STEAM (STEM + ARTS) News in Review: 5/13/2022
Our STEAM (STEM + Arts) News in Review for this week. Below are the articles we read and wanted to share. Enjoy!
Do cities of the future float? As a response to the threat of rising sea levels, read this article to learn more about the innovative design of a floating city prototype. A company called OCEANIX has released plans for the world’s first “resilient and sustainable floating community.” It is planned to be located off the coast of the South Korean city Busan. A team of engineers, designers, sustainability experts, and architects from OCEANIX, a tech company in New York, designed the prototype first in 2019. OCEANIX Busan would feature interconnected neighborhoods on three platforms to accommodate a community of 12,000 people and visitors. Each neighborhood is planned to provide different purposes: research, living, and lodging. Each neighborhood would treat and replenish its own reduce and recycle resources and water and provide innovative urban agriculture.
Thomasnet: World's First Floating City Proposed
Hear a black hole sing! What does a black hole sound like? Researchers have been looking into it! As part of an effort to “sonify” the cosmos, recently, researchers converted the pressure waves from a black hole into something audible. Have a listen, it’s not likely to match what you think, it’s less like a scream or punctuated sound and more like a song. Read to learn more about the science behind these sounds, and also hear from scientists working on continuing to let us hear the sounds of space. Dr. Erin Kara an astrophysicist from MIT shared “I just love that we can ‘hear’ the general relativity in these simulations.”
NYT:Hear the Weird Sounds of a Black Hole Singing
FDNY Fire station makeover This recently redesigned fire station in Brooklyn aims to help train elite firefighters that will sleep, train and prepare for their operations in the space. The new headquarters for the FDNY's Rescue 2 unit is located in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The facility doubles as a simulation and training facility for extreme rescue situations like rappelling down buildings, navigating collapsed structures, and even deploying for underwater rescue operations. The new building is three-stories-tall to accommodate firefighters' rappelling training and they will even use the exterior, with various anchor points to allow the firefighters to practice using the building itself. The traditional fire-engine red is also featured in the newly updated design through terracotta tiling so you will still be able to recognize it as a fire station!
Dezeen:Studio Gang designs Brooklyn fire station to train elite firefighters
Expeditions to the Moon are on the rise. In the next year, these six countries plan to go to the Moon Japan, South Korea, Russia, India, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. Lunar exploration is an obvious driver, but so is the ability of countries to show off their technological prowess and make their mark. In the US, NASA’s US$93-billion Artemis program is heavily anticipated because it’s the first step towards sending astronauts to the Moon. Each country will contribute its own learnings from its missions. Japan’s SLIM mission will test strategies aimed at making highly accurate landings on the Moon. Researchers are especially enthused about the science that could come from the South Korea, KPLO mission. The craft will orbit 100 kilometers above the lunar surface and operate for at least one year featuring specialized instruments, including ‘ShadowCam’ — a highly sensitive visible-light camera provided by NASA. It will peer into the Moon’s deeply shaded areas, will help in the search for water ice in polar craters, and will hunt for unusual geological features. Scientists are eagerly waiting for the missions the commence, making the Moon will be one of the most popular destinations in the Solar System in 2022-2023!
Nature: These six countries are about to go to the Moon — here’s why
The future of biomaterials is here! This talk from London’s Craft Week includes the many opportunities that designers and creators to make use of more eco-friendly materials for their work. From furniture to footwear, the talk addresses raw materials and circular fashion cycles that aim to reduce waste and use biodegradable materials that are friendlier to our planet Earth. Hear from Jen Keane, CEO of Modern Synthesis, about the role and importance of materials in relation to climate change and the role that microbes can play as microbial textiles and platforms that use bacteria to grow new materials in a bid to curb the fashion industry's emissions and plastic pollution.
Dezeen: Watch a talk exploring the future of biomaterials in fashion at London Craft Week