Nanoscale Informal Science Network

After yesterday’s (July 9, 2012) postings about the recent report, Informing Research Choices: Indicators and Judgment, from the Council of Canadian Academies, I was hoping to have a bit of respite from science policy but the Death of Evidence protest couldn’t be ignored and, now the July 2012 issue of NISE Net’s (Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network) Nano Bite features a June 11, 2012 posting by Carol Lynn Alpert on US science funding policy,

It’s been a tumultuous 18 months for the Broader Impacts Criterion (BIC), the NSF [US National Science Foundation] merit review standard that gets a lot of grant-seeking scientists and engineers thinking about including plans for education, outreach, and diversity. First, Congress asked the NSF to explain exactly what it means by “broader impacts,” and how it monitors compliance. Then, the National Science Board stepped in, announcing it would review both the BIC and the IMC (the companion criterion for “intellectual merit.”) Then, in June 2011, the NSB issued a set of draft guidelines for the BIC that listed explicit national goals like economic competitiveness and national security while seemingly downplaying the agency’s historical commitment to diversity, education, and science literacy. You may remember my July 2011 post criticizing that draft for ripping open a “BIC loophole” by suggesting that broader impacts could be achieved “through the research itself.”

AAAS and a number of other science organizations and individuals protested en masse. …

There have been some hints recently as to how the NSF will evaluate BIC,

Feldman [Jean Feldman, policy head of the NSF’s Office of Budget, Finance, and Award Management] described a new review framework that would apply the standard five critical elements to BOTH merit criteria, rather than just to the IMC (Intellectual Merit Criterion), as is current practice. This means that a PI’s plans for addressing the Broader Impacts Criterion will also be scrutinized for (1) their potential to advance knowledge and societal goals; (2) the extent to which they explore creative, innovative, and original concepts; (3) their rationale, organization, and assessment strategies; (4) the qualifications of the team charged with pursuing them; and (5) the adequacy of resources available to the PI – either at the home institution or through collaborations – to carry out the proposed activity.

Amongst other new items in the NISE Net resource catalog there is new material about nanocoatings, You can find the video, more resources, and this description of the video here,

In this episode of O Wow Moments with Mr. O from the Children’s Museum of Houston, we take a look at Nanocoatings!

The July 2012 newsletter also features a job posting,

→ Employment Opportunity: OMSI Vice President of Exhibits
The Oregon Museum of Science & Industry is looking to hire a new Vice President of Exhibits. Interested candidates should go to http://omsi.iapplicants.com/ViewJob-313485.html for a detailed description of responsibilities and required experience.

Finally, there is a Nano Haiku,

The mantis shrimp claw
Beats out our body armor
And the shells of snails

Vrylena Olney of the Museum of Science, Boston created the above haiku in reference to the article Ultra-Tough Mantis Shrimp Claws Could Lead to Better Body Armor.

I mentioned this shrimp research in my June 15, 2012 posting

My NISENet (Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network) February 2010 newsletter arrived earlier this week with a bumper crop of news and tips. (Go here if you want to find out more about the organization.) I was particularly interested in this bit by Anders Liljeholm,

Did you know that in different countries the word “billion” can mean different amounts? In English, one billion is one thousand million, but in most countries in Europe “billion” means one million million, what we Americans would call one trillion.

This is the kind of detail that’s important when translating or when you’re talking to someone who was educated in a European system. In regular usage it’s an error that most likely won’t have much impact but when you’re dealing with the nanoscale (or financial services) it could make quite a difference. You can read more about it here.

Nano Days 2010 will run from March 27 to April 4. From the NISE website,

NanoDays is our nationwide festival of educational programs about nanoscale science and engineering and its potential impact on the future. NanoDays events are organized by participants in the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net), and take place at over 200 science museums, research centers, and universities across the country from Maine to Hawaii.

I’m not aware of any Nano Days programs in Canada but do let me know if you have any information about some Nano Days programming here.

The nano haiku from the newsletter,

Mil millones de
gracias to Amparo
for her “billion” help.

by Vrylena Olney, Museum of Science, Boston.

Finally, there was a news item on Nanowerk about how scientists in China are learning more about acupuncture points with the use of a synchrotron. From the news item,

Chinese scientists are using the country’s most expensive ever science project, a light-emitting synchrotron, to solve the mystery of acupuncture points.

The Shanghai-based synchrotron, which uses super-powerful X-rays to resolve the structure of matter down to the level of atoms, has detected evidence that acupuncture points differ from other parts of the body.

Zhang Xinyi, deputy director with the synchrotron radiation research center at Fudan University, said, “We are trying to figure out the three-dimensional structure of the acupuncture points with the light resources.”

You can read more here.

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Tag Archives: Nanoscale Informal Science Network

Nano Bite July 2012 edition from the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net)

When is a billion not a billion?; Nano Days 2010 is coming soon; acupuncture and nanotechnology

Chinese scientists are using the country’s most expensive ever science project, a light-emitting synchrotron, to solve the mystery of acupuncture points.
The Shanghai-based synchrotron, which uses super-powerful X-rays to resolve the structure of matter down to the level of atoms, has detected evidence that acupuncture points differ from other parts of the body.
Zhang Xinyi, deputy director with the synchrotron radiation research center at Fudan University, said, “We are trying to figure out the three-dimensional structure of the acupuncture points with the light resources.”