Researchers at the University of Tokyo, Japan are working on developing a virtual reality system that not only integrates sight and touch, but sense of smell as well. Their past research indicates that a person’s sense of smell can affect how certain foods taste. They developed a virtual reality apparatus composed of a camera, goggles, individual scent tubes, air pumps, and a …
Category Archive: Environment
May
09
Budapest Study Abroad Program – BUTE
The Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE) was founded in 1782 by Emperor Joseph II making it the oldest Institute of Technology of University rank and structure in the world. The campus is lovely and extremely interesting. Some of my classes are in older buildings which still use chalk boards and wooden tables, while …
Apr
22
Green Pod:Parking for Bicycles
As we’ve entered a time where the population is extremely energy aware, we continue to look for new and better ways to conserve for the environment’s sake. I’ve come across an article on the Green Pod, which is a housing unit for bicycles. For many workers, a bicycle provides a reasonable way to get to …
Sep
24
Advances in Battery Technology
This article from CNN describes how researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have come up with a way to produce a new type of battery. Angela Belcher, professor of materials science and engineering at MIT, has developed a way to create batteries from an M13 bacteriophage virus. This virus is common and does not pose …
Nov
13
Cameron Wake's Lecture at GIS Day 2008
Yesterday, at the GIS Day 2008, Cameron Wake gave the keynote speech on the topic of ‘Climate Change in the Northeast’. Professor Wake is a distinguished researcher in the field of climate change at UNH. Since GIS Day is an event geared towards elementary and high school students, Wake urged the millennium generation to talk …
Jun
14
Avoiding the collapse
I’m finishing Jared Diamond‘s book Collapse. As the subtitle tells us, this book discusses how societies fail (that is how they collapse) or succeed. Diamond argues that one reason societies collapse is that they consume certain resources at unsustainable levels. E.g. a society may consume too much timber which may lead to deforestation. Deforestation can …