Buckminster Fuller Bibliography by Trevor Blake and A Study of Shelter Logistics for Marine Corps Aviation by Col. Henry C. Lane now in print!

Buckminster Fuller Bibliography by Trevor Blake. Nearly one thousand printed works by and about R. Buckminster Fuller. Traces Fuller’s trajectory from outsider to globe-spanning public speaker to cultural icon. Includes information on Fuller found in no other book. 118 pages, 6" x 9", jacket-hardcover binding, cream interior paper (50# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-color exterior ink.

A Study of Shelter Logistics for Marine Corps Aviation by Col. Henry C. Lane. In the 1950s the US Marine Corps put the geodesic domes of Buckminster Fuller to the test. They concluded domes were "the first major basic improvement in mobile military shelters for the past 2,600 years." Rare and fifty years out of print, now with a new introduction. 144 pages, 8.25" x 10.75", casewrap-hardcover binding, white interior paper (50# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-color exterior ink.

From Lorne Young | Upper Canada College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, email | 416-488-1125 ext 3411

Content: Throughout this three-week (110 hour) integrated curriculum unit for grades 7-9 (adaptable to higher or lower grades) several general principles are emphasized and employed to maximize the benefits of an integrated unit. The systems approach, whole systems thinking and the underlying principle of synergy are the central, core concepts that all of the curricular areas will revolve around.

The following scenario is presented to the class:

The Synergetic Organization for Sustainability on Earth (SOS Earth) is recruiting/advertising for 4 individuals to make up a Research Team that will be spending 5 years on an uninhabited, ecologically sensitive island off the coast of British Columbia. The goal of this team is to be a model for the rest of the planet and to demonstrate that it is possible to live sustainably with the environment, without degrading it, for an extended period of time while doing important research on endangered species. The team must accomplish the following:

• Design a research station where the 4 team members will be able to live sustainably and self-sufficiently for the 5-year term
• Design an energy production system that will provide sufficient energy for the station
• Design a food and water production system for the 5 years
• Design a waste and recycling system
• All of this within the climatic and geographical limits of the island
• The design of the station and its components should be constructed to a realistic scale, ie research into the requirements and appropriate size of the various components is necessary

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by Barry Ray of Florida State University



Working with a material 10 times lighter than steel—but 250 times stronger—would be a dream come true for any engineer. If this material also had amazing properties that made it highly conductive of heat and electricity, it would start to sound like something out of a science fiction novel. Yet one Florida State University research group, the Florida Advanced Center for Composite Technologies (FAC2T), is working to develop real-world applications for just such a material.



Dr. Ben Wang

Ben Wang, a professor of industrial engineering at the Florida A&M University-FSU College of Engineering, serves as director of FAC2T, which works to develop new, high-performance composite materials, as well as technologies for producing them.

Wang is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the growing field of nano-materials science. His main area of research, involving an extraordinary material known as "buckypaper," has shown promise in a variety of applications, including the development of aerospace structures, the production of more-effective body armor and armored vehicles, and the construction of next-generation computer displays. The U.S. military has shown a keen interest in the military applications of Wang's research; in fact, the Army Research Lab recently awarded FAC2T a $2.5-million grant, while the Air Force Office of Scientific Research awarded $1.2 million.

At FAC2T, our objective is to push the envelope to find out just how strong a composite material we can make using buckypaper," Wang said. "In addition, we're focused on developing processes that will allow it to be mass-produced cheaply."

Buckypaper is made from carbon nanotubes—amazingly strong fibers about 1/50,000th the diameter of a human hair that were first developed in the early 1990s. Buckypaper owes its name to Buckminsterfullerene, or Carbon 60—a type of carbon molecule whose powerful atomic bonds make it twice as hard as a diamond. Sir Harold Kroto, now a professor and scientist with FSU's department of chemistry and biochemistry, and two other scientists shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of Buckminsterfullerene, nicknamed "buckyballs" for the molecules' spherical shape. Their discovery has led to a revolution in the fields of chemistry and materials science—and directly contributed to the development of buckypaper.



Among the possible uses for buckypaper that are being researched at FAC2T:

• If exposed to an electric charge, buckypaper could be used to illuminate computer and television screens. It would be more energy-efficient, lighter, and would allow for a more uniform level of brightness than current cathode ray tube (CRT) and liquid crystal display (LCD) technology.
• As one of the most thermally conductive materials known, buckypaper lends itself to the development of heat sinks that would allow computers and other electronic equipment to disperse heat more efficiently than is currently possible. This, in turn, could lead to even greater advances in electronic miniaturization.
• Because it has an unusually high current-carrying capacity, a film made from buckypaper could be applied to the exteriors of airplanes. Lightning strikes then would flow around the plane and dissipate without causing damage.
• Films also could protect electronic circuits and devices within airplanes from electromagnetic interference, which can damage equipment and alter settings. Similarly, such films could allow military aircraft to shield their electromagnetic "signatures," which can be detected via radar.

FAC2T "is at the very forefront of a technological revolution that will dramatically change the way items all around us are produced," said Kirby Kemper, FSU's vice president for Research. "The group of faculty, staff, students and post-docs in this center have been visionary in their ability to recognize the tremendous potential of nanotechnology. The potential applications are mind-boggling."

FSU has four U.S. patents pending that are related to its buckypaper research.

In addition to his academic and scientific responsibilities, Wang recently was named FSU's assistant vice president for Research. In this role, he will help to advance research activities at the College of Engineering and throughout the university.

"I look forward to bringing researchers together to pursue rewarding research opportunities," Wang said. "We have very knowledgeable and talented faculty and students, and I will be working with them to help meet their full potential for advancement in their fields."

Source © Florida State University, » Click here for the original article from FSU

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