Welcome to Vol. 8 No. 4 of Design Science News, the e-bulletin of the Buckminster Fuller Institute
Design Science News brings you news from around the world related to humanity's option for success and comprehensive design solutions. It also features updates from BFI and periodic special offers for our members.
ONLY ONE MONTH LEFT TO APPLY FOR THE 2007 DESIGN SCIENCE LAB
The application deadline for the 2007 Design Science Lab is May 1st. If you want to be a part of this year's team act quickly - we have only 15 spots left!
The DSL is a rigorous, hands-on training in the problem solving methodology called Design Science pioneered by Buckminster Fuller and other visionaries. Participants engage in a whole systems and anticipatory approach to develop strategies to solve global and local problems within the frame of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The 2007 DSL will again be facilitated by Medard Gabel of BigPictureSmallWorld.
To get a sense of what the program is like, please watch our short movie below:
To learn more about the program or to start an application please visit: www.designsciencelab.org.
NEW SALES IN OUR ONLINE STORE!
This month all of our Bucky-related DVDs and videos are $5.00 off!
SALE $34.95 Buckminster Fuller: Thinking Out Loud
SALE $29.95 Basic Bucky DVD
SALE $29.95 World of Buckminster Fuller DVD
For more information about each film and to view all of the educational tools and resources for sale click here to visit our online store
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
"In reality, I have not left home. My backyard has just grown bigger. Now the world is my backyard."
— R. Buckminster Fuller, as quoted in Jay Baldwin's Buckyworks
TRENDS & PERSPECTIVES
The 'new age' of super materials
In 1987, Ronald Reagan declared that the US was about to enter an incredible new era of technology.
Levitating high-speed trains, super-efficient power generators and ultra-powerful supercomputers would become commonplace thanks to a new breed of materials known as high temperature superconductors (HTSC).
"The breakthroughs in superconductivity bring us to the threshold of a new age," said the president. "It's our task to herald in that new age with a rush."
But 20 years on, the new world does not seem to have arrived. So what happened? (Source: BBC News)
GCensus: Using Google Earth for census analysis
The gCensus project was started for two reasons: First, the Census Department's interface for mapping its data was clunky and looked like something out of the mid-90's—hardly appropriate for a modern web service. Second, there was (and is) a wealth of geographic information publicly available, but few people have access to the kinds of tools needed to view it. Professional researchers investigating geographic data trends use programs known as GIS (Geographic Information Systems) packages for mapping. Unfortunately, there was no tool easily available to the average person who, say, wanted to see how family-friendly a neighborhood might be. gCensus is meant to fill that gap.
The obvious idea that comes up when thinking about web-based mapping and visualization is a Google Maps mash-up. In fact, such a site exists (and unfortunately, both I and the other site's author picked the same gCensus name...). It turns out, though, that while Google Maps is great for some tasks, it's not particularly good at visualizing quantitative data, as it doesn't allow you to shade regions or otherwise present an intuitive view of the numbers. (Source: Extreme Tech)
Scientists set to rock the world
The world's geologists are to bring together all their maps, producing the first truly global resource on rocks.
Known as the OneGeology project, it will pool existing knowledge about what lies under our feet, and present it through one web portal.
Led by the British Geological Survey (BGS), the effort calls on scientists from more than 55 nations.
It hopes to be able to display searchable rock data for the entire Earth down to the scale of 1:1,000,000. (Source: BBC News)
TED: Where artists and inventors plot to save the world
The occasion is the annual TED conference, named for the convergence of technology, entertainment and design-- with a dash of social activism thrown in recently as well. It is expected to draw 1,200 people to Monterey, Calif., starting Wednesday.
Mr. Anderson, a former magazine publisher, took over the TED conference from its founder, Richard Saul Wurman, a graphic designer who presided over the stage like a vaudeville showman. He called it the ''dinner party I always wanted to have but couldn't.'' He filled the program with a collection of stars from various fields, like the musician Herbie Hancock, the architect Frank Gehry and the software tycoon Bill Gates. (Source: The New York Times(free registration required)
RESOURCES
12 Degrees of Freedom: We have more options than we think
Former BFI board member Greg Watson's blog, 12 Degrees of Freedom, is a valuable resource for anyone interested in alternative energy and other innovative solutions to world problems.
To read the blog, visit 12 Degrees of Freedom
The top ten emerging environmental technologies
Wasteful energy policies, overuse of resources, water supply shortages, global climate change, and deforestation are just some of the issues experts say need to be addressed for humans to achieve sustainable living on this planet. By the year 2025, an additional 2.9 billion people will strain tightening water supplies, and the world's energy needs will go up 60 percent by 2030, according to the United Nations. LiveScience looks at 10 technologies—some old, some new, some a bit offbeat—that might help make the future a little brighter.
View the entire list
Open source science at Drexel University
Generally, only successful experiments are published in scientific journals, so researchers spend a lot of time repeating ones that fail. But now one professor and his students are breaking tradition and publishing all their findings online.
Click here to read the transcript or listen to the full interview
EVENTS
The Fifth International Symposium on Digital Earth
Digital Earth is a visionary concept for "spaceship Earth" sparked by R. Buckminster Fuller, grokked by the Apollo astronauts returning from their moon missions, and popularized by Vice President Al Gore.
On June 5th, on the beautiful and sunny campus of the University of California at Berkeley, the 5th International Symposium on Digital Earth (ISDE5) will begin an unparalleled exploration and exposition into the future of Digital Earth. The five day gathering will feature world-class representatives from industry, academia, government, and NGOs who have come from around the globe to highlight a central theme regarding shared interest in the concept of a digital Earth.
To learn more visit ISDE5
Digital Be-In 15: Biomimicry
EARTH DAY WEEKEND INTENSIVE
April 21, 2006
7 pm to 3 am
MEZZANINE
444 Jessie Street
San Francisco
Luminaries and Special Guests, Performances, Live Music, Dance Party
plus: Biomimicry Symposium, Take Action Zone, Green Techné Exhibit,
Ambiotica Midnight Salon, Gaian Goddess Décor, Virtual Be-In in Second Life
To view the announcement flyer as a pdf file Click here
www.be-in.com
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