non-subcontract related payments. Sandia’s total employment across all sites is 15,500, with the largest labs site, located in Albuquerque, employing nearly 12,600.
Sandia National Laboratories spent more than $1.5 billion on subcontracts in fiscal year 2022 with nearly $943 million going to small businesses. Total subcontract-related payments increased $132 million over fiscal year 2021.
Lloyd Wilson, Sandia National Laboratories
Technology commercialization initiative extended for five more years
In 2022, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law legislation extending the Technology Readiness Gross Receipts Initiative for five more years. Sandia is a key player in the technology maturation initiative that helps address a critical stage between technology development and commercialization when many companies need additional funding to ready products and services for the marketplace.
The program enabled Sandia to work with 10 companies on 12 projects in 2022, including one that helped IR Dynamics mature a nanoparticle film that could make windows more energy-efficient, using technology invented at Sandia.
Companies acquired 10 licenses for Sandia technologies in fiscal year 2022, and two companies engaged in Cooperative Research and Development Agreements.
Sandia manages several economic development programs that leverage the people, innovations and facilities of the labs to deploy technology in support of Sandia’s mission and job creation.
In the last fiscal year, 104 new patents were issued for Sandia technologies. Sandia additionally filed 223 patent applications and maintained 567 active commercial licenses.
Mentor-Protégé Program expands with addition of two more companies
Sandia grew its small business Mentor-Protégé Program this month from three participating companies to five. Dynamic Structure and Materials, LLC, based in Tennessee, and Pennsylvania-based Compunetics, Inc., joined the program designed to help small businesses develop their ability to compete for federal and industry opportunities.
“We are excited to have our program grow and will continue to look for ways to maximize opportunities for our small business protégés to work with Sandia Labs and the Department of Energy,” said Royina Lopez, Mentor-Protégé Program Lead.
Both companies provide products and services critical to Sandia mission areas. Dynamic Structure and Materials provides precision motion systems and related electronics along with design and manufacturing services. Compunetics manufactures and assembles rigid and flexible printed circuit boards and provides advanced interconnect solutions.
“We value this new relationship as a means to develop as a Department of Energy contractor and intend to harness the resources available through the Mentor-Protégé Program to deliver innovation and an excellent customer experience to Sandia National Labs,” said Dynamic Structure and Materials president Jim Bickmore.
John Gralewski, director of sales at Compunetics, said, “We believe the partnership developed under this program will enhance our growth as a company while also providing a quality supply partner for flex, and rigid-flex printed circuit boards and assemblies to Sandia National Labs.”
Sandia philanthropy supports local families, organizations
Sandia continued to support K-12 educational success and family stability programs throughout Albuquerque and Livermore. In calendar year 2022, National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia contributed $1.4 million on behalf of Sandia to the local communities, including $175,000 in the Livermore area.
Sandia employees generously committed $4.6 million through the United Way of Central New Mexico to nonprofits throughout Albuquerque, Livermore and the nation during the labs’ annual Sandia Gives campaign. Employees donated an additional $103,000, with NTESS providing a $25,000 match donation, to help victims of the historic 2022 New Mexico wildfires, and more than 4,200 retired Sandia computers were donated to New Mexico schools.
Sandia has met and exceeded small business goals for six consecutive years. The labs focus on working with small businesses that fit the federal categories of small disadvantaged, women-owned, veteran-owned, service-disabled veteran owned and historically underutilized business zone, also called HUBZone.
“Sandia is motivated to partner with small businesses with a variety of skills and expertise to promote innovation in support of our mission. We have teams dedicated to helping interested suppliers navigate the rewarding but sometimes unfamiliar path of working with a national laboratory,” said Laura Lovato, Sandia’s manager of supplier diversity and supply chain risk management.
Through various efforts, Sandia worked with 500 small businesses during fiscal year 2022 that hadn’t supported the labs before.
For more information on doing business with Sandia, visit the procurement website or email supplier@sandia.gov with questions.
Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California.
