Tag Archives: university

Texas A&M researchers concoct nanoparticles to soak up crude oil spills

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Texas A&M researchers concoct nanoparticles to soak up crude oil spills

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon may be forgotten to many, but remnants of its destruction still remain in the Gulf of Mexico. Mercifully, it appears that researchers at Texas A&M University "have developed a non-toxic sequestering agent-iron oxide nanoparticles coated in a polymer mesh that can hold up to 10 times their weight in crude oil." In layman's terms, they've engineered a material that can safely soak up oil. As the story goes, the nanoparticles "consist of an iron oxide core surrounded by a shell of polymeric material," with the goal being to soak up leftover oil that isn't captured using conventional mechanical means. The next step? Creating an enhanced version that's biodegradable; as it stands, the existing particles could pose a threat if not collected once they've accomplished their duties.

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Source: Materials 360 Online, Inside Science, ACS Nano

LinkedIn launches University Pages, helps students learn more about colleges

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LinkedIn launches University Pages, helps students learn more about colleges

LinkedIn has already branched out a bit with its own blogging and following features for select groups, and now the popular social networking site has introduced a tool geared towards students. Aptly dubbed University Pages, LinkedIn describes the new service as one that's part of its strategy to help college-bound pupils "at every critical milestone from campus to fulfilling successful careers."

Beginning September 12th, LinkedIn's set to welcome high school students on its network and provide access to the new University Pages, allowing them to explore and rub elbows with about 200 participating universities, both in the US and abroad. Users will then be able to do things such as receive regular updates about campus news / activities and view notable members of each college's alumni. If one of your favorite schools isn't there just yet, fret not -- LinkedIn says "thousands more" will be given access over the next few weeks.

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Source: LinkedIn

University of Texas students send yacht off-course with GPS exploit (video)

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DNP University of Texas' yacht hack illustrates GPS signal vulnerability video

Students from the University of Texas gave us another reason not to mess with the Lone Star state: they'll hack your yacht. In cooperation with a luxury boat's owners, the Longhorns manipulated their $80 million vessel's nav system, covertly guiding it off-course -- all without the crew ever suspecting foul play. By transmitting spoofed global positioning system signals toward the craft, the students tricked its drivers into correcting a non-existent, three-degree course deviation, thus leading them off track. With their work done, the Texans believe this shows exactly how easy it is to exploit civil-band GPS signals. College kids may have conned the helm this time, but it isn't too far-fetched to think pirates could do the same. Our timbers are shivering just thinking about it.

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Source: The Houston Chronicle

Negobot: a virtual chat agent engineered to trap pedophiles

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Negobot a virtual chat agent engineered to trap pedophiles

Online chat agents are far from novel, but they're evidently getting a lot more sophisticated with age. In a bid to trap pedophiles, engineers at the University of Deusto have concocted Negobot. Essentially, the tool employs game theory in order to meticulously extract vital identification nuggets from a suspected abuser. In order to disguise itself from being a digital representation of a child, it actually employs seven different conversational agents, with each having its own way of behaving. In use, the program begins with a neutral stance that it can maintain indefinitely, and if the subject shows interest, it can elevate its approach in an attempt to get said subject to give himself / herself up. Developers are still working on language and linguistic abilities, but we wouldn't be shocked if it ends up being put to use by certain agencies in the very near future.

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Source: Physorg

SMI, others to use Champions League final as eye-tracking experiment

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SMI, others to use Champions League final as eyetracking experiment

It may be the most watched sporting event, but SMI's more interested in how we watch the Champions League final than the game itself. The eye-tracking firm, in participation with the KMRC and University of Tübingen, will observe how 61 fans watch the Dortmund/Bayern tussle using its RED-m cameras. The project aims to discover if supporters of rival clubs perceive matches differently and, by tracking their eye movement, learn how those perceptions are formed. Of course, given our violently hysterical reactions when Didier Drogba sunk the winning penalty in last year's game, the researchers might have difficulty keeping the participants still enough to monitor.

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Source: SMI

University student crafts app that helps blind smartphone users snap photos

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University student crafts app that helps blind smartphone users snap photos

Dustin Adams, a Ph.D student at the University of California at Santa Cruz, has teamed up with colleagues at his school in order to craft an app that helps visually impaired users line up the ideal snapshot. The project started out as a quiz, asking 54 people with varying degrees of ocular impairment what they found most difficult about taking photos. From there, he essentially boiled that down into requirements for a smartphone program. For starters, the app does away with a conventional shutter button, instead relying on an upward swipe gesture to grab a frame.

Moreover, it integrates face detection and voice accessibility, enabling the phone itself to talk to the photographer and alert him / her as to how many faces are detected and in focus. The app also captures a 30-second audio clip whenever the camera mode is activated, which helps remind users of what was going on during the capture of a shot. Unfortunately, there aren't any screenshots or videos of the app in action just yet, but that's scheduled to change when it's formally unveiled at the Pervasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments conference in Greece later this month.

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Via: NewScientist

Source: University of California at Santa Cruz [PDF]

Fence Parking

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Now here is a pretty clever idea that can actually be utilized. Most sidewalks have a neat metal fence, so how about integrating slots in such a way that they double up as a secure parking for cycles! Two-in-one solution that takes care of parking and fences; awesome!

Bicycle Fence is a 2013 iF Design award – concept design entry.

Designers: Hyupsung University Students

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(Fence Parking was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Related posts:

  1. Plant Your Fence!
  2. We Need This Parking Meter NOW!
  3. Know Your Parking Spot in Advance
    


Lenovo ThinkPad Helix starts shipping, Seton Hall University gets early units

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Lenovo ThinkPad Helix starts shipping, Seton Hall University gets early units

Lenovo's ThinkPad Helix has had one of the rockier roads to the US market, having been promised for February only to be delayed to April. Things are getting smoother, however, as the first units of the are rolling off the production line -- and there are already customers waiting at Seton Hall University. Keeping up its recent practice of handing out gadgets to junior students, the school expects to test the dockable Windows 8 tablet within a few weeks, and then deliver about 2,000 units to newcomers starting in June. The turn toward a hybrid lets the university settle on one PC design for the fall rather than divide its attention between tablets and Ultrabooks, Seton Hall's Drew Holden says. As for the general public? Lenovo hasn't officially put the Helix on sale through its own store, but a handful of customers say they've already received theirs through other channels. In any event, keep a close watch on third-party stores if you're willing to part with $1,499 for a ThinkPad convertible.

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Via: Ultrabook News

Source: The Setonian

Carnegie Mellon’s Chimp robot is reporting for duty, sir

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Carnegie Mellon's Chimp robot is reporting for duty, sir

See that guy? He's for real. He's also from Pittsburgh. A team of wizards from Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center is presently building a new "human-scale" robot in order to compete in DARPA's Robotics Challenge. Part of its charm revolves around the rubberized tracks on its feet as well as on the extremities of each of its four limbs -- not surprisingly, these are engineered to help it maneuver in some pretty sticky situations.

According to the institution, it'll move much link a tank, but it'll also be able to chug along on the treads of just two limbs when needed, such as when it must use one or more limbs to open a valve, or to operate power tools. Oh, and in case you're curious, CMU has affirmed that it'll "be able to perform complex, physically challenging tasks through supervised autonomy," which sounds precisely like the kind of vague description an ill-willed robot would explain to its master before completely taking over his / her life. Just sayin'.

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Via: Technabob, Geekosystem

Source: Carnegie Mellon

Microsoft boosts SkyDrive with six month Office 365 University test drive, ad campaign

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Microsoft boosts Skydrive with six month Office 365 University test drive, ad campaign

Office 365 University is already pretty cheap, but to get you hooked on the software while also promoting SkyDrive's collaboration tools, Microsoft's giving up to six months worth of free access to US college attendees. It's promoting the grab using Parks & Recreation's Aubrey Plaza, who shows a trio of students in one YouTube video (after the break) how they can work together using the Office 365 / SkyDrive combo while staying in their own "creepy dorm" and "unicorn stable" instead of bugging her. Takers will get an extra 20GB of SkyDrive storage and three months of access to the suite, which can be extended to six by sharing the offer on Facebook. If Microsoft decides to include Aubrey and her pithy putdowns in place of Clippy, we'd actually be okay with that, too.

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Source: Microsoft